“Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),”

– Matthew 24:15

We have now reached the midpoint of the tribulation in the chronological progress of this passage. Christ mentions the key event upon which the entire passage turns when He speaks of the abomination of desolation. What is He speaking about?

The Abomination of Desolation

The key passages in Daniel that mention the term ” abomination of desolation” are Daniel 9:27, 11:31 and 12:11. This is a technical term, which means that it has a precise and consistent meaning in all three passages. The phrase refers to an act of abomination that renders, in this case, the Temple, something unclean. Daniel 11:31 speaks of an act that was fulfilled in history before the first coming of Christ. Dr. John Walvoord explains:

In Daniel 11:31, a prophecy was written by Daniel in the sixth century b. c. about a future Syrian ruler by name of Antiochus Epiphanes who reigned over Syria 175-164 b. c., about 400 years after Daniel. History, of course, has recorded the reign of this man. In verse 31, Daniel prophesied about his activity: ” . . . they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.” This would be very difficult to understand if it were not for the fact that it has already been fulfilled. Anyone can go back to the history of Antiochus Epiphanes and discover what he did as recorded in the apocryphal books of 1 and 2 Maccabees. He was a great persecutor of the children of Israel and did his best to stamp out the Jewish religion and wanted to place in its stead a worship of Greek pagan gods. . . .

One of the things he did was to stop animal sacrifices in the temple. He offered a sow, an unclean animal, on the altar in a deliberate attempt to desecrate and render it unholy for Jewish worship (cf. 1 Macc. 1:48). First Maccabees 1:54 specifically records that the abomination of desolation was set up, fulfilling Daniel 11:31. In the holy of holies Antiochus set up a statue of a Greek god. . . . In keeping with the prophecy the daily sacrifices were stopped, the sanctuary was polluted, desolated and made an abomination.[1]

Dr. Randall Price agrees: ” In my own study of the phrase in the context of Temple desecration I discovered the phrase served as a technical reference to the introduction of an idolatrous image or an act of pagan sacrilege within the Sanctuary that produces the highest level a of ceremonial impurity, Temple profanation.” [2]

This passage sets the pattern and provides details about what the abomination of desolation consists of. The Daniel 9:27 passage says that this abomination is to take place in the middle of a seven year period. The passage says, ” in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate.” ” In other words, the future prince will do at that time exactly what Antiochus did in the second century b.c.” [3] But Daniel goes on to say that the one who commits this act will be destroyed three and a half years later. Daniel 12:11 provides ” the precise chronology.” [4] The text says, ” And from the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.”

In addition to the three passages in Daniel, the two references by our Lord in Matthew and Luke, 2 Thessalonians 2:4 and Revelation 13:14-15 also have this event in view. Therefore, the abomination of desolation, which the reader is to understand, includes the following elements:

1. It occurs in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem (Daniel 11:31; 2 Thessalonians 2:4).

2. It involves a person setting up a statue in place of the regular sacrifice in the holy of holies (Daniel 11:31; 12:11; Revelation 13:14-14).

3. This results in the cessation of the regular sacrifice (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11).

4. There will be a time of about three-and-a-half years between this event and another event and the end of the time period (Daniel 9:27; 12:11).

5. It involves an individual setting up a statue or image of himself so that he may be worshipped in place of God (Daniel 11:31; 2 Thessalonians 2:4; Revelation 13:14-15).

6. The image is made to come to life (Revelation 13:14).

7. A worship system of this false god is thus inaugurated (2 Thessalonians 2:4; Revelation 13:14-15).

8. At the end of this time period the individual who commits the act will himself be cut off (Daniel 9:27).

Preterist Misinterpretation

Predictably, Dr. Kenneth Gentry believes that the famous ” abomination of desolation” in Matthew 24:15 (cf. Mark 13:14) was fulfilled in the first century destruction of Jerusalem.[5] Even though there are similarities between the past destruction of Jerusalem and a future siege, there are enough differences to distinguish the two events.

