GET READY!
Introduction:
On
11 December 2021, the 330m-long asteroid 4660 Nereus is set to pass the planet
earth at a speed of roughly four miles-per-second - albeit 2.4 million miles
away from our home planet. Will 4660 Nereus hit the Earth? What happens when an
asteroid hits the Earth? Although 4660
Nereus is very likely to pose no threat in 2021, it is set to come much closer
to the Earth in the future. On Valentine's Day in 2060, it will come within
745,000 miles of Earth. Your Valentine's Day plans may get disturbed if that
asteroid were to hit the Earth."
To avoid a potential collision of
Nereus, NASA launched on 24 November its Double Asteroid Redirection Test (Dart)
mission. This one-way experimental voyage will see a spacecraft collide with an
asteroid in a bid to alter the space rock's course. Should it prove successful,
it could provide a way of protecting the Earth from asteroids."[1]
On a lighter note, NASA invited Bruce
Willis, the star of the 1998 movie Armageddon, to launch a spacecraft that's
goanna smash into an asteroid to see if we could deflect a killer space rock.
Bruce Willis had better things to do, so he declined the invitation.[2]
Over two thousand years ago, someone
more powerful than Bruce Willis predicted the end of the Earth. He gave us sure
signs that would point us towards the Great Day of the Lord, as the Bible calls
it. And also to watch out for certain things that might derail us from reaching
our final destination, heaven. It will do good for us to pay attention to his
words in Luke 21:25-36.
Jesus was in the Herodian temple
built in AD 63. The disciples were fascinated by its majestic stonework and
decorations. Jesus said, "the time is coming when all these things will be
completely demolished. As he predicted, the Romans destroyed the temple in AD
70.
The disciples asked, teacher, when
will all this happen? What sign will show us that these things are about to
take place? Jesus gave them some signs to watch for, some things to watch out
for, and a sure way to escape the coming horrors and stand before Him when He
returns.
I.
Before Jesus' Second Coming, Everything Will Be Shaken. (Vs. 25-26)
Vs. 25 "And there will be
strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And here on Earth, the nations will
be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides. 26 People will
be terrified at what they see coming upon the Earth, for the powers in the
heavens will be shaken.
25-26 "It will seem like all
hell has broken loose—sun, moon, stars, earth, sea, in an uproar and everyone
all over the world in a panic, the wind knocked out of them by the threat of
doom, the powers-that-be quaking." The peculiar signs in the sun, moon, and
stars phenomenon are a common feature of the Biblical prophecy of the Day of
the Lord Prophecy. Joel 2:30-31.
Indeed, strange things are happening
in the world. These days we are hearing a lot about Global warming or Climate
change. One report suggests, "More
than 800 million people—11% of the world's population—can already feel the
consequences of climate change in their daily lives, including increased
frequency of natural disasters, prolonged droughts, and irregular weather
patterns."[3]
Jesus has warned us about these strange signs which point us to His return.
These strange events are sending the
nations and their leaders into panic mode. As if these things were not bad
enough, two years ago came the COVID-19 virus, which sent the whole world into
turmoil. Worldwide wide 5.23 million people died of COVID-19.
The US tops the world with 786 K and
increasing.[4] If these deaths are not a cause of concern,
what else will? Could these signs be the great shaking that Jesus was talking
about? Could these strange things be our wake-up call? Or do we not care what
happens to the world around us?
With all that is going on, the
heavens and the Earth still exist because Jesus is holding everything together.
Col 1:17. If He decided to let go, the world would no longer survive the way we
know now. That's what will happen on the great Judgment Day.
II Peter 3:10-12, "10 But the
day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will
pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will
disappear in fire, and the Earth and everything on it will be found to deserve
judgment."
II.
The most spectacular sign of all signs is the return of Jesus on clouds
Along with these signs, one other
thing we should be looking for, i.e., the coming of the Son of Man on a cloud
with power and great glory. Here Jesus was directly referring to the prophecy
of Daniel concerning His second coming into the world. Daniel 7:13,
"As my vision continued that
night, I saw someone like a son of man[a] coming with the clouds of heaven. He
approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence." It will be
fulfilled during the second coming of Jesus Christ, Rev 1:7Look! He comes with
the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him—even those who pierced him. And
all the nations of the world will mourn for him. Yes! Amen! What an absolutely
awesome time that will be!
What should be our attitude when we
see these signs unfolding in front of our eyes?
Vs. 28, "So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look
up, for your salvation is near!" These events could cause panic for those
who do not know the Lord and his word, but these signs bring hope for those who
know him and look forward to his coming.
If you accepted Jesus as your
savior, you have nothing to be afraid of but have all the reasons to rejoice
and be assured that your salvation is now nearer than ever before. As we watch
for the fulfillment of the end time signs, we are warned by Jesus to watch out
for the sins that can easily trip us up in our journey of faith. If you read
your Bible, you will find what those sins are.
III.
Get Ready! (Vs. 34b-36)
Vs. 34b-36, "Don't let
that day catch you unaware. 35 like a trap. For that day will come upon
everyone living on the Earth. 36 Keep alert at all times. And pray that you
might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son
of Man."
Advent is not just the four weeks
before Christmas but has its impact on all generations. The word Advent (from
Latin adventus, "coming"). The Lutherans have this broader
understanding of Advent. During the Advent season, we celebrate Jesus'
three-fold coming: First, we celebrate
His coming into the world as a baby on Christmas. Second is his coming into our
hearts through His Spirit. The third is his coming into the world in person as
the King and the Judge of the world. We call this Jesus' second coming.
At every coming, God sent prophets,
angels, and His Spirit to warn and get his people ready for the arrival of the
Messiah. In the passage we read, Jesus is warning His disciples to get ready
for His second coming, which would come upon the Earth when people least expect
it.
We got to be ready at all times as
if Jesus could come back into this world at any time. Many of the signs we
talked about earlier allude to this fact of his imminent return. Part of
getting ready for his return is to watch and pray so that we can be
strengthened to escape those upcoming horrors and stand in His presence.
Watching and praying helps us as we wait for Him.
As Jesus disciples, we must watch and pray. We are easily distracted
by this world, our fleshly needs, desires, and the enemy's schemes. When we
take our eyes from Jesus and His imminent return, our values begin to shift,
our attention wanders, and soon we are living like the world and bear little
fruit for God's kingdom. We can only remain faithful when we are devoted to
prayer. When we live with the eager expectation of Jesus' return and get
ourselves ready as we watch and pray, we will not be disappointed when we meet
Him face to face. Amen!
[1] https://www.nationalworld.com/news/world/nasa-asteroid-warning-2021-eiffel-tower-sized-rock-heading-towards-earth-in-december-should-we-be-worried-3449418
[2] https://futurism.com/the-byte/bruce-willis-nasa-asteroid
[3] https://www.globalgiving.org/learn/cost-to-end-climate-change/
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:COVID-19_pandemic_data
