What is the Sign of the End of the Age?
Anybody know?
As Jesus came to the end of his life and ministry, He was sitting with his disciples in Jerusalem as they marveled at the great buildings, and the huge stones that were used to construct the temple, when Jesus told them that a time would come when not one stone of the temple would be left on another.
The statement prompted the disciples to ask questions. And the question they asked which we are going to focus on this morning is this: And what will be the sign of the end of the age?
Jesus gave a specific answer to what the sign of the end of the age would be. However, before He got there, He mentioned many great and terrible events that would not be the sign of the end. Finally, He tells us the precise event which would ultimately be the sign of the end times, that the end of the world has come upon us.
Can anyone tell me what that definitive sign was?
Yes, it’s the Abomination of Desolation. Look for a moment at Matthew 24:15. There Jesus said in answer to his disciples question about what the sign of the end of the age would be: Let’s start in verse 14: “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole [a]world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Notice here, that he’s telling us that the end will have come next. And the sign of the end is what He mentions in verse 15: “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. 18 Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 22 Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.”
Now notice that Jesus points us to the Book of Daniel here to help us understand what the Abomination of Desolation is. And more than that, the Apostle Matthew, as he writes this, encourages us, I believe, to go there, to the Book of Daniel, to understand what Jesus is talking about. And this morning we are there. We are in the first passage in the Book of Daniel which speaks of the Abomination of Desolation, in Daniel 11:21-45. And it not only explains to us what the Abomination of Desolation will be, but it explains to us the whole series of events and the major personality who will be involved in erecting it in the temple—both through a description of the Old Testament Antichrist, and the New Testament Antichrist.
So turn with me this morning to Daniel 11 to find out with me what the Abomination of Desolation is, and how it will be central in determining, first, that the end of the world, the end of this age has come upon us, 2.) who the Antichrist is and 3.) and what to do when we realize the Apocalypse, all the horrors of the Great Tribulation have come upon us.
If you’ve been with us you know that Daniel, the great prophet, has been in the midst of 21 days of a modified fast and he’s been praying all this time for the welfare of his people Israel in the future. A very strong angel, perhaps an archangel, has come to him in 536 B.C., as the Jews have just been permitted to return from 70 years captivity in Babylon to the Promised Land, to reveal the difficult history ahead for Daniel’s people Israel. And he reveals in remarkable detail that history going forward for about 350 years, and then at the end of chapter 11, skips ahead to the end-time Tribulation period and the time of the Antichrist.
He’s given a series of remarkably detailed prophecies concerning Israel’s history once it has returned to the Promised Land so far, especially as it will be affected by the Kings of the North and the Kings of the South—that is two prongs of the kingdom of Alexander the Great which had been divided among his four generals. One of his generals, Ptolemy, had become the King of Egypt, the King to the south of Israel. Another of Alexander’s generals, Seleucis, had become the King of the North, headquartered in Syria. And these kings, and their royal descendants would control the destiny of Israel for most of the next 350 years as they warred against one another and ran over Israel in the process of invading each other’s land.
Finally, in verse 21, we encounter a King of the North whose character and exploits are described in great detail, much greater detail than any of the kings who preceded him. And we might wonder why. The reason, I’m convinced, is that he is the type, or foreshadowing, of the New Testament Antichrist. Both his character, his career, and specifically what he did to Israel and its temple are remarkably parallel to the character, career and relationships of the New Testament Antichrist in the end times. From this prophecy about Antiochus IV Epiphanes, King of Syria, and its fulfillment in history, we can learn much about the character, career and relationship of the Antichrist to Israel, its temple, its God and the world in the end times. And it so happens that God intends this to be so, because in this prophecy, God lays out for us important details of the life and times of Antiochus Epiphanes IV side-by-side with the life and character and exploits of the Antichrist of the New Testament very deliberately, so we can see the parallels, and understand from history, a pattern of behavior that will be that of Antichrist of the New Testament and the End times.
So in verses 21-35, we have the career of the Antichrist of the Old Testament, Antiochus Epiphanes the IV. And then in verses 36-45, we have predictions of the Antichrist of the New Testament which so happen to parallel many of the characteristics of Old Testament Antichrist.
