Escape From a Man-Made Cataclysm

In the first century of our Common Era, Christians living in Jerusalem also had to decide whether they should abandon their homes. Flight from that city in 66 C.E. saved them from the destruction that befell other residents and thousands of Jews who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover of 70 C.E. Over one million people were inside that walled city for the Passover observance when Roman armies cut off any chance of escape. Famine, power struggles, and the Romans’ relentless attacks resulted in a death toll of more than one million.

The cataclysm that stamped out the Jewish revolt against Rome did not come unannounced. Several decades earlier, Jesus Christ had foretold that Jerusalem would be besieged. He said: “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by encamped armies, then know that the desolating of her has drawn near. Then let those in Judea begin fleeing to the mountains, and let those in the midst of her withdraw, and let those in the country places not enter into her.” (Luke 21:20, 21) Those instructions were clear, and Jesus’ followers took them seriously.

The fourth-century historian Eusebius of Caesarea reports that the Christians of all Judea acted on Jesus’ warning. When the Romans abandoned their first siege of Jerusalem in 66 C.E., many Jewish Christians went to live in the Gentile city of Pella, in the Roman province of Perea. By being awake to their times and by acting on Jesus’ warning, they escaped what has been described as “one of the most terrible sieges in all history.”

It Is High Time to Awake!

“MAKE no mistake about the age we live in; already it is high time for us to awake out of our sleep.” (Romans 13:11, Knox) The apostle Paul wrote those words to Christians in Rome some 14 years before the catastrophic end of the Jewish system of things in 70 C.E. Because they were spiritually awake, Jewish Christians were not in Jerusalem at that crucial time, so they escaped death or slavery. But how did they know that they needed to keep clear of the city?

Jesus Christ had warned that enemies would encircle Jerusalem and that its inhabitants would be dashed to the ground. (Luke 19:43, 44) Thereafter, Jesus gave his faithful followers a composite sign that was not difficult to recognize. (Luke 21:7-24) For those Christians who lived in Jerusalem, abandoning the city meant leaving homes and jobs. Nevertheless, their vigilance and flight preserved their lives.

When Jesus foretold Jerusalem’s destruction, his disciples asked: “When will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?” (Matthew 24:3) In his reply, Jesus compared his future presence with the period leading up to the global Flood of Noah’s day. Jesus pointed out that the Deluge swept away all the wicked. (Matthew 24:21, 37-39) He thus indicated that God would again intervene in human affairs. To what extent? Why, to the point of removing an entire evil world, or system of things! (Compare 2 Peter 3:5, 6.) Could that happen in our time?