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s3rdlast02
"The Last Things: Spiritual Deception"
MP3 Remix 3.205 Cracks
Text: Matthew 24:15-28
Date: The Third-Last Sunday in the Church Year 
11/10/02
On All Saints' Day our attention begins to
be directed by the Word of God to the subject of "Eschatology" or
the doctrine of The Last Things. Last Sunday we began by remembering
those who have gone before us through the grave and gate of death
and now rest from their labors with the Lord. As the Church Year
comes to a close the Word of God presents to us the doctrine of
the Second Coming of our Lord, the resurrection of all flesh, the
Last Judgment and Eternal Life in the new heavens and earth. Though
these doctrines serve, on the one hand, to warn people of the necessity
of hearing and receiving the Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ
now before it is too late, they serve mainly as comfort and assurance
for those who are in Christ. And we need that comfort and assurance.
For, as the hymn says, "we [still] feebly struggle [while] they
in glory shine." The eternal destiny of all who died in the Lord
is sealed. Ours is still a little shaky, however, and depends on
our continuing, abiding and remaining in the grace of God until
our last day, standing solidly in faith against all the forces within
and without that seek to make us fall away. Remember the words of
the rite of confirmation where you declared your intent, with God's
help, "to continue steadfast in this confession and Church and to
suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it." So, how's
it going?
The chief and most diabolical force at work
to steal us away from the safety and shelter of God's grace is spiritual
deception. The Second Commandment, "You shall not misuse the name
of the Lord your God," means, among other things, that we should
fear and love God so that we do not lie or deceive by his name.
The prince of liars is the devil. And, as we saw at our Lord's temptation
in the wilderness, his most deceitful work is to use God's own Word
of scripture, twisting it to serve his own evil purposes. When his
disciples asked Jesus, "What will be the sign of your coming and
of the end of the age?" the very first thing our Lord said was,
"Watch out that no one deceives you" [Mt. 24:4]. This is why continued
Bible study is so important, that you may be able to identify spiritual
deception and false doctrine, confront it, correct it or flee from
it, thus guarding your own soul. This is the burden of the Gospel
before us this day.
There has always been controversy as to some
of the details of Jesus' words in today's text. But it is clear
that he is speaking about two things at the same time: first, the
coming destruction of the Jerusalem Temple and, at the same time,
his final return as victorious Lord of all when he comes again to
judge the living and the dead.
"When you see the abomination of desolation
spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let
the reader understand), then…flee." The "abomination of desolation"
refers, first, to the forced erecting of pagan idols in the Jerusalem
temple. This had already happened in 168 B.C. under Antiochus Epiphanes,
and would happen, briefly, again in 38 A.D. by the Roman emperor
Caligula. But it would happen one, final time in 70 A.D. The Roman
emperors, with their claim to divine honors, actually end up being
God's instrument in turning the former splendor of the temple of
his presence into a forsaken and desolate house, the symbolic Divine
judgment against all those who have rejected the Messiah of God.
As a sign of our Lord's second coming, however,
we say with our Lutheran Confessions that "the abomination of desolation,"
if it means anything, is any time there is widespread ignorance
of the Gospel in the Church, whatever its cause [Apology VII, Kolb-Wengert
p. 266:44-45], whether because of sinful neglect and despising of
God's Word, or as the result of false teachers "out there" or even
infiltrating the church. Peter warns in his second letter, "there
will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive
heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon
themselves swift destruction" [2 Peter 2:1 (ESV)]. The Apostle John
writes, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits
to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone
out into the world…. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which
you heard was coming and now is in the world already" [1 John 4:1-6
(ESV)]. And Saint Jude writes, "But you must remember, beloved,
the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said
to you, 'In the last time there will be scoffers, following their
own ungodly passions.' It is these who cause divisions, worldly
people, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, build yourselves
up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves
in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
that leads to eternal life" [Jude 17-21 (ESV)].
The fact that our Lord adds the parenthetical
comment, "let the reader understand," means that everything he is
speaking of here can only be truly understood by a "reader of the
Gospel" and of Daniel's prophecy. That is, the Word of God can only
be understood by the elect of God, Christians who have learned from
the scriptures themselves their proper interpretation.
This is especially important as Jesus warns
against spiritual deception. "If someone should say to you, 'Look,
here is the Christ!' or "Over here!' do not believe it. For false
christs and pseudo-prophets will show up, now and then, performing
great signs and wonders, so as to mislead even the elect, if that's
possible." And, believe me, it's possible! Everyone and anyone who
cannot see or perceive the clarity and purity of the Gospel, especially
as it is proclaimed by the adherents of the Lutheran Confessions
over-against not only the false, non-Christian religions of the
world, but also the confused, patch-work theologies and philosophies
of other Christian denominations and sects, and, sad to say, even
our own denomination, is practically defenseless against being led
astray.
I can hear it now: "you mean to say you think
the Lutheran Church is the only true church?" I mean to say that
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