Luke 21:5-9 · Bible study

Luke 21:5-9 Commentary: Jesus Predicts the Temple's Destruction

Greek · 10 what the commentators say

Meaning in one sentence

In Luke 21:5-9, Jesus shocks his disciples by foretelling the temple's fall and warns them about false messiahs and the need to stay watchful.

Research Summary

Meaning: Jesus responds to admiration of the temple by predicting its complete destruction, then warns against deception and fear.
Key words: ἀναθήμασιν (consecrated gifts, unique in NT), ἀκαταστασίας (commotions/unsettlements), βλέπετε μὴ πλανηθῆτε (watch that you are not led astray).
Main debate: Whether the prophecy refers solely to AD 70 or also to the final end of the age.
Theological theme: The transience of human structures vs. the permanence of God’s kingdom; call to watchfulness.
Best use: Teaching about Christian response to crisis and discernment of false teaching.

Translation Comparison

BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020

⁵As some of the disciples were remarking how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and consecrated gifts, Jesus said,

⁶“As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

⁷“Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”

⁸Jesus answered, “See to it that you are not deceived. For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.

⁹When you hear of wars and rebellions, do not be alarmed. These things must happen first, but the end is not imminent.”

WEB World English Bible 2000

⁵As some were talking about the temple and how it was decorated with beautiful stones and gifts, he said,

⁶“As for these things which you see, the days will come in which there will not be left here one stone on another that will not be thrown down.”

⁷They asked him, “Teacher, so when will these things be? What is the sign that these things are about to happen?”

⁸He said, “Watch out that you don’t get led astray, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is at hand.’ Therefore don’t follow them.

⁹When you hear of wars and disturbances, don’t be terrified, for these things must happen first, but the end won’t come immediately.”

KJV King James Version 1769

⁵And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said,

⁶As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

⁷And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?

⁸And 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.

⁹But 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.

ASV American Standard Version 1901

⁵And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and offerings, he said,

⁶As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in which there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

⁷And they asked him, saying, Teacher, when therefore shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when these things are about to come to pass?

⁸And he said, Take heed that ye be not led astray: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am he; and, The time is at hand: go ye not after them.

⁹And when ye shall hear of wars and tumults, be not terrified: for these things must needs come to pass first; but the end is not immediately.

YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898

⁵And certain saying about the temple, that with goodly stones and devoted things it hath been adorned, he said,

⁶`These things that ye behold--days will come, in which there shall not be left a stone upon a stone, that shall not be thrown down.'

⁷And they questioned him, saying, `Teacher, when, then, shall these things be? and what is the sign when these things may be about to happen?'

⁸And he said, `See--ye may not be led astray, for many shall come in my name, saying--I am he , and the time hath come nigh; go not on then after them;

⁹and when ye may hear of wars and uprisings, be not terrified, for it behoveth these things to happen first, but the end is not immediately.'

Darby Darby Bible 1890

⁵And as some spoke of the temple, that it was adorned with goodly stones and consecrated offerings, he said,

⁶[As to] these things which ye are beholding, days are coming in which there shall not be left stone upon stone which shall not be thrown down.

⁷And they asked him saying, Teacher, when then shall these things be; and what [is] the sign when these things are going to take place?

⁸And he said, See that ye be not led astray, for many shall come in my name, saying, I am [he], and the time is drawn nigh: go ye not [therefore] after them.

⁹And when ye shall hear of wars and tumults, be not terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end is not immediately.

Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899

⁵And some saying of the temple that it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said:

⁶These things which you see, the days will come in which there shall not be left a stone upon a stone that shall not be thrown down.

⁷And they asked him, saying: Master, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign when they shall begin to come to pass?

⁸Who said: Take heed you be not seduced: for many will come in my name, saying: I am he and the time is at hand. Go ye not therefore after them.

⁹And when you shall hear of wars and seditions, be not terrified. These things must first come to pass: but the end is not yet presently.

Verse in Context

3 He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow put in more than all of them,

4 for all these put in gifts for God from their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, put in all that she had to live on.”

