As we've already noted, the main characters involved in the abomination of desolation will be the beast and end-time Israel. If we'll go to the book of Daniel, we'll find some visions that will give us some insight into this end-time beast who will place the abomination in Israel's midst.

In Daniel, chapter 7, we have the account of Daniel's vision of four great beasts coming up out of the sea. Once again, we're into prophetic symbolism. The sea represents the masses of people on the earth, while the four beasts represent the rulers of kingdoms. In Daniel 7:17 a heavenly messenger explains to Daniel, "...these great beasts, which are four, are four kings which shall arise out of the earth." History records their kingdoms as Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, and the Roman Empire. The fourth of these beasts, the Roman Empire, was dreadful and terrible and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth. It devoured and broke in pieces and stamped the residue of the other kingdoms, and it had ten horns.

HORNS SYMBOLIZES POWER

In Psalms 75 we read of horns that represent power. "I said unto the fools...lift not up the horn: lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck. For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the Judge. He putteth down one and setteth up another...All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted" (Ps. 75:4-7, 10). So then, the Bible uses horns to represent power, and out of these ten horns that will come up from the fourth beast or the fourth world power (the Roman Empire) will rise another horn. "I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things" (Daniel 7:8).

There is another vision in Daniel having to do with these ten powers that will come out of the old Roman Empire. This vision was given to King Nebuchadnezzar and it was interpreted by Daniel. In the vision Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon (the first world power) saw a great image, the figure of a man. It had a head of fine gold, breast and arms of silver, thighs and belly of brass, and legs of iron. Its feet were iron and clay.

IRON REPRESENTS MILITARY MIGHT

In the given interpretation the four parts of the body represent the four world powers as per the vision of the four beasts. The legs of iron, the fourth world power (the Roman Empire), is again shown as being divided into ten--this time ten toes which represent ten nations; and Daniel 2:44 tells us that in the days of these kings, Christ shall set up His kingdom and the Kingdom Age. For this reason, there has been much speculation in the church concerning the ten nations to arise out of the Old Roman Empire and the nation that will spawn Daniel's little horn--but such speculation, although it can be interesting, nevertheless, is still just speculation.

A TYPE OF THE FIERCE END-TIME BEAST?

In chapter 8 of Daniel, we have a lengthy passage of another of Daniel's visions. In it there was a ram that had two horns that none could resist, and he became great. Then a he goat came on the scene with a notable horn between his eyes, and he broke the two horns of the ram. Eventually, the great horn of the he goat was broken and in its place came up four notable ones. From one of the four came forth a little horn that waxed exceedingly great toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. Scholars tell us the ram was Media-Persia, the he goat was Grecia, and the little horn that came out of the four divisions of the kingdom of Greece was Antiochus Epiphanes. This was the Epiphanes who persecuted the Jews in 175 B.C., who forbade the Jews to be circumcised, and who tried to burn all the copies of their Sacred Scriptures. He also mocked Israel and defied their God by doing the expressly forbidden act of sacrificing a pig on the altar, thereby profaning their temple. (And by the way, to Israel’s dismay, God did not honor the backslidden nation by striking Antiochus dead on the spot for his act of blasphemy.) All this took place during the 400 years between the Old and New Testaments when every man in Israel did what was right in his own eyes—during the 400 years of silence when Israel heard not a word from the God of their Father Abraham.

SOME "NO-NO'S"

While we're looking at Daniel's little horn who will place the abomination that maketh desolate, we should reemphasize some implied "no-no's" given to the Church concerning the beast and the abomination.

First, just as no one can know the day or hour of our Lord's return, neither can anyone set a date for the abomination of desolation at the end of our age. In Revelation 11, verses 1-2, we read, "And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the alter, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city they shall tread under foot forty and two months." For the Jews, other than those in their wintering period, the Bible gives seasons, years, months, and even days for their prophecies. But the best the Church can hope for is an order of the events to take place, sometimes, and the same stirring of the Spirit that accompanied the time of His Visitation to the planet! The court without, the Gentiles' court, measure it not, says John. (The last 42 months of the times of the Gentiles are measured only because Israel is back in the running prophetically. This will be the first half of Daniel's seventieth week.) As for the first abomination of desolation, even though it will be a Jewish event, it is shown in the Olivett discourse as taking place during the unmeasured time of the Gentiles. Also, because Israel is to flee into the mountains when she sees the abomination standing where it ought not and because she is to pray about when her flight will take place, it would seem that the matter of where the event fits on the Clock of the Ages is yet to be determined by the end-time generation of the descendants of Abraham. If we add to these uncertainties the mysterious language used to portray the abomination of desolation, we can understand why date setting for the event(s) is a taboo.

The other "no-no" has to do with trying to reveal the identity of the beast, for Paul tells us that will not happen until after the Church goes up.

