The ABOMINATION of DESOLATION Revealed!
What
is the “abomination of desolation” mentioned by Daniel
and
referred to by Jesus Christ in the
How
is the Jewish festival of Hanukkah involved?
Who was
Antiochus
Epiphanes? What does the story of the
Maccabees
have
to do with our pulsating End Time generation, today? Its
time
you understood what this strange mystery has to do with
YOU
and your family, and your future!
William F. Dankenbring
The picture on our front cover shows
Isser Unterman, Asheknazi chief rabbi of
The Feast of Hanukkah celebrates the
fight for independence of
Hanukkah is only mentioned once in the
Scriptures – in the Gospel of John, where it is called the “feast of
dedication” of the
Every word of the Scriptures was divinely inspired and placed there for a godly reason. Every letter, every name, every item of information was encoded with a divine purpose and mission – a deliberate act of God’s will and intent (II Tim.3:16).
So why does the Bible mention, in only one place, about the “feast of dedication”?
The Story Behind Hanukkah
According
to the Encyclopedia Judaica, Hanukkah (“Dedication”), is an annual eight-day
festival commencing on the 25th day of Kislev, the ninth month of
the Jewish year. It was instituted by
Judah Maccabee and his followers. It is
mentioned in I Maccabees 4:59 where it is called “dedication of the
altar.” It is also mentioned in the
Gospel of John where it is called “feast of the dedication” (John
We
read, “I Maccabees (
There
is no mention in the Bible of Jesus Christ or the disciples observing this
celebration. We have only the one
reference in John 10:22 which simply states that as a matter of simple fact,
one year Christ was at Jerusalem, teaching His disciples, and being wondered
about by the Jews, and goes on to state:
“At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in
Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was
walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon”, and at this time the Jews
gathered around Him and asked Him to tell them plainly if He was the
Messiah.
What
was this Jewish festival all about? Says
the Encyclopedia Judaica, the book of II Maccabees declares that the eight day
purification ceremony was performed analogous to Solomon’s original dedication
of the Temple, which lasted eight days, and the time was celebrated “with
gladness like the Feast of Tabernacles.”
The Jewish historian Josephus wrote, “From that time onward to this day
we celebrate the festival, calling it ‘Lights’” (Antiquities 12:
325). He states that the name “lights”
came about because the right to serve God came to the people unexpectedly, like
a sudden light.
None
of these writing mentions the kindling of lights on Hanukkah. Various lighting traditions were in place,
however, by the time of Christ – the House of Shammai insisting that eight
lights should be lit the first day, and then progressively reduced in number,
whereas the House of Hillel decreed the very opposite, starting with one light and
ending with eight.
According
to one Jewish baraita or story, on entering the
In
“Shedding Light on the Hanukkah Story,” Stephen Rosenberg writes that Menelaus,
successor to Jason as high priest, had him murdered. It was the seal of this murderer that
supposedly made the oil cleansed and fit for the
Says
In
fact the book of I Maccabees, the original history of the period, tells us what
really occurred when Judas Maccabee recaptured and purified the
Likewise,
the second book of Maccabees relates the history, stating, “They purified the
sanctuary and built another altar; then, striking fire from the flints and
using this fire, they offered the first sacrifice for two years, burning
incense, lighting the lamps and setting out the loaves” (II Macc.10:3). No mention of any miracle concerning the lack
of oil or its miraculously lasting for eight days!
However,
there is no doubt that God intervened and helped the Jewish forces overthrow
the wicked rule of Antiochus Epiphanes.
