The Tribulation, Part 5

In this final post I will look at the significance behind the reality the tribulation spans the entire New Testament Church age. 

 

Some of you might think, “Tom, why does this really matter? After all, as long as we know Jesus is returning, that is the main thing!” There is some truth to that statement. However, for some people, especially Americans who have experienced a significant level of wealth and comfort in a reasonably friendly environment over the past sixty to seventy years, it has been easy to conclude, “God would surely not let us go through the kind of suffering we read of connected to tribulational texts in particular and Revelation 6-20 in general.” This thinking has been the soil in which another conviction has been planted and grown, namely that if we are engaging in fruitful and effective ministry, we will have positive results almost always, and people (including the world) will like us since we are being loving and positive in our approach. 

 

Now, what this thinking does is to skew the church in an imbalanced direction when it comes to setting out our ministry approach and philosophy. We believe we need to be so positive that all we can do is speak of God’s love, his redemption of our brokenness, and we can never (or rarely) speak of judgment, sin, church discipline, the need for correction, the need to avoid idolatry, or the need to oppose false teaching. So, on the one hand, we avoid conflict and being at odds with others. And, on the other hand, if we find that others are opposing us, we decide we need to change our ministry philosophy and approach, because we have not been “successful.” 

 

This culture that the American church has formed has not only led to preaching a different and diluted gospel, it has also led to a weak and anemic church that is little different than unbelievers around us. And for those who have sought to remain faithful to Scripture and the undiluted gospel, it has resulted in a great wrestling match. After all, such persons can often feel they may be wrong and everyone else who remains inordinately positive and encouraging is right.

 

Please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying that everyone who believes in a tribulation in the future (be it literally seven years long or not) and/or those who believe the church will be removed before it, falls prey to this. They don’t. I am simply saying it has contributed to the formation of a way of thinking that does not appear to square with Scripture. 

 

I believe Christians should be as winsome as we can and think hard about the best ways to teach biblical truth and the undiluted gospel. Yet, the reality is that if we are not sometimes experiencing at least push-back to our teaching and proclamation, we are probably not teaching the right gospel (or at least not the whole gospel). And, as changes take place in our society and in our own community (and they will likely continue to change), the reality of push-back and even persecution for doing the most loving thing in the world—sharing the undiluted gospel so people can know and follow Jesus—will increase. Keep in mind that the most loving and the only sinless, perfect person who ever lived in this world was rejected by most, beaten, ridiculed, and nailed to a cross!  Why do we believe that as we live by, for, and like him it will all be always positive, encouraging, and easy for us? 

 

This is much of what the book of Revelation is about:  How to remain faithful and joyful followers of Jesus, those who live on mission, in the face of the hostile cultures around us. 

 

This is why I have taken the time through these blog posts so we can understand the Tribulation. We need to be aware of the challenges and dangers we face. Yet, we must also be aware of the glorious promises God has made to us as well, so we can face these with courage and boldness. 

 

Living Joyfully, Boldly, And Courageously In Tribulation With You,

 

Tom Barnes

 

The Tribulation, Part Four

In this post I cover the last three reasons why we know that the Tribulation covers the entire Church age. 

 

9. The ninth reason for seeing the tribulation as spanning the entire church age has to do with a follow-up on #8. If we understand the entire message of the book of Daniel, it supports the understanding of Daniel 9:24-27 I just set forth and so provides another reason for seeing the tribulation as I have explained it. 

