Matthew 24:18

Therefore them also that are on the housetop, He suffers not to enter into the house to take their clothes, indicating the evils to be inevitable, and the calamity without end, and that it must needs be that he that was involved therein should surely perish. Therefore He adds also, him that is in the field, saying, neither let this man turn back to take his clothes. For if they that are in doors flee, much more they that are out of doors ought not to take refuge within.

(Verse 16 onwards) Then those who are in Judea, let them flee to the mountains; and those who are on the roof, let them not come down to take anything from their house; and those who are in the field, let them not turn back to take their cloak.

Whoever is in Judea, that is, "in the letter of the old law," should flee to the mountains of the new things of the Spirit. And whoever is found to have gone up onto the roof, which is the Word, and stands high above his home should not descend to retrieve anything from within his house. For he who remains on the roof and denies himself will never need to come down.Whoever is in the field must not turn back.

The holy reading continues: "Let him in the field not turn back." This field represents the church, as was demonstrated by the blessing our blessed patriarch Isaac gave to his son Jacob: "Behold, the smell of my son is like the smell of a bountiful …

(ubi sup.) For in tribulations we must beware of coming down from the spiritual heights, and yielding ourselves to the carnal life; or of failing and looking behind us, after having made some progress forwards.

Likewise, he that is in the field, let him not go back, to his house, to take his coat, namely, whatever things are necessary, because all that a man has he will give for his life. And why does he say this? Because when the …

To suggest the utter inevitability of the calamities, He says that one must flee without turning back, and without taking any thought for what is in the houses, neither clothing nor any other possessions. Some say that the "abomination of desolation" means the Antichrist who …

); the deceivers would pretend to divine inspiration, an immediate mission, and a spirit of prophecy, when it was all a lie. Such they had been formerly ( Jer. xxiii. 6 ), as was foretold, Deut. xiii.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

Neither let him which is in the field return back - Because when once the army of the Romans sits down before the city, there shall be no more any possibility of escape, as they shall never remove till Jerusalem be destroyed.

One main subject of this part of our Lord’s prophecy is the taking of Jerusalem by the Romans. That great event took place about forty years after the words we have now read were spoken. A full account of it is to be found in the writings of the historian Josephus. Those writings are the best comment on our Lord’s words; they are a striking proof of the accuracy of every title of his predictions.

One main subject of this part of our Lord’s prophecy is the taking of Jerusalem by the Romans. That great event took place about forty years after the words we have now read were spoken. A full account of it is to be found in the writings of the historian Josephus. Those writings are the best comment on our Lord’s words; they are a striking proof of the accuracy of every title of his predictions. The horrors and miseries which the Jews endured throughout the siege of their city exceed anything on record: it was truly a time of tribulation, so as was not since the beginning of the world It surprises some to find so much importance attached to the taking of Jerusalem: they would rather regard the whole chapter as unfulfilled. Such persons forget that Jerusalem and the temple were the heart of the old Jewish dispensation. When they were destroyed, the old Mosaic system came to an end. The daily sacrifice, the yearly feasts, the altar, the holy of holies and the priesthood were all essential parts of revealed religion, till Christ came—but no longer. When he died upon the cross, their work was done: they were dead, and it only remained that they should be buried. But it was not fitting that this thing should be done quietly. The ending of a dispensation given with so much solemnity at Mount Sinai might well be expected to be marked with particular solemnity; the destruction of the holy temple, where so many old saints had seen “shadows of good things to come,” might well be expected to form a subject of prophecy: and so it was. The Lord Jesus specially predicts the desolation of “the holy place.” The great High Priest describes the end of the dispensation which had been a schoolmaster to bring men to himself. But we must not suppose that this part of our Lord’s prophecy is exhausted by the first taking of Jerusalem.

Return back to take his clothes - His clothes which, in “working,” He had laid aside, or which, in fleeing, he should throw off as an encumbrance. “Clothes” here means the “outer” garment, commonly laid aside when men worked or ran. See the notes at Mat 5:40. These directions were followed. It is said that the Christians, warned by these predictions, fled from Jerusalem to Pella, and other places beyond the Jordan; so that there is not evidence that a single “Christian” perished in Jerusalem - Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., lib. 3 chapter 6.