Signs of Christ's Return

The Abomination of Desolation
by
John MacArthur
All Rights Reserved

(A copy of this message on cassette tape may be obtained by calling 1-800-55-GRACE)
Matthew 24:15    Tape GC 2369

Introduction

People in our world are always wishing for a better day, for a time when the problems that plague human society will be alleviated. However, the message of Scripture is that before there is a better time, there is going to be an infinitely worse time. Our Lord describes that time in Matthew 24:21: "Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no nor ever shall be."

Our Lord was not the first to speak of this coming time of trouble (known as the tribulation). It will involve the whole world, but will be especially significant for Israel.

A. Isaiah on the Tribulation

In chapter 10 Isaiah looks forward to the day of the Lord. That will be a time of great judgment, a time when the Kingdom of Messiah will be established, and Israel will be saved. Man's work on earth will be done and God will take over. Isaiah says, in verses 20-23 "It shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again lean upon him who smote them, but shall lean upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. For though thy people, Israel, be like the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return; the full end decreed shall overflow with righteousness. For the Lord God of hosts shall make a full end."

There is coming a time of great stress for Israel, yet a remnant will escape and learn never again to rely on anyone other than the Lord. However before their salvation, the people of Israel will lean on someone who offers himself for support, but then afflicts them.

B. Jeremiah on the Tribulation

Jeremiah 30:5-6 says, "Thus saith the Lord, We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? Why do I see every man with his hands on his loins, like a woman in travail [birth pain], and all faces are turned into paleness?" When Jeremiah looked into the distant future, he didn't see peace: he saw trembling and fear. The most excruciating human pain, that of giving birth to a child without an anesthetic (as women did in that time), symbolizes the pain of society in the future. Jeremiah saw the world and Israel in particular in great pain.

Jeremiah goes on to say in verses 7-9, "Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it; it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more enslave them, but they shall serve the Lord, their God, and David [the Messiah, David's descendant], their king, whom I will raise up unto them." Jeremiah described a day like no other day--a day of great judgment and distress, the time of Jacob's trouble. Out of it is going to come salvation, and the raising up of the Messiah and His Kingdom.

C. Daniel on the Tribulation

In Daniel 12:1 we read, "At that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people [the angelic protector of Israel], and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book."

D. Zechariah on the Tribulation

Zechariah 13:8--14:2 says, "It shall come to pass that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts in it shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left in it. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will test them as gold is tested; they shall call on my name, and I will hear them. I will say, It is my people; and they shall say, The Lord is my God. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city." Two out of three in the land of Israel will die. The third will come to the awareness that the Lord is God.

That is a prophetic picture of the time just before the second coming of Christ. It is described in the Olivet Discourse by our Lord, and in the Old Testament by the prophets. A time of great distress will be followed by the purging and salvation of Israel, and the coming of Messiah to establish His glorious eternal Kingdom. It should be noted that the rapture of the church is not mentioned in Matthew 24 or 25. The nation of Israel, not the church, is in view here. The rapture of the church is discussed later, in the epistles.

Review

Our Lord had just described the general conditions that will be in effect at the time of His return. However He knew that was not what the disciples were asking because in Matthew 24:3 they ask, "What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the age? (emphasis added)." In verse 15, Jesus describes for the disciples the event that will cause the birth pains of verses 4-14 to begin: "When ye, therefore, shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place."

Lesson

I. THE PERPETRATOR OF THE ABOMINATION

In Daniel 11 we meet the man who will commit the abomination of desolation: the Antichrist. He is referred to here as the willful king. Daniel portrays him as one who does his own will, and who doesn't have a natural desire for women. He will have a perverse worship of military power, and will magnify himself above all. The Antichrist will flaunt his hatred of the true God and Jesus Christ, and attempt to set up his own kingdom in His own power and strength.

A. His Empire

According to Daniel 2:40-43, there will be a revival of the Roman Empire, encompassing much of the territory of the old Roman Empire (by the way, the European Common Market now has ten member nations, covering much of the territory of ancient Rome). Out of the revived Roman Empire will rise a great leader who will hold power in western Europe.

B. His Alliance

The Antichrist will make an alliance with Israel against the Soviet-Arab alliance (described in Ezek. 38) that will come against them. He is the one spoken of in Isaiah 10: Israel will lean on him, yet he will smite them. In spite of his alliance with Israel, he will turn on them.

C. His Battles

Following the Antichrist's alliance with Israel, armies from the north, south, and east will fight the Antichrist and his western confederacy, but he will defeat them Dan. 11:40-45). At this point, after becoming Israel's protector and defeating the world powers, he will commit the abomination of desolation.

