The ominous threat of fake Christianity

Sermon for the Third to Last Sunday after Trinity

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18  +  Matthew 24:15-28

Starting today and continuing until Christmas, the Lectionary begins to turn our thoughts to the end of the world. Of course, I think our thoughts are already there, aren’t they? We already seem to be living in apocalyptic times—that is, the times described by the Book of Revelation, closer and closer to the end of the world. What will we face in this world before Jesus finally returns?

Well, you know what we’re already facing: a pandemic that seems like it’ll never end, a government that’s only becoming more oppressive, a society and a system of government in our country that appear to be hopelessly corrupt and falling apart at the seams. We’ll talk about those and other signs of Jesus’ coming when we get into the Advent season next month. They’re all part of the “great tribulation” Jesus mentions in today’s Gospel, which will get so bad that no one, not even the elect children of God, could hang on, unless the Lord shortened those days, which is what He promises to do. But for as bad as those parts of the great tribulation are, the Holy Spirit warns us today about something more devastating and more dangerous, one major contributor to the great tribulation of the end times. Today the Word of God warns us about the ominous threat of fake Christianity, the deadliest threat of all, because it doesn’t just make life on earth more miserable. It threatens our eternal salvation.

Today’s Gospel from Matthew begins with Jesus mentioning a prophecy from Daniel. He says, 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. (Incidentally, the great Lutheran Reformer Philip Melanchthon wrote a commentary on the Book of Daniel back in 1543, and based on Daniel’s prophecies in the last few chapters, Melanchthon calculated that the world would end somewhere around the year 2025. So we would do well to take all these end time prophecies even more seriously.) Now Jesus, like Daniel, is speaking in prophetic language here. And one thing we have to understand about prophetic language is that there is often an immediate, literal fulfillment and a more distant, figurative fulfillment.

The immediate, literal fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy about the “abomination of desolation standing in the holy place” happened about 40 years later, around 70 AD, when the Roman armies surrounded Jerusalem, besieged it, and then ravaged and destroyed it. Luke’s account makes that very clear, where Jesus says, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. It was a time of unprecedented suffering for the people in Jerusalem, a time of God’s severe judgment against the Jewish people for rejecting His Son, the Christ. So Jesus’ warning ahead of time to His faithful people to watch for the armies coming to Jerusalem and to get out as quickly as possible surely saved the lives of countless Christians who remembered His words and took them to heart.

But the more distant, figurative fulfillment of that prophecy is what we’re going to focus on today. First, what does the “holy place” refer to? Literally it was Jerusalem, or the temple in Jerusalem. Figuratively, the holy place is the Holy Christian Church, which is the true Temple of the Holy Spirit. And what is the “abomination of desolation” that will be set up there? An abomination is something that God hates, an idol of some sort, and this one causes desolation. That is, it wipes out the people who were there so that the place is left desolate and deserted. What idol, standing within the Church, will cause countless Christians to abandon the true faith? St. Paul describes it best in 2 Thessalonians 2: That Day, that is, the day of Christ’s return, will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

What St. Paul is saying is that there will be a “falling away” within the Church, a rebellion, otherwise known as “apostasy.” And a “man of sin,” a “son of perdition,” or as St. John calls him, the “Antichrist,” will set himself up in God’s temple, within the Holy Christian Church, or at least, within the external, visible Christian Church, exalting himself above God, pretending to be God.

But the “man of sin” isn’t just one man; he represents an institution, an institution that was already trying to emerge during the days of the apostles, but was still restrained by their preaching and their presence. As Paul writes, the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now restrains it will do so until is taken out of the way. That antichristian institution would grow until one day the lawless one will be revealed, and then, Paul says, he’ll remain in place until the Lord will consume him with the breath of His mouth and destroy him with the brightness of His coming.

The only institution that matches Christ’s prophecy and St. Paul’s description is the Roman papacy. Just as it would be the Roman armies standing in Jerusalem and causing it to become desolate, so it would be the Roman papacy, standing in the midst of the Church, causing it to become desolate, leading countless Christians away from Christ, not by physical violence, but by spiritual false doctrine.

We already looked at many of those false doctrines on Reformation Day; we won’t repeat them all. Just understand that what the Roman pope symbolizes, what he stands for, is the raising up of a man, with his manmade doctrine, to the place of Christ—the “vicar of Christ on earth” as the pope is called—even as that man—every man who assumes the office—teaches destructive things that lead Christians away from Christ. In other words, he is the worldwide, world-renown representative of a fake Christianity, which is an abomination to God and causes desolation within God’s holy Church.

