Jesus was coming in a cloud

JESUS WAS COMING IN A CLOUD
WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Luke 21:27 27At that time they will see the Son of
Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The SecondAdvent
Mark 13:24-31. Parallelpassages:Matthew 24:29-35;Luke 21:25-33
J.J. Given
I. THE GREATNESS OF THE EVENT. Whether our Lord's coming shall be
pro-millennial or post-millennial we staynot to inquire. The great importance
attaches to the fact of the secondcoming of the Sonof man, which this section
describes and which all Christians believe. The future coming of the Sonof
man naturally leads us back in thought to his first coming. The world had
waited long for that blessedday. Patriarchs had lookedforward to it, but it
was in faith; prophets saw it, but it was in vision; saints sighedfor its
approach, but it was still a greatway off - they hoped for its arrival, but they
died before the promise was fulfilled; servants of God longed for its coming,
and when it at length arrived they felt so satisfiedthat there seemednothing
further for them to desire - the language of Simeon expressedtheir thoughts,

"Now, Lord, lettestthou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
for mine eyes have seenthy salvation." Angels celebratedit on the plains of
Bethlehem, and sang in heavenly carol, "Gloryto God in the highest, peace on
earth, and goodwill to men." The people of God look forward with equal
longing and equal eagerness to the day of Christ's secondcoming. They look
and long for it as the period of complete redemption; they expect it as the time
of home-gathering of all their brethren in the Lord; in anticipation of that
greatdeliverance and of that blessedreunion they cry, "Evenso, Lord Jesus,
come quickly."
II. THE GLORY OF HIS COMING. He will come, we are taught to believe,
personally, visibly, and gloriously. He will come "in the clouds. The clouds of
heaven serve many important purposes;they screenfrom the heat of the sun
by day, and moderate the radiation of the earth by night. Sometimes they
supply from their contents moisture to plants, and bring gladness to the
thirsty ground; sometimes they pour down the waterthat originates springs
or swells rivers; sometimes they coverwith snow the polar regions. Those
cloud-masses,as they float in the atmosphere, now approachwithin a mile of
the earth, again ascendto the distance of five or six miles above its surface.
Sometimes they curl in thin, parallel, silvery streaks;sometimes they form
dense conicalor convex heaps;sometimes, at the approachof night, they
spread out in wide low-lying horizontal sheets;sometimes, fraught with storm,
they move like a dark canopy overhead;againthey unite and form various
combinations. At all times they claim our attention, and commend themselves
to our admiration by their fantastic forms, their changing colors, their
varying density, and their strange combinations. The views of a kaleidoscope
are nothing compared with the manifold aspects ofthe clouds. The clouds of
heaven, then, are objects ofgreat beauty, grandeur, and glory. The ancient
heathens had a just appreciationof the magnificence of the clouds, and
accordinglyassociatedthem with their highestconceptions of majesty. They
representedtheir deities as clothed with clouds, or seatedon clouds, or
surrounded with clouds, as if to hide from mortal gaze their excessive
splendor. In Scripture, also, the true God is representedas making the clouds
his chariot, and walking upon the wings of the wind; and, again, we read that

his pavilion round about him were dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies."
When Isaiah predicts the destruction of Egypt and the confusion of its idols
from the hand of the Lord, he uses the sublime representation, "Behold, the
Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt." Danielemploys
similar language in relation to the Son of man: "Behold, one like the Son of
man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and
they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and
glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, shouldserve
him." The representationbefore us here is in accordancealso withour Lord's
reply, when, in answerto his question about his Messiahship, he directed their
attention from the humility of his first to the honor of his secondcoming,
saying, "Ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and
coming in the clouds of heaven." So also, when he was going to part from his
disciples, when he was going to leave our world, when his feet last stoodon
Olivet, when he was about to ascendto his Father and our Father, to his God
and our God, the cloud became his vehicle, and coming under him received
(ὑπέλαβεν) him out of the disciples'sight; and in that car of cloud he rose
onward, and mounted upward to the right hand of the Father everlasting.
Thence he shall come again with glorious majesty, according to the promise,
"This same Jesus, which is takenup from you into heaven, shall so come in
like manner as ye have seenhim go into heaven." Further, in the Apocalypse,
the Apostle John's representationof Christ's coming with clouds is designed
and calculatedto signify the grandeur and the glory, the solemnity and the
sublimity of his secondadvent: "Behold, he comethwith clouds; and every eye
shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth
shall wail because ofhim. Even so, Amen."
III. THE GLORY AND POWER WITHWHICH HE COMES. Every
manifestation of glory shall attend him; every symbol of unspeakable splendor
shall accompanyhim; every tokenof dignity shall signalize him; every adjunct
of might and magnificence shall mark his advent. The Sonof man shall come
with greatpower and glory; all the holy angels shallswellhis train. The dead
in Christ shall rise first, and swellthat assemblage;they that are still alive,
and remain till that dread day, shall be caught up togetherwith them in the

clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Can anything be grander than this? Can
anything be more august? Can anything be more solemn? Can anything be
more awe-inspiring? Is there anything more calculatedto overwhelmwith
consternationthe wicked? Is there anything more fitted to create deep and
universal alarm among the ungodly? What, on the other hand, can be more
inspiriting to the believer? What more encouraging and comforting to the
child of God? What more suitable to nerve to high effort and holy purpose
than the prospectof being presented faultless in that day, and amid that
assembly, and before the presence ofhis glory, with exceeding joy?
"A hope so greatand so Divine
May trials well endure,
And purge the soul from sense and sin,
As Christ himself is pure."
IV. THE OBJECT orhis coming. We may now reflect for a moment on the
greatpurposes for which Christ shall come the secondtime. At first he came
in weakness, but at his next coming he will take to him his greatpowerand
reign. At first he came in dishonor, born in a stable, cradled in a manger,
being "despisedand rejectedof men;" but then he shall come in dignity, and
so that "every eye shall see him," every tongue confess him, and every knee
bow before him. At first he came in a servile, suffering state;but then in awful
majesty and glory everlasting - in his own glory, and in the glory of his Father.
At first he came to call sinners to repentance;but then to summon eachto his
reward, be it recompense orretribution, and "to give every man according as
his work shall be." It is true that the coming of the Son of man described in
the verses immediately before us has for its specific objectthe grand
assemblageofhis saints to meet him; the accessoriesofthe resurrection, the
transformation of the living, and the generaljudgment are left out of sight.
From the tribulation connectedwith the fall of Jerusalemthe Saviorhad
lookedfar forward into other days, when greatchanges, whetherliteral and

cosmical, orfigurative and political, shall precede and serve as precursors of
the secondcoming of the Son of man. If the language is understood
figuratively, the darkening of the sun may denote the eclipse of ecclesiastical
authority; that of the moon, the collapse ofcivil polity; while the stars or
potentates shall be falling or waning (the form of the future made up of
substantive verb and participle, implying a more durable effectthan the
simple future). In the parable of the fig tree, however, he reverts to the
precursors of the dissolutionof the jewish state and the destruction of its
capital; and affirms that, as the tender leaf-buds of the fig tree signified the
near approachof harvest-time (θέρος), so the signs alreadyspecified in an
early part of this chapter indicated the fast-approaching destructionof the
sanctuary and city of Jerusalem. If, then, the statementof ver. 30, "that this
generationshall not pass, till all these things be done," be referred to the end
of the Jewishstate, the word γενεὰ retains its ordinary sense of generationor
contemporary race, which some insist on. If, on the other hand, the end of the
age or world be referred to, whether the coming of the Sonof man be for the
purpose of ushering in the millennium, that is, pre-millennial, or for the final
winding up of all things, the word γενεὰ must be understoodas equivalent
γένος, race, that is, the people or nation of the Jews, or, according to some, the
race of men in general, more especiallythe generationof the faithful.
V. THE DIFFERENT FEELINGSWITHWHICH HIS COMING IS
REGARDED, The visit of some distinguished personto our neighborhood or
to our habitation may, according to circumstances, awakenemotions of a very
different or even diverse character. Our feelings in view of the expectedvisit
will be either pleasantor painful, according to the characterofthe visitor or
the objectof his coming. If he comes as a friend to further our interests, to
favor our fondly cherished hopes, and to conferon us certain benefits, we
naturally hail his coming with delight and rejoice at the prospectof his speedy
advent. If, on the contrary, we have reasonto believe that his intentions are
hostile, that he means to oppose our plans, that he has some unpleasant
measure to enforce or some punishment to inflict, we just as naturally dread
his arrival and recoilfrom his approach. With similarly opposite views and

feelings, saints and sinners, believers and unbelievers, look forward to the
coming of him to whom this passagerefers. - J.J.G.
Biblical Illustrator
This poor Widow hath castin more than they all.
Luke 21:1-4
The widow's mites
J. W. Pringle, M. A.
Our Lord wished to see "how the multitude castmoney into the collection-
chest" — not only how much — anybody could have discoveredthat — but in
what manner and spirit it was being done: reverently or irreverently — as
unto God or as unto man — so as to display or so as to concealthe offering —
with a conscientious aimto give all that was due, or a self-convictedsense that
a part thereof was being withheld. The searching eye of the Masterstruck
through the outward demeanour of eachpassing worshipper, right down to
the motive that swayedthe hand. He was reading the heart of eachgiver. He
was marking whether the gift was the mere fruit of a devotionless habit — a
sheeraffectationof religious liberality — or, as it ought to be, a humble and
sincere tokenof gratitude and consecrationto God. These were the inquiries
that were engaging the mind of our Lord on this memorable occasion. We are
not informed how long He had sator what discoveries He had made before
the arrival of the "poorwidow," but He noticed that she gave but two
"mites";and knowing that this was all she had, He discerned the unselfishness
and love that prompted an offering which would perhaps be her last oblation
on the altar of the Lord. This act of unfeigned devotion touched Him at once,
insomuch that He immediately calledHis disciples, and drew their attention to
so striking and instructive a case. Itwas her gift, rather than any other, that
attractedthe greatestinterestin the courts of heaven. It was her offering,
rather than any other, that was alone worthy of a permanent recordin the

