When will these things happen?

Luke 21:1-28 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. ² And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. ³ And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; ⁴ for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.”

⁵ And while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said, ⁶ “As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.”

⁷ They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” ⁸ And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not go after them. ⁹ When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.”

¹⁰ Then He continued by saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, ¹¹ and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.

¹² “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. ¹³ It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. ¹⁴ So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; ¹⁵ for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. ¹⁶ But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, ¹⁷ and you will be hated by all because of My name. ¹⁸ Yet not a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹ By your endurance you will gain your lives.

²⁰ “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. ²¹ Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city; ²² because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. ²³ Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people; ²⁴ and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

²⁵ “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, ²⁶ men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷ Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸ But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

In today’s text Jesus is speaking of the end of the age, when He would return. The text says:  They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”  Throughout history many people, like the disciples, have asked when Jesus will return. What are the signs of His return? In Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32, Jesus says:  "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”  In Acts 1:6-8, after the resurrection, the disciples again asked Jesus about the timing of His return:  So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”   So it would seem, by Jesus response that knowing the timing of His return should not be our concern. In today’s text He says:   “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not go after them.”   What is important is not that we know when Jesus is coming, but rather that we are not mislead. What is interesting is what it is that Jesus warns us not to be mislead by. It is not those who come in the name of another or the name of the devil, those will not be able to mislead followers of Christ. Rather it is those who come in the name of Jesus who will mislead many. In Matthew 24:5 Jesus says:  "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many.”  So the deception we are to guard against is not false Christs as much as it is false teaching about Christ. We should guard against being mislead by those who preach and teach contrary to what Jesus Himself said. That includes both those who preach a gospel of judgment and condemnation without grace and those who presume on grace and eliminate consequences of sin and the need for repentance.

Let’s look at some of the signs or indicators Jesus speaks of in today’s text.  “When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.”… “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony… you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all because of My name…when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near… and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.  “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”       When we look at these things, the signs and indicators of His return at the end of the age, we should recognize that really these things have taken place throughout history and they are taking place today. That does not mean that there will not be a day or time that Jesus does actually return. It only means that until that day we should not be mislead and we should be faithful to Him.

Surely there are wars and disturbances throughout the world today. When Jesus says nation will rise against nation, the word for nation is the Greek word ethnos, from which the English word ethnic is derived. So Jesus is speaking of ethnic, racial conflicts as well as kingdom against kingdom conflicts. Again surely throughout the world both of these are present at levels equal to or greater than any time in history.  Jesus says there will be:   men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  Surely in our culture and society and throughout the world today, fear, stress and anxiety are at all time highs.

So here’s the thing. Whether we are truly in the “last days of this age,” before Jesus returns, or we are simply somewhere along that time line which began after the resurrection. What Jesus told the disciples then, still applies to us today. He says: “They will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute…Yet not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.”  In Acts 1, He says:  “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”   

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, I choose not to be concerned about the time of Your plans, but rather to by the power of the Holy Spirit, be about the carrying out of Your will. Lord Jesus I will be Your witness. I will trust that Your word is true and that You and the Holy Spirit will give me utterance and wisdom. May I share the good news of the kingdom as You did, a message of love, grace and mercy, a message of redemption, reconciliation and restoration and a message of righteousness and justice. May I not shrink back in fear of the times at hand, but rather make the most of every opportunity to be Your witness.   Amen.