We stood and watched the house burn. I was a pastor in South Georgia, a little town called Dawson. Just a couple of houses down from the parsonage where my daughter, wife, and I lived, a house was on fire. I cannot remember if it was the firetrucks or a concerned church member who alerted us to what was happening, but we quickly found ourselves standing across the street with some members of the church and the young lady who had grown up in that house.

And we watched the house burn.

The girl was in tears. We tried to comfort her and encourage her as best we could. I said something like, “I am so sorry. I truly am. But I thank God that nobody was in the house, that nobody was hurt.”

An elderly lady in our church was standing there. She decided that I needed help in understanding what was happening. “It is not losing the house that is hurting her. It is losing all the memories that happened in the house.”

That is always how it goes with such tragedies, is it not? It is not the home, it is the memory of all that happened in that home, of lives lived in that home.

In other words, there are emotional and mental realities that transcend wood and paint and nails and shingles. It is about more than these things.

In 586 BC, Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, and the temple was destroyed. The Jews were taken into captivity in Babylon. The loss of their home was devastating. And, here too, it was not merely the physical devastation, though that was hard enough. It was more than that. But, in fact, it was more than even memories and emotions that so inflicted the Jews. That temple represented the presence of God with His people.

In other words, for God’s people, the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple was, above all else, a spiritual upheaval, a spiritual devastation, with deep theological and psychological ramifications. The loss of that city and the loss of the temple said something about their relationship with God and about what was happening in their relationship with Him.

Lamentations reflects the depths of the Jews’ woe concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple and the exile of the people of God to Babylon. The first three verses of the book carefully lay out the fundamental components of the calamity.

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John 15:1–11

¹ “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³ Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷ If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. ⁹ As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. ¹¹ These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

As we sit here right now, a bitter, high profile, public dispute among a recently divorced Hollywood power couple continues to rage. The divorce itself between the two A-list stars has been settled after much fighting and maneuvering. But the conflict continues between the couple, primarily over one, specific, very valuable asset: a vineyard in France, the Château Miraval.

Formerly 50/50 owners of the chateau and vineyard, the husband now alleges that the wife violated a verbal agreement that she would offer him first right of purchase if ever she wanted to sell. She, on the other hand, claims she did offer it to him to buy but that he tried to forced her to sign a restrictive Non-disclosure Agreement disavowing some of her allegations against him in order for him to finalize the sell.

It is a fascinating and very sad situation.

Who knew that the great question in this very public and acrimonious divorce would come down to this: Who owns the vineyard?

That vineyard, again, is very, very valuable. Ownership of it matters, a lot. It is prized, deeply, and it is likely that maneuvering on both sides will continue for some time before the courts ever figure it out.

Who owns the vineyard?

As it turns out, according to John 15, in the Kingdom of God Jesus and His bride are also in partnership in a vineyard. I say “partnership,” but, really, there are major differences! First of all, there is no question of who owns God’s vineyard. The Lord God does. It is His and His alone. And there is no dispute concerning the operation of the vineyard. God’s word is very clear on how the vineyard works. Even so, in John 15, Jesus instructs us on the operation of the vine, on how it works, on how fruit is produced, on what is expected of it, and on how the imagery of the vineyard can guide us as we walk The Jesus Way.

As it turns out, God too is concerned about His vineyard. Let us see how Jesus uses this amazing image to lead us.

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Hebrews 5:11–14    

¹¹ About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. ¹² For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, ¹³ for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

On May 7, 2002, one of the most memorable speeches ever delivered by an American was voiced to the public. It happened in a press interview. Here is how the speech went.

…we’re sitting here, and I’m supposed to be the franchise player, and we’re in here talking about practice. I mean, listen, we’re talking about practice. Not a game! Not a game! Not a game! We’re talking about practice. Not a game; not the game that I go out there and die for and play every game like it’s my last, not the game, we’re talking about practice, man. I mean, how silly is that? We’re talking about practice. I know I’m supposed to be there, I know I’m supposed to lead by example, I know that. And I’m not shoving it aside like it don’t mean anything. I know it’s important. I do. I honestly do. But we’re talking about practice, man. What are we talking about? Practice? We’re talking about practice, man! We’re talking about practice! We’re talking about practice…We ain’t talking about the game! We’re talking about practice, man! When you come to the arena, and you see me play…You see me play, don’t you?