In the book of Daniel the faithful Israelites serve as a type of the ultimate faithful man/person of God who trusts him, follows him, and remains faithful even in the face of great evil and suffering. As such, they form types of Christ (even to the point of Daniel being sealed for a time in the lion’s pit, i.e. in the realm of death, and being raised and vindicated out of that [ch. 6]), foreshadowing the death and resurrection of Christ. As such, the book of Daniel depicts the faithful as suffering for a time and then being raised and vindicated (see 12:2-3). Such a paradigm looks forward to Christ, the coming Son of Man (cf. 7:13-14), with whom will come “an end to sin,” and who will “atone for iniquity” (9:24). The sense seems to be, however, that all who truly come to God in faith and who seek to follow the Son of Man’s example of living redemptively will suffer, yet will be vindicated in the future through resurrection. What this means is that the suffering of the Jews under Antiochus IV Epiphanes (the little penultimate horn [8:9]) is a type of, i.e. it looks forward to more ultimate suffering of an ultimate horn or opposition to God that precedes the end of the end (cf. 7:24-26). The fact that the saints will be given into the hands of the horn “a time, times, and half a time” (Dan. 7:25 [see also 12:7, 11-12]), most likely is paradigmatic (see also Hos. 6:2)—looking forwad to the ultimate suffering of the Son of Man in behalf of the people of God (cf. 1 Cor. 15:4), who would be under the power of death for this time, before vindication. As such, the 3 ½ times x 2 (cf. Mt. 24:21; Rev. 7:14; 11:2, 9 [3.5 days—see Hos. 6:2]; 12:6, 14; 13:5-7) most likely depicts a long time of suffering and desolation—reminiscent of the typological tribulation under Antiocus Epiphanes, as well as the fall of Jerusalem under the Roman, Titus, in AD 70 and following. All of this language, then, suggests that Jesus Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of the suffering Son of Man, the Son of God, who will be vindicated and those who are united to him also will suffer and be vindicated! Such is especially supported by the same language of Daniel being found in Revelation—to refer to times, time, and half a time, etc. When the best understanding of Daniel 9:20-27 is set forth, it also is seen that the Church is currently in the last three and a half year period of suffering, trials, discipline, and persecution.    

 

10. Given the ground we have covered, we also can say there is an historical reason for using three and a half years (or 3.5 x 2) to speak of tribulation. New Testament scholar, D. A. Carson explains: 

In Israel, the period of time with…mythic power was three and a half years. Two centuries before Christ, there arose one of the most grisly episodes in Jewish history, an episode foreseen by Daniel. In the book of Revelation, the crucial period of time is indicated by four synonymous expressions: forty-two months (based on the ideal month of thirty days), 1,260 days, three and a half years, and time…times…, and a half a time…. For Jewish Christian readers in the first century, this period of immense suffering instantly calls to mind the wretched reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes…. Because that three-and-a-half-year period was such a burning memory in the Jews’ mind from that point on (and they understood it in connection with their interpretation of Daniel), they came to think of three and a half years as a time of severe testing, opposition, and tribulation before God himself gave his people rest again.

 

And so what three and a half years would conjure up in the minds of readers steeped in the Old Testament and/or Jewish history, was something akin to our saying of someone experiencing great loss today, “This was his 9/11 moment!” We all would understand what this signifies in light of the horrific events of September 11, 2001. 

 

11. The final reason given for seeing the tribulation in the manner I have explained in this post has to do with answering another objection by some, who have concluded the tribulation period is primarily a time in which God works with ethnic Jews, to bring them to their true Messiah. They point to Jeremiah 30:7 as proof. This verse is found in a section of Jeremiah that is promising future restoration for Israel and Judah. The verse reads: “Alas!  That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be saved out of it.” The argument from some is that “a time of distress for Jacob” refers ultimately to the tribulation and, if taken literally, would suggest strongly that the tribulation is a time in which God is focusing upon ethnic Israel—and once the church is removed from the earth. The fact that the verse goes on to read, “yet he shall be saved out of it,” leaves room for the tribulation to be a time in which the distress works to bring many in Israel to trust in Jesus Christ. 

Even if we agree that this verse has reference to the future time of tribulation we are addressing in this blog post, there is no reason at all to see this reference as dealing only with ethnic Israel. After all, in Jeremiah 31:31-34, where God promises to make a new covenant with “the house of Israel and the house of Judah,” this has a larger pattern of meaning than referring merely to ethnic Israel, as the New Testament clarifies (Luke 22:20; Heb. 8:8-13). It refers to all who will be part of the true Israel and Judah, be they ethnic Jews or Gentiles! So, there is no reason to think of the tribulation as having to be merely a time of focus upon ethnic Jews. 

