The following WRAP has an interesting slant on the "abomination that maketh desolate."

David Wrote:

[An article for your web site, if you're interested:]

The Cornerstone of Biblical Prophecy:

Coming Soon to a Mountain In Israel

by David Haggith

Think of the following event, reported a year ago on the web site of Jerusalem's Temple Mount Faithful in light of biblical prophecy:

The cornerstone for the Third Temple which The Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement brought to the southern wall and gates of the Temple Mount ... on Tisha B'Av (29 July 2001) aroused great fear in the enemies of Israel, shocked them and caused an "earthquake" in the Middle East and all over the world. At the same time it excited everyone in the world, especially those whose eyes are lifted in love to the G–d, the people and the land of Israel, Zion and Jerusalem. Each day people lay cornerstones all over the world. Who cares about this and who pays attention to this? But one cornerstone for the Third Temple, the house of G–d in Jerusalem, moved the hearts of all the world and caused an "earthquake" in the media and governments of all the nations. All of this again showed that the destiny of the people and land of Israel and all the world will be decided in one place which is the heart, soul and focus of Israel and the most holy place in the world — the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the G–d and people of Israel.

This was a key event in the history of Israel and all mankind. However the cornerstone could not be laid on the Temple Mount because of the threats and violent demonstrations of the Arab enemies of Israel on the Temple Mount and in Biblical Jerusalem. This was also due to the weakness of the Israeli authorities under pressure from nations and powers all over the world. Despite this fact, the cornerstone caused a revolution in the middle East and all over the world.

Consider that event in light of the following prophecies, which were quoted by early Church fathers as a prophecies concerning Jesus Christ:

So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed." (Isa 28:16)

The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes. (Psalm 118:22,23)

My anger burns against the shepherds [of Israel], and I will punish the leaders; for the LORD Almighty will care for his flock, the house of Judah, and make them like a proud horse in battle. From Judah will come the cornerstone ... from him the battle-bow, from him every ruler. (Zechariah 10:3,4)

[Jesus, born to the tribe of Judah, once told a story that represented God sending his son to the Jews:] "But when the tenants [representing the Jews, who were God's tenants in the land of Israel] saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.' And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?"  They [the Jewish crowd] said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons." Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures: 'The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it." When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. (Matt. 21:38-45)

[Speaking of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, Peter said,] "This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, but which has become the head of the corner." (Acts 4:11)

Jesus claimed he was the cornerstone that was rejected by the builders of Israel. Certainly those who built the temple in Jesus' day rejected him and were taken out of the land, but might he not have had in mind a future generation of temple builders as well -- those who would bring on the events of the end time? The Temple Mount Faithful continue to reject Jesus Christ, and prefer, instead, a cornerstone fashioned by their own hands. They made the following claim on their web site:

"All of the enemies of Israel and the world powers understood the historical significance of the laying of the cornerstone for the Third Temple [attempted in 2001]. They understood very well that the rebuilding of the Temple will change the history, life and face of all the world. They understood that the materialistic and evil leadership of this time ... will forever pass away and mankind will no longer be led by politicians.... This is the reason that they fought against the determined decision of the Temple Mount Faithful Movement to lay the cornerstone for the Third Temple. In this way they believed that they could prevent G-d's prophetic end-time plans to redeem Israel and all mankind and establish His kingdom and values.

(http://www.templemountfaithful.org/Events/tishabav2001.htm) "

And, so, the stone was not laid, but another attempt is planned for this December, and such attempts will continue to be planned until they are successful. That is how determined they are to resurrect the old sacrificial religion, instead of accepting the sacrifice that was to end all sacrifices, the death of Jesus Christ:

"[God] expects Israel to immediately purify the Temple Mount, lay the cornerstone and start with the rebuilding of His house. It is so exciting to see in the marvelous ways G–d is acting in these end-times and how His presence appears in the activities of The Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement in such a unique and godly way."

If they are successful this December (or at any other future time) in actually raising the cornerstones they prefer over the one they reject, will that event be the great end-times sign Jesus predicted:

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. So when you see standing in the holy place "the abomination that causes desolation", spoken of through the prophet Daniel -- let the reader understand -- then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. (Matt 24:14-16)                                                                                                                                                                             

The "holy place" to some sects is the Temple Mount, or more specifically the site on the Temple Mount where the old temple stood -- the one that was destroyed when Jesus rejected the Jewish leadership because they rejected him. Certainly the erection of these cornerstones for a replacement temple would be the ultimate abomination against Christianity. It would show resolutely that, after 2,000 years, the religious leaders in Jerusalem still prefer a temple of stone to accepting Jesus as Messiah. The move to a temple built for animal sacrifices would even be seen as an abomination by a great many Jews, who believe it would carry their religion backward 2,000 years. And it would certainly cause desolation in the land of Israel. Even the Temple Mount Faithful acknowledge that the raising of their preferred cornerstone will cause war, for it will be seen by all Arabs as a threat to the Al Aqsa Mosque that now stands on that site:

