When we were children, growing up at Marsabit in northern Kenya, my brother and I were given for Christmas a large white box kite. With great joy we flew it - higher and higher - until it was higher than the hill which separated the mission where we lived from the township. We were so engrossed with our kite that at first we didn't notice the arrival of a trail of breathless people from the town. They had seen the kite from the other side of the hill. What was this strange white object in the sky? And then the rumour spread. "The moon has come down on the mission" - and people came rushing to see the sight.
Isn't it tempting to give sensational explanations to things we don't understand? To jump to conclusions that are sensational but wrong. This is where UFO's and Loch Ness Monsters come from! And today, in our reading from Luke, we enter dangerous, mysterious territory - the territory of prophecy. Prophecies in the Bible are a playground for speculators, for sensationalists.
Back in the 70's a book, "The Late Great Planet Earth" by Hal Lindsay, was a best seller. Lindsay confidently linked all sorts of prophecies from Scripture with current world events. According to him those prophecies were seeing their fulfilment there and then. Many Christians have done this over the centuries. The Beast, the Antichrist, the Scarlet Woman - have been confidently identified as Hitler, Stalin, the Pope, Chairman Mao, Saddam Hussein.
I even suspected at one time my Latin master at school!
There was a time when some linked the 10 countries of the Common Market to the ten toes of Daniel's beast.
The problem arose when the E.U. expanded to 27 countries - even Daniel's beast hasn't got that many toes!
Time and again people have taken prophecies in the books of Daniel and Revelation, and interpreted them to mean that the end of the world is imminent. They have even come up with the date. But when the predicted date has come and gone, and we're still here, they have another think, and come up with a new one.
Prophecy is a minefield; a playground for sensationalists and odd-balls, who fail to grasp that apocalyptic language is highly picturesque and dramatic.
Talking of misunderstanding did you hear about the lady who gave birth to a son. She texted a friend "Isaiah 9:6" - a verse which of course reads "Unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given". Her friend turned to her husband and said "Margaret has had a baby boy weighing 9lbs 6. But why on earth have they called him "Isaiah"?"
Anyway, back to our reading from Luke 21. What are we to make of these words of Jesus? It all began when Jesus was sitting teaching in the Temple in Jerusalem. And some of His disciples, looking around, commented on the awesome beauty, the magnificence, of the Temple building - its massive stonework, its rich ornaments. And Jesus said "The time will come when not one of these stones will be left standing on another." And He proceeded (Luke 21) to prophesy about terrible days ahead - wars, revolution, earthquakes, famine, epidemics. And before all that, persecution of His followers. Imprisonment. Even death.
And then Jesus became more specific. He spoke of armies surrounding Jerusalem; of the Temple being flattened - days of siege, days of terror - days of horror for pregnant women and nursing mothers. All this in the verses preceding our reading today. Then in our reading, v 25 onwards, Jesus went on to talk about even more dramatic events: - signs in the heavens; the stars and the planets shaken; - roaring and tossing of the sea; - nations in anguish; men fainting from terror - and the Son of Man coming with power and great glory, for the whole world to see.
So what does all this mean? When - what timescale - was Jesus talking about? Well, if you are hoping for a lucid, clear-cut explanation this morning, hope not! Biblical scholars have disagreed and argued over the centuries about the interpretation of such prophecy - and they still argue today.
If you read Leon Morris's or William Barclay's commentary on this passage they suggest that Jesus was talking about 2 distinct times - the destruction of the Temple in AD 70 by the Roman armies, when hundreds of thousands (even over a million, according to Josephus) were slaughtered. And the second coming of Jesus, still in the future.
But if you read Bishop Tom Wright's commentary, or Prof Tasker's, they suggest that the whole passage refers to the events of AD 70, and not to the Second Coming (in which case, it should not be set as the lectionary reading for Advent Sunday, and my life today would be much easier!)
But I'm not going into these varying opinions - gripping as that might be! Except to highlight the difficulty of interpreting prophecy. I think sometimes we get confused about what prophecy in the Bible is. It's not simply a predicting of future events. It's not so much fore-telling as forth-telling. It is God's word spoken powerfully, and often in symbolic language, into situations. And some prophecies - whether in Isaiah or Daniel or Revelation, or the words of Jesus Himself - probably speak of things that apply to several timescales, all at once.
Philip Yancey, in his helpful book "The Bible Jesus Read", suggests that many prophecies in the Bible have 3 layers to them:
- the Now - they speak into situations prevalent at that time.
- the Later - future events, such as the destruction of the Temple in AD 70.
- the Much Later - events yet to come, foremost among them, of course, the Second Coming of Jesus.
