{"id":6196,"date":"2020-04-14T21:49:26","date_gmt":"2020-04-14T11:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/?p=6196"},"modified":"2020-04-16T14:23:40","modified_gmt":"2020-04-16T04:23:40","slug":"is-this-the-end-of-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/is-this-the-end-of-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Is This the End of the World?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Is this the End of the World?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Mark Basily<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

There are a\nlot of questions on our minds, especially as we look around and we see what is\ntaking place around the world. A pandemic that has crippled the Globe. We see\nnumerous deaths, churches closed, streets empty, communities in isolation. This\nraises so many questions. One question that most people will ask, whether\nChristian or not, religious or not; <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could this be the end of the world?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Holy\nWeek, we are following our Lord\u2019s actions and teaching. The week begins with\nChrist\u2019s triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. He cleanses the Temple\nand curses the fig tree. There is a gap of time before the betrayal of\nWednesday. Monday and Tuesday almost seem like filler days. What is taking\nplace is a significant part of our Lord\u2019s teaching in those two days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nreadings of Wednesday Eve provide a sample of what Christ spoke and taught. The\nthree synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) dedicate a large portion of their\ngospels to the teaching on these two days. A key theme was the end of all\nthings. The church refers to this as the Eschatology – the study of the last\nthings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christ in His\nfinal week spoke significantly about the last things. Matthew has 6 chapters\ndedicated (Matthew 21-26) to the last things; the second coming, the final\njudgement and heaven and hell.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We see a\nglimpse of this in the readings of Wednesday Eve. We read the parable of the\nwedding, where all were invited but someone came without a wedding garment and\nthey were cast into hell, revealing the theme of heaven and hell (Matthew\n22:1-14). It continues, you must be ready, because two people will be in the\nfield, one will be taken, one is left. Two women grinding at the mill, one is\ntaken, one is left (Matthew 24:40-42). Death can occur at any time. We also\nhave the theme of the Second Coming. The Second Coming is like a thief in the\nnight, it can come at any time so we must always be ready (Matthew 24:43). We\nalso have the theme of judgement with the five wise and five foolish virgins,\nfive were taken in while five were excluded (Matthew 25). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eschatology\nis widely considered by scholars to be one of the most difficult areas of\nstudy. The confusion is typically surrounding the tense that Christ uses \u2013\npast, present or future. He speaks about the end of things like they are\npresent, here and now<\/em>. Surely the\nkingdom of God has come upon you (Matthew 12:28) – as if the kingdom is now\nhere. It is present. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elsewhere, when asked when the kingdom of God will come, Christ responded, The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 <\/sup><\/strong>nor will they say, \u2018See here!\u2019 or \u2018See there!\u2019 For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you\u201d (Luke 17:21). We are given the impression that it is all here now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, there\nis a future tense that Christ also uses. \u201c<\/sup><\/strong>So it will be at the end of the\nage. The angels will come forth,<\/em> separate the wicked from among the\njust\u201d<\/em> (Matthew 13:49). Here, the\nkingdom appears in future tense. In the Lord\u2019s prayer we say, \u201cYour kingdom\ncome,\u201d implying that the Kingdom is not here but is coming. So, is the Kingdom\ncoming, or is it presently within us?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAssuredly,\nI say to you,<\/em> there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see\nthe Son of Man coming in His kingdom\u201d<\/em>\n(Matthew 16:28). Another confusion is that it is not present, or future, but\nwill be in their lifetime. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do we\nmake sense of this all? When Christ speaks of the end of all thing, He speaks\nof four aspects that are weaved together; <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. The end of the temple \u2013 the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. Jerusalem was destroyed. <\/li>
  2. The True Temple \u2013 meaning Christ, His own death and end on earth.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Both allude\nto the end of the earth. For Jews, no Temple meant the end of the world. For\nGod, the Creator of the Universe to die, the world cannot go on. But there are\ntwo more personal ends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. The end of our own lives at our death<\/li>
    2. The end of the world<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      What we see\ntaking place is a paradox where the end is already here, but not yet. The church\nspeaks in that language – the already<\/em>\nand the not yet<\/em>. The end has begun<\/em> at the death of Christ, the end\nhas begun<\/em> by the destruction of the\ntemple, the end is happening<\/em> as people\nare dying and the end is waiting<\/em> to\nbe fulfilled at the end of the entire world. With the birth, death and\nresurrection of Christ, He has inaugurated the end of the world. The end has\nbegun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      If the end\nhas begun, it changes how we view Heaven, Judgment and the Second Coming of\nChrist. It is no longer part of the unforeseeable future. It is here and now.  It can change the way we see heaven and hell, judgement,\nour own death and how we live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      If the end\nhas already begun then judgement has begun. I am not waiting to be judged. I begin\njudging myself now in the presence of Christ. If I begin judging myself now so\nthat when the final judgment day comes, I pass judgement. I begin judging\nmyself now with repentance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      In the last\ndays, there will no judge or jury; just Christ and me. A true repentance\novercomes judgement. The end has begun. I stand with Him now to judge myself\nwhile I am alive. If the end has begun, then the Second Coming is not in the\nunknown future, it is here and now. I can prepare myself for the second coming\nnow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      During the\nPascha, the church is watching from home. Even five of the seven priests follow\non from home. We use this time to prepare for the second coming of Christ. The\nsecond coming is unlikely to occur while we are in church. Let us stay out of\nthe church to prepare for that moment. We can prepare ourselves to that extent.\nThe end has begun; it is already here. The first Christians lived in that way;\nas if the end would happen in their lifetime. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      If the end\nhas begun, it changes the way I live my life. It changes my view of heaven.\nHeaven is no longer a place in the future. The Kingdom is here and now and I\ncan live heaven on earth.  When you go to\nheaven or hell, what will you see? You won\u2019t see anything distinct. Nothing\nwill be different. It will just be the same as where you are. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cEarth, I think, will not be found by anyone to be in the end a very distinct place. I think earth, if chosen instead of Heaven, will turn out to have been, all along, only a region in Hell: and earth, if put second to Heaven, to have been from the beginning a part of Heaven itself.\u201d<\/p>C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

      When we are\nin heaven, we will look back and realise, we were living heaven all along.\nNothing will change. I need to begin my heavenly life here and now, in the already<\/em>. The age to come will be a\ncontinuation. Heaven and the Kingdom is here and now to be realised here and\nnow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      So, is this\nthe end of the world? Yes. It is the end of world. The end of the world began\nat the death of Christ. We are living judgment, preparing for the second coming\nand living Heaven on earth. This is our hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      In the Creed, we end in a joyful tune, \u201cAnd we look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come, Amen.\u201d<\/em> It\u2019s joy. This is what it all about. We can\u2019t wait for the resurrection, but we start here and now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u2728 Full Sermon<\/a> \u2728 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Is this the End of the World? Adapted from a sermon by Fr Mark Basily There are a lot of questions on our minds, especially as we look around and we see what is taking place around the world. A pandemic that has crippled the Globe. We see numerous deaths, churches closed, streets empty, communities … Continue reading “Is This the End of the World?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6197,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[267,110,268,236,88],"class_list":["post-6196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-death","tag-holy-week","tag-life","tag-passion-week","tag-repentance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6196"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6234,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6196\/revisions\/6234"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}