By Michael J. Vlach
Jesus’ Olivet Discourse discusses future events from the standpoint
of Jesus and the apostles shortly before Jesus’ death. The contents of Jesus’
discourse are found in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. Jesus addresses the
destruction of the Jerusalem temple, the sign of His coming, and the end of the
age (Matt. 24:3; Mark 13:4; Luke 21:5-7).
With this article I focus specifically on the Olivet Discourse as
recorded in Luke 21:5-28. I present what I believe is the chronology of events that
Jesus lays out ranging from the first century A.D. through the second coming of
Jesus.
In doing this I understand that there is much debate on the
chronology of the Olivet Discourse and it is rare for any two people to agree
on all the details. This includes people who often agree on matters of
eschatology, let alone those who disagree. So I suspect that many who read my
understanding will differ with me, and that is fine. Below is not so much a
full-blown defense of my understanding or a detailed interaction with other views, but a stating of how I view Luke 21
after studying this passage for years. In a nutshell, you can know how I interpret the events of Luke 21.
Below is my outline of Luke 21 and when I think the events within
each section will be fulfilled:
Luke
21:8-11: Future Tribulation Period
Luke 21:8-11 states:
And He [Jesus]
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. 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.”
Then He continued by saying to them, “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.”
I view Luke 21:8-11 as being fulfilled in the coming seven-year
Tribulation Period that is still future from our standpoint in history. During
this period there will be wars and disturbances, nations and kingdoms in
conflict, great earthquakes, plagues, famines, and terrors and signs from
heaven.
Certainly there were earthquakes and wars in the first
century, but what is discussed here is of a different nature and intensity—thus
describing a future period. Part of the reason we know these events will be
fulfilled in the future and were not fulfilled in A.D. 70 is because two things
in particular did not occur in the first century. First, the first century did
not witness many false messiahs. While there were false prophets in the first
century there were not many serious claims to be the Messiah at that time, and
certainly not of such a nature that Jesus’ followers needed to be warned not to
follow them. In fact, the first major messianic claim after Jesus was from Bar
Kochba (d. 135) whose messianic claim came in the second century. There simply
were not many (if any) serious claims to be the Messiah in the first century
A.D. (other than Jesus).
The second is that the first century did not witness “terrors
and great signs from heaven” on a major global scale. The context of Luke
21:8-11 involves global matters (nations, kingdoms), but fearsome signs from
heaven that people around the globe could see did not occur in the first century.
Luke
21:12-24a: First century fulfillment through the destruction of Jerusalem in
A.D. 70
It may seem strange at first to claim that Luke 21:12-24 is about
first century events after saying Luke 21:8-11 is about the future Tribulation
Period. But this is easily answered when we notice the words of Luke 21:12a—“but
before all these things” (21:12a). Thus, Jesus is telling us that what He
discusses in Luke 21:12 and following occurs “before” what He just explained in
Luke 21:8-11. I believe these events of 21:12-24a were fulfilled in the first
century A.D. The main events of this period were:
1.
Persecution of Jesus’ followers (21:12b–19)
2.
Destruction of Jerusalem (21:20–24a)
Jesus’ followers were persecuted in the first century. And Jesus’
prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem was fulfilled in A.D. 70 when the
Romans destroyed both the city of Jerusalem and the Jewish temple. Unlike Luke
21:8-11 which discussed global events, what is described in Luke 21:20-24 is
specific to the land of Israel. Here Jesus mentions “Jerusalem” twice and “Judea”
once. This is not the rescue of Israel but “vengeance,” “distress,” and “wrath”
to the people of Israel (vv. 22-23) for rejecting the time of Jesus’ visitation
(see Luke 19:41-44). The rescue of Israel will be described later in Luke
21:25-28.
Luke
21:24b: A.D. 70 through future Tribulation Period
Luke 21:24 is a pivot verse that
applies both to the section above and this current section. In this context we
are focusing on the latter part of the verse which deals with the dispersion of
Israel as a result of the A.D. 70 destruction:
“and they [people of Israel] 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” (Luke
21:24).
