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Author	: Bill Kochman
Publish	: Jul. 5, 2025
Update	: Jul. 5, 2025
Parts	: 13

Synopsis:



Continuing our discussion from part twelve, now it is time to finally spill the beans, as they say. From my personal study of the Scriptures, as well as the historical record, I'm fully and completely convinced that these Abominations of Desolation were nothing less than the Roman standards. Referred to as "aquilas", they were in fact the military flags which were borne by Roman legions as they marched to war, and surrounded their enemies. This flag was mounted on a pole, on top of which was an eagle crafted out of silver or bronze. The Wikipedia website informs us of the great importance which was assigned to the "aquila" by the Roman military:

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"An aquila was the standard of a Roman legion formed in the shape of an eagle, which was carried by a special grade legionary known as an Aquilifer (aquila-bearer). One eagle standard was carried by each legion."

"The eagle standard was extremely important to the Roman military, beyond merely being a symbol of a legion. A lost standard was considered an extremely grave occurrence, and the Roman military often went to great lengths to both protect a standard and to recover it if lost."

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While Roman military men greatly honored and respected the "aquila", and in fact considered it very sacred, to anyone else -- such as the Jerusalemites of the First Century -- it was greatly feared. Being surrounded by Roman legions with their "aquilas" signified one thing, and only one thing. You were about to be destroyed! It is obvious then that the Jews of Jerusalem knew that their end was near. The end of that age, as had been prophesied by Jesus Himself, was upon them. In complete agreement with the Seventy Weeks Prophecy, even Josephus himself wrote multiple times that the Jerusalemites lamented their coming destruction. Even King Herod, while he tried to save them with his heartfelt speech, realized the futility of the situation, which is why he eventually sided with Titus and his army. In fact, as I've mentioned before, forty years earlier, during the time of Jesus Christ, those Jews had already seen the handwriting on the wall. This is evident by what Caiaphas the high priest stated, as we see by the following group of Bible verses:

"Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad."


The question we need to ask ourselves is why the Jews would view the Roman "aquila" as a filthy, detestable, unclean and abominable thing. Was it just because it was a Roman idol, or was there perhaps something more to it? Utilizing our tried and proven method of comparing Scripture with Scripture -- and thus allowing God's Word to speak for itself -- we find the answer in the pages of the Old Testament. For example, consider the following verses that are found in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah:

"For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many. They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD."


As you can see, the Lord tells us by way of the Prophet that He is going to consume these particular people. In those two verses, the word "consumed" is derived from the Hebrew word "cuwph", which means to cease or to come to an end. In other words, the Lord is going to destroy them. Why will this be their awful fate? Because they have chosen to eat things God has declared to be unclean. This includes pork, the flesh of mice, and something else which the verse simply describes as "the abomination". But exactly what is this abomination? If we examine the Book of Leviticus, we discover that this can represent many different types of animals. However, we can understand one of the rules which the Lord applies when He classifies something as being unclean, just by reading what He said to Noah after the Flood waters had receded. In the ninth chapter of the Book of Genesis we find the following verses:

"And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat."


What we see then, is that God has forbidden man to eat flesh which still contains the blood. It is considered unclean and an abomination to Him. As we all know, there are many beasts and birds which do eat flesh which still contains the blood in them. In fact, there are certain scavengers which even eat rotten, putrid flesh. As it turns out, in the verses below, the eagle is the very first fowl that is mentioned by God as being an abomination that should not be eaten. Consider:

"And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, And the vulture, and the kite after his kind; Every raven after his kind; And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl, And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle, And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat."


Thus we see that the eagle was considered an abomination to the ancient Jews, because it is a scavenger which eats the flesh of other animals by tearing them apart, while it still contains the blood. Of course, there is another strong reason why the Jews would find the Roman "aquilas" to be abominable and detestable. It has to do with the simple fact that they were graven images. As we have seen, the Roman "aquilas" were molten images atop their standards, which the Roman military prized, respected, honored and protected. They treated it as a god, and Roman soldiers would even sacrifice their lives in order to recover one which had been stolen or lost.

Most Christians already understand what God thinks of idols, but here are some verses for your consideration. How ironic that Paul is writing to the Roman brethren regarding Roman idolatry in the very first two verses below. Notice how Paul includes "and to birds" in his remarks. Surely he must have been thinking about the Roman "aquilas":

"Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, AND TO BIRDS, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things."


"Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments."


"Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them."


"The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths. They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them."


"They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them: But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works. And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood. Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions."


"They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship. They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble."


"For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good."


"A drought is upon her [Babylon's] waters; and they shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols."


"Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places. And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain men before your idols. And I will lay the dead carcases of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars. In all your dwellingplaces the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished. And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the LORD."


"And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself: And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD."


By this time, in light of this preponderance of Scriptural evidence, I hope it is clear to you why the Angel Gabriel would refer to the Roman standards -- or "aquilas" -- as being "the abomination that maketh desolate" when he gave his message to Daniel. Perhaps you also now understand why I made such an issue out of the KJV translators translating "kanaph" as "overspreading", instead of as "wings", "wing", "winged" or "feathered". Just unlocking the full meaning of that one Hebrew word has revealed the truth to us.

However, at the same time, as I also said, having looked deeper into this matter, I now have a better idea regarding why the KJV translators may have chosen to use the word "overspreading" in the phrase "and for the overspreading of abominations", instead of wings, feathers, etc. According to the Wikipedia website, the "aquila" was made of silver, or bronze, with outstretched wings. Thus, it may very well be that when the translators used "overspreading", they were referring to the fact that the "aquilas" had outstretched wings. Not only that, but the Romans were spreading their eagles' wings all around Jerusalem. Roman eagle wings were just spread out everywhere! One for each legion.

You may recall that while the Hebrew word "shamem" is often translated as "desolate" or "desolation", it can also mean to stun, cause horror, stupefy, appall, amaze or astonish. By proudly displaying their molten eagles on top of their poles which bore their military flags, the Roman military purposely instilled fear and horror in their subjects and their enemies, just as that Hebrew word also means. It was the ancient version of "shock and awe".

As I have said, the appearance of Roman legions with their standards meant only one thing: desolation, destruction and the end of life for the recipients of Rome's wrath. I find it very fitting that Rome would abandon all other animals, and select only the eagle. Why so? Because just like the eagle, the leaders of Rome would use their military might to attack, mercilessly tear apart, and devour their enemies. So it is indeed very appropriate. You will also recall that the Lord Himself had said about forty years earlier "there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword" and "who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?"

As we know, these molten eagles of the ancient Roman legions were placed on the very temple grounds, where they were not supposed to be. As Jesus said "standing where it ought not". They were an abomination to the Jews. There were probably also flags which bore the images of eagles in some of the chariots of the upper-tier Roman leadership as well. If we consider the size of the siege wall which surrounded the city of Jerusalem, I think it is possible that there were "aquilas" stationed on top of the wall as well. These no doubt caused the trapped Jews additional horror and dread, because they knew that their days were numbered. These abominations must have been overspread everywhere in some form.

On a related note, it might interest you to know that when Herod the Great -- the very first King Herod -- was chosen as the first puppet king of Judea by the Roman Senate, one of the things he did to demonstrate his loyalty to Rome was to place a golden eagle over the gates which gave entrance to the outer courtyard of the temple. The Jewish population was greatly offended by Herod's actions. Eventually, two Jewish men tore down the golden eagle. After rebuking the people, Herod had several dozen of them burned alive. The story is in Book 1 Chapter 33 of "The Wars of the Jews", as we see by the following excerpt:

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Now the king had put up a golden eagle over the great gate of the temple, which these learned men exhorted them to cut down, and told them, that if there should any danger arise, it was a glorious thing to die for the laws of their country; because that the soul was immortal, and that an eternal enjoyment of happiness did await such as died on that account: while the mean spirited, and those that were not wise enough to show a right love of their souls, preferred a death by a disease, before that which is the result of a virtuous behaviour.

At the same time that these men made this speech to their disciples, a rumour was spread abroad, that the king was dying, which made the young men set about the work with greater boldness; they therefore let themselves down from the top of the temple with thick cords, and this at midday, and while a great number of people were in the temple, and cut down that golden eagle with axes. This was presently told to the king's captain of the temple, who came running with a great body of soldiers, and caught about forty of the young men, and brought them to the king. And when he asked them, first of all, whether they had been so hardy as to cut down the golden eagle? they confessed they had done so; and when he asked them by whose command they had done it, they replied, at the command of the law of their country; and when he farther asked them, how they could be so joyful when they were to be put to death, they replied. Because they should enjoy greater happiness after they were dead.

