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The Temple Institute sent the following in its newsletter and an included link today:

Kislev 19, 5785/December 20, 2024

Kislev 15: Antiochus’ Abomination Of Desolation Upon The Temple Altar

The ancient book of I Maccabees opens with the rise of Antiochus, one of Alexander the Great’s three generals who survived their leader’s death. Antiochus became sovereign over a large swath of Alexander’s empire, which included the land of Israel. I Maccabees provides a chilling description of Antiochus’ brutal oppression of the Jews and his systematic attempt to eradicate all aspects of the Jewish faith, making the performance of many Torah commandments punishable by death. In addition, Antiochus desecrated the Holy Temple and performed acts of idolatry on the Temple. I Maccabees, verse 54, describes that on the 15th day of the month of Kislev, the Greek invaders performed what would become known as “the abomination of desolation:”

“Now on the fifteenth day of the month Kislev, in the hundred forty and fifth year, they set up the abomination of desolation upon the altar, and builded idol altars throughout the cities of Judah on every side.”

Antiochus was determined to destroy, not the Jews physically, but the Jewish faith and thereby cause the erasure of the Jewish nation. Ultimately, his provocations inspired the Maccabeean revolt, whose victorious return to the Holy Temple and its purification and rededication following the Greek abominations is celebrated every year during the eight days of Chanukah. Chanukah, which begins on the 25th day of Kislev,

Antiochus did that c. 168 BC.

Jesus prophesied something involving an abomination would happen later:

15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. (Matthew 24:15-22)

Has that yet happened?

No.

However, last year, a reader forwarded me a 09/15/23 email he received from Joseph F. Dummond, who is a Sabbatarian. He seems to be somewhat of a Messianic with some type of prior COG background. Anyway, here are some excerpts from the email sent out by Joseph Dummond:

The Abomination That Makes Desolate

Will be set up in just 7 Days.

One Week form today Friday!
September 22, 2023.

We have confirmed the construction of the base and it is being readied as I write this.

The Countdown To the Abomination Began on March 11, 2020, when W.H.O. announced a worldwide pandemic!

THE BIGGEST EVENT SINCE THE CRUCIFIXION IS ABOUT TO TAKE PLACE, AND YOU HAVE FRONT-ROW SEATS …

Joseph Dumond gives answers that pinpoint exactly where we are prophetically today. Not only this, he gives us the tools to prove the answers for ourselves. 

He does this by demonstrating in the clearest terms aided by his colourful charts that the major KEYS to understanding END-TIMES’ PROPHECY are the Sabbatical and Jubilee Cycles. Most students of the Bible sadly are wholly unaware of their existence. …

The 1290 Days have already started counting down. Yehshua warned what was going to come next. Get ready!! 

We are here now and no one is prepared.

No, the countdown for the abomination did not begin on March 11, 2020. And no, the abomination of desolation was not set up on September 22, 2023.

And while Jesus (Yehshua) warned about many events, that abomination was not set up last year. And I denounced that at that time (see Sabbatarian falsely asserts: The Abomination That Makes Desolate Will be set up in just 7 Days … September 22, 2023.).

Since Jesus referred to Daniel, let’s see some of what he wrote related to the abomination:

26 “And after the sixty-two weeks
Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate.”  (Daniel 9:26-27)

While the covenant deal of Daniel 9:27 has not yet been confirmed by a “prince” (someone other than the top leader of Europe at that time), we know that the abomination will not be there until after the deal is broken, which is at least 3 1/2 years away (that is half of the prophetic week the deal is confirmed for). (See also The ‘Peace Deal’ of Daniel 9:27.)

Notice also some signs that Daniel wrote with proceed the breaking of the covenant:

29 “At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before. 30 Ships of the western coastlands will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.

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. 32 With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.

33 “Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. (Daniel 11:29-33, NIV)

The above verses have not happened. And until verses 29-30 happen, the covenant deal will not be broken nor the abomination of desolation set up.

It also needs to be made clear that the 1290 days has not started. Let’s look at the one passage from Daniel that is related to the abomination and the 1290 and 1335 days:

11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. 12 Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. (Daniel 12:11-12)

Notice the tie to the removal of daily sacrifices and the abomination. Well, since the daily sacrifices have not begun, they cannot yet have been taken away. Therefore, those who will believe what the Bible actually says can be assured that the 1290 days have not already begun.

Joseph Dummond is wrong about this and other matters. As is RCG’s David Pack who has again falsely pointed to the 1335 days of Daniel 12 having started (see RCG again wrong on the return of Jesus and the start of the 1335 days).

Notice also the following:

20 But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. (Luke 21:20)

We have not yet seen this happen yet–so no the abomination of desolation is not about to occur!

The Apostle Paul warned about false leaders:

13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:8-9)

Like many false predictors, Joseph Dummond, David Pack, and many others rely NOT on signs that Jesus/Yeshua said to look at in the Gospels (cf. Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21), but instead their own calculations and assumptions.

