The end of the age and return of Christ
In the context of speaking about the end of the age and the time of His return, Luke wrote that Jesus said,
"For just like the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day."; and
"Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot, people were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; but on the day Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be the same on the day the Son of Man is revealed.";
and then He said,
"On that day, anyone who is on the roof, with his goods in the house, must not come down to take them away, and likewise the person in the field must not turn back.
Remember Lot's wife!" (Luke 17:24 & 28-32).
Matthew recorded Jesus using the exact same words when, in the context of speaking about the end of the age and the time of His return (Matthew 24:8-14), Jesus said,
"Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand). Then let those in Judea flee into the mountains. Let him on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house; nor let him in the field turn back to take his clothes." (Matthew 24:15-18).
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"'Abomination of Desolation' is a phrase from the Book of Daniel describing the pagan sacrifices with which the 2nd century BC Greek king Antiochus IV Epiphanes replaced the twice-daily offering in the Jewish temple, or alternatively the altar on which such offerings were made."
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abomination_of_desolation)
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Jesus was talking to his Jewish disciples about an abomination of desolation in the holy place spoken of by Daniel the prophet in Matthew 24:15, which His audience would have associated with Antiochus IV, Epiphanes, and therefore would not have associated with the destruction of the Jerusalem:
Not destroyed: the abomination of desolation set up in the holy place of the 2nd temple by Antiochus IV, "Epiphanes" in 167 BC (Daniel 8:11; Daniel 11:31; and Daniel 12:11-12), is not associated with the destruction of either the city of Jerusalem, or of the temple in it, but:
Destroyed: The text of Daniel 9:26-27 associates the destruction of the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary (the temple) with abominations.
As Jesus' audience on the Mount of Olives well knew, the temple was cleansed after Antiochus IV Epiphanes was ousted, and the daily sacrifices were resumed (the Jewish annual celebration of Hanukkah is based on this history, and was celebrated even by Jesus).
The text of Daniel 8:11; Daniel 11:31; and Daniel 12:11-12 links all three passages to:-
(a) daily sacrifices for sin being removed (which is what occurred in the 2nd temple in the days of Antiochus IV); and
(b) an abomination of desolation being placed in the holy place (which is what occurred in the 2nd temple in the days of Antiochus IV); and
(c) 1,290 days and 1,335 days (the text of Daniel 12:11-12 links the 1,290 and 1.335 days that the verses are talking about, both to daily sacrifices for sin being removed in the temple of God; and an abomination of desolation being placed in the holy place in the temple.
In Daniel 12:11-12 we have,
(1) A historical event, the beginning of which is fixed to commence at the time of the taking away of the daily sacrifice by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, and the time when he set up of the image of Zeus in the holy place (which was the abomination of desolation); and
(2) The duration of this period of tribulation for God's faithful elect: 1,290 days. After that, the daily sacrifice was restored, and the abomination of desolation taken away - which is what the Jews still celebrate at Hanukkah each year.
Josephus dates the abomination of desolation being set up on the 25th day of Kislev (the 9th month of the biblical calendar) 145 SE (the 145th year of the Seleucid Empire). This matches the account in 1 Maccabees 1:54, which also places the abomination on 25 Kislev, 145 SE.
This took place over 200 years before the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jerusalem temple in 70 A.D.
Any Bible interpreter who applies the 1,290 days and 1,335 days to the latter days preceding the return of Christ (2,100+ years after the historical abomination of desolation in the holy place), needs to explain:
(a) what constitutes those daily sacrifices in the gospel age which the 1,290 and 1,335 days are associated with; and
(b) what constitutes the temporary removal of the daily sacrifice in the years immediately preceding the return of Jesus - without engaging in guess-work and speculation and theological inventions.
Any Bible interpreter who applies the abomination of desolation to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in A.D 70 needs to explain
(i) why the abomination of desolation set up in the holy place of the 2nd temple by Antiochus IV, "Epiphanes" in 167 BC (Daniel 8:11; Daniel 11:31; and Daniel 12:11-12), is not associated with the destruction of either the city of Jerusalem, or of the temple in it; and
(ii) why the underlined part below is what in Luke 17:25-32 Luke recorded Jesus as saying in the context of talking about the end of the age and His return (see the comparison between Luke's and Matthew's gospels near the top of this page).
Matthew 24:15 & 17-18
"Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand), then let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house, and let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes."
Unlike the above, Luke 21:20-24 records Jesus talking about the destruction of Jerusalem below, after telling them that "before all this, they will seize you and persecute you, handing you over to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and governors because of my name." (Luke 21:12).
"And when you see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that its destruction has come. Then those in its midst, let them go out. And those in the open spaces, let them not go into her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. For there shall be great distress in the land and wrath on this people. And they shall fall by the sword's edge. And shall be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the nations until the times of the nations is fulfilled."
Whereas in the context of Matthew 24:9-31, Jesus is talking about great tribulation that will come upon His disciples at the end of the age, in the context of Luke 21:20-24, Jesus is talking about the great distress that will come upon those who would suffer the wrath of God coming upon Jerusalem.
The words "before all this" in Luke 21:12 and "therefore when you see" in Matthew 24:15 should make us question whether, just because both gospel authors (Matthew and Luke) record that in respect of both events, Jesus also said, "Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!", means that Jesus is talking about the same events that were to unfold at the same time in history.
