Defining "abomination of desolation"

July 2009

The Abomination of Desolation

I was glancing over God’s word recently and came upon Ezekiel chapter 12, verses 21-28.

“And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth? Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord God; I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision. For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel. For I am the Lord: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord God. Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying. Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off. Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord God.”

God has given many prophecies; many have already been fulfilled, many are being fulfilled, and many will be fulfilled in times to come. Our God is faithful and true and none of His word will return to Him void. All will be done. Some people though, grow impatient and begin to doubt God’s word and sometimes even God himself with the passing of time. Doubting that God will fulfill His word, and a faith in Him that seems to have an expiration date, always makes God angry. Such was the case above in Ezekiel and they were soon destroyed and became captives.

Jesus walked the earth two thousand years ago, and like in the old testament made many promises and prophecies that either have been fulfilled, are being fulfilled, or will be fulfilled. Many people over the years have made it a top priority to understand the prophecies of the end of days as written in the book of Revelation. But just as the passing of time without fulfillment of prophecy caused many in Ezekiel’s day to doubt, so likewise have many in today’s world. Yet even this present day doubting itself is a fulfillment of prophecy!

2 Peter 3: 1-8 explains that people will once again become doubtful when it seems that His judgments are not swift in being fulfilled. People will have the same attitudes as those in Ezekiel’s day, and then goes on to explain that God does not work within the same type of time schedule as man does.

“This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

Then in the next verse Peter goes on to explain why God has assigned such a long time span (long in human terms anyway) between the ‘end time prophecies’ and its fulfillment. Verse 9 says;

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

God is waiting, giving each generation time to come to Him. And their children. And their grandchildren. But this ‘waiting time’ is not limitless. God is highly organized in all things including the timing of the endtime prophecies. In order to correctly understand current events in the light of endtime prophecies we have to go back to Genesis 15: 12 and 13. In these verses Abraham was foretold that his descendents would grow in number (even though he had not yet had his first child) and that they would become slaves in the land of Egypt for 400 years.

“And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. 13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not their's, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;”

Why 400 years? Why not sooner? Why was the nation of Israel being held back?
The answer is in verses 14-16;

“And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.”

The land to where the Israelites would go was to be the land of the Amorties. What was the iniquity of the Amorites? Idolatry, wickedness, witchcraft and the occult. (Deut 9:5 and 18:10-12). 400 years was given to the Amorites to turn from their wickedness. When that time was completed, their time was over. All of those inhabitants of those lands had plenty of time in that 400 years to seek out the true God; if any were to desire the True God it had to have been within that time frame. After that time span then the ‘iniquity of Amorites was full.’ Now we skip through history to the time of Jesus. It was long prophesied, even in the Old Testament, that Jesus would be ‘a light to lighten the Gentiles’ and when the Jews rejected Jesus, because of that rejection, God turned to the Gentiles with His offer of salvation and His invitation to the marriage supper of the Lamb. This is the time in which the vineyard was taken away from the ‘wicked husbandmen’ and given to ‘other husbandmen’ (Matthew 21:41 – “They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons”.).

After the fall of Jerusalem and the scattering of its people, the true church, would soon become dominated by Gentiles. This offer, too, was not limitless; it had an expiration; and that expiration would be when “the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” Luke 21: 21-24;

“Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”

When is that time? What are the signs? Jesus spoke of the final signs, but He also spoke of the signs preceding the final signs. Look at Mark 13: 2- 14;

“2 And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? 5 And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you: 6 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 7 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. 8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows. 9 But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. 10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations. 11 But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost. 12 Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. 13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains…”

Verse 2 through 13 speaks of much turmoil; deception, massive world wars, numerous earthquakes and famines but these are only ‘the beginning of sorrows’. In verse 10 the gospel is published in all nations (hence, to the whole of the gentile world) and many shall be martyred. These things are not the ‘end’ signs, or the ‘fulfillment of the time allotted to the Gentiles.’ The final sign of the fulfillment of the time of the Gentiles, when Jesus says “Flee” occurs in verse 14 when He says; “But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains…”. The end is so close at that time that Jesus went on to say that if you are outside your house, don’t even go inside to get out any last items from your house…just leave!

