 |
| Norma A. Boeckler |
The Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Trinity, 2021
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
Thanksgiving Eve Service, 7 PM Central Standard Time
The Hymn #192 Gerhardt Awake My Heart
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Comfort and Warning about the End - From Jesus
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #649 Jesus Savior Pilot Me
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #649 Jesus Savior Pilot Me
 |
| Norma A. Boeckler |
KJV 1 Thessalonians 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
 |
| Norma A. Boeckler |
KJV Matthew 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. 23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told you before. 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Background for the Sermon, Matthew 24:15ff
There are many passages in the Bible, Old Testament and New, where the future is discussed. The rationalists dismiss all of them, because they cannot imagine the Bible being God's unique revelation. Most of the mainline ministers belong in this group, and of their professors are even worse. They have converted the concept of the Kingdom of God into a revolution where man makes sure a certain kind of Leftwing justice is enforced with everyone.
The sectarians pick up and exaggerate certain verses, selectively, and make a religion out of them. That has been done with "the Rapture," the Dispensations, and absolute timing of the End. My kin in the Adventists gave wrong dates every so often, starting with Miller (hence the Millerites) twice, and still formed a denomination.
The words of the Bible - and Jesus - warn that the End will come, and certain passages focus on that time. However, Jesus also warned people not to be fooled by those who knew more than He does as if they could pinpoint the exact date. The doctrine of the End Times means that we should never be lax, but also that we should not give in to false Messiahs, as many have, and listened to them instead of the Word of God.
We have all that we need in the Scriptures, but not all that we want to know. If we knew twice as much, we would still want to know even more. It would be better to know more about what has already be revealed, which is quite a lot, both on the warning side, but also for our comfort and peace.
 |
| Norma A. Boeckler |
Comfort and Warning about the End - from Jesus
KJV Matthew 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
There was a period of time when the Christians were established in Jerusalem, after Pentecost. However, the anti-Roman faction called the Zealots, were building up hostility toward Rome and its flaunting of Judaism. This is a tale told many times in ancient and modern religion. When foreign rulers run rough-shod over the established religion, it sparks a bloody rebellion unlike any other.
This is Jesus, around 30 AD, predicting when the ruler would set up an abomination in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Or, another conflict exploded in the Temple, as Lenski (Matthew p. 939) argued, with thousands slaughtered. The abomination took place before the Zealot War of 70 AD, when Rome surrounded Jerusalem with a wall and began starving the city to death.
So this warning allowed the Christians to take heed and flee before the wars started. No one acquainted with history is going to give a precise list of events, because even our recent history is a blur, with all our records, films, and photographs.
Also, persecution of the Christians in Jerusalem led them to escape to peaceful areas where they could re-establish their congregations. Continued persecutions and missionary work spread the Gospel like water on an oil fire. Therefore, Jesus' warning saved the lives of many Christians who would have been trapped in the wars, and it expanded the Gospel far beyond its original reach. The Roman road system and travel by boat made that possible too.
The universal language of trade was Greek, established by Alexander the Great three centuries before.
Lenski restricts this passage to the time, but I agree with Luther that this New Testament era prefigures the End Times, and we are in the shadow of that final crisis, which is like the feeling we get when the sun is being eclipsed - the light seems to be the same, and yet it is different, just a little bit muted.
The papacy is the Antichrist, and we can see the Abomination of Desolation in St. Peter's in Rome, where all the ceremonies are taken from Christianity but oppose the Gospel message of the Bible. Even worse, this papacy is so obviously twisted that Roman Catholics speak of the papal office being empty - sedevacantism.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away [apostasy] first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
18. Therefore this passage in Daniel concerning the abomination applies also to us. For we also have indeed a real abomination or desolation sitting in a holy place, namely: in Christendom and in the consciences of men, where God alone should sit and reign, of which Daniel speaks in very clear words in the 8th and 9th chapters. For this is the real pure doctrine, if we preach that we are redeemed by Christ from sin, death, Satan and all misfortune, and are planted in the kingdom of God through the Word and faith and thereby are made free from all law, and that no man, whoever he be, can enter into the kingdom of God through the works of the law nor be made free from sin. Where this is preached and believed, there Christ reigns spiritually in the heart without a medium; there is the Holy Spirit with all the treasures and fullness of the riches of God.
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
I understand this to be instructions for those times and also a warning for ours. As Luther commented in his sermon on this passage, Matthew blends things together in one soup. The past warns us about the future. We can look at how bad it was then. When the Roman Imperial Army came and used slave labor to build a wall around Jerusalem, they turned a large city filled with pilgrims into a prison with water but no fresh food supplies. Panic did much of the rest, as people stole from each other and hoarded food they did not need - in fear.
