Things Can’t Get Much Worse! Oh, Yes They Can! #28
Things Can’t Get Much Worse! Oh, Yes They Can!
Today’s reading is from Matthew 24:15-19
Our key verse is found in Matthew 24 verse 15: “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
The prophet Daniel, referenced here by Christ, used the term 3 times in the book that bears his name. In Daniel 9:27, 11:31, and 12:11. Daniel mentions the abomination that causes desolation; and based upon his description, we know exactly what that event is all about. As you study alongside of me I want to ask you to keep in mind, that Biblical prophecy often has a present and future fulfillment.
Theologians sometimes refer it to as the Law of Double Fulfillment. That is, the prophecy is fulfilled now in a time frame close to the prophecy and it also has a greater fulfillment out in the future! This is one of those prophecies!
So when Daniel spoke of the abomination that causes desolation, he was referring to an event that would soon take place from the time that he said that {and history shows us it has happened}
Still, there is yet another event further into the future. I know this Because Jesus referenced it as an example… in Matthew 24… The first event has happened the second event could be argued for 70AD but I hold that there is a third and final fulfillment that has not yet been seen.
Daniel 11:31 says:
NIV Daniel 11:31 "His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.
Antiochus Epiphanes (An-TIE-A -Chuss)
I want to share with you a story from history: Nearly every Bible scholar identifies that prophecy as a desecration committed by a man named Antiochus IV or Antiochus Epiphanes.
He was a Syrian king who ruled over Palestine from 175 to 165 BC. At the time he turned Palestine into a surrogate of the Greek empire. His name means “Antioch the Great,” but he began referring to himself as Theos Epiphanes, which means “THE MANIFEST OF GOD.”
He believed himself to be God, But his enemies who watched his life, referred to him as a play on words, “Antiochus Epimanes” which means “Antiochus the Mad Man.” From reading a little bit about him I believe he was crazy. He died in 163 BC totally out of his mind, outraged the point that he was in the state of madness. He had experienced many defeats at the hands of the Jewish rebels, under the leadership of Judas Maccabeus.
Daniel 11:31 foretold a time when the King would pollute the sanctuary, take away the daily sacrifice, and perform an act of total repulsion inside the temple.
This would be hard for us to understand if God in his wisdom had not given us an insight by studying the life of Antiochus. As you look at Antiochus you gain insight into what will happen under the Antichrist.
History records that Antiochus, unsatisfied with his pillage and slaughter in Jerusalem forced the Jews to dissolve their laws. Josephus says that he was overcome with violent passions.
He made the Jewish families keep their infants uncircumcised; he even made it a capital crime to circumcise young boys. Mothers caught with a circumcised child would be thrown over the city walls to their death. Antiochus stopped the sacrifices in the temple, and then he sacrificed a pig on the altar of God. He killed both male and female Jews, looted the temple of anything of value.
Eventually he had the Temple rededicated to Zeus, he forced the Jews to eat meat sacrificed to pagan gods. Any Jew who refused to eat the pork or who was found possessing the book of the law was to be jailed or killed, and the book itself was to be burned. Also the synagogues & Jewish schools are closed. Those who refuse to work on the Sabbath were arrested.
Antiochus ordered Hellenization of the Jews; this meant he attempted to turn the Jews into Greeks. Antiochus attempted to put an end to all visible expressions of the Jewish faith.
The agents of Antiochus passed through like a wildfire burning a dry forest. Everywhere they went they forced the Jews to make a decision between death, and participation in the pagan practices of the Greeks.
All this did, however, was give the Jews a cause. The Greeks were shocked to find a group willing to hold so strongly to their faith. There were those who conformed to their demands waiting for the storm to pass. Many Jews fled into the mountains or lived in caves for protection. Still others were martyred for their faith. This served to create a stronger Jewish nation with a more intense devotion to the Law.
What Antiochus sought to do was to destroy the Jews but he ended up doing exactly the opposite. That is, if he had left them alone, they probably would've been assimilated into the Greek culture automatically. But by his actions they responded exactly opposite, of what he wanted. They already lost much of their identity, the religious roots were uprooted, but when they were oppressed and persecuted, they rediscover their Jewishness and it was the salvation of the nation. Yet, it was a terrible time of suffering and pain. Read what the Scripture says about the future of the tribulation you see the parallel?
Judas Maccabeus
There was a Jewish zealot named Judas Maccabeus, and he was not about to sit down and let Antiochus, destroy his nation. He put together a small army, and he lived in the mountains. They ate whatever they could find and they were hiding in the hills. Every once in a while they would descend upon a town, pulling down the pagan altars, circumcise the children, and kill any Jews who were going along with the Syrian king. These things were reported to Antiochus, and he sent a well-equipped army of mercenaries to destroy the Jewish force.
Judas met them at the pass of Emmaus and though they were poorly trained and they were fighting against professional soldiers, Judas lead his ragtag force to victory. The next time, Antiochus sent a larger army with orders to capture the guerrilla army and sell them as slaves. But again Judas Maccabees defeated that larger army and this time recapturing the city of Jerusalem in the process.
He removed all the pagan altars, he cleansed and rededicated the Temple and restored Orthodox Jewish practices in the Temple. He was a person of restoration and that event is why Jews today still celebrate Hanukkah the reinstatement of their religion under Judas Maccabees. Now ultimately, Judas Maccabees and his family was captured and martyred, but in his martyrdom he spurred his people on to victory.
