What Does This Mean?

A Walk Through the Liturgy: The Sign of the Cross

Encore Post: [Second post in a series on the Divine Service] I began this series on the liturgy by talking about Confession and Absolution as preparation. Today, I am hoping to talk about one action that pastors do over the people: making the sign of the Holy Cross.

I received a question from one of my confirmation students asking about the sign of the cross, and why “we don’t do it.” I responded that all Christians are encouraged to make the sign of the cross, for it is their mark. It was given to you all the way back at your baptism (see page 197 of the link). It is by this sign of the cross that you were and are marked as of one of the redeemed by Christ.

The Lutheran Service Book encourages all the baptized to make the sign of the cross at the Invocation and elsewhere throughout the service. There in red, we read, “The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their baptism.” The sign of the cross is not just for the pastor to make, but for the whole congregation to do for themselves.

The sign of the cross is the oldest symbol of Christianity. The cross and specifically the crucifix, that is the cross containing the body of Christ, represent clearly that Jesus Christ and him crucified is the object of our faith and worship. There is no other sign more Christian than the cross, and it is a sign for all the baptized to use in worship and devotional life.

Luther in the Small Catechism makes that explicitly clear. “In the morning when you get up [in the evening when you go to bed], make the sign of the Holy Cross and say: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” The sign of the cross is not just for Sundays. It’s for every day because every day we are to drown the Old Adam and rise to newness of life. Remembering our Baptism into Christ helps us in that fight. Making the sign of the cross then is a physical action in which our body and our brain are engaged in worship, helping us to further meditate on the gifts given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you have the desire, make the sign of the cross this Sunday when the hymnal suggests, and may it be an aid to you in your worship and devotional life.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

A Walk Through the Liturgy: Confession and Absolution

Encore Post:

[First post in a series on the Divine Service]

We go from one activity to another, often without even batting an eye. This certainly can happen within the Divine Service. How much attention do we pay to what’s going on? Do we know why we do what we do in worship service?

Before confessing our sins as a whole congregation, we speak back and forth responsively, “I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord” and the congregation responds, “and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.” After those words, there are some important red words printed in the hymnal. They say, “Silence for reflection on God’s Word and for self-examination.”

There is a time of silence. It is a time to consider myself and yourself in light of God’s Law found in the Ten Commandments. Have I been the best father and husband I could have been for my children these past days? Probably not. I failed in my responsibility to my wife and children, breaking the 4^th commandment not being a faithful to my calling as head of my household. Did I grudgingly congratulate someone who won the raffle or the lottery, when in reality wishing it was me? Yup, so I broke the 7^t^h, 9^th and 10^th commandments. And oh, by the way, I broke the first commandment because I didn’t trust God to give me all that I need.

Lord, have mercy. I am a sinner. I deserve exactly what I am about to confess about myself. I deserve death. We plead for God to have mercy on us.

But God who is faithful and just forgives our sins. Thanks be to God that, for Christ’s sake, God forgives our sins. We cannot add anything to make God forgive us. Christ has done it all. Thanks be to Christ!

When we confess our sins and receive His forgiveness in the words of Absolution, we are prepared to sing our Redeemer’s praises. We are prepared to receive from His bountiful goodness the forgiveness of sins purchased and won for us by our Lord Jesus by his death on the cross.

So, take a moment to slow down and brush up on the Lord’s Ten Commandments in preparation for Confession and Absolution as we begin the Divine Service, where God comes to serve us His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation given to us on account of Christ, our Lord.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Next Post Series: A Walk Through the Liturgy

Starting tomorrow, What Does This Mean? walks the Divine Service series again.

Pastor Jacob Hercamp takes us through the Divine Service, explaining the traditions behind what we say and do in the Church’s historic liturgy —from the Confession and Absolution, where the service begins, to the Benediction that sends us home. Along the way: why we make the sign of the cross, what an Introit is, and what is — and, in one memorable installment, is not — there in the middle of the service.

The walk runs into January, stepping aside for the Church’s feasts and seasons as they come. Walk it again, or walk it for the first time — and bring your questions. That’s how this series began: with confirmation students asking why we do what we do.

