Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 21:25
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
25. signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars ] The articles should be omitted. These signs are mainly metaphorical the eclipse of nations and the downfall of potentates though there may be literal fulfilments also. The language is that of the ancient prophets, Amo 8:9; Joe 2:30-31; Eze 32:7-8, as in Rev 6:12-14.
distress of nations ] Synoche, xii. 50 and 2Co 2:4.
the sea and the waves roaring ] The true reading is probably and the translation, “in perplexity at the roar of the sea and surge.” Comp. Psa 46:4.“ In that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea,” Isa 5:30. The raging sea is the sea of nations, Jdg 1:13; Rev 17:15.
Verse 25. The sea and the waves roaring] Figuratively pointing out the immense Roman armies by which Judea was to be overrun and destroyed. We may easily imagine, that this was eminently fulfilled in the siege of Jerusalem, that mens hearts failed them for fear; and for prodigies, we are told of enough, both by Josephus and Tacitus, the latter tells us, that armies were seen fighting in the air with glistering armour, and the temple seemed all as on fire with lightning; he also tells us of the voice heard, and throwing open of the doors of the temple, before mentioned; but tells us few were affected, but built hopes upon a tradition they had, That now was the time ut valesceret Oriens; which was true enough, but not in their sense. But what is spoken here certainly relates to the day of judgment, before which prodigious things will be seen, 2Pe 3:10,12; and it follows, (see Luk 21:27,28). 25-28. signs, c.Though thegrandeur of this language carries the mind over the head of allperiods but that of Christ’s second coming, nearly every expressionwill be found used of the Lord’s coming in terrible nationaljudgments, as of Babylon, &c. and from Luk 21:28;Luk 21:32, it seems undeniablethat its immediate reference was to the destruction ofJerusalem, though its ultimate reference beyond doubt is toChrist’s final coming. And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon,…. They shall be darkened, and suffer very strange and surprising eclipses:
and in the stars; they shall fall from heaven, as in Mt 24:29 and so the Ethiopic version reads here: all which, as it may be understood in a literal sense, so it may likewise in figurative and mystical one, and be interpreted of the changes there should be in the Jewish state; [See comments on Mt 24:29]. So the Jewish writers h interpret the sun, the light, the moon, and stars, in Ec 12:2. By the “sun” they understand the kingdom of the house of David; by “the light”, the law; by “the moon”, the sanhedrim; and by the stars, the Rabbins; and the same seem to be designed by the stars here:
and upon the earth distress of nations; upon the land of Israel; in the several nations and countries belonging to it; as Galilee of the nations, Judea, and the region beyond Jordan, shall be in great distress:
with perplexity; of mind, not knowing what to do, which way to go, or step to take; the Syriac version, instead of it, reads “clapping, or pressing of the hands”; which is done by persons, when in an agony and great distress:
the sea and the waves roaring; which design some unusual and extraordinary storms and tempests, and inundations in the sea of Galilee, or Tiberias, which would be so very terrible, as to cause great uneasiness, distress, and perplexity; and so some versions render it, “because of the sea”, &c.
h In Prefat. Echa Rabbati, fol. 38. 4. Jarchi in Eccles. xii. 2.
Distress (). From . In the N.T. only here and 2Co 2:4. Anguish. In perplexity ( ). State of one who is , who has lost his way ( privative and ). Here only in the N.T. though an old and common word. For the roaring of the sea ( ). Our word echo (Latin echo) is this word , a reverberating sound. Sense of rumour in Lu 4:37. Billows (). Old word for the swell of the sea. Here only in the N.T. Signs [] . See on Mt 24:24. Distress [] . Only here and 2Co 2:4. Kindred with sunecomenh, taken (ch. 4 38), on which see note. The original idea of the word is being held in a tight grasp. With perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring. The A. V. follows the reading hjcoushv, the participle, roaring. The proper reading is hjcouv, the noun, the roaring. Render perplexity for the roaring of the sea, etc. ‘Hcw, roaring, is properly a returned sound, an echo. Generally a ringing sound, as of the blows on an anvil. Waves [] . Only here in New Testament. The radical notion of the word is unsteady motion, especially the rolling swell of the sea. Rev., better, billows.
1) “And there shall be signs in the sun,” (kai esontai semeia en helio) “And there will be signs in (the) sun,” or sun signs, sun spots. This is a projection of events that shall occur as the approach of the end of the Gentile dispensation, and the coming of The Tribulation The Great, Mat 24:29. At this time Jesus is to come.
2) “And in the moon, and the stars;” (kai selene kai astrois) “And in the moon and signs in the stars,” various visible planetary signs, moon signs and star signs, or moon spots and star spots of marred light, Mar 13:24-25.
3) “And upon the earth distress of nations,” (kai epi tes sunoche ethnon) “And there will be anxiety (emotional stress) of nations (races) upon the earth,” racial tensions and conflicts, Luk 21:23; yet such is not to separate a believer from his first love for God, Rom 8:35; 1Th 3:7.
4) “With perplexity;” (en aporia) “In a state or condition of perplexity,” uncertainty or confusion, where men are without moral, ethical, or spiritual direction, having turned away from the Word of God, 2Pe 3:10; 2Pe 3:12.
5) “The sea and the waves roaring;” (echous thalasses kai salou) “Of the sound nature of (the) sea and the surf,” Popular tumults or uprisings, without ceasing, or without any rest day or night. This appears to refer to fomenting turmoil among the masses of humanity, with trouble and strife on every hand. For “there is (exists) no peace with the wicked,” Isa 57:20-21; Rev 21:1.
Appleburys Comments
Christs Coming in Contrast to Destruction of Jerusalem Luk. 21:25-27 And there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the billows; 26 men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. 27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
Comments
And there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars.The second coming of Christ will be marked by convulsions of the heavens and the earth. They are not the same as marked the approaching destruction of Jerusalem. Those signs gave the disciples time to prepare for what was about to happen by fleeing from the doomed city. His coming will be at an unknown time; the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. It will come when the longsuffering of God will have reached its end. At that time the heavens will pass away with a great noise; the earth and its works will be burned up. See 2Pe. 3:9-10. The sight of it will cause men to faint with fear. Then they shall see the sign of the Son of Man: His coming in the clouds with power and great glory. See also Mat. 24:30.
(25-33) And there shall be signs in the sun.See Notes on Mat. 24:29-35, Mar. 13:24-31, where the signs are defined as the sun being darkened, and the moon not giving her light.
Distress of nations.The Greek for the first noun means literally, constraint, the sense of being hemmed in, as when we say in great straits. It is used by St. Paul in 2Co. 2:4, and not elsewhere in the New Testament. The word for perplexity is used by St. Luke only.
The sea and the waves roaring.The better MSS. give a different punctuation and reading, with perplexity from the roar of the sea, and of the surge, or wave. In the common reading we have another instance of agreement with St. Paul, in 1Co. 13:1, where the word is rendered tinklingbetter, echoing, or resounding. Assuming, as has been suggested above, that St. Lukes report is of the nature of a paraphrase, we may, perhaps, connect this feature in it with his own experience. To one who had known the perils of waters narrated in Acts 27, no picture of the more dread phenomena of nature could be complete without the sea and the waves roaring.
The Coming of the Son of man, Luk 21:25-27.
In contrast with the previous paragraph, describing the destruction and dispersion, we now have the Judgment Advent. These three verses are parallel with Mat 24:29-31. The signs in the sun and moon are the effects of the Coming of the Son of man previous to his visibility. The use of the word signs here does not, therefore, contradict the repeated declaration that the Coming will be without warning and sudden. There is a great and fearful sublimity in the description of these two verses.
“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the billows, men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”
And what will happen during the period when the times of the Gentiles are being fulfilled? Will this be the time of worldwide peace? Jesus tells us quite plainly, if symbolically, that it will not be so. They will be times of portents, when the very lights of heaven are affected, times of distress, times of perplexity because of the roaring of the nations. This Gentile domination will not produce peace. Rather men will be fainting for fear as they look forward to what the future holds (compare Isa 13:6-8). For it is only the Messiah Who can bring a true, genuine and lasting peace (Isaiah 11).
The mention of the heavenly bodies here ties in with their use elsewhere to indicate dreadful events on earth. Things will happen of such a nature that they will appear to distort the heavens. Their friendly light will be affected. It will be as though the earth is falling in on itself. Compare Isa 13:10; Isa 34:4; Eze 32:7-8; Joe 2:10; Joe 2:28; Hag 2:6; Hag 2:21; Rev 6:12-14, all of which really in the end indicate political movements and dreadful things happening on earth, not all in the last days. When the smoke of warfare and the fires of destruction are on the earth it has a strange effect on the perception of the heavens. If ‘the powers of the heavens’ are seen as shaken, then times are really bad. That is not to deny that behind the words is the fact that unearthly influences might also be at work. If we consider Rom 8:38; Eph 1:21 (compare also Daniel 10) these may indicate that more is involved than just the physical. See also for this the images in Revelation such as Luk 16:12-14. But if that is so we will not be aware of it. It will be going on unseen. And we should note that in Haggai the idea of the shaking of the heavens is as a preparation for the final triumph of God (Hag 2:21-22). It finally indicates the activity of God.
‘The roaring of the sea and the billows’ reminds us that God regularly likens the nations to troubled seas. ‘The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt’ (Isa 57:20). God is thus the One who ‘stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples’ (Psa 65:7), so that without Him it goes out of control. It is from the sea that the beastly empires arise (Dan 7:2-3; Rev 13:1). Thus the sea symbolises the nations. Furthermore the Israelites tended to fear the sea and would also see in this picture all of which they were afraid.
And there can be no doubt that such fear and distress and perplexity has been present in all centuries, and never more so than now as we see the rise of militant Islam, the fear of nuclear weapons reaching uncontrolled hands, the approach of the unknown effects of global warming, the possibility of the cessation of the gulf stream, the thinning of the ozone layer, the rising of sea levels, and the effects of other phenomena that could bring disaster on our world, and about which we can do very little, even more so because we are driven on by the insatiable demand of men and women for pleasure and enjoyment. Perhaps these will produce signs in sun, moon and stars, perhaps through this parts of the world will be burned up (2Pe 3:10; Rev 16:8), perhaps these will bring distress of nations and perplexity. No sensible person today doubts the possibility that such could be the result of what we are doing to the earth’s atmosphere. Or perhaps in time these will pass by and little will seem to happen and another century will come and go, and then all these fears will again repeat themselves. We do not know. But in the midst of it we hear His warning, ‘Be ready, for in such an hour as you think not, the Son of Man will come’.
Signs which will accompany the coming of Christ:
v. 25. And there shall be signs in the sun and in the moon and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
v. 26. men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
v. 27. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
Here some of,. the signs that will usher in the great Day of Judgment are enumerated. The laws of nature, which have been fixed by the Creator, will be repealed, and in consequence the universe will dissolve in chaos. Unusual, unheard-of signs will take place in sun, moon, and stars, not those of the regular eclipses or similar phenomena which are governed by fixed laws, but such as will cause fearful consternation from the start, and oppressive distress experienced by the people of the world, together with a helpless perplexity, caused in part also by the noise and billows of the sea. So indescribably dreadful will be the dissolution of the bonds that hold the universe together that the hearts of men will fail them, will be taken out of their bodies for fear and for expectation of the things that are coming and are threatening to engulf the world; for the very powers of the heavens that hold the machinery of the vast sky in place will be moved and shaken. And then, in the midst of all this turmoil, while the cataclysmic disturbances are tossing the world and the entire universe about in utter helplessness, then they, all men, will see the Son of Man, the great Judge of the earth, coming in a cloud, with power and great glory. The despised and rejected, the meek and humble Prophet of Galilee will then have stripped off all evidences of the former humiliation, and all men will be forced to recognize Him as the Lord of all.
