Patriarch Sophronius of Jerusalem on the Abomination of Desolation

In recent months from the start of the Covid-19 virus, many in the Internet Orthodox world have been circulating many videos and articles of a “great apostasy” that is finally upon us which would lead the the closing of churches and the “mark” through some sort of chip ID. This would lead to the rise of the Antichrist and the Abomination of Desolation temple by some future Jewish Antichrist figure which would be built, as foretold in Matthew 24. Many often defer to the plethora of Orthodox prophecies by many elders or saints making these wild predictions. The issue is in most cases, there is no concrete evidence that these elders ever spoke such things, but the prophecies are often attributed to them. In reality, it seems that many of these futurist ideas have been imported from Protestant Dispensationalist ideas from the Hal Lindsey and Tim LaHaye types into Orthodoxy. At which point it is not clear. Perhaps due to converts importing these ideas as old baggage not left at the door after their conversion. Or perhaps due to the missionary zeal and efforts by some with importing these western ideas in the Eastern Europe after the fall of Communism. In any case, many Orthodox priests, monastics and bishops continue to create videos and so-called “prophecies” that the “mark” and great deception is about to fall upon us, and the Abomination temple is near. They still today, look to a future Antichrist an Abomination Temple as the early church fathers were doing over 2000 years ago. Many early church fathers were correct to write as “futurist” interpreters of the prophecies from the time Irenaeus through later commentaries of Andrew of Caesarea. But 2000 years have now passed, with significant events occurring throughout history from the Fall of Rome and the Middle Ages to the modern era which could have been already fulfilled in the prophecies of the Olivet Discourse or the Apocalypse.

So the the question remains, are we about to witness the great deception and abomination temple by the future Antichrist soon in our lifetimes? Or have some within Orthodoxy “missed the mark” when in comes to waiting and expecting the coming apostasy? Did the Abomination of Desolation already come a long time ago, and we failed to see the manifestation? Did we ignore the warnings and proper identification by saints within the church who previously tried to warn us that the time was already at hand?

Perhaps the answer to this question just might be “yes.”  The Abomination of Desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, and once again by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse, might have already happened and  is a present reality, not something we should expect to come in the future. Thus, the subject matter of today’s blog post will focus on the infamous prophetic statement by Patriarch Sophronius of Jerusalem that the Abomination of Desolation was now a reality in his lifetime.

Abomination of Desolation Scriptural References

What is the Abomination of Desolation?  This is the trampling of the temple and the city of Jerusalem referenced in the prophecies of Daniel chapters 9, 11 and 12, also referenced by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse:

Matthew 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.”

Mark 13:14 – “So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains”

Luke 21:20 – “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.”

Daniel 9:26-27 “(…) and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined (…) 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.

Daniel 11:31 – “And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.”

Daniel 11:36-37 – “And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all“

Daniel 11:11-12 – “And from the time of the removal of the perpetual sacrifice, when the abomination of desolation shall be set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. 

Based on these passages, we can conclude that the desolation is related to the temple mount or present within the city of Jerusalem. The desolation is equated with an abomination which would be “set up” or constructed. The desolation is also during an event in history when Jerusalem would be surrounded and attacked. Most scholars agree that there are passages in the Olivet discourse that are relevant to the 70 AD destruction of Jerusalem. We must consider that there are multiple or recurring applications of the prophecies on the desolation in Jerusalem. For one, it is problematic to consider that the Roman armies are the abomination spoken of which caused a great period of desolation, especially when the scriptures teach us that it was God Himself who would send an army to destroy the temple for the rejection of His only-begotten Son and the murders of the apostles and saints of the early church.  Matthew 22 with the Wedding Feast of the Lamb provides us this critical clue that after the apostles like James in Jerusalem were martyred by the unbelieving Jews, God sent armies to destroy the city of Jerusalem:

Matthew 22:7 – “But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth; and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city”

This expresses a similar punishment foretold in Leviticus 26, matching what is foretold in Luke 21:24 regarding being led away by the sword and scattered unto the nations:

