by Dr. Jeffrey F. Evans

Gospel: Luke 21:5-38

I do believe Jesus IS coming back, and I believe His return is going to be a very REAL and VISIBLE return.

And though I refuse to set dates, I am called, by Jesus, to watch carefully for the signs of His approach, just as the Jews watched for the leafing of the fig tree to tell them that summer was near. Because I'm always aware (as Jesus warned) that it could happen anytime, even when we "least expect it."

In Matthew 24:42, Jesus says to all believers:

"Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will return."

And he repeats it one chapter later in The Parable of the Ten Virgins (who irresponsibly let the oil in their lamps waste away as they wait for the bridegroom to return).

"Therefore, keep watch because you do not know the day or the hour."

The Christian is always to be watchful / and alert to the possibility of Christ's imminent return, because He has promised that on one future day the heavens will be split asunder and He will return for His own!

And this passage makes it very clear that Jesus doesn't want His followers to be caught off guard when that day arrives. That's why He says to us twice in today's passage (v. 28 and 31):

"When you see these things begin to take place, stand up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

And again,

"Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near."

And even if that time is NOT this year / or this decade / or even within our lifetime / it does nothing to negate the unalterable fact that EVERYONE will, at the instant of their death (as Amos 4:12 puts it), "Meet their God" or Maker.

The believing will meet Him as their Savior and Friend and Advocate / but the unbelieving and the unrepentant will meet Him as their Judge, who being holy and righteous and just, must condemn them for their sins and sentence them to everlasting destruction (II Thess. 1:9).

My question to you is: Will you meet Him as Savior, Friend and Advocate / or the holy and righteous Judge who must condemn you for your sins?

It's an issue every living person must address, whether Christ returns in their lifetime or not. For as Hebrews tells us, "It is appointed unto man, once to die, and then comes the judgment."

So, open your Bibles and let's see what insights we can glean from Jesus concerning the "signs" that the end is near, just as that budding olive tree signaled that summer was near.

And as we do so, I'm going to divide the text up into its three relatively clear sections.

1. The period close to the end (vv. 8-11)
2. The time prior to and immediately following the Temple's destruction (12-24)
3. Followed by a return to those things that will occur just prior to the 2nd coming (25-36).

So, let's look FIRST at vv. 8-11 and consider those things that will signal we are close to the end.

#1.) In verse 8, Jesus says that many deceivers will go out "in His name" (most likely, having been Christians / or having claimed to be Christians / or claiming to have come with a message from Him) and will say "I am He," or "the time is near," when obviously, they are not Him and the time is not near!

Why would they do it? It's the age old problem of the sinful ego. The sinful ego is not content to humbly bow in worship. / It wants to be admired, adored and worshipped like God. / That's why those who are not Him would claim to be Him -- and unfortunately come "in His name," or from within the ranks of the visible church, claiming, at least initially, to be His followers.

Yung sung Moon of the Unification Church (son of a Korean minister) / Jim Jones of The People's Temple and Jonestown, Guyana / David Koresh of the Branch Davidian's in Waco Texas / Maria Devi Christos founder of the Great White Brotherhood / Sergei Torop founder of the Church of the Last Testament in Russia / and David Shayler former MI5 agent (or Secret Intelligence Service) who declared himself the Messiah on July 7, 2007.

They all claimed to be Jesus (and they won't be the last)! Why? Because it gives them a sense of being special to God / or having a unique insider relationship with God / or possessing secret knowledge no one else knows. / It gives them a sense of power and control and can make one very rich -- like Harold Camping -- whose holdings are worth an estimated 72 million dollars!

As the old saying goes (and false prophets know this well): "Tell people their fortune, and make your own." There's a lot of money to be made in predicting the future / or giving people goose bumps.

And many such people, says Jesus, will come. Which is why He warns us ahead of time: "Do not follow them!" / Don't listen to them or support them. And by all means, don't follow them or worship them.

