Introduction
† Daniel wrote about an abomination connected with desolation, the stopping of sacrifice, unprecedented distress, and the time of the end. Jesus later took Daniel's prophecy and placed it directly into the experience of His own generation.
† Jesus didn't tell His disciples to look thousands of years into their future. He told them that when they saw the abomination of desolation spoken of through Daniel, they were to understand what Daniel had written and flee from Judea.
† Matthew records Jesus referring directly to Daniel's abomination, while Luke records the parallel warning in unmistakable historical language, Jerusalem surrounded by armies. When the two Gospel accounts are read together, Luke gives us a powerful interpretive key for understanding what Jesus meant.
† Daniel, Matthew, and Luke aren't describing unrelated events. The language, location, judgment, distress, and escape instructions converge on Jerusalem and the events surrounding its first-century destruction.

Daniel 9:26-27
Then after the sixty-two weeks, the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. And he will confirm a covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come the one who makes desolate, until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, gushes forth on the one who makes desolate.
† Daniel's prophecy specifically connects the coming desolation with the destruction of the city and the sanctuary. That gives us the geographical setting before we ever reach Matthew 24. The prophecy concerns Jerusalem, its sanctuary, sacrifice, war, and determined desolation.
† The prophecy doesn't leave the city unidentified. The same chapter identifies Jerusalem as Daniel's holy city (Daniel 9:16, 24). The coming destruction therefore belongs to the covenant judgment centered on Jerusalem.
† Jesus later takes Daniel's language and applies it to events His disciples would be able to see. Daniel gives the prophecy, and Jesus gives His disciples the sign connected with its fulfillment (Matthew 24:15-16).

Daniel 11:31
Forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation.
† Daniel again connects the abomination with military forces, the sanctuary, its profanation, and desolation. The pattern isn't a peaceful event somewhere far removed from Jerusalem. It's covenantal judgment involving armed power and the sanctuary.
† This becomes especially important when we reach Luke's account. Luke doesn't use the exact phrase abomination of desolation. Instead, he tells his readers what Jesus said they would actually see, Jerusalem surrounded by armies (Luke 21:20).
† The connection between forces, sanctuary, abomination, and desolation in Daniel prepares us for Jesus' warning concerning Jerusalem. Luke then gives the visible military sign that announced that Jerusalem's desolation had drawn near (Luke 21:20).

Daniel 12:10-11
Many will be purged, cleansed, and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand. And from the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.
† Daniel was told that the wise would understand. Jesus later uses remarkably significant language when He brings Daniel's prophecy before His disciples, let him that readeth understand (Matthew 24:15).
† Daniel's prophecy therefore wasn't intended to remain permanently incomprehensible. A time would come when those living near its fulfillment could recognize what Daniel had described.
† Daniel connects understanding with the time surrounding the abomination and the removal of the continual offering. Jesus then tells His first-century hearers what to do when they see the Danielic sign, flee from Judea (Matthew 24:15-16).

Matthew 24:15-16
Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place-let the reader understand-then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.
† Jesus identifies Daniel by name. We don't have to guess which prophetic framework He expects His disciples to understand. He specifically directs them back to Daniel.
† Notice the words when therefore you see. Jesus is speaking to the disciples in front of Him and describing a sign that could be recognized. When that sign appeared, those in Judea were to flee.
† The command to flee Judea anchors the prophecy geographically. Jesus isn't describing an invisible worldwide event. The warning concerns people who could physically leave Judea when the sign appeared.
† Jesus also says let him that readeth understand. Daniel had written that the wise would understand, and Jesus now calls His hearers and readers to understand Daniel in connection with the approaching events (Daniel 12:10).
† The question is then obvious, what would they see that told them the desolation was near? Luke's parallel account answers it.

Luke 21:20-22
But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are inside the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city; because these are days of punishment, so that all things which have been written will be fulfilled.
† Here is the interpretive key. Matthew says when you see the abomination of desolation and then flee Judea. Luke says when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies and then flee Judea. The same warning, the same location, the same flight, and the same approaching desolation point to the same judgment.
† Luke couldn't make the setting much clearer. Jerusalem is named. Armies are named. Desolation is named. Judea is named. The people are told to flee. These aren't clues pointing to a distant modern event. They're instructions that made sense to people living in first-century Judea.
† Luke says then know that her desolation is at hand. Jesus wasn't telling them that Jerusalem's desolation would follow thousands of years later. Seeing the armies meant the desolation had drawn near.
† Jesus then calls these the days of vengeance in which all things written would be fulfilled. This places the approaching judgment within the fulfillment of Israel's prophetic Scriptures, exactly where Daniel belongs.
† Matthew gives Daniel's prophetic terminology. Luke gives the historical description. Matthew says abomination of desolation. Luke says Jerusalem surrounded by armies. Reading them together removes the need to move Daniel's prophecy into our future.

Matthew 24:21
For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again.
† Jesus places the great tribulation in the same sequence as the abomination, the flight from Judea, and Jerusalem's approaching desolation (Matthew 24:15-20, Luke 21:20-24).
† Daniel had also described an unparalleled time of trouble associated with the closing events of his prophecy (Daniel 12:1). Jesus uses the same prophetic pattern while speaking about the judgment approaching Jerusalem.
† This is another reason Daniel 12 shouldn't be detached from Matthew 24 and Luke 21. Jesus brings Daniel's language into His own prophecy and identifies the generation that would experience these events (Matthew 24:34).

