Revelation 11:14-19 Part 2 (42 of 63) Greg L. Bahnsen

Lord, we approach your throne of grace again this day, praising your name for who you are and what you have been to us, acknowledging that we wouldn't dare approach you if it weren't for your grace and for your son, Jesus Christ. We will come to you praying in his name, asking that you would see all of his merit and virtue, that it might be attributed to us because we cling to him in faith, asking that you would save us and pardon us from all our sins. We ask you, Lord, that you would lay our sins upon him, that he might bear them away, that we might indeed be justified in your sight, accepted in the Beloved and part of your family. We thank you that you would enable us to call you Father and to approach you as a father and to lay our requests before you. Father, we ask today that you would enlighten our hearts by your spirit. We might understand your word and be better servants and sons. We ask you that you might enable us to obey you and to love you with all of our hearts and souls, strength and mind. Lord, we pray that you might bless us this Sabbath day, that we might learn to rest in you and in your Son, that we might be strengthened for a week of service in your kingdom, for it's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. We're still studying in Revelation the 11th chapter this morning, so if you'll turn to Revelation 11, we'll do a little bit of review. And then I'd like to continue a study I began two weeks ago having to do with the biblical background to the declaration of Revelation 11 about the coming of God's kingdom in Revelation 11. We'll begin reading at verse 14 where John says, the second woe is Behold, the third woe cometh quickly. And the seventh angel sounded, and there followed great voices in heaven. And they said, of course, in our day we have to say, they sang, 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 down upon their faces and worshiped God, saying, we give thee thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who art and who wast because thou hast taken thy great power 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 up 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 open the temple of God that is in heaven. And there was seen in his temple the ark of his covenant. And there followed lightnings and voices and thunders and an earthquake and great hail. As I said before, here in the 11th chapter of Revelation, we come to something of a climax to the drama that's been developing all the way from chapter four, verse one onward. Let's remember what has happened in the book of Revelation. After John has written the seven letters to the seven churches, he goes into the third major portion of the book of Revelation, dealing with those things which are yet to take place. He has dealt with those things which are those things which are the case in the church in Asia Minor at that time. He's dealt with things which he has seen already. The opening vision of Jesus Christ in chapter one. And then at chapter four, verse one, he begins to see the things that are to be hereafter. And the first thing that he sees and remember, I think there's something of a dramatic emphasis on this. John is, of course, transported to heaven. And he says, behold, a throne. Indeed, the whole theme of the book of Revelation is going to be that throne of God that rules over the affairs of men. Behold, a throne in heaven. And then John looks out, away from the throne. He begins to see something of the heavenly court. And he sees the majesty of God, the Creator, the one who is sovereign over all. Then in chapter five, we are introduced to the Lamb of God who has been slain from the foundation of the world. The Lamb of God who has seven horns, indicating that he's a meek lamb, but nevertheless one with full power and sovereignty. And this Lamb of God is the only one in heaven who is able to open a scroll that is in the hand of God. And the scroll is sealed tight with seven seals. And there's nobody who is worthy to open it except the Lamb. And when the Lamb begins to open the seven sealed scroll, then we get, as it were, previews of what we're going to see in the scroll itself. The breaking of each seal brings us closer to the contents of that scroll. And so as each one of the seals is broken, we have something. It's like reading the fly leaf of a book to see what we can expect to happen. And then finally, the scroll is opened. And what happens? There's a half hour of silence in heaven. You see, God is not only working dramatically, saying, now you look in all the majesty of God's court, who can open the sealed scroll of history? Only Jesus Christ, the Lord of history. And as he opens it, he doesn't Open it right away and just tell us what's there. It's little by little, piece by piece, seal by seal. And then finally, when he breaks the seventh seal and we finally get the scroll opened up before us, everyone in heaven is hushed for a half hour. After all the singing we've heard about all the angelic hosts, heaven is silent for a half hour because we all wait. And then finally, an angel of God goes to the altar of God, which is in heaven. Very dramatic. And he takes coals from the altar of God, coals from the altar of prayer, and he casts them upon earth. God is going to answer the prayers of his saints. What have his saints been praying for? Well, it's not the sort of thing that we think of as being consistent with Christianity. Too often, I'm afraid. I think we're mistaken in doing that. But the saints have been asking that God would vindicate their cause in history, that God would avenge their names. They've been martyred, they've been persecuted. They've seen tribulation for the sake of the kingdom. And so they're asking that God would make right this, that he would set things straight on earth. And so the coals from the altar are taken by the angel of God and cast upon earth. And then the first angel sounds, okay, and seven angels are now going to sound their trumpets of judgment. Remember in the ancient world how dramatic that was? When the trumpet of Judgment was sounded, everybody would gather together for the war or whatever it was going to be. They would go and march on and take on their opposition. God now sounds his trumpet and he's ready to see the opposition to his kingdom put in its place. And so successively we see God bringing judgment upon the first enemy of the church of Jesus Christ, apostate Jerusalem. And so pound after pound after pound, you see, we see God pounding away at Jerusalem. And finally we get to the end of the. Into the series of trumpets which we are seeing today. And the declaration is given. What is the significance of the fact that in AD 70, God avenged His son and avenged his servants by judging the wicked city, Jerusalem? What's the significance of the fact that the mighty holy city is now fallen? You might think, well, obviously, since the Israelites were the people of God throughout history, and even they didn't warrant his favor, if even Israel fell short of the plans of God, then all of history is really something of a washout, right? I mean, Satan's been victorious in history. God doesn't have the upper hand. And all that is left is despair. Well, that is what the book of Revelation shows us. It shows us that Israel is not the people of God, that God desires a new Israel, a new people of God, the church, those who have circumcised hearts and not just circumcised foreskins. God desires the people who show forth the fruits of his kingdom. And so these people who have been oppressed by Jerusalem have now been vindicated. The time of the dead, as the passage says, they give the reward to the dead has come. But here's where Handel gets that mighty chorus in the 11th chapter of Revelation. And the kingdom of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. How do you know that's true? The book of Revelation says, you know that's true because, you know, Jerusalem fell. It's interesting logic, isn't it? In worldly wisdom, they'd say, well, if those were the people of God and Rome ran over Jerusalem, then obviously the kingdom of God is nothing in this world. And God says, no, it's just because they sent Rome to do that, that the kingdom of God is everything in this world. The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. And he shall reign forever and ever. And so that's the mighty climax of this whole first run of the drama of Revelation. Back from chapter four on, we finally get to the point where God declares, and all the hosts are singing, that the