 

The Tribulation, Part Three

In my previous two blog posts I set forth five reasons that the tribulation spans the entire New Testament Church age. In this post I cover the next three reasons.

 

6. The use of “tribulation” elsewhere (especially in Mt. 24; Mk. 13) supports it spanning the entire church age. Since we dealt with this thoroughly in the previous reason yesterday, we need not say more here. 

 

7. As we have already explained, the use of language that speaks of three and a half years (in all its forms), makes us lean in the direction that what is being symbolized by it is a time of suffering and persecution for the people of God, a time that is not intended as a literal three and a half year period of time.  

 

8. The astute reader will insert somewhere in this discussion, “Ok, if most of the tribulational numerical language speaks of three and a half years, how do we come up with the idea of seven years for the full tribulational time?  The answer to that comes from Daniel 9:24-27. We want briefly to look at this passage since it not only provides the foundation for the idea of a seven year tribulation that consists of 2 three and a half year periods, but a proper understanding of it also supports the assertion that the tribulation is to be taken figuratively to refer to the entire span of the church age.^[1] In Daniel 9:24-27, as part of the angel Gabriel’s answer to the question of Daniel regarding Jeremiah’s prophecy of seventy years of captivity for Judah (and so when will the people of God be restored? See Dan. 9:2), we read the following: 

Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. 25 Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. 26 And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. 27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”

 

Though there are many interpretations of this passage that seek to calculate the number of years and a specific timing of what Gabriel communicates (suggesting a more literal understanding), I believe the best way to understand this passage is figuratively. After all, it is found in the second half of Daniel and in the midst of apocalyptic literature that is steeped in symbolism. Since Daniel has asked about the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy (see Jeremiah 25:12) of a seventy year captivity and judgment for sin and when would Judah be restored, Gabriel offers an answer that builds off of that seventy years and also communicates something that goes well beyond merely a return to their land, but also is meant to show God’s larger purposes: “to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness” (Dan. 9:24). 

In other words, in this answer that includes the “seventy weeks,” each week envisioned as seven years (so 490 years), is meant somehow to focus upon Jesus Christ and the ultimate salvation, forgiveness, righteousness, and transformation he brings—which accomplishes what Israel never could on their own. The seventy weeks are divided up as follows: seven weeks until the decree to rebuild the temple and Jerusalem (v. 25), which deals with Daniel’s original question; sixty-two weeks that span that rebuilt city and temple—leading to a time that the city and temple are destroyed again (vv. 25-26); and then finally one week during which time an anointed one (Christ) will make a strong covenant with many, i.e. the Church, which is divided into two segments (v. 27). It is the dividing of this last week (that is seven years) into two segments that forms the foundation for seeing the tribulation as envisioning a seven year period, made up of 2 three and a half year time spans. 

It appears as a strong possibility that the reason “70 weeks” (or 490 years) was chosen as the whole period is that 490 years=10 jubilee periods. In Leviticus 25:8-55 we learn that Israel at the end of every sabbath of years (7x7 years or 49 years) was to recognize a year of jubiliee in which all debts were cancelled and slaves freed. What the angel Gabriel appears to be communicating to Daniel is that not only will God restore Judah to their land after seventy years of captivity, but he will someday bring about through a special anointed one (the Christ) the ultimate and eternal jubilee—the ultimate freedom, cancellation of debts, restortion, and transformation. 

I take all this to mean that the years are not to be calculated in a manner in which we are asking exactly when does this set of years start and when exactly does it end? Rather, we are to look at the overall picture focusing upon the idea of the ultimate jubilee in Christ. 

If this is a correct assessment, then the New Testament Church is currently in the last week of the seventy weeks—and so exists in this long tribulation period. Most likely from this text, the intent is that the first three and a half years lasted until the destruction of Jerusalem and the second three and a half years lasts for the remainder of the church age. Not only has Christ brought freedom and the cancellation of our debts, but someday all of this will be fully consummated in the new heaven and new earth, in our eternal reward (our eternal jubilee)!

