not then fully understood ; but their meaning was to be unfolded as His people should need the instruction therein given . The prophecy which He uttered was twofold in its meaning ; while foreshadowing the destruction of Jerusalem , it prefigured also the terrors of the last great day . Jesus declared to the listening disciples the judgments that were to fall upon apostate Israel , and especially the retributive vengeance that would come upon them for their rejection and crucifixion of the Messiah . Unmistakable signs would precede the awful climax . The dreaded hour would come suddenly and swiftly . And the Saviour warned His followers : " When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation , spoken of by Daniel the prophet , stand in the holy place , ( whoso readeth , let him understand :) then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains ." Matthew 24:15 , 16 ; Luke 21:20 , 21 .
When the idolatrous standards of the Romans should be set up in the holy ground , which extended some furlongs outside the city walls , then the followers of Christ were to find safety in flight . When the warning sign should be seen , those who would escape must make no delay . Throughout the land of Judea , as well as in Jerusalem itself , the signal for flight must be immediately obeyed . He who chanced to be upon the housetop must not go down into his house , even to save his most valued treasures . Those who were working in the fields or vineyards must not take time to return for the outer garment laid aside while they should be toiling in the heat of the day . They must not hesitate a moment , lest they be involved in the general destruction .
In the reign of Herod , Jerusalem had not only been greatly beautified , but by the erection of towers , walls , and fortresses , adding to the natural strength of its situation , it had been rendered apparently impregnable . He who would at this time have foretold publicly its destruction , would , like Noah in his day , have been called a crazed alarmist . But Christ had said : " Heaven and earth shall pass away , but My words shall not pass away ." Matthew 24:35 . Because of her sins , wrath had been denounced against Jerusalem , and her stubborn unbelief rendered her doom certain . The Lord had declared by the prophet Micah : " Hear this , I pray you , ye heads of the house of Jacob , and princes of the house of Israel , that abhor judgment , and pervert all equity . They build up Zion with blood , and Jerusalem with iniquity . The heads thereof judge for reward , and the priests thereof teach for hire , and the prophets thereof divine for money : yet will they lean upon the Lord , and say , Is not the Lord among us ? none evil can come upon us ." Micah 3:9-11 .
These words faithfully described the corrupt and self-righteous inhabitants of Jerusalem . While claiming to observe rigidly the precepts of God ' s law , they were transgressing all its principles . They hated Christ because His purity and holiness revealed their iniquity ; and they
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