25TH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY

Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. Amen.

Dear friends in Christ Jesus.

No danger seems to pose a greater threat to the Christian Church than a bloody persecution; and it seems as though God never tempts his Church more severely than when he condemns her to suffer persecution and permits her foes to cool their burning hatred against Christians through the most savage cruelty. Therefore, the most dangerous times full of the greatest temptations seem to have been the first three centuries of the Christian era.

In the first three centuries Christians had to endure ten protracted perse-

cutions, cruel beyond description, under the heathen Caesars of Rome. The Christians not only reprimanded heathen and Jews by their words and works but also renounced the heathen as well as the Jewish religion; they had neither temple nor altars and had earnestly withdrawn from all popular worldly amusements; that is why the godless Jews and heathen hated and considered them not only foes of the state religion but also foes of men and atheists. Every disaster and plague which struck land and people was attributed to Christians; it was called a punishment of the gods who were avenging the decrease of reverence to them caused by the Christians. About the year 200 A.D. the Church Father Tertullian writes: "When the Tiber River flooded the streets of Rome, when the Nile did not overflow and water the fields, when the clouds did not give rain, when earthquakes, famine, or pestilence broke out, the people immediately cried, 'Come, throw the Christians to the lions!'"

Frightful were the pains which during this time thousands of Christians had to suffer. They were beheaded and burned; they were crucified and scourged to death; millstones were tied about their necks and they were then thrown into the sea, yes, they were slowly submerged into boiling pitch; they were thrown to ravening beasts or were sewn into the skin of a wild animal and then dogs were set upon them to tear them to pieces; all their members were dislocated and then they were killed with clubs; their flesh was cut from their bones and hot lead was poured into their gaping wounds; they were roasted upon white-hot stools; they were tied up in chains and either let die of hunger and thirst or a small fire was kindled under them and they were slowly consumed by fire; they were tied to a stake, covered with wax and pitch, and burned as lamps in the royal gardens. Their eyes were put out, an arm, a leg, or other member of their body was cut off, or they were mangled in other horrible ways and then they had to work the rest of their lives in the mines.

For 300 years Christendom bled and languished with but few interruptions under these and similar tortures greater than those which hell itself could have found. Yet what were the results of this bloody persecution? Far be it that the Church should have been convulsed or destroyed by them; it was the more firmly grounded and the more greatly extended. The church historian Eusebius writes: "At last the swords themselves became dull and broke as though worn out; the hangmen became tired and had to relieve one another; the Christians, however, joined in singing songs of praise and thanks to the honor of God almighty until their last breath." The number of those, who because of fear of torment denied Christ, was small in comparison with the number of those who remained firm. Yes, the more the heathen raged, the more joyful and courageous the Christians became; the weak became strong and even children became heroes, who mocked at the pangs of death. "I am a Christian," exclaimed Sabina, a young girl, "I am a Christian and we do no wrong," although the blood already flowed in torrents from a tender body, torn by sharp iron instruments, and finally wrapped up in a net and gored by the horns of a wild steer. With every new persecution the divine power of the Gospel, which Christians bore in their hearts, only revealed itself the more. The heathen had to perceive that the Christian's Christ gave a peace of heart which the world could neither give, nor take away, and a hope, which did not wither even in the hottest flames of the funeral pyre, but which, as though watered with the dew of heaven, became only the fresher. The blood of the sainted martyrs showed that it was a fruitful seed, from which more and more Christians constantly grew. Often, when even the roughest tormentors of Christians saw their joyfulness amid their torments, they themselves finally collapsed with a broken heart, confessing that they were convinced by the truth of the Gospel, and declared themselves ready also to die as Christians.

You see from this, my friends, that although the horrible persecutions, which Christians once had to endure, seemed to have been the severest of all temptations, they actually are not; they were rather the vineknife, with which the heavenly Gardener pruned the vine of his Church, so that it brought forth even richer and sweet fruits. The severest temptations which can come upon Christians are really the temptations of false doctrine; and these are the temptations, which above all God's Word predicts will come upon Christendom in the last evil times in which we are now living. Our today's Gospel contains such a warning, accompanied with an urgent warning for the Christians of the last times. To this let us now direct our devotion.

The text. Matthew 24:15-28.

