The Jews at Pentecost understood how their prophets used poetic pictorial language. They knew something terrible was about to happen in their lifetime. Combine those words with the apocalyptic word pictures and they knew they were headed for big trouble. In 70 AD the Roman armies under Titus destroyed Jerusalem following a long bloody siege. Jesus warned His disciples that terrible times were coming upon them.
History reveals why the Roman army was called the abomination of desolation.
Roman soldiers carried ensigns consisting of eagles and images of the emperor to which divine honors were paid by the army. No greater abomination could possibly meet the eye of a Jew than ensigns to which idolatrous worship was offered being openly paraded and worshipped in their holy city Jerusalem. The great Jewish historian of that day was Flavius Josephus. He offers this eye witness account of what happened. And now the Romans . . .