Abomination That Causes Desolation - Matthew 24:15-32
Reading for Today:15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. 22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time. 26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. 29 “Immediately after the distress of those days “‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’
30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. 32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Reflection: As we mentioned yesterday, "eschatology" is the study of end times, or the last days. The whole book of Revelation is devoted to this subject, and there are several passages in the prophetic books of the bible, like the one mentioned today in Daniel, that predict what the end times will look like. Of course, there are lots of theories and variations on theories about the end times, and as someone who has read through the bible quite a few times, these doctrines can be very confusing. And sometimes I believe we get too caught up in trying to figure out how everything is going to come down in the end, rather than sticking to the plain facts of what has been revealed, in this case by Jesus himself as recorded by Matthew.
From the teaching today we can make a couple of broad summary statements about what Jesus teaches regarding the end times. First, he talks about an abomination that causes desolation. Although there had been abuses in the holy temple of Israel before that they were judged for, this abomination will apparently be worse than ever. Daniel 9 mentions a false Messiah that will make a false covenant with God's people for 7 years, and as part of it will demand worship of himself in the temple. This would make sense that the greatest abomination would be a false Messiah setting up as God and demanding the people to worship him. In the book of Revelation this person is referred to as the "anti-Christ", and given similar qualities in Revelation 13:14.
Then, it says for the sake of the elect, these days will be cut short. This would lead one to believe that the elect, or believers, would be present for these end times. It is not clear whether these are just the believers living in that time, or believers of all time.
Finally, it says that the Son of Man will come on the clouds of heaven with great power and glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call to gather all the elect to go to heaven with him. So from this we would conclude three things. In the end times there will be those who come claiming to be the messiah, but are not him. The last false Messiah will be the anti-Christ, whose reign will end with an abomination that causes all desolation. Then, the end will come, as days will be shortened for the sake of the elect. Finally, Jesus will return in great and promised glory and take His people to be with him forever. Those present and all the saints who have died in faith.
Of course there are those who might want to argue some of the details, but those are the basics. Bottom line as I have always said, what does this mean for me and you today? Since we have no idea when this will happen, tomorrow's reading will confirm that, how should we prepare for that day today? All we can do to be ready to meet Him when He comes is to be faithful to what who He has called us to be, and to what He has taught us to do. His life is our example, and though we are not Jesus, yet He has given us His own Spirit to be with us and transform us day by day into His likeness. And the promise is that one day when He returns will see Him face to face and enter His great and promised glory. Amen.
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’
30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. 32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Reflection: As we mentioned yesterday, "eschatology" is the study of end times, or the last days. The whole book of Revelation is devoted to this subject, and there are several passages in the prophetic books of the bible, like the one mentioned today in Daniel, that predict what the end times will look like. Of course, there are lots of theories and variations on theories about the end times, and as someone who has read through the bible quite a few times, these doctrines can be very confusing. And sometimes I believe we get too caught up in trying to figure out how everything is going to come down in the end, rather than sticking to the plain facts of what has been revealed, in this case by Jesus himself as recorded by Matthew.
From the teaching today we can make a couple of broad summary statements about what Jesus teaches regarding the end times. First, he talks about an abomination that causes desolation. Although there had been abuses in the holy temple of Israel before that they were judged for, this abomination will apparently be worse than ever. Daniel 9 mentions a false Messiah that will make a false covenant with God's people for 7 years, and as part of it will demand worship of himself in the temple. This would make sense that the greatest abomination would be a false Messiah setting up as God and demanding the people to worship him. In the book of Revelation this person is referred to as the "anti-Christ", and given similar qualities in Revelation 13:14.
Then, it says for the sake of the elect, these days will be cut short. This would lead one to believe that the elect, or believers, would be present for these end times. It is not clear whether these are just the believers living in that time, or believers of all time.
Finally, it says that the Son of Man will come on the clouds of heaven with great power and glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call to gather all the elect to go to heaven with him. So from this we would conclude three things. In the end times there will be those who come claiming to be the messiah, but are not him. The last false Messiah will be the anti-Christ, whose reign will end with an abomination that causes all desolation. Then, the end will come, as days will be shortened for the sake of the elect. Finally, Jesus will return in great and promised glory and take His people to be with him forever. Those present and all the saints who have died in faith.
Of course there are those who might want to argue some of the details, but those are the basics. Bottom line as I have always said, what does this mean for me and you today? Since we have no idea when this will happen, tomorrow's reading will confirm that, how should we prepare for that day today? All we can do to be ready to meet Him when He comes is to be faithful to what who He has called us to be, and to what He has taught us to do. His life is our example, and though we are not Jesus, yet He has given us His own Spirit to be with us and transform us day by day into His likeness. And the promise is that one day when He returns will see Him face to face and enter His great and promised glory. Amen.
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