Dr Greg Bahnsen - Why I am a Postmillenialist: The Nature of Christ's Kingdom (Part 2)

By turning to Hebrews the tenth chapter. And while you're turning in your bibles to Hebrews 10, I'll remind you that what I'm attempting to do in these three evenings of Bible study together is give a rather informal, casual presentation answering the question, why I personally am a post millennialist. We are. And the question was, are we taping this? And so those who are listening by tape, this is for your benefit. The reason I decided to do this is while I was on a short trip a few weeks ago, a seminary student that was staying in the home where I was asked the question, Dr. Bonson, why are you a post millennialist? And I got to thinking, be nice if we had just a brief presentation of the case. We could go on and on and on, and volumes could be written and maybe will be written on the subject eventually. But last week I began the first of these three parts of the presentation and tried to show that the timing of Christ's kingdom is crucial to the millennial issue, that is to say premillennialism. Whether in its historic or its dispensational brands, premillennialism expects that when Christ returns, there will be 1,000 years, maybe 1,007 years inserted between his return and when all mankind will be judged and we enter into the eternal state. And last week I tried to show, and I think it wasn't that difficult really, that the Bible teaches us that when Christ returns, there will be a general resurrection of all men, both the just and the unjust, a general judgment of all men, the just and the unjust, and that this will be the last day of human history. And following his return, we will enter into the eternal state. Consequently, there is no room to insert a 1000 year gap between Christ's return and the eternal state, in which case premillennialism is ruled out by biblical teaching. The chronology is wrong. Tonight we start asking about the nature of Christ's kingdom, and especially the expectation that Christ himself may have about his kingdom on earth. And in Hebrews, the tenth chapter, I'd like to read for you, beginning at verse nine. Then hath he said, lo, I am come to do thy will. He taketh away the first covenant, that he may establish the second, by which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And and every priest indeed standeth day by day, ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices the which can never take away sins. But he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever sat down on the right hand of God, henceforth expecting his enemies to be made the footstool of his feet. The author of Hebrews it tells us of the definitive nature of Christ's atoning work, telling us that Christ once and for all offered a sacrifice for sin. And part of the argument that Christ's work is completely finished is that he sat down when he was done. The high priest in the Old Testament is not allowed to sit down after he does his work because, you see, he must minister day by day and month by month and year by year. Christ, by contrast, was able to sit down when he finished his priestly work, thereby indicating that the atonement had been definitely secured. The author of Hebrews tells us, though, that when Christ sat down, he sat down at the right hand of God. We know that this is a reference to the ascension of Jesus Christ, which in terms of ancient symbolism would be like an enthronement ceremony. Jesus, having accomplished his work of redemption, is now ascended to the right hand of God. And there he takes his position of power and authority over all creation and is there ruling on high. Now, what does the ruler of heaven and earth expect to take place? Jesus says, all power and authority in heaven and earth is mine. That's his declaration after his resurrection to the church. In fact, before he tells the church to go out and make disciples of all nations, he says, I have all power in heaven and on earth, and I'll be with you. Now you go make the nations my disciples. What does Jesus expect to take place? All the enemies under his feet. According to Hebrews, when he sat down at the right hand of God, he expects now that his enemies will be made the footstool of his feet. Now, the imagery is different, the figure of speech is different. But when Jesus tells the church, I have all power on earth. Go make disciples of the nations, followers of me. What he's saying is, subdue them to me and I'll be with you. To accomplish that, many Christians expect that the kingdom of God will, in a representative way, go to the different nations of the world, that the gospel will be heard in all the different nations. All the different languages of men will have the gospel. And there will be, if you will, bits and pieces, little remnant converts in every part of the world. And then Jesus will return, and finally we will see the glorious nature of his kingdom. Is that what Jesus expects with respect to the Great Commission? Does he expect that just a few people here and there in all nations? He says, make the nations my disciples. And here in Hebrews 10, the imagery is that of all of his enemies being made subject to his feet. Now what does that mean? When your enemy is made the footstool of your feet? Right. It's a picture