This sermon was preached at St Peter’s Evangelical-Lutheran Church, Public Schools Club, Adelaide, 9am
Grace, mercy and peace be to
you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.
But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
Prayer: May the words of my
mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord,
our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
In the church today, it is rare to hear about the last things. And at this time in the church year, the readings are particularly dedicated to the end of the world, the final judgment, everlasting life, heaven and hell, and all these kinds of topics.
Today’s reading comes from one of Jesus’ last sermons which he gave the week before he died, where he talks about the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, and also how those things that happened in those days, also apply to us today as we set out eyes forward to the time when the world will end.
So, at the beginning of our reading, we read these words of Jesus: 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. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, an let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.
There are two things that we see in this passage: first, we see what Jesus calls the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place. And then we see the coming destruction, which follows it. So, we can see that the abomination that Jesus speaks of is a warning from God of the coming destruction, and that when the people see it and recognise it, they should flee and escape what will be a terrible time of tribulation.
Now let’s have a look at these things in detail. Jesus says: When you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand)… What is Jesus speak about here? Firstly, he speaks about: the abomination of desolation. What does this mean? An abomination, normally refers to something that is abhorrent, or repulsive, or detestable, or objectionable to God—often in the Bible, when it speaks of an abomination like this, it is talking about idol, or something like that, something to do with false worship, false gods, idolatry, and that kind of thing. But in this case, Jesus talks about an abomination of desolation. Jesus is talking about an abominable thing that causes or makes things desolate, or deserted, it makes things into a desert waste, where there are no people there anymore. Jesus also talking about a kind of deserting, a kind of desolating, that is also abominable, abhorrent, repulsive to God and which should also be repulsive to his people. The people should also recognise as abominable what God has also called abominable.
Such an abomination of desolation will stand in the holy place. Normally, the holy place refers to the temple. So, Jesus is speaking of a particular sign, where something abominable, or disgusting, will be in the temple, and that such a thing has even been spoken of by the prophet Daniel. In Daniel chapter 9, we have a passage which speaks like this, where it says: And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.
Now, in Luke’s gospel, we also get a further clue about what Jesus is talking about. In that Gospel, it says: When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near.
Now, the interesting thing about this warning is that there would have been many people who simply wouldn’t have believed these words of Jesus. They thought that the temple in Jerusalem would last forever, and that everything would continue as it always had. However, we know from history, that in the year 70 AD, the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. Jerusalem was surrounded by the Roman armies, and was destroyed in completely terrible and destructive situation, unlike anything that has ever happened before. Even from the history books, we read, that people during these times even resorted to cannibalism. Jesus says: For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.
Now, before this complete and total destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem, there was also a warning. As Jesus said: An abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place. Even Jesus wants people who read the book of Daniel, to take special note of all this, and he says: Let the reader understand. So, in the Jewish temple, leading up to this terrible time of destruction, there were many of the Roman emperors, like Caligula, and Nero, who set up their own statues in the Jewish temple in the holy place, next to the Ark of the Covenant. Of course, this is a terrible thing, and would have made the Jewish people very angry. But it didn’t just happen on one afternoon, it happened over many years. And when one Caesar died, another one did the same thing. It kept happening and happening. Even many Jewish people protested about it, and they were threatened to be executed by beheading, and they willingly laid down and let themselves be beheaded rather than see such a terrible thing happen to their temple.
So, there were these idolatrous statues of the emperors that were placed in the Jewish temple continually, until that time when things became so heated, that the Romans sought to end it all by sending their armies to the city of Jerusalem, and burning it and destroying it, in a period of terrible bloodshed and misery and pain.
Now, at this time, there would have been many people who remembered what Jesus said, and recognised that his prophecy had come to light, and then they would have fled, as Jesus said. He said: Let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is one housetop go down to take what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in the winter or on a Sabbath.
So, what is the reasons for this terrible desolation and tribulation? Why does terrible desolation come upon places and cities, like it came upon Jerusalem here? It comes as a judgment of God because of various things. Firstly, because of the idolatry, which so many of the prophets often preached to the people about. Also, at the time of Jesus, there began a terrible persecution of the church, of Christians, of pastors, of the apostles. We can read about this constantly in the book of Acts. So, we see that many people in Jerusalem received their Messiah, but many people rejected him too. And this rejection of Jesus as the Son of God, and as the one whom God sent, does not go unnoticed by God. Also, because of unrighteousness, when justice is not administered fairly, and rich people and poor people are not treated as equal before the law. Also, because of the ungodly lives of people, and especially sexual sin, and disregard of marriage and the family, as we see in the example of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Old Testament. And also, Jesus says: A kingdom which is divided against itself will be laid waste. So destruction may also come when there is discord and disharmony among people and revolts and revolutions and bloodshed.
