here’s one thing we can all agree on about 2020––it certainly will be remembered as one of the most challenging and grief-stricken years in the history of our nation. With more than 300,000 Americans dead from COVID-19 at the time of this writing, and new infections daily, millions ravaged by huge waves of financial problems from the impact of the pandemic recession (which is disproportionately high for families of color), and the nightmare of racial injustice and police use of deadly force against Black people and other minorities, is it time to “flee to the mountains” as instructed in Matthew 24:16?
This question was posed to me shortly after the coronavirus pandemic began. As governments and business abruptly close around the world due to the unknowns of this deadly invisible disease, many people, especially believers, recognized this crisis from Jesus’ list of signs indicating that the Second Coming is near. This connection between COVID-19 and the end of the world is certainly reasonable. After all, Jesus Himself did include “pestilences” or “diseases” along with the other warnings of religious, political, and environmental turmoil in Matthew 24:6. So does the Lord Jesus want us now, in a global health pandemic, literally looking for lodges in mountains? Well, let’s briefly examine the context of Matthew 25:15-20 to understand what Jesus was saying to His original audience and what it means for our lives today.
The clear context of these verses is about the destruction of Jerusalem that took place in 70 A.D. In verse 15, Jesus quoted the words Daniel had prophesied about the ending of the Jewish nation, Temple, and the city of Jerusalem (Daniel 9:26-27). Within less than 40 years, God’s chosen people would ultimately reject Jesus as the world’s Savior and it was essential that the disciples would be prepared to endure persecution from both Jews and Romans. This conflict would ban many followers of Christ from the city of Jerusalem, causing them to “flee to the mountains” to escape the pain of death.
We are living in the ending days of this world’s history and it is essential that we too are prepared to endure the crisis of sin and suffering plaguing our world today. But should our focus and concentration be on preparing to head into the mountains and hibernate with the bears in obedience to this prophecy? Well, here in Jacksonville where I live, mountains are not one of the major landforms of Florida. In fact, the nearest mountain range to where I live is about five hours. Since travel bans are still in effect in many countries around the world to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, trying to find a literal mountain hideout seems extremely difficult, dangerous and quite impractical during a pandemic recession.
We see in the same chapter, Jesus’ instructions to His followers is not to “self-quarantine” in mountain hideouts, but to “go into all the world” proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God to those who are hopeless and suffering from injustice (Matthew 24:14). All humanity must be given an opportunity to know that the options presented to us by the world are not all that there is. There is a better way and the good news is that the quality of our life can only be satisfied by surrendering to Christ. So on a practical note, rather than searching for mountain hideaways to withdraw from suffering, simply use the promises of God’s Word, prayer and compassion as resources to mitigate the suffering of sin in your own life and at the same time for the service of others.