Luke 21:24 not only predicts the A.D.
70 destruction of Jerusalem, but it has implications for the people of Israel
and Jerusalem beyond this event. Israelites falling by the edge of the
sword in the A.D. 70 destruction of Jerusalem is accompanied by being “led
captive into all the nations.” The city of Jerusalem is also “trampled under
foot by the Gentiles…” These two matters of (1) Israelites being dispersed and
captive to the nations, and (2) Jerusalem being under Gentile control, have both
occurred in the many centuries since A.D. 70. These occurred as a result of the
A.D. 70 destruction but the effects of the A.D. 70 event stretch on through the
centuries—even until today.
But this dispersion of Israelites and
the trampling down of Jerusalem has an expiration date. They will end some day.
The important word is “until” (achri ou) which indicates a pivot and a
reversal of these circumstances. Captivity and trampling will occur “until the
times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” The “times of the Gentiles” refers to
Gentile oppression of Israel and control over Jerusalem. The heavy implication
here is that these will be reversed at some future point (see Matt. 23:37-39).
The following verses of 25-27 indicate these conditions will end at the end of
the future Tribulation Period with the return of Jesus the Messiah.
Important to understanding what
follows Luke 21:24 is grasping that this period known as “the times of the
Gentiles” is an extended and indefinite period of time. From our perspective it
has continued for almost 2000 years. Thus, Luke 21:24b involves the time period
from A.D. 70 onward even up until the present.
Thus there are two chronological indicators that
sandwich the events of Luke 21:12-24:
1.
“before
all these things (12a)
2.
“until
the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”
This
then takes the reader to the coming Tribulation Period which Jesus discusses
next.
Luke
21:25-28: Future Tribulation Period
The end of Luke 21:24, with its discussion of an extended period of
time when Israel and Jerusalem will be oppressed, leads us to the events of Luke
21:25-28 which describe the coming Tribulation Period and the return of Jesus the Messiah:
“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. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and
lift up your heads, because your
redemption is drawing near.”
Like Luke 21:8-11, this section also describes
the coming Tribulation Period and global conditions associated with this era.
The following are the unique conditions of Luke 21:25-28:
1.
Cosmic signs
2.
Dismay among nations
3.
Terror because of the sea and waves
4.
Unparalleled global fear among nations
5.
The personal bodily return of Jesus Christ in glory
Importantly, when these events occur
the people of Israel can know that “your redemption is drawing near” (21:28).
Note that in Luke 21:20-24 the message was that of “vengeance,” “distress,” and
“wrath” to unbelieving Israel. But now there is coming “redemption” for Israel.
This reveals that what occurs in Luke 21:25-28 is not the same event as that
explained in 21:20-24. Wrath to the people of Israel occurs in Luke 21:20-24,
but 21:25-28 discusses a positive deliverance.
There is another indicator that what
is described in 21:25-28 is different from that in 21:20-24. The coming of
Jesus in 21:27 is distinguished from the destroying armies of Rome discussed in
Luke 21:20-24. This shows they are not the same event. They are also separated
in time. To compare:
--Luke
21:20: “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies” (A.D. 70)
--Luke 21:24: Jerusalem trampled “until the times of
the Gentiles are fulfilled (long period of time after A.D. 70).
--Luke 21:27: "Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory."
(future fulfillment)
Summary
Luke 21 is a great eschatological
passage. To summarize, here is how I see the chronology of Luke 21:8-28:
1.
Luke 21:8-11: Future
Tribulation Period
2.
Luke 21:12-24a: First century through the
destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70
3.
Luke 21:24b: A.D. 70 through future Tribulation Period
4.
Luke 21:25-28: Future
Tribulation Period
Follow Mike Vlach on Twitter @mikevlach Be sure to check out Michael's new book: He Will Reign Forever: A Biblical Theology of the Kingdom of God. Available in hardcover and Kindle format at LampionPress.com
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