Abomination and desolation explanation – Matthew 24

   In reading my last piece, there is a high possibility you disagreed.  I understand.  British and American scholarship from well over a century ago had a different interpretation of Daniel 9:24-27 and thus Matthew 24.  That interpretation had a huge influence on much Christian literature of the past three decades.  Having read scholarly commentaries from as early as the year 1900, I got the scoop!

Daniel 9:26 states: “After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing.  The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary….” (NIV).

   A number of those sincere scholars advocated a gigantic gap of what would turn out to be over two thousand years between the events of these two sentences.  They acknowledged Christ’s crucifixion ended the sixty-nine “weeks,” (the seven “weeks” and the sixty-two “weeks,”) which was 483 years.  I agree.  But then they claimed that from that point on this prophecy was put on an indefinite hold.  They advocated the final seven years will not take place until the tribulation of the end times.  I disagree.  Jumping ahead more than two thousand years from the time of Christ to the end times is an erroneous departure from this text of Daniel in my opinion.

   Jesus taught the “abomination that causes desolation” marks the time of His prophecy of the destruction of the temple.  Thus an incorrect interpretation of Daniel 9:24-27 leads to terrible confusion on the teaching in Matthew 24:15.  Worse of all, it interferes with the correct interpretation of the rapture.  Let us instead strive for clarity.

   Dr. Charles R. Erdman was a special scholar and minister who taught at Princeton Theological Seminary from 1906 to 1936.  (He is not to be mistaken with the gentleman who founded Eerdmans Publishing Company in the early 1900s.)

   I appreciate that Dr. Erdman addressed this subject in a commentary published in 1920, and I note he made some good points.  But on this subject, his misinterpretation caused a mess.  Dr. Erdman claimed the teaching of Christ involves a double entendre.  Dr. Erdman stated: “…it is evident that our Lord is describing not one event, but two….” (1)

   A double entendre is asking for trouble from the start.

   Later on, he states: “This event is painted so vividly in colors borrowed from the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, that it is difficult to distinguish between the references to the two events.” (2)

   Jesus was not describing two events.

   Being on the wrong track, advancing into his commentary he furthers the confusion: “Even the generation then living was to witness the destruction of Jerusalem which was in itself to be a type and a sign of the greater event which lay in the more distant future.” (3)

   Yes, a “type” in biblical studies is an event which foreshadows a greater future event.  A delicate topic of study, these “types” were under the “Old Covenant” and they were leading to specific events within the “New Covenant.”  No, the mass murder of the Jewish people by the Roman Empire was not a “type.”  It was a tragic historic world event which Jesus foretold about and warned about.

   Jesus was answering the first question by the disciples!  The answer was a prophecy foretelling that Jerusalem would be ransacked by the Romans, a tragedy marked by a fulfilling of a prophecy of Daniel.  Jesus even stated, “For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now – and never to be equaled again” (Matthew 24:21).  Christ taught the fall of Jerusalem, and the resulting disastrous consequence of the Israelites losing their homeland, which I will address in my next piece, were more terrible than the disaster which will take place during the end times tribulation.

   Now there could be some parallelism between the tribulation which took place between 66/67 A.D. and 73/74 A.D., and the end times tribulation.  Yet if we want details about the end times tribulation which will follow the first stage of the glorious Second Coming of Christ, we need to look elsewhere in the Bible, such as the fourteenth chapter of Zechariah, or the book of Revelation after the start of the fourth chapter.  Though a delicate interpretation, since Revelation involves a vision, plus it is full of metaphors, Revelation does contain an end times prophecy.

   Even during the horrible event of Roman soldiers murdering over 1,100,00 Israelites around 70 A.D., God prevented the Roman Empire from extinguishing His covenant people.  God continued, as He still does, to give the Jewish people, whom He loves, opportunities to turn to Him.  God is the One who wants eternal life for us all.

Hunter Irvine

(1)  Charles R. Erdman, The Gospel of Matthew:

An Exposition (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press,

1920), 190.

(2)  Ibid., 192.

(3)  Ibid., 195.

The abomination that causes desolation – Matthew 24

Matthew 24:15-16 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel – let the reader understand – then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” (NIV).

   For five hours this past Friday, I studied some commentaries at the wonderful, though shrinking, library at Denver Seminary.  I had a great day!

   Perusing commentaries on such a challenging passage is interesting, because there are various views even among scholars with a high view of the sacredness and accuracy of the Bible.  Yet the study got intense as I realized my disagreement with many of those sincere biblical scholars from back in the early 1900’s.  The reason I felt so many were missing the correct interpretation regarding the “abomination” and the remainder of this passage, was due to their failure to stay rooted in the fact Jesus was answering two specific questions from His disciples.