And likewise don't say: "It could never happen to me." For as Jesus tells us in the in Matt. 24:24 such people can be extremely convincing! "False prophets and false Christ's will appear," says Jesus, "and perform great signs and miracles, so as to deceive even the elect -- if that be possible."

#2 In verse 9 Jesus says "When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened."

Why should such things not frighten us into thinking the end is near? Historian Will Durant tells us, when he writes: "War is one of the constants of history, and has not diminished with civilization or democracy. In the last 3,421 years of recorded history only 268 have seen no war." And that doesn't count battles, wars or skirmishes that are unrecorded.

"These things must happen first," says Jesus, "but the end will not come right away." When we see these things, says Jesus, it's not any type of guarantee that the end of the world is at hand -- though it IS easy to see how those caught in the middle of war -- with all its dive-bombing planes / and artillery / and incendiary bombs / and bloodshed / and horrors / and destruction going on all around them -- could be tempted to say that it is.

#3) Jesus says, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events, and great signs from heaven." And I stress what Jesus says when he adds: "In various places..."

It is incorrect to assume that in the time just preceding the end, everything, everywhere, will be black and gloomy and filled with fighting and war and earthquakes and famines -- as some books and movies suggest.

Not at all! Even as the end is about to occur, says Jesus, such things will only be present, "in VARIOUS places." While some will be undergoing horrific things and seeing fearful events, others will not.

Some parts of the globe may have the sun blotted out by huge clouds of volcanic ash / with people running airborne volcanic bombs / and molten lava / and poisonous gases / and pyroclastic material.

While others (in other parts of the globe) will have the sun shining, and people laying on the beach getting a tan, as the waves gently splash upon the shore.
It's what we saw in Luke 17, when Jesus said of the end that, "It will be as in the days of Noah -- people were eating and drinking, marrying and being married, right up until the day Noah went into the ark."

They will be "buying and selling and planting and building, just as in Sodom and Gomorrah..." / Life in some places will be just like normal / while in other places it will be unbearable.

We got a little picture of that just weeks ago with the Tornados. Some places got hammered / while other places just hours away would never have known about it were it not for the Evening News. So it will be in the end -- even hours or seconds before Christ returns.

Then we come to our SECOND section, in verses 12-24, which, as I've already stated, was prophetic for those living in Jesus day, but are long past fulfilled when it comes to us, because they refer to the destruction of Jerusalem that would take place 37 years in the future for them, but took place 1941 years ago for us, in 70 A.D.

How do we know that Jesus has moved from talking about the end, to talking of something that would happen long before the end? He tells us so in v. 12 where he begins this section: "But before all this..." It's like He says: "Now, before I go on with more about the end, let's step back in time and tell you about something that will happen in the not too distant future."

In fact, something that will happen here in Israel (whereas the things we just looked at were not limited to Israel). "They will persecute you," says Jesus, "and deliver you to synagogues and prisons."

In fact, if you read the Book of Acts, you will see this is exactly what Paul did to the early Christians in Israel, and those just outside her borders. And later, it's what others did to Paul after he was converted! Verses 12-19 couldn't be a more precise picture of what would happen to Paul and the early Christians in Acts 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 18 & 21-26.

And starting in verse 20, what Jesus gives us is a precise description of the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. In 70 A.D. the Roman armies, tired of Israel's constant uprisings, surrounded the city with its armies, and instead of attacking the city (and losing men), cut off all water and food to the city, and simply starved the population before ransacking the city.

The historian Josephus tells us that the roofs of the houses in Jerusalem were thronged with famished women with babes in their arms / and the alleys were filled with the corpses of the elderly.

Children swollen from starvation, "roamed like phantoms through the marketplaces," he says, "and collapsed wherever their doom overtook them." Some of the things are even too gruesome to mention from the pulpit. (Which is why Jesus says elsewhere that people would wish the stones fell on them and made their deaths quick.)

Yet, that's not all Josephus tells us. He also informs us that the Christian population, heeding the words of Jesus in this passage, did "flee (the city) to the mountains," (quote) "like swimmers deserting a sinking ship."

