The passage is Matthew 24:15-16, which reads, “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”
I find it interesting that to the hearers of these words in Jesus’ day, they would have had the effect of bringing correction to anyone who had been of the opinion that this prophecy in Daniel had already been fulfilled. Per Jesus, the prophecy of Daniel concerning “the abomination of desolation” was to be yet future. In other words, this prophecy of our Lord, would have debunked "preterist" ideas in Jesus’ day. I believe it is ironic, therefore, this same prophecy of our Lord, when properly unpacked, becomes the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back of all the various forms of modern preterism as well.
Allow me to explain…
There are three passages in the Book of Daniel in which the abomination of desolation is described. These are: Daniel 9:27, 11:31, 12:11
It was the correct understanding in Jesus’ day that this was a prophecy concerning a gentile king who would come to Jerusalem, defile the temple, entering it and setting up an image of himself to be worshipped in the holy of holies.
It is the testimony of Jesus, Paul and John in New Testament that this prophecy was to be yet future. We’ve already read Jesus’ words above. Paul says further, “Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.” (2 Thess. 2:3-4)
In the Book of Revelation chapter 13, John corroborates aspects of this expectation, where in fantastic imagery he depicts an evil authority in the last times exercising control over the peoples of the earth including Jerusalem and its temple. This evil entity is assisted by a second equally evil entity which causes all under penalty of death to worship an image of this evil ruler.
In prophesying that the abomination of desolation is a yet future event, Jesus ran counter to the beliefs of many Jews in his own day, who believed the prophecy of Daniel had already been fulfilled. Without using the term “preterist”, those who held to the past fulfillment of the prophecy of Daniel were in fact the practical preterists of their day.
Jews had believed the prophecy of Daniel had been fulfilled in 167 BC. Jewish writers of the day used the exact same idiom as we find in Matthew 24:15, to describe the invasion of the Jerusalem temple by Antiochus Epiphanes in 167 BC. It was referred to with the same Greek phrase used for Jesus words to signify “the abomination of desolation”. After entering the holy of holies and demanding that he be worshipped as god, Antiochus had his right-hand-man install an image of himself there as god. For a period of three years the image of Antiochus remained and Antiochus’ assistant remained in Jerusalem to mandate that people worship the image under penalty of death. Sound familiar?
Isn’t it therefore ironic that Jesus' prophecy concerning the abomination of desolation is exactly the passage that overturns preterist ideas in our own day too? You see, the prophecy of Christ, that the abomination of desolation was to be yet future remains unfulfilled. Here's why...
It is an interesting detail of history that when the Roman-Emperor-to-be, Titus led his forces to Jerusalem to destroy it in 70 AD, he gave specific instructions that the Jewish temple was not to be looted or destroyed. We know this from Josephus. We may rightly speculate as to what plans Titus had for the Jewish temple. Did he intend to install an image in it of the Emperor of Rome to be worshipped? We will never know. You see he was prevented from doing so; in a seeming "fluke of happenstance" during the pitched battle against the Jewish militants in Jerusalem, a torch was tossed on a building nearby the temple. This started a fire which remarkably quickly engulfed the temple and burned it to the ground.
No gentile foot was able to step into the temple to defile it. It was gone. No praises to ceasar ever echoed in its corridors. No standards of the effigies of the deities of Rome were able to victoriously march through its interiors. No images of the deities of Rome or of the Emperor were ever installed there. In short, the abomination of desolation never occurred. 70 AD had come and gone without the fulfillment of the prophecy.
It is due to a lack of understanding of the events that actually transpired in AD 70, that some today actually believe that Daniel’s prediction was fulfilled at that time. It was not. It remains to be fulfilled.
The abomination of desolation is to be an idol installed in a Jewish temple in Jerusalem otherwise built for the worship of God. Nothing else would fulfill the words of Daniel, Jesus, Paul and John.
Jesus contradicted ideas of His time in stating the abomination of desolation was yet future. It is even now yet future. The words of Jesus overturned the preterist ideas of his day as they still do to preterist ideas in our own.
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P.S. The Greek phrase used in Matthew 24:15 for "the abomination of desolation", is "τὸ βδέλυγμα τῆς ἐρημώσεως".
When devout Jews translated the Book of Daniel into Greek, (the version of Daniel which would later be used by the Apostles and the early Church, the Septuagint version), they used this very phrase "τὸ βδέλυγμα τῆς ἐρημώσεως", in each of the three passages in Daniel where the abomination of desolation is mentioned, (Daniel 9:27, 11:31, and 12:11, with minor variation due to the inflection of the two Greek nouns).
