Luke 21:21-25

Luke 21:21 (KJB)
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.

Then once the Roman armies are spotted outside of Jerusalem and in other parts of Judea, then the Lord gave specific instructions that they were to flee out of Judea to the surrounding mountains. The mountains of Edom has been a place where they had fled along with the city of Pella which was in the mountains on the east side of Jordan. Luke also records the Lord’s warning that those in the midst of Judea which could be a reference to Jerusalem, plus He makes a warning that those who are in the surrounding countries, should not even entertain the idea of going into Judea. Now the unbelieving Jews did not believe the Lord’s teachings or His words while He was here and as a consequence, they would not heed the warnings in this discourse. Since the Christians in Judea had believed the Lord’s words, they all fled at the appropriate time and historians state that because of their obedience not one Christian perished in the destruction of Jerusalem. This is why it is so important for Christians to believe and follow the word of the Lord, even today.

Gaius Cestius Gallis was a legate for Rome stationed in Syria. In 66 A.D. he brought down his army to try and quash the Jewish revolt which was just beginning. He was unsuccessful and had to withdraw and in that withdrawal he lost a good part of his army. This was the abomination of desolation which the Christians saw and as a result they had begun to leave Jerusalem and four years later it was totally destroyed when Titus marched through with a bigger army to raze Jerusalem. In fact the army sent was approximately 19 legions which would have been 114,000 soldiers. There was not one Christian in Jerusalem at the time Titus came through.

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

(Rom 12:19 KJV) Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. The Lord had warned Jerusalem that her days were numbered. She had been a city in rebellion against God for hundreds of years and now the culmination of the rebellion was the crucifying of their Messiah. (Hosea 9:7 KJV) The days of visitation are come, the days of recompense are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred.  Jerusalem’s destruction was prophesied in many places in the Scriptures and now the fulfillment of those prophecies are now coming to pass. (Mat 23:38 KJV) Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

Luke 21:23 (KJB)
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.

Then remember that the term “woe” is only spoken to unsaved people. Here Jesus is stating that the unsaved Jewish women who will have children and those carrying children in their womb will be killed along with all the others. This is because they would have stayed behind instead of leaving Jerusalem and heading for safety. Of course, they would have been subject to their husbands and if their husbands stayed to fight the Roman army, then they would face the same mortal danger the fighters would. (Luke 23:27-30 KJV) And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. {28} But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. {29} For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. {30} Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. There would also be cannibalism as parents would eat their own children and that is why the woe is pronounced on those who have little babies. (Lev 26:29 KJV) And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.

Luke 21:24 (KJB)
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.

As much as theologians have tried to make this tribulation some type of seven year tribulation, it is pure speculation and cannot be confirmed by Scripture. (Rev 11:2 KJV) But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. The forty and two months here are representative of the entire New Testament period. When Jesus was speaking about the destruction of Jerusalem, He stated that it would be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. The Gospel is still going forth all over this world and non-Jews are being saved and until the last one is saved, the times of the Gentiles will not be fulfilled. If one studies the history of Jerusalem, one will find that it has been destroyed several times and invaded such as the Crusades. Even today in 2020, Jerusalem is still being trodden down of the Gentiles because the Jews in Israel are not real descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They are Ashkenazi and Sephardic which are Gentile in root.

Luke 21:25 (KJB)
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

(Mark 13:24 KJV) But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, “After that tribulation in those days” is referring to the whole New Testament period. Once the last Gentile is saved somewhere in the world, then the time of tribulation will be over for the believer. This world is the only tribulation a true believer will ever know. It is interesting to note here that it says “after” which means no more time. Yet, theologians try to jam a thousand year millennium into that time frame when the Scripture states “after.”

Then we see the direct signs in the heavens signaling the soon return of Jesus. First the sun will be darkened just as it was when the Lord was being crucified. Then because the sun will be darkened, the moon will not be able to reflect any light because there won’t be any.

The third major sign is that the stars will fall from Heaven. Many of them will be meteorites and isn’t it interesting that we see an increase in meteorites falling and asteroids coming close to earth.

The fourth major sign is totally visible to us right now and that is the nations of the earth are in perplexity. Perplexity means “consternation, distress, confusion, or difficulty.” Does that not describe the condition of this world. The nations seems to see no way out of their problems. No matter how many summits or meetings are scheduled, the only thing that comes out of them is more problems. Then we see that the “sea and the waves are roaring.” This is not a reference to the oceans but it is a description of the peoples of the world. (Isa 17:12-13 KJV) Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! {13} The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. There are probably only a very few countries on this earth who are not suffering from riots, marches, terrorism, gang violence, etc. The people of this world are restless and are looking to government to help fix its woes but they are not getting satisfaction so they take to the streets and burn cities. It seems that countries of this world have no way out of their dilemma except the return of Christ.

Billy Graham told of a meeting he had with German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer (1949-1963), former mayor of Cologne, imprisoned by Hitler for opposing the Nazi regime, and later chancellor of the West German Federal Republic. Adenauer truly deserves the title of "statesman" as he picked up the broken pieces of his country and helped to rebuild it in a fractured world. On this occasion, he looked the evangelist in the eye and said, "Mr. Graham, do you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead?" Graham, somewhat surprised by his question answered, "Of course I do." Replied Chancellor Adenauer, "Mr. Graham, outside of the resurrection of Jesus, I do not know of any other hope for this world."

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