The history of our earth is replete with horrific disasters and heinous crimes that have resulted in countless millions of deaths and millions more suffering untold horrors as the “fruit” of Adam and Eve’s sin. Humanity certainly didn’t benefit from gaining knowledge of both good and evil. Four thousand years after Adam gave up his appointment to represent earth in heavenly counsels, four thousand years of crimes against humanity, after total annihilation by a global flood, there remained a thread of truth on the earth. Why? Because God had said, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman.” It is this promise that has struck fear and panic into our enemy.
Satan is an avid reader of scripture and the writings of Ellen White. We know this by the nearly manic pace of evil and wickedness that has descended on the world. With earnestness the people of God repeated the promises, examined the prophecies, and prayed for deliverance for four millennia. Finally the Messiah came…but His chosen people knew Him not. However a small group of disciples clung to Jesus right up until the close of His ministry. Famously they asked Him, “…what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”
We notice they asked for a singular sign. In Jesus’ response he provided parallel prophecies, including the events occurring just prior to his return. Many see multiple answers, however in Matthew 24:15 he provided the specific sign:
“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:).”
Mark 13:14 provides clarification:
“But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains.”
Nearly two millennia have passed since Jesus made this statement and the sign hasn’t yet been fulfilled. Yes, we know about the partial fulfillment that took place in the fall of A.D. 66 when Gaius Cestius Gallus[1] led an attack that failed. It was three and half years later that Jerusalem was completely destroyed.[2] In His answer, Jesus directs us back to Daniel the Prophet. Daniel’s references to an abomination and desolations are found in the contexts of prophesying of worldwide crisis. Here are the pertinent texts followed by brief explanations:
Daniel 8:13 “Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?”
Daniel 8:13 is firmly associated with the beginning of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary on October 22, 1844. Daniel 8 describes a counterfeit sanctuary, using sacrificial animals to represent wicked nations and a “horn of littleness” coming from a goat representing an apostate church power. The “transgression of desolation” here is clearly associated with worship contrary to God’s commands.
Daniel 9:2 “In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.”
Daniel 9:2 is a clear reference to the seventy year prophecy from God recorded in Jeremiah 25:11-12 and 29:10 where God punished Israel while providing the opportunity of sharing the gospel within the Babylonian Empire through the various exiles beginning in 605 B.C.
Daniel 9:18 “O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.”
Daniel 9:18 uses the word “desolations” in a personal, individual application. Daniel appeals to God, serving as an intercessor for the exiled Jewish nation, seeking forgiveness for their strong tendency to worship idols, thereby rebelling against God. Ezekiel 8 provides shocking insights about church leadership back in Jerusalem during the time.
Daniel 9:26-27
“And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 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.”
Daniel 9:26 begins with an allusion to the destruction of literal Jerusalem in A.D. 70, however transitions to the ending war settling the great controversy between Christ and Satan. The good news is that we know the outcome in advance according to John’s visions! In Daniel 9:27, we find the confirmation of Jesus crucifixion and resurrection. However, in the last half of that verse there is a reference to “abominations” that will continue until the “consummation,” meaning the end of the world and the uniting of Jesus with the saints.
Daniel 11:31
“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.”
Many find application of Daniel 11:31 during the middle ages and they are not wrong. This verse contains strong allusion to the replacement of truth with erroneous worship practices. The “abomination that maketh desolate” took root in the dark centuries where access to the Bible was severely restrained. Tradition took the place of a “thus saith the LORD” in scripture. Indeed, there are a plethora of historical and contemporary sources where the Roman Catholic Church claims that it alone changed worship from the seventh-day Sabbath to Sunday, “the Lord’s day,” known as the first day and day of the sun.[3] However, this verse is part of a passage that inspiration indicates will have another fulfillment similar to past events. In 1904 Sister White wrote,
“We have no time to lose. Troublous times are before us. The world is stirred with the spirit of war. Soon the scenes of trouble spoken of in the prophecies will take place. The prophecy in the eleventh of Daniel has nearly reached its complete fulfilment. Much of the history that has taken place in fulfilment of this prophecy will be repeated. In the thirtieth verse a power is spoken of that [verses 30b-36 are quoted]. Scenes similar to those described in these words will take place.”[4] (emphasis added)
This counsel tells us directly to expect a singular abomination that will make desolate. Applied to the world we reside in today, this abomination must be worldwide in scope, visible to all the “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” The match between this verse and Matthew 24:15 is unmistakable to those prayerfully searching scripture.
Daniel 12:11
“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.”