Years later Eusebius wrote essentially the same thing: "The people of the church in Jerusalem, having been commanded by an oracle given by revelation before the war, to those in the city [the oracle recorded here in Lk. 21 as well as Mt. 24] departed from the city to dwell in one of the cities of Perea which they called Pella [about 65 miles north of Jerusalem]. To it those who believed on Christ migrated" (before the siege of the city began).

Thus the words of Jesus in vv. 23-24 were fulfilled: "There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled."

It was a trampling that would continue for another 1878 years (until 1948) when we might say: "The times of the Gentiles were (at least in part) fulfilled," by the restoration of Israel to the Jews.

Section 3: (vv. 25-36)

Which brings us to our LAST section (vv. 25-36), which return us to more "signs" that the end or Christ's return is near. What will they be?

1st) In vv. 25-26 we find astronomical or cosmic signs! They will be, "Signs in the sun, the moon and the stars." Before Christ returns things will be stirred up, not just on earth, but in the heavens above. Or maybe, on the earth because of the things taking place in the heavens.

What things? Maybe things like radiation from solar flares / or the collision of asteroids with the earth / or geomagnetic disruptions / or the super-nova which occurs when a star runs out of fuel and it collapses / or a growing black hole which swallows up everything in its path.

We will know the end is near when things start to go haywire in the heavens. It's not "wars and rumors of wars," or occasional "earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places." The things that signals the end is near is disruption of things in the heavens! It's then that we'll KNOW that the end is near! When THOSE THINGS begin to happen, says Jesus, "stand up, and lift up your head, for your redemption is drawing near."

Which is surely why Jesus can say in the next verse: "On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea."

Those cosmic events (as we now know) affect the gravitational forces of the earth / thus affecting the oceans / and its tides / and the weather patterns (possibly increasing the number and severity of droughts and famines and hurricanes and monsoons) -- and possibly even triggering earthquakes and seismic activity / and the tsunamis or tidal waves that they spawn.

"Men will faint from terror," says Jesus in verse 26, "apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken." / "At that time," Jesus continues, "they (that is, those living in that day) will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with great power and glory."

Then 2nd) vv. 29-33 say, "Look at the fig tree and all the trees." "When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see THESE THINGS (this heavenly shaking that has its effects upon the earth), you can KNOW that the kingdom of God is near."

And then He follows that statement with the statement more people ask me about than almost any other statement in the Bible! He says, "I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until ALL these things have happened."

And He's so emphatic about it that He follows that statement up by adding, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."

In other words, it's absolutely unalterable truth.

So what does He mean? Because if we see it as referring to the generation of people that He was speaking to, then we would have to see Him as wrong (which is precisely what many have said to me) since we all know it didn't happen within their lifetime or generation (that is, by 75 or 80 A.D.).

The destruction of Jerusalem did happen within that time frame, just as He had said. But all the other things did not, and those other things are included in the phrase "until ALL these things have happened."

So what does He mean when He says: "This generation will not pass away before all these things have happened"? Well obviously He didn't mean "within 40 years" from when He was speaking. Because if He did, then He was wrong.

And although there are many suggestions as to what "this generation" refers to, the best explanation (in my opinion) is that it means the generation which will be alive at the time that these final signs start happening. The "generation" that is living when these things begin to occur, "will not pass away until ALL the things I speak of have taken place."

As Darrell Bock points out: "Once the beginning of the end arrives with the cosmic signs of vv. 25-26, the Son of Man will return before that generation passes away... The same group that sees the start of the end will not pass away before they see its end." I agree. That is the best way to understand it.

It's Jesus way of saying that even when these great and fearful events do actually begin, there may still be upwards of 40 years that pass by before the end comes and they actually see, "the Son of Man coming on the clouds with great power and glory."

You see, some people so overreact when they see just one of the signs spoken of here, that Jesus (I believe) is essentially saying this:

Don't run around waving your arms in the air and wildly proclaiming I'm returning just because astronomers see a comet whose orbit will take it close to the earth (as people did with Halley's Comet in 1910)!

