Luke 21:5-24
5 Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said, 6 “These things which you see—the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down.”
7 So they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?”
8 And He said: “Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ Therefore do not go after them. 9 But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.”
10 Then He said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. 12 But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake. 13 But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. 14 Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. 18 But not a hair of your head shall be lost. 19 By your patience possess your souls.
20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. 22 For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. 24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
As we know, the season of Advent is intended not only as a time of repentance, but also a time to focus on Christ’s second and final coming. And our readings this week do not disappoint.
Luke writes about the signs of the times and the end of the age. When Jesus’ disciples asked their Teacher about when the end would take place, He made it abundantly clear that His followers were to look for false Christs, nation rising against nation, earthquakes, famines, pestilences, persecution of Christians, betrayals by unbelieving family members, hatred by all unbelievers, and even death. Those are hardly the things that would make anyone jump up and say, “Hey, sign me up!” On the contrary, those things are quite off-putting.
But our Lord Jesus is not like any of those happy-clappy prosperity preachers of our day who look you in the eye and lie about the challenges of being a Christian. They speak of a happy life here and that, even in this life, everything will be all right. Not so our Lord; He gives it to us straight. He does not lie.
But along with the harsh truth of the difficulties of holding fast to the one true faith here in this life, Jesus elsewhere in Scripture promises His presence, His peace, and His strength as we battle on to the end. He promises always to be with us, and the particular ways that He is with us are through His Gospel and Absolution preached into our ears and His Holy gifts of Baptism and Supper which are put upon us and in us. Through these means Christ takes up residence in us, calls us His own children, and gives us His strength to bear up until we are called Home to the life of the world to come.
So, End Times, do your best! No matter, for Christ has defeated death and hell for us and will take us to be with Him in eternity.
Let us pray: Come, Lord Jesus! Amen.
