Salvation Is Within Reach

𝐍𝐎𝐕. 𝟐𝟕, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝐃𝐚𝐧 𝟔:𝟏𝟐-𝟐𝟖

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟑: 𝟔𝟖-𝟕𝟒 “𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐦.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐋𝐊 𝟐𝟏:𝟐𝟎-𝟐𝟖

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆:  “… 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓.” (𝑳𝒌 21:28) 

        When we talk of the holocaust the first thing that’ll come to mind is the methodical yet senseless death of millions of Jews who were slaughtered during World War II. But this wasn’t the first recorded holocaust because the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus who lived between 37 A.D. to around 100 A.D. who witnessed the growth of Christianity had also written about the 1,100,000 people who perished when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and 97,000 more were taken into captivity.

       It would be interesting to know that as Christianity was beginning to take root in Jerusalem around 66 A.D. and many were being added to its ranks Josephus wrote that “𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘑𝘦𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢.”

       As a result of the teachings of Jesus and the revelation they received, the Christian community left the city and was preserved.

       But those who rejected the teachings of Jesus, who ignored the prophecy of Jesus and who remained in the city what they experienced was described in the annals of history as horrific. “𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏. 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔! 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. 𝑱𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒎 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅.” (𝑳𝒌 21:22-24) 

     This prediction shocked His disciples and the people listening to Him not that they know nothing of the prophesied destruction of Jerusalem as this has already been foretold many years before the time of Jesus, but what they found revolting was how the Holy City will be destroyed by the enemies of Israel.

       The way Jesus described the destruction of Jerusalem (𝐯𝐯. 𝟐𝟑-𝟐𝟒) must have sent chills down the spine of the Jews who were listening to him even if he warned there will be those in Judea and in the city who will survive if they flee to the mountains (𝐋𝐤:𝟐𝟏).

       It was also said that the destruction of Jerusalem was brought about by the indifference of the Jews who rejected the “visitation” of the Lord and their refusal to heed God’s offer of Grace and salvation (𝐋𝐤 𝟏𝟗:𝟒𝟒).        

       While there has been no attempt to establish a connection between God’s judgment on Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and the Holocaust which happened more than 1,900 years after Jerusalem was destroyed, the similarity is so striking that it leads us to think that this will be the consequence if we remain indifferent to the gift of salvation being offered by God through Christ.

       The infamous extermination of the Jews which Adolf Hitler termed as the “Final Solution” but which is now known as the Holocaust resulted in the death of 6,000,000 Jews. This figure represents about two-thirds of the Jews in Europe and 1/3 of the Jews around the world at the time. Of this figure, 1,500,000 were children and more would have lost their lives had not the war ended in 1945.

       As with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. which was precipitated by the revolution of the Jews against the Roman empire, the extermination of the Jews over a period of 12 years (1933-1945) was a deliberate and systematic attempt to annihilate the entire Jewish population of Europe.

       The similarity also doesn’t end here. Thousands of Jews survived when they fled the Holy City before the Romans built a wall to encircle Jerusalem beginning in 66 A.D. A German named Oskar Schindler who had compassion for the Jews helped saved more than 2,500 Jews from imminent death by employing them as factory workers.

       In both cases, the prophecy of Jesus became a reality when the Gentiles trampled upon Jerusalem (𝐋𝐤 𝟐𝟏:𝟐𝟒). But the Israelites believe in their hearts that they are the chosen race and amidst the adversities they face, they remain hopeful of the coming of the Messiah as prophesied in the Scriptures when he will come in a cloud with power and great glory (𝐋𝐤 𝟐𝟏:𝟐𝟕).      

       His coming will be marked by signs (𝐋𝐤 𝟐𝟏:𝟐𝟓) of a terrifying scenario for those who will remain indifferent and or who will take for granted the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. But those who have enough oil for their lamps and those who are dressed in fine linen when they come to the wedding banquet, they are the ones who will stand like sheep on the right hand of God on judgment day.

       As with the Jews who equate these terrible times with the coming of the Messiah, so we too must not be terrified by the trials and tribulations that happen in our lives such as the present times when our social and economic topography are dotted by an inexplicable degree of graft and corruption. Instead, we should confidently await the coming of Christ to bring justice and restoration to his people.

       Jesus told His disciples, and He is telling us now what it would cost to follow him. The Saints and Martyrs who came before us experienced great suffering and torment, but they remained confident in the saving presence of Christ who offers us comfort and security when we are faced with threats to destroy the Temple of the Holy Spirit that is within us.

       This is what happens to us when we commit sin. We can look at sin as the Gentiles whose preoccupation is to invade our souls and spirits which is our own Temple of Jerusalem. When we allow sin to take control of our lives, we are giving permission to Satan to trample on the Temple of the Holy Spirit.   

       As Christians we should not be complacent or settled. We must live life with great expectations. While Christ himself said that to follow Him will not be easy and will entail much suffering, the Christian life nevertheless can become an exciting experience because of the assurance of Christ’s return to establish justice and righteousness and this will be preceded by signs of wonder and awe for those who will remain faithful to him but it will be terrifying for those who are unprepared (𝐋𝐤 𝟐𝟏:𝟐𝟓-𝟐𝟖).   

       As we enter the Season of Advent, we must make full use of the eschatological passages in the Scriptures to prepare us for His coming so that when we are faced with persecution and suffering, we will be armed with the hope “𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒖𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔, 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓.” (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘕𝘰𝘷. 27, 2025)