On the day after the event [when the cornerstone was brought to the Temple Mount] a large bulge was noticed on the southern wall of the Temple Mount. The media reported that there is a danger that the El Aqsa mosque, which is on the southern wall of the Temple Mount, could collapse as a result of this bulge. The bulge was not caused by the hands of any man. Everyone understands that it was caused by G–d Himself. [Because the mosque must go in order for the temple to be built.] He did it on the same wall in front of and not far from where the cornerstone was brought even though it was not off-loaded from the truck.... The voice of G–d is being very clearly heard in this critical and exciting times. We are living very close to the climax of these times. The historical battle of The Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement to rebuild the Third Temple cannot be stopped. The G–d of Israel is leading this holy Movement and her godly, historical campaign. This battle and campaign will continue with the presence and help of G–d even more intensively until the army of G–d is victorious, the end-time Temple is built.

Some think that the "holy place" Jesus referred to, where the abomination would occur, has to be the temple. Therefore, the temple has to be rebuilt. But the holy place can also mean the holy site on the Temple Mount. Jesus had already predicted that the temple that stood in his day would be destroyed. So, he knew that temple would not be standing in the end times. The end-time temple referred to the Temple Mount Faithful, never has to be built in order for "the abomination that causes desolation" to occur. The temple, itself, is the abomination. It's mere cornerstones are an affront to Jesus Christ, who said he was the cornerstone that was rejected because the religious leaders preferred a temple of stone to him. Merely raising its cornerstone is an abomination that will be sufficient to cause great desolation.

The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, and he will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare. Many of them will stumble; they will fall and be broken, they will be snared and captured. (Isaiah 8:13-15)

You see, Jesus was to be the only sanctuary the people needed; but he is a stone that has caused them to stumble because they did not recognize the truth embedded in prophecies like the one quoted above. As a result, their very acts to bring messianic prophecies about will cause them to fall. The entire Middle East will join in all-out war against Israel if cornerstones are brought successfully to the holy site of the old temple on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. The Daniel prophecy that Jesus alludes to, by the way, says the abomination will stand on a corner of the temple -- perhaps another direct reference to the cornerstones of a new temple being the abomination that is the final end-time sign. So, watch the Temple Mount Faithful in December and each and every time they try to raise their rocks to the holy site on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. God predicted in the Old Testament that the events of the end times would center on Jerusalem:

I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah [the West Bank] will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. (Zech. 12:2,3)

According to the Temple Mount Faithful, This great moment, the greatest in the life of Israel and all mankind, is soon to come.

 [David Haggith is the author of End-Time Prophecies of the Bible, published by Putnam.]

Don Wrote:

Dear David:

Thanks for your WRAP AROUND, I feel in my spirit that you are close to getting a handle on the "abomination of desolation."

Let me apologize for taking so long to answer you.  If you will notice you will see that I haven't yet put up my March WRAPs although it's the middle of April.  The reason I am tardy is that your WRAP triggered a study that I'm far from completing.  So, let me answer you by saying that I'll make my comments later, so I hope you'll keep checking back.

If you will notice in our book The Clock of the Ages, I purposely said very little about the abomination that Jesus and Daniel referred to.  I did this because I suspected strongly that I would have to do a complete study of the Book of Daniel before I would be able to comment on it; and after having researched for the Clock of the Ages, and then for the study of Revelations, I was in no hurry to do another study -- but it looks like now's the time.  So, as soon as I'm finished with the study of Daniel,  I'll make my comments on the "abomination of desolation."  

B'Ann Wrote:

The whole time that Jesus was on earth, he was trying to tell everyone that the days when man  had appeared to "control" what occurred in the temple was gone.   He constantly talked about a temple not made by hand; a spiritual "building of lively stones" that could not be touched or polluted by man.  This message has yet to be accepted by mankind.  We are prone to "nest building."   Always, we think if we erect a church sanctuary or mosque "for God" that we have done a marvelous work.  This endeavor can be exhausting, fund raising can be extensive, and often personalities can seriously flare over a proposed "edifice to God."  Usually by the time the exhausting work of erecting the building is finished, the group is too exhausted to bother about the work commanded in the Great Commission.  They often sit and wonder why the people do not flock to see their great monument to God.  The message of "Go ye into the highways and hedges" is foreign to them as they sit and admire their new carpet color ( which seems to be the main thing fought over by the building committee), lovely pews and alter and the comfortable air-conditioning that they installed. 