GospelHistory and the "books ofeternalremembrance." And why? Not only
because she gave "allher living," but because she gave it unto the Lord "with
all her heart." Not at all in a spirit of petulance or desperation, as might have
been the case;not at all because she saw wantstaring her in the face, and
thought it no longer worth her while to retain the paltry coins she possessed.
On the contrary, it was the fineness of the woman's spirit, the richness of her
gratitude and love, the wealth of her self-forgetfulnessand trust under the
severity of her trials, that gave her little gift the exceeding rareness ofits
value. She was neither despairing nor repining, but "walking by faith" and in
contentment, reflecting that, not. withstanding her indigence, there was none
to whom she was so greata debtor as unto the Lord her God, who in His
providence had given her all she had, or ever had had, or everwould have,
temporal and spiritual. And out of the depths of her adorationand
thankfulness she says unto herself, "I will go," in my poverty and sincerity,
"and pay my vows unto the Lord in the presence ofall His people," castmy
slender and only offering into the sacredtreasury, and awaitthe goodnessof
His hand in "the land of the living." The other worshippers were giving
variously, but all "of their abundance";or, as the RevisedVersion has it, "of
their superfluity." They never missed what they gave. They were sacrificing
nothing to enable them to give. They could have given more, some of them far
more, and never have felt the slightestpressure in consequence. Butthe "poor
widow" had not an iota more to offer. She gave her "uttermost farthing," and
she gave it gladly.
(J. W. Pringle, M. A.)
The duty of almsgiving
James Foote, M. A.
1. It is necessaryand scriptural that there be public voluntary contributions
for pious and charitable purposes.
2. Both the rich and the poor should contribute to pious and charitable
purposes, and that according to their respective ability.

3. It concerns us all to see that our contributions be such, in respectof the
principles and motives from which they flow, as will meet with the Divine
approbation.
4. Be exhorted to castliberally into the offerings of God, by the encouraging
considerations whichare placedbefore you in His Word.(1) Remember that
the eye of the Lord Jesus Christ is upon you.(2) Remember, again, the
considerations connectedwith the amazing kindness of your God and Saviour
to you.(3) Be exhorted, once more, to give liberally, by the considerationof the
promise of an abundant recompense, both in this world and in the world to
come.
(James Foote, M. A.)
The anonymous widow
Christian Age.
It is related of Father Taylor, the sailormissionary of Boston, that on one
occasion, whena minister was urging that the names of the subscribers to an
institution (it was the missionary cause)should be published, in order to
increase the funds, and quoted the accountof the poor widow and her two
mites, to justify this trumpet-sounding, he settled the question by rising from
his seat, and asking in his clear, shrill voice, "Will the speakerpleasegive us
the name of that poor widow?"
(Christian Age.)
The widow's mite
M. F. Sadler.

When it is saidthat this mite was all this woman's living, it must, of course,
mean all her living for that day. She threw herself upon the providence of God
to supply her with her evening meal or night's lodging. From what she gave,
which the Lord brought to light and commended, the expression"I give my
mite" has passedinto a proverb, which in the mouths of many who use it is
ridiculous, if not profane. What ought to be the mite of one in a goodbusiness
which yields him severalhundreds a year clearprofit? What ought to be the
mite of a professionalman in goodpractice, afterall reasonable family claims
are provided for? A man with an income of at leasttwo or three hundred a
year once said to me, when I called upon him for assistancein keeping up a
national school, "I will think about it, sir, and I will give you my mite." He did
think, and his mite was two shillings. Contrast this with the following. Two
agedpaupers, having only the usual parish pay, became communicants. They
determined that they would not neglectthe offertory; but how was this to be
done, as they were on starvation allowance?Well, during the week before the
celebration, they did without light, satup for two or three hours in the dark,
and then went to bed, and gave the few pence which they savedin oil or
rushlights to be laid on the altar of God.
(M. F. Sadler.)
Giving his all
A gentleman was walking late one night along a street in London, in which
stands the hospital where some of our little friends support a bed ("The May
Fair Cot," in Ormond StreetHospital) for a sick child. There were three
acrobats passing along there, plodding wearily home to their miserable
lodgings after their day's work; two of them were men, and they were
carrying the ladders and poles with which they gave their performance in the
streets wheneverthey could collecta crowdto look on. The third was a little
boy in a clown's dress. He trotted wearily behind, very tired, and looking pale
and sick. Justas they were passing the hospital the little lad's sad face
brightened for a moment. He ran up the steps and dropped into the box
attachedto the door a little bit of paper. It was found next morning there. It

containeda sixpence, and on the paper was written, "Fora sick child." The
one who saw it afterwards ascertained, as he tells us, that the poor little waif,
almost destitute, had been sick, and in his weary pilgrimage was a year before
brought to the hospital, which had been a " House Beautiful " to him, and he
was there cured of his bodily disease. Hands of kindness had ministered to
him, words of kindness had been spokento him, and he had left it cured in
body and whole in heart. Some one on that day in a crowd had slipped a
sixpence into his hand, and that same night as he passedby, his grateful little
heart gave up for other child-sufferers "all the living that he had." It was all
done so quietly, so noiselessly;but oh I believe me, the sound of that little coin
falling into God's treasury that night rose above the roarand din of this
mighty city, and was heard with joy in the very presence of God Himself
The giving out of abundance and out of penury
"Mamma, I thought a mite was a very little thing. What did the Lord mean
when He said the widow's mite was more than all the money the rich men
gave?" It was Sunday afternoon, and the question was askedby a little child
of eight, who had large, dark, inquiring eyes, that were always trying to look
into things. Mamma had just been reading to her the story from the Bible,
and now she wanted it explained. Mamma thought for a few minutes, and
then said, "Well, Lulu, I will tell you a little story, and then I think you will
understand why the widow's mite was more valuable than ordinary mites.
There was once a little girl, whose name was Kitty, and this little girl had ever
so many dolls, almost more than she could count. Some were made of china,
and others were made of wax, with real hair and beautiful eyes that would
open and shut; but Kitty was tired of them all, except the newestone, which
her auntie had given her at Christmas. One day a poor little girl came to the
door begging, and Kitty's mother told her to go and getone of her old dolls
and give it away. She did so, and her old doll was like what the rich men put
into the treasury. She could give it awayjust as well as not, and it didn't cost
her anything. But the poor little beggargirl was delighted with her doll. She
had never had but one before, and that was a rag doll; but this one had such
lovely curly hair, and she had never seenany lady with such an elegantpink
silk dress on. She was almostafraid to hold it againsther dirty shawl, for fear
of soiling it; so she hurried home as fast as she could, to hide it awaywith her

few small treasures. Justas she was going upstairs to their poor rooms, she
saw through the crack of the door in the basement her little friend Sally, who
had been sick in bed all summer, and who was all alone all day, while her
mother went out washing, to try and earn money enough to keepthem from
starving. As our little girl lookedthrough the crack she thought to herself, 'I
must show Sally my new dolly.' So she rushed into the room and on to the bed,
crying, 'O Sally! see!' Sally tried to reachout her arms to take it, but she was
too sick;so her little friend held up the dolly, and as she did so, she thought,
'How sick Sally looks to-day! and she hasn't any dolly.' Then, with one
generous impulse, she said, 'Here, Sally, you may have her.' Now, Lulu, do
you see? The little girl's dolly was like the widow's mite — she gave her all."
The largestgiver
W. Baxendale.
The late BishopSelwyn was a man of ready wit as well as of devout Christian
feeling. In his New Zealand diocese it was proposedto allot the seats ofa new
church, when the Bishop askedon what principle the allotment was to be
made, to which it was replied that the largestdonors should have the best
seats, andso on in proportion. To this arrangement, to the surprise of every
one, the Bishop assented, andpresently the question arose who had given the
most. This, it was answered, should be decided by the subscription list. "And
now," said the Bishop, "who has given the most? The poor widow in the
temple, in casting into the treasury her two mites, had castin more than they
all; for they of their abundance had castinto the treasury, but she had castin
all the living that she had."
(W. Baxendale.)
A Welsh boy's offering
It is related of a little Welsh boy who attended a missionary meeting that
when he had given in his collecting card and what he had obtained from his
friends, he was greatlydistressedbecause he had not a halfpenny of his own to
put in the plate at the meeting. His heart was so thrilled with interestin the

work that he ran home and told his mother that he wanted to be a missionary,
and askedher to give him something for the collection, but she was too poor to
give him any money. He was disappointed and cried; but a thought struck
him. He collectedallhis marbles, went out, and sold them for a penny, and
then went to the meeting againand put it on the plate, feeling glad that he was
able to do something to promote the cause ofmissions.
What one halfpenny cando
Bowes.
A son of one of the chiefs of Burdwan was converted by a single tract. He
could not read, but he went to Rangoon, a distance of two hundred and fifty
miles; a missionary's wife taught him to read, and in forty-eight hours he
could read the tract through. He then took a basketfull of tracts; with much
difficulty preached the gospelat his own home, and was the means of
converting hundreds to God. He was a man of influence; the people flockedto
hear him; and in one year one thousand five hundred natives were baptized in
Arracan as members of the Church. And all this through one little tract I
That tract costone halfpenny! Oh! whose halfpenny was it? God only knows.
Perhaps it was the mite of some little girl; perhaps the well-earnedoffering of
some little boy. But what a blessing it was!
(Bowes.)
The gifts of the poor
SarahHosmer, while a factory girl, gave fifty guineas to support native
pastors. When more than sixty years old she longed so to furnish Nestoria
with one more preacherthat, living in an attic, she took in sewing until she
had accomplishedher cherishedpurpose. Dr. Gordon has well said, "In the
hands of this consecratedwoman, money transformed the factory girl and the
seamstressinto a missionaryof the Cross and then multiplied her sixfold."
But might we not give a thousand times as much money as SarahHosmer
gave, and yet not earn her reward?

