Matthew 24:4-7 states, “And Yeshua answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.”

Most Believers maintain that Yeshua’s Olivet prophecies, including the ones mentioned above, are fulfilled literally. Is this so?

History proves that the rise of dictators to power oftentimes sets in motion the universal sequence of war, famine, and death. Clearly, Yeshua’s prophecies of Matthew chapter 24 are based on this principle, albeit with one fundamental difference; the prophecies of Matthew chapter 24 are initiated by false messiahs (Matt. 24:5), not by dictators! Still, just as dictators cause wars, and wars cause famines, and famines cause death, the false messiahs of Matthew chapter 24 cause wars of religion, wars of religion cause famines of the word, and famines of the word cause spiritual death. Thus, the fact that the prophecies of Matthew chapter 24 are set in motion by false messiahs proves that they have a spiritual, not a literal application!

Let's apply this principle to verse 15, which states, “Therefore, when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the set apart place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”

Most Believers interpret this prophecy to mean that a third temple will be built in Jerusalem. According to their reasoning, a third temple must exist in Jerusalem in order for it to be desolated.

In the Bible, the word “abomination” is used to refer to sin, which includes defiling the temple with something unclean (Deut. 23:18), idolatry (Deut. 28:15) and homosexuality (Lev. 18:22), etc, etc, etc. The phrase, the “abomination of desolation,” in verse 15 is a quotation from Daniel 9:27; 11:31 and 12:11. (cf. Mark 13:14) In Daniel, however, this phrase is more clearly translated, “the abomination that makes desolate.” Daniel’s prophecy regarding “the abomination that makes desolate” was initially fulfilled about 165 BC when Antiochus Epiphanes, the Greek ruler of Syria, placed an altar to the pagan god Zeus in the temple and sacrificed a pig, an unclean animal, on the altar of burnt offerings. As a result, the temple became “desolate” and the Jews would no longer worship there.

Of course, the fact that Yeshua prophesied, “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the set apart place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” proves that there was to be a second fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy that would occur in the future!

Notice that the word “therefore” in Yeshua’s statement, “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’…” is used as a conjunction. This means that Yeshua had already addressed the prophecy regarding the abomination that makes desolate in a previous statement. Of course, in order to identify the right statement we must work backwards and examine each Scripture one by one! Verse 14 states, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Obviously, the gospel of the kingdom is not “the abomination that makes desolate.” Verse 13 states, “But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” Again, this is not it! Verse 12 states, “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” Clearly, this is it! The context proves that the phrase, “the abomination of desolation,” refers back to lawlessness! Why?

The word “lawlessness” was translated from the ancient Greek word “anomia”- a word derived from the root word “nomos,” which means “law” and the prefix “a,” which means, “against” or “in opposition to.” Significantly, when the Old Testament was translated into Ancient Greek in the 3rd century B.C., the translators rendered the Hebrew word “Torah” as “nomos.” Thus, the word “anomia” means, “against Torah” or “in opposition to Torah” and this Scripture is better translated, “And because opposition to Torah will increase, the love of many will grow cold.” The Complete Jewish Bible states, “and many people’s love will grow cold because of increased distance from Torah.” 1 John 3:4 makes the definition of the word “lawlessness” even more clear; it states, “...sin is lawlessness” or “sin is Torahlessness.”

Of course, since the context proves that the phrase, “the abomination of desolation,” which is sin, refers back to Torahlessness, it stands to reason that Yeshua’s statements in verses 13 and 14 are interjective thoughts! Thus, the entire prophecy regarding the abomination that makes desolation, including the interjectory thoughts, is better translated: “And because Torahlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. (“But he who endures to the end shall be saved. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.) “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the set apart place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”

Why did Yeshua pause for a moment to address thoughts that were not directly related to the main context? The answer is found within the context! The disciples had asked Him, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (vs. 3) His answer included a series of terrifying prophetic events, starting with false christs (vv. 4-5) and building up to Torahlessness! It was immediately after He spoke of Torahlessnees that He addressed His interjective thoughts! Why?

To understand why Yeshua spoke His interjectorily thoughts immediately after He spoke of Torahlessness, we must first understand how the first-century Jews thought of Torah! The fact is that most Jews held Torah in the highest esteem! It defined who they were as a people! They couldn’t imagine life without it! They knew that it held the key to eternal life (John 5:39)! Yeshua’s initial prophesies were extremely disturbing! They must have taken Him a few minutes to develop and, as one might imagine, as He revealed them one by one, the intensity level of the disciples increased more and more! Then, when Yeshua prophesied, “And because Torahlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold…,” the disciples must have been shaken to their very core, so shocked that they were unable to speak! That is why Yeshua paused for a moment, because it was necessary to reassure them that, regardless of their circumstances, God would save His people! Then, after calming His people down, He immediately returned to the main context connecting Torahlessness to the abomination that makes desolate with the word “Therefore!”

The New Testament teaches that the temple symbolizes both the individual believer (1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 6:16-18) and the congregation (Eph. 2:14-22; 2 Thess. 2:4). And incredibly, this interpretation is consistent with that teaching! Thus, Yeshua’s prophecy regarding the abomination that makes desolate refers to a future event when the Body of Messiah was to become desolate as a result of Torahlessness or sin!