Luke
21:5-36 NIV
5 Some of his disciples were remarking
about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated
to God. But Jesus said, 6 “As for what you see here,
the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one
of them will be thrown down.”
7 “Teacher,” they asked, “when will
these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take
place?”
8 He replied: “Watch out that you are not
deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is
near.’ Do not follow them. 9 When you hear of wars and uprisings,
do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come
right away.”
10 Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great
earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and
great signs from heaven.
12 “But before all this, they will seize
you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in
prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account
of my name. 13 And so you will bear testimony to me. 14 But make up your mind not to
worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15 For I will give
you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist
or contradict. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents,
brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you
to death. 17 Everyone will hate you because of me. 18 But not a hair of your head
will perish. 19 Stand firm, and you will win life.
20 “When you see Jerusalem being
surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in
Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in
the country not enter the city. 22 For this is the time of
punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. 23 How dreadful it will be in
those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress
in the land and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the sword
and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be
trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon
and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the
roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 People will faint from terror,
apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be
shaken. 27 At that time they will see
the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to
take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing
near.”
29 He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and
all the trees. 30 When they sprout leaves, you can see
for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31 Even so, when you see these
things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
32 “Truly I tell you, this
generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have
happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but
my words will never pass away.
34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be
weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and
that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come on all
those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and
pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that
you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”
You Ain’t Seen Nothin Yet!
Since Pentecost
began, we’ve been on a long journey with Jesus and His disciples in these Lukan
passages of Scripture. We’ve wandered and snaked our way from territory to territory.
We’ve moved back and forth across the Jordan river, from Israelite territory to
Gentile territory. Jesus has been teaching, healing and performing miracles. We’ve
heard parables, seen demons cast out, been taught about showing mercy, God’s
Kingdom, shown how to love people different from ourselves, warned about idols
of greed, power, sex, money and prestige. We’ve been taught to give away not
only our idols but our very selves. We’ve been shown what it is to serve God
and to serve neighbor. And as we stumble behind Jesus and His disciples we’ve
been forgiven, blest with the Kingdom, called and sent out. All the while,
Jesus has been determined to fulfill God the Father’s plan for Him and for all,
as Jesus set His face “like flint” to march on to Jerusalem, to suffer, die,
rise and ascend into heaven. Yes, we even saw how God can take the black-eye of
our sin and still grant us forgiveness and salvation.
Sure, it’s been a great
late spring, summer, and fall with the Scripture of Luke this year.
Now this week, last
week as well and next week Jesus teaches about the Kingdom, heaven and eternity
and the price He pays for our communion with Him into eternity. Yes, Jesus HAS
changed our “Point of View” as we discovered last week, and that view is beyond
anything we could ever imagine.
Before we dig into
this week’s passage of Scripture, let me tell you about something I witnessed
this past week, that made me think of all of this week’s reflections.
I’m a Ham Radio
operator and enthusiast. It’s a hobby of mine. So, it’s not unusual for me to
follow the activity of the sun. The activity of the sun impacts the ionosphere
around our earth that enables communications around the globe. Sometimes in
good ways and sometimes in ways that make communications difficult. This past
Tuesday I began to see Hams in the US citing the possibility of Northern
Lights. These lights are caused by magnetic material from the sun that excites
the ionosphere. I looked at the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, and sure
enough, we were having a severe geomagnetic storm with a possible aurora forecast
into the Ohio region and some distant south. So, up I jumped, told my wife, Sue,
that I was heading out to take some pictures. I made my way away from the city
light pollution and took a series of beautiful pictures of the Northern Lights.
They are beautiful. They remind me of how wonderful God’s creation is and His
power to give good gifts. I was awestruck.
Wednesday morning, I
enjoy practice using my CW (that’s Morse Code) skills for three one-hour
intervals. The first session is at 8am in the morning. I noticed from the NOAA
Space Weather Prediction Center that a geomagnetic storm was happening. As I
usually do, I logged onto a Web SDR (radio) in Boone NC and one in Vermont. I
couldn’t even see my transmit signal in Boone and only barely saw my signal in
Vermont. Usually, my signal from my radio at home in Boone is strong. So, the
session began. I called out using morse code (CW) from my home in Middletown. The
signals were hard to copy in the weird ionosphere impacted by the geomagnetic
storm. I had a good hour, but was struck by the power of the geomagnetic storm’s
ability to make communication difficult.
After the hour, I
got to thinking of the aurora I had witnessed and how hard it was to hear my
friends in the noise. God sometimes moves in on us. God sometimes shows power
and strength. God sometimes displays, in the heavens, beauty for the eyes and
God sometimes displays in the power of overtaking the radio waves, that causes
us to stop and take notice. Stop and take notice, to slow down, to listen
carefully, not only for my fellow CW, Ham radio friends, but to stop and listen
to His voice as well. So, yea, this all shook me to my core as a God event, for
both eyes and ears and spirit. This is one of those “Thanks be to God” events.
