Revelation 11:1-19 God's temple In Heaven Is Opened Greg Bahnsen {Part 40 of 63}

Let's begin with a word of prayer. Father, we thank you that you and your royal sovereignty have deigned to set your love upon us and to call us into your kingdom. That you have in fact brought us into your kingdom when we were unwilling. That you have taken the stone heart out of us and given us a heart of flesh. That we might be responsive to your love, to your overtures, that we might respond to your call. We thank you that you've sent your son to accomplish that salvation which was needed for us. We thank you that he has laid down his life in our behalf. We pray, Father, that the spirit of life, the spirit of your son might live within us. That we might be impelled to give our lives back to him in return. That we might indeed give our lives as our sacrificial service to you. We thank you that you do reign above, that you reign over the nations, just as you reign over our hearts. We ask you, Lord, to hasten the day in which you will make the kingdoms of this world your own kingdom, in which all men will know you and confess you as Lord. For it's in Jesus name that we pray. Amen. We're In Revelation, the 11th chapter this morning, and I will read the entire chapter, although the focus of my comments will be toward the end of the chapter. By way of review, John says at verse one. There was given me a reed like unto a rod, and one said, rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and them that worship therein, and and the court which is without the temple, leave without and measure it not, for it hath been given unto the nations, and the holy city shall they tread under foot. 40 and two months now to this point, what John is saying in the chapter is that God has indicated symbolically to him that those who approach God in the holy of holies, that is the very sanctuary of. Of the temple, will be protected. They've been measured. God knows their stature, and God will protect them. The temple of God and the altar therein know the protection of God in the coming holocaust. Verse two tells us that the court outside the holy of Holies and the temple itself were not to be measured, for God would no longer protect it. In the most literal way, God was going to destroy the temple and the holy city, and he would do so by leaving it to the Gentiles to be tread underfoot 42 months. That language reflects the language of Christ when he told the rebellious city of Jerusalem that God had given the city to the Gentiles and that they would tread it underfoot. Then at verse three of Revelation 11, John continues, and I will give unto my two witnesses. And they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days. And clothed in sackcloth, these are the two olive trees and the two candlestands standing before the Lord of the earth. And if any man desireth to hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth and devoureth their enemies. And if any man shall desire to hurt them in this manner, must he be killed. These have the power to shut the heaven that it rain not during the days of their prophecy. And they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, and as often as they shall desire. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that cometh up out of the abyss shall make war with them and overcome them and kill them. And their dead body lies in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom in Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. And from among the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations do men look upon their dead body three days and and a half, and suffer not their dead body to be laid in a tomb. And they that dwell on the earth rejoice over them and make merry, and they shall send gifts one to another. Because these two prophets tormented them that dwell on the earth. And after the three days and a half the breath of life from God entered into them. And they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon them that beheld them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, come up hither. And they went up into heaven in a cloud, and their enemies beheld them. And in that hour there was a great earthquake. And the tenth part of the city fell. And there were killed in the earthquake 7,000 persons. And the rest were affrighted and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe cometh quickly. And the seventh angel sounded, and there followed great voices in heaven. And they said, the kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. And the four and 20 elders who sit before God on their thrones, fell upon their faces and worshipped God, saying, we give thee thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who art and who wast because thou hast taken thy great power and and didst reign, and the nations were wroth, and thy wrath came in the time of the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to thy servants, the prophets and to the saints and to them that fear thy name, the small and the great, and to destroy them that destroy the earth. And there was opened the temple of God that is in heaven. And there was seen in his temple the Ark of the covenant. And there followed lightnings and voices and thunders and. And an earthquake and great hail. It's really quite a marvelous picture here toward the end of chapter 11. But to understand it, you must understand first of all the portion preceding in this chapter having to do with the two witnesses. And I suggested the last time I was with you, if you're going to understand the message of the two witnesses, I mean, the message pertaining to the two witnesses, you should understand very well verses one and two in the chapter. It's quite obvious, I think, from the earlier allusions in the New Testament, as well as the way John sets up and describes this portion of his prophecy that he's speaking of the fall of the holy city, Jerusalem, that will be given to the Gentiles to tread underfoot as God's vindication of his Son, as