Matthew 24:15-16 (NKJV)

Matthew 24:15-16 (NKJV)

“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

This is the first specific time reference that Christ gives. From 24:4–14 the Lord Jesus spoke in general terms. In v. 15 He picks up on the emphasis on the temple. Even more awful than the destruction of the present temple is the desecration of the temple to come. This He does under the imagery of the abomination of desolation, the next prophetic sign that people can know. This term means the “abomination that makes desolate.” As the Lord stated, it comes from Daniel, specifically 9:27; 11:31, and 12:11. In Dan. 9:27 and  12:11 it is totally prophetic; however, Dan. 11:31 looks to Antiochus IV, who desecrated the temple and set up an idol to Zeus in it. His actions were a prelude to what the ultimate man of sin will do. Significantly, Paul used the same event to indicate when the actual tribulation would be present (2 Thess. 2:3, 4, Rev. 13:14, 15).

The holy place is the temple.

In the period of the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70, many of the Hebrew Christians did flee, remembering the words of Jesus, and hid in the clefts of Petra. This deepened the schism between Jews who believed in Jesus and those who did not. The true setting of the verse, however, is in the future desecration of the temple, as it refers to the breaking of the covenant (Dan. 9:27), and the subsequent setting up of an image of the man of sin in the Holy of Holies of the temple. When that occurs, all in Judea are to flee to the mountains.