Advent 2
Dear friends in Christ. Advent means “coming.” That’s why the Church has also emphasized in the season of Advent the Last Day, Jesus’ Second Coming—this time in glory. The readings for this Second Sunday in Advent emphasize Jesus’ return, His Second Coming. Here we in the NT Church feel much like the saints in the OT as they waited for the Savior to come the first time—the virgin born, the descendant of David, in Bethlehem. It is vital for us to keep our eyes opened and to be alert for Jesus’ Second Coming; to live our lives in the light/ perspective of it, lest we grow weary during the wait and let faith die out in our hearts.
A few verses before our text St. Paul writes: But know this that in the last days perilous times will come. Dear Christian, know that we live in the last days. This is not in the sense of the so-called Mayan calendar that says that the world will end in a few weeks—or even as it is being reinterpreted as at that time a new age is beginning that can lead to peace and love throughout the world if only we do the right thing. We are in the last days and have been in the Last Days since Jesus finished the work of our salvation. Now that Jesus died, rose, ascended into heaven and sent His Holy Spirit, the work for our salvation is done—our sins have been paid for, we are reconciled to God and heaven is opened to us; we await nothing more; there are no other prophecies for Him to fulfill except one—His return. That’s why the apostles could say they were in the Last Days; the entire NT era is the Last Days.
Jesus Himself talks two ways about the Last Days. One way is the way He does in today’s Gospel: And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying wives, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom [the Lord] rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
There you see that life is seemingly normal; everybody is involved in their day in/ day out activities. But then, Jesus also talks this way [Mt. 24.4]: 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.
Jesus talks of time of great tumult and distress and spiritual desolation. Which way is it—seemingly normal or times of tumult? It is both. The Lord gives the signs and warnings that the world is winding down and coming to an end—the wars, rumors, famines, earthquakes, etc. The Christian, looking at these signs, looking for and longing for Jesus’ return will see and recognize them as such and live a life of faith in Christ and rich in good works, prepared for His return and know that as Jesus’ return gets closer, it will get worse. The unbeliever will see these signs and just regard them as natural occurrences, perhaps be shaken up a bit for a while, but then life goes on. Their meaning lost.
Just because life goes on like normal does not mean it is a good thing for us spiritually; does not mean it is for the benefit of the Christian. After all, we are battling against the devil and his allies—the world and our old sinful nature—that want to destroy our faith. We live in a world that is not favorable to Christ, His Word and His Church—nor should we expect it to be because it is bound to and serves a different lord. The world in which the Christian lives and the Church carries out her work is one from which we certainly cannot expect any favors.
1. Right before our text, St. Paul talks about the false teachers that have already arisen in the Church in his day—and we know that it won’t get any better—so what should we do as each day gets closer to Jesus’ return? The same thing Paul told Timothy, he tells us: You, however, have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra--what persecutions I endured. In these Last Days we continue simply to learn the faith like Timothy did with Paul: you have carefully followed my doctrine. How blessed we are! The word of God has been faithfully handed down from generation to generation until it finally came to us. Despite all the attempts of the devil to destroy and corrupt that doctrine, it has come to us. Now, it is up to us to pass it down pure to the generations that come after us. The pure word/ teaching of God is the greatest gift we have received and it is the greatest gift we can pass down.
That pure word is never without blessing as we live our lives in these last days; it is never by itself without any effect on our lives but strengthens and motivates our behavior, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, [in] persecutions [and] afflictions. Timothy learned from Paul and saw that effect of the Gospel in him. We learn the faith from each other and watch our fellow Christians. May our life and witness be a source of strength to our fellow Christians, just as we learned, watched and were strengthened by other Christians.
