The Preacher:

Born in Chicago just before the turn of the century, the Rev. Manfred E. Reinke has had long years in the Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod). He had to decline a scholarship to Columbia University due to the early death of his father, and went on to Concordia to graduate before the institution conferred degrees. He has ministered in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and La Porte, Indiana, where for 30 years he has served St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. He has added more than 1,000 converts.

The Text:

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

What extensive preparations were made last year in the United States and Canada when word came from England that Queen Elizabeth, the ruler of the British Empire, would visit the North American continent. Human ingenuity left nothing undone to give her a royal welcome. Police were detailed to guard her safety; officials greeted her with pomp and parade; guns roared in a salute of her majesty; huge sums of money were spent on extravagant entertainment; and all along the streets, bedecked with banners and bunting, thousand thousands stood or sat on camp chairs in order to catch a glimpse of the Queen. Every word she spoke, every dress she wore, every step she took, every place she visited was carefully noted and minutely reported. Newspapers and magazines, radio and television, publicized every detail of her activities. Millions of people in our country, though far removed from the glitter and glamor of the sphere in which she moved, forgot everything else in their interest to hear or see or read the daily news of her social life. Such honor and homage were accorded the Queen of England!

“Behold, thy King cometh!” Advent nears, and this holy season tells us that a greater than Queen Elizabeth is coming! The epistles and the gospels, appointed from of old for the period before Christmas, are like trumpet calls. Again and again we hear the note;

Christ is coming!

He is coming soon!

Luke 21:25–28

The First Advent

And what kind of reception will He receive when in three weeks the Christian church will once again commemorate His first advent? When He was born in Bethlehem, the world greeted Him in sullen silence. Only a few shepherds and some eastern sages kneeled in adoration before His manger bed. The tragedy of that first Christmas is repeated over and over again in our age. With few exceptions, Christ’s Nativity—now as then—is ignored! Santa Claus has usurped the throne of Christ, our Saviour-King! The holy day, when angels sing again as once they sang in the fields of Bethlehem, has been turned by the world into a holiday of fun and frolic.

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Be it not so with you. When the Advent trumpet sounds the glad note,

The Saviour comes,

The Saviour promised long—

May ev’ry heart prepare a throne

And ev’ry voice a song.

Decorate your homes with pine and spruce and holly, but oh! do not leave your hearts unadorned! Remember your family and friends with gifts, but do not forget to come to worship to thank God for His supernal gift! Show kindnesses and be rich in charity towards the less fortunate, but, above all, let the bright flashes of angel light that once came from the open heavens fill your soul, and let the joyous message of the angelic annunciation, “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord,” direct your hearts toward Bethlehem, so that in the hustle and bustle of Christmas you will find time and thought for the manger-cradled Son of God:

for the mercy of His birth;

for the compassion of His life;

for the atonement of His death;

for the hope of heaven through His resurrection;

for the comfort and the consolation of His second Advent.

So to prepare your hearts will enable you, amid all the distractions and diversions of this season, to celebrate Christmas aright, and I can promise you that you will find your highest joy of that holy day in the birth of Christ

Who came with peace from realms on high;

And lowly came on earth to die.

The Second Advent

“Behold, thy King cometh!” The herald angels also trumpet another Advent of Christ when, in power and great glory, He shall come again to give an everlasting redemption to His people, to take them from the vale of tears, and to mete out to all their enemies and His the due reward of their deeds. Our world will not go on endlessly, like an ever-rolling stream. Not forever shall this earth continue under the dominion of sin, with men living their fleeting lives, momentarily happy, but often sorrowful, and always doomed to death. In majesty triumphant and in company of His holy angels, Jesus will return to this scene of turmoil and trouble to judge the quick and the dead. That you and I might meet and welcome Him aright when the arch-angelic trumpet sounds His second Advent, I should like to speak to you on the theme:

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Christ is coming;

He is coming soon.

America was stunned when Russia triumphantly announced the successful launching of the satellite moon. And justly so! It was more than a stunt without military implications. Our President put his finger on the real crux of the achievement when he said, “The Soviets have in their possession a very powerful thrust in their rocketry that concerns us more than the orbiting of the satellite.”

Our government was not slack in its duty! The Civil Defense Office soon issued pamphlets with instructions what should be done in case of an atomic attack. Many bomb shelters were built; air raid centers were designed; and, from one end of the country to the other, evacuation routes were laid out. How often, in recent years, have we not seen signs telling us that, in case of war, this or that highway would be closed. After the collapse of the summit meeting, thousands eagerly scanned the horizon for some gleam of hope that might allay their fears of war. People are afraid-afraid of tomorrow. On every hand we see fear on the faces and in the hearts of men as to what the next day will bring forth, for the entire world is in the grip of uncertainty and anxiety. Never, I believe, were the words of the prophet Jeremiah truer than now: “Fear is on every side.”

