In the previous blog we saw that a time will come for the Jewish people that at first glance seems great. The much-desired sacrificial service, which has been at a standstill for almost 2000 years, will be resumed. We can easily imagine the euphoria that this will bring. People will probably even think that the Messianic time has arrived. After all, the rider on the white horse from Revelation 6:2 looks like two drops of water to that other Rider on the white horse from Revelation 19:11, who is unmistakably a representation of the Messiah.
short time
But it will end in an anticlimax. The man of lawlessness will stop the sacrificial service and desecrate the temple by having himself worshipped, that he is god (2 Thess. 2:4). When this abomination takes place and there is an idol in the temple, it is time to leave the country as quickly as possible.
16 …then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
short time
The placing of the abomination in the holy place heralds the period of great tribulation for Israel. At the moment that people see that, there is apparently only a very short time left to flee, out of the country. This is about those who are in Judea, the Jewish country. The great tribulation is a tribulation for Israel. This flight is also described in Revelation. There Israel is presented as a woman.
Revelation 12
6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they may nourish her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
a reserved place
The Jewish people are given the opportunity to flee into the wilderness. There is a place prepared for her by God, where she will be cared for during the 1260 days of the great tribulation. But the time that one can flee will be very short. Apparently that possibility will no longer be there after that and the country will be “locked up” in some way.
17 Let him not come down from the house on the housetop to take anything out of his house!
18 And let him not turn back from the field to take his garments!
19 And woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!
20 And pray that your flight may not be in the winter, nor on the Sabbath.
21 For then there will be great tribulation…
woe
There is a short time to flee. When you see the abomination standing in the holy place, go! Do not turn back to get your coat, every second counts.
The woe is a cry of sorrow and grief. Pregnant women and those who breastfeed are less mobile and fast. In the winter, roads are less passable and on the Sabbath, things like public transportation come to a standstill in Israel. All circumstances that slow down and haste is required, because the great tribulation is beginning!
the ecclesia and faithful Israel in safety
Both the ecclesia, the body of Christ, and those from Israel who respond to the call to flee, will be brought to safety and preserved from the great tribulation. The ecclesia is caught up to God and His throne (Rev. 12:5) and takes her position to take up the rule together with her Head. The woman, the faithful remnant from Israel, is kept outside the land, in the desert. Where exactly that is, we will see in a next blog.