5 As some were talking about the temple and how it was decorated with beautiful stones and gifts, he said,

6 “As for these things which you see, the days will come in which there will not be left here one stone on another that will not be thrown down.”

7 They asked him, “Teacher, so when will these things be? What is the sign that these things are about to happen?”

8 He said, “Watch out that you don’t get led astray, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is at hand.’ Therefore don’t follow them.

9 When you hear of wars and disturbances, don’t be terrified, for these things must happen first, but the end won’t come immediately.”

10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

11 There will be great earthquakes, famines, and plagues in various places. There will be terrors and great signs from heaven.

Original Language (Koine Greek)

New Testament · Koine Greek · Luke 21:5

Καί Kai G2532 And

τινων tinōn G5100 as some

λεγόντων legontōn G3004 were speaking

περὶ peri G4012 about

τοῦ tou G3588 the

ἱεροῦ hi'erou G2411 temple

ὅτι hoti G3754 that

λίθοις lithois G3037 with stones

καλοῖς kalois G2570 goodly

καὶ kai G2532 and

ἀναθήμασιν anathēmasin G0334 with consecrated gifts

κεκόσμηται kekosmētai G2885 it has been adorned

εἶπεν· eipen G2036 He said;

Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.

Scholars' Consensus

Commentators across traditions agree that Jesus’ prophecy of the temple’s destruction was literally fulfilled in AD 70. Adam Clarke notes that ‘not one stone was left upon another’ was literally accomplished. The disciples, as Barnes explains, were awe-struck by the temple’s beauty, its stones and votive offerings (ἀναθήμασιν, a word appearing only here in the New Testament, per Vincent’s Word Studies). Yet Jesus immediately redirects their focus from the visible to the coming ruin. The main interpretive consensus holds that the disciples’ question in v.7 conflates the temple’s fall with the end of the age. Cambridge Bible observes that Jesus ‘leaves the former question unanswered’ and addresses only the need for vigilance. Gill and Matthew Henry both stress that the warning against deception (v.8) is central: false messiahs will claim, ‘I am he,’ and declare the time is near. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown point to the Greek εὐθέως (immediately) in v.9: the end (τέλος) does not follow these events straight away. The wars and disturbances (ἀκαταστασίας, ‘commotions’ or ‘unsettlements,’ as Vincent defines) are birth pangs, not the final hour itself. Thus scholars agree that these verses serve as a pastoral caution against both over-eager expectation and paralyzing fear.

How settled is the interpretation?

Interpretive difficulty: Medium

Main views:

Preterist: Prophecy fulfilled in AD 70; the 'end' means the end of the Jewish age.
Futurist: Parallel to Matthew 24; these events prefigure the final tribulation at the end of history.
Both/Already-Not Yet: The fall of Jerusalem is a type of the final judgment; the passage applies to both horizons, calling for continual watchfulness.

What is clear: Jesus commands his followers to stay watchful, to reject false teachers who claim immediate imminence, and to trust that the final end is not signaled by wars or disturbances alone.

What Scholars Agree and Debate

Topic	Agreed	Debated
The referent of 'these things' in v.7	It primarily refers to the temple destruction.	Whether it also includes the end of the age.
The false messiahs in v.8	They claim Jesus’ identity and announce the time is near.	Whether they are historical figures (e.g., for AD 70) or future end-times antichrists.
The timing of the 'end'	It is not immediately after wars and disturbances.	'End' means the destruction of Jerusalem or the final judgment and consummation.
The command 'do not be terrified'	Christians are to trust God and not give in to fear.	Whether this implies stoic indifference or active spiritual preparation.

