What Does Luke 21:20-22 Mean? Surrounded by Armies; Flee to the Mountains; Fulfill What is Written

Jesus said, 

"For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled" (Luke 21:22).

He said, 

"all things which are written"

In Luke 21:1-36 Jesus was talking about many events which were to take place. He spoke of the destruction of Jerusalem, "the Son of Man coming in a cloud" and many other events. The desolation of Jerusalem is the defining event of the "days of vengeance". As you read on, please prayerfully consider what Jesus said.

Jesus said, "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand. ²¹ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let those who are in the middle of her depart. Let those who are in the country not enter therein. ²² For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled" (Luke 21:20-22).

According Eusebius, The Venerable Bebe, Charles Spurgeon and John Chrysostom, the Christians in Jerusalem believed the prophecy. When Roman armies began to surround Jerusalem in 70 AD, they fled the city. They fled "to the mountains". Those who remained in the city were starved, tortured and then massacred. But since the Christians had heeded the prophecy, they were spared. Over 1 million people were killed in Jerusalem at that time. Every person in Jerusalem was killed except for 97,000 who were sent into Egyptian mines or sent away to be killed in various theaters. When viewed as a percent of the Jewish population which was exterminated at that time and considering the viciousness of the methods used: torture, starvations, crucifixion and the sword, the holocaust of 70 AD was greater than the holocaust committed by Hitler (Victorious Eschatology by Harold Eberle and Martin Trench, 2008, p. 39-41, 43.)

So, when the armies of Rome surrounded and desolated Jerusalem in 70 AD, all things which were written were fulfilled. The scripture said, 

• "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let those who are in the middle of her depart. Let those who are in the country not enter therein. For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled" (Luke 21:20-22).

"That All Things Which are Written May be Fulfilled"

I will repeat the passage:

• Jesus said, "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand. ²¹ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let those who are in the middle of her depart. Let those who are in the country not enter therein. ²² For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled" (Luke 21:20-22).

Verse 22 said, 

"all things"

Jesus spoke these words in roughly 33 AD, shortly before He was crucified. His phrase "all things which are written" refers to the scriptures that had been written at that time, the Old Testament. None of the New Testament had been written at that time. So Jesus was not commenting about the New Testament. Now, history tells us that Jerusalem was "surrounded by armies" in 70 AD and destroyed. So, this passage is saying that the Old Testament was fulfilled on or before the "desolation" of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The Old Testament contained the Law and the Old Testament prophetic books like Daniel, Ezekiel and Isaiah. So, the Law and the Old Testament Prophecies were fulfilled by that time,  fulfilled on or before 70 AD.  

I will repeat the passage:

"For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled." 

Luke 21:22 

Remember that it said, 

"all things"

It said,

"all things which are written"

Some believe that only the Old Testament prophecies about the destruction of Jerusalem were fulfilled by 70 AD. But God did not write "that all things which are written about the destruction of Jerusalem may be fulfilled". So, God did not limit this statement to the fulfillment of prophecies about Jerusalem. Days earlier (Luke 20:1), Jesus said that when he came to Jerusalem "all the things that are written through the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be completed" (Luke 18:31). The "Son of Man" refers to Jesus himself. So, Jesus was saying that all things written through the prophets concerning himself would be fulfilled when he came to Jerusalem. He made a similar statement about himself in Luke 24:44, saying, "that all things which are written in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me must be fulfilled". He was in fact crucified, buried and then rose from the dead when he came to Jerusalem. But in Luke 21:22, Jesus did not say "all things which are written about the Son of Man" or  "me" or "all things which are written about Israel" or "about Jerusalem". He said "all things which are written". 

The Law and Prophets Have Been Fulfilled

• Jesus said, "Don't think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn't come to destroy, but to fulfill" (Matthew 5:17).

• Jesus said, "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand. ²¹ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let those who are in the middle of her depart. Let those who are in the country not enter therein. ²² For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled" (Luke 21:20-22).

In the first passage, Jesus said that he came to fulfill the law and the prophets. The law and the prophets were written at the time Jesus spoke those words. In the second passage he said that all things written would be fulfilled at the desolation of Jerusalem. History tells us that Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD. So, the law and the prophets were fulfilled on or before 70 AD.

