Luke 21:8Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

For seeing that the devil is the hateful inventor of evil, what he himself is he conceals, but craftily assumes a name desirable to all; just as if a man wishing to get into his power some children not His own, should in the absence of the parents counterfeit their looks, and lead away the children who were longing for them. In every heresy then the devil says in disguise, “I am Christ, and with me there is truth.” And so it follows, For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near.

The plight of the Lord’s followers, whoever they may be, will be particularly severe: persecution, animosity, unfaithfulness, temptation—these threats will encompass them. Truth and love will become rare among them. All these signs will indicate the imminent end. Yet it will come once the Gospel is proclaimed to all creation.

In these passages, we can see allusions to significant upheavals indicative of the last days. Furthermore, the description of Christ's glorious return for judgment is unmistakable. The structure of His teaching indicates that the initial portion focuses more on the destruction of Jerusalem, while the latter emphasizes the end times.

Prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, the emergence of false Christs is warned against in Matthew 4-6, Mark 5-6, and Luke 8. All the Evangelists note that Christ’s prophetic message began with a caution regarding deceivers who would claim to be the Messiah and lead many astray. Luke’s account underscores the immediacy of these deceptions by stating, “and this time is near,” suggesting a direct reference to events leading up to the fall of Jerusalem. Indeed, many false leaders arose in Palestine during this period, as recorded in the New Testament (Acts 5:36). While none of these deceivers explicitly declared themselves as the Messiah, they nonetheless positioned themselves as the rightful leaders of the people, claiming a significance in God’s kingdom that rightfully belonged to Christ alone. In essence, they functioned as false Messiahs.

There will be national turmoil, strife, and violent conflicts; nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom; famine, pestilence, and earthquakes will culminate in distress; celestial signs will manifest; and many, witnessing these events, will proclaim that the end of the world is approaching. Do not place your faith in them! The end is not yet; it shall merely signify the beginning of Israel's judgment, the onset of their tribulations.

Let us now examine what historians report about the fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy regarding the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. The Jews, who considered themselves subjects only to God, harbored significant animosity toward the Romans and were ever ready to revolt against their oppressive rule. The Roman governors fueled this resentment with their brutality and avarice. Conditions were particularly dire for the Jews during Florus's administration. They petitioned the Roman emperor to remove him, and when their request was denied, they revolted, executed the Roman soldiers stationed in Jerusalem, and seized control. The insurrection quickly spread to other cities across Palestine. Troops were dispatched to quell the rebellious Jews, and under the command of Vespasian, they moved into Galilee. Thus, the Jewish war began, meticulously chronicled by the participant and historian Josephus Flavius. Recalling the words of Jesus, “Beware lest anyone deceive you, for many will come in my name” (Matthew 24:4), the apostles remained vigilant against the false prophets and impostors that proliferated during that time. Josephus Flavius noted that the land was rife with deceivers and magicians who lured the people into the wilderness with promises of miracles purportedly performed by divine authority. Among these deceivers were Dositheus the Samaritan, who claimed to be the Christ, Simon the Magician, another Samaritan who called himself the son of God, and others like Theudas and Menander, an Egyptian. The Jews, having rejected Christ, yearned for a conquering Messiah, leading them to eagerly embrace any pretender. All this occurred prior to Jerusalem's destruction, which was a prerequisite, and it transpired as foretold.

As this period drew to a close—with Peter crucified in Rome and Paul beheaded—the second part of Jesus' prophecies began to unfold: the Jewish population rose against the Romans, the Jewish kingdom against the Roman empire. Rumors of war erupted, and warfare soon followed. Vespasian advanced with his army from Antioch, with Galilee experiencing the initial siege. Under Josephus Flavius's leadership, a hundred thousand young Jews assembled, yet this hastily formed and inexperienced army was unable to withstand the seasoned Roman legions. Consequently, cities in Galilee, followed by Samaria and numerous towns in Judea, fell one after another, suffering devastating consequences, and Josephus Flavius himself was captured. Gadara was the first city to succumb, and the inhabitants—men, women, and children—were slaughtered en masse. At Jotapata, 40,000 Jews perished, and 1,200 were taken captive. In Ascalon, 10,000 died, while 27,000 fell in Japhia; all women and children there were sold into slavery. On Mount Garizim in Samaria, 11,000 were killed, in Joppa 8,400 died and 4,200 drowned, and in Tarichea, 2,200 were slain while 6,000 were taken prisoner. At Gamala, 4,000 were killed, and an additional 5,000 leapt from the heights of the mountain to their deaths. Among those captured, 30,400 were sold into slavery. After clearing Galilee, Samaria, and nearly the entirety of Judea, Vespasian intended to march on Jerusalem, but the news of Emperor Nero's demise caused him to temporarily halt military actions. After being proclaimed emperor by his troops, he returned to Rome, delegating the continuation of the war to his son Titus.

Titus arrived at Jerusalem just before the Jewish Passover in 70 A.D. Christians, remembering the covenant of Christ, fled the city even prior to its siege, retreating beyond the Jordan to safe, deserted locations. Josephus Flavius testified that long before Jerusalem was besieged, ominous signs preceded the coming devastation: A sword-like star lingered over the city for an entire year; during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at night around the altar and sanctuary, it became radiantly bright as day; the brass gates of the temple, which required twenty men to force shut, opened by themselves at night; during the Feast of Pentecost, priests entering the temple to perform their duties heard sounds and movements, followed by voices urging: Let us go from here! In Jerusalem, since the war's outset, factions vied for control, with brigand groups under the label of the Zealots opposing one another and ruthlessly dominating the lives and properties of the citizens. Refugees from various besieged cities flocked to Jerusalem, including John of Gischala, who rallied support and initiated a civil war against the Zealots and the peaceful populace, led initially by the high priest Ananus. Violent confrontations erupted in the streets and temple courtyards, staining the sacred space with blood and turning it into a place of desolation (Matthew 24:15). Calls for assistance were extended to the Idumeans, further escalating the conflict. Daylight turned into chaos as theft, violence, and murder ran rampant, predominantly targeting the wealthy. Jerusalem was in utter lawlessness as Titus's army approached.

To besiege the city, Titus constructed trenches to cut off the supply of food, intending to force the inhabitants to surrender through starvation. A horrific famine ensued; many sought to escape the hunger, only to be captured by Roman soldiers and crucified. The number of fugitives was so great that there weren't sufficient crosses or crucifixes. Chaos reigned within the city, rife with conflict, looting, and murder; the famine grew so severe that people died in agonizing conditions, with one mother, driven mad by hunger, cooking and consuming her child. Initially, the dead were buried in caves and vacant homes, but as space ran out, corpses were dumped outside the city gates or tossed from the walls. An outsider reported to Titus that 150,880 bodies had been removed through his designated gates, while other estimates suggested up to 600,000 had met the same fate. As Titus surveyed the city walls, witnessing the ditches filled with decomposing bodies, he raised his hands to heaven in despair, imploring God to testify that he bore no responsibility for such devastation. He was partly justified in his claim, as he had offered terms of surrender to the besieged, but they adamantly refused. Titus even sent Josephus Flavius to the walls of Jerusalem to persuade the occupiers, delivering a lengthy speech that recounted the history of the Jewish people, illustrating that they achieved victory when God was on their side but had failed when relying solely on their own strength. He reminded them that, having turned the holy temple into a den of iniquity, it was futile to expect divine assistance. Yet, even these appeals yielded no success.