The Word of the Lord Endures Forever
se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ
2. Peter 3,[3-7]8-13 5714
Ewigkeitssontag 073 (27. Trinitatis)
Clement, Bishop of Rome, Martyr 100
23. November 2014
1. O God, Thou Source of our lives, You have conquered death and brought us safely into Your Providence. You are our Comfort and Light in the midst of darkness, sorrow and the grave. Death separates us from those we love, but Your love has overcome death and the grave and promises us a grand reunion in heaven. (VELKD, Prayer for Ewigkeitssontag § 1). Amen.
2. »Knowing knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say: „Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.“ For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will arrive like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to His promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
3. Jesus tells us in this morning’s parable to watch and be ready for His return. He tells us that His return will be delayed, and therefore we will not know when He will return (Matthew 25,5.12). The Apostle Peter also tells us the same in his 2. Epistle. St. Peter writes: »With the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will arrive like a thief«, that is, suddenly and unexpectedly. So we know three things about the second advent of Jesus: 1. It will be delayed; 2. It will occur suddenly, without warning; and 3. It will be unexpected. In fact, Jesus tells us that His return will be so delayed and so unexpected that those who await for His advent will fall asleep.
4. The Apostle Peter exhorts us during the delay of the Lord to stand firm in our faith and live each day helping our neighbors. We should not fret about Jesus’ return, obsess with calculating it down to a specific date nor lament at His delay. Jesus will return when He returns. The apostle reminds us that Jesus’ delay is an act of mercy, for He wants to give people ample time to repent of their sin and believe in Him unto salvation. Rest assured, the day will arrive when Jesus decides that the time for mercy is over and He will return. That day will reveal everyone’s faith or unbelief, the creation will be burned up and Jesus will create new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
5. This new creation will be like and unlike the heavens and earth we now know and experience. Yahweh’s original creation involved stars, planets, plants and animals. Creation only became cursed as a result of Adam’s sin. Creation was made perfect and holy, and God’s intention is to remove the curse He has imposed upon His creation and restore the heavens and the earth to the purity in which He originally created them. Many blessings stem from this, particularly that suffering and death will no longer exist for all who believe in Jesus. There will be no sickness, disease, trials, temptations, sin or death in the new creation. This will be so because the Apostle Peter proclaims that righteousness will dwell in the new heavens and earth. The Holy Scriptures tell us that only God is righteous. The Apostle Paul proclaims: »Christ Jesus became to us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption from God the Father« (1. Corinthians 1,30), and again: »We are found in Christ; we do not have a righteousness of our own that comes from the law, but that righteousness which comes through faith in Christ« (Philippians 3,9). Jesus Himself will dwell in these new heavens and earth. Again, this is consistent with what He did in the original creation where He took a walk in the cool of the days with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3,8).
6. The Apostle John saw this promised fulfilled in his apocalypse where he put it to these beautiful words: »Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: „Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.“ And He who was seated on the throne said: „Behold, I am making all things new. Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be His God and he will be My son“« (Revelation 21,1-7).
7. This is why the five wise bridesmaids could sleep in peace, for they were confident that they were ready whenever the bridegroom arrived whether they were awake or asleep. And that is what happens in Jesus’ parable: they wait for the Lord, they all fall asleep and those who were prepared enter into the wedding feast. Only faith in Jesus prepares us for His second advent. Therefore, no matter how long He delays, we are ready to join Him when He arrives. When His return catches us unaware, nevertheless we are ready to be with Him. Faith receives the promise of forgiveness by Christ’s merits, and faith hopes in His return. Faith is patient and knows that Jesus delays for a good reason. Faith is content with that delay and will rejoice when He finally does arrive. What a beautiful sight to behold when Jesus’ voice awakens us from our slumber and we join His procession into life eternal on the new heavens and earth. Amen.
8. Let us pray. O Yahweh, Thou Eternal Life, make known to us the path of everlasting life so that we understand that in Your presence there is fullness of joy and eternal bliss. Amen.
To God alone be the Glory
Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm
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All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27. Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.
Bayer, Oswald. Martin Luther’s Theology. Copyright © 2008 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Cutler, Colin. The Ward of Heaven and the Wyrm in the Sea. Copyright © 2012 Eden Books.
ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2013 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern.
LSB. Lutheran Service Book. Copyright © 2006 Concordia Publishing House.
Murphy, G. Ronald, Tr. The Heliand. Copyright © 1992 Oxford University Press.
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Lord of the Rings. Copyright © 1991 HarperCollinsPublishers.
VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2013 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands.
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