Ground Zero ...

Back on 9/11 in New York City; ground zero, was at the base of the now destroyed twin towers.  The most destruction inflicted on that day happened there.  The most deaths occurred there.  The circles of pain would ripple out from there touching and impacting so many other lives.  Even to this day, the effects of trying desperately to save others have brought toxic aftershocks to those who tried to rescue the fallen.  The ripples of pain still circle out from that event.  So we tend to think of that site as ground zero.  And as we shift our minds forward to the upcoming second coming of Jesus Christ where no more events like 9/11 will ever occur again – there is in this world another site that is ground zero for that coming event.  Some might say it is the city of Jerusalem in the state of Israel.  Others might think it will be Rome just over the Vatican.  Still others might say it will be Washington D.C. where so much has been done to keep freedom in the world today.  But those sites are not to be ground zero for the second coming.  There is a far more important site, a site you will care far more about.  Ground zero for the second coming will be directly in your heart, whether that is for salvation and redemption, or whether it is for destruction.

You will note, I did not say ground zero will be in your head or your brain.  What you think may matter, but often what you do, and what you think, are keenly influenced by how you feel about a given matter.  For instance, when you love something, or someone, you tend to focus on it.  The object of your affections matters to you, and your actions, and your thoughts, tend to reflect that.  We humans like to think we are governed completely by logic.  We imagine ourselves to be more like Vulcans from the program Star Trek than would ever be truly possible.  For example, we refrain from speeding while in our cars, because we do not want to get the traffic ticket that comes from disobeying the speeding laws.  That is the biggest deterrent.  Rare is the person who refrains from speeding because of the wisdom of keeping his speed down in order to keep himself and others safer on the road.  Most of us are in too much of a hurry to even think that way.  We have no time for that kind of thinking.  We reason that we are good drivers and can still keep safe even at a higher speed.  Until the red lights come on, and the feeling of dread in our stomachs begins to overwhelm us.  Speeding has little to do with logic, and is more driven by a feeling of impatience than anything else, deterred only by the dread of the consequences.

So it is any wonder that Jesus focuses His discussions about the second coming right back to the ground zero of your particular heart.  All the signs and wonders are meant to affect your heart, and remind it, who is important to love, that love itself is critical to your very salvation.  Even if God the Father were to whisper in your ear the very day and time when the second coming were to occur, would that knowledge impact your head or your heart?  In the Gospel of Luke, in chapter 21, Jesus has just laid out a series of predictions regarding both the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem, and of His own second coming, an event the locals have no reference point to understand.  After all, the local believers think that once the Messiah comes, He comes forever, so what need would He have to return, if He is supposed to be there all the time?  But that mistaken belief, you could call it a doctrine, was a misinterpretation of scripture combined with desperate circumstances in living conditions at the time.  And beliefs are all in the head.  Jesus does not bother to correct their thinking, that will come over time.  Instead He zooms in on what is most important about what He is saying, that all of this is meant to impact their hearts, for it is in their hearts where salvation will come to rest, or be rejected.  It is your heart, that is ground zero, for you.

Jesus picks back up speaking in verse 29 saying … “And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; [verse 30] When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. [verse 31] So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.”  The people of His day could predict the nearness of summer by examining when the fig tree branches, leaves, and shoots began to grow and become visible.  They could not tell you the exact day.  But they could tell you that summer was close.  Tree science is not supposed to be exact, but nearness was the point.  All the warning Jesus has given above for both key events, for the destruction of Jerusalem, and for His own Return to Earth, are meant to show us the nearness we are to each of these.  They are not meant to be exact science, that is not the point.  Jesus has already said nobody knows the exact day, not even Jesus, only the Father knows that.  But to understand we are near is meant to change our perspective.  It is meant to shift what we find important in our lives, in our hearts, to what is truly important.

He continues in verse 32 saying … “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.”  This needs to be understood in context.  The primary audience for the event to come in the lifetime of this generation was the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem (both His Temple body, and His Temple located there).  The people listening would largely live long enough to see both Temple’s destroyed.  Coincidentally they would also see the body of Jesus rebuilt in three days as He would ascend from the grave as He prophesied as well, though they would not see the rebuilding of their Temple building happen in their lifetimes.  The location would disappear.  But the Lord would not.  The second coming however obviously did not happen in their lifetimes.  It may happen in ours.  As noted earlier all the signs listed to occur before that event have all occurred.  The only thing left, is for Jesus to come back and take us home.  This nearness Jesus describes is again meant to impact the hearts of His listeners.

