WordExplain

 by James T. Bartsch

Eschatology, the Study of Last Things

"But when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. The one who is on the housetop must not go down, or go in to get anything out of his house; and the one who is in the field must not turn back to get his coat.... For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will." (Mark 13:14-16, 19)



























The Abomination of Desolation

Matthew 24:15-16; Mark 13:14-19


I do not deny that there are elements in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 that apply at different points in Church History. To me, however, the primary referent of the Abomination of Desolation must be yet in the future. According to Daniel 9:24-27, the angel Gabriel informed Daniel that 70 sevens of years were decreed upon Daniel’s people (Israel) and the city of Jerusalem. After 7 + 62 (= 69) of those sevens of years, Messiah would be cut off (crucified), and the people (the Romans) of the prince who is to come (the Antichrist) would destroy the city and the sanctuary (Dan. 9:26). That happened in 70 A.D.

There is apparently an ongoing gap between the 69th unit of seventy sevens of years and the 70th seven of years. The prince who is to come (the Antichrist) will make a firm covenant with many (that includes Israel, and, in my opinion, may also include the Arab world) for seven years (Dan. 9:27). For Israel this is a seven-year guarantee of peace and safety. It is co-terminous with what we also call, in general terms, the Tribulation period. This treaty with Israel will permit her to rebuild her temple and re-establish sacrificial offerings (Dan. 9:27).

In the middle of that seven-year period Antichrist will break his treaty and put a stop to sacrifice and grain offerings (Dan. 9:27). The “abomination” that causes “desolation” will occur when, according to 2 Thess. 2:3-4, the “Man of Lawlessness” (the Antichrist) will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship” and will “take his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God” (2 Thess. 2:4). The Lord will kill the “Lawless One” “with the breath of His mouth” and will bring him to an end by the appearance of His coming” (2 Thess. 2:8; Rev. 19:19-20).

I believe this interpretation is warranted by Jesus’ linking of “The Abomination of Desolation” (Mark 13:14) with a future time of unprecedented tribulation (Mark 13:19-20), which I take to be the Great Tribulation proper, the last 3.5 years of Daniel’s 70th Seven of Years. This kind of superlative terminology is used also in Matt. 24:21-22 (the phraseology is identical to Mark's) and in Rev. 7:14 ("the tribulation – the great one").

See the off-site image of the Angel Gabriel's description of "Seventy Sevens of Years."

Image Credit

James T. Bartsch
September 17, 2026


Return to Eschatology


(Scripture quotation taken from the NASB.)

Search WordExplain.com here.














Posted September 17, 2026