Disciples Digital Library

In chapter 7, the timeframe during which the “ little horn ” is authorized to wage war “ against the saints ” is described as a “ time, times, and part of a time .” At the end of the period, this malevolent ruler will lose his domain. In chapter 8, the angel Gabriel describes it as “ the END OF THE INDIGNATION, for at the appointed time will be an end .” However horrific the “ desolation ” might be, it will not last forever.

Daniel’s “ seventy weeks ” prophecy presents a 490-year period that culminates in the “ Abomination of Desolation .” Crucial to dating it and its proper interpretation is the identification of the “ commandment to restore and build Jerusalem ,” and commentators have gone to great lengths to link it to one of several known decrees issued by Persian rulers.

Beginning with the division of the Greek empire, the angel outlines the coming conflicts between two of the subsequent realms that will culminate in the rise of a “ contemptible ” ruler. Previously, the rise and division of the Greek empire were portrayed in the vision of the “Ram” and of the “ Goat ,” representing the realms of the “ Medes and Persians ” and “ Greece ,” respectively.

SYNOPSIS – Literary context is vital for understanding the “Abomination that Desolates” in the book of Daniel - Daniel 9:27.  The climax of the “ seventy weeks ” prophecy is the appearance of the “ abomination that desolates ” in the final half of the “ seventieth week .” What is this “ abomination ”? When did it appear? Is it a yet future reality? Investigations seeking to answer these and similar questions must begin with what  book of Daniel  has to say about it. Moreover, the reference to it in the “ seventy weeks ” prophecy is neither the first nor the last word on the matter. Interpreting the “ abomination ” in isolation from the larger context of  Daniel  will not produce accurate answers.

The period of “ seventy weeks ” concludes with several unanswered questions, but the prophecy is not the end of the matter. Clear verbal links connect it to the visions of chapters 7 and 8, and to the subsequent vision in chapter 11. It is one part of a larger whole. The complete picture becomes clear only when all the visions of Daniel are considered.

The final “ week ” culminates in the desecration of the Temple and the cessation of the daily burnt offerings. In  Daniel , the focus is on the sanctuary and its ritual pollution. The described events occurred in Jerusalem, most pivotally, the “ abomination that desolates .” The latter was installed by the figure who “ corrupts ” many of the “ people .”

The image of the “ little horn ” is a key component of Daniel’s visions. It represents a king from one of the four Hellenic kingdoms that evolved from Alexander the Great’s short-lived empire. Passages in Daniel concerning this figure also provide Paul with the outline for his “ man of lawlessness ” in  2 Thessalonians .

SYNOPSIS: An analysis of the final week of the “Seventy Weeks” prophecy – Daniel 9:26-27. We now reach the end of the “Seventy Weeks” prophecy, its final or so-called seventieth “ week ” ( Daniel 9:26-27 ). This passage describes a set of events for which the preceding sixty-nine “weeks” have prepared. The text says  nothing about the destruction  of the city or the Temple. Instead, in this final “ week ,” the people of the city are “ corrupted ,” and the Sanctuary is defiled by the “ abomination that desolates .

Synopsis: Daniel prays a collective prayer of repentance after contemplating a prophecy of Jeremiah - Daniel 9:1-23.  The “ first year ” of Darius the Mede locates the vision of the “Seventy Weeks” in approximately 538 to 537 B.C. This is the same period when Babylon fell to the “ kingdom of the Medes and Persians ,” as well as the release of the Jewish exiles from Babylon by the decree of Cyrus the Great (536 B.C. -  2 Chronicles 36:22-23 ,  Ezra 1:1-11 ).

Next, Daniel receives the interpretation of his vision of the “ ram and goat .” In chapter 7, only the first “ beast ” can be identified with certainty – Babylon. In contrast, in the interpretation in chapter 8, two of the four kingdoms are identified by name, the kingdom of the “ Medes and Persians ” and “ Greece .”

Next, Daniel receives a vision of a “ ram ” and a “ goat .” The ram represents the kingdom of the “ Medes and Persians ,” and the goat the kingdom of Greece, beginning with its first great king who overthrew the “ ram .” The vision is followed by an interpretation provided by an angelic figure.

Jesus provided his disciples with a chronological key – they would know the time of the Temple’s demise when they saw all “ these things ” coming to pass before “ this generation ” reached its inevitable end. That was his definitive answer to the question, “ When will these things come to pass? ” – within one generation.

According to Jesus, the “ Abomination of Desolation ” will appear in Jerusalem - It will be a local, not a global event. And his admonition for disciples to flee is applicable to Jerusalem and the immediate vicinity. Disciples must flee to the hills to escape the imminent calamity signaled by this abominable thing or person.

Before his final departure from the Temple, Jesus fielded challenges from the “ scribes and Pharisees .” These were confrontations that set the stage for his arrest and trial, as well as his execution by the Romans. As he left the building, he pronounced its impending judgment and destruction.

In his ‘Olivet Discourse,’ Jesus describes key events that will occur in the future, especially the destruction of the Temple and the “ coming of the Son of Man .” In doing so, he provides geographic details related to each event that alternate between the local and the universal, depending on which event he is under discussion.