The Triumph of the Gospel /Understanding the Book of Revelation 3 of 3 Greg L Bahnsen

This recording has been released into the public domain by the Bonson Institute, where we aim to bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. As we come to this, the third and last installment of our conference having to do with hope for the future, I finally get to share with you some of the best news of all, and that is that the Bible assures us that the Lord Jesus Christ will be victorious in extending his kingdom over all the earth, and that we will see better days ahead for the Church of Jesus Christ. I realize that that's politically incorrect to say today that this doesn't fit into the prevailing opinion in many churches, many theological circles, but, you know, it is what the Word of God teaches. I believe with all my heart, and I'd like to convince you of that. In this hour, what have we seen up to this point? We've seen that the Book of Revelation is first of all a revelation, not an obscuring of the truth, and that if we pay attention to its internal clues, we can figure out certainly in broad strokes, what it teaches. It teaches that the Lord Jesus Christ, even as he promised when he gave the Great Commission, is present with his Church. He is glorified and sovereign and almighty, and he walks among the candlestands. He is with the Church. And he addresses the Church in the second section of Revelation in these seven letters in such a way that it's clear he expects His Church to be an overcoming and victorious body. Those things which are wrong in the midst of the Church need to be corrected. We need to repent of them. Those things which are commendable need to be strengthened and carried on. But all those who have ears to hear must listen. As Jesus says, the promise is for those who will be victorious. How can the Church be victorious, though, when we look out and we see all the opposition and persecution that awaits us? How can the Church be victorious when we know the tribulation that comes to all of us? Indeed, the very writer of the Book of Revelation who was on Patmos for the Word of God. How is it possible that we can have this assurance? Well, the Book of Revelation says that John had two scrolls that he was going to relate to us. One, a seven sealed scroll dealing with one enemy of the people of God. And that turns out to have been Jerusalem. The Jews, the apostate Jews of his day were going to be judged of God for the rejection of the Savior and their city would fall. And in that connection, we know that Satan himself has lost his position of authority and power. He's been cast down to the earth. But not being satisfied, Satan now goes out to persecute those who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ and all the world. And we see a second beast now rising out of the Mediterranean Sea, which is the Roman Empire itself. And John goes on to show us that it too, like Babylon of old, will fall and will be destroyed by God. John was talking about his day and age, things that will soon come to pass, as he says in at the beginning and end of his prophecy. Nevertheless, he does explain to us how this victory is possible. Because at the end of the discussion of the fall of Babylon, Rome in John's day, we read that the Lord Jesus Christ and the preaching of the Gospel will go forth and conquer the nations. Indeed, Satan has been bound. We saw in our last lecture, Satan was bound during the first adventure of Jesus Christ. He is now destroying the house of the devil. He is spoiling the strongman's house. And his people are enjoying spiritual resurrection, the first resurrection. And they are seated with Christ upon his throne, spiritually speaking. And this period of time that we call the Church age will therefore be a period of time of progressing victory for the preaching of the Gospel. And as nations come to have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and to live that faith out in their external affairs. Now, someone asked me at the break a very good question about. Well, if you believe that that happened at the first advent, Dr. Bonson, it was supposed to be a thousand years, but we're going on 2,000 years now. What do we make of that? Remember what I said about the nature of the book of Revelation. This is not newspaper reporting done in advance. This is a highly figurative book. There are many poetic images, figures of speech, symbols and so forth. And therefore we are not inclined to begin by reading the 1000 in a literal way any more than we should read the 1000 literally. When the psalmist says, the Lord owns the cattle on a thousand hills, does that mean God doesn't own the cattle on Hill 1001, 1002 and so forth? Of course not. It's a way of speaking that talks about a long period of time or a great quantity. And so the thousand year reign of Jesus has begun. And it is set in contrast in John's writing to the very short period for Satan at the end of history. Now, what should we expect to take place during this thousand year period? We know that at the end of it Jesus will return in flaming fire from heaven and all men will be raised and all men will be judged at that time. Consequently, a premillennial and especially a dispensational understanding of the millennium are ruled out by our reading of the Bible. But what should we expect in this period of time before Jesus returns? This brings us to the question of whether you should take an amillennial or a post millennial view of the church age. Should you look upon the promises of God and the prosperity that is promised