When therefore ye shall see the abomination of desolation, which is spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in [what is a] holy place, (he that reads let him understand,)
The disciples asked for a sign, and the Lord gave them one they could not miss: something detestable standing where God should be honoured. Everything turns on what that object is, where it stands, and whether Rome fulfilled it in AD 70 or it still waits ahead.
The word "abomination" is not vague. The Old Testament gives it one fixed use, and that use settles what the sign must be.
What is meant by "the abomination of desolation"? "Abomination" is the Scripture title for an idol. So we read of "Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites," and "Chemosh the abomination of Moab" (1 Kings 11:5-7). It is, therefore, an idol set up in the holy place at Jerusalem. This has never happened in the past. True, Antiochus Epiphanes defiled the temple (Dan. 11:31), but this was long before the Lord's prophecy. The only event of note involving the temple since the Lord Jesus spoke was its destruction by the Roman armies under Titus in A.D. 70. So the Lord's prediction has yet to be fulfilled.
"The holy place" is a location, and the Lord had already sentenced that location to rubble. Putting the two statements side by side forces a conclusion about the future.
Of all wrongdoings, idolatry is the one God detests most. It is the open, formal denial of His Godhead. It puts the creature in the place of Himself, the Creator… The "holy place," of course, means the temple. The Lord had announced about the temple then standing, "There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down" (v. 2). So it follows that in the meantime the temple will have been rebuilt.
Daniel mentions this abomination more than once, so which passage did the Lord point to?
The parenthesis warns that the prediction might be misunderstood — at any rate, it demanded attention. Two passages of the prophecy (Dan. 11:31 and Dan. 12:11) speak of this abomination. I have no hesitation in saying that the first was a foreshadowing of what Antiochus Epiphanes did centuries before Christ. The second is the one meant here, and it is still unfulfilled… "And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand." In this we have another link with our Lord's words — "let the reader understand."
The sign is not an accident of war. Someone puts it there on purpose, and God answers it.
The abomination that results in desolation is idolatry. The antichrist brings it into the holy place, the temple in Jerusalem. This will happen at the middle of Daniel's seventieth week, and it will lead at once to the three and a half years of "great tribulation." This image to the beast (the head of the revived Roman empire) will be a direct challenge to God, for it gives Rome God's place of Protector of Israel. God will therefore send "a desolator," the king of the north, to sweep over the land of Israel with a sudden thrust like a whirlwind (Dan. 11:40).
Many have read the verse as a description of AD 70. William Kelly answers from Luke's parallel account and from the history of that siege.
The proper prophecy of the past destruction of Jerusalem is a part of Luke 21, not Matthew 24. There our Lord speaks about Jerusalem surrounded by armies. But there is no sign like the setting up of the abomination of desolation, and nothing there calls for such a rapid flight… The Roman officer who came and surrounded the city made no such urgent demand for immediate action. Months passed between the withdrawal of Cestius Gallus and the arrival of the far greater force under the emperor. The destruction of Jerusalem came some years afterwards. That is to say, there was plenty of time to get away — family, friends, baggage and all.
The bracketed line is an instruction to us.
The words clearly imply that many who read might not understand. At the least, our Lord warns readers to make sure they take in His thought… He never discourages reading. He wants understanding. He knew there would be all sorts of ideas floating about, especially about prophecy. As a result, many of God's children make mistakes about it, and many more dread the subject.
- The sign — "abomination" is Scripture's regular word for an idol. So the sign is an idol, not an army.
- The place — the "holy place" means the temple. The Lord had condemned the temple then standing to total ruin, so another must stand there before the sign appears.
- The source — the Lord names Daniel. Commentators point to Daniel 12:11, not Daniel 11:31, which Antiochus Epiphanes had already fulfilled long before He spoke.
- The timing — the antichrist sets the idol up in the middle of Daniel's last seven-year period, and the three and a half years of great tribulation begin. The order to flee is urgent, so commentators keep this apart from the slower Roman siege Luke 21 describes.
- The charge — "let the reader understand" is a caution. The Lord never discourages reading. He wants His words grasped, not left in the fog that surrounds prophecy.
then let those who are in Judaea flee to the mountains;
On the Mount of Olives, Jesus turns from general signs to local orders: a named region, a visible signal, and one command — run. Who is told to flee, from what, and why does God tell them to escape instead of stand and suffer?
Everything before verse 15 is general. From that verse the picture narrows.
From verse 15 we have a much more precise scene, a local scene. We have the holy place, and Daniel, and Judea, and definite local circumstances, and set conduct, once people see the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place. "Let the reader understand." Then those in Judea were to flee to the mountains, because great tribulation comes here when this dishonouring idol stands in the holy place.
The name of that sign is worth unpacking.
The word "abomination" simply means idol. It is called the abomination of desolation because it causes the desolation of Jerusalem and of the Jewish people.
The geography itself limits the audience. Judea is one small region, not the world.
Who can be so bold (to say the least) as to affirm that this is a picture of the church at large? Do you suppose that Christians would ever be thought of as being in the land of Judea alone? Clearly not. All is plain if He is speaking about Jews — godly ones no doubt, but Jews in that particular land. It is not at all a prophetic declaration about the saints of God in different parts of the world.
Why flee rather than stay and suffer? The reason is what God is doing at that moment.
The Lord Jesus does not call the godly Jews to stay and suffer. God is visiting His guilty people at that moment, because of their final apostasy and their bowing down to the man of sin as the true God in His house. So He tells the godly remnant to flee at once, regardless even of clothes or anything else, to save their lives.
The moment the idol stands there, everything changes.
The testimony is over, and the disciples have only to flee… Jerusalem is then handed over to the judgment which awaits it.
Many read this verse as describing the fall of Jerusalem under Rome. These writers point to Luke's account instead. There the sign is an army surrounding the city, and events unfold slowly. That slower pace, they say, rules Matthew out.
The Roman officer who came and surrounded the city did not call for this kind of instant, urgent obedience. Months passed between the withdrawal of Cestius Gallus and the arrival of the far greater force under the emperor. The destruction of Jerusalem took place some years afterwards. That is to say, there was plenty of time to get away — family, friends, baggage and all. There was no need for such an urgent flight.
The flight is not open-ended. It has a set length, and Revelation 12 shows the same scene — a woman who can only run.
The strong man of God, Christ, does not yet exercise His power. The woman has nothing else to do but flee for three and a half years. During that time Satan uses his power on earth with great fury. The only resource of the woman is to flee. Jesus foretold this in Matthew 24:16.
Flight is not abandonment. God has already arranged the destination and the supply:
God provides for the woman both a place and food for 1260 days… The careful counting of the days shows the Lord's tender interest in His sorrowing saints. He counts them up one by one, so to speak.
The warning only helps those who believed it in advance.
What use was the Lord's warning that they were to flee in such circumstances, if the disciples did not understand what He was speaking about, and did not believe His word beforehand? This knowledge and this faith were exactly what set them apart from all their unbelieving countrymen.
- Signal. The idol standing in the holy place is the signal to move. The word means idol, and it desolates Jerusalem and its people.
- Place. From verse 15 the scene is local — Judea and the holy place. The command fits godly Jews in one small land, not Christians across the world.
- Command. Not stand and suffer, but flee at once; the time for witness there has closed and judgment is falling.
- Provision. The flight lasts three and a half years, to a place God has already prepared, with days He counts one by one.
- Faith. The warning only saves those who believed it in advance. Knowing His word and acting on it at once sets them apart from everyone else.