The Abomination of Desolation
If the Dual-Fulfilment theory is correct and the second fulfilment of Daniel's 70th week started in 2020 with the signing of the Abraham Accords, then we should by now be able to identify a fulfilment of the abomination of desolation.
Daniel 9:27 says, "He will confirm a covenant with many for one week. But in the middle of that week he will bring sacrifices and offerings to a halt. On the wing of abominations will come one who destroys, until the decreed end is poured out on the one who destroys.”
Daniel mentioned the abomination of desolation in three places, in 9:27, in 11:31, and in 12:11. His description of it in 11:31 was fulfilled by Antiochus Epiphanes in 167 BC. And yet in Matthew 24:15 Jesus spoke of it as a yet-future event, indicating that Daniel's prophecy of the abomination of desolation must have a second fulfilment. By such precedent, it is not unreasonable to assume that Daniel's prophecy of 70 weeks may also have a second fulfilment. It is also reasonable to assume that the end-time abomination of desolation may follow a similar pattern to its historical fulfilment by Antiochus. In Matthew 24:15, where Jesus refers to the end-time abomination of desolation as spoken about by the prophet Daniel, we are specifically exhorted to understand what the abomination of desolation means. So it is important to first understand how it was fulfilled historically.
According to 1 Maccabees 1, Antiochus Epiphanes first attacked Jerusalem in the Autumn of 169 BC (Seleucid year 143), when he killed many Jews and looted the temple of its treasures. This attack fulfilled the prophecy of Daniel 11:28. Two years later, in the Autumn of 167 BC, he attacked again, massacred many more Jews, and destroyed much of Jerusalem and its walls. Then on 15 Kislev of Seleucid year 145 (15 December 167 BC) he set up the abomination of desolation on the temple altar (1 Maccabees 1:54), and ten days later on 25 Kislev he forced the Jewish priests to sacrifice pigs to it. Antiquities of the Jews 12.5.4 by Josephus says Antiochus “spoiled the temple, and put a stop to the constant practice of offering a daily sacrifice … and compelled the Jews to build idols, and set them up in their temples, and to sacrifice swine upon them.” And 2 Maccabees 6:1-2 says, "Not long after this the king sent an Athenian senator to compel the Jews to forsake the laws of their ancestors … and to pollute the temple in Jerusalem and call it the temple of Olympian Zeus." Antiochus called himself Epiphanes, meaning 'god manifest' because he believed himself to be the earthly incarnation of Zeus. The desecration of the temple is understood to have lasted for 1,150 days, equating to 2,300 morning and evening sacrifices, in fulfilment of Daniel 8:14. The temple desecration was overturned after a priest named Mattathias, together with his sons, rebelled against Antiochus and led an armed insurrection. After Mattathias died, his son Judas Maccabeus took over as leader of the resistance. After a series of successful battles despite being greatly outnumbered, Judas defeated Antiochus's armies and Israel was liberated. The temple was cleansed and rededicated on 25 Kislev 164 BC, exactly three years after sacrifices had first been offered to the so-called 'abomination of desolation'. Ever since, Jews have celebrated this rededication of the temple with the festival of Hanukkah, referred to as the feast of dedication in John 10:22.
Christian Widener suggests that the massacre and atrocities committed by Hamas during its invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, may be understood as the first stage of the end-time abomination of desolation, similar to the initial massacre committed by Antiochus in 169 BC. He quotes Proverbs 6:16-19 which says, "There are six things that the Lord hates, even seven things that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift to run to evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who spreads discord among family members." And he points out that Hamas' killings, mass rape, and torture of Israeli citizens fit well with this description. It is also noteworthy that on 14 January 2024, in a speech commemorating 100 days since the attack of 7 October, Hamas's military spokesman, Abu Ubeidah, cited Israel bringing red heifers from America in preparation for ritual sacrifice (see Numbers 19:1-10) as a key reason for them launching their attack when they did. And so the abominations committed on that day were intended to put a stop to planned Jewish sacrifices, just as Daniel prophesied, "But in the middle of that week he will bring sacrifices and offerings to a halt" (v27). Until recently, most prophecy scholars have assumed that the temple would first have to be rebuilt, and the sacrificial system reinstated, before that could be fulfilled. But Hamas launched their attack to put a stop to Jewish sacrifices before they had even started! Furthermore, Hamas called their attack 'The Al-Aqsa Flood'. Al-Aqsa is what Muslims call the Temple Mount, so the declared purpose of their attack was to protect the Islamic sanctity of the Temple Mount. And they called it a 'flood', just as Daniel prophesied 2,500 years ago when he said, "But [the] end will come [speedily] like a flood" (v26). Understanding the atrocities committed on October 7 as 'abominations' according to the definition given in Proverbs 6:16-19 fits well with the language of Daniel 9:27b, "On the wing of abominations will come one who destroys, until the decreed end is poured out on the one who destroys." So October 7 can be seen as the day that the 'abominations' were committed, with the implication being that what started on October 7 will somehow lead to the appearance of the Antichrist in due course.