The Law Has Been Replaced

The law (the law of Moses, also known as the old covenant) has been replaced by the new covenant of the Spirit... the new covenant which we celebrate at communion, as Jesus said,

• "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you" (Luke 22:220)

The Law contains the Ten Commandments and over 600 other rules handed down by Moses. In Galatians 3 we see that the law was added "until" the offspring came (3:19), that the offspring was Christ (3:16) and that the law was "a tutor to bring us to Christ" (3:23-25).  So, the law was intended to be temporary, until the coming of Christ, to bring people to Christ. 

Since Israel broke the Old Covenant (the law of Moses), God decided to make the New Covenant of the Spirit to replace the Old Covenant of Law. See Jeremiah 31:31-32, Hebrews 8:7, 10:9, Hebrews 7-10.  Here are some excerpts from those scriptures:

• "covenant of mine they broke"

• "I will make a new covenant"

• "if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second"

• "He takes away the first, that he may establish the second"

Click here to read an explanation of these passages in footnote three, at the bottom of that page. As I have written in that page, the Law has nothing to say to you if you are a believer. Footnote two in that page shows how Gentile Christians are offspring of Abraham and citizens of spiritual Israel. Scripture says that Christians are in the New Covenant of the Spirit, not the Old Covenant of Law. Click here to read more about this in subchapter A3 of the appendix titled, "After Pentecost: From the Law to the Spirit". 

By the way, though the new covenant has replaced the old covenant as the covenant between God and his people, that does not mean that the law has passed away. Scripture seems to indicate that the law will not pass away until heaven and earth pass away (Matthew 5:18). And heaven and earth pass away in Revelation 21:1, which appears to take place after the Millennial Kingdom and Great White Throne judgement in Revelation 20.

Let's return to Luke 21:20-22...

All things which were written at the time Jesus spoke those words in 33 AD were fulfilled on or before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. This includes the fulfillment of the law of Moses and the prophets. The old was fulfilled and we now live in the new covenant of the Spirit.

Old Testament Prophecies of the Millennial Kingdom?

As I wrote above, Jesus said that when he came to Jerusalem in 33 AD "all the things that are written through the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be completed" (Luke 18:31). Jesus also said regarding the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, "For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled" (Luke 21:22)

Luke 18:31 and Luke 21:22 tell us much about fulfillment and interpretation of Old Testament Prophecy. We have the express statements of scripture... the very statements of Jesus Christ himself... that there are no Old Testament prophecies about Jesus which were not fulfilled when he came to Jerusalem in roughly 33 AD (Luke 18:31)... that there are no Old Testament writings about anything which were not fulfilled by the time that Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD (Luke 21:20-22). 

Their are many Old Testament passages which some say are prophecies regarding the Millennial Kingdom, the one thousand year of Christ which is described in the New Testament in Revelation 20:1-5. I remember reading these Old Testament passages years ago... and doubting they had anything to do with the Millennial Kingdom described in Revelation 20:1-5 because nothing was said in those Old Testament passages about a one thousand year period. Well, now that I understand Luke 18:31 and Luke 21:22, I see that those Old Testament passages could not have pertained to the one thousand year reign of Christ in our future as described in Revelation 20:1-5... because all Old Testament prophecies about Jesus were fulfilled shortly after he entered Jerusalem in 33 AD (Luke 18:31)... and also because all things which were written at the time Jesus spoke Luke 21:22 were fulfilled by the time Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD.

So, any interpretations claiming that any OLD TESTAMENT prophecies were still unfulfilled after 70 AD are incorrect. This applies to the Millennial Kingdom and any other subject. 

Interpreters should prayerfully seek interpretations of OLD TESTAMENT scriptures which indicate fulfillment:

1) on or before the resurrection of Christ if the OT passage is claimed to pertain to Christ (Luke 18:31)... or 

2) on or before 70 AD if the OT passage is claimed to pertain to Jerusalem, the nation of Israel, the tribulation, 666, Ezekiel's Temple, Daniel's 70 weeks (Daniel 9:24-25), the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem and any other subject of OLD TESTAMENT prophecy (Luke 21:22). 