in the Bible as pertaining to heavenly blessings or spiritual hidden blessings within the Church? Or should you see it as that as well as external and visible success for the kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? Well, you already know that. I'm a post millennialist. I believe that we should see the kingdom of God advancing in this world spiritually and externally, and that we should continue to see that growth until the very end when Satan is loosed. To put it very simply, as a post millennialist, I believe the Great Commission is going to be fulfilled. Jesus, after his resurrection, appeared to his followers and said, all power, all authority is mine in heaven and on earth. So go disciple the nations. He didn't say go witness to the nations. He said, make them disciples, followers of me, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and teaching them to observe whatsoever I've commanded you. Jesus expects the nations to not only be in the Church and be baptized, but also to obey him in all areas of life and in everything that he has taught. And then he says, you can be sure this will happen because lo, I'm with you always to the end of the age. And if he has all power and authority in heaven and earth and is with us to the end of the age, there is then no reason for the Church not to complete the Great Commission. That's really what I'm getting at when I say I'm a post millennialist. I believe in the Great Commission, I believe it's going to be fulfilled. I believe the Book of Revelation assures us of that. I believe that the teaching of the entire Bible coalesces to teach this view of history, that we are now in the kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And that kingdom is going to grow and grow as he builds his church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And that means the church is going to see widespread success, long range over the ages. And it's going to not only see people come to it in conversion, it's also going to see people nurtured in the faith, living according to what Jesus has taught so that we have a better day ahead for us. One of the things that makes biblical post millennialism worthy of consideration, I think, is that it can do justice to two factors. One that premillennialists use against all millennialists, and one which all millennialists use against premillennialists. If you stop and think about it, post millennialism is able to incorporate the strengths of those other two positions. The strength of amillennialism is its understanding of the timing of God's kingdom. That the millennium began at the first advent of Jesus Christ and at the end of the church age, there will be a general resurrection and a general judgment. No millennial kingdom after Jesus returns. That's its strength. And it has always urged that against premillennialism, and that's fine. But then premillennialists turn around and urge against the amillennialists the visible and earthly successes for God's kingdom which are clearly promised in the Bible. All millennialists are always at a disadvantage, I think, because they end up having to do such gymnastics to explain how all these really powerful promises are being fulfilled today in a kind of silent, invisible way or in heaven. But you see, if you're a post millennialist, you can take the strengths of both positions. You can understand the visible earthly success of the kingdom and apply it to this present age. So you can be a premillennialist, at least when it's appropriate in terms of the understanding of the golden age or semi golden age that's been promised by the Bible and a non millennialist with respect to the timing of it. But in our day and age, there is so much garbage, so much misrepresentation, be it purposeful or not, so much misunderstanding of what the post millennial position actually is. I think it would be worthwhile for me to take a moment and just lay out for you 10 things that we believe as post millennialist. Because those who attack post millennialism often portrayed as not believing these sorts of things. First of all, as post millennialists, we champion the inspiration, infallibility, and sole doctrinal authority of the Bible. I am not a post millennialist because I read the newspaper. Shouldn't that be obvious to you? If I read the newspaper, how could I possibly have this kind of hope? I don't have it because the world's going so well. Nor am I a post millennialist because I have some kind of understanding of man's inherent goodness. Evangelical post millennialists believe that fallen man is totally unable to do any saving good, cannot atone for his sins, cannot become a member of the kingdom of God, except through the Redemptive work of the Savior and the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. Post millennialists don't have a high view of human nature. I've sometimes heard people say, well, I can't be a post millennialist because I don't believe man's that good. Well, let me tell you something. I'm a Calvinist. I don't think man's good at all. He's totally depraved, as the Bible says. He's spiritually dead. He's hopeless. He has to be born again if he would even see the kingdom of God. That has nothing to do with being a post millennialist. Do you know what the problem is here? People will say, well, I just can't be a post millennialist because I don't think man's that good. As though we don't have a view of man that's such that he couldn't save himself. Well, but then if you don't think men can save themselves if they don't have any inherent goodness in them. Dr. Bahnson, how