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.
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