Introduction
The disciples must have been stunned when Jesus said that the Temple would one day lay in ruins. They had been standing around admiring the fantastic building with its amazing decoration. The picture is of a model. Jesus was right, so there is little evidence of Temple left in the real world. The wailing wall is all that remains today of the temple footings.
Understandably the disciples wanted to know the details. When is it going to happen? How will we know its about to happen? Jesus of course does not say to them “In 70 years from now, the occupying force will get so fed up with the unrest and squabbling in Jerusalem that they will finally loose patience, and destroy the Temple”, rather he chose to teach them about some of the other things they were going to have to face.
Peter echo these things in his letters:
So it is clear that we are to face the same thing that Jesus was talking about in the discussion with his disciples. After telling them about the end times he says 'but before all this' and goes on to describe the the persecutions they will suffer, and we know from early church history that many of them did indeed suffer significant persecutions. So did the early Christians that followed them.
Signs of the End Times
So what are the signs of the end of the age that Jesus mentions, and how many of them can we see.
v8 Many will come in my name.
The other night I had a long conversation with my daughter Karen about Jehovah's Witnesses. [The table History of Eschatological Doctrine] She has a couple of old ladies at her door trying to explain to her the truth as they see it. Jehovah's Witnesses I told her do not believe that Christ is divine, but while researching them a bit more I also found out that they have made some very specific claims about when Jesus will return. As you can see from the chart they have claimed that Christ will return in both 1871 and 1914. Clearly He has not yet returned. I'm using the Jehovah's Witnesses as a specific example, I know there are others, but the point is they have been proven wrong – in this case twice. We should ensure people that (and be sure of it ourselves) that the time of Christ's return will NOT be revealed to man ahead of schedule. That's because as Christians we are to live by faith.
v9/10 Wars and revolutions
We have heard of many wars, and we probably know a few that are going on. There are of course places in the world where there is just unrest – some times it is very violent. For example the troubles in Northern Ireland were never officially described as a war. I have tried to make a list of current conflicts, but it is not easy so take a look at these and see how many you know:
Burma
Pakistan
Iran
Iraq
Turkey
North Korea
Darfur, Sudan
Waziristan, FATA (Pakistan)
Balochistan, Pakistan
Chad
Lebanon
Gaza Strip
Southern Somalia
Northern Niger and Mali
Uganda
Zimbabwe
Rwanda
Saudi Arabia
Afghanistan
are there any to add?
v11 Earthquakes, Famines and Pestilences
I have included volcanoes in this section. There are four in Indonesia, either erupting or threatening to erupt Kelut, Karangetang, Soputan, Anak Krakatau, we could also include Tsunamis – the result of earthquakes. For pestilences we could include influenza epidemics, and potential epidemics, because fear is generated not only by the event but also by the expectation of the event.
“But before all this”, Jesus say, in verse12, there will be persecution, and there was, in one way or another almost from the day of the resurrection onwards. The disciples, were already in hiding when Jesus first appeared to them , In Acts they were in fear of the authorities. We are now in the times that Jesus was talking about. Over the last 2000ish years there have been countless war, disasters and plagues. Through out that time there has not been a time when Christians have not been the subject of some sort of persecution, just as Jesus, and a little later, Peter said. I'm now going to look at three stories of persecutions and ask whether there are things this passage teaches us about our response.
INDIA Five Nuns Beaten; Militants Attack Church Service - VOM Sources
MADHYA PRADESH - On October 25, five nuns were beaten by 20 Hindu militants in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. The militants surrounded the house of a local believer, where the nuns were attending a prayer meeting, and accused the nuns of forcibly converting local Hindus to Christianity. When the meeting was over, the militants attacked and beat them until the police arrived and took the nuns to safety. All five nuns were injured, and one is in serious condition due to head injuries she sustained in the attack. Pray God encourages them as they heal from their injuries.
Psalm 107:20 He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.
SUDAN Suicide Bomber Kills Youth, Wounds Others in Sudanese Church – VOM Sources
On September 27, a suicide bomber in military clothing detonated a grenade, killing five youth and critically wounding four others, in Sudan's Upper Nile state. According to The Voice of the Martyrs' contacts in Sudan, "A pastor was having an overnight service in Khorfullus town, when an unidentified man walked into the service and detonated a grenade, killing himself, five children and critically wounding four others, including the pastor and his wife." VOM contacts added that the bomber was dressed in full military clothing, normally worn by government officials. VOM is assisting families affected by this tragedy during this difficult time. Pray God comforts and encourages the families of those killed. Pray for a speedy recovery for those injured.
Psalm 118: 17 I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done.
Isaiah 40:31 those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
CHINA Prominent House Church Leader Repeatedly Beaten by Police – China Aid Association
On October 11, prominent house church leader, Hua Huiqi, was repeatedly attacked by police at his home. According to China Aid Association, "Hua was reading his Bible at his home despite police surrounding his house. He was sent to Beijing Tiantan Hospital, because he lost consciousness after repeated beatings from the police." China's Public Security Bureau (PSB) recently put Hua under house arrest. PSB officers had been surrounding his house when they attacked him. Pastor Hua's 77-year-old mother, Shuang Shuying, remains very ill in prison, serving a two-year sentence. VOM contacts say she is being held hostage by police in order to put pressure on Pastor Hua to reveal names and information of believers. Pray for Hua's speedy recovery and for God to encourage him. Ask the Holy Spirit to convict his attackers and draw them into the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
3 John 1:2 Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.
Psalm 107:20 He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.
I admit that I have prayed these prayers blindly – without considering what God requires of us. On reading this passage, I realised that there is much more we should be praying for. We should be seeking the advancement of the kingdom, while most of these prayers appear to be only for the well being of those at the sharp end of the fight. Jesus says in this passage that those who are persecuted, and brought in front of the authorities are to be witnesses for Him, and are to be given the words to speak that His persecutors will not “be able to resist or contradict”. I believe that this is one of the prayers we should be praying, after all, God knows our needs, but Jesus still tells us to pray for 'our daily bread'.. VOM, though, does not come close to making such bold prayers (they have to have an 'acceptable public face'. Lets look again at what they ask us to pray for, and see what else we might include based on Luke 23.
[review 'pray' statements above.].
INDIA – Do the nuns have no contact with the outside world, clearly not, they were in someone's house at a prayer meeting. What should we pray for here? That they get the opportunity to witness to the authorities. That they are given the words to speak, when the time comes, and that God's words will be effective and irresistible. For courage for them to continue with their prayer meetings in people houses, even if this will lead to further incidents.
SUDAN – Certainly pray for the comfort of the families, certainly pray for healing for those who are injured. What about praying for the on-going work of the church, that it's mission and it's outreach does not suffer, that the witness of the congregation is strengthened, that the attack is a spur to the church to be even more open about their beliefs.
CHINA – At least here we have prayer for the attackers, that they would hear the word of God, and come to know Jesus Christ. This attack is one of a series, and Pastor Hua has featured in a number of recent e-mails. So we should start to pray for the longer term situation, as well as courage and determination for the Pastor to continue his work. We should pray that his attackers hear God speak to them through the Pastors words and actions, and take note of what they hear.
What about the persecution in our own country. It is considerably more subtle than the persecution in many parts of the world. We do not find that extremists from other faiths beat up nuns, we do not have suicide bombers (whether with tacit approval from the authorities or not) targeting our churches, we do not have our clergy beaten up by the police. None of this occurs at all in our country, not yet anyway. There is persecution though.
The persecution that occurs in our country results from the (apparently) best possible motives. Take the case of the Mathericks – Vince and Pauline – from Chard in Somerset. They had been foster parents for at least 6 years, and had looked after 28 children. Social services threatened to take their current foster son away because they were not prepared to teach him that same sex relationships are as valid as marriage. This is a type of persecution, it says “You must accept our belief system, or we will not allow you to take your place in society”. Christians tend to be singled out for this because they are not militant, or an obvious minority, indeed much of the country would claim to be Christian at some level. What really surprised me was the response in the press. I had naively thought that there would be a degree of sympathy for this couple. People who have been trying to help out in society, and are now up against it because of a new law. Quite the reverse. Some attacked their Christianity “What kind of Christianity is this? To abandon a child because of something that hasn't even happened? “, and the more extreme were along the lines of “what right do they have to push their view on innocent children?” and “These people should not be allowed to care for children – Its a form of abuse” Happily the couple have now reached a compromise with the council and the local social services, and will continue to foster children. One response to this agreement was:
“This is harmful and wrong. Displays no common sense or care for the children. It propagandises them. What if a child is gay in this house? How will they get the care and support they need by being told their very existence is a sin. When in truth it clearly isn't.”
John Pace, United States
How should we pray to support this couple? During the crisis, which only lasted a few days, but I'm sure took a toll on them, I would have prayed that their witness, their standing up for their views, and their refusing to cross lines would lead to them being a witness to the council and to the social services managers, and that many would have been brought to a point where they have to think about Jesus. Well I would have, if I'd read this passage, but I hadn't so I didn't.
How should we pray for this couple now? We should pray that they will continue to foster children, and that they will continue to be open about their beliefs. We should pray that their determination to have a Christian attitude in the face of whatever is thrown at them is not diminished. We should pray for the children that go through their care, that they will come to accept Christ as their saviour. We should pray that the regular social services contacts that they have (because fostering can be relatively short term) come to value them for the work they do, and themselves get to hear the word of God through the words an actions of this couple.
These people provide an example to us – The nuns in India, The church in the Sudan, Pastor Hua in China, and the Mathericks in England. They know where they have to take a stand. What are our lines that we will not allow to be crossed? Where do we say “so far and no further”? There has to be a point at which obedience and love for Christ will bring us into conflict with some form of secular authority somewhere. While we are not in that position, lets try to pray intelligently for those who are, remembering that they are on the same mission as us – to make Christ known throughout the world.
Peter says “if you suffer as a Christian do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name”
Jesus says “by standing firm you will gain life”.
