“Be Alert”
[Luke 21:25-36]
December 2, 2018, Second Reformed
Church
Today is the first Sunday of
Advent. And on the first Sunday of
Advent, we traditionally look at a text about Jesus’ Second Coming – the Second
Advent. And Jesus did, in fact, promise
that He will return for us. Jesus says,
“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you
to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3, ESV).
Do you believe the words of Jesus?
Paul writes, “But we do not want you
to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve
as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose
again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen
asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are
alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who
have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of
command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of
God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are
left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in
the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one
another with these words” (I Thessalonians, 4:13-18, ESV).
Jesus will return. Jesus will reunite our bodies and souls and
all believers together, perfected and made holy, and we will be with Him
forever in His Kingdom. Do you believe the
words of Jesus?
One of the most important things we
must do in understanding the Bible – in fact, any piece of literature – is to
read it in context.
An example we will find in the
Christian bookstore of taking something out of context is the Mizpah which is
taken from Genesis 31:49: “and Mizpah,
for he said, ‘The LORD watch between you and me, when we are out of one
another's sight.’”
This saying is often printed on a
heart which is in two pieces and the girlfriend wears one heart and the
boyfriend wears the other, and it is taken to mean that they want God to care
for each other while they are away from each other.
But if we understand the context of
this saying, we find out something very different: this was said between Jacob and his
father-in-law, Laban. Jacob had run off
with Laban’s daughters and flocks after Laban had tricked and abused Jacob for
years. So, they reached an agreement,
Laban would never come after Jacob or send anyone after him, and Jacob would
care for both of Laban’s daughters – Jacob’s wives – to the best of his
ability. And if either one brakes their
agreement, God will know and take care of them.
The Mizpah that lovers wear is actually a threat.
Let us turn to this morning’s text –
and let us include the whole text, so it will make sense, and we will not make
the mistake of those who make and wear the Mizpah.
Chapter 21 of the Gospel of Luke
begins with Jesus commending the widow who gives two small coins as her
offering in the Temple, because it is all she has.
Then we read, beginning in verse
five:
“And while some were speaking of the
temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, [Jesus] said, ‘As
for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here
one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.’ And they asked him, ‘Teacher,
when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are
about to take place?’
The disciples were looking around at
the Herodian Temple – the Temple of Jesus’ day – and they were talking about
how beautiful – how magnificent it is – and Jesus shocks them by telling them
that they day will come when the Temple is utterly destroyed – there will not
even be one stone left upon another. And
the disciples ask when this will occur and what will the signs be that it is
about to occur. When will this
occur? What will the signs be that this
is about to occur?
The rest of this part of the text is
about when the Temple will be destroyed and what the signs will be that the
Temple is about to be destroyed.
OK? This is what Jesus is
answering.
The first sign is that there will be
people claiming to be the Savior.
“And he said, ‘See that you are not led
astray. For many will come in my name, saying, “I am he!” and, “The time is at
hand!” Do not go after them.’
The second sign is there will be worldwide
political upheaval.
“’And when you hear of wars and tumults,
do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will
not be at once.’ Then he said to them, ‘Nation
will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great
earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be
terrors and great signs from heaven.’
But even before these signs, it is a sign
that believers will be persecuted and imprisoned.
“’But before all this they will lay their
hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and
prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake.
This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your
minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and
wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.
You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and
friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for
my name's sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you
will gain your lives.’
Jesus tells the believers to use their
being taken and imprisoned as an opportunity to tell those who take them and
the others in prison and those who witness their being taken the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. Jesus tells them that they will
not perish – though there is a time frame we will see shortly.
Another sign is armies surrounding
Jerusalem.
“’But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by
armies, then know that its desolation has come.
Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who
are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter
it, for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. Alas for
women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For
there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. They
will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and
Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the
Gentiles are fulfilled.’
When they see the city of Jerusalem
surrounded by armies, they are to understand that the fulfillment of the prophecy
of Daniel is about to occur.
Matthew puts it this way:
“So when you see the abomination of
desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the
reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” (Matthew
24:15-16, ESV).
When they see armies surrounding the city
of Jerusalem and the Holy of Holies in the Temple has been profaned, then the
believers are to run for the hills. They
are to get out of the city and hide, because the days of vengeance against
Jerusalem and the Jews are upon them and the Gentiles will trample Jerusalem
until the days of the Gentiles have ended.
OK, now we continue with this morning’s
reading:
Jesus continues to answer the questions, when
will the Temple be destroyed and what will be the signs that the Temple is
about to be destroyed.
The political upheaval will be
cosmic.