It helps me to think of it like this. If you know our house you know that we have a wonderful view. I can pick up the binoculars, that are always at hand, and I can focus on the field just below our garden, and watch the pheasants pecking at the newly sown winter wheat. Or, with a slight turn of the screw, I can focus on the marsh in the mid-distance, and look at the buzzards hovering over it. Or, with a further slight turn, I can focus on Bredon Hill, and the Cotswolds 20 miles away.
It's all there in my field of vision. It's all there at one and the same time. Three layers - near, further and much further. And slight adjustment of the binoculars brings a different layer into focus. Isn't prophecy a bit like that?
The now, the later, and the much later. All in view at the same time, but needing a slight adjustment in focus.
So back to Luke, and Jesus' words of prophecy. What has all this to do with Advent? I suggest that we stick with the broad principles, and not get bogged down in the obscure detail. So what are the broad principles that are relevant to us today, on this Advent Sunday in 2009?
I suggest 4 things that are clear and certain and uncontroversial:
1) Jesus will come again.
The Second Coming will happen. Jesus Himself spoke of it several times. St Paul spoke of it - "The coming of the Lord". The writer of the Hebrews spoke of it - "He will appear a second time". Peter spoke of it - "The day of the Lord will come". The angels at the ascension proclaimed: "This same Jesus, Who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way that you have seen Him go to heaven." There is nothing uncertain about the Second Coming of Christ. It will happen.
2) It will happen when we don't expect it.
Christians who come up with accurate predictions about the end of the world forget that the Bible repeatedly tells us that it will be a surprise, unexpected. Jesus said (Mark 13:32) "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, not the Son, but only the Father." So even Jesus didn't know. He said "Keep watch, because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back." In today's reading Jesus said "Be on guard so that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap." In His last words to the disciples before His ascension Jesus said: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set" (Acts 1:7)
Peter said: "The day of the Lord will come like a thief." We don't know when Jesus will come again. It will happen when we don't expect it.
3) There will, nevertheless, be warning signs.
Jesus pointed to the fig tree (v 29). "When trees begin to burst into leaf," He said, "you know that summer is near."
Likewise, when we see the snowdrops appearing through the frosty ground we know that spring is round the corner.
"So look for the warning signs!" was Jesus' message.
Wars, rumours of wars. Famine. Earthquakes. Persecution of Christians. False prophets and teachers. A widespread turning away from God, and people's love for God growing cold. It's all there (Matt 24: 6-14). All this will happen first.
"And this gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" said Jesus.
So, take notice of world events. Jesus said: "When you see these things taking place you know that the Kingdom of God is near." So, Jesus will come again. It will happen when we don't expect it. There will be warning signs.
4) It will be obvious to the whole world.
Jesus, He Himself told us, "will come in a cloud with power and great glory." There will be no mistaking it. There will be no missing it. It won't be anything like last time - as a baby in a cowshed in a remote village. ALL will see Him - those who love Him, and have persevered to the end - those who have rejected Him, and have persecuted His people.
I guess there will be unimaginable rejoicing, And there will be unimaginable trembling. What there won't be is any indifference. Every human being will have to face Him. So we wait - excitedly, expectantly, patiently, perseveringly, actively, constructively. Using the time. Using the time. It's not an excuse to sit back and do nothing. But it is a reason for active hope.
I guess we live in one of the most scary ages of history. If all the predictions about global warming are true, then there is a lot to be scared about, perhaps not so much for ourselves as for our children and grandchildren.
The implications for future food production; for flooding and drought; the risks of war over food and water and land are scary. There is the threat of overpopulation of the world, making the competition for food and water and land more fierce.
And then there is the threat of militant fundamentalists - determined to conquer the world, and utterly ruthless in the way they go about it, with the fear that it is only a matter of time until they get nuclear weapons.
And all supposedly in the name of God. And there are the threats of secularisation of our own society. Increasing antagonism towards Christians, and discrimination against us. A side-lining of Christian values.
There's a lot to be scared about. The future is scary, For anyone without faith it must be very scary.
But Jesus, in our reading, gives us 2 words of advice:
- 1) "be alert at all times". Not indifferent. Not careless about what is going on in the world. But alert. Concerned. Working our socks off to make it a better place - while we wait.
- 2) pray. Praying keeps us in touch with God. Praying gives us reassurance. Praying gives us a sense of peace and purpose. It gives us hope. Because, as Christians, we, of all people, have reason to hope.
The world is not out of control. It is not on a course of self-destruction. It is God's world, and it's in God's hands.
It, and we, are in God's mighty care. And one day, in His timing, Jesus will return, in great glory. And there will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain. He will make everything new . And we shall be with Him in glory.
As we affirm in the Communion service, in that ancient statement of faith,
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN.
"Amen. Come Lord Jesus."
David Webster
| 