Luke 21:25

The Return of Christ

25 "There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,

Luke 21:25 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 21:25

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon
They shall be darkened, and suffer very strange and surprising eclipses:

and in the stars;
they shall fall from heaven, as in ( Matthew 24:29 ) and so the Ethiopic version reads here: all which, as it may be understood in a literal sense, so it may likewise in figurative and mystical one, and be interpreted of the changes there should be in the Jewish state; (See Gill on Matthew 24:29). So the Jewish writers

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FOOTNOTES:

F8 interpret the sun, the light, the moon, and stars, in ( Ecclesiastes 12:2 ) . By the "sun" they understand the kingdom of the house of David; by "the light", the law; by "the moon", the sanhedrim; and by the stars, the Rabbins; and the same seem to be designed by the stars here:

and upon the earth distress of nations;
upon the land of Israel; in the several nations and countries belonging to it; as Galilee of the nations, Judea, and the region beyond Jordan, shall be in great distress:

with perplexity;
of mind, not knowing what to do, which way to go, or step to take; the Syriac version, instead of it, reads "clapping, or pressing of the hands"; which is done by persons, when in an agony and great distress:

the sea and the waves roaring;
which design some unusual and extraordinary storms and tempests, and inundations in the sea of Galilee, or Tiberias, which would be so very terrible, as to cause great uneasiness, distress, and perplexity; and so some versions render it, "because of the sea"

F8 In Prefat. Echa Rabbati, fol. 38. 4. Jarchi in Eccles. xii. 2.

Luke 21:25 In-Context

23 "Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people;

24 and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

25 "There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,

26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

27 "Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "attesting miracles"