kingdom of this world is now Christ. And the 4 and 20 elders, verse 16 says, they fell upon their faces and worshiped God. And notice what they praised him for. We give thee thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, the One who is and was. Because you have taken your great power and you now reign. And the nations were wroth. But by wrath came the nations were wrathful. But then God showed his wrath. And he has avenged the dead. He's given judgment for the dead. He's given reward to his servants, the prophets, saints, and them that fear his name, the small and the great. And he has destroyed those who destroy the earth. And so when the nations are wrathful, God shows his wrath. And when those who have been created by God destroy the creation, he destroys them. And there was opened the temple of God that is in heaven. Remember what I said all the way back in chapter four. The first thing John says, behold the throne. We see now the sovereignty of God exercising power in history. Verse 19 here says, There was opened the temple of God that is in heaven, and there was seen in his temple, the Ark of the Covenant. So we move from the throne of God in chapter four to the Ark of the Covenant in chapter 11. There's a great significance to the Ark of that Covenant. There followed lightnings, voices, thunders, an earthquake and a great hail. And all these momentous natural events taking place to indicate to us dramatically that there is a real significance that John has given a glimpse of the Ark of the Covenant. Why must he see the Ark of the Covenant after the declaration that Jesus now controls the nation? Is God still with men? Does he dwell among his people? Is God still immanuel God with us? Does he still dwell with his people? Does he sit between the cherubim, the Ark of the Covenant, the mercy seat, showing his mercy and ruling from that throne? Is he still true to his promises? Is the Covenant faithfulness of God to be seen? Behold the Ark of the Covenant. John, at the very point where Jesus is declared king over the nations, behold the Ark of the Covenant. History was never surrendered to Satan. Satan may have thought he could offer the kingdoms of this world to Jesus. Remember, in the temptation of Satan, Satan's sensations to Jesus how he said, if you'll bow down and worship me, I'll give you all the kingdoms of the world. The difficulty with so many eschatological schemes is they look upon that as though Satan had somehow the power to do that. The one who is the prince of liars, we nevertheless give him benefit in offering something he could have done. Jesus said, of course not. You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, and only the Lord Yoda you to worship. And so Jesus kept to the path of obedience. And so one might think, well, then Satan still controls the nations, right? No, it's just because Jesus was obedient and went to the cross that God rewarded him with the resurrection and the ascension. Being ascended to God's right hand, he now rules over the nations. The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. And it's to our discredit to the extent that we read the daily paper. We don't say this is indeed Christ's kingdom and things are not right in the world and things must be done about it. But nevertheless, Christ rules over all. Not the Arabs, not Jimmy Carter, not anybody less than the Lord Jesus Christ himself. The kingdoms of this world are his. Well, I started two weeks ago to try to give you some biblical background to show that not only is that the climax of the first major dramatic theme in Revelation, that becomes in sense a climax to the developing theme throughout the Bible in the Old Testament. Beginning with the Abrahamic COVENANT In Genesis 13, we already see that Abraham has promised that his seed shall possess the nations, that somehow those who are true to the covenant of grace given by God to Abraham will possess the gates of their enemies. They're going to possess the world, and all nations will be blessed in Abraham. In the Mosaic Covenant, in numbers 14, we see the promise that the glory of the Lord will fill the earth. And then throughout the Psalms, we read a number of things in Psalm 2 and Psalm 22 and Psalm 47, Psalm 86, and Psalm 110. Just a few select psalms, actually, where it is declared that the glory of the Lord will fill the earth, that all nations will come and bow down before the Lord. And then we look at some prophetic passages in the old testament. Isaiah 2, Isaiah 9, Isaiah 11, Isaiah 49, Isaiah 54, and Isaiah 66. There's a persistent theme throughout Isaiah of how when God sends the Messianic Son, the government will be upon his shoulders, and of the increase of his government there shall be no end upon his throne to establish it. For the Lord of hosts, the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall accomplish it. One of the most definite passages, teaching that God's kingdom, Christ's kingdom, must grow and grow and grow until it possesses the earth. Because of the increase of that government, there'll be no end. And if you have any doubt about it, I mean, God's already spoken it, and his word can't be broken. But if you have any doubt about it, Isaiah adds, and remember, it's the zeal of the Lord of hosts that will accomplish it. You know, this Lord, whose arm cannot be turned back by any man, in his zeal he's going to even use. He's destined here, the Lord of hosts, with all this mighty power, he will accomplish it. Then we looked at Jeremiah and the promise of the new covenant. And in the day in which the new covenant is established, we are told that it will no longer be necessary for each man to say to his neighbor, no, Jehovah, it won't be necessary for you to go next door and say to your neighbor, I want you to come to know the Lord. Why is that? Why in the day of the new covenant, can you count on that happening? Because Jeremiah says, they also know me from the least to the greatest of them. Now, that is, of course, I think, a prophetic, emphatic kind of hyperbolic exaggeration. That is to say, it paints things in a character which are absolute, which are intended to indicate how widespread the Blessing will be, but not quite in that way, as Jesus says, often using the same teaching technique that if your eye offends, you, pluck it out. Jesus never met by that we are to maim our bodies, but he draws out his religion point by saying, it's so important that you not let your eye get the better of you morally, that it says, though you should pluck it out. And Jeremiah says, look, evangelism is going to have been so successful that in that day it's as though you won't have to evangelize at all. Then Ezekiel 47, that interesting picture where Ezekiel is promised success that's going to come to God's kingdom. Ezekiel is taken to the temple of God and there's this river of blessing flowing from the throne of God in the temple, right from the Ark of the covenant, you see the mercy seat of God from which he rules Jerusalem and all the world. And by the way, Revelation 22 paints the same picture of the river of the water of life flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb in the New Jerusalem. But anyway, Ezekiel has this picture of this river flowing out from underneath the curtains of the temple in the holy of holies. And the river starts flowing out and he walks through it once and it's ankle deep. They walk down, I think it's 100 cubits, maybe it's 300. Anyway, he walks down some measure of space. And then the Lord says, walk through it again to Ezekiel. And of course, as you know, if you know anything about water supplies, if you begin a water supply at a certain place and it's ankle deep and you walk down a little way, there's a to be petering out, right? So Ezekiel walks through it and it's up to his knees. The Lord says, now you walk down a hundred yards more, Ezekiel. And he walks through it, and it's up to his loins. And then he walks down a hundred yards more, and he can't walk through it at all because it's over his head and all the fish are swimming in it and it's just a mighty stream. What's Ezekiel being told? Of the increase of his government and upon his throne, to establish that there shall be no end, the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall accomplish it. You may think this is just a small day of God's blessing, but it's going to grow and grow and grow like a river. Glorious. You know, we sing that song based on that passage. All of us post millennialists will sing that, whether we're postmillennialists or not, Right? Like the river.

