abomination that makes desolate, The

An act desecrating the Jerusalem Temple. The book of Daniel twice mentions “the abomination that makes desolate” (Dan 11:31; Dan 12:11; cf. Dan 9:27), probably meaning the altar to Zeus erected by Antiochus IV in the Jerusalem Temple ca. 167 BCE (1Macc 1:54; 2Macc 6:1-5). Later, Daniel was read as a book of prophecy, and “the abomination that makes desolate” was viewed as one of the final signs that must take place before the end (Matt 24:15; Mark 13:14; 2Thess 2:3-4).