What is the Abomination of Desolation?

By Eli Kittim

Given that wars, earthquakes, famines, pestilences, pandemics, and increased lawlessness are not necessarily signs of the prophesied endtimes, since they're arguably common in human history, there is nevertheless one sign that is unique to the imminent coming of Christ, namely, the sign of the abomination of desolation that is mentioned in Mark 13.14!

The Lukan Desolation Begins After Jerusalem Is Surrounded by Encamped Armies

The abomination of desolation is also mentioned in Matthew, but in Luke 21.20-21 (NRSV) we get additional information:

"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."

The key words of the Greek text are κυκλουμένην ὑπὸ στρατοπέδων Ἰερουσαλήμ (Lk 21.20). The term κυκλουμένην means encircled or surrounded. The word ὑπὸ means "by" or "under," while the word στρατοπέδων is a reference to military bases, camps, or encamped armies. Thus, this verse is explicitly telling us that when you see Jerusalem (Ἰερουσαλήμ) being encircled or surrounded by encamped armies, military bases or camps, "know that its desolation has come near."

Luke further warns that when the inhabitants first see the encircled armies, "then those in Judea must flee to the mountains." Matthew 24.15-16 similarly says:

"So when you see the desolating sacrilege
standing in the holy place, as was spoken of
by the prophet Daniel [9.27] (let the reader
understand), then those in Judea must flee
to the mountains."

So what Matthew calls "the desolating sacrilege," Luke calls surrounding armies which bring about Jerusalem's desolation. The so-called "holy place" may simply be a general reference to the Holy Land, especially since there is no Temple in Israel at present, nor is one expected in the foreseeable future, given that the erection of a Jewish Temple would necessitate the demolition of both the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqṣā Mosque.

When Daniel refers to the Antichrist, saying that "at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation" (9.27), it could be a reference to a nuclear warhead that might be stored or set up on the Temple Mount, a hill in the Old City of Jerusalem that is traditionally venerated as a holy site by Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike. The Temple Mount can certainly be referred to as a "holy place" (or as "the temple" for short). Continuing with the narrative, Matthew 24.21 (cf. Dan. 12.1) says:

"For at that time there will be great suffering
[great tribulation], such as has not been
from the beginning of the world until now,
no, and never will be."

So, this desolation is an obvious reference to weapons of war and mass destruction, not to some sort of benign religious ritual that takes place inside a literal temple, as most Christian interpretations would have it. In other words, it isn't simply offensive to religious sensibilities but rather deadly, lethal, and destructive. And this particular meaning would certainly conform to the usage of the term "desolation" in Scripture (see e.g. Ezek. 15.8; 33.29; Dan. 9.18; Zech. 7.14; Mt. 23.38). After all, the dictionary meaning of the word desolation is utter devastation, ruin, and destruction, or a barren wasteland.

Similarly, the definition of the word sacrilege is a violation or misuse of what is regarded as sacred. This can certainly take the form of irreverence to sacred places. Nuclear weapons stored at a sacred site——like the Temple Mount, for example——would be a sacrilege (cf. Dan. 11.31). Such an act would be an abomination, that is to say, something that is decidedly disgraceful and horrific.

Is Zechariah Describing a Nuclear Attack Similar to that of Ezekiel 38 & 39?

There is a passage in Zechariah 14 that explicitly refers to the end-time when God will finally reign supreme (v. 9):

"the Lord will become king over all the earth;
on that day the Lord will be one and his
name one."

Zechariah 14 is seemingly talking about the same climactic time-period that Matthew & Luke are describing. For example, Zechariah 14.1-2 mentions a unique "day [that] is coming" (cf. v.4 "On that day") when God "will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle." It issues the same caveat that we find in Luke, including a near verbal agreement, namely, that "you shall flee by the valley of the Lord's mountain" (v. 5) at that time (cf. Lk 21.21). In other words, it's warning people to escape the blast radius. If that is the case, then it would be appropriate to discuss the aftereffects of that war as described by Scripture itself (Zech. 14.12):

"This shall be the plague [blow] with which
the Lord will strike all the peoples that wage
war against Jerusalem: their flesh shall rot
[or dissolve] while they are still on their feet;
their eyes shall rot [dissolve] in their
sockets, and their tongues shall rot
[dissolve] in their mouths."

These are obviously the consequences of a nuclear explosion that cannot be explained by natural disasters or physical illnesses, as, for example, when people's flesh disintegrates instantaneously before they can even hit the floor. Something similar happened when the US dropped atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. No wonder this period is called the Great tribulation (Mk 13.19; cf. Mt. 24.21; Rev. 8.7), and it's no surprise that "in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light" (Mk 13.24; cf. Joel 2.31)! Jerusalem will become a barren wasteland, as we've often seen in such post-apocalyptic films as Mad Max, The Book of Eli, & The Matrix (see 2 Pet. 3.10).

Luke's pericope also reminds us of the Ezekiel 38 War in which many nations will come against Israel in the latter days (vv. 8-9):

"in the latter years you shall go against a
land restored from war, a land where people
were gathered from many nations on the
mountains of Israel, which had long lain
waste; ... You shall advance, coming on
like a storm; you shall be like a cloud
covering the land, you and all your troops,
and many peoples with you."

Incidentally, there are mentions in Ezekiel 38 & 39 that could be taken as references to a nuclear blast (see e.g. Ezekiel 38.19-20; 39.6-9).

Conclusion

Most Biblical commentators view the abomination of desolation as a "religious" sacrilege, akin to the one perpetrated by Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 167 bce when he outlawed Jewish rites and desecrated the Temple by erecting an altar to Zeus, according to 2 Maccabees 6.1–12. But today there is no Temple standing in Jerusalem! And although the future sacrilege that the gospel writers described certainly has religious overtones——given that the entire event seems to take place on or around the Temple Mount (which is historically considered sacred)——nevertheless it causes utter destruction and devastation, so much so that people have to run for their lives!

So, the answer to our original question (what is the abomination of desolation?) is, most probably, nuclear warheads that will be placed, and subsequently detonated, on the Temple Mount. This would certainly constitute the most horrible sacrilege in history.

Therefore, it's important to watch the war that is currently taking place in Israel. Jerusalem is said to be the epicenter of the final global conflict that initiates the Great Tribulation! It is this unique sign, then, that heralds the imminent coming of Messiah! And the Temple Mount, which continues to be the center of much controversy, should be the focus of attention!