SUBJECT:  Luke 21:8

QUESTION:  This verse seems to state that one is a false minister if he proclaims that the time of Christ’s return draweth near.  Would this not make Mr. Armstrong a false minister according to this verse?

ANSWER:

No, it does not.

Verse in question:

Luke 21:8
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.
 

For Mr. Armstrong to come under this verse, he would have had to express BOTH key elements of this warning:

1) the false person would say he was Christ
2) the false person would say the time draweth near.

There is nothing, in and of itself that would indicate that saying the time is near makes for a false person, false prophet or false minister.  Indeed, we see the subject of the time drawing near in different places of the New Testament.  In Matthew 24:3 we see the disciples wanting to know the signs of the coming of Christ and the end of the age and Christ spends what we call two chapters (24-25) answering that one specific question and then tells them to WATCH.  In those same verses Jesus says,...

Matthew 24:14

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
 

What gospel?  Well, the good news of His coming and the signs to watch for.  Matthew 24 and 25 is part of that gospel message.

Now in the New Testament, we see the Epistle of James.  Notice

James 1:1
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
 

James 5:8
Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
 

I give you James 1:1 to establish that James is writing the letter.  In chapter 5, verse 8 what does he say?  "for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh."  CLEARLY establishing that Luke 21:8 is speaking to a situation in which BOTH elements thereof are present, i.e., it must be a false Christ saying (lying) that the time is near.  It is a given that a person who would say he was Christ would be lying.  Now, in that verse, the phrase speaking to the time drawing near is a general statement to the gospel.  The gospel is and has always been about the time drawing near.  Paul thought that Christ would return in his lifetime.

Need more?  Read these...

Philippians 4:5
Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

Hebrews 10:25
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Hebrews 10:37
For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.

James 5:9
Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.

1 Peter 4:7
But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

So now we add to James, Paul and Peter speaking to the time drawing near.

This should be more than enough confirmation that Luke 21:8 is not saying that a gospel spreader is a false minister if he mentions that the time is near.

MORE ON Luke 21:8

Luke 21 corresponds to Matthew 24.  One is the account of what Jesus said on the Mt. of Olives by Luke and the other by Matthew.

Notice the verse in Luke 21 with the one in Matthew 24

Luke 21:8
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.
 

Matthew 24:5

For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

Two accounts of the same utterance from Christ. 

Notice the commentary on Matthew 24:5 as it will give clarity to the meaning...
 

Matthew 24:4-5
I am Christ - I am the Messiah. See the notes at Matthew 1:1. The Messiah was expected at that time, Matthew 2:1-2. Many would lay, claims to being the Messiah, and, as He was universally expected, multitudes would easily be led to believe in them. There is abundant evidence that this was fully accomplished. Josephus informs us that there were many who pretended to divine inspiration; who deceived the people, leading out numbers of them into the desert. "The land," says He "was overrun with magicians, seducers, and impostors, who drew the people after them in multitudes into solitudes and deserts, to see I the signs and miracles which they promised to show by the power of God." Among these are mentioned particularly Dositheus, the Samaritan, who affirmed that He was Christ; Simon Magus, who said He appeared among the Jews as the Son of God; and Theudas, who persuaded many to go with him to the river Jordan, to see the waters divided. The names of 24 false Messiahs are recorded as having appeared between the time of the Emperor Adrian and the year 1682. ~from Barnes' Notes

It is clear that the meaning of the verse it to someone saying they are Christ and preaching a whole host of lies.  There is, as I said nothing that would support the idea that some one is a false minister because he talks about the end time or says the end is near.

 
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