Their being gathered together has doubtless been done under the active guidance of the heavenly angels sent forth by the invisibly present Jesus Christ. I have forewarned you. Instead, his purpose is to protect and guide and instruct his people. Third person singular active present of deo; also deon deh-on'; neuter active participle of the same; both used impersonally; it is Necessary. 26. But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains. Such tribulation means utter destruction for her! Why, hate will soon lead to the destruction of the Babylonish world empire of false religion. The Desolating of Christendom by the Disgusting Thing. The words "spoken of by Daniel the prophet" are omitted in many of the best MSS. Acts 8:30,31 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? Daniel 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. In the prophetic vision of Revelation 17, the symbolic immoral woman, Babylon the Great, is depicted. (a)Who should rejoice at the wonderful prospect ahead? It states: And arms will stand up, proceeding from him; and they will profane the sanctuary, the fortress, and remove the constant feature. 33 Also, as foretold in the final part of Jesus prophecy, all nations have been gathered before the Son of man, Jesus Christ, enthroned in the heavens. It may well be. For God put it into their hearts to carry out his thought. (Rev. Excitedly we wait to see how members of the world organization will act together as the disgusting thing that causes desolation. Back in the year 70C.E. (b)By what time will the full number have been gathered out, allowing for God to do what? Hence all along since 1919 they have been fleeing out of antitypical unfaithful Jerusalem. An entity needs to have a linkage with food, have contamination potential, and also a sense of 'offensiveness' in order to . (Reader, pay attention!) She is listed as having a membership of over nine hundred million church members. (Matt. "When you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be" (let the reader understand), "then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. And, as modern history shows, the anointed chosen ones of Jehovah God have been fleeing from bondage to Christendom and Babylon the Great since the year 1919C.E., the year in which the disgusting thing that causes desolation was set up, even though they did not perceive in that year that the League of Nations was then the abomination of desolation or the disgusting thing that causes desolation. But they did understand Gods command, Get out of her, my people, that is, out of Babylon the Great, as including Christendom. 31 Since the tribulation of those days upon ancient Jerusalem nineteen centuries have passed. The chief promoter of this international organization for world peace and security was the Seventh World Power, the Anglo-American dual world power. 19:1,2. a See Volume1, pages192, 193 of the book Word Pictures in the New Testament, as of 1930, by A.T.Robertson, M.A., LL.D. That connection is confirmed in the 8th chapter of Daniel as well, where we read regarding the fierce-looking king: In the next verse the fierce-looking king is shown to also bring desolation upon a holy place. It seems likely that the numerous institutions of the United Nations, as well as associated institutions like the IMF, Bank of International Settlements, and the World Bank, stand poised to become a functioning world government in the future in the aftermath of the inevitable crash of the present economic and political system. (b)Was there to be something similar for the chosen ones of today, and what do Jesus words in Matthew 24:29-31 show on this? 4 In the spring of the year 33C.E. . Antiochus treated Israel with such violence and contempt that they rebelled against him. Christ Jesus showed this view to be in error when he gave the warning to his disciples: Therefore, when you catch sight of the disgusting thing that causes desolation, as spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in a holy place, (let the reader use discernment,) then let those in Judea begin fleeing to the mountains. (Mt 24:15,16) These words show that the disgusting thing that causes desolation was not then past but future. With her the nonreligious elements of this system of things have committed fornication in a spiritual sense, sharing with her in her crimes against the faithful people of Jehovah God and against all the rest of his earthly human creatures. Daniel 9:26-27 refers to a prince who will destroy the city (Jerusalem) along with its temple and sacrifices, and on the wings of abominations shall come one who makes desolate. Two chapters later there is another reference to an abomination in connection to the temple: forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. (a)What befell Jewish Jerusalem nineteen centuries ago, and why must the antitype of this affect Babylon the Great? "Abomination of desolation" is a phrase from the Book of Daniel describing the pagan sacrifices with which the 2nd century BCE Greek king Antiochus IV Epiphanes replaced the twice-daily offering in the Jewish temple, or alternatively the altar on which such offerings were made. 11 Well then, is it the desolator? 