Luk 21:25. And there shall be signs See on Mat 24:29. To what has been said there, we may add, that the circumstances of the light of the sun and moon being obscured, and of the stars falling from heaven, are not descriptive of the last day of judgment, but of the great and terrible day of the Lord, which in scripture language means the destruction of Jerusalem. For when the prophet Joel speaks of that day, and describes the locusts, one of the four plagues, under a most beautiful allegory, he represents the earth as quaking before them;the heavens shall tremble, says he, the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining, Joe 2:10. And, to remove all possibility of doubt concerning the meaning of these words in St. Matthew’s gospel, our Saviour closes his predictions in this remarkable manner, Verily I say unto you, this generation shalt not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Nothing surely can be more explicit, more certain, more convincing to any unprejudiced mind, than this evidence for Christ and Christianity from prophesy. Here is no ambiguity, no conjecture, no accommodation; all is plain and evident: and with regard to the last destruction of Jerusalem, the words of our Lord himself in the gospels exactly correspond with those of the ancient prophets. Bowyer, in his Greek Testament, proposes to render the last clause, Through distress, as of the roaring sea.
Luk 21:25-26 . There now follows what should come to pass at the end of the said times of the Gentiles before the Parousia . Since Luke, writing in the time in which such are still passing, has adopted these also into the prophecy from the tradition expanded ex eventu , the Parousia in his statement could not be immediately linked on to the destruction of Jerusalem, as was the case in Mar 13:24 , and still more definitely by means of in Mat 24:29 . In the midst between these two catastrophes actually already came those .
. . .] Distress (2Co 2:4 ) of nations in perplexity at the roaring of the seas and waves . Luke alone has this fearful feature. The genitive [246] (see the critical remarks) indicates that to which the refers . Comp. Herod. iv. 83: ; Herodian, iv. 14. 1 : . Groundlessly Bornemann conjectures . The “vocem angustiorem ( , breakers ) annectit latiori,” Kypke.
Luk 21:26 . . .] while men give up the ghost (Thuc. i. 134. 3; Bion, i. 9; Alciphr. Ep. iii. 72; 4Ma 15:15 ) for fear, etc. It might be taken, moreover, of mere faintness (Hom. Od. xxiv. 348), but the stronger expression corresponds more to the progressive colouring of the description.
. . . .] not a clause limping after (de Wette), but an energetic declaration coming in at the close as to the cause of these phenomena. See, besides, on Mat 24:29 .
[246] From the nominative (not ); hence not to be accented , but .
Second Part (Luk 21:25-36)
(Parallel to Mat 24:29-41; Mar 13:24-37.)
25And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars [in sun and moon and stars]; and upon the earth distress [anxiety] of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring [nations in perplexity concerning a roaring of sea and waves7]; 26Mens hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven [the heavens] shall be shaken. 27And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory28[great power and glory]. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. 29And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; 30When they now shoot forth [have put forth], ye see and know [seeing it ye know] of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. 31So likewise ye, when ye see these things come [coming] to pass, knowye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. 32Verily I say unto you, This generationshall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. 33Heaven and earth shall pass away; but mywords shall not pass away. 34And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting [or, revelling], and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 35For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36Watch ye therefore,8 and pray always [ ], that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass [are coming], and to stand before the Son of man.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Luk 21:25. And there shall be signs.The Saviour does not now turn back again to the point of time of the destruction of Jerusalem, but He states what shall take place after the shall have been fulfilled. The consecutiveness of this delineation is plainly enough indicated by the of Luke, and it is purely arbitrary to assert (De Wette) that the Evangelist avoids the of Matthew because he wrote after the destruction of Jerusalem. The variation is simply connected with the freer form of the redaction of this discourse of our Lord in Luke, to which it is at the same time to be ascribed that he, since he writes for the Gentile Christians, does not speak of the flight on the Sabbath, of the shortening of these days, and of the false Jewish prophets, while he also does not so particularly specialize further , as is done by Matthew and Mark. As respects, moreover, the signs themselves, there is as little reason (Starke) to understand by the sun Antichrist, by the moon and the stars antichristian teachers, as (Besser and others) without any proof to understand the stars metaphorically of mighty princes, and the roaring sea of the tumult of nations. Other views we find given by Lange on the parallel in Matthew. Why do we not rather simply believe our Lord at His word, that His will be accompanied with cosmic revolutions, whose actual course can be as little calculated as their possibility can be denied a priori? It was known even from the Old Testament that fearful signs in the realm of nature would herald the day of the Lord, see, e. g., Jer 4:23; Joe 2:30, &c. Commonly such delineations are ascribed to the poetry of prophecy, and certainly it would betray little taste and little intimacy with the style of the Holy Scriptures if one upon such dicta would build a definite theory as to the future destiny of the heavenly bodies. But, on the other hand, we learn even by the extension which natural science has gained in our days to recognize the limitation of human science even, in this sphere, and the genuine cosmologian and theologian will be modest enough not here too rashly to take the word impossible upon his lips. We are wanting in any fixed hermeneutic rule to determine proprio marte what is here to be understood literally and what tropically; only the event will determine where in this case lie the boundaries between imagination and reality.
On the earth anxiety of nations.This allusion to the profound anxiety which shall fill the human world, is peculiar to Luke. The same thought is further developed, Rev 6:12-15, and has in itself psychological probability, without here supposing believers to be entirely excluded. As in the animal world important alterations in the atmosphere are instinctively perceived, as often an inexplicable presentiment of a terrible calamity, whose breaking in is feared, makes even the most courageous pale with terror; so does our Lord give us to expect that an obscure presentiment of great events shortly before His Parusia will weigh like heavy Alps on many a heart. Luke speaks of (see notes on the text) as an indication of that to which the anxiety and perplexity of the nations has relation. The roaring of the sea and waves, that is, reminds even those who do not live in expectation of the coming of the Son of Man, of terrible things, nevertheless, which are about to come upon the earth, while their evil conscience testifies to them that they have the worst to expect therefrom. The allegorical expositors of Scripture here only understand again the sea of nations, apparently because they find it a little apocryphal that the ocean, at the approach of the mortal hour of this visible creation, should roar somewhat more heavily than wont. We, for our part, find the physical signs in the sea not more improbable than those in the moon and the stars
Luk 21:26. Mens hearts failing them for fear, , that is, not only grow rigid (De Wette) or fall into swooning, but, as Hesychius interprets = . What even now not unfrequently happens by a very high degree of heat, anxiety, or sorrow, that the tension of the moment has the loss of life as a consequence, will then especially no longer be classed among the rare casualties; no wonder, since even the powers of heaven shall be shaken, perhaps the sustaining and working forces of the heavenly system, with their influences for the earth, so that the Lord finally comprehending all together, means to say, Everything together shall give way and finally fall to pieces, 2Pe 3:10-12. Stier. According to De Wette, this phrase from Matthew, forsooth, limps behind, but an exegesis which does not feel that just by this terrible word the sufficient explanation of the just-portrayed anxiety is given, appears itself not to stand upon a wholly good footing.
Luk 21:27. And then.Here also, as in Matthew and Mark, the personal coming of the Messiah at the very time when the whole visible creation threatens to sink into a chaos. According to Matthew, there is finally seen first the sign of the coming of the Son of Man, afterwards Himself. According to Mark and Luke, on the other hand, the appearance of the Messiah upon the cloudsMark in the plural, Luke in the singularis immediately beheld, while these two are silent as to the . For the principal views as to the latter, see Lange on Mat 24:30. It may be very well supposed that the cloud of light itself which bears Him and the glory which surrounds Him might be this . Compare the assurance of the angels at the Ascension, which Luke alone has preserved to us, Act 1:11, that the Lord shall come again even so () as ( , i. e., , Luk 21:9) they had seen Him go towards heaven. The mention of the appearance and activity of the angels at the last day, we find only in Matthew and Mark ad loc. [and in almost all the passages in the first three Gospels in which our Lord refers to the day of judgment.C. C. S.] On the other hand, Luke lays emphasis on the practical side of the matter, the expectation and joy with which the disciples of our Lord, who are conceived as then still living upon the earth, shall behold the approach of these things. This again is genuinely Pauline, comp. Rom 8:19-23.
Luk 21:28. And when these things begin to come to pass.There is not the least reason for understanding by exclusively what is last named, the coming of the Son of Man in His . This manifestation is in a certain sense the work of a moment, and when this shall have come to pass, then is the redemption of His own not only near (), but really present. Rather are we to understand thereby all previous tokens, which are named Luk 21:25-26, and which must necessarily endure for some time (therefore also ). These same events which the world shall gaze on with helpless terror, must be for believers an awakening voice to joyful hope and expectation, since these very prove that the birth-hour of their salvation comes with every moment nearer and nearer. The heads which hitherto had often been bowed under all manner of misery and persecution, must then be lifted up, comp. Rom 8:19; Jam 5:8.
Luk 21:29. And He spake to them a parable.Here also, as in Luk 21:10, Luke appears as narrator, while with Matthew and Mark the tone of discourse continues undisturbed. The latter is internally more probable. The former is a new proof of the greater freedom of Lukes redaction. Moreover, the mention of all the trees, with and beside the fig-tree, is peculiar to him. Perhaps our Lord speaks here especially of a fig-tree, because this had served Him so frequently as a type of the Israelitish people, Mar 11:12-14; Luk 13:6-9. But that He here also speaks of that symbolical fig-tree, in other words, that He designates the reviving Israel as a prophet of His near approach (Stier), appears to us quite as unproved as that the Lord means to allude to the amarum and venenatum quiddam in the sap of the fig-leaves, and adduces the incrementa malignitatis, as presages of His coming (Ebrard). In both cases the mention at least of all the trees would be quite incongruous, and we therefore consider it as better to assume that He spoke so especially of the fig-tree because He wished to designate it as a special kind of tree, in distinction from the others.
Luk 21:30. When they now put forth.Designedly Luke expresses himself here somewhat less definitely than Matthew and Mark, because he does not intend to bring into prominence the specific peculiarity of the fig-tree, whose leaves develop themselves at the same time with the setting of the fruit, but only has in mind that which is common to all trees. With the various kinds of trees the putting forth of leaves is the token of approaching summer; whoever sees the one knows then of himself that the other is at hand. , etiamsi nemo vos doceat. Bengel.The kingdom of God.Here, of course, agreeably to the whole text, definitely apprehended as regnum glori.
Luk 21:32. This generation shall not pass away.For a statement of the different views with reference to the signification of , see Lange, ad loc. The explanation that our Lord had in mind the generation then living is certainly the least artificial, while every other gives immediate occasion to the conjecture that it has arisen from the perplexity as to how to bring the prophecy into agreement with the fulfilment. It may be asked, however, whether the words cannot be understood in such a sense that they make the explanation of as designation of that generation at all events possible. By we have no longer to understand the destruction of Jerusalem in itself, which now already lies behind our Lords view, nor yet His itself, for in the following verse there is again mention of a passing away of heaven and earth, but we have to understand the presages of His coming which He had just indicated symbolically, as, for instance, in the image of the putting forth of the leaves of the trees. These presages now occupy necessarily a certain period of time (, Luk 21:28, and , used of things of this sort, is an elastic idea, by which not only that which is momentary, but also that which is successive, is expressed). So must, therefore, the explanation be permitted, until all things shall have begun to come to pass, all things, that is, which are to serve as the previous signs of His coming; and this was really the case during the life of the contemporaries of our Lord, who in the destruction of Jerusalem saw the type of the approaching end of the world. He will therefore say: This generation shall not pass away without the beginning of the end of the world here foretold you having come to pass in the actual destruction of Jerusalem. Our Lord by no means says that everything which was to take place before the will be omnibus numeris absolutum atque ad finem perductum before a generation of men will have passed. The question cannot be merely what signifies in itself, but what it is to signify in this connection. An explanation of this verse, it is true, in which no difficulty at all remains, and every appearance of arbitrariness is avoided, we, alas, even at this day, are not acquainted with.
