The passage that follows is a new pericope in most Bibles and that is not without reason. The previous section ended with the events up to the end of the aeon (:14). Now He goes into more detail about the developments surrounding the great tribulation and the subsequent restoration of Israel.
15 When you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand!)…
abomination
An abomination is that which God detests and is the designation for idols in the Hebrew Bible (Deut. 29:17; Ezek. 7:20).
The Lord calls Daniel a prophet and that is remarkable, because in the Hebrew Bible Daniel is not counted among the prophets, but the book in the Tanakh belongs to the Scriptures. Jesus refers to Daniel when He speaks of an idol that will be placed in the holy place (Dan. 11:31; 12:11).
continual sacrifice
From these Scriptures from Daniel, but also from other texts, we can conclude that there will be a holy place again, where after an interruption of almost 2000 years, the sacrificial service will be resumed. Daniel speaks in this connection about the continual sacrifice. The verses where the continual sacrifice is mentioned also speak of the abomination of desolation that will be set up.
Daniel 11
31 And his armed forces shall stand, and they shall profane the sanctuary, the stronghold, and shall take away the continual sacrifice, and set up the abomination that maketh desolate.
Daniel 12
11 And from the time that the continual sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate is set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
peace and security
The period of the great tribulation will be preceded by a time of peace and security. And in all probability, the resumption of the continual sacrifice will be part of this peace and security. Whether a new temple will be built on the holy place cannot be said with certainty, but it is certain that there will be a building where the continual sacrifice takes place and that serves as a temple (2 Thess. 2:4)
We saw earlier that this period of peace is represented in Revelation 6 by a rider on a white horse, who conquers without fighting. He brings peace, but this peace is not real peace, because the next rider on a red horse takes away the peace. That is the start of the great tribulation for Israel. The taking away of peace coincides with the erection of an abomination in the holy place (Matt. 24:15,21). Paul also speaks of this moment:
1 Thessalonians 5
3 And when they shall say, peace and security; then suddenly great destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall by no means escape.
rapture
Paul writes this in connection with the times and seasons (5:1) of the rapture (4:13-18). When people say: peace and security, then sudden destruction will come upon them. This false peace will be broken and great tribulation will come.
For us as members of the ecclesia, the body of Christ, the situation is very different. We will not be lulled to sleep by the claim of peace and security, because we know that it is a false peace. When people say that, we know that the time of the rapture is near. Before the 1260 days of the great tribulation, the ecclesia will be raptured (1 Thess. 5:1-4, 9; Rev. 12:5-6).
not one stone left upon another
The Lord specifically refers in Matt. 24:15 to a time when one can see that there is an idol in the holy place. In verse 1 the temple was already the topic of conversation, because the disciples pointed out this beautiful building to the Lord. He then says: there will certainly not be left here one stone upon another, that will not be thrown down (:2).
destruction
We saw earlier that the temple mentioned in verse 1 was destroyed by the Romans in the year 70 AD. The statement about the destruction of the temple has a double fulfillment, because the Lord speaks about this destruction in connection with now yet future events.
This now yet future temple will also be destroyed and the coming of the abomination in the holy place is the harbinger of that and is therefore called: the abomination of desolation. It is the beginning of what is called the great tribulation further on in Matthew 24 (:21).
Paul also points out in the 2nd Thessalonians letter the moment when the temple will be desecrated by an idol:
2 Thessalonians 2
3 Let no one deceive you in any way, for that will come first, and the man of lawlessness will be revealed, the son of destruction,
4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called a god or an object of worship, so that he sits in the temple of God, showing that he is God.
deception
The continual sacrifice will be taken away and in its place an idol will be placed in the temple. At first, because of the resumption of the sacrificial service, people will enthusiastically cry out: peace and security! But soon after that the disappointment will be great, when the man of lawlessness desecrates the temple with an idol.
Also in the book of Revelation, in which we find many references to Daniel, this man of lawlessness is spoken of. Here he is called: the beast from the sea and we find described how an image of him is made, which must be worshipped. The people will be seduced into great idolatry and forced to worship the image. Whoever does not do so, will be killed (Rev.13:14-15).