On the Apocalypse, Fear, and God's Love

"The Lord spoke to Daniel in a visioin and said, 'At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall rise.  There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence.  But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book.  Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.  Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.'"

--Daniel 12: 1-3

"And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
--Hebrews 10: 25

"When Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, 'Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?'  Then Jesus began to say to them, 'Beware that no one leads you astray.  Many will come in my name and say, "I am he!" and they will lead many astray.  When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come.'"
--Mark 13: 3-7

Let’s talk about the Apocalypse!  Sounds fun, doesn’t it?  Well, that’s what all three of our readings have in common today:  Apocalypse. 

What do you think of when you hear that word?  Do you think about John writing his Apocalypse on Patmos (Revelation was, after all, originally called Apocalypse in Greek).? 

Landscpae with St. John on Patmos by Poussein

Do you think of the villain Apocalypse from the X-Men comics?  

I can't be the only person who thought of this guy on Sunday, can I?!

Do you think about the Left Behind series and its made-up theology of the rapture and tribulation, which aren’t actually in the Bible?  

Please tell me you don't think of this.  IT'S NOT IN THE BIBLE!!

Odds are, whatever you think of when you hear that term Apocalypse is probably not rainbows and unicorns and lollipops. 

The term apocalypse means simply “unveiling.”  Apocalyptic literature is mean reveal or unveil a hope for the future in the present reality using language that is loaded with image and symbol.  The literature almost always speaks of a time of great suffering, which is followed by divine deliverance.  It is not meant to be a blueprint for the end of the world.  Instead, it takes the current sufferings of the present age and gives them a hope and purpose that will be revealed in time.  If y’all are reading the Daily Office right now—as I am sure that you are—you’ll notice that we’re knee-deep in the juicy bits of the Revelation to John.  His visions of dragons, plagues, and disasters are not intended to tell his audience what the end of the world will look like, instead they are meant to give them hope that the sufferings of their present time will all have meaning when the old earth and old heaven are wiped away and humanity returns to live with God in paradise.  That’s what apocalyptic literature is about.

All three of our readings today point to that day, the day when all truly become one with God.  The day has many names:  the eschaton, the Day of Resurrection, the day Jesus returns, the culmination of human history on earth, etc.  The Book of Daniel is written in the days when the Jewish people were held in bondage by the Babylonians. So in our reading from the final chapter of that book we get Daniel’s vision of Michael, the archangel and avenger, who will battle against the enemies of Israel and eventually set them free.  The author of the Letter to the Hebrews writes in a time when Christians are being pushed out of Jewish worship spaces and driven underground, looked at as pariahs, as outsiders; so the author points to the hope of Jesus’ return, which everyone thought was happening next week, and encourages the reader to “provoke one another to good deeds” and to “encourage one another” until that day comes.  And in our Gospel from Mark, Jesus, speaking on the Tuesday of Holy Week, foretells the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, which eventually happened in 70 AD.  Furthermore, when he and his disciples are standing on the Mount of Olives, we’re told that Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him when and how this thing would take place.  But instead of speaking of the temple’s ruin, he speaks of the eschaton, of the time when Messiah would appear to judge the world—or for us Christians, the day Jesus himself comes again.  The fact that he is talking about this day—and gives warnings against paying attention to false messiahs—while standing on the Mount of Olives is no coincidence because that hillside faces the temple mount.  He and his disciples would have been looking right at the temple and particularly at the southern gate, the gate through which, tradition says, Messiah will walk through on that Last Day.  That’s why people pay top dollar to be buried on the Mount of Olives, so that they get to greet Messiah first in the Day of Resurrection.   So all of our readings today are pointing us toward this great and terrible day.  Why?

The graves on the Mount of Olives.  You can see the remains of the Temple, including the southern gate.

What is the point for us now to even care about the eschaton?  Those folks who thought Jesus was coming back next week were wrong, after all.  Lots of other folks since then have tried figuring out when that day was coming, and of course, they’ve been wrong too.  Not only that, but when they try to convince us that he’s coming they do it from a place of fear.  Jesus is coming, look busy!  Jesus is coming, are you ready to meet him!  Jesus is coming, you better put that beer away!  Jesus is coming, and he ain’t gonna be happy! 

One of the MANY Apocalypses that we've survived in my lifetime.

This is fear mongering.  And it is not what our readings today are about.  It’s not what apocalyptic literature is about.  Daniel is not warning folks to be afraid of Michael the avenger, rather he reminds them that God is on their side and that God will bring them from their Babylonian captivity.  The author of Hebrews doesn’t mean for the audience to be scared of the day of Jesus’ coming, instead they should build one another up and love one another until that day comes, whether it’s next week, next month, or next millennium.  And Jesus does not prophesy about the temple’s destruction or his own coming again to frighten people, instead he does so to redirect their attention to God and God’s goodness and God’s command to take care of one another.  Focus on God’s goodness and you won’t pay attention to false prophets and false messiahs.  Focus on God’s goodness and you won’t have anything to fear. 

Apocalyptic literature—whether it’s from Daniel, or Revelation, or words from Jesus himself—are meant to give us hope.  Hope for a future in which we have come through all the pain and disappointments and fear of this present age.  In the end of all apocalyptic literature we are given a glimpse of a world in which the powers of evil are defeated and God’s light and God’s love reign supreme.  With that in mind, apocalypse isn’t such a scary word, after all. 

In church yesterday we baptized a little girl named Dolly. I’m sure her family wondered why I would preach about the apocalypse on what is meant to be such a joyful day.  Well, that’s kind of the point.  When we baptized Dolly we did so in the hope of the apocalypse, the hope of the eschaton, the hope of Jesus’ coming again.  Because when those waters washed over her and she was sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own forever, she took her place in that hope, which isn’t really hope, so much as it is certainty.  Certainty that God reigns supreme.  Certainty that on that great and glorious day that we call the apocalypse, the eschaton, the…whatever, Dolly will, along with the rest of us, take her place in the loving arms of the God who created her, redeemed her, and will always bless and sanctify her.  As we welcomed a new member of the household of God we rejoiced because we knew that whatever this world throws at us—whatever this world will throw at Dolly—the Christ light never fades and when all is said and done, God wins.  Love wins.  Always.   

After the events of this past weekend, when evil had its say in Paris, Beruit, and Iraq, we need to know that love always wins.  Fear and hatred will not rule the day.  God's love, God's mercy, God's goodness always prevail in the end.  That is the hope we get from Daniel, Hebrews, and Mark.  We need not give in to fear because God always wins.

So the next time you hear someone talk about how awful it’ll be at the End of Days, the Apocalypse, the Second Coming, maybe you won’t give in to the fear.  Instead, maybe you’ll rest in the promise that no matter what, nothing can vanquish the love God has for this world and for God’s people.  Thanks be to God for those revelators—for Daniel, John, the author of Hebrews, Jesus—and all those who remind us of that promise.  A promise into which we baptized Dolly.  A promise that we need to hear.