II. THE PARTICULARS OF THE ABOMINATION

A. The Abomination Defined

Abomination (Gk. bdelugma) refers to that which is abhorrent, detestable, and utterly repulsive to God. It is used in Revelation 17:4-5 of the false religious system known as Mystery Babylon, the harlot. It is used in Revelation 21:27, which says there will be nothing in heaven that is repulsive to God. In the Old Testament, the concept of abomination is predominantly associated with heathen idols--false gods that are detestable to the one true God. The abomination of desolation will be an idolatrous act that will defile the Holy Place.

B. The Holy Place Identified

The "holy place" (Matt. 24:15) has been variously interpreted as the land of Israel, the people of Israel, or the city of Jerusalem. Nonetheless Acts 21:28 tells us quite clearly what it is. Paul had come back to Jerusalem after his third missionary journey. He wanted to reassure the Jews that he was not a traitor to his people. To do this, he went into the Temple to go through a purification ritual with some Jewish men. While Paul was in the Temple, Jews from Asia who knew Paul was a preacher of the gospel found him and started a riot. This was their accusation against Paul: "Men of Israel, help! This is the man that teacheth all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place; and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place" (Acts 21:28). The phrase "holy place" in this verse can only be a reference to the Temple. And I don't see any reason for it to mean anything other than that in Matthew 24:15. The Old Testament also refers to the Temple as the Holy Place (cf Ps. 24:3).

III. THE PREVIEW OF THE ABOMINATION

Matthew 24:15 give us the key to identifying the abomination of desolation. It is not just any event, but the one spoken of by Daniel the prophet, who gives us a preview of it in chapter 11. In describing the sacrilege committed by Antiochus Epiphanes in the second century  B.C., Daniel gives us a foretaste of the abomination of desolation that will be committed in the end time by the Antichrist.

A. The Forerunner of the Antichrist

Daniel 11:31 introduces us to an interesting historical figure, who almost all scholars agree is Antiochus Epiphanes. He was a Syrian king who reigned in Palestine from about 175 to 163  B.C. He called himself Epiphanes which means "the great one." The people called him Epimanes, which means "maniac." Verse 31 says this about him: "Forces shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that makes desolate." In that historical act of Antiochus Epiphanes, we have a picture of what the Antichrist will do in the end times.

B. The Foretaste of the Abomination

Antiochus Epiphanes was a great persecutor of the Jewish people. The apocryphal books of 1 and 2 Maccabees describe how he tried to stamp out Jewish religion, and in so doing slaughtered thousands of Jewish men, women, and children. In one of the worst acts in Jewish history, Antiochus desecrated the Temple by slaughtering a pig on the altar, forcing the priests to eat pork, and setting up an idol to Zeus. The Jews then abandoned the Temple, not wishing to go into a defiled place. That put a halt to the daily sacrifices (as predicted by Daniel 11:31), until the Jews regained control of the Temple during the Maccabean revolution.

IV. THE PREDICTION OF THE ABOMINATION

Daniel gives a preview of the abomination of desolation in chapter 11, where he describes the career of Antiochus Epiphanes. He gives us a direct prediction of it in two other places.

A. Daniel 9

1. The period

In verse 24 Daniel says, "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy." The weeks here are weeks of years. Daniel is saying there will be seventy times seven, or 490 years, to the Kingdom of Messiah. Verse 25 tells us when that 490-year period began: "Understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem." In 445  B.C. King Artaxerxes of Persia issued a decree permitting the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem. From that date, sixty-nine weeks (483 years) were to elapse before the coming of Messiah the Prince (Dan. 9:25). Calculations by Sir Robert Anderson (The Coming Prince [Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1954]) and by Harold Hoehner (Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1977]) have shown that the period from Artaxerxes' decree to Christ's presentation of Himself as Israel's Messiah (at His triumphal entry into Jerusalem) is 483 years--to the very day.

That leaves one week unaccounted for. We know that the first sixty-nine weeks ended when Messiah came, but the seventieth week hasn't come yet. That leaves us with an undetermined time gap between the sixty-ninth and the seventieth weeks.

2. The prince

Daniel introduces us to a second prince in verse 26. This is not a reference to Antiochus Epiphanes because this prince is connected with the second coming of the Messiah, which is still future. He will cause desolation to come upon Israel. Verse 27 says he will make a covenant with Israel for one week (seven years). In the middle of that week (the seventieth week) he will cause the sacrifice and the offerings to cease, just as Antiochus Epiphanes did.

3. The pollution

Halfway through the seventieth week (after three and a half years), the prince will cause the sacrifice to stop, and then he will bring "the overspreading of abominations" (v. 27). That is a reference to the abomination of desolation. He will do this "until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate"--until the end of the tribulation.

B. Daniel 12

1. The 1290 days

In verse 11 Daniel once again predicts the abomination of desolation: "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." According to Revelation 12:6, there will be 1260 days from the middle of the seventieth week until the end, but Daniel mentions here 1290 days. I think the best explanation of the apparent discrepancy is that the extra thirty days Daniel mentions take place after the tribulation has ended, giving us the time frame in which the sheep-and-goat judgment (Matt. 25:31-46) takes place. At that time, all the people still on the earth will be gathered together before the Lord to be judged.