On a related note, the Jewish historian who recorded the events of 167 BC, in the book which we now call "1 Maccabees", also used that Greek term for what Antiochus Epiphanes did when he entered the Jewish temple's holy of holies, demanding he be worshipped, and subsequently setting up an image of himself (where it stood for 3 years).
When you read Isaiah 66:3, you will suddenly realize that what Antioch Epiphane did by sacrificing a pig on the altar was not an abomination, but a warning to the Jews that he fully understood. It's easy for the opposition to make a figure of history look evil, but in light of Isaiah 66:3, Antioch understood that the temple was already defiled by the Israelites.
Concerning the abomination of desolation, what does this abomination make desolate? Prophecy teachers and Gurus are never going to tell you what this abomination is because it points directly at church doctrine.
Does the abomination make some obscure, future peace treaty desolate? This makes no sense when you realize the whole theme of the bible is the sacrifice of Christ.
It's the sacrifice of Christ that is made desolate, so in a sense you could say that this peace treaty found in the sacrifice of Christ was made desolate. The new covenant is made desolate and worthless but by what? Doctrines in the church.
According to church math, "Good news = Most will be lost." This is the first decree that makes the sacrifice of Christ worthless and desolate. If one part of that equation is true, the other part cannot possibly be true. 2+2 cannot ever = 5, and "most will be lost" can never = Good news, accept to the most self righteous. The "We are good they are bad" syndrome whose very foundation is that of boasting. What did Paul say about boasting? That no one will, and that every knee will bow.
The second church doctrine that destroys the sacrifice of Christ and makes it utterly worthless is found in the following false math equation. "Mercy, love, and justice = Eternal suffering alive in hell."
Again, 2+2 can never equal 5. If one of the above statement in this equation is true, then the other cannot possibly be true accept to the most wicked thinker.
Can you think of a worse act of violence one could commit against his or her child than to cause them to suffer for eternity? No tyrant in the history of kingdoms has ever achieved this violence the church decrees upon it's fellow man, yet they attach this horrible act of violence to a merciful God's character.
Jesus said Daniel spoke of this abomination yet no one can tell you what it is. That's because it exposes the church and when people "see it" they will flee from Judea (Judas). Where is the doctrine that makes the sacrifice of Christ worthless found? In a false image erected by Nebuchadnezzar. Remember? Revelation says the woman (harlot church) would ride the dragon and was called MYSTERY "BABYLON" - The doctrine of eternal suffering alive in hell was prophesied in the book of Daniel in chapter 3:1-6...Notice Nebuchadnezzar erected this false image of God AFTER he was converted to Daniel's God. Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream in the previous chapters and the king praised the true God. This hints that the believers will be deceived as to what the true image of God is.
Good news cannot = Most will be lost nor can Mercy love and justice = Eternal suffering alive in hell. The abomination that makes the sacrifice of Christ desolate and worthless is now seen.
In essence, what the church is telling us when they say most will not make it, is that what Adam did in the garden is far more powerful than what Jesus did at the cross. And in the very same breath they will label this belief "faith." If most will be lost, show me where the faith is. For themselves only, hogging the talent that was given to them and totally forsaking the huge lesson of true faith found in the story of the Centurion in Matthew 8.
The Centurion used his faith to benefit someone else. The centurion was of course a heathen in the eyes of the church of the day right? Yet Jesus freaked out when He observed this giant of faith.
The root and foundation of the "Most will be lost" doctrine is boasting. "We are good they are bad." The epitome of self righteousness which not only leads to murder, it leads to worse than murder in casting fellow brothers and sisters in Adam into eternal suffering. Murder would be merciful compared to this false decree of Nebuchadnezzar.
The true gospel:
1 Corinthians 15:22 - "As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive."
The question remains, will you now do what the church has taught you to do and run and gather stones to crush this bread? Tares to choke the true good news. Will you continue to ride the dragon?
Since Jesus was speaking to his disciples of an event that would be future to them and within their life time, what right do you have to pull v15 out of the context?
Matt 24.34 says all these things would happen within that generation or "this generation," the generation to whom Jesus was speaking. Did it happen has Jesus said? Or was Jesus fibbing?
1 & 2 Thessalonians was written while the Temple was standing. Paul was writing to the Christians in Thessalonia.
What sense would the passage make for the last 1940 years? If one assumes by man's standards and not the Scripture that the desolation did not take place in the 1st century, then it could never have taken place since there is no temple. Plus, are you assuming Paul was speaking to the Thessalonians of his time but actually was directing his instruction to a generation 1940+ years from then?
This article is too incredible. I'll stick with the Bible.
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