Eschatology, apocalypse, end of days .
. . whichever word you prefer, this is the connection between Malachi
and Luke. The end of the world is nigh, and woe to you who are
enemies of God. Or something like that.
Eschatology has to do with the doctrine
of last things and the ultimate destination of both the individual
soul and the whole of the created order. Daniel and Revelation are
the two books that deal most with eschatology, but they are not
exclusive in that, as we hear from Malachi and Luke today.
I’ve noticed something about
eschatology over the years, and maybe you've noticed it too but
haven't had the words to articulate it; or maybe you haven't noticed,
and that's okay. What I’ve noticed is that people start getting
weird when they talk about eschatology.
First there seems to be a tendency to
begin preaching a “turn or burn” message. Some people read
passages like we get from Malachi and decide they know who the
arrogant and evildoers are. What follows are attempts at scaring the
hell out of Those People in a misguided effort to convert them. This
is also designed as a message of comfort for their own followers to
show that they themselves are neither arrogant nor an evildoer and
are therefore safe from being burned up and condemned to hell.
It doesn't take much effort to find
places like this. I remember seeing one such group marching in a
Boatnick parade proudly proclaiming that anyone who didn't belong to
their congregation was doomed to an eternity in hell.
Probably the most well-known
(unfortunately) advocate of this belief system is the Left Behind
series. This is supposedly a faithful telling of Bible prophecy and
what life will be like post-Rapture. Besides being terribly written,
they have no basis in reality or Bible prophecy. The main agenda of
these books is to comfort the right religious tribe that they will be
saved and then to gleefully show the gruesome destruction of those
who disagree with them in a manner similar to the Nazis in Raiders
of the Lost Ark.
Second
there is a tendency to want to pin down the date of the end. Scores
of Bible prophecy “experts” use ancient symbols to predict modern
calamities and the coming of the end. There was William Miller in
1843 and 1844, and Harold Camping in 2011. During the Cold War,
Russia was tabbed as Gog from Revelation. Hal Lindsey wrote The
Late Great Planet Earth and gave
the time of the end based on Israel gaining nation status in 1948.
Mr. Lindsey has gone on to write other books with updated and “more
accurate” information.
There have been a
host of others, and there will be more to come, who fleece their
followers and the gullible into believing Christ will return on a
specific date because “Bible Prophecy!”
But Jesus clearly
tells us that there will be wars, earthquakes, famines, plagues and
signs from heaven before the end. He also clearly tells us not to be
led astray or to go after people preaching the end of days.
And
third, people begin looking for signs of persecution all around them.
People not saying, “Merry Christmas?” Persecution! Business
owners required to provide health insurance for their employees?
Persecution! No school sanctioned prayer? Persecution! Never mind
that people don't take issue with not saying, “Happy Kwanza,” or
that non-Christian employees are forced to bow to corporate
“Christian ideals,” or that people who want prayer in schools
would be outraged if we gave equal time to Muslims, Jews, Hindus and
pagans. Rights for me but not for thee has become the new
persecution complex.
With all of this
eschatological weirdness going on, is there a better way to look at
these apocalyptic passages? The answer, of course, is yes.
First
we must understand that eschatology has to do with What
rather than with When.
The day will come, that much is certain. But not only do we not
know when, we must also realize that there are a variety of
eschatological visions in the Bible such that it can't be defined by
any one view.
When Malachi talks
about the arrogant and evildoers, I think back to why Sodom and
Gomorrah were destroyed. The people in those cities had pride,
excess of food and prosperous ease, but they did not aid the poor and
needy. This is arrogant evil. This is what the Lord seeks to
eliminate.
But for those who
revere the Lord in thought, word and deed, for those who love
neighbor as self, for those who welcome and care for the outsider and
Other, then the day of the Lord will come like the rising of the sun
and all that ails you will be healed. Malachi, like most prophets,
is concerned with justice. For those who pervert and distort
justice, the day of the Lord will be like a consuming fire, burning
them up. For those who strive for justice, the day of the Lord will
be like a glorious sunrise.
Today's gospel
gives us an unfortunate stopping point. Jesus continues in vv. 20-28
about the destruction of the Temple. By the time Luke writes, this
has already happened. The Temple is destroyed and persecutions
abound. But this has more to do with Jewish survival than with
Christian persecution.
It's the end that's
important. All these things will happen (are happening). When they
do, stand up, raise your heads and know your redemption draws near.
Death may be near, but expect resurrection. Expect new life.
We shouldn't read
into these eschatological stories new and modern ways the world will
end, or how we are being persecuted. Instead, we should look to them
for guidance on living out and bringing about God's justice to the
world. And we should look to them as a source of comfort where, like
last week, we know that our Redeemer lives and at the last we will
see him face to face.
Resurrection and
new life is a better way to view the end of the world than looking
forward to gleefully watching Those Heathens burned to a crisp. And
that, in my opinion, is good news.
Amen.
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