Daniel 9:27; The Abomination of Desolation ~ 20221009 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org
10/09_Daniel 09:27; The Abomination of Desolation Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20221009_dan09_27.mp3
We are looking at the word the Lord gave to Daniel about seventy sevens “decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.”
The seventy sevens are broken into three sections; 7, 62 and 1 final seven. Messiah the Prince is predicted to come at the end of the 7 sevens and 62 sevens. And he came, right on schedule!
The first 69 run from the days of Daniel up to the life and ministry of Jesus. It seems that there is an intermission between the first 69 sevens, after which Messiah Jesus was cut off for my sins, and then 40 years later the city Jerusalem and sanctuary are destroyed by the people of the prince who is to come. Today we are living in that intermission, anticipating the coming of the final seven years which will finally and forever put an end to the iniquity, sin and transgression of the Jewish people and make them righteous, fulfill all prophecy, and anoint a most holy place.
Daniel 9:24 “Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. 25 Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks [and] sixty-two weeks[;] it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. 26 And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. 27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”
We looked last time at the identity of the ‘he’; the prince who is to come as a different person than Messiah the Prince from verse 25. This prince who is to come will impose a covenant with the many for seven years, but in the middle of the seven, after 3 and a half years he will end blood sacrifices and grain offerings, and the one who makes desolate will come on the wing of abominations untl the decreed end.
Today I want to zoom out from Daniel and see what the rest of the Bible has to say about this coming final seven year period of time until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator, and what the Bible has to say about this prince who is to come and the abomination of desolation. I think this will help us see the big picture of some of the themes in biblical prophecy.
Jesus and the Abomination of Desolation
It may be helpful to start with Jesus, who referred to the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel. Here’s what Jesus says in Matthew 24, he told his disciples that ‘there will not be left one stone’ of the temple ‘on another that will not be thrown down.’
Matthew 24:3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
They ask about two different but related issues; the destruction of the temple, and the sign of the coming of Jesus at the end of the age. Jesus warns the disiples ‘do not be led astray’. False messiahs will come, there will be wars, earthquakes, famines, persecutions, betrayals, false prophets, and lawlessness will increase, but the end is not yet. Then Jesus says in verse 14:
Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. 15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place ( let the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ...21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
He warns that false christs and false prophets will come doing great signs and wonders leading many astray.
Matthew 24:27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. 29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Jesus points to the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place as the sign of the beginning of great tribulation that will climax with the coming of the Son of Man on the clouds of heaven. This answers the disciples’ question of the sign of Jesus’ coming and of the end of the age.
Some have tried to fit all of this with the destruction of the temple by Titus in 70 AD. The temple was utterly destroyed and the temple mount scraped bare under Titus (some of what was done was against Titus’ orders). But by the time the temple was breached by the Roman legions, it was too late to flee. It is a stretch to say that the gospel was proclaimed to the whole world by 70 AD, and Jesus has not yet come on the clouds of heaven or gathered his elect from the whole earth.
So although under Titus ‘not one stone was left upon another that was not thrown down’, the signs of the coming of the Son of Man and the end of the age have not yet taken place. Jesus makes it clear that many catastrophic events will happen, but that the end is not yet.
Abomination of Desolation; Daniel 8, 9, 11, 12
Jesus said ‘So when you see the abomination of desolation spoke of by the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place,’ this is the event that will trigger the greatest tribulation the world has ever seen.
Phrases about the abomination of desolation show up four different places in Daniel.
Daniel 8 speaks of Antiochus Epiphanes, the little horn emerging from the Greek empire, who serves as a foreshadowing of the coming prince.
Daniel 8:11 It became great, even as great as the Prince of the host. And the regular burnt offering was taken away from him, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown. 12 And a host will be given over to it together with the regular burnt offering because of transgression, and it will throw truth to the ground, and it will act and prosper. 13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke, “For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot?”
Antiochus put an end to the regular burnt offering and the sanctuary was given into his hand. Antiochus appointed a wicked high priest and had the rightful high priest assassinated. Later he returned and plundered the temple. An angel asks about the transgression that makes desolate, a similar phrase to the abomination of desolation.
The interpretation given by the angel gives more clarity:
Daniel 8:23 And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise. 24 His power shall be great— but not by his own power; and he shall cause fearful destruction and shall succeed in what he does, and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints. 25 By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall become great. Without warning he shall destroy many. And he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but by no human hand.
