The following "Question" was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, and "Answered" by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed from the tape, GC 1301-C, titled "Bible Questions and Answers Part 5." A copy of the tape can be obtained by writing, Word of Grace, P.O. Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412 or by dialing toll free 1-800-55-GRACE. ©1976. All Rights Reserved.
Question
What is the abomination of desolation in the holy place and how will it affect us, or will it?
Answer
What is the abomination of desolation? For that answer, we have to turn to Daniel, chapter nine. This question is often asked when I have conferences. People ask about prophecy. Now, those are really the questions that usually dominate a question and answer time. I was pleased to see that they weren’t dominating in your questions; not that they shouldn’t be asked, but that you should be preoccupied with other things than the future—namely the present.
But in Daniel 9:24 it talks about the 70 weeks of Daniel and that’s the period of history determined upon Israel—you remember there’s going to be a period of Israel’s history where the Messiah’s going to come. It talks about the destruction of Jerusalem. Then in verse 27, it talks about the tribulation. The antichrist is going to come (“the prince that shall come”) and confirm the covenant with many for one week. One of the things that antichrist will do in the end time is make a pact with Israel for one 7-year period. One week means 7 years. There will be a period of 7 years that we call the tribulation.
At the beginning of that period, the antichrist will make a treaty with Israel to protect Israel. However, in the midst of the week—in the middle of that time, three and a half years—he will cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease. In other words, he will allow them the freedom to worship in their temple—this is one of the reasons we believe Israel is going to rebuild the temple: because they will be worshipping during the tribulation. They will be worshipping in the temple; in the middle of the “week,” antichrist swoops down, stops the sacrifices, stops the oblation; for the overspreading of abominations, he makes it desolate. He comes in and just abominates or blasphemes, in their mind, the sacredness of that place. He wipes out their worship in the middle of the week. That is the abomination of desolations.
Now, this had a very apt figure in history. In a sense, it was almost fulfilled in a preliminary manner with Antiochus Epiphanes who, during the period of the Maccabees, between the ending of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament, the period of 400 years when the Jews were under the yoke of Greece—the Greeks had set up a man in there by the name of Antiochus to rule them—to rule the Jews. Well, he was bad. I mean, he was terrible! He was a madman—that’s what the people called him, Epiphanes, “the madman.”
In order to show his hatred for Israel, he went in there and slew a pig on the altar in the temple. Then he took the pork and crammed it down the mouths of the priests. Well, of course, the result of that was an unbelievable revolution. The Maccabbean revolt occurred as a result of that desecration. In a sense, that is what the prince that shall come is going to do in the middle of the week. Somehow, he will abominate and desecrate the worship of Israel in the midst of the tribulation.
Now when that happens, that will be the trigger that will blow the whole rest of the three and a half year tribulation; that’s when it stops being tribulation and turns into great tribulation. For that understanding, turn to Matthew 24. They’ll be getting along great, they’ll have this pact; in fact, you know how the first of the seven seals in Revelation six says there will be peace in the world? A “false peace”? There it is. Three and a half years of the tribulation (false peace), then this antichrist swoops down, abominates their worship, and when that happens, that’s the beginning of the really bad time.
Verse 15 of Matthew 24 (this is written to the Jews): “And when you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, when you see it stand in the holy place, when you see it happening right there in the holy place, then let them who are in Judea flee into the mountains,” get out of there. “Let him that is on the housetop, don’t even come down and take anything out of his house; neither let the one who is in the field return back to take his clothes. Woe unto those who are with child”—pregnant ladies—“and those who are nursing their children. Pray that your flight won’t be in the winter, neither on the Sabbath, for then shall be,” what? “Great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be. Except those days would be shortened”—the three and a half years, as it is—“there should no flesh be saved. But for the elect’s sake, they will be shortened.”
So, when that happens, that is the trigger that fires off the great tribulation. How will it affect us? It will not affect us at all. Why? We who belong to Jesus Christ, I believe, will be raptured before the tribulation begins! We won’t even be around. That is part of God’s dealing with Israel. God dealt with them in the first 69 weeks; God will be dealing with them in the 70th week of Daniel, the tribulation.
Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "MacArthur’s Questions and
Answers" by:
Tony Capoccia
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