In true Gen X fashion, my older brother and I were left alone for many hours of the day as young, feral children. We could have as many adventures as we wanted as long as we were home when the streetlights came on. Now, my brother and I were not big comic book fans, oh, we read them from time to time, but what we really loved getting a hold of was Mad Magazine. Do you remember that publication? I looked it up the other day, and it is still in print. You cannot find it on the shelves at 7-Eleven like we used to, but you can get it through subscription. For the uninitiated, Mad Magazine is a satirical comic book, regularly poking fun at everything from politics to pop culture. But one of the things I loved was the little comics, unattached to the main story, that would appear in the margins of the publication. And a common theme back in the day was the guy wearing a sandwich board sign that read, “The End is Near.” And usually, what followed was not the end of the world, but a twist on what “the end” actually means.

I loved those little comics. In fact, we all have some fascination with the end. Is the end really near? What will it be like? How will we endure if it actually unfolds before us? Movies are full of these themes. The end may be some cataclysmic event, whether an asteroid from space or irreversible environmental destruction. Or the end may come through a disastrous viral outbreak or a zombie takeover. We watch not just to see the cool special effects but to witness how some unusual group of people will come together to navigate the disaster. One of my favorite books is “The Road,” by Cormac McCarthy. It is a stark and brutal story of a man and his son navigating the end of all we know. It is a stirring and shocking fiction.

But sometimes the contemplation of the end does not come from Hollywood or great literature, or even comic books. No, sometimes it comes from simply watching the news. We see more than any generation before us, the brutalities of war, starvation, and destruction on our planet. Or, perhaps, it might be better to say it used to be viewed only by the unfortunate eyewitnesses to the events, but now it is broadcast worldwide right to the phones in our pockets. Or it could be even more personal than that. It might be when death and tragedy come to those we know and love. And in our pain and struggle, we think, surely the end must be near. We wonder what to do. What is the proper response?

Our text today from Luke 21 finds our Lord in the Temple, where He has been teaching and preaching the Gospel. His disciples are hanging on His words, as He unfolds to them the truth of who He is and what He has come to do. And in a moment between lessons, He hears conversation about the beauty of the great house of God. If you have ever been to a grand cathedral, you can get a sense of their awe at the handiwork of man in honor of God. But here, Jesus is like the character with “The end is near” sign. He says, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

That is a bit of a downer, right? Take a good, long look for it is all coming down. And Christ’s disciples respond with two questions. The first is, when will these things be? And the second is, what will be the sign when these things are about to take place? Now, the rest of our text today is our Lord dealing with the second question, the question regarding the signs that the end is coming. There are many signs He speaks of: False teachers, terrors, wars, persecution, and betrayal.

He says, in part, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences.” Have you ever heard of such things? Can you imagine them taking place? Of course you can, for they are the very things we see happening around the world today, from the war in Ukraine to the devastation of Gaza, to the earthquake in Myanmar. We witness the destruction. We know the devastation of our world. These are not things to fear in the future, but a present reality. The signs of the end are evident and can be seen all around us.

He goes on to say, “They will lay their hands on you and persecute you… You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for My name’s sake.” Persecution of the people of God is a sign of the end. And we think, well, at least this is not happening yet. That is, until we turn on the news and learn how over the last 15 years in Nigeria, 50,000 Christians have been killed, 13,000 churches burned to the ground, and over 1,500 schools have been destroyed. And we are reminded that this is not a future fear but a present reality. It may not be happening on our streets, but it is happening in our day.

Of course, as our Lord is giving these signs, they are pointing to the destruction of Jerusalem, which fell in 70 AD, the literal tearing down of the Temple’s stones. But these things remain for us a constant reminder that the end is, in fact, near, and we are, indeed, living in the last days, living like those who eagerly await our Lord’s return. Yet, for His disciples then and for you today, He includes words of promise and hope throughout. Though the end is coming, you do not need to fear. He speaks of persecution as an opportunity to bear witness. Even in death, He promises that not a hair of their head will perish, but, rather, through endurance they will gain life. To endure is to remain in Christ, to remain a child of God, to remain as the baptized, and to remain in Him is not to die but to live. Even the grave itself cannot forever claim the children of God.

So, Jesus says, “When these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” In the face of all you see, in light of all the trouble you experience, you are given a strange confidence in Christ. It is a call to straighten up and raise your head, for this is the coming of eternal redemption. There is no need to tremble in fear, for you are the saints of God, heirs of eternal life.