Luke 21:20-28
Chapter 21
If you are in Judea, flee to the mountains! If you are in Jerusalem, leave! If you are outside the city, don’t enter it!
For these will be the days of its punishment, and everything that was foretold in the Scriptures will be come true.
How difficult will it be for pregnant women and mothers nursing their babies! A great calamity will befall the land, and wrath will come upon these people.
They will be executed by the sword or taken as slaves to other nations.
Jerusalem will be trampled on by the pagans until the time of the pagans is fulfilled.
Then there will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars, and on the earth, nations will suffer anguish, confused when they hear the roaring of the sea and its waves.
People will faint with fear just thinking about what is coming upon the world, for the forces of the universe will be shaken.
Then, at that time, they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
So, when you see things start to happen, stand tall and lift up your heads, because your deliverance is near.”
Commentaries
The Great Tribulation.
The siege and destruction of Jerusalem should not be mistaken for the end of the world or history. God’s plan continues, and in fact, the city and temple in ruins will serve as the occasion for foreign nations that did not know God to come to know him and submit to him.
The Parousia.
The cosmic events Luke describes in this passage about the coming of the Son of Man should not be taken literally; they evoke a way of thinking typical of apocalyptic literature (cf. Dn 7:13ff) and help distinguish this first manifestation, or Incarnation, of Jesus, which is subject to human nature and limitations—his second coming with all power and glory. The disciples need to be very attentive to the signs of the times (29-31); the key is to recognize them and believe that the Lord’s return will liberate all creation. This is the core of the early community’s eschatological hope, and it remains our hope.