The Desolating Sacrilege

¹⁴ “But when you see the desolating sacrilege set up where it ought not to be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains;^(A)

²⁷ He shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall make sacrifice and offering cease, and in their place^[a] shall be a desolating sacrilege until the decreed end is poured out upon the desolator.”^(A)

¹¹ From the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the desolating sacrilege is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred ninety days.^(A)

The Desolating Sacrilege

¹⁵ “So when you see the desolating sacrilege, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),^{(A) 16} then those in Judea must flee to the mountains; ¹⁷ the one on the housetop must not go down to take things from the house; ¹⁸ the one in the field must not turn back to get a coat. ¹⁹ Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! ²⁰ Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For at that time there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.^{(B) 22} And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved, but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.^{(C) 23} Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’^[a] or ‘There he is!’—do not believe it.^{(D) 24} For false messiahs^[b] and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.^{(E) 25} Take note, I have told you beforehand. ²⁶ So, if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷ For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.^{(F) 28} Wherever the corpse is, there the eagles will gather.

³¹ Forces sent by him shall occupy and profane the temple and fortress. They shall abolish the regular burnt offering and set up the desolating sacrilege.^(A)

¹⁸ This calls for wisdom: let anyone with understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number for a person. Its number is six hundred sixty-six.^[a](A)

³ Blessed is the one who reads the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

²⁰ Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking; rather, be infants in evil, but in thinking be adults.^(A)

³⁰ So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹ He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.

The Destruction of Jerusalem Foretold

²⁰ “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near.^{[a](A) 21} Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those inside the city must leave it, and those out in the country must not enter it,^{(B) 22} for these are days of vengeance, as a fulfillment of all that is written.^{(C) 23} Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress on the earth and wrath against this people; ²⁴ they will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken away as captives among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the nations, until the times of the nations are fulfilled.^(D)