But he who endures to the end shall be saved

 

 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."  

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"   And Jesus answered and said to them, "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  all these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."

 

- Matthew 24:1-14 

 

In our recent reading, Jesus has been delivering His final public sermon, which was a scathing and multi-pronged criticism of the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your father's guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"

 

Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."  Here my study Bible comments that Christ's prophecy of the destruction of the temple was fulfilled in AD 70, when the temple was destroyed by the Romans.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus said to the religious leaders that they must "fill up the measure of your fathers' guilt," indicating they are the spiritual children of those who murdered the prophets before them.  He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation."  The destruction of Jerusalem, which was exceedingly fierce and totally decimated the city and the temple, came some forty years after Christ spoke His words, giving an entire generation time to repent.  Christ's words were literally true that not one stone was left upon another.  Only one retaining wall remained of the temple, in modern times called the Wailing Wall, or the Western Wall. 

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  The chapter we begin today entails a description of the "end times" as given by Jesus Christ.  It is interwoven with a prophecy of catastrophic and terrifying events that would happen within the lifetimes of many of those hearing Him.  My study Bible comments that the Scriptures describe the end times in a variety of ways -- so that no precise chronology can be determined (see Daniel 7 - 12; Mark 13; Luke 21; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10; and the Book of Revelation).  Christ's emphasis, my study Bible notes, is on watchfulness and the practice of virtue rather than constructing timetables of things that have not yet happened.  It's important to note that the great tribulation which Christ will describe toward the end of the chapter includes the whole of the Christian era, and isn't simply limited to the final years before Christ's return.  

 

 And Jesus answered and said to them, "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many."  My study Bible notes for us here that the warnings against deception are given the most emphasis by Jesus.  Of particular importance is the warning against following a false Christ, which Jesus will stress again in verses 11, 23-27.  

"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet."  These wars, according to my study Bible, refer first of all to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem.  However, subsequent wars are also included.  Wars, it notes, are not a sign of the imminent end, but of its opposite:  that the end is not yet (see 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3).  

"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  all these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."  My study Bible comments that all these calamities and all this opposition cannot stop the spread of the gospel, and clearly, persecutions against the Church have often increased the number of souls being converted.  It notes commentary by St. John Chrysostom, who marveled that while the Romans subdued countless Jews in a political uprising, they could not prevail over twelve Jews who were unarmed with anything except the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

As this chapter opens, we can just imagine Jesus' Galilean disciples marveling at the great temple, as it had been expanded and refurbished under Herod the Great, who was also known as Herod the Builder.  Indeed its expanse and beauty rendered it one of the architectural wonders of the world at the time.   But that awe at the great skill, art and power that could create such an architectural marvel and its beauty is perhaps the perfect backdrop to Christ's prediction that "not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."   For the message here in Christ's prophecy to the disciples regarding the end of the age is clearly one that states that human expectations are not sufficient to imagine the scope of the ramifications to spiritual events of this world.  Christ stands in the center of these prophecies, the pivot point of history, and indeed He remains so.  No matter how many times it's been said or written that the Christian era has come to an end, either through new political philosophy or religious (or anti-religious) beliefs and actions, Christ continues to be an inspiring religious figure across the world, and faith continues to expand even in new places.  But Christ Himself predicts great tribulation spanning the whole of the Christian era -- that is, the whole of the time between His Incarnation and His return.  So, as my study Bible says, we should never be dissuaded by the great upheavals and terrifying events we might witness or hear about.  Jesus tells the disciples, "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved."  Certainly all of these things would come to pass in the lifetimes of these disciples, but the warning applies to all times that we know, and to the present.  If we see false prophets speak in the name of Christ, or  dissension and betrayal, even hate, among the faithful, neither should this dissuade us from playing our part in faithful living.  The apostles counted themselves joyful that they were worthy to suffer shame for Christ's name (Acts 5:40-41), and so we should do the same if it happens that we suffer similarly.  There is a powerful spiritual reality that is at work in such circumstances, which we can't necessarily see as immediately evident.  But we do witness types of lawlessness, and a strangeness to the love of many seeming to grow cold.  While we could view all of these things as consistent with the work of spiritual forces that oppose Christ, we need to keep in mind that He has told us all of these things beforehand -- and their resurfacing in one form or another throughout the history we know since the beginning of the Church is what we should even expect if we take Him at His word.  However, here is the important teaching:  "But he who endures to the end shall be saved."  This doesn't seem to mean the "last man standing" in some traditional military sense, or any other kind of contest or struggle we might consider.  It is directed at our faith, at living our faith, which encompasses at least as much of an internal struggle as an external struggle in any case.  This is not about running out and finding ways to become martyred or persecuted, but rather living a prayerful life, and following where our faith leads us.  To strengthen our faith and to continue in worship despite persecution and difficulty is to fight this spiritual battle that we are called to wage.  We encourage one another, we worship and pray, we read what is edifying to us, the things that teach us, we can seek out the saints of the past who left us with wise council we can read or hear -- there are many resources available to us and many ways in which we can strengthen our communion with our brothers and sisters in faith.  But even in isolation, it is remarkable what strength there is in prayer and its powerful exertion of influence over our subsequent lives and our own capacity for resilience, imagination, and overcoming difficulty.  The struggle for faith is truly one that takes place within us and among us, for His kingdom is always there awaiting our participation (Luke 17:21).  While we might be dismayed with what we see, Christ encourages us to endure to the end.  But we endure in our faith and the practice of our faith, in a prayerful life, and in doing what He has taught.  Let's note in these terms that Christ teaches us a number of times in this chapter on "end times" that we must be vigilant in terms of watching for false prophets.  We are meant to be alert and aware; we educate ourselves about our faith.  We are meant to be intelligent faithful, not blind at all but awake.  So let us understand the importance of our struggle to be the ones He has asked us to be, to know our own flaws and weaknesses, and to be aware of those who would exploit them.  Let us do the work He asks!