Why mankind ever thought they had control over the "House of God" is a mystery.  We seem to believe that we have to carry forward a tabernacle building as they did in the Old Testament.  These Scriptures attest to the fact that the "building of a building" for God was always a fallacy; He only "allowed" them to build a tabernacle after they steadfastly refused to accept His "pillar of smoke by day; pillar of fire by night". The things that will occur in the end-time will be very similar to the following Scripture.  How sad that mankind will fight over something that they can never control, never manipulate, never appreciate or even really understand. 

Acts 7
¹ Then said the high priest, Are these things so?
² And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,
³ And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.
...
⁸ And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs.
^...
33 Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.
...
³⁸ This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:
...
⁴⁴ Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.
...
⁴⁷ But Solomon built him an house.
⁴⁸ Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
⁴⁹ Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?
⁵⁰ Hath not my hand made all these things?
⁵¹ Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
...
⁵⁷ Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,
⁵⁸ And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.
⁵⁹ And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
⁶⁰ And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Although these verses do not specifically ID the abomination of desolation, I'm satisfied that they do present the mindset that will bring it about.

Hello Don

I browsed into your site while looking for others believing as I do concerning Revelation. There is some correlation with yours -let me explain how I believe: What we commonly call the "seven Churches" I see that the Lord actually identified these as seven people types (there is a similarity here to your writing I know) These seven actually represent the seven covenants that He has made since the beginning. The rest of Revelation then goes on to explain how God will deal with His covenant peoples and draw them unto Himself for eternity.

Don Wrote:

Hello Russ,

Thanks for taking the time to WRAP with us.  Apparently you want us to critique your new site, but since you're still constructing it, that's hard to do.  However, I can share some basic guidelines for answering a call from God as far as building a Web site is concerned..

First and foremost, we feel that anyone attempting to build a Christian Web site should do so in response to a call from God.  And before anyone can answer a call from God, it only makes sense that one must have a call of God on his or her life.  Then   of course, before one can receive a call from God, he or she must be born-again so that the following Scriptures can apply.

Jn. 10:
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

Rom 8:3
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak
through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the
likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the
flesh:
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
...
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the
sons of God.

Second, to answer a call from the Lord one must "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (II Tim. 2:15).  In addition, as one begins their study of the Word, they must understand the following:

I Cor. 2:9
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
10 But God hath revealed [them] unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

(By the Way, as strange as it may sound, not all Bible study is good!  I know that sounds strange, but as countless cults and false teachers affirms, it is the truth.  For Bible study to be good, it must be approached with a teachable attitude, wanting to learn rather than trying to become an expert or proving a point.)

Third, as one begins a Christian Web site, two goals should be kept to the fore: i.e.,   (1) to seek and find the will of God for the site, and (2) to remember that the site is being built for the Church and that all that is put on it should bear witness with the Body of Christ.  

God made each of us individuals and respects our individuality; this applies to our ministries as well as it does to every other respect of our lives.  However, if the concepts of these guidelines for a Christian Web site undergird our work, then the Lord will be pleased and the Church will be blessed by the efforts.

Let me conclude with a word from James:

James 3:1
My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.

The word "masters" as used in this verse is nicely explained in the Amplified Version of the Bible which reads,

James 3:1
NOT MANY [of you] should become teachers (self-constituted censors and reprovers of others), my brethren, for you know that we [teachers] will be judged by a higher standard and with greater severity [than other people; thus we assume the greater accountability and the more condemnation].

Perhaps it would do all of us who sense a call of God on our lives to remember that we are not experts, but vessels that have received mercy and that it is by the grace of God that we are what we are, assuming that we are something that God can use in spite of ourselves.

DEAR BRO IN CHRIST

I PRAY THAT YOU CAN HELP ME. DO YOU HAVE BIBLE STUDY QUESTIONS ON THE BOOKS OF

MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE & JOHN? I NEED THEM FOR MY ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS LIKE NOW. IF

YOU DO PLEASE TELL ME HOW TO GET TO THEM. DO YOU KNOW ANY OTHER SITE OR SITES THAT

DOES? PLEASE SEND ME AS MANY SITE NAMES AS YOU HAVE ON THIS & I'LL TRY THEM ALL. PLEASE

HELP! PLEASE GET BACK TO ME ON THIS IMPORTANT MATTER LIKE YESTERDAY.

IN HIS NAME

WANDA

Don Wrote:

Hello Wanda,

I guess that you have figured out that I didn't get right back with you.  But I did pray and I felt that you were in better hands than mine. 

However, you might be interested in a new feature that I am in the process of putting up on the Web.  In my first years of studying the Bible, I found myself frustrated because I often couldn't place the character or event I was reading about in any chronological order in my mind.  So, one day I decided enough was enough; and I proceeded to build a chronological chart of the key people and events in the Bible.  The chart has helped me tremendously and I hope to have it up on the web shortly.  If this might help you in your preparations for your class, keep checking back.

Maranatha,

Don

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