Über die Autorinnen und Autoren

J. Daniel Hays (PhD, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is dean of the Pruet School of Christian Studies and professor of Old Testament at Ouachita Baptist University. He is the author of From Every People and Nation, The Message of the Prophets, The Temple and the Tabernacle, and A Christian’s Guide to Evidence for the Bible: 101 Proofs from History and Archaeology. He has coauthored or coedited Grasping God’s Word; Journey into God’s Word; Preaching God’s Word; The Baker Illustrated Bible Background Commentary; Jeremiah and Lamentations; The Story of Israel: A Biblical Theology; and God’s Relational Presence: The Cohesive Center of Biblical Theology. He teaches adult Sunday School at his local church in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and also speaks both regionally and internationally.

J. Scott Duvall (PhD, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is professor of New Testament at Ouachita Baptist University. He is the coauthor of Grasping God’s Word, Journey into God’s Word, Preaching God’s Word, and God’s Relational Presence, and author of The Heart of Revelation and Revelation in the Teach the Text Commentary series. He teaches and preaches frequently in local churches.

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An A-to-Z Guide to Biblical Prophecy and the End Times

Zondervan

Contents

Preface.............................7Dictionary..........................9Notes...............................483Scripture Index.....................488

Chapter One

The "abomination of desolation," "abomination that causes desolation," or "desolating sacrifice" is a phrase that refers to the desecration of the Jerusalem Temple (see temple). The description occurs or is alluded to in the following texts: Daniel 8:11; 9:27; 11:31; 12:11; Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14; Luke 21:20; and 2 Thessalonians 2:4, as well as in the noncanonical (apocryphal) book 1 Maccabees 1:54 –64. These passages seem to attest to two or three stages of fulfillment of the prophecy.

(1) Daniel 8:11; 9:27; 11:31; 12:11; and 1 Maccabees 1:54–64 clearly speak of the actions of the Syrian ruler Antiochus IV (Epiphanes) against the Jerusalem Temple in 167 B.C., who decreed that Temple sacrifices and offerings should cease (see antiochus epiphanes). To add insult to injury, he profaned the Most Holy Place by placing in it a statue to Zeus (the chief Greek god) and then sacrificing a pig to Zeus on the altar (described in Dan 9:27 as the winged or horned altar). This terrible action is referred to as the abomination of desolation (lit, "and upon the wings of abominations shall come one who makes desolate"). Daniel 9:27, however, promises that the desolater (Antiochus) will be defeated, an event that occurred in 164 B.C. when Judas Maccabeus led the Jewish revolt that expelled Antiochus from Jerusalem Judas then rededicated the Temple to God in December 164 B.C., celebrated today as Hanukkah (cf 1 Macc 4:36–61).

(2) Daniel's prophecy apparently was not completely fulfilled with Antiochus, for Luke 21:20 labels the Roman assault on Jerusalem in A.D. 70 as the "desolation" In fact, the Roman destruction of the Holy City and its Temple was an intensification of the reality of the Old Testament Prediction.

(3) Some interpreters extend the application of the prophecy of the abomination of desolation into the distant future. These scholars contend that the ultimate fulfillment of Daniel's prediction will occur in connection with the end-time Temple to be built by Israel, which the Antichrist will desecrate (see ANTICHRIST; ISRAEL, MODERN STATE OF). This viewpoint appeals to Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14; and 2 Thessalonians 2:4 in support of its perspective (cf Rev 11).

But those who identify only two stages of fulfillment for Daniel's prophecy understand Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14 to pertain not to a future end-time Temple, but to the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, as Luke 21:20 does. Furthermore, they see in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 an allusion to Emperor Caligula's (Gaius) failed plan to place a statue of himself in the Jerusalem Temple in A.D. 40, which, because of that ruler's assassination, did not occur (see Caligula; Daniel, Book of; temple).

Abrahamic Covenant

The Abrahamic Covenant, also called "The Promise to Abraham," plays a central role in biblical prophecy, providing one of the main prophetic themes that connect the Old Testament to the New This covenant is presented in three central passages: Genesis 12:1–7; 15:1–20; and 17:1–8.

In Genesis 12:1–7 God promises to bless Abraham (the word "bless" occurs five times in 12:2–3). As part of this blessing, God promises to make Abraham into a great nation and to make his name great (12:2). He also promises to "bless those that bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse" (12:3). God also stresses that Abraham will be a blessing (12:2); indeed, in Abraham "all peoples on earth will be blessed" (12:3). God restates this aspect of the promise in 18:18, declaring that all nations will be blessed in Abraham Finally, God promises to give the land of Canaan to Abraham's descendants (12:1, 7).

In Genesis 15:1–20 God formalizes his promise to Abraham into a "covenant" In the ancient Near Eastern world, a covenant was a legal agreement between two parties. There were numerous ceremonies that could be used to ratify or solemnize the covenant. One of the most serious ceremonies involved cutting an animal in half and then separating the two halves on the ground. The two parties then walked together between the two halves, apparently implying a vow of sorts, as if the participants were each saying, "May this happen to me if I break this covenant." In Genesis 15 God tells Abraham to bring five animals and to cut each of them in half However, unlike in normal human covenant ceremonies, in this one God passes through the cut animals by himself, implying that he is instituting a one-sided or unilateral covenant that binds only one party—himself.

In Genesis 15 God also promises Abraham that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars (15:5). God then predicts four hundred years of bondage for Abraham's descendants, followed by their return and possession of the land of Canaan. Additionally, imbedded within this covenant dialogue and ceremony is the important statement in 15:6, "Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness."

God appears to the aging Abraham again in Genesis 17 and promises to "confirm/establish" this covenant. God then repeats several aspects of the Abrahamic Covenant, expanding on the promise. He repeats the promise of numerous descendants, but expands on this by saying that Abraham will be the "father of many nations" (17:4–6) and that Sarah, his wife, will be "the mother of nations" (17:16). In addition, a "royal" aspect of the promise is added, for God promises that kings will come from Abraham and Sarah (17:6, 16). Once again God promises the land of Canaan to Abraham (17:8) and states that this covenant is to be an "everlasting covenant" (17:7). God then states that circumcision will be the sign of the covenant between himself and Abraham (17:9–14). Several of the promises that comprise the Abrahamic Covenant are also restated later in Genesis, both to Isaac (26:3–5) and to Jacob (28:13–15).

A Unilateral Covenant

In contrast to the later Mosaic Covenant, the Abrahamic Covenant appears to be a unilateral covenant to which God bound himself by his promise. Various scholars refer to it as a "one-sided" covenant, an "unconditional" covenant, a "divine commitment" covenant, or a "covenant of grace" God appears to have pledged himself to fulfilling this covenant without placing conditional stipulations on Abraham and his descendants This is in strong contrast to the Mosaic Covenant as presented in the book of Deuteronomy. Indeed, in Deuteronomy 28 God clearly presents strict stipulations of keeping the law that were required in order to receive the blessings of that covenant So the Mosaic Covenant was a "two-sided" or "bilateral" agreement; indeed, it was a covenant of law (although certainly God's grace can be seen in this covenant as well).

The Abrahamic Covenant was quite different. The unilateral aspect of that covenant is stressed by the fact that God passes through the halves of the animals by himself in Genesis 15. The one-sided binding or "grace" aspect of this covenant is illustrated in the story at the beginning, immediately after the promise to Abraham in 12:1–7. In 12:8–20 Abraham leaves the Promised Land (apparently in...