Take heed that no one deceives you

 

 Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, "Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!"  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you see these great buildings?  Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down." 

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked Him privately, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?"  And Jesus, answering them, began to say:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and will deceive many.  But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles.  These are the beginnings of sorrows.  But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues.  You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them.  And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.  But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak.  But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.  Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.  And you will be hated by all for My name's sake.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved."

 

- Mark 13:1-13 

 

 Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?  For David himself said by the Holy Spirit:  'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'  Therefore David himself calls  Him 'Lord'; how is He then His Son?"  And the common people heard Him gladly.  Then He said to them in His teaching, "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  These will receive greater condemnation."  Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury.  And many who were rich put in much.  Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans.  So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."

 

Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, "Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!"  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you see these great buildings?  Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down."   Christ's prophecy of the destruction of the temple was fulfilled in AD 70, when the temple was destroyed in the Siege of Jerusalem.  Not one stone was left upon another, as there were rumors that there was gold between the stones.  Only one retaining wall remained, long known as the Wailing Wall, or today as the Western Wall.

 

 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked Him privately, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?"  And Jesus, answering them, began to say:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and will deceive many.  But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles.  These are the beginnings of sorrows.  But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues.  You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them.  And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.  But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak.  But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.  Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.  And you will be hated by all for My name's sake.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved."  Here Jesus begins His discourse on the end times (to be continued in Monday's lectionary reading).   My study Bible comments that Christ's account of the end times in Mark (Mark 13:1-23) occurs in what is known as chiastic (mean "cross") form.  That is, it is in a kind of reverse parallel order, where topics mentioned in the first half of this passage are then repeated and amplified in reverse order in the second half.  Today's reading begins with a warning to take heed about false christs, and we will see this repeated at the end of the passage.  The second warning here in today's passage is about wars (and Jesus will teach about tribulation in the second half of the passage we'll read on Monday).  The third warning here is regarding being delivered up to councils, whereas the third-to-last regards being delivered up (betrayed), but by family members, also in today's reading.  At the very center of this chiastic form is verse 10 of today's reading:  the prophecy that the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.  My study Bible calls this the heart of the apostolic ministry and mission of the Church (see Matthew 28:19-20). 