2. The 1335 days

Verse 12 reads, "Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days." That verse speaks of forty-five more days that will follow the sheep-and- goat judgment. I believe that will be a transition time for the setting up of the Kingdom. The Lord will establish His throne in Jerusalem, place believers as His envoys throughout the world, and start disseminating the rules and principles for the Millennial Kingdom.

Prophecy is very specific: the last three and a half years of the tribulation, during which all the horrors of the tribulation time are concentrated, will begin with the abomination of desolation--the desecration of the Holy Place.

V. THE PORTRAYAL OF THE ABOMINATION

In Revelation 13 is a graphic portrayal of the abomination of desolation. We meet the Antichrist, who is described in verse 1 as the beast. Verse 5 says, "There was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and power was given to him to continue forty and two months." Forty two months equals 1260 days, or three and a half years. Once again, as in Daniel, we see the Antichrist will flourish during the second half of the tribulation. At the midpoint of the tribulation, he starts to blaspheme God: "He opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven" (v.6).

Not only does the Antichrist blaspheme God, but verse 7 tells us that he also attacks the saints: "It was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them; and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues and nations." Then in verse 8 we read of the abomination of desolation: "All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him." The Antichrist will set up an image of himself as the object of worldwide worship (v. 15). Verses 11-15 describe the work of the false prophet, who does great signs and wonders, and brings the world to worship the image of the Antichrist.

Antiochus Epiphanes set up the image of a Greek god; the Antichrist will set up an image of himself. As Paul tells us in 2 Thessalonians 2:4, he will be the one who "exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." The Antichrist will actually set himself up to be worshiped as God. That is the abomination of desolation.

Conclusion

What will drive Israel to rely upon the Antichrist? I believe it will be their fear of the Soviet Union and the Arabs. When I was in Israel I talked to some of the leaders, both military and civilian. They are afraid of the Arabs. They don't trust them because they know their hatred is so deep. They're also afraid of the Soviet Union, because whenever they capture weapons from the Arabs, they're always Soviet weapons. They know there is a Soviet-Arab alliance surrounding them.

During the end times the king of the north (Rosh--modern Russia), is going to come against Israel (Ezek. 38:2-3 NASB). Allied with the king of the north will be Persia (Ezek. 38:5). Ancient Persia basically occupied the territory of two modern nations: Iran and Afghanistan. Before the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, it was difficult to see how that country fit into the picture, but now we know--Afghanistan is controlled by the Soviet Union. Ezekiel 38:5 also says that Put (modern Libya) will be allied with the king of the north. Libya's Colonel Qaddafi has obvious pro-Soviet leanings. Israel is surrounded by hostile nations allied with the Soviet Union.

  Satanically Inspired Hatred

In his book Peace, Prosperity, and the Coming Holocaust (Eugene, Oreg.: Harvest House, 1983), Dave Hunt quotes Islamic expert Lance Lambert on Islam's hatred of Israel:

"Islam has at its very heart a dogmatic belief that it must triumph.... [Ultimately, those who] confess that Mohammed is not the Prophet and that the Koran is not the final word of God, they are worthy only of death....

"Westerners cannot conceive of nations that base their whole policy and program on Islamic theology. But that is precisely what is happening [in] ... Iran, Libya and Saudi Arabia....

"It is the same thing that we witnessed in the rise of Fascism in Italy with Benito Mussolini, or the rise of National Socialism in Germany with Adolf Hitler ... it is not just ideological, it is theological.... [Muslims] actually believe that their God has given them the oil weapon in order to finally win....

"... can you not see that Israel is an affront to Islam?... a Jewish nation, with a Jewish leadership [and] ... army is an obscenity in the eyes of Islam.

"That is why the Bible says there will be war after war--all centered upon those few square meters of land where the Temple once stood, where now the Mosques of Omar and El-Aqsa stand.

"Is it not interesting that Syrian president Assad disarmed every PLO man that's gone into Syria.... They know they are producing terrorists for the subversion of the whole free world ... in this little, beautiful land of Lebanon...the PLO established a worldwide base for terrorism.

"The KGB world center for terrorism has been in Beirut" (p. 223).

We see that the Islamic world's hatred of Israel is not only political, but also theological. Soldiers in Israel told me that if the Arabs believe Allah is telling them to kill Jews, they kill Jews. If someone like Khomeini should declare a holy war, treaties would mean nothing.

