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THE ABOMINATION REMOVED
Dan. 9:27a tells us the start of the 70th week
"And he will establish a covenant with the many for one week."
The "he" is a benevolent world leader who will broker a 7-year peace
experiment in the Middle East.
This will allow the Jews of Israel to build a temple and offer animal
sacrifices.
The temple or sanctuary authorized by the covenant experiment is not
authorized by God.
It is a real temple but it is not valid IN THE SIGHT OF GOD.
The worship there is not valid and the sacrifices are not valid.
It is all performed by unbelieving Jews who have not trusted in Jesus.
Thus, HE does not honor it. And he does not honor the worship, the
worshipers, or the sacrifices that are done.
The sacrifices will be performed by unbelievers; not honoring to God and not
acceptable to God.
That is the significance of measuring it and the unbelieving Jews who
worship at it. Rev. 11:1-2.
By the way, this language, "temple of God," and "the Holy place," does not
mean that the temple will be authorized by God.
These terms indicate how the Jewish people will view the structure. TO THEM,
it is the temple and Holy place.
In order to gain the benefits of the peace-experiment, the Jews will make
some kind of compromise.
Some have suggested it might be land concessions.
However, it probably involves sharing the temple mount with the Muslim
mosque of Omar.
Dan. 11:34 indicates that this will a hypocritical concession by the Jews.
"Many will join with them in hypocrisy."
Toward the middle of the 7-year covenant, the benevolent leader will be
assassinated and then healed by Satan.
His soul will come up from the abyss of Hades and re-join the body.
However, it is through the power of Satan as permitted by God, and Satan
will then indwell the man.
He will take on the persona of the beast and begin Satan's plan to destroy
all Jews and Christians and anyone
who will not take his mark and worship him.
At the midpoint of the week, the beast will enter Jerusalem and set up the
abomination of desolation.
This abomination event is his act of taking his stand in the temple and
proclaiming himself to be God. 2Thes. 2:3.
It also includes an image or images that will remain in the temple for 1290
days.
The beast will not stand in the temple 24/7. It must be an idol image of the
beast that continues the desecration of the Holy place.
At Dan 12:6-7, the question is asked,
“How long will it be until the end of these wonders?”
That is, how long from Dan. 11:36, "then the king will do as he pleases."
until Dan. 11:45, "yet he will come to his end and there will be no one to
help him."
And that period will include the time of distress mentioned at Dan. 12:1.
The answer is given as, “It would be for a time, times and half a time."
First, the GENERAL length is stated as being 3 and 1/2 time periods; that is
around 3 1/2 years.
This does not refer to JUST the tribulation of verse 1. It refers to all the
events that were described starting at 11:36.
Those events will begin at the midpoint of the 70th week and will be
completed 1290 days later.
However, the distress of verse 12:1 (the tribulation) will not last for the
entire 1290 days.
The implication is that the length of the official reign of the beast will
be the length of the tribulation as well.
But Jesus taught that the actual oppression which is the tribulation will be
cut short from that expected length.
He will return at an unknown day and hour before the end of the beast's
reign (the end of the 70th week) and through the DOL judgments,
immediately curtail the ability of the beast to fulfill his persecution
agenda and economic promises.
Dan 12:7 Gabe continued, And as soon as they finish shattering the power of
the holy people, all these events will be completed.”
This then gives a specific situation that will occur before all the events
are completed.
It will not be until 1290 days from the midpoint of the week; that is 30
days after the end of the week that the oppression of the holy people will
be ended.
The holy people in the immediate context refers to the Jewish people.
And the focus at the end-times will also be on them. The beast will set up
his headquarters in Jerusalem and basically take control of the Jewish
temple, which of course will abominate it.
At Dan. 12:11, "And from the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished
and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days."
So, AFTER 1290 days from the midpoint of the week will mark the end of
oppressing the Jewish people and the end of the unauthorized temple
including the abomination.