17,18. Any possibility that persons continuing in the practice of a disgusting thing might gain entrance into the New Jerusalem, the Lambs chaste bride class, is ruled out at Revelation 21:9, 10,27. In short, the disgusting thing will stand in a holy place when the present system collapses and is replaced by a tyrannical world government, supported initially by organized religion, and the work of Jehovahs Witnesses is crushed. Here we have a prophetic panorama like that with foreshortened perspective. Now, lets consider Daniel 11:31 more closely. 16. jw2019 So we need to be alert to identify the modern-day " disgusting thing that is causing desolation" and then to be sure that we get out of the danger zone. 30 Jesus words, immediately after, do not mean right after ancient Jerusalems great tribulation in 70C.E. In, on, among. It cannot possibly apply to Jesus return. What is the connection between the prophecies of Daniel and Jesus? This bad condition and heart attitude led to their monumental act of rebellion in rejecting Gods own Son, and Jesus showed that this would bring certain destruction upon them.Mt 21:33-41; Lu 19:41-44. Properly, to stare at, i.e. (a)Whom, then, does this indicate Christendoms desolator to be? In 24:4-14, the, Jesus is preparing his disciples for eventsmost of them extremely difficultthat will take place in their lifetime. In what sense should readers flee to the mountains? Ezekiel 44:9 Thus saith the Lord GOD; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel. left the city, and moved to a town called Pella.[1] So Jesus, ever the Good Shepherd, told the first Christians how to survive those most harrowing years of the churchs infancy. So what is the holy place according to the Scriptures? The, the definite article. According to Daniels prophecy, Da chapter eleven, verse 31 thirty-one, the disgusting thing is something that is put in place during the struggle between the king of the north and the king of the south. That verse reads: And they will certainly put in place the disgusting thing that is causing desolation. In this time of the end for both the democratic king of the south and the totalitarian king of the north, this disgusting thing that has been put in place has been the international organization for world peace and security. He is in the inner rooms, do not believe it. 34 Then at Gods predetermined time, the great tribulation that will surpass anything of previous human history will begin with surprising suddenness. to discern clearly; by extension, to attend to; by Hebraism, to experience; passively, to appear. And since that is prior to the destruction of Babylon the Great the disgusting thing includes the harlot with her cup full of disgusting things. According to divine prophecy (Daniel 11:31 and Da 12:11), a "disgusting thing that causes desolation" was to play a shocking role in this twentieth century. He has written seventeen books on exegesis and biblical ethics, and is the founder and president of Center for Faith and Work, St. Louis. These have one thought, and so they give their power and authority to the wild beast [the disgusting thing]. What does the need to cut short the days to save flesh mean for the system of things? Is Narcissism the Problem Behind Pastors Moral Failures? That destructive hate must therefore strike at Christendom, the hypocritical Christian organization. Read discussions, or register to add your comments or ask questions, (Most modern translations use the term abomination, rather than disgusting thing. For comparison check out, Calling to mind the words of the Lord Jesus, discerning Christians living in Judea and Jerusalem seized the opportunity. (Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures idols and the false gods they represented are depicted as disgusting things. But all in vain! 24 And as Jesus added: In fact, unless those days were cut short, no flesh would be saved; but on account of the chosen ones those days will be cut short. (Matt. 25 What, though, about the remnant of Gods chosen ones on whose account the days of the approaching great tribulation will be cut short in order for some flesh to be saved by not having too long a tribulation? 21 It is because they still fight against Gods Messianic kingdom, for they strive to keep their occupancy of the earth by their armed might. 31. She, like the rest of Babylon the Great, will never be found again. (Rev. 'The day is coming when you will see the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing where he should not be.' brought the end of the holy place, Jerusalem, the holy city. (Mt 27:53) However, the Scriptures direct our attention to a heavenly Jerusalem, the Messianic Kingdom, which is represented on earth by anointed Christians. the present worldwide system of things has been in its time of the end. (Luke 21:24) The prophet Daniel associates the time of the end with the placing of the disgusting thing that is causing desolation when he writes: Make secret the words and seal up the book, until the time of the end. Copyright 2023 The Gospel Coalition, INC. All Rights Reserved. to flee before the disgusting thing returned three and a half years later bringing utter desolation upon the holy city. I will cause my two witnesses to prophesy for 1,260 days dressed in sackcloth.. Even though they are used as an instrument in bringing devastation upon Babylon the Great, they gain no reward for this. A primary preposition; to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases. (a)What do those quoted words indicate about the chosen ones of now? Feminine of Ioudaios; the Judaean land, a region of Palestine. 