Is literal Israel involved in all this? Yes, I believe they are! But have we been grafted into the tree called Israel? (Romans 11:17-21) Yes we have! Our fates intertwine.

The disciples asked for a sign, and they received one. A very specific event is foretold, after which Jesus will come. Let’s look at this event:

It is called by Jesus and Daniel, the abomination of desolation. It is an unthinkably evil occurrence that causes destruction, annihilation, a scattering, a desolate state of affairs. What in the world could do that? Well, another clue is given: it “stands” in the holy place (24:15). The Jewish listeners knew that Jesus was speaking of their temple. Remember that John, who wrote more than 20 years after the Temple of Jesus’ day was destroyed, is seen in the Book of Revelation measuring a Temple on earth. Oh, there will be a Temple. Even as I write, preparations are being made to raise it up. Those who object to the idea of a Temple should read the latter portions of Ezekiel’s book. Other prophets saw the house of the Lord in the latter days (Isaiah, Micah). This is a study in itself. For now suffice it to say that a consistent literal interpretation of Scripture demands such an edifice.

History records two other times when the Holy Place was desecrated by something “standing” in it. Both Antiochus Epiphanes in 163 BC and Roman General Titus in 70 AD placed in the Temple things abominable to God (eg a pig, a statue of Zeus, etc) in the Holy Place. Both times desolations occurred. There was a massacre of Jews, destruction, desolation both times. But Daniel who along with Jesus prophesied the abomination that makes desolate must have had in mind something even more horrible, for they both tie it to a time of incomparable agony. That time has not come yet because the agony itself is tied to the very end of all things, and that end has not come. Antiochus and Titus were only showing us a little of what will happen when the Temple is occupied again.

But can a Temple even be the real House of God again? I ask this: Was the Temple ever the real House of God, or was it merely a picture of Heaven, the Church, and the very Body of the Lord Jesus Who is the true Temple? The point we are making here is that antichrist and the Jews of that day will consider the Temple in Jerusalem to be holy, and a watching world will know exactly what is being said by its occupation.

Daniel in his 8th chapter speaks of daily sacrifices being taken away, an army’s opposition, a transgression of desolation, and the trampling of the sanctuary. He is told in the same chapter that all of this is to happen in the time of the end (8:9-19). Then in the retelling of these events in chapter 11 and 12, the same events are tied to “a time of trouble such as never was…”

Jesus mentions not only the same desecration of the temple, but the surrounding of Jerusalem with armies in Luke 21:20-24, the parallel passage to Matthew 24. Here is mentioned the “times of the Gentiles,” making many think that the period from Titus’ devastation until the Jews return to their Temple is such a time. In fact, Revelation 11:1-2 clearly states that the time of total Gentile domination in this context is three and one half years.

Daniel and Jesus both saw the end times. The abomination that made desolate in Antiochus’ day was already history when Jesus prophesied. And now in our day, the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus is history, yet the predicted coming of Jesus has not materialized. So we must look to the future for fulfillment of both of these prophesies.

Paul adds the final piece to the puzzle when he describes in II Thessalonians 2 one who will sit in the Temple of God himself! If a pig or a statue has such a horrible effect, what happens when the arch-enemy of God declares his deity and challenges God face to face? As Nimrod of old, he will “stand before the Lord” (Genesis 10:9), defiantly demanding “It’s mine! It’s all mine.” The true abomination that makes desolate is Satan himself.

Jesus gives directions to anyone in the area in that day: get out! Did it happen before? yes. The scene was lived out in AD 70. But it will happen again. Revelation confirms an end time hiding place for those who flee during this period (12:6, 14-16).

Then will come the host of pretenders, even miracle-workers, to convince us that Jesus is already back, as they were doing in the Thessalonian church. Paul and Jesus say, don’t you believe it!

Matthew 24:26, “...therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it."

What’s wrong with the “secret rapture” idea? Jesus tells us: Matthew 24:27, “As the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.” Paul speaks of that same day by the same expression in I Thessalonians 4:15-16. At the “coming of the Lord” will be a shout, an angelic voice, and a trumpet, as the Lord is descending from Heaven. No secret here. If Jesus or Paul knew of a prior trip, why did neither of them mention both events in the same place? Why allow such confusion in the text? Or is it the later teachers who have added the confusion?

Plainly, every eye will see Jesus when He comes (Revelation 1:7) just like everyone in the vicinity of a lightning bolt sees it plainly. An even more interesting analogy is suggested by eagles, or more properly in context here, vultures. You’ve seen them hovering, circling, and when the death is confirmed, swiftly pouncing on the dead body. Vultures go where the action is. Once the body is clearly dead they are not in the air, they are down. Once Jesus decides to come to earth, he will come to the center of the fray, with an army of believers in his train. No hesitation. No mention of what modern “scholars” and movie-makers promulgate so freely. No preliminary flight. Lightning strike! Vulture landing! It’s over. The Son has come and you’ve been left behind to be judged, now.

Matthew 24:29 “Immediately after the tribulation...they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven...and He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather His elect from the four winds.” The angels, the trumpet, the ingathering. It’s all here. This is the rapture, the catching up of the church.

But you say, wait, if it is so clearly spelled out, what about “imminence”? Couldn’t Jesus come at any minute?