can you possibly be a post millennialist? Well, what's the answer? If God can save one hopeless dead sinner, guess what? He can save two. In fact, he can save four and 10 if he wishes to. He can save a hundred, he could save a thousand, he could save a million. He could save billions, if that's his choice. Because when all is said and done, if it doesn't rest in man, it all depends on what God wants to do. God can do whatever God wants to. Is any word too hard for Jehovah? Remember that question, the Book of Genesis? Of course not. If God chooses to do it, it can be done. I am not a post millennialist because I have a very high view of human nature. I have a very low view of human nature, but a very high view of God's sovereignty. Because God is sovereign. He can even bring the dead to life spiritually. Thirdly, postmillennialists teach the glorious personal return of Jesus Christ at the end of history to judge the world. Post millennialists do not deny the second coming or the visible and glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that at the end of history, he is coming again, and when he comes, he will judge the world. Fourthly, we insist that at his first advent, Jesus, the Son of God, came as the messianic mediatorial king and established his saving kingdom among men on earth. The Bible so repeatedly speaks of this, and I don't have enough time to tell you everything I'd like. I have to leave it to you to look at Philippians chapter 2, to look at Acts chapter 2, Ephesians chapter 1, chapter Hebrews chapter 1, and any number of other texts that talk about the Lord Jesus Christ ascending to the right hand of God, there being enthroned as the King over all creation, he's been highly exalted. He now has a name above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he is the Lord. So we do believe that Jesus presently is the King. As we saw in our last lecture, Peter, on the day of Pentecost, declared that Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God in fulfillment of the promise to David, which was what? I will make your enemies the footstool of your feet. And he's now entered into that reign. Fifthly, post millennialists are painfully aware that those who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Church itself, those who belong to him are appointed to suffering in this world. And inevitably, they will undergo persecution and they will undergo affliction in following the Savior who is their King. There is nothing in postmillennialism contrary to what many people try to malign it as teaching. Nothing that teaches a triumphalism, that says, well, then Christians will never suffer. No, it's a battle out there. We wrestle not with flesh and blood, but with principalities and powers. And you know what? It hurts to be a Christian and you're mistreated and you go through any number of emotional and spiritual difficulties and external difficulties and tribulation in this world. We don't deny that for a minute. It's a battle, and it will be a battle until the Lord returns and sets everything right. We. We don't deny that for a minute. What we do deny is that we're on the losing side of this battle. You know what? The United States won World War II not by ourselves. But my point is we were on the winning side. Now, does anybody think that means that no one ever suffered in World War II from the United States? We didn't lose any soldiers along the way. Nobody had a hard time of it. Of course not. Our soldiers suffered. The German soldiers suffered, and others as well. But you get my point here. Anybody who goes to war is going to suffer. It's a battle. But that doesn't mean that both sides lose. One suffering side prevails and the other suffering side doesn't. As a post millennialist, I'm not denying the suffering. I'm denying that we're going to lose. I'm denying that we're on the wrong side of history. I affirm and I am aware in my own life, very painfully, that if you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, you will undergo persecution. You will be afflicted in this world. So we are not some kind of whistle in the dark, Pollyanna, wishful thinking types of guys saying, oh, everything is going to be wonderful. Everything is beautiful in its own way, right? That isn't post millennialism. Sixthly, post millennialists believe the Gospel is to be preached to all nations by the Church prior to the second advent of Christ, and that eventually that will bring worldwide conversion and that this is the Church's calling from God. People don't like to hear that. Because if that's God's calling, then we're falling short, aren't we? And I want to tell you here humbly but very firmly, we are falling short. God did not give us a little minor commission. Go out there and do your best to raise a witness in the world. He said, disciple the nations. But Jesus, we can't do it. He goes, I'm with you always. To the end of the age. Of course you can do it. God has called the church to preach and to preach successfully and to preach until we see the world won to the Lord Jesus Christ. Seventhly, postmillennialism maintains that the victorious advance of Christ's kingdom in this world will take place in terms of the present peaceful and spiritual power of the Gospel, rather than through a radically different principle of operation, namely physical force and earthly violence in order to subdue opposition. My last hour, I talked about premillennialism and dispensationalism. I said that they have the timing wrong. We can see that. But you see, they also have a misconception. Premillennialist