Introduction
Let’s begin by reviewing briefly the message from last week which covered verses 1-13. First, the goal of this series. It is not so much to convince you of one view, as it is to have a charitable attitude towards the different opinions. I want you to realize how complex this issue really is. And as I stated, if you have not done much study on the subject, you will not be able to have a firm position when these sermons are done. I cannot cover all the issues and Scripture involved to do the topic justice. What I do want to leave you with is a firm belief in Christ’s return and with a wonder and joy of that last wondrous event for which we are waiting.
The outline of the series is as follows: verses 1-13 cover the “birth pains” – the troubles and persecutions that the church will face; next, verses 14-23 present a special day of tribulation; third, verses 24-27 present Christ’s return; and finally, verses 28-37 instruct us about what we are to be doing as we wait for our Lord’s return.
I presented two end time views – postmillennialism and amillennialism, terms that define how Christians understand what the millennium stands for in Revelation 20:1-6. Postmillennialists believe there will be a long period of peace and blessing on the earth because of the gospel’s penetration into the hearts of people and into the societies throughout the world. After that millennial period Christ will return and this world’s history end. The amillennialists believe the millennium is a figure of speech for Christ reigning now in heaven. At any time he may return and the end come. This morning I will present premillennialism. Postmillennialism and amillennialism have been the prevalent views of the Christian church for most of its history, and still remains so in Reformed churches. Premillennialism, however, is not the prevalent view among evangelical Christians.
We are first going to study our text. Be alert that I will be interpreting it in the manner that a post and amillennialist would, but I will present later how most premillennialists would interpret the passage.
The Text
14 “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
What is this abomination that causes desolation? Our clue, as with so many of Jesus’ statements, lies in the Old Testament, in this case the book of Daniel. There are four passages that either use the phrase or similar language. They are 8:13-14, 9:25-27, 11:34, and 12:9-12. Teachers differ (usually according to millennial position) on how to interpret these passages.
Are all four speaking of the same event? Is the abomination that causes desolation the same each time? Is the NIV translation in Daniel 9 accurate? The NASV, which gives a closer rendering to the Hebrew, reads, “on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate.” One passage seems to speak of an object being set up in the temple; Daniel 8:13 seems to refer to acts of desecration. The NASV reads, “while the transgression causes horror.” Some apply these passages to Antiochus IV, who in 167 B.C. turned the temple into a Greek temple, offering sacrifices to Greek gods. Others apply them to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 A.D. Still others apply them to a time yet to come when a new temple will be built. Some apply different passages to different events, so that all three interpretations are used.
Interpreting the passages correctly involved interpreting the whole book of Daniel correctly. It requires understanding the context in which he wrote and then discerning how much he is applying to his times. It requires understanding his use of numbers. Some say take the numbers for what they literally are and use them to calculate dates. That approach ignores the way the Bible uses numbers. For us to make an informed decision, we need to explore the use of numbers in Scripture.
Here is another question. Can one prophecy apply to more than one historical period or event? To decide that, we need to study prophecy in general. Sooner or later, we also need to decide how to interpret the entire book of Revelation. We also need to do a thorough study of the term “kingdom of God” throughout Scripture, because how we understand that affects how we interpret end time prophecy. Do you get the idea? This is not easy stuff, and don’t let anyone fool you that it is.
Let’s get back to the text. I said that our clue to Jesus’ use of the phrase abomination of desolation (NASV) is found in Daniel. We can all agree from Daniel that whatever precisely it is, it is something really bad, so terrible that it signifies a great catastrophe of judgment.
That certainly is in Jesus’ mind, for his message is, “Get out! Run for your lives!” then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 Let no one on the roof of his house go down or enter the house to take anything out. 16 Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. Danger is imminent.
This is not your ordinary run-of-the-mill catastrophe. 17 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 18 Pray that this will not take place in winter, 19 because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again.
That is strong language! No wonder many believe that he must be talking about the end time. What catastrophe could be so terrible? 20 If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. Note here, by the way, the sovereignty of God. Jesus states that God predetermined the length of this tribulation. Who are the “elect”? They could be Christians; the word could also apply to the Jewish nation.
Even when this tribulation comes, however, still do not be deceived. 21 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect—if that were possible. 23 So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.
