Most commentators understand the distress/abomination that causes desolation to be a reference to the Roman invasion of Judea, the subsequent siege of Jerusalem and the sacking of the city and its temple which took place in AD 70. Preparing believers for these events, Jesus instructs his disciples to flee when they see danger approaching. The language which Jesus uses matches the details of what happened, though it also goes beyond the detail.1 As such it is hyperbolic language in which the destruction of Jerusalem is presented as a type of the horrors to come whilst believers wait for the return of Jesus Christ.
20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.