Jesus continues in verse 33 saying … “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.”  Yet another prediction.  Our world will one day pass away, it will be recreated.  But the words of Jesus will not pass away.  They will be recorded in Scripture and compiled into a Bible, that will live on down through the centuries, even to our day and beyond.  It took no small effort on God’s part to insure those words remained accurate, and survived the onslaught against it that Satan would never stop.  Even in our day Satan’s attacks continue, and God’s preservation continues.  Our freedom to read the words of Jesus comes at no small price to our forefathers.  Some laid down their very lives to see us have this word.  Yet we treat it so casually.  But Jesus said His words would endure, and endure they have, as witnessed by the very Gospel we are examining today.

Jesus continues in verse 34 saying … “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. [verse 35] For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.”  And here is where ground zero is fully identified by Jesus Himself.  Take heed, or pay attention, says Jesus, lest at any time “your hearts” be … and then Jesus lists a variety of common conditions that plague the lives of men and women.  It is your heart that Jesus focuses on.  Keep in mind, Jesus is obsessed with saving you.  It is His primary mission, His love for you drives Him to want to save you.  Because Jesus so wants to save you He zooms in on the mechanism for your salvation.  Your salvation will occur in your heart first.  Before you think differently, you will love differently.  Before you let go of selfishness, you will learn to love others first.  Before you will lose the desire to even consider committing a sin, you will learn to love like Jesus loves.  All of that based squarely in ground zero of your heart.  And because the “nearness” of something does not mean it is here now, or perhaps even here tomorrow, it is easy to get distracted by other things.

It is not just pointless entertainment that can perhaps distract you, and mold your heart the wrong way.  Your heart can become chemically addicted by booze, or drugs, to seek escape than to seek Jesus in sobriety.  We look for escape from our problems in the wrong places, not finding escape, only finding further burden.  And those hard workers among us, who do not spend their time on frivolous things, nor do they drink or abuse drugs, look down their heads and ridicule those that have embraced these weaknesses.  Surely hard workers are not at risk.  But Jesus says plainly that they are at risk.  The cares of this life are equally able to distract the sober away from Jesus, as anything the drunkard may face.  Same disease, different cause.  Hard workers come to think, they carry the burdens of the world on their own shoulders.  They think themselves indispensable, either to their families, or to their companies, or both.  They come to think that what they do working, is more important than any other kind of time or love they could be doing.  Until words and memories of feelings of love are all they have left.  And age or burden will one day close the eyes on lives spent in toil, not living they way Jesus intended for us to live, not doing the work He intended us to do.  That work is to love one another.

So what should we do, to escape this fate?  Jesus does not leave us without hope, even though He knows all of us may be afflicted by these common conditions of life.  He continues in verse 36 saying … “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”  Watch.  Keep an eye out for these signs, and for the nearness you may be living in.  And as you keep a watchful eye, stay in prayer literally always.  Pray when you are alone.  Pray as you work.  Pray as you eat.  Pray as you watch TV or listen to music.  Talk to God like He was a friend sitting with you in your car, or listening to the same music, or watching the same TV show, because He is.  He is with you when you spend your time in all of these things.  Keep the channel of communication with Jesus open literally all the time.  When you face a problem, pray about it first.  Pray for your own heart to change on the matter, not just the other guy’s heart, but your own heart.  Pray to find the humility you need to find to put an end to a fight.  Ask no repentance from others, but be repentant on your own.  Forgive generously.  Put aside the pains of the past, and embrace the hope of the future, the potential of now.  Come to see how much ground zero of your salvation is your heart.

It your prayer and your open channel with Jesus that will come to change how you love others.  And in loving others, you will change who you are.  To be worthy to escape all the calamity that is coming, and to stand before the Son of Man, we must become like the Son of Man.  Ground zero for that transformation is the battle zone of your heart.  If you are constantly busy, constantly distracted by work, or knee deep in chemically altered states, how will you ever come to hear the still small voice of God?  Jesus longs to save you.  Open your heart, and find that salvation, and make love the most important priority of your life both now and forever.

 

Skipping Through Time [part two] ...

For Jesus, time does not exist like it does for us.  We see time as a line, moving along it from our starting point to our ending point, each second in between keeps clicking by, one after another until the time of our lives reaches its end.  But for the Creator of time, all of it happens at once.  There is no concept of a beginning because no beginning could ever be identified.  The human start of Jesus at His birth from Mary can be tracked.  But His beginning as the Son of God has no starting point, it just always was.  So if you swing your perspective to look forwards (for us) and examine the future, the same phenomenon is true, there is no end.  Infinite time forwards or backwards, and the ability to see any second of it from a first person perspective all at once, makes Jesus God, and mankind not god.  So when we pose a question to Jesus about the future, to understand His answer we may want to consider a few things.  He sees time differently.  He knows what is important.  He loves us and is ever consumed with saving us.  And as for any preconceived notions we have about what He might say, we should just go ahead and throw our own ideas right into the trash bucket where they belong.

