Matthew 24:15 - Exposition

In this second strain of the prophecy contained in Matthew 24:15-22 , our Lord confines himself almost entirely to the fate of Jerusalem. Therefore . The illative particle carries us back to the signs given in the previous section ( Matthew 24:5-14 ). By saying when ye shall see, he implies that some of his hearers shall behold this mysterious sign, and have the opportunity of profiting by the knowledge thereof. The abomination of desolation ( το Ì βδε ì λυγμα τῆς ἐρημω ì σεως ). The term is from the Septuagint Version (with which Theodotion's agrees) of Daniel 12:11 ; in Daniel 9:27 we find βδε ì λυγμα τῶν ἐρημω ì σεων , where the Hebrew gives, Upon the wing [or, 'pinnacle'] of abominations shall come the desolater." Also in Daniel 11:31 we have the simple βδε ì λυγμα . What is meant by the term in our text is a matter of unsettled dispute. The prophecy in Daniel 11:31 has been generally referred to the doings of Antiochus Epiphanes (see 1 Macc. 1:54), and the present is considered to relate to something analogous. "Abomination" in the Old Testament is generally connected with idolatry or sacrilege; "of desolation" is equivalent to "that causes desolation." Among the many explanation; of this passage which have been offered, two only seem worthy of consideration.