32 Other Bible texts combine together to show such guidance. 13-18 - The Watchtower1985 Bible Words Indexed (8 occurrences) See DISGUSTING THING (S). 24:21,22) That means nothing less than that the entire system of things, including antitypical unfaithful Jerusalem, will be annihilated, never to be restored. It is then, in the future, when the disgusting thing will be put into place. "Desolation" is from the Greek root word eremosis and means something that has been stripped or laid waste. But this was only the Jewish interpretation of matters, not an inspired revelation. Here is a link to a Watchtower article fleshing out the setting leading up to the desolation of Jerusalem. However, Jesus prophecy indicated something different in the case of the anointed chosen ones in the present-day time of the end when great tribulation is getting near for antitypical unfaithful Jerusalem (Christendom). An integral part of Jesus detailed prophecy concerning his return and the conclusion of the system of things focused on the desolation of Jerusalem by a disgusting thing. And it was in that context that Jesus referred the reader to the prophecy of Daniel. However, its ascending up from the earth symbolizes its recovery from death as if coming out of grave the abyss. 3. 24:15-21) Obediently, Jesus disciples in Judea did flee from that province after they saw the large army of General Cestius Gallus besiege and then suddenly retreat from the holy city of Jerusalem. And then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in lamentation, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. More than likely even some negligent Christians failed to escape Jerusalems awful fate. 9. Keep praying that your flight may not occur in wintertime nor on the Sabbath day; for then there will be great tribulation such as has not occurred since the worlds beginning until now, no, nor will occur again.In fact, unless those days were cut short, no flesh would be saved; but on account of the chosen ones those days will be cut short., That the admonition above applies to Christians in the future and not merely those living in Judea in the first century is evident from the span of verses immediately following, where Jesus went on to say: Then if anyone says to you, Look! For he has executed judgment upon the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he has avenged the blood of his slaves at her hand.Rev. The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics helps Christians show unbelievers the truth, goodness, and beauty of the gospel as the only hope that fulfills our deepest longings. - And from 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.The Septuagint is, "From the time the sacrifice is taken away for ever, and the abomination of desolation is prepared to be set up, are a thousand two hundred and ninety days." From ana and ginosko; to know again, i.e. See Insight on the Scriptures Disgusting thing). Evangelical scholars will disagree about how muchof this passage is devoted to each question, but they generally agree that 24:3-35 mostly refers to events leading up to the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. 15 `Whenever, therefore, ye may see the abomination of the desolation, that was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever is reading let him observe) Read Matthew (YLT) Read Matthew 24:15 (YLT) in Parallel. But, alas, post-WWI Germany did not have anything to do with setting up the League. That the admonition above applies to Christians in the future and not merely those living in Judea in the first century is evident from the span of verses immediately following, where Jesus went on to say: As regards the little horn with eyes and a mouth speaking great blasphemies, the prophecy states: Is the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses the disgusting thing? She is an international religious harlot, for the kings of the earth commit spiritual fornication with her and the commercial leaders of the earth do business with her. Though it has historical fulfillments, there is also a future fulfillment when daily sacrifices will be offered in Jerusalem and then cut off and replaced by some sort of blasphemous display. An outstanding feature of Jesus' answer was his mention of Daniel's prophecy about " the disgusting thing that causes desolation" and that would 'stand in a holy place.' ( Matt. Then, at that time. (a)How has this gathering work been done as with a great trumpet sound? 