When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies,
know that its desolation is at hand.
Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains.
The Lord wants us to have the freedom to follow him, even when he calls out, metaphorically or literally, from the earthly cities in which we live, away, perhaps, from our routines and those things to which we are attached. Yet this call for detachment is not abstract or arbitrary. It is necessary so they he can keep us in safety, necessary if we are to follow his plan and avail ourselves of the protection he desires to provide for us.
Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days,
for a terrible calamity will come upon the earth
and a wrathful judgment upon this people.
The Lord does not deliver us from all trials or suffering. Indeed the very act of leaving the city behind will doubtlessly be difficult for those of us who have dwelt there for our entire lives. Yet he does indeed desire to deliver us from judgment, to ensure that we are living our spiritual lives in communities safe from the reign of "the edge of the sword" of mortal sin, free of captivity to the the world, the flesh, and the Devil.
They will fall by the edge of the sword
and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles;
and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles
until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
The world around us is arguably motivated primarily by fear. It is no exaggeration to say that fright and anxiety are so intense and pervasive in our world as to be causing deaths that might have otherwise been avoided, such as when stress aggravates what might have been non-fatal physical illnesses, or when it causes accidents that might have been avoided by hearts at peace.
People will die of fright
in anticipation of what is coming upon the world,
for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Jesus does not tell us of these fearful things so that we will be afraid, but rather so that we will be prepared. These very signs that speak judgment on the world promise redemption to those who know and await the coming of the Son of Man. It is not as though the message is primarily that we should be ready to give away all we have and move because if we don't we might die with the world. It is more to the point that we should be ready to consider the value of what we leave behind as nothing compared to that which we await, toward which we move, just as did Saint Paul.
For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ (see Philippians 3:8).
As with Daniel, there is a lion prowling and hungry, awaiting victims to consume, but in our case that lion is the devil himself (see First Peter 5:8-9). Fortunately, Daniel was not the last to be delivered from the mouth of a lion. Paul experienced it, saying, "I was rescued from the lion's mouth" (see Second Timothy 4:17). Those early martyrs who did become food for mere animals were able to do so with joy precisely because the mouth of the lion who was the true adversary was definitively closed and because they themselves had such an eager expectation of seeing the Son of Man.
For ourselves, it is not so much a matter of stripping down to nothing, of surrendering all we have, as it is a matter of learning the "surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" (see Philippians 3:8) so deeply that all of the other things which once so charmed, transfixed, and captivated us finally lose their hold.
And then they will see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
But when these signs begin to happen,
stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand.
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