The Abomination of Desolation

4. He Shall Pollute the Sanctuary of Strength

Dan 8:9-14, 2 Thess 1:7-2:12

Daniel said that Satan would “cast truth to the ground—an army would be given to him,”^{Dan 8:12} an army of demons. They would “pollute the sanctuary of strength [maoz] .”^{Dan 11:31} The Hebrew word maoz only described the refuge of God, as in “God is my fortress.” In AD 180, Irenaeus gave the last testimony of believers receiving the holy spirit, which he said was evidenced by speaking in tongues.¹ Shortly afterward, a false experience of tongues began, called Montanism. Their founders, Montanus and Maximillia, received “a mind-destroying spirit” that drove each to suicide.² Their spokesman was Tertullian, the father of Latin Christianity and all significant deviations from apostolic doctrine. The apostle Paul said the coming of the lawless one would be with all signs and lying wonders.^{2 Thess 2:9}

5. The Abomination of Desolation

Dan 12:5-13

The angel in linen raised His hands and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, until all was finished.^{Dan 12:7} This was rounded to 1290 days, forty-three months of thirty days on the Jewish lunar calendar, from the time that the abomination of desolation was established.^{Dan 12:11}

In 193,³ the bishop of Rome committed the sin that caused desolation when he exalted himself as high as Christ. He excommunicated the churches of Asia because they rejected his doctrine of Easter Sunday. The place of God’s sanctuary was cast down—the spirit of truth was taken away. The saints remained in Satan’s hand for exactly three and a half years, or 1278 days as years, until the Moravian Church broke free from his power in 1471.

6. The End Was with a Flood

Dan 9:26, Rev 12:13-17

Daniel said that the end would be with a flood.^{Dan 9:26} This was described in Revelation 12: “The serpent poured out water like a river—that he might cause the woman to be swept away with the flood.”^{Rev 12:15} This flood was the Great Persecution of 303, prophesied in Rev 2:10: “You will have tribulation ten days.” Bishop Eusebius, an eyewitness, said, “Houses of prayer were thrown down to the foundations, and divine scriptures committed to the flames—the body of one scourged with rods, another punished with rackings and scrapings.”⁴ In 313, the emperor repented. John said, “The Earth helped the woman”^{Rev 12:16} and “The dragon went off to make war”^{Rev 12:17} with her children. The saints were taken captive in Mystery Babylon, a state-controlled church that enforced all the deceptions of Satan.

7. The Vision of the Four Beasts

Dan 7:1-8, Dan 7:9-14

Daniel saw a vision of four beasts, representing four kingdoms: a lion, a bear, a leopard, and an exceedingly dreadful beast, which John called “a red dragon.” Daniel called these four kingdoms,^{Dan 7:23} and four kings.^{Dan 7:17}

The first king was Nebuchadnezzar the Great. The next three kings were described in Daniel 8. The king of Persia who would be “great”^{Dan 8:4} was Cyrus the Great. The king of Greece who would be “very great”^{Dan 8:8} was Alexander the Great. And the little horn who would be “exceedingly great”^{Dan 8:9} was Satan. His kingdom that remains today is “Mystery Babylon the Great.” Daniel watched until this beast was slain. The others, he said, were prolonged for a time and a season^{Dan 7:11}—that is, a year and three months, 455 days, or years, until Rome conquered Greece.⁵

8. The Image in Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

Dan 2:31-49, Dan 7:1-8

King Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of an image with a head of gold, chest of silver, belly of bronze, legs of iron, and feet partly clay and partly iron. Daniel said that King Nebuchadnezzar was the head of gold. In Daniel 7 and 8, the chest of silver was revealed to be Persia, the belly of bronze to be Greece, and the legs of iron to be Rome. The feet that were partly clay and partly iron had ten toes, called ten kingdoms. They “would not mix in the seed of men,” because they were separated by language and culture. In 1525, Machiavelli, an advisor to the Pope, described ten states from “the irruption of the Northern people on the Roman territories,”⁶ referring to Romania, Austria, Spain, Morocco, France, Germany, Italy, Britain, Hungary, and Switzerland.

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