IS THIS THE END OF THE WORLD?
I don't think anyone has asked me this question in the past:"is this the end of the world?" But in a period of several months, I have received at least a half dozen of those questions, mostly during the days when the smoke and fog was so thick that the sun was a dim red and the streetlights stayed on all day in our part of town. That was certainly weird, but the end of the world didn't happen, and our skies and air quality are back to normal for this time of year.
Still, it is a good question. The disciples of Jesus asked him somewhat the same question when he predicted the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. They asked him, "When will this happen? What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3). They thought the temple would be destroyed at the end of the world, so his answer to their question has two parts. The distinction between the two parts is clearer in Luke's account. luke 21:1-19 and Luke 21:24b-36 predict the end of the world. Luke 21:20-24a, the middle part of the discourse, predict the end of the Jerusalem temple. Parallel accounts are found in Matthew 24 and Mark 13.
In Luke 21, Jesus began his answer by telling the disciples what are NOT signs of the end of the world: false Messiahs (v.8), false prophets (v.8), wars (v.9), revolutions (like the American and Russian revolutions;v.9), nation rising against nation (v.10), kingdom rising against kingdom (v.10),great earthquakes (like the 1906 and 1989 Bay Area quakes; v.11), deadly famines in various places (v.11), deadly plagues in various places (like the 1918 Spanish Flu and the 2020 CoViD virus; v.11), fearful events (like the 2020 end-of-summer fires on the West Coast; v.11), great signs in the skies and outer space (v.11), and the persecution of Christians (like what is happening again in China, Nigeria and other places; vv.12-19). None of these are specific signs of the end of the world, just general reminders that Jesus will come back someday.
Then, in Luke 21:24, Jesus did give one specific sign:"Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." The first part of this sentence was fulfilled in 70 A.D. with the capture and destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman (i.e., Gentile) armies. The city was conquered again by the Arabian Muslims (also Gentiles) in 638 A.D., and in spite of sporadic Crusader (also Gentile) control, it remained under Muslim (i.e., Gentile) control until 1967 A.D., when the state of Israel conquered Jerusalem in the Six-Day War. It should be noted that Israel's possession of Jerusalem is disputed by the United Nations, which sees it as part of the Palestinian state.
The year 1967 does offer a specific sign that has been fulfilled if the people and places indicated by Luke 21:24 are to be understood literally. However, Jesus did not say in Luke 21:24 that there will be a general conversion of the Jews, or that believers will take possession of the kingdoms of this world. Nor did Jesus or the apostles say that anywhere else in the Bible (see Augsburg Confession, Article XVII; on the origin of these millennial erros, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Zionism) In any event, Jesus did not say that the end of the world would come if/when the Jews reconquered Jerusalem (see Wihelm Arndt, Bible Commentary: The Gospel According to St.luke [St.Louis:CPH, 1956], 422).
Jesus gave another specific sign in the parallel passage, Matthew 24:14, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." Many Christians have pointed to the universal spread of the Gospel by the end of the twentieth century as a fulfillment of this prophecy. But if Jesus' meaning of "will be preached" means that every nations and every people will have Christian churches with preachers preaching every Sunday, then we are far from that goal. Then we cannot say that this prediction has been fulfilled.
Will there be omens that will warn unbelievers and give them time to repent? Jesus said, in so many words:"No." He said:"As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man" (Matthew 24:37-39).
Paul repeated this point when he said that the "day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night" (1 Thessalonians 5:2). Peter repeated the same phrase (2 Peter 3:10). Noah and his family knew what would happen in advance, of course, but that is because they believed the Word of God. Their faith in God's Word saved them. The unbelief of the other people is what condemned them to watery grave. in the same way, the unbelief of many people in the world will cause them to be blind to the signs that Jesus gives.
Will Christians be able to know about Christ's return shortly before he returns? Martin Luther wrote:"There must then be some, at least, who do recognize the signs, and lift up their heads and wait for their redemption, although they do not really know on what day that will come" (see Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols, ed. Lenker [Grand Rapids:Baker, 1989), 1:62).
The only specific signs that Jesus offered are here:"There will be signs in the sun, moon, and planets/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 on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time, they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud." (Luke 21:25-27). Jesus directs our eyes to outer space, where there will be changes in the sun, moon, planets, and stars. He directs our ears to the oceans and seas, in which there will be roaring (Greek, echous; English, "strange sounds") and unatural tossing of waves. The natural world will be changing, its order will be upset, and people will be deathly afraid of that.
But you should not be afraid when that happens! Jesus finished this discourse by saying:"When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." (Luke 21:28). In other words, that will not be a time for believers to be fearful or sad, but to rejoice, sing, and shout for gladness. Why would believers be afraid? Our redemptions will be drawing near, in which we will be finally be released from the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh, and we will join the saints and all the angels in everlasting glory, light, and bliss. That is not a story of gloom and doom, but of joy and gladness which has no end!
Yours in Christ,
