“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:28).
Introduction
Luke 21:28. Such a beautiful verse for the Christian who’s eagerly anticipating their blessed hope (Titus 2:13) – our Lord and Savior, Messiah Yeshua – when Christ comes back to earth to fetch His beloved bride! And like so many of my brothers and sisters in the Lord, we are all fervently watching and waiting for our Savior.
But should we be “looking up and lifting up our heads”? Is this delightful verse truly speaking of the rapture of the church? Or might there be a duality of purpose, as so many other prophetic passages of Scripture have? That is, is there a plurality of purposes that could be applied to this treasured verse in a couple of different prophetic scenarios?
For decades, I have always thought of this passage as an exclusively church-orientated observation, cited by our Lord, to the soon-coming call to meet our Savior in the air. But do I now? Should you? Should we?
(For a more complete understanding of what we are going to be looking at, please read The Parable of the Fig Tree for clarity.)
When we did our study on The Parable of the Fig Tree, I noted that in the Matthew account of the Olivet Discourse, Christ used the following words:
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
“And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
“Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors“ (Matthew 24:29-33). (emphasis mine)
When Christ says, “So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors,” He would be referring to “all these things” in the immediate context of at least the last three verses, which include His Second Coming of verses 29-31 and The Parable of the Fig Tree, which is the young state of the nation of Israel, sometime after her rebirth. This would cover the entirety of our Lord’s discourse up until His Second Coming. It is that generation that sees “all these things” that will know His Second Coming is drawing near.
(Again, this is all detailed in The Parable of the Fig Tree, and many answers to questions for why I believe the Lord made this very interesting statement are illuminated in that article.)
Linking Luke 21:28 to Matthew 24:33
Here’s what we observed in The Parable of the Fig Tree regarding the linking of these two verses in relation to the Second Coming:
“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; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh“ (Luke 21:25-28). (emphasis mine)
[Note: We shouldn’t get caught up in the “when you see these things begin” versus “when you shall see all these things” because they are essentially synonymous. The last seven vial judgments that come upon the earth at the end of the Tribulation are going to be in rapid succession, and the destructive power of each judgment will be over just as soon as they begin.]
Just as in the Matthew account, Luke 21:25-27 is speaking exclusively to the conditions of the world just as Christ is preparing to come back at His Second Coming. The last thing He says is, “And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory,” signifying His Second Coming.
In the very next verse (Luke 21:28) – a verse commonly employed by those in the church – Christ says, “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” What things? The condition of the world just mentioned in Luke 21:25-27, when Christ comes back to earth at His Second Coming:
“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; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21:25-27).
This is very complimentary to Matthew 24:29-31 and Mark 13:24-26, both of which come immediately before The Parable of the Fig Tree.
Immediate Context
The most obvious reason that I made these connections to Yeshua’s statements and the surrounding passages is because of the doctrine of “immediate context,” which is a very important tool for the Bible student to use in their studies of Scripture.
Whenever we see something in Scripture that seems to be confusing us, we always need to go directly to what the previous verses/passages were conveying. In the immediate context of Luke 21:28, we see the conditions of the world at the end of the Tribulation and the Second Coming of Christ, followed by The Parable of the Fig Tree and the last generation.
It should also be noted that the parallel verse for Matthew 24:33 is Luke 21:31 – both of which are within The Parable of the Fig Tree. But in regard to Luke 21:28 – “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” – this is a standalone passage, only found in Luke’s account, and comes immediately after the Second Coming verse.
‘Redemption’ in the Greek
The Greek word for “redemption” is 629 ἀπολύτρωσις “apolutrósis” and means release effected by payment of ransom; redemption, deliverance.
This word is also used in the famous Hall of Faith chapter in Hebrews, where it is said of those of faith:
“Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection” (Hebrews 11:35).
Here, “apolutrósis” is translated “deliverance” — many people of faith “were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection.” Note that, in this usage, we are seeing a physical deliverance, which, of course, Israel will receive when Christ comes back to earth after the Tribulation.
We see this same sentiment when it comes to the Second Coming in the Tanakh (Old Testament) when Christ comes as Israel’s Redeemer:
“Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob” (Isaiah 60:16).
The Hebrew word for “Redeemer” is 1350 גָּאַל “gaal” and means to redeem, act as kinsman. This is the same essence of the Greek word for redemption and is equally applied to Israel’s redemption at the Second Coming as it is to the church at the rapture of the church.
In all of this – and as we always stress – the proper translation of any given word, in any language, should always be dictated by context.
Looking Into the Possibility of ‘Duality of Purpose’
Next, we would like to look into the idea of what I refer to as duality of purpose when it comes to Luke 21:28 and see if we can, indeed, see a potential of this verse being applicable to the rapture of the church.
Because of The Parable of the Fig Tree and its relationship to Israel’s youth as a nation after her rebirth and the last generation, it seems we can conjecture that there may be a duality of purpose involved.
But this duality of purpose isn’t as clearly defined for us as we might think or desire. The reason for this is because we have to dissect Luke’s account of Christ’s Olivet Discourse in order to see if there are any pre-rapture events that may be found that will clearly link Christ’s statement to not only His Second Coming but to the rapture itself. If we can find an obvious link, then we should be able to declare a duality of purpose for Christ’s statement in Luke 21:28 and apply it equally to both the Second Coming and the rapture of the church.
Please, allow me to explain what I mean.
