ACC ~ Luke 21 v5 - 26

OVERVIEW:

Jesus’ words in this final discourse of his temple teaching deal with the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem as well as the destruction of the world (AUGUSTINE). The temple of Jerusalem will be destroyed after Jesus’ crucifixion because it is nothing in comparison with the mansions prepared for us in heaven (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA).

Jesus’ words about the temple and Jerusalem are prompted by a question about a sign portending the destruction of the temple. Two things may mislead believers because of wickedness: first will come false prophets and then famine (AMBROSE). The difference between the false christs and the true Christ will be great. His hiddenness as the incarnate Son of God who gives up his life on the cross will be fully revealed when he returns as the glorified Lord (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). The second danger that Jesus warns against is linked to the false teaching of these false christs. The Jews warred against Rome in 66-73 and in the Bar Kochba revolt of 132-135. Some even saw the sack of Rome in the fifth century to be a sign of the Lord’s coming (AUGUSTINE). Every subsequent war is a sign that the end is coming nearer and that the kingdom of God is even closer at hand (MAXIMUS OF TURIN).

When Jesus interjects talk of persecution here, he warns his disciples that before the temple is destroyed they will suffer betrayal just as he is about to be betrayed. They must be prepared if they are to persevere to the end (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). This is the reason Jesus can comfort them by saying, “A hair from your head will not perish,” although he has just spoken about their possible death. Their hope is in the integrity of the body in the resurrection of all flesh. Christian faith confesses the resurrection of the body, especially in the midst of persecution (AUGUSTINE).

Jerusalem’s demise will be a sign of the final consummation (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). The general prophecy of “wars and insurrections” now takes a specific shape. Jesus foretells the destruction during the reign of Vespasian of the city he wept over when he was about to enter for the week before his death (EUSEBIUS). [1] In the city marked for destruction those who have dependents are to be pitied, because it will be more difficult for them to escape. The suffering of their loved ones will intensify their own pain (AMBROSE).

This destruction, moreover, comes from the Gentiles, even as the heathen nations of Assyria and Babylonia were the instruments of God’s wrath in the fall of Israel (722 B.C.) and of Judah (587 B.C.), respectively. [2] These signs of the Lord’s coming have been accomplished. The shift to the second part of Luke’s eschatological discourse, from prophecy about the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem to predictions about the end the world, [3] is subtle. Among the Evangelists, Luke is clear about the distinction between Jerusalem’s demise and the end of the world (AUGUSTINE). Nevertheless, those who possess spiritual virtues will be able to see Christ coming through the clouds (AMBROSE).

[1] See comment by Eusebius at 19:41-44.

[2] See 2 Kings 17:1-41; Ezek 21:1—24:27.

[3] Lk 21:25-36.

21:5-6 | The Destruction of the Temple

JESUS SPEAKS OF DESTRUCTION AND HIS SECOND COMING

AUGUSTINE: The future signs that are foretold in the Gospel according to Luke are the same as those in Matthew and Mark. [1] These three tell how the Lord answered his disciples. They asked him when the events that he had foretold of the destruction of the temple would happen. They also asked him what was to be the sign of his coming and of the end of the world. There is no discrepancy in the Gospels as to facts, although one tells one detail that another passes over or describes differently. They rather supplement each other when they are compared, and they thus give direction to the mind of the reader. It would take too long to discuss them all now. The Lord answered their questions by telling what was to happen from that time on: the destruction of Jerusalem that prompted their inquiry, and his coming in the church in which he does not cease to dwell until the end. Christ is recognized when he comes to his own, while his members are daily born. He said of this coming, “Hereafter you shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds.” [2] LETTER 199. [3]

[1] Mt 24:4-33; Mk 13:5-29.

[2] Mt 26:64.

[3] FC 30:375-76**.

THE MANSIONS IN HEAVEN

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Some of them showed Christ the mighty works that were in the temple and the beauty of the offerings. They expected that he would admire the spectacle as they did, although he is God and heaven is his throne. He did not allow any regard for these earthly buildings, since they were unimportant. Absolutely nothing compared with the mansions that are above. Dismissing the conversation about them, he turned to what was necessary for their use. Christ forewarned them that however worthy of admiration they might think the temple was, yet at a certain time it would be destroyed from its foundations. The power of the Romans would tear it down and burn Jerusalem with fire, and retribution would be required from Israel for the Lord’s murder. They had to suffer these things after the Savior’s crucifixion. COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 139. [1]

[1] CGSL 554**.

21:7-11 | Signs That Will Accompany the Destruction

ASKING ABOUT SIGNS

AMBROSE: There is a true saying next to the points about the temple that Solomon founded. The enemy must first destroy this by the time of the judgment. Everything made by labor and by hand in either age will wear out or be destroyed by force or consumed by fire. …

When asked when the destruction of the temple would be and what would be the sign of his coming, the Lord warns of signs and does not think that the time should be made known. Matthew added a third question. The disciples asked about the times of the destruction of the temple, the sign of the coming, and the end of the world. [1] Luke thought that enough was known about the end of the world if it were learned under the topic of the Lord’s coming. EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 10.6, 9. [2]

[1] See Mt 24:3; Mk 13:4.