“I will destroy your high places,
cut down your incense altars,
and cast your carcasses on the lifeless forms of your idols;
and My soul shall abhor you.
I will lay your cities waste
and bring your sanctuaries to desolation,
and I will not smell the fragrance of your sweet aromas.
I will bring the land to desolation,
and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at it.
I will scatter you among the nations
and draw a sword after you;
your Land shall be desolate
and your cities waste.”
– Leviticus 26:30-33 

So we see here that the scattering of the Jews and destruction of the temple is not due to an abomination which would cause desolation, but God Himself sending His armies to destroy and scatter the people. So the, is it possible that these passages in the Olivet Discourse instead are foretelling A DIFFERENT Abomination of Desolation event in the future? And if so, what would be the event that fits the fulfillment? After all, we know throughout history there were OTHER sieges, invasions and Jewish revolts in Jerusalem in addition to the Roman destruction in 70 AD. These were:

• Second Jewish Revolt (Bar Kokhba) | 132-135 CE
• Sasanian conquest of Jerusalem |614 by Shahrbaraz, leading to the Sassanid general capturing the city from the Byzantines; part of the Roman-Persian Wars.
• Siege of Jerusalem| 636–637  by Khalid ibn al-Walid (Rashidun general) under Umar ibn al-Khattab, ending in the surrender of the Byzantine city.
• Siege of Jerusalem |1099 by the Crusaders, resulting in the capture of the city, the goal of the First Crusade.
• Siege of Jerusalem  | 1187  by Saladin, resulting in the capture of the city by the Muslims.
• Siege of Jerusalem | 1244 by the Khwarezmians, resulting in the recapture of the city from the Christians, to whom it had been returned by treaty.
• Siege of Jerusalem |1834  byArab villagers during the 1834 Arab revolt in Palestine.
• Battle of Jerusalem |1917 – involved the capture of the city in the Sinai and Palestine campaign of World War I by British and Commonwealth forces.
• 1948 Arab–Israeli War – Battle for Jerusalem The city was divided between Jordan and Israel; Israel made Jerusalem its capital.
• 1967 Six-Day War and the encirclement of East Jerusalem

The question remains, do any of these sieges and wars in Jerusalem provide a clue to the possible Abomination of Desolation beyond what the Preterists identify as the 70 AD destruction of the temple in 70 AD? Perhaps so. We can historically establish that during the siege of Jerusalem in 637 AD that the Caliph Omar began construction of a mosque (or new temple of worship) on the site of the temple mount.  Up to that point there was never a rebuilt temple by the Jews, although we know there were attempts to rebuild the temple during the reign of Julian the Apostate.

However, looking back on our various sieges of Jerusalem, things get interesting when we examine the historical records. We have a very ominous and prophetic statement made by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Sophronius of Jerusalem during the 637 AD siege of Jerusalem. During the surrender of the city of Jerusalem to the invading Muslim Armies, the Orthodox Patriarch Sophronius (Greek: Σωφρόνιος) uttered the following words upon seeing the Caliph Omar on the Temple Mount and at the entrance of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre:

“This is the Abomination of Desolation announced by the Prophet Daniel, and now stands from this point on holy ground.” 

Wait a second…WHAT DID THIS PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM SAY?

Very interesting.  We have the (Orthodox) Patriarch of Jerusalem saying that the invading Muslim Conqueror of Jerusalem is the Abomination of Desolation and potentially the Little Horn described in the Book of Daniel and by Christ Himself? Can we not emphasize enough the significance of this statement here? This is in direct contrast to what is being taught by many Orthodox end-times scholars and priests. Because they are often looking at a future Abomination of Desolation to be constructed on the temple mount, by a Jewish Antichrist. Other Orthodox laity often like to point to prophecies attributed to certain saints or elders “age of apostasy” and “abomination temple” is upon us. They warn us not accept the chip-ID mark or vaccine. This idea is straight out of the Hal Lindsey “Late Great Planet Earth” playbook. Interesting given the fact that Irenaeus, who was a disciple of Polycarp (who was the disciple of St. John the Theologian) was busy cranking out gematria calculations on 666 that had nothing to do with a physical implanted mark. The sad truth is we have many Orthodox monastics and bishops promoting many of these ideas, which frankly many of them are imported from Protestant Dispensationalism.  AND YET WE HAVE AN ORTHODOX PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM WHO SAYS THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION CAME DURING HIS LIFETIME IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY.