of the enemy bowed down to the ground and your foot upon the neck showing complete domination. Jesus is expecting that to take place in Revelation 11:15. The book of Revelation says, the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. Now the Book of Revelation is a storm center of controversy in Christian circles. And it shouldn't surprise you then that some people think the declaration that the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ refers to something in the future. Revelation is making a prophecy of what will happen in the future. I would maintain, if we had time to go through the Book of Revelation, that this is a declaration that when Jerusalem falls, it will be evident to all mankind that Jesus truly is reigning and the kingdom has come. But now we need to turn from the Book of Revelation and ask, what does the Bible teach about the coming of Christ's kingdom? When was it established, or when will it be established? Let's turn to Matthew, 12th chapter, verse 28. Here we're in the context of Jesus being accused of casting out demons by the power of Satan. And Jesus responds to that, that a house that's divided against itself can't stand, that Satan wouldn't be casting out demons through him. Verse 28. But if I, by the Spirit of God cast out demons, which is the alternative, if it's not by the unholy spirit, Satan, that I do this, then it's by the Holy Spirit of God that I'm doing. If I, by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then is the kingdom of God come upon you now? He's just done that. He's just cast out demons. And the argument is that he's doing that by God's spirit. And Jesus says, you must draw this conclusion. Therefore, the kingdom has come. Because if the evil one is being destroyed by my presence and by my ministry, then God's kingdom has been established in your midst. So we are not going to take a long time debating this point. This one text should be sufficient to show that Christ has now established his kingdom, that this has already taken place in history. And we know from Hebrews that he is now sitting at the right hand of God reigning over all creation, expecting that his kingdom is going to subdue all enemies. Let's turn to Psalm 2. 8, The second Psalm, which is a messianic psalm about God's anointed the one that God will set upon his holy hill. Verse 6 says, Yet I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. We know that this is a reference to God's own Son. Verse 7. Jehovah said unto me, thou art my son, this day I have begotten thee. Now what may the Son of God set as the King, enthroned as the King do verse 8 ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance in the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. The Messiah simply needs to ask that of the Father, and the Father says he will do it. The promise of God is if Jesus asks, he will give him the nations. Well, do you think Jesus has asked that? Hebrews 10 tells us he's expecting all of his enemies to be made the footstool of his feet. And I think it's with that end in mind that Christ commissioned the Church to make the nations obedient to him. Make the nations my disciples, baptizing them and teaching them to observe everything that I've commanded you. Now do we have any reason to think that when Jesus, who has all power in heaven and earth and who is with the Church and tells the Church to disciple the nations, that Jesus, who is expecting his enemies to be made the footstool of his feet, Jesus, who need only ask the Father for the nations as his inheritance, they have any reason to expect that the Church will be successful in this task? Well, if the answer isn't obvious, turn to Matthew and let's look now at Matthew 12:29. Verse 28 has established that the kingdom is here. But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons and it's the kingdom of God come upon you. But look what verse 29 says. Or how can one enter into the house of the strongman and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strongman, then he will spoil his house. We learn two things from this verse. Jesus says that the establishment of his kingdom will have the effect of spoiling Satan's house. He has bound the strongman so that now he can take whatever the strongman wants controlled. And specifically he says that he has bound the strongman. Turn in your Bibles to Revelation, chapter 20. We know that Jesus has established his kingdom. And he says here that he has bound the strong man so that he can despoil Satan's house. He can take that which was under the dominance of Satan. Verse 1 of Revelation 20. I saw an angel coming down out of heaven. Having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand, and he laid hold of the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years and cast him into the abyss and shut it and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years be finished. Here Revelation tells us that when Jesus came into this world, he bound Satan and did so so that he would deceive the nations no more. Isn't that interesting? The specific effect of Christ upon the work of Satan is not to stop Satan in general from being active in this world, but specifically to curtail Satan's ability to ruin the nations in terms of their religious mentality, lead them into