Luc. 21, 25-36.
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth men shall be afraid, and shall tremble; and the sea and the waves of waters shall roar. And men shall faint for fear, and for waiting of the things that are to come upon the earth: for the powers of heaven also shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption draweth nigh. And he said unto them the same thing, Behold the fig tree, and all the trees. When they now shoot forth, ye see it in them, and know that summer is now at hand. So also ye, when ye see all these things come to pass, know that the kingdom of God is at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be done. Heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away. But take heed lest your hearts be troubled with eating and drinking, and with cares of food, and let that day come upon you quickly; for as a snare it shall come upon all them that dwell on the earth. Be ye therefore always valiant, and pray that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
This gospel clearly tells about the last future of Christ. But what the signs are, Christ tells Matth. 24, 29. when he says: Sun and moon will lose their light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will move. Now if these things are future, it is not in man's power to say much about them; for though these signs will be terrible, yet they will be accomplished in such a way that the last day will come sooner than it will be understood that these signs have been fulfilled, especially among the rash. For Christ says afterwards, v. 34: "Beware lest your hearts be troubled with eating and drinking, and with the cares of this life, and that day come upon you quickly; for as a snare it shall come upon all them that dwell on the earth." Therefore, even though they see these signs and hear that they are signs of the last day, they will not believe them, but will think that the last day will not come for a long time. This is what we want to prove.
2. to the first, which is already said, the day will come suddenly, like a snare. In addition, Christ says Luc. 17, 24. ff: "As the lightning flashes from heaven above, and shines on everything under heaven, so shall the Son of Man's day be.
be. And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the Son of man: they did eat, they drank, they let themselves go, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. The same as it happened in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built. But on the day Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. In the same way it will happen when the Son of Man is revealed. This is also what happened in the last destruction of Jerusalem, when the Jews did not believe so many signs and wonders told by Josephus that the day of their destruction was at hand, but understood and interpreted everything from the opposite. So also St. Paul writes 1 Thess. 5, 2. 3.: "The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. For when they shall say, it is peace, it hath no speed, destruction shall quickly overtake them." And St. Peter 2 Ep. 3, 3. ff. has previously proclaimed these unbelievers and imprudents, when he says: "Know ye that in the last days shall come scoffers, walking after their own lusts, saying, Where is the promise of his future? For after the
When the fathers have fallen asleep, all things remain as they were from the beginning of the creatures. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein will be burned up.
(3) In a word, the wicked have never been persuaded to believe that their doom is so near; that the word of the 55th Psalm, v. 24, may stand: "The bloodthirsty and the guileful shall not bring their life to the half. For they are always safe, and never fear; therefore their hour cometh suddenly and unawares."
And on earth the peoples will be in great distress, and the sea and the rivers will roar. And men shall faint for fear and waiting of the things which shall come upon the whole earth. For even the powers of the heavens will be moved.
(4) The affliction, anguish, and trembling are here implied. But the word "with distress" is applied to the nations, not to the roaring of the sea and the rivers; for Christ wants to indicate the distress, anguish and despair that the nations will suffer in their souls when they are in anguish and distress. As if to say, The nations of the earth shall be afflicted and distressed for fear of their souls; whether it be for the fear of signs, or for the terror of an evil conscience. And I am truly very anxious that this evil should not have long since prevailed on earth here and there; for it is not to be supposed that all peoples will feel this; otherwise there would be no one to ridicule these signs, since there will be such people as we have said. For there are many people who are afflicted with such fear and waiting, and become almost senseless.
5 After this the roaring of the sea and the rivers is said as much as when the sea and the rivers roar and the people will pine away etc. as Erasmus interprets it. Not that all men will pine away, but only some, who will pine away from
The other will be a sign, which at the same time will bear the present punishment of their sins, and testify that others should also encounter the same. What the roaring of the sea and the rivers will be, we cannot really say, because we are not prophets. And here, in the Latin translation, the word "of things" is omitted, and thus should read, "for fear and waiting of things to come upon the whole world." Not that fear and dread shall come upon the whole world, but upon them only which shall be a sign: for they shall be afraid of the things which shall come upon the whole world, while the rest shall be safe, and shall play and laugh.
(6) Some think that the "powers of the heavens" are the angels; but it is better that we understand it in a simple way from the visible heavens, namely, that not only earthquakes and a roaring of the sea and the rivers, but also a vain confusion of the air and a disruption of the heavens and the upper elements will take place; as St. Gregory writes here: Because everything is to be accomplished, before the end of the world everything must be disrupted: the nations by war and rebellion, the people by fear, the earth by earthquakes, the waters by roaring, the air by pestilence, the sun by darkness, likewise the moon, the stars by falling; thus also the heavens themselves by their movement. For these signs should ever be visible and sensitive; for how else would they be signs? For the angels are not visible, therefore we understand the visible heavens. But how it will be with their movement, experience must teach. Notice, Christ does not say badly, the heavens, but the "powers of the heavens", according to the custom of the Scriptures; as we read in Gen. 1, 7. that the heavens are called the best; therefore the best, power and ability are attributed to the heavens before other things. And is spoken after the manner of the Hebrew language, the powers of the heavens, that is, the firm or mighty heavens. The heavens are the power of the world, without which the world would be chaos and eternal darkness; for everything that happens and is done in the world is the power of the heavens.
than is done by motion and light, that is, by the rule of the heavens, just as among men those who rule over others are called mighty and powerful, because their subjects are ruled by their commandment and will.
Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
7 Christ says emphatically: "They will see the Son of Man coming"; which is more said than if he said: Then the Son of Man will come etc. So that he wants to indicate that this future will happen obviously, as the first future was so completely hidden that it had to be announced to the shepherds by the angels from heaven. But the last future will not be announced by anyone, but will be seen by all creatures in all places. And as the former was done in contempt and lowliness, so shall this be kept in great honor and glory; as it is written, Revelation 1:7, "Every eye shall see him"; Matthew 24:31, adding, "And he shall send his angels with a great trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." This is the day of which St. Paul writes 1 Cor. 4:5: "The Lord shall bring to light that which is hid in darkness, and shall make manifest the counsel of the heart." Then all things shall be made manifest in all, and "all kindreds of the earth shall howl." But especially he describes the last future in the prophet Zephaniah Cap. 1, 14. 15. 16.: "When the cry of the day of the Lord shall come, then shall the mighty cry bitterly." (These are the mighty or tyrants like Nimrod.) "For that day is a day of wrath, a day of tribulation and anguish, a day of weather and tempest, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and mists, a day of trumpets and drums." See how the prophet prophesies the day of the Lord.
But when these things begin to take place, look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption is drawing near.
What does he want to say with that? Dear, who may rejoice in such a grim future? Who can grasp and understand this? But this is said to those who are Christians, who in this life are pressed with many evils, and desire with one accord to be delivered from sins and all evils; as we pray in the Lord's Prayer, Come thy kingdom; deliver us from evil. For if we say this prayer from the heart, we must surely rejoice in all these terrible signs; for that which we have desired is coming, therefore we should desire and love this future of Christ most, if we would be delivered from sins and all evil; for he ever says, "Your redemption draws near." But those who fear and do not want that day to come, what else do they do when they pray: Come your kingdom; deliver us from evil, but to accuse themselves and fight against themselves? For what does redemption mean? Who would not like to be redeemed? Thus St. Paul says 2 Tim. 4, 8: "He will give the crown of righteousness, not to me only, but also to all who love his appearing"; and to Tito 2, 13: "And wait for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God"; item Luc. 12, 36. Christ says: "Be like men who wait for their Lord."
(9) Therefore let us take care that we do not have in us a hatred or a fear of the last day, for such a fear is quite damnable and belongs to the reprobate, the hardened and the rash, for the iron forehead of these must be broken by such terrible fear. For just as this day will bring the greatest security and joy to the pious, so it will bring an unpleasant terror to the wicked. Just as now in this life the truth is sweet and pleasant to the pious, but abhorrent to the wicked. Yea, sayest thou, I would gladly desire the latter day, if I were pious and without sin. Answer: If you are afraid of the last day, if you tremble before it and wish it not to come, you will not be rid of sin, and if you are afraid of it for a thousand years, for the damned in hell will not be able to escape it.
They will not be saved by it, even if they tremble forever before that day; indeed, this fear increases your sin more and more, and prevents you from being without sin, even if you do everything that you always think is enough for your sin.
(10) Therefore, if you desire to be saved from sins, desire it more and more, and God would have you desire it until you shed tears over it and fear in the desire until death. For no one is better prepared for the last day than he who has a desire to be free from sins. And this is what the last day will bring about, whose work will fulfill your desire. Christ could not have modeled this day more sweetly for us than by saying that it is our "redemption. And thereby entices us to joy, by a lovely likeness of the blossoming trees. Therefore see that you do not make Christ a liar, who calls the last day your salvation; and do not ever think that he deceives you, who calls you to look and lift up your head in it, since your sin and all the evils of this life have bent you over and weighed you down until this day. St. Paul writes about this in Romans 8:23: "We also long for the adoption of children in ourselves, and wait for the redemption of our bodies." See how the apostle sighs and desires to be accepted into the adoption of God and waits for his redemption; he does not let himself think that he has already attained it.
(11) Therefore, we are to avoid and forsake the fear and hatred of the last day with all earnestness, and make a point of earnestly desiring to be saved from sins; if we do this, we will not only be able to be sure, but also to look forward to the last day with joy. Therefore see that thou deceive not thyself, saying that thou desirest the last day, when thou shalt have no more sin; when therefore thou fearest that day: not that thou hast sin, but that thou canst no longer sin, when the last day shall cut off thy opportunity to sin. This evil and deceitful fear thou shalt not suffer in thyself, lest the light that is in thee be darkness: for if thou from thine heart
sin, you will rejoice gladly in the last day, when your desire will be fulfilled.