That speech was delivered by Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers, and it has sense established itself as a revered moment in American pop culture. Iverson’s commitment to practice had been questioned. That is what gave rise to that speech. In it, he used the word “practice” 22 times. It was a memorable and fascinating moment, and one that many remember fondly.

Iverson’s point was that if he showed up in the games, why was he being asked about practice?

The writer of Hebrews, in Hebrews 5, said:

¹¹ About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. ¹² For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, ¹³ for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

Today, we are talking about practice. About training. About growing. In what? in The Jesus Way, in the ways of Christ.

The Jesus Way challenge that we issued last week is this: In 2025—with every decision you face, in every relationship you have, toward every feeling and attitude that is within you, and over the overall direction of your life—will you make a deliberate, intentional decision to ask, “What is The Jesus Way in this situation?” and then live out The Jesus Way?

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Titus 3

¹² When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. ¹³ Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. ¹⁴ And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful. ¹⁵ All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.

Literaryhub.com has posted an article listing some of the more interesting conclusions to letters written by people you might (or might not) have heard of. They are worthy hearing!

“I’m scared,” (Raymond Chandler, 1945, in a letter in which he expressed the fear that his cat, Taki, had developed mind control.)

“With truest wishes for your health and happiness believe me,” (Bram Stoker, author of Dracula)

“Sincerely, later,” (Jack Kerouac, in a letter to Marlon Brando)

“Adieu, adieu, adieu!” (Mark Twain, in “a furious letter to a huckster who tried to sell him an ‘Elixir of Life’ which claimed to cure diseases of which two of his children had died.”)[1]

I love these kinds of lists! It is interesting to see how people of earlier times ended letters and the stories behind them.

Paul ends his letter to Titus in an interesting way and there is a story behind it too. At first glance, it looks like a combination of the mundane and the pastoral, but Paul was a man on a mission and we can be sure that no detail was wasted!

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The Challenge

Church, a question: What would it look like if, in 2025—with every decision you face, in every relationship you have, toward every feeling and attitude that is within you, and over the overall direction of your life—you made a deliberate, intentional decision to ask, “What is The Jesus Way in this situation?” and then you determined to live out The Jesus Way?

What would happen to you as an individual if you sought out and then enacted The Jesus Way in every, single situation you faced this year?

And what would happen to this church if all of our members did this, individually and corporately?

In his beautiful book, Homage to a Broken Man: The Life of J. Heinrich Arnold—A true story of faith, forgiveness, sacrifice, and community, Peter Mommsen wrote the following about the effect that his great grandfather Eberhard Arnold’s Christian teachings had on his grandfather, Heinrich Arnold.

Heiner felt a certain excitement whenever his father began to speak: “We people of today need an upheaval—the complete reversal and re-evaluation of all norms and social conditions….The answer will be found in the teachings of Jesus.” Many of the guests were openly incredulous: “But is that realistic? Can we actually build a society based on the Golden Rule? Isn’t that fanaticism? How is it possible to truly love your enemy?”[1]

The Jesus Way challenge agrees with Eberhard Arnold that we need a complete reversal, a complete upheaval, and that the stuff of this revolution will be found in the teachings of Jesus. Furthermore, it believes it is realistic and it is possible.

I agree with John Poulton, who writes:

The most effective preaching comes from those who embody the things they are saying. They are their message…Christians…need to look like what they are talking about. It is people who communicate primarily, not words or ideas…Authenticity…gets across from deep down inside people…A momentary insincerity can cast doubt on all that has made for communication up to that point…What communicates now is basically personal authenticity.[2]

So here is our challenge this morning and every day of this year: In 2025—with every decision you face, in every relationship you have, toward every feeling and attitude that is within you, and over the overall direction of your life—will you make a deliberate, intentional decision to ask, “What is The Jesus Way in this situation?” and then live out The Jesus Way?

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Luke 2

³⁶ And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, ³⁷ and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. ³⁸ And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

I will never forget when it happened. It scared me a little at first. Jarred me.

I was sitting at the gate in the airport in Haiti. The room was packed. It was hot. I was tense. I wanted to go home.

We had gotten lost, me and the three guys I was with, in the city the night before.

It was night. It was raining. We were lost.

