From His Heart

Speaker 1

In Matthew 24, verse 15, Jesus tells us about something that is so significant and really sets the tone for what we know of as the tribulation period. He says this in verse 15: "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."

So today we want to talk about what that is and why that is so significant.

Speaker 2

What exactly is the abomination of desolation? And why did Jesus tell His followers to urgently flee when it appears? This is from his heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve.

Thank you for joining us today as we explore the sobering prophecy that Jesus gave about a pivotal event and its connection to the coming great Tribulation. This message today is from Pastor Jeff's new nine lesson series, "When the Son of Man," a study of Matthew chapter 24 and 25.

It's also our special thank you gift for your support this month of any amount. Go to fromisheart.org to receive your copy in the format of your choice.

Now though, open your Bible to Matthew chapter 24. Here's Pastor Jeff to begin describing the abomination of desolation.

Speaker 1

In Matthew 24, verse 15, Jesus tells us about something that is so significant and really sets the tone for what we know of as the tribulation period. He says this in verse 15: "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." Hopefully, we're going to have good understanding today. Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things that are in his house. Whoever's in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babes in those days. But pray that your flight will not be in the winter or on a Sabbath, because that would make it very difficult. For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.

Now Jesus says, "Hey, there's a triggering event for all these things, and it's called the abomination of desolation." So today we want to talk about what that is and why that is so significant. Jesus is giving us a glimpse way down the line of the future, and so we have three insights to help us understand the abomination of desolation and its significance.

Insight number one: The tribulation period is a period of seven years. You may ask, where does that come from? It comes from the book of Daniel, specifically Daniel chapter 9. Daniel was given a vision of the future, and in Daniel 9, verse 24, this is what was told to him: "70 weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city." This is for the Jews and Jerusalem to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy place. All of that is going to take place in 70 weeks.

Now, when we think of a week, we think of a week of days, but that's not what he's talking about. He's talking about 77s, and he's not talking about a week of days; he's talking about a week of years. So, 70 weeks or 70 sevens are years. In total, 490 years have been decreed for your people and your holy city. He goes on to say in verse 25, "So you are to know and discern from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the prince. There will be seven weeks and 62 weeks." You add those together, and you get 483 years. It will be built again with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.

Now, Dr. Mark Hitchcock has done some research on this, and he said, "When did this time start?" This 483 years started on March 5, 444 B.C. when King Artaxerxes allowed Nehemiah to go back and rebuild Jerusalem. He rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem, and the scripture says this is going to happen until Messiah the prince, speaking of Jesus. There will be seven weeks and 62 weeks.

Now, if you do the math—and he did the math, which is not easy because a prophetic year is not 365 days; it's 360 days—you have to do the math to get all the days. But he did it and calculated all the days. From March 5, 444 B.C. until the time that Daniel said is the time of Messiah the prince, you come to March 30, 33 A.D., which is the triumphal entry of Jesus into the city. That was a huge moment where the Lord allowed himself to be praised by the Jews, and they recognized him, at least superficially, as being the Messiah: "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." That was to fulfill Daniel's prophecy.

However, as we know, they rejected Christ, and he was crucified on April 3, 33 A.D. It says in verse 26, "Then after the 62 weeks, the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing." They crucified him. "And the people of the prince who is to come." The people who did that were the Romans. "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." He will make a firm covenant with the many for one week.

You may ask, "What does all this mean?" Well, it means that Jesus came on schedule. They rejected him, and the Messiah, the prince, was cut off, and the Romans did it. Then the Romans came in 70 A.D. and destroyed the city, as we know from history. But he said, "The prince who is to come will lead that same people." There is coming a man who is called the prince who is to come. He is called the lawless one, the beast, the man of sin, and the Antichrist. He is coming to power and will set a covenant with God's people.

So, you have 70 weeks that are decreed for God's people. Well, 69 weeks have passed—483 years—and there's one last week. It seems like this would all be consecutive, but it's not. There's a break from 483 years, prophetic years about Israel. Then there's a break, and many theologians look at that break and say, "Well, that's the age of the Church." That's the age we're in now. When that age ends, then will come this 70th week.

We have a chart that helps you with this. So, we are right now in the present church age, and we are waiting for the next great event on God's prophetic calendar, which is the rapture of the church. When the church is raptured, then we enter into the seven-year tribulation period before the return of Christ.

So, the tribulation is a period of seven years, and this period will experience the reign of the Antichrist. We know from the book of Revelation that Jesus takes this scroll in Revelation chapter 5, and it has seals on the scroll. He takes the scroll, which is the title deed of the whole universe, and begins to break the seals. The first seal that he breaks is the revealing of the Antichrist. It says in Revelation chapter 6:1, "Then I saw the Lamb. Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals. I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a loud voice of thunder, 'Come!' I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow, and a crown was given to him. He went out conquering and to conquer." This is the Antichrist who comes, and that's the first thing that happens during this seven-year tribulation period: the revealing of the Antichrist.

