THE ABOMINATION THAT MAKES DESOLATE
A Bible Study Series on Prophecy: What do we now know?
By Walter Thomas
This is one in a series of Bible prophecy studies on matters for which we now have considerable certainty. Many prophetic events have already occurred, giving us reference points to connect dots that were here-to-for speculatory, mysterious and unknown.
The very phrase “abomination that causes desolation” sounds mysterious to most readers of the Bible, even causing dread and fear in some. The phrase is mentioned six times in Scripture, 3 by the prophet Daniel and in Mathew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, the latter three likely being the same instance reported by three different disciple witnesses listening to Jesus explain the signs of the “end of times”.
There have been many speculations and theories propagated through the centuries since the time of Christ trying to explain and interpret these prophetic references to abomination and desolation. Many of them ignore the obvious self-explanations of Scripture and some were mysteries until certain recent events have occurred, that made understanding more possible. Most of the “dispensational” explanations lack Biblical basis and are more speculation than scriptural, while not being supported by history at all.
Serious study of these six scriptures in the gospels and the book of Daniel, along with some in Revelation, allows us to connect some dots that give insight into a number of questions we will raise in this teaching, questions having to do with who, what, when, why and where?
I’ve referred to the study of Biblical prophecy like trying to put together a very large picture puzzle, but you can’t see the picture which is up-side down! So you try to put shapes and pieces together until something fits, and eventually a picture and pattern emerge.
The key reference to the abomination/desolation concept is provided by Jesus in a private conversation with His disciples, when they asked Him questions about when will the end-times be? Mathew 24 is probably the best and longest starting point for our study, which occurs in what is known as the Olivet Discourse, occurring just a few hundred yards east of the temple mount on the outskirts of Jerusalem, which is so easily seen from that elevated point on the mount of Olives. It occurs in the last week prior to the crucifixion of Jesus when His earthly ministry was coming to a close. They had just walked east out of the temple courts and Jesus said (referring to the Temple and Temple Mount) that not one of these stones will be left standing someday. The disciples then asked Him three things: (vs. 3) “Tell us when this will happen, what will be the sign of your coming, and what will be the sign of the end of the age?” Jesus likened the signs to reading the weather signs in the sky and studying the life-cycle of a fig tree, as illustrations of “signs” we understand already. In other words, if a person can look at rain clouds in the sky and know it is going to rain, so one can look at these listed signs and make warranted conclusions. Jesus gave his listeners 25 signs to look for in Matthew 24, to know when these things will be. This abomination/desolation phrase, is sign # 17 and occurs in Matt. 24:15-16,
“And when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel---then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”
The Gospels of Mark (13:14) and Luke (21:20) record the same teaching, but with a slight variation to be discussed below.
1. WHAT DOES THE PHRASE MEAN? The two words, abomination and desolation, become a good starting point in determining the phrase’s meaning. The Hebrew definition of abomination is shiqquwts {shik-koots’} or shiqquts {shik-koots’} means something that is very detestable or damnable, such as detestable things, abominable filth, abominable idols, or abominable sexual behavior. Abominable objects (detestable things) and behavior would desecrate the Holy Temple and many examples are given in the Torah. Something that was consecrated or sanctified wholly and holy to God would be the opposite of that which is abominable or detestable. Therefore, we can conclude that an “abomination” would be completely abhorrent and repulsive to a Holy God. The word “desolation” or “desolate” comes from the Hebrew word shamem {shaw-mame’}, to lay waste and barren in such a manner as to be stunning and astonishing. A desolate place would be forsaken, abandoned, barren, scarred, defoliated, wasted and un-useful. Therefore, the abomination that makes desolate is something that is totally detestable to God and God’s people, and which is a terribly devastating event that lays everything and everyone waste.
2. WHERE IS IT? This is one of the more easy questions to answer since we are told in Matt. 24 that it will occur in the “holy place”, which is the temple mount that Jesus and the disciples were looking at—and Jesus was probably pointing to it as he spoke. The holy of holies in the Temple, the Temple Mount, and the city of Jerusalem (the Holy City) are inclusive in the term “holy place”. There is no other such designation in Scripture. Mark (13:14) gives further location fact by saying it will be “in a place where it does not belong.” In the Torah, things that belong there are holy, consecrated and dedicated things; while things that do not belong are called detestable and abominable. So connecting this location dot is rather simple: it is in Jerusalem, on the temple mount and particularly in the temple itself. A third gospel reference is made in Luke 21:20 to the same event (“it”), when Jesus says, “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.” So now we know the location is Jerusalem which is facing desolation.
