Nobleton Community Church
29084 Sentinel Street PO Box 224
Nobleton, Florida 34661
Rev. Paul V. Lehmann, Pastor
813-389-8683
Nobletoncommunitychurch.org
info@nobletoncommunitychurch.org
OUR VISION IS:
To experience SPIRIT-FILLED WORSHIP AND PRAYER
To be involved in EVANGELISM, DISCIPLINING AND TRAINING PEOPLE
To use our SPIRITUAL GIFTS
To SERVE AND REACH PEOPLE FOR CHRIST, BOTH
“ACROSS THE STREET AND ACROSS THE WORLD”
Nobleton Community Church
Date December 1, 2024
Text Luke 21: 5-36
Pastor Paul Lehmann
Many times when something happens we say things like; “ Oh, it’s not the end of the world.” During the Cold War days of the early 60s, people thought that a nuclear war would bring about the “end of the world.” A journalist named Lawrence Joseph in December of 2012 wrote a book entitled “Apocalypse 2012. A Scientific Investigation into Civilization’s End,” a book which predicted widespread catastrophe beginning in December of that year. He looks to the sky and sees signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars.” Just as Jesus did. Specifically, he notices that on December 2, 2012, the sun was to line up with the center of the Milky Way for the first time in roughly 26,000 years. Joseph says that “whatever energy typically streams to Earth from the center of the Milky Way will indeed be disrupted on Dec. 21, 2012, at 11:11 pm. Lawrence Joseph was not alone. According to USA Today back on March 27, 2007, a number of people thought that the Apocalypse was coming because of something else that happened on December 21, of 2012. You may remember all the discussions about the Maya tribe and their Long Count calendar which came to an end in 2012. It was the end of an era that had been running for 5,126 years, and dire predictions were raining down upon us.
However, according to NASA, there was no scientific evidence that the world was going to end in 2012, contrary to the popular belief of some. You don’t only have to put your trust in science though, because you can count on the Word of God, which does not reveal any such thing. The Armageddon myth dates back to the Mayans. Yet, the Mayans never actually predicted the end of the world. The nature of the Mayan calendar is that it functions on a series of cycles, some short and some quite long. One of the longer cycles of the calendar ended in 2012, so when some people said the Apocalypse would come “because the Mayan calendar ended, this is what they were referring. The fact of the matter is that the Mayan calendar did not end in 2012. Just a cycle did, one that had been going on for over 5,000 years. In the nature of cycles, the calendar started over after the termination on December 21, 2012. NASA also confirmed that. Just as the calendar you have on your wall, does not cease to exist after December 31, 2024, the Mayan calendar did not cease to exist in 2012. This date was only the end of the Mayan long-count period but then—just as our calendar begins again on January 1st, another long-count period began for the Mayan calendar.
This reminds us of what Jesus said about the “end of days.” “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves (Luke 21:25. Jesus is speaking about the “Apocalypse” —a Greek word which means a revelation of uncovering. Revealed and uncovered is the completion of God’s work in the world, and the coming of the Son of Man.
SO IS THE APOCALYPSE GOING TO HAPPEN NOW
OR AT LEAST SOON?
A spiritual healer named Andrew Smith predicts a restoration of a “true balance between Divine Feminine and Masculine” Author Daniel Princhbeck looks forward to a change in the nature of consciousness,” which he connects to psychedelic drug use. The movie 2012 portrayed a series of cataclysmic events taking place that year, tied to the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar.
It is safe to say that this is not the Apocalypse predicted in the Gospel of Luke.
Still, the media back then, continued to buzz about this because people are fascinated by Mayan civilization, known for its refined writing, math and astronomy. The Maya flourished for centuries in Central America, particularly between the years 300 and 900. They developed a Long Count calendar which tracks more than 5,000 years, and then resets at zero. They made the big reset in 2012. Starting at 0.
But scholars feel that modern attempts to link the Mayan calendar with contemporary spirituality are misguided at best. “For the ancient Maya it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle,” says Sandra Noble of the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies. It was not an apocalypse, a doomsday, or a time of cosmic shifting. No one knows if the Maya even predicted the position of the sun on December 21, 2012. Susan Milbrath, an expert in Mayan archeoastronomy (who knew that was a specialty?) doubts that they would have known where the sun would be in the galaxy. What’s more, she says, there is no evidence “that they would think the world would come to an end at that point.”
