There are many end time scenarios that only lead to fear. I hear people saying "I pray Jesus comes soon to end this world." By this you know this person doesn't know the truth. So, is the Abomination of Desolation a time of the end? or a time now in the past?

Matthew 24:15 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand),

The "you" in the verse is not you and I. It was "ye" (Them) This meant that the people to whom Jesus was speaking at that time would see it in their day.

Matthew 24:16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

This is referring to the country areas of Judaea. How could people in these areas see what was happening in the Temple? They couldn't. But they could see what the true sign was: a Roman army surrounding Jerusalem.

Matthew 24:17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.

Some People think this is a rapture about to occur. It is not. This is Jesus telling His people to hurry and to get out of the city of Jerusalem before He judges her. This already happened This is not for us today. It was for the first century people who actually went through this. This is documented history.

Matthew 24:18-20 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.

Jesus give such warning because He knew when this judgment took place that there would still be some who were still engaged in the Jewish Law and its customs. How do we know this? Because the unbelieving Jew's were reluctance to accept Jesus' New Covenant and the very reason He brought judgment against them.

Matthew 24:21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Jesus let those He directly spoke to, know that they were the ones that would see the Roman army surround Jerusalem. When they saw this they were to escape that city because Jesus said there was a great tribulation coming there the likes-of-which had never been seen before, and never would be seen again. Seen By Them not You and I. Did Jesus directly speak you you? No. For a person to teach that this tribulation is for a future time, he would need to ignore these scriptures' time references, and the obvious context in which Jesus spoke them.

Josephus, in his Volume One of the Works of Josephus, says, "Whereas the war which the Jews made with the Romans hath been the greatest of all those, not only that have been in our times, but, in a manner, of those that ever were heard of; both of those wherein cities have fought against cities, or nations against nations."

Some people contend that several different modern day events have been the greatest prophetic fulfillment since the crucifixion of Christ. One would have to wonder how this could be possible with any modern day event since Jesus even said, "For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled." [Luke 21:22] Furthermore when one compares Matthew 24:21 with these words of Josephus it is easy to see that this occurrence was without doubt the greatest prophetic fulfillment since the crucifixion of Christ.

The vengeance is over, making that tribulation (war) the greatest war ever while vengeance was at hand. Jesus even said it was fulfilled.

Luke made the same statement as Matthew concerning the Abomination of Desolation, except he revealed what the Abomination of Desolation was Jerusalem surrounded by armies.

Luke 21:20 "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.

This is the same statement as Matthew, except Luke replaced the phrase, "abomination of desolation" with what it actually was, "Jerusalem surrounded by armies." Jesus is clearly saying that the instrument He would use to bring the desolation was the Roman army who would surround Jerusalem in preparation for her destruction.

The Abomination was actually the abominable sins of Israel, which are revealed in Ezekiel chapters 8 and 16. The judgment, however, would be carried out by a heathen army just as God has always done in the past. This is the judgment that was to be brought against those that refused the seal of God. The New Testament reveals this seal to be the seal of water and spirit, which is pictured in Ezekiel 9.

This seal is the same one that is found upon the 144,000 of Revelation. They had experienced the new birth, which means they had the seal of God on them. Because of that they escaped the judgments of the Law that came against Jerusalem. Revelation 14:1-6 says these people were the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. They also were the same people who preached the everlasting gospel which is found described in Acts 2:38. Both Paul and James confirmed that the early church was the firstfruits of the Spirit.

Romans 8:23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.

James 1:18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

The firstfruits were from the first century. Jesus disciples where among the 144,000. Those that claim the 144,000 are future, do not study the bible enough .

God's usage of numbers in the Scripture has a message of importance for us. To give you an example, first look at the way the Scriptures use the number twelve. Twelve is recognized as God's number of perfection in the Church. You can really see this truth about twelve in the descriptions written about the New Jerusalem as is found in Revelation 21. There everything is in twelve's or multiples of twelve, and if you take 1,000 [a number of unending perfection], and multiply it by 12 you get 12,000. If you take that 12,000, and multiply it by 12, you get 144,000. The number 144,000 is a symbolic picture of those in the Church who are sealed by the preaching of the gospel.

Seven is also a number that holds a lot of importance in God's Word. It is His number of perfection as well. If you take 10 [a number that symbolizes unending perfection], and multiply it by 7, you get 70. Take this 70 and multiply it by 7 and you get 490, which is exactly the number of times that Jesus told Peter he must forgive; it is also the number of years that Daniel's 70-week prophecy said would transpire before perfect forgiveness would come to all nations. This forgiveness did come to all through the blood of the Messiah Jesus Christ. These numbers are significant because they help us better understand to what these prophetic passages are referring. An example of this is the 144,000. Some claim that the 144,000 are a people that are yet to happen some time in the future. If that were true then they would be the last fruits and not the firstfruits as Romans 8:23, James 1:18, and Revelation 14:4 describe them. The 144,000 were warned by Jesus in Luke 21 and Matthew 24 to flee from Jerusalem when they saw the approaching judgment and go into the wilderness. They were the same ones who were sealed by the Holy Spirit and born again in Jesus' name.

Luke 21:21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.

This is the same scripture as found in Matthew 24. These people who were in the countryside saw the Roman army coming, and when they did, they were to flee away from them and from Jerusalem.

Luke 21:22 For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.

Now, would one want to question the New Testament? Is it right? Was it really true that by the time this event was completed, "all things" that were written in the Old Testament (at least concerning this subject) would be fulfilled? Or would one dare side with the critics that claim that Jesus' statement was incorrect?

Luke 21:23 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.

This again is not talking about rapture! A pregnant woman could be raptured just as easily as one who is not. This is speaking of the discomfort she would experience while fleeing, and the difficulties one would have trying to escape from God's judgments while traveling with a small child.

Luke 21:24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

Those who did not fall by the edge of the sword were led away captive into all nations is definite proof that this scripture refers to the 70 AD tribulation and not to some final future tribulation. Many believe that Jesus will come at the end of a future tribulation to rescue the Jews (What Jews?), and to set up His 1000-year reign of peace. This happened in 70 AD at the destruction of Jerusalem. During this siege 1.1 million Jews were killed, and over 900,000 captives were led away and dispersed into all nations. Futurists, are you getting this? This already happened. It is not in the future.