3. WHAT IS IT? We know from these three gospel references the “abomination that causes desolation” is an “it” and not a person, meaning it is an event that occurs on the Temple Mount. We also know from section #1 above, that it is something that is totally detestable to God and God’s people, and which is a terribly devastating event that lays everything and everyone waste. We know that it is not only an event; for we know that it is a terrible army and we know that “it” will be located (the Temple Mount) in a place that is a holy place. We know from Luke 21:20 that it is a dreaded army surrounding Jerusalem that will lay the city desolate. Jesus says the event will be the worse time that has/will ever happen in Jerusalem. There are two future events, following the time of Jesus that might qualify from what we know of armies, invasions and destruction of Jerusalem and Palestine; one in the first century and one in the sixth century. We will discuss these in a another section below.
4. WHEN IS IT? We find two time pins that God has put on the 2,500 year calendar of prophecy, from which we can accurately calculate the actual timing of the Abomination that causes Desolation. One reference point is in the Book of Revelation and the other is in the Book of Daniel. From that we can deduce accurately more about the “what” and “when” is the Abomination that causes Desolation.
We begin by looking at the three references from the prophet Daniel, who along with 4,600 of his Jewish compatriots (Jer. 52:29-30) were taken into captivity to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar for 70 years, in 606-536 BC. Fortunately these dates are well documented as part of the historical record of at least three nations. Daniel many times tells us the dates (in terms of the year-of-reign of the two kings of Babylon and two kings of Persia (think Iraq and Iran), so we can pinpoint the specific year of specific prophecies that he gives us.
Reference 1: Daniel 9:27 – “…And one who causes desolation will place abominations on a wing of the temple until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” We see from this reference that the abomination that causes desolation will be something placed on the temple mount and will have a specific starting point and will continue for an unspecified and long period of time. We know this will occur after the Anointed One will be cut-off (Christ crucified). We know this abominable desolation will be at the hand of “the people of the Ruler” (vs.26) (led by a “him”) and that they will destroy the city and the sanctuary. It will come like a flood over Jerusalem and surrounding area and will continue until the end of the age and until the decreed desolations have occurred, hundreds of years.
Reference 2: Daniel 11:31 – “His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the Abomination that causes Desolation.” We see corroborating evidence to what Jesus describes in Luke 21:20, that armed forces will surround the temple mount (the wall and fortress around the temple), they will stop temple practice and worship, and they will desecrate the very spot within the temple mount—which Jesus later calls desecration of the “holy place” and by people and by “something” that does not belong there!
Reference 3: Daniel 12:11 – “From the time of the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.” We know that the armies of Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and the temple at the time of taking the Jews captive. But we also know that daily sacrifices were continued for some months and were offered on the destroyed temple mount by a remnant of Jews and priests left in the desolated land of Israel. Conservative dating places the destruction of the Temple of Solomon at 586 BC. However, Jeremiah 41:5 shows Levitical sacrifices continuing to be offered long after that date: “That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the Lord.” Jer. 41:5 is positioned at the end of the governorship of Gedeliah, and Gedeliah was elevated to that post after Nebuchadnezzar sacked Jerusalem in 586 BC. The sacrifices above were offered seven to ten months later. Jer. 52:30 says, “In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuizaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty-five persons...” Nebuchadnezzar’s first year of captivity was 606-605 BC, and this final captivity took place in the 23rd year of Nebuchadnezzar, so we have scriptural support that 583 BC was the date of the abolition of Levitical sacrifices (606 – 23 = 583 BC).
Suppose we consider “days to be years” in Biblical prophecy (See Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:5-6), which is a concept that Biblical scholars have held for 450 years, although neglected until very recently. This would mean Daniel is saying 1,290 Hebrew years (which are lunar years of only 360 days) from 583 BC, which is the probable time of daily sacrifices finally ceased in Jerusalem. We could then, theoretically, count forward 1,290 Hebrew years and discover the time for the beginning of the Abomination that causes Desolation.