Luk 21:33. Heaven and earth shall pass away.After the discourse has risen to this height, there would ensue a dreary anti-climax, if we would recognize in these words only a figurative designation of the destruction of the Jewish state. Our Lord points evidently to the destruction of the earthly economy, which shall be followed by the appearance of a new heaven and a new earth, 2Pe 3:8-14, and gives assurance therewith that even then, when an entirely new order of things shall have come in, His words, in particular the promises of His coming, then first fully understood and fulfilled, would not cease to remain words of life for all His own. They will approve themselves as eternal in an eternal church, and that one of eschatological character. Lange.
Luk 21:34. And take heed to yourselves.The eschatological discourse in Matthew and Mark is concluded with a description of the unexpected coming of the Parusia, and a parabolic allusion to watchfulness, which we have already met with in Luke in a somewhat different form, chs. 12 and 17 Instead of this he has another conclusion, which, indeed, entitles us to inquire whether the Evangelist, in a freer form, has condensed the main substance of the admonitions given Mat 24:43-51, or whether our Lord on this occasion used these very words. However this may be, his rendering has so much the more value, as it in some measure takes the place of the missing parable of the Ten Virgins, which, according to Matthew, was delivered this same evening by our Lord, but has been passed over by Luke. With deep wisdom our Lord ends His eschatological discourse by leading His disciples back into their own hearts, since their view had involuntarily lost itself in the far future, and in thinking upon the universal historical character of the events here foretold, they might very easily lose out of mind in how strict a connection this Parusia stood with their personal salvation. With a faithful and earnest , He begins to use the expectation of His coming for their sanctification, as He had just before, Luk 21:28, applied it to their consolation. He warns them that their hearts be not burdened as by a spirit of deep sleep. This might come to pass through three things: , heaviness and dizziness, such as drunkenness of yesterday gives, , drunkenness, which makes them for to-day unfit to reflect maturely upon their highest interests, and , which would plague them for to-morrow, and impel them too strongly to labor for the meat that perisheth. The one, as well as the other, would be able to rob them of the clearness and sobriety of mind with which they should await the coming of their Lord. Not only should that which is entirely unlawful be avoided, but also that which is relatively lawful used with wisdom, in the consciousness that they in no case could reckon upon it for a long time; for the great day was to be, even for them, the servants of the Lord, an unexpected one, , comp. 1Th 5:3, while it would come upon other inhabitants of the earth, especially those who were living on in careless quiet, without fellowship with Christ, as a snare. The tertium comparationis lies as well in the unexpectedness as in the ruinousness of such snares as are commonly used for ravening beasts. , here emphatic for a designation of quiet and comfortable sitting, comp. Amo 6:1-6, in which they, therefore, are taken at once, as soon as only the snare is thrown out upon them. See also Jer 25:29; Rev 18:7-8.
Luk 21:36. Watch ye always.Comp. Mar 13:37 : may be referred quite as well to as to . The former is probable, on account of the antithesis, and the uncertainty of the Parusia in Luk 21:35, which requires an unremitting watch. Watching and praying are here also, as in Mat 26:41; 1Pe 4:7-8, joined together. ,,… indicates the frame of mind in which they must be found watching and waiting; , comp. Luk 20:35; 2Th 1:5, not become worthy, sensu morali, but to be accounted worthy, sensu forensi, digni habiti atque declarati, sc. a Deo. The word appears in the same sense Act 5:41.
To escape all these things, , here, as in Luk 21:32, especially of the premonitions of the Parusia considered exclusively on their terrifying side; for to escape the Parusia itself (which is first alluded to in the immediately following expression) is indeed for friend and foe impossible. He escapes , who is not carried away by persecutions, brought to apostasy by misleaders, or robbed of courage by trial. (The genuineness of is doubtful; it is rejected by Tischendorf and accepted by De Wette; it has little influence on the sense, since, at all events, our Lord means no other future things than these of which He had just spoken.) On the other hand, they must desire above all things to appear before the Son of Man, , … It may, indeed, signify, to pass the trial, as in Rom 14:4, but at the end of this discourse it is very probable that our Lord will designate therewith something higher: the fearless appearance, the composed standing before His throne, in order to view Him, to serve Him, and to glorify Him. The of believers is meant, and this, as it appears, of the living, because as a condition the escaping of all the tribulations is named, 1Th 4:17; 2Th 2:1; Mat 24:31. De Wette. This is, therefore, not only the beginning, but also the substance, of the highest happiness, the opposite of which is portrayed, Psa 1:5; Nah 1:6; Rev 6:16-17.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. It is of high significance that our Lord ends His prophetical office, immediately before His last suffering, with such an eschatological discourse. The course which our Saviours teaching has taken during His public life, shows the type of the natural course of development of Christian dogmatics. As He had appeared with the preaching of faith and conversion, so ought at all times the practical questions to come first. But as He did not leave the earth without having also disclosed the secrets of the future, so a Dogmatics which, in reference to the , takes an indifferent or sceptical position, is in itself imperfect, and like a mutilated torso. It lies in the nature of the case that Christian eschatology, the more the course of time advances, must become less and less an unimportant appendix, and more and more a locus primaries of Christian doctrine.
2. Whoever asserts that the expectation of a personal, visible, glorious return, which shall put a decisive end to the present condition of things, belongs only to Jewish dreamings, which one from a Christian spiritualistic position may look down upon with a certain lofty disparagement, is here contradicted by our Lord in the most decided manner.
3. What our Lord here announces in reference to the termination of the history of the world is only drawn in strong and broad lines. It is no picture that already contains all the traits of the image of the future complete, but a sketch with which the more detailed painting is outlined, which afterwards could be elaborated by the hand of the apostles. He who believes in the unity of the Spirit in our Lord and His first witnesses, cannot be hindered from seeking in the Apostolic Epistles, or in the Revelation, for the answer to many questions which this eschatological discourse leaves yet remaining for us. Not easily will any one be able to show in this last a conception for which the fundamental thought is not more or less contained in this eschatological discourse, and which, therefore, might not be named, with entire justice, a further explanation and completion of the same. So is the Pauline doctrine of the restoration of Israel only the development of the germ which we find here, Luk 21:24; so is the Apocalyptical image of the convulsions of the realm of nature which shall accompany the coming of the Lord, only the development of the eschatological foundation thoughts already given here. The eschatology of the apostles is related to that of our Lord as the nobly unfolding plant to the bud swelling with sap; not as the subsequently clouded sun to its earlier brilliancy.
4. The soul works on the body, and there is no member or part of the body that does not feel with the soul. So shall the Lord that shall come work upon all creatures, and they shall not be able to withdraw themselves from His working. Even before His visible appearance will the creatures become aware that the time of His coming is at hand. The lifeless creation, that bends itself without opposition to His almighty will, and men, who can oppose themselves with their impotent will to His almighty will,both shall be seized with the terrors that hasten on before His appearance. The heaven and the sea, and on earth men, shall have forebodings of that which is to come. There rests upon the prophesyings of our Lord concerning the end,threatening as they are, terrible as they sound,nevertheless an obscurity by which their terrible impression is augmented. They wait for their literal and most striking interpretation, for their fulfilment. Before this comes, Gods hand itself has veiled them in a twilight which yields to no human endeavor; but when the fulfilment comes, man shall not only clearly know how fully it fits the prophecy, but also how the prophecy fits the fulfilment,how they shall, as it were, exactly cover one another. Lhe.
5. Although, our Lord in this eschatological discourse does not speak expressly of His Divine nature and dignity, it contains so powerful and incomparable a self-testimony of Christ, that it is utterly impossible not to ascribe to Him who so speaks a superhuman character. Nothing is to be compared with the quiet majesty of that word: Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away. Scoffers think exactly the oppositenamely, that heaven and earth shall remain; the words of our Lord, on the other hand, be forgotten and exposed as lies, 2Pe 3:3 seq.Yet our Lord, who apparently delays the promise, will not rest until it is all fulfilled. Patiens quia ternus.
6. The eschatological discourse is also remarkable on this account, that it shows that a connection according to the intent of our Lord exists and must exist between and . The example of the apostles and the teaching of the Master show anew: there cannot possibly be any talk of so long as no precedes it. Non intelligere ut credas, sed credere ut intelligas. Where faith however is living, it feels to a certain extent the necessity of also knowing the secrets of the future. Our Lord satisfies this need, so far as the receptivity of His people permits Him, and while the of His coming are only images of terror and riddles to the unbelieving, believers are at the same time the , who know what these things denote, and whither they tend. Their faith has, therefore, become a knowing; but, on the other hand also, this knowing, which is still very limited and only in part, leads again to faith, and must end in ever firmer faith, hope, and waiting. Per fidem ad intellectum, per intellectum ad firmiorem fidem.
7. The eschatological discourse of our Lord may be considered as a type of a fitting and edifying treatment of future things for all preachers. Let us consider well how closely this doctrine of His coheres also with the prophetic words of Scripture; how the chief strokes of the picture are placed in a clear light, while points of a subordinate importance remain veiled in an unprejudicial obscurity; how He, above all, delivers this teaching not for the satisfaction of an idle curiosity, but uses it directly for the admonition, for the consolation, and for the sanctification of His own. It admits of no doubt that had the impending end of the history of the world been always written of and spoken of in this way, much less offence would have been taken, and also much less offence would have been given. 9. Compare on this Pericope the Dies ir.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
The visible creation must perish before the heaven and the new earth appear.The joy of the world perishes often before the end of the world.If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?The day of Christ at once a day of terror and of glory.The different temper in which men go towards and look towards this day: 1. While unbelief yet mocks, faith mourns; 2. while unbelief fears, faith hopes; 3. while unbelief despairs, faith triumphs.The ordinary laws of nature are abolished when the kingdom of Christ celebrates its highest triumphs.The coming of the Son of Man: 1. Seen by all eyes; 2. surrounded by heavenly glory; 3. greeted by the redeemed with joy.Even nature prophesies of the approaching summer of the kingdom of God.How much the Christian, by attentive observation of the kingdom of nature and of grace, can know of himself.The knowledge of the hour which has struck in Gods kingdom: 1. Its grounds; 2. its degree; 3. its limits.The contemporaries of our Lord, even in their lifetime, witnesses: 1. Of the most glorious event; 2. of the most terrible event, that ever the earth has see.What is perishable and what remains.Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away: 1. The sublimity; 2. the truth; 3. the comfort; 4. the serious depth, of this utterance.What the word of our Lord shall continue for His people, even after the end of the world.What is the greatest danger to which the disciple of the Lord is exposed at the approach of the day of His coming?He that is full of wine cannot be full of the Holy Spirit, Eph 5:18.The day of the Lord comes unawares;woe to the man whom it finds wholly unprepared !How the best preparation for the coming of the Lord consists: 1. In watchfulness; 2. in activity; 3. in thoughtfulness.They who sit down in selfishness and carelessness, will be not less surprised by the end than they that pass the night at their wine.Watching and praying must we await the Lords coming.Nothing higher can the praying Christian desire than: 1. To escape the destruction that lights upon others; and 2. to stand with all His people before the Son of Man.
