The returned exiles are discouraged in the rebuilding of the
temple and the word is given to Haggai to encourage them in the work. He doesn't hide the fact that the current
state of the temple in no way compares with the former glory of the
building. The previous temple, built by
Solomon, was indeed a glorious thing but in memory after seventy years of exile
it would have been even more glorious than in its time. Haggai tells them that whatever they see
today, there will come a time when the glory of the temple they are building
will surpass the glory of the former temple.
He tells that the earth and heavens and the nations will be shaken and
when they are their gold and silver will come flowing into this place. It is a bit like Martin Luther King's "I
Have a Dream" speech. There is no
guarantee they will ever see this come to pass but it will surely be as he says
because the Lord has shown him the vision with certainty.
On the other hand, Jesus says that the temple the exile
community has built will soon be destroyed and it would, only a few decades
later. The disciples believe His word
and all they want to know is when this will happen. Jesus' answer is relatively generic with
respect to earthly signs. There are
always natural disasters and wars and rumors of wars. The more significant thing He tells them is
that there will be a falling away by some of the believers and that there will
arise false prophets to lead others astray.
If we know anything of church history we know that this is always the
case in the church as well, but it must have come as quite a surprise to these
men when they saw such things. In our
day it is almost a given that these will be the norm and a surprise when we
find faithfulness to the end.
We tend to measure the aliveness of churches by numbers or
reputation or by manifestations of spiritual gifts. I am certain that such was also the case in
the ancient world, there were seemingly objective measures by which life was
gauged in churches. God's measurements
always seem to be different from ours. In
the readings we had from Amos it would have seemed, for all intents and
purposes, that Israel was being blessed by God because they were prosperous and
there seems to have been much religious activity, many sacrifices. The Lord, however, rebuked them and gave Amos
a plumb line by which he might see truly the state of the nation. We need that in our day and in our
churches. We need to ask Him whether we
are dead or alive, pleasing or displeasing, awake or asleep. We need it in our lives and in our
churches. We need prophetic voices of
truth.
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