Glorious.

That's right. And then Daniel, the second chapter again, God is just hammering home these prophecies. In the second chapter of Daniel, we see Nebuchadnezzar's dream. And he has this dream of an image that's been set up. Four world kingdoms made up of different metallic substances. And then this terrible thing happens to that image. A stone cut without hands rolls down from somewhere and smashes the image, the idol. And then that stone grows to what to be a mountain that fills the earth, grows and grows and grows and grows. And then Nebuchadnezzar is very upset. He doesn't know what this means. And he calls for Daniel, you know, the dream teller, dream interpreter. And Daniel says, well, I'll tell you what that means, King, you're not going to like it too much. But your kingdom is just one of these many kingdoms that's going to be destroyed someday when God sends his kingdom. When God's kingdom comes, it's not going to be a kingdom like human hands would make. It's made without human hands. And it will destroy the world empire. And when it does that, it's going to start growing, growing until it fills the earth. The Book of Revelation says the fourth world empire has been been destroyed. The Church will destroy the Roman Empire. Do you need the Bible to tell you that that's true? I mean, the Bible said it will be true. I mean, as secular a scholar as Edward Givens told us, of course, in the rise of fall of the Roman Empire, I mean the fall of the Roman Empire, that it fell primarily because of the coming of the church and that the church had weakened the forces of cohesion in the Roman Empire because it gave a new loyalty to people. And it did, as Paul said in Acts, the 17th chapter, we followed the decrees of another king, one Jesus. And for that they wanted to stone him, by the way, for that. They'll probably want to stone us today, too, if you took it seriously enough. But the Old Testament prophecies in Daniel, I think, were where I ended in our last lesson. And we'll try to make some more progress today. Let's begin looking at Joel. Now, the second chapter again, I'm continuing to show you from Genesis through Revelation how this theme of the coming of God's kingdom and its growth to fill the earth is throughout the Bible. So, Amos, I'm sorry, Joel. Joel, Chapter two, Verses 28 to 29 and then 32, the beginning, and it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh. And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. Your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids. In those days will I pour out my spirit. Verse 32. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call upon the name of Jehovah shall be delivered. Very important passage, Joel, saying, the day is coming in which my spirit doesn't come upon just select prophets and leaders in Israel. My spirit will be poured out upon all flesh, men and women alike, no distinction. And in that day, whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. It's going to be a day of saving power. Well, in Acts, God, second chapter, God declares that you can count on these prophecies to be fulfilled and to be beginning in their fulfillment already. Acts 2. I'll read just verses 1, 14 and 16 to give you the setting. And when the day of Pentecost was now come, they were all together in one place. Verse 14. But Peter, standing up with the 11, lifted up his voice and spake, spake forth unto them, saying, ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and give ear unto my words. Okay, so Peter stands up on the day of Pentecost, and what do you declare? Verse 16 says, but this what they see the Spirit being poured out on the day of Pentecost, leading to people speaking in tongues and preaching the gospel to each other. And this is that which been spoken through the prophet Joel. And you'll read what we read in Joel already. So Peter says very definitely on the day of Pentecost, Old Testament prophecies are being fulfilled. This is that which Joel was speaking of. And so what happened on the day of Pentecost? Was it a day of saving power? Whoever called upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Yeah.

