Hope at the End of the World

The scriptures referred to are Hebrews 10:11-25 and Mark 13:1-8.

I was talking to an inmate whom I visited regularly. He was considerably more conservative than I and he was thoroughly convinced that we are living in the End Times. And I admitted on one occasion that, based on all the bad news—not just politics and the possibility of nuclear war, but also climate change, mass extinctions, droughts, famine, increasing suicides, and numerous other things—that he could very well be right. On the other hand if we were living in Nazi Germany, or in Russia during the Bolshevik revolution, or in Cambodia during the rule of the Khmer Rouge, or in Europe at the time of the reformation with the church breaking up and the Huns invading, we might feel the same. It would be the end of the world, at least as we knew it.

All religions posit an end to this world. Even science says all life on earth will eventually come to an end. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, it is called the Day of the Lord and it is one of the subjects of eschatology. This branch of theology concerns the 4 Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell. The Day of the Lord is the day of judgment, when God is expected to end the current evil age, judge all humans and begin the Messianic age. Of all the books in the Bible, only in the book of Revelation are the End Times is the primary focus. They also figure prominently in Daniel, and in portions of Ezekiel and Isaiah. Otherwise there are scattered sections and occasional references in the other prophets and parts of the New Testament. Certain churches focus on this stuff a lot; some hardly at all. But what was the reason that this was a part of scripture in the first place?

The prophets whose writings were recorded in the Bible usually arose at times of crisis. Most of them were called to proclaim two main messages. The first was a call to repent or return to God and his ways. They would announce judgment upon the kingdoms of Israel and/or Judah because of their sins. And the chief sins were always apostasy and injustice. The people were either worshiping idols and other gods or else just going through the motions and thinking that observing rituals was an adequate substitute for really worshiping and obeying God. This was in turn seen in how they treated their fellow human beings, especially the poor and disadvantaged. As it says in Ezekiel, “Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom; she and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and complacent; they did not help the poor and needy.” (Ezekiel 16:49; Berean Study Bible) If God's people didn't repent and mend their ways, there would be judgment.

The second part of the prophets' message was forgiveness and restoration. God would not give up on his people or abandon them forever. Eventually he would restore them and things would be better than before. So, as one person put it, the mission of the prophets was to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. And we see this in Jesus and throughout the New Testament as well.

It's when things really got bad, especially during times of persecution, that we see the rise of apocalyptic literature. Apocalypse is a Greek word that means “unveiling.” Prophets would look to the future and foresee a day of reckoning, not only for Israel but for the whole world. However, this would be followed by the vindication of God's people and the establishment of the kingdom of God, with a descendant of David on the throne. Which means ultimately the message of apocalyptic literature is one of hope. Justice will be done, even to those who escaped it in this life, and God's royal reign over the whole world would become manifest. The suffering of God's people would not be in vain.

In Jesus' day, the Jews generally felt as they would in Nazi Germany. The Roman Empire was a brutal regime and their arrangement with Judea was an unstable one. Of all the peoples the Romans conquered, only the Jews refused to worship the pantheon of Roman gods. Since this was a deal breaker for the Jews, the Romans allowed them, and only them, to get out of worshiping not only Jupiter and his family but also the divine emperor. Still almost everyone could see that this state of affairs would not continue forever. There were groups like the Zealots who were itching to expel the Romans, while the empire made things worse by installing governors like Pilate, who was ham-fisted in his dealings with the Jews. 

In today's gospel Jesus predicts the destruction of the magnificent temple in Jerusalem. There are skeptics who say this passage cannot be authentic because they do not believe in prophesy. How could Jesus have foreseen the fall of Jerusalem? I wonder if they also doubt that, right after the First World War, people like economist Silvio Gesell and French general Ferdinand Foch predicted the Second World War. As for Jerusalem, it's not like the city hadn't fallen before. The Babylonians destroyed Solomon's temple and burned the city. The Jews commemorated that day (and still do). The tensions between the Romans and the Jews were evident to anyone with eyes and ears. Even without the Spirit of God, seeing this would inevitably happen again was no great stretch of the imagination. And you'll notice that in today's gospel none of the disciples say, “How could this possibly happen?” Instead they say, “Tell us when this will be....” The idea that the Romans would destroy Herod's temple is not at all surprising to them.

Rather than saying “On such and such a date...” or “Here are the unmistakable signs that this is about to happen...” Jesus starts by saying, “Beware that no one leads you astray.” The dangers he is concerned about are false messiahs and precisely the kind of sign and calendar watching the disciples were asking about. Jesus mentions that, yes, there will be wars and natural disasters. But he gives us a major caveat: “This is but the beginning of birth pangs.” Anyone who's given birth or whose spouse has given birth knows that labor pains can go on for a long time. (In our case, the labor preceding each of our kids' births was 20 hours!) Scaling up, Jesus is saying, even when you see these things, the end isn't going to happen for quite a while. Later he says, “But about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Mark 13:32) Notice that Jesus said that not even he, at least while he was on earth, knew when he would return. How is it that so many Christians think they know more than Jesus and can work out exactly when the end is? Such timetables are precisely what Jesus is trying to avoid.

Jesus warns us about 3 things: don't fall for false messiahs; don't get hung up on the time things will end; and don't slack off. Again later in this chapter Jesus says, “It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and put his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.” (Mark 13:34) And he says, “If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.” (Mark 13:36) In Matthew's version Jesus says, “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.” (Matthew 24:45-46) What Jesus says is important is for us to be taking care of each other.