Daniel 12:11-12 says, "From the time that the daily sacrifice is removed and the abomination that causes desolation is set in place, there are 1,290 days. Blessed is the one who waits and attains to the 1,335 days." If we equate October 7 with the time that the daily sacrifice was removed, we should still expect an abomination of some kind to be physically set up on the Temple Mount, and this abomination likely equates to the image of the beast as described in Revelation 13:14-15. But does the 1,290 days begin on October 7, 2023, or does it begin when the abomination is physically set in place? 1,290 days after October 7 takes us to April 19, 2027, and 1,335 days takes us to June 3, 2027. If we take Daniel's 70th week as starting in September 2020 with the signing of the Abraham Accords, both these dates in 2027 fit within that seven year period. However, the desecration of the temple by Antiochus was counted from the date that the idol of Zeus was set up and sacrifices were offered to it, not from the date of the initial massacre two years earlier. According to that precedent, the 1,290 days may have not started yet.
In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, the Apostle Paul says, "Now regarding the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to be with him….that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, and as a result he takes his seat in God's temple, displaying himself as God." Clearly, Paul expected that the end-time Antichrist, whom he calls 'the man of lawlessness', will again consider himself to be God-incarnate, just like Antiochus did.
When Paul speaks of a rebellion, he uses the Greek word 'apostasia' from which we get the English word 'apostasy', and he describes the end-time Antichrist as the 'man of lawlessness'. Antiochus was opposed to the Jewish religion. He tried to force the Jews to forsake their religion, and instead to adopt Greek religious practices. Many Jews submitted to these demands, resulting in a wide-spread falling away, or 'apostasia'. They agreed to forsake the Jewish Law and the Sabbath and to not circumcise their male children. Antiochus was a man of lawlessness because he was opposed to observance of the Jewish Law. Clearly, Paul expected that the end-time Antichrist will act in a similar way.
Paul says that the end-time Antichrist must appear like this before Christ's second coming and our being gathered to him (i.e. the rapture).
If Daniel's 70th week started with the signing of the Abraham Accords on September 15, 2020, and if we should expect Jesus to come back within 7 years of that, then we should expect the man of lawlessness to be revealed some time before September 2027. It is likely that him taking his seat in the temple to declare himself as God will be swiftly followed by his instalment of a physical 'abomination of desolation' on the temple mount.
Daniel 9:27 says, "He will confirm a covenant with many for one week. But in the middle of that week he will bring sacrifices and offerings to a halt. On the wing of abominations will come one who destroys, until the decreed end is poured out on the one who destroys.”
Daniel mentioned the abomination of desolation in three places, in 9:27, in 11:31, and in 12:11. His description of it in 11:31 was fulfilled by Antiochus Epiphanes in 167 BC. And yet in Matthew 24:15 Jesus spoke of it as a yet-future event, indicating that Daniel's prophecy of the abomination of desolation must have a second fulfilment. By such precedent, it is not unreasonable to assume that Daniel's prophecy of 70 weeks may also have a second fulfilment. It is also reasonable to assume that the end-time abomination of desolation may follow a similar pattern to its historical fulfilment by Antiochus. In Matthew 24:15, where Jesus refers to the end-time abomination of desolation as spoken about by the prophet Daniel, we are specifically exhorted to understand what the abomination of desolation means. So it is important to first understand how it was fulfilled historically.
According to 1 Maccabees 1, Antiochus Epiphanes first attacked Jerusalem in the Autumn of 169 BC (Seleucid year 143), when he killed many Jews and looted the temple of its treasures. This attack fulfilled the prophecy of Daniel 11:28. Two years later, in the Autumn of 167 BC, he attacked again, massacred many more Jews, and destroyed much of Jerusalem and its walls. Then on 15 Kislev of Seleucid year 145 (15 December 167 BC) he set up the abomination of desolation on the temple altar (1 Maccabees 1:54), and ten days later on 25 Kislev he forced the Jewish priests to sacrifice pigs to it. Antiquities of the Jews 12.5.4 by Josephus says Antiochus “spoiled the temple, and put a stop to the constant practice of offering a daily sacrifice … and compelled the Jews to build idols, and set them up in their temples, and to sacrifice swine upon them.” And 2 Maccabees 6:1-2 says, "Not long after this the king sent an Athenian senator to compel the Jews to forsake the laws of their ancestors … and to pollute the temple in Jerusalem and call it the temple of Olympian Zeus." Antiochus called himself Epiphanes, meaning 'god manifest' because he believed himself to be the earthly incarnation of Zeus. The desecration of the temple is understood to have lasted for 1,150 days, equating to 2,300 morning and evening sacrifices, in fulfilment of Daniel 8:14. The temple desecration was overturned after a priest named Mattathias, together with his sons, rebelled against Antiochus and led an armed insurrection. After Mattathias died, his son Judas Maccabeus took over as leader of the resistance. After a series of successful battles despite being greatly outnumbered, Judas defeated Antiochus's armies and Israel was liberated. The temple was cleansed and rededicated on 25 Kislev 164 BC, exactly three years after sacrifices had first been offered to the so-called 'abomination of desolation'. Ever since, Jews have celebrated this rededication of the temple with the festival of Hanukkah, referred to as the feast of dedication in John 10:22.