With regard to the Abomination of Desolation, that will be the sign of the Antichrist and the end of the age—we’re to know that that abomination will be like the abomination erected by Antiochus Epiphanes. Know that the Abomination of Desolation that marks the end of the age will be parallel, very similar, to the Abomination of Desolation erected by Antiochus Epiphanes, the King of the North described in verses 21-35.
Now since we have read the passage, in the interest of brevity, I’m going to mention the specific characteristics of Antiochus Epiphanes that will be parallel to that of the Antichrist.
First, according to verse 21, he will be “a despicable person.” Now given the company he keeps in this chapter, the various kings of the north and the south in verses 4-21, kings responsible for all kinds of treachery, wars, and tens if not hundreds of thousands of deaths in warfare, to say he’s despicable must mean that among men who are despicable, he really takes the cake. Of course, Antichrist will not merely be despicable, but he will nearly be the devil incarnate, empowered by Satan Himself, in his many murderous schemes and the wars he inspires.
Second, Antiochus, the predicted King of the North, will arise as King not because he inherits the throne. He’s not in the line of succession. Rather, he seizes the kingdom by intrigue. That’s what happened with Antiochus. He was not the successor to the former King of the North, but by manipulation and deception, he comes into power when the throne was not his for the taking in about 175 B.C. It’s likely that this will be true of the Antichrist as well, as we have already seen in Daniel that he’s a little horn that comes up in the midst of 10 horns, or kings, of the Roman Empire, and he unseats three of those kings
Third, he immediately experiences success in warfare. Verse 22, “Overflowing forces will be flooded away before him and shattered, and also the prince of the covenant.” Most commentators believe that this “Prince of the Covenant” was the Jewish High Priest Onias III who was murdered as Antiochus comes into power. The Antichrist’s reign will be characterized by warfare—as we shall soon see, and it is by his worship of overwhelming military power that he conquers much of the world.
Verse 23 tells of an alliance that is made with him, speaking of it in a passive sense. This is possibly the covenant or agreement made between the apostate Jews and Antiochus for the purpose of secularizing, or Hellenizing, Israel. This actually happened. Apostate Jews welcomed Antiochus’ efforts to eliminate the worship of the one true God and all the typically Jewish aspects of life—sacrifices, offerings, temple worship, the Torah, and circumcision. In the same way, from Daniel 9:27, it’s clear that the Antichrist will make a covenant with the many, in Israel, for one week, or for one seven-year period. Just as Antiochus practiced deception after making the alliance, the covenant the Antichrist makes with Israel he will break in the middle of the week or after 3 ½ years, ending temple worship of God altogether and taking his seat in the temple as God.
Verse 24 tells us this King of the North, Antiochus, will enter the richest parts of the realm and will accomplish what this fathers never did, nor his ancestors,; he will distribute plunder, booty and possessions among them, and he will devise his schemes against strongholds, but only for a time. Antiochus, like many previous kings of the north, invaded the realm of the King of the South in 170 B.C. and had greater success in his war with the King of the South than any other King of the North, winning a great victory, and bringing back with him much plunder for Egypt. But his period of winning battles will be limited. And they were. He will distribute his plunder to his friends, those who support him, richly rewarding them for his support. The Antichrist, according to Daniel 11, will also invade the holy land and Egypt at the end of the age, defeating both the Kings of the North and the South in his time, plundering great riches and will distribute the riches and the land for a price, to those who support him in the end times.
Verses 25 and 26 were fulfilled, as they speak of the fact that the King of the South who loses the war with Antiochus is betrayed by people who eat at his own table—a fact. The sons of the King of the South betrayed him, and as a result Antiochus was hugely successful.
Moving on to verse 28, “Then he, Antiochus, will return to his land with much plunder, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant, and he will take action, and then return to his own land. This was the beginning of his desecrations of the temple. He plundered the temple on his way home and carried the spoils off to Antioch in Syria.
