The Transgression of Desolation

            Thanks to Daniel 8, the times of the end are beginning to unfold before our eyes. Daniel has seen a little horn rising up from what was left of the Greek empire. It rises from the north of Israel, what is now modern-day Turkey. He has his eyes on the Glorious Land of Israel. At the appointed time, this is what Daniel saw concerning the final Beast.
            “It grew up to the host of heaven [God’s people on the earth] and it cast down some of the host [Jewish nation] and some of the stars [Jewish people] to the ground and trampled them” (Dan. 8:9-10). This is the initial invasion of the Antichrist and his coalition of armies. It is one of the last events we shall witness before God rolls back the heavens to reveal Jesus coming in all His glory at the rapture.
            Daniel understands why this is happening. “He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down. Because of transgression [rebuilding the apostate Temple], an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered” (vs. 11-12).
            The archangel Gabriel explains that this is part of the Beast’s sinister schemes. “His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; he shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people” (vs. 24).
            Daniel hears two angels talking about this event. One asks the other, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?” The answer: 2,300 days, and then the sanctuary shall be cleansed. The “days” here refers to the twice-daily sacrifices (morning and evening), which covers 1,150 days—the same time period of just over 3 years which is so prominent in Revelation and the other prophecies concerning the time of the end.
            Paul clues us in on what is happening here. Remember, he has already told us that the last Day cannot come until the falling away comes first—the apostasy or rejection of Christ by the Jews—and the man of sin is revealed. That’s what Daniel is seeing. Paul adds that the Antichrist “opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God”  (2 Thess. 2:4).
            In other words, the Antichrist knows the power he has from Satan. Just as Satan rose up against the face of God, the Antichrist not only dares to enter the Temple, he goes into the Holy of Holies to taunt the Almighty. Under the Law, even the High Priest dared not to enter this inner sanctum of God’s presence without an elaborate purification ritual, on fear of death. Yet here the Antichrist enters and nothing happens!
            Can you imagine what the Jewish people will think when they see this? Where is our God? The answer: their God was never in this apostate rebuilt temple. Can you imagine the excessive arrogance of the Antichrist? He will be brimming with overconfidence. Little does he know that this transgression shall be his desolation.
            Paul continues: “And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming” (2 Thess. 2:6-8).
            The Chronos Lesson: What is restraining this revealing of the Antichrist in Israel? God’s chronos time—His preset appointed time. Of course we’re already seeing the mystery of lawlessness at work, as Paul said, even though we haven’t yet seen the actual “little horn” rise to power. That won’t happen until the one who is doing the restraining is taken out of the way.
            You may remember that in an earlier blog we showed how the archangel over Israel, Michael, was commanded to “stand down” and not go into action to protect the nation when they rejected Jesus at His first coming. Michael has been standing in the way now for almost 2,000 years—the time of Israel being stricken and torn, the time of Jacob’s Trouble. But it won’t be long now until he will be told that he no longer has to restrain himself. As the last Day dawns and he sees Jesus gathering His Bride, Michael shall go forth on Israel’s behalf.
            In fact, once the heavenly court is seated in Heaven, one of the first ruling judgments we shall make is to send Michael and a host of angels to go to war against the evil hierarchy in the heavenlies. And after waiting all this time, he is ready! Satan and his cohorts are soundly defeated and cast down to the earth. As to their fate there—stay tuned.