These words of Jesus were in response to the question by the disciples, "Tell us, when shall these things be, and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world"(Matt. 24:3)? Jesus proceeded to give them many signs: false prophets, false christs, wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, and the gospel of the kingdom to all the world. The final sign was a strange event called the "abomination of desolation." This would seem to be a pretty important event since Jesus spent a lot of time talking about it. But He never really explained what it was except to refer back to the prophet Daniel. Consequently, there has been a lot of theological speculation on the subject. Since I do not totally agree with any of the common scenarios, this study is written to present my own analysis of the abomination of desolation.
Since Jesus used Daniel as a reference, suppose we take a look at what he says. Daniel mentions the abomination of desolation three times, and each time it is in connection with the sanctuary, or holy place. The first mention is in Daniel 9:27, and it is in connection with the cutting off of the Messiah in the midst of the seventieth week of the 2300 year prophecy of chapter eight.
"And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate,..." Dan. 9:27.
How did Jesus make the sanctuary desolate when He was crucified? According to the record, when He died on the cross, the veil into the Most Holy place was rent in two from top to bottom by a mysterious bloodless hand. This event, for the first time, exposed to public view the inner sanctum of the sanctuary, the Most Holy place, and the people were shocked by the realization that there was no sacred Ark of the Covenant there and no Shekinah glory. They realized for the first time in over 300 years that their worship and sacrifices were worthless. The priests lost their authority and the sacrificial system came to an end. Thus the sanctuary service lost its significance, and the sanctuary itself was made desolate. Daniel 11:31 describes how this desecration is completed with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Roman army under Titus in 70 AD
"And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate." Dan. 11:31. It is the third reference in Daniel that causes so much controversy and speculation. It is found in Daniel 12:11, and it places the abomination of desolation at the end of a 1290 year period.
"And at the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days (years)." Dan. 12:11.
Daniel 12:9 connects this 1290 year period to the time of the end which began in 1798 at the end of the 1260 years of Papal supremacy when the Pope was taken prisoner. Thus these 1290 and 1260 year periods probably ran concurrently. During this period of time the Roman Church set up a counterfeit, paganistic sanctuary service with priests, vestal virgins (nuns), altars, and ceremonies that closely duplicates the sanctuary service here on earth and also in heaven. I believe that it is this supplanting of the daily ministration of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary with a false one on earth that is the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet. Daniel 11:45 may be a description of when that counterfeit sanctuary is established on the very spot of the original temple in Jerusalem, when "he shall plant his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain" (Dan. 11:45). This would be the final culminating act of the "abomination of desolation."