This is not to say that all Roman Catholics are fake Christians. Not by any means! On the contrary, the Antichrist can only be set up within the actual temple of God, within the Christian Church, in the midst of true Christians who cling to Christ alone for salvation. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t a threat to those who remain attached to him. Listen to what else Paul writes: The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them a strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. And so Jesus’ warning to His holy people who remained in Jerusalem, when they saw the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place, when they saw the Roman armies threatening Jerusalem, was not to stick around within the city, but to flee, without looking back, without any delay for any reason. So, too, He still calls out today to His faithful people who remain attached to the Roman papacy that has been revealed as a teacher of antichristian doctrine, to flee the apostate Church, to Come out of her, my people, as it says in Revelation 18, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.

Now, before we imagine that we are safe from all threats, having fled from the Roman Church, we should pay attention to the rest of Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel. Because it wasn’t only in Jerusalem that the Christians would face great tribulation. It was outside of Jerusalem, too, and it would last until the day of Christ’s coming. The ominous threat of fake Christianity is very real outside of the Roman Church, too.

What does Jesus say to those who have fled Jerusalem and escaped the abomination of desolation? Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For there will arise false christs, and false prophets, and they will perform great signs and wonders, so as to deceive even the elect, if that were possible. See, I have told you beforehand. Fake Christianity takes many forms, but certain things it always does. It distorts what God has said in His Word. It promises things God doesn’t promise in His Word. It promotes lies instead of the truth, or even worse, lies alongside the truth, making it harder to tell the difference.

In the end, anyone who stands up in the name of Christ and teaches false doctrine is presenting a fake Christianity, whether it’s a “major” doctrine or a “minor” one. A Christianity that distorts the Ten Commandments is a fake Christianity. A Christianity that teaches that sinners are justified in any way but by faith alone in Christ is a fake Christianity. But so is a Christianity that denies Baptism to babies or that teaches the real absence of the body and blood of Christ in Holy Communion. For that matter, any Christian who lives in such a way that his words or behavior misrepresents Christianity to the world is presenting a fake Christianity to the world, whether it’s the Biden/Harris ticket in very obvious ways, or the Trump/Pence ticket in more subtle ways, or you yourselves when your words or behavior don’t reflect the words and behavior of sons and daughters of the holy God.

So repent and look to Christ crucified for forgiveness! You have it. It’s yours. And then pray the First Petition in earnest, Hallowed be Thy name! How is God’s name hallowed among us? When God’s Word is taught purely and correctly, and when we, as the children of God, also lead holy lives according to it. Help us to do this, dear Father in heaven! But whoever teaches or lives differently than God’s Word teaches, he profanes God’s name among us. Guard us against this, O heavenly Father!

As for the “great signs and wonders” Jesus says the false prophets will perform, signs and wonders that are so impressive they almost end up deceiving the elect, they can be prophecies. They can be miracles. They can be speaking in tongues. But they can also be things like great size, great influence, great wealth, great glory, great feelings, great social programs. How many Christians have been deceived by a church’s great size, or beautiful building, or emotional music! Christ must be here!, they think.

But Jesus warns, If they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the desert!’ do not go out. ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes out of the east and is visible in the west, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man. Christ will return only once, at the end of age, and everyone will see Him when He comes. Until then, don’t be seduced by great signs and wonders. Be sure you’re only looking for Christ in the one place where He has promised to be present in an invisible way before His visible return at the end of the age: where two are three are gathered together in His name, where His Word is preached in its truth and purity, where bread and wine are consecrated so that they are His true body and blood.

But what does Jesus mean when He says, For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will gather? Just as eagles look down intently from up above to spot their next meal, and then flock to it when they see it, so Christians are to be looking up intently from down below, waiting for Christ, our source of life, to appear in the clouds, where we will be gathered to Him, as Paul wrote in those beautiful words of today’s Epistle: The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord always. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

So be looking up! And comfort one another with these words, not with pep talks about salvaging what we can of this life. Everything you see here is passing away. And one day soon, possibly very soon, Christ, who is our life, will appear. Keep your heart focused on His return, keep your eyes focused on His Word, and keep your hands focused on serving your neighbor in love. The ominous threat of fake Christianity is real. But the comforting truth of real Christianity will be an immovable rock beneath your feet on which you can stand while the whole world crumbles around you. May God, in His grace, keep us standing on that rock! Amen.