We know from history that Antiochus named himself ‘epiphanes’; God manifest. He returned to Jerusalem under pretence of peace, but turned and destroyed many and burned the city. He required the Jews to violate God’s laws under penalty of death. According to 1 Maccabees, ’they erected a desolating sacrilege upon the altar of burnt offering ...and ...they offered sacrifice on the altar which was upon the altar of burnt offering.’ (1Maccabees 1:54,59). In 167 BC Antiochus defiled the temple by offering swine to Zeus in the Jew’s temple.
Daniel 11 also describes this Antiochus.
Daniel 11:31 Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate. 32 He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. ... 36 “And the king shall do as he wills. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done.
Both Daniel 8 and 11 talk about Antiochus, but they point beyond him, foreshadowing the prince who is to come. Jesus, living nearly 200 years after Antiochus had come and gone pointed his disciples to the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel as a future sign of the coming of the Son of Man at the end of the age.
Daniel 12 talks about ‘a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered.’ It talks about the resurreciton of the dead, and the glorification of the saints. The angel asks how long until the end of these wonders?
Daniel 12:7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished. ...11 And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days. 12 Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days.
A time, times and half a time; three and a half years from the time the regular burnt offering will be taken away and the abomination that makes desolate will be set up. When the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end, all these things; deliverance, resurrection, glorification, will be finished.
Jesus points to the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place as the sign of the times of the end.
Time, times, Half a Time
Daniel 12 mentioned a time, times and half a time; or three and a half years. We already saw this same time period in Daniel 7 about the little horn, ‘the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, ...this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, until the Ancient of Days came.
Daniel 7:25 He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. 26 But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end.
We also see this same time period in different forms in Revelation;
Revelation 11:2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. 3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
Forty-two months is three and a half years. 1260 days is 42 months if a month is 30 days; three and a half years. This is the time the temple court and the city is given over to the nations.
We see this time period again in Revelation 12 as the time the woman Israel is protected from the dragon;
Revelation 12:6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.
And again in Revelation 12:14
Revelation 12:14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.
And then in Revelation 13:5
Revelation 13:5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.
Forty-two months, 1260 days, a time, times and half a time; three and a half years; half of a seven. These are all different ways to describe the same tme period, a period of persecution of God’s people, a time of preservation by God, a time when the beast is allowed to exercise authority, a time set off by the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place.
Paul and the Coming of the Lawless One
Paul writes to the Thessalonian church because they were ‘quickly shaken in mind, alarmed that the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him had alread happened.’ He says;
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
This clearly connects back to Daniel’s descriptions of the abomination that makes desolate. Paul goes on:
2 Thessalonians 2:5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Paul, writing around 49-51 AD is saying that the coming lawless one has not come yet. He puts their fears to rest because the Day of the Lord will happen only after the lawless one is revealed. This will not be an event that people will miss. We know that it has still not happened, because when this lawless one is revealed, the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth and bring him to nothing by the appearance of his coming. This hasn’t happened yet.
The Good News
What’s the most important takeaway from all this? Treasure the gospel! Those who do not believe the truth but take pleasure in unrighteousness are condemned. People perish because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved. So believe the truth. Love the truth. Delight yourself in the gospel. Make sure your name is wreittem in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.
And do not fear. We have no need to be afraid. Because although they may kill the body they cannot destroy our soul. Because the Lord Jesus will kill the lawless one with the breath of his mouth and bring him to nothing by the appearance of his coming. Because the decreed end will be poured out on the desolator.
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2022.10.09 Sermon Notes
Daniel 9:26-27; The Abomination of Desolation
Jesus and the Abomination of Desolation
‘when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’
Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14; Luke 21:20-22
the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel
Daniel 8:13; 9:27; 11:31; 12:11
In the middle of the week; a time, times, half a time
Daniel 12:7 -shattering of the power of the holy people
Daniel 7:25 -saints given into his hand
Daniel 9:27 -put an end to sacrifice and offering
Revelation 11:2 -holy city trampled by nations
Revelation 11:3 -two witnesses prophesy
Revelation 12:6, 14 -woman nourished in wilderness
Revelation 13:5 -beast allowed to exercise authority
The coming of the lawless one
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org