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Luke 21:25–27
“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, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”
Does Jesus, in the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24; Mark 13; Luke 21), predict His final return to consummate God’s plan or Jerusalem’s destruction in AD 70? Answering this question is not easy, but it is vital for accurately understanding our Savior’s teaching. As we have seen, there are good reasons to believe that Jesus is talking primarily about first-century events in the Olivet Discourse. This makes the discourse a prophecy that was largely fulfilled when the Romans conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the temple in AD 70, though it may also anticipate things that will happen at the end of history.
Many commentators, however, believe that much of the Olivet Discourse refers to the final coming of Jesus and the events that will precede His return to usher in the new heavens and earth. Today’s passage, these commentators believe, provides evidence of this. The astronomical signs and coming of the Son of Man on the clouds in glory and power seem at first glance to refer to something that has yet to occur, to the events described in passages such as 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 that concern the return of Jesus to judge the living and the dead.
Yet as we look at Luke 21:25–27 more closely, we find that these verses seem to better fit what happened in the first century. When Jesus speaks of the coming of the Son of Man in a cloud, He clearly alludes to Daniel 7:13–14. In Daniel’s prophecy, when the Son of Man comes, He comes not to earth but to the Ancient of Days to receive dominion over all peoples and nations. That seems to better fit the ascension of Jesus after the successful completion of His earthly ministry. Remember that just before His ascension, Jesus said that God had granted Him all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18–20). Jesus was then taken up on a cloud to heaven, and there He is ruling as He puts all things under His feet (Acts 1:6–11; 1 Cor. 15:25).
This would make the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 part of a complex of events in which the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, ascends to heaven and confirms His authoritative rule by using the Roman armies to judge Jerusalem for rejecting Him. The astronomical signs in Luke 21:25–26, then, are perhaps figurative expressions of a decisive shift in redemptive history from the old covenant community to the new covenant church. The Old Testament Prophets frequently describe major historical shifts by referring to astronomical phenomena. These may be not literal expressions but metaphors for important changes in kingdoms and nations (e.g., see Ezek. 32:1–16).
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Jesus is certainly going to make a visible return to judge all things, but this final return is not necessarily described in the Olivet Discourse. The discourse, rather, assures us that Jesus has taken His seat on the heavenly throne and that He is ruling and reigning over all things. At present, the world is defying His rule, and our job is to call people to repent and submit to His lordship in gladness.
For further study
- Isaiah 13
- Amos 8
- Habakkuk 3:1–15
- Matthew 24:29–30
The bible in a year
- Jeremiah 12–13
- 1 Timothy 4