“Let the reader understand.”

Leaving the temple area Jesus told His disciples that the day would come when not one stone would remain on another; the temple’s destruction would be complete. When they were on the Mount of Olives, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked Jesus privately when these things would all happen. Jesus gave them more than they were asking for telling them the signs of the end of the age as the Son of Man would come in glory and power. Here’s a sign that we are actually told to take time to ponder, to think about it so we can understand what we are looking for.

• "When you see 'the abomination that causes desolation' standing where it does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
  Mark 13:14 (NIV)

“The abomination that causes desolation” refers to the desecration of God’s temple. Jesus’ disciples would have known what to look for. In 597 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar looted the temple when he took the Jews into captivity in Babylon. Later Antiochus Epiphanes sacrificed a pig to Zeus on the sacred temple altar in 168 B.C.

Unfortunately for us the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed just like Jesus said it would be in 70 A.D. At that time the Roman general Titus placed an idol on the site of the burned-out temple. I’m sure that Jesus’ disciples would have seen this as the ultimate “abomination,” but the end did not come. Today if we were to see such an abomination the temple in Jerusalem would have to be rebuilt.

“Let the reader understand.” Is the desecration of a literal temple in Jerusalem the sign we are supposed to be watching for, or could it be that we are looking for the wrong thing? The New Testament makes it clear that God does not dwell in temples made of stone. God’s temple, and His chosen dwelling place, is within the hearts of believers. “Don’t you know that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit?” (See 1 Corinthians 6:19)

Could it be that the sign Jesus wants us to look for looks back at us in the mirror and lives all around us everyday? Do you think that Jesus wants us to examine our hearts to see if we have allowed other things to take His place within His temple? Is the abomination that causes desolation taking place right before our eyes in America as so called Christians forsake the truth about Jesus for the pleasures of this world? Think about it.