The powers of the heavens will be shaken

Dn 6,12-18; C Dn 3,69-74; Lk 21,20-28
28 NOVEMBER

As the Lord has created heaven and earth with his omnipotent Word, so the Lord will let them dissolve to give a hand to the creation of new heavens and the new earth. In apocalyptic language, these images mean that really, truly the Lord is the Lord. The whole universe is in his hands. His Providence, assisted by his Wisdom, has full control over everything created. Jesus uses these images to reveal to his disciples that the passage from the old heavens and from the old earth to the new heavens and the new earth will be a real upheaval.

The stars and constellations of the heavens send forth no light; The sun is dark when it rises, and the light of the moon does not shine. For this I will make the heavens tremble and the earth shall be shaken from its place, At the wrath of the Lord of hosts on the day of his burning anger (Is 13,10.13). The heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll, and all their host shall wither away, As the leaf wilts on the vine, or as the fig withers on the tree (Is 34,4). Raise your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; Though the heavens grow thin like smoke, the earth wears out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies, My salvation shall remain forever and my justice shall never be dismayed (Is 51,6). By which he will be blessed on whom a blessing is invoked in the land; He who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth; For the hardships of the past shall be forgotten, and hidden from my eyes. Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; The things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create; For I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight; I will rejoice in Jerusalem and exult in my people. No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there, or the sound of crying; No longer shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not round out his full lifetime; He dies a mere youth who reaches but a hundred years, and he who fails of a hundred shall be thought accursed (Is 65,16-20).

As the new heavens and the new earth which I will make Shall endure before me, says the Lord, so shall your race and your name endure. From one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, All mankind shall come to worship before me, says the Lord. They shall go out and see the corpses of the men who rebelled against me; Their worm shall not die, nor their fire be extinguished; and they shall be abhorrent to all mankind (Is 66,23-24). But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be found out. Since everything is to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought (you) to be, conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames and the elements melted by fire. But according to his promise we await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2Pt 3,1-12).

Until the moment of the separation of the two kingdoms, Kingdom of God and reign of Satan, the disciples of Jesus will be called to live in the world of wickedness and evil. They are in the world, they are not of the world. They are not because the Holy Spirit work them with all the power of grace and the truth of Christ Jesus.

“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know that its desolation is at hand. Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. Let those within the city escape from it, and let those in the countryside not enter the city, for these days are the time of punishment when all the scriptures are fulfilled. Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, for a terrible calamity will come upon the earth and a wrathful judgment upon this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.”

Can we be true in the world of falsehood and saints in the world of sin? By grace.

Mother of God, Angels and Saints ensure that Christians are the light of the world and the salt of the earth.