Curious people had started gathering around the car with the foreigners in it. I was uneasy. I am ashamed to say that I even had a few hard words with the young man leading our trip. He had insisted on leaving our lodgings in another town and trying to get new lodgings in the city the night before we flew out. He wanted to be closer to the airport so we would not have to get up so early the next morning. He did not seem to know where we were going. I told him that he had acted irresponsibly and put us in harm’s way. I told him that if he was going to lead mission trips he needed to think before making impulsive, dangerous decisions. I am not normally a scared person, but I did not like the situation we were in.

Then the man at the hotel found us and we followed him up the hill to his place.

The next morning, we went to the airport. Again: cramped, busy, hot. I and the three other pastors from the states were in line. Then, we were pulled from the line. The guards seemed to be studying us, studying one of us in particular. They took us into a small room and began to ask lots and lots of questions.

This…I did not like this. Why were they questioning us? Why were they questioning the one pastor in particular. Then it hit me. His t-shirt. He was wearing a red t-shirt. That is the first thing. And there was one word across the front of his shirt: “Revolution.” The “t” was a cross. It was a Christian t-shirt. But it was a red t-shirt with the word “Revolution” across the front.

A little bit of advice: There are lots of countries where you really do not need to wear a red t-shirt with the word “Revolution” across the front.

I tried to relax. I tried to chat a bit with one of the security guards. But inside I was thinking one thing: “You should not have worn that shirt. Why did you were that shirt?” The one with the word “Revolution.” The one with the cross for the “t.”

They let us go and then we went to the gate, to the gathering area, to the hot, cramped, room. And we waited for our plane.

Then it happened. The thing that really caught me off guard.

She stood up. A Haitian woman. She stood up and very loudly said to the room, “Brothers and sisters, listen to me. If you do not know Jesus, you need to accept Him! You need to accept Him today! Do not wait! If you do not accept Jesus, you will die and go to hell without Him! If you accept Jesus, you will go to Heaven and live with Him! Do not wait! You must repent! You must be born again! You must be saved, or you will be lost, lost forever!”

And that was that. She sat down. And the room was silent for a moment, and then it was back to normal: the chatter, the talking, the waiting, the sweating.

I wanted my friend to remove his t-shirt, the one that was red, that had the word “Revolution” on it, the one where the letter “t” was the cross. That t-shirt might could have landed us in trouble there.

But this woman…this woman seemed not to care about trouble. This woman seemed to want a revolution. And she knew that the revolution started with Jesus and His cross. And she shouted it over that room. Shouted it at all of us.

And it was one of the most wonderful things I have ever seen.

That woman of courage.

That woman of boldness.

That woman who wanted a revolution that started with Jesus.

I would like to talk to you about Anna the prophetess.

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Luke 2

⁸ And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. ¹⁰ And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

I want to talk about something that has bothered me for fifty years. I am actually fifty years old, but I have been listening to the Christmas story since I was a baby and I have no doubt that even my little baby self was bothered by this! I am talking about the song that the angels sing to the shepherds out in their field, keeping watch over their flock by night. To clarify, I am not bothered by the song. I love the song! I am bothered by a question about the song.

First, let us clear up one matter: Yes, I am fully aware that that the angels are not technically depicted as singing these words. But there is reason to think that if they were not singing the words they were likely chanting the words in unison. There is a kind of military overtone to this “multitude of the heavenly host.” Regardless, the words are not casually voiced in a haphazard manner. There is intentionality to this and there is no reason not to envision it as a choir singing good news!

So what is my problem? After all, the song is only two lines:

Glory to God in the highest

and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!

My problem is the second line and, specifically, how the ending of the second line should be read. My problem, to put it simply, is that, throughout my life, I have detected and heard and noted various shifts in the ways that various translations present the second line and in the various ways that preachers preach on it. And these shifts potentially change the meaning of the song!

The confusion is around two Greek words that rest at the end of the second line:

• anthrōpos (men)
• eudokia (good will/favor)

So:

Glory to God in the highest

and on earth peace among those (anthrōpos) with whom he is pleased (eudokia)!

In short, nobody quite seems to know what the relationship between “men” (or “those” or “people”) and “good will” (or “pleased”) should be!

Young’s Literal Translation highlights the problem well when it renders the verse woodenly like this:

Glory in the highest to God, and upon earth peace, among men—good will.

Do you see that dash? That dash is the problem! Because some people render that dash “of”: “among men of good will.” And other people render that dash something like “who are the objects of God’s”: “among men who are the objects of God’s good will.” And other people switch the words on either side of that dash: “and upon earth, peace good will among men”!

