What Did Jesus Mean By The Days Of Vengeance?
In Luke 21:20-24, Jesus spoke about the days of vengeance.
Luke 21:20-24 (NKJV)
“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”
When Jesus spoke to first-century Israel about the days of vengeance, he was reaching back into the old covenant law and prophets concerning judgments upon them for their violations to the law as indicated in the following verses:
Leviticus 26:25
And I will bring the sword on you to avenge the breaking of the covenant.
Deuteronomy 31-32 is the Song of Moses containing the words of God concerning judgment on the last generation of old covenant Israel, which was the generation who saw Jesus do miracles and heard Jesus teach, leading up the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in AD 70.
Deuteronomy 32:34-35
“Have I not kept this in reserve and sealed it in my vaults? It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.”
Deuteronomy 32:40-41
I lift my hand to heaven and solemnly swear: As surely as I live forever, when I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand grasps it in judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries and repay those who hate me.
Deuteronomy 32:43
Rejoice, you nations, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants [Israel who accepted Jesus as the Christ]; he will take vengeance on his enemies [Israel who rejected Jesus as the Christ] and make atonement for his land and people.
The prophet Isaiah foretold the day of God’s vengenace which the Christ would proclaim.
Isaiah 61:1-2
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God…
Jesus was the Christ who proclaimed the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of God’s vengeance.
Luke 4:16-19
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
At the beginning of the ministry of Jesus to Israel, he proclaimed the year of the Lord’s favor, meaning the grace of God toward Israel before he brought the final old covenant judgments upon them.
The year of the Lord’s favor was the time Israel had to believe in Jesus as the Christ before these judgments came.
At the end of Jesus’ ministry to Israel, Jesus proclaimed the days of God’s vengeance that would come upon them.
Luke 21:22 (NKJV)
For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
The days of vengeance spoken of by Jesus was the fulfillment of Leviticus 26:25, Deuteronomy 31-32, Isaiah 61:2.
Let’s read about the days of vengeance upon first-century Israel who rejected Jesus as the Christ and killed those who believed.
Luke 21:5-6
Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.”
Luke 21:7
“Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen [the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple]? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”
Luke 21:20-24 (NKJV)
“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies [in 66 AD Roman general Cestius Gallus surrounded Jerusalem during the Jewish-Roman War], then know that its desolation is near. 21Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. 22For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land [of Israel] and wrath upon this people [Christ-rejecting first-century Israel]. 24And they will fall by the edge of the sword [see Leviticus 26:25, 33; Deuteronomy 32:25, 41, 42], and be led away captive into all nations [see Leviticus 26:33, 38; Deuteronomy 4:27 and Deuteronomy 28: 36, 64, and 68]. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled [the Roman armies tramples on Jerusalem for 42 months, Spring 67 – September 70 - see Revelation 11:2].
The vengeance of God upon old covenant Israel occurred from AD 66 – 70 during the Jewish-Roman War.
The Book of Revelation foretold this vengeance to the first-century believers to prepare them for what must soon take place in their lifetimes.
Revelation 1:1
The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place (compare with Luke 21:5-6).
Revelation 18:20 (Weymouth New Testament)
Rejoice over her, O Heaven, and you saints and Apostles and Prophets; for God has taken vengeance upon her [Jerusalem] because of you."
Revelation 19:1-2 (BSB – Compare with Deuteronomy 32:34-35, 40-41, 43)
After this I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude in heaven, shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God! For His judgments are true and just. He has judged the great prostitute [Jerusalem] who corrupted the earth with her immorality. He has avenged the blood of His servants that was poured out by her hand.
The avenged blood of the servants are the believers in the first-century, such as Stephen in Acts 7, killed by unbelieving Israel.
These slain believers prayed for vengeance (righteous judgment) upon their killers.
We read about this in Revelation 6:9-11.
Revelation 6:9-11
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth [Young’ Literal Translation has land, meaning the land of Israel] and avenge our blood?” Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.
The Parable of the Persistent Widow (Luke 18:1-8) is about the prayers of the first-century saints in Israel praying for vengeance upon their killers – old covenant, Christ-rejecting, first-century Israel.
NOTE: To watch Brad’s teaching on The Parable of the Persistent Widow – CLICK HERE
NOTE: For resources on when Revelation was written, click on the link below.
NOTE: For Brad’s Books on Revelation, CLICK HERE.