Daniel chapter 12 is intensely interesting. It signals the close of earth’s probation in the first verse and describes two groups that will be resurrected just before Jesus returns in verse two. The passage of Daniel 12:1-3 is fairly easy to understand but the rest of the chapter is quite cryptic. From the following paragraph we can know that there is much here for the final generation on earth to understand.
“The people of God need to study what characters they must form in order to pass through the test and proving of the last days. Many are living in spiritual weakness and backsliding. They know not what they believe. Let us read and study the twelfth chapter of Daniel. It is a warning that we shall all need to understand before the time of the end. There are ministers claiming to believe the truth who are not sanctified through the truth. Unless a change comes in their lives, they will say, “My Lord delayeth His coming.”[5] (emphasis added)
We know much of Daniel 12 applies future of 2021 because of the phrase, “…in order to pass through the test and proving of the last days.” We see here a familiar theme concerning the characters of those numbered among the one hundred forty four thousand. There is a final, worldwide “abomination that maketh desolate” and it will be put in place very soon. This “great test” is the future Sunday versus seventh-day rest.[6] Don’t be deceived by any claim that the Sunday test was experienced in 1888 and may not be expected in the future.
It is noteworthy that the same Greek word translated abomination(s) [G946] in Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14, occurs three times in Revelation, in chapters 17:4, 5 and 21:27. Even a casual examination of the contexts of these verses show a strong relation to a “clothing” of false religious doctrines within the churches as well as individual hearts of those who claim Christ but evidently don’t love him by keeping all his commands.
Brothers and sisters, we have witnessed since February 2020, a worldwide designated pandemic. In January 2021 a concoction of injectable substances were made available auspiciously to protect those electing to receive them. This past summer the transition many expected occurred. Many nations began segregating people based on vaccination status. But this article is not about Covid, the injectables, or the basis for either camp that has split the nations, the churches, and sadly, even families within our faith! The point here is the coercion tactics, the guilt, the leveraging, administrative policy dictating worship, and finally mandates that have followed in rapid succession…literally in a matter of weeks!
Is the pandemic the abomination that makes desolate? Certainly not. It does not (or should not) involve worship. It does not change times or laws. However, we can see clearly the foundation has been laid of the idea that man, through good stewardship of the earth, can work to reverse climatic events. Remember, scripture and the spirit of prophecy indicate God’s judgments cannot and will not be reversed and are in fact, allowed to awaken the slumbering church. Worse, much worse, many of our own ranks have been deceived with the idea that coercion, mandates, and exclusions are merited IF they are administered for the “common good” of society. After all, they claim, we shouldn’t be reckless and presumptuous.
What is missing is a “thus saith the LORD” for actions, particularly those that affect others! Actions for the “greater good,” while segregating groups of people, are so blatantly antichrist in character and behavior that it is hard not to question where individual allegiances are directed. Where have we witnessed the message of Hebrews 10:25 “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” publically proclaimed?
Sunday Mandate
We should expect, very soon, to face a national (United States) Sunday rest law. Make no mistake. When this comes, it is THE signal, the final warning to immediately leave the cities.
“… the world is on the verge of a stupendous crisis.”[7] “The time of trouble such as never was, is soon to open upon us; and we shall need an experience which we do not now possess, and which many are too indolent to obtain. It is often the case that trouble is greater in anticipation than in reality; but this is not true of the crisis before us.”[8]
In the summer of 2015, the United States Supreme Court declared one of two institutions God established at creation, that of marriage between a man and a woman, void. When the second institution, that specifying rest on the seventh-day, is voided by federal legislation establishing the first day as a national rest day, that will be the initiation of the greatest time of trouble the earth has ever seen. Plan on “national ruin” to rapidly wipe out every aspect of the lives we have known, IF we are faithful. The unfaithful will compromise for many, many altruistic reasons, most of which will involve the ability to continue to buy and sell.
“As the siege of Jerusalem by the Roman armies was the signal for flight to the Judean Christians, so the assumption of power on the part of our nation in the decree enforcing the papal sabbath will be a warning to us. It will then be time to leave the large cities, preparatory to leaving the smaller ones for retired homes in secluded places among the mountains.”[9]
The “papal sabbath” is reference to Sunday so a national Sunday “rest” mandate by the United States triggers this final command to leave cities and be prepared to leave small cities for the mountains. Exodus 20:9 commands man to labor on the first six days. Exodus 20:11 indicates that God ordained the seventh-day as the weekly “rest” day. Of all the living when earth’s probation closes, only those resting on the seventh-day will be sanctified through the righteousness of Jesus (Genesis 2:3; Revelation 14:12) and be numbered with the hundred and forty four thousand.
