It is not time to flee into the mountains. That call comes when the disgusting thing stands in a holy place, and that is 1290 days after the constant feature is removed, and the constant feature has not yet been removed.
Hi Joshua: Interesting timeline. What was the Constant feature for the Jews and what scriptural reasoning or proof do you use to establish that fact? When did the Jews lose the Constant Feature? When did they become aware that they had lost it, if ever that has occurred to them? You say that the preaching work is the constant feature of the Watchtower. What is your scriptural reasoning for that idea? frank
Eliezar_ben_Hanania was a temple clerk in 66CE when Rome circled the city. (WikiPedia) "Eliezar ben Hanania (Hebrew: אלעזר בן חנניה) was a Jewish leader during the Great Revolt of Judea. Eliazar was the son of the High Priest Hanania ben Nedebai and hence a political figure of the 1st century Judaea Province. Eliazar was the governor of the temple [1] at the outbreak of the rebellion in 66 CE and following the initial outbreak of the violence in Jerusalem convinced the priests of the Jewish Temple to stop service of sacrifice for the Emperor. The action, though largely symbolic, was one of the main milestones to bring a full-scale rebellion in Judea." With the instructions from Dan 12:11 one should have known that from that moment 1290 days would pass before Rome entered the temple to destroy it. It was a warning for those in the city to understand the timeline. This encircling the city equals Rev 11:2 where the courtyard is trampled on for 42 months. This is not the moment the disgusting thing is placed. This is one of the most understood prophecies in scripture from what I see. The constant feature being removed and the disgusting thing being placed are separated by 1290 days. After the 1290 days is the moment the 8th king turns to kill Jesus brothers. The sacrifices for the Romans equals the Watchtower magazine announcing Jehovah's kingdom to the world today. I could get into why the constant feature is the Watchtower magazine and WTS itself but that is a whole other subject and would get off base. Suffice it to say it comes down to what you believe the temple today is since it is that, that Rome encircled in 66CE and entered in 70CE, and as well is what will be encircled for 42 months in the time of the end, then entered 1290 days later by the disgusting thing. This is the chronology of the 1290 days...
In 70CE when you would have seen Rome entering the temple, what would you have done, sit there and hang out? It will be no different in the time of the end. When the disgusting thing enters the temple it will be to physically kill Jesus brothers. This will be during the great tribulation, after Jesus has been enthroned and just a few days before Armageddon begins. This act is what kicks off Armageddon. Those alive will need to physically flee into the wilderness... Psm 2:1-3; "Why are the nations agitated And the peoples muttering an empty thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And high officials gather together as one Against Jehovah and against his anointed one. They say: “Let us tear off their shackles And throw off their ropes!â€
And those who live in remote islands ? Are they bound to die ? Will they have to find low-cost flights to hit the Sahara in time ? I am half kidding while saying this because saying that people will have then to physically flee into the wilderness is daring, to say to least. Unless you had something else in mind...
Besides, the fulfillment is most likely to occur in a specific spot, such as had at the temple in 70CE. So let's say Jesus brothers are gathered together on a property that has been purchased after the fall of the WTS, then that would be where the disgusting thing would focus its anger on. In that way the prophecy would be narrowed to those who were to flee in that specific spot. Just as in 70CE.
No, it's chronology... Besides, I didn't say it "would" be that way, just an idea however, the chronology, history, scripture shows and says that they are to flee physically. Any other idea would go against each, in my opinion...
Hi Joshua: The people who would fall under the category of "all in Judea" in the first Century would have heard about or physically seen the "disgusting thing that causes desolation" standing in "a" holy place but they would not have all "seen it" or "perceived it" or "become aware of it: (all proper understandings of the word eido cited in this verse) all at the same exact moment. So the reaction would have occurred over a period of time (how long I do not know). The point is that the key phrase in this scripture to me is "when you catch sight of" as it is in the NWT. So, the ones perceiving the event would not be doing so at the exact same moment. Some may have physically seen the army in the Temple with their own eyes. Some would have heard about the news from some other source at some other "later" time. So the key then was "when YOU perceive" this happening, don't delay but immediately "flee to the mountains" as that is where they would receive protection and no doubt instructions on what to do next for survival both physically and spiritually. Today, I think it is the same. I think that this has already happened in modern times, however the vast majority of those symbolically "in Judea" just have not "seen" or "perceived" of it yet because it has been kept secret and the news of it's occurrence has been covered over by lies and deceit. But there will come a time soon when this will become universally accepted as actually already have happened when it is unmistakeably revealed to the masses "in Judea". To those not "in Judea" this news will not have much relevance but for those symbolic ones "in Judea" it will have massive import. An example is that I learned about the "the disgusting thing that causes desolation, as spoken about by Daniel the prophet, standing in a holy place" when I was doing some research on my own on the United Nations (I was a member in good standing with Jehovah's Witnesses at the time). This was re-inforced by my reading of Robert King's website. I struggled with this information for about 3 years before I finally "perceived" what it really meant. It upset me spiritually right away, but I was not willing yet to take it for what it really was (a fulfillment of Matthew 24:16 "for ME"). As I started to understand the Bible more correctly I came to understand that there would be a "falling away" or "apostacy" of the true faith and that that "true faith" would lose it's luster. When that happened "for ME", I decided to leave "Jerusalem" of the Watchtower for the mountains. Many, and I would dare say "most" of those "in Judea" have not seen this occurence yet in their own minds spiritually and therefore it is impossible for them to "leave Jerusalem" at this time or before. But the time will come (and I think it will be soon) when Jehovah's Witnesses and others who qualify as "in Judea" will know that it did happen, that the true faith at that time did allow "the disgusting thing" to stand in it's Temple (of the members of the Bride of Christ on earth), therefore defiling that Temple and everything and everyone in it. YOU and others may not see that now, but when you eventually do (and YOU will) follow that command to "flee to the mountains". They were not very visible when I left, but Jehovah and Jesus led me there anyway. In the future these mountains will be raised up higher than all the other mountains and they will be easy to find. It may not be easy to get there, but you will see them unmistakebly. When that time comes for YOU, do not hesitate as the time for reaction will not last long. frank