(12) Therefore Christ teaches us rightly in these words that we should rather rejoice and be glad when we see that the last day is near. This is what he says to teach those who are afraid out of pusillanimity, even if they are otherwise pious, when he says that they should look and lift up their heads, so that they do not bow down their heads in fear and sadness. As he also speaks shortly before Matth. 24, 6.: "You will hear wars and cries of wars; watch and do not be afraid." At the end of the world, when all sins have taken over and love has grown cold, it will be very dangerous to live among people, and this confusion of sins will be followed by an even worse confusion of punishment and evil, war, famine, pestilence and disruption of all things. Dear, who would not wish for an end to this evil? Therefore Christ comforts His own who would live at that time, that is, those who pray for deliverance from sins and all evil, and promises them that their salvation is near. So it will happen strangely, when other people faint from fear, that these live in hope and joy, and that they hope and desire what those fear and shun, completely contrary to each other; just as before they kept themselves in sin and piety, because those clung to sin and loved it, but these hated sin.
13. From this you may see how few there are who pray the Lord's Prayer correctly and desire that God's kingdom come and that they be redeemed from all evil, since there are so few who do not want the last day to never come, and because they do not see this damned and ungodly fear, that is, the great beam in their eyes, and, as they think, do much good to help themselves from sins, yet with their actions they make themselves more and more unskilled for that day. Therefore, if you cannot overcome this fear of the last day in your heart, so that you cannot wish for the last day to come, then wish that you may wish for it; pray that you may pray; pray that you may pray; pray that you may pray; pray that you may pray.
that thou mayest desire; and despair not, but be deceived, that thou art so weak as to fear thy salvation, and doubt not that God will hear thee, as he hath promised thee Luc. 11:10.He that asketh receiveth, he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened"; and be comforted that others also desire such things and ask for you, and be sure that this fear must be quenched in you, or you must be eternally damned; for it is a sin against the Holy Spirit to resist grace and your salvation, and to defend sin, which will not let it be quenched.
And he told them the same thing: "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees, when they now shoot out, look at them and know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.
(14) This is a lovely likeness of spring and summer, when everything blossoms and grows green, which the Lord sets before us, that we may learn from it to desire the last day with great joy. For he saith not, For hell and damnation are at hand, but the kingdom of God: that he may teach us to lift up our heads unto the good things of the last day, which we shall desire, if we have borne desire, that we may be saved from our sins. Therefore we should long for the kingdom of God, and pray that the last day may come, or at least pray that we may desire it with all our might. For it is most necessary that the day should not seize us with the damned, that we should gape at it and fear it, if we cannot escape it; but that we should love the day and desire it.
Verily I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all this happens.
(15) That Christ may give us a lasting confidence, he assures us with two promises. As if to say, "This will surely come to pass, so that your hope may not be shaken, and you may believe that your salvation is complete.
I say to you that everything will be fulfilled before the generation of the Jews passes away, because it will be fulfilled at the time when the generation of the Jews is still alive, at which time I tell you this: not that the Jews should experience the last day, but their descendants. But Christ's words sounded as if everything he had proclaimed was to be fulfilled before the people of that time should pass away. And therefore all things of which Christ speaks must be referred to that generation, and not to the last day; that all things which were foretold of that generation should come to pass while that generation lasted. And this opinion, methinks, is the plainest, and according to the language of Scripture; but I leave others their opinion, who know better. But what follows is to be understood both of the desolation of the Jewish land and of the last day.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
(16) Some are angry as to how the heavens and the earth will pass away, that is, they say, not according to their nature, but according to their form; as if the words of Christ were not clear enough. For Christ, as the Greek word reads, does not say they will pass away or become nothing; but, they will go away, that is, they will be changed. As St. Paul says in 2 Ep. 3, 7: "The heavens now and the earth are spared by his word, that they should be kept for fire." And then v. 10, 13: "The day of the Lord will come, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein will be burned up. But we wait for a new heaven, and a new earth, according to his promise, wherein dwelleth righteousness." Item in the Epistle to the Hebrews Cap. 1, 10. 11. 12. from the 102nd Psalm V. 26. ff: "The heavens are the work of your hands. They shall pass away, but thou shalt remain; and they shall all pass away, as a garment, and as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed." And the prophet Isaiah cap. 30, 26.
has announced this transformation before, when he says: "And the moon's light will be like the sun's light, and the sun's light will be seven times brighter than now, when the Lord will bind up the hurt of his people, and heal their wounds." And in 65. cap. V. 17. 18.: "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth, and they shall remember the former things no more, neither shall they take them to heart: but they shall rejoice and be glad for ever.
be above that which I create." Therefore all things shall be changed: but the words of Christ shall not be changed: for they are true and faithful for ever. This is what Christ says, that he may strengthen our faith which trusts in his word, namely, that all these things shall come to pass, that we may then lift up our heads, and rejoice that the promised redemption is certainly present, when we shall be delivered from all evil of sins and punishments, amen.