Many people want to know who the Antichrist is. You're not going to know who the Antichrist is if you know who the Antichrist is. Guess what? You miss the Rapture. Because the Bible tells us that we're not going to know. I've had somebody just in the last couple of weeks ask, "Do you think the Antichrist could be this person?" I said, "No, you're not going to know." This person is going to come out of left field. Nobody's going to know who it is until he comes on the scene. He's the little horn that makes great boasts, as the scripture says in Daniel.

But the period is the reign of the Antichrist, and this period will experience terrible, horrible, awful things. Jesus said if those days had not been cut short, everyone would die. Can you imagine, in a period of seven years, that everyone would die? Really, the concentrated deaths would be in the last half of that great tribulation period. It's going to be awful beyond anything you could possibly imagine, beyond anything Hollywood could ever produce in a movie. The Bible calls this the time of Jacob's trouble.

Speaker 2

You're listening to From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve today and the message, the abomination of desolation. In a moment, he'll have a bit more about what this really means.

You know, as we jump into a brand new year, the world around us feels like it's unraveling by the day. Every headline brings fresh turmoil, wars and disasters, moral confusion and deception, and much more. People everywhere are asking, what in the world is going on? Well, Jesus gave us the answer in Matthew chapter 24 and 25. He spoke clearly about the end of the age.

That's what Pastor Jeff Shreve's new nine-message series, When the Son of Man Comes, is all about. Today's lesson is the second one from the series, and the series is our gift of thanks to you for your support from His Heart this month of any amount. You can get this entire series on a USB flash drive, CDs, DVDs, or an MP3 digital download. Call 866-40-BIBLE to get yours. That's 866-40-BIBLE, and thank you for supporting From His Heart.

As we step into 2026, we can't think of a more timely or important message. Jesus said that before his return, the world would see spiritual deception, political unrest, natural disasters, persecution, and worldwide propaganda of the Gospel. So we hope that you'll step up to help us by supporting From His Heart this month. Simply call 866-40-BIBLE or go to fromhisheart.org.

Now, let's get back to part one of the lesson called the Abomination of Desolation.

Speaker 1

So this is what it says in Jeremiah chapter 30: "Ask now and see whether a man is giving birth." Well, obviously men don't give birth. People need to know that. I mean, it's not a hard thing to know, but we were wondering about it in our world today. We're so upside down. "Ask now and see whether a man is giving birth. Why do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas, for the day is great so that none is like it. It is even the time of Jacob's trouble. But he shall be saved out of it."

The seven-year period is a time of Jacob's trouble. It's a time when God pours out his wrath on a disbelieving, Christ-rejecting, God-hating world. And it's seven seals of wrath, seven trumpets of wrath, seven bowls of wrath, and the wrath that's coming from God. As we're going to see, the wrath that's going to come against believers from the beast is hell on earth. It is worse than anything we could possibly imagine. So the Tribulation period is a period of seven years.

The second insight is that the Great Tribulation is a period of three and a half years. It's the last half of that seven-year period. Jesus called it the Great Tribulation. He said that after this thing called the Abomination of Desolation, "For there will be a great tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will be."

Now, what is the Great Tribulation? Well, the Antichrist is going to make a covenant with Israel for a week, for seven years—a seven-year treaty. Israel is going to be secure in the land because the Antichrist is going to be supporting them; he's going to be taking care of them. They're going to be saying peace and safety, "Hey, all is well," because they will think the Antichrist is their Messiah.

The temple is going to be rebuilt during the seven-year tribulation period. It's amazing to think how that could happen. If you've ever been to Jerusalem, you know that on the Temple Mount there sits the Dome of the Rock. That's the place that the Muslims go, and it's a holy place to them. If the Jews were to say, "Hey, we're going to destroy the Dome of the Rock," there would be war like you've never seen before between the Arabs and the Muslims and the Jews. That is a place that they say, you know, those are fighting words if you mess with the Dome of the Rock.

But somehow, God is going to destroy the Dome of the Rock, and he's going to gut the Muslims, so they're not going to fight. The Jews are going to rebuild the temple. This will be the third temple, and the Antichrist will see to it that they're able to do that. They will think the Antichrist is their Messiah. Jesus said, "I came in my Father's name, and you did not receive me. Another is going to come in his own name, and him you will receive." And they do. He makes this covenant for seven years.

But in the middle of the week, Daniel says this: "In the middle of the week, what does he do? He breaks the covenant." So it says in Daniel 9:27, "And he will make a firm covenant with the many," speaking of the Jews, "for one week. But in the middle of the week, at the three and a half year mark, he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering. And on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate. Even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate." The abomination of desolation speaks of the Antichrist.