First step: Confession and Absolution — Monday, November 9.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Last Things #16: The Best is Yet to Come: Life forever with the Son of God

[Twenty-Third in a series of posts on Last Things]

Encore Post:

When people speak of the Second Advent of Christ, the focus almost always is on his descent from Heaven, with all the angels and all the saints who had died. That is a natural thing to do because it is very dramatic. The skies part, and the army of heaven, with countless members, descends with the Son of God in his full glory. The tombs are rent, the dead raised as the author of life calls them forth in the glorious resurrection of the last day. Then comes the drama: the destruction of sin, death, and the power of the devil, and the summons all must obey at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Then the book of life is opened, all secrets are revealed, and those with faith in Jesus are pronounced “not guilty” before the throne of God, for the Son of God, the Lamb who took away the sin of the world, was slain for their sake. Then the unbelieving will be sent with Satan and his angels to the unending lake of fire prepared for them.

But the best is yet to come and gets little attention. Perhaps it is because we merge it in our minds with the state of the dead, who, in this age, die in the Lord. They are with him forever. And yet their state is not yet perfect. Dr. Jeffrey Gibbs puts it this way: “Heaven is great, but it is not the end of the world.” Their bodies are yet to be called by Jesus from their graves, so they may be fully restored and improved for eternity.

Perhaps it is because we really can’t understand it. So, the Scripture describes it for us and paints several images for us. Eternal life is — well — eternal! We will die only once and, once resurrected, live forever with the Lord. It will be without sin — sin having been defeated on the cross, we are cleansed of it forever. There will be no more sorrow or sighing or grief or pain, for these things will pass away. God will dry every tear from our eyes. Our bodies will be glorified, purged of sin and its curse. We will shine like the stars in the joy of our Heavenly Father. We do not know what we will be like except that we will be like Christ.

Best of all, we will be with Jesus and see him face-to-face. Then, with joy, we will sing his praises forever.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Last Things #15: The Judgment Seat of Christ

[Twenty-Third in a series of posts on Last Things]

Encore Post:

When Jesus returns from heaven, all Christians will be united with him forever. Those who have died will rise from the grave, their souls reunited with their bodies. All will be restored to be just like him, sin and death removed forever. While that is much more than enough for us, it is not the only thing he intends. He will make a new heaven and a new earth, removing the effects of sin and death once for all. A key event in that restoration is the judgment seat of Christ.

The angels sent forth to raise the dead will gather all before the throne — both the saved and the lost; all angels and demons will be brought before him. Every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Saints and angels will all sing his praises. These events are beyond our comprehension, so the Holy Spirit has revealed in Scripture the things we can understand in words and images, sometimes in ways we can’t easily put together. Yet all are true.

At the throne of judgment, the Book of Life will be opened, where the names of all God’s people are written. Every event in human history, along with every thought and deed we thought secret, will be laid open. The standard for judging these deeds will be God’s holy law. The verdict is clear — God is righteous and no one else. Yet, for the sake of the sacrifice of the Lamb-who-was-slain, all who trust in Jesus will be declared not guilty. All their sins were forgiven and forgotten. All that remains are the good deeds done for the sake of Christ. These will follow us into eternal life.

Jesus himself recounts how this works: whenever we cared for the least of his children, we did it to him. The lost, however, will be remembered for what they did not do. So the saved will shine in the joy of God the Father and live forever with him. The lost will be thrown into hell with the demons, forever separated from God and his love.

Following the judgment, the Marriage Feast of the Lamb will begin. We will live with God and his people forever in a celebration that never ends.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Last Things #14: The Missing Millennium

[Twenty-Third in a series of posts on Last Things]

Encore Post:

Called the “Jewish opinion” by the Lutheran Confessions, the belief in a Millennium comes from a face-value reading of Old Testament prophecy and poetry about the Church or about eternal life with God after the Second Advent. It also treats the Book of Revelation, written in a symbolic code called apocalyptic, in a similar way. By doing so, it uses difficult to understand passages to complicate the very clear words of Jesus, Peter, Paul, and other New Testament writers. It is the view of the Pharisees that caused them to rule out Jesus as the Messiah, because he would not battle the Romans — and so they missed that the Scriptures pointed to the birth, life, sufferings, death, and Resurrection of the Son of God.