   As I offer you this special piece, I say upfront that I was a bit surprised by the interpretation I think is correct.  Yet God’s faithfulness is revealed!!!

The disciples’ first question:

When will this happen?

   What is “this?”

   “This” is the destruction of the temple, as stated by Jesus as He was leaving the temple area, recorded in Matthew 24:2.

   And the answer by Jesus to “When will this happen?”: “…when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation…’” (Matthew 24:15).

   That event is also a striking point to signify when the terror would come to a point where fleeing was the hope for survival.

To understand this response by Jesus, we must address three more questions!

1.)  Which “abomination” from Daniel is Jesus referring to?

2.)  When did this “abomination” take place?

3.)  What was the “abomination?”

1.)  Which “abomination” from Daniel is Jesus referring to?

   Jesus is referring to the “abomination that causes desolation” recorded in Daniel 9:27.

   The “abominations” recorded in Daniel 11:31 and Daniel 12:11 were prophecies which had already been fulfilled, involving the desecration of the temple by a Greek ruler. (1)

2.) When did this “abomination” take place?

   The angel Gabriel gave an epic message to Daniel, as recorded in the book of Daniel 9:24-27.  And that message included a timeline, though using a time metaphor we must interpret.  The NRSV translates the Hebrew as “Seventy weeks.”  The NIV translates the Hebrew as “Seventy ‘sevens.’”  This ancient Jewish metaphor of “week” designates one day as a year, thus a week as seven years.  So 70 “weeks” is 490 years.  Thus the period up to when the Anointed One is cut off is 483 years.

   When did this 490 years start?  Gabriel states: “From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem…” (Daniel 9:25).

   I refrain from getting into the details on this, considering that certain sincere scholars devoted themselves to a study of this subject in years past, with their calculations being recorded in commentaries, some of which still sit on the shelves of theological libraries.

   I will make two points: First, note the time starts not with the decree for rebuilding the temple, rather the decree for rebuilding Jerusalem.

   Second, the calculation has challenges.  For starters, the Israelites used a lunar calendar, not a solar calendar.  The wild thing: In-spite of the variables, if you delve into this, plausible calculations bring us to the time of Christ!

3.)  What was the “abomination?”

   The desecration had to do with Titus.  To put this all into context: The final “seven” took place from 66/67 A.D. to 73/74 A.D.  (Scholars are not sure on the exact dates.)  (Also, these dates include the period after the terrible fall of Jerusalem, which involved a small but a determined number of Jewish citizens who held out at Masada.)

   Now that final seven years is separated a bit from the first 483 years, which ended around 27 A.D.  (Our calendar is off by about six years, because it did not take into account leap years.)  But the text of Daniel keeps it in the realm of the same age, thus 66/67 A.D. to 73/74 A.D. fits.

   The prophet implies the “abomination” took place in the middle of the final seven years of this prophecy, which would have been the time the Roman military overtook the Israelite military.  That specific Roman military commander was Titus, who was the son of the Roman Emperor Vespasianus.  (Actually the father and son had the same name, so scholars call one by the last name and one by the first name.)

   In 79 A.D., Titus would become the emperor, which is probably why Gabriel calls him in this context “the ruler who will come” (Daniel 9:26).  Under the military lead of Titus the temple was destroyed, thus he put an end to “sacrifice and offering” at the temple.  And there on the temple mount, Titus put up a statue of himself. (2)

   A statue of Titus does not sound overly dramatic to me.  Yet the temple was a place where there had been the special presence of God.  For Titus to do so was claiming that he was God.

   However, there is still a major outstanding question for me.  Who did Titus make a covenant with?  I do not know.  History is a humbling field to me.  Yet it is important.

   Before moving forward, I must address the fact that since Jerusalem was being besieged by the Roman Empire for three plus years before the ransacking of Jerusalem, the wise time to flee would have been back in the early period of the Jewish Revolt.  In knowing history, we know that all of those who fled to Masada ended up dying.  People needed to flee early and flee far.

   The abomination apparently was not meant to be the starting point for fleeing.  The abomination was the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy, and Jesus was confirming that.  We know this since the disciple Luke also recorded Jesus giving this discourse, and Luke included, “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near” (Luke 21:20).

   The warning which Jesus gives in following verses is a huge warning to signal to those willing to listen to leave at a prudent time.

   Jesus warned His followers, and anyone else who would listen!

Hunter Irvine

(1)  G.E.P. Cox, The Gospel According to Saint Matthew: Introduction and Commentary

(London: SCM Press Ltd., 1952), 145-146.

(2)  Ibid., 146.

