In Every Trial, the Lamb Is on the Throne

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[Luke 21:5-28]

In Every Trial, the Lamb Is on the Throne

There are signs along the way. “Next rest stop: 60 miles”. Some signs are more distressing than others. You drive, or ride, in the eager expectation of your vacation destination. Every mile marker can either remind you of how much further you have to go or assure you that you are indeed on the way, nearer to the goal after each sign or disruption you pass.

I.

The disturbances, signs, and trials that our Lord Jesus mentions in this morning’s Gospel [Luke 21:5-28] are no small matter. But they are reminders that He is on the way. On His way to us.

Our Lord’s words this morning are spoken during the last week of His earthly ministry – Holy Week – in Jerusalem, at the Temple, in the days leading up to His crucifixion, death, and resurrection.

The Temple in Jerusalem was a magnificent building; gloriously decorated by expensive offerings, commissioned by king Herod, built with large stones, some the size of a school bus. And while some people around Jesus were marveling at this building, Jesus said, “these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” 

Whether it’s the stones of the Temple, or an impressive city skyline, or the beauty and awe of a mountain landscape – or nature and the cosmos itself – and all the best that man can do – everything which is, to man, immovable, awe inspiring, trustworthy in this world – in which man finds a sense of stability, like stone – Jesus says it will crumble.

 Not one stone left on another. Not one molecule left in place. “The heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire… the heavens will pass away with a roar – the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved – and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.” [2 Peter 3:7-10]

Not even Jerusalem or that stone house, the Temple, which Jesus Himself referred to as the house of His Father [Luke 2:49], would last. From land, to sea, to sky, all things whatsoever in which man might put his trust will wear out like a garment. “We are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” [2 Peter 3:13]

But before that end, there will be trials and tribulation on the whole earth along the way: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” “Great earthquakes… famines and pestilences.” “Terrors and great signs from heaven.”

                And believers in Christ will carry their crosses and follow Jesus along the way: “[People] will lay their hands on you and persecute you…” “You will be brought before kings and governors…” “You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends…” “You will be hated by all for my name’s sake.”

                “Signs in sun and moon and stars…” “On the earth, distress of nations… “the roaring of the sea and the waves” – “people fainting with fear… of what is coming on the world” – “For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”

Yet, with these words, our Lord also spoke words of assurance and promise: “This will be your opportunity to bear witness.” “…I will give you a mouth and wisdom…” “Not a hair of your head will perish.” “By your endurance you will gain your lives…” There is a good destination at the end.

And then, “They will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” – good news for all who know Him as the Lamb.

II.

With the sure hope of much more than a vacation destination ahead of us, be careful, Jesus says, “that you are not lead astray” and lead off course. Don’t let any false or sensational teaching – falsely taught in Christ’s name – cause the troubles along the way to disturb your faith in the Lamb of God.

“For many will come in My name, saying… ‘The time is at hand!’” “Do not go after them,” Jesus says. No author or radio host or ancient calendar can predict when the Last Day will be. “Concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” [Matthew 24:36].

And, really, you should also avoid those who, though they might not try to put an exact date on it, talk and teach as if they can figure out the details of the end times and Christ’s return based on political events in the world.

Jesus said not to be troubled by these things: “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed… the end is not yet” [Mark 13:7; Mathew 24:6; Luke 21:9]. “Don’t be alarmed.” “Don’t go after them.” Jesus said don’t get stirred up over the details of the end times.

Likewise, the end of the world will not come by a natural disaster nor by a nuclear war. This world with its cycles and seasons will continue, upheld by God, all the way until Christ’s return [Genesis 8:22].

Finally, we should not allow ourselves to be led off course by that most persistent false teacher: the “cares and riches and pleasures of life” [Luke 8:14; 21:34] which make us forget that there is a Christian life for our Master to find us living out when He returns [Luke 12:35-48].

            Concerning cares and riches and pleasures of life, our thought should be this: “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved what sort of people ought we to be in lives of holiness and godliness?” as we await the coming of our Lord. [2 Peter 3:11]

III.

When I am driving down the highway on the way to my destination, uncertainty about my location or the clunking and flopping sound of a flat tire cause me to love and trust all the more the map app on my phone and my car insurance company’s roadside assistance.

The various trials you and I face and will face – and the kind of trials which our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world face – drive us to trust all the more in our Savior.

And when we stumble along the way, we turn to the Lamb for forgiveness and help in doing better. As our years go on, our faith is strengthened through that trial with our own sin. We learn more and more that it really is all about His grace, His work of salvation, His choice to save us. That it all depends on – and that we can depend on – His steadfast love and power to save. It’s not about us. It’s all about something that the Lamb of God has decided to do for us.

IV.