On the basis of this prophetic Gospel text let me present to you:

CHRIST'S WARNING AGAINST THE VOICE OF TEMPTATION RISING

IN THE LAST TIMES, "BEHOLD HERE IS CHRIST, THERE IS CHRIST."

Let us:

I. Seek to Learn to Know the Import of This Voice of Temptation Better, but then also

II. Listen the More Attentively to the Voice of Warning which we at the Same Time Hear from Christ.

Lord Jesus! faithfully do you warn us against the dangers of the age in which we live. Oh grant that we do not hear with our ears and yet do not understand; open our closed heart. Let us not sink into the corruption of this age which submerges your Christendom like a wave of the sea; let us not become entangled in the errors and falsifications of your Word, which are spread out over the earth like a net. Though generally most have turned back, let us, oh Lord, follow you in love; your Word, O Jesus, is life and spirit; Lord what is it which one does not enjoy in you? Hear us, O Jesus! Amen.

My friends, our text is divided into two parts. In the first the Lord foretells how things will go for the Jews after they have rejected the promised Messiah and the Gospel preached to them; in the second part the Lord foretells how things will go for the Christians in the last times, because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved.

What concerns the Jews, thus says the Lord, when they see the abomination of desolation which is spoken of by the Prophet Daniel standing in the holy place, then it is time to flee Judaea in haste, for he says, "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no nor ever shall be." V. 21. The fulfilment of this prophecy began in the year 66 A.D., 36 years later; the Roman army under Gessius Florus, Roman governor at that time, appeared for the first time before the gates of the holy city. At this time, the Christians quickly fled from Palestine and sought refuge in Pella, a little city lying on the other side of the Jordan. Scarcely were the Christians safe when, as the Lord predicted in our text, tribulation without parallel in world history broke upon the Jews. A four-year war arose throughout the whole land, which ended when Jerusalem with its glorious temple was turned into a heap of rubbish, yes, leveled to the ground; more than one million Jews were killed, some by the avenging sword of the Romans, some by hunger, some by pestilence, some by suicide; the Jewish state was wrecked and the remnant of the Jews were

scattered over the world; they are without sacrifice, without temple, without homeland until this very day. To describe in its frightfulness the depths of woe during the last days is beyond the ability of human tongue and pen. With bloody letters God himself wrote over the ashes of Jerusalem and all the roads of Judaea for all nations of the earth: Be not deceived; God is not mocked; whoever rejects God's Word him God will in turn reject; and whoever will not hear God's gracious voice in the Gospel, his voice, his cry of misery God will also not hear in the day of distress.

So much for the first portion of our text. In the second part, in which the Lord foretells the last times, he does not speak of great tribulation of the body but something much more terrible. He says: "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved; but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." V. 22. In the last days before the destruction of the world the danger will not be so much the loss of life as in the times before the destruction of Jerusalem, but something much greater, the loss of the salvation of our souls.

According to Christ's prediction, what one thing will cause the great danger of being lost in the last times? Christ indicates that when he continues: "Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not." V. 23. "Here is Christ, there is Christ." This is the dangerous voice of seduction which according to Christ's prediction will be raised on all sides in Christendom in the last times.

What, my dear hearers, is the import of these words? There are enthusiasts who explain these words as applying to the preaching of orthodox teachers. Orthodox teachers preach the Christ can be found only where God's Word is used and where the holy sacraments, baptism and the Lord's Supper, are administered and used according to Christ's institution; they say to the world: You, who want to find Christ, must come here; here is the only true font of truth,grace and salvation; here and nowhere else is God's house and the gate of heaven. When the enthusiasts hear this they exclaim: See, that is the voice of seduction, for these preachers are continually crying, "Here is Christ, there is Christ," "Here is the temple of the Lord, here is the temple of the Lord."

Yet, my friends, though many weak Christians let themselves be convinced that this exposition of those words and the accusation against orthodox preachers is absolutely correct, a quick glance in the Holy Scriptures shows how falsely they expound those words about a seducer and how completely groundless and wrong the accusation is. After the giving of the Ten Commandments God says through Moses, "In all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee." Ex 20:24. God's name is recorded where his Word is preached and his sacraments are administered.

Moreover, Christ gives his disciples the promise, "Lo, I am with you alway even unto the end of the world!" Mt 28:20. But who are they whom Christ calls his own? He himself says in Lk 8:21, "My mother and my brethren are these which hear the Word of God and do it."

