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ended by Christ's return in glory. Consequently once more the nearness of the kingdom
will be proclaimed throughout the world for a witness.
Who will proclaim it? Rev. 11: 3-12 reveals that two witnesses are raised up by God
and miraculously sustained and protected by Him until they have finished their
testimony. There is also the sealed remnant of Israel (Rev. 7:) who remain faithful to
the end. God never leaves Himself without a witness even during the worst apostasy
recorded in history. The world will then be without excuse during this time.
The Lord goes on to add:
"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. Let no-one on the roof of his house go down to take
anything out of the house. Let no-one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful
it will be in those days for pregnant woman and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight
will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath" (24: 15-20, N.I.V.).
The word "abomination" is always linked with idolatry in the O.T. This idol is
referred to in Dan. 9: 27; 11: 31; 12: 11, and is linked with the antichristian wild beast
of the end time. Some expositors try to find the fulfillment in the action of Antiochus
Epiphanes who erected an altar to Zeus on the altar of Jehovah (1Macc.1:54; 59:6,7;
2Macc.6:1-5).
But this was past history when Christ was speaking, and He was
undoubtedly referring to the future.
The act of Antiochus foreshadowed the final abomination. The one described by
Daniel occurs in the middle of the 70th week of years (Dan. 9: 27) and this leaves
another 3½ years to run, variously described as "42 months" (Rev. 11: 2; 13: 5),
"1,260 days" (Rev. 12: 6), or "time, times, and half a time" (Dan. 7: 25; 12: 7;
Rev.xii.14).
This idol is connected with worship, and from other passages it evidently refers to the
image of himself that the Antichrist sets up in the restored Temple of the end time and
commands universal homage (Rev. 13: 5-8; II Thess. 2: 1-4). There are expositors
who link the whole of Matt. 24: with the catastrophe of 70A.D. which records the
destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple, but this again is impossible, for Matt. 24: is
linked by the Lord to the greatest time of tribulation for the world which has not been
equaled in past history, nor will be in the future (Matt. 24: 21). What happened to the
Jews at 70A.D. was terrible as Josephus relates, but it was not the greatest tribulation of
all time involving the whole earth.
If we note carefully the words which Christ uses, we are bound to relate them to
Daniel 12: 1:
"And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the
children of thy people (the Jews): and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was
since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be
delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book" (A.V.).