At this the king was in such an extravagant passion, that he overcame his disease [for the time,] and went out, and spoke to the people; wherein he made a terrible accusation against those men, as being guilty of sacrilege, and as making greater attempts under pretence of their law, and he thought they deserved to be punished as impious persons. Whereupon the people were afraid lest a great number should be found guilty, and desired that when he had first punished those that put them upon this work, and then those that were caught in it, he would leave off his anger as to the rest. With this the king complied, though not without difficulty, and ordered those that had let themselves down, together with the Rabbins, to be burnt alive, but delivered the rest that were caught to the proper officers to be put to death by them."

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To reiterate, personally, I am convinced by both historical evidence, as well as Scriptural evidence, that this is what Jesus meant when He used the well-known phrase "abomination of desolation" in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. In my view, contrary to what I once believed, and what many other Christians still believe, the Abomination of Desolation has absolutely nothing to do with our current times. It has no connection whatsoever to what modern Christians refer to as endtime prophecy, or to a speculated third temple being built on the summit of Mount Moriah in East Jerusalem. It has nothing to do with a modern idol, or with some kind of modern "image of the beast".

In my view, such thinking is misguided Futurist nonsense, which I likewise embraced for far too many years, due to my ignorance of what the Scriptures really have to say about this issue. It is a false doctrine which has been promoted by Futurists for many years, decades in fact. So with this explanation, you should hopefully now have a much better understanding regarding what Gabriel was talking about in Daniel 9:27. Let me share that verse with you again:

"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."


Thus we see that until the seven-year war ended -- that is to say, consummated, according to the Hebrew word "kalah" -- the Roman standards with their golden eagles on top would be seen everywhere, as destructions followed one after the other, as God poured out His divine Wrath upon the unbelieving Jews. As Daniel wrote in verse twenty-six, "unto the end‭ of the war‭ desolations‭‭ are determined‭‭.‭" Now if I were to translate the entire verse in a way in which I now personally understand it, it would be something like the following, with words in brackets for clarification:

"And he [Titus, the Prince] shall strengthen the alliance‭ with many [allies/soldiers]‭ for seven years‭: and in the middle‭ of the seven years he shall cause the [temple] sacrifice‭ and the offering to cease‭‭, and because of the winged, detestable idols [spread all around], he shall destroy them‭‭ [the Jews], even until the end [of the war], and that determined‭‭ shall be poured‭‭ upon the destroyed [people]."


My friends, if you step back and really think about it, the modern Futurist interpretation does not make any sense. In these three verses, we see a guy -- a Roman prince and a warrior -- organizing a huge, powerful military machine. So what does he do next? Does he go to Jerusalem to sign some kind of peace treaty or political agreement so that the Jews can rebuild their temple? No he does not. You do NOT create such a powerful fighting machine just to go and sign a peace agreement. You create a huge war machine like that because you are planning on destroying somebody.

If you take the time to read the entire Book of Daniel, that is what it is all about: the rise and fall of political and military powers, and all of the ugly wars which they fight to overpower each other. It is NOT about holding hands and singing along to "Kumbaya". As such, my understanding and interpretation of the three verses fits in perfectly, in my view. Signing a treaty to build the Jews a new temple -- as the Futurists claim -- does not! Think about it!

There's something else interesting about verse twenty-seven. To demonstrate exactly how amazing Gabriel's Seventy Weeks Prophecy really is, consider how it specifically states that the military alliance with Rome would last for exactly seven years. My friends, think about that for a minute. How could Titus and his invading forces know that the war would endure for exactly seven years? They could not possibly know it, my friends. I mean, when a country goes to war, they NEVER know how long it will last, because all kinds of unanticipated things can occur. However, God most certainly knew, and that is why He passed the message on to the Angel Gabriel, who then gave the message to Daniel.