superstition and idolatry and unbelief. His deceiving of the nations will now be restrained. That Jesus has come and bound him. Jesus said in Matthew 12, I'm going to spoil his house. I'm going to take everything from him now that I've come and bound him in this way. Turn to Matthew 16:18. Do we have any reason to expect then that the church is going to be successful in terms of spreading Christ's kingdom and seeing the nations come to belief and obedience to Jesus? Jesus speaking says, I also say unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church. Who is building the church in history? Is the church doing it? Is the church advancing God's kingdom through its own strength and wisdom and ability? Jesus says, I will build my church. It is Jesus who said, I am with you always to the end of the world. Jesus is working by means of the power of his Spirit through his church to build up in this world his kingdom. And the effect, the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And because so many of us have been infected by the. Really, the turning around of this imagery so that we don't understand it, I'm just going to warn you again. It's not the gates of the church that hold up against the onslaught of the devil in this passage. It's the gates of hell that do not hold up against the onslaught of the church. Jesus says, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 12 Jesus says, I bound the strong man. Revelation 20 shows us he can't deceive the nations anymore. I have bound the strong man, and now I'm going to go into his house and I'm going to spoil it. I'm going to take everything out. And so Jesus sends the church into the world to make disciples of all the nations and to teach them to obey him in everything. And he says, the gates of hell will not prevail against you. Satan will not be able to put up a defense against you. I'm going to spoil his house. And so Jesus is crowned with glory and honor according to Hebrews 2, 9. And as Hebrews 10:13 says, enthroned at God's right hand, he is only waiting for his enemies to be made the footstool of his feet. Now then, premillennialism believes that Jesus is going to make his enemies the footstool of his feet. But they think it's going to happen after Jesus returns. They also think it's going to happen by Jesus beating people up, essentially. And I realize that's a crude way of putting it, but you can't get around it. The Prince of Peace is going to come with an actual sword, tanks and bazookas and is going to force people into submission on the premillennial view. And those who resist are going to be beaten to the dirt. It's not quite the picture of the Lord Jesus Christ that I have in the Scriptures. The Scriptures, I think, would teach us that Christ is working through his spirit to persuade the hearts of men to follow him willingly. You know, God's people give themselves willingly in the day of his power, according to Psalm 110. Nevertheless, premillennialists do believe the enemies will be subdued, but they'll be subdued physically by violence and threats after Jesus returns. All millennialists believe the enemies of Christ will be subdued, but again, after Jesus returns, they'll be subdued because in the new heavens and the new earth, all enemies will be banished. Now, what do premillennialists and all millennialists have in common then? They both believe that the subduing of Christ's enemies is after he returns. It's distinctive to post millennialists who believe contrary to the newspaper and contrary to what so many pessimists will tell you, that believe that the Holy Spirit will bring a day of revival and that this world will belong to the Lord Jesus Christ someday if the Church is faithful to its commission. Let's see what Paul thought about the timing of the subduing of the enemies of Christ. Turn in your Bibles to First Corinthians 15. Yes, we have a question. Yeah, just on that point. What is the typical amillennial position. About the subduing of the nations? Typically, the subduing of the nations, understood as the Gentiles, means that the kingdom of God will be established in the various Gentile regions, but it does not mean that the Gentiles en masse will be subdued. It's a representative conversion rather than a widespread conversion that the Great Commission anticipates. The binding of Satan is present tense. Yeah. And see, to me, the easiest thing to me in dealing with my amillennial brothers is saying you've got the right structure, you've got the right premises. Now follow it out. If Satan is bound, then what do you expect to take place? And in a sense, many of the verses we're looking at tonight are directed more at our all millennial friends to say, the Bible gives you a reason for confidence. Pick it up, run with it. Let's go. Okay, what does Paul say about the timing of the subduing of Christ's enemies? First Corinthians 15. And I'm going to put this in context by reading from verse 20. But now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the first fruits of them that are asleep. What do we know so far? Jesus has risen from the dead and that his rising is only the first fruits. It is as though it's the first installation of a great work that God is doing. A great harvest that is coming. Because Jesus rose from the dead, all of his people will rise from the dead. Verse 21. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order. Christ, the first fruits, then they that are Christ at his coming. Now, when will we rise from the dead? What does it say? At the coming of Christ. Okay. Christ rose and at his coming we will rise. Then comes the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father. Now we know that when Christ comes and we rise from the dead, the end is going to ensue. Not a thousand more years of work on the kingdom. When Christ returns, he's going to offer the consummated kingdom to his Father. That's it. Now Paul goes on. When he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. When he comes and delivers the kingdom to his Father, he will have done that. He will have subdued all other opposition. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. Sound familiar? It's biblical language. Goes back to Psalm 110, the promise that the Messiah will have all his enemies under his feet. What we read in Hebrews 10. Now Paul tells us he's going to reign until he does that. Now what will be the last enemy Christ will subdue. Verse 26. The last enemy that shall be abolished is death. Now how is death conquered by resurrection? Exactly. Jesus conquered death by rising from the dead. And the day is coming when he is going to have us rise from the dead. And then death itself will be defeated. And the last enemy that shall be abolished is death. For for he put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he said all things are put in subjection, it's evident that he accepted who did subject all things unto him. And when all things have been subjected unto him, then shall the Son also Himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him. That God may be all in all. The day is coming where death will be done away. And then God will be all in all, everything will be subject to him. But Paul's already told us that the last enemy to be subdued is death. And we know that death is subdued when Christ returns and we rise from the dead. Therefore all the other enemies of Christ must be subdued when before or after he comes. As B.B. warfield said, the logic of Paul is inescapable. The enemies of Christ must be subdued before the last enemy. And the last enemy will be subdued when he comes back. And we rise from the dead. And therefore we expect this glorious success. For the kingdom to take place before Christ returns. The gates of hell will not prevail as the Church, empowered by the one who has all power in heaven and earth, goes out to make the nations his disciples. For they know that Satan has been bound and cannot deceive the nations anymore. And Jesus is in the process now of spoiling Satan's house. That's the confidence that I have as a post millennial. This is not a confidence that I got from consulting my own imagination or by reading the paper or studying history or taking a poll. It's a confidence that comes, I think, only from believing the promises of God and the power of God. Turn with me in your Bible. So Isaiah, the ninth chapter to a text which will be very familiar from your Christmas pageants and things like that. I wonder if we, I mean we should get excited about the Incarnation. But there's much more to this text than just the incarnation. Isaiah 9. And I'll begin reading at the sixth verse. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulder. And his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And of the increase of his government and of peace There shall be no end upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness. From henceforth, even forever, Jesus will come and he will be made the Prince of peace. He will be established as God's king. And of the increase of his government and of righteousness and justice and peace, there shall be no end. God is going to see to it that this kingdom grows in a mighty way. History, after Christ returns will not be the history of setbacks for the Church. It will be the history of success for the Church. And though when we look at just small portions of history, times of persecution and so forth, we may have trouble seeing how that is true. If you do take the broader vision of the way the Church was, I mean, there was a day when the Church met in catacombs, for crying out loud, when the Roman Empire, the mightiest empire on earth, was out to destroy Christians. Well, the Roman Empire is dead and gone, and the Christian Church is still here. And that has been the history of the Christian Church throughout the ages of the increase of his kingdom. There is no end. What did Jesus say? He said, the kingdom. There's a mystery here about the kingdom. It's like a mustard seed, a little mustard seed. I mean, you can barely see it in the palm of your hand, it's so small. But you plant it in the earth and you come back a few years later and you're going to find a huge tree. Jesus said that's the way the kingdom is. And the kingdom works very subtly but very thoroughly to permeate all areas. It's like leaven that a woman puts in the lump of dough that she's baking. And the leaven permeates throughout the dough. And the dough rises. And so Jesus likens his kingdom to that. My kingdom will grow. Jesus says it may seem small and ineffectual and now, but it will