Flee

Flee

"When you see 'the abomination that causes desolation' standing where it does not belong--let the reader understand--then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.(13:14)

As I mentioned earlier, Mark chapter 13 has a strong apocalyptical character. Against the background of the fall of Jerusalem, apocalypse literature genre was developed by Babylonians. Horrible war and destruction of homes deprived the people of their hope in this world. In this time of trials and hardship, people anxiously waited for some supernatural entities which would come down and completely destroy this world and establish a new world.

Early Christians viewed the Judean war as an apocalyptical sign. Further, Jerusalem was turned into ruins in A.D. 70. Jerusalem temple which was their psychological foundation was also destroyed. Prior to that incident, there was a trial to erect the statue of Roman Emperor in the temple. It was “the abomination that causes desolation”. There was no other more horrible thing than this in their age. It was a sign to portend the end of the world. Early Christians might have accepted such sign as the sign of Jesus’ second coming.

The author of Mark’s Gospel cries to the people in Jerusalem when the end of the world was signaled saying, “Flee to the mountains.” When the city is under siege by the enemies, people should escape to a secure place. Jerusalem was a holy city but it could not do anything to safe the life of man in such situation. In those days, escaping to the mountains was the safest choice. Going to the mountain does not have any hidden significance other than to make themselves secure from any untoward catastrophes. It may be mentioned that even Christians should escape when their lives are at stake.

It is clear that the history of the early Christian was the history of martyrdom but it was not proper us to risk ourselves when foreign invasion occurs. There is a time for everything; there is a time to escape and a time to defend. In the light of this fact, there is a necessity for us to use our wisdom to distinguish between the right time to confront a situation by faith and the time to escape when turbulence and confusion arises.