15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation – spoken about by Daniel the prophet – standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
16 then those in Judea must flee to the mountains.
17 The one on the roof must not come down to take anything out of his house,
18 and the one in the field must not turn back to get his cloak.
19 Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing their babies in those days!
20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.
21 For then there will be great suffering unlike anything that has happened from the beginning of the world until now, or ever will happen.
22 And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe him.
24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
25 Remember, I have told you ahead of time.
26 So then, if someone says to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe him.
27 For just like the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so the coming of the Son of Man will be.
28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
Let's flee to the mountains (Verses 15-18)
Jesus quotes from the Book of Daniel to warn of the impending troubles that will come. As prophesied by Daniel, the temple in Jerusalem was defiled by Antiochus IV Epiphanes through idol worship in 168 BC. And the temple rebuilt by Herod was destroyed by the Roman army within a decade of its completion in AD 70. When events occur where what we hold in the highest regard in the world crumbles in an instant, we must realize that what was foretold has come to pass and turn back to worship and prayer. We must flee from our desires for worldly wealth, fame, and pleasure and turn to the refuge of worship and prayer.
● What is the 'abominable thing' that I need to remove from my heart today? Where is the place of refuge to flee when difficult situations arise?"
You will endure to the end" (Verses 19-22)
Jesus warns of a "great tribulation" that will come at an unknown time in the future. This will be a time of unprecedented hardship, so severe that no one would survive it without God's intervention. However, this time of tribulation is also an opportunity for God to judge the sin of the world and to save his faithful followers. Therefore, Jesus reveals the coming tribulation to his followers in advance and provides them with a way to escape it. He also promises to shorten the duration of the tribulation for the sake of his chosen ones. Because of this promise of grace, even in the midst of any present tribulation, believers can pray to God without losing heart.
● What should I believe and pray to the Lord who will endure to the end on the day of tribulation?
I have told you ahead of time. (Verses 23-28)
The peak of tribulation is the deception of false Christs and false prophets. The saints must acknowledge and repent of their own selfish desires through tribulation. However, those who do not repent are deceived by their own selfish desires and only see great signs and wonders. Therefore, the problem for the saints is not 'deceptive false people', but 'their own deceiving desires'. When a disaster strikes, the Lord warns us to look at ourselves, not others. The way to avoid falsehood and approach the true Jesus is to face our sins through the daily word of the Lord and repent.
● What are the worldly powers, such as 'great signs and wonders', that deceive us and distance us from God?
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