So the false temple will probably be destroyed at some point during the
events of the Armageddon campaign and probably on that final day.
It should be clear that the false temple needs to be destroyed and the
abomination removed.
When the earthly Davidic kingdom begins a new temple will be built.
This is described at Ezek. 40-43.
Not much information about the actual BUILDING of the temple, except at Ezek
43:18. And He said to me, “Son of man, thus says the Lord GOD, ‘These are
the statutes for the altar on the day IT IS BUILT, to offer burnt offerings
on it & to sprinkle blood on it.’”
According to Daniel, when the tribulation begins at the midpoint of the 70th
week, there will still be about 1335 days left before Jesus will cleanse the
earth and set up His 1000 year kingdom. Dan. 12:11-12
And from the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the
abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.
Happy is the one who is patient and attains to the 1,335 days!
The time that the abomination will remain in the temple will be 1290 days.
There is no specific mention as to when it will be removed - either in this
context or anywhere.
But it is IMPLIED that it will be removed after the 1290 days.
The 70th week will end after 1260 days.
The next 30 days will be the bowl judgments which will end with the battle
of Armageddon and the destruction of the beast.
During the conflicts leading up to Armageddon, Jerusalem will be attacked by
the King of the North and other armies.
BELIEVERS IN JERUSALEM
During the months of the tribulation, there will be many Jews who will find
places to hide within the city. These will live in an underground type
experience.
Because of the testimony of the two witnesses, many of these will be
emboldened to come out of hiding to listen in spite of the threat from the
beast.
At the end of the beast's official reign, one of his final acts will be to
kill the two witnesses in Jerusalem.
After they are raised up and ascend into the sky, there will be another
great earthquake which will damage a tenth of the city.
Seven thousand of the beast worshippers will be killed.
But a great many of those Jews who had been in hiding will accept the
message of the two witnesses and trust in God's plan of salvation through
acceptance of the everlasting gospel. Rev. 11:13
"but the rest were reverent and gave glory to the God of heaven."
The message of the everlasting gospel is, "reverence God and give him glory
and worship Him." Rev. 14:6-7.
Many of these Jewish believers will remain in the city and as "the
inhabitants of Jerusalem" and will begin to fight the invaders.
During this time, the king of the west (the beast army) will enter Jerusalem
and split the army of the north into two halves. Dan. 11:45
He will set up his royal pavilion between the seas AT the beautiful holy
mountain; Mt. Zion. The beast himself will be with the rest of his army in
the valley of Megiddo, where he will come to his end.
Although the actual location of Mt. Zion has been placed at various spots,
it seems that its location on the temple mount is
most consistent with all the pertinent passages.
Half of the Northern army will be pushed out of Jerusalem to the West up
against the Med sea. Joel 2:20
The other half will be pushed out of Jerusalem up against the Dead Sea.
During this battle of Jerusalem - probably on day 30. Jesus will stand on
the Mt of Olives.
This will cause the great earthquake of Rev. 16:17-19.
Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice
came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.” 18 And there
were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a
great earthquake, such as there had not been since mankind came to be upon
the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. 19 The great city
was split into three parts.
The earthquake will split the Mt of olives down the middle from N to S which
will split the city of Jerusalem into 3 parts
and create the valley extending from east to west and run along Northern
Jerusalem leading to a place safely away from both Jerusalem and Megiddo.
Megiddo is about 80 miles North of Jerusalem.
Zech. 14:3-5, Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations,
as when He fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day His feet will stand on
the Mount of Olives, WHICH IS IN FRONT OF JERUSALEM ON THE EAST; and the
Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west forming a very
large valley. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and the other
half toward the south. And you will flee by the valley of My mountains, for
the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel.
At the end of the 70th week, after the two witnesses are raised and ascend
into the sky, there is a great earthquake and 1/10 of the city fell, which
suggests that that much of the city was destroyed (Rev. 11:13). But this
will not affect the abomination in the temple because it will remain
undisturbed until 1290.
