CHAPTER 21

(A.D. 33)

THE TWO MITES

¹And He looked up (our Lord was in the covered colonnade of that part of the Temple which was open to the Jewish women; here was the treasury with its thirteen boxes on the wall, where the people could give offerings), and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury (implying that they were making a show of their gifts, desiring to impress the people by the amount, etc.).

²And He saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites (was probably worth something less than a U.S. dollar in 2003 purchasing power).

³And He said, Of a truth I say unto you (presents a new concept of giving), that this poor widow has cast in more than they all (the term poor widow means that she worked very hard for what little she received):

⁴For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God (means that they had much left, constituting very little given, at least in the Eyes of God): but she of her penury (poverty) has cast in all the living that she had (spoke of her gift, as small as it was, being larger than all others combined because she gave all; God judges our giving by many factors; motive plays very heavily into the account).

THE TEMPLE

⁵And as some spoke of the Temple (was said on the Mount of Olivet, as Jesus and His Disciples left the city), how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts (this building was one of the most beautiful in the world), He said,

⁶As for these things which you behold (referred to the beauty of the Temple, which the Disciples were even then admiring), the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down (this is exactly what happened in A.D. 70, when Titus destroyed the Temple and the city).

⁷And they asked Him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? (While Mat., Chpt. 24 deals primarily with the Second Coming, Luke addressed himself to the Words of Christ, which concerned the coming destruction by Titus the Roman General.) and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass? (This is somewhat different than the question recorded by Matthew, what shall be the sign of Your Coming and of the end of the world?)

SIGNS OF THE ENDTIME

⁸And He said (for the next four Verses, Luke deals with the signs of the times as it regards the Second Coming), Take heed that you be not deceived (presents the exact manner in which Matthew begins his account the warning of deception; it is mainly in the realm of religion): for many shall come in My Name, saying, I am Christ (of Christ); and the time draws near (the Rapture of the Church): go ye not therefore after them (be very careful as to whom you follow).

⁹But when you shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified (when Israel rejected Christ, this subjected the world to some 2,000 more years of terror): for these things must first come to pass (which, in effect, have characterized the world from then until now); but the end is not by and by (means that the end is not immediate).

¹⁰Then said He unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom (refers to the time immediately preceding the Great Tribulation, and on into that particular time period):

¹¹And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from Heaven (these things will take place on this particular scale during the Great Tribulation Period).

JERUSALEM

¹²But before all these (speaking of the time very soon after He made these statements), they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the Synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for My Names sake (the Book of Acts records these events, and history records that which followed the Book of Acts).

¹³And it shall turn to you for a Testimony (Believers must not allow their Testimony to be hindered by persecution, but rather make it the cause of being strengthened).

¹⁴Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what you shall answer (does not condemn careful thought, but encourages total trust in the Lord without fear):

¹⁵For I will give you a mouth and wisdom (speaks of the unction of the Holy Spirit in the heart and life of the Believer, giving the help that is needed), which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.

¹⁶And you shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends (this portrays the power of demon religions and their control of their victims); and some of you shall they cause to be put to death (some will not be delivered, but will rather die for their Testimony).

¹⁷And you shall be hated of all men for My Names sake (this one Verse is ample proof of the validity of Christianity, in that anything which could survive such opposition, and even grow until it is now the largest in the world proves the integrity of its Founder, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the sincerity of its converts).

¹⁸But there shall not an hair of your head perish (our Lord is speaking now of the coming destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70; in that carnage, which resulted in over one million Jews being killed, not a single Christian lost his life because they read these very Verses, and did exactly what Jesus said to do).

¹⁹In your patience possess ye your souls (if the situation does not seem to improve, the Believer is to be patient, knowing that God has all things under control, and everything that He does is for the benefit of the Believer and not his hurt).

²⁰And when you shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies (speaks of the invasion by Titus in A.D. 70), then know that the desolation thereof is near (speaks of the moment that Titus would begin to surround Jerusalem, which would be the signal that Christians were to leave, which they did!).

²¹Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains (spoke of all those who believed this Word, which all Christians did); and let them which are in the midst of it depart out (means that no part of Judaea would be safe from the Roman armies); and let not them who are in the countries enter thereinto (speaks of Christians who lived in surrounding countries, who at this time were not to come into Judaea).

²²For these be the days of vengeance (refers to judgment; Israel had rejected Christ; now they must pay), that all things which are written may be fulfilled (concerning the fulfillment of these very Words as given by Christ, as well as all prophecies; to be sure, every single Word of God will come to pass, exactly as predicted).

²³But woe unto them who are with child, and to them who give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people (once again speaks of the terrible days which were to come on Jerusalem, and which did come in A.D. 70).