Moreover after Christ had given the congregation the promise that their loosing and binding, their prayers and intercession will avail in heaven, he says, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Mt 18:20. Those are assembled in Christ's name who have gathered at his command and together use his Word, unlock heaven by means of holy baptism, and publicly preach his death at the table of his holy supper.

Christ moreover says, "If any man love me he will keep my words; and my Father will love him and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." Jn 14:23. And Peter, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until

the day dawn, and the day star," namely Christ, "arise in your hearts." 2 Pet 1:19. And especially of the sacraments St. Paul says, "As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ," Gal 3:27; and in another passage, "The cup of .blessing, which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break is it not the communion of the body of Christ?" 1 Cor 10:16. Especially clear is St. Paul's word, "Say not in thine heart, who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it," (namely, the righteousness of faith)? The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart." Rom 10:6b-8a.

Decide for yourselves. According to the clear utterances of Christ, the prophets, and apostles, is not Christ really and truly present in grace where his Word is preached in its purity and the sacraments administered according to his institution? What do they do who call it the voice of seduction when the preacher of the orthodox church says, Here where the Word is, there where the sacraments are is Christ, his Church, his grace, his salvation? Anyone who calls this the voice of seduction makes Christ himself and his apostles and prophets seducers and blasphemes the true Word of God as error and lies.

But my friends, Christ means the very opposite when he warns the Christians of the last times against those who say, "Here is Christ." He means those false prophets who falsify God's Word and preach the thoughts of their own heart and reason; who say: Christ is not to be found in God's Word but here in this or in that work; not in baptism and the holy supper is Christ to be found but "there" in this or that arrangement, and the like, which we have made; it does not depend upon the pure doctrine and the unadulterated sacraments if we want to find grace but upon our strivings, upon our experience, upon our improvement and sanctification, and the like.

That this is the correct exposition follows beyond all doubt because Christ immediately adds, "For there shall arise FALSE Christs, and FALSE PROPHETS, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall DECEIVE the very elect." V. 24. That shows us wherever they indeed preach Christ but preach him "falsely." preach error, do not remain with God's Word but falsify it, swerve from God's Word and lead away from God's Word; wherever they do not. preach: If you want to find Christ, do not seek him in this or in that thing, nor in your heart, nor over you in heaven, nor outside of you in your works, but seek him in his Word and holy sacraments; wherever, I say, they do not preach that but tell you to seek Christ somewhere else: there, yes indeed, there you hear the voice of seduction in the last times: "Lo, here is Christ. there is Christ."

Christ gives us even more, information; he continues, "Wherefore if they shall say unto you. Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth; behold, he is in the secret chambers, believe it not." V. 26. First of all, who are they who say Christ is "in the desert"? The answer to this question is quite apparent. The history of the papacy from the beginning until this very hour shows us that this voice of seduction has raised itself chiefly in. the papacy and the Roman Church. For whither are they in the papacy directed who wish to be absolutely certain of their salvation. In the desert. They say: Sell and give away what you have and become poor, renounce your marriage, forsake the world, and enter a monastery, become a monk, become a nun, become an anchorite, and then keep your vows; this is the way upon which salvation positively cannot escape you; that is the means through which, you will certainly find Christ.

Who are those, who say, Christ is "in the secret chambers"? That also is not difficult to answer. They are all those enthusiasts who reject public worship, fellowship with an organized congregation, the holy ministry and the public

preaching of God's Word, and the public administration of the sacrament in the churches and say, If you want to find Christ, do not seek him in such outward things; stay in the stillness of your "secret chamber;" descend into the depths of your mind and plunge into holy meditations; there, there you will find the true church; there you will hear the true preacher; there will you find the Spirit; there you will find Christ, his grace, and the kingdom of heaven.

Note well, my dear friends, that I once more repeat what I have said: when Christ warns us against the voice which says, "Lo, here is Christ, there is Christ; he is in the desert; he is in the secret chambers." he does not warn against those who say, that Christ is in all places where his Word and sacraments are, for he certainly is there as certainly as he is the omnipresent Son of God and as certainly as his Word and promise is the truth; but Christ warns us above all against those who point away from his Word and sacrament and tell us to seek him, Christ, in something else, who instead of binding Christ to his means of grace to which he has bound himself, unite him with something else in heaven or on earth, wherever it may be.

II.