Not only was it a day of saving power, and whoever would call upon the name of the Lord, but Babel was undone. God had divided nations in terms of their tongues. And now God used the gift of tongues to bring them back together to speak the one unified message of the gospel. And when they all spoke together the message of the gospel, what happened on that day? Billy Graham can't even claim this kind of thing happening. 3,000 people were saved. In the next major rally where the gospel was preached, we read that 5,000 people were saved. Yes. And in the day that God pours out his spirit, it will be upon all flesh. Your sons and your daughters won't be Able to dream good enough what God is going to do for you. And then Amos, the ninth chapter, verses 11 to 13. Amos 9, beginning at verse 11, in that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof. And I will raise up its ruins and will build it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that are called by my name. Saith Jehovah that doeth this, behold, the day is come, saith Jehovah, that the ploughman shall overtake the reaper. And the treader of grapes, him that soweth seed, and the mountain shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. In that day, David's fallen tabernacle will be raised up. Actually, the word here is David's tabernacle that's going to be built up is like a little shed in a field that's fallen over with the wind, just kind of a crickety old thing that collapsed. And in that day, what is left of the Davidic empire, which is in ruins and shambles and toppled over, God will raise it up. Where is this particular passage quoted in the New Testament? That God will raise up the fallen tabernacle of David? It shouldn't be hard to remember, given our last verse, the day of Pentecost. Well, I'm sorry. In Acts 15. Excuse me. Acts 15 tells us that at the first general assembly of the Christian church, not the day of Pentecost, but the first general assembly, it is declared that with the Gentiles coming into the church, David's fallen tabernacle is being rebuilt. And so in the church of Jesus Christ, these prophecies are going to be fulfilled. And so that part of the interpretation is set. But now verse 13 tells us something very interesting. Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper. Don't ever get it into your head. The Bible doesn't have a sense of humor. I mean, you have to understand. That is a very funny image. What you have here is the man going out, throwing the seed, right?

Okay.