Now, the Antichrist starts off predictable because he doesn't ever present himself in his true colors. He only comes to a masquerade party. He always comes masqueraded. He presents himself as an angel of light. He has this leader who seems to be so winsome, so kind, so wonderful. He makes this treaty with Israel, and they think, "This is our Messiah." But then something happens to that guy. He gets stabbed or shot, or something happens to make you think he's dead.

Revelation chapter 13 talks about the rise of the beast, which is another name for the Antichrist. It says this: "And the dragon,"—who's the dragon? The dragon is the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan. Revelation 12 tells us that the dragon is Satan. "And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. And then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns." A ten-nation confederacy is going to be with the beast, and seven heads; he's the seventh kingdom.

You know, we had the kingdoms that were against Israel: first, Egypt; then Assyria; then Babylon; then Medo-Persia; then Greece; and then Rome—those six. The Antichrist is going to lead a revived Roman Empire, and he'll have ten nations there with him. "And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority."

"I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast. And they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, 'Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?'"

There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for 42 months—three and a half years—was given to him. "And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him."

So this guy who comes up out of nowhere makes this covenant with Israel, has this experience where it looks like almost a JFK thing, where he gets shot in the head. You think, "Well, for sure he's dead." And all of a sudden, he comes back to life. It's a fake resurrection. Anything that the devil does, he copies what God does. God is Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. The devil has his satanic Trinity: the dragon, who's the devil; the beast, who is the counterpart to the Lord Jesus; and the false prophet.

What's the false prophet you read about in Revelation chapter 13? Well, that's the counterpart to the Holy Spirit. He's the cheerleader for the beast. The devil looks to see what God does and then he copies it. He saw that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and so he's going to have his guy have a fatal wound. Everybody's going to say, "Well, for sure he's dead." And all of a sudden, he comes back to life.

When he comes back to life, how he comes back to life is that the devil will enter him. Remember what it said of Judas at the Last Supper? When Jesus said, "It's the one who's going to betray me, it's the one who dips in the bowl and I give it to him." He gave it to Judas and said, "What you do, do quickly." The Bible says in the Gospel of John that then Satan entered him.

He is the only person you ever read about where Satan himself entered him. There were a lot of demon-possessed people during the time of Christ, and I think there are a lot of demon-possessed people in our day today, although we just lump it under the heading of mental illness. I think a lot of that is satanic.

Speaker 2

But.

Speaker 1

But for Satan to be indwelt with Satan, that happened to Judas, and that's going to happen to the Antichrist. All of a sudden, he comes back to life, so to speak. What does he do? He goes to the temple, breaks the covenant with Israel, shuts down the sacrifices, and declares, "No longer do you worship God; I am God, and you worship only me." He will set up an image of himself, and the false prophet will assist in this by establishing an image to the beast in the temple, demanding that everybody worship the image. This is reminiscent of what Nebuchadnezzar did in Daniel, chapter three. If you don't worship the image, then you die.

The Antichrist will have a false resurrection, defile the temple, and claim to be God. This act is what is referred to as the abomination of desolation. It is the abominable one who defiles and desecrates the temple, setting up idolatry within it. The term "abomination" means detestable idolatry, a foul thing. In Greek, it literally refers to a feeling of nausea caused by something that smells so bad; it is a stench in the nostrils of God that makes Him sick to His stomach.

This one, this beast, this man inhabited by Satan, sets up his image in the temple of God. He declares himself to be God, as stated in Second Thessalonians, chapter two. He will position himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. He will defile the temple and demand to be worshiped.

Speaker 2

Well, this has certainly been a fascinating study of End times events, but there's much more to be covered in the next broadcast where, after a brief review, Pastor Jeff will continue this lesson called the Abomination of Desolation. It's from his new nine-message series, When the Son of Man Comes, a study of Matthew 24:25. It's our gift of thanks to you for your support of any amount from his heart this month. So you can get yours when you call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE) or simply go online to fromhisheart.org.

When you do go online to fromhisheart.org, you can click the Read link for a treasure trove of insights from Pastor Jeff on issues dealing with not only end times, but also the truth about faith over fear, families and relationships, financial peace, grace, God's will, marriage, miracles and healing, parenting, prayer, sharing your faith, spiritual growth, and so much more. All right there on the Read link.

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Thank you for joining us today. I'm Larry Nobles with a reminder that From His Heart is the listener-supported broadcast ministry of Dr. Jeff Shreve, whose driving ambition is speaking the truth in love to a lost and a hurting world. Next time, Pastor Jeff will share part two of the lesson the Abomination of Desolation. Make sure you're with us then as we again open God's word and share real truth, real love, and real hope from his heart.