he: Most interpreters think this pronoun refers to the ruler in Daniel 9:26. Some believe it refers to the anointed one in Daniel 9:25–26, suggesting a prophecy about Christ. They say Christ made a covenant and ended the need for sacrifices through his death.
However, the term for making a treaty implies forcing a covenant, likely through intimidation. Antiochus IV forced a covenant with Judea's people when he began ruling in 175 BC (compare Daniel 11:23; see 1 Maccabees 1:10–15). Other interpreters think this prophecy was fulfilled in AD 66–70. Some believe it refers to a future ruler.
The phrase put an end means a destructive action, not an act of salvation like the Messiah's death. In 167 BC, Antiochus IV ordered Judea's people to stop Jewish worship in the temple and practice pagan worship under threat of death (see 1 Maccabees 1:41–63). Similarly, Roman general Titus ended sacrifices in the temple by destroying it in AD 70.
the abomination that causes desolation (literally an abomination of desolation): Compare Daniel 8:13; 11:31; 12:11. This term (Hebrew shiqqutsim meshomem) might mock the Semitic name for Zeus (Ba‘al Shamayim, “Lord of the Heavens”). Idol-gods are often called shiqquts, “abomination,” “desolation,” in the Bible (see Deuteronomy 29:17; 2 Chronicles 15:8; Isaiah 66:3; Jeremiah 32:34; Ezekiel 20:7), and the sound similarity between shomem, “devastation, destruction, desolation,” and shamayim is clear.
In December 167 BC, Antiochus IV placed a Zeus statue on the temple altar and sacrificed unclean animals there. The same phrase (abomination of desolation) describes that altar and its sacrifices in 1 Maccabees 1:54. Jesus and several New Testament authors predicted a future desolating sacrilege (Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14; Luke 21:20; 2 Thessalonians 2:3–4).
After Titus destroyed the Jerusalem temple in AD 70, the Romans placed their idols in the temple area and made sacrifices to their gods (see Josephus, War 6.6.1). The apostle John noted that many antichrists had appeared (1 John 2:18–23) and that the antichrist's spirit was active in the world (1 John 4:3).
The time of destruction is under God's control, and the fate of this defiler is certain (compare Daniel 7:11; 8:25; 11:45). This is true for every ruler who opposes God and tries to destroy God's people.