The disciples of Jesus asked Him when the Temple might be destroyed, and what signs they may witness when that event is about to come to pass.  They were looking at a single event just foretold in the previous texts by Jesus in the history of our world.  But that event was not germane to the salvation of any of them.  Men are not saved because a Temple stands or falls.  But pride in our accomplishments, even our spiritual ones, has killed more than a few [see Lucifer].  What they needed was more time, in order to get to know Jesus better.  That time leading to strengthening of trust through our humility, which ultimately results in salvation brought about by God, now “that” was important.  But these folks asked a question because they were sad to think that their precious Temple would one day be so destroyed not even a single stone would last on another.  Jesus would answer from an entirely different perspective.

Luke picks up again in verse 20 saying … “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. [verse 21] Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.”  Jesus warns His followers to flee from advancing Roman armies.  This is NOT a fight they will win, if they stay, they will die.  There is to be no miraculous salvation save for listening to the prophetic warning being offered right here and right now.  Jesus extends His warning beyond just the city of Jerusalem to the entire region.  Get out.  Flee.  Go to other countries and do not fall in with the other Jewish folks who refuse to yield to Roman authority and are about to die for making rebellion.  No seas are to be parted.  No invading armies to wake up dead like in the Old Testament days.  Salvation, is to be found in submission, not rebellion.  Whether it is your earthly life you wish to preserve, or your next one, it is to begin with submission.

That is NOT a message a modern American Christian wants to hear.  To submit ourselves to authorities that make our lives harder is no easy feat.  We are a nation founded on freedoms and the throwing off of authority in which we have little say.  But the very words of Jesus Himself here do not specify a strategy of making rebellion, but rather running and forsaking all, finding a way to live in submission to a pagan authority no less.  Our God does not need us to defend Him at the point of a sword.  But Jesus does not say to submit our belief, only our actions in governmental matters.  This was not a war of rebellion about being forced to worship another god, if and when it ever came to that, it was the very life of the believer that was to be submitted rather than acknowledge anything but the one True God and His only Son Jesus Christ.  But serving in humility can also form an example of love offered, that converts the world from what it is, to what it could be.  No other course does that.  The unconverted rarely listen to hate or rebels bent on their destruction.  But they do listen to simple, humble, love offered without condition, as that example becomes some kind of lure and example they just cannot escape.

Jesus continues in verse 22 saying … “For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. [verse 23] But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. [verse 24] And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”  This prophecy is further described here by Jesus.  When it comes it will come swiftly.  It will be harder if it falls in the winter.  Other versions say harder if it falls on Sabbath.  Luke continues it will be harder for nursing mothers in those days.  Those of them running have a hard time.  But those of them who refuse to run will wind up being trapped in Jerusalem under siege so long they will consider, and then eat, those very small children in order to stay alive.  Nothing paints a more horrific picture than a nursing mother willing to eat her very own children to try to stave off hunger that is killing them both.  No manna will fall.  No miracles will be offered.  With rejection comes a price for our choices.  This is one of them.  We will pay it too, if we make the same choice.  This prophecy itself was meant to be a warning to help us make better choices, put off our rebellion, and find salvation in Jesus.

Jerusalem will be effectively destroyed.  Judea will as well.  This will begin the time of the gentiles and it will not end until that time is fulfilled.  Some have argued that the time of the gentiles ended after WW2 when the nation state of Israel was created as a defense against future holocausts.  But that tiny nation has never known peace, ever wonder why?  And this version of Jerusalem that exists today after it has been rebuilt is not the New Jerusalem.  It is merely another temporary version.  The New Jerusalem is being built by Jesus and will descend from heaven to earth at God the Father’s appointed time.  Only then will there be something permanent on planet earth, for it will remain there after the fires of hell are consumed, after death is a memory, and after the earth itself is made new once again.  And Jesus will be that city’s King of Kings forever more.  And the residents of that city will not just be Jewish by bloodline, but will include perhaps a far greater number of those same gentiles that came to know and believe in Jesus Christ.  I would argue until this final situation occurs, the time of vengeance and gentiles will never disappear.  After all, to this day, the most fundamental distinction between the Jewish faith, and the Christian one, is whether or not you believe in Jesus Christ as the Messiah of the world.  Modern Jews still reject this idea, modern Christians are built upon it.  So while the nation of Israel may still contain a good number of Christian citizens in it, it is still defined by its rejection of Jesus Christ as in any way divine.