To commemorate this event, in gratitude, the Maccaabees created the
eight-day festival Hanukkah, reminding them each year of the salvation of the
nation from the tyranny of Antiochus Epiphanes, and the cleansing of the
The
times of Antiochus Epiphanes, his defilement of the
In
the 8th chapter of Daniel, the prophet describes an awesome battle
between the Greeks under Alexander the Great and the
This king was a younger son of Antiochus the Great, named Epiphanes (Antiochus IV). He was a contemptible reprobate, who came by surprise and through flattery took the kingdom. Helping him was his aide Eumenes. Says Rawlinson’s Ancient History: “Antiochus [Epiphanes] , assisted by Eumenes, drives out Heliodorus, and obtains the throne, B. C. 176. He astonishes his subjects by an affectation of Roman manners” and “good-natured profuseness [flattery]” (p. 255). We read more about this despicable creature in Daniel, chapter 11.
A “Contemptible”
Person
In Daniel 11, beginning in verse 21, we read of a “contemptible person on whom royal majesty had not been conferred; he shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom through intrigue. Armies shall be utterly swept away and broken before him, and the prince of the covenant as well. And after an alliance is made with him, he shall act deceitfully and become strong with a small party. Without warning he shall come into the richest parts of the province and do what none of his predecessors had ever done, lavishing plunder, spoil, and wealth on them. . .” (verses 21-24).
The “prince of the covenant” referred to was the Jewish high priest, whom Antiochus attempted to replace by another who would be subservient to him.
Although
only a few were with him at the first, Antiochus crept into power and through
flattery, Roman affectations, and charming manners, he won the people to him,
and his kingdom grew and prospered. He invaded
After consolidating his power, Antiochus Epiphanes went to war with the king of the South, as his predecessors had done. “And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand; for they shall forecast wicked devices against him. Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain.
“And both these kings’ hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed. Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land” (verses 25-28, KJV).
In fascinating detail, Rawlinson describes from the pen of the historian, the actual fulfillment of these words of prophecy: “Threatened with war by the ministers of Ptolemy Philometor [now king of the south], who claim Coele-Syria and Palestine as the dowry of Cleopatra, the late Queen-mother, Antiochus marches against Egypt, B.C. 171” (pp. 255-256). His forces were met by his nephew, Ptolemy Philometor, king of the south, with another immense army. But the Egyptian king was defeated through the treachery of his own officers and was outwitted by Antiochus (pp. 277-278).
Rawlinson continues: “After his victory at Pelusium, Antiochus advanced to Memphis, and having obtained possession of the young king’s person [Ptolemy Philometor, king of the south], endeavored to use him as a tool for effecting the entire reduction of the country” (p. 278). In 174 B.C. the uncle of the king of the south sat at a banquet. Antiochus pretended to ally himself with the young Ptolemy, against his brother Euergetes II, but each was trying to deceive the other to gain the upper hand.
Antiochus
the Invader
In 168 B.C., after returning from Egypt with great riches, spoils of war and plunder, Antiochus showed his true attitude toward the Jewish people. He set himself against the Jews, treated them as an enemy, and massacred thousands. He then returned to Antioch with golden vessels from the Temple at Jerusalem.
Daniel foretold: “At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south, but it shall not be as the former or as the latter. For the ships of Chittim [Cyprus] shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant” (v.29-30).
The same year, B.C. 168, he again invaded Egypt, but this time he was met with a surprise. The Egyptians successfully defended their land and forced him to retreat back to his own land. Ptolemy Pilometor, king of the south, got help from Rome. The Roman fleet came against Antiochus and he was forced to surrender to the terms of Pompilius of the Roman fleet, and retire from Egypt and restore Cyprus to Egypt.
Enraged and maddened at this twist of fate, Antiochus vented his spleen upon the Jews, and extended special favors upon those Jews who would forsake their religion and ancestral customs.
Notice
now verse 31: “And arms 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 maketh desolate.”
This happened, precisely as foretold!
The
Abomination of Desolation
In 168 B.C. Antiochus Ephiphanes sent troops to the Holy Land to punish the Jews. His soldiers captured Jerusalem, desecrated the Temple of God and polluted the sanctuary, causing pig’s blood to be sacrificed upon the altar of God. Faithful Jews who would not recant their religion were burned alive in a large frying pan of hot scalding oil! Many were martyred for their faith.