Despite this specific information about the abomination of desolation, Dr. Gentry identifies it as simply the Roman invasion and destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in a.d. 70.[6] Rather than going to Daniel for an understanding of what our Lord wanted the reader to understand, Gentry goes to Luke 21:20-22, with a little help from Josephus, to conclude that Christ is warning of Jerusalem’ s devastation by military assault, not just the temple’ s desecration by profane acts” .[7] Let’s see if this interpretation measures up to the Biblical explanation concerning the abomination of desolation.

An Answer To Preterism

Luke 21:20-24 does refer to the a. d. 70 destruction of Jerusalem. Therefore, when verse 20 says, ” when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is at hand,” it is describing in clear language the destruction of Jerusalem. This is vindicated by the language of the rest of the passage, especially verse 24: ” and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot.” In context, the desolation is the destruction of Jerusalem; it is not a technical term relating to the Temple, as Dr. Gentry suggests.

In contrast, the Matthew 24:15 passage has a context of its own which differs from the Luke account. Matthew says, ” when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet (not Luke),standing in the holy place.” Comparison of the description in Matthew and Daniel with the passage in Luke yields differences, which prove that they are two separate events.

In the a.d. 70 destruction of Jerusalem there was . . .

• no image set up in the holy place.

• no worship of the image was required.

• no three-and-a-half year period of time between that event and the coming of Christ. This is especially true since the destruction of Jerusalem occurred at the end of the siege by Rome. It was over in a matter of days. D. A. Carson notes, ” By the time the Romans had actually desecrated the temple in a.d. 70, it was too late for anyone in the city to flee.” [8]

• no image came to life and beckoned men to worship it.

Josephus tells us that Titus did not want the Temple burned. However, the Roman solders were so upset with the Jews that they disobeyed his orders and burned the temple anyway. All Titus was able to do was to go in and tour the holy place shortly before it burned.[9] This does not comport with the biblical picture of the image to be set up on the altar in the middle of Daniel’s seventieth week, resulting in cessation of the regular sacrifice and a rival worship system set up in its place for three-and-a-half years. Dr. Stanley Toussaint says,

Because Christ specifically related the prophecy of the abomination of desolation to Daniel’s prophecy, it seems best to see some correspondence between the abomination of desolation committed by Antiochus Epiphanes and that predicted by Christ. If this is so it would entail not only defilement on the altar by sacrifices offered with impure hearts, but also an actual worship of another god using the Temple as a means for such a dastardly act. Those preterists who agree with this take it to be the worship of the Roman standards in the Temple precincts. However, if this interpretation is taken, Matthew 24:16-20 is difficult if not impossible to explain. By then it would be too late for the followers of the Lord Jesus to escape; the Romans had already taken the city by this time.

If the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel 9:27 and 12:11 is foreshadowed by Antiochus Epiphanes (11:31), it would be best to say it is a desecration carried out by a person who sacrilegiously uses the Temple to promote the worship of a god other than Jehovah. This is what is anticipated in 2 Thessalonians 2.[10]

Another major dissimilarity between Gentry’ s preterism and Matthew 24 is that according to Matthew ” neither the city nor the temple are destroyed, and thus the two situations stand in sharp contrast.” [11] The Luke 21:20-24 reference does record the ” days of vengeance” which befell Jerusalem. Let us look at some other details related to the fact that the future fulfillment of Matthew 24 is one in which Christ delivers the Jews, rather than destroying them, as in a.d. 70.

First, as Luke shifts from the a.d. 70 destruction of Jerusalem in 21:20-24, to the second coming of Christ in 21:25-28, he tells them in verse 28 to ” straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” This is the language of deliverance from the threat of the nations, not destruction. This language of deliverance is reflected in Zechariah 12- 14.[12]These three chapters include three important factors: 1) Jerusalem surrounded by the nations who are seeking to destroy it (12:2-9; 14:2-7); 2) the Lord will fight for Israel and Jerusalem and defeat the nations who have come up to lay siege against the city (14:1-8); 3) at this same time the Lord will also save Israel from her sins and she will be converted to Messiah- Jesus (12:9-14).

