Text: Luke 21:5-38 | Listen to Message
Jesus’ Take on The End Times
It’s been said that talking about the end of the world always seems to bring out the crazy in some people (Philip Graham Ryken, Reformed Expository Commentary: Luke, Vol. 2, p. 413). You know the types: I call them preppers, preservationists, and prophets.
Preppers think they’ve stockpiled enough camouflage, guns/ammo, and MREs to survive a nuclear holocaust, WWIII, or a civil war. In reality, should any of those things break out, they will survive only 4 minutes longer than everyone else.
Preservationists are completely freaked out over the end of the world – due to manmade global warming. But, thanks to their switch to reusable shopping bags, cloth diapers, and riding fixies, they’re buying all of us a little more time.
Prophets are the ones with those big, fancy wall charts that map out all the End Times events in precise chronological order. They’re so smart, they even think they’ve figured out all the stuff that the Bible explicitly says nobody can figure out. These are your go-to guys for all sorts of quasi-information on the Rapture, the Tribulation, Armageddon, the Millennium, and the abomination of desolation known as “The Bible Codes.”
At the opposite end of the spectrum from the preppers/preservationists/prophets are an awful lot of people who don’t pay any attention to End Times prophecies and events. When this stuff comes up, they deliberately roll their eyes and walk away. “‘Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be.” Or something like that.
While most people tend toward the extremes of apathy or anxiety, Jesus encourages another way to think about the End Times altogether. He says the best way to prepare for an uncertain tomorrow is by living a faithful and watchful today.
Why would you be anxious? God sits in the heavens and he does whatever he pleases (Psalm 2:4; 135:5). Christ is coming again one day in power and glory (Luke 21:27), and when he does no one will hinder either his judgment or his mercy. You have good reason to “straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28).
But don’t be ignorant either! The only safety in that Last Day will be found in the promises of God. So cling to those promises and set your hope in Christ each and every day.
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