The certainty that you will endure this world’s trials; the certainty of His coming; the certainty that “the Lord is your keeper” [Psalm 121] through all life’s troubles and through all your stumbles — your certainty, even as all the strongest stone temples of this world fall, is sure and certain always and only because Jesus is “the Lamb” who made “one perfect final offering” – the once-for-all offering of Himself on the cross.

“He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption” – “He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” [Hebrews 9:12,26] — “Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him” [Hebrews 9:28].

As we confess in the Apostles Creed, Jesus is coming again “to judge the living and the dead”. Because of the Lamb, you are the living. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” [John 5:24]

Therefore, “When these things begin to take place straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Let every trial along the road – from within or without – point your eyes to the truth that the Lamb is on the throne already, is soon to come again, and helps you along the way. Amen.

Firmly Standing in His Promises

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[2 Thessalonians 2:1-17] … “But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.

                     Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

Firmly Standing (and Walking) in His Promises

I.

Different and contradictory teachings coming from those who seem to be leaders in the faith, and the existence of various factions and denominations among God’s people, is nothing new.

In the days of Christ’s earthly ministry, among God’s people of Judah and Israel, there were several such groups. The biggest group with the most influence on the common people was the Pharisees.

The Pharisees counted all the books of what we call the Old Testament to be inspired Scripture. They believed in miracles, spirits, an afterlife, and the resurrection of the body. They were strict observers and teachers of the Law of Moses, and of their traditions which were extra man-made rules meant to buffer and protect what the Law commanded.

The Pharisees believed that strict observance of their tradition was needed for Israel to once again live under God’s favor in their own land like in the glory days of King David. Their man-made traditions took a place equal to, and really superseding, God’s Word.   

There were other, smaller but more extreme and stricter groups as well, such as the Essenes, the Qumran community, and the Zealots. There were also much looser living Jews, the Hellenists, who adopted much of Greek culture, custom, and language, starting from the days of Alexander the Great’s conquest of Israel.

And there was the crowd of religious elites – the powerful religious leaders who ruled the Temple and who rubbed shoulders with the Roman civil rulers. The Sadducees. The Sadducees accepted only the first five books of the Bible. They did not believe in spirits and angels, and they did not believe in the resurrection of the body.

Yet they were religious leaders in their day. There name, “Sadducees”, may have come from the Hebrew word “Righteous”, yet they, like the Pharisees, were instrumental in rejecting the Lord of Righteousness.

There were many groups speaking in God’s name. Yet they either detracted from God’s Word by not accepting it all, or they added to God’s Word by adding their man-made tradition as authoritative and necessary.

And most of their followers, and certainly most of their teachers who taught in God’s name, when they finally met God face-to-face, when they met Jesus, crucified Him. They rejected the very God they claimed to be serving.

II.

We encounter the Sadducees in this morning’s Gospel, Luke 20:27-40. Based on their human reason, they find the resurrection of the body to be impossible. Simply put, they argue, if a woman had multiple husbands in this lifetime, whose wife would she be in the resurrection?

In Matthew’s Gospel, we hear Jesus respond, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God” [Matthew 22:29]. And in both Matthew and Luke, Jesus says that in the resurrection you neither marry nor are given in marriage. You now live forever and are no longer having children.

Your love doesn’t go away. You love each other more because sin is gone. But the marriage in heaven that we all have, in the resurrection, is the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom – the risen Christ and His risen Bride, the Church. You are finally fully united there with Christ.

And Jesus points these Sadducees back to the Scriptures, back to the words God spoke to Moses from the burning bush in today’s Old Testament reading, Exodus 3:1-15, when God calls Himself “The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” — “Now He is not God of the dead, but of the living,” Jesus says, “for all live to him.” [Luke 20:38]

There were many groups and teachers, not outside God’s people (outwardly speaking) but among God’s people, teaching many false things. And the situation did not get better in the New Testament times of the Church.

In today’s Epistle reading [2 Thessalonians 2:1-17] we now are after the death, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord, after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, in the time of the Church. And in the church in Thessalonica, there are teachers teaching falsely about… the resurrection of the body.

They were, in some way – maybe they were spiritualizing the resurrection in some way, making it not really about the body; I don’t think we know for sure – but there were teachers in their church in some way claiming that the resurrection was something that had already happened. Therefore, the resurrection of the body was not the hope they looked forward to. The people were being stripped of that true and comforting belief.

In Thessalonica, the resurrection of the body was being called into doubt. In Galatia and elsewhere, salvation by God’s grace through faith alone in Christ without your works was being called into doubt. In other places, the incarnation of Jesus – that the Son of God truly became flesh-and-blood man – was being called into doubt.

In every place, it seemed, teachers in the church, claiming to speak in the name of Christianity, in the name of Christ – some further off track than others – were calling into doubt, and teaching contrary to, the core beliefs of who Jesus is, what He expects of us, and, most importantly, what He has done for us for our salvation. Including, the resurrection of the body. His and ours.