But it was after a second invasion of Egypt in 168 B.C. that was unsuccessful—when the Romans were called in by the King of the South to resist him, that he really took out his frustrations on the Jews and the Temple. It was then that he set up the Old testament Abomination of Desolation. Verses 29-33: “At the appointed time he will return and come into the South, but this last time it will not turn out the way it did before. For ships of Kittim (Crete, apparently representing the Romans coming from across the Mediterranean) will come against him; he will be disheartened and will return and become enraged at the holy covenant and take action; so he will come back and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. Forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation.”
This forms a pattern that the Antichrist himself will follow at the end of the age. What actually happened is Antiochus returned to Egypt hoping to take it entirely, only to encounter a Roman army which forced him to turn away without a fight. As he returned through Israel, he discovered that Jews were rejoicing at his rumored death in battle and became enraged against them. He decided he would use Israel as a buffer state against Egypt, the King of the South, and attempt to unite his kingdom in Israel by thoroughly Hellenizing it—that is eliminating the worship of Jehovah and instituting the worship of Zeus, whom he fashioned himself to be. He slaughtered or enslaved 80,000 Jews, sacrificed a pig on the altar in the temple, and required the Jews to do so monthly, a thoroughly unclean practice and an abomination in accord with the Law. He also outlawed the Law and the Torah, destroying copies of it and executing anyone who possessed a copy, eliminated Sabbath-day worship and rest, and circumcision and put a stop to sacrifice and offering in the temple. Then, he had an image of Zeus, an idol, designed with his own features or likeness, placed in the Temple to convert Israel to worship of the Greek God, whom he fashioned himself to be. This idol in the holy of holies, representing Zeus and Antiochus Epiphanes himself, was the Abomination of Desolation—an abomination or insult to the one true God that rendered the temple unclean, idolatrous and resulted in the desolation of its holy purposes. These practices continued for 3 years, or six years, depending on your interpretation of Daniel 8:14 2300 evenings and mornings—the period predicted during which this abomination would remain in the temple.
And so now we have the exact historical picture of what the Abomination of Desolation first was—an idol of a foreign God, even a foreign ruler, in the holy of holies which required the worship of the Jews. This is precisely what will take place under the Antichrist according to II Thessalonians 2:4: “who opposes and exalts himself above ]every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.” From the Book of Revelation we learn that this image will actually be erected by the false prophet, the religious proponent of Antichrist worship, who will cause fire to come down from heaven, will be empowered by Satan to make the image actually speak, and will ultimately require everyone to take the mark of the Beast, the Antichrist, to buy or sell, on penalty of death. This will be so great a deception that the entire world will ultimately worship the Antichrist, who is said to have recovered from a fatal wound in Revelation 13.
The result of Antiochus’ actions in Israel is that the godly Jews rebel. Verse 32: “By smooth words he, Antiochus, will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant—the covenant being the Mosaic or Old Covenant. Many Jews will go along with Antiochus’ treachery. But “the people who know their God will display strength and take action. Those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many; yet they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for many days. Now when they fall, they will be granted a little help, and many will join them in hypocrisy. Some of those who have insight will fall, in order to refine, purge, and make them pure until the end time, because it is still to come at the appointed time.”
This is a reference to the Maccabean Revolt among the Jews that resulted. Mattathias, a priest in the town of Modein, refused to bow to representatives of Antiochus. He and his four sons killed them, fled to the mountains, and mounted the Maccabean Revolt which after some years, and great suffering for godly Jews, defeated the Syrian armies, and restored worship of Jehovah in 164 B.C., a fact now celebrated by Hanukkah, at just this time of year. But, in accord with what will happen at the end time, many of the godly will die in the persecutions they must endure, and God uses all these things to purify and refine the righteous.
So, the foreshadowing doesn’t paint a pretty picture of what will happen in the end times.
The point is that Antiochus and his Abomination of Desolation, and all he does against the sacred covenant in Israel are nearly an exact pattern that the Antichrist himself will follow.