Christian Widener suggests that the massacre and atrocities committed by Hamas during its invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, may be understood as the first stage of the end-time abomination of desolation, similar to the initial massacre committed by Antiochus in 169 BC. He quotes Proverbs 6:16-19 which says, "There are six things that the Lord hates, even seven things that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift to run to evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who spreads discord among family members." And he points out that Hamas' killings, mass rape, and torture of Israeli citizens fit well with this description. It is also noteworthy that on 14 January 2024, in a speech commemorating 100 days since the attack of 7 October, Hamas's military spokesman, Abu Ubeidah, cited Israel bringing red heifers from America in preparation for ritual sacrifice (see Numbers 19:1-10) as a key reason for them launching their attack when they did. And so the abominations committed on that day were intended to put a stop to planned Jewish sacrifices, just as Daniel prophesied, "But in the middle of that week he will bring sacrifices and offerings to a halt" (v27). Until recently, most prophecy scholars have assumed that the temple would first have to be rebuilt, and the sacrificial system reinstated, before that could be fulfilled. But Hamas launched their attack to put a stop to Jewish sacrifices before they had even started! Furthermore, Hamas called their attack 'The Al-Aqsa Flood'. Al-Aqsa is what Muslims call the Temple Mount, so the declared purpose of their attack was to protect the Islamic sanctity of the Temple Mount. And they called it a 'flood', just as Daniel prophesied 2,500 years ago when he said, "But [the] end will come [speedily] like a flood" (v26). Understanding the atrocities committed on October 7 as 'abominations' according to the definition given in Proverbs 6:16-19 fits well with the language of Daniel 9:27b, "On the wing of abominations will come one who destroys, until the decreed end is poured out on the one who destroys." So October 7 can be seen as the day that the 'abominations' were committed, with the implication being that what started on October 7 will somehow lead to the appearance of the Antichrist in due course.
Daniel 12:11-12 says, "From the time that the daily sacrifice is removed and the abomination that causes desolation is set in place, there are 1,290 days. Blessed is the one who waits and attains to the 1,335 days." If we equate October 7 with the time that the daily sacrifice was removed, we should still expect an abomination of some kind to be physically set up on the Temple Mount, and this abomination likely equates to the image of the beast as described in Revelation 13:14-15. But does the 1,290 days begin on October 7, 2023, or does it begin when the abomination is physically set in place? 1,290 days after October 7 takes us to April 19, 2027, and 1,335 days takes us to June 3, 2027. If we take Daniel's 70th week as starting in September 2020 with the signing of the Abraham Accords, both these dates in 2027 fit within that seven year period. However, the desecration of the temple by Antiochus was counted from the date that the idol of Zeus was set up and sacrifices were offered to it, not from the date of the initial massacre two years earlier. According to that precedent, the 1,290 days may have not started yet.
In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, the Apostle Paul says, "Now regarding the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to be with him….that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, and as a result he takes his seat in God's temple, displaying himself as God." Clearly, Paul expected that the end-time Antichrist, whom he calls 'the man of lawlessness', will again consider himself to be God-incarnate, just like Antiochus did.
When Paul speaks of a rebellion, he uses the Greek word 'apostasia' from which we get the English word 'apostasy', and he describes the end-time Antichrist as the 'man of lawlessness'. Antiochus was opposed to the Jewish religion. He tried to force the Jews to forsake their religion, and instead to adopt Greek religious practices. Many Jews submitted to these demands, resulting in a wide-spread falling away, or 'apostasia'. They agreed to forsake the Jewish Law and the Sabbath and to not circumcise their male children. Antiochus was a man of lawlessness because he was opposed to observance of the Jewish Law. Clearly, Paul expected that the end-time Antichrist will act in a similar way.
Paul says that the end-time Antichrist must appear like this before Christ's second coming and our being gathered to him (i.e. the rapture).
If Daniel's 70th week started with the signing of the Abraham Accords on September 15, 2020, and if we should expect Jesus to come back within 7 years of that, then we should expect the man of lawlessness to be revealed some time before September 2027. It is likely that him taking his seat in the temple to declare himself as God will be swiftly followed by his instalment of a physical 'abomination of desolation' on the temple mount.