III.

Their life in the Church in those days was a lot like ours in our day. There were a lot of preachers on the radio, sometimes saying good things, and other times saying things that didn’t sound quite right. There were lots of denominations and friends going to other churches. Much was the same, but the differences really mattered.

Whether or not Jesus was raised from the dead mattered. Whether or not your body would be raised mattered. And whether or not you are saved completely by the work of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection – completely by His atoning, sin-forgiving sacrifice – and not by your work or contribution, that mattered.

These differences mattered, and the differences today matter. We are dealing with the most important topics in the world: Our relationship with God and our eternal life.

So what’s going? In Christ’s day, in the days of the Apostles and the early church, and in our day, what’s going on? What’s going on is what Scripture said would go on and will go on until the last day, the return of Christ. The exact thing mentioned in today’s Epistle.

All of this mentioned is what today’s Epistle lesson refers to as, “the son of destruction”, the “man of lawlessness” – which elsewhere in Scripture is called the “antichrist”, the “spirit of antichrist”, “many antichrists” which “have come into the world” [1 John 2:18; 4:3; 2 John 1:7]; the “beast” of Revelation [Rev. 13:4-5,11] —  

— the one who “takes his seat in the temple of God”, which means “in the Church”, this “building of living stones” [1 Peter 2:5] – every man and spirit and way-of-thinking which seeks to usurp Christ’s place as Truth and Head, thereby, “proclaiming himself (or itself) to be God.” [2 Thessalonians 2:3-4]

The early Christians believed that this “man of lawlessness”, this antichrist figure, would be a successor to the Roman emperors. In the Middle Ages, some Franciscan monks – and a little later, the Protestant and Lutheran Reformers – began to believe this figure might be the pope, who is put at the head and proclaims His own teachings as laws. 

Today we might also recognize “antichrist” and “lawlessness” in church leaders, pastors, and Bible scholars who deny miracles, deny the virgin birth, deny the resurrection, and deny basic truths of who we are as God’s creation —  

— denying the real existence of male and female, denying the one-flesh unity of husband and wife – calling good bad and bad good – leaving hurting people confused about who and what they are – leaving kids in instability – and leaving their hearers in their sins by failing to call it sin and therefore failing to offer Christ’s forgiveness and true healing.

The marks of “antichrist” and “son of destruction” activity are that it’s in, or at the head of, the church; gives a counterfeit replacement for parts of the truth of God’s Word; and seeks to replace, in part or in full, Christ’s role as our only Savior, Shepherd, Teacher, Priest, and King. It’s the devil’s age-old desire to replace God with himself.

The Apostle Calls this “the mystery of lawlessness” which was “already at work” in his day, but which is also being “restrained” and will, without a doubt, be defeated by the visible return of Christ, by “the breath of His mouth” and “by the appearance of His coming.” [2 Thessalonians 2:5-8]

IV.

Sometimes, outright falsehood is easiest to detect and reject. But mild confusion, that’s harder to sort out. And being surrounded by too much of it and make us feel like we are on shaky ground, shifting sand. What do we do?

Remain grounded in those things which are of first importance: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” [1 Corinthians 15:3-4]

Be grounded in the Holy Scriptures: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand” [John 10:27-28]. Sheep who are hearing their Shepherd’s voice, God’s Word, Scripture, will not get lost and perish. His Word will have the victory in you.

Let the foundation, walls, and roof of your life be salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone – by Christ’s work alone – without your works or merit. He will bring you to the day of the resurrection of the body because He really has forgiven your sins.

Antichrist won’t win. Christ wins. Falsehood won’t win. Confusion will not win. Christ and His truth have won for you. He knows how to uphold His truth. His truth will win in you, even if sometimes you suffer confusion. His truth wins.

And, no matter what the Sadducees of His day or ours say, the resurrection of the body is true. Christ is risen! And you will rise! No longer sick. No longer a sinner. Perfect in His glory. No more falsehood. Only His truth will remain in that day. You stand firm and walk with Him because you know His victory and your future. Amen.

All Saints Sunday

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[Revelation 7:2-17] And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel… After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”…

Israel of Heaven

I.

It’s good to know your roots, where you come from. But who are these 144,000 people “sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel”? Is this the current nation of Israel today? Is this the number of ethnic Israelites who make it to heaven, exactly 144,000?

Considering that the population of Israel just in the days of the Exodus was around 2,000,000 people, that interpretation seems unlikely. What is that number, 144,000? And, more interestingly, what is the even bigger number that comes right after it?