So then who is right here?  Should we heed the advice of the Patriarch Sophronius? Or should we look to the today’s Orthodox scholars who proclaim the Abomination of Desolation temple is about to be revealed soon? After all, they both can’t be right?  So then where does the truth lie? Can we find any historical evidence supporting one interpretation over the other? We shall attempt to answer this question by examining historic testimony, time statements and calculations to see if Sophronios was actually correct on his identification of the Abomination which caused “great physical and spiritual desolation”  to the Christians living in the middle east.

 

Patriarch Sophronius Warnings on the 637 AD Islamic Invasion Match the Olivet Discourse

In the Olivet Discourse we read he following warnings of the coming abomination and the tribulation and persecution of followers of Christ:

Matthew 24:9-13 – “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. (…) Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”

Matthew 24:15-20 – “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. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.”

We certainly cannot rule out some of the passages have an application to 70 AD destruction.  However, like some prophecies of Daniel, there is the potential for a near-term and far-term fulfillment, a recurring application of the prophecy.  These warnings on the surrounding armies of Jerusalem would once again be applicable for an invasion well beyond 70 D, which caused even more desolation and destruction. The first desolation of 70 AD would lead to the physical destruction of the Second Temple, as Christ warns to the unbelieving Jews in Matthew 23: “Your house is left to you desolate”. This destruction would lead to a desolation of Jews scattered away from the Holy Land, as Luke’s Olivet Discourse states the scattering of the Jew to the wilderness of the nations:

Luke 21:22,24 – “For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. (…) And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”

However, another time in history was to come leading to more “days of vengeance” and the abomination of Desolation that Saint Sophronius was referring to. Saint Sophronius provides to us many clues that many of the warnings mentioned in the Olivet Discourse and the book of Daniel were being realized upon the Christians of the the Holy Land which.  It is this evidence that further confirms that the warnings of the tribulation of those days were now a present reality. Saint Sophronius wrote the following which dates to the 6th of December in 636 or 637 AD.  Notice the warnings and tribulation closely match the warnings provided in the Olivet Discourse regarding the Islamic invasions and advance on the Holy Land and the City of Jerusalem:

“But the present circumstances are forcing me to think differently about our way of life, for why are so many wars being fought among us? Why do barbarian raids abound? Why are the troops of the Saracens attacking us? Why has there been so much destruction and plunder? Why are there incessant outpourings of human blood? Why are the birds of the sky devouring human bodies? Why have churches been pulled down? Why is the cross mocked? Why is Christ, who is the dispenser of all good things and the provider of this joyousness of ours, blasphemed by pagan mouths (ethnikois tois stomasi) so that he justly cries out to us: “Because of you my name is blasphemed among the pagans,” and this is the worst of all the terrible things that are happening to us. That is why the vengeful and God-hating Saracens, the abomination of desolation clearly foretold to us by the prophets, overrun the places which are not allowed to them, plunder cities, devastate fields, burn down villages, set on fire the holy churches, overturn the sacred monasteries, oppose the Byzantine armies arrayed against them, and in fighting raise up the trophies of war and add victory to victory. Moreover, they are raised up more and more against us and increase their blasphemy of Christ and the church, and utter wicked blasphemies against God. Those God-fighters boast of prevailing over all, assiduously and unrestrainedly imitating their leader, who is the devil, and emulating his vanity because of which he has been expelled from heaven and been assigned to the gloomy shades. Yet these vile ones would not have accomplished this nor seized such a degree of power as to do and utter lawlessly all these things, unless we had first insulted the gift of baptism and first defiled the purification, and in this way grieved Christ, the giver of gifts, and prompted him to be angry with us, good though he is and though he takes no pleasure in evil, being the fount of kindness and not wishing to behold the ruin and destruction of men. We are ourselves, in truth, responsible for all these things and no word will be found for our defence. What word or place will be given us for our defence when we have taken all these gifts from him, befouled them and defiled everything with our vile actions?” (Holy Baptism, 166-167 pp. 72-73)

In a work originally composed by John Moschus (d. 619), but expanded by Sophronius (d. ca. 639), actually found only in an addition of the Georgian translation, the following entry appears, concerning a construction dated by tradition at 638, i.e., soon after the capture of Jerusalem ca. 637. It appears in a portion concerning Sophronius as recounted on the authority of his contemporary, the archdeacon Theodore, and may have been written down ca. 670.