Don't proclaim it's the end of the world just because an earthquake in California occurs in conjunction with a volcanic eruption in Japan and a tsunami in Indonesia (even if they cause great damage)!

And don't sell everything you own and dig an underground bunker stocked with food, just because some planets line up and a major solar flare interferes with the earth's telecommunications (as it did on Dec. 6, 2006)!

Jesus says, "ALL THESE THINGS MUST COME TO PASS (not just some of them), before the end will come." For even when they start to happen, the generation which begins to see them may have to wait 30 to 40 years before they see Christ return.

You see, Jesus is wisely giving us built in restraints that help us to see that we do need to look for the "signs," while never overreacting / or setting dates. We must always be aware and alert, but at the same time wait to see that EVERYTHING HE SPEAKS OF TAKES PLACE before we can KNOW and confidently proclaim, "the kingdom of God is near" (v. 31).

And even when the end does begin, the vague terms "near" or "this generation" (within the next 40 years) are the closest that Jesus (and thus all of his followers) should ever come to setting a "date"!

You see, Jesus lays it all out so wisely and perfectly! Far from being wrong, what Jesus is doing is telling us exactly what signs will accompany His return / and yet at the same time doing all He can to ward off improper / fanatical / or extremist type responses / which always do great harm to people's faith / and hurt the testimony of the church.

Fanaticism (and the undiscerning emotionalism that always accompanies it) actually make people more susceptible to the deceptive traits and alluring charisma of false prophets and false Christ's!

So I tell you: Someday everything Jesus has said will come to pass. And it will be a frightening time to live. So heed His closing words:

"Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation" (that is, the temptation to indulge in sensual pleasure because the end is coming. Dissipation being exact opposite of uprightness and godliness).

"Don't be weighed down by... drunkenness" (that is, excessive drinking to aimed at easing the pain and fear and dread associated with the cataclysmic end of the world).

Or "the anxieties of life" (the stress of simply trying to survive under very difficult conditions, when there is no food or water or social order), "lest that day close in on you unexpectedly like a trap."

Instead of falling apart (like everyone else) / and letting go of all self restraint and indulging in sin (dissipation) / or deadening the pain with drugs (drunken-ness) / or succumbing to fear and anxiety / we are in faith, and in calm confidence, to "stand up, and lift up our heads, knowing our redemption is drawing near!"

We are to "watch," says Jesus (and He means for the signs of His return), "and pray" (that is, for the strength to endure) "that we may be able to stand before the Son of Man on that day" (and He means "stand" in the sense of one who perseveres to the very end trusting confidently in Christ).

WATCH, PRAY and STAND FIRM in the faith! Those are Jesus directives. Don't succumb to fear, fanaticism, anxiety, sin, or unbelief.

That's Jesus word to us regarding the end. It's going to be rough. But regardless of when it may come, or how hard it may be, face it with faith, wisdom, prayer and quiet confidence.

by Msgr. Charles Pope

Scripture: 2 Thessalonians

Are these the last days? In some sense the planets are aligning. But hold your horses; let's speak carefully of these matters.

Last week in the Breviary we read First and Second Thessalonians, which are important source texts for such considerations. I'd like to look at a critical passage from Second Thessalonians, which lays out some important principles for us in the last days, balancing caution with teaching us about the signs that will point to His coming (though not the exact date).

I. Reserve :

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way.

We begin with the need for reserve. St. Paul is teaching that we are not to rush to judgment, concluding that the Day of the Lord is at hand. And this remains true today, some 2000 years later. He teaches that in these matters we are easily deceived.

If we do give way to rash conclusions and hold to a certainty of the Day of Judgment, we violate the most basic principle of eschatology.

But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man ... Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming ... You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect (Matt 24: 36-44).

That said, there are certain signs that the Lord gave concerning the close of the age. St. Paul speaks of some of them in Thessalonians. The catechism enumerates them as follows:

1. the going forth of the Gospel to the ends of the earth,
2. a widespread conversion of the Jews,
3. a significant trial and persecution of the Church,
4. a great and widespread rebellion or apostasy,
5. the arising of a "man of lawlessness," who will deceive the nations and lead many astray, including many Christians who will reject the faith (apostasy), and
6. a final unleashing of grave evil for a brief time.

