The abomination of desolation

The abomination of desolation (or desolating sacrilege) is a term found in the Hebrew Bible, in the book of Daniel. It also occurs in the book of 1 Maccabees and in the New Testament gospels, for example:

And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. –Luke 16:15

The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. –Rev 17:4

But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Rev 21:27

from the Greek ⁠βδέλυγμα⁠ bdelygma a foul thing, a detestable thing, of idols and things pertaining to idolatry

In the case of idolatry, the Old Testament often describes such things as an abomination by the Israelites:

And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as [did] David his father. –1 Kings 11:6

Hebrew:⁠רַע ⁠ ra` "ad, wrong, ill, lousy, foul, moldy, mouldy, noxious, unkind, verminous, atrocious; evil, wicked, vicious, meany, nefarious, baleful; dangerous, malignant"

But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel. –2 Kings 16:3

And he did [that which was] evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. 2 Kings 21:2

Hebrew:⁠תועבה⁠ tow`ebah "nf. abomination, shameful deed, profanity, scabrousness, villainousness, anathema; idols, idolatry"

However, the reference we are most familiar with, that has been attributed to Jesus in Matthew and Mark, referring to Daniel is:

And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily [sacrifice], and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. Dan 11:31

shiqquwts "detestable thing or idol, "abominable thing, abomination, idol, detested thin

And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock. Nahum 3:6

And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, [shall be] for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite. Zech 9:7

Especially:

For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 1 Kings 11:5

And the high places that [were] before Jerusalem, which [were] on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile. 2 Kings 23:13

Compare:

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. Dan 9:27

with:

And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily [sacrifice], and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. Dan 11:31

And from the time [that] the daily [sacrifice] shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, [there shall be] a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Dan 12:11

As a good part of biblical references to the concept of abomination relates to things generally considered as idolatrous, evil, vile, nefarious, wicked, etc., there was recently something that came to my attention that stuck out in my thinking as unexplainably odd. Of course, after putting two and two together this, too, made perfect sense. Just more pure evil...hidden in deception.

More