Starke:They that have not feared God in their life, shall melt away for terror in the end.Many weighty things have already come to pass on earth, but the weightiest is yet to be looked for.Quesnel:Whoever has despised Jesus in His humility, will see Him against his will in His majesty.There comes at last a time when we shall be redeemed from all that is a burden to us, 2Ti 4:18.The earthly-minded regard the spring as the most convenient time for their lust and desire, but true Christians as a type of the glory and resurrection of the children of God.The summer a beautiful image of eternal blessedness.God does not let the race of the ungodly perish till all is come to pass, which serves as the proof of His righteousness, and for their punishment.True Christians who seek that which is above in heaven are as the birds of the heaven who, because they are not on earth, have nothing to fear from the nets of the fowler.Brentius:Because man does not know his time, he must learn wisely to accommodate himself to the time.It is God alone that can make us worthy and ready for the enjoyment of His everlasting glory.Watching and praying men ever keep together.
On the Pericope:Fuchs:Concerning the return of Christ and the hour of death: 1. For the ungodly, terrible; 2. for believers, joyful.Lift up your heads: 1. In good days, and thank the Lord; 2. in evil days, and trust the Lord; 3. in the last days, and be joyful in hope.Herberger:Concerning the last Advent of Jesus and the flower-buds of the last day.Otho:The last judgment.Fresenius:The redemption of Jesus Christ in its different aspects: 1. The procuring of salvation; 2. the preparation of salvation; 3. the complete revelation of salvation.Ahlfeld:Behold the King cometh to thee in might and glory.Couard:Christian-mindedness in evil times.Souchon:The comfort and admonition of Christs prophecy of His coming.Stier:The day of the Lords return: 1. How; and 2. whereto it is placed before our eyes.Ranke:How we have to receive our Lords prophecy of His coming again: 1. With deep reverence; 2. with great joy; 3. with holy seriousness.Rautenberg:The course of the gospel among the terrors of the time.Gaupp:The coming again of our Lord a strong incitement to a godly life, for: 1. It awakens the spirit to a living hope; 2. it inspires in all believing hearts sweet comfort even in the dreariest condition of the kingdom of God; 3. it admonishes most deeply to become worthy, by prayer and watchfulness, to stand before the Son of Man.Cl. Harms:The setting forth of the coming of our Lord is seasonably done even in the Advent season: 1. It awakens sleepers; 2. shakes the presumptuous; 3. helps the wavering to a decision; 4. strengthens the weak in faith.Kraussold:The coming of our Lord at the end of days: 1. A coming to judgment, and moreover; 2. a terrible and glorious; 3. an undoubtedly certain, coming, and therefore; 4. a coming for which we should perseveringly wait in joyful faith.Staudt:How believers demean themselves at the coming of Christ: 1. As attentive observers of the tokens of this coming; 2. as joyful spectators of these mutations in the world; 3. as those delivered out of all judgments.Dr. A. Bomhard:The established heart of the believing Christian.B. Steger:Of the joyful and blessed freedom of the perfectly righteous.
Footnotes:
[7]Luk 21:25.According to the reading of Tischendorf, [Lachmann, Meyer, Tregelles, Alford,] [instead of , Recepta], which is sufficiently supported by A., B., [Cod. Sin.,] C., L., M., [R.,] X., Cursives, [Vulgate, Syriac,] &c.
[8]Luk 21:36.With Lachmann, Tischendorf, [Tregelles, Alford,] we read instead of the of the Recepta, according to B., D., [Cod. Sin.,] Itala.
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
I include the whole of those verses into one view, and in addition to what hath been already observed upon the subject, in the former Evangelists, I have only to guard the Reader against making unscriptural and improper application, as if those things referred to the last day of Christ’s final coming to judgment. To correct this, the Lord declared, that the generation then present should not be all dead, until the events he foretold were ‘come to pass: Similar to our Lord’s expression, Mat 16:28 . And this was literally the case; for John, the beloved Apostle, outlived it; and numbers besides there must have been of those who were little children at the time our Lord so prophesied.
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
Ver. 25. See Mat 24:29 ; Mar 13:24 ; 2Pe 3:10 .
25, 26. ] The greater part of these signs are peculiar to Luke.
, despair on account of the noise so Herodian (see Me [109] .) iv. 14. 1, . By no possibility can be gen. after , as Wordsw.: the after having since its occurrence taken up a new subject in apposition.
[109] Meyer.
be [110] . ‘vocem angustiorem annectit latiori.’ Kypke, Observv. in loc.
[110] before.
The same may be said of the be [111] . . in Luk 21:26 .
[111] before.
Luk 21:25-28 . Signs of the advent (Mat 24:29-31 , Mar 13:24-27 ).
Luk 21:25 . , etc.: the reference to the signs in heaven is very summary as compared with the graphic picture in the parallels. Lk. is more interested in the state of things on earth. ., distress of nations, cf. in Luk 12:50 . may be connected with what follows or with = nations in perplexity, in which case the last clause , etc. will depend on = distress from the noise and billows ( = wave-movement: , Hesych.) of the sea (so Hahn). The main difficulty lies in the vagueness of the reference to the sea. Is it meant literally, or is it a metaphor for the disturbed state of the world? If the latter the force of the genitives , will be best brought out by supposing to be understood = in perplexity like the state of the sea in a storm. So Heinsius ( Exer. Sac. ): “ illam et calamitatem mari fore similem, quoties horrendum tonat atque commovetur,” citing in support Tertullian’s veluti a sonitu maris fluctuantis. The mode of expression is very loose: the sound of the sea and the waves, instead of “the sounding waves of the sea”. Yet the crudeness of the construction suits the mood described. may be accented (Tisch [177] ) or (W.H [178] ) according as it is derived from (neuter like , , etc., in N.T.) or from .
[177]isch. Tischendorf.
[178] Westcott and Hort.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Luk 21:25-28
25″There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
Luk 21:25-26 “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars” Again this is an example of OT apocalyptic language concerning God’s breaking into history. Because of Peter’s use of Joe 2:28-32 in Acts 2, this should not be taken literally. See note at Luk 21:11.
Luk 21:25 “and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves” Apocalyptic literature has much in common with OT wisdom literature. In this text there is a good example of synonymous parallelism. The metaphor of the sea for the nations comes from Daniel (cf. Luk 7:2-3).
Luk 21:26 “coming upon the world” This phrase is unique to Luke. It refers to the known inhabited world.
“for the powers of the heavens will be shaken” This reflects several passages in Isa 13:10; Isa 13:13; Isa 24:22; Isa 34:4; Isa 51:6. This imagery has two orientations.
1. If this were an astral deities context it would refer to their weakness and judgment.
2. If this were a visitation of YHWH context (and it is) then it refers to creation’s convulsions at the approach of its creator.
Luk 21:27 “Then they will see” This seems to refer to all mankind. This seems to preclude a secret rapture.
“the Son of Man coming in a cloud” “Son of Man” (see special Topic at Luk 5:24) is Jesus’ self-chosen title. It apparently comes from Eze 2:1 and Dan 7:13, where it combines humanity and deity (cf. Mat 17:5). The presence of a cloud fits OT and NT allusions to a cloud being the transportation of deity. It is present at many of the major events of the end-time (cf. Mat 24:30; Mat 26:64; 1Th 4:17; Rev 1:7).
SPECIAL TOPIC: COMING ON THE CLOUDS
Luk 21:28 “But when these things begin to take place” These prophecies of Mark 13, Matthew 24, and Luke 21 are meant to encourage
1. those believers living between Jesus’ death and the destruction of Jerusalem
2. those believers who suffer persecution in every age
3. those last generation Christians who will face the wrath of the Antichrist and his followers (cf. 2 Thessalonoans 2 and Revelation)
These prophecies may become strikingly literal for the last generation of persecuted believers, but it is impossible to speculate about which, how, and when. Jesus revealed these things to encourage us, not to divide us.
“straighten up and lift up your heads” These are both aorist active imperatives. Believers’ courage in the face of persecution and death is a powerful witness to the unbelievers who tremble in fear (cf. Luk 21:25-26).
“because your redemption is drawing near” Luk 21:29-36 are built on the promise of Luk 21:28. It shows that Christians amid the sufferings of the end-time still have great confidence.
“redemption” This means “purchased release” (found only here in the Gospels). It is the common OT term for God’s gracious acts toward His people. See SPECIAL TOPIC: RANSOM/REDEEM at Luk 1:68.
“is drawing near” This same word is used in Mat 24:32-33. The parable used in Mat 24:32-35 and Mar 13:28-32 is also in Luk 21:29-33.
And. Note the Figure of speech Polysyndeton (App-6), for emphasis.
And there shall be, &c. The Lord here passes over the intervening present dispensation, and takes up the yet future time of the end, enlarged on later in Mat 24:29-31. Mar 13:24-27.
upon. Greek. epi. App-104.
earth. Greek. ge. App-129. Not the same as in Luk 21:26; but the same as “land” in Luk 21:23.
with. Greek. en. App-104.
the sea, &c. Compare Psa 46:3. Isa 5:30. Rev 17:15.
25, 26.] The greater part of these signs are peculiar to Luke.
, despair on account of the noise-so Herodian (see Me[109].) iv. 14. 1, . By no possibility can be gen. after , as Wordsw.: the after having since its occurrence taken up a new subject in apposition.
[109] Meyer.
be[110]. -vocem angustiorem annectit latiori. Kypke, Observv. in loc.
[110] before.
The same may be said of the be[111]. . in Luk 21:26.
[111] before.
Luk 21:25. , signs) different from those of which Luk 21:11 speaks.- , in the sun) The language is to be taken literally (not figuratively): because the earth, sea, and heaven (sky), are distinctly enumerated. [Those things (objects in nature) which are made mention of in the first days of Creation, are here set down in an inverted order: 1. The sun and the moon with the stars; 2. The earth and the sea; 3. The heaven.-V. g.]-[ , upon the earth) See Luk 21:26; Luk 21:35.-V. g.]-, , ) distress, perplexity, fainting, form an ascending climax.-) of all nations: to which are opposed individual men, including also Jews. See following verse.-) The common reading is .[228] But the idea expressed is not that the sea and the agitated water or waves roar; but there is an , roaring, of the sea, and a (salum), agitation of the water, whereby the ear and also the eye are struck. Comp. Psa 46:4 (3), , their waters roared and were troubled. is neuter also, as well as masculine, as we have shown in the Appar. Crit., p. 546 [Ed. ii., p. 208]. There are four clauses, all alike having the idea of terror connected with them: , … The words are more closely connected with the words immediately following, than with those which go before, whether be the Genitive of the object, or the Genitive of time [with perplexity by reason of the roar and agitation of the sea; or else, with perplexity during the time that (whilst) the sea is roaring, and is agitated]. The Genitive of the object may seem, no doubt, in this passage to give an unusual and forced (strained) construction, because , if it denotes want [as here, want of means of escape, and of knowledge what to do], is wont to have the Genitive of the subject-matter [the object of the want], as , , …; but there is no deficiency of analogous phrases, such as, , power over you, 1Co 9:12; , the mercy shown towards you, Rom 11:31; , fear arising from the Jews, Joh 7:13; , Job 24:17, in which passage the word [ in the Vatican MS.] answers to , as is rendered by in Lev 26:16. If this be not deemed a satisfactory explanation, ought to be taken as expressing the Genitive of time, as , , , are used.-[, of the sea) by reason of joy. Psa 96:11-13 [Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof-Before the Lord, for He cometh], Psa 98:7-9.-V. g.]
[228] D supports, as Rec. Text, . But ABCLX read ; a, sonus; c, sonitus, and so the Vulg. pr confusione sonitus [et (in some copies)] maris et fluctuum.-E. and T.
