Great Tribulation

Matthew 24:15-28 Great Tribulation

The disciples asked Jesus three questions:

1) When shall these things be?
2) What shall be the sign of thy coming?
3) (What shall be the sign) of the end of the world?

Jesus began by answering the last question, the end of the world. Now he answers their first question, When shall these things (destruction of the temple) be? He begins with the destruction of the temple, which took place in AD 70, but it seems that at some point he blends the tribulation of AD 70 with the greater tribulation of the days of antichrist and the end of the age. In other words, most of verses 15-28 deal with the destruction of the temple (and Jerusalem), which took place in AD 70.

15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

What does he mean, spoken of by Daniel?

Well, in Daniel 9:27 we read, And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

You may be saying, “That doesn’t look similar at all.” No, it doesn’t, but when you look at this verse in the Septuagint (LXX, the Greek translation of the OT †) you find:

And one week shall establish the covenant with many: and in the midst of the week my sacrifice and drink-offering shall be taken away: and on the temple shall be the abomination of desolations; and at the end of time an end shall be put to the desolation.

There it is – the abomination of desolations. Jesus used the same phrase as Daniel. The only difference is it is plural in Daniel.

Now, abomination of desolation occurs two other times in Daniel

11:31 and arms from him will rise and will defile the sanctuary of fear. and they will remove the sacrifice and will give an abomination of desolation

12.11 from the time that the sacrifice was taken away and the abomination of desolation was prepared to be given, there are one thousand two hundred and ninety days 

In chapter 9 Daniel is referring to the destruction of the temple in AD 70 while in 11 and 12 he is referring referring to Antiochus Epiphanes who around 167 BC erected an altar to Zeus on the altar of Yahweh (1Macc. 1:54,59; 6:7; 2Macc. 6:1-5). Antiochus Epiphanes was a foreshadowing of a later event. Jesus is referring to the Roman army (Luke 21:20) in the temple, applying the words of Daniel to this dread event. “The verb bdelussomai (abomination) means to feel nausea because of stench, to abhor, to detest. The Roman army is called an abomination, for its ensigns and images, which were so to the Jews. Josephus says the Romans brought their ensigns into the temple, and placed them over against the eastern gate, and sacrificed to them there. The Roman army is therefore fitly called the abomination, and the abomination which maketh desolate, as it was to desolate and lay waste Jerusalem.” (Adam Clarke)

Whoso readeth let him understand – this is a significant event and portends great evil.

16  Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
17  Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18   Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19  And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20  But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

Jesus instructs dwellers in Jerusalem what to do when they see the abomination of desolation – run, flee, waste no time, leave immediately! I doubt they were heeding the words of Christ, but Josephus remarks that after Cestius Gallus had raised the siege, "many of the principal Jewish people forsook the city, as men do a sinking ship."

However, all the Christians fled. “But the people of the church in Jerusalem had been commanded by a revelation, vouchsafed to approved men there before the war, to leave the city and to dwell in a certain town of Perea called Pella.” — Eusebius, Church History

21  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

The destruction of Jerusalem was indeed a horrific event. Without going into details, it is enough to say Josephus computes the number of those who perished in the siege at eleven hundred thousand, besides those who were slain in other places. How do you even write eleven hundred thousand? I had to Google it - 1,100,000 !

I believe that it is at this point that Jesus, using the destruction of Jerusalem as the backdrop, speaks of events in the last days. Why? He said For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. The destruction of Jerusalem witnessed eleven hundred thousand perishing. But the Jews have actually suffered greater tribulation than that since then - six million perished under the Nazis. And Revelation 9 tells us of the great conflict of the end times: 14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. 15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. 16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. 17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.  18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.  

What does this have to do with Jerusalem? Zechariah 12-14 makes it clear that Jerusalem is at the center of all this. This is the great tribulation which ends with the coming of the King Himself!

23  Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25  Behold, I have told you before.
26  Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
27  For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
28  For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

I'm not alone in thinking that at some point Jesus jumps from the destruction of Jerusalem to the last days. In my first post I quoted A.T Robertson, "Certainly in this discourse Jesus blends in apocalyptic language the background of his death on the cross, the coming destruction of Jerusalem, his own second coming and the end of the world. He now touches one, now the other. It is not easy for us to separate clearly the various items." And before him, John Chrysostom (349-407) taught that at least by v 27 Jesus was now speaking of his second coming, and the days preceding that, when antichrist shall make his stand.

Most importantly, Jesus again warns of deception: There will be false Christs, false prophets, great signs and wonders; there will be reports that Christ has returned secretly, and is in hiding. Don’t believe it. His coming will neither be a secret nor secretive. No. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. You thought a star and an angel choir announcing his birth was a big deal? There will be no missing the coming of the Son of man! Maranatha!


† Daniel 9:27 is from the Brenton translation of the LXX; 11:31 and 12:11 from the New English Translation of the Septuagint (NETS)

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