The true worth of money
After all, objects take their colourfrom the eyes that look at them. And let us
be assuredthat there is an infinite difference in the sight of an eye which is the
window of a sordid soul and an eye from which looks a soul that has been
ennobled by the royal touch of Christ. There are some eyes that read upon a
piece of gold nothing but the figures that tell its denomination. There are
others, thank God, that see upon it truths that thrill and gladden and uplift. If
the lust of goldhas blinded your eyes to all else but its conventional value, go
to the feetof Christ, and to His question, "What wilt thou that I should do
unto thee?" answer, "Lord, that mine eyes might be opened." And when you
have learned to look through money into that infinite reachthat lies beyond it,
you will have learned the lessonof the gospel. You may then be a "rich
Christian," making earth brighter and better, and building for yourself in
heaven "everlasting habitations."
Liberal giving
Mrs. Wylie's "Life of Mrs. Mason."
In a sequesteredglenin Burmah lived a woman, who was knownas Naughapo
(Daughter of Goodness). Sire was the Dorcas ofthe glen — clothing the naked,
feeding the hungry, soothing the afflicted, and often making her little dwelling
the home of the poor, that they might enjoy the privilege of the neighbouring
school. Mrs. Mason, the missionary, visiting her, was struck with the beauty of
her peacefulhome — evidently a spotwhich the Lord had blessed... The day
before she left, a pedlar had calledwith his tempting fabrics for sale;but
though this poor woman was in poor garments, she had but one rupee for
purchases, while on the following morning she and her family put thirteen
rupees into Mrs. Mason's hand, to be deposited in the missiontreasury.
(Mrs. Wylie's "Life of Mrs. Mason.")
Noble giving
E. Hake.

GeneralGordon had a greatnumber of medals, for which he carednothing.
There was a gold one, however, given to him by the Empress of China, with a
specialinscription engraved upon it, for which he had a greatliking. But it
suddenly disappeared, no one knew when or how. Years afterwards it was
found out by a curious accidentthat he had erasedthe inscription, sold the
medal for ten pounds, and sent the sum anonymously to CanonMillar, for the
relief of the sufferers from the cottonfamine at Manchester.
(E. Hake.)
COMMENTARIES
BensonCommentary
Luke 21:27-28. Thenshall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud — They
shall see the accomplishmentof what Danielforetold, by the figurative
expressionof, “the Sonof man coming in the clouds of heaven;” for the
destruction of the Jewishnation by the Roman armies, and, in after ages,of
other persecuting and antichristian powers, and the spreading of my gospelin
consequence thereof, according to this my prediction, shall demonstrate to all
unprejudiced persons, that I am the Son of man, prophesied of by Daniel, and
that the conversionof the world to Christianity is the glorious universal
kingdom which Danielforetold was to be given to the Son of man; and this is
the true sign from heaven, about which the Jews have been so solicitous. See
note on Matthew 24:30-31. Withregard to the destruction of the Jewish
nation, and the consequentdownfall of their religious institutions, which they
all along opposedto Christianity, it may be observed, that no events whatever
could have contributed so effectuallyto the conversionof both Jews and
Gentiles.

“Forit is a known fact, that while the Jewishconstitution subsisted, the
spreading of the gospelwas hindered, both by the believing and unbelieving
Jews;the former disgusting the Gentiles, by endeavouring to subjectthem to
the law of Moses;and the latter, terrifying them by the persecutions which
they raisedagainstthe disciples, evenin heathen countries. But the abolition
of the Mosaicalinstitutions confuted the error of the one, and the destruction
of the nation brake the power of the other. The success, therefore, ofthe
gospel, depending in a greatmeasure upon the downfall of the Jewishstate,
was very properly predicted as the natural consequence thereof. Moreover, as
this prophecy described so minutely the catastrophe ofthe Jewishstate, its
accomplishmentcould not but make a strong impressionupon the minds of
the Gentiles, as we know in fact it did bring over many of them to
Christianity.” When these things begin to come to pass — The things I have
been predicting; then look up — With firm faith; and lift up your heads —
With joy; for your redemption — Out of many troubles; draweth nigh — By
God’s destroying your implacable enemies.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
21:5-28 With much curiosity those about Christ ask as to the time when the
greatdesolationshould be. He answers with clearnessand fulness, as far as
was necessaryto 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 gospeltimes, 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 assistyou. 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 forChrist, we shall not, we cannotbe losers by him,
in the end. It is our duty and interest at all times, especiallyin perilous, trying
times, to secure the safetyof our own souls. It is by Christian patience we keep
possessionofour ownsouls, and keepout all those impressions which would
put us out of temper. We may view the prophecy before us much as those Old
Testamentprophecies, which, togetherwith their greatobject, embrace, or
glance at some nearerobject 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 Jewishnation; which would be a type and figure of
Christ's secondcoming. The scatteredJewsaround us preach the truth of
Christianity; and prove, that though heavenand earth shall pass away, the
words of Jesus shallnot pass away. Theyalso remind us to pray for those
times when neither the real, nor the spiritual Jerusalem, shallany longerbe
trodden down by the Gentiles, and when both Jews and Gentiles shall be
turned to the Lord. When Christ came to destroythe Jews, he came to redeem
the Christians that were persecutedand 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
againstimpenitent sinners, will all come to pass, even as his word was true,
and his wrath greatupon Jerusalem.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Men's hearts failing them - This is an expressiondenoting the highest terror.
The word rendered "failing" commonly denotes to "die," and here it means
that the terror would be so greatthat people would faint and be ready to die
in view of the approaching calamities. And if this was true in respectto the
judgments about to come upon Judea, how much more so will it be in the day
of judgment, when the wickedwill be arraignedbefore the Son of God, and
when they shall have before them the prospectof the awful sufferings of hell -
the pains and woes whichshall continue forever! It will be no wonder, then, if
they call on the rocks and mountains to hide them from the face of God, and if
their hearts sink within them at the prospectof eternal suffering.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
25-28. signs, &c.—Thoughthe grandeur of this language carries the mind
over the head of all periods but that of Christ's secondcoming, nearly every
expressionwill be found used of the Lord's coming in terrible national
judgments, as of Babylon, &c.;and from Lu 21:28, 32, it seems undeniable

that its immediate reference was to the destruction of Jerusalem, though its
ultimate reference beyond doubt is to Christ's final coming.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
Ver. 27,28. Matthew seemethto expound this, Matthew 24:31;so doth Mark
13:27. Both speak to the same sense:And he shall send his angels with a great
sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather togetherhis electfrom the four
winds, from, one end of heaven to the other. This is certainly to be understood
of the day of judgment, when the saints shall be glorified as the sons of God by
adoption, and obtain the redemption of the body, Romans 8:23.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
And then shall they see the son of man,.... See Gill on Matthew 24:30.
Geneva Study Bible
And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and
greatglory.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Luke 21:27-28. Comp. on Luke 21:27;Matthew 24:30; Mark 13:26.
Καὶ τότε] and then; after the previous occurrence ofthese σημεῖα.
ἀρχομ. δὲ τούτων]but when these begin; these appearances, Luke 21:25 f.
They are therefore not conceivedofas of long continuance.
ἀνακύψατε κ.τ.λ.]lift yourselves up, raise yourselves (till then bowed down
under afflictions, Luke 21:12 ff., comp. Luke 12:32)erect(hopefully). Comp.
Dorville, ad Charit. p. 177.

ἡ ἀπολύτρ. ὑμ.] which shall follow by means of my Parousia. Comp. the
ἐκδίκησις τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν, Luke 18:7.
Expositor's Greek Testament
Luke 21:27. ἐν νεφέλῃ, in a cloud, sing., insteadof the plural in parallels,
making the conceptionmore literal.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
27. coming in a cloud] Metaphoricallyin greatworld crises (Matthew 16:17;
Matthew 16:28); actually at the Last Coming. Acts 1:11; Matthew 26:64;
Revelation14:14.
Bengel's Gnomen
[27. Ἐρχόμενον, coming) viz. to judgment. See Luke 21:36.—ἐννεφέλη, in a
cloud) The Singular. Comp. the note on Matthew 24:30 (“Whilst He shall have
in His train many chariots;Plural; He shall ride in one chariot in particular:
Singular).—V. g.]
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Luke 21:27 "Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD
with powerand greatglory.
KJV Luke 21:27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud
with powerand greatglory.

Barclay- The powerof the heavens will be shaken;and then they will see the
Son of Man coming in a cloud, with powerand much glory.
see Daniel7:13; Mt 24:30;26:64; Mark 13:26;Acts 1:9-11; Revelation1:7;
14:14
with Mt 16:27,28;25:31
Luke 21 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Luke 21:25-38 On Guard! He’s Coming! - StevenCole
Luke 21:25-26 CelestialSigns ofthe Coming Savior - John MacArthur
THE ULTIMATE SIGN:
THE KING IN HIS GREAT GLORY!
ParallelPassages:
Matthew 24:30 writes
“And then the sign (semeion)of the Son of Man will appearin the sky, and
then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN
COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with powerand greatglory.
Comment on and then - Jesus is linking His return to the cataclysmic cosmic
signs just describedin Mt 24:29-note. Notice that the use of then marks
progressionin the sequence ofevents. First the cosmic signs, then the coming
Son! At His first coming it was John the Baptist who heralded His arrival. At