 

In our next post I will cover the remaining three reasons.

---

[1] For the following summary discussion of Daniel 9:24-27 I am dependent upon Meredith Kline, “The Covenant Of The Seventieth Week,” in The Law And The Prophets: OT Studies In Honor of Oswald T. Allis, ed. John H. Skilton (Nutley, NJ: Presbyterian And Reformed, 1974), 452-469, and also Sam Storms, Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative(Christian Focus, Ross-Shire, Scotland, 2013), ch. 3. 

The Tribulation, Part Two

In my previous post I began setting forth eleven reasons why the tribulation the Bible speaks of spans the entire New Testament Church age and not just a short seven years at the end of this age. 

 

In this post I will set forth the fifth reason we know this to be the case. 

 

5. All of the references to "tribulation" in Revelation, if read in context, are spanning the entire age of the church. Let’s look at this:

a. The word “tribulation” is used five times in Revelation (7:14 being the fifth and final use). In its first four uses, the word clearly refers to trials, discipline, persecution, judgment (the latter on unbelievers) during this entire age. In the introduction to the chapter one vision of Jesus that John received, the apostle said of his original readers that he is a partner with them in tribulation (1:9). In other words, he assumes that these seven churches (representing the church throughout the ages!) experience tribulation currently in this broken and sin-cursed world.^[1] Similarly, in the messages to the seven churches in chapters 2-3, John affirms that churches currently experience tribulation, which includes trials and persecution (2:9, 10), as well as discipline and judgment (2:22). “But,” some might argue, “in Revelation 7:14 we read of ‘the great tribulation.’ Doesn’t the presence of ‘the’ and ‘great’ mark this tribulation off as being something different and worse than what the church experiences throughout most of this age?” No it does not. 

To begin, in Rev. 2:22 the discipline and/or judgment threatened against a false prophetess and her followers in Thyatira is spoken of as “great tribulation.” But, again, some might respond, “But this could refer to a ‘great tribulation,’ and still not be ‘the great’ or ‘the greatest tribulation.’” 

This is true, but when we go to Jesus’ words in the Olivet Discourse, where he talks about what this age will be like from his first coming to his second coming, he makes it clear that believers should expect to experience tribulation now (Mt. 24:9), which in context, speaks of various kinds of trials and suffering (natural disasters, wars, famine) and also persecution. He does go on to suggest that during this period there will be “great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be” (Mt. 24:21; Mk. 13:19 [Mark does not include the word “great”]). 

So, certainly, there is a great tribulation, an intensified tribulation. But when does it happen according to Jesus? The careful reader of the Olivet Discourse (Mt. 24; Mk. 13; Lk. 21) will grasp that the events Jesus speaks of occur from right away in reference to the days of himself and his disciples and span to the point just before his second coming (“immediately after the tribulation of those days”: Mt. 24:29; Mk. 13:24). There is nothing in the Olivet Discourse that locates tribulation or even a great tribulation only at the very end of this age (even though room is left for tribulation to escalate during this age, as Revelation teaches). In fact, Jesus locates “the abomination of desolation” (Mt. 24:15) that Daniel spoke of (Dan. 9:27) and which, as will be seen, forms part of the background to tribulation language, during the time of the disciples to whom he is talking. This strongly suggests the tribulation begins after the death and resurrection of Jesus and spans until his second coming. There is nothing, then, about the language of “the great tribulation” that would lead us to believe it must refer only to a short period of time at the end of this age and just before or after the second coming of Jesus Christ.^[2]

