The Last Day

#deaf #asl #signlanguage #missourisynod #lutheran #lcms
Ephesians 6:10-18 Luke 21:5-18; 25-36
November 17, 2024
Pastor Dave Bolte
I'm always amazed how many Signs Of The End that I hear about every single
day! It seems like every headline some way or another is a Sign of the End
of the World that Jesus warned us about1
. The Signs Of The End are literally
everywhere all the time.
Æ Wars and rumors of war
Æ Anarchy and violence in the streets
Æ Wildfires, earthquakes, hurricanes
Æ Famine, pestilence, and pandemics
Æ Signs in the sun, moon and stars
Æ False teachers inside the Church
Æ Persecution of the Church from the outside
These things continually remind us that we are living our lives in the End
Times, the last days.
Judgment Day is coming,
and it is coming soon!
Scripture teaches us three things about these Signs Of The End that we see
every single day.
First, all these Signs of the End are meant to lead you to Repentance!
Jesus revealed the signs to us so that we would know that Judgment Day is
coming and that we would be ready.
1 Jesus described the “Signs of the End” for us today in the Gospel lesson from Luke 21:5-18; 25-36. An easy
way to remember the Signs of the End is with these three categories: Signs of Grace (Preaching of the Gospel
and the work of the Church); Signs of Wrath (wars, earthquakes, famine, divisions, etc.); and Signs of
Opposition (False teachers within the Church and Christian persecution from outside the Church in many and
various forms and intensities).
1
The only way to be ready for His return on the Last Day is to repent of your
sin, turn away from it; confess it to God, and believe that you are forgiven
because of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God sent His Son into the world to save you from the destruction that is coming! Jesus
faced God's wrath and judgment on the cross for you and in your place. Good Friday was
Judgment Day for believers! Jesus was judged, condemned, and punished for your sins
on the cross. Through faith in Christ, you will survive death and you will escape the
final judgment. On the Last Day, on Judgment Day, you will stand before God and hear
the verdict you have been hearing all of your life as a Christian: Your sins are forgiven! You
are “not guilty!2” You are absolved from your sins3! There are no frightening surprises for
a believer on the Last Day: your sins are forgiven because Jesus faced your judgment on
the cross4! Repentance keeps that always in our minds: turn away from sin,
confess it to God, and believe that we are forgiven!
Whenever you hear about one of the Signs of the End; and the ever-increasing evil in the
world, take a minute to make sure your heart is repentant: turn away from your sin and
trust only in Christ for your eternal salvation. The Signs of the End are meant to lead you
to Repentance!
Along with that, a second thing we are reminded of is that Christ is the only hope5 for
the world. Everything is fleeting in this life, there is nothing secure nor stable in this world.
Nothing is guaranteed. There are lies and deception everywhere ... in politics, in the media,
on the internet, and even in the Church. We are reminded that we do not put our hope
nor our trust in the things of this world: government, politicians, technology, money,
science, education, or even our own good works and accomplishments. We put our hope
and our trust only in the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything else will burn up and be destroyed
on Judgment Day. Our hope and our trust is in Christ alone!