Church Fathers Commentary Luke 21:25-27

"And there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the billows; men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." — Luke 21:25-27 (ASV)

The Venerable Bede: He explains in order the events that were to follow the fulfillment of the times of the Gentiles, saying, There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars.

St. Ambrose of Milan: All of these signs are described more clearly in Matthew: Then shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven.

Eusebius of Caesarea: For at that time, when the end of this perishing life is accomplished, and, as the Apostle says, The fashion of this world passes away, a new world will follow. In it, instead of perceptible light, Christ Himself will shine like a sunbeam, as the King of the new world. His light will be so mighty and glorious that the sun, which now dazzles so brightly, and the moon and all the stars, will be hidden by the coming of a far greater light.

St. John Chrysostom: For just as in this world the moon and the stars are quickly dimmed by the rising of the sun, so at the glorious appearance of Christ, the sun will become dark, the moon will not shed its ray, and the stars will fall from heaven, stripped of their former attire, so that they may put on the robe of a better light.

Eusebius of Caesarea: He next explains what will befall the world after the darkening of the orbs of light, and from where the distress of nations will arise, saying, And on the earth distress of nations, by reason of the confusion of the roaring of the sea. In this, He seems to teach that the beginning of the universal change will be due to the failure of the watery substance. For this substance will first be absorbed or congealed, so that the roaring of the sea is no longer heard, nor do the waves reach the shore because of the extreme drought. The other parts of the world, no longer receiving the usual vapor that came from the water, will undergo a revolution.

Accordingly, since the appearance of Christ must put down the prodigies that resist God—namely, those of Antichrist—the beginnings of wrath will arise from droughts. These droughts will be such that neither storm nor the roaring of the sea will be heard any more. This event will be followed by the distress of the men who survive, as it follows: Men’s hearts being dried up for fear, and looking after those things which shall come upon the whole world. But He proceeds to declare the things that will then come upon the world, adding, For the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Or else, when the higher world is changed, then the lower elements will also suffer loss. From this it follows, And on the earth distress of nations, and so on. It is as if He said: The sea will roar terribly, and its shores will be shaken by the tempest, so that among the people and nations of the earth there will be distress—that is, a universal misery—causing them to waste away from fear and expectation of the evils that are coming upon the world.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But you will say, "Your punishment compels you to confess that the end is now approaching, seeing the fulfillment of what was foretold." For it is certain there is no country or place in our time that is not affected or troubled. But if these evils that mankind now suffers are sure signs that our Lord is about to come, what does the Apostle mean when he says, For when they shall say, Peace and safety? (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

Let us see, then, if it is not perhaps better to understand these words of prophecy not as being fulfilled now, but rather that they will come to pass when the tribulation of the whole world is such that it pertains to the Church—which will be troubled by the whole world—and not to those who trouble it. For they are the ones who will say, Peace and safety. But now these evils, which are considered the greatest and most excessive, we see are common to both the kingdoms of Christ and the Devil. For the good and the evil are afflicted with them alike. And among these great evils is the still universal practice of licentious feasts. Is this not being dried up from fear, or rather, being burned up from lust?

Theophylact of Ohrid: But not only will men be tossed about when the world is changed, but even angels will stand amazed at the terrible revolutions of the universe. Hence it follows, And the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

St. Gregory the Great: For who does He call the powers of heaven, but the angels, dominions, principalities, and powers? At the coming of the strict Judge, they will appear visibly to our eyes, so that they may exact judgment from us strictly, seeing that our invisible Creator now patiently bears with us.

Eusebius of Caesarea: When the Son of God comes in glory and crushes the proud empire of the son of sin, with the angels of heaven attending Him, the doors of heaven that have been shut from the foundation of the world will be opened, so that the things that are on high may be witnessed.

St. John Chrysostom: Or the heavenly powers will be shaken, although they themselves do not know it. For when they see the innumerable multitudes condemned, they will not stand there without trembling.

The Venerable Bede: Thus it is said in Job, the pillars of heaven tremble and are afraid at his reproof (Job 26:11). What then do the boards do when the pillars tremble? What does the shrub of the desert suffer when the cedar of Paradise is shaken?

Eusebius of Caesarea: Or the powers of heaven are those that preside over the perceptible parts of the universe, which will indeed be shaken then so that they may attain to a better state. For they will be discharged from the ministry with which they serve God toward the perceptible bodies in their perishing condition.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But so that the Lord may not seem to have foretold as extraordinary those things concerning His second coming which used to happen in this world even before His first coming—and so that we may not be laughed at by those who have read of more and greater events than these in the history of nations—I think what has been said may be better understood as applying to the Church. For the Church is the sun, the moon, and the stars, to whom it was said, Fair as the moon, elect as the sun (Song of Solomon 6:10). And she will then not be seen because of the unbounded rage of the persecutors.

St. Ambrose of Milan: While many also fall away from religion, clear faith will be obscured by the cloud of unbelief. For to me, that Sun of righteousness is either diminished or increased according to my faith. And just as the moon, in its monthly waning or when it is opposite the sun and eclipsed by the earth's shadow, suffers an eclipse, so also the holy Church, when the sins of the flesh oppose the heavenly light, cannot borrow the brightness of divine light from Christ’s rays.

For in persecutions, the love of this world generally shuts out the light of the divine Sun. The stars also fall—that is, men who shine in glory fall when the bitterness of persecution grows sharp and prevails. And this must continue until the multitude of the Church is gathered in, for in this way the good are tried and the weak are made manifest.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But in the words, And upon the earth distress of nations, He would have us understand by "nations" not those who will be blessed in the seed of Abraham, but those who will stand on the left hand.

St. Ambrose of Milan: So severe, then, will be the manifold fires of our souls that, with consciences depraved by a multitude of crimes and because of our fear of the coming judgment, the dew of the sacred fountain will be dried up on us. But just as the Lord’s coming is awaited, so that His presence may dwell in the whole circle of mankind (or the world)—a presence which now dwells in each individual who has embraced Christ with his whole heart—so too at our Lord’s coming the powers of heaven will obtain an increase of grace. They will be moved by the fullness of the Divine nature more closely infusing itself. There are also heavenly powers that proclaim the glory of God, which will be stirred by a fuller infusion of Christ, so that they may see Christ.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, the powers of heaven will be stirred because when the ungodly persecute, some of the most stout-hearted believers will be troubled.

Theophylact of Ohrid: It follows, And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds. Both believers and unbelievers will see Him, for He Himself, as well as His cross, will glisten brighter than the sun, and so will be observed by all.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But the words, coming in the clouds, may be taken in two ways. Either He is coming in His Church, as if in a cloud, as He now unceasingly comes. But then it will be with great power and majesty, for His power and might will appear far greater to His saints, to whom He will give great strength, so that they may not be overcome in such a fearful persecution.

Or, He must rightly be supposed to come in His body, in which He sits at His Father’s right hand—and not only in His body, but also in a cloud, for He will come even as He went away: And a cloud received him out of their sight (Acts 1:9).

St. John Chrysostom: For God always appears in a cloud, according to the Psalms: clouds and darkness are round about him (Psalm 97:2). Therefore, the Son of man will come in the clouds as God and the Lord, not secretly, but in glory worthy of God. Therefore He adds, with great power and majesty.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Greatness must be understood in a similar way. For He made His first appearance in our weakness and lowliness; the second He will celebrate in all His own power.

St. Gregory the Great: For men will see Him in power and majesty, the one whom they refused to hear when He was in a lowly station. In this way, they will feel His power all the more acutely, as they are now the less willing to bow the necks of their hearts to His sufferings.