His secondcoming, cosmic signs will herald the arrival of the ultimate Sign,
the SaviorHimself! Note the seconduse of then marks the time of mourning.
First the signand then the mourning.
Mark 13:26 writes
“Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN CLOUDS with great
powerand glory.
Then (5119)(tote)is a marker of sequence of events, in this context the "even
of all events" the glorious return of the Redeemer, at the climax of the cosmic
chaos. So first Luke describes the signs which cannot be missedand then the
Savior Who cannotbe missed, "for every eye will see Him, even those who
pierced Him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be.
Amen." (Rev 1:7-note). Maranatha
Matthew adds a detail not found in Luke or Mark's versions that "then the
sign of the Sonof Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the
earth will mourn." While the commentaries debate over the specific
identification of the sign, if one takes Jesus'words at face value the answer is
obvious. The sign is the Son of Man Himself coming on the clouds with power
and greatglory! Compare Mt 16:27 and Mt 26:64. Recallthat in Mt 24:3-note
the disciples asked"whatwill be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of
the age?"Jesusnow answeredtheir question and gave them the sign -
Himself!
John MacArthur adds that "the sign of signs will be the Son of Man Himself,
Who will appearin the sky. Many of the early church Fathers, suchas
Chrysostom, Cyril of Jerusalem, and Origen, imagined that this signwould be

an enormous blazing cross, visible to the entire world, that would pierce the
total darkness then shrouding the world. Other interpreters have suggestedit
will be the Shekinahglory of the Lord's presence returning to earth. It is
likely that the Shekinahglory will be involved, as the unveiled Christ Jesus
makes His appearance. But the sign is not just His glory; it is Christ Himself,
the Sonof Man, Who will appear in the sky. The sign of should be translated
as a Greek subjective genitive, indicating that the sign will not simply relate to
or point to the Son of Man (as with an objective genitive) but will indeed be
the Sonof Man. In other words, Jesus Himself will be the supreme and final
sign of His coming. In the midst of the world's unrelieved blackness-physical,
emotional, and spiritual-Jesus Christ will manifest Himself in His infinite and
undiminished glory and righteousness.Justas the destructive catastrophes of
the GreatTribulation will be utterly unparalleled (v. 21), so will be this
manifestation of the glory and power of Christ. (MacArthur New Testament
Commentary)
Kent Hughes - In this cosmologicalconfusionJesus will come in shining
clouds of glory. (PTW-Mark)
They will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD - Who is they?
The nearestantecedentis the "fainting men," but of course they would have
returned to consciousnessorelse they could not see Him. Of course the they is
all the inhabitants of the world, and this would even include the believers who
are alive at that time (having been saved during the GreatTribulation - Rev
7:9, 14-note). While the unbelievers will mourn, the believers will rejoice at
the sight of their Redeemer.
This is no secretcoming as often spokenof the Rapture. This is not a coming
in lowliness to be rejectedand to redeem, but in majestic splendor to as
conqueror over His enemies.

What the Bible teaches - This is the coming of the Son of man, the last Adam,
the secondMan, the Victor of Calvary and the Conqueror of death and hell.
His feetwill stand upon the Mount of Olives (Zech 14:4-note)whence He had
once ascendedfrom amidst the little band of wondering disciples. He will
come to destroy the beastand his armies, to put an end to Gentile rule and
dominion over Israel and Jerusalem, to deliver the oppressedand setthe
captives free. He will come at the crucialhour for the deliverance of His
earthly people, and with Him will be "the armies in heaven" following Him.
"Out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the
nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the
winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his
vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF
LORDS" (Rev19:15, 16). (What the Bible teaches – Luke)
Jesus quotes Daniel's description from Daniel7:13-note
“I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heavenOne
like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And
was presentedbefore Him.
Glorious Day
One day when Heaven was filled with His praises
One day when sin was as black as could be
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin
Dweltamong men, my example is He
Word became flesh and the light shined among us
His glory revealed

Chorus:
Living, He loved me
Dying, He savedme
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He's coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day
One day they led Him up Calvary's mountain
One day they nailed Him to die on a tree
Suffering anguish, despisedand rejected
Bearing our sins, my Redeemeris He
Hands that healed nations, stretched out on a tree
And took the nails for me
Chorus
One day the grave could concealHim no longer
One day the stone rolled awayfrom the door
Then He arose, overdeath He had conquered
Now He's ascended, my Lord evermore
Deathcould not hold Him, the grave could not keepHim
From rising again
Chorus

One day the trumpet will sound for His coming
One day the skies with His glories will shine
Wonderful day, my BelovedOne, bringing
My Savior, Jesus, is mine
Chorus
Glorious day, Oh, Glorious day
With power and great glory - Mark's versionplaces "great" before "power
and glory!" In Greek two "d" words "dunamis and doxa!" Great is not megas
but polus which means "much."
Power(1411)(dunamis)describes Christ's inherent ability to accomplisha
task, in this case the complete crushing of all His enemies, whenHe comes to
"He tread the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty." (Rev
19:15-21-note, cfthe Stone - Da 2:34-35-note, Da 2:44-45-note)
Glory (1391)(doxa)describes His radiance, brightness, splendor,
magnificence, majesty....andthe list will go on throughout eternity! Splendor
means a quality that outshines the usual. How apropos to Jesus, the Light of
the World returning to reclaim His redeemed World!

WILLIAM BARCLAY
There are two main conceptions here.
(i) There is the conceptionof the secondcoming of Jesus Christ. There has
always been much useless argumentand speculationabout the secondcoming.
When it will be and what it will be like, are not ours to know. But the one
greattruth it enshrines is this--that history is going somewhere. The Stoics
regardedhistory as circular. They held that every three thousand years or so
the world was consumedby a greatconflagration, then it started all over
againand history repeateditself. That meant that history was going nowhere
and men were tramping round on a kind of eternal treadmill. The Christian
conceptionof history is that it has a goaland at that goalJesus Christ will be
Lord of all. That is all we know, and all we need to know.
(ii) There is stressedthe need to be upon the watch. The Christian must never
come to think that he is living in a settled situation. He must be a man who
lives in a permanent state of expectation. A novelist, in one of her books, has a
characterwho will not stoopto certain things that others do. "I know," she
said, "that some day the greatthing will come into my life and I want to keep
myself fit to take it." We must live forever in the shadow of eternity, in the
certainty that we are men who are fitting or unfitting themselves to appear in
the presence ofGod. There can be nothing so thrilling as the Christian life.
(iii) Jesus spentthe day amidst the crowds of the Temple; he spent the night
beneath the stars with God. He wonhis strength to meet the crowds through
his quiet time alone;he could face men because he came to men from God's
presence.

THOMAS CONSTABLE
Verse 27
When conditions are at their worst, people living on the earth then will see the
Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory ( Daniel 7:13; cf.
Luke 9:36; 2 Peter1:16-17). He will come to setup the messianic kingdom and
to reign on the earth for1 ,000 years ( Daniel7:14; Revelation20:1-6). The
cloud may be the Shekinah(cf. Acts 1:9-11).
STEVEN COLE
On Guard! He’s Coming! (Luke 21:25-38)
RelatedMedia
According to a survey published by U.S. News and World Reportin late 1997,
two-thirds of American adults believe that Jesus somedaywill return to
Earth. However, most who believe in Christ’s return placed it well beyond
their lifetime, with 33 percent saying it will happen more than a few hundred
years from now.
Among us, I would guess that belief in Christ’s return is near 100 percent. Yet
I wonder how much the awarenessofHis return affectedyour life this past
week? Didit figure in how you spent your time? Did it fill you with hope as
you faceda trial or crisis? Did it enable you to resisttemptation, as you
thought about what it will be like to stand before Him on that great day? Did
it determine how you spent your money as a stewardwho will give an

account? Or did you even think at all about Christ’s sooncoming as you went
about your week?
If the secondcoming of Jesus Christ is not a major factor in your normal
Christian life, you are missing one of the most powerful biblical motivations to
godly living. As Jesus continues His discourse to His disciples on future things,
He makes the point:
Since Christ is certainly returning, we need to be alert and ready, not dull and
surprised by His coming.
The first part of this discourse (21:5-24, [lastweek])focusesonthe impending
judgment of Jerusalembecause ofrejecting her Messiah. But the terrible
events that happened in A.D. 70 were just a portent of the events that will lead
up to the secondcoming of Christ and the final judgment. As I said last week,
many of the events that Christ predicted have double or multiple fulfillments,
culminating in the grand finale at His return.
At the end of verse 24, Jesus refers to Jerusalembeing trampled under foot by
the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. The “times of the
Gentiles” refers to the current age, when God’s grace is not dispensed through
Israel, but through the church made up of both Jew and Gentile. In our text
(21:25-36), Jesus jumps aheadto the end of that epochthat culminates in His
return in powerand glory to establish God’s kingdom on earth.
Among evangelicalChristians, there are three major views regarding future
things. I hold to Premillennialism, which means that Jesus will return and
establishthe kingdom of God on earth in fulfillment of God’s promises to
Israelin the Old Testament. Jesus has alreadyreferred to a present sense of

the kingdom (17:21), but here He states that when we see the signs of His
secondcoming, “the kingdom of God is near” (21:31), implying that it will
come in its fullness after He returns.
Amillennialists do not believe in a literal 1,000-yearreign of Christ on earth.
Rather, they think that He will return, judge the earth, and usher in the
eternal state. Theythink that the kingdom of God consists ofChrist’s present
reign from heaven over His people. The millennium is spiritual, not literal or
physical. One of the main reasons Ihold to the Premillennial view is that I do
not believe that Jesus’presentspiritual reign over His people comes close to
fulfilling the glorious promises given to Israel in the Old Testament.
The other main view, Postmillennialism, teaches that the church will usher in
God’s kingdom through the worldwide spread of the gospel, culminating in
Jesus’return. Thus they view the millennium as the glorious time of
worldwide revival just prior to Christ’s return, not as a literal 1,000 years. I
think it is the leastlikely view, in that many scriptures (including our text)
indicate that things will getworse, not better prior to Christ’s return.
Among premillennialists there are a number of views about if and when there
is a secretrapture of the church separate from the secondcoming. Most
premillennial dispensationalists holdto a secretpretribulational return of
Christ for His church, followedby sevenyears of the tribulation, culminating
in Jesus’secondcoming. This is the view I have been taught all my life, but I
must confess that the longer I study Bible prophecy, the less certainI am
about that view. It depends on drawing a sharp distinction betweenGod’s
programs for Israeland the church, and on interpreting prophetic passages
literally. Some dispensationalists hold to a mid-tribulation rapture or a pre-
wrath rapture. Non-dispensationalpremillennialists do not draw a sharp
distinction betweenIsraeland the church. They hold that God’s people will go