So, my friends, I have now offered you a full interpretation concerning exactly what I believe the Seventy Weeks Prophecy is all about. I have worked long and hard, and I have prayed hard for God to reveal only the truth to me concerning this amazing prophecy that is found in Daniel 9:25-27. After so many years of waiting, I am convinced that God has finally answered my prayers. I have full confidence that what I have stated in this series stands on solid Scriptural ground, and on solid historical ground as well. I have not attempted to twist or pervert any Scriptures, as so many of the modern Futurist teachers tend to do in order to try to validate and legitimize their erroneous doctrines. I have provided you with clear evidence, even the meanings of many Hebrew words. Now it is up to you to pray about these things, and then to decide what you want to believe.

Before concluding this series, let me leave you with part of Eleazar's tragic speech which is found in Book 7 Chapter 13 of the "The Wars of the Jews". Eleazar was the leader of the Sicarii, or dagger men, who had fled to the desert fortress of Masada after escaping from Jerusalem. He gave this speech to all of his people before they committed mass suicide, so that they could not be taken alive by Flavius Silva, who was the Roman procurator of Judea, and who had besieged Masada:

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"And where is now that great city, the metropolis of the Jewish nation! which was fortified by so many walls round about, which had so many fortresses and large towers to defend it, which could hardly contain the instruments prepared for the war, and which had so many ten thousands of men to fight for it? Where is this city that was believed to have God himself inhabiting therein? It is now demolished to the very foundations, and hath nothing but that monument of it preserved, I mean the camp of those that hath destroyed it, which still dwells upon its ruins; some unfortunate old men also lie upon the ashes of the temple, and a few women are there preserved alive by the enemy, for our bitter shame and reproach. Now, who is there that revolves these things in his mind, and yet is able to bear the sight of the sun, though he might live out of danger? Who is there so much his country's enemy, or so unmanly, and so desirous of living, as not to repent that he is still alive? And I cannot but wish that we had all died, before we had seen that holy city demolished by the hands of our enemies, or the foundations of our holy temple dug up after so profane a manner. But since we had a generous hope that deluded us, as if we might perhaps have been able to avenge ourselves on our enemies on that account, though it be now become vanity, and hath left us alone in this distress, let us make haste to die bravely. Let us pity ourselves, our children, and our wives, while it is in our own power to show pity to them: for we were born to die, as well as those were whom we have begotten: nor is it in the power of the most happy of our race to avoid it."

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Isn't that just sad? Their stubbornness just boggles my mind. To think that they would prefer killing their own women and children, and then themselves as well, rather than submit to Roman authority. But that same stubborn spirit is revealed throughout the works of Josephus. Time and time again they had opportunity to surrender to General Titus, yet each time they rebuffed his entreaties. That is why he determined that it was pointless, and ultimately chose to destroy the city.

With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you've found it informative and enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the BBB Bible web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

Abomination of Desolation: Explained!
Are You Flexible?
As a Thief in the Night
Backsliding, Divine Chastisement and the Divine Agreement
Donald Trump, Gaza, and the Tyre Prophecy
Fight Against Futurism!
He That Shall Endure Unto the End
In the Ages to Come
Jesus Christ's Return: Have We Been Deceived?
Modern Deception: Shall a Nation Be Born at Once?
Modern Deceptions: Return to Israel, the Fig Tree and This Generation
My Evolving Theology
Please Stop Misinterpreting the Scriptures
Prophetic Comparisons: Moshiach, Mahdi and Messiah
Psalm 83 War False Doctrine Exposed!
Satan: His Origin, Purpose and Future
Satan: King of Tyrus, King of Empires
So, You Have Got It All Figured Out, Do You?
Sorry, Jesus Is Not Coming at Any Moment
The 70th Week of Daniel Error: Are You Guilty?
The Blood Atonement: In Jesus' Own Words
The Day I Am Waiting For
The Day of the Lord: What It Really Means
The Fall of Masada
The Great Tribulation and the Rapture
The Last Seven Years Chart
The Misguided End of the World Predictions of Harold Camping
The Significance of Oil in the Holy Scriptures
The Triumphant Touchdown of Jesus Christ
The Two Sackcloth Witnesses of Revelation 11
The Woman in the Wilderness and the 144,000
Tradition or Truth? Old Wine or New Wine?
Understanding the Bible in Context
Vespasian, Titus and the Fall of Jerusalem
When Was Satan Cast Out of Heaven?
Who Hindered the Antichrist
Who is Babylon the Great?
Who is Moshiach ben David?
Who is Who?: Defining Important Prophecy Terms

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