The first book of Maccabees relates: “The king then issued a proclamation to his whole kingdom that all were to become a single people, each nation renouncing its particular customs. All the gentiles conformed to the king’s decree, and many Israelites chose to ACCEPT HIS RELIGION, sacrificing to idols and profaning the Sabbath. The king also sent edicts by messenger to Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, directing them to adopt customs foreign to the country, banning burnt offerings, sacrifices and libations from the sanctuary, profaning Sabbaths and feasts, defiling the sanctuary and everything holy, building altars, shrines and temples for idols, sacrificing pigs and unclean beasts, leaving their sons uncircumcised, and prostituting themselves to all kinds of impurity and abomination, so that they should FORGET THE LAW and revoke all observance of it. Anyone not obeying the king’s command was to be put to death” (I Macc.1:41-50, Jerusalem Bible).
In this inhuman act of outrage, Antiochus abolished the daily sacrifice. On the date of Kislev 15, Hebrew calendar, he placed the abomination of the image of Jupiter Olympus in the Holy of Holies, making it desolate. “Abomination,” in Strong’s Concodance, is #8251, shikkoots in Hebrew, meaning “disgusting, filthy, espec. Idolatrous, an idol – abominable filth, detestable thing.” Desolation” is from the Hebrew word shamem, “to stun, grow numb, i.e. to devastate or stupefy – make amazed, be or make astonished, bring to desolation, destroy, make waste, wonder.”
The abomination that makes desolate was the idol of Jupiter set in the Holy of Holies, B.C. 168, by Antiochus Epiphanes, whose very name meant “God made Manifest,” a blasphemous claim and sacrilege toward the true God. This was literally the “horrifying abomination” (see Daniel 12:11, 9:27, 8:13). According to II Maccabees 6:2, Antiochus ordered the Temple to be renamed for Zeus Olympios. Olympus, the mount of the gods, was the equivalent of heaven and Zeus equated with the Syrian god “Lord of the heaven,” the Phoenician Baal Shamem, “Lord of Heaven,” who was worshipped at the Jerusalem Temple during this brief period. In Hebrew, the name of this god would equate with “Lord of Abomination,” or “Lord of Horrifying Abomination and Desolation.” The most terrible persecution and cruel abominations were committed in the name of this false god, leading to terrible death and desolation.
Antiochus was an eccentric, cruel and tyrannical despot. He undertook the mission to totally eradicate and destroy the Jewish religion,, Scriptures, Torah, and sought to replace them with a universal religion of GREEK polytheism.
The observance of all Jewish religious laws and customs was forbidden upon pain of death. His edicts were severely and firmly enforced. Once a month a search was instituted to find any copies of the Torah and to discover any one who had observed the custom of circumcision. Those who had done so were condemned to death. Those who had Torahs in their possession were likewise condemned to death, and the Torah scrolls were burned. It was a very dark day for Israel.
During that time, the Maccabean Jews rose in revolt, and after three years repulsed the troops of Antiochus, cleansed the Temple, and restored the daily sacrifice. Thus we read: “The wise among the people shall give understanding to many; for some days, however, they shall fall by the sword and flame, and suffer captivity and plunder. When they fall victim, they shall receive a little help, and many shall join them insincerely. Some of the wise shall fall, so that they may be refined, purified, and cleansed, until the time of the end, for there is still an interval until the time appointed” (Dan.11:33-35, NRSV).
Or, as the KJV has it, “And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits [wonders]. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: Yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed” (verses 32-25).
Type
and Antitype
Here we need to understand a basic and fundamental Bible truth. In prophecy, type often blends subtly into antitype. That means, there is often a comparatively minor fulfillment of a major prophetic event pictured for the “last days.” Even so, the wicked Antiochus Epiphanes, who desecrated the temple, and abolished the daily sacrifice, is merely a TYPE of a king in these latter days, who will once again invade the Middle East, conquer Jerusalem, and raise up the abomination of desolation!
