Some of the most scary passages of the scriptures describe the Antichrist and his workings. The book of Daniel describes a related object called the “abomination of desolation,” (Dn 11:31, Dn 12:11) it is an altar to a pagan god set up in the temple of God. This object obstructs the burnt offerings which provided atonement (covering) for the sins of the people of God in the Old Covenant.
Daniel's account was partially fulfilled in the days of the Maccabees described in the apocryphal book, 1 Maccabees. At that time Alexander the Great’s empire had been divided into 4 kingdoms with the northern Kingdom, the Seleucid Empire of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, continually oppressing the Holy Land, eventually setting up the altar described by Daniel in the temple (1 Maccabees 1:54).
Jesus in several gospel passages like Matthew 24, describes a further event related to Daniel’s prophecy to happen to the church.
5 “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. 17 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, 18 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 19 And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 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.
Matthew 24:15-22
Several other New Testament authors such as the apostle John and the Apostle Paul fill in some of the details related to this event.
18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
1 John 2:18-19 (John)
&
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.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 (Paul)
It is important to understand in light of Daniel's description of the abomination of desolation being an altar to a pagan god in the temple, that one’s comprehension of what the Temple is in the New Covenant is of highest importance to correctly interpret what the Abomination of Desolation is.
In the passion account of Jesus Christ and the gospels, the temple curtain which divided the holy place from the holy of holies, was torn in two after Jesus breathed his last (Matthew 27:51). The physical Temple would never again be God’s dwelling on the earth. Jesus even promised that the physical temple would no longer have even one stone upon another (Matthew 24:2) because of their rejection of the Messiah.
Jesus described his body as being a Temple which would be torn down at his crucifixion and built again three days later at his resurrection (John 2:19-20).
Paul the apostle describes the body of Christians as being temples which share in the temple of Jesus body (1 Corinthians 3:16). As an application Paul says that Christian shouldn't sleep with prostitutes because that would make a member of the temple of Christ to be a member of a prostitute since Christian theology says that sex creates one flesh (1 Corinthians 6:19).
So the scary aspect of Daniel is ramped up at to extreme heights with the New Covenant fulfillments of his reference to the Abomination of Desolation. No longer must the believer beware of an idol in physical Temple, as much of premillennial Christianity teaches, but rather one must beware of Antichrist standing in their own body and soul. This is why in Matthew chapter 24 Jesus describes a specific instruction for believers who perceive that Antichrist is standing in the place of Christ in the church.
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
Mt 24:15-16
Jesus instructs his people to flee to the hills with no provisions and not even to grab one's own coat (Mt 24:17-18). These are spiritual instructions that allow believers who are keen on the instructions of their master to escape desolations being raised up within them.
It's interesting to note that when Paul describes what must take place before Jesus can return he couples two criteria together (2 Thessalonians 2). The first is that believers will fall away in great numbers, the second is that the man of lawlessness, Antichrist, will be visibly manifest on the earth. It is a very clear coupling because these two are connected. Former believers empower the Antichrist to become manifest because he sits as Christ in them.
So what should a man or woman who wishes to remain faithful to Jesus Christ do? I believe that question is already too late, but should you see the abomination of desolation standing where he should not, as Matthew and Mark suggest: “let the reader understand.” You then have a job to do. You've got a road trip to the hills with no provisions, and you've got to be ready for a life to get hard, and to depend upon the Lord with all your heart.
If you are not a believer in Jesus Christ but this perhaps strikes you as rather alarming, I encourage to you to repent of your sin. This involves acknowledging that sin is a wicked thing in your mind, it is a violation of the royal command of God to be holy as he is holy. It means to reject the pleasure of sin and place the weight of your trust upon the mercies of Jesus Christ upon the cross. Jesus promises to keep his own, but it will mean a life as sacrificial and more than any extreme specialization among the secular world, like top athletes, executives, or the like.
Call upon the name of the Lord and be saved all of the earth.
S.D.G.