Through the Bible: Mark 13
“But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”
—Mark 13:14 (ESV)
If you read Mark 13:14 in a red-letter Bible, you probably noticed something strange. The parenthetical phrase—“let the reader understand”—is printed in red, as if Jesus turned from His disciples on the Mount of Olives and looked straight into the camera to address us. But that’s not what’s happening. This isn’t an episode of The Office. Jesus didn’t break the fourth wall. That parenthesis is an editorial note, not the words of Christ.
Mark is giving his readers a nudge: Pay attention. This one takes some unpacking.
What was the “Abomination of Desolation”?
The phrase “abomination of desolation” comes from the book of Daniel (see Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11). Daniel’s prophecy describes something sacrilegious and horrifying standing in the holy place—an act that defiles the temple and signals coming judgment. To the Jewish mind, that phrase had a specific historical reference.
About two hundred years before Christ, a Syrian ruler named Antiochus IV Epiphanes invaded Jerusalem, slaughtered thousands, and desecrated the temple by erecting a statue of Zeus in the middle of it.
As a final desecration, Antiochus sacrificed a pig and other unclean animals on the temple altar. The Maccabean revolt followed soon after.
So when Jesus used the same phrase, His listeners would immediately think of that story.
A Prophecy with Layers
But notice: Jesus doesn’t speak of the abomination as something in the past. He speaks of it as something still to come. “When you see it,” He says, “then flee.” This is prophecy layered on prophecy—what scholars sometimes call prophetic telescoping. There’s a near fulfillment and a far fulfillment.
Within one generation, Jesus’ warning proved true. In AD 70, Roman legions surrounded Jerusalem, and the temple was leveled. Luke’s parallel account makes the connection explicit: “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near” (Luke 21:20). For Mark’s first readers, the abomination was not Antiochus but Titus—the Roman general who set up pagan standards in the holy place before burning it to the ground.
Patterns That Repeat
Yet even that wasn’t the end. The abomination of desolation points beyond AD 70 to a final act of rebellion against God. The Apostle Paul writes of “the man of lawlessness” who will take his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God (2 Thessalonians 2:3–4). The book of Revelation shows a similar pattern in the rise of the Beast. In every age, when humanity enthrones itself where only God belongs, the old abomination reappears. It is the recurring blasphemy of idolatry—the desecration of what is holy by those who worship power, pride, or self.
The Editorial Whisper
So what do we do with the little parenthesis? “Let the reader understand.” It’s as if Mark, writing after the resurrection but before Jerusalem fell, is whispering to his audience: This is coming soon. You’ll know it when you see it. It’s one of the only times in the Gospels where the narrator steps forward like this. That’s why red-letter Bibles get a little confused about what to do with it. Some print it in red because they treat everything between the quotation marks as Jesus’ speech. Others set it in black, recognizing it as Mark’s aside. Either way, the effect is the same: we are invited to read with our minds engaged and our eyes open.
The Call to Discernment
“Let the reader understand.” That’s a good word for any generation. Jesus wasn’t giving His disciples a timetable. He was training them in discernment. When sacred things are profaned, when truth is mocked, when faithfulness is costly, that’s when followers of Jesus must flee to higher ground—spiritually, morally, and sometimes literally. History repeats itself, but so does hope. Every abomination of desolation will one day be answered by a restoration of holiness, when the Lord Himself returns and the dwelling place of God is again among His people.
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