Prophecy by the Christ – Matthew 24

Matthew 24: 1-14

   For years I was challenged as I tried to discern how Matthew 24:15-29 fits with Matthew 24:30-31.  When perplexed, it is all the more of an occasion to apply a key Biblical interpretation method: We need to take a verse in the context of the passage, and the passage in the context of the chapter, and the chapter in the context of the book, and the book within the context of all Scriptures.

   Thus what I needed to do was start from the beginning of the interaction.

   Understandably, I would jump into that extraordinary teaching by Jesus, trying to chronologically piece it together.  Yet in order to fully understand what He was teaching, I needed to go back to the questions which sparked this response! They are found in this passage of Matthew 24:1-14.

   A turning point for me was realizing the discourse of Jesus in this chapter fits the order of the two questions, thus those two questions establish context for Christ's big response.

The two questions:

1.)  When will this happen?

2.)  What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?

   And remember that the questions were sparked by the prophecy from Jesus that the grand buildings of the temple complex would all be demolished.

   Jesus gives an opening, on the line of a preface, to His answers to the two questions.  This is not surprising for an ancient Jewish style of discourse.  The Ancient Near East involved an “oriental” style of discourse.  Different than a Greek style, the style often involved long statements, where you needed to focus in on key points.  A chronological manner was not an emphasis.

   Yet notice how direct Jesus was in this preface, more of a Greek style, which included letting His disciples know there would be horrible persecution, even personally for them.

   As I am eager to get into the following passages, since I am eager to discuss the rapture, I take a deep breath for a moment.  There are three important points which I must make here.

   First, Jesus was giving prophecies with intricate details, and He was doing so as the Christ.

   Jesus said: “For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ…’ (Matthew 24:5).

   Jesus stated “in my name!”  In that ANE style, Jesus is stating He is the Christ.  Thus we appropriately address Him as Jesus Christ.  He is Jesus the Messiah.  (Messiah is Hebrew and Christ is Greek, and both mean Anointed One.)

   Second, Jesus was willing to give terrible news along with the great news.

   Here he is talking with His disciples, bluntly telling them that they, as a body of believers, are going to be persecuted.

   This happened.

   In the year 2006 and 2007, I read most of Ecclesiastical History, written by Eusebius.  He was the first person to write a comprehensive church history, most of it written in the early 300’s apparently.  His writing style was utterly awkward!  And as a man with access to an excellent library in Caesarea, he sometimes refrained from citing his materials, compiling a history unlike any modern Western scholar.

   Yet his history is a crucial piece in Christian literature, because his well researched and recorded history showed the influence of Christianity in the first three centuries after the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ.

   And that history involved horrible persecution against Christians.  Encouragement came for me simply by the fact that Christians continued to flourish through the terrible waves of sick persecution.  It was a miracle from God that Christianity was not extinguished.

   Third, Jesus concludes this opening statement by stating: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14 NIV).

   I think Jesus was telling this to encourage followers of Jesus when circumstances were so bad that it seemed like Christianity could be ended.

   I note that in American in the 20th century, sending out missionaries to foreign countries was supported by many evangelical Christians.  I have read Christian history material where this passage was the motivation for Christians to focus on missionary work to “unreached” areas of the world.  They felt like this was needed before Christ could return.  But again, I think the point of Jesus was to encourage, rather than set a mark for His return.

   And our motivation should simply be the love of Jesus.

   And now with the Internet, the Gospel has reached people even in countries which were previously difficult to access.  The computer revolution has been far and wide.  The number of people worldwide with access to a cell phone, which is in essence a pocket computer, is astronomical.

   In my early Christian days, I felt my calling was to be a “missionary” in the United States of America, a country where I realized the Gospel was being increasingly neglected.  (And tragically, this neglect has increased at a disastrous rate ever since.)

   I have only physically been in a foreign country once.  Yet years ago, I looked at the monthly statistics for Scripture Love Blog.  It was so encouraging for me to learn there are people in countries other than my own who read my writings about the Bible.  I never expected my writings to be worldwide, yet I am honored and thrilled that this blog is read by people in an array of countries.

   Now there are still certain governments of certain countries which restrict Internet access among the citizens of their specific country.  Some governments engage in religious censorship.  There are still people out there who do not have access to a Bible in print or online.  And there are always people out there who need to hear the Gospel!

   And in my opinion, there is nothing which can replace the interaction of a loving Christian in person.

   Over the centuries, there have been countless unrecorded saints who have preached the Gospel throughout the world.  And today there are sermons by small town American preachers posted online which are reaching people even thousands of miles away.

   This prophecy of Jesus is taking place in our own time.

Hunter Irvine