The “abomination that makes desolate” (‫ )ּׁש ִּ֥קּוץ מְׁשֹומֵ ֽם‬occurs thrice in Daniel, once

in 9:27, once in 11:31 and again in 12:11. The Hebrew term for “abomination”
refers usually to detestation or something that should be held detestably, such as
unclean animals (Lev 11:10; Is 66:17; Ezek 8:10) or idols (Deut 29:17; 1 Ki 11:5;
Hos 9:10; Ezek 20:8); in both cases, an abomination is something which should
invoke a sense of religious horror.1 The full phrase occurs in Greek as well
(βδέλυγμα ἐρημώσεως) during Jesus’ apocalyptic discourses (Matt 24:15; Mk
13:14; allusions in Lk 21:20) as well as in the Maccabean accounts (1 Macc 1:54).
In every case it describes an example of the exaltation of a pagan king as he
transforms the Jerusalem temple into a pagan one.2

However, it is difficult to say what Daniel’s prophecy is referring to. There are four
primary interpretations. Most rabbis and modern commentators view Daniel’s
prophecy in reference to the activity of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (215–164 B.C.)
when he set up the idol in the temple, leading to the Maccabean crisis (this is the
view taken in 1 Macc 1:54; 2 Macc 6:5), but there are a few who believe the
passage in Daniel refers instead to Manassah, the king of Judah who set up a
carved image in the temple (2 Chr 33:7).3 Third, the “abomination of desolation”
has been associated with the Roman destruction of the Jerusalem temple in A.D.
70, when the temple is desecrated by the Roman hoards as Titus razes it to the
ground (Matt 24:2), which seems to be supported in Mark 13:30: “This generation
will not pass away until all these things take place.” Fourth, some interpreters
associate the abomination of desolation with events that have not yet happened
since the antichrist has not yet come (2 Thess 2:1–10; 1 Jn 2:18).4 This paper will
examine each of these in turn, suggesting that the prophecies in Daniel do not refer
to any of these events in full (but only in part as “mini-abominations”) but instead
refer to the crucifixion, resurrection, and post-ascension ministry of Christ.

All four of these interpretations are significant and will be dealt with in order. First,
it is nearly universally affirmed that Daniel’s prophecy about the abomination of
desolation in 11:31 and 12:11 refers to Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Seleucid ruler
of Judea who reversed the traditional laissez-faire suzerainty of previous Greek
leaders by establishing his own high priest at the temple and persecuting devout
Jews who observed traditional practices.5 According to Josephus (JW 1.34–35; cf 1
Macc 1:20–61), Antiochus attempted to Hellenize the Jews by forcing them to
leave their boys uncircumcised and sacrifice pigs on the altar. Mattathias, a priest
from Modein of the Hasmonean family, refused to sacrifice to the Greek gods (1
Macc 2:19–22). Thus began the Maccabean revolt; its symbol of resistance was
tearing down the abomination which Antiochus set up in the temple (1 Macc 6:7).
This interpretation, set in the context of Daniel’s prophecy about Greece and the
conflict between the Ptolemy and Seleucid dynasties (Dan 10–12), makes the most
sense, but there are a few difficulties unanswered: namely, what do the 1,290 and
1,335 days refer to (Dan 12:11)?

The second primary interpretation comes from a few of the rabbis (see note three),
who suggest that the abomination of desolation refers to the idols set up by
Mannasah, king of Judah (2 Ki 21:2–9). Because of these idols, God said that
Jerusalem would be devastated by her enemies. Since Daniel was written during
that exile, reading backwards would make sense as it provides a prophetic
expansion of God’s judgment. However, this account also fails to make sense of
the length of days recorded in Daniel 12:11, and, like the previous, does not align
with Jesus’ observation in Matthew 24:15 that the abomination of desolation from
Daniel has not yet been fulfilled. Unless we wish to say there are multiple
abominations which desolate, neither of these options are satisfactory.

The third option makes sense of the New Testament witness in a few ways: first,
there were some alive during Jesus’ ministry who also saw the destruction of the
Jerusalem temple and thus the abomination that desolates (Mk 13:30); second, the
events in A.D. 70 occur after Jesus’ ministry, which means he can say the events in
Daniel are not yet fulfilled (Matt 24:15); third, Jerusalem was surrounded by Titus’
armies, and those in the cities fled to the mountains, particularly Masada, as
Jerusalem was “trampled underfoot by the Gentiles” (Lk 21:20–24); fourth, the
abomination of desolation appears to refer to a particular person, such as Titus who
entered the Holy Place, and not an object, so that the abomination stands “where he
ought not to be” (Mk 13:14). While this interpretation of Daniel’s prophecy makes
sense, it does not satisfy the most important part of the apocalypse in the gospels,
for after the desolation the Son of Man will come in the clouds to gather his elect
and triumph over his enemies (Matt 24:27–31; Mk 13:24–27). This obviously did
not happen in A.D. 70, so we must again look elsewhere for the abomination.