[2] EHG 389-90**.

SHORTENING OF THE DAYS TO PREVENT TRANSGRESSION

AMBROSE: Jerusalem certainly was besieged and taken by the Roman army … then, the desolation will be near since many will fall into error and depart from the true faith. … Then the day of the Lord will suitably come, and the days will be shortened for the sake of the chosen. [1] Since the Lord’s first coming was to atone for sins, the second will be to prevent transgressions, fearing more might fall into the error of unbelief. False prophets [2] and then famine will come. Tell me again of the times of Elijah, and you will find prophets of confusion, Jezebel, famine and drought on earth. [3] What was the reason? Wickedness abounded, and love grew cold. [4] EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 10.15-18. [5]

[1] See Mt 24:22.

[2] See Mt 24:11, 24.

[3] See 1 Kings 18:2, 4, 19, 22.

[4] Mt 24:12.

[5] EHG 393-94**.

THE FIRST AND SECOND ADVENTS COMPARED

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: He explains what will happen at the consummation of the world and warns them. Before our Savior Christ comes from heaven, various false christs and false prophets will appear, coming before him. They will falsely take upon themselves his person, coming into the world like swirling smoke springing up from a fire about to break out. “Do not follow them,” he says. The only-begotten Word of God consented to take our likeness upon himself and to endure the birth in the flesh from a woman, in order that he might save all under heaven. … It was necessary that Christ should remain unknown during the time that preceded his passion. His second advent from heaven, however, will not happen secretly, as did his coming at first, but will be illustrious and terrifying. In the glory of God the Father, he will descend with the holy angels guarding him to judge the world in righteousness. He therefore says, “When false christs and false prophets arise, do not go after them.” COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 139. [1]

[1] CGSL 555**.

THE SACK OF ROME A SIGN OF THE LORD’S COMING

AUGUSTINE: When this type of thing was chanted to you in the temple, “The gods who protected Rome have not saved it now, because they no longer exist,” you would say, “They did save it when they existed.”

We, however, can show that our God is truthful. He foretold all these things. You read all of them and heard them. I am not sure whether you have remembered them, you that are upset by such words. Have you not heard the prophets, the apostles, the Lord Jesus Christ himself foretelling evils to come? When old age comes to the world and the end draws near, you heard it, brothers and sisters, we all heard it together. There will be wars, turmoil, tribulations and famines. [1] Why do we contradict ourselves? When these things are read, we believe them, but when they are fulfilled, we grumble. SERMON 296.10. [2]

[1] Mk 13:7-8.

[2] WSA 3 8:209**.

THE NEARNESS OF WARS

MAXIMUS OF TURIN: Perhaps you are anxious, brothers and sisters, at the fact that we hear constantly of the tumult of wars and the onsets of battles. Perhaps your love is still more anxious since these are taking place in our times. The reason is the closer we are to the destruction of the world, the closer we are to the kingdom of the Savior. The Lord himself says, “In the last days nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. When you see wars, earthquakes and famines, know that the kingdom of God is at hand.” This nearness of wars shows us that Christ is near. SERMON 85.1. [1]

[1] ACW 50:203*.

21:12-19 | Persecution Before the Temple Is Destroyed

APOSTLES WILL BE PERSECUTED AS A SIGN OF THE COMING CONSUMMATION

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Jesus gives them clear and evident signs of the time when the consummation of the world draws near. He says that there will be wars, turmoil, famines and epidemics everywhere. There will be terrors from heaven and great signs. As another Evangelist says, “All the stars shall fall, and the heaven be rolled up like a scroll, and its powers will be shaken.” [1]

In the middle of this, the Savior places what refers to the capture of Jerusalem. He mixes the accounts together in both parts of the narrative. Before all these things, he says, “They will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to synagogues and to prisons and bringing you before kings and rulers for my name’s sake. This will be a witness to you.” Before the times of consummation, the land of the Jews was taken captive, and the Roman armies overran it. They burned the temple, overthrew their national government, and stopped the means for legal worship. They no longer had sacrifices, now that the temple was destroyed. The country of the Jews together with Jerusalem itself was totally laid waste. Before these things happened, they persecuted the blessed disciples. They imprisoned them and had a part in unendurable trials. They brought the disciples before judges and sent them to kings. Paul was sent to Rome to Caesar. …

Christ promises, however, that he will deliver them certainly and completely. He says that a hair of your head will not perish. COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 139. [2]

[1] Mt 24:29.

[2] CGSL 555-56**.

CHRIST REASSURES HIS MARTYRS

AUGUSTINE: Death comes to either the soul or the body. The soul cannot die, and yet it can die. It cannot die, because its consciousness is never lost. It can die, if it loses God. You see, just as the soul itself is the life of the body, so in the same way God is the life of the soul. As the body dies when the soul that is its life abandons it, in the same way when God abandons the soul, it dies. To make sure, however, that God does not abandon the soul, it must always have enough faith not to fear death for God’s sake. Then God does not abandon it, and it does not die.