I want to know what the dash is! I want to know what the angels sang!

But the Greek words anthrōpos (men or people or those) and the Greek word eudokia (good will/favor) do not tell us their exact relationship even though they sit right next to each other!

Even New Testament scholars agree! Joel Green writes of these two words in verse 14 that “the Greek is cryptic to a fault…”[1]

Al Wolters points out that “anthrōpoi eudokias” is an “awkward phrase” and “has no parallel in Greek literature.”[2]

And the various translations reflect this uncertainty. I have grouped these translations under the three different possible renderings I mentioned.

Good Will toward Men in General

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (King James Version)

Glory be to God in the high heavens, and peace in earth, and toward men good will. (1599 Geneva Bible)

Glory in the highest to God, and upon earth peace, among men—good will. (Young’s Literal translation)

Peace toward/among People of Good Will

Glory be in the highest things to God, and in earth peace be to men of good will. (Wycliffe Bible)

Glory to God in the highest Heaven! Peace upon earth among men of goodwill! (J.B. Phillips)

Glory to God in the highest places and peace on earth among men of good will. (David Bentley Hart)[3]

Peace toward/among Those with Whom God is Pleased

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased! (English Standard Version)

Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased. (American Standard Version)

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors! (Christian Standard Bible)

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,” they sang, “and peace on earth for all those pleasing him.” (Living Bible)

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests. (New International Version)

Splendor in the highest places to God, and on the land, peace among God-pleased humans. (Scot McKnight)[4]

Glory to God in the highest, and peace upon earth among those in his favor. (N.T. Wright)[5]

To repeat the question, is the song:

1. offering hope to all of humanity regardless of whether or not human beings have good will;
2. offering hope to human beings who are people of good will;
3. offering hope to human beings upon whom the good will of God rests?

Since there is uncertainty about how best to render those two Greek words, translators do the best they can in light of other factors like the witness of the rest of scripture and specifically the way the gospel of Luke works.

What did the angels sing on that night?

I think we can approach the answer to this! Let us jump in!

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1 Thessalonians 5

¹² We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, ¹³ and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. ¹⁴ And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. ¹⁵ See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. ¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰ Do not despise prophecies, ²¹ but test everything; hold fast what is good. ²² Abstain from every form of evil. ²³ Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. ²⁵ Brothers, pray for us. ²⁶ Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. ²⁷ I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers. ²⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Have you ever heard those commercials that conclude with those rapid-fire, barely-intelligible, hyper-speed disclaimers that no mortal person could ever understand? What about the drug commercials that have the same, but you can make out just enough of what is being raced through at the end to pick up some truly terrible possible side effects from the advertised drug? Here is one example I found (and edited and altered and added to and subtracted from, I hasten to add!):

“If you have seasonal allergies, [this medicine] may be right for you. Side effects…are uncommon, and include headache, nausea, vomiting, death, dizziness…dysentery, cardiac arrhythmia, mild heart explosions, varicose veins, darkened [mood], darkened soul, [ennui], lycanthropy…more vomiting, arteriosclerosis…diabeetus…mild discomfort, vampirism…spontaneous dental hydroplosion, [Count Choculitis], sugar high, [vertigo], even more vomiting, total implosion [of any lingering sense of hope or purpose or meaning], [fear of dolphins, fear of chihuahuas, the growth of additional toes, the appearance of a Finnish accent in your daily speech, lowering math scores, random bouts of shouting the word “Huzzah” in crowded spaces, blurred vision, mohawks, purple freckles, Harry Potter-itis, MORE vomiting]…and [a] mild rash.”[1]

Have you heard these commercials? It is terrifying! It also proves a couple of things. First, nobody is apparently listening these rapid-fire horror stories tacked onto the end or else none of these medications would ever be purchased again. Secondly, we need to listen to the end of too-good-to-be-true commercials because oftentimes what is promised in the body of the commercial is negated at the end.

It is enough to make one nervous about conclusions with too much crammed into them. But this is not always fair. Take our book, 1 Thessalonians. Here in the final verses of chapter 5, Paul puts so much into this that it sounds like one of those commercials. Herschel Hobbs said of our text, “Into his closing remarks Paul crammed a world of ideas.”[2]Indeed!