We can understand this terror! Again and again scientists have warned us that if there should be a third World War “there will be no more history to write.” We are told that an explosion of nuclear bombs, set off in different parts of the world, could begin a chain reaction of radiation that would lead to man’s extinction. It is never without a shudder that we read of the terrible destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki where steel girders melted like wax. Peter predicted that, when the day of the Lord should come, “the elements shall melt with fervent heat.” Some theologians have voiced the opinion that an atomic war “could bring about the end of the world!”

God forbid that any should be idiotic enough to deny the possibility of an atomic attack or think America invulnerable, or, at least, mighty enough to discourage any foreign power from launching an aggression! It could happen! However, I do not believe that men will bring about the end of the world. The Bible tells us that it is God who will one day wind up earth’s bankrupt affairs. A day is coming when the heavens shall roll up like a scroll and the earth and all the elements shall melt with the fervent heat of the fires of judgment day. The world’s time, like our time, is in the hands of God. Yet, incredibly enough, the very men who fear the end of civilization by an explosion of nuclear bombs sneer at the prophetic references of the Bible which speak of the final day of doom when this world shall come to an end.

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If men admit the menace of nuclear bombs, reason must surely admit that the last judgment poses no difficulty with God!

I grant that the imagination finds it hard to picture to itself this tremendous collapse. For thousands of years the world has pursued its accustomed course, and we find it hard to conceive this altogether unparalleled catastrophe when “the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” But let us not forget the lessons of history. They tell us that GOD has always made good all His threats as well as His promises.

Can God be trusted? Has He ever spoken, and failed to fulfill His Word? There has never been a godless people in the history of the human race that was not eventually destroyed.

Where is Babylon with her hanging gardens?

Where are Sodom and Gomorrah with their unspeakable immoralities?

Where are Tyre and Sidon with their sins?

Today they are no more than heaps of dust. The wild jackals make their dens where their magnificence once gleamed in the sunlight.

Where is the greatness of ancient Athens?

Why is it that Rome had the scepter snatched from her palsied hands?

Why did Spain, and France, and Germany, in the course of years, lose both their prestige and their power?

There is but one answer. The Bible tells us that “the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” When their cup of iniquity was full to overflowing, His holy wrath fell on them to their destruction. And the “fullness of time,” of which the Scriptures speak, is applicable also to the Judgment. When the time of this world is full, when all the necessary probations are over, and all the measures of iniquity have overflowed, then the heavens shall open, and we shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with power and great glory.

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Signs Of The End

We can only watch and wait for the day of the Lord. But if the veil were removed from our eyes, I am sure that we would all take alarm at the many signs which shall precede the utter end and usher in the day of judgment. No matter where we look, we may see in all parts of the world unmistakable evidences of the great consummation which will culminate in the momentous issues of our everlasting destiny. The indications of the near approach of the final judgment should lead us to stand with our backs to the world, but with our faces turned towards the East, “looking for the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,” which will be as blessed for God’s children as it will be terrifying to all who reject the Saviour.

Christ Himself foretold some of the signs that would unmistakably mark the beginning of the end. He pointed to the darkening of the sun and moon, the falling of the stars, and the shaking of the heavens, which should precede the appearing of the Son of Man. All these predicted signs, which have already appeared, oblige us to believe that He will come soon to judge us.

Because we know so little of the heavens, which declare the glory of God, we may not be too impressed by what takes place in the starry heights. But we can surely recognize the signs of the times in the wild commotions and calamities which have engulfed the nations of the earth. There is now as never before in the world “distress of nations with perplexity.” I need hardly tell you that we are living in very mysterious and critical times. Day by day the world is verging towards a great and trying crisis. Where can we find “peace on earth, good will toward men”? Everywhere there are social, or political, or religious disturbances that interrupt our former prosaic life. In Cuba, in the Congo, in Russia, in China, in South America, in Europe, and in our own country, people are living in a state of unrest, of apprehension, of suspense, of fear, of ferment, and of portentous trembling. It would carry us too far afield were we to consider “the distress of nations with perplexity” in other parts of the world, and so we shall confine our attention to the turmoil of our own country.

Crime of all sorts has increased by leaps and bounds, and the certainty and severity of its punishments have been diminished. The progress and the prevalence of the grossest forms of wickedness are facts truly frightful to observe. The reports of J. Edgar Hoover are awful enough to make one’s hair stand on end. Unsolved murders, colossal robberies, swindles, defalcations, embezzlements, election frauds, are common occurrences. Our nation is sin-ridden. Think of the narcotic addicts, the prostitutes, the juvenile delinquents, the racketeers, and the unscrupulous union leaders that rob our country of her moral strength. One trembles as he listens to the news commentators or takes up the morning newspaper. It verily seems to us that the days of Noah, “when the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence,” had returned to us. Divorces, dishonesties, drunkenness, rapes, frauds, kick-back practices, and every form of immorality make up the headlines of the day. How fearfully have the words of the prophet been fulfilled: “The child shall believe himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honorable.” Our cities and our communities are sometimes manned by men who work in collusion with notorious gangsters. These verily are the days of which Paul prophesied when he said, “Men shall be covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, without natural affection, incontinent, fierce, traitors, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” We need no prophet to tell us that disaster is ahead, and that we are surrounded with perils, the end of which no human foresight can penetrate. We may be sure, however, that the words of David, “The Lord is known by the judgment which He executeth,” will be fulfilled. God will have the last word: the word of justice and of judgment.