The word itself comes from Revelation 20, where the reign of Christ through his church is described as 1000 years. This number is not a literal 1000 years, but is Jewish numerology. The number ten meant perfection to them, and ten multiplied by itself three times—three is the number of God—means everything is complete. It points to our times when the Gospel has reached every corner of the earth.

While it may seem harmless to believe such things, it detracts from what Christ has commanded us to do. It reads every event as a sign of Christ’s return. Instead, we should be ready, as Jesus instructs us, making disciples of all nations by baptizing and teaching them, knowing he is with us always.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Last Things #13: Come, Lord Jesus, Come!

[Twenty-Second in a series of posts on Last Things]

Encore Post:

Title: Come, Lord Jesus, Come!

They were ordinary days. The seaside resort of Pompeii was bustling with the daily activities of the luxurious retreat for the most affluent Romans, who escaped the pressures of the imperial capital of ancient Rome. That is, until Mount Vesuvius buried it in ash for 1700 years. It was a lazy Sunday morning in Hawaii, slower than usual for a navy base — until Japanese bombs shattered Pearl Harbor that December 7, 1941. On a bright, lovely September morning, a pastor drove from downtown Fort Wayne, practicing a sermon for chapel on the first regular day of classes for Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne — a sermon he rewrote on the ride in as he learned airplanes had destroyed the Twin Towers in New York City that September 11, 2001. Life was normal — until the world changed.

On another ordinary day, when people will go about their daily lives as usual, eating, drinking, marrying, working in the field and in businesses, Jesus will return from Heaven. (Matthew 24:37-41) He will appear in the sky with the angel armies of Heaven and the souls of his people with him. Every eye will see him. He will send his angels to gather both those who are saved to meet him and the damned to be judged. (Matthew 13:41, 49, Matthew 24:30-31) There will be no rapture, where Christ appears secretly to claim his own and leave the world in tribulation. This notion comes from the dispensationalists’ misunderstanding.

At that time, Jesus will break the seal of the grave forever. All people will rise from the dead in the great resurrection of the dead. All souls will be reunited with their bodies, and Christ’s own will be transformed to be just like him. (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17; Philippians 3:21) For all the dread that surrounds this day, it is for Christians the most joyful day of all, even with the next event — the Last Judgment — coming. For the goal of the suffering, death, and resurrection of our Lord is this day, when all is made right, we are restored to his image, and we will shine like the stars in his kingdom. So, the Church has always prayed: Come, Lord Jesus, come!

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2018-2026 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share, and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@msn.com

Last Things #12: The Great Tribulation

[Twenty-first in a series of posts on Last Things]

Encore Post:

Jesus had much to say about his return. The signs that we are in the last days are clear. He will return suddenly, so be ready! The angels will descend, the dead will come to life again, and we will all gather before his judgment throne. The lost will then be thrown with the devil and his angels into hell, and we will go with him to live forever. But where is the talk about the Tribulation and the Millennium? Jesus never speaks of seven years of special punishment for the world’s sins, or of an earthly reign at the end of time, much less a thousand-year one. So, where does the talk of a millennium on Christian radio, in endless end-time and prophecy books, come from?

The scheme behind that talk — a rapture that removes Christians from the world, seven years of “Great Tribulation” under the Antichrist, and then a thousand-year earthly reign before the final judgment — is less than two hundred years old. John Nelson Darby first taught it in the 1800s, and the Scofield Reference Bible carried it into countless churches, where prophecy teachers treat the Bible like a giant algebra problem, set dates for the end, and recalculate when the dates fail. (Yesterday’s post traced where this system came from.) Yet the whole view of the end is not accurate.

Scripture does speak of a great tribulation. In Revelation 7, one of the elders asks John who the white-robed multitude are. John answers, “Sir, you know.” And the elder tells him: “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.” The Greek verb form “are coming” is ἐρχόμενοι. It is in the present tense: they are coming out of it — and they will be coming out of it, generation after generation, from the first century onward. The great tribulation is not a seven-year block of time waiting at the end of history. It is the time between the Ascension and the Return of Jesus, the tribulation Jesus himself promised: “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). The white-robed saints are arriving out of it now, washed, as the elder says, in the blood of the Lamb.