and dispensationalists do. They have a misconception of how the kingdom comes because according to the Bible, the kingdom of God does not come in this world through violence. It doesn't come through physical threats and compulsion. But on the dispensational and premillennial understanding, Jesus is going to come back and with the tanks and bazookas, he's going to finally conquer this world. But you'll find nothing in the Scripture to suggest that. How does Jesus conquer the nations according to Revelation 19? With a sword. Right? But not a sword in his hand, sword from his mouth. It's going to be preaching that changes men's hearts. It's going to be the power of the Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, you didn't need physical Compulsion to make people bow the knee to the Lord Jesus. It was the power of the Holy Spirit that brought hearts to him. And as a post millennialist, I believe that it's essential that we see the kingdom grow in terms of the present dispensation, the present resources that are available to the Church, the spiritual power of the Gospel, the word of God being preached, and the Holy Spirit bringing conviction. We don't believe, as post millennialists, that God will conquer the world through revolutionary might. That means we do not call men to foment rebellion. We do not call men to storehouse weapons so that we can finally take over the world in a flash of violence. The only way in which the kingdom of Jesus Christ is going to grow is going to be in terms of the character of the Prince himself. Who is the prince? Peace. Eighthly, postmillennialism believes that with the power of the Holy Spirit working through the Church's preaching of the Gospel in gradual stages of growth, we believe the preponderance of men and nations will submit to Christ at some time in the future. In gradual stages, the preponderance of men will submit in the future. That means, ninthly, that we are not committed to the view that each and every individual on earth is going to be saved. Don't believe that the wheat and the tares will grow together until the end, as the Bible says. There will always be tares in this wheat field until the final judgment. Of course, it is good to remember that it is a wheat field, not a tare field. I'm afraid other schools of theology look at the world as just full of tares, and there's a little bit of wheat growing here and there. Our Savior's vision was quite the opposite. He said, this world is my wheat field, although there will be tares that have to be taken out to be sure. And then finally, tenthly, I want to make it clear that as a post millennialist, I believe that there will be a final apostasy, a falling away just prior to the return of Christ, that Satan will be loosed and he will deceive the nations again. I can speculate a bit as to why God is going to do it that way, but in the end, I'm not obligated to explain the ways of God. He hasn't told us exactly why, but he has told us that is what he's going to do and that upon that apostasy, Jesus will return in judgment on the world. Okay, so please bear these 10 points in mind, because if you do go and study this and come to these convictions, and I trust you will. If you are submitting to the teaching of God's Word, you're going to find many of your Christian brothers and sisters are going to start saying, oh, you have this liberal view of man, or you have this evolutionary view of history, or you don't believe in the second Coming, or you no longer hold to the inspiration of the Bible. And on and on and on. So now you've heard it from the horse's mouth, right? We do believe these things. But you see, that's exciting, isn't it? Because that means some people who have studied the Scriptures, they might be wrong, but still they have studied the Scriptures and they've come to the conclusion. We have great days ahead. Let me see if I can convince you of that in the time that remains in this lecture. The first thing I need to point out to you is that the Bible teaches us what Jesus expects to take place in history. When all is said and done, shouldn't we agree with Jesus? What does he think is going to happen during the church age? Turn with me, please, to Hebrews, the 10th chapter, Hebrews chapter 10. I'll begin the reading at verse 12. But he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever sat down on the right hand of God. Now, don't read on. Let me just stop for a moment and explain this. When Jesus had finished his redemptive work, the Bible says he sat down at God's right hand. We referred to this earlier. Jesus ascended and was enthroned as the king over all creation. We read about that any number of places in the New Testament. We also read about it in Psalm 110. And in Psalm 110, David says, the Lord said to my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until what? Until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet. You will reign from my right hand until all your enemies have been put under foot. And so now in Hebrews we read that Jesus, having offered a sacrifice for sins, forever sat down on the right hand of God. Verse 13 says, Henceforth expecting his enemies to be made the footstool of his feet. Exactly what the Old Testament had told us. What does Jesus expect to take place before he returns? All of his enemies are to be subdued. Well, you know, if Jesus expects that, I think you can pretty much expect it's going to happen. If that's what Jesus looks forward to taking place, it's going to happen. In fact, look at Psalm 2 with me for a minute. Turn back to Psalm 2. 