The godless Saracens entered the holy city of Christ our Lord, Jerusalem, with the permission of God and in punishment for our negligence, which is considerable, and immediately proceeded in haste to the place which is called the Capitol. They took with them men, some by force, others by their own will, in order to clean that place and to build that cursed thing, intended for their prayer and which they call a mosque (midzgitha). (Pratum spirituale, 100-102 p. 63)

Surrender of the City of Jerusalem in 637 AD to the Caliph Omar

Moslem conqueror, Omar, enters the captured city of Jerusalem (637 AD)

It was during the surrender of Jerusalem over to Omar Ibn al-Khattab. The historical account is that Omar traveled to Jerusalem after Patriarch Sophronius stated that he would only surrender the city to the Caliph himself. When Omar arrived, the Patriarch asked if he would pray inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Omar, however, refused, choosing instead to pray in the outer courtyard in order to preserve the Church’s Christian status.  This outer courtyard of the church of the Tomb of Christ later become the site of the Mosque of Omar, built in the 12th century in the site where the Caliph Omar prayed. This Mosque is often confused with the Dome of the Rock, which is the structure erected on the Temple Mount.  Initially after the siege of Jerusalem the temple site was cleared of trash and debris and the wooden mosque structure was built, later the Dome of the Rock was completed between 687 to 691 AD. It is often said that the Dome of the Rock was built in the wrong spot, and is actually located in the area known as the Herod’s “Court of the Gentiles“

So we have a an Islamic Mosque dedicated to Omar also built in a courtyard to the Tomb of the God-Man.  It stands opposite the courtyard from the Church and sits on what was also originally part of the courtyard to the church, and stands there today as a witness:

View of the Omar Mosque from the courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City in Jerusalem, Israel

This trampling of the “outer courtyard” for a significant period of time is revealed to us in St. John’s Apocalypse, and also in the Book of Daniel:

Revelation 11-1-2: “Then a measuring rod like a staff was given to me, and I was told, “Get up and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and the ones who worship there. But do not measure the outer courtyard of the temple; leave it out, because it has been given to the Gentiles, and they will trample on the holy city for forty-two months.”

Note that the time statement of 42 prophetic months = 42 x 30 = 1260 “days”of prophecy. So the Holy City of Jerusalem, where the Temple of God is located, would be trampled on for 1260 prophetic “days”.

This SECOND desolation of Jerusalem would simultaneously trample both the “outer courtyard” of the Old Covenant temple mount, and also trample ANOTHER “outer courtyard” of the New Covenant temple of God of the Christians in Jerusalem, that is the tomb of Christ, the God-Man – at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This OTHER  temple is the temple dwelling of the Holy Spirit and the “Temple” which Christ said would be rebuilt in 3 days. Sophronius in his prophetic utterance and wisdom sheds light for us that this new “abomination of desolation” would cause even greater desolation than that of the temple destruction of 70 AD, and it would be the destruction of the “temple” of the Holy Spirit upon the Christians that was a significant and greater risk to the Christians living in the Holy Land, revealing the start of a long “1260 days” or years of tribulation. Jesus provides a clue to the nature and characteristic of this new temple in John 2:19: Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.”

Treaty of Umar – Weakens Christianity and Desolates Over Time

As they did with all other cities they conquered, the Muslims drafted a treaty detailing the rights and privileges regarding the conquered people and the Muslims in Jerusalem. This treaty was signed by Umar and Patriarch Sophronius, along with some of the generals of the Muslim armies.