(To Be Continued . . .)

 

Endnotes
[1]John F. Walvoord, “Christ’s Olivet Discourse on the Time of the End: Signs of the End of the Age.” Bibliotheca Sacra (Vol. 128, Num. 512, Oct-Dec, 1971), pp. 318-19.

[2] J. Randall Price, ” Historical Problems with a First-Century Fulfillment of the Olivet Discourse,” in Tim LaHaye and Thomas Ice, editors, The End Times Controversy: The Second Coming Under Attack (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2003), p. 387.

[3]Walvoord., ” Olivet Discourse,” p. 319.

[4]Walvoord., ” Olivet Discourse,” p. 319.

[5] Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., Perilous Times: A Study in Eschatological Evil(Texarkana, AR: Covenant Media Press, 1999), pp. 22- 26.

[6] Gentry in Thomas Ice and Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., The Great Tribulation: Past or Future? Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1999), pp. 47- 48.

[7] Gentry in Ice and Gentry, Great Tribulation, p. 47.

[8]D. A. Carson, “Matthew”, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 8 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), p. 500.

[9]See David Chilton, Paradise Restored: An Eschatology of Dominion (Tyler, TX: Reconstruction Press, 1985), pp. 274-6.

[10]Stanley D. Toussaint, ” A Critique Of The Preterist View Of The Olivet Discourse,” an unpublished paper presented to the Pre-Trib Study Group, Dallas, Texas, 1996, n.p.

[11]Walvoord, ” Olivet Discourse,” p. 317.

[12] For more on Zechariah 12- 14 and the fact that it will be fulfilled in the future see Arnold G Fruchtenbaum, ” The Little Apocalypse,” in LaHaye and Ice, editors, The End Times Controversy, pp. 251- 81.

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.” – Matthew 24:14

As our Lord’ s discourse approaches the mid-point of the seven-year tribulation, verse 14 raises a number of interpretive issues. What exactly is meant by ” the gospel of the kingdom?” Is this proclamation still a future event? What does ” a witness to all nations” mean? What is meant by ” then the end shall come?”

The Gospel of the Kingdom

Simply put, some believe that ” gospel of the kingdom” is the gospel or the message about forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, as preached in the New Testament epistles. Others, like myself, believe that it is more of a technical term that describes the coming of Christ’ s kingdom, which we know as the millennium.

The Greek word ” gospel” is a compound word made up of ” good” and ” message.” ” It meant originally the reward given to the messenger, but came to be used for the good news he brought.” [1] The word by itself simply means ” good news.” Good news about what? Well that depends upon what is being talked about. Here the phrase would mean good news about the kingdom.[2] Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost explains:

During the time that the politico-religious system of the beast is in absolute control, the gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world (Matt. 24:14). The gospel of the kingdom was preached by both Jesus and John (Matt. 3:2; 4:17). This was the announcement of the good news that the kingdom was near. This message had both a soteriological and an eschatological emphasis. . . . The gospel of the kingdom as preached in Tribulation will have two emphases. On the one hand it will announce the good news that Messiah’ s advent is near, at which time He will introduce the messianic age of blessing. On the other hand it will also offer men salvation by grace through faith based upon the blood of Christ.[3]

The word ” kingdom” is used 51 times in Matthew. It is a major theme in Matthew’ s Jewish gospel. Dr. Stan Toussaint has done an exhaustive study of how ” kingdom” is used in Matthew and has concluded as follows: ” Every time the term kingdom is used theologically in Matthew it refers to the same thing, the kingdom yet to come on this earth inaugurated and governed by the Messiah.” [4] Specifically Dr. Toussaint has the following comments on Matthew 24:14:

What is this ” gospel of the kingdom?” It must be the same good news as was described in 3:2; 4:17, 23; and 9:35. Entrance into the coming kingdom was based on repentance; that was and is the gospel of the kingdom. In the context, however, it would also portray the nearness of the kingdom during the Tribulation period.[5]

Fulfillment Timing

There are three basic views of when this passage will be fulfilled. They are past, present and future. Of course, preterist believe that it was fulfilled by a.d. 70. Historicists believe that this passage relates to the fulfillment of the Great Commission during our current church age. Futurists believe that it will be fulfilled during the seven-years of the tribulation.