All Bible students and commentators recognize that the
“little horn” that grew up and became powerful, and which invaded the Holy
Land, took away the daily sacrifice and desolated the Temple of God in
Jerusalem, was Antiochus Epiphanes, the king of Syria. His empire spread across the whole Middle
East, and he hated the religion of the Jews.
Says the Critical, Experimental Commentary by Jamieson, Fausett
and Brown:
“This horn is
explained (v.23) to be ‘a king of fierce countenance,’ etc. Antiochus
Epiphanes is meant. Greece, with all its refinement, produces the
first – i.e. the Old
Testament ANTICHRIST. Antiochus had an extraordinary love of art,
which expressed
itself in grand temples. He wished to
substitute Zeus Olympus for Jehovah at Jerusalem.
Thus, first, heathen civilization from
below and revealed religion from above came into
collision. Identifying himself with Jupiter, his aim was
to make his own worship uni-
versal (cf. v.25 with ch.11:36): so mad was he in this that he was called
Epimanes
(maniac) instead of Epiphanes
(illustrious). None of the previous
world rulers . . . had
systematically opposed the Jews’
religious worship. . . . He is the forerunner of the final
Antichrist, standing in the same
relation to the first advent of Christ that Antichrist does
to His second coming” (vol.2, p.427).
The
prophecy of Daniel was fulfilled to the very letter. Many in Israel were adopting Hellenistic
customs, erecting theaters, gymnasiums, began regarding all religions as alike
– much like our modern western world and its new-found thrust for “church unity”
and respect for all religions. Jews
sacrificed to God, but also sent money to pay for sacrifices to Hercules. In the book of Maccabees, we read: “Many also of the Israelites consented to his
[Antiochus’] religion, and sacrificed unto idols, and profaned the Sabbath” (I
Macc.1:20-53).
The
Critical, Experimental Commentary
continues the story of Antiochus:
“Returning from
Persia Antiochus came to Ecbatana, after having been put to flight by
the people of Persepolis. ‘Swelling with anger he thought to avenge
upon the Jews the
disgrace so done to him, and threatened
proudly that he would come to Jerusalem and
make a common burying-place of the
Jews. . . . He not only opposes God's ancient
people, but God Himself. The daily sacrifice -- one lamb was offered in the morning
and another in the evening
(Exo.29:38,39). was taken away -- by Antiochus” (ibid.).
The first book of
Maccabees tells us the details: “The
King forbad burnt offerings and sacrifice and drink offerings in the temple,
and [ordered] that they should sacrifice swine’s flesh . . . Now in the
fifteenth day of the month Kislev, they set up the abomination of desolation
upon the altar . . . and they did sacrifice upon the idol-altar, which was upon
the altar of God” (I Macc.1:20,24,54, 59).
These
calamities were directly due to the rebellion of many Jews to the laws of God
and a widespread apostasy afflicting the land.
The first book of Maccabees relates further:
“In those days
went there out of Israel wicked men, who persuaded many, saying,
‘Let us go and make a covenant with the
heathen that are round about us’ . . .
Whereupon they built a place of
exercise (a school) at Jerusalem, according to the
customs of the heathen; and made
themselves uncircumcised and forsook the holy
covenant, and joined themselves to the
heathen, and were sold to do mischief”
(I Macc.1:11-16).
In
Daniel’s vision in chapter 8, he saw one angel say to another that the vision
concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion, and the host being trampled underfoot,
was to be “2300 evenings and mornings.”
To what does this enigmatic expression refer?
The
Critical, Experimental Commentary gives us the historical answer. Notice!