Now, just as there was a warning sent by God before the city was destroyed, so also there were also special comforts and blessings sent by God, which Jesus speaks about here. First of all, Jesus says that there will be a means of escape. Just as when Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, Lot’s family were given a means to escape, so also, in the case of the downfall of Jerusalem in these days, Jesus also provided for them a means of escape, and says: Flee to the mountains. He says: Don’t go back to your house to get your things, or back to your field—just get out, just run. This will be the escape that God provided for you at the proper time.
And also, Jesus comforts his disciples by giving them not just a means of escape from these terrible times, but also he gives to them the gift of prayer. He says: Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. We see that God gives protection to his people, but he also asks them to pray for his wonderful protection. We read in so many passages of the bible, especially in the Psalms, where God promises his protection for his people. He says: He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty… Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honour him.
Now, we also learn from this passage, that when we find ourselves in a terrible situation, where there might be a plague or famine or war or something, it is permitted for Christian people to flee, and to run, and to go somewhere else, where they can be protected. We see many situations all throughout the world where there are refugees fleeing from their homelands because of famine or war, or something like this. To flee is often God’s means of escape, provided that we don’t have a duty to stay for some reason, and it doesn’t require us to abandon our faith. In this case, we might have some family who we have to look after, or we might only be permitted by some person in authority to leave, if we renounce Jesus and the Christian faith. In these situations, we must stay, and pray for God’s loving protection.
Now, this passage may seem very strange to us and to our ears, because in this country and in this part of the world, we have lived in relative freedom and comfort for many generations. But we must always keep it in mind that the nice things we enjoy in life, and the nice things we have, won’t last forever, but there will come a time when they will be taken from us.
And so, Jesus also tells us about a kind of spiritual abomination of desolation in the second part of our readings. Also, among Christians there is also the abomination of desolation, which is the Antichrist, with his false prophets and false doctrine, who stands in the holy place, who seeks to dethrone Christ in the church, and establish himself in his place.
Now, this also might seem very strange to our ears. But we are living in very strange times, even in recent years, where there have been many idolatrous and blasphemous things which have taken places in large and significant churches all throughout the world, similar to the way in which the statues of the various Caesars were places in the Jewish temple.
For example, during the last year, in Melbourne, in the Anglican Cathedral, there has been an enormous and imposing globe of the world hung there in the sanctuary, in honour of the Greek goddess Gaia, the earth goddess. (I don’t know if it’s still there or not.) So, they put a symbol of nature and earth worship in the church. This is an abomination, which is put in the holy place, in the church, where it shouldn’t be. About three years ago, in 2019, in Rome, there was a synod held there in the Vatican, called the Amazon Synod, where pagan worship—the bowing down in a circle to various idols—was conducted in the Vatican gardens, and statues to the South American goddess, Pachamama, were placed in various famous churches around the city. Once again, these idols don’t belong there, and they should never have been placed there. Sometimes, we read about certain exhibitions of art that happen in various cathedrals or churches, and everyone knows that this particular artwork doesn’t belong in this holy place. We are also seeing a rise in homosexual weddings in various churches throughout the world. In recent years, there have been many examples of Muslims being asked to give their so-called “call to prayer” in famous churches, for example, before a concert, or a special event. There are many examples we could name.
Even in Australia, it has become common now, almost a kind of national religion that nobody believes in, that we have a “welcome to country” or “acknowledgement of country”, before any public event. As Christians, and as Lutherans, we believe in the real presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Lord’s Supper. But in many of these ceremonies, people are required to “pay their respects to elders past and present”. There is an acknowledgement of the real presence of these past elders. Now, these are particularly religious words which don’t belong to our civil and public life, and should not be imposed on everyone, and these words certainly don’t belong in the church. Sometimes, some Christians (for example, in some Christian schools) have done a good job in trying to make the best of these situations, and turn it around to give a witness to the Christian faith. But many of these things happen slowly, slowly, so that when various abominations finally appear in the church, nobody notices it. And when someone points it out, they are often ridiculed as some kind of fanatic. But Jesus says that things like this will happen, and that when they do, we should notice it, because these things are a warning for a coming destruction, and we should escape from it as we can, and pray for our protection.
Now, in saying all of this, we might start to get depressed and lament and agonise over many things that are going on in our world today. And we always need to separate in our minds between things that are wrong, so that we can recognise them when we see them, but also for the people who are part of these things, who need to hear the Gospel, whom we should pray for, whom we should love and bless.
And so Jesus in our reading speaks about three things, three marks of abomination that Christians should be wary of even after the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem, which will continue until the end of the world. He warns us about false Christs and false prophets. He says: For false Christs and false prophets will arise. A false prophet, of course, is a false preacher, or a person who prophesies or preaches from God, when it is not from God. Also, a false Christ, is someone who tries to sit in place of Christ, and replace Christ in some way in the church.