 

b. In Revelation 11:2 we find the period of “forty-two months” of suffering and persecution for the church at the hands of the unbelieving nations, which is another way of talking about a figurative three and a half years of tribulation, which finds its background in Daniel 7:25; 9:27; 12:7, 11, 12. Most likely Daniel has some reference in these passages to persecution of Jews at the hands of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (Greek king of the Seleucid Empire) in the early half of the second century, B.C. This persecution that lasted about 3.5 years was some of the worst the Jewish people ever faced and so 3.5 years became synonymous with great persecution that God also would bring to an end, as he did with that period. The persecution and destruction by Antiochus IV also prefigured what would happen in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 (cf. Mt. 24:15), which itself was a harbinger of more tribulation to come throughout the church age. What we need to see about Revelation 11:2 is that it is found in an interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets (which is parallel to the interlude between the sixth and seventh seals). This, coupled with the vast amount of material in Rev. 11 that suggests what we are seeing in that chapter is a figurative depiction of the church during this age on mission, strongly suggests that the forty-two months is to be taken figuratively as a period of significant suffering and persecution through which God will protect his people in the ultimate sense and which he will eventually end. It is the same span of time as we see in the Chapter 7 interlude (v. 14). 

 

c. We also see a reference to “forty-two months” of suffering and persecution in Rev. 13:5, at the hands of the beastly world-system, which wields the authority of and represents Satan himself. Again, when we get to that chapter we will discover strong evidence it is speaking of this entire age. But additionally, the reference to “forty-two months,” as we saw in 11:2 is most likely intended to make the reader equate the two references as the same period. 

 

d. In Rev. 11:3 we find a reference to 1,260 days, which is three and a half years as calculated with a 360 day year (which many in that day and time used). In this verse the point is that the two witnesses (representing the church in this age) will prophesy (most likely the sense is tell forth God’s Word, the gospel) for that period. The background of Daniel, Antiochus IV, and the close proximity to the “forty-two months” of 11:2 strongly suggest that the period spans the entire church age. 

 

e. In Revelation 12:6 we find another reference to 1,260 days, a period of time the people of God, those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus (12:17) are in the wilderness of this world and face persecution at the hands of the dragon, i.e. Satan, and his evil spirits (cf. 12:3, 8-10, 12, 15, 17). This chapter clearly spans the entire church age and it is another demonstration that the 1,260 days is meant to be taken figuratively to speak of a significant period of great tribulation for God’s people. 

 

f. In Revelation 12:14 we find another way to speak of the three and a half years: “a time, times, and half a time,” which is evidently to be taken as the same as the 1,260 days in 12:6. The background for “a time, times, and a half times,” is Daniel 7:25; 12:7. Based on that background the figure is that of three and a half years that symbolizes great suffering for God’s people. 

 

g. So, in summary, all the uses of tribulational language in Revelation seem to support my assertion that what it symbolizes is the entire span of the church age, along with the trials, suffering, discipline, persecution, and judgment (for unbelievers) that takes place. 

 

I will cover the remaining reasons the tribulation spans the entire New Testament Church age in my final two blogs over the next couple days. 

---

[1] Consider also what Jesus told his disciples and subsequent readers about what our experience would be in this age (John 16:33): “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

 

[2] In fact, based upon the Olivet Discourse (esp. the versions in Mt. 24 and Mk. 13) it is very difficult to place a coming of Christ and resurrection of the Church before the tribulation. It goes against the very clear language we find!

 

The Tribulation, Part One

I have taught many times since being here that “the great tribulation” John alluded to in Revelation 7:14 is a tribulation (we could say a pressing in on people of trials and persecution) that spans the entire church age, from the first coming of Christ to his second coming, rather than alluding to a brief period of time (three and a half years or seven years) at the end of this age. Because the view of the tribulation I am setting forth is different than what many of us have heard and previously been taught, I want to defend this understanding in a few blog posts. 

I will set forth eleven reasons why I believe the tribulation spans the entire church age and is not merely a brief time at the end of this age. My goal is to help you see that my understanding emerges from the text of Revelation and from the text of the rest of Scripture and is not forced upon it, and then also to see why our grasp of this view of the tribulation is significant. 

Here are the first four reasons. 

1. Since the book of Revelation signifies with a great amount of symbolism its message (1:1), we should not be surprised that the tribulation would have a symbolic nature to it—especially when it comes to those times when the numbers that so often stand behind the Tribulation (e.g. three and a half years) are used.

