Then let those in Judea begin fleeing to the mountains, and let those in the midst of her withdraw, and let those in the country places not enter into her; because these are days for meting out justice, that all the things written may be fulfilled.”​—Luke 21:20-22.

17, 18. (a) When and how did Christians act on Jesus’ words recorded at Luke 21:20-22? (b) What further test might they have faced?

¹⁷ More than 30 years had gone by. Then, in the year 66 C.E., Roman forces laid siege to Jerusalem. When near victory, they withdrew. Elated at the thought that they had won, Jewish people pursued the Romans.a But what would the Christians do? Eusebius, who lived in the first part of the fourth century, reports that “those who believed on Christ migrated from Jerusalem” to a city in Perea called Pella.b

20. How do the events you have seen compare with those that first-century Christians saw?

²⁰ Christians fled Jerusalem because they had seen the many facets of Jesus’ “sign” come true and after they had seen the fulfillment of his statement about armies surrounding the city.