But Jesus said, 6 ‘As for what you see here, THE TIME WILL COME when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.’ Luke 21
The twenty first chapter of Luke begins with Jesus observing the people’s giving into the Temple and commending the poor lady who gave two small coins – yet she gave more than all the others, because she put in all she had to live on. The Temple was something that set Israel apart from all other nations on the earth at that time because only the Jewish people could worship the Living God. Then Jesus must have shocked His disciples, because He told them that it was all destined to come down.
5 Some of his disciples were remarking about how THE TEMPLE WAS ADORNED WITH BEAUTIFUL STONES AND WITH GIFTS dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 6 ‘ … every one of them will be thrown down.’
The outward appearance of the Temple was magnificent, but the armies of Rome, the ruling power of the day would pull it down. However, by that time it would no longer be needed, for men themselves would be living temples of God.
Yesterday, we visited a local town and as we walked along the street lots of people were leaving the local Catholic Church. I didn’t pay much attention to this, but then we saw the priests outside the doors, dressed in imposing white robes. My spontaneous thought was, ‘What are all these people putting their trust in for eternity?’
21 ‘Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven. Matthew 7
I’m not attacking any church over another, but impressive religious vestments and services will count for nothing before a Holy God. Yes He is loving and merciful but Jesus’ sacrifice alone is sufficient, nothing else will avail. (Modern churches can so easily fall into their own religious traditions and function without any thought for the presence of God’s Spirit.)
22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Hebrews 9
We too have entered a new era or age just like Jesus’ time and things will never be the same. Some call this time the Age of the Kingdom or the Age of the Saints, but Jesus told us that EVERYTHING THAT CAN BE SHAKEN WILL BE SHAKEN, NO EXCEPTIONS. I don’t think we realise how deep rooted this cleansing of society and the Church is going to be, much that people trust in will simply disappear.
‘Self-praise is no recommendation’, neither is outward appearance and God sees the reality behind every facade. Lord, give us discernment to see and separate the Holy from the Common in these turbulent days. Hallelujah
May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.