7. I will tell of the decree. Jehovah said unto me, thou art my son, this day I have begotten thee. Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance. The very uttermost parts of the earth. For thy possession thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Now therefore, be wise, O ye kings, be instructed. Ye judges of the earth. Serve Jehovah with fear, rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish in the way. All right. So Psalm 2 says that Jehovah has declared this decree. Ask me, and I'll give you the nations for your inheritance. The kings and judges of the earth will serve you. Men must kiss the sun, or they will perish in the way. Jesus simply needs to ask now, will Jehovah break his promise? Will the Father lie to the Son? That's blasphemous to think of. So Jesus only has to ask, right? And God will grant it. When we can, in a sense, be done with the lecture right here. I'm just going to end with. I mean, I'm not going to, but I would just end by asking. Do you think Jesus forgot to ask? Because if he asks, he's going to be given it. Jehovah has decreed it. The nations will belong to Jesus Christ, the uttermost parts of the earth. The kings and judges of the earth will serve him, or they'll perish in the way. And so what does Jesus expect to take place during the church age? He expects his enemies to be made the footstool, his feet. All he has to do is ask. David said, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet. Let's bring this all together and incorporate the question of timing for the kingdom of God by looking at 1 Corinthians 15, 1st Corinthians 15, and I'll begin reading at the 20th verse. Paul says, but now has Christ been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of them that are asleep. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive, but each in his own order. So now Paul starts talking about the charts, right? Paul now starts giving us the order in which these things will happen. Each in his own order. Christ, the first fruits. That's Jesus resurrection. He began the harvest. He's the first fruits. You all understand? First fruits, the offering that's given from the very beginning of the harvest as a way of thanking God for the whole harvest that is coming in Jesus is the first fruits. Then they that are Christ at his coming. So now when will we be raised from the dead? Paul says when Jesus comes back. Okay, so when Jesus comes back, that will be our resurrection, verse 24. Then comes a thousand year reign on earth when he will finally subdue his enemies. Is that what your Bible says? No. Jesus was raised from the dead in the past. When he comes back, we will be raised from the dead. Then comes the end when he raises us from the dead. At that point he will deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father. And what will have happened by then when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be abolished is death. Now when will death be abolished? What will be the open, visible sign that death no longer has dominion over us? Well, of course, when our bodies are raised from the dead. Right? So Paul tells us that death will be abolished at the resurrection. And that will be the last enemy that Jesus subdues. And he will reign. And until every enemy has been put under his feet, the last enemy is going to take place when we are raised from the dead. The last enemy will be subdued when we are raised from the dead. And when will he raise us from the dead? When he comes. And then comes the end. See, if you want to put together a chart of redemptive history, this is the passage you need to turn to. Forget these dispensational charts. They've got it all wrong. Jesus is now reigning. He's already been raised from the dead. He's ruling from God's right hand. And he will continue reigning until every enemy has been subdued. And finally, he'll subdue our last enemy, Death, when he comes back and raises us from the dead. And that will be the end. Then he'll take the kingdom and deliver it to the Father as a completed whole. He will have consummated his work of redemption and turn it over to the Father. That's why I'm a post millennialist, because the Bible requires me to believe that Jesus expects and God has promised that every enemy will be subdued before he comes back. The millennium is prior to his coming. Or to put it another way, his coming is after the millennium. That's why I'm a post millennialist and I believe that the nature of the millennium is is one of his reigning while every enemy is being subdued under his feet. Now let me say some more about the nature of this reign that he's going to have upon earth. The Bible teaches us that Jesus will subdue all his enemies under his feet. However, some of the things that the Bible says about this golden age of Christ's kingdom on earth cannot be applied to the period after he comes back, cannot be applied to the consummation, cannot be applied to the new heavens and the new earth. I'm going to give you some examples. Psalm 22:27. The Psalmist says, all the ends of the earth shall turn to Jehovah. You know, that can't take place after Christ comes back, because after Christ comes back and separates the sheep from the goats, there'll be no more opportunity for conversion. And yet the psalmist says there's going to be a day when all the ends of the earth are converted to Jehovah. And so at least that prophecy must pertain to the period before Jesus comes back. In Psalm 2, which we were just looking at, you notice that there's still oppression that Jesus will deal with. He must break