Verse 36: “Then the king will do according to his desire. He will exalt himself, and magnify himself over all that is of God, over the gods of idolatry that are worshipped. And he will speak wonders. And he will succeed unto the end of wrath – for it has been determined and it will be so.”

The king: The antichrist or false messiah.

Do according to his desire (will): The abomination of desolation is going to come within the context of these last few verses: the antichrist is going to try to cause those from the children of Israel to follow him. He is going to cause intense persecution against those who are wise – those who are faithful to God’s covenant. All of this intense suffering is an attempt to intimidate others, so that they will not act in wisdom nor follow the covenant truth.

Exalt himself …speak wonders (blasphemies): 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4. The abomination of desolation is this: the antichrist sits in the Holy of Holies and proclaims that he is God.

Will succeed: Many people are going to receive him. Many Jewish people, however, are not going to accept him and this rejection is going to lead them into the “time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7)

End of wrath: The final outpouring of wrath.

Verse 37: “Concerning the gods of his fathers he will not have understanding, nor will he desire women. Concerning all that which is of God he does not understand. For over all of this he exalts himself.”

The gods of his fathers: The antichrist’s forefathers were all about idolatry – worshipping things that were made by hands for the purpose of manipulating others. The antichrist, however, is not interested in idolatry. False worship (or idolatry) is going to characterize the first stage of this evil empire, but that is going to change (the harlot/idolatry will be destroyed – Revelation 18:9-20).

After 3.5 years (the “middle of the week”- the abomination of desolation) the antichrist himself (satan incarnate) demands to be worshipped – declaring himself to be the only true God. satan wants monotheism. He wants to be the only one worshipped (Matthew 4:8-11) This is the decision that every person is faced with – who do we worship? God or satan?

Nor will he desire women: He is not interested in women.

Over all of this he exalts himself: He does not want anything else given honour, glory or worship – except himself alone.

Verse 38: “He shall honour the god of power, and upon his pedestal he will be honoured. And the god which our fathers did not know he is going to honour with gold and silver and precious stone and desirable things.”

Power: This word for power is written in the plural. The antichrist is interested in power. That is his god.

Will be honoured: He puts himself on his own pedestal to be honoured. god which our fathers did not know: They had been involved in idolatry and did not understand this type of satanic worship.

Honour with gold and silver: In the last days the nations will bring up the desirable things (gold and silver) – Haggai 2:8. The gold and the silver belong to God. He has the right to be honoured with these things – they do not belong to foreign gods.