The Abomination of Desolation Spoken of by Daniel the Prophet
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When ye therefore shall see The Abomination of Desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet ... whoso readeth, let him understand. (Matt 24:15) The Abomination of Desolation A series of articles published by Father Athanasius Iskander in PAROUSIA September, 1997 - January, 2003 SAINT MARY’S COPTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH Kitchener, Ontario, Canada www.stmarycoptorthodox.org First printing January 2003 THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION SPOKEN OF BY DANIEL THE PROPHET1 Shortly before His Crucifixion, the Lord Jesus was asked by His disciples, “Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” (Matt 24: 3) The Lord then started to give them a discourse about the end of the world. The discourse alluded to the destruction of Jerusalem, which took place in the year A.D. 70, as a type for the destruction of the world, at the time of the end. Exegetes agree that the prophecies of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, have been partially fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem, but will find their complete fulfillment in the destruction of the world at the end of time. One of the “signs” of the Lord’s second coming is given to us in these verses, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.” (Matt 24: 15-18) There is no doubt that these words of Jesus found their partial fulfillment when Titus placed an idol on the site of the burned Temple after destroying Jerusalem2, however, it is equally doubtless that the Lord was also alluding to the end of the world, for the following reasons: First, the whole discourse in Matthew 24 is in response to the disciples’ inquiry regarding the signs of His coming and the end of the world. Second, the information concerning the Abomination Of Desolation, and the following instructions to flee it in an urgent manner, are immediately followed by this verse, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” (Matt 24:21) 1Published: September, 1997 2Life Application Bible: notes on Mat 24. 2 ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION From this, it is safe to assume that the Abomination Of Desolation will be manifested standing in the “holy place” during the “Great Tribulation” mentioned in the Book of Daniel 12:1, as well as the Book of Revelation 7:14. Then we are told, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (Matt 24:29-30) It is evident from this that the “Great Tribulation” will immediately precede the second coming of the Lord Jesus. And, since the “Great Tribulation” will coincide with the manifestation of the Abomination Of Desolation, standing in the holy place, it follows that the latter is an important sign that will immediately precede the Parousia of the Lord (His second coming). The importance of this “sign” of the second coming of Christ becomes apparent if we carefully examine the words of Christ concerning it, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth let him understand). This clearly indicates to the reader that the Abomination Of Desolation is a “code name” for something or someone, and that the reader has to attempt to “decode” this expression, and understand what it stands for, so that he (or she) can follow the Lord’s urgent demand to flee it. Yet, in spite of this admonition to the reader that he (or she) must strive to understand, only few of those who are reading this chapter actually understand what the Lord means by the Abomination Of Desolation standing in the holy place. Now, hopefully, we have aroused enough interest, so let us answer the question, “What is (or who is) the Abomination Of Desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet?” To find the answer, we have to go to the writings of the Fathers of the Church, who wrote on the subject. According to Irenaeus, Hippolytus of Rome, Cyril of Jerusalem, Origen, and Cassian, the “Abomination Of Desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet” is none other than Antichrist, who must appear ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION 3 before the second coming of Christ, seduce the world by his false miracles, causing the final apostasy, and who will “sit in the temple of God (the holy place), showing himself that he is God.” (II Thes 2:4) Now, we will present a brief survey of the main scriptural passages that refer or allude to the “Abomination Of Desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet,” also known as Antichrist. The Book of Daniel has 12 chapters, the first six of which are narrative while the last six are apocalyptic, sometimes referred to as the “Apocalypse of Daniel.” An “apocalypse” is a scriptural passage that deals with prediction of future events, but, unlike a prophecy which concerns the future of one land or one nation (e.g., Israel or Edom), an apocalypse has cosmic dimensions involving the whole universe, and usually alludes to the end of the world. There are generally four recognized passages in Daniel that concern the topic at hand. Chapters 7 and 8 speak of him under the code name The Little Horn. Here are some excerpts of the passages concerning The Little Horn. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame .... Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast .... And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom .... Thus he said, the fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he 4 ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. (Dan 7:7-27) And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered .... And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.