Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Luke 21:11

"and there shall be great earthquakes, and in divers places famines and pestilences; and there shall be terrors and great signs from heaven." — Luke 21:11 (ASV)

Warning against deception. The opening of the discourse resembles, with several exceptions, that in Mt 24 and Mk 13. Luke does not mention that Jesus himself was at the temple (though the mention of its architectural details and the “gifts” shows that Jesus and his disciples were on the premises, v.5). For the temple to be totally destroyed was unthinkable. Its sanctuary and surrounding structure were huge, solid, and glistening, a symbol of Jewish religion and Herodian splendor. The disciples do ask for a “sign” (v.7), not because they are doubting but because they need a clue as to when the end will come.

The word “deceived” (v.8; GK 4414) was frequently used to describe the activities of heretics and false prophets (e.g., 2Jn 7; Revelation 2:20). Certain frightening events (vv.9–11) are typically linked with the end times (e.g., Isaiah 13:10, 13; 34:4; Ezekiel 14:21; Ezekiel 32:7–8; Haggai 2:6; et al.). Jesus is teaching that, while such things are indeed to take place as history moves toward its climax, Christians should not be terrified by them (v.9). The reason is that wars, revolutions, and natural calamities are not a signal that the end of history is to come immediately.