Matthew 24 and Mark 13 both use the term abomination of desolation; however that specific term isn’t used in Luke 21. Trying to harmonize these chapters by equating Jerusalem surrounded by armies with the abomination of desolation presents some issues.
Points that support AOD and JSA (Jerusalem surrounded by armies) being the same event are
- Matthew and Mark were written for a Jewish audience while Luke was written mainly to Gentiles.
- The description and instructions on fleeing is nearly identical for both AOD and JSA.
- There can be little doubt that the questions asked and the answer given by Jesus in the 3 gospels prior to the phrases AOD and JSA are to be viewed as the same question/answer session.
Points that don’t support AOD and JSA being the same event are
- The Jews would have certainly been aware of Antiochus Epiphanies sacrifice and wouldn’t necessarily associate armies surrounding Jerusalem as the abomination spoken of in Daniel.
- If the Jews would have waited until the armies were standing in the holy place (Jerusalem) it surely would’ve been too late to escape. If the holy place is outside of Jerusalem then it doesn’t seem likely that the Jews would’ve understood the warning written for them.
- Matthew and Mark both have the phrase AOD and the days being shortened, Luke has neither phrase.
- It wouldn’t seem to matter whether the days of vengeance were shortened or not after the believing Jews fled, their flesh would still be saved.
These are just some points that I can think of, I would like to hear from others if they have additional points to make on either side.
I made this chart to show my current view of how I deal with some of the issues.
View attachment 289557
This chart might be difficult to read and I couldn’t fit all my thoughst on it; so I have each time period listed below (I’m not very good at making charts, this is my first attempt at it).
- Daily sacrifice is taken away. In Daniel 12:11 the daily sacrifice shall be taken away and Hebrews 7:27 shows that the high priests offered up daily sacrifice, first for their own sins, and then for the peoples. The necessity to provide the daily sacrifices was taken away because God will provide the sacrifice. The point at which this occurs is in John 1:29 where Jesus is declared to be the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. Hebrews 10:9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. Jesus has power to forgive sins prior to the cross (Matthew 9:2-6) proving that the high priests sacrifices were no longer necessary. The sacrifices were allowed to continue in the temple even though the shadow they were portraying was presently with them because the second (in Hebrews 10:9) was not yet established. Hebrew 9:17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
- Jesus’s ministry starts. In Matthew 4:12-17, after He heard that John the Baptist was cast into prison … from that time Jesus began to preach, and say, repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
- The cross (30 A.D.)
- Abomination of Desolation. The first sacrifice made after the veil was torn is an abomination that makes those who perform it desolate. It’s an abomination because it denies that Jesus was the Lamb and the sacrifices they are making can’t forgive sins so they are now desolate. Fleeing didn’t happen here because the days of vengeance were shortened. The first part of “the days of vengeance” was truncated, so the sign to flee is now Jerusalem surrounded by armies.
- Pentecost. This event would be in doubt if the days of vengeance weren’t shortened.
- Jerusalem surrounded by armies. Daniel 9:27 and that determined shall be poured out upon the desolate. The fleeing happens here because these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
- 70 A.D.
I've noticed that Luke and Mark both record the disciples asking
only about the timing of the destruction of the temple, and the sign when the destruction is about to take place:
"And as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts, He said,
As to these things which you see, days will come in which there shall not be left a stone on a stone, which shall not be thrown down.
And they asked Him, saying, Teacher, but
when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign when these things are about to take place? Luke 21:5-8
"Tell us, When shall all these things (the destruction of the temple) be? And what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?" Mark 13:4
Matthew's gospel records the disciples asking a second question:
"What shall be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the world?"
I've often wondered: Was the Roman war against Judea (66-70 A.D) not 'the end of the age' for the kingdom of Judea, and of the kingdom of God being only in the hands of the genetic descendants of Abraham?
Luke 21:
12-19 seem to be talking about things that the Lord's apostles and His Jewish disciples must surely have already experienced by the time the temple was destroyed in A.D 70 (we only need to read the Acts of the Apostles to see it).
Luke 21:8 could very well be referring to the false Messiahs that rose up against the Romans in attempts to boot them out of Judea. Verses 20-24 seem to be talking only about the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D 70.
So if Christ was crucified circa A.D 30, then Luke 21:8-24 certainly do seem to be talking about the forty-year period A.D 30-70, but verses 25-28 seem to take a quantum leap in time to the end of the age we are in now, to events to occur immediately before the return of Christ (at least, this is how it seems to me).
Matthew is even more difficult,
unless the gospel of the Kingdom "first being preached in all the world as a witness to all nations" (Matthew 24:14) is referring to what we read about in the Acts of the Apostles in the forty-year period A.D30-70 - but that would not explain what the Lord said in Matthew 24:29-31 because here again, there seems to be a quantum leap in time to the end of the age that we are in now.
If there were any record of Christ appearing in the clouds and gathering His Old Testament elect in 70 A.D, then there would be no issue.
I agree with your link between the AOD and the sacrifices in the temple following the Lord's crucifixion and resurrection. The KJV of Daniel 9:27 says, "and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate."
The trouble with Daniel 9:27's reference to the AOD is that it's as difficult to translate correctly as it is to fathom whether the Olivet Discourse is talking about the forty-year period 30-70 A.D ('the end of the age' for the kingdom of Judea and the Kingdom of God being in the hands of Abraham's genetic descendants), or the end of the age that we are living in, or BOTH. The Roman war against Judea started in 66 A.D and lasted till 70 A.D when the temple was destroyed. I don't know what month it started and finished, but could it have been 3.5 years? If so then Daniel's forth beast and the Revelation's 7th head have come and gone, and before I turn myself into a Preterist, I'm out of this post.