Let’s look at Luke 21:28 once more:
“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:28) (emphasis mine)
“When these things begin to come to pass…” What things?
If we are to attempt to apply this verse to the rapture, then we must answer the question of “what things” is Christ speaking of when it comes to pre-rapture events. In order to do this, we must look at the entire account of the Olivet Discourse in Luke’s gospel.
Are “these things” in verses 8-9?
“And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by” (Luke 21:8-9).
Well, we’ve had many people claim to be Christ – not to mention the “Christ-consciousness” of the New Age movement – for basically the entire church age. Also, Christ assures us that all of this was not near to the Tribulation because He said, “… the end is not by and by.”
How about verses 10-11?
“Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven” (Luke 21:10-11).
Even though we’ve seen these things throughout human history, I do think we can definitely add these two verses to “when these things begin to come to pass,” as they seem to be ramping up.
But “when these things begin to come to pass” certainly does not apply to the following verses, with the qualifier, “But before all these…”
“But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake. And it shall turn to you for a testimony.
“Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.
“And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.
“And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. But there shall not an hair of your head perish. In your patience possess ye your souls” (Luke 21:12-19).
Luke 21:12-19 seems directed primarily to the disciples themselves but has also been the experience with the universal persecution of the church for the past 2,000 years. Just a cursory look at how Saul (later to be the Apostle Paul) oppressed the church in the book of Acts shows how the early disciples were already being persecuted in just this way.
Verses 20 on – through the passages we have been looking at – are all about the Tribulation, from the Abomination of Desolation through to the Second Coming, all of which the church will not be present on the earth to experience.
Let’s remind ourselves what these verses say, as they are our immediate context.
“And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
“But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Luke 21:20-24).
What we just read is the Abomination of Desolation that leads to the Great Tribulation (the last three and one-half years of the seven-year Tribulation) and the subsequent rule of the Gentiles, through the Antichrist, over Jerusalem, Judea, and the entire 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; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21:25-27).
Here, we see the conditions of the heavens and the earth at the end of the Tribulation that align with the seven vial judgments of Revelation 16. All of this, in the immediate context, leads to our study verse:
“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:28).
Therefore, verses 10-11 are the only verses in Luke’s account that could ever be applied to the rapture of the church up unto Christ’s statement in Luke 21:28, “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”
That’s a pretty limited accounting of Scriptural reference passages that could be applied to the rapture of the church with Christ’s statement in Luke 21:28! Not to mention that the lead-up to Luke 21:28 is the Abomination of Desolation, the Great Tribulation, and the vial judgments at the end of the Tribulation that give us the conditions of heaven and earth at Christ’s Second Coming.
Concluding Thoughts
I really do understand how we, as the body of Christ, can desire to see this beautiful verse as signifying for us to be looking up as we see the events of the Tribulation coming up on the horizon.
I even noted in The Parable of the Fig Tree:
I do think that it is fine for the church to use this popular colloquial [Luke 21:28], even though it was meant for the Jews; after all, the church uses countless Old Testament passages for her comfort, edification, and encouragement that were originally written by, and for, the people of Israel.
In my personal investigative opinion, though – based on immediate context, general context, target audience, and the structural outline of the Olivet Discourse in Luke’s account – there is no doubt that Luke 21:28 is a Second Coming passage meant to encourage the Jews just before Christ’s coming deliverance for them at the end of the Tribulation.
In every account of the Olivet Discourse found in the synoptic gospels, Christ was speaking to His disciples as Jews until the cut-off line, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” From then on, in each account of the Olivet Discourse, we should rejoice that Jesus Was the First to Teach the Rapture and spoke to His disciples as the bride of Christ that they were. These three synoptic gospel Olivet Discourse rapture passages that He taught on are found in Matthew 24:36-51, Mark 13:32-37, and Luke 21:34-36.
As I frequently point out to my brothers and sisters in Christ, when those who belittle you and mock you for your anticipant joy of your blessed hope and refer to you as nothing but an “escapist,” kindly remind them with love and grace that that is exactly what Christ commanded us to be praying for.
“Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:36).
Because we have been looking at Luke’s account and understand that Luke 21:28 wasn’t meant for us, the church, but to the Jews at His Second Coming, I wanted to remind the body of Christ that we have so many other glorious passages of Scripture that speak to our hearts and spirits of Yeshua’s soon-coming rapture of his watching and waiting bride.
Just because Luke 21:28 wasn’t meant for us shouldn’t, in any sense of the word, cause us any consternation. Let it not be so! We should never, ever feel this way. After all, no other entity in God’s creation has these amazing and precious promises that have been lovingly bestowed to us in Christ Jesus!
Can the Christian appropriate Luke 21:28 for themselves and the rapture of the church? Let each be convinced in their own mind if this is, indeed, acceptable and appropriate. For me, I don’t intend to.
But because I’ve used this verse in the past – and may very well, unintentionally, use this verse in the future (I’m getting older, you know) – I’ll attempt to sign off with these three words: “Keep looking up!”
Or better yet – and more accurately – with these words, “Keep waiting and watching for our blessed Savior, Jesus Christ!”
And why we watch and wait, may we all continue to be Answering the Call of The Great Commission and giving an answer to every man and woman who so desperately needs Jesus and asks us, “Why Am I Here and What Is It All About?”
Love, grace, mercy, and shalom in Messiah Yeshua, and Maranatha!
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