Dave Hunt illustrates Russia's hatred for Israel by telling us the story of Arkady Polishchuk:

"Arkady Polishchuk is a Russian Jew born in Moscow. Educated at Moscow University, where he majored in Marxist philosophy, he became a leading Soviet journalist (managing editor of Asia and Africa Today, contributing editor for Izvestia and Pravda) and radio and TV commentator. Disillusioned, he became an active dissident and travelled all over the U.S.S.R. documenting Soviet violations of the Helsinki agreements, particularly persecution of Jews and Christians. He eventually became a Christian himself, and is one of the fortunate few to have made it to the West. What he has to say is very instructive:

"`Communism was my religion. [As a child] my first song was about Lenin, my first poem was about Stalin, and my dream was to become a Communist [Party] member. I was one for nearly 15 years.

"`That's why it was so difficult for me to get rid of my Marxist ideology, because it was my religion. Isn't it a beautiful idea to build paradise on earth? Communism is the only ideology that promises that.

"`They have been fighting Christianity for 65 years, killing millions of Christians in Soviet camps and prisons. Communism can exist only where no other ideology exists. They have killed other ideologies, but Christianity continues to grow. That is why it's a danger.

"`Since coming to the west, I found out that you Westerners are also brainwashed. Being a liberal here is good, being a conservative is bad. If you want to put the strongest label on an enemy, you call him a Nazi Fascist, you never call him a Communist--yet Stalin killed far more people than Hitler. Every communist society today is based upon power and killing, fear and brainwashing.

"`Top church officials from the Soviet Union come to the West to tell about freedom of religion in Russia. The Soviets use these people as diplomats, as part of their propaganda machine, to make you believe there is freedom of conscience in the USSR.

"`As a boy in the streets of Moscow, I was beaten many times for being Jewish. There is real anti-Semitism there. I only got into Moscow University through unusual circumstances.

"`The Soviet Union is the most powerful empire in history. Like any other empire, it must keep growing. That's why they always try to expand into Africa, the Middle East ....

"`The Middle East is a very special place for the Soviets. Not just because of oil ... and [military] strategy, but because of Soviet hatred of Jews. Soviet officials just hate Jews. They want to destroy the state of Israel.

"`There's a certain demonic dimension about this that's impossible to explain'" (pp. 227-28). 

As we see the Soviet-Arab alliance growing, with its satanically inspired hatred of Israel, we know that the whole prophetic picture is coming together. Israel one day will try to neutralize that alliance by seeking protection from a man who also will turn out to be controlled by Satan. Just when Israel thinks they have found safety, he will betray them and set himself up as God. And that will unleash all the horrors of the tribulation.

Focusing on the Facts

1. True or false: The tribulation is a New Testament teaching not found in the Old Testament (see p. 1).

2. What does Isaiah tell us about the time just before the second coming of Christ (see p. 1)?

3. Jeremiah describes Israel's suffering in the end time as the time of __________ __________ (see p. 2).

4. What statistics does Zechariah give that indicate how severe Israel's suffering is going to be (see p. 2)?

5. Why is the rapture not mentioned in Matthew 24 and 25 (see p. 2)?

6. How does Daniel describe the Antichrist in chapter 11 (see p. 3)?

7. When does the Antichrist commit the abomination of desolation (see p. 3)?

8. What is the abomination of desolation (see pp. 3-4)?

9. Where will the abomination of desolation take place (see p. 4)?

10. __________ __________ was a ruler of the second century  B.C. ruler who committed an act that pictures what the Antichrist will do in the end times (see p. 4).

11. True or false: The seventy weeks of years in Daniel 9 were completed at Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem (see p. 5).

12. What is the purpose of the 30- and 45-day periods that follow the end of the tribulation (see p. 6)?

13. What event ushers in the worst period of the tribulation (see pp. 6- 7)?

14. In what way will the Antichrist's desecration of the Temple be worse than what Antiochus Epiphanes did (see p. 7)?

15. What will motivate Israel to make an alliance with the Antichrist (see p. 7)?

16. Explain the prophetic significance of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan (see p. 7).

Pondering the Principles

1. During the tribulation, the nation of Israel will put its trust in a man instead of the Lord--with disastrous results. What are some of the things you rely on, instead of trusting God, when you go through times of struggle? According to the following verses, where should we place our trust in those times: Psalm 9:10; 40:4; 56:3-4, 11; 118:8- 9; and Jeremiah 17:5, 7-8? Memorize at least one of these passages as a way of being prepared for the next struggle.

2.The abomination of desolation will be the worst incident of idolatry in all history. While few of us are tempted to worship a statue, we all tend to have idols of our own, such as our jobs, our marriages and families, our ministries, sports, hobbies, or anything else that becomes more important to us than our walk with the Lord. Looking back over the past week, what did you spend your time on? Did anything in your life take up more of your time than it should have? If so, spend some time this week examining your priorities and restructuring your schedule to reflect them.

Added to the John MacArthur "Study Guide" Collection by:

Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
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