So is the Apocalypse now? Probably not, at least not because of the Mayan calendar. Jesus warned the disciples and us, that there would be false prophets claiming to be the Messiah. Not claiming to be Jesus but claiming to be The Christ—(The Anointed One.) He said don’t be deceived by them. Also, we are not to be deceived by those who would predict the dates of His return.
THE TRUE NATURE OF THE APOCALYPSE IS THAT THE DATE IS UNKNOWN TO US.
Jesus told his disciples that even He didn’t know, but only the Father. He said they were not to concern themselves with that, but they were to be His witnesses. Other dales prophets predict wrong dates as to when Jesus will return.
William Miller is perhaps the most famous false prophet in history. In the 1840s he began to preach about the world’s end, saying Jesus Christ would return for the long-awaited Second Coming and that Earth would be engulfed in fire sometime between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844. He circulated his message in public gatherings and by using the technologies of the day,–posters, printed newsletters, and charts. Moved by those messages, as many as 100,000 “Millerites” sold their belongings between 1840 and 1844 and took to the mountains to wait for the end. When that end didn’t come, Miller changed the date to Oct. 22. When Oct. 23 rolled around, his loyal followers explained it away yet again and went on to form the Seventh-day Adventist movement.
In more recent days false prophets like Harold Camping who was an engineer and mathematician (in the early 1990s attempted to figure out the day of the end of the world. I believe he has been wrong at least three times.
Let’s keep in mind the true nature of the Apocalypse as revealed to us by Jesus. This endpoint is not all death and destruction. Instead, it includes the return of the Son of Man, Jesus Christ. —He is the one who came to save the world, but who is returning only for those who believe in Him. For Christians, it hardly matters when the sun lines up with the center of the Milky Way. Much more important to us is when Jesus the Son of Man and Son of God, lines up with the center of our “spiritual galaxy.”
OUR APOCALYPSE IS REALLY ABOUT SALVATION, NOT DESTRUCTION
People will faint from fear and foreboding, predicts Jesus, “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads because your redemption is drawing near.” (verses 26-27). When danger is coming, we normally tell people to duck and take cover. But Jesus says the opposite, “Stand up and raise your heads” (verse 28) But ultimately the apocalypse is going to help us because the Son of Man is coming to redeem us, to save us, to bring about a truly happy ending.
The Apocalypse of Luke 21 reminds us that the activity of God is not limited to biblical times. It is present today and will continue into the future. “God is working toward a goal,” says professor of Bible and Homiletics Elizabeth Achtemeirer God is on the move, constantly active, constantly pressing forward to the time when his kingdom has come in its fulness and his rule is acknowledged by every living creature.” We read in Isaiah 45: 23, and in Romans 14: 11 similar words; As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before me and every tongue will confess to God. And then Philippians 2:10 repeats it and adds; every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is LORD, TO THE GLORY OF THE FATHER. Because God is working toward a goal, we can trust that his kingdom will come—although it won’t be finished by a date that we have tried to set.
SO WHAT STEPS SHOULD WE BE TAKING AS WE WAIT FOR THE SON OF MAN TO COME AND FOR GOD’S PLAN TO BE COMPLETE?
At the start of World War II there was good advice on a British poster created to encourage all those in Britain. “KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON” was designed to raise morale among the British people in the face of an apocalyptic invasion by the Germans.
That’s what Jesus would have us do as we face an uncertain future. To help us keep calm, Jesus offers the lesson of the fig tree. “Look at the fig tree and all the trees.: he says. “as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. (vs 29-30).
Jesus makes the point that the coming of the Kingdom of God is every bit as natural as the springtime sprouting of leaves on trees, Keep calm, he seems to be saying, these apocalyptic developments are as predictable as the change of seasons. Even though some of the events of the future will be frightening, the God of the whole created universe is in control.
In our text, he predicts some things that are very unusual. Verses 9 and following tell us that there will be wars and revolutions but he says don’t be frightened. These things must come first, but the end will not come right away.
Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.
N.T. Wright points out Isaiah 13:10 instead of saying the empire of Babylon is going to fail, and this will be like a cosmic collapse, Isaiah said, “The sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light, and stars will fall from heaven.”
Verse 25 of our text, tells us that there will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming in the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken, At that time ‘
THEY WILL SEE THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY.
When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads because your redemption is drawing near. (2 Peter 3:8-13_
Yes, it is hard to keep calm when there is “distress among the nations: (verse 25) and “the powers of the heavens” are shaken (vs. 26). It is difficult to maintain serenity when we receive a cancer diagnosis from the doctor, but even a diagnosis of something that is not terminal, but is debilitating. For those who are working, a pink slip from an employer can shake up our world, a breakup text message from a spouse, for students a failing grade on a final exam. But Jesus assures us that God is in control, and there is one thing that will remain the same forever and ever. The words of Jesus himself; “Heaven and earth will pass away, “he predicts, “but my words will not pass away” (verse 33). These everyday things are nothing compared to what is coming, but, “Keep calm,” basically says Jesus. “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” (John 6:63).
The second half of the British poster says, “Carry On.” It is not enough simply to keep calm and meditate on the words of Jesus, the challenge for all of us is to “Keep Calm and Carry on.” This means that you are to “be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with careless ease and drunkenness and the worries of this life” (Luke 21:34). It means that you are to “be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man “(verse 36).
It has often been thought that an emphasis on the end time and the coming of the kingdom leads to otherworldliness, passivity in this life, and acceptance of the status quo,” writes Prof. Achtemeier. But the opposite is true. “Christians constantly attempt to shape their lives according to the ways of their Master,” she writes. This means carrying on in a Christian fashion, focusing our efforts on love, justice mercy, and faith.
The end of the world won’t come because of some prediction, but we Christians know that God is at work in the long march of history, and is moving us toward the day when the Son of Man will come with power and great glory, as we just read. This may be a fearful time, but it will ultimately be a celebration, for all of the brokenness and injustice of this world will be replaced by healing and righteousness.
JESUS IS COMING AGAIN That event is staggering and inexhaustible in its implications. The wisest and most noble of the Sons of Adam (that’s us), cannot fully fathom the impact the return of the Son of God will make on this planet and universe. His coming will not turn the world upside down, it will turn the world right-side up. Jesus is :
The One who spoke the galaxies into existence
The One who created man from the dust of the earth and breathed into him the breath of life
The One who came to die to satisfy the infinitely holy demands of His Father so that sinful man could be restored to fellowship and enjoy God forever
The One who rose from the grave a victor over sin and death and
The One who ascended and is now enthroned at the right hand of God on high. When He returns, men will not refer to the Son of God as “Little Jesus meek and mild” in that day, His title will be “King of kings” and “Lord of lords” (Revelation 17:14, 19:16. At His return, transgressors will be judged, faithfulness will be rewarded, and righteousness will be established in the Earth.
It is the highest order of ignorance to equate God’s wonderful attribute of long-suffering with indifference (2 Peter 3:9). At the proper time, whatever a man sows he will reap. If he sows to the flesh he will reap of the flesh—-if he sows to the Spirit he will reap of the Spirit (Gal. 6:7). Men cannot mock God and get away with it.
The return of Christ will be the vortex of human history. Everything and everyone will be drawn into His direct irresistible, controlling force. Heaven and earth, demons and angels, righteous and unrighteous men, time and eternity, life and death—all will be under the dominion of the conquering King when He returns to fulfill His unconditional covenants with the patriarchs and brings an end to the rebellious and wicked history of mankind and personally establishes a Golden Age on the Earth.
Until then, Keep Calm and Carry On. God is working his purposes out, and our focus should be on walking in the path of Jesus Christ because He will establish a reign of peace and justice.
Until then, we will continue to remember him and do as He said. We will eat the bread representing His body that was wounded for us. We will drink of the cup representing His blood that was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. We will remember His first coming, His ministry, and His death and Resurrection, and ascension. And we will await His second coming, Putting our Hope in Him.