The abomination that causes desolation is a phrase drawn from Daniel 8:13; Daniel 9:27; Daniel 11:31 and Daniel 12:11. At the time it was commonly understood to be a prediction of Antiochus IV, a Syrian King who slaughtered a pig on the altar of burnt offering and erected an idol of the Greek god Zeus on the altar in the Jerusalem Temple. 1 Jesus sees an additional fulfilment of Daniel’s prophecy that goes beyond the common understanding. Most likely he has in mind the coming of the Roman armies in AD 70, though it could also refer to the Antichrist, a world deceiver (see 2 Thessalonians 2:3–4; Didache).2 In either case, the tribulation begins with the destruction of Jerusalem (Matthew 24:15) and concludes with the return of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:29–31). Jesus either skips from one eschatologically significant event (the temple destruction) to another, sees the entire period from the temple destruction to his return as an extended tribulation period,3 or prophetically blends the tribulation brought by the Romans with the final tribulation that it prefigures.4 The judgment of Jerusalem and the final judgment of the world are intertwined and seen together.5
15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place ( let the reader understand),