The Budding Fig-Tree — Luk 21:25-38
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; mens hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. And He spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. And in the day time He was teaching in the temple; and at night He went out, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives. And all the people came early in the morning to Him in the temple, for to hear Him- Luk 21:25-38.
This is the second part of our Lords great prophetic discourse given to His disciples during His last week with them before His crucifixion. The first part of this prophecy carried us down to the destruction of Jerusalem. The Lord had told His disciples, as they were admiring the marvelous temple and other buildings in Jerusalem, As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. He depicted conditions that would lead up to this, concluding with the declaration, And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Everything up to this point was fulfilled literally, and Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70, as He predicted. But He put a limit on its being trodden down. He said, Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, (not forever; not so long as the world lasts, but) until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. We have seen that the expression times of the Gentiles refers to the entire period during which the Jews are under Gentile dominion. Ever since Nebuchadnezzars day this has been their condition. So the times of the Gentiles have continued considerably over two thousand years. Just when it will come to an end we dare not attempt to say. Many have tried to work out some kind of time system, but so far all these have failed. But we can be very sure that we are rapidly drawing near the end of the Gentile times.
A glorious event is going to take place for us before the end comes, of which the Lord said nothing in this great prophetic discourse, but which later He mentioned to His disciples as they were gathered together that evening in the upper room. He said, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself. In the Epistles of Paul we find details unfolded concerning that event. Before the times of the Gentiles come to an end the Lord Jesus is coming in the air to take His heavenly people out of this scene. The dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord (1Th 4:16-17). Now our Lord does not mention this here. The time had not come to reveal it. But He went on to explain what will take place when the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled. First He spoke of astronomical signs, And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars. Now these signs have not begun to take place so far as we know; but we can be certain of this, that the people who will be living on the earth at the time these things begin to have their fulfilment will see these great signs in connection with the heavenly bodies. Jesus next spoke of conditions that will prevail on the earth, And upon the earth, distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring. In a limited sense we may say that these conditions are manifest now, distress of nations, with perplexity. It has often been pointed out that this word perplexity means literally, no way out: Distress of nations and no way out. This is most significant. At this very time our statesmen and the rulers of the various countries are endeavoring to form a league to bring about a warless world and assure continued prosperity. But it is evident that they are at their wits end as they face apparently insurmountable difficulties. We may be sure of this: conditions will not improve, and wars will continue until the Lord Jesus Christ comes in glory.
Jesus also mentions great natural convulsions. Elsewhere we read that not only will the earth be shaken but also heaven, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain (Heb 12:27). So we may be sure, in the light ,of the prophetic Word, that this poor world is doomed so far as mans ability to help is concerned. When things are at their worst God will intervene. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. He will take over the reins ,of government and set up the kingdom of God on the ruins of all earths vaunted dominions. He says, When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
Surely His words can mean nothing else than the visible second advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the Book of Revelation (Rev 1:7) we read, Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. There are people who profess to accept the Bible and yet tell us that they do not believe in the literal second coming of Christ. They insist that all this will have only a spiritual fulfilment. But I remind you again that every prophecy having to do with the first coming of our Lord was fulfilled literally, and therefore we have every reason to believe that all the prophecies having to do with His second coming will be fulfilled just as literally. He is coming back in person to this earth, and the world that rejected Him will bow before Him, recognizing His absolute authority. He tells them very definitely when these things will take place: at the end of the times of the Gentiles. The believers in the Lord Jesus Christ need not be in distress because of present world conditions. We know that God works everything according to the counsel of His own will, and we can trust Him and not be afraid. As these signs begin to come to pass they serve to tell us that the coming of the King draweth nigh, and so our hearts are encouraged as we look up and wait for our blessed Lords return.
And He spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees. The fig tree as used in Scripture is a symbol of the nation of Israel. In the Book of Judges (in the parable of Jotham), there are four trees mentioned. These are the olive, the fig-tree, the vine, and the bramble. Now all these different trees are really types or symbols of Israel. The olive-tree speaks of Israel in covenant relationship with God: Abraham is the root, and the branches represent those who are his descendants after the flesh and after the Spirit. During the present time the national branches have been broken off from their own olive-tree because of unbelief, and Gentile wild branches have been grafted in. Some years ago I noticed an objection to this illustration. A learned doctor of divinity insisted that Paul was very ignorant of the first principles of horticulture, or he never would have spoken of grafting wild branches into a good olive-tree. He pointed out that the very opposite is what is done. Therefore it is folly to think that this was written by inspiration. God would not use such an absurd illustration as this to teach spiritual or dispensational truths. But if that good man had read his Bible a little more carefully he would have found that Paul said his illustration about grafting in the Gentiles was contrary to nature. The apostle knew he was using an illustration which was contrary to nature, and he tells us so. But that is the way grace works. Grace is ever contrary to nature. When the end of this age comes the natural branches will be grafted in again, and Israel will enter into the new covenant blessing.
So the olive-tree speaks of Gods covenant people. The fig-tree speaks of Israel, as a nation, set by God in Palestine to glorify Him. The vine speaks spiritually of Israel. God brought forth a vine out of Egypt and planted a vineyard, Jehovahs witnesses in the earth, and He Looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes (Isa 5:2). Because of this, Israel has for a time been set aside. Jesus said, I am the true Vine, My Father is the Husbandman (Joh 15:1). He speaks of those who profess faith in Him as the branches of the Vine, who are to bring forth fruit unto God. But the day is coming, as we have seen, when the Church of God will be caught up, and a remnant of Israel will be left in the world to witness for God. The other symbol is the bramble. This speaks of Israel away from God, a curse instead of a blessing to the world. It was the Lords intention that Israel should be a blessing to all nations, but because they turned away from God they became a curse instead of a blessing among the Gentiles. Some day that will be changed, and Israel will become a means of blessing to the whole world.
The symbol to which Jesus refers here is the fig-tree. For centuries Israel has been without national consciousness. At the end of the age the fig-tree will begin to bloom again. Israel will be brought back into her land and into relationship with God. There will be a new Israel, a regenerated people, who will lead all the nations in devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. Already the fig-tree is beginning to bud. The day of deliverance is near. When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. It is as though He said, Watch Israel, and watch the movements among the other nations. All the trees refers, undoubtedly, to the Gentile nations in the prophetic vision. As we see these conditions developing and note what is taking place among the nations, we can see the great combinations forming that will have a place in the final conflict ere the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. Israel will come again into a special place before God. Already they are beginning to think of themselves as a nation, not simply a scattered people; and many of them are turning to the Lord. The close of this age is drawing near. The end of the times of the Gentiles will soon come. One evidence of changing sentiment among the Jews is that many of their leaders now insist that the Gentiles are indebted particularly to them because of the teachings of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who was one of their greatest Rabbis! They acknowledge that their fathers did not understand Him and made a great mistake in rejecting Him. But the sad thing is that they think of Him only as a great teacher instead of God manifested in flesh. Nevertheless, the eyes of many are being opened to Christ, their promised Messiah, the Son of God; and there have been more definite conversions in the last quarter of a century than during many centuries before. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. That kingdom has been making its way into the hearts of men ever since our Lord ascended into heaven and the Holy Spirit came down. He will soon be manifest openly.
Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. There has been a great deal of argument as to the exact meaning of these words. In my judgment, the Lord is simply saying that the race of Israel will not pass away until all these things have been fulfilled. God will preserve Israel in the world, though sadly enough the great majority will remain in their unbelief until these things begin to come to pass.
And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. As the Lord warns His disciples so we may take the words to our hearts, even though we are waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to gather us together unto Himself. We need to be careful lest we become so occupied with the things of this scene, with making a living and getting on in the world, that we fail to put Christ first in our lives and to live day by day as those who are waiting for His return. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. These words have a particular application to those who will be living on the earth in the days of the great tribulation. The coming of the Son of Man is the consummation, and is always distinguished from the coming of the Lord to receive His saints into the air.
The chapter concludes by telling us that during the last week He was on earth, in the day time He was teaching in the temple; and at night He went out, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives. Whether this refers to Bethany which is on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, or whether it means He lay in the open, we are not told; but at any rate, He left the city, where He was an outcast as far as Jerusalem and all its religion was concerned, but early in the morning many people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.
Chapter 38
Mens Hearts Failing Them
I am fully aware that these verses speak specifically of our Lords coming to destroy Jerusalem and Judaism when he sent the armies of Rome to destroy that city and its temple in 70 AD. Our Saviours words in Luk 21:32 make that crystal clear. This generation (the generation then living) shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. But that does not mean that they have no meaning for us today. Everything recorded in this passage of Inspiration is written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope (Rom 15:4). Without question, all that we read here is to be properly applied to this day in which we look for the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Historians tell us that the early saints used to greet one another with these words, He is risen., and upon parting they would say, The Lord is coming. Thus they constantly encouraged one another in the faith and constantly reminded one another of both the accomplishment of redemption by Christ and the certainty of resurrection glory with Christ.
Before he left this world, our Lord Jesus assured his disciples that, just as surely as he arose from the grave, he would come again to raise his saints from their graves and translate all his elect in resurrection glory to heaven. Let us ever rejoice in the blessed prospect of our Saviours return. The Lord is coming (Rev 1:7). I want, by the Spirit of God, to stir up your hearts and my own to ever be mindful of this fact: The Lord is coming! May God give us grace ever to live in the blessed expectation of Christs glorious second advent. The Lord Jesus Christ is coming again.
The Glory Of Christs Coming
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Mens hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory (Luk 21:25-27).
Our Saviour begins this discourse by describing the time of his coming as a time of great fear, so great that mens hearts will fail them. I do not know that this is the case, but if that is to be taken as a description of the days just before Christ returns, surely we may reasonably conclude that our redemption draweth nigh!
In Hebrews 9 the Holy Spirit tells us three things about our blessed Saviour: (1.) The Son of God appeared once to put away our sins by the sacrifice of himself (Luk 21:25-26). (2.) Our great Advocate and High Priest now appears in the presence of God for us, making intercession for his elect according to the will of God (Luk 21:24; 1Jn 2:1-2). And (3.) our great God and Saviour shall, at the appointed time, appear again on this earth to consummate his great work of saving his people from their sins (Luk 21:27-28).
As our Saviour describes his second advent in his Olivet discourse in our text, it is obvious that when he comes again, it will not be a secret thing. At his glorious second advent, he will appear with power and great glory. There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Mens hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. That is the language of holy scripture. Christs second coming shall not be in some imaginary secret rapture. His shall be a glorious appearing (2Th 1:7-10; Rev 1:7).
The Lord Jesus speaks about the sun being turned into darkness, the moon refusing to give light, the falling of stars, and the shaking of powers in the heavens. Such language conveys the idea of a great, universal convulsion, a climactic dismantling of creation by the finger of God. The language he uses is very much the language Peter used to describe his coming (2Pe 3:10).
In other words, that which shall immediately precede the glorious appearing of Christ will be the conflagration of the universe. Without question, when that happens we will see, Mens hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.
Order Of Events
The order of events at the second coming seems to be as follows. These things are not written in concrete. I would not argue in defence of them for even a second. However, this is what appears to me to be likely. I have formed this order by carefully comparing scripture with scripture. Whatever the order of events may indeed be, it will not take long to accomplish the whole thing. When the Son of God rises from his throne and says, Behold, I make all things new, it will all be done quickly.
Christ will come in the clouds of heaven.
He will raise up those bodies of his saints which sleep in the earth.
Those then living in faith will be caught up to meet him in the air.
He will destroy this creation with all his enemies, and make all things new.
We shall come with him to the earth. We shall come with him into a new heavens and a new earth.