And while the disciples did not ask Jesus anything about a second coming, keeping in mind, they had no reference point for such a question, as they believed the Messiah would never leave them.  Jesus skipped the needle down through time and saw the same question would need an answer for those whose only hope became fixated on when He would return again.  Believers like you and me who would be reading the Gospel of Luke centuries later.  We may not want to know exactly when Jesus would return.  But we would still want our faith affirmed by knowing Jesus is indeed coming back.  Offering signs of such an event, would affirm our faith.  It would help the disciples as well, even though when they asked this question, they could not understand how Jesus chose to answer it.  Jesus continues looking through the ages and begins to outline signs that would precede His second coming, the one event more meaningful to believers than any other that would ever occur. 

Jesus picks back up in verse 25 saying … “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;”  Signs in the sun and the moon and the stars.  Thinking about these, every eye on planet earth could see them as the vastness of the sky offers a canvass none could ignore.  Historically all of these could be attributed to the mid 1800’s when various events occurred that focused the minds of believers on each category of these items.  But since that was nearly 200 years ago, modern believers may yet look for them again.  Few of us are content to believe all the signs of a soon coming of Jesus were completed before we were even born.  But perhaps that says more about our impatience than it does about truth.  Next comes distress of nations with perplexity or worry.  There has been 2 great world wars since the 1800’s ended, does there need to be more of these before we come to believe this part of the signage has been fulfilled.  The sea and waves roaring.  Tsunami’s we can track all over the world today due to far greater action in tectonic plates than we know about in generations past.  A mountain of trash so great in the ocean it resembles the size of a continent just floating out there polluting and leaving destruction in its wake.  It would be hard to argue that any of these signs still remain, even though it is possible.

Jesus continues in verse 26 saying … “Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.”  Men’s hearts failing them for fear as they consider what is coming on the earth as the powers of heaven are shaken.  Global climate change anyone? Anyone?  The level of destruction we have experienced so far is a small fraction of what will come if we do not change fast enough.  And most scientists say we have already passed the tipping point.  Rich and poor alike are destined to suffer a similar fate.  Entire regions we have lived in before may fast become completely uninhabitable.  Millions may die either by catastrophe or starvation.  While there is still a glimmer of hope today.  Many believers falsely believe God would never let this kind of worldwide destruction occur.  When here is Jesus right hear stating it in prophecy and we choose to look away.  We are not meant to ignore the plight of our world, or to indulge our every pleasure at the growing cost to our world.  And if we do nothing, be assured the fate of a destroyed Temple in Jerusalem with mothers eating babies from starvation may also be one we too have yet to experience.  For it is our arrogance that kills us the quickest.  And our humble submission that could see us live.

Jesus concludes these events in verse 27 saying … “And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”  It is only after all of these things that we will ALL see Jesus, the Son of Man coming in the clouds with power and great glory.  One could argue all the signs have already occurred, if that is true the only one left is the physical return of Jesus in the clouds to carry us home.  So why do we live as if that is a mere fairy tale, ignoring how we live, ignoring any impact on who we are.  We deny the power of Jesus to change our lives because we have lost faith that He will.  We have tried so long to make ourselves into “good” people we have lost sight of submitting to Jesus to allow Him to change who we are, how we think, and how we love.  The second coming of Jesus represents an end to all struggle on earth.  Those who have been made holy will rejoice in that event.  Those who remain evil, will remain evil still, and have only fear and horror at it.

Jesus offers an epilogue to all of this in verse 28 saying … “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”  Lift up your heads, your redemption draws near.  This verse has become lyrics in some of the music we sing.  But I think we somewhat miss the point.  We are not to be waiting for actual second coming of Jesus to look up.  We were meant to lift our heads as we see the signs of His coming unfold, and as we live in the time just before His great return.  We do not need to wait to find redemption.  It is here for us now.  We are meant to find our redemption now, ahead of the second coming.  We are meant to witness a change in how we live now, how we think, and how we love.  All of these changes in the here and now.  And we the modern Christian church of our day could be experiencing all of this now.  If we simply humble ourselves and submit to Jesus.  Lose the pride we carry in what we have built, or what we think we have accomplished.  Tear all of that down, by submitting it all to Jesus.  And find what He builds within us as all that matters at all.

Jesus sees this interim time we live in as very brief.  For Him that time we live in is “soon” next to His pending return.  Obviously He thinks about time differently than we do.  But for you, any number of unexpected endings to your life, could make your timeline much sooner than you thought.  Yet, none of these warnings were meant to inspire fear in us.  They were meant to take the fear from us, and through submission in Jesus, learn to live like we were really meant to live.  One second of that is worth 10 years of the old way.  And seconds turn into minutes that turns into weeks, months, and even years.  Imagine living like Jesus has in mind for you for years, even here in this world.  Now if you can, skip the needle of time in your mind down through the millenia to come in the city of New Jerusalem that Jesus built.  For there you will be the new creation He intended.  But beyond being physically different, you will be living the way Jesus enables you to live.  So why wait one second longer than needed?  Why not start right here, right now, and from now till then, and then beyond to a time with no end.