What is the meaning of Luke 21:35?

For it will come

• Jesus has just warned, “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down… and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare” (Luke 21:34).

• “It” refers to the climactic “day” of divine reckoning—the sudden unveiling of God’s judgment and Christ’s return (Luke 21:27; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10).

• Because the Lord’s words are certain, the event is not a possibility but a fixed reality: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away” (Luke 21:33).

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upon all

• No one is exempt; the scope is universal. Just as “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), so all will face the consequences of that sin unless sheltered in Christ.

• Universal reach echoes other prophecies: “He causes all, both small and great… to receive a mark” (Revelation 13:16), showing end-times events touch every social class and nation.

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who dwell

• The phrase points to people settled into everyday life, focused on the here and now—like those in Noah’s day who “were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage” (Matthew 24:38).

• Revelation repeats the expression: “those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 3:10), highlighting a mindset anchored in earthly security instead of heavenly hope.

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on the face

• This vivid picture reminds us that God sees the entire human scene: “The eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

• From the first pages of Scripture—“the waters continued to increase and lift the ark high above the earth” (Genesis 7:17)—judgment has a visible, worldwide imprint.

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of all the earth

• The reach is global, just as Isaiah foresaw: “Terror and pit and snare await you, O inhabitant of the earth” (Isaiah 24:17-18).

• Jesus promises protection only for those who “keep My command to endure” (Revelation 3:10). Everyone else remains exposed to the coming wrath (Revelation 6:15-17).

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summary

Luke 21:35 underscores the inescapable, worldwide nature of the day of the Lord. The judgment Jesus foretells is certain (“it will come”), comprehensive (“upon all”), directed at settled earth-dwellers absorbed in temporal life (“who dwell”), openly displayed (“on the face”), and reaches every corner of humanity (“of all the earth”). The verse urges readiness, watchfulness, and reliance on Christ as the only safe refuge when that day arrives.