The fourth attempt to explain the passage hinges on understanding the abomination
has not happened, even in our own time. This, however, ignores that “this
generation will not yet pass away” before the events described and the abomination
is established. While liberal scholars chalk this up to over-realized eschatology
among Jesus’ disciples, who expected his return in their lifetime, serious scholars
have to take Christ’s words here seriously. If he meant that some of his earthly
contemporaries would see the establishment of the abomination and the Son of
Man’s coming, then we have to rethink the way we understand Daniel’s prophecy.
The abomination which desolates refers of course to Antiochus, to Manassah, to
Titus, to the future Antichrist, but this is not the abomination Daniel spoke of.
Those were all smaller types of the abomination: smaller and not the desecration of
the temple.

There is a fifth option, but I could find little support for it in the commentaries. It is
my attempt to construct a theology which accounts for all of the difficulties above
while also solving a few others. First, we cannot understand Daniel 11:31 or 12:11,
or for that matter the apocalyptic discourses in the gospels, without reading the first
instance of the abomination in Daniel 9:27 in the context of the “seventy weeks”:
“And [the prince of the people] 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 shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed
end is poured out on the desolator.” The sanctuary is destroyed during the
seventieth week, when the sacrifices in the temple are suspended (Dan 9:26–27).
Christ affirms that the temple will be destroyed (Matt 24:2), but he also says that
his body is the temple he will rebuild in three days (Jn 2:18–22). The prince of the
people is the representative of the people and therefore stands for the Jewish
people as a whole. It is the Jews who bring about the abomination of desolation in
the seventieth week upon themselves (Matt 27:25). The abomination that desolates
sends them further into exile; it is killing God himself, rejecting Christ and so
rejecting God (Lk 10:16). The first century, a time of intense eschatological
expectation, finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. The whole of Daniel points to this
man, the one who intends to take those exiles home: the one who intends to give
his people their promised rest.6

The abomination that desolates is the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. For we
know that Christ is the Anointed One of Daniel 9:26 (not of 9:25), who died in
A.D. 33 (Jer 23:5–6; Matt 16:16).7 Christ ministered for about three and a half
years, or 1,290 days (Lk 3:1). The 1,335 days were cut short (Matt 24:22) for the
sake of the elect. During his death, the sun was darkened (Matt 24:29; 27:45), and
there was great mourning (Lk 24:18–21). Then they saw the Son of Man riding on
the clouds (Mk 13:26; Ac 1:9), and the Holy Spirit was poured out. Daniel serves
faithfully and will receive his reward (Dan 12:13), which is the resurrection of the
dead. Christ, the firstfruits of those who will rise again (1 Cor 15:23), is the type of
the resurrection to come. His resurrection is the beginning of the end of the
desolation, the beginning of the end of exile.8 It is when Christ rises from the dead
and sends out his apostles that the end begins to come and all his people are called
from the corners of the earth. They are called home.
Endnotes
1. The Jewish Encyclopedia (New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1901), s.v. “Abomination” (p. 1.80).
2. The Jewish Encyclopedia (New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1901), s.v. “Abomination of
Desolation” (pp. 1.80–81).
3. Jewish, s.v. “Abomination of Desolation,” citing the Talmud tractate Ta’anit (Jer. 4.68a; Bab. 28b).
4. Luther, Smalcald Articles II; Calvin, Institutes 3.194; Knox, History of the Reformation in Scotland 65;
Cranmer, 1.6; Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament 216.
5. Martin Hengel, Judaism and Hellenism (London: SCM Press, 1974), 277.
6. N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996), 96. On the end of exile
and its place in the New Testament, see N. T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God (Minneapolis: Fortress
Press, 2003), 127–128. See N. T. Wright, The New Testament and the People of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press,
1993), 217, 268–338, esp. 269, citing Neh 9:36–37; Bar 3:6–8.
7. See Jacob Collins, “Daniel’s Seventieth Week,” 2022, and the bibliography there.
8. See John Goldingay, Daniel (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1989), 308, and Wright, Resurrection,
112–116.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ginzberg, Louis, “Abomination of Desolation.” Pages 1.80–81 in The Jewish

Encyclopedia. 12 Volumes. Edited by Isidore Singer et al. New York: Funk
& Wagnalls Company, 1901.

Goldingay, John. Daniel. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1989.

Hengel, Martin. Judaism and Hellenism. London: SCM Press, 1974.

Mendes, H. Pereia, “Abomination.” Page 1.80 in The Jewish Encyclopedia. 12

Volumes. Edited by Isidore Singer et al. New York: Funk & Wagnalls
Company, 1901.

Wright, N. T. The New Testament and the People of God. Minneapolis: Fortress
Press, 1993.

________. Jesus and the Victory of God. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996.

________. The Resurrection of the Son of God. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003.