Today’s reading is from Matthew 24:15-19
Our key verse is found in Matthew 24 verse 15: “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
The prophet Daniel, referenced here by Christ, used the term 3 times in the book that bears his name. In Daniel 9:27, 11:31, and 12:11. Daniel mentions the abomination that causes desolation; and based upon his description, we know exactly what that event is all about. As you study alongside of me I want to ask you to keep in mind, that Biblical prophecy often has a present and future fulfillment.
Theologians sometimes refer it to as the Law of Double Fulfillment. That is, the prophecy is fulfilled now in a time frame close to the prophecy and it also has a greater fulfillment out in the future! This is one of those prophecies!
So when Daniel spoke of the abomination that causes desolation, he was referring to an event that would soon take place from the time that he said that {and history shows us it has happened}
Still, there is yet another event further into the future. I know this Because Jesus referenced it as an example… in Matthew 24… The first event has happened the second event could be argued for 70AD but I hold that there is a third and final fulfillment that has not yet been seen.
Daniel 11:31 says:
NIV Daniel 11:31 "His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.
Antiochus Epiphanes (An-TIE-A -Chuss)
I want to share with you a story from history: Nearly every Bible scholar identifies that prophecy as a desecration committed by a man named Antiochus IV or Antiochus Epiphanes.
He was a Syrian king who ruled over Palestine from 175 to 165 BC. At the time he turned Palestine into a surrogate of the Greek empire. His name means “Antioch the Great,” but he began referring to himself as Theos Epiphanes, which means “THE MANIFEST OF GOD.”
He believed himself to be God, But his enemies who watched his life, referred to him as a play on words, “Antiochus Epimanes” which means “Antiochus the Mad Man.” From reading a little bit about him I believe he was crazy. He died in 163 BC totally out of his mind, outraged the point that he was in the state of madness. He had experienced many defeats at the hands of the Jewish rebels, under the leadership of Judas Maccabeus.
Daniel 11:31 foretold a time when the King would pollute the sanctuary, take away the daily sacrifice, and perform an act of total repulsion inside the temple.
This would be hard for us to understand if God in his wisdom had not given us an insight by studying the life of Antiochus. As you look at Antiochus you gain insight into what will happen under the Antichrist.
History records that Antiochus, unsatisfied with his pillage and slaughter in Jerusalem forced the Jews to dissolve their laws. Josephus says that he was overcome with violent passions.
He made the Jewish families keep their infants uncircumcised; he even made it a capital crime to circumcise young boys. Mothers caught with a circumcised child would be thrown over the city walls to their death. Antiochus stopped the sacrifices in the temple, and then he sacrificed a pig on the altar of God. He killed both male and female Jews, looted the temple of anything of value.
Eventually he had the Temple rededicated to Zeus, he forced the Jews to eat meat sacrificed to pagan gods. Any Jew who refused to eat the pork or who was found possessing the book of the law was to be jailed or killed, and the book itself was to be burned. Also the synagogues & Jewish schools are closed. Those who refuse to work on the Sabbath were arrested.
Antiochus ordered Hellenization of the Jews; this meant he attempted to turn the Jews into Greeks. Antiochus attempted to put an end to all visible expressions of the Jewish faith.
The agents of Antiochus passed through like a wildfire burning a dry forest. Everywhere they went they forced the Jews to make a decision between death, and participation in the pagan practices of the Greeks.
All this did, however, was give the Jews a cause. The Greeks were shocked to find a group willing to hold so strongly to their faith. There were those who conformed to their demands waiting for the storm to pass. Many Jews fled into the mountains or lived in caves for protection. Still others were martyred for their faith. This served to create a stronger Jewish nation with a more intense devotion to the Law.
What Antiochus sought to do was to destroy the Jews but he ended up doing exactly the opposite. That is, if he had left them alone, they probably would've been assimilated into the Greek culture automatically. But by his actions they responded exactly opposite, of what he wanted. They already lost much of their identity, the religious roots were uprooted, but when they were oppressed and persecuted, they rediscover their Jewishness and it was the salvation of the nation. Yet, it was a terrible time of suffering and pain. Read what the Scripture says about the future of the tribulation you see the parallel?
Judas Maccabeus
There was a Jewish zealot named Judas Maccabeus, and he was not about to sit down and let Antiochus, destroy his nation. He put together a small army, and he lived in the mountains. They ate whatever they could find and they were hiding in the hills. Every once in a while they would descend upon a town, pulling down the pagan altars, circumcise the children, and kill any Jews who were going along with the Syrian king. These things were reported to Antiochus, and he sent a well-equipped army of mercenaries to destroy the Jewish force.
Judas met them at the pass of Emmaus and though they were poorly trained and they were fighting against professional soldiers, Judas lead his ragtag force to victory. The next time, Antiochus sent a larger army with orders to capture the guerrilla army and sell them as slaves. But again Judas Maccabees defeated that larger army and this time recapturing the city of Jerusalem in the process.
He removed all the pagan altars, he cleansed and rededicated the Temple and restored Orthodox Jewish practices in the Temple. He was a person of restoration and that event is why Jews today still celebrate Hanukkah the reinstatement of their religion under Judas Maccabees. Now ultimately, Judas Maccabees and his family was captured and martyred, but in his martyrdom he spurred his people on to victory.
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