Abominations in the temple! False Christs and false prophets! People running away like crazy during the tribulation of the End Times! Suffering and horror! Where's the Good News, the Gospel, in all that kind of talk? Jesus' words ring out clearly the saving promise of salvation: “See, I have told you beforehand!” Before all these things come to pass, Jesus tells His disciples these awful things will happen. Why? To scare them? To get them to “straighten up?” No, to comfort them. To save them. To rescue them from the very enemies who will multiply and run around in the Last Days. Dear Christians, do not worry about these scary sounding tribulations and false preachers! Hear Jesus' words, “See, I have told you beforehand.” Your comfort, in a world that is coming to an end, is that Jesus has spoken His Word. That Word rescues you from sin and death and the devil and his preachers and rests you securely in Christ, unto eternal life!
Why do we have false Christs and false prophets? Just hear what happened at Mt. Sinai. Moses, the man called by God to lead the Children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt—Moses went up on Mt. Sinai, and apparently, as far as the people were concerned, he was never coming back! “As for this Moses, we don't know what has happened to him.” When the people think that Moses is gone for good and that he's not coming back, what do they do? Now remember, these aren't the pagans and heathen. Theses are God's people. What do they do? They make a false god! They have Aaron carve an idol out of gold. And, what's worse, they call that idol “the Lord.” Bad enough they make a false god, but to stick the true God's name on that golden calf! Bad news! And this is exactly what happens today. Christ SEEMS a long time in coming. As for Jesus, we don't know when he'll come back. So people begin to seek after idols. They calls these idols and false gods Jesus and they are prophets. But they are lies. When Jesus seems long in coming, people turn to false Jesuses and false prophets who SOUND like the true Jesus but aren't like Him at all. Here people go looking for Jesus in all the places He's not promised to be. The go running out to the deserts, places where they can see visions or so called “miracles.” Maybe they go into their “inner rooms” where some preacher has some secret knowledge he'll give about Christ if you pay your membership dues. People go seeking Jesus in their hearts or in their changed lives or in some emotional experience. They look for Jesus where supposed miracles and signs are being performed. They look for Jesus apart from His church and means of grace; apart from His Word and Sacraments; apart from the font and altar and pulpit and Scriptures. Beware of looking for Jesus there, dear Christians, for such a Jesus is no real Jesus and can't save you or help you.
But the true Christ is not the Jesus who is the Lawgiver or harsh Judge. The true Jesus doesn't come telling you to run out to the desert or go in your closet to find Him. The true Christ is the Son of God who has come in the flesh to stand between you and the Father's judgment for sins. Just like Moses, who told God to repent of the evil He was going to do to the children of Israel, so Jesus steps in between us sinners and the Holy Father who is ready to consume us in His wrath. And just as the Lord heard Moses and repented of the evil He was going to unleash on the Israelites, so in Christ, the Father turns His fierce wrath away from us and onto His Son Jesus. All false Christs and false prophets will direct you to themselves and direct you to yourself. But the True Jesus directs us to Him, because He is hung on the cross between heaven and earth, showing that He now stands by the shedding of His blood between us and God. And Jesus has told us over and over that His death means the end of our sins. The shedding of His blood means the covering of our iniquities. His suffering is our freedom from sin, death, devil and hell. His sacrifice is the blood price of our sins and it is our salvation. Jesus' death is our life. His resurrection and life are our life too. That's what the TRUE Jesus is all about: saving sinners!
When the children of Israel worshiped the golden calf, they called it “The Lord.” When false Christs and false prophets show up, what are they imitating? Well, Christ! And true preachers! Any preacher will tell you where to find Jesus. The difference between a false prophet and true preacher is that a preacher who is truly called by Christ will point you to Jesus where He Himself has promised to be. Not in the desert. Not in some “inner room.” Where does Jesus promise to be? Well, what does He say? “Go therefore and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...and Lo, I am with you always to the very end of the age.” Jesus is there at the font in Holy Baptism. Where else? Our Lord says, “Whosoever's sins you forgive, they are forgiven and whosoever's sins you retain, they are retained.” Christ is present and here in the ministry of the forgiveness of sins sin the church. Where else? “Take eat, this is my body given for you; take drink, this is my blood shed for you.” That's right. Christ is here and present in His holy Supper. Where else? Jesus says, “Repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in my name.” In the preaching of the Christ Crucified for sinners that is taught in the Scriptures. Once again, with all these words of Jesus, He has told us beforehand. Good news! So we need not doubt or wonder or be uncertain! In Christ's church, in His holy means of grace, in water, word, body and blood—that is where you can find Jesus and have Him for sure. The false prophets will point you everywhere BUT to those gifts. So be comforted as you live this life, dear Christian. All your sins are forgiven and the certainty that your sins are forgiven is given in these holy means of grace.
St. Paul writes that as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord's death until He comes again. We know where Christ comes to us now: in His church, at this altar. And we have His word that He will come again, in such a way that all will see Him: like lightning! Brothers and sisters in Christ, listen carefully! The world is full of preachers who love to preach and teach about the coming of Jesus to scare the bejeebers out of people! To spook people into trying to avoid hell. They preach as if they have secret knowledge and they write books and novels about this stuff. You, never mind all that! Know where Jesus comes to you now; received Him and rejoice in the forgiveness that He brings you. Then you are prepared when He comes again in glory. Don't think that when Jesus comes back He's coming back to scare you. He's coming back to save you. To bring to fulfillment all that He has given you in your life as a Christian. He is coming back to put all things right and bring about the new heaven and the new earth, the home of righteousness. When will that be? Well, not even Jesus knows. But when it happens, you WILL know it and see it. And you won't be frightened! You'll be glad! Happy! Rejoicing! Don't worry, dear Christians, the false prophets are going to come and look mighty impressive. Signs and wonders and miracles! But you won't be fooled. You are the Lord's elect in Christ. He has rescued you by His life, death, resurrection, and Spirit-given means of grace. You are His and nothing can snatch you from Him.
I know that Jesus said He's coming back. He said it 2000 years ago. It might seem like He's gone for good. It might make you want to say, “As for this Jesus, we don't know what's happened to Him.” It might make you want to find a Jesus who seems closer to home. But run from such thinking and believing. The devil has an army of false prophets out there who are ready to trick you into thinking Jesus is somewhere He's not. But I tell you, as Christ told His apostles and the Apostles recorded it in Holy Scripture: Jesus is here, now, in His church, at His font, speaking from His pulpit, feeding you from His altar. There you can be certain it's the real deal Jesus. The One who gave His life for you. The One who stood between the Father's wrath and you. The One who has, by His work, made you once again a holy and beloved child of God. Oh, it's the End Times. Jesus WILL come back. And the world will weep and wail because it didn't care and because people attached themselves to false Christs. But you, dear children of God, will break forth into cheers and smiles on that day, because it is the day the Lord comes to take you to be with Him forever. See? I've told you ahead of time. Amen.