#1432 Luke 21 Part 5 The Failing Of The Hearts Of Men

 

25 “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; 26 men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” Luke 21: 25-28 NKJV

Luke 21: 25-28

…10For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light. The rising sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light. 11I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. I will end the haughtiness of the arrogant and lay low the pride of the ruthless. 12I will make man scarcer than pure gold, and mankind rarer than the gold of Ophir.…

13Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken from its place at the wrath of the LORD of Hosts on the day of His burning anger. 14Like a hunted gazelle, like a sheep without a shepherd, each will return to his own people, each will flee to his native land.… Isaiah 13: 10-14

V. 25a  And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars - Jesus' words correspond to those of the earlier prophets. The imagery is similar and it is in reference to coming judgment. There is also a shift here, a heightening of the birth pains. Remember, of the wars and rumors of wars, famines and persecutions, they were told that these things must take place but still the end is not yet. One of the questions in the other gospels was when will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age? He gives the signs of the age, wars, famine, etc., and He also warns about false prophets and those claiming to be Messiah, that if someone says, "look, he's in the desert," well that's not a real sign, don't believe it, don't go after them. Now we shift to what it looks like when the end is drawing near, and the Son of Man is going to appear. This also looks back to the times of Moses, and the picture of one of the judgments of Egypt, darkness, the kind you can feel.

There will be signs (semeion) in sun and moon and stars - The NAS marginal note on "signs" is "attesting miracles." Remember the sun is earth's own star which Matthew's parallel description says will be darkened (Mt 24:29+). Luke does not tell us when these signs will occur. But if we compare the similar passages in Matthew and Mark, it is clear that these celestial signs follow the "tribulation," which in Matthew refers to the last 3.5 years of Daniel's Seventieth Week, called the Great Tribulation (cf "a time of distress such as never occurred" = Da 12:1+). - Precept Austin

…7When I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light. 8All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken over you, and I will bring darkness upon your land,’ declares the Lord GOD. 9‘I will trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring about your destruction among the nations, in countries you do not know.… Ezekiel 32: 7-9

…30I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD. 32And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has promised, among the remnant called by the LORD.… Joel 2: 30-32

…9And in that day, declares the Lord GOD, I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the daytime. 10I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation. I will cause everyone to wear sackcloth and every head to be shaved. I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son, and its outcome like a bitter day. 11Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord GOD, when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.… Amos 8: 9-11

V. 25b And on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity - When the bowl judgments come and people have been following the false prophets and leaders that are not of  God, they will suffer greatly for a lack of the real word of God in that day. Every way they turn will be disaster, and their leaders will fail them. Clichés will be useless against the reality of judgment, just like when Jeremiah prophesied opposite of the false prophets. They insisted that the punishment would not happen, then they shifted and insisted the punishment (Babylonian captivity) would only be for 2 years, and they were wrong.  

1“At that time Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress, the likes of which will not have occurred from the beginning of nations until that time. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. 2And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3Then the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever.… Daniel 12: 1-3

And on the earth dismay (sunoche) among nations, in perplexity (aporia) at the roaring of the sea and the waves - The earth is personified as perplexed and bewildered which is in fact a description of all those who dwell on the earth in this divinely decreed day of destruction describe in graphic detail in Revelation 6-19. Dismay means the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles, a lowering of one's spirits so they become downhearted. Dismay can also refer to fear resulting from the awareness of danger and there will be no dearth of danger in the time of the Revelation. Norman Crawford says waves is salos which "means "to toss", particularly the swelling and tossing of the waves or "billows" (RV) of the sea. The "roaring" (v. 25, ēchos) of these tossing billows adds to the chaos leaving people completely confused without escape and nowhere to turn. (What the Bible Teaches: Luke) - Precept Austin

Aporia is used in the Septuagint to describe God's judgment on Israel for disobedience to the mosaic covenant - "sudden terror" (Lxx = aporia)(Lev 26:18), smiting with "consumption" (Lxx = aporia) (Dt 28:22), "distress" (Isaiah 8:22+).

Perplexity describes trouble or confusion resulting from complexity, including an inability to deal with or understand something. CSB translates it as "nations bewildered" which is a good description as bewildered means caused to lose one's bearings, becoming perplexed or confuses especially by a complexity, variety, or multitude of objects or considerations, in this case the variety being divinely wrought celestial signs. The next verse describes the effect of their inner dismay and perplexity -- fainting because of the overwhelming evidence that God is once and for all bringing divine destruction to this world! - Precept Austin

V. 26 Men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth - A little more detail as to the perplexity, and imagine, men are afraid of global warming now, a thing they don't even understand, imagine when the heavens are shaken. 

…35As long as it lies desolate, the land will have the rest it did not receive during the Sabbaths when you lived in it. 36As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. And they will flee as one flees the sword, and fall when no one pursues them. 37They will stumble over one another as before the sword, though no one is behind them. So you will not be able to stand against your enemies.… Leviticus 26: 35-37

10But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare. 11Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to conduct yourselves in holiness and godliness 12as you anticipate and hasten the coming of the day of God, when the heavens will be destroyed by fire and the elements will melt in the heat.… 2 Peter 3: 10-12

Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory - Unmistakable, and by the way, this puts the events of 70 A.D. into perspective.  This is a global thing, seen far and wide, and you don't miss something like the heavens shaking and the Son of Man coming on a cloud. The events leading up to Christ's final return to judge the world will have gone from the beginning of the birth pains, from 60 hertz to a million, all the major events unfolding in Daniel's 70th week, and the intensity growing exponentially by the middle of the week, the 3.5 year mark when the Abomination of Desolation is placed in the temple and the Antichrist demands to be worshiped. These will be the signs that things are coming to a close, and they will be immense, unmistakable, yet with the lack of God's word in the mouths of men, the lack of sound teachers, many will still misunderstand. 

…12As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was removed, but they were granted an extension of life for a season and a time. 13In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. 14And He was given dominion, glory, and kingship, that the people of every nation and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.… Daniel 7: 12-14

…6who has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and power forever and ever! Amen. 7Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him— even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen. 8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come—the Almighty.… Revelation 1: 6-8

13And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead—those who die in the Lord from this moment on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, for their deeds will follow them.” 14And I looked and saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was One like the Son of Man, with a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. 15Then another angel came out of the temple, crying out in a loud voice to the One seated on the cloud, “Swing Your sickle and reap, because the time has come to harvest; for the crop of the earth is ripe.”… Revelation 14: 13-15

V. 28 Now when these things begin to happen - Don't get excited about the other stuff, but for those who come to Christ during the tribulation, those elect of the Jewish remnant and the gentiles who hear and respond to the angel, to the 2 preachers, look up. When? When the signs occur in the heavens, in the sun, the moon and the stars, when the seas are disturbed beyond anything we have ever seen, when the heavens are shaken. The time of their redemption is near, it is getting close to the sign of the Son of  Man, which will be the Son Himself, coming on the clouds. 

…8He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken. 9And in that day it will be said, “Surely this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He has saved us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited. Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.” 10For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain. But Moab will be trampled in his place as straw is trodden into the dung pile.… Isaiah 25: 8-10