5 And certain saying about the temple, that with goodly stones and devoted things it hath been adorned, he said, 6 'These things that ye behold—days will come, in which there shall not be left a stone upon a stone, that shall not be thrown down.' 7 And they questioned him, saying, 'Teacher, when, then, shall these things be? and what 'is' the sign when these things may be about to happen?' 8 And he said, 'See—ye may not be led astray, for many shall come in my name, saying—I am 'he', and the time hath come nigh; go not on then after them; 9 and when ye may hear of wars and uprisings, be not terrified, for it behoveth these things to happen first, but the end 'is' not immediately.' 10 Then said he to them, 'Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, 11 great shakings also in every place, and famines, and pestilences, there shall be; fearful things also, and great signs from heaven there shall be; 12 and before all these, they shall lay on you their hands, and persecute, delivering up to synagogues and prisons, being brought before kings and governors for my name's sake; 13 and it shall become to you for a testimony. 14 'Settle, then, to your hearts, not to meditate beforehand to reply, 15 for I will give to you a mouth and wisdom that all your opposers shall not be able to refute or resist. 16 'And ye shall be delivered up also by parents, and brothers, and kindred, and friends, and they shall put of you to death; 17 and ye shall be hated by all because of my name— 18 and a hair out of your head shall not perish; 19 in your patience possess ye your souls.
20 'And when ye may see Jerusalem surrounded by encampments, then know that come nigh did her desolation; 21 then those in Judea, let them flee to the mountains; and those in her midst, let them depart out; and those in the countries, let them not come in to her; 22 because these are days of vengeance, to fulfil all things that have been written. 23 'And wo to those with child, and to those giving suck, in those days; for there shall be great distress on the land, and wrath on this people; 24 and they shall fall by the mouth of the sword, and shall be led captive to all the nations, and Jerusalem shall be trodden down by nations, till the times of nations be fulfilled.
25 'And there shall be signs in sun, and moon, and stars, and on the land 'is' distress of nations with perplexity, sea and billow roaring; 26 men fainting at heart from fear, and expectation of the things coming on the world, for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. 27 'And then they shall see the Son of Man, coming in a cloud, with power and much glory; 28 and these things beginning to happen bend yourselves back, and lift up your heads, because your redemption doth draw nigh.'
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Luke 21:5-28
Commentary on Luke 21:5-28
(Read Luke 21:5-28)
With much curiosity those about Christ ask as to the time when the great desolation should be. He answers with clearness and fulness, as far as was necessary to teach them their duty; for all knowledge is desirable as far as it is in order to practice. Though spiritual judgements are the most common in gospel times, yet God makes use of temporal judgments also. Christ tells them what hard things they should suffer for his name's sake, and encourages them to bear up under their trials, and to go on in their work, notwithstanding the opposition they would meet with. God will stand by you, and own you, and assist you. This was remarkably fulfilled after the pouring out of the Spirit, by whom Christ gave his disciples wisdom and utterance. Though we may be losers for Christ, we shall not, we cannot be losers by him, in the end. It is our duty and interest at all times, especially in perilous, trying times, to secure the safety of our own souls. It is by Christian patience we keep possession of our own souls, and keep out all those impressions which would put us out of temper. We may view the prophecy before us much as those Old Testament prophecies, which, together with their great object, embrace, or glance at some nearer object of importance to the church. Having given an idea of the times for about thirty-eight years next to come, Christ shows what all those things would end in, namely, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the utter dispersion of the Jewish nation; which would be a type and figure of Christ's second coming. The scattered Jews around us preach the truth of Christianity; and prove, that though heaven and earth shall pass away, the words of Jesus shall not pass away. They also remind us to pray for those times when neither the real, nor the spiritual Jerusalem, shall any longer be trodden down by the Gentiles, and when both Jews and Gentiles shall be turned to the Lord. When Christ came to destroy the Jews, he came to redeem the Christians that were persecuted and oppressed by them; and then had the churches rest. When he comes to judge the world, he will redeem all that are his from their troubles. So fully did the Divine judgements come upon the Jews, that their city is set as an example before us, to show that sins will not pass unpunished; and that the terrors of the Lord, and his threatenings against impenitent sinners, will all come to pass, even as his word was true, and his wrath great upon Jerusalem.