With regard to the disciples' question regarding when the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed, none of the authors of the gospels and epistles or the book of Acts gave any indication that they knew or had been told when the temple would be destroyed - it was still standing at the time of their writing (which was decades after the question had been asked).
Matthew records that (after introducing birth-pain signs of His coming and of the end of the age), Jesus said:
"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in all the world as a witness to all nations. And then (Greek toteh: at that time) the end shall come." (Matthew 24:14).
Compare the above with:
"Then (Greek toteh: at that time) they will deliver you up to tribulation and will kill you. And you will be hated of all nations for My name's sake." (Matthew 24:9).
-- The disciples could not be hated of all nations until the gospel had been proclaimed in all the world as a witness to all nations --
"And then (Greek toteh: at that time) many will be offended, and will betray one another, and will hate one another. And many false prophets will rise and deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many will become cold. But he who endures to the end, the same shall be kept safe." (Matthew 24:10-13).
In this context, Jesus continues,
Matthew 24:15-22
"Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand). Then let those in Judea flee into the mountains. Let him on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house; nor let him in the field turn back to take his clothes.
And woe to those who are with child, and to those who give suck in those days! But pray that your flight is not in the winter, nor on the sabbath day;
for then shall be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days should be shortened, no flesh would be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened."
The Jerusalem temple was no longer considered the holy place by the time it was destroyed in 70 A.D.
It's plausible that Jesus was mentioning the following TYPES of the end of the Age and the time of His return in glory in the Olivet Discourse:-
"As in the days of Noah" and "As in the days of Lot" (Luke 17:26-32 & Matthew 24:37-39) are obviously not the days of Noah or of Lot, but the comparison Jesus made pertains to the suddenness of the calamities coming upon unbelievers.
"Let him on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house; nor let him in the field turn back to take his clothes." and "Remember Lot's wife" pertains to the disciples of Jesus not looking back or longing for what has been left behind, and to the urgent necessity of fleeing.
"Woe to those who are with child, and to those who give suck in those days! But pray that YOUR flight is not in the winter, nor on the sabbath day." pertains to the intensity of the tribulation that is being mentioned as it would be experienced by those who follow Christ (since Jesus was speaking to His disciples).
In the context of what Jesus was saying about the persecution and the tribulation that would be the experience of the living stones of the New Testament tabernacle of God,
the abomination of desolation that was set up in the holy place of the 2nd temple by Antiochus IV in 167 B.C could plausibly itself be another reference to a TYPE of what is to come at the end of the age, because biblical scripture is saturated with types and anti-types, for example:-
- Lawlessness and apostasy on the part of the Jews who sacrificed to idols and followed the religion of the ancient Greeks in the days of Antiochus IV.
- Lawlessness and apostasy on the part of the saints mentioned as taking place at the end of the age - both by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew Chapter 24); and by Paul in 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2.
- An abomination of desolation being placed by Antiochus IV in the holy place of the 2nd temple in Jerusalem.
- The man of sin of 2 Thessalonians 2:4 setting himself up in the sanctuary of God.
- Jesus telling His disciples to flee Judea when they see the abomination of desolation in the holy place, which was spoken of by Daniel.
- Jerusalem trampled down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:24).
- The holy city (see closer to the bottom of THIS page) being tread under foot by Gentiles forty and two months. (Revelation 11:2).
- (Jerusalem was trodden underfoot by a Gentile - Antiochus IV Epiphanes - in the 2nd century B.C).
- They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led away as captives among all nations. (Luke 21:24).
- "He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints." (Revelation 13:10).
- The King of Babylon's image that all people, nations, tribes and tongues had to bow down and worship or be thrown into a burning, fiery furnace (Daniel Chapter 3).
- The image of the beast of Revelation (Revelation Chapter 13).
- The faithful remnant refusing to worship the image, and Nebuchadnezzar ordering the heat of the furnace to be increased seven-fold, which represents completion - to its full extent (Daniel Chapter 3).
- Jesus told us about a great tribulation that will be greater than anything that came before it (Matthew 24:9, 21-22 & 31-33).
- The king of Babylon told the faithful remnant which had been cast into the burning, fiery furnace to "come forth, and come hither", and they came out from the midst of the fire (Daniel Chapter 3).
- The two witnesses after having been killed by the beast "heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither" (Revelation 11:12).
- John saw multitudes from all nations, tribes and tongues in heaven, having come out from the great tribulation (Revelation 7:9-17).
- Jesus give His last prophetic discourse on the Mount of Olives.
- He ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives.
- Zechariah Chapter 14 talks about God setting His feet on the Mount of Olives in the day He comes to destroy the nations whose armies will have gathered against Jerusalem (a prophecy which has never been literally fulfilled).
- Jesus told His disciples to flee when they see Jerusalem surrounded by armies (Luke 21:20-24).
With regard to any future "abomination of desolation standing in the holy place", the New Testament Tabernacle of God cannot be destroyed, but it can be defiled:
1 Corinthians 3:17
"If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."
"And then shall that lawless one be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming" (2 Thessalonians 2:8).
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