Preppers get things ready now, and for good reason. When our infrastructures break down, we have massive needs within a few days. Hurricanes and fires have proved that.
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
The tribulation ended in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish nation, which was not established again until 1948, 70 years ago. Those who were not killed in the final assault on Jerusalem were rounded up and sold as slaves as far away as possible, because their numbers drove down their value on the market.
23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
This is certainly a transition from the post-Easter era to our times, because this has been a problem in many different eras. One of the best ways to capture people's minds and souls is to say, "I am the promised Messiah." Fuller Seminary - that laughable clown factory - even had a "Signs and Wonders" class, which said pastors should use "miracle healings" to gather seekers and members. Unfortunately, God sent a message to the minister, shortening his life with cancer. The class was always packed, which should warn everyone about "itching ears" being fulfilled.
False prophets not only predict what they cannot possibly know, but they also teach base falsehoods, as the LCMS-ELS-WELS leaders do in harmony with the ELCA leaders they admire so much and work with so often. How can a believing pastor attend training in evangelism - really Church Growth - with an ELCA pastor?
False teaching must arise, because Satan opposes the Gospel, but that does not mean we tolerate and feed it. These matters clump together, so the abusive demands of the false teachers always follow the same pattern.
Thus you ever see that to be saved through works and not to be saved through works (to believe on Christ as our justification before God) are contrary to each other. If you then want to remain with Christ, you must flee from the Pope and let him go.
25 Behold, I have told you before. 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
What excites the interest of people? They love something new and different, especially when they take for granted the great blessings around them. Curiosity and satiety take people from the Gospel, and the Devil drives through the doors in a hay wagon, as Luther wrote.
Abusive pastors like Mark Driscoll brag about their misuse of members and their mighty egos. And people flock to them, and the false teachers brag even more.
The Gospel is everywhere but in the Word, they claim. They have gimmicks, entertainment, "new" this and that (actually quite worn out, but new sounds better). They brag about millions spent on the buildings. They promise a revolution that will take over the city, maybe even the world. But it is going to cost a lot of money. They teach themselves. They teach their organization. They teach their plans and the process they will use. Dazzling - until the place is empty and sold to pay off part of the debt, many people used and tossed away, now suing a bit too late.
Jesus warned everyone in the Word. There are many examples of this, in many forms. I decided in editing the Gospel of John to highlight doctrinal passages that address the teaching of the Christian Faith and counter teaching against it - such as "there is no Trinity in the Bible." Or "John is silent about the Virgin Birth."
Knowing this passage alone is enough to keep us away from the types Jesus is describing, a march toward the End Times that began already in His era. How much closer can we be now?
Many would-be-priests in Lutherdom worship the early saints and want to mark every saint's day, chattering about it on the Net, how they commemorated this or that saint. They sound exactly like the priests and nuns at Notre Dame, who would say, "Were you at the 10:35 Mass? We used the Syrian liturgy and commemorated ....!"
28. At the time of the holy fathers, Anthony and others, shortly after the Apostles, the fallacy already arose, of which Christ is speaking here, although Anthony strove against it, that everybody was running to the wilderness by the thousands, and it gained such favor that later Jerome and Augustine almost worshipped custom, and did not know how sufficiently to praise it. Now when we look at it in the right light, this text powerfully opposes that movement, and there were also among them many heretics and many condemned persons, and although there were godly people among them who escaped the deception, nevertheless the example was dangerous and cannot be commended. Also St. Francis was a holy man, but his example and the order he established we are not to follow. But this no one, not even the saints, has recognized; so deeply and with such great display has it taken root. The Christian life is not confined to the wilderness, but moves freely in public society as Christ and the Apostles lived, that we come before and among the world, preach and admonish openly, to bring the people to Christ; but the people who run to the wilderness, do not want to remain in the world where they must suffer so much.
27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
These are two pictures of the return of Christ. One is like lightning, which suddenly appears. We always see it first, then feel its power. The second one is often argued about, because they want the eagles and the carcass to symbolize something. It is more obvious. We do not have a map of where the eagle lands. We follow it down to its food. When is Christ coming? It will be like lightning, unpredictable - and like an eagle landing on its food - we will know it when we see it. No one will doubt that moment.
This lesson encourages us to treasure what God has given us, to connect the blessings to what the Gospel produces as the energy of God's will from the Spirit at work in the Word.