them with a rod of iron. And so it's not a period after which the new heavens and the new earth have been established wherein righteousness dwells, and the sheep and the goats have been separated, and all that is offensive has been cast into hell. It's a period when there's still some kind of opposition to the Lord Jesus there, opposition that can be told, kiss the Son or you'll perish in the way. In Psalm 72, where David refers to the coming kingdom of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, he speaks of there being enemies of the king present, those who would oppress the righteous. He talks about the rule of this blessed king that is coming, his reign being until the moon shines no more. Well, that must mean that he's reigning while the moon is shining. And so it's during this period of history that David is talking about the reign of his greater son, the Lord Jesus Christ. In Isaiah, the second chapter, the prophet Isaiah tells us that in that day Mount Zion will be lifted above the hills, the church will be exalted, and all nations will flow into it. And you know, when they flow into it, they'll be taught the law of God and they will not learn war anymore. Now notice that it is possible that they could be using their energy for warlike purposes, but instead being converted, they'll want to hear the law of God as their instruction instead. And then another passage which is fascinating, it seems to me, is Isaiah 65. Isaiah talks about that great day of the new heavens and the new earth. And he says in that day a person who dies at 100 will be considered an infant, a child who has died prematurely. Well, he's talking about a time when there will be death. And because of the blessing of God on his people, lifespans will be so extended that dying at 100, this is speaking metaphorically speaking by way of poetic exaggeration. But you get the point, don't you? If you die at 100, you're considered dying as a child. Well, no one's going to die in the new heavens and the new earth, so Isaiah couldn't be talking about that. The new heavens and the new earth after the consummation anyway. Therefore, we must believe that God has begun the new creation even now. For if any man is in Christ Jesus, he is a new creation. Jesus has already begun that process in history. And Isaiah says it's going to lead to expanded lifetimes for us as well. So there are things that are said in the Bible which cannot possibly be applied to the post consummation kingdom of God. They must be applied to history. And among those things which are said that must be applied to history, it seems to me, are all the images in the Old Testament about growth for the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God's not going to grow after Jesus has come at his second coming, has consummated it and turned over the kingdom to the Father. If he turns it over to the Father and it continues to grow, he didn't finish his work. Don't you see? Paul said he's going to turn it over to the Father because it will be complete. And yet the Bible says that we're going to see growth for the kingdom of God. Let me give you some examples. Isaiah, the ninth chapter, Isaiah 9. I'll read verse 6 to put it in a familiar context for you. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulder. And his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Do you read on to verse seven, however, of the increase of his government and of peace, there shall be no end upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom to establish it. When was the throne of David established? When was the Davidic kingdom established? We've already seen from Acts chapter two that that was fulfilled in the resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ and of the increase of his government and of peace. There shall be no end upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness, from henceforth, even forever, that increase shall never stop. And the zeal of Jehovah of hosts will perform this. If you have any doubt about it, know that God is zealous to get this done. God has made a decree to his son. Ask me, I'll give you the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. And so we expect that when the Davidic kingdom is established, and it has been in the resurrection and in the ascension of Christ, that now this kingdom will grow and grow and grow. Turn to Daniel the second chapter, Daniel chapter two, where Daniel is now interpreting for King Nebuchadnezzar his dream of this idol, this image that has four different sections in it. Daniel 2:35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken in pieces together and become like the chaff of the summer threshing floor. And the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them. And the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. There's going to be a stone that destroys these world empires, and then it's going to grow, and it's going to consume the entire earth. It's going to fill the earth. Verse 44 and in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people. But it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand 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, and the interpretation thereof. There's no doubt about this. The kingdom of God is going to come, and the Roman Empire, which is the final one of these kingdoms, is going to be crushed to powder by it, and it will be blown away by the winds of history. And that stone will grow and grow and grow, and it will consume the earth. You hear what the Old Testament leads us to expect of the increase of his