I have written extensively about the Catechism's teaching HERE.

II. Rebellion:

For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first.

St. Paul speaks of a widespread rebellion that must first take place. This suggests that the faith has been accepted, but is now cast off. Those who rebel are those who, once having the law, cast it aside.

We are without doubt living in times of a great falling away from the faith that can be called, properly understood, a great apostasy. Again, to say that there is a falling away from faith means that, at one time, the faith was possessed but then later rejected.

In our times this is true of both individuals and cultures. Indeed, many of us lament the decline in Mass attendance and express dismay that so many who were raised as Catholics have not only left the practice of the faith but also live apart from her moral and doctrinal teachings, which have been handed on from ancient times. This is not just a statistic; it affects many in a deeply personal way. Many parents lament the departure from the faith of their children, for whom they sacrificed so that they could attend Catholic schools, and to whom they sought to hand on the faith they themselves had received.

Yes, these are difficult times, times of a great rejection of the very faith that made the culture. Many now live off the carcass of a culture built by the Christian vision of sacrifice, discipline, tolerance (properly understood), family, generosity, and accountability to God.

But is this the rebellion of which St. Paul speaks? That remains to be seen, but it is without doubt a rebellion that is wide and deep in the formerly Christian West. Arguably, the rebellion extends far beyond the Christian West, to the Far East and deep into the southern hemisphere. Surely the ease with which we communicate around the globe today has assisted in making this rebellion so widespread.

III. Revelation:

And then the lawless one will be revealed ... The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception ... And the man of lawlessness [will be] revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

And after or perhaps in the midst of this rebellion, the lawless one will be revealed. Whoever he is, he will have widespread, worldwide appeal as well as the ability to mislead many if not the vast majority.

Here, too, we see the ominous fact that the modern age has made possible such a leader who could have worldwide impact.

But this does not mean that he is here now, or that he will be here soon, only that the capacity for instant worldwide communication has made this possible. While some have wanted to identify the man of lawlessness (sometimes called the antichrist) as Hitler, or the President of the United Nations, or certain United States presidents, none of these figures seem to qualify. None of them have led the whole world astray; their impact has been limited chronologically and geographically. For example, Hitler did lead many astray and conquered large parts of Europe, but entire nations together rose up against him. They were not deceived by Hitler, who is now in a stone-cold tomb.

So it would seem that the lawless one has yet to appear.

Yet it must also be said that with the rise of secularism, atheism, and strident anti-theism, the stage is increasingly being set for someone who can easily oppose himself (as St. Paul says) to every aspect of God and worship of God and who will be able to exalt himself in the place of God. Perhaps he will be a great scientist who claims to be able to create life and to explain every aspect of what we ascribe to God.

In so doing, he will deceive many. Science can say what and how, but it cannot say why. And no matter how advanced science or industry gets, it can never make something from nothing. But many are easily deceived by those who use existing matter and claim they have "created."

Whatever the deception that comes, there’s clearly a lot of groundwork that is been laid for such a man of lawlessness: instant worldwide communication, rampant secularism and atheism, and arrogant anthropocentrism.

IV. Remember:

Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?

Paul simply asks us to remember, to allow these teachings to be present to our mind and heart so that when these things unfold we will not be deceived. Jesus also instructed the disciples as to what was to come so that when these things did come they would not be led astray: These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling (Jn 16:1).

V. Restraint :

And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.

Here St. Paul teaches us that something is currently restraining the lawless one from appearing. If he could, Satan would push the matter right now, but something is restraining him. What is it? Certainly it is God. But the means by which God accomplishes this is most likely the Church. Through grace, the power of the Sacraments, the proclaimed Word, and the liturgy, Satan’s power is restrained in certain ways.

But at some point known only to God, even this restraining power will no longer be enough and the lawless one's time will come; he will appear.