grow. Isaiah promised that it would. Now, I didn't finish reading the seventh verse of Isaiah because if you have any doubts about this, you notice how you can be sure that he will establish peace in the earth like this. The zeal of Jehovah of hosts will perform this. It won't come just from human agency and ability and strength and initiative. It will come from Jehovah of hosts, Jehovah of armies, a reference to the mighty power of Jehovah. And it's not just that Jehovah, the Jehovah who has all the armies in heaven and earth to do this, but it's his zeal that will do it. And so we have every reason to believe. I want you to remember I looked at the New Testament first. We have every reason to believe from the New Testament that Jesus is spoiling Satan's house right now, and he is going to have every enemy subdued before the end. Isaiah says, and of the increase of his government there will be no end. Peace and righteousness will be established in the earth. Jehovah's zeal is going to see to it. I have no doubt that when Jehovah sets his mind to do it, what's going to set his hand back? Who's going to bend his arm? Who's going to stop him from accomplishing his purposes? Turn in Daniel to the second chapter of the Book of Daniel. Daniel had this confidence as well. Recall how Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that upset him. He wasn't happy with the inability of his wise men to interpret it. Daniel gets called to the task, and Daniel says, I'm going to tell you what this means. Nebuchadnezzar. He talks about four successive kingdoms being human kingdoms in this world. And Nebuchadnezzar has seen in the dream a stone that is cut without hands, meaning a weapon that comes against the idol, but not of human devising. And once it destroys the image, the stone starts to grow and it fills the earth. Okay, Daniel 2:35. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken in pieces together and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors. And the wind carried them away so that no place was found for them. The day is coming when those mighty great kingdoms of men are going to be like the threshing that has gone into the wind, and you can't even find it anymore. Anyone see the Roman Empire around anymore? No place was found for them. And the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Now what is this all about? Verse 44. And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people. But it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter. God's going to set up a kingdom that supplants the Kingdoms of men and God's kingdom will grow into a mountain that fills the earth. Look at these growth images now in Isaiah. Isaiah finished off his confidence about the growth of Christ's kingdom with the zeal of Jehovah, of hosts will bring it about. Notice what Daniel says at the end after he's told Nebuchadnezzar this amazing thing, that Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom will be supplanted and that eventually all these great kingdoms will be wiped away off the face of the earth, not to be remembered. And only the kingdom of God will stand. And the dream is certain and the interpretation thereof. Sure. The thing I like about this is that when the prophets talk about the kingdom of God growing, they don't just say, I hope, I hope, I hope it's so. They say, you can count on it. God won't let us down. The zeal of Jehovah's host will accomplish. And this dream is certain. It will surely come to pass. Let's turn back to Isaiah, to Isaiah, the second chapter, verses two to four, talking about this stone that becomes a mountain that fills the earth. There's a similar mountain imagery. It's not so much the mountain filling the earth, but all the earth coming into the mountain in Isaiah 2, beginning at verse 2. And it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of Jehovah's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem. And he will judge between the nations and will decide concerning many peoples. And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. Isaiah says, in the latter days God will establish his house and his hill above all the others. God is going to exalt the church above all other kingdoms. His mountain is going to be the greatest of all. Of course, that had a beautiful. That was a beautiful figure. To those who knew the geography of Palestine, because mountain Zion is nothing great to behold. But the day is coming when Mount Zion as it were, the temple of God on Mount Zion, which is the church in terms of new covenant, realities Mount Zion will be the highest mountain. God will exalt it, and as he does so, all nations will flow into it. And as the nations come into the church, into Mount Zion, they will there learn what God's law, Jesus said, make the nations my disciples and teach them to observe whatever I've commanded you. Teach them my law. And what will the result of this be? The nations will not be consumed with matters of warfare anymore. In fact, to use the prophetic hyperbole, the overstatement figure of speech to make the point, they'll beat their swords into plowshares. So all that money we give to national defense now, well, maybe not literally all of it, but that excess of money going into national defense, the day is coming when, because the world has been converted, that money will be used for peaceful purposes, for agriculture and for growing food, and for cultural things that are positive rather than negative. That's what Isaiah says is going to happen as Christ's kingdom grows. Psalm 72:7, 11. David understood this as well in his days. That is the righteous king that God will enthrone. In his days shall the righteous flourish and abundance of peace. Till the moon be no more. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him. Listen to this. His enemies shall lick the dust. There's the being made, the footstool of his feet. Imagery. The kings of Tarshish and the isles shall render tribute. The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yes, all kings shall fall down before him. All nations shall serve him. And this is going to take place until the moon is no more? It's going to take place during the course of the moons, the months that we have. And then when the moons are no more, then the kingdom will be consummated. But in this time, until the moon is no more, all nations will be brought to serve him. All kings will bow before him. And those who dare to oppose him are going to lick the dust. Two more passages and we'll take a break here. Psalm 22:27. Psalm 22:27. All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn unto Jehovah. And all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. There's another assurance in the Bible that all the nations are going to be converted. Focus on that word. Turn unto Jehovah. This is not just a prophecy of a day when the nations, the only nations that exist anymore, happen to follow Jehovah. You know, after Jesus comes and roots out all evil. After everything has been removed that offends, after the sheep have been separated from the goats, after those who are faithless and disobedient have been sent into hell, then of course, all the nations that are left will serve Jehovah. But notice this prophecy is not just of such a day. There are prophecies like that. A new heavens and a new earth wherein righteousness dwells. Nothing that offends will be left. That's true. But here we're talking about a day where the nations turn to Jehovah, are converted to Jehovah. That won't take place after Jesus returns. There will be no opportunity for repentance and conversion. Then the psalmist promises, the day is coming when all the nations will be turned to him. And then in that day, Isaiah 11:9 tells us, That day we'll have what Isaiah promised. 11. Nine. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain. For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters cover the sea. How do the waters cover the sea? In little pocket puddles here and there, Little representative drops here and there? No, the water. I have to say that because my all millennial brothers just won't take this to heart. This is not representative conversions. This is widespread conversion. This is the reversing, if you will, of the judgment of the flood where God wants. In the floods of judgment and curse that covered the world. The day is coming when the knowledge of the Lord in grace and blessing and salvation will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea and the waters cover the sea thoroughly. And so the knowledge of the Lord will thoroughly permeate the earth. Well, we haven't talked about everything that could be said, and I do want to bring you back for a third lesson and not. Not finish everything up tonight. But I hope that tonight, even in the short time we've had, that your heart begins to be thrilled at the prospect. If I were to stand before you and kind of whoop up a lot of enthusiasm for evangelism and for conversions and for what God's going to do in the earth, and we all had this kind of, oh, wouldn't that be wonderful feeling, that might be nice. But my point is, the Bible tells you that. The Bible tells you Jesus is spoiling Satan's house. Satan can't do anything about it. He's bound now. He can't deceive the nations anymore. Jesus says, I have all authority in heaven and earth. I expect my enemies to be made the footstool of my feet. So go make the nations my disciples. Teach them to observe whatever I've commanded. I need only ask the Father, and he will grant me the nations for my inheritance. God's righteous king will be given the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession. And therefore God's holy hill is going to be exalted above the hills, and all nations will flow into it. And there they will learn peace and righteousness from my word. All the nations are going to be converted, and in that day we'll be able to say, the knowledge of the Lord has flooded the earth. Do you have any doubt about that happening? The dream is certain and the interpretation is sure, and the zeal of Jehovah, of hosts, shall bring it about. Do you have any questions? Yes, Martha.

I just recently read a little paper written by a pastor who's amillennial, and in it he says that of course we try to include influence the culture and we fight abortion and this and that, but we have no promise of success. You know, I've heard a lot and probably more of what, you know, we term optimistic all nil. And that kind of terrible pessimism is just kind of alarming. Is that a widespread amillennial view that.