Implications for Other Old Testament Prophecies

Jesus said that he came to fulfill the prophets in Matthew 5:17 which you read above: "Don't think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn't come to destroy, but to fulfill". And since Luke 21:20-22 stated that "all things which are written" were fulfilled by the time Jerusalem was "surrounded by armies", an event which occurred in 70 AD... the Old Testament prophecies have been fulfilled. These words of God from Luke 21:20-22 contradict the opinions some who teach that some Old Testament prophecies have not yet been fulfilled to this very day, thousands of years after they were written. Please prayerfully consider what I am about to say.  

Are you believing the opinions of men... or the words of God? 

For example, some teach that Ezekiel 40 - 48, including its continual animal sacrifices, are prophesies pertaining to the future millennial kingdom. The millennial kingdom is the 1000 reign of Christ and the saints. It will occur after the resurrection (Revelation 20:1-6). The resurrection has not yet occurred. Ezekiel 40 - 48, which was written nearly six hundred years before Christ, can not be an unfulfilled prophecy which must occur after 70 AD because "all things which were written" were fulfilled by 70 AD, when Jerusalem was surrounded by armies and destroyed. 

For additional evidence that Ezekiel did not prophesy that a temple will be built in our future, and to provide a possible explanation for those chapters in Ezekiel, please consider the following: Although the phrase "1000 years" is mentioned six times in the description of the millennial kingdom in Revelation 20:1-6, that phrase is not mentioned once in the entire book of Ezekiel. The description of Ezekiel's temple does not say that it has anything to do with the millennial kingdom. The result of this incorrect teaching is a teaching of resumption of literal animal sacrifice in the temple in Jerusalem for the 1000 years of the millennial kingdom which occurs after the second coming. But since the temple was destroyed in 70 AD, it doesn't even exist. Advocates of this theory claim that the temple must therefore be rebuilt. The result of this logic is a horrific claim that in the 1000 year reign of Christ and his resurrected saints (Revelation 20:1-4), they will be conducting animal sacrifices... for 1000 years! But the scripture did not say that the temple which existed in the 33 AD would be rebuilt. In Jesus' prophecy of the destruction of the temple in Luke 21:5-6, Jesus said that the temple would be destroyed. He did not say that it would be rebuilt. It is far more consistent with all scripture to view Ezekiel 40 - 48 as presenting spiritual rather than literal realities, which were fulfilled prior to the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, according to Luke 21:20-22. Theologians would not have mistakingly taught that Ezekiel's temple will be built in our future if they had recognized that all old testament prophecy was fulfilled by 70 AD. They also would not have made this mistake if they had been careful to "not think beyond what is written" (1 Corinthians 4:6). Click here for a detailed analysis of Ezekiel's temple from another web site. 

Another example of an interpretation of Old Testament prophecy which is proved wrong by Luke 21:20-22 has to do with the great tribulation.  Some teach that there is a seven year tribulation, in the seventieth of seventy weeks in Daniel 9:24-27, which, according to these teachers, has not been fulfilled to this day. But Luke 21:20-22 indicates that all Old Testament prophecies, "all things which are written", were fulfilled by 70 AD, when Jerusalem was surrounded by armies and destroyed. That would include the seventy weeks of Daniel 9. 

Daniel's Seventy Weeks

• Jesus said, "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand. ²¹ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let those who are in the middle of her depart. Let those who are in the country not enter therein. ²² For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled" (Luke 21:20-22).

Some say that this passage only means that all things prophesied about Jerusalem were fulfilled by 70 AD... but they also believe that Daniel's seventy weeks have not yet been fulfilled. But, the seventy weeks were decreed for the "holy city", which was Jerusalem (Daniel 9:24-25). Furthermore, Daniel specifically includes a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem and the sanctuary (Daniel 9:26, 24-27). Luke also specifically mentions the destruction of Jerusalem in the above passage regarding the fulfillment of "all that is written (21:20). And Luke also mentions the destruction of the temple (21:5, 21:5-22), which occurred when Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD. So, Luke and Daniel are clearly referring to the same event. 

