To Deceive, if possible, the elect

Introduction

Mark 13:19–23 ESV

For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be. And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days. And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.

Psalm 19:14 BCP1928:P

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be alway acceptable in thy sight, * O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

Background

We are just two short weeks away from the start of the next Church year

The Lectionary is shifting to themes related to Advent

Revelation and end times

Christian waiting and perseverance

The “Four Last Things”

Death

Judgment

Hell

Heaven

It is providential that we get the lessons about the reality of the coming Kingdom quick on the heels of our national elections every two years

Because the coming Kingdom is by nature opposed to the kingdoms of the world, issues of politics inevitably come up

While Fr. Ben and I have restrained ourselves on “political” preaching, when the lectionary calls for it we cannot be silent

Especially in this sermon, I ask for your prayers, patient love, and forbearance when I speak on the state of our political and cultural moment as it relates to this text

The Great Tribulation

The Gospel reading for today is about the trials and temptations of the elect people of God, told against the backdrop of Jesus prophesying the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple

Jesus instructs the disciples to flee Jerusalem and Judea and head to the mountains when they see the “abomination of desolation” standing where it ought not be

This is a reference to the prophet Daniel, who we just heard

ESV says “he” in reference to the abomination, but most English translations use the neutral pronoun “it”

The word abomination likely refers to an idol or some other other unholy representation such as a foreign flag or standard

Where it “ought not stand” is almost certainly within the Temple courts, probably even within the Holy of Holies

Jesus gives warnings and instructions about things that could delay someone’s flight

People who are already outside their houses should not return, either from the roof or from the field, and leave straight away for the mountains

Women who are pregnant and those who are nursing will be especially vulnerable

If the calamity happens in the winter months, the weather will only add to the hardship

Jesus then warns that the affliction or tribulation will be so severe that it will be like has never been before since the creation of the world

We should understand this to be a prophecy that has in view both the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the Great Tribulation spoken of in Revelation 7:14

Revelation 7:14 ESV

I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

The Tribulation will be so bad that if God doesn’t stop it, then no one would survive

Because of God’s love for the elect whom he has chosen, God does stop the Tribulation so that the elect will be saved

Who are the elect?

Rightly understood, the elect are those chosen entirely by God’s grace to be his people

St. Peter says that the elect are “set apart by the Spirit for obedience and for sprinkling with Jesus Christ’s blood” (1 Pe 1:2)

Israel was chosen as a people to be set apart for God, and yet we know from Scripture that not everyone who was born to Jacob’s family were faithful to the covenant

sustained and unrepentant faithlessness carried the penalty of being cut off from the people - i.e., no longer counted among the elect

the remnant of Israel remain in the elect through their faith in Jesus as Israel’s Messiah

The elect, therefore, are those who:

have put on Christ in baptism,

received the Holy Spirit,

and live a faithful life obedient to Jesus Christ

The shocking thing is that this is all Good News

The Tribulation is a scary prospect, no doubt — it is right that our flesh should feel fear over it

The spirits of the elect are lifted, however: it is for the sake of the elect that God shortens the Tribulation

We see in Revelation that the other side of the Tribulation is the rejoicing of the saints and the cleansing of the elect in the blood of the lamb

False Christs and False Prophets

Jesus then warns of false messiahs and false prophets

The Greek is actually pseudochristos and pseudoprophetes, which when I first read it renewed the sense of revulsion I had at the prospect of pretenders to Christ’s glory

These aren’t just people dressing up like Jesus or making wild pronouncements — they are doing things that make them credible to be seen as prophets and messiahs

They work signs and wonders and are so convincing that even the elect would be deceived — if such a thing were possible

It is important to know that the Church has read v22, where it says “to lead astray, if possible, the elect” as meaning that it is not possible for the elect to be led astray

it is a hyperbolic statement that shows the depth of the deception: only those who enjoy election are appropriately equipped and shielded from being drawn into the deception

Our reading ends with Jesus’ command to “be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.”

This is part of the inoculation that the elect enjoy — we have the very instruction of Jesus that tells us to discount any whispers of Christ’s second coming

Anyone who posits that an earthly ruler may be the Anointed One of God is clearly a false prophet

Likewise anyone who promises to provide a shortcut out of fleeting and momentary trouble is acting in the spirit of false messiahship

From the Law, we also know that signs and wonders mean nothing if they aren’t accompanied by godly instruction

Moses says in Deuteronomy 13:1-5 that a prophet whose dreams and visions come true but who seeks to lead the people away from God is a test of faithfulness for the people and the right response is to obey God only

Application

For us today, what does this mean?

