As we near the closing days of the Year of Our Lord 2009, I’d like to look ahead a couple of years and give you some key dates for the year 2012. Here goes:
- On February 5, 2012, Super Bowl number 46 will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
- On April 8, 2012, Christians throughout the world will celebrate the resurrection of our Lord on Easter Sunday.
- On June 15, 2012, I will turn 62 years old. You’re all invited to the party.
- On July 27, 2012, the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics will be held in London, England. The closing ceremony for the Summer Olympics will be held on Sunday, August 12.
- On Tuesday, November 6, 2012, voters will go to the polls to elect the President of the United States, as well as members of the US Senate and the House of Representatives.
- And on December 21, 2012, the world will come to an end.
That last date I mentioned – the end of the world on December 21, 2012 – has been getting a lot of publicity lately. It is based on a theory that an ancient calendar created by the Mayan Indians suddenly ends on December 21, 2012 – and therefore, that must represent the end of our world. Although it hasn’t made it yet to the Roseland Theater here in Pana, last weekend American moviegoers bought $65 million of tickets to see the movie 2012 – which is, as you probably guessed, about the end of the world. Go to just about any bookstore and you can find any number of books explaining how the world will end in 2012. Do a Google internet search on the words “2012 end of the world” and you will get over 56 million matches.
Now I feel very certain that most of the events that I mentioned will actually take place as scheduled in 2012. But I am absolutely certain that the end of the world will not take place on December 21, 2012. And the reason for my certainty is this: Jesus specifically promised that we – none of us – will know when He is going to return at the end of the world until He actually does return.
In Mark chapter 13, Jesus warns us about the end times – about the end of the world – about Judgment Day. His warnings have absolutely nothing to do with a Mayan calendar or anything else that some human mind has pieced together. Instead, the warnings that Jesus gives us focus on our faith. For our faith’s sake, Jesus warns us about things to come, even things that are here now, so that we will not be tempted to fall away from our faith – to fall away in persecution, to doubt God’s love when suffering, even to doubt that He will return. The message of our Gospel lesson is that we must not stumble on the things we fear, the false speculations about the end of the world or the troubles of today that seem so oppressive and so threatening. Instead, Jesus tells us to watch – to be prepared for the end – by receiving His promises today. “And what I say to you I say to all,” Jesus says. “Stay awake.”
The Greek word translated here as “stay awake” means a whole lot more than just “don’t fall asleep.” It has a sense of keeping watch, of being vigilant, of being alert. Of always being on guard. Of always knowing that something is going to happen – and making sure that you’re prepared for it.
As Christians, we should be on guard for false teachings – teachings that depart from the pure and undeniable words of Scripture, only to be replaced with the corrupt and sinful words of man. For example, some prominent religious scholars feel that the language of the Bible is sexist and needs to be updated to reflect the way that people think and talk today. That’s why some churches baptize in the name of “the Creator, the Redeemer and the Sanctifier” instead – as Jesus commands in Matthew 28 – in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Some so-called Christians refer to “Mother God” rather than God the Father. Should we be alert anytime someone changes God’s Word and replaces it with man’s word? That’s what Jesus tells us to do.
As Christians, we should be on guard for persecutions – in fact, we should even expect them. Sometimes those persecutions are subtle. Several years ago a major retail chain decided to stop using the word “Christmas.” An employee can tell you to have a “happy holiday” but was discouraged from telling you to have a “merry Christmas.” More often, the persecutions are not so subtle. In much of the Arab world, Christianity is officially illegal. In much of the Arab world, a Christian can be arrested for witnessing about Jesus to a person of the Muslim faith. We don’t hear much about it because it seldom makes the headlines, but the plain fact of the matter is that in many areas of the world, Christian churches are burned and Christian men, women and children are murdered for their faith. Should we be alert for persecution? That’s what Jesus tells us to do.
As Christians, we should be on guard for difficult times. “That’s a no-brainer,” you’re probably thinking – and you’re right. Terrorist attacks, natural disasters, diseases, accidents, crops rotting in the fields because it’s too muddy to harvest them – yep, we hear about them every day. But when these bad things happen – and they most surely will happen again and again and again – we should be watchful of thinking that maybe God doesn’t really love us or maybe God just doesn’t care. Or in the words of a recent and very popular Brooks and Dunn song, that “God’s too busy.” Because that couldn’t be further from the truth. God created a perfect world that was utterly corrupted by sin. When bad things happen, we are reminded just how much we need God. We are reminded just how much we need a Savior who forgives us of our sins. And we are reminded that these times of troubles, no matter how difficult they are, are only temporary. As Jesus tells us in Luke 21:28: “When these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
Something else that Jesus tells us is that no one – no man or woman – knows when the end of the world will take place. No one knows when Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead. The angels in all of their power and beauty do not know. Nor did Jesus make use of His divine knowledge to tell us when it will be. God wants us to be ready every day that we live. We are to be alert and prepared for His return.
The really sad thing about so many of these end-of-the-world books and movies is that they end with no hope – they end with no future – they end only with total and final destruction. They end with no Jesus. But as Christians who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, we know that the end times ultimately bring the best of times for us. The end times bring us to the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting.
And so we wait. We stay awake. We remain on guard. We know that Jesus will return on the last day because he tells us so. And in the meantime, we have all we need. We have Scripture, the precious, holy words of the Holy Bible, and in Mark 13:31 Jesus promises that no matter what happens here on earth, His words “will not pass away.”
We have all we need. We have Baptism for the washing of regeneration and the Lord’s Supper to receive forgiveness of sins through Christ’s own true body and blood. We have the holy and eternal Christian Church. We have each other – fellow Christians who have been brought to faith in the Triune God and who support and defend each other through the best of times and the worst of times.
A story is told about a tourist who was traveling in Northern Italy. He wanted to visit a certain castle called Villa Arconti. When he got there he met a friendly old gardener who opened the gate and showed the tourist the grounds which the old man kept in perfect order. "How long have you been here?" the tourist asked. "Twenty-four years," replied the gardener. "And how often has the owner of the castle been here during that time?" "Four times." "When was the last time?" "Twelve years ago." "Never since then?" "Never." "Does he write to you?" "No." "From whom then do you get your instructions?" "From his agent at Milan." "Does this agent come out here quite often?" "Never." "Who, then, comes here?" "I am almost always alone – but once in a great while a tourist comes here." "But you keep this garden in such fine condition and take such excellent care of all the plants, just as though you expected your master to come tomorrow." The old gardener proudly corrected him: "Not tomorrow. Today, sir, today." His answer made a deep impression on the tourist. How faithful that old man was to his trust! Day after day his thought was not "Tomorrow the master may come" but "Today, sir, the master may return. Today."
Be awake. Be prepared. Jesus is returning. You can’t find out when by watching a movie or reading a book or even by following some ancient pagan calendar. That’s why Jesus wants us to be ready for the end of the world, for His return to earth in judgment and in glory. Be ready for His coming. Be ready, not tomorrow. Be ready today.
Return to Pastor page