through the tribulation, followedby Christ’s return and the millennial
kingdom.
Our text does not deal with the question of whether there is a separate rapture
of the church, but rather focuses onthe secondcoming of Christ. If you
believe that the church will be raptured some time before the secondcoming,
then this text does not directly apply to you. But if you believe that there is
only one secondcoming of Christ for His people (as I am increasingly inclined
to believe), then it is quite applicable. We will look at four points:
1. The fact of His coming: It is more certain than heaven and earth.
Either Jesus Christ is returning visibly and bodily with powerand greatglory
(21:27) or He is a liar who cannot be trusted at all. Those are the only options.
The language ofverse 27 is takenfrom Daniel 7:13-14, where Danielsaw in
his vision one “like a Sonof Man.” This personcame up to the Ancient of
Days, where He was given eternal“dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all
the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve Him.” Such
eternal dominion could belong to none other than the Lord God. In the Old
Testament, it is the Lord who comes on the clouds (Ps. 18:10-12;104:3;Isa.
19:1). Thus Jesus’language in Luke 21:27 is the language of deity.
The secondcoming of Jesus Christ in a cloud with powerand greatglory is in
stark contrastwith His first coming. True, there were manifestations of power
and glory in that first coming: the angel announcedthe miraculous conception
to Mary. The heavenly chorus sang and announcedHis birth to the shepherds.
The miraculous starguided the wise men to the house where He was. Anna
and Simeon gave prophecies about the future of this child.
But there were also many commonplace events that maskedHis divine glory.
He was born to a common, working class couple, not to royalty. They were

excluded from the inn so that Mary had to give birth in a stable. Common
shepherds, not scribes, scholars,or kings, witnessedHis birthplace. Contrary
to all the pictures on Christmas cards, the baby Jesus did not have a halo. He
grew up in relative obscurity, working as a carpenter. There wasn’t much
divine power and glory manifested in His first coming.
But when He comes again, every eye will see Him. In Matthew 24:31 Jesus
states that He will send forth His angels (they belong to Him and obey His
command) with a greattrumpet to gather “His electfrom the four winds,
from one end of the sky to the other.” Revelation19:11-16 describesHim as
riding on a white chargerof war, His eyes flaming fire, His robe dipped in
blood, and a sharp sword coming out of His mouth to smite the nations. “He
will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce
wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name
written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (19:15). His exalted
secondcoming will be a total contrastfrom His lowly first coming!
In case we missedit, Jesus underscores the certainty of His secondcoming by
adding, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away”
(19:33). More than you can trust the ground beneath your feet or that there
will be a moon and stars in the sky tonight or that the sun will rise tomorrow,
you cantrust the words of Jesus Christ! Only God in human flesh could make
such a claim. Jesus’secondcoming is not a matter of prophetic speculation. It
is a certain fact. If it is not, you cannottrust in Jesus at all.
2. The signs of His coming: Cataclysmic globalthreats and changes.
In the parallel accounts (Matthew 24, Mark 13)Jesus mentions severalother
signs that immediately precede His coming. The abomination of desolation
prophesied by Daniel will be setup in the holy place of the temple. False
Christs and false prophets will arise and deceive many. The hearts of many
will grow cold. But, even so, the gospelof the kingdom will be preachedin the

whole world for a witness to all the nations (Matt. 24:14). And there will be
signs in the heavens. But Luke only mentions the signs in the heavens and on
earth.
These words about cataclysmic changesin the heavens reflecta number of
Old Testamentprophecies that connectsuch events with the coming judgment
day of the Lord (Isa. 13:10-13;Joel2:10, 30-31;3:15). Matthew 24:29
(reflecting Isa. 13:10)states that the sun will be darkened, the moon will not
give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky. Luke adds that the sea and
its waves will roar. Some take the words symbolically, but I see no reasonnot
to take them in a literal sense. Eitherthey refer to changes which God will
impose on His creationto show men that He is the Lord of the universe, or
they could refer to the effects of nuclear winter causedby the final warat the
end of the tribulation period.
These cosmic signs will be so great that the world’s population will cowerin
fear to the point of passing out. The Greek word translated“perplexity”
normally refers to being chained; it means that men will be gripped or bound
by anxiety. But believers will stand apart from the unbelieving world at this
point. Rather than being in distress, believers will be saying, “All right! Jesus
is coming soon!Our redemption draws near!”
Whether we go through the greattribulation or not, there is an application
here for God’s people: Becausewe trust in our SovereignRedeemer, the
creatorof the universe, we do not have to live in fear and anxiety, even in the
face of globalcatastrophe. Evenif wars or plagues or natural catastrophes
engulf us and take our lives, we can lift up our heads, because ourredemption
draws near! Deathonly brings to completion the salvationthat our Lord
accomplishedfor us on the cross. Thus we are to be people of hope and joy
even when the world is engulfed in anxiety and fear.

3. The danger before His coming: To be weigheddown with current worries.
Jesus warns His hearers, including the disciples, “Be on guard, that your
hearts may not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the
worries of life, and that day come on you suddenly like a trap, for it will come
on all those who dwell on the face of all the earth” (19:34, 35). Dissipation
refers to the dizziness or carousing associatedwith drunkenness. I would not
think that the Lord would have to warn His people about drunkenness, but
when you remember that even the godly Noahgot drunk, you must realize
that you are not exempt from the temptation. If you take a drink or use drugs
to relax, then you are especiallyin danger of the sin that Jesus here warns
against. Christ Himself is to be the source of our peace in this troubled world,
not alcoholor drugs.
Jesus not only mentions the dangers of dissipation and drunkenness, but also
the dangerof being weightedwith the worries of the world. Worry is a sin
because it is opposedto faith in the living God. The absence ofworry does not
mean shrugging our shoulders and doing nothing about problems. There is a
proper sense of concernthat should move us to responsible action. But when
we get stressedout, we need to take the time to get alone with the Lord, to
claim the promises of His Word, and to pour out our troubles to Him in
prayer. Then He may direct us as to a course of action. Then we proceedwith
His joy and peace filling our hearts, not in fearful anxiety. If we live daily in
dependence on Him, the frightening events of the end times will not snap shut
on us like a trap. We will be ready and rejoicing because we have the habit of
daily trust in God, in contrastto the stressfulways of the world.
Thus Jesus emphasizes the certainty of His secondcoming. He tells us the
cataclysmic signs that precede it. He warns us about the dangerof being
fearful and dealing with that fear in the world’s way, through drunkenness
and worry. Finally, He shows us:

4. Readiness forHis coming: Keep on the alert through prayer and obedience.
As I understand Jesus’words, all of these final events will take place rather
quickly. He states, “Truly I sayto you, this generationwill not pass awayuntil
all things take place” (19:32). This verse has causedmuch controversyand
even some hereticalconclusions. Some saythat Jesus was claiming that those
hearing Him speak would see His return to usher in His kingdom. If so, Jesus
was obviously mistaken. It would be likely that the early church would not
have reported this remark or would have abandoned hope in His coming if
this were what Jesus meant.
Others have gone to the extreme of saying that Jesus returned in A.D. 70
when Jerusalemwas destroyed. One man from Flagstaffhas written a booklet
promoting this view. He claims that Jesus has already returned and will not
be coming back again. Although he is sincerelytrying to explain this difficult
verse so that Jesus’prediction came true, he has fallen into serious heresy. To
deny that Jesus will return in the future is to rob believers of the hope of His
coming. Besides, the destruction of Jerusalemcannotbe described as Jesus’
coming on the clouds with power and great glory to establishHis kingdom on
earth and to judge the nations.
Others explain the word “generation” to mean “race,” so thatJesus is saying,
“The Jewishrace will not ceaseto be until all these things take place.” The
problem with this view is that the word “generation” almostalways means
those living at a given time, not a race of people. So it would be a highly
unusual use of the word. Also, Jesus was probably speaking Aramaic, and the
Aramaic term for generationcannot carry the sense ofrace (Darrell Bock,
Luke [Baker], 2:1690).
Another view is that the verse refers to the judgment on Jerusalemin A.D. 70,
but not to the secondcoming. But Jesus’words about the kingdom of God
being near when all these signs take place does not fit this view. The judgment

on Jerusalemhad nothing to do with the kingdom’s sooncoming. Also, this
view must interpret the drastic signs in the heavens in a symbolic or greatly
diminished sense. Some argue that severalcomets that appeared just prior to
A.D. 70 fulfill the “signs in the heavens” prophecy (Keith Mathison,
Dispensationalism:Rightly Dividing the People of God? [P & R Publishing],
p.140). The prophecy about the sun and moon being darkenedis explained as
symbolic Old Testamentlanguage forterrible judgments on the nations (ibid.,
p. 142). But to say that the judgment on Jerusalemtotally fulfilled these verses
seems to me to be stretching it beyond credulity. The nations were not
perplexed and gripped with terror because ofthese signs in the heavens just
prior to Jerusalem’s destruction.
A variation on this view is a double fulfillment approachthat argues that the
judgment on Jerusalemis linked with the final judgment as the beginning or
type of that final judgment on all the earth. Thus “Jesus is saying that this
group of disciples will experience the catastrophe ofA.D. 70 within their
lifetime, an event that itself pictures the beginning of end-time events” (Bock,
2:1691). This view is a goodpossibility, especiallywhen you study the parallels
in Matthew and Mark. The problem with it in Luke is that you have to shift
back in focus to the judgment of A.D. 70, which seemingly was left at verse 24.
And, you have to interpret the signs in the heavens in connectionwith A.D. 70
in a much lesserdegree thanthe final signs that will grip the whole world with
fear.
Perhaps the bestsolution is to saythat “this generation” refers to the
generationthat is living when all of these end time signs begin to occur. Jesus
then is saying that “the generationthat sees the beginning of the end, also sees
its end. When the signs come, they will proceedquickly; they will not drag on
for many generations”(Bock,2:1691-1692). The main objectionto this view is
that “this generation” usually refers to the present generation, not to a later
one. But in this context, Jesus is referring to these cataclysmic signs. Thus the
phrase “this generation” couldrefer to the generationthat sees these unusual