²⁴And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations (hundreds of thousands of Jews after the carnage of A.D. 70 were sold as slaves all over the world of that day; as well, the Jewish people as a whole were scattered all over the world, fulfilling exactly what Jesus said would happen): and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled (has actually proved the case since Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians some six hundred years before Christ; in fact, it has continued unto this hour, and will, for all practical purposes, continue until the Second Coming; then the times of the Gentiles will be fulfilled, with Israel once again becoming the premiere Nation of the world, which they will do under Christ).

²⁵And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars (proclaims the Lord now returning to His former subject of signs concerning His Second Coming, which was first broached in Verses 8 through 11); and upon the Earth distress of nations, with perplexity (refers to problems without a solution, which will prevail in the coming Great Tribulation); the sea and the waves roaring (does not pertain to bodies of water, but rather to nations roaring in discontent, anger, rebellion, and war [Rev. 17:15]);

²⁶Mens hearts failing them for fear (has nothing to do with heart disease, but rather men losing heart, i.e., having no more courage to continue), and for looking after those things which are coming on the Earth (Rev., Chpts. 6-19 give us in graphic detail an account of that which will happen): for the powers of Heaven shall be shaken (proclaims the Judgment of God that will fall upon unbelieving Israel and the Gentile nations, which will have no precedent in all past history, and will have no counterpart in all succeeding history [Mat. 24:21]).

²⁷And then (refers to the conclusion of the Great Tribulation) shall they see the Son of Man coming (refers to the Second Coming, and may very well be televised by News Agencies covering the Battle of Armageddon, raging at that time, which will portray this Coming all over the world) in a cloud (does not speak of the clouds of the heavens, but rather clouds of Saints and Angels, which will be coming back with the Lord at that Coming) with power and great Glory (as stated, when He comes the second time, the world will not have to ask if it is really Him; it will be overly obvious!).

²⁸And when these things begin to come to pass (refers to the signs of Verses 8 through 11, as well as Verses 25 and 26), then look up, and lift up your heads; for your Redemption draws nigh (does not refer to the Rapture, for that will have already happened years before, but rather the Deliverance of Israel at the Second Coming when Christ comes with Raptured Saints [Isa. 11:10-12; 66:7-8; Zech., Chpt. 14; Mat. 24:29-31; Rom. 11:25-29; Rev., Chpt. 19]).

THE FIG TREE

²⁹And He spoke to them a Parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees (Jesus is using a simple illustration which is meant to point to the Second Coming);

³⁰When they now shoot forth, you see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand (the season of Spring tells us that the season of Summer is about to begin).

³¹So likewise ye, when you see these things come to pass (once again speaks of the happenings of Verses 8 through 11, as well as Verses 25 and 26), know ye that the Kingdom of God is near at hand (points to the Second Coming, which will usher in the Kingdom Age).

³²Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled (the generation that will be alive at the time of these happenings).

³³Heaven and earth shall pass away (will pass from one condition to another): but My Words shall not pass away (the Word of God is more sure of fulfillment even than the stability of Heaven and Earth).

WATCH AND PRAY

³⁴And take heed to yourselves (begins a portion of teaching that applies to the entirety of the Body of Christ, and for all times), lest at any time your hearts be overcharged (weighed down) with surfeiting (debauchery), and drunkenness, and cares of this life (things which are not spiritual), and so that day come upon you unawares (actually points to the Second Coming, but can point, as well, to the Rapture and Death).

³⁵For as a snare shall it come on all them who dwell on the face of the whole Earth (in other words, things will not turn out as man thinks they will, for the Second Coming will change everything).

³⁶Watch ye therefore, and pray always (watch events which transpire, and equate them in whatever capacity with the Word, asking the Lord to give discernment), that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass (it speaks of the Rapture of the Church; the worthiness spoken of here by Jesus has nothing to do with self-righteousness, but rather the righteousness which is freely given to anyone who expresses Faith in Christ and the Cross; that and that alone is the key), and to stand before the Son of Man (refers to being taken to be with the Lord before the Coming Great Tribulation [I Thess. 4:13-18]).

³⁷And in the daytime He was teaching in the Temple (concerned His last hours before the Crucifixion); and at night He went out, and abode in the Mount that is called the Mount of Olives (we have here the Son of God, the Creator of all things, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, Who would actually have no place to lay His Head, with the exception of a rock; the humiliation He suffered has no comparison in the annals of human history).

³⁸And all the people came early in the morning to Him in the Temple (concerns the many thousands who filled Jerusalem, for it was the time of the Passover), for to hear Him (to hear the Giver of Life, present the Words of Life).