My study Bible comments that the Scriptures describe the end times in a variety of ways, so that there is no precise chronology laid out neatly.  But what is important is that we notice that our Lord's emphasis is rather on what we do during these times.  We can say "these times" as the Church has understood the end times to be continuing from the beginning of the apostolic period, until the time that Christ returns.  Therefore, the elements that we see noted by Jesus in this prophecy here are things that are with us, and have been with us from the beginning of what we know as the Christian era, and will continue to be with us until the time Christ returns in what we know as the Second Coming.   In my study Bible's words, then, Jesus' emphasis is not on us knowing when and how things will happen so much as it is a warning to us, plus an emphasis on how we conduct ourselves.  He asks us for watchfulness and the practice of virtue through these difficulties, and He prepares us for these times.  If we see persecutions in the world for our faith, He has warned us about them.  If we see and hear wars and rumors of wars, He has told us this.  Then and now, this is true -- certainly for the people He was addressing who would witness the horrific Siege of Jerusalem, but also for us today and clearly in recent history.  Yet, both of these things are true.  But Christ's first words (as well as His final warning which we'll read on Monday) are that we should take heed that no one deceives us.  This is a clear emphasis on our own need to be alert and aware to deceptions.  We are not meant to be like children in the sense that we are unaware of the dangers He's teaching us about, and the things to come.  We should, in fact, expect deception or those who will attempt to deceive us.  He teaches us about wars between nations, a characteristic of this time in which we have lived and continue to live.  He teaches us about earthquakes and famines and troubles as but the beginning of sorrows.  His prophecies do not make these things happen, and yet neither has He told us that we can necessarily fix or prevent them from happening, for until the time of His return there will be this struggle in the world not only affecting natural forces but also continuing in a spiritual sense.  He does not tell us which side to take, or which sort of political or other acts to take, but He does teach that these are but the beginning of sorrows.  The real tribulation for His followers comes from persecutions, and betrayals that may come even from those closest to us, with the most extreme forms of punishment meted out through even the closest and more cherished of relationships.   He even goes so far as to say that we will be hated by all for His name's sake.  The most important thing through all of these things, however, is our endurance, that we endure to the end.  That is our endurance in obedience and loyalty to His commands, to living our lives in the ways that He has taught us through the Gospels.  Most of us have not experienced the most extreme forms of the tribulation and wars He names, but nonetheless in living memory there are those for whom vicious genocide and horrific war remain clear memories in recent times, with threats of the same hanging over their heads.  Let us do what we can to uplift our brothers and sisters in the faith, to sustain those whom we cannot physically help through prayer, to strengthen our own faith so that we can help others both to take heed and to endure.  Let us be faithful to Him and strengthen faith through the ways He teaches us to live.  Let us take heed that we are not deceived into complacency or fantasies that we will not need to struggle in our own ways for Him and for the faith He gives us.

 

 

 

 

By your patience possess your souls

 

 Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said, "These things which you see -- the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down."  So they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, but when will these things be?  And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?"  And He said:  "Take heed that you not be deceived.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The time has drawn near.'  Therefore do not go after them.  But when you hear of wars and rumors of commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately."  Then He said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.  

 

"But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons.  You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake.  But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony.  Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.  You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.  And you will be hated by all for My name's sake.  But not a hair of your head shall be lost.  By your patience possess your souls."

 

- Luke 21:5-19 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus asked of the scribes, "How can they say that the Christ is the Son of David?  Now David himself said in the Book of Psalms:  'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'Therefore David calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then His Son?"  Then in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples, "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  These will receive greater condemnation."  And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites.  So He said, "Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had." 

 

  Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said, "These things which you see -- the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down."  My study Bible comments that Christ's prophecy of the destruction of the temple was fulfilled in AD 70, when the temple was destroyed by the Romans.  This prophecy is quite literally true, that "not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down."  Of the beautiful and splendid temple, an architectural wonder as it existed, only one retaining wall remained, known for centuries as the Wailing Wall (as it was the site of pilgrims' prayers) or the Western Wall.

So they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, but when will these things be?  And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?"  And He said:  "Take heed that you not be deceived.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The time has drawn near.'  Therefore do not go after them."  In the places where we have Christ's prophecy of the "end times" reported to us, His greatest emphasis are on warnings against deception, particularly of following a false Christ (Matthew 24:4-5, 11, 23-27).  Here in Luke's Gospel, it is the first thing He tells the disciples, and so we understand the priority of this warning in this prominent place.  

"But when you hear of wars and rumors of commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately."  Then He said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven."  My study Bible comments that the wars refer first and foremost to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, but also include subsequent wars.  It notes that wars are not a sign of the imminent end, but rather the opposite, that these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.  It's also noted that the Scriptures as a whole describe the end times in a variety of ways, so that no precise chronology can be determined (see Daniel 7 - 12; Mark 13; Matthew 24:3-31; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10, and also the Book of Revelation).  

"But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons.  You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake.  But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony.  Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.  You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.  And you will be hated by all for My name's sake.  But not a hair of your head shall be lost.  By your patience possess your souls."  My study Bible comments on these initial sorrows here, which we know about from the history of the Church and especially the early period of its persecution described here by Jesus.  However, great tribulation is a part of Christ's prophecy, and this period includes the entire Christian era.  Moreover, it is not limited to the final years before Christ's return.  In the past century, we have known genocides which included millions of Christians.  Such persecution (and new threats of genocide) remain ongoing.  And yet, Jesus' emphasis here is not on the suffering, but on how we persist through the suffering:  "By your patience possess your souls."