These treaties by Umar included the following restrictions on the Christians, in return for protection by the ruling Islamic rulers:

• Prohibition against building new churches, places of worship, monasteries.
• Prohibition against rebuilding destroyed churches, by day or night, in their own neighbourhoods or those situated in the quarters of the Muslims.
• The worship places of non-Muslims must be lower in elevation than the lowest mosque in town.
• Prohibition against hanging a cross on the Churches.
• Call of prayer by a bell or a kind of gong to be low in volume.
• Prohibition of Christians and Jews against raising their voices at prayer times.
• Christians were forbidden to show their religion in public, or to be seen with Christian books or symbols in public, on the roads or in the markets of the Muslims.
• Palm Sunday and Easter parades were banned.
• Prohibition against preaching to Muslims in an attempt to convert them from Islam.
• Prohibition against preventing the conversion to Islam of some one who wants to convert.

The consequences of such restrictions over time resulted in removal and destruction of Christian Churches, as many over generations were forcibly converted or willingly left for the advantages offered by conversion to Islam.  Revelation 13-4 – “and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”

The Inscriptions on the Dome of of the Rock Against Christianity

Umar immediately set about making the city an important Muslim landmark. He cleared the area of the Temple Mount, where he believed Muhammad ascended to heaven from. Umar and his army (along with some Jews) personally cleaned it and built a mosque – Masjid al-Aqsa – there. Throughout the remainder of Umar’s caliphate and into the Umayyad Empire’s reign over the city, Jerusalem became a major center of religious pilgrimage for Islam. The Dome of the Rock was added to complement Masjid al-Aqsa in 687/688 AD. Numerous other mosques were soon established throughout the city.

Is the Dome of the Rock the visible structure that Jesus spoke about in the Olivet Discourse, visible today in the City? Perhaps so. The inscriptions on the walls of the “Dome of the Rock” confirm the Abomination and Blaspheming of the Holy Trinity: God the Father, Jesus His Son, and the Holy Spirit.

“In the name of God, the Merciful the Compassionate. There is no god but God. He is One. He has no associate.”

“People of the Book! Do not exaggerate in your religion nor utter aught concerning God save the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a Messenger of God, and His Word which He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in God and His messengers, and say not ‘Three’ – Cease!“

These are outright rejections here of the Only-Begotten Son, sent into the world to save us. This is an outright directive to reject the Holy Trinity. These inscriptions on the temple mount confirm the warnings and identification by the John and Paul with respect to a coming new major Christological heresy of the Church denying Jesus is the only-begotten Son of God.  Such a teaching is by none other than the Arch-Enemy of Christ.  Islam stands as an exact opposite and direct contrast to Christianity.

John 2:22 – “Who is the liar, if it is not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, who denies the Father and the Son.

1 John 4:3-  “And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.”

2 Thessalonians 2:4 – “He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.”

The rejection of worship God as given to us through the Gospels, replaced with a new form of scriptures, is the abomination.  The elimination of the Perpetual Sacrifice established by Christ through the Holy Eucharist, and replaced with animal sacrifices, is an abomination. And it has caused great desolation. 250 million deaths since 622 AD at the hands of the religion of “peace.”

The Times Prophecies and Day-Year Principle Validates Sophronius Claim of the Abomination of Desolation

The “42 months”, “1260 days” and “1290 days” of Daniel are critical time statements in scripture which provide the length of time that the Archenemy of Christ would rule through a great wordly empire to subjugate and persecute the Christians. These numbers are provided to us in the Book of Daniel and Revelation. The Protestant Dispensationalists and Full Preterists misinterpret such time statements and reject the scriptures which teach us this truth. Scriptural use of the word as confirmed by the passage saying, “I have appointed thee each day for a year” (Ezek 4:6; Num. 14: 34), with reference to punishment of the people by God.  The year-day principle and method of prophetic interpretation is the logical calculation to the prophecies.  And applying this approach to the prophecies relative to the Siege of Jerusalem of 637 AD, and the resulting construction of the most prominent Mosques in Jerusalem, is validated by the Day/Year Principle.  And it turns out, the extraordinary results of our calculations proves that Saint Sophronius, the Patriarch of Jerusalem was 100% absolutely correct in identifying  Omar’s entrance to the city of Jerusalem the Abomination of Desolation.  The calculations can be verified with what I call the “trinity calendar system“, which I previously wrote in an older blog post.”  Therefore, when applying the prophetic years (or geometric), solar years or lunar years based on the start of the trampling of Jerusalem or the construction of the Dome of the Rock, we notice a consistent pattern emerging.  The fall of the Muslim dominance over Jerusalem occurred upon the completion of the 1260 years or 1290 years as defined and described in the Books of Daniel and Revelation.