However, after the time of Christ, calendars were Roman and were in Solar years rather than Lunar years. A solar year is 365.24 days verses 360 days in a lunar year. Daniel was prophesying in lunar years of 360, but we are calculating in Gregorian years of 365.24 days. We must to a conversion factor to accurately project 1290 years into the future for our calendar pin to be established. Using the algorithm .9857, we can convert 1290 solar years to Gregorian years by multiplying 1290 by .9857 which = 1271.5 solar years. 127l.5 years from 583 BC is 688 AD, which is when the Dome of the Rock Mosque, the second most holy site in Islam, was begun being built on the north part of the desolated Temple Mount after the armies of Islam surrounded Jerusalem, destroyed Christians and Jews living there an driving all Christians and Jews out of Palestine into the Great Diaspora. A mosque to Allah and the False Prophet Mohammed would certainly qualify as an ABOMINATION THAT CAUSES DESOLATON. The abomination and the desolation are continuing to this very day! (See Figure 1 on next page)
Islam, under its ruler and false prophet, Mohammed, plundered, desolated and desecrated Israel, Jerusalem and the Holy Place. They offered pigs on the temple mount then built an Islamic mosque on this spot. Islam is the religion and the people of the Antichrist and Mohammed is the False Prophet of prophecy. Islamic governance of Israel generally continued over Jerusalem (including the Ottoman Empire in 1917) and Palestinians for another 1,260 years after 688AD, which is 1948. This date is back-dated from the 1260 day/years in Revelation 11:3, which amazingly takes us back to 687-688 AD again!!
We now know that 1948 and 1967 are prophetic pins on God’s prophetic calendar that fulfill numerous prophecies in the 800 years before the birth of Jesus. These two days from which we can subtract 42 months (1271 day/years) and 1260 day years and discover they land on Daniels forecast date of 605-606 AD. This is beyond coincidence in
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FIGURE 1
THE ABOMINATION THAT CAUSES DESOLATION
(Counting forward from Daniel)
Dan 12:11 (KJV) “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken
away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a
thousand two hundred and ninety days.”
Solomonic Temple Dome of the Rock
DailySacrifices Ended Built
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(1290 Hebrew day-years X .9857* = 1271.5 Solar Gregorian years)
583 BC 688 AD
*Where .9857 is the algorithm for converting lunar years to solar years.
Daniel considered a year to be a Hebrew year (lunar year) of 360 days. Our solar year (Gregorian) has 365.24 days, so a conversion must be made to correctly interpret Daniel’s “day-years”.
(Counting backward from Revelation 11)
Rev. 11: 2- “They (Gentiles) will trample on the holy city for 42 months. And I will give power to my two witnesses (church and remnant Israel) and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth...” (Parenthesis mine)
(1260 day-years)
687-688 AD 1967 AD
Dome of the Rock Jews take back Jerusalem
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date calculation and date setting! There are many more amazing calculations we will identify and explain in other studies to come.
We now know that 1948 is the first time in 2,554 years that the Jews once again controlled Palestine/Israel, since 606-605 BC. Jerusalem, itself, was taken back under Jewish control in 1967 (6 day war), and was 2,573 years since the Jews lost control of Jerusalem in 606-605 BC! Daniel referred to this 2500 time period as “times-times and half-times”, or 2,500 years. Jesus prophesies in Luke 21:24, There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and will be taken prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the time of Gentiles are fulfilled.” Note: the times of the Gentiles were fulfilled in 1948 when Jews once again had a home-land after 2,500 years of be made desolate by Gentiles and the abomination that causes desolation is still the Dome of the Rock sitting on the temple mount. Jerusalem just came back under Jewish control after 2.5 millennia in 1967. The “end of days” mentioned by Daniel, begins in 1967. Jesus said that the generation existing after 1967 will actually see the very end events (Mat. 24:34).