God's retribution against the people who would not receive the Son of God when he came to them. Well, we've seen that in verses 1 and 2. Then John says he sees two witnesses who stand in the city bearing witness, prophesying for God. And they're bearing witness in sackcloth. They're calling upon the city to repent, to avoid the coming judgment of God. And the two witnesses that John sees are portrayed according to the model of Moses and Elijah from the Old Testament, according to the model of the law and the prophets. Moses, of course, the epitome of the law, and Elijah the prophet par excellence. Not only do they have the power of Moses and Elijah, they have the position or they have the authority. They have the function of the two witnesses, excuse me, of the two olive trees according to the prophecy of Zechariah. Chapter 4. To understand that, we went into Zechariah and noted Zechariah was given a vision of two olive trees standing by a lampstand supplying oil to it. And the two olive trees stood for Joshua and Zerubbabel, for the religious and the civil heads of Israel in that day. And the message given to Joshua and Zerubbabel, of course, is not by might, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. The Holy Spirit of God will accomplish God's purposes through his people. And although it may seem a day of small things, it should not be despised, said Zechariah, because God will accomplish even through those Small things and small beginnings. A great ending. Well, these things are combined in Revelation 11 as we see the Old Testament order, the law and the prophets, the religious and the civil heads, and the power of God's spirit that was with them being portrayed as calling out to Jerusalem to repent in sackcloth and ashes for their sins. Well, Jerusalem will not repent. And in fact, what Jerusalem does is to kill the two witnesses, the two prophets of God that have been sent. I neglect it entirely. I don't know how this happened, but teachers have lapses from time to time. Last time I was with you, I neglected entirely to explain the imagery of the two witnesses. I did tell you that the two witnesses are at one point in this chapter considered a whole host because the beast comes and he makes war with them, which is the language of making war with an entire nation or a host of people. And on the other hand, not only are the two many, the two are also considered one. For. For when they are killed, it is one carcass that lies in the street, the one carcass standing for the two. So there's one body that stands for an entire body of people. You see, quite obviously, it's the whole nation of Israel, summarized, of course, in the city of Jerusalem, its capital. But all of the Old Testament economy and system is summarized in the law and the prophets, the civil and the religious heads of the people. But the reason why God calls them two witnesses, what I didn't explain last time is according to the law of God, two witnesses would be called for in any civil suit against a man, especially in a capital case, that is, in a case where the punishment, if the accused were to be found guilty, the punishment would be death. God required in any number of cases in the Old Testament and reiterated often enough that another witness had to back up the primary testimony of the first witness. There had to be two witnesses brought to bear when due process was to be followed in the Old Testament civil suits. And so now God sends his two witnesses. You see, it's in a sense metaphorical God sending his adequate testimony. God says, if you don't respond to these two witnesses, then you are fully indicted if it is sufficient to bring judgment upon you. If you won't respond to my two witnesses. So the whole Old Testament economy, the whole Old Testament order, the law and the prophets, the civil heads, the religious heads are all bearing witness. The entire Old Testament bears witness against Jerusalem for what it's done. And so what's Jerusalem do? Well, the two witnesses will be killed. But notice it is not so much that Jerusalem kills itself. I mean, in. In an ironic or in a psychological way that's true. I mean, there's a kind of death wish that's worked out. When Jerusalem rejects the Lord of life, then of course they are going to live according to death, and death will be their lot. But here what John tells us is not that Jerusalem commits suicide so much as that there is something called the beast that rises up out of the abyss, out of the haunt of the demons. God raises up out of the abyss the beast. And the beast comes and kills the two witnesses. Well, who are the two witnesses? The Old Testament order, the law and the prophets. Israel, the combined body of Israel as a nation is killed by the beast, and the body lies in the great street. And what happens among the nations when Israel has been destroyed by the beast and in anticipation. Now, John's readers knew this. You see, John introduces the beast without any sort of preparation for us who are reading it for the first time. We don't have any mention of the beast prior to this. And he gives no description except for the beast comes up out of the abyss. It isn't until chapter 13 that we get an extensive description and explanation of who the beast is and what he does. So John's readers knew, and we will know once we get to chapter 13. So in anticipation, the beast is the Roman Empire, so the beast comes. The Roman Empire comes. And just as verses one and two said, the holy city was given to the Gentiles to tread underfoot 42 months. And so Rome levels the city of Jerusalem, destroys the temple. Not one stone is left standing in the temple. And so there is the dead carcass of the Old Testament order. And what does the world do in response, according to John's prophecy? Well, internationally there is rejoicing because of the death of these two witnesses, because of the death of the Old Testament order. You see, all the pagan religions of the world were indicted by God's true religion, given to the Jews. All