Now we’re getting to the heart of the matter. The final signs. Jesus referred to the book of Daniel, and specifically where Daniel mentions the “abomination of desolation.” Daniel 11:31 says; ‘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.” Abomination of Desolation; ever hear of that? Ever hear a sermon or a teaching on it? I’ve heard a couple of preachers making guesses that are laughable, but in order to understand it we must also know what Daniel refers to when he mentions “the taking away of the daily sacrifice” as it applies to the New Testament times in which we live… after all, the end times occur in New Testament times. Bear with me for just a little while; but in order to explain the “abomination of desolation” as Jesus referred to it, or the “abomination that maketh desolate” as Daniel referred to it; I first need to explain the “daily sacrifice” as it pertains to the New Testament era. I will be as brief as possible while still trying to explain it the best I can.

The Daily Sacrifice

As Daniel pointed out in prophecy of the last days (which occurs in the New Testament era), “they shall take away the daily sacrifice.” Jesus was the sacrificial lamb of God who shed His blood for our sins; without which our own atonement with God could not be possible. Most of us know that. But the sacrifices did not stop with Jesus! Let me explain. Scripturally, if we are to be born again, and receive the true born again experience of receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit; we come fully repentant before the Lord and commit our lives in complete obedience to Him. We place our will second to His, and fully trust in His care. We die to self, to self will, to the desires of the flesh, and pledge ourselves as disciples of Christ and He becomes our Lord. The lives that we live are no longer ours… but His. This is why the Apostle Paul writes in 2 Cor 5:15; “that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again”.
This is why the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 12:1 and 2; “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God”. It is to be remembered that Jesus did not want to die on the cross, in fact, he besought His Father three times and with very much emotion to find a different way for Him to be sacrificed. But those prayers were followed by “but not my will, but thine be done.” Jesus submitted His will in obedience to the Father. In Philippians 2: 8 Paul wrote of Jesus saying; “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross”. The cross is not just the symbol of our Saviour’s sacrifice; it is symbolic of the type of obedience each and every one of us as Christians must have. That’s why Jesus said; “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27). Churches today say many things about the cross on Calvary that places all the sacrifice on Jesus and celebrates His obedience… but teach nothing of the personal dedication, submission and obedience of those they supposedly shepherd. When we come to Christ, if we do it in manner that is not only pleasing but the only way that is accepted with God, then we come to the cross and lay down our lives there… that’s our sacrifice. Jesus said in
Mt 16: 24 and 25; “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it”. And that’s why the Apostle Paul said in Gal 2: 20; “I am crucified with Christ: neverthless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me”. No, the sacrifice certainly did not stop with Jesus; in fact, it had just begun. The ‘daily sacrifice’ mentioned by Daniel was to be fulfilled by every person who would come to the Lord century after century ‘until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled’. Many churches today teach and preach a gospel that is not based upon scripture. Their doctrines are based upon hand picked verses the present only partial truths. The presentation of a partial truth, presented as the whole of a truth, makes the conclusion a lie. Preaching both a Jesus and a salvation that is not the full picture as written in the New Testament creates followers that are seriously misled, and are deceived into being worshippers of a Jesus of their own making. Churches today exhort people to just ‘accept the Lord Jesus Christ’ instead of be ‘acceptable to Him’
There is a huge difference! Inline with picking up one’s own cross and following Jesus that today’s churches also stay well away from Hebrew’s 5:9 where it says of Jesus that He is “…the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him”. The author of salvation to those that obey Him… salvation is directly linked to obedience to the will of God. Jesus did not say go into all the world and get them to ‘accept me’, no, he said go into all the world teaching them to be obedient to everything that I have commanded you.

Because of the multitudes of seekers who have been deceived by false doctrines, the true salvation and the real born again experience of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, through repentance and the holiness of commitment and obedience, is becoming a rare event. The ‘daily sacrifices’ have not stopped altogether but they have been greatly diminished.