Jesus' forewarning of suffering and end times continues to be prominent in the minds of many followers of Christ.  But it is particularly important that we understand these things are foretold, and that if we go through any form of persecution or tribulation, it should not deter us from faithfully seeking to know what Christ asks of us.  He says that betrayals and persecutions, being brought into courts and before magistrates and rulers, "will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony."  Moreover, there is a Helper who will be sent to be with us and help to guide us in that testimony:  "I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist."  Christ's followers are even told to "settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer."   It is the occasion for testimony that is important; it is the patience of the faithful that is important, even if we are betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.  And you will be hated by all for My name's sake."  In our modern lives, where so much attention is taken up in social media, it may seem quite odd that such things are not of the kind of significance to Jesus as to make a difference to our faith, but rather may offer occasion for the practice of our faith, and for our patience as faithful.  We're often told about family values and of the emphasis on family in our Churches, but here, Jesus is saying these relationships are secondary to the communion of our faith, our participation in Christ's being and truth, even those of parents and brothers, relative and friends.  He puts this in such strong language as to say that "you will be hated by all for My name's sake."   In a world in which we see all forms of social media and other ways we are socially linked to one another used to "cancel" or to harass a person, Jesus takes it all on, even if we are hated by all for His name's sake.  We are told by my study Bible that we live in this continuing ongoing period of what is called the messianic age, in which we await the return of Christ, but continue to feel the effects of the spiritual struggle that frames and forms the background to our understanding of the world.  There are persecutions, violence, wars, betrayals -- and thanks to technology, these may continue to pose risks on a greater and more frightening level than ever.  I listened to a very interesting program on eschatology the other day, in which it was emphasized that this is a period in which Psalm 110 is fulfilled.  Lest we forget, in yesterday's reading (see above), Jesus quoted from the first verse of this Psalm, quizzing the scribes regarding both the divine and human nature of the Messiah.  The second verse reads as follows:  "The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies!"  Even if we understand that wars, violence, tribulations, and upheavals and calamities of all kinds continue in our world, in Christ's completion of His mission, in His Passion, in His Ascension, He nonetheless has declared His rule over this world ("I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven" - Luke 10:18), and we are those who, in the endurance and patience of living our faith, "work the works of God" and therefore participate in that spiritual battle, doing our part as His servants and laborers as we await the time of His return.  And this is the picture He gives us as He speaks of testimony even in the midst of tribulation, of the patience by which we possess our souls, even if those whom we love betray us, even if all hate us for His name's sake.  We should strive to understand His emphasis on endurance, persistence in our faith, and what that means.  For spiritual battle comes not as some contest against "flesh and blood," but by faith, "against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).  We live in this age that Christ taught to His disciples, and we must emphatically play our part, through prayer and worship, through living His commandments, through deepening our faith and understanding, testimony if the proper time is given to us, and patience. 

 

 

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come

 

 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For may will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."

 

- Matthew 24:1-14 

 

In yesterday's reading, we were given the last part of Christ's final sermon, a great indictment of the corruption in the temple and among the scribes and Pharisees:   "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your father's guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'" 

 

Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."  My study Bible notes that Christ's prophecy of the destruction of the temple was fulfilled in AD 70, when the temple was destroyed by the Romans.   This prophesy proved vividly true, as Roman soldiers believed there was gold between the stones of the temple.  All that remained was one retaining wall, long known as the Wailing Wall, today more commonly called the Western Wall.

 

 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  My study Bible notes here that the Scriptures describe the end times in a variety of ways, so that no precise chronology can be determined (see Daniel 7 - 12; Mark 13; Luke 21; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10; and the Revelation).  Christ's great emphasis in His response to the disciples is on watchfulness and the practice of virtue -- rather than on the construction of timetables of things that have not yet happened.  Here in Matthew's account, the end is described as encompassing first the initial sorrows, then the great tribulation, and finally the coming of the Son of Man.  The period of the great tribulation, my study Bible remarks, includes the entire Christian era.  It is not limited only to the final years before Christ's return.

 

And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For may will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many."  Christ gives the greatest priority to warnings against deception.  Of particular significance is His warning against following a false Christ.  Jesus will stress this repeatedly; see also verses 11, 23-27.  