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Comment On The Sermon

The sermon “Christ Is Coining!… Soon!” was nominated forCHRISTIANITY TODAY’SSelect Sermon Series by Professor Alex Wm. G. Guebert, Professor of Homiletics Concordia Seminary (Lutheran-Missouri Synod). His overcomment follows:

“Christ is coming” is the Advent theme for the four Sundays preceeding Christmas. It became customary in the Church to preach on this theme from these four angles: Christ’s coming in the flesh; Christ’s coming in the spirit; Christ’s coming into each believer’s heart; Christs final coming in judgment. To deepen the understanding of the people for a proper celebration of Christmas the church lets the note of repentance and an invitation to prayer pervade the whole Advent season.

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Pastor Manfred Reinke’s sermon was preached on the Second Sunday in Advent. His emphasis is on Christ’s coming for the final judgment. He is eager to lead his congregation of 2,400 fellow Christians to realize that preparation for a Christmas celebration is a failure, if it does not open eyes to see the ultimate reason for Christ’s coming. Christ came to save people from sin, sin that is as tragic and destructive today as it always has been. Modern culture has crowded God out of human life. It has made moral laxity commonplace and sin quite respectable. The love of ease, the fear of standing alone, the subtleness of pride, the viciousness of selfishness tucked away under much of our social life are evidence enough of sin that few people are willing to recognize.

Pastor Reinke uses Christ’s words in Luke 21 to point to numerous events in life that are clear clarion calls to repentance and a powerful appeal to step to the crib at Bethlehem and accept Christ as Saviour.

His vivid, colorful words, his significant illustrative material, his use of familiar contemporary facts, all hold the hearer’s attention and help pave the way for the Holy Spirit to persuade him to reach out to Christ now and hold on to Him for a safe journey out of the present to the throne of grace.

A. W. G. G.

And what is the significance of the terrible calamities and casualities that have left their mark upon this year? With hardly an exception, a whole plane load of football players from the West Coast met with sudden death in a neighboring state. Earthquakes and tidal waves, fearful explosions and conflagrations, destructive floods and disasters from swollen streams, the many, many sudden deaths and losses of life in highway or airway accidents are almost daily brought to our attention. Do all these things signify nothing because they may not have touched our lives?

And what shall we say when we look at the religious state of the world? What a sad eclipse has come over the Christian faith, and what laxity and uncertainty have taken possession of the minds of men. Thank God, there are still many who believe, and believe the truth, and earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to saints. Never before has the Gospel been so widespread. True Christians are spending millions to “preach the Gospel of the Kingdom in all the world for a witness unto all nations.” Nevertheless, with only too many their religion is but a sham, and not infrequently we find worldliness, unbelief, dishonesty, deceit, gambling, and gross violations of Christian faith and practice in the lives of those professing Christians.

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No one knows how soon the warnings of Christ will become a most solemn reality. As the days pass, however, the Judgment is coming nearer and nearer. Most earnestly, I say to you in the words of our Lord, “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” You must abandon sin, or God will one day abandon you. Do not count on tomorrow as a more convenient season. When His trumpet call once sounds, it will be too late to seek salvation. In the twinkling of an eye, the whole question of our eternal destiny will be forever settled Well may we thank God, if we have not yet made our calling and election sure, that He who will judge us then offers to save us now. He has laid out for us an “Evacuation Route” by which we may escape all those things which shall come to pass. Knowing as we do, that the end of this world is not only possible, nor only probable, but close at hand, let us seek at once a refuge from the wrath to come. There is still time to take such fast hold upon His cross as to look forward without fear to standing before His throne. But, behold! Now is the accepted time. Now say with Thomas, “My Lord and my God!”

That thou doest, do quickly!

Urgency presses on our heels.

There is so little time.

Christ is coming.

He is coming soon. Amen.

Soli Gloria Deo

Old Bach,

asking divine aid,

writing in praise of God

on brown sheets of wrapping paper,

what have you to say to a world

which is laid out and curled up

in complicated blueprints?

Beethoven bartering with his publishers,

living in himself, his deaf universe

with its romantic curse,

appeals more to our generation

than dedication

to something concrete like the love of Christ.

Old Bach,

what secret of technique

keeps your strange joy alive today

each time men play your music?

Can it be that we get more

giving our soul to God

than selling it to the world?

TERENCE Y. MULLINS

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