Back to Daniel 11:31

“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”

But Daniel says the daily sacrifice will be ‘taken away’ (not just diminished). The final end of the daily sacrifice will not come through heresy or perverted doctrines, and it won’t be totally ended voluntarily… it will be taken. It will be taken away because they placed the abomination that maketh desolate. That part of the sentence sounds like bad English doesn’t it? “They placed the abomination that maketh desolate” leaves a person wondering… placed what? Where? But the word ‘placed’ is a verb, and it means ‘to put into position’, to ‘set in place’ such as when a law is passed and made to take effect. So, at the end times, they will put into position the abomination that makes desolate. And what is desolation? To be desolate is to be barren, destitute, completely alone, lost, wretched, totally cheerless and without hope.
True desolation is a life without the presence of God. What will make people desolate in the end times, will be the abomination (a law placed in effect) that illegalizes God’s word and Christianity. This statement just made in the previous sentence is not just a possible methaphor of the meaning of Daniel 11:31… it is what means. This is what will ‘take away the daily sacrifice’. This coming law, which legally takes away the spread of Christianity thereby ending the daily sacrifice is an abomination to God, and it most certainly will leave desolate the souls of man, and removes the ‘salt of the earth’ which makes the earth of no further value to it’s Creator. As in the days of Noah wherein all man was wicked… so shall such widespread wickedness be again.

Thirty-one years ago God gave me this understanding. Thirty-one years ago Islam had not begun it’s massive spread into Europe or into many other nations of the world as they are now. Terrorism was unknown. Islamic nations had not begun their push for world domination. America still considered herself to be a Christian nation not by law but by popular opinion of it’s citizens. Fundamentalist Christianity was still highly revered and proudly proclaimed as the only true religion. Christmas was still honored as such, with store displays, courtroom depictions of scriptures and the cross, and public areas and buildings embraced the icons of the Judean-Christian faith. Thirty-one years ago the ecumenical movement, conceived in an attempt to combine all faiths into unity by abandoning their doctrines (even their God-given truths) in order to become one, was still in it’s infancy stages.

At this time is when God revealed to me the understanding of Daniel 11-31-35 and Mark 13: 2-14. Of course, I was not well received when I spoke of this with others. But since that time I have watched as Christianity in America and the rest of the Christian world became under attack. Laws were passed not only forbidding prayer in schools but the forbidding of teaching anything from the Bible as well. Bibles themselves became banned. Judean-Christian symbols were fought against and removed from many public places. Many stores refuse to make references to Christ’s birth at the now called ‘holiday season’ we still call Christmas.The weakening effect on Christianity by the ecumenical movement and it’s own apathy is leading to the onslaught and eventual takover by Islam. Efforts by Islamics to vilify any criticism of their terrorizing religion have led to laws that are contrary to scripture which commands Christians to speak out against false doctrines and false prophets. As Islam rises to power in the world, the homosexual movement has also led movements against scripture by making laws forbidding the use of scripture to speak out against homosexuality. Laws against scripture are being passed while Islam is fighting it’s way into the public school system to indoctrinate the nations children in the teachings of Muhammad. Bible believing Christians are even being looked down upon and sneered at by ‘modern’ Christians who have been deceived and taken in by the ecumenical movement. “Modern” Christians, Islamics and homosexuals combined continue their efforts to criminalize Bible believing Christians. In nations where Islam is more in control, Christians are not just harassed or jailed but tortured and killed. These things are not just happening in ‘other countries’ but in many areas even in the United States Christians are harassed and even jailed simply for speaking their bible based beliefs openly. As Islam takes control (which they are certainly doing at a rapid pace) we will see more worldwide persecution of Christians and such persecutions will be spreading throughout north America.

The eventual passing of laws forbidding God’s word and Christianity, which will surely come to pass, will mark the end of the ‘times of the Gentiles’ and those days will then be fulfilled. Although the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abominable law that causes desolation shall be placed into effect…look at the verses following Daniel 11:31. Daniel 11:32-35 say that the Christians who do know their God (i.e.; the real, born again spirit-filled Christians) shall be strong! We will do exploits (continuing to speak God’s Word with power and the authority of scripture) and shall teach others. As we do we shall be killed or imprisoned but without fear or compromise. We shall suffer the persecution of the first Christians. These prophecies are coming into view now on the horizon as the world heads into it’s very near future.


See Daniel 11:31-35;

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. 32 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. 33 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. 34 Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. 35 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.

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steve32646@msn.com