Day 602: Lift up your head - Luke 21 vs 25 - 33

25 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

29-31 And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.  32-33 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Luke 21:25-33 (English Standard Version)

These verses are still dealing with the answer Jesus gave when He spoke of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the people asked Him when that would happen. Christians have differed on whether what Jesus said here was fulfilled in AD 70 (when the Roman's destroyed the city and the Temple), or whether parts of it refer to the end of the world. Those who say it's about the end of the world suggest that vs 27 must surely be speaking of the second coming of Christ.

Christians who say this section is mainly about Jerusalem's fate, and the end of an era, would see it as the fulfilment of an Old Testament prophecy by Daniel. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (when the Jews were in captivity there) had a disturbing dream. A man named Daniel was enabled by God to interpret the dream. The most important part was when he said to the King: “In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand for ever.” (Daniel 2:44) It was clearly a reference to what God was going to bring about through the Messiah.

Verse 25 would then refer to the turmoil of the nations when God set up His Kingdom, and vs 26 would be the turmoil even in the heavenly realms as Satan's power was broken. Christians holding this view would see vs 27 not as the second coming, but a spiritual picture of Christ’s triumph and the new era as He sends His servants out with the gospel to all the world. Verse 28 would then be a call to those who heard Him saying these things to be prepared for what would happen to Jerusalem. This view makes vs 32-33 more easily understood if 'this generation' was referring to those who were alive when He spoke those words.

But the phrase 'this generation' can also apply to a whole era – in other words - the whole period between His ascension and His return. There's a sense in which it doesn't matter whose view is totally correct because Christians today should be watching for Christ's return just as carefully as Christians in Jerusalem needed to be on the look out for the things Jesus spoke of which warned the cities end was near. This will become clearer in vs 34-38 which I hope to do in the next post from Luke.

I personally think the key takeaway for today is verse 28. What did Jesus say the response of believers should be when there is great distress among the nations of the world, and many people are 'fainting in fear' about the future?

We must not allow worry and dread to fill our minds and make our shoulders droop. It's a time for us to take heart because the turmoil in the world only means that our Saviour is at the door. The super powers of the world may be raging and there may even be an increase of demonic activity as the powers of the heavens are shaken. But for believers it means that Christ is soon to return. Oh what glory that will be! “According to God's promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:13.)