DAY 121

THE END OF WHAT?

1 Kings 10 & 11 and Luke 21:20 – 38

When it all seems too perfect…weakness comes to light…we all have them…blind spots. Solomon takes 700 wives and is enamored with foreign women. His sin will reintroduce into Israel all sorts of foreign gods that, as you will read in the coming chapters, that they will never get rid of.

In the New Testament we read of Jesus foretelling of the destruction of Jerusalem and the coming of the Son of Man. Many Christians have seen these verses as foretelling the end of the world, the “Second Coming.” Here is how verse 25 reads: “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves,” what does it mean?

Bishop N.T. Wright, and others, suggest that what Jesus is really describing is the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. The language is very figurative, but then how would you describe September 11, 2001 or D-Day in World War 2? The text goes on to say that the Son of Man is coming on the clouds. To hold to the view that this is a prophecy not of the Final Coming of Jesus, but of the Fall of Jerusalem, Bishop Wright suggests that “Son of Man” would have been heard by Jesus’ listeners of the First Century as a reference to Daniel 7 which has to do with the oppressors being overthrown and the Son of Man being vindicated.

I know that this is a little technical, but we are almost there. So, let me ask a question, “who oppressed the Son of Man – the Romans or the Temple Authorities?” I would say the Temple Authorities. So when the Temple gets destroyed in 70 A.D. then Jesus, the Son of Man, is vindicated. God allows the Romans to overthrow that which oppressed His Son.

If we press on into the chapter, verse 34 for example, we read: “But watch yourselves lest your heart be weighed down with…the cares of this life…stay awake…praying” I will spare you details of what Jerusalem and the Roman Empire was like after Jesus’ death, but it was a mess. It would be easy to get weighed down with the cares of the world. After all, a few decades earlier they could touch Jesus…now all they could do was retell the stories…

And that is our connection. On this May 1^st, 2013 the world is an equal mess – on a global scale, a national scale, a local scale…and for some on a personal scale. Further, if you told your friends you were reading a blog about reading the Bible in one year, they would think you are a little crazy. After all, the world tells us to live life and have fun. And if they are really in a mood they might even say, “If your Jesus is so special why is the world such a mess?” – A little like living in Jerusalem in 45, 50, 60 or 65 A.D.

God’s answer is the same: keep alert, pray, this is what I, Jesus, told you to expect. Be patient and persevere – these are the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Consider for a moment how the Old Testament readings today present a world where it was seemingly all perfect, but the problem was Solomon trusted in himself and walked away from the Lord.

The “perfect world” this side of heaven is an illusion – chasing it only leads to sorrow and frustration. Solomon, who had everything this world had to offer, actually learned that point and would write the "it is all vanity" (we will read that in a few months). Jesus’ instructions are as applicable today as when He spoke them 2,000 years ago.

My prayer is that as you read this blog it not depress you, but rather give you a more realistic sense of what the Bible is trying to teach us about life and faith. It isn’t that by loving Jesus we get all the material possessions of the world, it is that by Jesus loving us, that we receive that which lasts – the treasure – the pearl of great price – don’t let the world talk you out of it – not even the love of 700 wives can surpass the love of God. I think the point of Jesus’ teaching in Luke is that the desire of the religious of the day, to mis-translate God’s plan into some twisted human view of a successful religious institution, has come to the end with the destruction of the Temple…and now we are free to move forward…we may be doing that from an “institution,” but let’s never get to the point again where the institution crucifies God.