It remains that the death that is feared is feared for the body. Even on this point, the Lord Christ reassured his martyrs. After all, how could they be unsure of the integrity of their bodies, when they had been reassured about the number of their hairs? “He said that your hairs have all been counted.” [1] In another place he says even more plainly, “For I tell you, that not a hair of your head shall perish.” Truth speaks. Does weakness hesitate? SERMON 273.1. [2]

[1] Mt 10:30; Lk 12:7.

[2] WSA 3 8:17**.

THE FAITHFUL CHRISTIAN RECOGNIZED BY BELIEF IN RESURRECTION OF THE BODY

AUGUSTINE: We should have no doubt that our mortal flesh also will rise again at the end of the world. … This is the Christian faith. This is the Catholic faith. This is the apostolic faith. Believe Christ when he says, “Not a hair of your head shall perish.” Putting aside all unbelief, consider how valuable you are. How can our Redeemer despise any person when he cannot despise a hair of that person’s head? How are we going to doubt that he intends to give eternal life to our soul and body? He took on a soul and body in which to die for us, which he laid down for us when he died and which he took up again that we might not fear death. SERMON 214.11-12. [1]

[1] FC 38:141-42**.

21:20-24 | The Destruction of Jerusalem

A SIGN OF THE FINAL CONSUMMATION

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: To make his prediction even clearer and to mark more plainly the time of its capture, Jesus says, “When you have seen Jerusalem surrounded with armies, then know that its destruction is near.” Afterwards, he again transfers his words from this subject to the time of the consummation. He says, “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” Since creation begins to be changed and brings unendurable terrors on the inhabitants of earth, there will be a certain fearful tribulation. There will also be souls departing to death. The unendurable fear of those things that are coming will be sufficient for the destruction of many. COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 139. [1]

[1] CGSL 556**.

WOE TO PREGNANT WOMEN

AMBROSE: Woe to those pregnant women, because they are heavy in body; they are too slow to escape danger. Woe to those for whom the yet unfelt pangs of future birth, by which every body is shaken, are the signs of future judgment, the beginnings of sorrows. [1] EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 10.26. [2]

[1] Mt 24:8.

[2] EHG 396**.

THE SIGNS HAVE BEEN ACCOMPLISHED

AUGUSTINE: The signs given in the Gospel and in prophecy and fulfilled in us show the coming of the Lord. … We know that the coming is near by the fact that we see the fulfillment of certain signs of that coming that have been accomplished. … The signs that Christ told them to look for are listed in the Gospel of Saint Luke: “Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the times of the nations are fulfilled.” This has happened and no one doubts that it has happened. … It is plain that there is no country or place in our time that is not harassed or humbled according to the words “for fear and expectation of what will come on the whole world.” All the signs that the gospel describes in the earlier verses have mostly been accomplished. LETTER 198. [1]

[1] FC 30:353-54**.

LUKE REFERS TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM

AUGUSTINE: Anyone can see that he refers to that city when Christ says, “When you shall see Jerusalem surrounded by an army, then know that its desolation is near.” Anyone can see that these words refer to the last coming of the Lord when he says, “When you shall see these things come to pass, know that the kingdom of God is near.” When he says, “Alas for those who are with child and for those who give suck in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.” [1] This passage is phrased in this way in Matthew and Mark so that it is uncertain whether it is to be understood of the destruction of the city or of the end of the world. … Luke has so arranged it that it seems to refer to the destruction of that city. LETTER 199. [2]

[1] Mt 24:19-21.

[2] FC 30:377-78**.

21:25-26 | Signs in Heaven and Earth

SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS WHEN PEOPLE FALL INTO UNBELIEF

AMBROSE: This is a true sequence of prophecy and a fresh cause of mystery, because the Jews will be led captive a second time to Babylon and Assyria. Those throughout the world who have denied Christ will be captive. A hostile army will trample visible Jerusalem as the sword kills Jews. All Judea will be put to the spiritual sword, the two-edged sword, [1] by the nations that will believe. There will be different signs in the sun, moon and the stars. [2] … When very many fall away from religion, a cloud of unbelief will darken bright faith, because for me that heavenly Sun [3] is either diminished or increased by my faith. If very many gaze on the rays of the worldly sun, the sun seems bright or pale in proportion to the capacity of the viewer, so the spiritual light is imparted to each according to the devotion of the believer. In its monthly courses, the moon, opposite the earth, wanes when it is in the sun’s quarter. When the vices of the flesh obstruct the heavenly Light, the holy church also cannot borrow the brightness of the divine Light from the rays of Christ. In the persecutions, love of this life alone certainly very often shuts out the light of God. EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 10.36-37. [4]

[1] Heb 4:12.

[2] See Joel 2:10, 30-31; 3:15.

[3] See Mal 4:2.

[4] EHG 399**.