What we are not to do is build survival shelters or stock up on ammunition or fight those we think are outside God's concern. Again I am surprised that so many so-called Bible-believing Christians don't pay closer attention to those scary parts of Revelation they love so much and realize that we are never called to fight. We are called to be witnesses. We may be called on to suffer or even die if necessary. But we are not to fight. As Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52)

There isn't even an actual battle of Armageddon, especially if you take Revelation literally. In the only place in the entire Bible where the word Armageddon is used it says, “Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.” (Revelation 16:16) And while you might think there would next be a great battle between the forces of good and evil, instead it says, “Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake.” (Revelation 16:18) Oh, and as a coup de gras, “From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, fell on people.” (Revelation 16:21) No Christians armed to the teeth need apply. God fights his own battles.

So if we aren't supposed to fight bad guys what are we to do? As I said we are to be witnesses to the good news of Jesus. And one way we can do that is by displaying what Jesus said was the mark of the Christian. “By this all people will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35) And that love is supposed to be shown concretely. In an eschatological passage that people who are obsessed with such things nevertheless rarely talk about, Jesus depicts the last judgment as hinging on how we treat those who are disadvantaged. Those who feed the hungry, hydrate the thirsty, clothe the naked, care for the sick, visit the imprisoned and welcome the alien are revealed to have been serving Jesus himself. (Matthew 25:31-46) This is the household we are to take care of. The kingdom is among us. We don't have to wait till Jesus returns to start implementing parts of it. To switch metaphors, he wants to find us planting and nurturing it when he comes.

As our passage from Hebrews says, “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Let's look at this in detail.

“Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope...” What people need at bad times is hope: hope there is a solution or at least ways to make things better. Despair sets in when we think that nothing can be done, that our present misery is permanent. Jesus faced things that should have induced despair in him. He knew what happened to people who spoke up against the powers that be. The cross was not a surprise or plot twist. And he knew that not everyone would follow him, especially when the going got tough. But he didn't say, “Why bother? I'm going to die and I will only have a handful of followers to carry on my work.” He persevered, teaching and healing. He even healed the servant of the high priest, whose ear got lopped off by Peter at Jesus' arrest. (Luke 22:50-51) He forgave and promised paradise to a thief as they both hung dying on crosses, essentially still delivering the good news in his last hours of life. (Luke 23:39-43) Jesus never gave up. Because God never gives up. His love never ends. That's a message of hope.

“Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds...” Usually we think of provoking someone to lose their temper or to do something stupid or rash. Why don't we provoke one another to do good? Why don't we challenge each other to find new ways to love people and to do good deeds? In our social media people keep coming up with more ways to promote themselves. Why don't we brainstorm ways to promote the betterment of the world? Why don't we put more energy into spreading the solutions we already have so that more people can make use of them?

You do see this happening from time to time. There are the folks who use 3-D printing to give less expensive prosthetic hands to kids who need them. [Here] There is the designer who figured out an inexpensive way to get water for African villages out of thin air. [Here] There is the woman who created a nonprofit that provides women in war-torn countries with life, business and vocational skills. [Here] These are people tackling problems with imagination and love. We can seek to generate more solutions, as well as throw our weight into helping implement the ones others have already set up.

“...not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another...” Even back then, people were trying to be Christians on their own and not coming to worship together, to share the Word, to share the Body and Blood, and to encourage one another. There are 2 reasons we should do this.

First, the Christian life is difficult. To become a Christlike person is not a quick or easy task. Nor is it a matter of simply following commandments. One is bound to encounter situations not specifically covered by the Bible. You may find yourself in situations where moral values clash, or where there is no purely good option. The wisdom of other Christians at various stages in life, with different experiences and perspectives is helpful. Plus we all need encouragement to keep doing what is hard, even though it's right.

Second, being a Christian is all about love. To paraphrase 1 John 4:20, if you can't love your fellow church members, whom you have seen, how can you love the people of the world, whom you have not seen? Ideally your neighborhood church draws all kinds of people. Some will be easy to love, some not. Some will be very loving in return, some not. Jesus pointed out that if you only love those who love you, you are not doing any more than anyone else. (Matthew 5:46-47) Love is not easy. It can be messy and even maddening at times. It also makes life worthwhile and makes the world a better place. Our little gatherings of people following Jesus should be places where we are not only reminded of God's grace and forgiveness but also are encouraged to love one another as well as the people outside our doors.

The world may very well be ending. Or our time in this world, our life, may be ending. Or it may be that the world we know is ending, and a new world beginning. It doesn't matter. Our hope is in the Lord and our job is to follow Jesus, to love God and to love others. It is to communicate that love through whatever talents and gifts we have received from his Spirit in whatever circumstances we find ourselves to whomever we encounter. We can't let ourselves get distracted by Christ-wannabes, clocks or calendars. This is the beginning of birth pangs. A baby will be born when he is born; Jesus will come when he comes.

In the meantime, there is a lot to do to get this world ready for him. There are people to welcome and clothe and feed and shelter and visit and nurse. There are young people to nurture and teach and guide. There are older people with wisdom to listen to and skills to utilize. There injustices to make right, imperfect solutions to improve, and new approaches to consider. The kingdom of God isn't anywhere near complete but like the mustard seed, it is slowly, inevitably growing, in you, in me, in this place, in this world, in our lives. Let's get on our knees, dig in, and get our hands dirty, doing what we can to encourage its growth. Let's get so engrossed in what we are doing for Jesus that we forget the time, till we sense his presence, look up, see his smile and hear his voice: “Well done, good and faithful servant!”