The earthquake that will occur when Jesus stands on the Mt of olives will
cause the mountain to be split in two.
It will also cause the city to be split into 3 parts. Rev. 16:17-19.
The general area will be leveled or flattened so that the city of Jerusalem
itself will be elevated above everything else. Zech. 14:10
All the land will change into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of
Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin’s
Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the
Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses."
BUT the elevation of the city does not mean that the temple is present.
Since there is no mention of the temple on the earth after Rev. 11 and a new
temple will be built during the earthly kingdom.
It seems likely that the temple and the abomination will be destroyed during
the earthquake of Zech. 14:4.
This will occur on day 1290 after the midpoint of the week.
The 2300 days of Dan. 8:14 has a double application.
First: In about 171 BC, Antiochus abominated the temple.
Dan. 8:11, It even exalted itself to be equal with the Commander of the
army; and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His
sanctuary was overthrown.
Dan. 11:31 describes this event by Antiochus.
Forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away
with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of
desolation.
Dan. 8:13, Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to
that particular one who was speaking, “How long will the vision {about} the
regular sacrifice apply, while the transgression causes horror, so as to
allow both the HOLY PLACE and the host to be trampled?”
Dan. 8:14 And he said to me, “For 2300 evenings {and} mornings; then the
HOLY PLACE will be properly restored.”
The HOLY PLACE will be properly restored or vindicated (the Hebrew literally
says, “be made righteous”). The verb, tsAdaq, has a variety of meanings, but
it occurs in the niphal stem ONLY HERE. The idea is to be PUT RIGHT, as in,
put in the right condition (BDB, page 842). That of course would not happen
until the NEW temple is built, which is called THE HOLY PLACE in Ezekiel.
2300 days is about 6 1/2 years.
And in 164 BC, Judas the Hammer properly restored the practice of animal
sacrifices in THE HOLY PLACE.
I Maccabees 4:47-53, Then they took whole stones according to the law, and
built a new altar according to the former;
And made up the sanctuary, and the things that were within the temple, and
hallowed the courts.. . in the hundred forty and eighth year, they rose up
betimes in the morning, And offered sacrifice according to the law upon the
new altar of burnt offerings, which they had made.
Second: according to Gabe at Dan 8:26, the vision of the 2300 days is TRUTH
that pertains to many days (in the future). That means that we need to find
an end-times fulfillment for this.
There will be a RESTORATION of the Holy place. But it will not be in the
false temple that was built at the start of the 70th week.
And there will be no restoration at the end of the 1290 days when the
abomination is removed.
It will not be until until the new temple is built in Jerusalem in the
earthly Davidic kingdom.
And that won't be until 2300 days after the midpoint of the 70th week. That
will be 965 days after the start of the kingdom, which is about 32 months.
It is at that time with the completion of the new temple and holy place that
a full restoration will occur.
See topic: 2300 days of Daniel 8.
ONE DAY
From Olives Jesus will go to Megiddo and this could easily be finalized in
one day - on that final day 30 of the 1290.
It appears that after Jesus stands on Olives and then leaves, there will
still be fighting as described at Zech 14:12-14 and 12:4-8.
The people of the city are in a "defeated" condition until Jesus arrives.
This then triggers the turn in the battle of Jerusalem and the clans of
Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem then gain the victory over the armies
of the N and W.
So the human fighting in the city COULD continue beyond the 1290 days OR be
completed in that same day.
The 45 days of preparation for the kingdom does not exclude this fighting.
UNLESS, the human victory is concluded in one day also.
The "plague" language at Zech 14:12 and 12:4 indicates a sudden and total
wipeout of the enemy.
Armageddon should likewise be completed on that same day.
The fiery blast of Christ's power should kill everyone immediately and leave
the corpses for the birds. Rev. 19:17-18; Ezek. 39:17. |
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