244 G.K. BEALE rived from Daniel, the plausibility of which is enhanced by ob- serving that only three verses later Mark (13,14) quotes the “ abomination of desolation” prophecy from Daniel (Dan 9,27; 11,31; 12,11). Could the eschatological uses of wra in Mark and John ™ have been formative for the author of 1 John, especially since some of them appear to have been influenced by Daniel? Possibly, but it is more likely that 1 John 2,18’s “last hour” has been most formatively influenced by the uses in Daniel, since we have seen that the unique language of “last” + “hour” or “final” (or “ending” or “con- summative ”) + “hour” occurs only in Daniel 8–12 (OG) and 1 John 2,18. In this respect, that Matt 24,15 encourages the reader explicitly to refer back to Daniel itself could be significant 25. Could this have provided a precedent for the writer of 1 John likewise so to do? Consequently, the expression in 1 John 2,18 is an allusion to the repeated expressions especially in Dan 8,19 and 11,40, though the other eschatological uses in Daniel 8–12 may have been in mind. John goes on to say a little later in chapter 4 of his epistle that this prophecy of the “antichrist” in 1 John 2,18 has started to be fulfilled not only because his foretold false prophetic helpers are al- ready on the scene, but because there is a true sense for him in which the spirit of Daniel’s end-time opponent is already present (1 John 4,3, “this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have Mark 14,35.41 comes from Jesus himself, who was influenced by themes and vocabulary from Daniel (Dan 4,17.26; 5,5; 8,17.19; 11,35.40.45), which had eschatological overtones. Similarly, cf. B. PITRE, Jesus, the Tribulation, and the End of the Exile (Grand Rapids, MI 2005) 482, who agrees with other commentators that the “hour” in Mark 14,35.41 is an end-time “hour” that is “ evocative of the book of Daniel (esp. Dan 11,35.40.45)”, where the “hour” refers to an eschatological tribulation. See Matthew 24,15: “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF 25 DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand).” Though gospel critics in the past assumed that the exhortation for the “reader” to “understand” referred to the readers of Mark’s gospel (assuming Markan priority), it is becoming increas- ingly recognized that in both Mark, and so also Matthew, it is an exhortation to readers of the book of Daniel to understand the “abomination of des- olation ” prophecy and how it relates to the events that Jesus is narrating about the coming tribulation. See, e.g., see D.A. CARSON, Matthew (EBC ; Grand Rapids, MI 1995) 500-501; D.L. TURNER, Matthew (BECNT ; Grand Rapids, MI 2008) 577.