(II Thessalonians 2:1-12)
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
Remember ye not, that, when I was with you, I told you these things?
And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

THE SCRIPTURAL DAYS

Before we analyze this passage, we need to consider some Scriptural terms that are indisputably prophetic in nature. The terms can represent more than one time in time, and their positions in the chronological order of things are not always clear. The last day(s), the latter day(s), the last time, the day of the Lord, the day of the Lord Jesus, the day of Jesus Christ, and the day of Christ are some examples of such terms. To successfully place them in the scheme of things, we need to note when they were spoken and especially in what context they were spoken. For example, the latter day(s) or time(s) for those living during the age of the law could cover the time span from their Visitation (Luke 19:44) up to the end of the world. For those living in our age, the latter day(s) could mean those times prophesied for the end of our age forward (See STUDY CHART, next page).

Let’s go back now to II Thessalonians 2:1-12 and see if we can determine just what Paul is telling us. This passage is a classic example of when one must be familiar with the context to understand the content; so, let’s look at the particulars. It is commonly agreed among scholars that I and II Thessalonians were Paul's first epistles, written well before the gospels and before his great doctrinal epistles. We're told of the founding of the Thessalonian church in Thessalonica in the seventeenth chapter of Acts. From that passage we learn that its members were first Jewish, then Greek. This being so, the mindset of the majority of the Jews concerning their future kingdom was prevalent; i.e., they were expecting their Messiah to somehow set up His kingdom in their day. Consequently, the new converts were having to wrestle with the Pharisaical teaching that saw no need for the cross and that was oblivious of Israel's regathering, her sign, and her end-time deliverance at the end of the Church Age.

Apparently Paul had tried to waylay the Pharisaical influence by teaching the differences between the day of the Lord and the day of Christ (see the study chart). Nevertheless, after his departure teachers had apparently arisen or come into their midst teaching that their afflictions, rather than being their lot as believers, were coming about because the day of the Lord (which will begin with the first half of Daniel's seventieth week at the end of the Church Age) was already upon them. In his first epistle to the Thessalonians, Paul tried to dispel their fears concerning such a belief by explaining that that day would not come upon them as a thief in the night, for they were not in darkness as were the lost in the world (I Th. 4:13- 5:11). He assured them in his first epistle that the Lord Jesus had not yet returned (i.e., His resurrection and His second coming were not the same)--stating that he was praying for them that they would be preserved blameless unto the day of His return (I Th. 5:23).

Apparently, his first epistle had not set aside the erroneous teachings; for very shortly thereafter, Paul sent his second epistle to the Thessalonians addressing the same problem. Somehow, he had to get across to the Jewish Christians the difference between the first part of the day of Christ (their rapture to heaven for the marriage of the Lamb) and the first ½ of the day of the Lord (also known as the first ½ of Daniel’s 70^th week or the first ½ of the day of God's wrath). Although these two events will take place simultaneously, the day of Christ has to do with the Spirit-filled Church while the day of the Lord is determined upon Israel and the unbelieving Gentiles (See Illustration #4.).

THE "DISPENSATIONAL" DAY AND NIGHT

In his first epistle Paul had already explained that the Thessalonian believers were not of the night, but of the day (The Grace Age is the night for the Jew under the law, but the day for the Christian under grace.). Consequently, for them, Jesus would not come as a thief in the night. Now in his second epistle, Paul was again trying to set their doctrine in order. This time by reassuring them that when Christ did return, He would gather the bodies of all believers up to be with Him at the time of the Rapture (the first event of His Second Coming)--the Thessalonians included. And as to the false teaching in their midst that the second event in the day of Christ (His returning with His glorified Church to set up the millennial kingdom) was at hand—not so, said Paul, for two major events must first take place. There must first be (1) the great falling away associated with the tribulation period and (2) the revealing of the man of sin which will take place during the first half of the day of the Lord (the first 3 1/2 years of Daniel's seventieth week).

THE "LIGHT" OF DAY WILL BE REMOVED

Then, beginning with verse five, he reinforces what he taught them in person and what he wrote them in his first Epistle. The Lord will come for His Church and take it up, and "he who now letteth" (the Holy Spirit) will be taken up with them or "taken out of the way." And then shall that wicked one be revealed and be allowed to do those things that will fulfill the Scriptures.

"BUT YE, BRETHREN, ARE NOT IN DARKNESS..."

Undoubtedly, as things progress (perhaps deteriorate would be a better word) towards the culmination of this age, the Spirit-filled, Spirit-led segment of the Body of Christ will be aware of the time. (God didn't destroy Sodom without first letting Abraham, Sarah, and Lot know what He was doing.) Nevertheless, many of the things revealed to the Church may come in the same vein as the revelation of our Lord's virgin birth at the time of His Visitation. We're told that Mary and Elizabeth and those let in on the doings kept those things mostly to themselves--pondering them in their hearts (Luke 2:19)—an attribute that was apparently pleasing to the Lord.

ANOTHER WORD OF CAUTION

Also, let's consider one other word of caution to the Church concerning this passage in II Thessalonians 2:1-12. It is unfortunate that many newer translations have ignored the content and the context of this passage and replaced the day of Christ, as was originally translated in verse two of this passage, with the day of the Lord. This is unfortunate because their having done so throws a "monkey wrench of confusion" into the study of prophecy!

CONCLUSION