Luke 21:10Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The ailments of the world manifest as famine, pestilence, and persecution.

Nevertheless, there are other struggles that a Christian must face. These are the conflicts against passions and desires, and the inner battles against our spiritual foes are much more perilous than those from outside. Greed harms, lust ignites, fear strips away courage, anger torments, and ambition steals peace, seeking to intimidate the spirits of wickedness beneath heaven. It can be said that the tenderness of a wavering spirit is continually attacked and unsettled.

The strong one affirms, “If an army encamps against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, in Him will I trust.” He is steadfast, prepared to confront the foe. When the fearsome giant Goliath emerges against him, he, like King David, though small in stature, casts aside the earthly king's armor and relies on the familiar tools of faith. He launches the stone of pure faith from the secret sling of genuine confession to counter the taunts of the persecutor. He scorns threats, dismisses the powers of this world, and is worthy to be the voice of Christ. At times, it is Christ who speaks, at others, the Father, or the Spirit of the Father. They do not contradict one another, but harmonize in unity. What the One declares, the Three proclaim, for the voice of the Trinity is singular.

The adversaries flee, and maidens like eagles rush to greet the victor who is ready to sacrifice for Christ, striking down Goliath with his own sword, exulting, “Saul has slain thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” This underscores that the victors of this age surpass princes and kings, inheriting eternal honors in the kingdom of divine grace, while earthly rulers become supplicants, and martyrs their advocates.

There exists another sword wielded by Goliath, another weapon of the devil—the rhetoric of heretics. The skilled psalmist disarms them and triumphs over the foe. He hears the tumultuous reports but remains unwavering, refusing to yield to the shifting winds of transient doctrine. He suffers no thirst for the absence of the Word and, nourished by the wealth of heavenly Scripture, fears not to oppose the heretic who boasts vacuously. In such battles, let the weak refrain from rushing in, lest they cause harm by engaging in an unequal contest. Let David emerge, to whom Christ will grant the words to proclaim the holy sacraments.

The trials faced by the Lord's disciples, regardless of who they are, will be particularly severe: they will confront violence, animosity, immorality, and temptations—threats will surround them. Among them, truth and love will become rare. All these events signify the nearness of the end, which will arrive once the Gospel has been proclaimed to all creation.

Josephus Flavius recounts that a sword-shaped comet hovered over Jerusalem for an entire year prior to its destruction, that visions of armed horsemen appeared in the heavens, and an extraordinary light was witnessed in the temple at night surrounding the altar, among other astounding phenomena.

There would be national turmoil, conflict, and violent warfare with nations rising against nations and kingdoms against kingdoms; famines, plagues, and earthquakes would accompany this strife; celestial signs would become evident, leading many to proclaim that the end of the world was at hand. Yet, they were to remain steadfast in their faith, understanding that these events signified merely the onset of Israel's trials, not the ultimate conclusion.

Turning to historical accounts regarding the fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy, we note that the Jews, who acknowledged their loyalty to God alone, harbored intense resentment towards the Romans and seized every opportunity to rebel against their oppressive rule. The Roman governors further fueled this resentment through their brutality and avarice. Under Florus's rule, conditions became especially dire for the Jews, prompting them to petition the emperor for his removal. When this request was denied, they revolted, slaying Roman soldiers tasked with maintaining order in Jerusalem and seizing control. This insurrection subsequently spread across Palestine. Roman legions were dispatched to quell the uprising, and led by Vespasian, they entered Galilee, marking the beginning of the Jewish War, meticulously chronicled by the Jewish historian Josephus Flavius, who actively participated in these events. Drawing upon Jesus's warning, "Beware lest anyone deceive you, for many will come under my name" (Matthew 24:4), the apostles remained unmoved by the false prophets and pretenders that abounded. Josephus records that the land was rife with deceivers and magicians, who lured the populace into the wilderness to witness supposed miracles attributed to divine power. Among these impostors were Dositheus the Samaritan, who claimed to be the Christ; Simon the Magician, also a Samaritan, who referred to himself as the son of God; as well as Theudas, Menander the Egyptian, and others. The Jewish people, having rejected Christ, were so fervently awaiting a conquering Messiah that they were quick to embrace any charlatan. All these events unfolded prior to Jerusalem's eventual destruction, which indeed came to pass.

As this period progressed, marked by the martyrdom of Peter and Paul in Rome, the latter part of Jesus's prophecies began to materialize: the Jewish nation rose against the Roman Empire in conflict. Vespasian advanced with his forces from Antioch toward Jerusalem, which was nearing the time of the Passover festival in 70 A.D. Foreseeing the coming siege, Christians heeded Christ’s warning and fled to safety beyond the Jordan. Josephus recounts ominous signs that preceded the impending devastation: a star resembling a sword hung over the city for an entire year, and at the festival of unleavened bread, the temple area illuminated with a brightness akin to daylight. Strangely, the massive brass gates of the temple, notoriously difficult to secure, opened mysteriously at night, and during Pentecost, priests in the temple heard strange noises urging them to depart.

Amid this unrest, factions within Jerusalem fought for dominance. The zealots, masked as champions of Jewish freedom, exerted control, terrorizing citizens and invading their personal lives and property. Fugitives from areas besieged by the Romans flocked to Jerusalem, where John of Gischala emerged as a leader of a faction battling both the zealots and the peace-seeking residents led by the high priest Ananus. The relentless infighting resulted in bloodshed within the city and in the temple courts, tainting the sanctity of the holy site (Matthew 24:15). In desperation, warring factions solicited support from the Idumeans, escalating the violence, as thievery and murder became rampant. When Titus's army neared, Jerusalem was rife with chaos. To besiege the city effectively, Titus constructed trenches to block food supplies, forcing those within to surrender through starvation. A devastating famine ensued, and many attempted to escape the grip of hunger only to be captured by Roman soldiers and subjected to crucifixion en masse, overwhelming the capacity for such executions.

In the turmoil, strife and violence claimed many lives, and some mothers resorted to unspeakable acts of desperation. Initially, the dead were interred in caves and abandoned structures, but as the numbers swelled, corpses were discarded outside the city. One observer reported over 150880 bodies had been removed through the assigned gates, while other estimates exceeded 600000. When Titus surveyed the city walls and witnessed the ditches overflowing with decaying corpses, he raised his hands toward the heavens, imploring God to bear witness to his innocence in this disaster. He offered the besieged a chance to capitulate, but they refused. Titus even sent Josephus Flavius to persuade them to surrender, recounting the triumphs of their people when divinely aided and questioning whether they could expect God's favor now after desecrating the holy temple. Despite these attempts to reason with them, his efforts were in vain.