the nations of the world come under the judgment of God as the laws preached, condemning the nations of their sins. And so the nation seeing the death of that order, which was so, in a sense, haughty, exclusivistic, which condemned everybody else around it. The death, apparently, of the Old Testament order is a matter of rejoicing for the nations. No longer will they be tormented with the preaching of God's law and prophets. And so the nations rejoice. In fact, John really plays it up here, he says, and they give gifts to one another they think this is fantastic. We give gifts to one another, for instance, at Christmas time. Whether you think that's appropriate or not. I mean, obviously, you know why we do that? Because we think it's a time of rejoicing. It's a time to be happy. And so gifts are exchanged. Well, here the world is said to exchange gifts because they're so very happy that the Old Testament order has been killed. Rome has leveled Jerusalem. And so that seems to be the end of the people of God. The carcass of God's people lies in the street of the city. And then, lo and behold, the nations are appalled when the breath of life, when the spirit of life enters into that carcass and is resurrected. And John doesn't leave it at that. Not only is the carcass resurrected, not only does it stand on its feet again. Remember that one of the Greek words for resurrection means to stand up. And so the carcass stands on its feet again and it ascends into heaven in a cloud. Well, what theological model is John drawing on now? Resurrection and ascension. Who's he thinking of? Well, Jesus Christ, obviously, who rose from the dead, what to the fear and the awe of his enemies. Christ rose in vindication and justification. He rose from the dead and he ascended to heaven in a cloud. God, you see, rewards his faithful Son. And now the New Testament, people of God, the new Israel, the new body of God's people, is seen as coming, if you will, from the ashes of the old order. The old order is dead. Jerusalem has been destroyed. But from Jerusalem, with the death of the nation of Israel, that's not the end of the people of God. Lo and behold, they come up in a new form in the form of the church. And the church is throughout the New Testament, seen as in the Savior, united to the Savior, resurrected with Christ and ascended on high with him. And I read some verses from the New Testament last time, illustrating that I think probably the most dramatic would be Ephesians, the second chapter, which uses both the image of resurrection and ascension for all those who are in Christ. We are seated with Christ in the heavenlies. Paul says, all right, so let me put this all together for you, and then we'll go on to our new section. Today, John is saying he has been told to measure the holy of holies, those who truly belong to Jesus Christ, the true temple of God, okay? The outer court, the literal court of Jerusalem and the holy city. He is not to measure, he is not to protect, because God is going to give that to the gentiles to tread underfoot. Now, the Old Testament order was a sufficient witness to the people of the Jews that they should have repented for their sins and for the crucifixion of the Lord of glory. God has his two witnesses, his adequate witness, his sufficient witness to condemn the Jews when they don't repent. Then God raises up the beast. And of course, the Jews would be inclined to say, lord, how can you do that? I mean, you're taking a nation which is much more sinful than we are, and using a sinful nation, a nation that's far more sinful, to judge the minor sins of us. Well, that was true of the Old Testament. Remember, the rod of Assyria was raised up when God judged Israel for her sins and her transgression of the covenant. Earlier, the Canaanite tribes that were in the land had performed all sorts of abomination before the Lord transgressed his law. And in the book of Deuteronomy, God continually stresses, it's because of these abominations that Israel will drive out the inhabitants of the land. Israel will occupy the land in judgment upon the sins of the land. And then God says, and if you commit such abominations, the land will vomit you out as well. And so when Israel commits such abominations and transgress the covenant, then the rod of Assyria is raised up to destroy Israel. Okay, Israel goes into exile, comes back into the land. You know the story. Christ comes 400 years later, comes to his own, his own receive him not. And so now God is going to destroy the people of the land again. And this time he will raise up the beast, a far more sinful nation. In terms of outward appearance. The beast comes and destroys Israel in AD 70, destroys Jerusalem. So the holy city is tread underfoot. And the nations think that's the end of God's order. But it's not. Because out of the Old Testament, people of God is resurrected. The New Testament people of God, the church, and they are positioned with Christ in the heavenlies. Theologically speaking, verse 13 says, and as I told you last time, it's the one minor, not confusion, but hesitation I have. Anyway, verse 13 says, and in that hour there was a great earthquake and the tenth part of the city fell. It would be natural enough to interpret the city in this verse as referring to the city where the Lord was crucified, spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, which is to say Jerusalem. However, since Jerusalem has already, in terms of the prophecy, been tread under foot, the beast has come and done his work. It would appear to me that perhaps the tenth part of the city falling here is a foreshadowing of the city of Rome which is going to fall. Remember, God says that Assyria will be used to judge Jerusalem, but God will also judge Assyria in the long run. So now in the New Testament, God will use the beast of Rome to judge Jerusalem, but the beast of Rome will not get off for its sins. And so, with the coming of the Church, we already proleptically see Rome is beginning to fall. A tenth