Church Fathers Commentary Luke 21:20-24

"But when ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that her desolation is at hand. Then let them that are in Judaea flee unto the mountains; and let them that are in the midst of her depart out; and let not them that are in the country enter therein. For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. Woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days! for there shall be great distress upon the land, and wrath unto this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive into all the nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." — Luke 21:20-24 (ASV)

The Venerable Bede: Until now our Lord had been speaking of those things that were to happen for forty years, but the end was not yet. He now describes the very end of the desolation, which was accomplished by the Roman army, as it is said, And when you shall see Jerusalem compassed, etc.

Eusebius of Caesarea: By the desolation of Jerusalem, He means that it would never be rebuilt or its religious laws re-established, so that no one should expect any restoration to take place after the coming siege and desolation, as had happened in the time of the Persian king, Antiochus the Great, and Pompey.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Luke has related these words of our Lord here to show that the abomination of desolation, which was prophesied by Daniel and which Matthew and Mark had spoken of, was fulfilled at the siege of Jerusalem.

St. Ambrose of Milan: For the Jews thought that the abomination of desolation took place when the Romans, mocking a Jewish observance, threw a pig’s head into the temple.

Eusebius of Caesarea: Now our Lord, foreseeing that there would be a famine in the city, warned His disciples that in the coming siege they should not retreat to the city as a place of refuge and under God’s protection, but rather to depart from there and flee to the mountains.

The Venerable Bede: Church history relates that all the Christians who were in Judea, when the destruction of Jerusalem was approaching, were warned by the Lord, departed from that place, and lived beyond the Jordan in a city called Pella, until the desolation of Judea was over.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Before this, Matthew and Mark said, And let him that is on the housetop not come down into his house; and Mark added, neither enter therein to take any thing out of his house. Instead of this, Luke adds, And let them which are in the midst of it depart out.

The Venerable Bede: But how, while the city was already surrounded by an army, were they to depart? Except that the preceding word “then” must be referred not to the actual time of the siege, but to the period just before it, when the armed soldiers first began to spread out through the regions of Galilee and Samaria.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But where Matthew and Mark have written, Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes, Luke adds more clearly, And let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto, for these be the days of vengeance, that all the things which are written may be fulfilled.

The Venerable Bede: And these are the days of vengeance; that is, the days demanding vengeance for our Lord’s blood.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Then Luke follows with words similar to those of the other two: But woe to them that are with child, and them that give suck in those days. In this way, he has made clear what might otherwise have been doubtful: namely, that what was said about the abomination of desolation pertained not to the end of the world, but to the capture of Jerusalem.

The Venerable Bede: He says then, Woe to them that nurse, or give suck, as some interpret it, whose wombs or arms, now heavy with the burden of children, create a significant obstacle to a speedy escape.

Theophylact of Ohrid: But some say that the Lord by this signified the devouring of children, which Josephus also relates.

St. John Chrysostom: He next gives the reason for what he had just said: For there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. For the miseries that befell them were such that, in the words of Josephus, no future calamity can compare to them.

Eusebius of Caesarea: For this is truly what happened: when the Romans came and were taking the city, great multitudes of the Jewish people perished by the edge of the sword, as it follows, And they shall fall by the edge of the sword. But even more were cut off by famine.

These things happened first under Titus and Vespasian, and later in the time of Hadrian, the Roman general, when the Jews were forbidden from entering the land of their birth. Thus it follows, And they shall be led away captive into all nations. For the Jews filled the whole world, reaching even to the ends of the earth, and while their own land was inhabited by foreigners, they alone could not enter it. As it follows, And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

The Venerable Bede: The Apostle indeed mentions this when he says, Blindness in part is happened to Israel, and so all Israel shall be saved. When Israel has gained the promised salvation, it does not rashly hope to return to the land of its fathers.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Mystically, the abomination of desolation is the coming of the Antichrist, for with ill-omened sacrilege he pollutes the innermost recesses of the heart, sitting literally in the temple so that he may claim for himself the throne of divine power. According to the spiritual meaning, he is fittingly introduced because he desires to impress the footprint of his unbelief firmly upon people's affections by arguing from the Scriptures that he is the Christ.

Then desolation will come, for very many will fall away and depart from the true religion. Then will be the day of the Lord. For just as His first coming was to redeem us from sin, so also His second will be to subdue iniquity, so that no more people will be carried away by the error of unbelief.

There is also another Antichrist—the Devil—who tries to besiege Jerusalem (that is, the peaceful soul) with the armies of his law. When the Devil is in the midst of the temple, then there is the desolation of abomination. But when the spiritual presence of Christ has shone upon anyone in trouble, the unjust one is cast out, and righteousness begins her reign.

There is also a third Antichrist, such as Arius and Sabellius and all who lead us astray with evil purpose. These are the ones who are "with child," to whom woe is proclaimed. They enlarge the size of their flesh, and the pace of their inmost soul grows slow, like those who are worn out in virtue and pregnant with vice. Nor do those "with child" escape condemnation who, though firm in their resolution to do good works, have not yet produced any fruit from the work they have undertaken.

These are those who conceive from the fear of God but do not all bring forth. For there are some who bring forth the word stillborn before its delivery. There are others, too, who have Christ in the womb but have not yet formed Him. Therefore, she who brings forth righteousness brings forth Christ.

Let us also hasten to nourish our children, lest the day of judgment or death find us, so to speak, as parents of an imperfect offspring. You will do this if you keep all the words of righteousness in your heart and do not wait for old age, but in your earliest years, without the corruption of your body, quickly conceive wisdom and quickly nourish it.

But in the end, all Judea will be made subject to the nations that will believe, by the mouth of the spiritual sword, which is the two-edged word.