events unfold. Since there is so much controversyover the verse, we should
not be dogmatic.
But to return to the point, the references to this generationnot passing away
until these things take place, and the warning that these final events will come
on us suddenly like a trap, underscore the element of surprise or quickness.
Jesus tells us, “Keep on the alert at all times, praying in order that you may
have strength to escape allthese things that are about to take place, and to
stand before the Son of Man” (21:36). The way to be ready so that the day
does not surprise us like a trap is to be in daily prayer for strength to endure
(“escape” has the sense ofenduring) persecutionand these world-shaking
events; and to be obedient so that we canstand before the Lord without fear.
Luke’s mention (21:37-38)of the people getting up early to come and listen to
Jesus may simply be a factual notice. But it also may be a subtle warning.
These people listened in the sense ofenjoying Christ’s teaching. He was an
interesting and engaging speaker. Theywere curious about these prophetic
matters. But many of these same people would shortly be crying, “Crucify
Him!” There is a big difference betweenbeing curious about Bible prophecy
and living daily by faith, prayer, and obedience to God’s Word. If studying
prophecy does not make us more godly people, we are not studying it rightly.
When I was in the CoastGuard, the chief on our boat was a profane and
worldly man. One time he came up on the bridge where I was on radio watch
to get something and he noticedthat I was reading the Bible. He said,
“Whatcha reading?” Thenseeing that I was reading First Peter, he said, “Oh,
Peters, huh? You ought to read Revelations. It’s really ___.” He used a mild
swearword to mean, “It’s really cool.” He thought that prophecy was
interesting. If he had really takenit to heart, he would have realized that
Christ is coming back to judge the earth. He would have repented and lived
much differently. Bible prophecy is not given to satisfy our curiosity. It is

given so that we will live in prayerful obedience, readyfor that fearful day of
judgment.
Conclusion
I once workedat the swankyDrake Hotelin Chicago. Years before I was
there, in July of 1959, QueenElizabeth was scheduledto visit Chicago.
Elaborate preparations were made for her visit. The waterfrontwas readied
for docking her ship. Litter baskets were painted and a red carpet was ready
to be rolled out for her to walk on. Many hotels were alertedto be ready. But
when they contactedthe Drake, the managersaid, “We are making no plans
for the Queen. Our rooms are always ready for royalty.”
That’s how our lives should be in light of Christ’s return. We shouldn’t have
to make any specialor unusual preparations. We should live eachday alert
and ready, dependent on Him in prayer, and obedient to His Word. When the
world is gripped with fear because offrightening events, we should look up,
filled with hope because our redemption draws near.
DiscussionQuestions
Since prophecy seems to be so open to different interpretations, how canwe
be certain enough about it for it to affectour lives?
What are some possible practicalimplications of the different major
prophetic views? What are the strengths and weaknessesofeachview?
Should Christians divide over different prophetic views? Which prophetic
views (if any) cross the line into heresy?
Note Jesus’imperatives. What is His main concernfor His hearers in terms of
application?
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000,All Rights Reserved.

BOB DEFFINBAUGH
The SecondComing of Christ (Luke 21:25-36)
25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will
be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 Menwill
faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the
heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to
take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is
drawing near.”
29 He told them this parable: “Look atthe fig tree and all the trees. 30 When
they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near.
31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom
of God is near. 32 “I tell you the truth, this generationwill certainly not pass
awayuntil all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass
away, but my words will never pass away.
34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weigheddown with dissipation,
drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you
unexpectedly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all those who live on the
face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be
able to escape allthat is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand
before the Son of Man.”
Introduction

It often takes a while for things to “sink in” with me, but I think I finally have
a bit of a clue as to why the disciples were so excited about the temple and its
beauty. You will recallthat in the early verses of this 21stchapter of Luke the
disciples were awe-struck with the splendor of the temple. Jesus quickly told
them not to gettoo workedup about it because it would not be there that long.
But the question has lingered, “Why would the splendor of the temple be such
a big dealfor the disciples?” Thenit suddenly struck me. It is not a very pious
thought, but then few of the disciples’thoughts about the kingdom and their
place in it were pious, until after the cross.
Office space is what this was all about. The disciples, I suspect, had visions of
having their own offices in this beautiful building. Jesus had marched on
Jerusalem. He had, in many regards, takenpossessionofthe temple, not only
by its cleansing (29:45-48), but also by going there daily to teachthe masses.
The Messiahwas predictedto reign in Jerusalem, from the temple. If His
disciples were to have a part in this reign, then surely they would “office” in
the temple. Aha! So now I can see why the splendor of the temple was such a
big thing.
The splendor of the temple was to be short-lived, however. Jesus told His
disciples that not one stone would be left standing on another. It would not be
He, nor His disciples who would “reign” from Jerusalem, not at leastfor some
time. The temple and the city of Jerusalemwere to be surrounded and sacked
by the Gentiles, and this city would be trampled by the Gentiles until the
“times of the Gentiles was fulfilled” (Luke 21:24). Jesus has, up to this point,
emphasized the nearerprophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, which
occurredin 70 A.D. In verses 25-38 He will turn His attention to the more
distant future, and to the time of His return to the earth. His emphasis, here
as usual, will be on the practicalimplications of prophecy on our daily lives.
Let us listen well to His words, especiallyin the light of this statement, made

in our text: “Heavenand earth will pass away, but my words will never pass
away” (21:33).
If our Lord would have His disciples “calm down” about the temple, because
it was about to “pass away,” surelyHe would have us approachHis words
with greatexcitement and expectation, knowing that they will never pass
away.
The Structure of the Text
We have seenfrom our previous lessonthat verses 7-38 have to do with
prophecy, with the events of the future and their implications. To a large
degree, verses 7-24 have focusedon the near prophecy of the destruction of
Jerusalemand the temple, but not necessarilyentirely so. So, too, verses 25-38
have to do with the secondcoming of Christ, but not exclusively so. The
structure of verses 25-38 maybe outlined as follows:
(1) The Coming of the Son of Man—(vv. 25-28)
Signs which precede it (v. 25)
The response ofunbelievers (vv. 26-27)
The response ofthe saved(v. 28)
(2) The Parable of the Fig Tree—(vv. 29-31)
(3) Two Promises:Things That Won’t Pass Away —(vv. 32-33)
(4) Jesus’Words of Application and Exhortation—(vv. 34-36)

Our Perspective and this Passage
There are many difficulties with some of the details of our text, which at least
be put into perspective. Chronologically, our passagedeals with events which
are all future to the listener, but which are greatly separatedin time. Some
events, like the destruction of Jerusalemand persecutionfor following Christ,
will be experiencedby the listener within a reasonablyshort time (as the book
of Acts will report). Other events—those associatedwith the Lord’s second
coming—willoccur much later on, at the “end times.” And still other events
will take place in the intervening times. Some events will happen more than
once, such as the destruction of Jerusalem. It was to be “trampled by the
Gentiles in the near future (which proved to be 70 A.D.), just as it will again
be trampled by Gentiles at the end times:
2 But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to
the Gentiles. Theywill trample on the holy city for 42 months. 3 And I will
give powerto my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed
in sackcloth” (Revelation11:2-3).
Thus, we cannot view the Lord’s prediction of the destruction of Jerusalemas
only occurring once, in the lifetime of His listeners. Some events will be, as it
were, types of things yet to come. The destruction of Jerusalemseems to be
one of these.81 We should bear in mind also that even those events which take
place at the end times are a part of an extensive program, which take some
time to accomplish, as we can see from the book of Revelation.
Another perspective is the people involved. The people referred to in these
verses are those of the various time periods. Thus, the people of that
generationin which Jesus lived, those in the intervening years, and those who
are alive at His return are in view at various times, or in some cases atall

times. In addition, however, the people would include believers and
unbelievers, whose perspective and response wouldbe very different. Also, it
would seem that there will be those believers who are not alert, and who
would thus interpret events quite differently from those who eagerlyawaitHis
return. All of these dimensions must be kept in mind when we seek to
interpret and apply our Lord’s words.
Finally, the end times are viewed here, not from the perspective of the
blessings which they will usher in, but from the aspectofdivine retribution.
According to our Lord’s words in verse 22, these are “days of vengeance.”As
you read through the entire prophecy, this fact becomes more and more
evident. Jesus could have chosento speak ofthe blessings which awaitthe
believer (as Peter does in 1 Peter1:6-9), but He chose insteadto speak of
divine judgment. This is because the destruction of the temple is an
outpouring of God’s wrath.
Signs of the End Times
(21:25-28)
be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.8226 Men
will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the
coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to
take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is
drawing near.”
Verse 25 depicts the end times as being signaled, not by a sign, but by various
signs. In particular, the coming of our Lord will be precededby cosmic chaos.
In the heavens, sun, moon, and stars will be affected. On earth, the sea will be
tossing and roaring. One must decide how literally to take these,83 and not all

will agree. Nevertheless, Iam inclined to see them as literal.84 In the first
place, we know that the heavens, cangreatly affectthe earth. Forexample, the
moon’s gravitationalpull creates ourtides in the seas. Second, and more
importantly, the prophecies of the book of Revelationspeak of cosmic and
earthly chaos in what seems to be literal terms:
12 I watchedas he opened the sixth seal. There was a greatearthquake. The
sun turned black like sackclothmade of goathair, the whole moon turned
blood red, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig
tree when shakenby a strong wind. 14 The skyrecededlike a scroll, rolling
up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the
kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every
slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks ofthe mountains.
16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fallonus and hide us from
the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For
the greatday of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Revelation6:12-
17).
8 The secondangelsounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain,
all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, 9 a
third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were
destroyed… 12 The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun
was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of
them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the
night (Revelation8:8-9, 12).
2 But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to
the Gentiles. Theywill trample on the holy city for 42 months. 3 And I will
give powerto my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed
in sackcloth” (Revelation11:2-3).

