---
title: Matthew 24:15
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/matthew-24-15/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/matthew-24-15.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Matthew 24:15
testament: NT
section: Gospels
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Matthew 24:15

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation,’ described by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand),

## JW Usage

The Watchtower teaches that the "disgusting thing that causes desolation" has a dual fulfilment: a first-century application to Rome's destruction of Jerusalem and a modern application to the League of Nations (1919) and its successor the United Nations. This modern reading is part of the broader 1914 eschatological framework and serves to validate the Governing Body's prophetic authority — they alone can identify the modern "disgusting thing."

## Protestant Usage

Jesus provided his own commentary on the "abomination of desolation" in the parallel passage. Where Matthew 24:15 records "the disgusting thing that causes desolation standing in a holy place," Luke 21:20 records "when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near." Luke is Jesus' own interpretive key: the abomination is not a modern political institution but Rome's armies surrounding Jerusalem. The early Christians understood this and fled to Pella before the siege (Eusebius, Church History 3.5.3). Roman legionary standards, bearing images of Caesar and pagan deities, were carried into the temple precincts — a literal abomination in the holy place. Matthew 24:15 and 24:34 ("this generation will not pass away") form an inseparable unit: the generation is Jesus' contemporaries, and the events are first-century.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- ["This Generation" — Matthew 24:34](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/this-generation.md) — Jesus meant the generation standing in front of Him [Eschatology]
- [The Abomination of Desolation — Luke 21:20](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/abomination-desolation.md) — Jesus explained His own prophecy [Eschatology]
- [The Great Tribulation Was AD 70 — Not a Future Attack on JWs](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/great-tribulation-matt24.md) — Matthew 24:15-22 / Luke 21:20-24 / Matthew 24:34 [Eschatology]