The Meaning of Luke 21:6 Explained

Luke 21:6

KJV: As 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.

YLT: 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.'

Darby: 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.

ASV: As 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

[As 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. 

What does Luke 21:6 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Luke"s record of Jesus" reply is almost identical to what the other evangelists recorded. Jesus predicted the complete destruction of the temple (cf. Luke 19:44; Mark 14:58; John 2:19; Acts 6:14). His following explanation shows that He was speaking of a destruction in the Tribulation primarily.

Context Summary

Luke 21:5-19 - Days That Try Men's Souls
When we ask speculative questions, the Master bids us take heed to ourselves. His predictions in this passage were literally fulfilled in the events which culminated in the siege and fall of Jerusalem, forty years afterward. "The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together," and through these throes and agonies mankind steps up to a new level of experience. The devil will not surrender his kingdom, any more than the bodies of men, without a grievous rending first: but there is a mightier than he.
The Church is called to follow her Lord. No easier path than His may she choose. Where there is no outward suffering there may be the inner cross and the death to all that the soul had once prized. Jesus has always stood beside His own wherever they have been called to witness for the truth; and the testimony given by His witnesses has reached the great ones of the earth and reverberated through courts and palaces. In suffering our souls become searched as by fire. We learn to know ourselves and to come into possession of an experience and a self-knowledge with which only suffering could have endowed us. [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 21

1  Jesus commends the poor widow
5  He foretells the destruction of the temple, and of the city Jerusalem;
25  the signs also which shall be before the last day
34  He exhorts them to be watchful

Greek Commentary for Luke 21:6

As for these things [ταυτα]
Accusative of general reference. [source]
One stone upon another [λιτος επι λιτωι]
Stone upon stone (locative). Here both Mark 13:2; Matthew 24:2 have επι λιτον — epi lithon (accusative). Instead of ουκ απετησεται — ouk aphethēsetai (future passive) they both have ου μη απετηι — ou mē aphethēi (double negative with aorist passive subjunctive). It was a shock to the disciples to hear this after the triumphal entry. [source]
Behold [θεωρεῖτε]
See on Luke 10:18. [source]
Thrown down []
See on Mark 13:2. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 21:6

Acts 5:38 It will come to naught [καταλυθήσεται]
Lit., be loosened down. Used of the dilapidation of the temple (Luke 21:6), and of the dissolution of the body under the figure of striking a tent (2 Corinthians 5:1). See on Mark 13:2. [source]
Revelation 11:1 Like a rod [ομοιος ραβδωι]
See Revelation 2:27; Mark 6:8 for ραβδος — rabdos one said “Saying” (present active masculine participle of λεγω — legō) is all that the Greek has. The participle implies εδωκεν — edōken (he gave), not εδοτη — edothē a harsh construction seen in Genesis 22:20; Genesis 38:24, etc.Rise and measure (εγειρε και μετρησον — egeire kai metrēson). Present active imperative of εγειρω — egeirō (intransitive, exclamatory use as in Mark 2:11) and first aorist active imperative of μετρεω — metreō In Ezekiel 42:2. the prophet measures the temple and that passage is probably in mind here. But modern scholars do not know how to interpret this interlude (Revelation 11:1-13) before the seventh trumpet (Revelation 11:15). Some (Wellhausen) take it to be a scrap from the Zealot party before the destruction of Jerusalem, which event Christ also foretold (Mark 13:2; Matthew 24:2; Luke 21:6) and which was also attributed to Stephen (Acts 6:14). Charles denies any possible literal interpretation and takes the language in a wholly eschatological sense. There are three points in the interlude, however understood: the chastisement of Jerusalem or Israel (Revelation 11:1, Revelation 11:2), the mission of the two witnesses (Revelation 11:3-12), the rescue of the remnant (Revelation 11:13). There is a heavenly sanctuary (Revelation 7:15; Revelation 11:19; Revelation 14:15, etc.), but here ναος — naos is on earth and yet not the actual temple in Jerusalem (unless so interpreted). Perhaps here it is the spiritual (Revelation 3:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:4; 1 Corinthians 3:16.; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:19.). For altar (τυσιαστηριον — thusiastērion) see Revelation 8:3. Perhaps measuring as applied to “them that worship therein” (τους προσκυνουντας εν αυτωι — tous proskunountas en autōi) implies a word like numbering, with an allusion to the 144,000 in chapter 7 (a zeugma). [source]
Revelation 11:1 Rise and measure [εγειρε και μετρησον]
Present active imperative of εγειρω — egeirō (intransitive, exclamatory use as in Mark 2:11) and first aorist active imperative of μετρεω — metreō In Revelation 11:1-1302. the prophet measures the temple and that passage is probably in mind here. But modern scholars do not know how to interpret this interlude (1713285142_3) before the seventh trumpet (Revelation 11:15). Some (Wellhausen) take it to be a scrap from the Zealot party before the destruction of Jerusalem, which event Christ also foretold (Mark 13:2; Matthew 24:2; Luke 21:6) and which was also attributed to Stephen (Acts 6:14). Charles denies any possible literal interpretation and takes the language in a wholly eschatological sense. There are three points in the interlude, however understood: the chastisement of Jerusalem or Israel (Revelation 11:1, Revelation 11:2), the mission of the two witnesses (Revelation 11:3-12), the rescue of the remnant (Revelation 11:13). There is a heavenly sanctuary (Revelation 7:15; Revelation 11:19; Revelation 14:15, etc.), but here ναος — naos is on earth and yet not the actual temple in Jerusalem (unless so interpreted). Perhaps here it is the spiritual (Revelation 3:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:4; 1 Corinthians 3:16.; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:19.). For altar (τυσιαστηριον — thusiastērion) see Revelation 8:3. Perhaps measuring as applied to “them that worship therein” (τους προσκυνουντας εν αυτωι — tous proskunountas en autōi) implies a word like numbering, with an allusion to the 144,000 in chapter 7 (a zeugma). [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 21:6 mean?

[As to] these things which you are beholding will come [the] days in which not will be left stone upon stone here which not will be thrown down
Ταῦτα θεωρεῖτε ἐλεύσονται ἡμέραι ἐν αἷς οὐκ ἀφεθήσεται λίθος ἐπὶ λίθῳ (ὧδε) ὃς οὐ καταλυθήσεται

Ταῦτα  [As  to]  these  things 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.
θεωρεῖτε  you  are  beholding 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: θεωρέω  
Sense: to be a spectator, look at, behold.
ἐλεύσονται  will  come 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Middle, 3rd Person Plural
Root: ἔρχομαι  
Sense: to come.
ἡμέραι  [the]  days 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Plural
Root: ἡμέρα  
Sense: the day, used of the natural day, or the interval between sunrise and sunset, as distinguished from and contrasted with the night.
ἀφεθήσεται  will  be  left 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀφίημι 
Sense: to send away.
λίθος  stone 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: λίθος  
Sense: a stone.
ἐπὶ  upon 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐπί  
Sense: upon, on, at, by, before.
λίθῳ  stone 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: λίθος  
Sense: a stone.
(ὧδε)  here 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ὧδε  
Sense: here, to this place, etc.
καταλυθήσεται  will  be  thrown  down 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: καταλύω  
Sense: to dissolve, disunite.