Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains,
Jesus, continuing the prophetic word, gives a practical exhortation for salvation: that those who see the “abomination of desolation,” and those who are in Judea, should quickly depart, fleeing to the mountains. This call also has at the same time both a historical and a spiritual meaning. Historically, it referred to the distress that was to come upon Jerusalem, when salvation would be in leaving quickly, not becoming bound to the city’s fate. In a spiritual sense, this is a warning to believers not to remain in an environment where holiness is being defiled, but to flee to the “mountains,” to the height of God’s presence. This word reminds us that when evil begins to rule, the believer’s salvation consists in this: that he rise upward spiritually, toward the true light. Indeed, this prophecy was fulfilled historically in the days of Jerusalem’s destruction, but its mystery is living in all times, as an exhortation to depart from places of sin and to seek spiritual refuge with God.