2. Since the book of Revelation has a tendency to use numbers symbolically (e.g. 1:4; 4:5; 5:6; 7:4-8), we should not be surprised that the numbers used in reference to the tribulation (e.g. forty-two months [11:2], 1,260 days [11:3], or time, times, and half a time [3.5 years, in 12:14]) are used symbolically. 

3. Since there is strong evidence in Revelation (from the statements in 1:3, 19 that suggest that Revelation is displaying the unfolding of the events of this current age foretold in Daniel and from the recapitulating nature of the book) that its material covers the entire church age and does not focus primarily upon a brief time at the end of this age and then beyond, it makes sense that the tribulation spoken of in Revelation covers this entire age. 

4. One of the reasons that some read Revelation in a manner that tribulation deals only with trials, persecution, discipline, and judgment (the latter on unbelievers) at a brief time toward the end of this age is that they believe the church has been removed from the earth after the material of chapter 3 and so all the subsequent chapters must deal with events in the future, after a future secret rapture of the church. However, Revelation 7 makes the point that the true people of God (the Church!) now consists of Jew and Gentile who believe in Christ. We see this same truth over and over again throughout Revelation 6-20 and so conclude the church is still present on earth. In fact, in this present context of Revelation, what John sees in Revelation 7 precedes the final judgment (and thus the second coming of Christ), which is covered in 8:1-5. It is fallacious to read all the material of Revelation 4-20 as being sometime in the future and focusing only upon a brief time at the end of this age and beyond. 

We will cover the rest of the eleven reasons over the next few days.

Tom

God's Glory Seen In The Seasons

 I often enjoy praying through hymns. Recently, I have encountered several that address God's glory seen in creation. One in particular addressed a topic at the heart of many conversations I have had the past couple weeks about how it is beginning to feel more like Fall, a time of year I enjoy. I have also been reminded just how much I am thankful for the provision of diverse seasons at the hand of God. This hymn, written by Isaac Watts, the 18th c. British pastor and prolific hymn writer,  is titled, "With Songs and Honors Sounding Loud," and beautifully captures this. 

With songs and hon­ors sound­ing loud, Address the Lord on high;                                                               over the heav’ns He spreads His cloud, And wa­ters veil the sky.

He sends His show­ers of bless­ing down To cheer the plains be­low;                                                            He makes the grass the mount­ains crown, And corn in val­leys grow.

His stea­dy coun­sels change the face Of the de­clin­ing year;                                                                         He bids the sun cut short his race, And win­try days ap­pear.

His hoa­ry frost, His flee­cy snow, Descend and clothe the ground;                                                              The li­quid streams for­bear to flow, In icy fet­ters bound.

He sends His Word, and melts the snow, The fields no long­er mourn;                                                         He calls the warm­er gales to blow, And bids the spring re­turn.

The chang­ing wind, the fly­ing cloud, Obey His migh­ty Word:                                                                   With songs and hon­ors sound­ing loud, Praise ye the so­ver­eign Lord.

Be Awake, Not Woke!

To be woke is to hold a perspective that believes there must not only be equal outcomes to all peoples regardless of race, sex, or sexual identity, but even beyond this, those who are of “minority” status must be given advantages over those who are seen as part of the “majority” and “privileged class.”

 

Over the past four years or so, for many in our society, to be woke is to be one who supports “social justice.” Not to be woke is seen by many to be a very bad thing. Our children will face no small amount of pressure in that direction.

 

Yet, according to Scripture, what our sons and daughters need to hear is not that they should be woke. Rather, it is that they should stay awake. 

 

We discover this in Luke 21:36, where Luke records Jesus as saying, “But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” This command comes at the end of Jesus’ teaching that the Jerusalem temple will be destroyed before the current generation passes away, a destruction that will usher in an age of tribulation leading up to and prefacing the future coming of Jesus, the Son of Man, in glory. That future coming in glory and judgment is described by Jesus as, “that day” (v. 34), in other words, the future Day of the Lord that brings complete salvation for the people of Jesus Christ (Luke 21:28) and judgment for those who ignore and/or reject him (Luke 21:34-35). It is, then, a call to be ready for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. 

