Astrology and Vespasian’s Rise in Luke 21:25

There is general agreement that Mark 13, Matt 24-25, and Luke 21 reflect knowledge of the Jewish War. Luke 21 is particularly obvious as a post-war vaticinium ex eventu, but few commentators have attended to Luke 21:25's redaction of Mark 13:24-25 within this post-war framework. This article argues that Luke 21:25 might be illuminated through comparison with a papyrus from Oxyrhynchus. This papyrus, P. Oxy. 4950, offers an astrological interpretation of Vespasian's rise - including events of the Jewish War. It bears remarkable similarities to the Eschatological Discourse, being an ex eventu oracle predicting Vespasian's victory in the Year of the Four Emperors, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the suffering of the Jewish population. Luke made a number of intentional decisions in modifying Mark so as to also evoke - in a vague and generalized way - astrological portents associated with Vespasian's rise, the type of predictions found in P. Oxy. 4950 and recorded by other ancient writers (e. g., Josephus, Suetonius, Tacitus).