READING • LUKE 21
“Know that it is near, even at the doors”
The Bible does not give us a date for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. It does, however, give signs which call disciples to watch, believe and prepare.
Jesus said there would be signs
In the previous lesson we saw that the Lord Jesus Christ will return personally to the earth. His coming is part of God’s purpose for the world: he will establish the Kingdom of God and reign from Jerusalem. The first believers therefore looked forward to the time when God would “send Jesus Christ” (Acts 3:19–20).
Naturally we ask, When will this happen? Jesus did not encourage his disciples to calculate a date. He said plainly:
“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”
Matthew 24:36 • King James Version
But in the same chapter he told them to notice the signs. Just as landmarks tell a traveller that the end of a journey is drawing near, the things Jesus and the prophets described are intended to make believers alert:
“So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.”
Matthew 24:33 • King James Version
1. Signs concerning Israel
The original lesson draws attention to three developments concerning the Jewish people and Jerusalem. Christadelphians have long understood these as important in relation to Bible prophecy.
SIGN
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
BIBLE PASSAGE
RETURN
Jewish communities returned in increasing numbers to the land of Israel after many centuries of dispersion.
Jeremiah 30:3
NATION
The modern State of Israel was established in May 1948.
Ezekiel 37:21–22
JERUSALEM
In June 1967 Israeli forces gained control of East Jerusalem and the Old City.
Luke 21:24
“For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah ... and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.”
Jeremiah 30:3 • King James Version
Jesus also foretold the scattering of the Jewish people and said that Jerusalem would be “trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Luke 21:24). The lesson therefore asks us to notice the remarkable re-emergence of Israel and the changed position of Jerusalem in modern history.
2. Distress of nations
Jesus did not speak only about Israel. In Luke 21 he described a world marked by fear, uncertainty and “distress of nations, with perplexity”. Human beings have made extraordinary advances, yet war, hunger, violence, environmental damage, disease, displacement and economic uncertainty continue to trouble societies across the world.
“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 ...”
Luke 21:25 • King James Version
The King James Version uses the word “perplexity”: a state of deep uncertainty about what to do. Jesus then speaks of “men’s hearts failing them for fear” before saying:
“And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”
Luke 21:27 • King James Version
The point is not panic
Bible prophecy is given so that believers will recognise the direction of God’s purpose, remain faithful and be ready for the return of Christ.
3. Disbelief in God and His Word
The apostles warned that another feature of the last days would be unwillingness to listen to sound teaching. Paul wrote that people would prefer teachers who tell them what they want to hear:
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
2 Timothy 4:3–4 • King James Version
Peter gave a similar warning. He said that “scoffers” would ask, “Where is the promise of his coming?” (2 Peter 3:3–4). The passing of time is not evidence that God has forgotten His promise. It tests whether we will continue to trust His Word.
4. A society centred on self
The book of Judges describes a time when “every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6). The result was moral confusion and violence. Paul likewise warned Timothy about attitudes which would characterise “perilous times”: love of self, greed, pride, disobedience, lack of natural affection and love of pleasure rather than love of God.
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves ... lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;”
2 Timothy 3:1–4 • King James Version
The lesson is not asking us merely to criticise the world around us. These warnings should make us examine ourselves. Are our own choices being shaped by God’s Word, or simply by what seems right to us?
5. A time of trouble
Daniel connects a severe time of trouble with deliverance and resurrection. The original lesson used the instability of its own period as an example. The details of world crises change from one generation to another, but the prophetic picture remains: human rule will not solve the deepest problems of sin and death.
“And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time ... And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake ...”
Daniel 12:1–2 • King James Version
This is important because Daniel does not end with trouble. He looks beyond it to resurrection. The Bible’s message is therefore one of hope: God’s purpose does not end in human failure, but in His Kingdom.
Israel and the nations
Bible prophecy also directs attention to conflict surrounding Israel and Jerusalem. The original lesson points to the continuing hostility and warfare that have marked the region and to prophecies which speak of nations being drawn into a final crisis. Christadelphians understand passages such as Joel 3 and Zechariah 12–14 as pointing forward to divine intervention and the return of Christ.
The aim is not to predict every headline or to force each political event into a prophecy. The important point is that Israel, Jerusalem and the nations occupy the places in world affairs that Scripture said they would occupy as God’s purpose moves toward the Kingdom.
What should the signs do to us?
“Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,”
2 Peter 3:11 • King James Version
RESPONSE
WHAT IT MEANS
WATCH
Pay attention to the teaching of Jesus and the prophets without trying to set dates.
BELIEVE
Trust that God will keep His promises even when fulfilment seems delayed.
PREPARE
Order our lives now in readiness for the return of the Lord Jesus.
LIVE GODLY
Let the hope of the Kingdom change our behaviour, priorities and relationships.
The question is personal
Knowing about prophecy is not enough. The signs of Christ’s coming are intended to produce faithful disciples who are ready to meet him.
SUMMARY
What this lesson has shown
1
We do not know the date of Christ’s return.
Jesus said that the exact day and hour are known to the Father.
2
God has given signs.
Prophecy gives believers landmarks which encourage watchfulness and confidence.
3
Israel is an important sign.
The return of Jewish people, the re-establishment of Israel and the changed position of Jerusalem are significant in Christadelphian understanding of prophecy.
4
Jesus spoke of distress and fear.
World uncertainty and human inability to remove sin, violence and suffering fit the picture given in Luke 21.
5
The apostles warned of unbelief and self-centredness.
Scripture foretells rejection of sound teaching, scoffing and lives shaped by human desire rather than God.
6
Trouble is not the end of the story.
Daniel connects the time of trouble with deliverance and resurrection.
7
The signs call us to prepare.
The proper response is holy and godly living while we wait for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verses to read
Jeremiah 31:10 • Ezekiel 5:5 • Joel 3:1–2, 9–17
LEARN BY HEART • LUKE 12:40
“Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.”
Luke 12:40 • King James Version
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