government. There will be no end. It will be a kingdom that consumes the entire earth, as Isaiah says in chapter 54. We'll have to lengthen the tent lines. Enlarge your tent, because now the nations are going to be brought in, as Ezekiel 47 says, there will be an ever deepening stream that flows from the holy of holies. Or as Jesus tells us in the kingdom parables of Matthew 13, his kingdom is like a mustard seed that begins very small, but what grows to be one of the largest of bushes or trees, it will be like leaven. That, though it is just minuscule in its quantity at the beginning, nevertheless affects the entire lump of dough as it is baking. The kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is to grow and grow and grow larger and larger and larger. It is to permeate all of life and all of the world and all the nations will finally be consumed in it. Well, that's what the Bible says. I guess it's really just a question if we can believe the Bible. I have to put it to you just that bluntly because you see, when I tell people I'm a post millennialist, they'll tell me these things can't happen. Oh yeah, God can do anything he wants. Nothing is too hard for him. The real question is, has God promised to do this? It seems to me we've seen plenty in what we've read so far that indicates God has every intention of doing this. The Great Commission is going to be fulfilled. Now what kind of success should we expect to see then in terms of this growing kingdom where Jesus makes every enemy the footstool of his feet prior to his return, raising us from the dead and bringing the end of history to bear? Well, the Bible tells us that the success that we're going to see is as all encompassing as is sin and the scope of sin. You see, if Jesus came into this world to deal with the problem of sin, then we should believe that his kingdom deals with sin and all of its manifestations. Jesus didn't come into the world simply to save our souls for all eternity. Praise God, he did that. That's where it all begins to be. Sure, but Jesus also wants to defeat Satan and the effects of sin in every area of life, doesn't he? Now, has Satan been active in politics? Yeah, why even ask Dr. Bronson? Has he been active in economic affairs? Has he been active in the arts, in sciences, in industry, in family life, in sexual matters? On and on we go. Hasn't sin infiltrated all of the nooks and crannies of life? Well, Jesus comes to make his blessings flow. Far as the curse is found, as far as the curse of sin has affected this world, the kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ is going to reverse that. And therefore Jesus is going to reverse the curse in Politics. He's going to reverse the curse. When it comes to our sexual affairs, our family affairs, our financial affairs, our artistic affairs, our industrial affairs, it makes no difference. If sin has touched it, Jesus is going to deal with it first. Timothy 4, 8 tells us, Godliness is profitable for all things. For all things having promise for the life that now is and that which is to come. The godliness that is instituted by the powerful reign of our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, is profitable for everything in the present world. Jesus said, all power and authority in heaven and on earth is mine. And what did he teach us? To pray. Remember when the disciples went to him and said, jesus, show us how to pray. He said, you should pray in this manner. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come. And that's explained in the next stanza or the next line. Thy will be done. Where is God's will supposed to be done? On earth as it is in heaven. That's what we should be praying for. We should all be post millennialist on our knees. We should be praying that the kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ would permeate all areas of life, so that God's will would be done on earth just as perfectly, just as consistently, just as thoroughly as it is in heaven above. And so the kingdom of God is going to break the power of sin. Wherever there is defection from the will of God, wherever God's will is not being done, the kingdom's coming breaks the power of sin there. And so fundamentally, the success for the kingdom that we look forward to biblically is going to be found in mankind returning to faith. Returning to faith. As I said, Psalm 22, There will be worldwide conversion. Isaiah 11:9 tells us that the knowledge of the Lord will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea. God one day flooded the world in judgment in the days of Noah. He now in the days of Christ, is flooding the world with the knowledge of him and salvation. And how thorough will it be? Is it adequate for us to say, well, there's always going to be a few converts here and there, a few righteous remnant in this city and that and in this country and that? No, the knowledge of the Lord is going to cover the earth in the same way that the water covers the sea. Well, how does the water cover the sea? In little puddles. A little puddle there, A little puddle there? No, the water inundates the sea. And Isaiah says, that's what you should expect. The knowledge of the Lord is going to be just that thorough. It will flood the world. Jesus, Therefore, in Matthew 28, doesn't hesitate to call on us to baptize the nations. To baptize the nations. Psalm 72 says, the righteous will flourish in his day. The righteous will flourish. It isn't going to be these yahoos that we have in Washington now that are going to flourish, not these wicked, evil people who flourish in the