It is a contradiction to hold that all things written about Jerusalem were fulfilled by 70 AD, but that the seventy week prophecy written about Jerusalem in Daniel 9 has not been fulfilled. It is also a contradiction to hold that all things written about Jerusalem were fulfilled by 70 AD, but that the Old Testament prophecy of Ezekiel's temple in Jerusalem (Ezekiel 40-48) were not fulfilled by 70 AD. 

A simple calculation of the 490 years of Daniel's figurative 70 weeks from the date of Artaxerxes decree in 457 BC (Ezra 7:11-28) results in a conclusion of the 490 year period in 33 AD. Most scholars seem to place the crucifixion of Jesus in 30 or 33 AD. The 30 AD crucifixion date seems to fulfill the elimination of sacrifices in the middle of the 70th week from Daniel 9:27.  So, a 2000 year gap between the 69th and 70th week, as some suggest, is not necessary. A 2000 year gap is also neither included or inferred in the text of the Daniel 9 prophecy. In fact, Daniel 9 tells us that the atonement (crucifixion) was prophesied to occur in the 70th week. So, the 70th week has already occurred, since the crucifixion has already occurred. Again, there is no 2000 year gap between the 69th and 70th week. Daniel's prophecy has been fulfilled. To see how Daniel's seventy weeks may have been completely fulfilled in the first century, please click here.

Regarding Daniel's seventy weeks, Matthew Henry, in his famous commentary on the whole Bible which he wrote three hundred years ago, wrote the following: "these seventy weeks from which of the commandments to build Jerusalem we please, it is certain that they have expired above 1500 years ago". Matthew Henry's commentary received praise from the great Calvinists and Armenian preachers of times past like: George Whitefield, Charles Spurgeon and John Wesley. See Wikipedia on Matthew Henry.

Regarding Luke 21:22,  "that all things which are written may be fulfilled", Matthew Henry had this to say in his commentary:

"He foretels the terrible havoc that should be made of the Jewish nation (v.22): Those are the days of vengeance so often spoken of by the Old-Testament prophets, which would complete the ruin of that provoking people. All their predictions must now be fulfilled, and the blood of all the Old-Testament martyrs must now be required. All things that are written must be fulfilled at length. After days of patience long abused, there will come days of vengeance; for reprieves are not pardons."

Why Was Jerusalem Destroyed?

Jerusalem was destroyed because they "didn't know the time of"  their "visitation" (Luke 19:44, 28-46)... In other words, they rejected Messiah. 

Additional Information, Recap and Admonition

The first coming of Christ was completed in roughly 33 AD. Jerusalem was  destroyed in 70 AD because they rejected the Messiah (Luke 19:44, 28-46) and the temple was destroyed with the city. Since animal sacrifices could only be made in the temple at Jerusalem the sacrificial system ended. Many  transitions occurred in this period:  

• Fulfillment of all Old Testament Law and Prophecy 
• The end of the old covenant of law 
• The beginning of the new covenant of the Spirit 
• Indwelling of all believers with the Holy Spirit
• The Kingdom was transferred from Israel to a nation producing kingdom fruit* (the "Born Again",  Matthew 21:43, 1 Peter 1:3, 2:9-10) 
• The "Born Again" become the chosen people* (1 Peter 2:9-10)

* When we consider the phrase "you were not a people, but now are God's people" in 1 Peter 2:10 and correlate it with Romans 9:25 , Romans 10:19, Hosea 1:10 and Hosea 2:23, we see that the phrase refers to believing Gentiles who in 1 Peter 2:9-10 are called "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession... God's people". The phrases "chosen race", "royal priesthood", "holy nation" and "God's people" include believing Gentiles and Spiritual Israel (only the remnant of Israel is saved, Romans 9:27). Spiritual Israel would be those Israelites who believed in the Messiah (Born Again). So, the Kingdom was transferred from Israel to the "nation" (the Born Again) and the Born Again are the chosen people (bullets 5 and 6 above). Jews and Gentiles who believe in Christ are the chosen people. Unlike the old covenant, everyone in the new covenant knows God (Hebrews 8:11, 8-13). In the new covenant, unbelieving Jews are not the chosen people. The chosen people referred to in 1 Peter 2:9-10 are those who are born again (1 Peter 1:3). 

Lets return to Luke 21:20-22. Since Luke 21:20-22 states that "all things which are written" were fulfilled by the time Jerusalem was "surrounded by armies" in 70 AD, the Old Testament prophecies and the law of Moses have been fulfilled. The law has been replaced by the new covenant of the Spirit. 

But there are some Christians who live by rules (by law) instead of walking by the Spirit... Though being in the new covenant of the Spirit, they live as if they are in the old covenant. They are satisfied with living by written rules instead of obeying the voice of the Holy Spirit in the age of the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 3:7, John 14:16,17,26). Click here to learn about the age of the Holy Spirit. They are satisfied with the old, but the two covenants will not mix.

• "He also told a parable to them. "No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old garment, or else he will tear the new, and also the piece from the new will not match the old. No one puts new wine into old wine skins, or else the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wine skins, and both are preserved. No man having drunk old wine immediately desires new, for he says, 'The old is better.'" (Luke 5:36-39).

To begin living in the reality of the new covenant... and to learn how to interact prayerfully with God's word, click here to read the introduction and first subchapter of this book. To learn how to walk by the Spirit, click here. 

Each of us should be making disciples, so that we will ready at the second coming of Christ, since God's word says:

• "Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don't expect, the Son of Man will come. Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has set over his household, to give them their food in due season?" (Matthew 24:44-45).

Click here for more on this verse... to learn that all Christians should be making disciples... and to learn how to make disciples. Jesus said that it is easy... and it is. We follow the example of Christ and the apostles, we repeat the words of the Father and pray.

The remaining sections of this page will enhance your understand of scriptural prophecy. An exegesis (explanation) of Luke 21 is in the last section.

Listen to Joshua

The promise of complete fulfillment at a specified time in Luke 21:20-22 may be similar to Joshua 23:14. Joshua 23:14 states that all of God's promises to Israel, which he had made up to that time, had been fulfilled in the days of Joshua even though all of the land promised in Joshua 1:1-4 was not yet conquered (Joshua 23:1-5, especially 4-5). In other words,  some of God's promises have been fulfilled when, at first glance, they do not appear to have been fulfilled. 

Click here for an explanation of these incredibly important passages from Joshua... You will see how scripture communicates that God's promises have been fulfilled when they do not appear to have been fulfilled, because many of God's promises are conditional, subject to the condition of obedience.

Contingent Nature of National Prophecy

According to Jeremiah 18:5-10, God may not execute His prophecy regarding a "NATION OR KINGDOM", based on the conduct of the nation or kingdom. This does not mean that God will change His prophecy regarding the rapture, resurrection, second coming, eternal paradise, etc. Jeremiah 18:5-10 expressly states that it pertains to prophecies regarding a "NATION OR KINGDOM". We should not "think beyond what is written" (1 Corinthians 4:6).

So, this passage from Jeremiah tells us that God may not execute prophecies regarding a "NATION OR KINGDOM", based on the conduct of the "NATION OR KINGDOM". 

This has great significance. Those who claim that certain prophecies regarding particular nations must come to pass, have not recognized the contingent nature of national prophecies. This includes Israel. 

This change on God's part is not arbitrary. It is based on a change in the people of the nation which God has proclaimed a prophecy. 

In summary, Jeremiah 18:5-10 says that God may not execute His prophecy REGARDING A NATION OR KINGDOM, based on the conduct of the nation or kingdom. Here is the passage. It speaks for its self.

"Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, "Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?" declares the Lord. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it' (Jeremiah 18:5-10).

Section Summary

Luke 21:20-22 tells us that all Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled on or before the destruction of Jerusalem. Any Old Testament prophecies regarding any nation, including Israel, which was not fulfilled by that time, was not fulfilled because of a change in God’s prophecy, based on the conduct of that nation, in accordance with Jeremiah 18:5-10. We should not expect fulfillment of Old Testament national prophecies regarding a nation of Israel, or any other nation, after 70 AD.

If you have been taught differently, now is a moment of decision... will you trust in the opinions of men or will you trust in the word of God. Jeremiah 17:5 says:

• "Cursed is the man who trusts in man, relies on strength of flesh, and whose heart departs from Yahweh" (Jeremiah 17:5).

Translation Issues: 

Everlasting or Indefinite Continuance?

The Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek. Some of these original words are sometimes translated as "everlasting" or "forever", when possibly they should be translated to infer indefinite continuance. Strong's words 5769 and 165 are examples in the Old Testament and New Testament, respectively.

Contradictions are sometimes created in some passages by rendering those words as "everlasting" or "forever". For example:

"You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to me in the priest's office. Their anointing shall be to them for an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations" (Exodus 40:15).

The priesthood of Aaron (Exodus 40:12-15) was not eternal. It was of indefinite duration.  Christ replaced it. We do not have the sons of Aaron performing sacrifices or any priestly duties in the Christian church. Neither do present day Jews. Nowhere in the pages of the New Testament do we see a continuation of Aaronic priesthood. See Hebrews 7:1-10:18, especially 7:12, 8:4-5 and 9:11-14. Instead of the sons of Aaron being priests, all Christians are priests! See 1 Peter 2:9.

In Depth Study: Everlasting or Indefinite Continuance?

The difference between eternal and indefinite continuance, and the proper translation of certain words in the Old and New Testament regarding that difference is treated here. 

For those of you who are interested in a detailed study of this subject written by a theologian who is expert in both Hebrew and Greek, see the analysis below by Joseph Rotherham from the introduction to his translation of the Bible, The Emphasized Bible. The remainder of this page, is devoted to Rotherham's scholarly examination of this topic, which was published in 1902. 

As I quote Rotherham below, you will see some phrases, in bold text. Those phrases are in Rotherham's appendix, but not in bold print. But, I have rendered them in bold text below to make it easier for you to understand Rotherham's  point of view. 

I present below two entries from the appendix to Rotherham's Emphasized Bible:

• AGE
• AGE-ABIDING

Here is Rotherham's treatment of the subject:

AGE

To trace the Biblical development of the Ages is to gain a point from which many far-reaching observations may be made. The first thing to note is, that the idea of an "age" is one of comparatively slow growth. The Biblical parent of the Greek aion is the Hebrew olâm, and the root conception of olâm is concealed duration. Concealed duration is naturally unknown and unbounded; and it should be carefully remembered that it is from this radical conception of the nouns olâm and aion that the force of the qualifying terms l'olâm and aionios springs. (See below on Age-abiding.) The second thing to observe is, that duration does not fall into "ages" until it acquires character, and there is a transition of the times from one character into another. Only by degrees can a period round itself off into a "golden age," and then, by some observable transition, the time become so changed as to appear as only a "silver age" in comparison; or "an age of barbarism" undergo such an amelioration as to become gradually merged into "an age of civilisation." Accordingly it is not till we get far on in the O.T. that we meet with olâmim in the plural. The third thing to notice is, that "ages" may be so modified by local conditions as to vary with country and sphere; so that the ages in different lands may be far from simultaneous. While one country is advancing in civilisation or religion, another may be receding. A golden age may not be world-wide; a barbaric period may not afflict all lands at once and an age of activity in one direction may be an age of stagnation or retrogression in another. In fine, ages may overlap and interlace and interchange; and the result may be one of the utmost complexity, calling for the most thoughtful and guarded discrimination. "The patriarchal age" may, for the Hebrews, be changed into "the Mosaic," and yet for other nations remain patriarchal still. "The Mosaic age" naturally affects those only who come under Moses. It is folly for Gentiles to speak as if they had once been under Moses if they never were. The fourth point of importance is, that only as a change of age is supernaturally superinduced can we assume to characterise a given age as a divine dispensation. It cannot be affirmed that God has placed under Moses nations whom at the same time he is "suffering to walk after their own ways " (Ac. xiv. 16). The fifth consideration that arises is, that larger ages may include smaller ones. The larger age of Mosaism may embrace the smaller ages of the Judges, of the Kings, of the Dispersions. The final Christian age may resolve itself into the age of the Church, to be followed by the age of the Kingdom. Nay, we may go further and affirm, that all ages, up to a given point, may be predominantly evil, and then, from that point onward, be wholly or prevailingly good. When the foregoing factors of thought have been patiently digested, the student to whom the subject is new may find it comparatively easy to accommodate his mind to the crowning discrimination which can he traced in the Christian Scriptures, and in tracing which the eye will rest on the following land-marks. "This age" and "the coming" are terms which describe a distinction which runs through the New Testament (Mt. xii. 32; Eph. i. 21). (i.) "This Age" is characterised as one of anxieties (Mk. iv. 19); of a commingling of good seed and bad in the field sown by the Son of Man (Mt. xiii. 24-30, 36-43); of persecutions (Mk. x. 30); of need for nonconformity (Ro. xii. 2; Tt. ii. 12); of the crucifying of the Lord of glory by its rulers (1 Co. ii. 8); or the deification of Satan (2 Co. iv. 4); of the prevalence of evil (Gal. i. 4, cp. Eph. ii. 2; 2 Tim. iv. 10). (ii.) "The coming age" will be signalised by the forthshining of the glory of the Lord (Tt. ii. 13; 1 Co. xv. 23); the resurrection from among the dead (Lu. xx. 35); the bestowal of age-abiding life (Mk. x. 30; Lu. xviii. 30); and the forthshining of the righteous in the kingdom (Mt. xiii. 39, 43).—"The conclusion of the age" is spoken of in Mt. xiii. 39, 40, 49; xxiv. 3; xxviii. 20; "the conjunction of the ages," Heb. ix. 26; and "the ends of the ages," 1 Co. x. 11. (Cp. note on "Age-abiding" below.)

AGE-ABIDING

Age-abiding: that is, lasting for an indefinite or perpetual age; or abiding from age to age. The reasons for adopting this rendering of the Greek adjective aionios are: 

(i.) to keep up a close connection with the word "age" as the translation, in this New Testament, of the cognate noun aion; and (ii.) to avoid, as too restricted, the confinement of the idea to any particular, limited age. It is true that aion does not of itself mean absolute eternity, otherwise it would not submit to be multiplied by itself, as in the familiar phrase "aions of aions," which would then be equivalent to "eternities of eternities"; and it is further true that, in the history of divine revelation, aion sometimes puts a dispensational limit upon itself, so far as that the dawn of a new aion or "age" serves to close and exclude an old aion or "age," the end of which was aforetime concealed in the mists of an undefined futurity (cp. note on "Age," above). But, with all this, it is most important to remember that "age" is not the primary meaning of aion: rather,  Moreover, it seems to be as clothed with this more primitive significance, that the qualifying word aionios comes into use.   The noun aion itself clings to this fundamental notion in the well-known idiomatic phrase eis ton aiona (lit. "into" or "unto the age"); in the interpretation of which, if the force of idiom he ignored, and each word be pressed on its individual merits, the reader will be continually teased by feeling that he is being referred to some particular and pre-eminent age, which ought to be well known, while all the time it is unknown. He may say: "'Unto the age' —unto what age?" and there will be nothing in context or circumstance to tell him; whereas, once assume the existence of an idiom, and then all perplexity is at an end —l'olâm, aionios and eis ton aiona become very nearly equivalent expressions, the essence of which is "indefinite continuance." The Hebrew servant's bondage, for example, is to be indefinitely prolonged: it is to be for life—the end of which cannot be seen (Exo. xxi. 6). So also the Hebrew priesthood was appointed for indefinite continuance, when as yet it could not be foreseen that a change in the priesthood would necessitate a change in the law (Exo. xl. 15; He. vii. 12). The surrender of Samuel, by his mother, to the priestly service is to be taken as equally undefined (1 S. i. 22). To the barrenness of the fig-tree no limit can be assigned (Mt. xxi. 19). The son does not cease to be welcome in his father's house, save by externally induced bounds to possibility (Jn. viii. 35). Upon the "aionion correction" (Mt. xxv. 46) no arbitrary limit can be laid,—unless indeed the essential nature of "correction" implies it—aionios of itself utterly refuses to settle the dread question. If the equally "aionion life" is to be endless, that is best made out from the mighty negatives of Scripture ("immortal," "incorruptible," "unfading": 1 Co. xv. 51-54; 1 P. i. 4), and from the correlative promise. "Because I live ye also shall live" (Jn. xiv. 19; He. vii. 16).

An Exegesis of Luke 21: The Spiritual Generation View

The Spiritual Generation View of Luke 21 and Matthew 24 is an interpretation of the phrase "this generation" which occurs in Matthew 24:34 and Luke 21:32. You may read about that view by clicking here. Based on scriptures in that page "this generation" is understood to be a spiritual generation, spanning thousands of years, rather than a physical generation of forty years. Only a spiritual generation could be the "generation" which could be guilty of "all the righteous blood shed on the earth" over the thousands of years since Adam and Eve's son Able was murdered by Cain (Matthew 23:35-36).

Exegesis

• 21:1-6 Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple.

• 21:7 The Disciples ask two questions: 1) When will the temple be destroyed? 2) What will be the signs of of that destruction?

• 21:8-19 Things that will precede the destruction of Jerusalem. Between the resurrection of Christ in roughly 33 AD and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD, many claimed to be the Messiah^* (21:8) and wars occurred^* (21:9-10): Jewish wars in Seleucia, Caesaria and Alexandria, civil war in Rome^* and Roman wars with Britain and the Parthian empire (current day Iran) over Armenia. In this period also there were famines^* (21:11) and earthquakes^* (21:11) in Pompeii, Colossae, Smyrna, Miletus, Chios, Samos, Laodicea, Heirapolis, Campania, Crete, Rome and Judea^*. There was persecution (21:12-19). * See Victorious Eschatology by Eberle and Trench, pp 20-26

• 21:20-24 The destruction of Jerusalem (and the temple). Because of the intense suffering resulting in the death of 90% of Jerusalem's inhabitants in 70 AD, this tribulation will never be surpassed. Daniel's prophecies are completely fulfilled with the destruction of Jerusalem according to Luke 21:20-22. The destruction of Jerusalem in Luke 21:20-21 are the "days of vengeance" that fulfill "all things which are written" (Luke 21:22). Obviously, the book of Daniel was written at the time Jesus spoke those words. 

• 21:24 Transition from their question about the destruction of Jerusalem to the second coming of Christ. "Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled" (Luke 21:24).

• 21:25-33 Second Coming of Christ. This includes the rapture and resurrection of believers to meet Jesus in the clouds (Revelation 14:14-16). Click here for more information. Just before the rapture, God's children will see Jesus in the clouds (21:27). Then they will know that their "redemption is near" (21:28) and that "God's kingdom is near" (21:31). This redemption must be the fulfillment of prophecies about "redemption of our body" at our "adoption" mentioned in Romans 8:23 and also the "day of redemption" mentioned in Ephesians 4:30. I can't see the redemption of Romans 8:23 and Ephesians 4:30 as being anything other than the resurrection, when bodies of saints will rise from the dead. So, the resurrection appears to be the event described in Luke 21:28 as "your redemption is near". God's kingdom (Luke 21:31) will begin in the millennium, which begins immediately after Armageddon, which occurs immediately after the second coming / rapture / resurrection. 

I understand the word "you" in verses 28, 30, 31, 32, 34 and therefore in 36 to mean THE GENERATION OF GOD. So, I understand it to mean that the GENERATION OF GOD, which spans thousands of years, will see "these things". "These things" (21:31) could refer to 21:25-27 or 21:8-27.  "This generation" in 21:32, the generation of Satan, is about to "pass away" in 21:33. It will not pass away until "all things are accomplished (21:32). Christ second coming occurs as He touches the earth to execute the judgement at Armageddon (Revelation 14:17-20; 19:17-21). The generation of Satan passes away at this time. To see why Revelation 14:17-20 and 19:17-21 both address the same period of time, click here to read the subchapter titled, "Chronology and Organizational Structure in the Book of Revelation".

• 21:34-36 Warning to be ready for his coming. We will "be ready" if we are making disciples when He comes. Click here to learn how to "be ready" for Christ's return. Christ said that it is easy. It is.

In the Spiritual Generation view, "this generation", the generation of Satan, will not pass away until all events mentioned in 21:8-27 have occurred. And, those addressed as "you" in Luke 21, being understood as the GENERATION OF GOD, did and will see what Luke 21 said that the GENERATION OF GOD would see.

For an exegesis of the companion passage to Luke 21, Matthew 24, click here and look to the second to last section on that page.