Matthew 24:34
Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
† Jesus gives the time boundary. All these things includes the signs He had just described, including the abomination, the flight from Judea, and the great tribulation.
† Jesus didn't say that generation would merely begin the process. He said it wouldn't pass away until all these things were accomplished.
† Daniel supplied the prophetic language, Jesus identified the sign, Luke identified Jerusalem and the surrounding armies, and Matthew identified the generation. Together they form one coherent first-century fulfillment.

Luke 21:32
Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place.
† Luke confirms Matthew's time statement. The Jerusalem surrounded by armies prophecy belongs to this generation.
† This is especially powerful because Luke has already identified Jerusalem's desolation and the days of vengeance. He then says that this generation wouldn't pass away until all things were accomplished.
† We don't need to separate Daniel's abomination from Jerusalem's desolation and move one event thousands of years beyond the other. Jesus joined the prophecy, the sign, the city, the flight, the judgment, and the generation together.

Historical References
† Josephus describes the Roman war, Jerusalem's internal bloodshed, the surrounding Roman forces, the siege, the destruction of the temple, and the devastation of the city. His account provides an important first-century historical witness to the conditions surrounding Jerusalem's fall. (Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Books 5-7)
† Josephus also records events involving the temple precincts, armed factions, profanation, famine, slaughter, and finally Roman conquest. These historical details strongly match the setting Jesus described, Jerusalem, armies, tribulation, and desolation. (Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Books 5-6)
† Eusebius later wrote that the church at Jerusalem left the city before the war and went to Pella. Whatever questions remain concerning the precise chronology of that tradition, it preserves an early Christian memory of believers escaping Jerusalem before its destruction. (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.5)
† Tacitus also describes the Roman campaign against Jerusalem, the strength of the city, the temple, the conflict, and the circumstances surrounding the Jewish war. His Roman perspective independently confirms the historical setting in which Jerusalem faced Roman military destruction. (Tacitus, Histories 5)

How It Applies To Us Today
† We should allow Scripture to interpret Scripture. When Matthew gives symbolic prophetic language and Luke gives a clearer parallel description, we shouldn't ignore the clearer passage.
† We don't need to fear a future abomination of desolation as though Jesus failed to tell His disciples when Daniel's prophecy would be understood. Jesus connected Daniel directly with Jerusalem, Judea, armies, desolation, and His own generation.
† This changes how we read prophecy. Instead of taking first-century warnings and turning them into twenty-first-century predictions, we read them within the audience, geography, covenant, and historical setting Jesus Himself provided.
† Fulfilled prophecy isn't about weakening Jesus' words. It's about taking His time statements seriously. When He said this generation, we believe Him. When He said Jerusalem, we believe Him. When He said flee Judea, we believe Him. When He pointed to Daniel, we follow Him back to Daniel.
† Daniel was told that the wise would understand. Jesus said let the reader understand. Luke showed what they were to recognize. Jerusalem surrounded by armies meant her desolation was near. The interpretive key was given by Jesus Himself.

Q & A Appendix
Q: Was Jesus specifically referring to Daniel when He spoke about the abomination of desolation?
A: Yes. Matthew explicitly says the abomination of desolation was spoken of through Daniel the prophet (Matthew 24:15).

Q: How can we know what visible event was connected with the approaching desolation?
A: Luke's parallel account says, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know that her desolation is near (Luke 21:20).

Q: Why were they told to flee Judea?
A: Because the warning concerned judgment coming upon Jerusalem and Judea. Both Matthew and Luke immediately command those in Judea to flee to the mountains (Matthew 24:16, Luke 21:21).

Q: Does Daniel 12 belong with Jesus' Olivet Discourse?
A: Yes. Daniel speaks of understanding, the abomination that causes desolation, and an unparalleled time of trouble. Jesus explicitly names Daniel, calls for understanding, speaks of the abomination and unparalleled tribulation, and applies these things to His generation (Daniel 12:1, 10-11, Matthew 24:15, 21, 34).

Q: Could the abomination still be future to us?
A: Jesus placed His warning within the lifetime of His generation. Matthew says this generation wouldn't pass away until all these things were accomplished, and Luke says the same after describing Jerusalem surrounded by armies (Matthew 24:34, Luke 21:20, 32).

Q: What is the strongest interpretive key?
A: Compare the parallel accounts. Matthew says the abomination of desolation followed by flight from Judea. Luke says Jerusalem surrounded by armies followed by flight from Judea. Luke identifies the approaching desolation in plain historical terms (Matthew 24:15-16, Luke 21:20-21).

† This is the fulfilled perspective we proclaim at Fulfilled Prophecies †
© Fulfilled Prophecies - Dan Maines.

Source Index
† Daniel 9:26-27, Daniel 11:31, Daniel 12:10-11, Matthew 24:15-16, Matthew 24:21, Matthew 24:34, Luke 21:20-22, Luke 21:32
† Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Books 5-7, Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.5, Tacitus, Histories 5