Then will come the resurrection of the dead and the great white throne judgment.
After these things eternal life with Christ!
Our Lords second advent will be radically different from his first. Our Saviour came the first time in humiliation, an infant, born of a poor woman, laid in a manger at Bethlehem, unnoticed, unhonoured, unknown. He is coming the second time in power and great glory, in royal dignity, with all the armies of heaven surrounding him, to be seen, recognized, known, acknowledged and feared by all people, nations, tribes, and tongues.
Christ Jesus came the first time to suffer, to bear the sins of his people, to be made sin and made a curse, to be despised, rejected, unjustly condemned, and slain. He is coming the second time as the reigning, almighty Monarch of the universe to put down every foe, put an end to all rebellion, to take possession of all the kingdoms of this world, to rule them in perfect righteousness, to judge the world, destroy his enemies, and to be eternally admired by redeemed sinners.
We would all be wise to lay these things to heart and meditate upon them regularly. These facts are filled with comfort for every believer. Our great King, our all glorious Christ, will soon be here again! We shall, with him, inherit all things. We will soon exchange the cross for a crown. We shall enter into everlasting honour, joy, bliss, and life.
But, for you who believe not, the facts revealed in the Book of God about the second coming of Christ ought to be terrifying. Indeed, if you dare think upon them, I know, they are terrifying to your soul. Christ, whom you despise, reject, and mock, will soon call you before his holy bar of judgment. That God-man, whose gospel you daily trample beneath your feet, will soon hold you accountable. In that day, you shall receive of the Lords hand your exact, just due for all your sins. Hell will be your everlasting portion!
Do you ask, What is hell? Everlasting fire! Endless misery! Everlasting, indescribable woe! Never-ending wrath! Never-ending torment! Everlasting darkness! Everlasting isolation! Everlasting cursing! Everlasting madness! Everlasting death!
The Gathering Of Gods Elect
In verse twenty-eight our Master tells us plainly that the first order of business and the primary purpose of his great second advent shall be the gathering of his elect. Throughout the Word of God we are distinctly and constantly taught that our God does all things for the elects sake. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. Mark puts it in these words: And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven (Mar 13:27).
Just as Gods servants, as the angels of God, are sent out to gather his elect into his kingdom from the four corners of the earth by the preaching of the gospel, so at the end of time those heavenly spirits created to minister to the chosen shall be sent forth to fetch them out of the earth and gather them, all of them, even their dust and ashes unto Christ in glory! As the angels carried Lazarus into Abrahams bosom, so they shall carry all Gods elect into heavens bosom to be with Christ!
I stated before that the gathering out of Gods elect will immediately precede the Lords judgment upon the earth. Our safety shall be taken care of when the Lord consumes the earth with the fiery brightness of his coming. Nothing shall be done to destroy the earth until Gods elect are beyond the reach of harm (2Pe 3:9). Not one drop of rain fell until Noah was safe in the ark. Fire and brimstone could not fall upon Sodom until Lot was safely secluded in Zoar. And Gods wrath will not consume his enemies in the earth until he has taken his saints out of the earth.
Blessed be our God, there is a great gathering day coming! We who believe ought to look forward to that great day with unmingled joy, without the slightest dread or fear (2Th 2:1 : Tit 2:13). It shall be the gracious gathering of Gods chosen. The elect shall be gathered in righteousness, being made worthy to stand before God by the righteousness of Christ, which is our righteousness (Luk 21:36; Jer 23:6; Jer 33:16; Col 1:12).
The Parable Of The Fig Tree
And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled (Luk 21:29-32).
Our Lord sternly reproved the Pharisees because they could not discern the signs of the times (Mat 16:3). They could not see that the sceptre was passing away from Judah. They did not see that Daniels seventy weeks were fulfilled. Let us beware of such blindness. It is a blindness caused by spiritual lethargy and an overmuch fondness for this world.
This parable of the fig tree is not a deep, mysterious, secretive thing. In this parable our Lord tells us plainly that when we see the things spoken of in its context, as Mark relates this discourse (Mar 13:14), when we see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, his glorious second advent is at hand.
The abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel is the revelation (to Gods saints, not to the world) of antichrist (Arminian, freewill, works religion). It is that which Paul speaks of in 2 Thessalonians 2, the loosing of Satan to deceive the nations of the world (Rev 20:1-8).
The lesson of the parable of the fig tree is just this: while we must never even guess at or try to figure out the time of Christs coming, increasing darkness, ungodliness, apostasy, and idolatry ought to cause every believer to live looking expectantly for Christs appearing.
The rising infidelity, increasing acceptance of popery, Islam, Judaism, and mysticism, the worldwide will-worship of this apostate age, the lawlessness, the anarchy, the contempt of authority, the acceptance of sexual promiscuity, (fornication, adultery, homosexuality), and the general calling of evil good and good evil ought to be glaring beacons in our eyes and trumpets in our ears telling us THIS IS THE END! Judgment has begun. The end is near. The Lord is coming.
The more we see these things coming to pass the more reason we have to look up in hope. Our redemption draws nigh! We must therefore watch, be sober, and keep our garments white and unspotted from the world (Rev 16:15). Armageddon is here. The judgment of the great whore is at hand. The Lord is coming!
The Certainty Of Gods Word
In Luk 21:33 our Lord seems to have anticipated our tendency toward scepticism and unbelief and therefore warns us emphatically against it. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
We must never allow ourselves to give any credibility to any questioning of Gods Word. Let us never dare imagine that any word of prophecy is improbable or unlikely simply because it seems contrary to nature, or experience, or our judgment. Let us never be found among those arrogant fools who imagine that they are smarter than God. We must never find ourselves agreeing with those scoffers who, walking after their own lusts, say, Where is the promise of his coming? (2Pe 3:3-4).
The People Worthy
Now, look at Luk 21:34-36. Here our Lord Jesus tells us to watch and pray that we may be found worthy to escape his wrath and stand before the Son of man when he comes to judge the world.
And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
Let us watch, lest we be corrupted from the simplicity of Christ and engulfed with the corruptions of the religious world around us. Ever watch against freewill/works religion, will worship, self-righteousness, and legalism. Watch against idolatry.
But how can we be counted worthy to escape the wrath of the great Judge, when he comes in his glory to judge the earth? How can we be made worthy to stand before the Son of man in that day? That is altogether the work of his grace. Our worthiness is his blood atonement, his righteousness imputed to us in justification and imparted to us in the new birth! Our worthiness before God is Christ!
Bold shall I stand in that great day,
For who aught to my charge shall lay,
When, with his righteous garments on,
I am as holy as Gods Own Son?
Gods Restless Servant
I cannot fail to call your attention to our Saviours constant, faithful devotion to the souls of men, the glory of God, and the preaching of the gospel, as it is described in Luk 21:37-38.
And in the day time he was teaching in the temple; and at night he went out, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives. And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, for to hear him.
He never wearied of his labour of love. He never laid aside his commission. Yes, sometimes we find him obliged to sit to rest himself by a well, and sometimes obliged to catch a nap in the day. But, even then, he was resting to meet a woman who needed grace, and was sleeping on his way to save a wild Gadarene. He came here to seek and to save that which was lost, and never gave up the work. Arent you glad? I am! It is no marvel that the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, for to hear him!
It is my constant prayer that he who so graciously served and serves my soul will give me the constant supply of his grace that I may serve him in serving his elect for the glory of God, proclaiming the gospel of his grace in this wicked and perverse generation.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences (2Co 5:10-11).
Christ is coming again. You and I are going to meet God in judgment. We are going to spend eternity somewhere, either in the torments of the damned in hell or in the bliss of the redeemed in heaven. Our only hope is Christ. Trust him, and live forever. Child of God, the Lord is coming. REJOICE!
signs: Isa 13:10, Isa 13:13, Isa 13:14, Isa 24:23, Jer 4:23, Eze 32:7, Eze 32:8, Joe 2:30, Joe 2:31, Amo 8:9, Amo 8:10, Mat 24:29, Mat 27:45, Mar 13:24, Mar 13:26, Mar 15:33, Act 2:19, 2Pe 3:10-12, Rev 6:12-14, Rev 20:11
upon: Dan 12:1
with: Isa 22:4, Isa 22:5, Mic 7:4
the sea: Psa 46:3, Psa 93:3, Psa 93:4, Isa 5:30, Isa 51:15
Reciprocal: Gen 1:14 – and let Deu 28:28 – General 2Ch 15:5 – great vexations Job 9:7 – sealeth Psa 46:2 – though Isa 8:22 – look Isa 17:12 – make a noise Isa 28:19 – and it Jer 6:23 – their Jer 10:2 – be Jer 25:32 – evil Jer 30:5 – a voice Jer 49:23 – on the sea Jer 51:42 – General Jer 51:55 – her waves Eze 26:3 – as the sea Joe 2:10 – the sun Joe 3:15 – General Hag 2:6 – and I Mat 24:7 – famines Luk 9:7 – he Luk 21:11 – and great signs Act 2:20 – sun Rev 6:13 – the stars Rev 8:12 – and the third part of the sun Rev 12:1 – wonder Rev 16:8 – upon
6
This paragraph is figurative and is to be explained in the same way as Mat 24:29; referring to the period called the “Dark Ages” in history.
THE subject of this portion of our Lord’s great prophecy is His own second coming to judge the world. The strong expressions of the passage appear inapplicable to any event less important than this. To confine the words before us, to the taking of Jerusalem by the Romans, is an unnatural straining of Scripture language.
We see, firstly, in this passage, how terrible will be the circumstances accompanying the second advent of Christ. Our Lord tells us that “there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud.”
This is a singularly awful picture. It may not be easy perhaps to attach a precise meaning to every part of it. One thing however, is abundantly plain. The second coming of Christ will be attended by everything which can make it alarming to the senses and heart of man. If the giving of the law at Sinai was so terrible that even Moses said, “I exceedingly fear and quake,” the return of Christ when He comes to earth in power and great glory shall be much more terrible.-If the hardy Roman soldiers “became as dead men,” when an angel rolled the stone away and Christ rose again, how much greater will the terror be when Christ shall return to judge the world. No wonder that Paul said, “Knowing the terrors of the Lord we persuade men.” (Heb 12:21. Mat 28:4. 2Co 5:11.)
The thoughtless and impenitent man may well tremble when he hears of this second advent of Christ. What will he do when worldly business is suddenly stopped and the precious things of the world are made worthless?-What will he do when the graves on every side are opening, and the trumpet is summoning men to judgment?-What will he do when that same Jesus whose Gospel he has so shamefully neglected shall appear in the clouds of heaven, and put down every enemy under His feet?-Surely he will call on the rocks to fall on him and on the hills to cover him. (Hos 10:8.) But he will call in vain for help, if he has never called on Christ before. Happy will they be in that day who have fled betimes from the wrath to come, and been washed in the blood of the Lamb!
We see, secondly, in this passage, how complete will be the security of true Christians at the second advent of Christ. We read that our Lord said to His disciples, “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”
However terrible the signs of Christ’s second coming may be to the impenitent, they need not strike terror into the heart of the true believer. They ought rather to fill him with joy. They ought to remind him that his complete deliverance from sin, the world and the devil, is close at hand, and that he shall soon bid an eternal farewell to sickness, sorrow, death and temptation. The very day when the unconverted man shall lose everything, shall be the day when the believer shall enter on his eternal reward. The very hour when the worldly man’s hopes shall perish, shall be the hour when the believer’s hope shall be exchanged for joyful certainty and full possession.