34. Keep praying that your flight may not occur in wintertime, nor on the sabbath day; for then there will be great tribulation. (Matt. 27 Nineteen centuries ago the anointed chosen ones did wait until they saw the disgusting thing standing in the holy place before they found it advisable and urgent for them to flee out of Jerusalem and all Judea, that is, from 66C.E. When Jesus gives instruction concerning future events, his purpose is not to satiate our curiosity or answer all or our speculative questions. (Rev. It should be noted, however, that Daniel 11:31-35 and 12:9, 11 connect a 'disgusting thing causing desolation' with "the time of the end." It is reasonable that the development of this latter expression of 'the disgusting thing causing desolation' in the time of the end should follow the . They say unto him, Yea, Lord. 24:21, 22; 25:46) May they be among those favored ones to whom the great crowd in heaven will cry out: Praise Jah, you people! to read. This act was the abomination of desolation, the abomination causing desolation. The problem is how much time intervenes between the tribulation of those days and the vivid symbolisms of Mt 24 verse29. And yet it will be! What was the first-century type of modern-day Christendom, and how was her desolation typified? Additional prophecies of a disgusting thing. Additional prophecies of a disgusting thing. Long ago The Watch Tower in its issue of July15, 1926, page215, explained that under the heading League Foretold. At that time the peace-and-security organization still was; it had not ceased to be, as it did during World WarII. GREAT TRIBULATION ENVELOPS ALL THE SYSTEM OF THINGS. From hote and an; whenever; also causatively inasmuch as. The disciples then asked Jesus to explain: When will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age? (24:3). Jerusalems desolation in 70C.E. 12:4-11; see also 11:40. He has three children and three grandchildren (so far). Standing where it ought not.--St. In the year 1930 it was plainly called the abomination that maketh desolate of Matthew 24:15 in the second volume of the book called Light, pages89 and 103, as published nine years before World WarII. That two-horned beast is properly understood to be the Anglo-American dyad. She is called the mother of the harlots and of the disgusting things of the earth. She holds a golden cup full of the disgusting things of her fornication with the kings of the earth. Though she curries the favor of the earthly kingdoms, sitting on top of a symbolic wild beast composed of such kingdoms, the time comes when this beast refuses to carry her, turns on her, and completely desolates her.See BABYLON THE GREAT. standing in a holy place. (Mt 24:15) In 66C.E. For just as the lightning comes out of the east and shines over to the west, so the presence of the Son of man will be. (b)What question does this raise regarding the chosen ones of today? Apparently a primary verb; to run away; by implication, to shun; by analogy, to vanish. And they will put in place the disgusting thing that causes desolation., First, it is important to note that there is an obvious connection between the profanation of the sanctuary, the fortress and the removal of the so-called constant feature, as well as the putting in place of the disgusting thing that causes desolation. The priesthood in the family of Aaron the brother of Moses that carried on the religious services at that temple does not exist anymore. Because the emergence of the last kingdom initiates Gods hour of judgment upon the world and the book of Revelation is quite clear that all who give their allegiance to the wild beast after it emerges from a death-like state, from the abyss, do not have their names written in the book of life. This prophecy makes sense only with reference to the fall of Jerusalem. Jesus' reference to "the disgusting thing that is causing desolation" (11:31), in his prophecy about the sign of his presence, shows that this power struggle of the two kings continues right down to "the conclusion of the system of things." But when you shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that reads understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains: Daniel 8:13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? Some versions translate the phrase as "the abomination that causes desolation." The original event that defined the term occurred about 200 years earlier, when Antiochus Epiphanes sacrificed a pig to Zeus in the temple. While the Jewish people, and particularly their religious leaders in Jesus days on earth, were evidently scrupulous in avoiding anything connected with literal idols, they were, nevertheless, guilty of disgusting practices of self-idolatry, disobedience, hypocrisy, greed, and falsehood, and Jesus said that, like their forefathers, they had turned the temple into a cave of robbers. (Mt 23:1-15, 23-28; Lu 16:14, 15; compare Mt 21:13 and Jer 7:11,30.) The "abomination of desolation" is a Hebrew idiom, meaning "the abomination that maketh desolate." St. Luke ( Luke 21:20) does not use the expression; it would have sounded strange to his Gentile readers. (a)What is the case as regards love for Christendom among the member-nations of the United Nations? So those who make up the wild beast oppose those who practice the true Christianity and who preach and faithfully stick to Gods Messianic