While some have claimed that the Holy Place that Jesus spoke about is a rebuilt Jewish temple, consider that the Jews simply cannot make any place holy.

The late Pastor General of the old Worldwide Church of God, Herbert W. Armstrong he taught:

THE TEMPLE CHRIST WILL RETURN TO

Everybody’s wondering what temple is Christ coming to? Are the Jews going to build another temple over there? Oh, poppycock! I’ll show you the temple He’s coming to! YOU, BRETHREN, ARE THAT TEMPLE; and all the rest of us. I had a crowd, just about this size, over in the Philippines just about 3 or 4 weeks ago. I had a crowd about this size in London about (When was that?) maybe two months now. I don’t know. Time flies so fast. We’re all over the world. But I’m going to show you that. Now, let’s go on a little bit further. Well, let’s turn over to the next chapter now; of Malachi, the fourth chapter, beginning with verse five.

Malachi 4:5 Behold, [He’s talking about the time at the very end of the whole world, and the time at the end of the Millennium even; and they’re all part of the fourth chapter. But the fourth chapter, verse five: “Behold,”] I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.

Now, here again, just before the Day of the Lord — when the gospel of the Kingdom is to be preached to the world. …

Malachi 4:5-6 …before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. (6) And he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

The word “curse” is used in the Hebrew language; otherwise translated as total destruction, utter total destruction. It’s just before lest He does that, and the earth would be in total destruction if Christ didn’t come.

Now then, John the Baptist was asked, “Are you the Elijah that was to come?” He said, “No, I am not.” I have been asked, “Are you Elijah?” And I have said, “No, I am not.” Jesus Christ said one time, “But if you will bear it, the Elijah has already come.” Then they questioned Him a little further. And then Jesus Christ said Elijah in person, the same Elijah, didn’t come. But John the Baptist came in the power and spirit of Elijah. That prophecy meant and referred to John the Baptist coming, but that was only the First Coming.

The prophecy is someone to prepare the way for the Second Coming. The first was physical — the physical Jesus coming to the physical temple, to a physical people. Someone to prepare the way for the Second Coming is preparing the way for THE SPIRITUAL CHRIST to come to HIS SPIRITUAL TEMPLE for the marriage of the Lamb (of Christ) with the Church; and the Church is that temple! …

Ephesians 2:19-21 Now therefore you [You people up at Ephesus, who were born Gentiles. You…] are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God. [Now they are citizens. That is like a country. But they are in a household. That is, a family. Notice, they are a family.] (20) And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone [They’re the Church.]; (21) in whom all the building fitly framed together [The Church is a building fitly framed together.] groweth unto A HOLY TEMPLE IN THE LORD.

“Grows into a holy temple in the Lord.” THE CHURCH IS THAT TEMPLE. The Church is to meet Christ in the air. The Church will be changed from human to divine. We won’t be human beings. We’ll be God-beings. We’ll be God-persons, just like God is. GOD IS REPRODUCING HIMSELF. Now that temple has to be built for Christ’s coming.

ZERUBBABEL AS A TYPE

Now let me show you another prophecy about building that temple. Let’s go back now for just a moment in the Old Testament, to Haggai; Haggai the second chapter beginning with verse three. Now, I want you to notice the time he’s talking about. This is a prophecy; and duality is here again (a first and a latter; a first and a second).

Notice it now.

Haggai 2:3 Who is left among you…
This is not a history, but it’s talking about the time when they were building the temple to which Christ came the first time. Zerubbabel was a governor of the colony, and he was sent there to build that temple.

Haggai 2:3-9 Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? [It’s talking about Solomon’s temple that was so glorious as a physical temple.] And how do ye see it now? Is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? (4) Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel [The second temple was like nothing compared to Solomon’s. It was bigger, but it was not as fine. Now “Be strong, O Zerubbabel”], saith the [ETERNAL]; and be strong, O Joshua, son of [Well, his father; and so on.] …and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD [That is, work in building the temple.]… (5) According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. (6) For thus saith the LORD of hosts: Yet once, it is a little while, and I WILL shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; (7) and I will shake all nations; and the desire of all nations shall come [Meaning, peace which will come with Christ.]; and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts. (8). The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. (9) THE GLORY OF THIS LATTER HOUSE SHALL BE GREATER THAN OF THE FORMER…

The glory of the house he was building was NOT ANYWHERE NEAR as glorious as the former temple of Solomon. But he’s talking about a time when the thrones of nations will be destroyed; when God is going to shake the earth, and shake nations. He’s talking about our time, now. He’s talking about the Second Coming of Christ.

Can you see that? He’s not… It’s a prophecy. It’s not a history.

Malachi 2:9 …and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.