Now that we have learned to know the significance of the voice of seduction which raises itself in the last times, let us also in the second place listen with even greater attention to the voice of warning which we hear from Christ himself.

In the main there are three warnings which Christ gives us in our today's Gospel. We find the first warning when he tells us that unless this time of seduction to error by the false prophets were shortened, no person would be saved. Of a truth, there cannot be a more earnest warning against false doctrine that this one! Oh, that we might all take it truly to heart! For what is the usual conception about false doctrine today? If it at all a high one, gross unbelief is considered ruinous; in any event,no one will object if one zealously opposes the known enemies and blasphemers of Christ and his Gospel; but in the main, false doctrine is not considered today so very dangerous; as a rule, fault is found with those preachers who oppose such doctrines which preach Christ even though they do not teach it in its purity. What does Christ do in our text? Does he warn us against manifest unbelievers, against the blasphemers of his Word, and against the declared enemies of his cross? No, for such wolves without sheep's clothing are not dangerous to true Christians. Christ rather warns against such who also preach him, but preach him falsely; who do not directly reject his Word but merely falsify it; who do not slander the truth but merely mix their error along with the truth; and of such he says that, if God would wait a long time, not one could finally be saved. Who is to be right, Christ who calls false doctrine so dangerous, or our heart which view it as innocent and trivial? Ah, away, away with our deceitful heart; let Christ be right! Let us, therefore, perceive from his warning that war, famine, pestilence, and every evil in the world are insignificant in comparison with false doctrine; for those things merely cause us to lose temporal property, but false doctrine eternal; yes, false doctrine is itself more frightful than a sinful life; for although sin damns a person, if the true doctrine is preached to one, it can turn him from his sins, and he can be brought to grace and salvation; but where false doctrine is in full swing and bewitches and poisons the heart no help is possible, even though outwardly one may live ever so piously.

Christ, however, gives us a second warning in our text, when he says, that the false prophets will do such great signs and wonders that (if it were possi-

ble) they would deceive even the elect. Christ wants to warn us against letting ourselves be blinded by, the fine appearance by which false doctrine will be surrounded in the last times. Many suppose that one must flee only from those in whom one immediately perceives that they are the foes of Jesus Christ; on the other hand, if a preacher praises Christ and walks piously in the eyes of all, it would be a sacrilege to flee and avoid him as a false prophet. But Christ tells us something entirely different in our text. Whoever lets much talk about Christ deceive him will soon be deceived in respect to his salvation; for not every Christ but only the true Christ as the Bible pictures him can save us; and whoever lets himself be immediately deceived by the appearance of piety will soon be misled into soul-destroying error; for even though true believers do not live in any controlling sin but are sincerely pious, yet the piety of their sincere heart is often hidden under many weaknesses, whereas on the other hand, not seldom does roguery enter under the guise of great spirituality and perfect sanctification; yes, whereas the truth lies like an unappreciated treasure in the dust as Christ says, error is often confirmed by great shining works and signs and wonders. Therefore, whoever does not want to be deceived, let him hold in everything to the touchstone of the infallible Word of God; in that way and only in that way will he remain upon the correct way even though Satan acts like an angel of light.

There is one more thing which Christ says in our text to the Christian of the last times. We read at the close, "Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert, go not forth; behold, he is in the secret chambers, believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together." Vv.25-28. With these words Christ warns his Christians against being inquisitive. "Go not forth; believe it not," he says; he wants to say, Alas, the treasure is soon lost; this is not a joking matter; no one dare think: It won't do me any harm if I believe something false for a time; I can always be converted. No, says Christ, bear in mind that I will come some day again like lightning; you dare not feel safe for one hour. That means you must watch and be ready at any second to go to meet Christ with the burning lamps of faith. Woe to him who Christ surprises in the hour in which he has forsaken his pure Word and hurried after a false Christ! Even though he had sweat blood for his false Christ, such an unfaithful Christian will be lost with his self-made false Christ. But happy are all those who remain in a living faith in Christ's pure Gospel and unadulterated sacraments; in these things they have the true Christ. When Christ returns visibly, they will also see him with joy, go to meet him with rejoicing, and be gathered together with all the elect around him in the new heaven and upon the new earth in which dwells righteousness. For "wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together." Amen.

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SOLI DEO GLORIA

Completed this 22nd day of November in the year of our Lord 1964.