These Last Days—be it at the time of Paul and Timothy, the early Church, or be it 2012—are times of great difficulty for the Church and Christians. Paul mentions cities and events in and around Timothy’s hometown of Lystra that he would certainly know: Paul was expelled from Antioch; he fled from being stoned in Iconium; in Lystra Paul was stoned and left for dead. But what does Paul then add? And out of them all the Lord delivered me. Looking at the example of Paul, Timothy has more than enough evidence that the Lord never forsook Paul even in the greatest peril. How, then, Timothy was strengthened as he lived in the Last Days—and how we are strengthened as we live in the Last Days as we see here with Paul and also with other Christians down through the ages that the Lord is always watching over us in this time of great difficulty that is the Last Days. Just as Timothy was encouraged to continue to live for the Lord and serve Him, so too are we. Yes, it will be difficult; yes, it will mean struggle against sin, devil and world; but the Lord is with us and no matter how difficult, we know the Lord is with us and bringing us safely through it all to Himself in heaven. That is the promise He made to us in holy baptism as He washed away our sin and brought us into His holy family.
Paul writes elsewhere [Rm. 15.4]: For whatever things were written before [in the OT] were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. How blessed we are that we have the example of St. Paul, of St. Timothy, and all Christians down through the ages—even going all the way back to the saints of the OT Church! The Lord is gracious and merciful! Therefore we are bold to live out our faith in heart, life, word and deed. In fact, our greatest joy is in doing the will of God.
But as we emboldened to live our lives in faith and good works in service to the Lord, we do not gain the favor of the world around us. Our text: Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. Timothy would not be unique for suffering on account of his faith and living out that faith—nor are we if we do so; this is the lot of all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus. The world will tolerate Christianity as “theory” but carrying out our Christian faith in everyday life is another matter; that is what causes the hatred and hostility. The world will grant “everybody needs something to believe.” But when Christians denounce and avoid evil and unswervingly commit to actually living out our faith publicly—like simply going to church, or more dramatically when we openly reject and denounce so-called same sex marriage; the HHS mandate requiring us pay for things that we morally oppose like abortion and abortion inducing drugs—then Christians are the voice of the law of God, that voice the people try so hard to drown out and ignore so they can live in their sin feeling good about themselves.
2. Not only are these Last Days—the NT era—a time of great hardship because of the world, but also from those pawning themselves off as Christians—false teachers. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. In these Last Days, these messengers of Satan passing themselves off as messengers of Christ—like Paul already had to deal with—continue on with greater energy to lead others astray, confusing them with “Bible sounding” teaching that actually really contradicts what we have received, what has been passed down to us. Although they come by the wickedness of the devil and from their own hardness of heart, they are a judgment of God on those who neglect/ despise His Word. Yet, remember, God doesn’t forsake His own; that means even these evil men and imposters that grow worse and worse have to serve God’s purposes for His Christians/ Church. Here is the call/ motivation to continue in the hearing, reading, and studying of the word of God.
The call for us today as we continue to live our lives in the faith and waiting for Jesus’ return, His Advent, is: But as for you continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
The only way to resist and overcome the false teachers is to stand firm in what we have received: continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of. Let us not stagnate and lose faith but continue on studying the Scriptures, the sure truth mining the passages for all their fullness so that our faith is not a mile wide and inch deep, but both deep and wide. Scripture is not expanded through new revelations like groups like Mormons would want us to believe; instead, Scripture has been handed down to us, as Paul writes elsewhere [1 Cor. 15.3]: For I handed over to you of first importance what I also received. Doctrines don’t “develop”; the truth of God’s word is eternal. Let us, then, in these Last Days, continue to go back to the Scriptures in continual study, which we received in firm faith and which teach us perfectly what we need to know to obtain eternal life.
The glorious thing is that the Scriptures not only tell us all we need to be saved but by the Spirit’s working they actually give us the gift of faith to believe and receive its message; it actually gives us the blessings of Christ that He won for us by His life, suffering and death. That’s because the Bible is not some dead letters/ words on paper. Instead, it is Spirit and life: All Scripture is God breathed. The Holy Spirit not only caused the holy apostles and prophets to write the exact word He wanted them to, but He is still in and with the word of Scripture creating, strengthening and preserving faith. Scripture is God coming to us and speaking to us; there we sit at the feet of the Holy Spirit and He leads us into greater love and understanding of our Lord and His will and way—and gives us the strength to carry it out—and into a deeper faith so that we can judge correctly what we see and hear and so continuing in the word we are strengthened and preserved in the faith in these Last Days of great trial as we await with longing eyes and hearts Jesus’ Second Coming. INJ Amen