The Abomination of Desolation
15 “When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader 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 out the things that are in his house. 18 Let him who is in the field not return back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are with child and to nursing mothers in those days! 20 Pray that your flight will not be in the winter nor on a Sabbath, 21 for then there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever will be. 22 Unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved. But for the sake of the chosen ones, those days will be shortened. 23 “Then if any man tells you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There!’ don’t believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones. 25 “Behold, I have told you beforehand. 26 “If therefore they tell you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ don’t go out; or ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ don’t believe it. 27 For as the lightning flashes from the east, and is seen even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 For wherever the carcass is, that is where the vultures gather together.
A sign to run from, and instructions urgent enough to leave a coat behind — with a warning that the deception will be very good.
“When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
The phrase is Daniel's Daniel 9:27 Daniel 11:31 Daniel 12:11, and the parenthesis is an instruction to work at it. What the text gives is a profile rather than a name: something detestable, standing where it has no right to stand, and producing desolation. Daniel withheld the name and this passage withholds it too, and the profile is what stands.
What is given is a response, and it is unambiguous. "Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains" Matthew 24:16. Not resist, not defend the holy place — leave.
The urgency is drawn in domestic detail. A man on the flat roof is not to go downstairs for anything; a man in a field is not to go back for his coat Matthew 24:17–18. And the compassion in it is what stays with a reader: woe to those who are with child and to nursing mothers in those days Matthew 24:19 — the people who cannot run. Pray that your flight will not be in the winter nor on a Sabbath Matthew 24:20. Winter makes the roads impassable; the Sabbath makes flight a matter of conscience for those who keep it. He tells them to pray about the timing, which means the timing is not fixed and prayer bears on it.
for then there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever will be.
The wording is Daniel's again Daniel 12:1, and it is what makes the passage reach past any single generation.
Unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved. But for the sake of the chosen ones, those days will be shortened.
The one clause of mercy in the paragraph, and it is a limit set on the trouble from outside it.
For false christs and false prophets will arise, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.
The deception is credentialed. Signs and wonders are on the wrong side here, which is a standing warning in Scripture that miracles alone settle nothing Deuteronomy 13:1–3.
"Behold, I have told you beforehand" Matthew 24:25. That is the safeguard on offer — advance notice, and nothing else.
"If therefore they tell you, 'Behold, he is in the wilderness,' don't go out; or 'Behold, he is in the inner rooms,' don't believe it" Matthew 24:26. Both false reports have the same structure: he is somewhere, and you must be told where. The test given is the opposite of a location. "As the lightning flashes from the east, and is seen even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be" Matthew 24:27.
Nobody is informed that there has been lightning. A coming that has to be reported to you is not this one.
held with reason What this mark means