"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet."  My study Bible says that the wars here refer first and foremost to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, but in the verses that follow we understand He includes subsequent wars also.  My study Bible comments that wars are not a sign of the imminent end, but rather of the opposite:  that the end is not yet (see 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3). 

"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."  Here is a virtual list of things that characterize the period of history since Christ's Incarnation; let us understand that it is borne out in the history of the Church and the faithful.   But note that Christ's warnings are given in order to convey the message of endurance in faith through difficulties and disasters, that "he who endures to the end shall be saved."  My study Bible comments that all these calamities and all this opposition cannot stop the spread of the gospel.  Indeed, it says, persecutions against the Church often increase the number of souls being converted.  St. John Chrysostom marvels that while the Romans subdued countless Jews in a political uprising (in the Siege of Jerusalem, AD 70), they could not prevail over twelve Jews unarmed with anything except the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

Jesus names many disasters that befall humankind, most of which any one of us has likely seen in our lifetimes.  There are human, man-made disasters and also natural disasters.  But even the natural disasters such as famines, and in some cases even earthquakes, can be the result of human action.  But these are just "the beginning of sorrows" in Jesus' prophesy of the times in which we live.  But then He speaks of tribulation, in which the faithful will be killed, and hated for His name's sake.   There are those in the Church who will be offended, betray one another, and hate one another.  He speaks again of false prophets and deceit -- and of the lawlessness that will abound, with the result that the love of many will grow cold.  All of these things we may think we see or have seen.  But the key, to my way of thinking, in Christ's warning is that "he who endures to the end will be saved."  He preaches to us watchfulness and endurance, which amount to virtually the same thing, because our endurance is not possible without watchfulness.  We need to be alert to deception and alert to when the disasters and myriad distractions around us start to veer us off our course,  taking away the love of God in our hearts so that we grow cold to the things on which we must build our lives.  He virtually assures the disciples that into the life of the Church and of the faithful all of these things will come, but we are to watch and know what we are to be about.  We are, above all, to endure through it.  That is, to endure in our faith and the practice of our faith, the carrying out of His commands, of love of God and love of neighbor, as best we can.  These are the things in which we must endure and which we must pursue.  We are to remember what is the "blessed life" He teaches us in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12), and all the ways He teaches us to be His disciples.  We have to hold fast to what it is that makes us salt and light, and reflect that light and God's glory back into the world (Matthew 5:13-16).  Throughout the difficulties, for over so many centuries since Christ's Incarnation, this is what the saints and the faithful of the Church have done, under any and all circumstances.  There is one saint I will take as an example who is inspirational to me.  She is St. Philothei of Athens, a woman who lived in the 16th century in Athens, Greece.  She lived in a time of oppressive Ottoman rule over Greece's mostly Christian citizens.   At a young age she became a very wealthy widow and devoted herself to monastic life.  She established on her property a women's monastery, where young women were taught various crafts and skills with which they could work.  She was active in philanthropy and charity, extended outside her immediate environment.  Among other things, she was active in buying the freedom of Greeks who'd been taken as Ottoman slaves, especially women taken to harems.  She took in and hid fleeing slaves, many of them women who were pregnant.  She spent extensive monies for bribes and ransoms for such people, and was heavily taxed and fined.  Her monasteries were plundered and agricultural lands destroyed.  For her work in hiding and smuggling out women who sought refuge in her monasteries, her fame grew and so did animosity against her.  She was beaten and imprisoned and eventually released.  Finally, four mercenaries broke into her monastery during an evening vigil and beat her severely; after a lengthy attempt at recuperation she died of her injuries, a martyr for faith.  Today much of central Athens remains a part of her legacy, and her bones are enshrined in the Metropolitan cathedral.  There, too, one may also find remnants of the chains of St. Paul, another reminder that in the endurance of our faith, we are free even in the face of the tribulations of the world and all the things that would enslave us.  Let us set these extraordinary examples before us, and understand that to endure is to truly live our faith and hang on to its priceless, matchless value, its love and light.  Notice that Jesus finishes by saying that "this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations."  Let us remember, also, that we witness by living our faith every day, and enduring in so doing.

And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved

 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come." 

- Matthew 24:1-14

Yesterday we read the end of Jesus' final sermon, which is a summary of His critiques of the scribes and Pharisees.  Our reading also included Jesus' lament over Jerusalem for what was to come.  He said:  "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"

 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."  Jesus' prophecy of the destruction of the temple was fulfilled in AD 70.  This was on the occasion of the Siege of Jerusalem, when the temple -- despite orders to the contrary -- was destroyed by the Romans.

