Abomination of desolation

[3] It is widely accepted that Mark was the primary source used by the authors of the Gospel of Matthew and of Luke for their parallel passages,[4] with Matthew 24:15–16[5] adding a reference to Daniel[6] and Luke 21:20–21[7] giving a description of the Roman armies ("But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies..."); in all three it is likely that the authors had in mind a future eschatological (i.e., end-time) event, and perhaps the activities of some antichrist.

The Prophecy of Seventy Weeks in Daniel 9 tells of "the prince who is to come" who "shall make sacrifice and offering cease, and in their place shall be an abomination that desolates."

[13] One of the more popular older views was to see in the "abomination" a contemptuous deformation (or dysphemism) of the Phoenician deity Baalshamin "Lord of Heaven";[14] Philo of Byblos identified Baalshamin with the Greek sky god Zeus,[14] and as the temple in Jerusalem was rededicated in honour of Zeus (according to 2 Maccabees 6:2), older commentators tended to follow Porphyry in seeing the "abomination" in terms of a statue of the Greek sky god.

[29] Chapter 13 of the Gospel of Mark is a speech of Jesus concerning the return of the Son of Man and the advent of the Kingdom of God, which will be signaled by the appearance of the "abomination of desolation".

"[32] While Daniel's "abomination" was probably a pagan altar or sacrifice, Mark uses a masculine participle for "standing", indicating a concrete historical person: several candidates have been suggested, but the most likely is Titus.