“Jesus teaches on “the end””Main point: Give testimony and persevere as the end draws near.INTRODUCTIONAdvent is just around the corner and our themes are turning toward the arrival of Jesus. As always, when we remember the coming of Jesus in his birth in Bethlehem, we also look forward to his coming in glory at the end of this age. Such is the theme of our gospel this morning.Friends, it’s getting bad out there. When we look around at the state of the world, we might wonder, are we at the end yet? This thought might have crossed your mind as you watch the news or chat with a neighbor. It was on some of our minds last week after the service when we met for our Coffee and Conversion. About 15 of us sat in the Lower Level after the Sunday morning service and pondered the political climate, the violence around the globe, and  - get this - AI. Yes, a large portion of our conversation was spent on trying to understand the world we live in today and the world we will live in tomorrow with the presence of Artificial Intelligence. Some of us are scared. What’s going to happen? Are we going to survive another technological revolution? What will become of humanity?So… is this the end? Are we there yet?After reading this passage and going through the list of the signs Jesus talks about, I think we can check-off just about everything on the list that “the end” is near. So how ‘bout it? Are we at the end?People in Jesus’ day were wondering. Some of them asked Jesus about it. In today’s teaching, we see Jesus’ response. There are queues for us to take from what he says that may bring us more comfort rather than doom. Let’s look together.Do Not Be Led AstrayThey asked him, "Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” And he said, "Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, 'I am he!' and, 'The time is near!' Do not go after them.Do not be led astray. This is a palace we need to pause for a moment and acknowledge, the potential to be led astray when trying to interpret “the end” is a real danger. You may remember some ofl the various attempts by people throughout the ages to pin down “the end”. I remember several in my short lifetime alone. The most prominent was Harold Camping who said the end will happen on May 21, 2011. He happened to die two years later with a net worth of $75 million. That’s certainly an extreme example but smaller, less-prominent examples are everywhere. “Beware,” Jesus says. Lest you need me to remind you: Everyone who thought it was the end from then to the present day was wrong. That isn’t a very good track record for folks who want to try to pin it down. Beware.Signs of the end"When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately. But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.Jesus describes signs of the end. But the signs are not the end. Yes, these things will happen. They are signs that the fabric of the world is breaking down. Things are getting chaotic, atomized, and hostile as people drift away from the Life of Christ that is in the World. Expect it to happen. But those are just signs. That’s not the end.—PAUSE: Rabbit trail: The text uses this term “the end”. I’ve used it a few times already today. What is “the end”?I ask, because we might assume that the timeline between Jesus and the “the end” is a straight line. But that’s not the way the Church practices time keeping.

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