And then the man coming and plowing. Well, the reaper and the man who are plowing are running into each other. Why is that? Because this land is so successful that, you know, you see, you throw the seed and you plow and you reap it immediately. And the one who treads the grapes, him that soweth seed. And so, you see, the seasons are going to be just kind of coalesced. It's not as though you're going to have to wait a long time to see the kind of success. Man throws the seed into the ground, and the grapes are there to be tread already. And so they're going to be running into each other. These people who are at different seasons of the year are already going to be seeing the success you see at the very start. That indicates there's going to be a day of great success for the kingdom of God. So that when we preach the Word, it's going to see infinite success. And if you have any doubt about that interpretation, look how Jesus uses the passage In John the fourth chapter, verses 35 to 37. In John the fourth chapter, Jesus has gone to Samaria. He's met the woman at the well, of course, who is she, has come to know him as the Savior of Israel. And she goes back, of course, to tell the people in the city about this one who has come, and they come flocking out to him. Jesus says in verse 35 of John 4, say not ye, there are yet four months. And then cometh the harvest. Jesus says, you know, we're waiting about a third of the year until the harvest comes, right? You already know it's about four months to go till harvest. Behold, I say unto you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields. They are white already. Unto harvest, he that reapeth receiveth wages and gathereth fruit unto eternal life. And he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. See, it isn't as though the man who sows must now wait four months so that the reaper can come by, and that they might rejoice, but they're going to rejoice together. The day of rejoicing for the sower and the day of rejoicing for the reaper are one and the same day. Just as you see, Amos had said. Now, there's been some discussion among commentators as to what Jesus meant when he said, now you know it's four months till harvest. But I tell you, look on the fields to see the white end of harvest already. But we're told conspicuously that at the time that Jesus sees the crowds coming up from Samaria to see him, that he says this. And I can't insist on this interpretation, and I wouldn't want to insist that you believe that this is the one and only way to interpret it. But I really tend to think that what Jesus is saying is, look unto the field for white unto harvest. And he was referring to the crowds. He's saying, here's God's harvest right here. That one woman goes back into Samaria and look at all the people. You see that God is calling into his kingdom. Is this a day of prosperity for the gospel? Well, look into the fields are white unto harvest. Jesus says, well, now in the Old Testament, let's look at Habakkuk, second chapter, verses 12 to 14, Habakkuk 2, beginning at verse 12. Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood and establisheth a city by iniquity. Behold, is it not Jehovah of hosts that the people labor for? For the fire and. And the nations weary themselves for vanity. For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah as the waters cover the sea. How do the waters cover the sea? A little drop here and a little drop there, you know, a little puddle over in this portion of the sand. A little puddle over here. Maybe even a couple of puddles getting together. You know, a little ecumenical movement between the puddles. No. The glory of the Lord, the knowledge of the glory of the Lord is going to fill the earth as the waters cover the sea pervasively. We're going to be drowned in the knowledge of the Lord, just like the Lord drowned the earth in judgment once, you see, but the waters of the flood, the Noah's flood, is now going to drown the world in its grace. He's going to see that the knowledge of his glory fills the earth like the waters fill the sea. Zechariah, chapter 2, verses 6, through Zechariah 2, 6, 7. Ho, ho. Flee from the land of the north, saith Jehovah, for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, saith Jehovah. Ho, Zion. Escape thou that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. And then, Zechariah 9, verses 9 and 10. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, thy king cometh unto thee. He is just and having salvation lowly, and riding upon an ass, even upon the colt, the foal of an ass. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem. And the battle bows shall be cut off. And he shall speak peace unto the nations. And his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. And when your king comes to you, O Zion, he'll speak peace, peace to the nations. He'll cut off the bow and the chariot and the weapons of war. He'll speak peace. And his dominion shall extend throughout the world to the ends of the earth. Zechariah 13:1 in that day there shall be a fountain open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. Zechariah 14:9 and Jehovah shall be king over all the earth. In that day shall Jehovah be one, and his name one. So all these prophecies are the coming day in which Jehovah shall reign. His name shall be one, and he shall be the one king over all the earth. And that day there will be a fountain opened so that our sins might be forgiven. The king will come and declare peace to the nations, and his dominion shall spread to the ends of the earth. One passage in the Old Testament we'll look at one more passage and then we'll move to the New Testament this morning. Malachi 1 Malachi 111 for from the rising of the sun, even unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles, and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name and a pure for my name shall be great among the Gentiles, saith John. Jehovah of hosts, how widespread will be the kingdom and the dominion of Jesus Christ. How far will his peace grow till the increase of his government there shall be no end it will extend to the earth's remotest ends, and from the rising of the sun till the going down, God's name will be exalted, and the knowledge of the Lord will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea. You won't be able to find the sun rising on a nation that isn't a Christian nation in that day. Now do you see why it's so climactic that when we finally get to the Book of Revelation, all the seals are broken of the scroll of history and the final declaration of the seventh trumpet is the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. There's the reward to the obedient Messiah, the one who has ascended to God's right hand. All the Old Testament prophets, all the Old Testament psalms, all the Old Testament covenants, all the way back to the Abrahamic covenant anticipated that day, as we've been seeing. And by the way, this has only been a select portion of the Old Testament prophecies and indications. We'd have to have a whole course in eschatology and Sunday school to cover the remainder of it. But just as select portions from the entire Old Testament will indicate, God's people have always anticipated that he would rule upon earth in this widespread manner. Okay, Yes, you can take it either way. The meaning is the same. There are many kingdoms that will become one. But when John speaks in Revelation 11 of the Kingdom of this world becoming the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, he says he's envisioning the world power, the secular power of humanism, and those forces which are in opposition to God as unified. In that sense, there is one world order, one world kingdom, one world opposition to God. And that opposition will now be taken over and made part of the kingdom of God. That if Christ will rule over it, he will have dominion. He will capture even that first. But the meaning, as we ordinarily say, of the kingdoms of this world is the same. The point is, Christ is going to rule over the entire world. Whether you envision the world as unified. I mean, for all the differences between the Arabs and the Jews and all the rest, the fact is, unless they profess the name of Christ and bow the knee to him in God's sight, they're one. There is one kingdom of this world, the kingdom that is in opposition to the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Jesus is going to rule over it. Does that help understand why we speak both of the singular and the plural? The Greek is singular, you're right, and many of your translations will be plural nonetheless. But there's not a whole lot lost there that I can see. Anyway, theologically, you prefer a more literal translation. If you can get it. Though, another question. Let's turn to the New Testament and see if the New Testament gives us the same kind of optimism for gospel prosperity. Matthew the 13th chapter the parable for the kingdom where Jesus wants to say, you want to know what the kingdom of God is like? Then think of it this way. Jesus is a very good teacher. It would be nice if we could all cultivate his method, always able to get his point across with an appropriate illustration. If you want to know what the king kingdom is like, Matthew 13:31,33 I'll tell you what the kingdom is like. Another parable said he before them, saying, the kingdom of heaven is like this. It's like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is less than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the heaven come and lodge in the branches thereof. That's what the kingdom's like. If you it begins like a mustard seed. You can hardly see it, it's so small. What happens is it grows to be this huge bush or tree that even the birds of heaven can flock to. That's what the kingdom's like. Is that the way you think of the kingdom began very small, but it's growing and growing and growing and growing and growing. And at the increase of his government there shall be no end. Do you think of it that way? Well, I confess that for all of my, I think, understanding of what the Bible is saying about the prophetic future of the kingdom, it's pretty easy to look upon the kingdom as a mustard seed. Still, it's always going to be a mustard seed, just a little remnant, just a few people that God has called here and there. After all, we're Calvinists and we believe that it's by God's election that these people become Christians. And if they haven't been predestined, then they won't come to know the Lord. And if God is the one who does the choosing and somehow we get into our mind, God's kind of stingy about the choosing too. But I don't see anywhere in the system that we call Calvinism or better the doctrines of grace as are presented in the Bible. I don't see anywhere where the sovereignty of God is taught as a stingy doctrine. God is the one who chooses people for salvation and that means there's going to be just a few. And of course, if you think you're one of the ones that God is predestined and it's only a few, then, well, it's pretty nice to be among this little select group, isn't it? I'm afraid that's why we have trouble sometimes with our doctrines of grace. They don't teach us grace, they teach us pride. And they teach us pride because we have a distorted view of how God does his choosing. God's not a stingy God, he says. You want to know what the kingdom's like? It's like this begins small, ends big, verse 33. Another parable saith he unto them, he apparently doesn't want them to miss the point. The kingdom of heaven is like this. It's like unto leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened. Those of you who bake or cook or know more about these things than I do, what happens when you put the leaven in any way? You're going to be able to stop the effect and then the whole loaf is going to be leavened. Right? That's what the kingdom of God is like. God puts his Leaven into the lump, and the whole lump is going to be leavened, going to be this great increase. Mustard seed to a tree, from a little bit of leaven to the increased loaf. That's what the kingdom of God is like. Matthew 22:8, 10 also teaches us something about the kingdom.

