In the first Abomination of Desolation in 168 BC, I seem to remember reading that the act was performed in the Holy of Holies itself. Similarly, I read that the second Abomination, the image of the AC will be on a wing of the Temple, apparently not “indoors.”
Is there a symbolic or other significance to the physical location of the act?
It occurs to me that, perhaps, the image will be too tall to fit under the Temple roof, but if there is more to it, perhaps you can tell me what it is.
It’s my understanding that the first Abomination of Desolation was placed in the Temple courtyard, and that the 2nd one will also be. This makes sense to me because in both cases people are required to worship the statue. Since no one can enter the Holy of Holies except the High Priest, it’s more likely that the statue was and will be in an accessible place.
In Matt. 24:15 Jesus said that people would see the Abomination of Desolation standing in the Holy Place. If He was speaking in the broadest sense, this could include the Temple courts, the whole Mount being Holy, and would place the statue in plain sight. In 2 Thes. 2:4 Paul wrote only that the anti-Christ will set himself up in the Temple, which could also include the courts. Daniel 9:27 locates the Abomination on a wing (or pinnacle) of the Temple. I’ve read that the pinnacle of the Temple was the South East corner of the Temple Mount where the distance to the ground is greatest. If so that would place it in the outer court. In Rev. 11:1-2, John is told not to measure the outer court of the Temple because it will have been given over to the Gentiles.
These references seem to indicate a place outside the building itself, and logic agrees.