kingdom, in which the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, serves as King under Him. Besides that inconvenient fact, the U.S. was not even a member of it. (b)Christendom must be desolated in connection with the end of what system, and why? What is an abomination? Not only that, but consider this: If the holy place represents Christendom then how is it possible that false Christs and false prophets are operating after the point at which the disgusting thing brings desolation? Obviously, the desolation of Jerusalem, as horrific as it was, did not result in a great tribulation that obliged God to cut short on account of the chosen ones. (Da 9:27) The popular view has generally followed early Jewish tradition in applying this expression to the profanation of Jehovahs temple at Jerusalem in the year 168B.C.E. Concerning this a number of questions come to mind foremost being: What is this disgusting thing? The use of en tachei [shortly] in Revelation 1:1 should make one pause before he decides. Scholars generally agree that the first reference of these prophecies is the Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes IV, who ruled Palestine from 175-64 B.C. . If you think you know the answer, maybe we should look into this prophecy a little more closely. (a)Till when did the chosen ones of nineteen hundred years ago wait before fleeing out of all Judea? In the historical books, abomination always describes idolatry, often with child sacrifice (1 Kings 11:7, 2 Kings 23:13). When you see 'the abomination that causes desolation' standing where it does not belong--let the reader understand--then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. According to the description there given, this triumphant war on the part of the Lamb of God will bring great tribulation upon the former patronizers and consorts of Babylon the Great (including Christendom). ( Matthew 24:15; Daniel 12:11) w85 10/1 pp. As regards the proper identification of the they who put in place the disgusting thing, we must look to the 13th chapter of Revelation, where we are informed that a two-horned beast will ascend from the bowels of the earth and authoritatively speak as a dragon commanding that an image of the seven-headed beast be made, which then comes to life. is a type or prophetic picture of the desolating of modern-day Christendom, which is likewise unbelieving as regards the Holy Bible and its Author, Jehovah God. By the time that the great tribulation is due to begin upon antitypical unfaithful Jerusalem (Christendom), the angels will have gathered all the foreordained number of the chosen ones out from all partnership with this doomed system of things. On that account God can then cut short the number of the days of the great tribulation, that thereby some flesh may be saved. 17 Nineteen centuries ago great tribulation came upon the ancient Jewish Jerusalem. It states: First, it is important to note that there is an obvious connection between the profanation of the sanctuary, the fortress and the removal of the so-called constant feature, as well as the putting in place of the disgusting thing that causes desolation. To flee, escape, shun. How do we know the eighth king has not begun ruling? Will Gods chosen ones of today yet have a similar signal to flee and begin fleeing out of the antitypical unfaithful Jerusalem, Christendom? Like other wild beasts that are used as symbols in Revelation and in Daniels prophecy, that disgusting, abominable kind of wild beast stands for a political organization. In the 1st century CE it was taken up by the authors of the gospels in the context of the Roman destruction of . All of them are armed, more heavily and destructively so than has been the case of the nations in all previous history. (Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures idols and the false gods they represented are depicted as disgusting things. However, for the reason previously stated it simply cannot be true that the U.N. is presently in the role of the image the idol brought to life by the resuscitated beast. (Na 3:4-7) The bloodstained and disgusting things to be removed from the teeth of the Philistine (Zec 9:6,7) likely relate to the pagan practice of eating sacrificial animals along with their blood.Compare Eze 33:25. Jesus foretells the destruction of the temple; that the gospel must be preached to all nations; that great calamities shall happen to the Jews; and the manner of his coming to judgment; the hour whereof being known to none, every man is to watch and pray, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, NT Gospels: Mark 13:14 But when you see the abomination (Mar Mk Mr). 17:12-16; 19:11-21. Jesus gave relatively little attention to the question When? and much toward the question How shall we live faithfully? Preaching on such texts today should be shaped by Jesus concern for the welfare and endurance of his church. 717-719 - The Watchtower1974 "Wisdom Is for a Protection" (21 occurrences) On the word immediately Dr.A.T.Robertson says in his commentaries: This word, common in Marks Gospel as euthus, gives trouble if one stresses the time element. From nous; to exercise the mind, i.e.