Historical & Cultural Context

The temple in Jesus’ day was a source of immense pride for the Jewish people. Originally rebuilt under Zerubbabel after the exile, it had been heavily expanded by Herod the Great. The structure was faced with massive white stones, some reportedly over forty cubits long (Wesley notes this from an eyewitness). It was decorated not only with fine stonework but with consecrated gifts (ἀναθήματα), votive offerings from rulers and warriors. Barnes mentions a golden vine given by Herod that hung over the entrance, while Vincent describes other dedications from Augustus and his wife. Josephus records that the temple mount appeared like a snow-covered mountain from a distance. Jesus’ prediction that ‘not one stone will be left on another’ would have struck his hearers as impossible. As Adam Clarke remarks, the prophecy was fulfilled when the Roman army under Titus destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70. The historian Josephus records that despite Titus’s desire to spare the temple, it was ultimately burned and its stones thrown down. The Cambridge Bible cites both Josephus and Tacitus as giving the best commentary on the wars and ‘commotions’ (ἀκαταστασίας) that preceded the fall. Literarily, this passage follows Jesus’ commendation of the widow’s offering (21:1-4). The contrast is deliberate: eternal devotion versus temporary stones. The scene shifts to the Mount of Olives (Mark 13:3), where Jesus sits opposite the temple. The setting reinforces the distance between mere human grandeur and divine perspective. The disciples’ question, ‘when will these things be? what is the sign?’, reveals a common Jewish expectation that the temple’s destruction would usher in the messianic age. Jesus corrects this by saying that these events are not the final end but part of a longer sequence. The surrounding context (vv. 10-19) describes persecutions that will come ‘before all these things,’ further separating the temple’s fall from the final consummation.

Textual Notes

The consulted sources note no significant textual variants. A minor variant is the omission of οὖν (‘therefore’) in v.8 in some manuscripts (Lange marks it omitted), but the sense is unchanged. The passage is textually stable across the major Greek manuscripts.

Reception History

Early Christian writings saw the temple’s destruction as fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy and as divine judgment. Throughout church history, this passage has been used to caution against date-setting and false christs. Reformation commentators emphasized the spiritual lesson: do not trust in external religious observances or buildings. In many liturgical traditions, Luke 21:5-9 is read during Advent, a season that calls believers to watchfulness. Modern interpreters often read it as both a past judgment and a pattern for the end, a double horizon that keeps the church alert without speculating on times.

Preaching This Verse

Three-point outline

Admiration Misplaced (vv.5-6). The disciples admire the temple’s beauty; Jesus shocks them by predicting its complete destruction. The stones and gifts ‘you are gazing at’ (present tense θεωρεῖτε, Vincent) will be thrown down. This shows how quickly human pride in religious structures can be shattered.
Deception Deadly (vv.7-8). They ask for ‘when’ and ‘what sign.’ Jesus does not give a date but issues a warning: ‘watch that you may not be led astray.’ Many will claim to be Christ and declare the time is urgent. The danger is not just that they are wrong but that they sound like the real thing.
Fear Overcome (v.9). Wars and commotions (ἀκαταστασίας) will come, but ‘do not be terrified.’ The end is not immediate; these events are necessary steps, not the finish line. This frees believers from both panic and idle speculation.

Five-point outline

Look beyond visible religious splendor, it will not last. The temple’s grandeur is passing.
Expect judgment on structures that have lost their soul. God does not spare buildings that have become monuments to human pride.
Discern false teachers who misuse Jesus’ name to claim his identity or set dates. ‘I am he’ is a claim to be the Messiah himself, not just a messenger.
Refuse panic when news of wars and social disorder fills the headlines. The ακαταστασία (unsettlement) of nations is not the final word.
Hold steady in patient endurance; God is still in control. The delay of the end is God’s mercy, not his absentmindedness.

Illustration hooks

A historic cathedral with stained glass and carved stone that will one day crumble. The true church is not the building but the people, and no earthquake or army can destroy that.
Online videos where speakers claim special revelation about the end times and urge followers to sell everything. Jesus says ‘do not follow them.’ Time-stamp predictions have come and gone, but the warning stands.
The daily news cycle of conflicts and protests that tempt us to think the world is ending tomorrow. But Jesus says these are not the immediate end. They are like labor pains, not the delivery itself.