God does not promise to spare His people the tribulation. He promises to bring them through it — as He has brought the white-robed multitude, who came out of the great tribulation with their robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb. “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). So Christian readiness is not an escape plan, and it is not a calendar. It is the quiet faithfulness of people who know how their story ends: doing the work God has given them, bearing what He lays on them, and watching for the Lord who will come for them — at the end of days, or at the end of their days. Even so, come, Lord Jesus (Revelation 22:20).

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2023-2026 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share, and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@msn.com

Last Things #11: Rapture and Tribulation and Millennium — Oh My!

[Twentieth in a series of posts on Last Things]

Encore Post:

Many of our evangelical brothers and sisters are fascinated by Biblical prophecy. Seeing the evil around us, they are convinced that we are living in the very last years and months before Christ returns to raise the dead, bring an end to sin, death and the power of the devil, gather all in the final judgment, and begin the marriage feast of the Lamb that has no end. They are not alone — in every period, Christians were convinced they were living in such times — even St. Paul and Martin Luther!

What makes their view unique in the church’s history is that they accept a theological view called Dispensationalism, a Christian school of thought that was born in the 1800s. It adopted the ancient view that Christ would reign on earth literally for 1000 years after he returned in glory. It was set in the way of looking at history, inspired by the 19th-century cultural movement known as Romanticism. John Nelson Darby developed dispensationalism, D. L. Moody spread it, and C. I. Scofield set it in its standard form.

Dispensationalists believe God divided the world into seven dispensations (also called economies and administrations). In each age, God supposedly revealed himself in different ways. Salvation was offered according to different plans for each age (for example, in the classic scheme, under the Law of Moses, salvation was by works, but in the church age, by grace), and humans were held accountable to the rules of that age. They get to these views by treating prophecies written in figurative and symbolic language at face value and using the interpretations they discover to understand, in a complex way, the simple and clear words of Jesus and the apostles.

For them, this age will end when the events predicted in prophecy occur. They look to current events to fulfill these prophecies, treating the Bible as a giant algebra problem. Some have used such calculations to predict end-time events. These include the rapture, when all true Christians will suddenly be removed from the world, leaving only unbelievers; the Tribulation, when unbelievers are punished and those who come to faith amid these events are persecuted; and the Millennium, when Christ and the church will rule the world for a thousand years. Two problems with this: Christ promised he would return suddenly, and the last judgment follows immediately (so the Bible is not an algebra problem), and these versions of a rapture, a millennium, and a tribulation are not in the Bible.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Last Things #10: The End of Days and the End of Your Days

[Nineteenth in a series of posts on Last Things]

Encore Post:

As the turn of the millennium approached, people began to wonder if maybe Jesus would return. They sold all their property and gave the money to the poor. They went on a pilgrimage. Some gathered with the Pope to celebrate the last moments of the millennium. It is said some died of heart attacks, expecting the end of days. But when the bells of St. Peter’s tolled in the New Year and Pope Sylvester II made the sign of the cross in benediction, the trumpet did not sound, and the dead were not raised. With great relief, they welcomed in the year 1000.

843 years later, a Baptist farmer became convinced that he had decoded the Bible’s prophecies of the Second Advent. It would be on March 21st, 1843, he announced. So people sold all their property and gave the money to the poor. They traveled distances to hear William Miller. When March 21st came and went, they gathered the next year again —in white robes, on October 22nd, 1844. But the trumpet did not sound, and the dead were not raised. The disillusioned called it the Great Disappointment.

Throughout the years, Christians have been tempted to ignore Jesus’ warning that no one knows the day or the hour. (Matthew 24:36) In 1988, one man claimed, “But that doesn’t mean you can’t know the month and the year.” Truly distressed by the trials of this world, they latched onto the thought that they were in the last days. In the process, they missed the work that God had for them to do.

Rather than focus on any one day, Jesus calls on us to always be ready, because we do not know when he will return. That is true not only of the end of days but of the end of your own days. Our lives are short and in God’s hands, who alone knows when it is best for us to be by his side. When that day comes, be it in the end of days or at the end of our days, his angels will come and escort us home forever. In the meantime, be alert! Work while it is still day, because you do not know when you will rest from your labors. Come, Lord Jesus, Come!

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana