Luke 21:10-11; 25-28 Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
Men's hearts will fail in the end times because of fear. Great heavenly bodies will be shaken, and the earth will undergo famines and pestilences. Raging seas and destructive tides will perplex men. We know that with our climate changes, a warming phenomenon could even lead to altering the earth's stability in space. Some scientists predict a swapping of the poles, resulting in earthquakes and instability in the earth's crust. Although these momentous events would cause great fear to grip people's hearts, Jesus tells us not to grovel in fear but to stand with our heads lifted high, for our redemption draws nigh. I pray, as Christians, we will be able to stand boldly without fear, facing the calamities of the time, knowing Jesus Christ is coming soon. Sometimes we experience doubts or have problems with our faith and courage when we receive an adverse opinion from our doctors or deal with some other challenge of life. How much more difficult it will be for us to face life with faith in our hearts if the very heavens are shaken and our earth wobbles on its axis. Nevertheless, even when everything seems out of control, Jesus urges us to do that: to stand up and lift up our heads, because our redemption is drawing near.
The Christian life is and always will be a life of faith. Even if we do not face the actual end of the world, we will see the end of our lives, of our world. We will one day lie down and never get up. We will experience our personal heavens shaken and our earth's demise. Each of us will experience the end of time if the Lord tarries. Knowing this, how then should we live our lives? Should we live in fear as we see our own demise draw closer and closer? Even though we will all face death, Jesus tells us to stand in faith, looking for our redemption through him and eternal life with God. Definitely, our physical hearts wear out as time passes, but we do not want our spiritual hearts to wear out, becoming hardened by time and events. God promises, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
Nevertheless, older people oftentimes are harder to lead to the Lord. In fear some resign themselves to groveling in the dirt, holding frantically to this earth and grasping its contents. To them, death means defeat, for this earthly existence is all they can imagine. When their world and heavens are shaken, they find no security, for if their heaven and Earth pass away, they are without hope. But Jesus declares that when the heavens and Earth pass away, He will be there with each one who turns to him. Temporal things wear out, but the Lord never wears out. He is the eternal, the Creator, THE BEGINNING AND THE END. Where He is, his children also will be. Where He rests his head, we will rest our heads. Jesus is the resurrection and the life--our hope, our future. When He comes or when we meet him, He will change us in a twinkling of an eye from the terrestrial to the celestial.
When or if the earth's axis shifts, no mountaintop, no valley, and no fortified enclave will keep you from that awful and terrifying day. Your only hope will be Jesus, not where you live or how prepared you are for the end times. If you are not prepared IN HIM, if your life is not hidden IN HIM because of his great work of salvation, you are hopelessly lost in the chaos of the last days. If the earth switched poles at this very minute, if the heavens seemed alive with moving bodies and shooting stars, and if the moon and sun disappeared or danced before your eyes, what would you experience? Would your heart fail you for fear? Jesus said, Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. He alone exists beyond the temporal. He will never pass away, never leave or forsake us. He rose from the grave with victory over sin and death, and his existence never ceases. Life IN HIM is the only everlasting life, the only safe harbor. If you wholeheartedly place your trust and faith in him, your heart will not fail you, and your demise will not cause fear, for you will say lovingly and earnestly, "Come quickly my dear Lord Jesus."
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