What exactly is the abomination that causes desolation? -- Kathy Ofallon (Boston)

I believe you are referring to Jesus' prophecy in Matthew 24:15 (Mark 13:14), which is a reference back to the book of Daniel.

Whether the abomination (Daniel 9:27) was originally a pagan image set up in the Holy of Holies or the sacrificing of swine flesh on the altar of the Temple, it was something idolatrous that desecrated the Temple (Hosea 9:10). For the historical background, see the apocryphal books of 1-2 Maccabees, which describe the bravery of the Jews who resisted pagan influence in the 2nd century BC.

Jesus, in the "mini-apocalypse" of Matthew 24 (et par), is prophesying the desecration of the Temple in 70 AD at the hands of the Romans, which would parallel the similar desecration which took place two and a half centuries earlier at the hands of the Antiochus Epiphanes IV (Daniel 11:31). So the abomination has to do with the abominable desecration of the Temple at the hands of pagans. While this does not relate to our day, the Temple long being destroyed, it was highly significant in the first century, when Jesus predicted the end of the Jewish sacrificial system.

His stunned disciples could scarcely fathom that the Temple, in all its glory, could be slated for destruction. But Jesus warns them, when this omen is recognized, that it will be time to flee. History records that this is precisely what those who accepted Jesus' words did. They fled to the town of Pella and were able to avoid the imbroglio of the First Jewish War (66-73 AD).

For more material, why not take a peek at:
* John Oakes' book, Daniel: Prophet to the Nations (Highlands Ranch, Colorado: Great Commission Illustrated, 2000).
* Jim McGuiggan's The Book of Daniel (Fort Worth: Star Bible Publications, 1978).
* Joyce G. Baldwin's Daniel (Tyndale series) (Downers Grove: Intervarsity, 1978).
* C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Ezekiel and Daniel (Nashville: Hendrickson, 1996). This is a translation and reprint from the German original of 1866-91.

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