Our lives are, all told, pretty good

Sure, there are threats and worries about calamity and affliction, but for the most part what do we have to worry about?

Besides, didn’t “our guy” just win the election? Isn’t this country headed back from the brink of liberalism, apostasy, and degradation?

This, friends, is where Scripture speaks into our lives less than two weeks after the election of Donald Trump to the highest public office in the United States of America.

First off, recent memory tells us that life can change in an instant

COVID lockdowns

Political turmoil after the 2020 election

War in Ukraine — culturally not terribly different from us

War in Gaza — Palestinian Christians caught up in fighting

We have members in our parish who have fled civil unrest, persecution, and turmoil and know firsthand how quickly security and normalcy can turn to tribulation and calamity

Our station on earth is a gift from God and is guaranteed only by his provision

no small thing, but if it is his purpose that our fortunes on earth should fall, that is his provision as well

Politics in our country has devolved into the two parties trading promises over how they will secure those fortunes against temporal decline and failure

In short, both parties put their candidates forward as political messiahs, chosen champions who are sure to deliver the nation from various threats to prosperity

There is a temptation to leave it at being an issue on both-sides — and it is true that neither party is wholly innocent of this

The unfortunate reality is that Donald Trump has played exceptionally well into the fears and consternation of people simply seeking their place in the world, including Christians in a so-called post-Christian world

He has held himself up as a savior of the people, and gone so far as to tell Christians that only he can fix the country for us, granting us security if only we will be loyal to him with our votes

Worse, over the years, Christians have played into this by making a spectacle of public utterances of prophecy or by tightly weaving symbols of Christian culture into Trump’s particular political brand without the soul-changing substance of the One the symbols should reveal

Christian leaders who have tied themselves so tightly to Mr. Trump as to declare that he has “the anointing” on him have engaged in false prophecy, and by doing so work to lead those trusting in their leadership astray

I want to be perfectly clear — and please hear what I am saying, not what the adversary dearly wants you to hear me say: I do not condemn anyone for voting how they voted, nor for liking whoever they voted for, as a person or as a candidate.

My concern and warning is for the way Mr. Trump uses and abuses Christian messaging, and leans into the way false prophets characterize him so he can secure what he views as a ready and reliable block of votes

Even though he hasn’t performed signs and wonders, he has displayed a heart very like a false Christ

[Optional - read the room] Just in case anyone needs it said, I don’t think Ms. Harris is saintly or free from her own brand of false messiah-ship, it’s just that most of our brothers and sisters are less likely to fall into the trap of seeing her as their savior

Instead of lashing ourselves to a political ideology that promises to save us from whatever terror it provokes us with, Christ calls us to be steadfast in our trust in him

How do we do this?

First, we turn to God in prayer, putting our cares and trust in his hands, asking for his peace and Spirit to persevere in a world that is utterly opposed to his Church

Importantly in this time — we maintain friendships and relationships across political and ideological divides, trusting that Jesus is bigger than divisions

We trust in Christ as the peacemaker who can cast down the “dividing wall of hostility” between factions

We wait for the true deliverance that the elect are assured of regardless of whether we are politically in favor or if the whole nation turns against us

Advent is a time of preparation, similar to Lent

In Advent we prepare for the second coming of Christ in power and great glory, even as we remember his first coming in humility and obscurity

As we approach Advent this year, I think it is safe to say that many of us are troubled by the state of the world, the nation, or just generally the human condition

If you do not already, I encourage you to pray regularly for the peace of the world, for the Nation and all civic leaders, and for the Unrepentant and those who do not believe

The Great Litany is a fantastic all-in-one devotional that covers these topics and more

There are also specific Collects for each of these subjects in the prayer book

If I have said anything that you would like to talk about further after the service, please feel free to catch me at hospitality hour

Especially if anything I have said has caused distress — if it is undue I want the chance to make amends, and if it is warranted I want to help you as your deacon, friend, and fellow sojourner on this Christian walk

May we heed Our Lord’s command to be on guard, and wait faithfully for his coming again on the last great day. Amen.