He hasn’t given that yet; but He will, at the time He’s talking about. Now, He’s talking of a time of building the temple for Christ to come to. That temple is a spiritual temple. Zerubbabel was a TYPE. He built the physical temple to which Christ came the first time. Someone has got to be, not in the physical wilderness of the Jordan River, but amidst the spiritual wilderness and Babylon of religious confusion of our twentieth century, who is paving the way for the Second Coming of Christ to HIS GLORIOUS TEMPLE, a spiritual temple; and not to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God, but TO SET UP THE KINGDOM OF GOD and to rule it right then and there. …

Zechariah 4:6 Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the[ETERNAL].

And, anyway, it says that… (Armstrong HW. Building the Temple. Sermon: February 14, 1981)

Each individual is a temple of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will come in each one of us and our bodies become a temple of the Holy Spirit. But on the other hand we speak collectively as a church. The whole church of many members becomes a temple to which Christ is going to come in His second coming. He’s not coming to one single body but the collective temple. I will dwell in them. (Armstrong HW. Bible Study on 2 Corinthians. 1981)

The Jews cannot make a place holy, hence the holy place is NOT a building that the Jews are about to build. (As far as Zerubbabel matters go, we have the following article available: Zerubbabel and Prophecy and a related sermon: Zerubbabel and Joshua for 21st Century? We also have a related sermon in the Spanish language: Zorobabel y la profecía).

The Holy Place Jesus spoke with would have a Christian connection. It is only God who can make a place holy. Jesus said:

20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20)

God’s presence made the old Jewish temples holy (2 Chronicles 7:1-3; cf. Psalm 5:7). It takes God’s presence to make anything holy in the Christian church era. Therefore, since the presence of the resurrected Jesus could make a place holy, the holy place Jesus referred to would seem to be a place where Christians would have met. This could be a place in either the 21st century or perhaps the first Church of God building in Jerusalem which was built in the late 1st century (see also Church of God on Jerusalem’s Western Hill). Regarding that latter building, anciently it was called a/the holy place/church.

When citing Acts 1:12, Eusebius also wrote about the building and he called it the “Holy Church of God”:

“Then they returned from the mount called the Mount of Olives, which is opposite to Jerusalem.” The Mount of Olives is therefore literally opposite to Jerusalem and to the east of it, but also the Holy Church of God, and the mount upon which it is founded…(Eusebius. The Proof of the Gospel: Being the Demonstratio Evangelica of Eusebius of Cæsarea, Book IV, Chapter 18. John W. Ferrar, editor. Society for promoting Christian knowledge, 1920. Original from the University of Michigan, Digitized July 2, 2009, p. 30)

Although the Greco-Romans have built their type of church around it, some few of the original bricks, also called ashlars, continue to be part of it. You can see the some of the original building bricks by looking at the front cover of the Jan-March 2013 edition of Bible News Prophecy magazine; a more recent photograph is shown on the back cover on the pdf booklet: Continuing History of the Church of God. Here is a photo I took on October 2013 of some of the original bricks of the Church of God on Jerusalem’s Western Hill:

The ashlars, which look to have came from the second temple, also are the foundation of the ‘Cenacle’ building. Notice also something written by Anglican curate Stephen Sizer:

Even though many Jews and Christians believe the Temple must be rebuilt, there is one small problem. It is essential that any future Temple is built on the same foundations as the previous ones. (Sizer S. Will the Jewish Temple be Rebuilt?  http://www.stephensizer.com/2014/02/will-the-jewish-temple-be-rebuilt/ accessed 03/05/19

Curate Sizer does not believe that a future Jewish temple is required by scripture, nor do I (see Why is a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem Not Required?).

After rebellions by the Jews against the Romans, Jerusalem was mainly destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Roman General Titus. Many fled to Pella, then many of them came back. “Later witnesses describe them in their former residence in Mt. Zion” (Briand, p.13).

In 333 A.D. this building was observed by someone called the “Bordeaux pilgrim” and called the holy place by Bellarmino Bagatti:

In 333 the Bordeaux pilgrim found there a basilica erected “by order of Constantine”.  By then the holy place had passed from the hands of the Judaeo-Christians, who had held it until then, to those Gentile Christians. (Bagatti, Bellarmino.  Translated by Eugene Hoade.  The Church from the Gentiles in Palestine. Nihil obstat: Ignatius Mancini, 1 Februari 1970. Imprimi potest: Herminius Roncari, 26 Februari 1970. Imprimatur: +Albertus Gori, die 28 Februarii 1970.  Franciscan Printing Press, Jerusalem, 1971, p. 61)

The “holy place” mentioned above had been a meeting place for the Christians.  This is the place that has been called Sion and the Cenacle. The Greco-Romans eventually added a shrine and a variety of relics (Ibid, pp. 27-28,69).