There are, among our own ranks, those who would segregate people based on a manmade “health passport.” This has been done overtly by church administrative policies, church boards, and by many overcome by fear while complying and giving approval of restricting worship by their silence. Sadly, many have not lived according to all the light of the health reform visions provided by God and have good reason to fear for their lives. Have we heard from the pulpits about the “right arm” of the third angels’ message? No connection has been publically posited connecting the deceiving of the very elect with sorcery, translated from the Greek word, “pharmakeia” in Revelation 18:23. And, if we aren’t living according to all the light of the right arm message, then it follows that we cannot warn the world about the “beast and his image.”
How will we react when,
“In the last great conflict of the controversy with Satan those who are loyal to God will see every earthly support cut off. Because they refuse to break His law in obedience to earthly powers, they will be forbidden to buy or sell.”[10]?
Translation: God’s people will lose Social Security, Medicare, access to retirement incomes, and the benefits of employment. In 1904, Sister White related visions given her by God, “again and again the Lord has instructed” his people to live where they “…raise their own provisions.” Why? “…for in the future the problem of buying and selling will be a very serious one.”[11]
Those who might be tempted to say this isn’t practical in our society need to prayerfully act now because time is exceedingly short based on the pace that the knowledge of evil has pervaded the nations and the church. “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh!” Luke 21:28. What does “nigh” mean today? Consider the steady drumbeat of so-called global warming, climate change, climate crisis, climate emergency. Check out similar phrases attached to nearly every weather event and demonstrations in mainstream news outlets. Notice the terminology used, particularly “emergency,” that can be utilized to mandate societal changes that are already creating an economic disaster. Consider how that will play into a digital central bank currency.
The world is being groomed for the introduction of emergency legislation in a human attempt to rally around good stewardship of the earth. The churches will claim that “resting” one day a week will honor our Creator by reducing the “carbon footprint” left by man. They will say the wickedness of greed has brought the world to the precipice and countless millions will suffer if we don’t take this step immediately. After all, arguing against a Sunday rest day will cast one as uncaring and unloving. Besides, in the ecumenical strategies and social justice positions taken over the last few years, we must be consistent, right? “… if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” Matthew 24:24.
We conclude that the sign of abomination that will trigger the great tribulation of the end will be when the United States legislates a law establishing Sunday as a national day of rest, declaring the second of God’s two institutions established at creation, void. Woe to all who tacitly support this replacement rest day by silence thereby gaining a complete knowledge of evil. Instead, may God’s faithful especially use Sunday to evangelize the world, coupled with the warning that Sunday rest is contrary to God’s law.
Mark writes from Emmett, Idaho.
[1] http://www.josephus.org/warChronology2.htm
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Jerusalem_(70_CE)
[3] "Perhaps the boldest thing, the most revolutionary change the Church ever did, happened in the first century. The holy day, the Sabbath, was changed from Saturday to Sunday. "The Day of the Lord" (dies domini) was chosen, not from any directions noted in the Scriptures, but from the Church's sense of its own power. The day of resurrection, the day of Pentecost, fifty days later, came on the first day of the week. So this would be the new Sabbath. People who think that the Scriptures should be the sole authority, should logically become 7th Day Adventists, and keep Saturday holy." (The Pastor's page of The Sentinel, Saint Catherine Catholic Church, Algonac, Michigan, May 21, 1995)
“Most Christians assume that Sunday is the biblically approved day of worship. The Catholic Church protests that it transferred Christian worship from the biblical Sabbath (Saturday) to Sunday, and that to try to argue that the change was made in the Bible is both dishonest and a denial of Catholic authority. If Protestantism wants to base its teachings only on the Bible, it should worship on Saturday (Rome’s Challenge).
[4] {Lt103-1904.17-20} Letter written to Hiram A. Craw, February 24, 1904.
[5] {Lt161-1903.6} Letter written to A.G. Daniells and W.W. Prescott, July 30, 1903.
[6] “The vain glory and oppression seen in the course pursued by the heathen king Nebuchadnezzar are being and will continue to be manifested in our day. History will repeat itself. In this age the great test will be upon the point of Sabbath observance. The heavenly universe beholds men trampling upon the law of Jehovah, making the memorial of God—the sign between Him and His commandment-keeping people—a thing of naught, something to be despised, while a rival sabbath is exalted, as was the great golden image in the plain of Dura. Men claiming to be Christians will call upon the world to observe this spurious sabbath that they have made. All who refuse will be put under oppressive laws. This is the mystery of iniquity, the devising of satanic agencies, carried into effect by the man of sin.” {Ms110-1904.58} (emphasis added)
[7] {RH November 17, 1910, par. 17}
[8] {4SP 440.2}
[9] {5T 464.3}
[10] {DA 121.3}
[11] {Lt5-1904.3}