The last day is not yet. . .

Okay, you are wondering, how does he know that?  Well, I admit to no crystal ball or heavenly calendar but I fear the answer I have will disappoint you.  The reason I know today or even tomorrow is not the last day is that things are not bad enough to be the prelude to the end.  That probably shocks you.  Many of you are worried that things are already pretty bad and you cannot even imagine things getting worse.  But they will. . . and they are.

They have not yet come to our doors to haul us out and threaten us with death or kill us.  They have not yet taken away our jobs and our ability to care for those who depend upon us.  They have not yet used the Law to silence our Christian voices or to prevent the Word of the Lord from being read or proclaimed.  They have not taken away our homes or confiscated God's House.  Things are not good but they are not yet that bad and they will get worse.

There is no promise that the Church will win the battle for public opinion or succeed in taking back people and property lost to unbelief.  Only the pledge of God that the gates of hell will not prevail against her.  Now is not the time to surrender our hope or hide in fear of those who can take away our lives but cannot steal our souls.  Now is not the time to presume to speak for God insisting that the end must be near.  All the bad things we hear and see are bad, indeed, but not as bad as they could get or will get before the trumpet sounds and the dead are raised.  

It is for this that Jesus reminds us that he who endures to the end shall be saved.  So if you are one prone to anxious nights of tossing and turning or worried days glued to the news, I say this.  Let it go.  Go to Church.  Pray the Our Father.  Read the Scripture.  Turn your attention to the things that will strengthen your faith and prepare you to be found holy and blameless, in Christ, when He comes in His glory as Lord of the Change to end the old and deliver the new heavens and earth.

Much of those claiming to be the church is blasphemy and such churches may well be apostate.  But like the prophet who complains he is not alone.  God will have none of our whining.  What is God’s reply to him?  “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”  (Rom. 11:4)  God knows what we do not and it is not given to us to speculate on what we have not been given to know but to trust Him in all things.  Things will get worse but God remains steadfast, immovable, and determined that grace shall obtain the victory.  Remember the lesson of the fig tree.  Therein the warning lies not of winter but of spring.  Where God is and with Christ in our midst, this spring remains even as winter's death lives around us.  Take heart.  Endure.  You shall be saved. 

24 Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. ² But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Signs of the End of the Age

³ As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” ⁴ And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. ⁵ For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. ⁶ And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. ⁷ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

⁹ “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. ¹⁰ And then many will fall away^[a] and betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. ¹² And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

¹⁵ “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), ¹⁶ then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷ Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, ¹⁸ and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. ¹⁹ And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! ²⁰ Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. ²² And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. ²³ Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. ²⁴ For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, I have told you beforehand. ²⁶ So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷ For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ²⁸ Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁹ “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹ And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

³² “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. ³⁴ Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.