What is “the wing of abominations” in Daniel 9:27?
As a starting point, whatever this phrase may mean, I believe that the “one week” is seven years, the “one who makes desolate” is the Antichrist, “a strong covenant with many” is his covenant with Israel, and “for half the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering” refers to the Antichrist breaking this covenant in the middle of these seven years to allow Israel’s sacrifices and offerings no longer. Also at this time, the Antichrist comes “on the wing of abominations.” What does that mean?
Of its 109 instances in the OT, “wing” (kānāp) overwhelmingly refers to the wing or wings of a bird or angel. It can also refer to the edge of a robe (e.g., Num 15:38; Deut 22:12; 1 Sam 15:27). Closer to the meaning of Dan 9:27, it can also figuratively express how something overwhelms another like a bird covering something with its wings. For example, Isa 8:8 pictures the Assyrian army as a bird who covers Israel’s land with outspread wings. So, here in Dan 9:27 could be a figurative use of “wing.” Only, rather than soldiers, Jerusalem and its temple are overwhelmed with the Antichrist’s abominations. He demands that all worship him as God (2 Thess 2:3–4).
For a narrower understanding of this phrase, some tie “wing” to the temple’s “pinnacle” where Jesus was tempted by Satan (Matt 4:5; Luke 4:9). “Pinnacle” is translated from the Greek pterūgion (“edge”), the diminutive form of pterūx, “wing,” thus meaning something like “little wing” or the edge of a wing. If “wing” in Dan 9:27 spoke of a location within the temple, it could refer to its edge or a wing.
Along with this understanding, Jesus refers to “the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place” (Matt 24:15), a place “where he ought not to be” (Mark 13:14). Dan 9:27 is thus taken literally to refer to the edge of the temple, and “the abomination of desolation” is also taken to refer to the image of the Antichrist in Rev 13:11–17 (cf. Dan 11:31; 12:11). The abomination on the wing is an image of the Antichrist set up at the edge of the temple. It comes to life and enforces its worship and the Antichrist’s by execution and extortion.
The context of Dan 9:24–27 does involve the Antichrist, Israel’s sacrifice and offering, and thus the temple at this time. It is not immediately clear, however, that the phrase “on the wing of abominations” refers to an image that comes alive on the edge of the temple. At the same time, the passages above indicate that this image and its actions are certainly among the Antichrist’s many abominations that overwhelm Israel at this time. As I understand it, this phrase thus refers not to a literal location but figuratively to the manner in which the Antichrist desolates Israel in the second half of these seven years.
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Image: “Jerusalem, Historic center, City wall image” by Christine Schmidt from Pixabay