Did you notice the bigger number? Bigger than anyone could count. Look again. John, the Apostle, looks at this vision of heaven. There are 12,000 from this tribe, 12,000 from that tribe, 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel – that’s 144,000 – and then John turns and sees the rest:

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb…”

144,000 was a lot, and there was a lot more than that. Not just from the twelve tribes, but from every tribe and people, from every nation and language. Who is this enormous crowd in heaven? It is the Israel of heaven. The true Israel from all the nations.

That number – 144,000 – is a number of bigness and completion. It’s like when we say, “I’ve told you a thousand times!” Or, “There were a bazillion people there!” Twelve is a number of completion. Twelve-thousand is abundantly whole and complete. Twelve times twelve thousand is superabundant.

The first Christians were all Jewish Christians – Jews who believe in the Messiah of Israel, Jesus who saved them. But John sees in heaven how much more complete Jesus’ work of salvation is. “See that ‘144,000 of Israel’, and then turn around, John, and see the whole, whole Israel – the whole Israel of heaven beyond numbering, from all the nations. From the gentiles.” 

II.

Earthly Israel, as in the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is significant. It’s no small thing that God fulfilled His promises to them by sending Jesus to be their Messiah and Savior. What is even greater is that Jesus is the Savior for the whole world.

Now when Scripture uses terms like “Israel” and “Zion” and even “Jerusalem” and its Temple, God’s Word is telling you about your heavenly nation which He has redeemed out of all the nations. This is His true Israel. Not born of the flesh – not from any ethnicity or earthly nation – but born of faith. Faith in Christ.

Let’s hear from Scripture what God’s true Israel is: “For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring… it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God – it’s not about birth-roots – but the children of the promise are counted as offspring – it’s about faith in the promise – faith in the promised Savior, Jesus.” [Romans 9:6-8]

“Know then that it is those of faith – faith in the coming of Christ – who are the sons of Abraham” – “just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.’” [Galatians 3:6-7]

Both that whole, complete “144,000” and that great multitude from every nation that no one could number are the Israel of God. The Israel of heaven. Mount Zion. “Jerusalem, My Happy Home.” “The Jerusalem above.” [Galatians 4:26]

For “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” – “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” – “And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.” [Galatians 3:27-29]

All baptized believers in Jesus Christ are heaven’s Israel. All baptized believers in Jesus Christ are All-the-Saints, in heaven and on earth – all those whose robes have been washed white in the blood of the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world [Revelation 7:14; John 1:29].

You, brothers and sisters, are citizens of the Israel of heaven. You are “All Saints”. Not by your works or worthiness, but by the blood of Jesus which has won for you “redemption, the forgiveness of your sins” [Colossians 1:14; Ephesians 1:7]. Those are your roots. That tells you where you come from, where you stand, and where you’re going.

III.

The Whole Israel, “All Saints”, is in heaven and on earth. On earth, the saints are hidden under sin, death, and the cross: You are still racked with sin, but are struggling to do better by His power. You suffer from death like everyone else, but with sure hope in Jesus who conquered death.

And the saints on earth suffer under the cross: Sometimes persecuted. Sometimes mocked or made fun of – for believing the Bible, for the hope we have, for our do’s and don’ts as people looking to live a God-pleasing life.

The saints on earth – Heaven’s Israel on earth – are redeemed sinners. Bought back from this fallen world for God. But still struggling in this fallen world and with this sin-fallen flesh. You live by faith.

You are justified – counted right with God – by faith alone. And you keep your head up, day by day, by faith – believing with sure confidence that you will one day be the Israelite of heaven, the true saint, that Christ has redeemed you to become. We strive for that day.

The saints in heaven are the saints at rest. They are freed from the flesh and their souls are freed from sin. Though they have died, yet do they live [John 11:25-26]. They rest from their struggling, enjoying His blessedness and righteousness which their souls have received. They wait and look forward, with us, to the resurrection when also our raised bodies will enjoy those same blessings.

IV.

Heaven’s Israel. All the Saints. All baptized believers in Christ. In heaven and on earth. Your robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb which covers all your sin. Counted holy to God, and becoming holy.           

Remember, that though you still live on earth in sin-fallen flesh, your roots are in heaven. That saint in heaven is who you most truly are, though you don’t yet look the part [1 John 3:1-3]. Heaven is your roots. Therefore, day by day, strive to live your heavenly roots as a birth-right citizen of the Israel of heaven.

What do those heavenly roots look like when lived out on earth today? “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” They mourn in faith. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” [Matthew 5:3-9]

What does a citizen of heaven endure today? “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven…” [Matthew 5:10-12]

And, finally, what rest will you soon enjoy: “He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their Shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” [Revelation 7:15-17]

You were born in sin-fallen flesh. You are born-again as saints of heaven’s Israel. Again, remember your roots in heaven, which show you not just where you come from but where you are going and who you are becoming. Amen.