by Ptr. Art Calaguas
Shalom.
Last time, we encountered the following terms: “the abomination of desolation” (in Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14); “great tribulation” (in Matthew 24:21); and “cut short” (in Matthew 24:22 and Mark 13:20). For now, we will just concentrate on the phrase “the abomination of desolation.”
In Matthew 24:15 the Lord Jesus says:
Ὅταν οὖν ἴδητε τὸ βδέλυγμα τῆς ἐρημώσεως τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ Δανιὴλ τοῦ προφήτου ἑστὸς ἐν τόπῳ ἁγίῳ, ὁ ἀναγινώσκων νοείτω, …
Therefore, when you(pl) see the “abomination of desolation” having been spoken of by the prophet Daniel, having stood in the holy place, let the one reading comprehend, …
As stated before, the Lord Jesus teaches that when the disciples see “the abomination of desolation” (or “the detestable thing of desolation” from the Hebrew שִׁקּוּצִים֙ מְשֹׁמֵ֔ם or הַשִּׁקּ֥וּץ מְשֹׁומֵֽם or שִׁקּ֣וּץ שֹׁמֵ֑ם) prophesied by the Prophet Daniel, standing in the Temple/Temple Mount; then let the readers of the Old Testament (OT) Book of Daniel understand. The term “the abomination of desolation” is part of the famous, cryptic, difficult to translate and interpret “Seventy Sevens” prophecy found in Daniel 9:24-27; specifically verse 27. The words “abomination” and “desolation” found in Daniel 9:27 are the same words used in Matthew 24:15. The phrase is also found in Daniel 11:31 and 12:11.
The Septuagint (LXX) translation of Daniel 9:27 is given below:
καὶ δυναμώσει διαθήκην πολλοῖς, ἑβδομὰς μία· καὶ ἐν τῷ ἡμίσει τῆς ἑβδομάδος ἀρθήσεται μου θυσία καὶ σπονδή, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ ἱερὸν βδέλυγμα τῶν ἐρημώσεων, καὶ ἕως συντελείας καιροῦ συντέλεια δοθήσεται ἐπὶ τὴν ἐρήμωσιν.
The New English Translation of the Septuagint (NETS electronic edition; http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/) translation of this verse says that “…in the temple there will be an abomination of desolations until the consummation of a season, and a consummation will be given for the desolation.” One can easily see the resonance with Matthew 24:15.
The LXX translation of Daniel 11:31 also uses βδέλυγμα, the Greek word for abomination, as shown below:
καὶ σπέρματα ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἀναστήσονται καὶ βεβηλώσουσιν τὸ ἁγίασμα τῆς δυναστείας καὶ μεταστήσουσιν τὸν ἐνδελεχισμὸν καὶ δώσουσιν βδέλυγμα ἠφανισμένον.
The NETS electronic edition renders the phrase with the highlighted word as “…an abomination of desolation.” Another Greek word, ἠφανισμένον (from ἀφανίζω meaning destruction) instead is used for desolation.
Daniel 12:11 LXX also uses “abomination of desolation” in the Greek; the same words used in Matthew 24:15 as shown in the highlighted words below:
καὶ ἀπὸ καιροῦ παραλλάξεως τοῦ ἐνδελεχισμοῦ καὶ τοῦ δοθῆναι βδέλυγμα ἐρημώσεως, ἡμέραι χίλιαι διακόσιαι ἐνενήκοντα.
The NETS electronic edition renders the verse as “And from the time of the removal of the regular offering and abomination of desolation will be given – 1,290 days.”