Get that?

Well, the parable of the wheat and the tares teaches us, it seems to me, a number of things. There's a lot of lessons there. One very important one is that judgment doesn't come before God decides. The wheat and the tares grow together until God sends judgment. And we are told also that we're never going to have perfection upon earth. The wheat and the tares will always be together. And undoubtedly they will. There's no idea, I think, present in any of these prophecies that all evil will be eradicated before the one who eradicates all evil comes to do so. But nevertheless, the wheat and the tares being together, what kind of field do they grow in? A tare field? No, a wheat field. That's very important. You know why? Because I know a lot of Christians who think the world is a tare field. We're going to try to get a little bit of wheat growing among the tares. God says, no, it's a wheat field. This is my kingdom, this is my world. And Satan comes and he sows tares at night while men sleep. They allow this sort of thing to happen. But those who are vigilant know that they're taking care of God's kingdom and God's field. And it's a wheat field. So I don't see that there's any indication in this that we're to be pessimistic. Well, we're to be as realistic we're supposed to. Realistic and know that it isn't our place to judge before the times and that God isn't going to eradicate evil before he wants to. And he'll take out the tares at the appropriate time. But it is nevertheless his field. It's a wheat field. Satan does his work in God's kingdom. Of course, we must remember that the wheat and the tares grow at the expense of each other. That's another reason why I find it very hard to see why an all millennialist would appeal to this kind of passage. Because it doesn't do him much good. I mean, if you take it seriously, if you know anything about wheat and tares, you know that they grow at each other's expense. You can't have the wheat and the tares equally growing, because when tares grow, they choke out the wheat. And when the wheat grows, the tares have no place. But what's all millennialism teach? The wheat and the tares grow simultaneously. And equally there's an increase of good and increase of evil in the world. Well, that can't be. Where does God get his good people? How do people become wheat? This is not part of the natural world. That's the supernatural power of God. He takes tares and he makes people into wheat. The wheat and the tares grow at each other's expense. And when the wheat is growing in God's field, it's because tares are being changed into wheat. I mean, I'm going beyond the parable here to make the point. But see, God takes evil people and he makes them good in his sight by his Son. And so if we believe that these things are going to grow together until the end, we must believe that one's going to grow at the expense of the other. And I maintain it's a wheat field. It's not a tare field. They'll always be there. But I maintain that God is going to eradicate evil more and more and more as he brings more and more people into his kingdom. Does that help? If you have any other questions, I'll let you get it in quick, or else I'm going to go on. Okay. Matthew 22:8, 10. Excuse me. Then saith he to his servants, the wedding is ready, but they that were bidden were not worthy. Go ye, therefore, unto the partings of the highways, and as many, many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage feast. And those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all, as many as they found both bad and good. And the wedding was filled with guests. But when the king came in to behold the guest, well, I think the portion that I'm interested in, we can stop there. The idea is that those who were bidden to the kingdom of God, bidden to the marriage feast, didn't respond. And so God says, that's all right. I'll send my servants out and we'll beat the hedges and we'll go into the highways and we'll find out, you know, if there aren't enough people to fill God's kingdom, and you'll notice that the feast was filled. We live in a day of gospel prosperity. You can expect God to fill his kingdom. Mark the fourth chapter, verses 14 and 20. Jesus again tells us what the kingdom is.

