When you see the abomination of desolation, foretold by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let him who reads take due note) ... Matt. 24:15; Dan. 9:27.

There are similar remarks in the other prophets.

[2] Such is the abomination of desolation in the Christian church at the present time, as will be plain from the Appendix, which will show that there is not a single real truth left in the church, and also that unless a new church is raised up to take the place of the present one, no flesh can be saved, as the Lord said in Matthew (24:22). It is impossible for those on earth who have convinced themselves of their false beliefs to see that the Christian church, as it is at the present time, is to such an extent brought to an end and laid waste. The reason is that the strengthening of falsity is the denial of truth. It therefore places as it were a curtain beneath the understanding, and by this means takes care that nothing else creeps in, which might wreck the ropes and stakes which hold up the system of thought he has built and formed like a rigid tent. In addition, the natural faculty of reason can prove whatever it likes, the false as much as the true. Each of these appears when proved in similar light, and there is no way of telling whether it is deceptive light such as one encounters in dreams, or true light like that of day. But it is quite different with the spiritual faculty of reason possessed by those who look to the Lord and under His guidance love truth.