media that sing songs and make movies and draw people away from righteousness. But the righteous will flourish in his day. Paul tells us In Romans the 11th chapter that the day is coming when Israel, seeing how God has blessed the Gentile world, has blessed it so abundantly, Israel will be provoked to jealousy. And Israel too will turn to the Savior. And Paul says, if the blessing of God is so great, even before the Jews turn to embrace the Savior, what will it be after they turn but like life from the dead for the world? That's what the Bible looks forward to. Jews and Gentiles alike turning en masse to the Lord Jesus Christ. And so there's going to be visible numerical increase of believers. There's going to be personal peace with God, piety, assurance of their calling, wholeness in our lives. And this is going to bring a blessed purification, an expansion of the church. In Malachi 1:11, the Prophet Malachi says, the day is coming when a pure offering will be offered to Jehovah. No longer this weak and ineffective and impure worship that has been offering, but in that day, a pure offering. And what God will be worshiped. From the rising of the sun to the going down thereof, There will be not a place on planet earth where Jehovah is not purely worshiped. Isn't that great? This isn't wishful thinking. This isn't something I've made up. This doesn't come from watching the six o' clock news. Only God could give us something this wonderful, this blessed. These promises are God's own word. He calls on us to believe them. If there's going to be widespread conversion, a growing kingdom, a completion of the Great Commission, then of course there must be secondarily success seen in the moral improvement and consecration of all areas of earthly life and conduct to the Lord. Psalm 72 speaks of charity being shown to the poor, and those who are being oppressed being relieved. It speaks of justice in our laws, injustice in our courts. Isaiah 2 speaks of a turning away from warfare. Isaiah 65 of the expansion of lifespans. Revelation 21:24 speaks of kings who have been converted, now honoring Christ and coming into the new Jerusalem. There's going to be a subduing of the earth to God's glory. And we're going to see the kingdom of Jesus Christ come to expression in medicine, in technology, in the arts, in economics, in politics, in our courts, in our families, in our schools. Indeed, Zechariah 14:20 tells us very nicely what it will be like in that day when the Lord is king over all the earth. Zechariah says, in that day, holy to Jehovah, will be written upon the bells of the horses. Upon the bells of the horses. The least significant detail of life. That final touch that you do when you take a horse out on parade day and you put bells on its bridle, even those bells will serve the glory of God in that day. How much more Everything else. That's what the Bible tells us to look forward to. That's what Jesus says must take place. Because he said, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. In Revelation 11:15, we read, the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. And he shall reign forever and ever. And that's why I believe there's hope for the future. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for the clarity of your word, because we would never in our own imagination come to these convictions. We thank you that you are so categorical, you are so firm, and you reaffirm over and over again that in your zeal and your almighty sovereign power, you intend to accomplish these ends. Lord, we wish to be in tune with you. We wish to see history as you see it. We wish to be men and women of faith. And so we would affirm, we would give our amen to this. That indeed the kingdoms of this world will belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. He shall possess the nations, and his kingdom shall grow and grow until it consumes the earth. And all the nations will turn unto you and offer you that tribute which is appropriate. From the rising of the sun to the going down thereof. That very small kingdom that looks like a mustard seed shall indeed grow and grow until all the birds of the heaven can flock to it. And that leaven of your kingdom shall permeate every area of life. So that we'll see righteousness prevail in the affairs of men. We'll see an improvement in our moral condition, in the way we relate to one another and the way we live in this world. An improvement in our culture such as has never been seen in the past. Lord, we take no credit for this. We can hardly believe it. We know that we're part of the problem so often we take no credit for it. But we give credit to you and your redemptive saving power and that of the Holy Spirit which shall regenerate this world, which shall turn the nations about and bring them to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Make us faithful to that great commission. Help us to see in our small faith even elementary successes there. But above all make us faithful to this calling for we know that it is your word and your word shall never fail. Thank you for making us part of this blessing in history. Give us now eyes of faith that we might truly have hope for what you are yet to do. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. This recording has been released into the public domain by the Bonson Institute. Duplication, sharing and distribution is encouraged. For more information about the life and Ministry of Dr. Greg L. Bonson, visit our website, bonsoninstitute.com where we aim to bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.