Now we are introduced to another King, without much warning. The warning we get is in verse 35 with the phrase “until the end time.” Verse 40 confirms that this king that is now being spoken of lives “at the end time” Though this new king in verse 36 follows many of the patterns established by Antiochus, it becomes clear that he cannot be Antiochus for three reasons. First, he lives at the end of time, as we’ve said. And second, instead of being the King of the North, he fights against the Kings of the North and the South in the end times. Thirdly, he exalts and magnifies himself above every god, rather than identifying himself with the god that he worshiped, namely Zeus for Antiochus. So between verses 35 and 36, thousands of years have intervened, and we now zoom ahead and zoom into the final world war, and the personality of the King who will do as he pleases, without anyone to prevent him from doing so, the Antichrist, known also as the Beast of Revelation.
And what I suggest happens here is that the end times’ desecration of the temple, the Abomination of Desolation, will come when the Antichrist invades Israel and Egypt in his final campaign before Armageddon.
At first, of course, the Antichrist prospers in war. Verse 36, tells us as much: “And he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done.” Again, we must ask what the indignation is. “The indignation” has been spoken of previously—it’s God’s indignation against Israel for its violation of His covenant with the nation. In other words, none of this hell would have happened had Israel kept the covenant made at Sinai, and what has happened and will happen are a result of the curses promised for disobedience in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28-30. They have all been “decreed’ by God as verse 36 indicates.
Now verses 37 through 39 tells us a few important tidbits about the Antichrist. He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers—perhaps he is an apostate Christian. Some think this makes him a Jew, but Daniel 9:27 clearly makes him a Roman. He shows no regard for any god—of course he regards himself to be god, so that makes sense. If he worships anything, verse 38 tells us it’s a god of fortresses—probably his worship of military might. And verse 39 tells us he takes action against the strongest of fortresses—he goes to war against anybody and everybody—and prevails by the help of a foreign god—most suspect this is a reference to Satan himself, the dragon of Revelation 13 who gives his power to the Beast. And verse 39 tells us he will distribute plunder, just as Antiochus did, to those who support him.
Then verses 40-45 tells us of the final campaign—his invasion of Israel and Egypt at the time of the end. The King of the North—now perhaps the far north—comes against him, and the King of the South, also comes against him. And so he moves his forces into Syria, Israel and Egypt to go to war against them. It’s a massive invasion of the holy land and Africa. He will also invade other nations on the way, as verse 42 indicates, and as Antiochus did, he will gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver belonging to Egypt, and he will also gain control over the northern African nations, and possibly their Arab allies.
After his victory in Egypt, he will hear rumors from the East and the North that will disturb him. My guess is that we may have a Russian invasion from the north, and the statements in Revelation about a 200-million-man army coming from the east, possibly China, are included here. He has likely already placed the Abomination that causes Desolation in the Temple in Jerusalem by this point, and since he is under Satan’s control, and Satan desires to establish his man as the Christ on the holy mountain of God, Mount Zion, in Jerusalem. Having heard these rumors, he pitches the tents of his royal Pavilion, according to verse 45, between the seas at the beautiful Holy Mountain; yet he will come to his end and no one will help him.
The seas spoken of here are probably the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The Beautiful holy mountain is Mount Zion, Jerusalem, where the temple is located which he has defiled by the Abomination that Causes Desolation, and it’s there that the stage is set for the Battle of Armageddon. Forces from the north are swooping down and forces from the far east, China, are swooping across the face of the earth to do battle with the Antichrist in the Holy Land, a battle which Jesus said in Matthew 24 would result in the obliteration of all flesh on the face of earth if it were not interrupted. And how is it interrupted? How does the battle end? The Lord of glory descends from heaven as the battle reaches its peak, and the guns of the nations rather than turning on each other, turn against Him, and He slays the Antichrist with the sword of His mouth, (“he will come to his end and no one will help him”) and Jesus will set foot on the Mount of Olives and establish His rule in Jerusalem as the King over the earth.
Watch out. It’s going to get ugly. We wonder if the time of the end has come upon us in this very difficult year of 2020. Plagues and riots, and fires and hurricanes. Has the end come? We will only know for sure when the Abomination of Desolation stands in the most holy place, a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem. And what this chapter tells us is not to put our hope in this wicked world, because this world is coming to an end. Rather seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, because Christ’s kingdom will alone prevail.
Let’s pray.