3 The secondangelpoured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood
like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died. 8 The fourth
angelpoured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was given powerto scorch
people with fire … 9 They were searedby the intense heat and they cursed the
name of God, who had controlover these plagues, but they refusedto repent
and glorify him (Revelation16:3, 8-9).
God createdthe cosmos, the heavenly bodies, the earth, and the seas. He also
sustains them. Though men have rejectedGod, they often presume that the
things He controls and “holds together” (Colossians 1:17)will remain
constant. They predict time and locationon the basis of the heavenly bodies.
By means of astrology, men even regulate their lives by the heavens. The
heavens and the earth are going to pass away, however, and there will not
longerbe any sea. The heavenly disorders are but a sign of the destruction
which lies ahead. Men will not ignore these signs. Indeed, they will be
terrified by them, as Jesus indicated in verse 26. Many will not, however,
repent of their sins, so as to be saved. They will continue to “eat, drink, and
marry” (cf. Luke 17:26-29). Life will go on as usual, with men living in terror,
but also in continued rebellion againstGod.
The signs which the unbelieving world distort or deny are the same signs
which the saint will heed. The signs which bring terror and fear to the
unbeliever, will bring courage and hope to the saint. Thus, Jesus instructed
believers to “stand up and to lift up their heads,” because their redemption
was near (Luke 21:28). The reasonis that these signs precede the return of the
Lord Jesus, and His return in greatpower and glory (21:27). When He comes,
He will deal with His enemies and ours. He will remove the wicked, as He will
reward the righteous. His coming should bring terror to His enemies, and joy
to His friends.
The Parable of the Fig Tree

(21:29-31)
29 He told them this parable: “Look atthe fig tree and all the trees. 30 When
they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near.
31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom
of God is near.
This parable is a simple story, as most of our Lord’s parables were. It pertains
to the timing of the events Jesus has foretold. Jesus here teaches whatwe
might call a “seasonal”approachto prophecy, rather than a “specific”
approach. Jesus never encouragesthe setting of dates, just as He refused to
indicate a single sign which would accompanyand accreditHis coming. He
did not want his disciples to be ignorant of the approach of His return, as
would be the case with all unbelievers. How, then, were His disciples to
recognize that His return was near? Not by a single sign, but by a sensitivity
to a combination of events which indicated that the “season” ofHis return was
at hand.
This is an agricultural analogy, the discerning of the seasonby observing the
signs of its arrival. When the fig tree (and all the others as well) begins to put
out leaves, we know that it is Spring, and that summer cannot be too far off.
We can, of course, look at our calendars, but we should all recognize that
seasonsdon’t always follow a calendar. The farmer recognizes the seasonby
noting those evidences ofits arrival. Jesus has likewise just informed His
disciples (of all ages)ofthe evidences ofthe “season” ofHis secondcoming.
Those who would like to know the exacttime of His arrival will not be happy
with our Lord’s answer. His nearness of His return will be sensedby those
who are alert to and aware of the evidences ofits arrival.
Two Promises
(21:32-33)

32 “I tell you the truth, this generationwill certainly not pass awayuntil all
these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth85 will pass away, but my
words will never pass away.
There are two promises in these verses. The first is straightforward, but
perplexing. It pertains to the fulfillment of the events predicted here. The
secondhas to do with the words of our Lord. Both have to do with “that which
won’t pass away.”
In verse 32, Jesus said that “this generation” would not pass away until all of
“these things” had come to pass. The difficulty with these words should be
obvious. How canJesus saythat “this generation” would not pass awayuntil
all these things come to pass when “all these things” occurover what we can
now see to be nearly 2,000 years? The events describedin these verses
encompass many generations, so that no one generationwill see all of them
fulfilled in their lifetime.
The difficulties with this verse have led some to attempt to redefine the term
“generation,”so that it may be takenmore broadly, to mean either
“mankind” or “Israel.” I do not think that the contextof Luke (or the term
“generation” itself)will allow this broadening. I believe that that generation
was specificallyin view. That generationhad a particular privilege and a
particular responsibility, both related to being those who witnessedthe
coming of the Christ. That generationalso had a particular judgment, due to
its rejection of Messiah:
49 Because ofthis, God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send them prophets and
apostles, some ofwhom they will kill and others they will persecute.’50
Therefore this generationwill be held responsible for the blood of all the
prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, 51 from the

blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed betweenthe altar and
the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generationwill be held responsible for it all
(Luke 11:49-51, emphasis mine).
I understand, therefore, that when Jesus said“that generation” would not
pass awayuntil “all these things” had come to pass, He was referring to that
generationof Israelites. How, then, do we square this with the fact that “all
these things” must come to pass, when we know that some will fall upon
generations to come? My best answeris that “all these things” really happen
twice, not once. They will happen once, to that generation. And, they will
happen a secondtime, in the last days, related to Christ’s return. Thus,
Jerusalemwas sackedin 70 A.D., in fulfillment of our Lord’s words. And so,
too, Jerusalemwill be trodden under the feet of the Gentiles again, during the
tribulation (Revelation11:2-3). There is also a sense in which much of what
our Lord predicted would happen (e.g. persecution, betrayalby family, etc.) is
something which saints have experiencedthroughout the intervening
centuries.
Our Lord’s words, then, have relevance to those who heard Him speak these
words. They also have had relevance to the saints over the centuries. And they
will be relevant to the saints of the last days as well. No one dares to take these
words idly, as though they will relate to a future people at a future time. Jesus
does not allow this mentality to prevail.
The secondpromise is a relatedone. If the first promise related to the
immediate relevance ofHis words, the secondpromise related to the eternal
quality of his words. The first promise spoke with respectto the immediate
value of His words, and the secondto the long-term impact of His words.
Jesus’words were true for those who heard Him speak them, but they would
be no less true for any saint, even though he might read them centuries later.

Two things strike me about this last promise of our Lord. First, I note that
Jesus speakshere with an authority far greaterthan that of any other
prophet. Jesus speakshere as God, not just as a man, and not even just as a
prophet. Other prophets could, at best, say, “Thus saith the Lord.” Jesus here
speaks ofHis words, words which will not pass away, as eternalwords, and as
His words. Jesus was speaking as God. His words were His ownwords of
divine revelation.
Second, Jesus spokeofHis words as eternal, never failing. Words, in our day
and time (as then) are cheap. Words meant little. In time, even those who may
have meant well may forget their word, or break it. Jesus assuresHis disciples
that His words will never fail. Men tend to trust in material things, both
because we cansee them, and because they appear to have promise of lasting.
Jesus here indicates that His words outlast heaven and earth. If we value
things on the basis of how long they will last, nothing has greatervalue than
the Word of God. Why is it that we so often value those things which are
destined to perish above those words of God which will never perish?
The Application:
Admonition and Encouragement
(21:34-36)
34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weigheddown with dissipation,
drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you
unexpectedly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all those who live on the
face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be
able to escape allthat is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand
before the Son of Man.”
In these final verses our Lord underscores the application of this prophecy to
His followers. In verse 34 Jesus warnedHis disciples that they, like the

unbelievers, could be caught off-guard by His return. The signs of His coming,
brushed aside by the lost, might not be comprehended by the saint. Thus, the
Christian would not realized that the seasonof His return was at hand. The
reasonin not in a lack of evidence or of signs, but of a dullness of mind and
heart which causesthe saint to miss these signs, and to fail to see them as such.
Our Lord listed three specific evils which would distract the saint, so as to
cause him or her to miss these signs and their significance. The first evil is that
of dissipation.86 This is the “hangover” resulting from drunkenness. The last
thing one suffering from a hangover wants is “input.” I believe that the saint
may be tempted to “grab all the gusto he can get,” knowing that the end of
this world may be near. Thus, he or she may over-indulge in that which this
world offers, and then be rendered dull and insensitive to what is really going
on.
The secondevil, drunkenness, if very much related. If dissipationis the result
of drunkenness, drunkenness is the cause of dissipation. We are dealing with
cause and effect. Drunkenness may well be a temptation for the suffering,
afflicted, persecutedsaint, who is also aware of the chaos taking place in the
createduniverse, and who wishes to blot out the danger and the pain by
anesthetizing his brain. Thus, dullness results.
The third and final evil is “worry,” the preoccupationwith the “anxieties of
life.” These are the very things Jesus has warned us againstin the earlier
chapters of Luke. They include unnecessaryand unbelieving worry about our
food, our clothing, and our basic needs. In times of greatpersecutionworry
might seemmore justifiable, but not according to our Lord. Worry about
such things only misappropriates our energies to worthless endeavors.

All three of the evils specificallyidentified by our Lord affectthe heart and
the mind of the saint, dulling him or her to the “signs ofthe times,” which
should serve to show that they seasonof Christ’s return is at hand. These are
the some of the major dangers facing the saint. In verse 36 our Lord turns to
those activities which canpromote preparedness, as opposedto those activities
(listed above) which hinder it. Watchfulness or alertness towardthe times in
which we live is one antidote to apathy and dullness of heart and mind. A
ready and expectant spirit inspires carefulobservationof the times, in
comparisonto the Scriptures which our Lord has provided.
The secondantidote is prayer. “Watch” and “pray” are terms that are often
found together. Those who are not watching are not praying, and those who
are not praying are also no watching. Prayer here is focusedon two matters:
(1) Being able to escape the destruction occasionedby the coming wrath of
God. Perhaps also, prayer that they will escape the wrath of those who oppose
the gospel. (2)That we may be able to stand before the living God, who is our
Judge and the Judge of all men.
Conclusion
There is no more awesome eventthan that coming day, here spokenof by our
Lord, the day of His wrath. We, like the Israelites ofold, tended to think of
the “day of the Lord” only in terms of blessings. If there was to be any
judgment, it would be on the Gentile “heathen.” But as God told Israel(cf.
Amos 5), the “day of the Lord” was a day of judgment on all who were
disobedient to Him. The forms and rituals of their religionwere an offense to
Him. What He sought was their repentance. The theme of judgment was thus
a very important one, and it is that which our Lord focusedupon in His
teaching here in our text. Let us not fail to take heed to this coming reality and
its implications for us.

The coming judgment of God is one of the realities to which the Holy Spirit
will bear witness (John 16:8-11). It was the “bottom line” of Peter’s message
to Israel in his sermon at Pentecost(Acts 2). If you have not come to a
personalfaith in Jesus Christ, it is a coming reality that you should take very
seriously. Then wrath of God is that which every person on earth deserves, as
the due reward for his or her sin. Jesus came to the earth not only to speak of
God’s wrath, but to bear it personally. The GoodNews ofthe Gospelis that
Jesus has born the eternalpunishment we deserve. Salvationis the escape
from God’s wrath which men can experience through faith in Christ. If you
acknowledge yoursin, and trust in the death of Jesus onthe cross ofCalvary,
as being the payment for your sins, you will be savedfrom the wrath which is
yet to come on those who will not acceptthe payment which Christ has
already made.
What a vast difference there is for men with respectto the coming day of His
wrath. When our Lord comes to the earth again, it is to give men what they
deserve. Forsinners, it is eternaltorment. For saints, it is deliverance—
salvation—notbecause they deserve it, but because the Lord Jesus Christhas
purchased it, at the costof His life.
The SecondComing of Christ is, then, for sinners, the day of God’s
vengeance, ofdestruction; for saints, it is the day of their deliverance. That
deliverance includes salvationfrom their enemies, as well as from the
presence and powerof sin. For the sinner, the “day of the Lord” is something
to dread; for the saint, a delight. For the sinner, the day will be unexpected, a
shock;for the saint, it will be one that has been eagerlyawaited, and sensedto
be near for those who have discernedthe “season”ofHis return.
The day of the Lord should be a truth that radically changes the Christian’s
lifestyle. Knowing that the material world will vanish, we should not place too
much value on material things. Knowing that the Word of God will never pass

away, we should find it of infinite, eternal, value. And knowing that undue
indulgence of earthly pleasures will dull or sensitivity to the time of His return
should motivate us to live a disciplined life, a life marked by self-control, not
self-indulgence. Neithershould we worry or be anxious about the things of
this life, knowing that this concernwill also hinder our prayers and
watchfulness.
Let us live our lives in the light of this reality—that Jesus Christ is to return to
the earth to judge the wicked, and to bring deliverance to His saints. Let us
live as though the material world is a vapor, and the unseen world (including
the Word of God) is our only certainty.
81 “This [generation]cannotwell mean anything but the generationliving
when these words were spoken:vii. 31, xi. 29-32, 50, 51, xvii. 25; Mt. xi. 16,
etc. The reference, therefore, is to the destruction of Jerusalemregardedas
the type of the end of the world.”Alfred Plummer, The GospelAccording to S.
Luke (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1896 [reprint]), p. 485.
82 Of v. 25, Plummer writes, “Similar language is common in the Prophets: Is.
xiii. 10; Ezek. xxxii. 7; Joelii. 10, iii. 15: comp. Is. xxxiv. 4; Hag. ii. 6, 21, etc…
The remainder of this verse and most of the next are peculiar to Lk.”
Plummer, p. 483.
83 Plummer takes this reference to the sea symbolically: “It is the nations who
are ‘in perplexity at the resounding of sea and surge.’Figurative language of
this kind is common in the Prophets:Is. xxviii. 2, xxix. 6, xxx. 30; Ezek.
xxxviii. 22; Ps. xlii. 7, lxv. 7, lxxxviii. 7.” Plummer, p. 484.

84 Plummer seems to agree, whenhe writes, “By … [powers of heavens]is
meant, not the Angels (euthym.), nor the cosmic powers which uphold the
heavens (Mey. Oosterz.), but the heavenly bodies, the stars (De W. Holtz.
Eridd, Hashn): comp. Is. xl. 26;Ps. xxxiii. 6. Evidently physical existences are
meant.” Plummer, p. 484. Plummer takes the heavenly bodies literally, as we
see here, but he takes “the sea” more symboically, as we see in the previous
note.
85 “Comp. [the expression‘heavens and earth’ of v. 33]2 Pet. iii. 10; Heb. i.
11, 12; Rev. xx. 11, xxi. 1; Ps. cii. 26;Is. li. 6. A time will come when
everything material will ceaseto exist; but Christ’s words will ever hold
good.” Plummer, p. 485.
86 “Dissipation(kraipale)is properly the hangoverafter a carousal, ‘the
vulgar word for that very vulgar experience’(Henry J. Cadbury, The style
and Literary Method of Luke (p. 54), as cited by Leon Morris, The Gospel
According to St. Luke (Grand Rapids: William b. Eerdmans Publishing
Company, 1974), p. 301.
Signs of His Coming - Luke 21:25-38
Rev. Bruce Goettsche
Union Church of La Harpe Illinois
Luke • Sermon • Submitted 2 months ago • Presented9 years ago
Luke 21Daniel7:13–14Matthew24:3SecondComing

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Last week we beganour study of the prophecy from Jesus on the Mount of
Olives. It is a popular text to quote about the SecondComing of Christ but as
we tried to show last week we needto listen carefully to the questions Jesus
was asked.
“Tellus,” they said, “whenwill this happen, and what will be the sign of your
coming and of the end of the age?”[Matthew 24:3]
There are at leasttwo and possibly three different questions here:
When will the temple be destroyed?
What will be the sign of your coming?
What signs will signal the end of the age?

The first question seems to be answeredin the first part of the Luke 21. It is
fulfilled perfectly by the conquering of Jerusalemin 70 A.D. it was a time
precededby intense persecutionand many false teachers. The temple was
completely destroyedand the Gentiles trampled on Jerusalemup and
continue to do so even today.
There are some serious students of the Word that believe all of the chapter
has alreadybeen fulfilled. I believe in verse 25 and extending through verse 27
Jesus gives a generalanswerto the later questions (regarding His coming and
the end of the world). Just listen to the words and see if it seems that way to
you.
be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 Menwill
faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the
coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
In the first part of the chapter it was easyto see the fulfillment in history.
These verses soundlike things that are still yet to come. They are “end of the
world” words. Many of the earliersigns have happened in every generation
since Christ spoke. Nothing like what is mentioned in these verses has
happened. Consequently, I believe these verses point to a climatic return of
Christ.
The SecondComing (25-28)
There are severalthings we are told about the SecondComing of Jesus.

First, You are not going to miss it. The events that Jesus describes will be
unmistakable. These signs are going to be visible for everyone. His coming is
not going to happen on some secluded mountain someplace where only the
“privileged” get to meet Him. You don’t have to worry that you are going to
miss out unless you know the passwordorhave the right End Times chart in
your Bible. His coming will be very public. There will be signs in the sun,
moon, and stars. Entire nations will be in anguish and the heavenly bodies
will be shaken. The Son of Man will appearin the sky.
Matthew says,
27 For as lightning that comes from the eastis visible even in the west, so will
be the coming of the Son of Man.
You don’t miss a significant lightning strike. It gets our attention and often
will wake us up in the night. The SecondComing will be like this:
unmistakable.
In verse 31 in Matthew Jesus said,
31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather
his electfrom the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Let’s suppose your child played trumpet in the band. One night the child
can’t sleepso at 3:00 in the morning they decide they might as wellpractice
for band. Will you notice? You bet you will! You would shootout of bed and
would likely share a piece of your mind that you really can’t afford to lose in a

way that will not be productive. To top it off, you would be so aggravatedthat
you’d have a hard time going back to sleep.
When the trumpet of the Lord sounds you won’t sleepthrough it. The picture
Jesus paints is drawn from Daniel 7:13-14,
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of
man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days
and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign
power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipedhim. His
dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom
is one that will never be destroyed. (Dan. 7:13-14)
When Jesus returns the whole world will see Him and bow before Him. You
aren’t going to miss it.
Second, Mostpeople will be unprepared. In Matthew’s accountwe read these
clearwords,
36 “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor
the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at
the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were
eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah
entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the
flood came and took them all away. Thatis how it will be at the coming of the
Son of Man.

Jesus says the SecondComing is going to catchpeople by surprise like the
flood caught the people of Noah’s day by surprise. You can’t help but wonder
how the flood caughtpeople by surprise. The Ark Noah built was 450 feet
long, 75 feet wide and 45 feettall! It certainly took him a long time to build
this boat. Neighbors surely noticed. At the beginning I’m sure people asked
Noah, “Hey, what are you building?” and I am sure Noahtold them that he
was building a boat to survive a coming flood.
If they had coffee shops in those days I’m sure they talked and joked a great
deal about “Noah” and the boat he was building to survive a greatflood. I
don’t believe the people were surprised because they had never heard about
the coming flood. They were surprised because they didn’t think it would
happen. They made no preparations for the coming flood and instead
continued to live life as they always had . . . right up to the day Noahentered
the Ark.
When Jesus returns the same thing will be true. People have heard about a
coming Armageddon and a Day of Judgment and even the declarationthat
Jesus is coming again. They are terms everyone has heard. However, people
shrug it off. The surprise will not be from ignorance but from indifference.
It is like the child who says they are going to accomplishsome great feat
(maybe they are going to be a pro athlete, become an astronaut, or invent
some greatnew product.) We hear what the child says, we smile, pat them on
the head and maybe even say, “That’s wonderful honey!” but we don’t really
take it to heart. Years later when that child actually does what they said, we
are startledand surprised and we wish we had been more of an
encouragementand more of a friend. Likewise there will be many people who
heard about the secondcoming of Christ who will wish they had paid more
attention to what they had heard.

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