of the city has fallen already. And we'll see the utter destruction of rome after chapter 12, verse 14, then continues and says, the second woe is fast. Jim, I missed the first part of your question. Okay, I wouldn't want to dismiss the idea that perhaps verse 13 is also proleptic. Symbolically or numerically speaking, the wider number or the greater majority of people will be converted by the Gospel with the coming of Christ's kingdom. But I'm just not sure of it. For one thing, a number of commentators note that perhaps the giving glory to the God of heaven in verse 13 could represent constrained acknowledgment of the lordship of Jesus Christ. When this sort of thing happens, when God judges people, well, then they have to admit, you see, it's all over for them. But that doesn't mean that they have to love the one who is their captor and destroyer. So I'm not really sure that this talks about saving repentance. It may simply be the acknowledgment that we've been conquered by our enemy, but he's still my enemy. Now, I say some commentators say that, and some say the other. But in light of the proleptic interpretation of the 10th of the city falling, your suggestion, I think, is worth, you know, thinking on. But I don't want to judge yes or no without reflecting on it further. But I will think about that. My thinking was in other places they always manage their teeth and escape matters. And then in verse 15, it says, the kingdoms of the world are begotten. Kingdoms of our God. Oh, yeah, I agree with you. I think it fits. It would be coherent to interpret it that way, especially in light of the contrast. Let me see, at the end of chapter nine, notice, you see, this judgment of God has come. I'll read verse 20 and following. And the rest of mankind who were not killed with these plagues repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons or idols of gold and of silver and of brass. And of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they repented not of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornications, nor of their thefts. Here you see the hardening of the heart. And they will not repent. They will not acknowledge anything. And so at the end of chapter 11, where you see them giving glory to the God of heaven, the commentators who see that as saving phase, of course, stress the contrast. Others don't want to stress that contrast as much. Jerry, I guess perhaps I didn't understand, but you said one of the reasons we couldn't take 13 and following us speaking out Jerusalem at the fall deep. Because it wasn't chronological, that the city had already told him previously in the verse. Well, in a sense, we see that Jerusalem is destroyed when the carcass of God's people is in the street because of the. The coming of the beast against it. But my other reason, which I offered two weeks ago and didn't mention this morning, is that a tenth of the city of Jerusalem didn't fall. All of Jerusalem fell. It was level to the ground. It was plowed under by the Romans. In fact, so much did they detest the city because of its rebellion. So that's why I've been inclined to try to find another approach to that verse. If somebody could show why that would still be Jerusalem, it would certainly fit. Because the only thing that's said here is the city. And I think, naturally enough, you would think of the city we've been talking about in the chapter thus far, which is Jerusalem. But there are problems with that. Verse14 says the second woe is past. Remember, in all of this we've been spending some time. The last three trumpets of the seven Trumpets of Judgment are called woes, just as in the case of the seals of the scroll that we have investigated previously, seven seals, four are broken at once, and then the last three broken down into two and one. So there's a four plus two plus one pattern in the breaking of the seals. And so in the Trumpets of Judgment as well, you'll find four plus two plus one. Four trumpets sound, and then there's a series of two trumpets we've been studying thus far. And then the final one. Now the two and the one are the last three trumpets, which are called woes because of the judgment upon mankind in particular and not just indirectly upon nature. So here we're being reminded this is the second woe. It is past. The third woe comes quickly. I want to stress that the Third woe comes quickly. What's the third woe? I already told you, I don't mean the content metaphorically. The third woe is which trumpet, The last or the seventh trumpet. When the seventh trumpet sounds, then the third woe is found. And the third woe, the seventh trumpet comes quickly, follows immediately upon the fall of Jerusalem, verse 15. And the seventh angel sounded, and there followed great voices in heaven. And they said, the kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever. Now I'm going to go on and expound very briefly the remainder of the chapter. And then I want to come back to this verse and spend a great deal of time on what it means that the kingdom of this world. By the way, if in your translations you have kingdoms, that is an older tradition. While it doesn't really change the sense theologically of the verse, it's probably better to regard this in the original as the kingdom, the secular power of the nations, considered as a unit. The kingdom, the secular order of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. Why is it our Lord and His Christ who's singing this? Obviously in Handel's Messiah, it's the church choir that sings it, but I mean here in terms of chapter 11, it's the angelic hosts that are singing. And so they sing of our Lord, who is the Lord of the angels? Well, of course, because we hold to the Trinity, in a sense, you could say Jesus is. But traditionally, our Lord would apply to the Father, our Lord and His Christ. And who is the Christ of the Father? Who is the Anointed? The. The Messiah of the Father, Jesus Christ. But it's interesting. It's our Lord and His Christ, but who rules forever and ever? He