Life.

Mark 4:14. The sower soweth the word. We are told. And then verse 20 for further interpretation. And those are they that were sown upon the good ground, such as hear the Word and accept it and bear fruit. And usually in our expositions of the parable, that's just about all that gets exposited. That means there are people who will receive the Word. They'll receive it gladly and will take deep root in their lives. They'll accept the Word and they'll bear fruit. They're genuine, born again people. Okay, the sower soweth the Word, and the Word has this effect in certain people's lives. But the verse doesn't end there because. And they bear fruit thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold. It isn't just that. You see, they are genuine believers, but they bear fruit. That is incredible. Any farmers among us, Anybody know seed.

That bears 30, fold 60, a hundredfold? Jesus again, you see, it is almost tongue in cheek. Jesus says, you want to see how prosperous my kingdom is going to be? When the seed, the word of God is powerful in the life of somebody, then it is going to be powerful and it's going to spread its influence in a miraculous way. Luke 5, 9, 10. For he was amazed, and all they that were with him at the draught of the fishes which they had taken. And so were also James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, fear not, from thenceforth thou shalt catch men. That's a very familiar Sunday school story. We have songs where we commemorate this little story. I will make you fishers of men, right? Well, he will. God makes his people into fishers of men. He makes us evangelists. He makes us those who bring people into the kingdom. We catch men for the sake of God and for their eternal salvation. The problem is we forget the context in which Jesus is said this. They were all amazed. They were in awe. At what? Well, they had been fishing, you see, and they weren't to catch anything. And so they followed Jesus instruction.

And what happened?

Their nets were bursting with fish. Where did all these fish come from? Well, of course, the Lord of nature, Jesus, the Sovereign, is able to do that sort of thing. He says, you cast on this side.

Of the boat and you'll have all.

The fish you want. And they can't hardly pull them in. And they are just in awe on. Jesus says, don't think anything of that. I'm going to make you fishers of men. Those of us who go around fishing think there's just a few little fish in the stream and we're going to do well if we pull one or two in. Jesus says, no, it's going to be a huge catch. I'm going to make you fishers of men just like that. You see, if you follow my instructions, the nets are going to be bursting with the fish that you'll catch. That is to say, the men that will come to the Gospel, or John the 12th chapter, verses 31 and 32. Jesus says, now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto myself. Time of judgment has come for Satan, the one who thinks he rules it over this earth. Jesus says, and if I be lifted up, if I be crucified, if I be put up upon that cross, if that happens, the effect is going to be just the opposite of what Satan thinks. Instead of people being repelled from the cross, and as on the day of Good Friday, of course it appeared fleeing from the Savior. Jesus says, I'll draw all men to myself because of that. See, the word of the cross is a reconciling word. It's a word that breaks men's hearts. It's a word which draws them to God and to their eternal salvation. Jesus says, if I be lifted up, men are going to be drawn to me. But he says, not just that men will be drawn, but that all men will be drawn to him. Jesus expects that his crucifixion is going to bear great rewards in terms of the effects upon mankind. John, the 15th chapter, verses 5 and 8 tell us what kind of effect we should be having on the world. John 15:5. Jesus says, I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him. The same beareth much fruit, for apart from me, ye can do nothing. Verse 8. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit, and so shall ye be my disciples. You know, when that word of God is heard and it takes effect and it's genuinely accepted, then people start bearing fruit thirtyfold and sixtyfold and one hundredfold much fruit. And therein is the Father glorified. Well, we've looked at Matthew and at Mark and at Luke and at John, the Gospels, just some of the places that we can see already indications that there's optimism in the New Testament for the prospects of the kingdom and for the gospel. And so to be a prosperous gospel, it's going to be a victorious gospel. It's going to see widespread effects and victories for the kingdom of God. Then we come to Acts the second chapter. Jesus has been crucified, raised from the dead. He has ascended on high and he sends forth his Spirit into the church. And we begin to see that that optimism of the Gospels is now worked out in the history of the church. Acts 2:32, 36. This Jesus did God raise up, whereof we all are witnesses, being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath poured forth this which ye see and hear. For David ascended not into the heavens, but he saith himself, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet. Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God hath made him.

Both Lord and Christ.