Revelation 11:2 – “… the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months”

Revelation 13:5 – “and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months”

Daniel 7-25: “He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.”

Daniel 9:27 – “In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him”

Daniel 11:11-12 – “And from the time of the removal of the perpetual sacrifice, when the abomination of desolation shall be set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waits, and comes to the thousand three hundred and thirty-five days”  (Sir-Brenton’s Theodotion-English Translation)

Daniel 11:11-12 – “And from the time that the time-continuity (endelehismos) shall be altered and the desolation horror be given permission to act, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days; blessed is he that waits in endurance and reaches the thousand three-hundred and thirty five days“- (Daniel 12:11-12, Septuagint version).

The meaning of these words is to be seen in the fact that the “continuation” of the perpetual sacrifice observance of the Mosaic law of animal sacrifice was changed by the sacrifice of Christ the Messiah on the Cross, and the former mode of sacrifice was abolished in favor of the type of bloodless sacrifice instituted then in the form of bread and wine in the cup, which is to be followed forever for the remission of sins and unto life everlasting, in accordance with the words of Christ.  We can simultaneously measure 1290 years from the deportation of Babylon until the construction of the Dome of the Rock to be 1290 geometric years, 1290 solar years, or 1290 lunar years from the deportation or first temple destruction UNTIL  the construction of the Dome of the Rock or Al Asqa Mosque.  We can also measure 1290 years from the rise of Omar and the First Caliphate until the fall o the Ottoman Empire to be 1290 years, and 1335 years later we see Jerusalem was liberated from Muslim Rule in the year 1967.

Now let’s summarize the “times” statements in Daniel and Revelation relative to the construction of the edifice in Jerusalem standing in the Holy Place. We can measure:

• 1290 geometric (“prophetic” or “biblical”) years after the deportation of Babylon to the year of the construction of the Dome of the Rock. (see Daniel 12:11)
• 1290 solar years after the deportation of Babylon to the year of the construction of the Al Aqsa Mosque. (see Daniel 12:11)
• 1290 lunar years after the first temple destruction until the construction of the Dome of the Rock (see Daniel 12:11)
• 1290 geometric years from the rise of the first caliphate and invasion of the Levant until the fall of the seventh caliphate in 1922 (see Daniel 12:11)
• 1290 solar years from Umar’s invasion of Jerusalem until 1948 AD, the year of the establishment of the modern nation of Israel. (see Daniel 12:11)
• 1335 geometric years from the rise of the first caliphate until Jerusalem is liberated from Islamic gentile domination (see Daniel 12:12)
• 1260 geometric years from 622 Hegira and Mohammed’s prophetship until the First Aliyah to Palestine in 1882. (see Daniel 7:25, Revelation 11:2)
• 1260 lunar years from 637 Umar’s Siege of Jerusalem until Petah Tikva, the first modern Jewish settlement in Palestine. (see Daniel 7:25, Revelation 11:2)
• 1260 geometric years from 637 Umar’s Siege of Jerusalem until the First Zionist Congress calling for establishment of a permanent home in Palestine. (see Daniel 7:25, Revelation 11:2)
• 1260 solar years form the 637 Umar’s Siege of Jerusalem until the Balfour Declaration. (see Daniel 7:25, Revelation 11:2)
• 1260 geometric years from the construction of the Dome of the Rock in 688 AD until the founding of the modern State of Israel in 1948
• 1260 solar years from the construction of the Dome of the Rock in 688 AD  until the Six Day War in 1967 AD, when Jerusalem was no longer under gentile rule by Islam. (see Daniel 7:25, Revelation 11:2)

One thing which also must be factored into the calculation, is the fact that the Dome of the Rock was converted into a Church by the First Crusaders between 1099 AD and 1187 AD.

