First, let’s define what God calls an abomination, specifically in reference to a sacrifice.

Exodus 8:25-26 “Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.”

And Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God. If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not stone us?”

Moses was instructed to go outside the land that was defiled with idols and demonic worship to a place God instructed him to go to from the beginning.

Exod. 3:16-18 “Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, 'The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; “and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.”' “Then they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, 'The LORD God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.”

Israel was strictly forbidden to make images for worship. This was a problem from the beginning of their release from Egypt, where they made a golden calf while God gave the commandments to Moses and made the covenant. Deut. 4:23 “Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the LORD your God has forbidden you.” God called it evil and an abomination (2 Kings 23:13)

Deut. 4:25: “When you beget children and grandchildren and have grown old in the land, act corruptly and make a carved image in the form of anything, and do evil in the sight of the LORD your God to provoke Him to anger.” Deut. 27:15 “Cursed is the one who makes any carved or molded image, an abomination to the LORD.”

This is because false worship, idolatry will accompany this.

Dan 11:31-32:  “And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation. “Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.”

This abomination replaces the daily sacrifices, only those who really know God will survive through this period. While it is true these sacrifices have no propitiary benefit to forgive sin they are not in the category of idolatrous. A similar situation took place with the Syrian Antiochus of whom the Maccabees fought against; out of this came the festival called Channukah. As often in prophetic patterns there are points of similarity until the ultimate final fulfillment.

Dan 12:11: “And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days.”

Rev 13:15 “He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.”

As God made man in his image Satan counterfeits it and this image does his dirty work. This coincides with

2 Thess. 2:9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders”

At this particular time it will be the middle of the tribulation which only has 1260 days left to run before The Messiah returns, but the image He makes will be allowed to run over this time. When Jesus comes back he will separate the sheep and the goats and will probably use this image as a testimony of their false worship as he hands out the judgment to the nations, so it will be left in the temple.

Matt 24:15-16: “Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand) ”then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”

There will be no time to retrieve anything but leave to save yourself from destruction. Notice it is in a specific locale Jesus is referring to, that he will enter and also where Jews will flee from. The holy place is a reference to the temple in Jerusalem. He will go into the physical temple to make his declaration of being God. The mystery of iniquity will fully be revealed in the middle of the seven year tribulation as the Antichrist goes in the Temple, stops the sacrifices (Daniel 9:27), declaring himself “God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4), and the abomination of desolation begins.

This becomes a dual application, as he claims he is incarnate God as Jesus was and that he is to be worshipped in the Temple, which is reserved only for the God of Israel. This is a third temple that will literally be built in Jerusalem; otherwise Jesus’ warning to flee from there when the abomination occurs would be meaningless (Matthew 24:15-19).

A certain portion of Israel flees and spends the rest of the Tribulation (3 ½ years) in the wilderness until she repents at the end (Zech.12:10). This is found in Rev. 12:14: “But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.” Again repetitive patterns of prophecy like Jesus went into Egypt to be called out.

Dan 7:25 “Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.”

This is found in Rev. 13:5-7 “And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.”

2 Thess. 2:4-5 “who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?” Paul had previously explained these things to the Thessalonians before he wrote this letter.

The False Messiah of the world will set up a throne in the Holy place of the temple and will sit down declaring himself to be God. No priest ever sat but always stood in the holy place of the temple ministering.

Rev. 13:11-17: “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”

This first beast is the object of worship, which is lead by the second beast (most consider the false prophet), he is the one that causes false signs (miracles), he is one of the enforcers of those who do not worship the image of the first beast. He causes everyone to receive a mark that brings a new economic system for the world (not just a country) but anyone who takes it seals their eternal doom, for it is allegiance to the False Christ and his world system.

Both Daniel 12:7 and 9:27 refer to the same time period. Daniel 12:7 “it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.”

Daniel 9:27  “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.”