This Jesus whom ye crucified, verse 41. They then that received his word were baptized, and there were added unto them in that day A about 3,000 souls. David didn't ascend into the heavens because David said in Psalm 110 the Lord says to my Lord, sit down on my right hand. How long until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet? Until you can put your foot on the neck of your enemies just as though your enemies were the footstool of your feet, that's for how long you shall reign. And that's the purpose of your reign. And Peter says, this is what you're now seeing. The Jesus that you crucified God raised up and has brought him to his right hand. And Jesus, with the power of the Holy Spirit, sheds forth this promise on the church. And he's now going to begin ruling until every enemy has been subdued under him. The Old Testament prophecies will be fulfilled. You see that the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christian. Maybe we should stop there at Acts two, and the next time I'm with you, we'll begin at Romans and continue working through the New Testament to see something of the background to this beautiful declaration in Revelation 11 that the kingdom, our kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. Do you have any questions before we end today? It's a sure sign that I either put you to sleep or I exposited it so beautifully that nothing is left to be said. Or maybe it's somewhere in between. I'll give you a second. You sure you have no questions about any of these passages you'd like to ask? We got a minute? All right, let's end with, okay, we have one. I didn't hear the beginning of your question. I heard the worse and better thing at the end.

I don't know.

There are kind of two schools of thought among those who expect things to get better. You have to understand there are two schools of thought that don't expect it to get get better at all. Things will either be as usual until the very end and then there's going to be a great calamity and then Christ will come, or another school of thought says things are going to get worse and worse and worse and worse and Christ will come. And there's another school of thought that says, well, one way or another, things are going to get better before they get worse and then Christ will come. But now will things get worse before they get better? To get worse again? And Christ comes. Have I lost you all yet? Alright, pre millennialism is says we're on a sinking ship. That's not my caricature. I mean, that's what pre millennialists say. They say we don't polish brass on a sinking ship and this world's sinking and we can hope for the Rapture, we can hope the Lord will come soon, but there's just no hope for the world. We're just trying to pluck a few brands from the burning here and there. Amillennialism says, well, we can't be sure that the ship is sinking, but we know it will sink. I mean, eventually things are going to get really bad very fast. And maybe it's probably, I mean, there are some amillennialists who say things are going downhill already, but at least good and evil stay pretty much on a par. I mean, as one grows, the other grows. And I don't think that's possible, but anyway, that's what the theory is. And then there's another school of thought, postmillennialism, that says, well, the kingdom of God is going to be victorious in the world. There's going to be worldwide revival. There will be Christian nations and people belonging to the Lord on a scale that's unprecedented in human history. But now, among those who expect things to eventually get better like that, by the way, they also, most of them also expect there's going to be a great apostasy at the very end. At least. I believe that on the basis of Revelation 20, after we see the millennial victories, God will, in a very short season, once again show the world the effects of his when his grace is not offered to in that powerful way. But before we see this prosperous day of Gospel and revival around the world. Will things get worse? There are some who say yes and some who say maybe. And I'm with those who say maybe. I don't think the Bible gives us a chart of world events. I think it gives us the themes and the general expectations. But I don't think the Bible tells us that there will be worldwide expectations, economic collapse, political chaos, and all that sort of thing. And out of that will rise the Christian testimony, the only thing that can bring cohesion to the nations again. Now, I know some people and I have some very good friends who believe that believe the Bible teaches that God will judge the world, will chasten the world, and then out of that situation, the world will have nowhere to look but to the Christian church as the only source of hope and comfort and guidance. And my feeling is, well, that's one way God could do it.

It.

Maybe he'll do it that way.

I mean, if I'm not a prophet, but if I were a prophet, I.

Would look at world events and I'd say, things don't look all that super, but I can't say for sure. Another school of thought says, well, there's just this gradual, gradual, gradual growth, and there's ups and downs, up and down all the way along. But eventually, after all the ups and downs, you finally get to a place that's much better than when the kingdom began. The mustard seed has become the large tree. And for my money, I don't think the Bible tells you one way or another for sure. What the Bible does tell us is that we can labor in hope, realizing that the kingdom will be victorious and that none of our labors are in vain just because Christ intends to rule it over the nations. Until that day comes where every one of his enemies has been subdued, and not until Christ subdues every one of his enemies will he subdue the last one. And what's the last one? Death. How will Christ subdue death? By showing that it doesn't rule over our bodies. He's going to raise us from the grave. And so I don't expect the general resurrection of the bodies of believers until Christ has already conquered the world. At least I don't think Paul did either. But I'll have to wait till next time I'm with you to try to show you that in First Corinthians, let's end with a word of prayer. Father, we pray. We pray that you will help us to understand your word properly and to apply it properly to our lives. We wish to be faithful servants. We wish to see your kingdom grow and to be prosperous. We wish to see people converted and brought unto you. We ask you, Lord, that you would make us diligent in that task of evangelism. That you would give us hope and.

You might open our eyes.

That we might look unto you to see that you have all power in heaven and earth. And that you expect us to disciple the nations. That you are with us always. And to that end, there is no reason for lack of resource or lack of good news. That people cannot be brought unto you. We ask you, Lord, to hasten the day. In which, indeed we will see the kingdoms of this world all bowing down, being part of the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. As to that end, we pray and study this day. Amen.