Do you get that message? What had the disciples asked? (W)hen will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?” We know from Matthew that they linked the destruction of the temple with the end time. So they want to know what will be the signs of the end time when the Messiah returns. Jesus responds by telling them to expect bad things ahead, but don’t be deceived that these are signs of the end time (verse 7: the end is still to come). He then warns them of a catastrophe to come that will bring the destruction he has pronounced, and then he adds even then not to think the time has come. Don’t believe it when someone says, Look, here is the Christ, which would have been natural for excited and anxious believers to do. “Be on your guard. I’ve told you these things ahead of time so you won’t make the mistake of going up on a mountain to wait my arrival.”
By now you should see how I am interpreting this great tribulation. I believe that Jesus is speaking of an event that his disciples would see take place. What is it? The destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 A.D by the Roman army.
In light of what Jesus says, consider these historical events. I am reading from William Lane. He turns to the Jewish historian Josephus who lived during this time period.
He refers to an ancient prophecy concerning the desecration of the Temple by Jewish hands (Lane’s italics) and found its fulfillment in a whole series of villainous acts committed by the Zeaolots in the Temple precincts from the period November 67 to the spring of 68.
“For there was an ancient saying of inspired men that the city would be taken and the sanctuary burned to the ground by right of war, when it should be visited by sedition and native hands should be the first to defile God’s sacred precinct. This saying the Zealots did not disbelieve; yet they lent themselves as instruments of its accomplishment “ (War IV. vi. 3).
During this period the Zealots moved into and occupied the Temple area (War IV. iii. 7), allowed persons who had committed crimes to roam about freely in the Holy of Holies (War IV. iii. 10), and perpetrated murder within the Temple itself (War IV. v. 4). These acts of sacrilege were climaxed in the winter of 67-68 by the farcical investiture of the clown Phanni as high priest (War IV. iii. 6-8). It was in response to this specific action that the retired high priest Ananus, with tears, lamented: “It would have been far better for me to have died before I had seen the house of God laden with such abominations and its unapproachable and hallowed places crowded with the feet of murderers” (War IV. iii. 10).
Soon after such abominations the desolation of the Temple occurred at the hands of both the Roman military and the Jewish Zealots. At this point I had planned to quote more selections from Josephus who was an eyewitness to the besieging of Jerusalem. The account of the fighting, the starvation, and the desperate cruel behavior taking place within the city and the temple mount are too terrible for me to read in a public setting. More than a million died in all the horrible ways that death can come.
I’ve thought that Jesus is speaking in hyperbole by his statement that those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again. Hyperbole is a common Jewish rabbinical technique, and Jesus does it elsewhere. But after reading Josephus, I’m not so sure. 17 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! I cannot repeat the tale of one case of a mother and baby. How bad was this destruction? Take Jesus at his word.
Of course, other Christian teachers would contest my interpretation of this text. Indeed, they would contend that this text proves that the nation of Israel would be re-established and the Temple rebuilt because Jesus is teaching about the end times. As Hal Lindsey explains:
Obstacle or no obstacle, it is certain that the Temple will be rebuilt. Prophecy demands it.
Jesus Christ predicted an event which would trigger a time of unparalleled catastrophe for the Jewish nation shortly before His second coming. This “abomination of desolation” or desecration of the inner sanctum of the Temple would occur at the midway point of God’s last seven years of dealing with the Jewish people before setting up the long-awaited Kingdom of God (Daniel 9:27).
Premillennialism
I promised to discuss premillennialism. This is the view that Jesus Christ will return and set up a kingdom on earth that will last for 1,000 years. After that time the end will come. One might say, that for a premillennialist, the end times are not about the end time, otherwise known as the Day of Judgment. Christ’s return does not end human history on earth. It goes on for another 1,000 years while he physically reigns on earth.
As I stated last Sunday, this was the prevalent view of the early church up until the 4th century. It is not until the 20th century that it moves back into the forefront of the Christian church. What has brought it back to prominence?
