Studies in Luke

LUKE 21


“And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. 9. But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by” [Luke 21:8-9].



Neither Matthew nor Mark recorded the clause “and the time draweth near.” That was done by teachers somewhere in the early part of the forty year period between 30 AD and 70 AD. Since the time was not “near” (as it is used here), Yahshua warned the apostles not to listen to them. However, toward the “end” in 70 AD, even the apostles were teaching that “the time draweth near” and expected the people to listen, for Yahweh was about to destroy everything that pertained to the old natural system when He had the Romans destroy the temple and records in 66 AD to 70 AD.



Matthew says that they would hear of “rumours of wars.” Luke used the word “commotions,” which means “instability and disorder.”



The one Greek word “eutheos” means “at once or very soon.” Matthew and Mark used the word “yet.” When those people taught those false things during the time of the “commotions,” the end was not imminent, even though it would later come in “that generation” {Matthew 24:34]. The expression “by and by” in the 21st century usually means “sooner or later” and therefore is not a good translation. For a detailed study of these verses, go to Matthew 24:4-6.



“Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: 11. And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven” [Luke 21:10-11].





The only thing that Luke adds is that there shall be “great signs from heaven.” These preceded the “one sign” of which the apostles had asked concerning “the end.” All of these things were not that “one sign” for which the apostles looked.



Matthew and Mark record one thing here that Luke does not, i.e. that “these are the beginning of sorrows” (birth pangs). For a detailed study, see Matthew 24:7-8. [CONTINUED TOMORROW]