Watch Out That You Are Not Deceived
WATCH OUT THAT YOU ARE NOT DECEIVED
LUKE 21:5-19
Jesus warned his disciples against some who would come with a false message.
The group was inside the building. The “goodly stones” were the marble walls; the gifts included a table from Ptolemy of Egypt, a chain from Agrippa, a golden vine from Herod. Tacitus, the Roman historian, who told of the siege of Jerusalem, called the temple a “shrine of immense wealth.” It was a shock to the hearers to be told that destruction awaited the mighty and beautiful place. But a “greater” had been rejected; judgment was inevitable (Deuteronomy 18:19; 32:35; Leviticus 26:31-33; 1 Kings 9:6-9; Micah 3:12).
The prophetic words of Christ gave a grim preview of terrible years which lay ahead. They telescope the centuries in the frequent fashion of prophecy, but have first in view the two dark generations of judgment which followed the rejection of Christ. The mad challenge to the might of Rome, in the days of the empire’s ruthless strength, was already taking shape in the time of Christ.
The warning of 21:8 is the core of this section. There was to be persecution, but delusion was a greater danger. Those who heed the Lord’s words will not readily be led astray by the heresy, exhibitionism and folly which have so often spoiled and marred the blessed hope of the coming of the Lord.
The special directions given to the persecuted were probably intended to meet their immediate need. There was no New Testament, with its rounded body of doctrine, no record of the experience of the church. Simple and unlettered men were often called upon to make their defense before the learned and the great, and the promise of the Spirit’s aid was intended for them, and for all who at all times were similarly challenged. The words are not meant to excuse those who are equipped and able to prepare from proper attention to defense and proclamation. God can and will guide in preparation as well as in utterance.
Notes 21:10-11: an earthquake ravaged Phrygia in AD 61; Vesuvius erupted disastrously in AD 63; worldwide famines occurred in the 50s and 60s; there was war in Britain, Parthia and Palestine; AD 69 saw four emperors (Nero died in AD 68). 21:12-17 all find fulfillment in the book of Acts.