“’And there will be signs in sun and moon
and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the
roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding
of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’
The celestial bodies and the “powers of
the heavens” as often used symbolically to refer to political powers. Here we have one political power rising up
with a destructive force that is unexpected and causes people to despair. The uprising will, in fact, change the political
reality as it is known.
The destruction of the Temple will be part
of the Wrath of Jesus against the unbelieving Jews – it is part of the
vengeance of Jesus against the unbelieving Jews. And it will be a sign to believers that
redemption is only to be found in Jesus Alone:
“’And then they will see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place,
straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.’
Now, some people point to this part
of the text and say, “No, this is about Jesus’ Second Coming – this is about
Jesus returning on the clouds as He promised He would do on the day of His
ascension.”
There is a huge reason why this
cannot be what this text means, and we’ll see it in the parable that Jesus
tells them next:
“And he told them a parable: ‘Look
at the fig tree, and all the trees. As soon as they come out in leaf, you see
for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also, when you see
these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.’
Jesus tells them – in answer to what
the signs will be that the Temple is about to be destroyed – that there will be
false Christs, massive political upheaval, severe persecution, Jerusalem
surrounded by armies, and the fulfillment of the prophecy of the abomination of
desolation – these are the leaves of the fig tree, so you know summer is here –
it is time to get out of Jerusalem – it is time to flee to the four corners of
the world, because the Kingdom of God is near – God is bringing His Kingdom
down against the kingdom of evil in the world.
And when will the destruction of the
Temple take place?
“’Truly, I say to you, this generation
will not pass away until all has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away.’
Jesus swears to them that everything
He has just said – all the signs He has just given – leading up to and
culmination in the destruction of the Temple with the Son of Man coming in
glory – will happen within forty years of when Jesus speaks.
The atheist philosopher, Bertrand
Russell, in his book, Why I Am Not a
Christian, points to this text to prove the folly of Christianity, because
Jesus says He will return by 70 A. D. – when the Temple is destroyed – and He
did not.
If Russell is correct, then
Christianity is a fraud. But Russell did
not understand biblical symbolism and how the clouds and the power of the Son
of Man can refer the glorious accomplishing of the work of the Son of Man in
bringing down His vengeance upon the unbelieving Jews who rejected the Savior
Who was sent to them – as we will recall:
“The
true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in
the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did
receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of
God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will
of man, but of God” (John 1:9-13, ESV).
No, this reference to the coming of
the Son of Man is about His Wrath being poured out on the Jews, the destruction
of the Temple, and the scattering of the Jews throughout the world.
And this did come to pass within
their generation, in 70 A.D., when the Roman, Caesar Titus, brought his armies
against Jerusalem and, assisted by a famine, slaughtered the Jews and took Jerusalem. And we read of the end of the war:
“(420) Now the number of those that were
carried captive during this whole war was collected to be ninety-seven
thousand, as was the number of those that perished during the whole siege
eleven hundred thousand, (421) the greater part of whom were indeed of the same
nation [with the citizens of Jerusalem], but not belonging to the city itself;
for they were come up from all the country to the feast of unleavened bread,
and were on a sudden shut up by an army, which, at the very first, occasioned
so great a traitness among them that there came a pestilential destruction upon
them, and soon afterward such a famine, as destroyed them more suddenly” https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/maps/primary/josephussack.html
And so Jesus warns the disciples:
“But watch yourselves lest your
hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life,
and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who
dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that
you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place,
and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Jesus tells the disciples that the
Temple will be destroyed within forty years – in the lifetime of many of
them. So, they are to be ready, and when
they see the signs, they are to flee – to hold fast to the truth of the Gospel,
but flee the coming destruction of Jerusalem, so they will save their lives, as
well as their souls.
And everything Jesus said came to
pass exactly as He said it would come to pass and in the exact time period that
He said it would come to pass.
Do you believe the words of Jesus?
We, also, are to be alert, as the
disciples were with the impending destruction of the Temple.
Jesus is speaking to the disciples about
not being anxious, and He tells them that the Father is joy-filled to give them
– all believers – the Kingdom, and He says:
“Stay dressed for action and keep
your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come
home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when
he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake
when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have
them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the
second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those
servants! But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour
the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You
also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect”
(Luke 12:35-40, ESV).
Do you believe the words of Jesus?
Are you ready?
Be alert. The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do
not expect.
Let us pray:
Almighty God, Your Son answered His
disciples and gave them signs and a time frame for when the Temple would be
destroyed and His Wrath be shown against His people Who did not receive
Him. He also told them that only You
know when He will return in the fullness of the Kingdom to judge the world and
restore the Creation. Help us to be
faithful stewards at every hour of every day until He returns. Help us to be ready and to be alert, pressing
the urgency of repenting and believing in Jesus to all who come our way. For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
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