In the Lutheran Church, it was always confessed that the pope of Rome manifested most clearly the marks of a false Christ, or antichrist. Now, this is a big topic, and many Lutherans have abandoned this teaching. It’s worth our while to make sure that we study this topic and understand exactly what it is that the Luther and the Reformers, and Lutherans for many centuries had taught about this. Because, you see, Jesus Christ is the head of the church: he is the only head of the church, he is our only Saviour, he is our only Mediator, he is the only one who gives us our unity as Christians and prays for our unity, and he is our only atonement and sacrifice and offering for sin. The pope is not the head of the church, only Jesus Christ is. The true church is the one that is united under Jesus Christ as its head, not under human authority in his place.
In the meantime, Jesus also warns us about people who will come and point people to find Jesus in places where he has not promised that he will be. Now, we know that Jesus has instructed us that we should find him in the Word of God, and also in the Sacraments of Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. He has promised to be there in those places. But then Jesus says: If anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. He also says: So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. So what Jesus is saying here is that we should not look for him in places where he has not promised to meet us. We cannot find Jesus in our own self-chosen works, however wonderful they might seem to us. We cannot find Jesus in our own spirituality, however glorious it might feel to us. We cannot find Jesus in our religious experiences, no matter what heights they might raise us to and all that kind of thing. Many times, Jesus has been calling us, and knocking on the doors of our hearts, through the simple words of Holy Scripture, which we hear read at church one day, or which we read in our bibles at home, and we ignore it, because we don’t realise that it is him. And then instead we go looking for him in all kinds of places where he isn’t to be found. People often find something there, but it isn’t Jesus.
The third warning that Jesus gives us is about false miracles. He says: For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. Many times, people will point to various wonderful things and miracles as a kind of proof that their particular church or particular teaching has authenticity. Of course, even Jesus’ words were confirmed with miracles, and the teachings of the apostles were confirmed with miracles. But just because there is a miracle, doesn’t mean that the truth is to be found there. We have many churches in our country and all throughout the world, who claim to perform miracles on tap, but they don’t teach the truth. They point people to their own works, their own experiences, their own feelings, instead of to their Saviour.
So, we see that Jesus gives us these marks of abomination in the church: false prophets and false christs, finding Jesus in places where he has not promised to be found, and also the false miracles. And where there is abomination in the holy places, there is also the threat of a coming destruction. That is what our text is about today, and it brings a very serious warning for us.
So in light of this, there are a number of comforts for us in our reading. First of all, there is the comfort of God’s election, his choosing of us as his people, and as his followers, and as his children. Jesus says in our reading: But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Now, sometimes, when we hear the word “elect”, people think: “How do I know if God has chosen me? How do I know if he has called me to heaven or not?” Some people even despair and say: “Maybe God has predetermined that I should go to hell and there’s nothing that I can do about it.”
Well, God creates faith in us, not because of us, but through his Word and Holy Spirit. It is God’s word and the Holy Gospel that reveals to us the light of God’s face and his favour towards us in Jesus Christ. Jesus has died on the cross for us, and shed his blood for us, offered himself in our place as the one perfect and sufficient sacrifice for our sin and the sin of the whole world, and he has risen from the dead to secure for us and win for us the forgiveness of our sins. And all of this, God has applied to you, and poured out on you, by baptising you into his kingdom and making you his own. And so, when you are worried about things happening in the world, or when you are worried about your own salvation, put yourself in a situation where you can hear God’s Word and the Gospel, and remind yourself that you are his baptise child. When you were baptised, it was not your doing, it was God’s doing, and it was his Word that empowered it. And so we commend our faith—weak as it is much of the time—into the hands of our living Jesus, and we ask him to preserve us and protect us to the end.
Also, Jesus gives us another comfort in that he says that the time will be shortened. He says: But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. And so, it has been common for Christians all throughout the centuries, to pray during times of hardship, for Jesus to come quickly. As it says in Revelation: The Spirit and the Bride say: Come! Come Lord Jesus. And this is wonderful thing to pray together with the Holy Spirit for the Lord Jesus to come and rescue us, and to cut the time of difficulty short.
Now, in our whole reading today, there are many more things we could say about it. But in all these things, there is the message that we should not always look for better times to come in the future. There is no promise of that. Maybe we will see some good times in our lives, but overall, as the world gets older, we should assume that it will always get worse, because there is much sin in the world, and it will continue to manifest itself in all kinds of ways. But in all of these things, we should prepare ourselves in faith, and patience, and prayer, for whatever God sends us in our lives, whether as individuals, as families, or as Christians together in the church. God rescued Lot and his family in a time of great hardship. God rescued his people from Egypt through great difficulty. And so, also, St Paul writes to Timothy: Understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. Jesus in our reading even says: See, I have told you beforehand. Don’t be surprised by it, in other words. Don’t be too shocked. But also be comforted, and be strengthened in the knowledge and the fact that God himself will be faithful and will rescue us from it all, and take us from this valley of sorrows to himself in heaven. All glory and honour and wisdom and power be to Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, and who is seated on the throne! Amen.
And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment