Disillusioned, just the other way round. According to the Society, King of the South = Anglo-America. King of the North = Russia and following. Here's a summary of the first "desolator" as I see it.
ABOMINATIONS CAUSING
DESOLATION
Dan. 9:27b
Pax Romana
Ara Pacis
Augustae
The Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan
Peace), erected in Rome in 9 BCE, stands as a monument to the Pax Romana, an era of peace and
prosperity throughout the Roman Empire ushered
in by the Emperor Augustus. Relief carvings decorate the walls surrounding the
altar, which is now located at the Museum of the Ara Pacis Augustae, in Rome.
The Roman Empire
introduced the Pax Romana in 9 BCE to
celebrate the peaceful rule of Caesar Augustus. During this time of peace and
prosperity the Empire would flourish. On the contrary, Dan. 7:19 portrays Rome
as a ferocious beast, “extraordinary fearsome, the teeth of which were of iron
and the claws of which were copper, which was devouring [and] crushing, and
which was treading down even what was left with its feet.”
The
iron teeth beast can only be Rome. “There is” (says Herodian, ii. 11.7) “no
part of the earth and no region of the heavens whither the Romans have not
extended their dominion.” Such is also the conclusion reached by Martin Luther:
“In this interpretation and opinion,” he observes, “all the world are agreed,
and history and fact abundantly establish it.” It certainly lived up to its
name. By destroying Jerusalem in 70 CE, Rome took on the Biblical
title “abominations causing desolation:”
"And upon the wing of disgusting things [“abominations,” ESV,
NET] there will be the one causing desolation; and until an extermination, the
very thing decided upon will go pouring out also upon the one lying desolate" (Dan. 9:27b; cf. Luke 21:20-24).
“The Roman standards were guarded with religious
veneration in the temples at Rome; and the reverence of this people for their
ensigns was in proportion to their superiority to other nations . . .
[To soldiers it] was perhaps the most sacred thing the earth possessed. The
Roman soldier swore by his ensign.”—The Encyclopædia Britannica,
11th Edition.
