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Luke 21:8–11
“[Jesus] said, ‘See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, “I am he!” and, “The time is at hand!” Do not go after them. And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once’” (vv. 8–9).
Once Jesus told the disciples that the temple in Jerusalem would not stand forever, they wanted to know when it would fall (Luke 21:5–7). As we will see in our study of the Olivet Discourse over the next several weeks, Jesus did not give an exact date for the fall of the temple and the city of Jerusalem. Instead, He described the kinds of things that would happen in the multidecade lead-up to the temple’s destruction.
Interestingly, Jesus began with events that would not signify the fall of Jerusalem, as we see in Luke 21:8–9. He referred to things that “must first take place, but the end will not be at once.” This indicates that those who would see the things mentioned in those verses should not think that the end of the temple was coming immediately. Some commentators argue that “the end” mentioned in verse 9 refers not to the end of the temple but to the end of history, but it seems better to see Jesus as speaking of things that would characterize the forty years or so between the delivery of the Olivet Discourse and the fall of Jerusalem and the temple in AD 70. We should note, however, that since the things mentioned in verses 8–9 did not pinpoint the exact end of the temple, we should not think that the end of time follows immediately upon the repetition of these things—false messiahs, wars, and so forth—later in history.
Jesus said that after His death in about AD 30, others would come along and claim to be the Messiah, and that wars would also occur. Wars occurred around the world during the first century, just as they do today. There was also no shortage of messianic claimants who tried to lead uprisings against Rome. Jesus’ point was that these things would happen, but they did not mean that the fall of the temple was necessarily at hand. It remains a mistake today to think that the appearance of false messiahs and wars necessarily means that this is the last generation before Jesus comes. These kinds of things have happened throughout history and will continue to occur, but no one knows the day or hour of Christ’s return to bring the new creation (Matt. 24:36).
In addition to localized wars, Jesus said that entire nations and kingdoms would fight one another, that natural disasters would occur, and that there would be unusual astronomical phenomena (Luke 21:10–11). Again, none of these things could be used to establish a precise date for the temple’s fall beforehand, and none of them can be used to pinpoint Christ’s return at the end of history.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Every generation has had its share of people claiming to be the reappearance of Jesus or to be another messianic-type figure sent by God. We should be on the lookout for such figures so that they do not deceive us or those whom we love, and we should realize that their appearance does not necessarily mean that Jesus’ return is right around the corner. We cannot predict the day of His return, so we must always be ready for it.
For further study
- Jeremiah 28
- Lamentations 2:14
- Matthew 24:4–8
- Acts 21:37–38
The bible in a year
- Isaiah 59–61
- 1 Thessalonians 4