The temple mount is the most highly disputed piece of real estate in the world and will be for a few more years until Christ returns the second time and restores all things, including the Temple, to Himself (Colossians 1:20 and Rev. 21:5). There will two more wars between the Islamic nations and Israel, to try and take about Israel and kill all Jews and Christians in the land. First war is known as Gog-Magog battle which will be against the Muslim nations immediately surrounding Israel, then the Battle of Armageddon (into which Christ and the saints and the angels will prevail) against the remaining 50 Islamic nations of the Middle East, Far East, Eastern Europe and Northern Africa, and their supporting nations around the world. This final army will be under the leadership of a World-wide Caliphate, who will also be the antichrist personified.
In conclusion, we know the abomination that causes desolation to Jerusalem, the temple mount and to surrounding land of Israel corresponds to the Islamic invasion and slaughter of Jewish people beginning in 603-605 BC. Jews and Christians were desolated and driven to nations all over the world for 1240 years before being brought back to the Land of Israel in a modern day miracle of God covenant promises to that effect. The war still rages today. Islam has killed more Christians and Jews over 13 centuries than all other armies and nations, genocides and holocausts combined. It is still happening every day in today’s news (ISIS, Al Qaeda, Boca Horum, etc.). There are radical Muslims today (about 15% of the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims), who live to see the day that all Christians and Jews are killed or live in taxed captivity under Islamic rule. Most of Islam intends to rule Jerusalem and the Promised Land again.
The Times of the Gentiles who trample Jerusalem is the 2573 years since Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem (taking Jews into Babylon captivity) and to the time of the 1967 six-day war and the Jewish people got back control of Jerusalem.
5. WHY IS IT? Ultimately, all of these times and events are to fulfill Biblical prophecies and to show forth God’s mighty power, purposes and glory. The captivity, desolation, times of the Gentiles, abomination and the like, are the result of the conditions built into God’s covenants with His people, who rejected His covenant and its provisions. God’s warnings for generations went basically unheeded, and God’s judgments followed His covenant conditions and promises. However, His covenant to Abraham and to his “seed”, resulted in the gathering of the diaspora Jews back to Israel and Jerusalem—again to show forth His Covenant and His glory. All of this becomes important signs and warnings to us today, and to help us to “read the signs” and to know of His immanent return as prophesied for centuries. Ultimately, these times and events become a warning to the end-time church to get their house in order.
6. WHO IS IT AND WHAT IS IT? The Abomination that Causes Desolation is militant Islam that overruns the Middle East, including Jerusalem and Israel in the sixth century until present day. It is the Islamic armies and Jihadists who are hell-bent on destroying the people of God (Jews and Christians) and establishing a world-wide Caliphate (the personification of the coming Antichrist) to rule the world. Islam is the Spirit of Antichrist prophesied throughout Scripture. Mohammed is the False Prophet of Revelation. Allah is the false God whom 1.5 billion people worship as the true god. The Dome of the Rock mosque is the “it” which is located on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and in the “holy place” where it does not belong. These Jihadist forces, are the forces of the end-time antichrist power that are mobilizing to destroy Israel and to kill all Jews and Christians. ThIs all started in the sixth century and their momentum and size is building still.
7. CONCLUSION. There is nothing in all of human history that so completely fulfills and so completely describes the “abomination that causes desolation” as does Islamic Jihad and its ubiquitous footprint on the Temple Mount, on the Middle East, and eventually on the whole world.
Fortunately, the last chapter has been written and it has been written by the Almighty God and will be demonstrably fulfilled by the Conquering Christ in the next months or years.
If we could be sitting on the same spot in East Jerusalem (and I have been on that very location) where Jesus was sitting when teaching the disciples in Matthew 24, we would be looking West from the Mount of Olives, across the Kidron Valley, about ½ mile to the Temple Mount. Today He would be pointing to the Abomination that Causes Desolation (Dome of the Rock Mosque), and about which He prophesied a little less than 2,000 years ago. It would be the pictures below:
*
WLT 5/15
Source Note: I’m deeply indebted to the prophetic scholarship and Biblical research of Ellis Skolfield, whom God has given unusual insight and blessing in decoding and unpacking so many here-to-fore mysteries of prophecy. His many cited works are contained on the website: fishhouseministries.com. His two books, Islam In The End Times (2007) and Daniel and Revelation: Teaching Outline and Study Guide (2012), are particularly useful. They are both free to download from the website above. He is hated by Islam because of His testimony of Jesus which is the spirit of prophecy (Rev.19:10b)
