ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION

This phrase has roots in the Old Testament. The book of Daniel alludes to "the abomination that makes desolate" (cf. 9:27, 11:31, 12:11). 

It is generally believed that 11:31 is a reference to the abominable (evil) power that desolated the Jewish system during that historical period between the Testaments, particularly the reign of the Seleucid ruler, Antiochus Epiphanes (c. 175-63 B.C.). That heathen official viciously persecuted the Jews, attempted to destroy the Scriptures, and desecrated the temple. 

Clearly, though, the reference in Daniel 9:27 is to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, when the idolatrous Romans crushed the Jewish regime, and Judaism, as a religious system, came to an end -- and that by divine design (Mt. 22:7). This is the interpretation given the passage by the Lord himself (Mt. 24:15; Mk. 13:14; Lk. 21:20). 

The significance of the expression in Daniel 12:11 is more difficult to determine. Some see it as a description of Antiochus' persecution, while others view it as a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the Jewish sacrificial system. It may be that Antiochus' onslaught prefigured the desolation that the Romans would ultimately bring. 

The idea that it refers to a terrorizing "Antichrist" who will wreak havoc upon the people of God near the end of time, preceding an earthly reign of Christ, is without scriptural justification.