Preterist

” Matthew 24:14 clearly shows that the gospel would be preached throughout the Roman Empire before Jesus returned in judgment upon Jerusalem,” [6]insists preterist Gary DeMar. He further claims:

The word translated ” world” in 24:14 is the Greek word oikoumene . . . It is best translated as ” inhabited earth,” ” known world,” or the ” Roman Empire” (Acts 11:28; 17:6). . . . This translation helps us understand that Jesus was saying the gospel would be preached throughout the Roman Empire before He would return in judgment upon Jerusalem. In fact, this is exactly what happened, and that is what the Bible says happened.[7]

This passage has not been fulfilled in the past,[8] as I shall show later. This is primarily true because the context of Matthew 24 is futuristic, as I have been demonstrating throughout the exposition of Matthew 24.

Historicist

The historicist takes Matthew 24:14 as fulfillment of the Great Commission during our present church age. A. Lukyn Williams says, ” So in the present age we are not to expect more than that Christian missions shall reach the uttermost parts of the earth, and that all nations shall have the offer of salvation, before the final appearance of Christ. The success of these efforts at universal evangelization is a mournful problem.” [9] This verse is often used at missions conferences as a motivation for becoming a missionary. The Great Commission is sufficient, because this passage relates to evangelism during the tribulation, not for our current church age.

Futurist

I believe that this passage will be fulfilled in the future, not during the current church age, but during the tribulation. Basically, this is true because the context supports a future fulfillment, since Christ’ s discourse has not yet been fulfilled.

The Meaning of WorldWhile it is true that ” world” oikoumen is used in the New Testament to refer to ” the Roman Empire of the first century,” its basic meaning is that of ” the inhabited earth.” [10] This compound word contains the prefix from oikos that means ” house,” thus the ” inhabited” or ” lived-in” part of the world. The inhabited world could refer to the Roman Empire if supported by the context (for example Luke 2:1) since Roman arrogance thought that nothing of significance existed outside of their realm. However, this word was earlier ” used of the Greek cultural world.” [11]

Since the core meaning of oikoumen is ” inhabited world,” then the scope of its meaning has multiple possibilities depending upon the referent. If the contextual referent is Roman, then it will mean the Roman Empire as in Luke 2:1. However, if its referent is global, then it must include the entire world as in Acts 17:31, which says, ” He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness.” Surely this speaks of the whole globe since not a single individual will escape God’ s judgment. Clearly oikoumen can be used globally, even though it may have a more restricted use. The deciding factor is the context. Thus, if Matthew 24:24 was fulfilled in a.d. 70 then it would have a localized meaning as noted by DeMar. However, if it will be fulfilled in the future, then it has the meaning of the entire inhabited world at some future date, which would clearly include much more than the old Roman Empire.

Angelic Evangelism

I believe that Revelation 14:6-7 is a parallel passage to Matthew 24:14. Both speak of global evangelization during the seven-year tribulation, leading up to the second coming of Christ to planet earth. John MacArthur says,

Just before the bowl judgments are poured out and the final great holocaust begins, and just before the increasingly rapid birth pains issue in the kingdom, God will supernaturally present the gospel to every person on earth. He will send an angel with ” an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people,” saying, ” Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters” (Rev. 14:6-7).[12]

Interestingly both passages are mentioned around the middle of the tribulation. This will likely occur at that time because it is at the mid-point of the seven years that the beast will require the number- six hundred, sixty-six- on either the right hand or forehead of every human being in order to buy or sell (Rev. 13:16-18). Thus, it is important to know that the witness of the gospel is given to every individual in which they are given the opportunity to trust Christ before they take the number. In addition to that, the third angel announces to each individual in the world that there are consequences to taking the number of the beast. ” If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or upon his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone . . . forever and ever” (Rev. 14:9-11).

