The Meaning of Luke 21:8 Explained

Luke 21:8

KJV: 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.

YLT: And 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;

Darby: And 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.

ASV: And 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Luke 21:8 Mean?

Study Notes

And he said
See note on the Olivet discourse.
Tell us
The beginning of the Olivet Discourse
Matthew 24 with Luke 21:20-24 answers the threefold question. The order is as follows: "when shall these things be?"--i.e. destruction of the temple and city. Answer: Luke 21:20-24 .
Second and third questions: "And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the age?" Answer: Matthew 24:4-33 .
Matthew 24:4-14 have a double interpretation: They give:
(1) the character of the age--wars, international conflicts, famines, pestilences, persecutions, and false Christs (cf) Daniel 9:26 .
This is not the description of a converted world.
(2) But the same answer ( Matthew 24:4-14 ) applies in a specific way to the end of the age, viz. Daniel's seventieth week. Daniel 9:24-27 . (See Scofield " Daniel 9:24 ") .
All that has characterized the age gathers into awful intensity at the end. Matthew 24:14 has specific reference to the proclamation of the good news that the kingdom is again "at hand" by the Jewish remnant Isaiah 1:9 ; Revelation 14:6 ; Revelation 14:7 . (See Scofield " Romans 11:5 ") .
Matthew 24:15 gives the sign of the abomination, (See Scofield " Daniel 9:27 ") , the "man of sin," or "Beast" 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8 ; Daniel 9:27 ; Daniel 12:11 ; Revelation 13:4-7 .
This introduces the great tribulation Psalms 2:5 . (See Scofield " Revelation 7:14 ") , which runs its awful course of three and a half years, culminating in the battle of See Scofield " Revelation 19:19 " at which time Christ becomes the smiting Stone of Daniel 2:34 .
The detail of this period ( Matthew 24:15-28 ) is:
(1) The abomination in the holy place ( Matthew 24:15 );
(2) the warning ( Matthew 24:16-20 ) to believing Jews who will then be in Jerusalem;
(3) the great tribulation, with renewed warning as to false Christs ( Matthew 24:21-26 );
(4) the sudden smiting of the Gentile world-power ( Matthew 24:27 ; Matthew 24:28 );
(5) the glorious appearing of the Lord, visible to all nations, and the regathering of Israel ( Matthew 24:29-31 );
(6) the sign of the fig-tree ( Matthew 24:32 ; Matthew 24:33 );
(7) warnings, applicable to this present age over which these events are ever impending ( Matthew 24:34-51 ). Philippians 4:5 .
Careful study of Daniel 2, 7, 9, and Revelation 13 will make the interpretation clear. See, also, "Remnant" ( Isaiah 1:9 ; Romans 11:5 ).

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 21:8

That ye be not led astray [μη πλανητητε]
First aorist passive subjunctive with μη — mē (lest). This verb πλαναω — planaō occurs here only in Luke though often in the rest of the N.T. (as Matthew 24:4, Matthew 24:5, Matthew 24:11, Matthew 24:24, which see). Our word planet is from this word. [source]
The time is at hand [ο καιρος ηγγικεν]
Just as John the Baptist did of the kingdom (Matthew 3:2) and Jesus also (Mark 1:15).Go ye not after them (μη πορευτητε οπισω αυτων — mē poreuthēte opisō autōn). First aorist passive subjunctive with μη — mē A needed warning today with all the false cries in the religious world. [source]
Go ye not after them [μη πορευτητε οπισω αυτων]
First aorist passive subjunctive with μη — mē A needed warning today with all the false cries in the religious world. [source]
Deceived []
Rev., rightly, led astray. See on Matthew 24:4. [source]
In my name []
See on Matthew 18:5. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 21:8

Mark 13:5 Take need that no man lead you astray [λεπετε μη τις μας πλανησηι]
Same words in Matthew 24:4. Luke 21:8 has it “that ye be not led astray” This word πλαναω — planaō (our planet) is a bold one. This warning runs through the whole discussion. It is pertinent today after so many centuries. About the false Christs then and now see Matthew 24:5. It is amazing the success that these charlatans have through the ages in winning the empty-pated to their hare-brained views. Only this morning as I am writing a prominent English psychologist has challenged the world to a radio communication with Mars asserting that he has made frequent trips to Mars and communicated with its alleged inhabitants. And the daily papers put his ebullitions on the front page. For discussion of the details in Mark 13:6-8 see notes on Matthew 24:5-8. All through the ages in spite of the words of Jesus men have sought to apply the picture here drawn to the particular calamity in their time. [source]
Luke 21:9 First [Πρωτον]
It is so easy to forget this and to insist that the end is “immediately” in spite of Christ‘s explicit denial here. See notes on Matthew 24:4-42; note on Mark 13:1-37 for discussion of details for Luke 21:8-36, the great eschatological discourse of Jesus [source]
Philippians 3:2 Beware [βλέπετε]
Lit., look to. Compare Mark 4:24; Mark 8:15; Luke 21:8. [source]
Revelation 6:12 The sixth seal []
“The Apocalypse is molded by the great discourse of our Lord upon 'the last things' which has been preserved for us in the first three Gospels (Matthew 24:4; 25.; Luke 21:8-36; compare 17:20-37). The parallelism between the two is, to a certain extent, acknowledged by all inquirers, and is indeed, in many respects, so obvious, that it can hardly escape the notice of even the ordinary reader. Let any one compare, for example, the account of the opening of the sixth seal with the description of the end (Matthew href="/desk/?q=mt+24:29&sr=1">Matthew 24:29, Matthew 24:30), and he will see that the one is almost a transcript of the other. It is remarkable that we find no account of this discourse in the Gospel of St. John; nor does it seem as sufficient explanation of the omission that the later Evangelist was satisfied with the records of the discourse already given by his predecessors” (Milligan). [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 21:8 mean?

- And He said Take heed lest you be led astray many for will come in the name of Me saying I am [He] and The time is drawn near Not go after them
δὲ εἶπεν Βλέπετε μὴ πλανηθῆτε πολλοὶ γὰρ ἐλεύσονται ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματί μου λέγοντες Ἐγώ εἰμι καί καιρὸς ἤγγικεν μὴ πορευθῆτε ὀπίσω αὐτῶν

  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
εἶπεν  He  said 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
Βλέπετε  Take  heed 
Parse: Verb, Present Imperative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: βλέπω  
Sense: to see, discern, of the bodily eye.
μὴ  lest 
Parse: Adverb
Root: μή 
Sense: no, not lest.
πλανηθῆτε  you  be  led  astray 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Passive, 2nd Person Plural
Root: πλανάω  
Sense: to cause to stray, to lead astray, lead aside from the right way.
πολλοὶ  many 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: πολύς  
Sense: many, much, large.
ἐλεύσονται  will  come 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Middle, 3rd Person Plural
Root: ἔρχομαι  
Sense: to come.
ὀνόματί  name 
Parse: Noun, Dative Neuter Singular
Root: ὄνομα  
Sense: name: univ.
μου  of  Me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
λέγοντες  saying 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
εἰμι  am  [He] 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
καιρὸς  time 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: καιρός  
Sense: due measure.
ἤγγικεν  is  drawn  near 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἐγγίζω  
Sense: to bring near, to join one thing to another.
πορευθῆτε  go 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Passive, 2nd Person Plural
Root: πορεύομαι  
Sense: to lead over, carry over, transfer.
ὀπίσω  after 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ὀπίσω 
Sense: back, behind, after, afterwards.