“When you see the desolating abomination standing where he should not (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, [and] a person on a housetop must not go down or enter to get anything out of his house, and a person in a field must not return to get his cloak. Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days. Pray that this does not happen in winter. For those times will have tribulation such as has not been since the beginning of God’s creation until now, nor ever will be. If the Lord had not shortened those days, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect whom he chose, he did shorten the days. If anyone says to you then, ‘Look, here is the Messiah! Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. False messiahs and false prophets will arise and will perform signs and wonders in order to mislead, if that were possible, the elect. Be watchful! I have told it all to you beforehand (Mk. 13:14-23).”
Jesus continued to prepare his disciples for the coming tribulation. He used imagery from the Book of Daniel (9:27) and the ‘desolating abomination’ referred to a pagan altar erected on the altar where sacrifices were made to God in the Temple in Jerusalem. To the Jews there was no greater desecration. The events will unfold so quickly that there will be no time for anyone to mount any resistance to prevent them. It was not a war that Jesus was speaking about but an unimaginable series of events; “At that time there shall arise Michael, the great prince, guardian of your people; It shall be a time unsurpassed in distress since the nation began until that time. At that time your people shall escape, everyone who is found written in the book (Dan. 12:1).” God set a timetable for the coming of the Kingdom which will be preceded by these tribulations. Jesus again warned the disciples about false prophets and those who will claim to be the Messiah. That will be a sign of the end of the great tribulation. The disciples must patiently endure.
Almighty God, we humbly pray that through your grace we may learn to value what is truly important in life. Help us not to curse our trials but to endure them with patience and look for the good you bring out of them. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.
References:
Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, & Roland E. Murphy, (Eds.). (1990, 1968). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentis Hall, Inc.
Jose M. Casciaro, Santiago Ausin, Gonzalo Aranda, Claudio Basevi, Vincente Balaguer, Francisco Varo, James Gavigan, Brian McCarthy & Thomas McGovern (Eds.). (2017). The Navarre Bible - New Testament. Dublin 8, Ireland: Four Courts Press.
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