Topical Studies
Fleeing
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Matthew 2:13-14 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Notice, the message for them to flee came from God! Does God expect us to flee, or does He expect us to stay put and let Him put an invisible shield around us so that we are impervious to what is happening around us? No, God Himself sent a message by an angel to Joseph, and he fled immediately by night. The implication of those two scriptures is that he hopped up out of bed, gathered Mary, Jeseus, and their things, and took off for Egypt while it was yet dark. Apparently, he did not even wait until morning to leave. Joseph, hand-picked by God to be the surrogate father (or stepfather) to His own Son, had enough spiritual know-now to flee. There is nothing cowardly about fleeing. Why would God want us to flee? Obviously, there are things to be learned from fleeing that cannot be learned if God is always protecting us from the damage that we may sometimes bring on ourselves.
John W. Ritenbaugh
A Place of Safety? (Part 2)
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Matthew 24:15-22 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
How will the days be shortened? Is God going to lessen time than would normally come? That is a part of the explanation. The implication, though, within the context, is that God will stop short what is occurring lest everybody be killed. If He allowed the events that were taking place to continue, everyone would die. When He stops the event, time in a sense stops—at least as far as this event is concerned. To whom are the pronouns referring here? Verse 15, "Therefore when you." Verse 16, "Then let those." Verse 17, "Let him." Verse 18, "Let him." Verse 19, "But woe to you." These pronouns refer to those who understand the prophecies and are alive at the time these things are taking place. How many people are involved? It is unspecified. One thing is clear. There is no doubt that, in this prophecy, deliverance involves flight (at least to those who are around Jerusalem during this unprecedented distress). In this case, to flee in no way implies flying. The verb here is phuego, and it means to flee, to escape danger. It indicates nothing other than escaping by running—shoe-leather express. The context of the chapter is "literal and physical." It is not "figurative and spiritual." It involves physical survival worldwide, though the prophecy itself focuses on Jerusalem. It is worldwide because verses 21-22 make it clear "that no one would be saved alive." He means no one on earth, not just that no one around Jerusalem would be saved alive. This time is so bad that even the elect would die, except for God's intervention. Notice that God, through His servant Jesus Christ, says, "Don't stay in the midst of the trouble—get out." Considering the timeframe, Psalm 91 would have to be modified to apply it directly to us, because our understanding from other portions of God's Word is that He expects us to get out, to flee to some designated place called "your chamber" or "her place." It involves segregating ourselves away from something. We can also understand that we will have help from God in segregating ourselves, as I Corinthians 10:13 indicates. He makes a way of escape that His people can take, just as He did for Israel. He opened up the Red Sea so that they could escape. They walked to safety, fleeing from the Egyptian army. Nevertheless, God intervened.
John W. Ritenbaugh
A Place of Safety? (Part 1)
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Luke 4:28-30 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
When Jesus was faced with violence, He fled the area. His work had to go on, so God intervened. Psalm 91 came into play here, in that Jesus was the victim of something He could not foresee. He was not tempting God in any way. He was doing His job, and persecution quickly arose against Him, so God protected Him from the immediate danger. Jesus fled to another area, to Capernaum. God is not illogical, nor does He defy His own laws. He expects His people to use both faith and wisdom—maybe we could say, common sense. Because of faith, God will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves—as He did for Jesus in protecting His life, miraculously enabling Him to pass right through a very angry crowd. But Jesus' wisdom is also clearly shown in this case. God wants us to do something physical to remove ourselves from the danger, as Jesus did in leaving the area. There is a faith factor as well as wisdom. The wisdom is a fruit of one's faith. In addition, there is a third factor. God is deeply involved in working in us. He knows how far along in the process of His work He is. So we have our faith in God, we have wisdom or common sense, and we also have God working with us.
John W. Ritenbaugh
A Place of Safety? (Part 2)
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Luke 21:21-23 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
If we are in Judea at this time, we should flee and not expect God to protect us there. Wisdom dictates that we follow God's instruction and get out. God's purpose in our lives will be worked out somewhere else. He also warns that, if we are outside the city, do not go into it—more wisdom. Why? "These are the days of vengeance."
John W. Ritenbaugh
A Place of Safety? (Part 2)
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