Mark 13:1-20 “Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, "Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!" (2) And Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down." (3) Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, (4) "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?" (5) And Jesus, answering them, began to say: … (14) "So when you see the 'Abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not" (let the reader understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. (15) Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house. (16) And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. (17) But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! (18) And pray that your flight may not be in winter. (19) For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be. (20) And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.”
This brings us to the second occasion where our Lord warned those living in Judea to flee to the mountains. This second occasion refers to the future event still to take place. That account has been recorded for us in Mark’s gospel which I have quoted above. Matthew’s gospel records this same account for us almost word for word (Matthew 24). In both Mark and Matthew’s gospel accounts, our Lord Jesus was speaking privately to Peter, James, John and Andrew while they were seated on the Mount of Olives. And so in this account, our Lord elaborated on what He had already taught all the disciples in the temple, but with one major difference. The difference was that He now spoke of the end time event and not the event that would occur in the year 70 AD.
Michael E.B. Maher
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