The servant of God should often look forward to Christ’s second advent. He will find the thought of that day a cordial to sustain him under all the trials and persecutions of this present life. “Yet a little time,” let him remember, “and he that shall come will come and will not tarry.” The words of Isaiah shall be fulfilled, “The Lord GOD shall wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall be taken away from off all the earth.” One sure receipt for a patient spirit is to expect little from this world, and to be ever “waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Heb 10:37. Isa 25:8. 1Co 1:7.)
We see, thirdly, in this passage, how needful it is to watch the signs of the times in the prospect of the second advent of Christ. Our Lord teaches this lesson by a parable: “Behold the fig tree and all the trees: when they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” The disciples ignorantly supposed that Messiah’s kingdom would be ushered in by universal peace. Our Lord, on the contrary, tells them that the signs which shall immediately precede it shall be wars, confusions, perplexity, and distress.
The general duty which these words should teach us is very plain. We are to observe carefully the public events of the times in which we live. We are not to be absorbed in politics, but we are to mark political events. We are not to turn prophets ourselves, but we are to study diligently the signs of our times. So doing, the day of Christ will not come upon us entirely unawares.
Are there any signs in our own day? Are there any circumstances in the world around us which specially demand the believer’s attention? Beyond doubt there are very many. The drying up of the Turkish empire,-the revival of the Romish church,-the awakened desire of the Protestant churches to preach the Gospel to the heathen,-the general interest in the state of the Jews,-the universal shaking of governments and established institutions,-the rise and progress of the subtlest forms of infidelity,-all, all are signs peculiar to our day. All should make us remember our Lord’s words about the fig-tree. All should make us think of the text, “Behold, I come quickly.” (Rev 22:7.)
We see, lastly, in this passage, how certain it is that all our Lord’s predictions about the second advent will be fulfilled. Our Lord speaks as if He foresaw the unbelief and incredulity of man on this mighty subject. He knew how ready people would be to say “Improbable! impossible! The world will always go on as it has done.” He arms His disciples against the infection of this skeptical spirit by a very solemn saying. “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.”
We shall do well to remember this saying, whenever we are thrown into the company of those who sneer at unfulfilled prophecy. The sneers of unbelievers must not be allowed to shake our faith. If God has said a thing He will certainly bring it to pass, and the probability or possibility of it are matters which need not trouble us for a moment. That Christ should come again in power to judge the world and reign, is not half so improbable as it was that Christ should come to suffer and die. If He came the first time, much more may we expect that He will come the second time. If he came to be nailed to the cross, much more may we expect that He will come in glory and wear the crown. He has said it, and He will do it. “His words shall not pass away.”
Let us turn from the study of these verses with a deep conviction that the second advent of Christ is one of the leading truths of Christianity. Let the Christ in whom we believe be not only the Christ who suffered on Calvary, but the Christ who is coming again in person to judge the earth.
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Notes-
v25.-[And there shall be signs, &c.] The prophecy, from this verse down to the end, takes a very wide range. It describes the last days of the world, the second personal advent of Jesus Christ, the circumstances which will attend that advent, and the duties which the prospect of that advent entails on all Christians.
[Sun…moon…stars…earth…sea…waves.] It is not agreed among commentators whether these expressions are to be interpreted literally or figuratively. It is undeniable that in symbolical prophecy the sea is an emblem of nations, and the heavenly bodies an emblem of the rulers of nations. (See Gen 37:9; Eze 32:8; Joe 2:10, Joe 2:30; Rev 17:15.) But it must be remembered that the prophecy before us is not a symbolical one. Its predictions are plain, simple facts, and not clothed in figurative language. It seems, therefore, a high probability that the language before us will receive a literal fulfilment in the events preceding and accompanying the second advent of Christ. The frame of nature was convulsed when the law of God was given at Sinai, and when Christ died on the cross. It is surely not too much to expect that it will be convulsed when Christ returns to judge the world.
v26.-[Failing them.] The Greek word so translated is only found here in the new Testament. It means literally “fainting.” Schleusner says that it signifies, “to faint from fear, to become not dead, but as if dead.”
[Looking after.] The Greek word so rendered means literally “expectation.” (Act 12:11.) It seems to signify that state of anxious suspense in which the world will be when it sees the first symptoms of the approaching advent of Christ, and yet knows not, and is unwilling to know, what they mean.
[On the earth.] Let it be noted, that the Greek word so translated, in all the other fourteen places in the New Testament where it is used, is rendered, “the world.”
[The powers of heaven.] The remarks made on Luk 21:25 apply to this expression. It seems safest to take it literally.
v27.-[See the Son of man coming, &c.] These words appear to me to admit of only one signification. They describe a literal, personal coming of that same Jesus Christ who ascended up in a cloud before the eyes of the disciples from Mount Olivet (Act 1:9-12.)
v28.-[When these things begin…come to pass.] This expression deserves notice. It shows that although the advent of Christ will be a sudden advent at last, it will have been preceded by signs and symptoms which all intelligent and lively Christians may observe, however hidden they may be to the world.
[Your redemption.] The word “redemption” is here used in the same sense as in the following passages.-Rom 8:23; Eph 1:14; Eph 4:30. It signifies that full and complete redemption of the believer which will be accomplished when His body is raised again, and soul and body once more united. From the guilt and power of sin believers are redeemed already. But from all the humbling consequences of sin they will not be completely redeemed until Jesus comes again, and calls them from their graves at the last day.
v29.-[Fig tree and all the trees.] It admits of a question whether our Lord, by this expression, did not mean the Jewish and Gentile Churches. The fig tree, barren and cursed for its barrenness, was undoubtedly a figure of the Jewish Church. It seems not impossible that this was in our Lord’s mind, when we remember that His curse on the fruitless fig tree had been pronounced the very week when He spake this prophecy before us. See also Song of Son 2:11-13.
v31.-[The kingdom of God…nigh at hand.] There is probably a reference in these words to the mistaken ideas of our Lord’s disciples about the kingdom of God. They looked for it to be set up at once, and expected their Master to be its King without delay. Our Lord here teaches them that His kingdom will not be nigh at hand until after a period of fearful wars and tribulation.
v32.-[This generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled.] The meaning of this sentence is a point on which commentators differ widely. An excellent summary of various opinions will be found in Gerhard’s Commentary.
1. Some think that “this generation,” means simply “the present generation of men who were living when our Lord was speaking.” This view is a favorite one with many modern Protestants, but it is very unsatisfactory. For one thing, nearly forty years passed away before the prophecy before us was even partially fulfilled by the destruction of Jerusalem. For another thing, it seems a most violent straining of the meaning of words to say that the destruction of Jerusalem at all fulfilled a very large part of the prophecy before us. The coming of the Son of man is surely a totally different th ing from the taking of a city.
2. Some think that “this generation” means “the heaven and earth,” (as in the following verses,) and the whole frame of creation. This is the view of Maldonatus.
3. Some think that “this generation” means “the whole race of mankind.” This is the view of Jerome and Barradius.
4. Some think that “this generation” means “this order of things,” or dispensation, and that our Lord meant to teach us that the present dispensation was the last one, the “last time” of which John speaks. (1Jn 2:18.)
5. Some think that “this generation” should have been rendered, “the same generation,” and that it signifies, “the same generation which sees the beginning of the signs of my second advent, will also see the end of them and my personal appearing.” I venture the remark that this rendering would not be the natural sense of the Greek words.
6. Some think that “this generation” means “the faithful, the believers, the company of Christ’s disciples,” and that the general sense is that Christ shall always have a believing people even at the awful tribulations of the time of the end. The elect shall never be destroyed. This is a favorite opinion of the fathers. Origen, Chrysostom, Hilary, Euthymius and Theophylact all hold it.
7. The soundest and most satisfactory opinion to my mind, is that which makes “this generation” mean the Jewish nation. They had been spoken of by our Lord in this prophecy. Their captivity and scattering had been plainly predicted. The disciples might naturally wonder how such a prediction could be reconciled with the many promises of glory to Israel in the Old Testament prophets. Our Lord answers their thoughts by declaring that this nation, the “Jewish people,” as a separate people, shall not pass away. Though cast down, they were not to be destroyed. Though scattered, they were yet to be gathered again before all things were fulfilled.
Of course the correctness of this view turns entirely on the question whether the Greek word translated “generation,” will honestly bear the sense of “nation,” or “people.” My own belief is, that it will bear the sense, and that it does really bear it in many places of the New Testament. I mention as instances, Mat 11:16; Mat 12:39; Mat 23:36. Luk 11:50-51. Act 2:40. Php 2:15. In this last text our translators have actually translated the word “nation.”
I will only add that the view I maintain is held by Mede, Flacius, Ravanellus, Aretius, and Bullinger. Mede’s argument in defence of the view will be found in his works, p. 752, fol 1672.
To point out how strikingly this view of the text is confirmed by the fact that the Jews are still a distinct and separate people all over the world, is of course needless.
v33.-[Heaven and earth…pass away.] This expression is a peculiarly strong and solemn mode of declaring the certainty of the whole prophecy being fulfilled. The heavens were to pass away like a scroll, at our Lord’s second coming. But His word was to stand forever. Nothing could prevent its being accomplished.
Luk 21:25-33. THE SIGNS OF THE COMING OF THE END. See on the paragraph in general, the notes on Mat 24:29-35; Mar 13:24-31. The only variations are in the signs mentioned in Luk 21:25-26, and the exhortation in Luk 21:28.These signs evidently refer not to the destruction of Jerusalem, but to the end of the times of the Gentiles.
In sun, etc. See Mat 24:29.
And upon the earth anguish of nations, etc. How far this prophecy will be literally fulfilled cannot be determined. If the whole passage be taken figuratively, then a remarkable commotion in the sea of nations is predicted, but it may refer to physical perturbations ushering in the new earth. The perturbations, whether physical or not, will be portentous, producing general anxiety and despair in view of the further terrors these events presage. This is evident from Luk 21:26 : for expectation of the things, etc.
Luk 21:25-26. There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, &c. These seem to be highly figurative expressions, signifying the decaying of all the glory, excellence, and prosperity of the nation; and the prevalence of universal sadness, misery, and confusion. And upon the earth Or, upon the land, as the words may be rendered; distress of nations with perplexity The Jewish tetrarchies shall be distressed and perplexed: the sea and the waves roaring The roaring of the sea and the waves may be a metaphorical expression; for, in the first clause of this verse, the signs in the sun and the moon and the stars are plainly so, answering to what by Mark is expressed thus: The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall fall. For, though the darkening of the sun and the moon may be intepreted literally of eclipses, no reader can understand the falling of the stars literally. See on Mar 13:24-26, and Mat 24:29-31. Mens hearts failing them for fear Greek, , literally, men expiring through fear; and for looking after those things Those dreadful calamities; which are coming on the earth Or, on the land. For the powers of heaven shall be shaken For this shall not be like former invasions, or captivities, which only produced some transient disorders in the state, or at most an interruption in the government for a few years; but it shall be attended with a total subversion of it; even of the whole Jewish polity, laws, and religion, which were the work of heaven, or which, containing in them the light of truth, are signified by the sun, moon, and stars in the preceding verse; and therefore might in this be called the powers of heaven. The consequence shall be such vast, extensive, and lasting ruin, that it shall be a most lively emblem of the desolation of the whole world at the last day. The above is the exposition commonly given of these verses, compared with the parallel passages in Matthew and Mark. And in consistency therewith, , which our translation renders, upon the earth, is thought to be only intended of the land of Judea and Samaria. But Dr. Campbell thinks the prophecy is not to be confined to that country, and therefore he prefers the common version, for which he assigns the following reasons: First, though what preceded seems peculiarly to concern the Jews, what follows appears to have a more extensive object, and to relate to the nations and the inhabitable earth in general. There we hear of , distress, or anguish of nations, and of the things, , coming upon the habitable world; not to mention what immediately follows, to wit, that the Son of man shall be seen coming in a cloud, with great glory and power. Nor is it all probable that, by the term, , nations, used thrice in the preceding verse, manifestly for Gentiles, are meant in this verse only Jews and Samaritans. Secondly, the prediction which the verse under examination introduces, is accurately distinguished by the historian, as not commencing till after the completion of the former. It was not till after the calamities which were to befall the Jews should be ended; after their capital and temple, their last resource, should be invested and taken, and the wretched inhabitants destroyed, or carried captive into all nations; after Jerusalem should be trodden by the Gentiles; nay, and after the triumph of the Gentiles should be brought to a period; that the prophecy contained in this and the two subsequent verses should begin to take effect. The judicious reader, to be convinced of this, needs only give the passage an attentive perusal.
