The scenario Jesus is speaking of which pierces through the conversational setting of "the temple complex" after he said it will be thrown down (which did happen in 70 CE and the plowing under of Jerusalem in 135 CE) to a time when the false prophet and the beast will plow with the Lord's heifer.
Daniel 9:24–27 (AV)
24Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
25Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
26And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
27And
he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
The Covenant, many mix down to mean a peace treaty, is actually THE Covenant (which in other places in Daniel is referred to as the holy covenant). The term antichrist has become so familiar as to have lost its true meaning in the original Hebrew way of thinking rather the false messiah. The false messiah will convince the many (worldwide except for believers indwelt by the Spirit of God see Matthew 24:24) that he is the real Christ and that Jesus was a hoax, an imposter.
Revelation 13:1–10 (AV)
1And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
2And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
3And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
4And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
5And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
6And
he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
7And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
9If any man have an ear, let him hear.
10He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
The chapter opens with his standing on the sand by the sea.
Genesis 22:16–18 (AV)
16And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
17That in blessing
I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Stars of the heavens = Abraham's spiritual heirs (Jews and Gentiles who believe in Jesus)
Sand by the seashore = Abraham's physical heir (people born Jewish)
Jesus warned:
Matthew 24:15–20 (AV)
15When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand
16Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
17Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20But
pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
Sabbath day?
In all Jewish history keeping sabbath never impeded fight or flight. On the sabbath day the Jews marched around Jericho six more times than the previous days that week and when the walls fell they charged in!
So what was Jesus getting at?
If while in Judea you see these things happen... run! And the only way sabbath law would hinder you is if the Jewish law was in full force and they who were in charge of enforcing sabbath law saw no problem whatever with the beast ascending to temple mount to desecrate the holiest of places by sitting atop the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant and claiming to be God.
2 Thessalonians 2:1–4 (AV)
1Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
No Roman general or anyone else ever fulfilled this.
So to believe it is already passed and fulfilled is to render these and many other verses meaningless.
