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THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – DOOMSDAY DECEIVERS

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DOOMSDAY DECEIVERS

“They asked Him, ‘Teacher, when is this going to happen? What clue will we get that it’s about to take place?’

“He said, Watch out for the doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities claiming, ‘I’m the One,’ or, ‘The end is near.’ Don’t fall for any of that. When you hear of wars and uprisings, keep your head and don’t panic. This is routine history and no sign of the end.'” Luke 21:7-9.

Every generation has its doomsday prophets and its reasons to believe that the end is near. Wars are one of them. But, if we are honest, has there ever been a time when there have been no conflicts in the world? Wars are not so much a sign of the immanence of Jesus’ return as a reminder of the nature of man. Jesus called it “routine history”.

Greed for money and power has driven men and nations into conflict since the beginning of time, from strife in the family to the two world wars of the twentieth century and, in between, the localized tribal struggles that result in genocide.

A far more subtle problem is what Jesus called “doomsday deceivers”. They are often unwittingly a tool of Satan. His most potent weapon is deception, and his tactic, distraction. These false prophets arouse fear through their Biblical misinterpretations and draw our attention away from our Master. They draw a following by their plausible explanations about what is happening in the world and what is going to happen..

Jesus’ earnest counsel: ‘Don’t pay any attention to them.’ Instead He gave us His take on the ‘end of the world’, watch and be ready! There is no question about the fact of His return. It’s the ‘when’ bit that bothers us but, if we heed His counsel, when He is to return should be of less importance than whether we are prepared no matter when it happens.

‘Watch’ does not mean resign your job, leave home and sit on a mountain waiting for Jesus to come. Jesus told us how to watch – be faithfully carrying out His instructions when He returns. Don’t get lazy or sloppy. You’ll be caught off guard.

“Be ready” does not mean holing up underground with enough provisions for a siege! It sounds funny but some of the latest books and movies portraying the end of the world give us that impression.

We have to turn to the Bible for answers.  Since the Bible is the story of a betrothal and a wedding, the answer to the question, ‘How can I be ready?’ is found in the imagery of Jewish wedding culture. I cannot go into detail here except to focus on the purpose of marriage and the interval between the betrothal and the wedding ceremony.

God intended marriage as a picture of the unity in the Trinity, and His purpose for creating man – that we would be one with Him. God’s plan for marriage is expressed in three words (Genesis 2:24), “leave…cleave…one”. Union of man and woman in marriage mirrors the essence of God’s image – “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

The purpose of the betrothal was to separate the bride from all other men in preparation for the wedding when she was joined to the bridegroom to become one with him. The interval between betrothal and the wedding had two purposes; the groom prepared the bridal chamber and the bride prepared herself.

Her preparation was reflected in the feasts God commanded His people to celebrate every year. They were a prophetic picture of Messiah, the Bridegroom who would win His bride by self-sacrifice, and the bride, who would make herself ready to become one with Him. In the interval between Pentecost, the last of the spring feasts and the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) the people were called to do three things:

  1. Tephillah – prayer, not asking God for things but changing their awareness from self-awareness to God-awareness.
  2. Teshuvah – repentance, not from sin but returning to their original state of goodness; in other words, changing the way they thought about themselves to think God’s thoughts about them.
  3. Tsidaqah – acts of righteousness, practising generosity because it is the right thing to do as a duty towards God. Whatever we have has been given to us by God and we have a duty to share our resources because God has been generous to us.

Now consider this Scripture: “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:

‘Hallelujah!                                                                                                                                              For our Lord God almighty reigns.                                                                                                    Let us rejoice and be glad                                                                                                                    And give Him glory!                                                                                                                                For the wedding of the Lamb has come,                                                                                          His bride as made herself ready.                                                                                                      Fine line, bright and clean was given her to wear.’

(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) Revelation 19:6-8 (NIV).

Rejoice And Beware!

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REJOICE AND BEWARE!

“Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.

“Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by His Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh – though I myself have reasons for such confidence.” Philippians 3:1-4a.

The Christian life is a life of joy. If anyone had reason to complain, it was Paul. In spite of his loyal and sacrificial service for Jesus, he had gone through the mill at the hands of hostile hoards – from the Romans, despite the fact that he was a Roman citizen – and from the Jews. Nevertheless, the joy that was deep within him sustained him through the hard times. Why?

Paul’s joy did not arise from his circumstances but from his union with Jesus. What he counselled others to be and to do always passed through the laboratory of his own experience. His letters were not only the product of his understanding of the Scriptures, but also the witness to his personal life as a believer in Jesus.

Paul could easily have turned on Jesus. How could his Master, a God of love, allow him to be treated like that? Was he not a faithful and loyal follower? Was he not entitled to a reward for his hard work? Was this the way God treated His children?

This may be the attitude of some today, but we never read of Paul whining about his hardships. On the contrary, he rejoiced in what he suffered and counted it a privilege and an opportunity to put his Master on display. Instead of collapsing in a heap of self-pity, he waited expectantly for the outcome and he was never disappointed.

The very church he was addressing was, in part, the aftermath of an unpleasant incident in Philippi where he and Silas were beaten and imprisoned for delivering a slave girl of demons. Instead of bewailing their fate, they sang and prayed so enthusiastically at midnight that they kept the whole prison awake. And God’s response…an earthquake that shook the prison, freed the prisoners and resulted in the salvation of the jailer and his household.

Paul knew how to rejoice in the Lord and he also knew what rejoicing instead of complaining accomplished. He called it a safeguard. Praise is a safeguard against the wiles of the devil. He delights in luring us into feeling sorry for ourselves and hard-done-by when things go badly for us. If there is one thing that spoils our fellowship with God, it’s self-pity. And what is self-pity? Someone once called it “ingrown eyeballs”!

Rejoicing in the Lord is the antidote. After all, God is still in charge, not matter what happens in life, and He works it all out for our good when we trust Him. When we rejoice in Him and not in our circumstances, we will remain steadfast and unshakeable in spite of what is happening around us because He never changes.

With his counsel to rejoice in the Lord, Paul also issued a warning. Be careful of the “dogs”. Who were they? The very same ones who troubled the Galatians to the point that they were led astray. They were the ones who trailed after Paul and tried to undo his work by insisting that believers in Jesus be circumcised first and keep the Mosaic Law. For Paul they were nothing more than stray dogs, roaming around and opportunistically devouring whoever they could.

“Stay away from them,” urged Paul. The real circumcision party are those who are circumcised in heart, not mutilated in the flesh. The seal of God’s ownership is not in the flesh but in the heart – the presence of God’s Spirit who is the arabon, God’s engagement ring, and the promise of eternal life for those who are marked by the Spirit.

If there is to be any boasting at all, it is not to be about our achievements for Jesus, but about His achievement for us. This is the safest place to boast because it takes the gaze off ourselves and places it where it belongs, on Jesus, the one who did everything that God required for us.

Paul was about to launch into recounting his CV if it was of any value at all in impressing God, so that he could be considered righteous in God’s sight. He had every reason to boast in what he had become in the flesh but it was all to no avail. His best shot fell short and he was doomed unless…

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.