 

Yet, what is involved in this exhortation? 

 

1. A call to be awake.

The verb translated, “stay awake,” is agrypneō. Not only is it used here and in Mark’s parallel passage (13:33) to be alert and ready for Christ’s coming, it is also used in Ephesians 6:18 to exhort readers to be awake so they can persevere and pray for one another as they stand against Satan and his schemes. Finally, it is used in Hebrews 13:17 to speak of how Christian leaders are to oversee or keep watch over the souls of those they are leading and shepherding. This suggests that the command here in Luke 21:36 is calling followers of Christ to be alert and watch over their own souls and thus be ready for the future Day of the Lord.  

 

Part of the reason Jesus calls upon people to be awake or alert is because the future Day of the Lord can come upon a person in a way that surprises, like a trap or snare (see Luke 21:34). In other words, that coming of the Lord to bring full salvation (see Luke 21:28) and judgment will surprise many and they will not be ready to stand before the Son of Man, which means they will not be saved but instead will face his judgment (see Jude 24). 

 

This understanding leads to the next part of this exhortation.

 

2. A call to be saved.

First and foremost, Jesus wants people to trust in him to be saved from the wrath of God (Lk. 18:26), thus declared righteous (Lk. 18:14), which means one will belong to the kingdom of God (Lk. 18:16) and inherit eternal life (Lk. 18:18). Not to trust in Jesus is to miss this salvation (Lk. 19:1-10; 21:28). 

 

3. A call to persevere. 

What must be understood, however, is that true salvation results in a person persevering in that salvation and so enduring in their following of Jesus. This is clear from Jesus’ teaching that the goal is to stand before him, which means not bowing or falling under the judgment of the Son of Man. 

 

Since this is the case, parents and all who are discipling the next generation must teach that not all who profess faith in Jesus Christ will be ultimately saved. Those who are truly saved and share in Jesus Christ are those who endure to the end (Mark 13:13), who continue in the original confidence they have firm to the end (Heb. 3:14), who do not stumble (Jude 24). There are many who profess faith in Jesus Christ and yet do not continue in that profession until the end. We need to teach and be reminded that once a person is truly saved, they will be always saved. Yet, it is not true necessarily that once professed, always saved. 

 

4. A call to pray.

One of the great resources God has given to us so we can have the strength to persevere and not be done in by the trials and difficulties of life is prayer. This is why Jesus says in Luke 21:36, “But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength….”  This is also taught by Peter (1 Peter 4:7): “The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.”

 

5. A call to faithful mission.

Finally, we can say, in light of the rest of the Gospel of Luke, that those who are awake and ready for Jesus Christ to return are those who remain faithful in the mission he has given to us. Such persons:  Fear God over humans and so will be bold in witness (9:26; 12:4-7); continually strive to enter the salvation/kingdom house through the one door—Jesus; release their grip on controlling their own life and their grip on coming up with our own solutions for hope, happiness, significance, and security, and thus they trust in Jesus fully and love him more than all (9:23; 14:25ff.; 17:33); are rich toward God by laying up treasures in heaven, rather than merely on earth (12:13-21); and faithfully obey the Lord (11:28). All-in-all, such persons seek their eternal joy and reward in Christ, believing that this is much better than seeking joy and reward merely in this life/age (see 14:12-14; 17:33).

 

6. A call to solid biblical understanding and teaching.

What we discover in this passage is the importance of understanding well what the Bible says and teaching that to others. In our brief treatment we can see how important is it to have our heads and hearts around the biblical teaching of the perseverance of the saints. This also overlaps with the teaching about sanctification, conversion, and saving faith. 

 

One final word.

Parent, as we teach our children, we should never think that it is enough merely to call them to faith. We must challenge hearers to examine themselves to see if they are in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5) and we must call them to persevere. Finally, we must be people of prayer and must encourage our families to pray—asking God to change hearts and to keep our children from stumbling and to present them as blameless before him (Jude 24). 

 

Joyfully Persevering And Teaching The Next Generation To Persevere With You,

 

Tom Barnes