does. Third person singular. This sort of thing may strike you as very subtle and it is very subtle, but it is always amazing to me to see the. The exegetical gymnastics of liberal commentators of the New Testament who try to maintain that Christ was not accorded full status as God or was not considered God in the New Testament. That's just really a later tradition. You see how subtly John says, here is the Lord of the Angels, the Father and his anointed. But it's he singular who reigns forever and ever. I don't think John's picking one or the other, the Lord or his Christ. He's just considering them together. You see, the oneness of Christ with His Father is given in that very subtle grammatical point. He shall reign forever and ever. He which is really to the Lord and his Christ. David, isn't the expression the Lord and his Christ taken right out of Psalm 2? Yes, that was the next thing in my notes to point to Psalm 2 here and try to give you some Old Testament background for it. Well, since you brought it up, let's do it now. Psalm 2. And it turns out that the entire theme of Psalm 2 is recapitulated in Revelation 11 throughout the chapter. Psalm 2 says, why do the nations rage and the peoples of meditate a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against Jehovah and against his anointed, saying Now I've read against Jehovah and against his anointed. But let's pay attention to a couple of facts. Yahweh in the Old Testament or Jehovah, the English transliteration of that is rendered in a good number of your translations as the Lord, following the Jewish custom of not making direct reference to the holiest name of God. And so Adonai, or Lord is considered in the place of Yahweh, Jehovah. And so here for a godly Jew, although a bit superstitious about the name of God, nevertheless the Jew would have read, against the Lord and then his anointed, which in the Old Testament transliteration of that phrase, the anointed is Messiah, which in the New Testament, that is in the Greek form, the Messiah is. All seminary students should be able to answer that. Messiah is what in Greek? Yes, Christ the anointed One. Right. And so if you want to take it in the way that John renders it in Revelation 11, it's against the Lord and his Christ. Okay, against the against Jehovah the Lord, and against his anointed against Christ. So the kings of the earth are setting themselves and taking counsel against the Lord and his Christ, saying, let us break their bonds asunder. Cast their cords away from us. There's that fascinating reference in the Bible. It's not the only one, but it's the key one for God. Laughing God laughs with scorn and derision at the nations when they counsel together against his plans and against his kingdom. And the Lord will have them in derision. Then he will speak unto them in his wrath, and he will vex them in his sword as pleasure. Notice that God speaks in his wrath. The day of wrath according to Revelation 11 has come. Yet I have set my king O upon my holy hill of Zion, and I will tell of the decree. Jehovah said unto me, thou art my son. This Day have I begotten thee. Verse 8 shows the reward for the faithful Son, ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth, for thy possessions and the kingdom of this world will become has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron thou shalt dash them in pieces, like a potter's vessel. And the conclusion is, therefore be wise, ye kings, and be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve Jehovah, serve the Lord with fear, rejoice with trembling, kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish in the way, for his wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all they that take refuge in him. Revelation 11, when it states that the third woe, or the seventh trumpet comes, quickly declares that the kingdom of the world, the secular power of the nations, has now been given to the Messiah, has been given to the Lord and his Christ, that he might reign forever and ever. Is declaring the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy as we find it in the second chapter of Daniel, verses 44 to 45. So turn with me, if you will, to Daniel Now, Chapter two. Actually, to understand this completely, I need to rehearse for you the immediate background. Nebuchadnezzar has had a dream, a very disturbing dream, where he sees a huge image, a statue of sorts, set up, a statue that is made up of four different types or combination of types of metals. And then he sees a stone that is cut without hands, rolling from someplace, destroying the image made of four different types of metals or combinations of metals. And then that stone grows and grows, becoming a mountain that fills the earth. Nebuchadnezzar doesn't know the meaning of this dream, and he calls upon Daniel to interpret it. Daniel interprets the dream in this way. He says, there's going to be a fifth kingdom, Nebuchadnezzar, that will destroy the previous four. And he identifies the four previous kingdoms with the four different types of metals or combinations of metals in the image. And Daniel says in verses 44 and 45, 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 and it shall stand forever. 