Luke the beloved physician shared how Jesus told His disciples, “when you shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled”, and in chapter twenty-one and verse twenty-five of his book Luke shared how Jesus says, “they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations” where we read:
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars;
and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
The verse reads, “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars;” Luke began with the words, “and there shall be signs or “and there will exist marks, tokens and unusual occurrences” “in the sun” which means “within the sun in the sky”, “and in the moon” or “and within the moon in the night sky”, “and in the stars” which means “and within the stars within the night sky”. Luke shared how Jesus said there would be “tokens and unusual occurrences” within the celestial skies.
The verse goes on to say, “and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;” Luke continued with the words, “and upon the earth” or “and on the arable land, ground, country, territory and region” “distress of nations” which means “and anguish, straits and anxieties”, “with perplexity” or “with quandaries”; “the sea” which means “the large body of water” “and the waves roaring” or “and the tossing or swells of the seas sounding, making a loud noise and reverberating”. Luke shared how Jesus said there would also be “anguish and anxieties” which would be with quandaries on the earth and the “sea and waves” would be “tossing and reverberating” with a loud noise.
When we think through Luke’s words in this verse, we see how Jesus said even the “celestial bodies in the sky” would put forth “signs”, and the “troubles and difficulties” upon the “earth” would be so great they would cause “anxieties” that cannot be answered by people. God knows the future, and He allows the “celestial bodies” and the “earth” itself to bring forth “signs and tokens” that are unexplainable by mankind. God loves people, and the very fact that Jesus was speaking of these things in advance let’s everyone know He cares for them. Jesus came to “save” people, and when they yield their lives to Him as their “Savior and Lord”, He will watch over them and inform them in advance of those things which shall appear.
Next time Luke shares how Jesus says, “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book “Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II” and the new novel “Elizabeth County” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from “Strongs Concordance”.
Ray Hanselman 