“Unto two
thousand and three hundred days -- lit.,
mornings and evenings, specified
in connection with the morning and
evening sacrifice. Cf. Gen.1:5. SIX YEARS
AND 110 DAYS. This includes not only the three and a
half years during which the
daily sacrifice was forbidden by
Antiochus (Josephus Bellum Judaicum, i, 1, sec.1),
BUT THE WHOLE SERIES OF EVENTS whereby
it was practically interrupted:
beginning with the ‘little horn waxing
great toward the pleasant land,’ and ‘casting down
some of the host’ (vs.9-10); viz., WHEN
IN 171 B.C., or the month Sivan . . . THE
SACRIFICES BEGAN TO BE NEGLECTED, owing
to the high priest Jason intro-
ducing at Jerusalem Grecian customs and
amusements – the palestra and gymnasium;
ending with the DEATH OF ANTIOCHUS, 165
B.C.” (p.428).
In other words, the
period of 2300 days meant literal days in the fulfillment which occurred during
the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes. This
was the period of APOSTASY or REBELLION which began in 171 B.C. and ended in
165 B.C. with the cleansing and restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem by the
revolt led by Judas Maccabeus and his brothers.
The period of wholesale apostasy lasted 6 years and 110 days – or 2300
days.
The
second book of Maccabees tells us, “Jason, brother of Onias, usurped the high
priesthood . . . Jason, as soon as he had seized power, imposed the Greek way
of life on his fellow-countrymen. He
went so far as to found a gymnasium at the very foot of the Citadel, and to fit
out the noblest of his young men in the petasos [“made them wear a hat,”
Septuagint]. Godless wretch that he was
and no true high priest, Jason set no bounds to his impiety; indeed the
hellenising process reached such a pitch that the high priests ceased to show
any interest in serving the altar but, scorning the Temple and neglecting the
sacrifices, they would hurry, on the stroke of the gong, to take part in the
distribution, forbidden by the Law, of the oil on the exercise ground” (II
Macc.4:7-14, Jerusalem Bible).
What
was so abominable about having a sports stadium near the Temple of God? Gymnastics, running, throwing, and athletics
was not the problem as such – but, as Werner Keller writes in The Bible As
History, “True to the Olympic
pattern, games were played COMPLETELY NAKED.
The body could only be ‘covered’ with a thin coat of oil!” (p.313). Naked athletes, only a few steps from the
Temple and the Holy of Holies, and in full view, must have been regarded as a
moral outrage. The Jews were becoming
“hellenized” – turning to a pagan, idolatrous way of life introduced by
Antiochus Epiphanes and his agents.
The First “Great Tribulation”
In
168 B.C. Antiochus plundered and desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem. Writes Werner Keller,
“The worship of
Olympian Zeus was set up in the Temple of Yahweh.
For taking part in any Jewish religious
ceremonies, the traditional sacrifices,
the sabbath or circumcision, the
penalty was death. The holy scriptures
were
destroyed. This was the first thoroughgoing religious
persecution in history”
(The Bible As History, p.315).
The
cutting off of the sacrifices lasted 3 1/2 years (see also Dan.9:27 and
12:7). Josephus declares in Wars of
the Jews:
“He [Antiochus
Epiphanes] also spoiled the temple, and put a stop to the constant
practice of offering a daily sacrifice
of expiation for THREE YEARS AND SIX
MONTHS . . . Now Antiochus . . .
compelled the Jews to dissolve the laws of their
country, and to keep their infants uncircumcized, and to sacrifice
swine’s flesh upon the altar”
(Bk.1, 1,1-2).
In Antiquities of the
Jews, Josephus adds these points of fact:
“. . . he
ventured to break the league he had made.
