The Meaning of Luke 21:33 Explained

Luke 21:33

KJV: Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

YLT: the heaven and the earth shall pass away, but my words may not pass away.

Darby: The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but my words shall in no wise pass away.

ASV: Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Heaven  and  earth  shall pass away:  but  my  words  shall  not  pass away. 

What does Luke 21:33 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Heaven and earth is a merism for the universe. Jesus meant that the universe would someday end (cf. Revelation 21:1), but His Word would not end (cf. Luke 16:17; Psalm 102:25-27; Psalm 119:160; Isaiah 40:6-8; Isaiah 51:6; Matthew 5:18). This is a strong way of affirming the certainty of what He had just predicted. It also implied that Jesus had divine authority.

Context Summary

Luke 21:29-38 - The Need Of Constant Watchfulness
The summer of the world is yet before us! This is but the springtide, when the seeds are beginning to sprout, but the winds are cold. Ah, halcyon days of unbroken summer glory, make haste to break!
In a limited significance, our Lord's words were fulfilled within forty years of their utterance; but we are still to see how much more is contained in them than has yet been realized. In the meanwhile let us beware of His warning. Note that cares endanger our soul's health equally with surfeiting and drunkenness. It is impossible to live as we should apart from constant watching and prayer. The snare is so deftly laid that we may be entangled in it, before we are fully aware. But, oh how great the honor to be one day accounted "to stand before the Son of man!" See 1 Kings 10:8.
These last hours of our Lord's ministry were very full. The days were days of activity, interspersed with snatches of blessed intercourse with the beloved group at Bethany; while the nights were spent on Olivet in prayer. [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 21:33

My words shall not pass away [οι λογοι μου ου μη παρελευσονται]
Future middle indicative with ου μη — ou mē a bit stronger statement than the subjunctive. It is noteworthy that Jesus utters these words just after the difficult prediction in Luke 21:32. [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 21:33 mean?

The heaven and the earth will pass away - but the words of Me no not
οὐρανὸς καὶ γῆ παρελεύσονται οἱ δὲ λόγοι μου οὐ μὴ

οὐρανὸς  heaven 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: οὐρανός  
Sense: the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it.
γῆ  earth 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: γῆ  
Sense: arable land.
παρελεύσονται  will  pass  away 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Middle, 3rd Person Plural
Root: παρέρχομαι  
Sense: to go past, pass by.
οἱ  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
λόγοι  the  words 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: λόγος  
Sense: of speech.
μου  of  Me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
οὐ  no 
Parse: Adverb
Root: οὐ  
Sense: no, not; in direct questions expecting an affirmative answer.