For the Gospel parallels, Mark 13:14 has some slight variation in the details compared to Matthew’s version:
Ὅταν δὲ ἴδητε τὸ βδέλυγμα τῆς ἐρημώσεως ἑστηκότα ὅπου οὐ δεῖ, ὁ ἀναγινώσκων νοείτω, τότε οἱ ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ φευγέτωσαν εἰς τὰ ὄρη,
Now when you(pl) see the “abomination of desolation” having stood where it should not, let the one reading comprehend, then those in Judea, let them flee into the mountains, …
The clause “then those in Judea, let them flee into the mountains” in Mark 13:14 is treated as a separate verse in Matthew 24:16. Also, the phrase “having been spoken of by the prophet Daniel” in Matthew 24:15 is not found in Mark 13:14. Matthew identifies the place where “the abomination of desolation” has stood and remains standing as “in the holy place” whereas Mark simply states that it is “where it should not.” Aside from these slight differences, these 2 Gospel writers are using the same words and are saying essentially the same thing. Dire forewarnings in the next verses of Matthew (vv. 16-20) and Mark (vv. 15-18) follow.
Interestingly, the parallel verse in Luke 21:20 does not contain the phrase “the abomination of desolation.” It is more concrete and specific. Below is Luke 21:20 with its different treatment of the phrase:
Ὅταν δὲ ἴδητε κυκλουμένην ὑπὸ στρατοπέδων Ἰερουσαλήμ, τότε γνῶτε ὅτι ἤγγικεν ἡ ἐρήμωσις αὐτῆς.
Now when you(pl) see Jerusalem being encircled/surrounded by encamped armies, then know that her desolation has drawn near.
The word ἐρήμωσις (“erémósis” meaning desolation) in Luke 21:20 above is the same Greek word used in the phrase “abomination of desolation” in both Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14. This Greek word is only found in 3 places in the entire New Testament (NT); in these verses of Matthew 24:15, Mark 13:14 and Luke 21:20.
More importantly, here in Luke the phrase “the abomination of desolation” is equated to the approaching desolation to be wrought by the encamped armies encircling/surrounding Jerusalem. The Gospel of Luke has thus identified and explained what exactly is “the abomination of desolation” prophesied by the Prophet Daniel (hundreds of years before the Lord Jesus gave this Olivet Discourse to his disciples). It may be that after Matthew and Mark had written their Gospels containing this Olivet Discourse, Luke under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, fleshed out what our Lord Jesus meant in greater detail and made it even more of a focused prophecy. The Lord pointed to the (then still future) destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem by the Roman legions under General Titus in 70 A.D.; about 40 years after his death, resurrection and ascension!
During the 1st century A.D., the Jews would have easily visualized the desecrating presence of Roman troops around and at the Temple Mount and more so, inside the Temple itself as nothing less than “the abomination of desolation” standing where it ought not to be (i.e. in the holy place). It would have quickly reminded them of the historical precedent of Antiochus IV Epiphanes desecrating the Temple in 167 B.C. which ignited the successful Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid empire then. Moreover, 1 Maccabees 1:54 LXX actually used the Greek words βδέλυγμα ἐρημώσεως for describing the “abomination of desolation” set up by Antiochus IV Epiphanes in the Jerusalem altar. These are the same words used by Matthew 24:15, Mark 13:14, and Daniel 9:27, 11:31, 12:11. The Jewish people who knew their scriptures and history would easily get it.
As in the succeeding verses in Matthew and Mark, Luke also continues with other forewarnings such as escaping Judea to flee into the mountains and more (vv. 21-23). Christian historical sources say that indeed, when the Roman armies under Titus arrived to encircle Jerusalem, the believers of the Lord Jesus inside the city left and together with other Jewish Christians outside the city fled to Pella (east of the Jordan River) to escape the destruction.
Biblical scholars say that the early Church Fathers regarded the desecration episode of Antiochus IV Epiphanes in the 2nd century B.C. as a partial fulfillment of Daniel’s “Seventy Sevens” prophecy regarding “the abomination of desolation” and a foreshadowing of a much worse future event. The destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem in 70 A.D. was the greater fulfillment; as prophesied by our Lord Jesus himself in his Olivet Discourse. But some scholars in the field of eschatology say the final fulfillment would be at the Lord’s Second Coming.
We will continue next week.
God bless us all.