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. And the dream is certain in the interpretation thereof. I would stress for those who have doubts about the progress of God's kingdom in this world and the summary form of that victory that we are to anticipate According to Revelation 11, that the dream is certain and the interpretation thereof. There can be no doubt that God will bring a fifth kingdom into the world. In the days of the fourth great kingdom of man, in the days of the Roman Empire, God is going to raise up a fifth kingdom, a kingdom that comes. People can't understand from where it's cut without hands. It's not a human kingdom, obviously. It's a kingdom created by God himself, a supernaturally established kingdom. And this kingdom shall come, and it shall not simply be one kingdom among many. It shall not simply take its place in peaceful coexistence with the Roman Empire, but it will destroy the Roman Empire, it will destroy the image, it will crush the image and the nations of the earth, and it will grow and fill the earth. That kingdom is going to have international rule and sovereignty, and nobody will take the sovereignty away from that kingdom. And that dream is certain in that interpretation. The great God of heaven has made known to the king what shall happen. Alright. And so in history, the first kingdom falls and the second kingdom falls, and the third kingdom falls, and the fourth kingdom, the Roman Empire, comes along. And in those days Jesus Christ is born. According to the prophecy of Isaiah, the ninth chapter. See, His Son is given to us, but the government shall be upon his shoulder. And of the increase of his government and of peace, there shall be no end. And so already we see, beginning in the birth of Christ, the promise that God will send a Messiah, the Beloved One of the Father, the One who shall, because of his obedience to the Father's will, be granted a prerogative over the nation. So he only has to ask. And the Lord will grant him the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession. And of the increase of that government, there'll be no end upon his throne. But what's the problem? Christ was crucified. That's not much of a king in the eyes of the world. Christ was crucified. But in vindication God raises his faithful Son from the dead. And at his resurrection Jesus can declare. All power and authority in heaven and on earth hath been granted to me. Therefore do what disciple the nations, conquer the nations, bring them under the rule of the Messiah. Christ asked of the Father, and the Father will give to him the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession and the increase of that kingdom will know no end. As Daniel had said, the stone will grow and grow and grow and grow until it incurred encompasses the earth. But now there's another problem. Not only was Christ crucified, but of course he was vindicated. There's the problem that Christ's people are now being persecuted. Those people who are supposed to disciple the nations have the opposition of all things, of those who name the name of God, the Jews, those who consider themselves the holy people. And so God points out that the kingdom that will destroy the fourth kingdom, that is the stone cut without hands, is not Israel, not literal Israel. Literal Israel will fall under the persecution and the judgment of the beast, the Roman Empire. God will rather use his genuine kingdom, his true people, the resurrected form of his people. You see those who rise out of the ashes of Jerusalem, the Christian church will be used to destroy the nations. And that's why after the fall of Jerusalem, very quickly it becomes evident that the kingdom of this world has been given to our Lord and his Christ. He shall reign forever and ever. Now let me finish out the chapter and then return to this to try to give you a more biblical theological exposition of the prospect of the kingdom according to Old and New Testaments. And the 4 and 20 elders, verse 16. The 4 and 20 elders who sit before God on their thrones, fell on their faces and worshiped God. So often you find the 4 and 20 elders being described in Revelation as sitting upon their thrones. They have a special place. But every time it is said they sit upon their thrones, we immediately read they fall upon their faces. Which is. It's not intended as a joke. But you see, the interesting thing is those who have the right to rule, those who have that closeness to God's own throne, who have their own thrones, occupy those thrones by falling upon their faces, you see, by honoring the true king. And they fell upon their faces worshiping God and said, we give thee thanks, O Lord God the Almighty. The Lord, the God the Almighty. It's a beautiful way of designating the sovereignty of God who art and who was the Eternal One. And why do they give thanks in this on this occasion? Because thou has taken thy great power and didst reign. Let me take you into the kitchen here again with this Greek background. The Greek here for taking great power is in the perfect tense. And somebody who studied Greek will remind us all what the significance of that is. God has perfectly taken his great power and reigns now upon the earth. The significance of the perfect Tense in Greek. Anybody. Completed action with what continuing results or influence. That's right. And so God has perfectly captured, you see, the action has been completed. He has taken his great power and has reign. And the effect is to never end. Continuing results. God perfectly now reigns. And the nations were Wroth, as Psalm 2 said, they were in great wrath. But then what does God respond with his wrath? You see the wrath of the nations, and then you see the wrath of God. The nations were wrath, but then God came in his wrath. And the time of the dead to be judged and the time to give their reward to thy servants, the prophets, and to the saints. And the time of the dead. Kind of an interesting phrase. What's it referring to? Well, the time of the dead refers to the avenging of the martyrs of God. It's not the final judgment as so many commentators want to make it, because quite clearly, the next phrase is put appositionally with this one to explain it. The time of the dead to be judged, which is to say the time to give their reward to thy servants and the prophets. We won't have time this morning to pursue this fascinating study of the servants and the prophets in the Book of Revelation. But that's the most common designation for the people of God in the Book of Revelation. Any number of categories could be used, obviously, but the servants or saints and the prophets go hand in hand throughout the book. Any number of references could be given. There's a special place for the prophets. Now, should we understand the prophets here as meaning the New Testament