11/14/19
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
I was asked recently about the timing of “doomsday.” The questioner wondered because of an encouter she had had with someone worried about plans to implant microchips in people. Our reading from Luke 21:5-36 describes events which could reasonably provoke fear. The dispensationalism which has arisen to prominence in the United States holds that all the events of tribulation will happen in a very limited time.
This is an historical aberration. Until very recently, nearly all Christians have understood the seven years of tribulation as symbolic of a filling up of years. They see the time beginning in the early Christian period, coinciding with the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church, and coming to an end when Christ returns. With that in mind, what do we make of our passage from Luke? It describes our current age. In verse six the temple is destroyed, which happened in the year 70. We have often heard of people calling themselves deliverers. There are wars, riots, and other international conflicts, just as the passage describes. This is nothing new. Famine, disease, allegations of divine signs, people receiving persecution as Christians - none of it is new. God promises to guard His people to the very end. Our role is to watch in hope.
The world is a fallen place. It acts the part. When we see the signs of the fall we take courage. God is bringing the history of the world to a good conclusion. He keeps His people from all eternal harm.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
I was asked recently about the timing of “doomsday.” The questioner wondered because of an encouter she had had with someone worried about plans to implant microchips in people. Our reading from Luke 21:5-36 describes events which could reasonably provoke fear. The dispensationalism which has arisen to prominence in the United States holds that all the events of tribulation will happen in a very limited time.
This is an historical aberration. Until very recently, nearly all Christians have understood the seven years of tribulation as symbolic of a filling up of years. They see the time beginning in the early Christian period, coinciding with the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church, and coming to an end when Christ returns. With that in mind, what do we make of our passage from Luke? It describes our current age. In verse six the temple is destroyed, which happened in the year 70. We have often heard of people calling themselves deliverers. There are wars, riots, and other international conflicts, just as the passage describes. This is nothing new. Famine, disease, allegations of divine signs, people receiving persecution as Christians - none of it is new. God promises to guard His people to the very end. Our role is to watch in hope.
The world is a fallen place. It acts the part. When we see the signs of the fall we take courage. God is bringing the history of the world to a good conclusion. He keeps His people from all eternal harm.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
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