It appears that the tribulation period will be the greatest time of evangelization the world will ever see. There will be normal evangelism, like that which we have today. Then there will be the evangelism of the 144,000 Jewish witnesses (Rev. 7:3-10; 14:1-5), the two witnesses (Rev. 11:3-13), and the angelic evangelism already mentioned. David Cooper explains: ” The purpose of preaching the gospel during the Great Tribulation is twofold: first, to give all honest-hearted truth-seekers an opportunity of accepting the Lord Jesus Christ and salvation through Him; secondly, to prepare for judgment those who will not receive a love of the truth in order that God might be just in bringing upon them the terrific plagues foretold in Revelation.” [13]

Then The End Shall Come

Earlier Jesus said, ” for these things must take place, but that is not yet the end” (Matt. 24:6). Now He says, that after the successful preaching of the gospel of the kingdom to the entire planet, ” then the end shall come.” ” In the background is the OT motif of the nations’ end-time conversion to Yahweh (Cf. Isa. 2:2-4; 45:20-22; 49:6; 55:5; 56:6-8; Mic. 4:1-3). Here that conversion heralds the end.” [14] The end spoken of here is not the end of the end. It means the end of the age of the tribulation through the second coming of Christ (Matt. 24:27-31). The final end will occur one thousand years later as the millennial kingdom of Christ comes to its end.

Conclusion

Since Matthew 24:14 is a future event, then the gospel will be preached across the globe as described in Revelation 14:6-7. Both passages are set in contexts that tell us that this global evangelization will take place just before the middle of the seven-year tribulation. Craig Kenner says, ” Jesus’ claim in 24:14 does not imply that all peoples will be converted, but that the kingdom will not come in its fullness until all peoples have had the opportunity to embrace or reject the King who will be their judge (25:31- 32).” [15] This passage was no more fulfilled during the nativity of the church than was the Great Commission. The prophecy of Matthew 24:14, like all of those in that context, awaits a future fulfilment, specifically during the future tribulation. Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

 

Endnotes
[1] Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992), f. n., 67, p. 88.

[2] The exact phrase, ” gospel of the kingdom,” is only found in Matthew’ s Gospel in the entire New Testament (4:23; 9:35; 24:14).

[3] J. Dwight Pentecost, The Words and Works of Jesus Christ: A Study of the Life of Christ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981), pp. 400-01.

[4] Stanley D. Toussaint, ” The Kingdom and Matthew’ s Gospel,” in Stanley D. Toussaint & Charles H. Dyer, Essays in Honor of J. Dwight Pentecost(Chicago: Moody Press, 1986), pp. 19-20.

[5] Toussaint, ” The Kingdom and Matthew’ s Gospel,” p. 33.

[6] Gary DeMar, Last Days Madness: Obsession of the Modern Church (Powder Springs, GA: American Vision, 1999), p. 88.

[7] Gary DeMar, End Times Fiction: A Biblical Consideration of the Left Behind Theology (Nashville: Nelson, 2001), pp. 82-83.

[8] I have dealt more extensively with this matter in Thomas Ice, ” The Global Proclamation of the Gospel,” Pre-Trib Perspectives (March 2002), pp. 4- 5.

[9] A. Lukyn Williams, ” St. Matthew” in H. D. M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell, ed., The Pulpit Commentary, 23 vols, (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1974), vol. 15, p. 434.

[10]William F. Arndt and F. W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957), p. 563.

[11] Horst Balz & Gerhard Schneider, editors, Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament, 3 vols. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), vol. 2, p. 503.

[12] John MacArthur, The New Testament Commentary: Matthew 24- 28(Chicago: Moody Press, 1989), p. 29.

[13] David L. Cooper, Future Events Revealed: According to Matthew 24 and 25(Los Angeles: David L. Cooper Publishing, 1935), p. 63.

[14] W. D. Davies and Dale C. Allison, Jr., A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, 3 vols. (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1997), vol. 3, p. 344.

[15] Craig S. Kenner, A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), p. 572.