prophets, the Old Testament prophets, or the continuing prophetic office which we call the teaching elder? I'll leave those three options with you. I mean, there's a particular lesson you can learn from all three of them. If it's the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament saints, there you see the unity of God's people through the ages. If it's the New Testament prophets and the saints, there we see the emphasis upon the fact that it was in the very days of the New Testament, when the prophetic gift, the miraculous powers of the apostles, were still present, that these things began to happen. If it's the teaching office in the church, the prophets being referred to, then you can see how Jesus or how the Godhead looks upon the people of God in terms of their structure. Then there are the saints in general, and especially the ordained office of the preacher. It has a special place in terms of the coming of the kingdom. Well, all three of those are good messages to learn, but I'm not sure which one is to be preferred. I tend to think it's the New Testament prophets in light of the use in the New Testament, but I'll leave it at that. The nations were wroth and then God's wrath came in the time of the dead to be judged. The avenging of the martyrs to give their reward to the servants and and the prophets to the saints, to them that fear thy name, the small and the great. And then this fascinating phrase to destroy them that destroy the earth. When God will come and destroy the secular power of the world, he'll do so in vindication of the creation and not simply in vindication of those of his people who are redeemed. You see, God gave us a good earth and the secular nations are looked upon by God and are categorized by God as destroying his earth. That's a message, I think for the contemporary Christian too in terms of his socio political involvement. In terms of the cultural mandate. Those who have vocations outside of the preaching office, in particular in the church, remember that those who follow out cultural task, whether it be in the business world or the commercial world, or the artistic world, or the scientific world, whatever it may be, those people who pursue their vocations in this created world, but not under the lordship of Jesus Christ, are viewed as destroying the earth. And God sends his kingdom to destroy those who would destroy the earth. God is going to renovate the earth in his people through his kingdom. Then verse 19, as a very beautiful image, there was opened the temple of God that is in heaven. That in itself is very significant, that when the kingdom comes and God starts in his wrath to give the nations to His Son, to vindicate his saints, to vindicate the good earth that he once created. When God does these things, the temple of God opens up. But more than that, the temple in heaven opens. And what do we see in the temple in the holy of Holies, the Ark of the Covenant? What would that mean to a Jew of the Old Testament to be given the sight of the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies, in the Temple? Well, I want to suggest that it would mean at least two things to. Well, three things really. First of all, it would remind him of the very presence of God with his people. Because God ruled, you see, symbolically from between the cherubim upon the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant in the holy of Holies, in the temple in Jerusalem that was the throne of God in Israel. And now when the kingdom of God comes, you see, and begins to destroy the world nations, then we're Given a sight of the Ark of the Covenant, the very presence of God ruling in the midst of his people. But it's the Ark of the Covenant as well. The Ark of God's Covenant faithfulness. You see, while God's people may be faithless, he is always faithful. And God is true to his covenant promises. He has made covenant with His Son, that if His Son should obey and bring redemption, he would give the nations to His Son. And that covenant keeping God is the one that we're reminded of when we see the Ark of the Covenant. But then thirdly, the Ark of the Covenant was very crucial when Israel went to battle. If you look through your Old Testament stories, what was the inevitable result when Israel went to battle without the Ark of the Covenant? They lost. And what would happen when Israel, a minor force in the ancient world with fewer numbers than the armies they fought against, would take the Ark of the Covenant into the battlefield? What would happen? They would slay all opposition. You see, when the God who rules in the midst of his people is symbolically taken into battle with his people, nothing can stop them. God's covenant keeping mercies are such that if we acknowledge his presence and obey his word, he blesses us with victory in battle. And so now you can see Jerusalem, apostate Jerusalem, seen in God's sight as Sodom, seen in God's sight as Egypt, where our Lord was crucified. Jerusalem is going to be destroyed and the nations will tread it underfoot 42 months. But out of that situation will arise the new people of God, the new Israel of God, the Church. And when that happens, then comes quickly the declaration that the secular power of the nations has been given to Christ so that he might rule over the nations. And when we see that promise given in the Declaration of the Angelic Host, we are given a glimpse of the Ark of the Covenant. A reminder that nothing can stop the people of God because of God's covenant keeping power. So the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy, the fulfillment of Psalm 2, the fulfillment of Jesus declaration that all power and authority in heaven and earth is his, so that his people must disciple the nations, make all the nations his disciples. Because of the time I'm going to have to come back to this study of verse 15. The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ. Next time we're together, but before I do the scriptural study, I think it would be valuable