Does this mean that the Church will grow weak? Perhaps, but not in any absolute sense, for the Lord has said, I am with you all days, unto the end of the age (Mat 28:20). But arguably, if a large number of Catholics fall away from the faith, there will be fewer prayers being said, fewer graces bestowed, and less light in a dark world. Jesus did ask, poignantly, When the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth? (Lk 18:8) But even if we do shrink in numbers, the Church is indefectible; she will be here to the end.

So the best explanation seems to be that there will come a time when the Lord will no longer restrain the evil one from making his final attack.

Why God allows this is even more mysterious; it is somehow tied up in our freedom and in a certain Job-like purification that God permits for the Church. And this leads to St. Paul’s stated reason for the coming of the lawless one.

VI. Reason:

[This lawless one will come] for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

The text speaks of God as sending a strong delusion on many so that they may believe what is false. We must be careful in interpreting these sorts of descriptions. They certainly refer to the primary causality that God has in everything that happens. Being the sustainer of all things, God is always the first cause of everything that takes place.

However, a text like this should not be seen to mean that God forces people to believe error. Rather, He is allowing to become plainly visible what was already the case in the will and the mind of those who are rebellious. Prior to the strong delusion that God permits, they had already (as St. Paul says) taken pleasure in unrighteousness and did not believe the truth. These are descriptions of the human will; God permitting the strong delusion simply makes plain but was already operative.

VII. Result:

The Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.

So in the end God wins. God always wins; the truth always conquers. Many today are easily bewildered by the apparent triumph of evil in our world, but it is only temporary; it is but a watch in the night that the dawn will scatter. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (Jn 1:5). One of the Psalms says, I have seen my enemy towering and triumphant; I passed by again and he was gone, I looked for him but he could not be found (Ps 37:36). Yet another Psalm says, Weeping may endure for a night, but joy will come with the morning light (Ps 30:5).

Do not be dismayed, fellow Christians, at the current darkness. Whether this is the final end, or merely another ripple in the storm-tossed sea of history is yet to be known. But this much is clear: the darkness cannot endure; dawn inevitably comes. The cross always wins; Satan always loses. Satan will have his moments, but God has have His day. Satan may be the prince of this world, but Jesus is the Lord of history and all creation. The victory is already His. It's just that the news has not yet leaked out to his persistent enemies, who are playing for the losing team.

This text is clear: whatever the apparent glamour of evil, Jesus, by His glorious appearance, will bring Satan and all of his works to nothing.

by Dr. Scott Hahn

Scripture:

Daniel 12:1-3
Psalm 16:5,8-11
Hebrews 10:11-14,18
Mark 13:24-32

Jesus has finally made it to Jerusalem.

Near to His passion and death, He gives us a teaching of hope--telling us how it will be when He returns again in glory.

Today's Gospel is taken from the end of a long discourse in which He describes tribulations the likes of which haven't been seen "since the beginning of God's creation" (see Mark 13:9). He describes what amounts to a dissolution of God's creation, a "devolution" of the world to its original state of formlessness and void.

First, human community--nations and kingdoms--will break down (see Mark 13:7-8). Then the earth will stop yielding food and begin to shake apart (13:8). Next, the family will be torn apart from within and the last faithful individuals will be persecuted (13:9-13). Finally, the Temple will be desecrated, the earth emptied of God's presence (13:14).

In today's reading, God is described putting out the lights that He established in the sky in the very beginning--the sun, the moon and the stars (see also Isaiah 13:10; 34:4). Into this "uncreated" darkness, the Son of Man, in Whom all things were made, will come.

Jesus has already told us that the Son of Man must be humiliated and killed (see Mark 8:31). Here He describes His ultimate victory, using royal-divine images drawn from the Old Testament--clouds, glory, and angels (see Daniel 7:13). He shows Himself to be the fulfillment of all God's promises to save "the elect," the faithful remnant (see Isaiah 43:6; Jeremiah 32:37).

As today's First Reading tells us, this salvation will include will include the bodily resurrection of those who sleep in the dust.