Yes, it is. Quite the opposite. Just says it isn't going to be successful. In fact, quite the opposite always says that far from being successful, we should expect that we will not be successful. Well, two things in answer to Martha's remark or question. Yes, that is what I have come to, even from the best, all millennialists. What they would say is, that would really be wonderful, and I hope it happens. But we have no confidence that that's what the Bible promises. And then there are others, as Babish has pointed out, who will say, as a matter of fact, it'd be nice, but you have to expect the opposite to happen. Well, what can I tell you? I don't want to sound demeaning. I'm not going to say anything to be insulting here, but they obviously are not reading the passages we've read because these passages would give us a swift kick in the pants for thinking that God can't do it and won't do it. Well, they don't say God can't do it, but they don't believe God has promised to do it. But look at these promises. They are there. What is Jesus expecting to take place in history? That's what I want to expect. As difficult as it may seem, I really believe that in history the enemies of Christ are being subdued and they will be subdued entirely until the last enemy will be subdued when he raises our bodies from the graves and says, it's time to consummate this kingdom and hand it back to my Father. How do they interpret that? They said that either in the new heavens and the new earth, after Christ returns, which is the, I think, the pretty much standard, all millennial approach, that these things don't talk about what will happen during history, but after history is over, or some will say they refer to spiritual blessings within the church, that is that there's peace within the church and salvation. And these are just images of what God has done for us here and now in kind of an internal spiritual way. What's your simplest response to the corollary argument that comes that we're promised suffering? My response is that, well, very. Yeah, and afterwards, I'll bet you a dollar I know who said that, because I went to seminary and studied under him. And my answer to that has been, and it ought to be heard, is something to the effect that, well, In World War II, the Germans suffered and the Allies suffered, but who won? I mean, when you win a battle, that doesn't mean you don't suffer. I mean, the idea that since we're going to win, we're not going to suffer in the process of getting there. I mean, the imagery of warfare in the Bible should warn us against such simplistic ideas. Sure, we're going to suffer, and all who will live godly in Christ Jesus are going to suffer persecution and there's going to be tribulation and distress. I mean, we see that in our individual lives. We see that in history. We see the persecution, we see death, we see martyrdom. But through all of it, God's kingdom will be victorious. It's kind of like, you know, you have two sets of soldiers fighting, and when there's fighting, there's going to be suffering on both sides. But that doesn't mean that both sides win or both sides lose. One wins, one loses. And right now, the City of Man is suffering as it is in conflict with the City of God. And those who are in the City of God, in the Church are suffering through that process. But in the end, it's going to be the City of God that emerges successful, not the City of Man. So it doesn't bother me that the Bible tells us to expect a hard time. Jesus didn't say it was going to be easy. He didn't say there weren't going to be, you know, fatalities. If there wasn't going to be setbacks and hurt and persecution. He simply said, it's going to pay off. In fact, let me end tonight's lesson with this thought. Turn to 1 Corinthians 15. After Paul gives this wonderful hope of the enemies of Christ being subdued and then looks ahead to the resurrection at the end of time. He talks about this happening in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye and so forth, and we will be raised incorruptible. He's looking at death being swallowed up in victory and the sting of death being taken away. Verse 57. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. He just talked about death and sting and sorrow and these sorts of things. But what he says is God gives us the victory through all of that. Now, what if I were to throw back to my amillennial brother, since death is going to be, you know, an experience that's unpleasant, and since there's a sense in which death has not been conquered yet for us because we haven't been raised from the dead and there is the sting of the grave and so forth, since the Bible says those things and obviously we aren't going to go to heaven when we die, we're going to lose. We're going to die and death will have the last word. I mean, the logic of the amillennialist who says, well, there's going to be pain, therefore we're not going to win, would lead us to not believe that we'll have eternal life either, or resurrection finally. But Paul goes on to say, thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Why? For as much as you know that your labor is not for nothing in the Lord, yeah, there's going to be labor, there's going to be travail, there's going to be turmoil, persecution, but be steadfast in the midst of it because you know that it won't be for nothing. Paul says, that's my answer to the all millennials who says, but the Bible says we're going to suffer is we're going to suffer unto victory, not suffer unto defeat. Satan is going to be defeated and the city of man is going to be destroyed. And the zeal of Jehovah, of hosts is going to perform it. Let's pray. Father, we do ask that you would help us to read your Word faithfully and fully, consistently. We do pray that you would help us to understand what you have planned for this world and history. And we pray that you would set our hearts upon it as well. That we would not be pulled aside by the pessimism even of our fellow believers or the pessimism of the paper, the pessimism of looking at the difficult things that happen in this world and have happened and will continue to happen to your people. We pray, rather, that we would set our eyes upon your promise and upon your power. That we will take to heart these passages that assure us tonight that you have every intention of not seeing the Lord Jesus Christ defeated in history, but rather to see the kingdom of this world become the kingdom of our Lord his Christ. For it's in his precious name we pray. Amen. Amen.