From His Heart

Jeff Schreve: 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.

Larry Nobles: 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 Schreve. 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 Comes: A Study of Matthew Chapters 24 and 25." It's also our special thank-you gift for your support this month of any amount. Go to fromhisheart.org to receive your copy in the format of your choice. Now, open your Bible to Matthew chapter 24. Here's Pastor Jeff to begin describing the abomination of desolation.

Jeff Schreve: 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." And 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 is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies 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."

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 here are 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. Where does that come from? It comes from the book of Daniel. In Daniel chapter 9, Daniel was given a vision of the future. In Daniel 9:24, 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 that's 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 seventy sevens, and he's not talking about a week of days; he's talking about a week of years.

So seventy sevens, and those are years. 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 that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks." You add those together, 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 5th, 444 BC, 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, and he's going to rebuild it until Messiah the Prince, speaking of Jesus Christ, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks.

If you do the math—and it's not easy math because a prophetic year is not 365 days, it's 360 days, and you have to do the math to get all the days—but he did it, got all the days, and from March 5th, 444 BC until the time that Daniel said is the time of Messiah the Prince, you come to March 30th, 33 AD. That is the day of the triumphal entry of Jesus into the city.

And that was a huge moment where the Lord allows 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. But as we know, they rejected Christ, and He was crucified on April 3rd, 33 AD.

So it says in verse 26, "Then after the sixty-two 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. And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week.

What does all this mean? Well, what it means is that Jesus came on schedule. They rejected Him. Messiah the Prince was cut off. The Romans did it. And then the Romans came in 70 AD and destroyed the city, as we know from history. But he said the prince who is to come will lead that same people. There's coming a man who is called the prince who is to come, he's called the lawless one, he's called the beast, he's called the man of sin, he's called the Antichrist.

He is coming to power. He's going to set a covenant with God's people. You have 70 weeks that are decreed for God's people. Well, 69 weeks have passed, 483 years. And there's one last week. And it's like, where is that week? It seems like this would all be consecutive, but it's not. There's a break from 483 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.

And when that age ends, then will come the 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. And when the church is raptured, then we enter into the seven-year tribulation period before the return of Christ.

The tribulation is a period of seven years, and this period will experience the reign of the Antichrist. So we know from the book of Revelation that Jesus takes the scroll, Revelation chapter 5. And it has seals on the scroll. And He takes the scroll, which is the title deed to the whole universe, He takes the scroll and He begins to break the seals.

The first seal that He breaks is the revealing of the Antichrist. It says in Revelation 6:1, "Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a loud voice of thunder, 'Come.' I looked and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and 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 missed 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.

8 billion people in the world, can you imagine? In a period of seven years, everyone would die. And really, the concentrated deaths would be in the last half, 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.

Larry Nobles: You're listening to From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Schreve today and the message "The Abomination of Desolation." And in a moment, he'll have a bit more about what this really means. 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. And that's what Pastor Jeff Schreve'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. And 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 proclamation 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."

Jeff Schreve: 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. It's not a hard thing to know, but we're 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."

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 and, as we're going to see, the wrath that's going to come against believers from the beast, it's hell on earth. It is worse than anything we could possibly imagine.

So the tribulation period is a period of seven years. Second insight: 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, verse 21: "For there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will."

The Great Tribulation. Now, what is the Great Tribulation? Well, the Antichrist is going to make a covenant with Israel for a week, for seven years. Seven-year treaty, and 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 the Antichrist, they're going to think he is their Messiah. He's the one that comes to save them.

The temple is going to be rebuilt during the seven-year tribulation period. Amazing to think how that could happen because 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 that's a holy place to the Muslims. 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. Because that is a place that they say, 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. And 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, and they're going to 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. And 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 part, 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. That speaks of the Antichrist. Now the Antichrist, he starts off... the devil is predictable because he doesn't ever present himself in his true colors. He only comes to a masquerade party. He's always going to come masqueraded. He presents himself as an angel of light. And he has this leader who seems to be so winsome, so kind, so wonderful, and he makes this treaty with Israel. "This is our Messiah."

But then something happens to that guy. He gets stabbed or he gets shot, or something happens to make you think he's dead. And Revelation chapter 13 talks about the rise of the beast, which is another name for the Antichrist. And then it says this: "And the dragon..." So 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," 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 you had Egypt, and then you had Assyria, and then you had Babylon, and then you had Medo-Persia, and then you had Greece, and then you had Rome. Those six.

And the Antichrist is going to lead a revived Roman Empire, and he'll have ten nations there with him. And he says, "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. And 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?' And 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 almost like a JFK thing where he gets shot in the head, and 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.

And God is Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. And the devil has his satanic trinity: the dragon, who's the devil; and the beast, who is the counterpart to the Lord Jesus, he's the Antichrist. Now he's a man empowered by Satan. And then you have 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.

So you have the devil that he looks to see what God does and then he copies it. And so 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. And when he comes back to life, and how he comes back to life, is the devil will enter him.

Remember what it said of Judas at the Last Supper? And when Jesus said, "Who's the one who's going to betray me? It's the one who dips in the bowl, and I give it to him." And He gave it to Judas. And He said, "What you do, do quickly." And the Bible says in the Gospel of John, then Satan entered him. 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. But for Satan to be indwelt with Satan, that happened to Judas. That's going to happen to the Antichrist.

And all of a sudden he comes back to life, so to speak. And what does he do? He goes to the temple. He breaks the covenant with Israel. He shuts down the sacrifices. And he says, "No longer do you worship God. I am God and you worship only me." And he's going to set up an image of himself. And the false prophet does this, sets up an image to the beast in the temple of God, and says everybody has to worship the image, kind of like what Nebuchadnezzar did in Daniel chapter 3. If you don't worship the image, then you die.

So the Antichrist will have a false resurrection, and he will defile the temple and claim to be God. That's what the abomination of desolation is. It's the abominable one who defiles and desecrates the temple. Sets up idolatry in the temple. Abomination means detestable idolatry, a foul thing. It literally is a word in the Greek that means to feel nausea because of something that smells so bad.

It's a stench in the nostrils of God that makes God 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 it says in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. He is going to set himself up in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. He's going to defile the temple, and he'll demand to be worshiped.

Larry Nobles: 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 and 25."

It's our gift of thanks to you for your support of any amount to 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. And 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.

We also offer free downloads for you that include three free booklets for immediate download when you go to fromhisheart.org and click the "Free Stuff" link. 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 Schreve, 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 through real love in real hope from His heart.