What Is The Abomination That Causes Desolation?
What Is The Abomination That Causes Desolation?
Jesus answered part of this question concerning the desolation in Luke 21:20-24 when he said,
“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you will know that her DESOLATION is near. 21Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country stay out of the city. 22For these are the days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.
23How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers! For there will be great distress upon the land and wrath against this people. 24They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”
The desolation was the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the armies.
Under the old testament law of Moses, the only time God would permit armies to destroy Jerusalem would be after the people of Israel violated the Mosaic Covenant of Law.
Moses spoke to the people of Israel about this in Deuteronomy 28:49-50 (see also Leviticus 26:14-46 where Moses described the curses for disobeying the covenant of law), when he said:
The Lord will bring A NATION AGAINST YOU from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young.
An example of this is when the armies of Babylon destroyed Jerusalem (carrying off Daniel and many Jews into captivity - see 2 Chronicles 36:15-23), its walls, and temple.
After Babylon…
Jerusalem was eventually rebuilt.
The wall around Jerusalem was rebuilt by Nehemiah.
The temple was rebuilt by Zerubbabel.
The people were rebuilt by Ezra.
Eventually, the city was once again overtaken by the Medes and Persians, then Greece (this is foretold by Daniel when he interpreted King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2 - for my teachings on the statue, see Jerusalem’s Redemption, starting with Luke #24: Click Here).
In 63 BC, Rome conquered Greece and took over Israel/Jerusalem.
Jesus was born and lived during the time of the Roman armies occupying Jerusalem.
Eventually, Israel revolted against Rome and retook Jerusalem in 66 AD.
This revolt is written about by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 (some translation use the word revolt, others use the words rebellion, apostasy, and falling away.
Regardless of the word being used, this is referring to Israel’s revolt against Rome in AD 66 that was led by the man of lawlessness, the son of perdition, the one standing in the holy place.
Jesus warned the generation of his time that the Roman armies would desolate - utterly destroy the city of Jerusalem and the temple as they took back the city.
According to Jesus, this destruction (desolation) of Jerusalem and the temple would be caused by the abomination: the one standing in the holy place…meaning standing in the temple in Jerusalem.
Jesus said,
“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the ABOMINATION [the one setting himself up as God in the temple - see Daniel 9:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-7 ] that causes DESOLATION,’…” (Matthew 24:15).
This desolation happened in AD 70.
It was caused by an abomination.
Remember, only a violation of the Mosaic Law could cause the desolation of Israel and Jerusalem by armies of other nations.
This means the abomination had to be committed by the people of Israel in violation of the law of Moses.
In addition to violating the law throughout their history, as recorded in the Jewish Scriptures (Exodus 19-Malachi), the ultimate violation of the law by the Jewish people was when the majority of the Jewish people rejected Jesus as the Christ and the new testament established in his blood (see Acts 7:1-53)
In their rejection of Jesus, they called for his crucifixion (Luke 23:1-31; John 19).
The rejection of Jesus was the nation of Israel’s ultimate violation of the law.
This violation of the law (rejecting Jesus as the Christ - the One the law of Moses foretold would come - see Luke 24:13-35 and Jesus’ conversation with the two men on the road to Emmaus) was led by those who sat in Moses’ seat in the temple (Matthew 23:1).
To sit in Moses’ seat was symbolic of the High Priest and Sanhedrin (the ruling assembly of Israel during the Roman Empire) providing leadership over the people of Israel just as Moses provided leadership over them.
It was the assembly of the Sanhedrin that called for the crucifixion of Jesus (Luke 22:47-23:35; Acts 7:51-54), rejecting him as the Christ/Messiah.
Rejection of Jesus as the Christ began when he presented himself to Israel.
Even the hometown synagogue of Jesus rejected him, seeking to throw him off a cliff (Luke 4) when he claimed he was the one of Isaiah 61:1-2.
This rejection continued after Jesus ascended into heaven.
Jesus told Saul that in Saul’s persecution of believers that he (Saul) was persecuting Jesus himself (Acts 9:4-5).
Jewish believers in Jesus were persecuted terribly by Jewish unbelievers- see the book of Acts (also see 1 Thessalonians 2:14-15; 2 Corinthians 11:24).
This persecution was orchestrated by someone behind the scenes (the mystery, secret, or hidden act of lawlessness already at work - 2 Thessalonians 2:7), and was at work in AD 51/52 - during the time Paul wrote 2 Thessalonians.
Eventually, this orchestration of persecution would be ramped up and led by the man of sin (lawlessness), the son of perdition - the one who sat in the temple claiming to be God (See 2 Thessalonians 2:3-7; Matthew 24:15).
Note: The only other time the phrase the son of perdition is used is in John 17:12 to describe Judas. Judas operated behind the scenes to orchestrate the arrest of Jesus. In the same way, the man of lawlessness, the son of perdition in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, would operate behind the scenes to orchestrate the persecution of believers in Jesus. Like Judas, he would be empowered by Satan. And like Judas, he would be exposed.
The one Paul described as the one who would seat himself in the temple would place himself as the leader of the people of Israel.
He incited the Jewish people to revolt against Rome.
As AD 70 inched closer and closer, the city of Jerusalem became chaotic, possibly a million people were in the city seeking refuge from the Roman armies as they marched from city to city in Israel, ultimately arriving at the capital city…Jerusalem.
During this time, there were many different Jewish factions battling for the control of Jerusalem, and there were many different leaders claiming to be either the Messiah/Christ or the leader of the people of Israel.
Eventually, the son of perdition/the man of lawlessness became the leader, as he set himself up in the temple.
Yet he was exposed (revealed) as a fraud after he placed himself above God, more than likely claiming to be the Messiah.
Before being exposed as a fraud, Satan empowered him to perform signs and wonders so the people of Israel would follow him as the Messiah (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10).
This is the abomination Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24:15.
This abomination in the temple (the son of perdition setting himself up in the temple as God, claiming to be the Messiah, and orchestrating the persecution of believers), ultimately led to Roman armies destroying Jerusalem in 70 AD.
This brought the age of the old testament of law to an end.
As a result, this abomination of desolation cannot be in the future.
For it to be in the future, God would have to remove the new testament of grace and restore the old testament of law.
This is because the desolation of Jerusalem by an army could only be caused by a violation of the law by the people of Israel under the old covenant of law (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28).
The age of the old testament law is long over.
The eternal age of the new testament of grace, established in the blood of Jesus, is fully here (2 Corinthians 5:17; Hebrews 13:20).
Therefore, the desolation of Jerusalem cannot be committed today or anytime in the future.
The desolation of Jerusalem and the temple happened in AD 70, bringing the old covenant age to an end, just as Jesus said.
The man of sin, the son of perdition, died in AD 70 when the armies destroyed Jerusalem and the temple where he sat.
If you would like to learn more, check out the series of blogs below:
6 Reasons Modern-Day Believers Get Angry At The Teaching, “The Law Has Ended
If you would like to learn more about the New Testament of Grace, check out Brad’s books:
The Story of Grace
Toxic Discipleship
Forgiven and Cleansed: 1 John 1:9 In Context