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"   My study bible comments on the verses that follow (through verse 31) that the Scriptures describe the end times in various ways; these are so varied as to make it impossible to create a precise chronology.  (See Daniel 7-12; Mark 13; Luke 21; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10, and the Book of Revelation.)   But Christ's emphasis is rather on watchfulness, and the practice of  virtue, not on constructing timetables of what hasn't happened yet.  My study bible paraphrases Matthew's account of the end as encompassing (1) the initial sorrows (today's reading, verses 4-14), (2) the great tribulation (verses 15-28), and (3) the coming of the Son of Man (verses 29-31).  It notes, importantly for us, that the period of the great tribulation includes the entire Christian era, and not simply the final years before Christ's return.

And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many."  A note stresses here that it is the warnings against deception which are given particular emphasis in Matthew's account.  In particular, the warnings against following a false Christ are given great importance, as Jesus repeats the warning in verses 11 and 23-27.

"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved."  My study bible says that the wars referred to here are first and foremost that which involved the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, but also most certainly include subsequent wars.  It notes that wars are not a sign of the imminent end, but rather of the opposite:  that the end is not yet (see 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3).   Let us note what follows, a series of calamities for the world and especially for people:  famines, pestilences, earthquakes, which are the beginning of sorrows.  These disasters are coupled with hatred and persecution and even murder of those who follow Christ around the world, followed by offenses, betrayals, and hatred for one another.  All of this gives rise to false prophets and their deception of many.   And as lawlessness will abound in such circumstances, the love of many will grow cold.   But the ones who are saved are those who can endure in faith, to the end through all things.

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."  My study bible comments that all these calamities and all this opposition cannot stop the spread of the gospel.  Indeed, it notes, persecutions against the Church frequently increase the number of souls being converted.  It cites St. John Chrysostom, who marvels that while the Romans subdued countless Jews in a political uprising, they couldn't prevail over twelve Jews who were unarmed with anything except the gospel of Jesus Christ.

What must we take from today's reading?  Quite simply, Jesus is preparing us for what is to come.  Over the past 2,000 years since these words were said, not only has the destruction of the temple and the city come to pass (it would happen roughly forty years later), but also the wars and rumors of wars, as well as the famines and pestilences and earthquakes in various places.  Persecutions and tribulation for Christians has arisen throughout history and persists today around the world in both hatred and murder.  Moreover, among Christians themselves we have experienced at times offenses, betrayals, and hatreds -- and yes, false prophets as well, who have successfully deceived many.  Some of us today would say that we are, indeed, witnesses to an abounding lawlessness (most clearly in a spiritual sense), as well as to love between people -- even a social sense of brotherly love, the fabric of a society -- growing cold, including families falling apart (see also, concerning this respect, 10:34-39).  In the times which quite closely followed Christ's lifetime on the earth, and up to the present time today, Jesus' prophecies have all come true:  in this "time of the end" that includes all of the present Christian era, we are witness to what He has described.  And yet, we also remain witness to the fact that these are but the beginnings of sorrows; we have not yet reached the end.  We remain in a time of endurance, in which what He teaches us and those things for which He has prepared us continue to evolve and manifest themselves.  In the end, there is one word that He insists we must keep in mind, and that is to endure.   Jesus says, "He who endures to the end will be saved," and we are to take Him at His word.  All that means is that He has previewed what is to transpire during this time as we await His return, and we can quite literally see it all around us for ourselves.  What He has told us has come to pass; we witness it every day.  But there is one thing that persists through it all:  His love for us, and our return of and faith in that love.  It is in His love that we must endure through all things, even to the end.  The apostles and disciples to whom He directly speaks in today's reading would witness simply horrific and unthinkable things.  We can't imagine the beauties of this great temple in which Jesus' conversation takes place, as it was rebuilt by Herod the Great (also known as Herod the Builder), refurbished to be known as one of the great wonders of the world.  How could they comprehend it could be destroyed, and their city burned?  A lot of history has passed since then, and many empires, and yet still today we can find ourselves standing in the "shoes" (or possibly sandals) of the disciples.  We may witness shocking and horrific things, even experiencing a common love grown cold.  But Christ's love endures, as must we, just as He endured in faith to the end.  Let us remember His words to each of us, and know that our job, also, is to bear our cross as did He, and to endure undeceived.