Questions your congregation is asking

How can I tell if a teacher is a false messiah or simply mistaken about the end times?
Should I be worried when I hear about wars and rebellions? What does it mean that these must happen first?
If the end is not immediate, how should I live in the meantime? What does patient endurance look like practically?

Leading a Discussion

When the disciples admired the temple, Jesus redirected their gaze from stone to spirit. This passage calls us to examine where we place our security and how we respond to frightening events. Wars and false claims will come, but Christians are called to patience and discernment, not panic.

Discussion questions

Why did the disciples focus on the temple’s appearance? What does their question in v.7 reveal about their expectations of the Messiah?
Jesus says ‘not one stone will be left on another.’ How does this fulfill Old Testament warnings such as 1 Kings 9:7-9?
In v.8, Jesus warns against being led astray. What kinds of deception did he foresee, and how might they appear today?
How does Jesus’ command ‘do not be terrified’ shape the way Christians should process world events?
Jesus says wars and disturbances ‘must happen first, but the end is not immediately.’ How does this correct both panic and complacency?
In what areas of your life do you tend to trust visible and impressive things rather than God’s unseen kingdom?
How can this passage help you pray for the church’s endurance, not just its comfort?

What the Commentators Say

8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.

Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826

Clarke emphasizes a crucial Greek distinction often missed in translation: the word rendered gifts (anathema) refers to things consecrated for sacred use, while a near-identical term (anathema) means something devoted to a curse. A single vowel difference, he notes, separates blessing from cursing. He also interprets those coming in Jesus' name as usurpers claiming the Messiah's title.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832

Barnes takes the "times of the Gentiles" as a limited period of Gentile domination over Jerusalem that will end when God determines. He holds open the possibility that converted Jews may rebuild the city, but insists that eventually all pagan and anti-Christian rule will cease and the city will again be a place of true worship.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880

The

Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748

Gill stresses that the false Christs would claim to be Jesus himself, not merely his representatives, and that their message of imminent deliverance from Rome was the deception. He also distinguishes between external wars and internal seditions among the Jews, noting that despite these upheavals the end would not come immediately.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871

JFB stresses that the full glory of the kingdom is not imminent. Believers should not be misled by those claiming Christ's immediate return, because worse events must come before the end arrives. He will not come so very soon, and the final end is not immediate.

Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857

Lange argues

Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710

Henry notes that even Christ's own disciples were captivated by the temple's outward beauty and costly decorations. Their admiration prompts Jesus to warn that not one stone will be left upon another, a stark reminder that earthly splendor cannot withstand divine judgment.

Vincent's Word Studies Evangelical 1887

Vincent focuses on the Greek word for offerings, used only here in the New Testament, and notes its connection to dedicated votive gifts like the golden vines and wreaths placed in the temple. He also distinguishes it from the similar word for something devoted to evil or accursed, showing how language gradually separated the two meanings.

Word Study

The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.

ἀνάθημα anathēma a vow offering G0334 · Greek → εἶπον eipon to say G2036 · Greek → ἱερόν hieros temple G2411 · Greek → καί kai and G2532 · Greek → καλός kalos good G2570 · Greek → κοσμέω kosmeō to arrange G2885 · Greek → λέγω legō to say G3004 · Greek → λίθος lithos stone G3037 · Greek → ὁ ho the/this/who G3588 · Greek → ὅτι hoti that/since: that G3754 · Greek → περί peri about G4012 · Greek → τις tis one G5100 · Greek →

Cross-References

Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)

Matthew 24:1	Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way. His disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple.
Matthew 24:51	and will cut him in pieces and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. That is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.
Mark 13:1	As he went out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, see what kind of stones and what kind of buildings!”
Mark 13:37	What I tell you, I tell all: Watch!”
John 2:20	The Jews therefore said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple! Will you raise it up in three days?”
I Kings 9:7	then I will cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and I will cast this house, which I have made holy for my name, out of my sight; and Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples.
I Kings 9:9	and they will answer, ‘Because they abandoned Yahweh their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and worshiped them, and served them. Therefore Yahweh has brought all this evil on them.’”
II Chronicles 7:20	then I will pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have made holy for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.

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