Detestable Acts About to Take Place Just Ahead of Us During the Last Days
“…he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army. And the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him” (Daniel 11:25). The king of the south will have a great and mighty army. However this great and mighty army will not be successful against the Antichrist. Why? Because they broadcast or “…forecast devices against him” Is this a peacetime propaganda being used against the king of the South? It certainly appears to win out over the great and mighty army of the king of the South.
We know that the Antichrist will come into power through flatteries (Daniel 11:32) more so than by the waging of war. He will use peace (not war) and destroy many just as the historical Antichrist, Antiochus, did (Daniel 8:25).
This last world dictator will have ten kings of ten nations as his power base (Daniel 7:24, Revelation 17:12).
“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 makes desolate” (Daniel 11:31).
What is this abomination that makes desolate?
“As such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries. But the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits. And they that comprehend shall instruct many. Yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days” (Daniel 11:32-33).
The Antichrist will even corrupt some of the people who were previously involved in the true worship of God. But those who continue to know God will be strong and do exploits.
What will the attitude of this Antichrist be?
“…the king will do according to his will. And he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished. For that that is determined shall be done” (Daniel 11:36).
“…that day will not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped. So that he, as God, sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). Notice the Antichrist will actually be in the temple of God where he obviously does not belong.
“Neither will he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god. For he shall magnify himself above all” (Daniel 11:37). He will exalt himself and become a self-made god or idol. He will not regard “…the desire of women…” There is speculation that he may be celibate or homosexual (or both).
“But in his estate will he honor the god of forces. And a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things” (Daniel 11:38). At first glance this may appear as out of character for the Antichrist who will set himself up as a god. However, in his lust for power, he may be willing to embrace the idolatry of this world’s power cabal. They worship their idols in private and appear as levelheaded businessmen and businesswomen in public. In public they shun idolatry. In private they practice idolatry.
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]” (Ephesians 6:12).
“Thus shall he perform in the most strong holds with a wierd god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall slice up the land for gain” (Daniel 11:39). The Antichrist will practice idolatry at its deepest level to maintain his power base.
Daniel 11:40 shows a confrontation between the king of the north and the king of the south. The king of the south is ultimately defeated, resulting in the Antichrist moving into the countries that are close to Jerusalem (Daniel 11:40-43).
Is this talking about a future event?
Yes.
“When you therefore will see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (who ever reads, let him understand). Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains” (Matthew 24:15). These are the words of Christ. Make no mistake. Christ is talking about a future event. We may refer to a Greek king who was like a pre-type of the Antichrist. For more about this historical Antichrist see Antiochus Epiphanes – Pre-Type of the Antichrist. However, the main event is in the future, as is the end time Antichrist, the vile person spoken of by Daniel.
What is the abomination?
In Daniel 11:31 the word “abomination” means what in the original Hebrew?
shikootz – # 8251 – an abomination, Something that is abominable, used of impure things, of flesh of victims, especially of idols.
In Matthew 24:15 the word “abomination” means what in the Greek?
bdelugma – # 946 – abomination, detestable thing; literally anything that must not be brought before God because it arouses His wrath; of everything connected with idolatry.
In Matthew 24:15 what does the phrase “abomination of desolation” mean?
bdelugma tes epeymoseos – is probably the detestable thing causing desolation of the holy place; some interpret it as denoting the Antichrist.
Note that some interpret it as denoting the Antichrist, the Beast. In other words, there is the belief that the abomination of desolation may be the Antichrist himself! The Antichrist will set himself up as an idol. Apparently the pre-type Antichrist, Antiochus, set up an idol in the temple of God. The idol was a statue of Zeus. However, he had the face of the statue sanded down and reshaped so that the face looked like him (Antiochus).
In Daniel what does “desolate” mean?
shawmeyme – # 08074 – to be desolate, to be appalled, to be stunned, to be stupefied, to be awestruck, to be put to silence, to be devastated, to be ravaged, to be astounded/to be astonished.
So, it could be referred to as the detestable thing that creates astonishment. It will be the ultimate abomination. It will be the last gasp of an insult to God from the Antichrist who is pretending to be God. People will be stunned by this detestable thing.
The Antichrist will throw his weight around for only three and a half years. The nations of this world will have to be destroyed and rebuilt under the government of Christ, the kingdom of God. The corruption will be totally wiped out before Christ begins to start the fabulous 1000 years of peace. The Antichrist and the ten nations that existed as his power base will be destroyed.
“…in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever” (Daniel 2:44).
-wilyelder
References:
Arndt, William F., and Gingrich, F. Wilbur, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, London, England: University of Chicago Press, Ltd., 1957.
Bettenson, Henry, Documents of the Christian Church, London, EnglandOxford University Press, 1943.
Bullinger Publications Trust, The Companion Bible, London, England England: Marshall, Morgan and Scott, 1974.
Josephus, Flavius, Antiquities of The Jews, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USKregel Publications, 1981.
Stevens 1550, The Englishman’s Greek New Testament, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing, 1970.
Wigram, George V., The Englishman’s Hebrew Concordance of the Old Testament, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, MA, 1997. The original concordance without Strong’s numbers was printed by Samuel Bagster and Sons, London, England1874.
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