You may have heard of this phrase before. Now don't go get all weirded out and confused because of all of the attention that has been paid to this phrase. It actually comes from Daniel 9.27, in which Daniel predicts that there will be some kind of terrible abomination set up in the temple, and this act or event will cause all kinds of desolation for the Jewish people.
There are two events that the Jews during the period between the Old and New Testament, said was the "abomination that causes desolation."
The first was the ransacking of Antiochus Epiphanes with his Syrian armies in 167 BC. Antiochus Epiphanes and his army entered the temple, murdered a number of worshippers, allowed his troops to fornicate in the temple, and even slaughtered a pig on the altar. You can see how the Jews would call this an "abomination".
The second event occurred in 63 BC when the Roman general Pompey ransacked the city and actually entered the Holy of Holies, in which he found it to be empty.
Yet Jesus is saying neither of these is the "abomination that causes desolation". He is saying that it is the future destruction of the temple. Let's read this passage:
15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’[a] spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 19How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. 22 If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.
26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
Jesus says simply, "when you see this abomination, flee to the hills."
Now what good would it do to flee to the hills if this passage was referring to Jesus' second coming. It seems to be referring to something that the Christians can actually flee from....the destruction of Jerusalem.
In AD 68, two years before the destruction of the temple in AD 70, Cestius Gallus, a Roman General, made it all the way into the city of Jerusalem and surrounded the temple, but then he stopped and retreated for some mysterious reason. No one knows why he didn't destroy the temple then, and he easily could have. But because of Jesus' words, the Christians were obedient and saw this as a sign to flee the city.
They left in droves.
Two years later, when Titus destroyed the temple, the majority of Christians had already fled the city and saved themselves and their families.
This "abomination" is referring to the destruction of the temple.
That is why Jesus says it will be bad for pregnant women or nursing mothers. He knows it will be hard to flee the city if you are pregnant or nursing. Also, that is why he says he hopes it's not on the Sabbath or in the winter.
He is simply saying that these will be even more difficult times to flee the city of Jerusalem.
The last thing that needs to be addressed is this verse:
21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.
Some have said that there is no way this passage refers to the destruction of the temple because of this verse right here. Was the destruction of the temple that bad that it is "unequaled from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be equaled again?"
Those who say this do not truly understand the magnitude of what happened.
Josephus described the event as follows:
- People's cries were louder than the fighting
- Jewish soldiers tormented citizens for food. Children stole food from elderly parents and mothers stole food from their infants.
- There were thousands of crucifixions
- There was famine and piles of dead bodies everywhere
- Cannibalism was rampant, even a woman eating her own baby
- Jerusalem was burned
- False Prophets said God would save them
- the fire was quenched by blood
- 1,100,000 died and 97,000 were taken captive and sold into slavery
- Every stone was torn down except for some notable towers
Yet, although this is terrible, some have pointed out that more Jews died at the hands of the Nazis than at the destruction of the temple.
They are forgetting this one HUGE detail.
At this point in history, the temple was destroyed.
This is what the Jews have been wailing about at the wailing wall for the last 2,000 years.
The temple represented God's presence here on earth. It was a sign to the Jews that they were his chosen people. When that temple was destroyed, God symbolically left his people. His presence is no longer here on earth, and they are not his chosen people.
This event, according to the Jews, was way worse than Hitler, because it was the destruction of their belief system as they knew it. EVERYTHING changed after AD 70 for a Jew.
This passage reveals to us the judgment of God on those that reject him. The Jews rejected the Messiah, Jesus, and because of this their temple was destroyed, and life as they knew it came crashing down with it.
The Judgment of God is a serious thing.
But in the midst of his Judgment, there is always a way out. For the Christians, Jesus had given them 7 signs to look for that would tip them off as to when this judgment was going to take place. They fled the city and were safe.
God always provides a way out for his people, in reference to his ultimate judgement. Our sign hung on a cross and took our place so that we can escape from God's ultimate judgment at the end of all things. There are no signs of Jesus' second coming, there is no second chance. The time to listen and repent and obey is now.
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