“On 15 July 1099 Jerusalem fell to the Crusaders after a five week siege and the victors proceeded to massacre the city’s Muslims and Jews. After 460 years of Muslim rule the Crusaders restored Jerusalem to Christian hands, and declared the city the capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The city’s populations underwent a significant change. Western culture now took center-stage, with French the day-to-day language and Latin the language of prayer. The Jewish and Muslim inhabitants were replaced by European and Eastern Christians. Under the Crusaders Jerusalem once more assumed a Christian character, they renewed Christian traditions and rebuilt churches and monasteries. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the prime destination of the Crusaders, was magnificently restored in stone, in Romanesque fashion. The palace of the Patriarch of Jerusalem stood west of the church. To the south was the quarter occupied by the Hospitalers (warrior knights who initially undertook to protect and guide pilgrims, and to lodge them in their vast Jerusalem hospice, and eventually became part of the Kingdom’s defenses). The holy sites on the Temple Mount were declared Christian. The Temple Mount was the seat of the Templars, an order of monastic knights whose names derived from their location. In 1187 Jerusalem fell to Saladin (Salah-al-Din ibn Ayyub), putting an end to the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. The great golden cross that rose above the Dome of the Rock was toppled and shattered, to be replaced by the crescent, the symbol of Islam. The city was gradually restored by Saladin, who built numerous public structures.”

Therefore, we can make a case that for a completed calculation for the 1260 years, we need to account for the fact the Dome of the Rock was a church for 87 to 88 years. So there might be a temporary cessation or stalling of the full completed calculation. So while a literal 1260 years using the geometric or solar calendars validates and predicts the Jewish return to Palestine 1260 years after the Dome of the Rock was constructed, we will need to add 87 years to the calculation to find the completed fulfillment of Ezekiel 37 and Romans 11.

Conclusion – Saint Sophronius Identified the Abomination of Desolation

When we examine the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation and examine the historical evidence of the siege of Jerusalem beyond 70 AD to ANOTHER  trampling of the Holy City in conjunction with the “1260 day” calculations of the numerical time statements using the Day-Year principle, we find that Sopronius was correct when he made the following prophetic statement when seeing Omar enter Jerusalem:

“This is the Abomination of Desolation announced by the Prophet Daniel, and now stands from this point on holy ground.” 

We see from Revelation 10-2 that there is a fulfillment of BOTH the Old Temple Mount with the Dome of the Rock, constructed in the outer Court of the Gentiles, and the Mosque of Omar was also constructed in the outer courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The desolation was not allowed to trample on the Holy of Holies and the Tomb of Christ during the 42 month desolation of Palestine.

This truth proclaimed by Patriarch Sophronius presents a BIG challenge for the Orthodox Christians, poisoned with the imported Protestant Dispensationalist ideas imported into the Church, who look to a future Abomination of Desolation temple to be constructed by a Jewish Antichrist. Either Saint Sophronius is incorrect with his amazing statement calling out the Desolator, or the various Orthodox leaders today writing or preaching about the future abomination temple are wrong. I expect much resistance on my presentation of the evidence that Patriarch Sophronius is proven right. The history, testimony and calculations fully support his statement announcing Omar’s entry into Jerusalem is the realization of Christ’s words spoken in the Olivet Discourse. However this idea will unpopular those within Orthodoxy promoting the “age of apostasy and antichrist” is upon us, as they await and expect a future Abomination of Desolation temple. One thing we should note with the “times” calculations based on the statements and calculations from the time of Sophronius: The identification of the Abomination of Desolation as the Dome of the Rock validates the Jewish return to Palestine 1260 years later, as foretold in the scriptures. And the timing of the Jewish return to Palestine appears to properly identify and reveal the identity of the Abomination of Desolation and the Little Horn of Daniel exactly 1260 years prior with Omar’s invasion and construction of the edifices foretold in the scriptures. The reality is, the great apostasy, division and persecution upon the church by the Dragon came long ago.

Thus we now find ourselves at about the end of the one thousand two hundred and sixty days of the desolation, when the Christian people will soon be called to shake off the moral slavery of Babylon and make ready to welcome the approaching Kingdom of God. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

© 2020 by Jonathan Photius