The Abomination of Desolation

We start off this study with a key verse as the Tribulation continues. It is "key" as it ties God's prophetic plan for Israel and it's picture together.

Mat 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

Mar 13:14 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:

When one recalls that Christ is the one speaking here something significant occurs...the prophecy of Daniel's 70 Weeks is verified as truth by Christ Himself. As a result of looking at Daniel 9:27 we know that the abomination of desolation occurs at the middle of the last week and more significantly it is still future from the time Christ gave this prophecy.

Dan 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.

Dan 11:31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.

Dan 12:11 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.

This begs to question, what is the abomination of desolation? It is the time and event in the middle of the Tribulation where the antichrist will establish himself and his image as God (just as the source of his power desired to do at the beginning (Ezek 28:14; Isa 14:12-17)). The image of the Beast (or more specifically an idol) will be imbued with powers:

Rev 13:15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

Both Christ and Daniel make it seem that the installation of this idol will be plainly apparent. Daniel provides the time in relation to the Tribulation (the 70th Week) and Christ provides the instruction on what to do when it's installed.

The Flight of Israel

What Christ provided next in Matt 24:16-20; Mark 13:15-18 and Luke 21:20-24 was twofold. First in Luke we see a description of the destruction of Jerusalem which was fulfilled in AD70. Of note in Luke is the sign for that particular event - "Jerusalem is surrounded". It also is a "type" of the flight of Israel into the desert during the Tribulation. v20 sets the context for this passage as the destruction in AD70 where in Mark and Matthew the sign which Israel is to be looking for is the abomination of desolation.

The question now is whether this flight is talked about in Revelation. Indeed it is. Revelation 12:6-17 is in sight here as the flight of Israel in the middle of the Tribulation. These verses provide the results of following the guidance by Christ in the Gospels...Israel flees under the protection of God's hand and protected from the wrath of satan. The context for Revelation 12 is set by verse 1 and 5:

Rev 12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: Rev 12:2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. Rev 12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

We know the woman described in v1-2 is Israel as it parallels the imagery of Joseph's dream (Gen 37:9). Verse 5 provides more substantiation as the child is Christ (Rev 19:15).

Returning briefly to the passage in Luke we must look specifically at Luke 21:24. This is significant as a sign for the return of Christ. There are those that hold the position that the final generation starts with the rebirth of Israel in 1948 or the capture of Jerusalem in 1967. Something that needs to be considered is something specific in Luke 21:24:

Luk 21:24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

To this day Jerusalem is still trodden down by the Gentiles. When Israel was re-born in 1948, Jerusalem was in control of the Gentiles. In 1967, Israel regained control of only a portion of Jerusalem. The most sacred art of Jerusalem (the Temple Mount) is still not in Israeli control, but rather Gentile control.

The Great Tribulation

We move on to Matt 24:21 and Mark 13:19:

Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mar 13:19 For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

The Old Testament supports this concept for the end times as well:

Dan 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Joe 2:2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.

When the text in Revelation is viewed and keeping in mind that Revelation is a chronologically written book it becomes apparent that Rev 16 is in sight at this point....the pouring out of the Bowl Judgments. This also give credence to the intensity and severity of the Bowl Judgments. This is also the final outpouring of judgment by God leading up to the return of Christ.

Shorter days?

At this point I would have to say that Matt 24:22 and Mark 13:20 may also have a double fulfillment in view. It may have to do both with the seige and destruction of Jerusalem in AD70 and the final outpouring of destruction on Jerusalem by the antichrist during the Tribulation.

Mat 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
Mar 13:20 And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

Either way whether it has one or both in view the baseline truth is the same, God is going to consider the protection of his chosen ones.

End Times Deception

Matt 24:23-28 and Mark 13:21-23 both give rise to the arrival of false Christs, false prophets attempting to mislead many. 2 Peter 2:1-3 gives further credence to this. Although that passage applies to today as well, the intensity is still not at the peak it will undoubtedly reach during the Tribulation. Revelation 16 teaches about this exact event:

Rev 16:13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
Rev 16:14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Rev 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

Satan, the antichrist and the false prophet release these false Christs to decieve and mislead performing miracles. Of note here is v15 which shows Christ's return at the second coming as again coming like a thief. Yes those who recieved Christ as their savior and have survived to this point could most likely calculate the day of his return, but absolutely no Scripture alludes to the time and hour of his return.

Also, take a look at Matt 24:27:

Mat 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Christ has warned the apostles when people say go here or there the Messiah has returned that it has occurred to not be fooled and the imagery He uses to describe his coming is beautiful. Think back to the last lightning storm you experienced...when lightning struck, what occured? The entire sky would light up. Christ is saying here that when He returns, every eye shall see (Rev 1:7).

The Second Coming

His return!! Talked about in Matt 24:29-30, Mark 13:24-26 and Luke 21:25-27 this will be the most glorious sight to behold for every believer....and the most dread thing for all of the wicked generation to see. Talked about throughout the Old Testament (Isa 13:10; Ezek 32:7-8; Joel 2:31; 3:15; Amos 8:9; Dan 7:13; Zech 12:12) it is an anticipated event for both Christian and Jew alike. And we see more details of His return in Rev 19:11-21. When Christ returns He will crush the armies gathered at Armageddon (which will be the biggest battle in history to never have been fought).

In Sum...The Second Half of the Tribulation and His Coming

As we continue this study we see that the Olivet Discourse is still focused on Israel and parallels closely John's account of the Tribulation in the book of Revelation. At this point I will state that the Olivet Discourse deals with the Tribulation which is the detailed version of Daniel's 70th week. From that we can draw the conclusion that the Olivet Discourse is a prophecy for the Jews not the Gentile nations. The Gentiles will most certainly be impacted by the Tribulation as the judgments put forth in the Tribulation are God's wrath on a wicked world, and as a part of the world they will be the target of these judgments...but Israel is in site. Of the three end times groups of people, only two are in sight (the Jews and Gentiles)...the Church is not in view.

In the next part of this study we will look at some of the post Second Coming events and the parables the Lord taught as part of the Olivet Discourse.

Thank You