So he left the temple bare, and
took away the golden candlesticks, and
the golden altar . . . He also emptied it of
its secret treasures, and left nothing
at all remaining; and by this means cast the Jews
into great lamentation, for he forbade
them to offer those daily sacrifices which they
used to offer to God, according to the
law. And when he had pillaged the whole
city,
some of the inhabitants he slew, and
some he carried captive, together with their wives
and children, so that the multitude of
those captives that were taken alive amounted
to about ten thousand. . . . And when
the king had built an idol altar upon God’s altar,
he slew swine upon it, and so offered a
sacrifice neither according to the law, nor the
Jewish religious worship in that
country. He also compelled them to
forsake the worship
which they paid their own God, and to
adore those whom he took to be gods; and made
them build temples, and raise idol
altars, in every city and village, and offer swine upon
them every day. . . . but the best men,
and those of the noblest souls, did not regard him
. . . on which account they every day
underwent GREAT MISERIES [a type of the Great
Tribulation to come!] and bitter
torments: for they were whipped with
rods, and their
bodies were torn to pieces, and were
crucified, while they were still alive and breathed:
they also strangled those women and
their sons whom they had circumcised, as the king
had appointed, hanging their sons about
their necks as they were upon the crosses.
And
if there were any sacred book of the
law found, it was destroyed . . .” (Ant., Bk.XII, V, 4).
The
period of the abomination of desolation itself – when the Temple itself was
defiled -- lasted exactly three years, from Kislev 25, 168 B.C. to Kislev 25,
165 B.C. Josephus tells us,
“Now it so fell
out, that these things [the restoration of the Temple by Judas Macca-
beus and his army] were done on
the VERY SAME DAY on which their divine
worship had fallen off, and was reduced
to a profane and common use, AFTER
THREE YEARS’ TIME; for so it was, that
the temple was MADE DESOLATE
by Antiochus, and so continued for
THREE YEARS . . . And this desolation came
to pass according to the prophecy of
Daniel, which was given four hundred and
eight years before . . .” (Ant. XII,VII,
6).
This prophecy came to
pass, just as Daniel foretold it over four hundred years previously! But that is not all. As most Bible students are well aware, Bible
prophecy is often DUAL! There is often a
previous forerunner fulfillment, and there will be a final, climactic END-TIME
fulfillment as well! Daniel was actually
told by the angel Gabriel, “Son of man, understand that the VISION concerns the
TIME OF THE END” (Dan.8:17).
Antiochus
Epiphanes lived 165 years before Christ’s coming the first time. He did not live during the true “time of the
end.” Therefore, his fulfillment of
these cryptic Biblical passages was only as a TYPE – a FORERUNER – of the true
apocalyptic END TIME fulfillment to come in OUR DAY, today! Let’s notice another fulfillment of this
prophecy, which brings us down to our modern generation!
The Words of Ha Mashiach
Scroll
down to our day – this present tremulous generation.
In
the Mount Olivet prophecy, Jesus Christ, who is the Messiah, whom the Jews
await as “ha Mashiach,” foretold that just before His Second Coming, events
would parallel the apostasy and events during the time of Antiochus
Epiphanes. He foretold a time of great
and widespread apostasy (Matt.24:4-5, 12-13), as well as military invasion,
occupation, and Great Tribulation (vs.21-22) such as the world has never before
seen! Daniel prophesied of this same
cataclysmic “end time” (Dan.12:1-2).
Jesus
said of those coming days,
“So
when you [His servants living at this end-time!] see standing
in
the HOLY PLACE [the rebuilt Temple of God in Jerusalem]
the
abomination that causes desolation, spoken of through the
prophet
Daniel – let the reader understand – then
let those who
are in Judea flee to the mountains” (Matt.24:15).
The
Messiah also warned:
“When
you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know
that
its desolation has come near. Then those
in Judea must
flee
to the mountains, and those inside the city must leave it,
and
those out in the country must not enter it; for these are
days
of vengeance, as a fulfillment of all that is written” (Luke 21:20-22,
NRSV).
Once
again the Temple of God will be defiled and polluted by the End-Time
“Antichrist” – the Beast of Revelation (Rev.13:2-5; 11:2) – the “Man of Sin,”
or “Son of Perdition” (see II Thess.2:4-10).