So, as I logged my contacts after that hour, I always send a note to those I
contacted like, “God bless” or something like that. But this time my note just
had to give thanks. To each person I contacted, I sent a note about how I thought
we should give thanks to God for what His heavens had given to each of us. My
note? --- “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His mercy endures forever.”
This experience sort
of summed up my studies this week.
Here are some of my
notes…
This passage is the
conclusion of Jesus’ ministry and teaching before the passion. A climax to, and
about, the Kingdom.
As the disciples look
at the magnificent Temple, they must have thought it to be the “Gate of Heaven.”
I couldn’t help to think of the Northern Lights that I saw. Yet… Like Jacob’s
dream at Bethel when he witnessed the angels ascending and descending from
heaven, Jacob proclaimed, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than
the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”
Well… “You Ain’t
Seen Nothin Yet!”
As the disciples
looked at the temple, what they see and what we see IS NOT what Jesus saw.
Listen to Paul speak
of the Temple…
Ephesians
2:19-22 NIV
19 Consequently, you are no
longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s
people and also members of his household, 20 built on
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus
himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him
the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in
the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built
together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
There is a time and the
time is now. God’s emergencies don’t look like my emergencies. There is a time
and the time IS now. Jesus has led us along this season of Pentecost to show us
the time is now.
Again, listen to the words
of Paul speak of this time, this hour…
Romans
13:11-14 NIV
11 And do this, understanding
the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your
slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The
night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the
deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let
us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and
drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension
and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the
Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of
the flesh.
Tough words! But as Jesus
tells us in Luke 8… “Watch out…”
See the signs. Sure, I
flail in the dark, holding onto false idols of philosophy, law, science,
machines, inventions. BUT --- the end of these things IS death.
Hear Paul…
Romans
6:19-22 NIV
19 I am using an example from
everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer
yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now
offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When
you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What
benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those
things result in death! 22 But now that you have
been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you
reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
You see, the stuff
happening today is just things before the messianic age. So, we are to stand in
FAITH-NOT-FEAR. There is HOPE. Take hold and lay this stuff in God’s hands to
lead and guide you day by day. Suffering, now is sure, so don’t let go of God.
Remember Jacob, once
again as he wrestled…
Genesis
32:25-26 NIV
25 When the man saw that he
could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his
hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then
the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless
me.”
Yea,
hang onto God--- God hangs onto you.
There
will be suffering in your witness to God, so exhibit faithfulness to God’s path
to life. Set your face like flint as well. God has this. Realize like Jacob,
that heaven is REAL. Jesus’ ascension points us to follow Him.
As the
disciples were marveling at the Temple of the day, Jesus points out that this
very Temple will be destroyed. In fact, around AD 66-72 this prophecy comes true,
as the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem. Once again, as far as the Temple goes,
cast your eyes on Jesus. He IS the TEMPLE of God now and forever.
Look up!
Look out! Look beyond! “You Ain’t Seen Nothin Yet!”
Jesus is
coming! This is salvation in a cosmic context.
Let’s listen
to Paul again…
Romans
8:18-25 NIV
18 I consider that our
present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed
in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager
expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For
the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the
will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the
creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought
into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has
been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not
only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the
Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to
sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in
this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who
hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope
for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
There is
a time to unmask yourself. A time to repent. A time to “look up.” In my sin the
day is darkness. But, look up! See the cross outlined against the sky.
The signs
of the END are also signs of God’s NEW beginning. A NEW beginning where LIFE
bursts OUT.
When?
NOW!
Every
day is the last day. When it’s all gone, God IS left.
The faithful
need not be angst. Redemption is near. There is salvation in repentance AND
forgiveness.
God
delays Jesus’ coming for the spread of the Gospel. In Jesus all of your sins
are forgiven. Turn and believe it. Go and tell your friends and neighbors and
all those God places in your life each day, how much God loves them and wants
to be with them forever in His Kingdom. How Jesus came and died for all of their
sins and forgives them and gives them new and eternal life. All as a gift. A
wonderful gift. A much greater gift than any aurora… “You Ain’t Seen Nothin Yet!”
We may
die, BUT through what God does in Jesus, we WILL escape INTO life.
“You Ain’t
Seen Nothin Yet!”
Be ready
for it!
So, what
do you MAKE of life? A love that stands IN Jesus.
Look up!
Look out! Look to Jesus.
Jesus
didn’t set His face like flint for nothin, you know.
“You Ain’t
Seen Nothing Yet!”
Thanks
be to God!
How
could I not! Here is the YouTube Music Video… “You Ain’t Seen Nothin Yet” -Look
at the lyrics!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9S93bE06H0&list=RDg9S93bE06H0&start_radio=1
You Ain't Seen Nothin Yet
