Thursday, May 2, 2019

LUKE 21:20-24 SURROUNDED!


SURROUNDED!
LUKE 21:20-24
(see also Matthew 24 & Mark 13)

Susie: In this passage, Jesus predicts the relatively close event of the fall of Jerusalem that would occur in AD 70. However, some of the same things will be true when Jesus returns to set up the millennial kingdom. Daniel speaks of the more distant future destruction of Jerusalem during the period known as The Great Tribulation just before Jesus returns.

Daniel 9:27 And he will confirm a covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of the temple will come the abomination that causes desolation, until the decreed destruction is poured out upon him.

Luke 21:20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

Susan: Jesus had spoken of wars and rumors of wars, but now He explains that when they physically see armies surrounding the entire city of Jerusalem, they can be assured that its destruction is imminent.

Susie: In AD 70, the Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus, with Tiberius Julius Alexander as his second-in-command, besieged Jerusalem. Commentators point out that since Jesus had given this warning about forty years prior, many of the Christians in Jerusalem were able to flee before the final battle when the temple and much of the city were reduced to rubble.

Luke 21:21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.

Susan: Jesus’s followers heeded this warning, followed His instructions to the letter, and were saved from death or captivity. However, those who were His detractors failed to accept this as prophetic and were captured or slaughtered in the streets of Jerusalem.

Susie: Normally, a walled city would be a place of refuge, the very place to run into during a battle. However, Jesus forewarned that this would not be the wise choice when the Romans (Gentiles) attacked Jerusalem.

Luke 21:22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.

Susie: The destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 was a judgment against the Jews who failed to recognize Jesus as their Messiah. However, it is also a foreshadowing of the judgment and destruction during the Great Tribulation of the end times.

Susan: In some sense, the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem in AD 70 served to spread the Gospel due to the scattering of the Christians around the globe.



Luke 21:23 But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.

Susan: It would be more difficult for pregnant women and nursing moms to escape to safety.

Susie: God’s wrath would be poured out via the hands of the Roman soldiers. God uses even those who do not know Him to bring about His will.

Luke 21:24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

Susie: As stated before, during the fall of Jerusalem in AD70, people were slaughtered, and those who were spared were led away captive. Many of those became slaves. Some were forced to perform as gladiators who fought to the death and others were put in the arena to be torn apart by wild beasts while the crowd cheered. The destruction was brutal. Jerusalem has continually been controlled by Gentiles (non-Jews) since that time. But what is meant by “the times of the Gentiles?”

Susan: Paul uses a similar phrase:

Romans 11:25 (ESV) Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

Susan: Some commentators describe the times of the Gentiles as beginning with the Babylonian captivity and ending at the culmination of the church age. The Gentiles are the predominate people being brought into the Kingdom of God, although individual Jewish people do receive Christ. During the Great Tribulation, 144,000 Jewish evangelists, given divine protection from the horrors of that time, will lead millions to trust in Christ, both Jews and Gentiles. We found good articles on “the times of the Gentiles” online:


One theme of Romans 11 is that, when the Jewish people rejected Christ, they were temporarily cut off from the blessings of a relationship with God. As a result, the gospel was given to the Gentiles, and they gladly received it. This partial hardening of heart for Israel doesn’t preclude individual Jews from being saved, but it prevents the nation from accepting Christ as Messiah until His plans are finished. When the time is right, God will restore the entire nation, and they will come to faith in Him once again, ending “the times of the Gentiles” (Isaiah 17:7; 62:11–12; Romans 11:26). https://www.gotquestions.org/times-of-the-Gentiles.html

Ponder this and Apply it: There is no direct application here. However, the Christians who had heard Jesus’s teaching knew to flee Jerusalem and avoided death or capture. Jesus has preserved His word, the Bible, throughout the centuries. If we read His word and believe His statement, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me” (John 14:6), we too will be spared. When we trust in Jesus alone and not our own efforts (Ephesians 2:8-9), we will spend eternity joyfully in the Lord’s presence. Those who do not surrender their lives to the Lord’s control experience eternal destruction in hell.

No comments:

Post a Comment