This is the last Sunday in the church year. Today, throughout the whole Christian Church on earth, believers are contemplating the return of Jesus Christ. Today, the Church looks toward the future – to the consummation of the age. On this Sunday, the Christian Church talks about preparation – about being ready for the return of Jesus.
God’s Word talks much about being ready for the return of Christ. Jesus took the time to prepare his followers. The Lord provided them with details about what conditions would be like when He returned. He talked to them about the signs of the end of the age. And Jesus warned them about the challenges that believers would face as the end of the age approached.
There are few topics for which there exists as much confusing and contradicting information as end-times matters. The popular "Left Behind" book series engages in a great deal of speculation concerning this topic. What will happen, these type of writings suggest, to airplanes piloted by believers who are ‘raptured’ out of the cockpit. Or what will happen on the expressways to cars that suddenly find themselves without drivers because the Lord has raptured them out of the earth?
And perhaps one of the scariest thoughts that can come to us as believers is, “When Christ returns, will he find me faithful?” For example, if Christ returns just at the split second when I am having a knock-down, drag-out, knuckle-busting argument with my husband or wife, will Jesus still take me with him or will he judge me as an unbeliever? There is and has been rampant speculation about these sorts of things for centuries.
Today we will examine a couple of the common errors regarding end-times matters. This is, however, such a broad topic that we will be painting with broad brush strokes. We will use as our basis the text from our Gospel reading. Let’s read it together. [Read Mark 13.32-37 here]
The first big error we need to talk about is that desire to set a date for Christ’s return. In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus warned his followers, “No one knows when that day or hour will come. Even the angels in heaven and the Son don’t know. Only the Father knows.” The Scriptures are abundantly clear that only God knows when that is to be. Not even Jesus, in his humanity, claimed to have that knowledge. And yet many have attempted to set a date and to lead others into believing and accepting their view.
Let me tell you about one such person. During the first half of the 19th century, William Miller became intrigued with end-times prophecy. After 14 years of studying the Bible, He was quite certain that Christ would return in 1843. Because of his enthusiasm and self-assuredness, Miller had a large following of people. And so 50,000 - 100,000 of them also became convinced that Christ would return in 1843.
When Miller announced that the day would be April 3, some of his followers went to mountaintops, hoping for a head start to heaven. Others were in graveyards, planning to ascend in reunion with their departed loved ones. In Philadelphia, society ladies clustered together outside town to avoid entering God’s kingdom with the common folk. But when April 4 dawned as usual, the Millerites were disillusioned. But soon they took heart, because their leader had predicted a range of dates for Christ’s return. But when the second date came and passed, again the devout were disappointed. (Today in the Word, MBI, December 20, 1991. Adapted from an illustration found on ChristianGlobe.com)
Now listen, it is correct Biblical Doctrine to say that Christ will return. It is correct to say that Christ will raise people from the grave. It is correct to say that all believers will be reunited with Jesus as He takes us up to meet with Him in the air. But these solid Biblical Doctrines are compromised as we cleave them to an unbiblical – date setting theology. It causes doubts in the minds of believers about the whole of Biblical truth when bad doctrine is mingled with truth.
And this isn’t just a 19th century phenomena. In The "Late, Great Planet Earth," a very popular book that was first published in 1970, a modern day date-setter predicted that Jesus would return by 1988. And so the story continues today of people that claim to have a special revelation about when the end of the world will come.
But did Jesus encourage date-setting? The clear answer is absolutely not! Jesus encouraged readiness. In today’s reading Jesus tells a story of the owner of a house going on a trip and leaving the servants in charge. Jesus says that the servants need to be ready for the return of Christ because we do not know the day or hour when He will come back. And so the Lord encouraged being watchful. He encouraged us to tend to our faith so that we could look forward to Jesus’ coming with joy and anticipation rather than with dread. The last sentence of our reading says, “I’m telling everyone what I’m telling you: ‘Be alert!’ ”
Let’s talk about a second error commonly made as people look to the end of time. There’s a little anecdote that tells of a little girl that had been taught about return of Christ in Sunday School. After church, the little girl asked her mother, “Mommy, do you believe Jesus will come back?” “Yes,” said mom. “Today?” asked the little girl. “Yes,” answered the mother. “In a few minutes, mommy?” “Yes, dear.” “Mommy, would you comb my hair?” (by Don Hussong. Adapted from an illustration found on ChristianGlobe.com)
You see, this little story tells us about an attitude toward the return of Christ that is just as unhealthy as date-setting. And that attitude is one of indifference toward the idea Jesus is going to return. That we have an appointment to meet Jesus Christ at some point in our future is something that should escape no one. Listen to what Peter writes in his second letter: “First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, ‘Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.’ ” (2 Peter 3.3-4) No question about it, teaches Peter, Christ will return and the world as we know it will be annihilated.
Beloved, all of us are destined to stand before Christ. It might be one second after this [snap fingers here]. It may happen before Christ returns as we come to the end of our life. But make no mistake, Christ will return to put an end to all things as we know them and to fulfill the promises made by God in Scripture.
Well again, what is Jesus’ advice? Simple, be ready! Be alert. Know that Jesus is returning and live in his forgiveness and grace. Know that the Cross was about making us ready to stand before Jesus. Know that God draws close to keep our hearts ready for that great and awesome day that is coming. Know that God has more at stake in us being ready for the end of time than we have. He sacrificed his one and only Son on the Cross to make us ready! So God is the One at work making us ready, keeping us in his grace and love for that coming day.
In Warren Wiersbe’s, Meet Yourself in the Psalms, he tells about a frontier town where a horse bolted and ran away with a wagon carrying a little boy. Seeing the child in danger, a young man risked his life to catch the horse and stop the wagon. The child who was saved grew up to become a lawless man, and one day he stood before a judge to be sentenced for a serious crime. The prisoner recognized the judge as the man who, years before had saved his life; so he pled for mercy on the basis of that experience. But the words from the bench silenced his plea: “Young man, then I was your savior; today I am your judge, and I must sentence you to be hanged.” (by Doug Van Essen. Adapted from an illustration found on ChristianGlobe.com)
Listen beloved, Jesus tells us to be ready because one day He will return. This time He will not be the benign, humble Savior who rode into Jerusalem on a donkey – to be killed on a cross. He came then to be our Savior, to give up his life on the Cross. When Jesus returns next, He will come to judge. He will come to destroy the present world and to establish the eternal Kingdom where all believers are to live for eternity. You have a place in that Kingdom as God washes you clean through the forgiveness that Jesus won on the Cross. And if you are a believer, and if when Christ returns you are having a weak moment – like being in a row with your spouse – it is that same forgiveness that Jesus won on the Cross - once for all believers for all time - that assures you that Jesus will usher you into the Kingdom.
“Dear friends,” we read in the second reading from Jude, “Use your most holy faith to grow. Pray with the Holy Spirit’s help. Remain in God’s love as you look for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to give you eternal life.” It is, beloved, in that faith, that we can look to Christ’s return with Joy. It is in that faith that we can look to that return of Christ as a great reunion with all who have gone on ahead into the eternal Kingdom. It is in that faith that we can look to the return of Christ as our deliverance from this world. Amen.
