I was then given a stick that looked like a measuring-rod, and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count those who are worshiping in the temple. But do not measure the outer courts, because they have been given to the heathen, who will trample on the Holy City for forty-two months (3.5 yrs).” Rev 11:1,2
Revelation 11 confirms that a new temple will be built in the end times, and that Jewish people will be worshipping in it. Also, non-Jewish people will have full access to the outer courts. For decades there has been a firestorm of debate about the Jewish people’s right to the site of the First and Second Temples that were destroyed in 586 B.C. and 70 A.D. resp. Muslims aren’t going to allow a new Jewish temple to displace the Dome of the Rock/al-Aqsa Mosque that presently occupy that site. But “the trampling” in v. 2 could actually refer to a reconciliatory joint sharing of the Temple Mount; this will be the result of a formerly elusive (to the extremes) peace deal that the anti-Christ will somehow successfully broker at the beginning of the tribulation period. Here are excerpts from a Reuter’s e-article describing the state of blissful peace that will be enjoyed in Jerusalem until the mid-point of the Tribulation Period, when things totally unravel:
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Espousing a dream of harmony that may stretch credibility among even the most fervent believers in dialogue among the great religions, clerics in Jerusalem launched a project on Thursday aimed at finding a way to share the city’s holiest, and most fought over, site. Even the Jewish religious scholar promoting it acknowledges it might need divine intervention before a peaceful remapping of the area where Muslims built the 7th century Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque on the site of the biblical Jewish Temple. “We offer this vision for a long and deep discussion, and of course want to continue with a parallel research from other religions,” said Yoav Frankel, director of the project promoting a vision of “God’s Holy Mountain” (www.godsholymountain.org). Invitations to Thursday’s launch conference depict a sunlit imagined future for the area Jews call Temple Mount. Happy Muslims and harp-playing Jews mingle between the Dome of the Rock and a new Temple, as Christians walk over from the nearby Sepulchre Church, traditional site of Jesus’s resurrection.1
As proffered by Reuters, a new Jewish temple will be built in an unimaginably unprecedented time of Mid-east peace. Revelation 11 confirms that a real, physical temple will exist. Daniel 9 provides an account of the anti-Christ’s most heinous act, beyond any of the evils he will wreak during his brutal tenure—an act that will happen right square in the middle of that temple/site. It’s referred to as the Abomination of Desolation or the Abomination That Makes Desolate.
Repeating last week’s Daniel 9 reference to the anti-Christ, we segue into the account of this awful deed:
Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land. It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them. It set itself up to be as great as the commander of the army of the Lord; it took away the daily sacrifice from the Lord, and his sanctuary was thrown down. Because of rebellion, the Lord’s people and the daily sacrifice were given over to it (the little horn/anti-Christ). It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground. Daniel 9:9-12
Revelation 13 converges in on some critical details that may help us decode the mystery of the Abomination of Desolation. (Note: this occurs after the anti-Christ has been assassinated, and experienced a seemingly miraculous recovery. It also occurs immediately after his despicable comrade-in-arms, the false prophet, has arrived on the scene.)
John also explains that an image of the Antichrist will be constructed and those on the earth will be forced to worship it: “He (the false prophet) exercised all the authority of the first beast (the anti-Christ). And he required all the earth and its people to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. He did astounding miracles, even making fire flash down to earth from the sky while everyone was watching. And with all the miracles he was allowed to perform on behalf of the first beast, he deceived all the people who belong to this world. He ordered the people to make a great statue of the first beast, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life. He was then permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue of the beast commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die.” (Revelation 13:14-15). It is possible that this image could be set up in God’s rebuilt temple in Jerusalem and could be what Paul (2 Thess 2:3,4) refers to rather than the Antichrist actually seated there in person.2
There are three other references to the Abomination of Desolation in the book of Daniel, 9:27, 11:31, and 12:11.
• And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator. (Daniel 9:27)
Wiki had an interesting translation for Abomination of Desolation: desolating sacrilege (Hebrew: הַשִּׁקּוּץ מְשׁוֹמֵֽם, ha-shikkuts meshomem). Ha-shikkuts also means the detested thing. Meshomem is a verb. The Hebrew stem that is used is Polel—had never seen it before. The verb form is a participle (“-ing” word) which means appalling or causing horror/appalment. Therefore, Daniel 9:27 could also be translated “on the wing the detested thing (is) causing horror and appalment.”
So what does “on the wing” mean? The Hebrew word is kanah – in addition to wing or wings, another translation is “the overspreading.” This is what the cherubim do with their wings…on the Ark of the Covenant—they overspread the Mercy Seat! So we have, “On the overspreading, the detested thing is causing horror and appalment.” Whatever the Abomination of Desolation is, it may be erected in the Holy of Holies near, on or over the Ark.
And the two other anti-Christ references:
• Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate. (Daniel 11:31)
• And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days. (Daniel 12:11)
It is true that Jews and Christians who witness this desecration will be utterly appalled. But God Himself has shown us how He feels about it, by the name He gave it when He used a prophet millennia ago. So when the anti-Christ commits this ultimate sin, he will cross that uncrossable line that God has drawn and “the decreed end will now be poured out on the desecrator.”
As Jesus said in Matthew (and Mark) this act of defiance will bring big time retribution: “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ as spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains…For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.” Matt 24:15-21
Bottom line, we serve a Great God Who is totally in control. He’s not up in heaven wringing his hands over the mainstream media response to Trump’s Daily COVID-19 Briefings. God has shown us how He feels about evil—He detests it. And He will annihilate evil in every form, from the Abomination of Desolation/Desecrator to a tiny microscopic virus that tries to infiltrate our physiological ecosystems. All we need to do is call upon the Name of the LORD and He will save us. Romans 10:13
In my distress I called upon the LORD and I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears. Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger…He parted the heavens and came down with dark clouds under His feet…He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them. The channels of the sea appeared, and the foundations of the world were exposed, at Your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils. He reached from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy and from foes too mighty for me. Ps 18:6-17
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1Reuters Website: /article/idINIndia-40431920090618
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