Theodosius in the 6th century referred to it, “holy Sion, which is the mother of all churches” (Travel And Travellers of the Middle Ages European civilization Volume 45 of The history of civilization / general editor C.K. Ogden. The history of civilization. European civilization Editors Arthur Paul Newton, Arthur Percival Newton Translated by E. D. Hunt. Psychology Press, 1996, p. 48).

A Roman Catholic scholar wrote it was basically constructed by what we would call Church of God Christians (which he calls Judeo-Christians):

The Judeo-Christians probably built their church, at that time called a synagogue, sometime in the decade after 73 A.D. For its construction, they could have used some of the magnificent ashlars from Herod’s destroyed citadel, not far away. Or perhaps they used the stones from the ruins of the Temple itself…with the intention of transferring some elements of the Holy Temple to a site becoming a new Mt. Zion (Zion III).

If that is so, the event may in fact be referred to in one of the apocryphal Odes of Solomon composed about 100 A.D. by a rival sectarian Judeo-Christian group. The fourth ode begins:

“No man can pervert your holy place, 0 God, nor can he change it, and put it in another place, because [he has] no power over it. Your sanctuary you designed before you made special places.” (Charlesworth, Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, p. 736.)

Was this passage in condemnation of the effort of the Judeo-Christians who built the synagogue on Mt. Zion to transfer some of the holiness of the destroyed Temple to their place of worship on the new Mt. Zion by constructing it in part with stones from that Temple?

From this time on, the western hill of Jerusalem was referred to by Christians as Mt. Zion (Zion III). Very few places in Jerusalem can point to such an enduring tradition as Zion’s claim to be the seat of the primitive church. No other place has raised a serious rival claim …

By this time the Judeo-Christian synagogue on Mt. Zion had become known as the Church of the Apostles. It became known as the Church of the Apostles not only because the apostles returned there after witnessing Christ’s post-resurrection ascent to heaven, but also because the building was built, as we have seen, under the leadership of Simon son of Kleophas. Kleophas was known as a brother of Joseph of Nazareth, therefore Simon was a cousin of Jesus. Simon was later considered one of the apostles, outside the circle of the 12. For this reason, the house of worship built by Simon could rightfully be called the Church of the Apostles.

(Pixner B. Church of the Apostles Found on Mt. Zion. Biblical Archaeology Review, May/June 1990: 16-35,60. Also found at http://www.centuryone.org/apostles.html –yet that site and others who seemed to have copied it have left out important statements on page 26, which are included above and italicized by me as they are left out of the that online version)

The original bricks seem to have come from the old Jewish Temple. I personally examined some of them on October 24, 2013. The original bricks physically constitute a type of “temple” in the sense that this seems to have been the closest thing to a physical church building (and actually more closely resembled a synagogue) where early real Christians attended for services. That or something used in the 21st century look to be the holy place that Jesus spoke of.

Now, related to the abomination and its timing, notice something from the late Pastor General of the old Worldwide Church of God, Herbert W. Armstrong‘s sermon that was titled Mission of the Philadelphia Church Era and was given on December 17, 1983,:

Jesus … He said, “Take heed that you be not deceived (now, at the very beginning). For many will come in My name, saying that I am Christ, and deceiving . . .” Here He says, and He’s speaking to them, “Many false prophets shall arise, and deceive many.” Well, they did! And they did come in Jesus’ name, saying that they were His ministers!

Matthew 24:13-14 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. (14) And this GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM [That’s the gospel He was preaching to them—the Kingdom of God.] shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and THEN shall the end come.

The end of the world, and the Second Coming of Christ! That was the only sign He gave of His Second Coming.

You know, Jesus was asked by the Pharisees for a sign that He was the Messiah; and He said only one sign would be given; and that was the sign of the prophet Jonah—that as Jonah was three days and three nights in the great fish’s belly, so Jesus would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, or the tomb, which was hewn out of rock in the heart of the earth.

Now He continued:

Matthew 24:15 … “When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand).

And you find in Luke 24 and verse 20 that that refers to the same thing, and “the abomination of desolation” there spoken of was Jerusalem being surrounded by armies. Now that applied to 70 AD. It is going to apply again, because so many things happen in a dual manner. Sort of a one-two punch, as I sometimes call it. And Jerusalem will again be surrounded by armies. …

Matthew 24:16 Then let them which be in Judea [Of course, He was speaking locally there.] flee to the mountains…”

And so on. Then He comes down to that terrible time that happened in 70 AD as a type of what is going to happen at the latter time—the Great Tribulation (verse 21).

Anyway, until Matthew 24:14 is fulfilled to God’s satisfaction, the end will not come and the abomination of desolation Jesus said Daniel referred to will not be set up.

While the end is coming soon, the end is not yet (Matthew 24:6).

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This entry was posted on Friday, December 20th, 2024 at 7:15 am and is filed under Prophecy, Religious News.

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