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IS IT THE END OR BEGINNING?

LUKE 21:5-19

A while back there was an ole boy named Joe that was very religious.
He always carried his Bible and sought to be a good Christian. One day Joe
was leaving the house and saw something in the sky. He immediately
thought that Judgment Day had come and God had written it there. Joe
started running as fast as he could. His buddy saw him running and decided
to stop him. He caught up to Joe and asked him what was wrong. Joe said,
Its Judgment Day and God has written it in the sky, didnt you see it? His
buddy said, No, I didnt but a plane wrote Pepsi Cola in the sky about
twenty minutes ago. Then his friend asked him, What would you have
done if it had been Judgment Day? Joe said, I was going to keep running
until judgment overtook me.
Our text began with Jesus disciples admiring the Temple. The pillars
of its porches and of the cloisters were columns of white marble, 40 feet
high, each made of a single block of stone. The most famous ornament was
the great vine made of solid gold; each cluster was as tall as a man. The
front of the Temple was outstanding in beauty. It was completely covered
with heavy plates of gold. At sunrise, it reflected a very fiery splendor, and
those who looked at it had to turn their eyes away. It was like staring at the
sun. From a distance the Temple almost looked like a mountain covered in
snow. The sections that were not covered in gold were pure white.
It is mistakenly assumed that Jesus was talking about his return in
verses 6-7. Jesus used this occasion to warn the Disciples of Jerusalems
and the Temples destruction. What appeared to be signs in vs. 8-11 were
just everyday events. Wars, rumors of wars, kingdom against kingdom,
earthquakes, and famines happen regularly. Jesus said that these are not
signs of the end just business as usual. Jesus plainly says its not the end
of the world, as referred to in v.9.
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So where did the idea of signs originate? In Jewish apocalyptic

writings, signs of nature were viewed as warnings of the End. One of these
documents reads: Before the Day of Lord, there will be Quaking of places,
Tumult of peoples, scheming of nations, confusion and anxiety among
leaders, 4 Ezra 9:3. Many Jewish people, and especially the Pharisees,
were familiar with these writings. Jesus was making a point by drawing on
common knowledge.
The Jewish people were notorious for wanting proof through signs.
The apostle Paul noted this in I Corinthians1:22: The Jews demand signs
and the Greeks seek wisdom. We see this again and again throughout the
gospels and other places in the Bible. Signs make it easier for us to
believe. Life has always been uncertain and humans look for some certainty,
to lessen anxiety. Jesus warns them to not let anyone lead them
astray. This was a call to carefully consider peoples words and to avoid
seeking signs. During this time in Jewish history, it was common for
someone to claim to be the messiah. Passover celebrations were notorious
for this since Jewish nationalism ran high. Their rabble rousing contributed
to the wars that led to the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70. Jesus said
that many will come in my name declaring I am he but in the Greek reads
I am. This was a reference to the name God gave to Moses. The original
readers probably heard these false prophets referring to themselves as I
am.
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In verse 12, Jesus moved our attention from the worlds End to a more
personal view. Jesus pointed out what Christians could expect in the next
few decades. In verses 12-7 we see that Christians will suffer because they
follow Christ. Christians were persecuted by the Jewish authorities and
Roman government. Families were torn apart and Christians died at the
hands of family members. Remember the story of the blind man healed by
Jesus in John 9. His parents would not talk to the Pharisees because they
would be disowned. Verse 20: We know he is our son, the parents
answered, and we know he was born blind. 21But how he can see now, or
who opened his eyes, we dont know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak
for himself. 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish
leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that
Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue.
It may look and feel like the End of the World but the End is not yet.
The disciples world was about to change, though they did not know it.
Jesus death would feel like the end of their world. Though the Temple and
Jerusalem would be destroyed, Christians would fare better than the Jews
during this time. They would escape the destruction since they would
abandon Jerusalem as the Romans came to overthrow it. This is reflected in
verse 18.
Remember the perfect autumn morning on September 9 2001 when
our world ended, in a sense. At 8:46 a.m. a commercial airliner crashed into
the north tower of the World Trade Center. 30 minutes later, lower
Manhattan looked like a scene from a Judgment day movie; it was not a
movie. The world ended for several thousand people and was crushed for
millions of others.
When times get difficult people seem to be wondering if its the end.
There is no shortage of wondering and even planning during this latest
economic down turn. Some of you may watch the reality show Doomsday
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Preppers. Preppers are those preparing for the end of our world as we
know it due to various types of disasters, economic, weather, or military. Its
interesting to see how different people plan.
While working with psychiatric patients, many would express great
concern about the end of the world. They would tell me that they felt like the
end of the world was near. These end of world fantasies are a common
part of mental illness. However, it was obvious that they had experienced in
a very real way the end of their world.
People have been asking about Christs return since He ascended to
the Father. In several places in the Gospels, Jesus plainly said that nobody
knew when he would return except the Father. This has not stopped us from
wondering and making predictions as history has shown. I believe the last
big prediction was December 22 2012. The year 2000 saw another big wave
of activity. Historians remind us that the same thing happened before the
calendar changed to A.D. 500, 1000, 1500, just to list a few. If Jesus was not
privy to this knowledge, why do we think we could know?

In closing, remember that only God the Father knows when Christ will
return. Let us serve the risen Christ until He decides that it is time for a new
beginning.

Preached at Bethel UMC, 11/17/2013

Hear our prayers that we may love you with our whole being
and willingly share the concerns of our neighbors.
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Make us faithful stewards of the fragile bounty of this earth

so that we may be entrusted with the riches of heaven.

We praise your abiding guidance, O God,

for you sent us Jesus, our Teacher and Messiah,
to model for us the way of love for the whole universe.
Strengthen our hearts in every good work and word,
that we may be steadfast in your ways.
Bless those on our prayer list and those not listed.
Guide Bethel UMC as we do your will.
May our actions reflect our love for you.
Now we pray as your son taught us:
Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive our trespasses

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,

for thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory,

forever and ever. AMEN.