devotional post # 2052

Luke 21:7-11

Luk 21:7 And they responded to him by asking, “Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”
Luk 21:8 And he said, “See that you are not led astray. Because many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is now!’ Do not go after them.
Luk 21:9 And when you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be startled, because these things must first take place, but the end will not be immediate.”
Luk 21:10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
Luk 21:11 There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and epidemics. And there will be holocausts and great signs from the sky.

overwhelmed with signs

Jesus had just said something no one in Jerusalem was prepared to hear. The temple—the pride of the nation, the center of worship, the symbol of God’s presence—would be torn down stone by stone. To the disciples, that could only mean one thing: the end of the world. In their minds, the destruction of the temple and the final judgment were inseparable. So they asked a complicated question, a question that mixed together two different events: “When will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”

Jesus would eventually answer the part about the temple’s destruction. He would give specific signs—armies surrounding Jerusalem, desolation approaching, a moment when escape would be the only wise response. Those signs belonged to their generation, and history shows they unfolded exactly as He said.

But before He addressed that, Jesus used their question to lift their eyes far beyond the fall of Jerusalem. He spoke about the long stretch of history between His ascension and His return. And He told them something they did not expect: the world would be full of signs—so many signs, in fact, that people would be tempted to misread them. Wars, earthquakes, famines, persecutions, false messiahs, cosmic disturbances—these would not be indicators that the end was immediate. They would simply mark the age we live in, the age before the end, the age of gospel proclamation.

Jesus’ warning was simple and pastoral: Do not let the signs distract you. Do not let them deceive you. Do not let them dominate your imagination. The signs are real, but they are not the point. They are reminders that history is moving toward a final climax, not signals that the finish line is seconds away.

We are living in the same age. The sky still shakes. Nations still rise and fall. The earth still groans. And every generation feels the tremors and wonders if the end is near. But Jesus tells us to keep our focus steady—not on the signs, but on the Savior. Not on speculation, but on proclamation. Not on fear, but on faithfulness.

Christ may return in our lifetime. He may come today. But the message of His first coming—the gospel of His kingdom—is what must occupy our hearts and shape our mission. The greatest sign from heaven has already appeared: the Son of God Himself, crucified, risen, and reigning.

LORD, You are the sign from the sky we are most interested in. Keep our eyes fixed on You.