Primarily it is due to the rise of the Christian movement called dispensationalism. There’s another long word! This movement began in the mid-1800s under the teaching of John Nelson Darby of the Plymouth Brethren Church. At the heart of dispensationalist teaching is the distinction made between the nation of Israel and the church. The two have virtually no connection with one another. The church is not the new Israel; indeed, the OT prophecies have nothing to do with the church. Jesus came to establish the kingdom of God to Israel. The Jews rejected him. Therefore, he postponed the kingdom until the millennial period to come, and established the church instead. This may have been planned by God all along, but the age of the church should be considered more of a separate story of God’s redemption rather than one that encompasses the story of the OT.
Whether this view is right or wrong, it is a new theology. Until the 1800s this has never been the teaching of the church, at least as presented by the dispensationalists. It opposes the teachings of the Reformation tradition that teach that the church is the new Israel which includes both Jews and Gentiles.
So why go into this? It is the dispensational form of premillennialism that has become for the majority of American evangelicals the truly biblical teaching about the end time. Have you heard of the Scofield Bible? This most famous of all study Bibles was published to spread the teachings of dispensationalism. Do you know of any Bible colleges? The great majority were founded to teach dispensational theology. Some of the most popular Christian teachers in the last 100 years have been dispensationlists – G. Campbell Morgan, Harry Ironsides, Donald Grey Barnhouse, and Chuck Swindol. The two most famous names today connected with end time prophecy are Hal Lindsey (The Late Great Planet Earth) and Tim LaHaye (Left Behind series). According to one book cover, this series of books that present a dispensational premillennial view of the end times “comprise the fastest-selling fiction series ever.” The result is that most people – whether in or out of the church – equate premillennialism with the beliefs of all Bible believing Christians.
It is easy to see why this view of the end time would be so popular. I’ve heard Christian programs that do nothing but present how end time prophecy is being fulfilled today. As one of my books says on the outside cover, “Get ready to be startled by news reports from around the world.” It is a lot more exciting to be told that prophecy of the end time is unfolding before our very eyes, than to hear an amillennialist reply, “Maybe, maybe not.” How would you write a thriller based on amillennialism? The Rapture is the end for an amillennialist. Left Behind would have ended at page 14.
That’s another matter – the Rapture. The dispensational premillennialist believes that Christians will be raptured – taken into heaven – before a seven year period of tribulation. Thus, such a person is a pretribulational premillennialist. The early church believers were post-tribulational premillennialists. The pretrib person believes the church will escape the great tribulation; the post-trib person believes the church will face the tribulation. I was speaking with one friend and discovered he was a midtribulationist!
You can, by the way, hold to premillennialism without being a dispensationalist. James Boice was premill, at least earlier in his ministry. It is a minority view among Reformed teachers, but nevertheless respected Bible scholars advocate it.
Conclusion
You are very likely saying to yourself, “The preacher has gotten me more confused than ever.” That is sort of what I am trying to do. I want you, when you read the Left Behind series, to read it for an interesting story that does a good job of presenting the gospel and one view of what the end times might be like, but nothing more. Do not read it for instruction as to what the Bible really teaches.
I want you to realize that all of those books you find in bookstores that are going to reveal how Bible prophecy is coming true today are but one opinion which most evangelical scholars would disclaim, especially Reformed teachers. Where then are the books that present the other views? They can’t sell for two reasons. How can a book that tells people not to make too much of today’s events compete with a book that says everyday more prophecies are being fulfilled? The other reason is what makes a sermon like this so challenging. Those books you will find in the bookstalls present their viewpoint as though it is the only view that Bible believing Christians hold. They do not even make you aware that Christian scholars hold different views. A serious book will compare its view with the others. But to do that makes the book (like this sermon) hard to follow. I cannot even think of a book to recommend to you unless you intend to labor over it and the Scriptures.
But here is what matters, and here is what postmills and amills and premills and dispenpremills and midtrib-premills can all agree on. Don’t forget the blessed hope of all Christians: our Lord Jesus shall return. Don’t be fooled by false Christs and don’t be discouraged by what seems to be a long time.
8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Jesus is not waiting for everyone to get their eschatology straight; he’s waiting for them to get the gospel straight. Believe all you want that the Temple will be rebuilt or in a world economy or whatever is necessary for Christ’s return. But if you have not repented of your sins and turned to Christ in faith for your salvation, Christ’s return is your doom, not your blessed hope. Make him your hope.