But there is one major difference: The end of 1 Thessalonians does not negate the rest of the letter, is not trying to slip something frightening past you, is not stealing with the left hand what it promised with the right, and can be 100% trusted!

Yes, there is a lot here, but it is really beautiful and encouraging and challenging.

God’s word does not deceive, even if it sometimes seems to overwhelm! This would be one such example. Let us pull up a chair, slow down the speed a bit, and listen closely to what Paul says about life with Jesus in the body of Christ. You will find here not deception but confirmation of all he said before!

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Titus 3

¹ Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, ² to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. ³ For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. ⁴ But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. ⁸ The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. ⁹ But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. ¹⁰ As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, ¹¹ knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

I knew something was up, but I certainly did not know it was as bad as it was! Until I received the phone call.

“Hey, look, the staff and I just had a big fight…and it turned physical and spilled out onto the street.”

“Seriously? You guys were physically fighting in the street?”

We made arrangements for us all to meet and talk through what happened.

Before the meeting could happen, though, another phone call, this time from a member of our church.

“Pastor, I don’t quite know how to say this, but I just drove by the church plant we’re sponsoring…and it looked like some of the ministers there were fighting each other in the street in front of the building in broad daylight.”

My heart sank.

How did this happen?

A church staff…physically fighting each other…in broad daylight…downtown, in the street…in front of everybody and anybody who happened to be out or going by.

That church no longer exists. It never really recovered. I think of it now, when I think of it, as a tragedy.

Paul, in Titus 3, now turns to how the church behaves toward the watching world as well as with one another.

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1 Thessalonians 4

¹³ But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. ¹⁴ For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁵ For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 5

¹ Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. ² For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³ While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. ⁴ But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. ⁵ For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. ⁶ So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. ⁸ But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. ⁹ For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰ who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. ¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

A couple of weeks ago, Hal Lindsey died. I wonder if you recognize that name? Many of you will. And many of you who do not recognize that name will nonetheless have been impacted by Lindsey’s work in ways you may not know.

In 1970, Lindsey published The Late Great Planet Earth. This was a book on prophecy and it absolutely exploded in sales around the world. It is hard to get an updated number on how many copies of The Late Great Planet Earth were sold, but it appears that by 1999 it had sold thirty-five million copies. And that was twenty-five years ago.

I was born four years after that book appeared and I can honestly say that my eschatology was impacted by it. Lindsey wrote not only of Christ’s second coming, but also of how he thought the political realities of that time would come into play: The European Economic Community, Russia, China, and the like. Lindsey painted a vivid and memorable and specific picture of how all of this might play out. If you grew up in the 70s and 80s, this version of the events that would lead up to the second coming will sound familiar…until, that is, the fall of the U.S.S.R. and the rise of Islamic extremism. Now the specific political realities have changed and new books on the second coming with different names are being published.

Lindsey certainly made some mistakes, and his personal life was messy. The obituary that appeared in the Religion News Service, for instance, (entitled “The late great Hal Lindsey”), included this:

Lindsey offered a rough date for the Rapture based on Jesus’ promise that when certain signs appeared the “generation” that witnessed them would not “pass till all these things be fulfilled” (Matthew 24:33-34). The “rebirth of Israel,” the evangelist informed readers, marked the fulfillment of this prophecy. “A generation in the Bible,” Lindsey continued, “is something like forty years. If this is a correct deduction, then within forty years or so of 1948, all these things could take place.” Lindsey expected the Rapture to happen by 1988. “Late Great” is still in print and has not been updated or revised, although as Lindsey went through multiple marriages and divorces his author photo and acknowledgments changed accordingly.[1]

Yes, Lindsey had his issues, that is true. But, De mortuis nil nisi bonum dicendum est (speak nothing but good of the dead), as they say, so let us give him this: Lindsey was absolutely correct that Jesus is coming again!

The New York Times obituary contained this: “Mr. Lindsey’s doomsday predictions did not come true, and his prophesies of imminent end-of-the-world events seem less credible with each passing day.”[2] If the writer means some of Lindsey’s specific predictions and theories did not come true, he is right. Some of Lindsey’s particular predictions were wrong and he likely should have shown more restraint! But if the New York Times writer means Lindsey’s belief that Jesus is coming again is no longer credible, then I stand with Lindsey! Jesus is coming again!

Paul now turns his attention to just this truth, and he does so to encourage and to challenge the Thessalonian Christians. The second coming of Jesus matters and it matters a lot!

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