Jesus tells His hearers to recognize the 'abomination of desolation' spoken of through Daniel and to respond urgently when the sign appears. Mark preserves similar language, while Luke describes Jerusalem surrounded by armies.
Jesus in Context
The Abomination of Desolation
Jesus invokes Daniel's language of a desecrating abomination when warning His disciples about a coming crisis centered on Jerusalem.
Introduction
Historical and Cultural Context
The expression comes from Daniel, where an 'abomination' is associated with the profanation of sacred worship. The language had particular historical resonance because Antiochus IV Epiphanes desecrated the Jerusalem Temple in the second century BC during the crisis that led to the Maccabean revolt.
For Jewish hearers, therefore, Daniel's expression evoked more than a vague prediction of trouble. It recalled sacrilege, foreign oppression, and the violation of the holy place.
Why It Matters
The Danielic background explains the gravity of Jesus' warning and the immediate instruction to flee that follows it. Interpretations differ concerning the full prophetic horizon of the saying, but its vocabulary clearly draws upon remembered Temple desecration and impending judgment.