Mark 13:14-23 – Temple destruction and the signs

The Lord Jesus now moved to answer the question that Peter, James, John and Andrew asked, concerning the signs of the destruction of the temple. He told them in Mark 13:14-16 saying, “But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. The one who is on the housetop must not go down, or go in to get anything out of his house; and the one who is in the field must not turn back to get his coat.”

What is the “Abomination of the desolation”? The disciples probably knew what He meant, for Daniel 12:11 had mentioned this. This statement is referring to the coming of a person that would desecrate the temple and put an end to the daily temple sacrifices. So outrageous would be the act that people would desert the temple of God for fear.

In the history of the Jews, a Seleucid ruler, Antiochus Epiphane IV, conquered Jerusalem and attempted to Hellenize the people. He actually set up a statue of Zeus and very likely an image of himself, on the altar of burnt offering. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when he offered a swine on the altar of sacrifice. This precipitated a revolt against him, led by the family of the Maccabees. All these took place some 150 years earlier. And as despicable as Antiochus had been, it was not what the Lord was referring to.

Then again in AD 40 Emperor Caligula tried to install an image of himself in the temple, thinking he was a god. In the midst of all the chaos and commotion, the Zealots managed to occupy the temple around AD 67. They then allowed criminals to access the Holy of holies. These Zealots also committed murders in the temple and even installed a person that knew next to nothing to the priesthood. Great number of people, including Christians, fled from Jerusalem. And then there were also people who saw the persecution under Nero, who claimed to be divine as this “Abomination of desolation.”   

In verses 17-20, Jesus told them to take flight when the “Abomination of desolation” takes place. The Lord seemed to be warning the people, prior to the destruction of the temple, who were in Jerusalem at that time. The fact that they were told to flee and stay away from the catastrophe that was coming, suggests that this message was for the early believers. If it was about the end of the world where would a safe place to run to and hide from the unavoidable catastrophe? But all the description of the horrendous happenings that had taken place served as a prophetic picture warning of a future tribulation.  

All these warnings were for the believers to stay alert. So the Lord told them to pray and assured them that what they would experience would be cut short for the sake of the elect. He again repeated His warning about the claims of false christs and prophets with their intentions to lead the people astray. The Lord’s warning did not fall on deaf ears of the early Church. Many Christians then took Christ’s warning seriously, fled and were preserved to propagate the Gospel. The call for us today is to maintain the same alertness the early believers had. We are to watch and pray and then serve, as we wait for the climatic coming of the Lord!