Vers. 25-27. The Parousia.And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and in the earth distress of nations with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26. Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. 27. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
We have found that the main subject of this discourse was the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem. But how could our Lord close the treatment of this subject, and the mention of the epoch of the Gentiles which was to follow this catastrophe, without terminating by indicating the Parousia, the limit of the prophetic perspective? The mention which He made in passing of this last event, which was to consummate the judgment of the world begun by the former, doubtless contributed to the combination of the two subjects, and to the confounding of the two discourses in tradition.
The intermediate idea, therefore, between Luk 21:24-25 is this: And when those times of the period of grace granted to the Gentiles shall be at an end, then there shall be…; then follows the summary description of the Parousia. Those two judgments, that of the theocracy and that of the world, which Luke separates by the times of the Gentiles, are closely connected in Matthew by the , immediately, Luk 21:29, and by the words following: after the tribulation of those days, which cannot well refer to anything else than the great tribulation mentioned Luk 21:21, that is to say, to the destruction of Jerusalem (Luk 21:15-20). In fact, the Parousia is mentioned here by Matthew (Mat 24:27) only to condemn beforehand the lying revelations of false prophets (Luk 21:23-26) as to the form of that event. In Mark there is the same connection as in Matthew, though somewhat less absolute, between the destruction of Jerusalem and the Parousia (in those days, but without the immediately of Matthew). The three writers’ compilations are, it is easily seen, independent of one another.
Jesus described Luk 17:26-30 and Luk 18:8 the state of worldliness into which society and the Church itself would sink in the last times. In the midst of this carnal security, alarming symptoms will all at once proclaim one of those universal revolutions through which our earth has more than once passed. Like a ship creaking in every timber at the moment of its going to pieces, the globe which we inhabit ( ), and our whole solar system, shall undergo unusual commotions. The moving forces (), regular in their action till then, shall be as it were set free from their laws by an unknown power; and at the end of this violent but short distress, the world shall see Him appear whose coming shall be like the lightning which shines from one end of heaven to the other (Luk 17:24). The cloud is here, as almost everywhere in Scripture, the symbol of judgment. The gathering of the elect, placed here by Matthew and Mark, is mentioned by St. Paul, 1Th 4:16-17, 2Th 2:1, where the word reminds us of the of the two evangelists. Is it not a proof of the falsity of that style of criticism which seeks to explain every difference in text between the Syn. by ascribing to them opposite points of view?
Ver. 27. It is not said that the Lord shall return to the earth to remain there. This coming can be only a momentary appearance, destined to effect the resurrection of the faithful and the ascension of the entire Church (1Co 15:23; Luk 17:31-35; 1Th 4:16-17).
CXIV.
THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST.
aMATT. XXIV. 29-51; bMARK XIII. 24-37; cLUKE XXI. 25-36.
b24 But in those days, aimmediately after the {bthat} atribulation of those days. [Since the coming of Christ did not follow close upon the destruction of Jerusalem, the word “immediately” used by Matthew is somewhat puzzling. There are, however, three ways in which it may be explained: 1. That Jesus reckons the time after his own divine, and not after our human, fashion. Viewing the word in this light, the passage at 2Pe 3:4-9 may almost be regarded as an inspired comment with reference to this passage. 2. The terrible judgment upon Jerusalem and the corresponding terror of the judgment day have between them no intervening season of judgment in any way worthy to be compared to either of them. The two periods, therefore, stand with regard to each other in immediate connection. 3. The tribulation which came upon the Jewish people merely began with the destruction of Jerusalem, other woes followed at once, and, coming down through all the centuries of wandering and dispersion, they were yet unfulfilled and incomplete. See Deu 28:58-68] the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall {bshall be falling} from heaven, aand the powers of [629] {bthat are in} the heavens shall be shaken. [The language is that of the ancient prophets. See Amo 8:9, Joe 2:30, Joe 2:31, Eze 32:7, Eze 32:8. Compare also Rev 6:12-14. Some regard the language as metaphorical, indicating the eclipse of nations and the downfall of rulers, but there are many similar passages of Scripture which constrain us to regard the language here as literal rather than figurative. See 2Pe 3:10, Heb 1:12, Rev 20:11.] c25 And there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the billows [We can conceive of nothing which would produce greater mental distress or perplexity than changes in the position or condition of the heavenly bodies. Such changes will be followed by corresponding commotions on our planet, as, for instance, great tidal waves and vast agitation in the ocean]; 26 men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. a30 and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven [The coming and the sign are the same thing. The word “sign” is used in connection with the coming of Christ to indicate that the nature of the coming (that is, the manner of its manifestations) will be fully commensurate with the importance of the event. His first coming in the manger was not so]: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn [The coming will occasion universal mourning in the unprepared, and apparently the majority of people will be in that condition. The term “all” is not, however, to be construed as including all individuals– 1Th 4:15-17], b26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in {aon the} clouds {cin a cloud} aof heaven bwith great power aand great glory. b27 And then shall he send forth the {ahis} angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one of heaven to the other. bfrom the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. [To the Jews the trumpet would naturally be [630] associated with the assembling of the people, for silver trumpets were used to call Israel together ( Num 10:1-4, Exo 19:13, Exo 19:16, Exo 19:19, Psa 81:3-5). We are not told why angels are used on this occasion, but they appear to be employed in all the great operations of Providence ( Mat 13:41). The phrases “four winds,” etc., indicate that the angelic search shall extend over the entire globe. The language is that which was then used when one desired to indicate the whole earth. It is based upon the idea which then prevailed that the earth is flat, and that it extends outward in one vast plain until it meets and is circumscribed by the overarching heavens.] c28 But when these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads; because your redemption draweth nigh. [The preliminary death-throes of this present physical universe, which will strike terror to the souls of those who have limited themselves to material hopes, will be to the Christian a reassuring sign, since he looks for a new heaven and a new earth.] 29 And he spake to them a parable: a32 Now from the fig tree learn her parable: when her branch is now become tender, and putteth forth its leaves, ye know that the summer is nigh; cBehold the fig tree, and all the trees: 30 when they now shoot forth, ye see it and know of your own selves that the summer is now nigh. 31 Even so ye also, when ye see aall cthese things coming to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh. aknow ye that he is nigh, even at the doors. [As the change of the season in the natural world has its preliminary signs, so the change of conditions in the spiritual realm has its premonitory symptoms. When men see the symptoms which Jesus has described, they will recognize that changes are coming as to the nature of which they can only guess. But the Christian is informed that these changes indicate the coming of the Son of God–a change from a worse to a better season.] 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, buntil all things be accomplished. [Commentators differ widely as to the import of these words. Godet is so perplexed by them that he thinks [631] they refer to the destruction of Jerusalem, and have been misplaced by the Evangelist. Cook straddles the difficulty by giving a dual significance to all that our Lord has said concerning his coming, so that our Lord in one narrative speaks figuratively of a coming in the power of his kingdom before, during, and right after the destruction of Jerusalem, and literally of his final coming at the end of the world. But this perplexing expression under this theory refers exclusively to the figurative and not to the literal sense of the passage. The simplest solution of the matter is to take the word “generation” to mean the Jewish family or race–and the word does mean race or family– Luk 16:8. Thus interpreted, the passage becomes a prophecy that the Jewish people shall be preserved as such until the coming of Christ. The marvelous and almost miraculous preservation of the racial individuality of the Jews, though dispersed among all nations, might well become the subject of prophecy, especially when Jesus had just spoken of an event which threatened their very extermination.] 31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. [The disciples had regarded the temple as so permanent that they found it hard to conceive that Christ’s words could be fulfilled with regard to it; but he assures them that his predictions and prophecies are the stable and imperishable things. That even the more permanent structure of the heavens is not so abiding as his utterances.] a36 But of that day and {bor that} hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in {aof} heaven, neither the Son, bbut the Father. aonly. [These words indicate the profound secrecy in which God has concealed the hour of judgment. It is concealed from all people, that each generation may live in expectation of its fulfillment, and we are to watch for the signs, though we may not fully know the times. They also indicate that either by reason of his assumption of our human nature, or by a voluntary act on his part, the knowledge of Jesus became in some respects circumscribed. They also suggest that it is not only idle, but also presumptuous, for men to strive to find out by mathematical calculation and expositions of [632] prophecy that which the Son of God did not know.] 37 And as were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man. 38 For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, 39 and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the coming of the Son of man. [See Psa 1:5, Mal 3:2.] b33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. 34 It is as when a man, sojourning in another country, having left his house, and given authority to his servants, to each one his work, commanded also the porter to watch. [Under the figure of the householder and the thief, Jesus appealed to the sense of danger. Under the figure of the servant he appealed to the sense of duty, and under this figure of the porter he appealed to the sense of loyalty. The porter’s desire to honor his lord was to make him so vigilant that he would open the door at once upon his lord’s appearing.] 35 Watch therefore: for ye know not when the lord of the house cometh, whether at even, or at midnight, or at cockcrowing, or in the morning [The night was then divided into four watches. See p. 322. Jesus may here refer either to the duration of the world or to the life of the individual. He divides either period into four sections, in accordance with the night watches which were so fully associated with watchfulness]; 36; lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. [This warning message was not for the apostles alone, but for all disciples.]
[FFG 629-634]
21:25 {g} And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
(g) When the times have expired which are appointed for the salvation of the Gentiles and the punishment of the Jews: And so he changes topics from the destruction of Jerusalem to the history of the latter judgment.
4. The second coming of the Son of Man 21:25-28 (cf. Matthew 24:29-31; Mark 13:24-27)
Luke omitted Jesus’ warnings about false prophets that Matthew and Mark recorded (Mat 24:23-28; Mar 13:21-23). Perhaps he did this because he had included similar warnings in his account of Jesus’ earlier teachings (Luk 17:21-23). Clearly Jesus was now speaking again of events that would precede His return to the earth (Luk 21:27).
"Jesus is pointing to signs that will precede His coming and teaching His followers not to be discouraged." [Note: Morris, p. 300.]
Tribulation conditions at the end of the times of the Gentiles are again in view (cf. Luk 21:10-11; Revelation 6-18). The scope of these crises is global, not just in Judea (cf. Luk 21:20-21). Probably we should understand the roaring of the sea literally since Jesus also mentioned waves. Evidently the disturbances in the heavens will affect the tides and waves causing great insecurity. Global catastrophes will portend even greater trouble to come for those living on the earth in the Tribulation, and they will fear greatly. The universe will appear to be about to break up.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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Scripture
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Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
8. It is not impossible that our Lord on this occasion uttered the so-called unwritten expression of which Justin Martyr, in Tryph. Luke 47, makes mention with the simple words: . . and which has all the internal traces of genuineness: In that in which I shall find you, therein will I judge you.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Greek Testament
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Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
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Fuente: Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
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Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)