for us just to read the implications, according to the Westminster Confession of Faith of Christ's ascension and his taking of rule, and that will form something of the will. Prepare us to understand a long list of passages I want to study in the Bible on the Kingdom of God. Next time in the confession of Faith, chapter 8. Notice that in the chapter on Christ the Mediator, these words are to all those for whom Christ hath purchased redemption. He doth certainly and effectually apply and communicate the same, making intercession for them, and revealing unto them in and by the word the mysteries of salvation, effectually persuading them by His Spirit to believe and obey, and governing their hearts by his word and spirit, overcoming all of their enemies by his almighty power and wisdom in such manner and ways as are most consonant to his wonderful and uncertain dispensation. That's beautiful language, and I think it captures well the message that we're reading of here. Christ will overcome all of our enemies according to his wonderful and unsearchable dispensation, unless we get too prone to spiritualize the full significance of that. You see the unbelieving world. Those who destroy the earth are our enemies. They are those who are enemies of the kingdom of God, and the only way that can change is by their hearts being changed. Well, in the catechism we have this question, how doth Christ execute the office of a king? And the answer is, Christ executeth the office of a king in calling out of the world a people to himself, and giving them officers, laws, and censures, by which he visibly governs them in bestowing saving grace upon his elect, rewarding their obedience, correcting them for their sins, preserving and supporting them under all their temptations and sufferings, restraining and overcoming all of their enemies, and powerfully ordering all things for his own glory and their good. Christ is powerfully in this day, according to the confession ring, ordering all things things to his glory and for our good. The catechism also asks, how is Christ exalted in his sitting at the right hand of God? Christ is exalted in his sitting at the right hand of God, in that as God man, he is advanced to the highest favor with God the Father, with all fullness of joy, glory, and power over all things in heaven and on earth, and doth gather and defend his church, and subdue their enemies, furnishing his ministers and people with gifts and graces, and making intercession for them. And then finally Christ taught us, of course, the pattern of prayer and the Lord's Prayer. Question 191 in the Catechism says, what do we pray for in the second petition? And the answer is in the second petition, which is thy kingdom come, acknowledging ourselves and all mankind to be by nature under the dominion of sin and Satan. We pray that the kingdom of sin and Satan may be destroyed. You say? Well, that means, of course, the end of time, right? No. We pray that the kingdom of sin and Satan may be destroyed. The Gospel propagated throughout the world. The Jews called in the fulness of the Gentiles, brought in the church, furnished with gospel officers and ordinances, purged from corruption, countenance then maintained by the civil magistrate and the ordinances of Christ may be purely dispensed and made effectual to the converting of those who are yet in their sins, and the confirming, comforting and building up of those that are already converted, that Christ would rule in our hearts here and hasten the time of his second coming and our reigning with him forever, and that he would be pleased so to exercise the kingdom of his power in all the world as may best conduce to these ends. I think it's rather clear, you see, in light of the teaching of the catechism and confession, that. That we have a king exalted to God's right hand, who is subduing all of our enemies, overcoming all opposition, ordering all things to his glory and to our good, calling in the Gentiles and propagating the gospel throughout the earth. And the seventh angel sounded and there followed great voices in heaven. And they said, the kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. Let us pray. Our sovereign king. We fall down in adoration and worship before you, acknowledging in awe, your majesty, your power, your glory. We acknowledge that the kingdom is yours, that you have permanently taken power, that. That you do reign over all. We pray that first you should reign in our hearts, that you should so govern and control us, that you would purge us of sin, that you would take away our rebellious hearts, that you would order all of our life and thoughts and words in your kingdom. We pray, Father, that our efforts might indeed advance your kingdom in this world, that we would be faithful servants to your call. We ask, Father also that in the sovereignty of your rule and in the kingdom of your son, you should bless our efforts for the kingdom, giving them great success. We pray, Father, that you would give us faithful hearts to see the kingdom coming, the world being converted, all things being ordered, for the glory of your own son. We ask you, Father, that. That indeed we might see progressively the secular power of the nations being taken up into the kingdom of Jesus. Christ. How we thank you and trust you day by day, that you are subduing every single enemy under the foot of your beloved Son. We thank you that he vindicates us from our enemies, that you avenge the blood of your martyrs, that you do send judgment into history, and that you give the power of your gospel to convert those who will repent. We ask you, Lord, that you would bring widespread conversion in our day, that you might turn our nation to Thee, that you might send the gospel to the earth's remotest ends. There might be great power seen in that gospel. And indeed, we would praise you with the Host above, saying that the kingdom of this world is the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. We pray these things in his name. Amen.