This “beast,” like Antiochus, will also trample the holy city of
Jerusalem for forty two months, or 1260 days – which is three and one half
years! Thus the tyranny and cruelty of
Antiochus Epiphanes was an EXACT DUPLICATE of the End-Time fulfillment to come
– even to the exact length of the occupation of Jerusalem and the cutting off
of the daily sacrifice!
This
tells us, therefore, that the 2300 days which were fulfilled by the apostasy
lasting 6 years and 110 days in the time of Antiochus was also an EXACT TYPE of
an End-Time, latter day fulfillment to come!
This is an example of the DUALITY of Biblical prophecy! What occurred in the PAST was a “type,” a
“forerunner,” of a latter day, END-time fulfillment of the prophecy! How do we know this?
Daniel was told, “Understand, O son of man: for AT THE TIME OF THE END shall be the vision” (Dan.8:l7). How plain! Therefore, here is proof positive that a Temple, or “sanctuary,” must exist in the END TIME, before the return of Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Anointed One)!
This same end-time tyrant, or evil prince, this same “king of fierce countenance” (Dan.8:23-25), is also prophesied of in Daniel 9:26-27. Here Daniel records, “. . . but the people of the prince that shall come shall DESTROY the city AND THE SANCTUARY (that is, the Temple!) . . . and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”
This is clearly speaking of the same spectacular time frame and prophetic event to occur at the very end of this present age – the “consummation,” or “time of the end.” Here again we find mention of a Temple or “sanctuary” which must exist, in the end of days, with animal sacrifices being offered.
Now notice once again in Daniel, the 11th chapter. Daniel records that this end-time wicked king, typified by Antiochus Epiphanes in history would defile the Temple, and “have indignation against the holy covenant,” and “they shall pollute the SANCTUARY OF STRENGTH, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall PLACE THE ABOMINATION that maketh desolate” (Dan.11:30-3l). The New Revised Standard Version has it: “Forces sent by him shall occupy and profane the temple and fortress. They shall abolish the regular burnt offering and set up the abomination that makes desolate” (same verses).
What is this “abomination” that causes desolation and desecration? The term “abomination” in the Bible is a common term for idol worship. The “abomination of desolation” is a technical term showing the utter extreme form of idol worship right in the Holy Place – the Temple itself – the holiest spot on earth.
In the days of Antiochus Epiphanes, it was a statue of Jupiter Olympus, the chief pagan god, which was placed inside the Holy of Holies. But in these last days, the “abominable desolator” will be a man – a human tyrant – who sees himself as the Messiah – as “very God” upon the earth!
We read the very words of Christ, “When you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoso reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. . . . For then will be great tribulation” (Matt.24:16-2`). Notice that the episode of the abomination is the key factor which leads directly into the “great tribulation” – a world engulfed in flames and the holocaust of the final throes of World War III!
During these “last days,” the greatest of all abominations is going to take place – and be committed right in the very Holy of Holies of the Temple of God itself!
It seems obvious that the “feast of dedication” is mentioned in the Gospel of John to draw attention to this festival which celebrated the removal of the idolatrous image and pollution from the Temple of God, and to remind God’s people of the history of this historical sacrilege, as Jesus told His disciples that ONCE AGAIN such an abomination and defilement would occur, before His Second Coming!
But what is this mysterious event itself? The apostle Paul tells us, “Let no man deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away [apostasy from the truth of God!] comes first, and the man of sin [lawlessness] is revealed, the son of perdition [destruction – this megalomaniac will lust to destroy, to brutally ravage the earth, in his quest for total power], who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits AS GOD in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (II Thess.2:3-4).
When this
event occurs, then this monstrous individual will halt the daily sacrifices in
the Temple, and claim to be God – the Messiah.
When this occurs, the Great Tribulation will break out in full fury and
force. All will be compelled to worship
him. Everyone who refuses will suffer
torture, torments, and the death penalty.
Notice
Daniel 8:17. We read the awesome,
staggering words – “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the
TIME OF THE END”! And in verse 19,
we read: “Look, I am making known to you
what shall happen in the LATTER TIME of the indignation; for at the
APPOINTED TIME the end shall be” (NKJV).
How,
then, does this amazing prophecy of conquest and desolation apply to our
day? How is it being fulfilled in OUR
time?
When
will these 2300 days of APOSTASY and rebellion against the truth of God be
fulfilled? How will the END-TIME
“Antiochus Epiphanes” – the type of the end-time “Antichrist” – arise on the
world scene? When will the END TIME
“Great Tribulation” begin to settle upon the world like a dense fog of cruelty,
brutality, bestiality, and martyrdom of righteous men and women?
The
apostle Paul foretold a great End-time Apostasy from the truth of God, as
occurred in Israel during the days of Antiochus. He wrote, “Let no one deceive you by any
means; for that Day will not come unless the FALLING AWAY [apostasia in
the Greek, from when derives our word “apostasy”] comes first, and the man of
sin is revealed, the son of perdition . . . The coming of the lawless one is
according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,
and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not
receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong
delusion, that they should believe THE LIE, that they all may be condemned
who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (II
Thess.2:3-12, NKJV).
The
New Testament in Contemporary English has this passage in vivid detail, as
follows:
“Before that day
comes, a couple of things have to happen.
First, the
Apostasy. Second, the debut of the
Anarchist, a
real dog of
Satan. He’ll defy and then take over
every so-called
god or
altar. Having cleared away the
opposition, he’ll then set
himself up in
God’s Temple as ‘God Almighty.’ Don’t
you remember me going over all this in
detail when I was with you?
Are you
memories that short? . . . .
“The
Anarchist’s coming is all Satan’s work.
All his power
and signs and
miracles are fake, evil sleight of hand that plays
to the gallery
of those who hate the truth that could save them.
And since
they’re so obsessed with evil, God rubs their noses
in it -- gives
them what they want. Since they refuse
to trust
truth, they’re
banished to their chosen world of lies and illusions.”
This
End-time Apostasy has already begun. It
is already at work. As Paul foretold,
“You will also remember that I told you the Anarchist is being held back until
just the right time. That doesn’t mean
that the spirit of anarchy [lawlessness, rebellion against God’s Law,
antinomianism, or “Apostasy”] is not now at work. It is, secretly and underground. But the time will come when the Anarchist
will no longer be held back, but will be let loose. But don’t worry. The Master Jesus will be right on his heels
and blow him away.”
Will there be an “end-time” WAR like that of Alexander the Great against ancient Persia, where the WEST conquers a nation in the Middle East which has grandiose ambitions and which is related to the ancient Persian Empire? Will this WAR lead to another period of 2300 days of utter apostasy occur, leading into the Great Tribulation and Day of the Lord? Will it culminate in the final cleansing of the END-TIME TEMPLE of God, at the coming of the Messiah Himself?
It
is possible that this war has already happened! The Gulf War of 2003 when the United States
coalition conquered modern Iraq with a blitzkrieg war, just as Alexander the
Great did to Persia in his time, may have been such an end-time fulfillment of
the prophecy of the shaggy goat (see our article “Daniel 8 and the End Time”).
After
Alexander’s victory in the war against Persia and the east, he and his men
partied at Babylon, where he fell ill, and soon died, at the age of 33. Shortly after his death, his two sons were
killed, and his kingdom was divided up into four kingdoms – Seleucus had Syria
and Babylon; Lysimachus had Asia Minor; Ptolemy had Egypt; and Cassander had
Greece.
The
prophecy states that out of this scene, instead of ONE superpower in the world,
the kingdom would be divided up “toward the four winds of heaven.” In the end-time fulfillment of this
prophecy, the four world powers to follow the United States superpower would
appear to be: European Union (“King of
the North”), China-Russia (“Kings of the East), the Muslim world (“king of the
South”), and the United States (west, but allied with “King of the
North”).