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Some wistful thoughts about the future

Published November 3, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: Kingdom of God, Millennium, Second Coming

Kingofkings

One of the great benefits of being a Christian is having a deep sense of abiding hope; with economic turmoil all around us, immorality becoming the norm in American society, and the rise in secular humanism, it would be very easy to get discouraged and long for “the good old days.” Yet for the Christian, “the good old days” can never compare to the “better new days” coming. Our hope for the future is never tied to the current occupant of the White House or science or education or any of the things unbelievers put their hope and trust in. In fact, on the subject of hope, the Apostle Paul made these comments about those fearful of death versus the hope we as Christians have—

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.

According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13—18, tNIV)

As verse 18 says, that is certainly an encouraging passage of Scripture. We know that Paul is referring here to the wonderful doctrine known as the “rapture,” the great “catching away” of believers prior to the Tribulation and the revelation of the Antichrist. My personal hope for the future is really grounded, not necessarily in the rapture, although I expect that if I live long enough I will experience it!; but rather in the revelation of my Lord Jesus Christ.

A revelation of Jesus Christ

At the rapture of the Church, Christ will be revealed in all His glory to all who believe. But there will be a greater revelation of Jesus Christ further in the future—

“Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him;” and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen. (Revelation 1:7, tNIV)

The Bible teaches that some day, maybe sooner than we think, Jesus Christ will “catch away” His people—saints long dead and those alive. But it also teaches that some day Jesus Christ will return literally, visibly, and physically to the earth, descending from the clouds for all the world to see—

“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the peoples of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30, tNIV)

Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and will receive for Himself a kingdom, only to return after receiving that kingdom—

A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. (Luke 19:12, tNIV)

This will happen in heaven when Jesus receives the saints from all the ages; we make up His spiritual kingdom. However, Daniel 7:13—14 describes how Jesus will receive His earthly kingdom—

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” (tNIV)

The Bible is replete with references to the beginning of the reign of Jesus Christ on the earth. Here is just a handful—

Zechariah 14:1—3;
Matthew 25:31—46;
Joel 3:9—17;
Revelation 16:13—16; 19:11—21.

Those accompanying Christ when He returns

When Christ returns to the earth, a large contingent of beings will be coming with Him. What an amazing sight that will be!

Angels will be coming with Him.

According to Mathew 13:41—42, the accompanying angels will have a very specific, if unpleasant, task to perform—

The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (tNIV)

Furthermore, the angels will be present when living unbelievers are judged when the Lord returns according to Matthew 25:31—41; Revelation 19:17—19; 2 Thessalonians 1:7—10).

Redeemed saints will be coming with Him

There are numerous verses and passages in Scripture that testify to the fact that when Christ returns, angels will be with Him as well as saints. Consider—

To those who are victorious and do my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— they ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’ —just as I have received authority from my Father. (Revelation 2:26, 27, tNIV)

[I]f we endure, we will also reign with him. (2 Timothy 2:12a, tNIV)

Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? (1 Corinthians 6:2a, tNIV)

I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4, tNIV)

The future kingdom

In the spiritual sense, the Kingdom of Heaven/Kingdom of God is here now. Jesus Himself testified to this fact when He began His earthly ministry—

From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 4:17, tNIV)

But as you look around, who can see God’s kingdom on earth? It cannot be seen right now because it is being built in the realm of the Spirit. However, when Jesus Christ returns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, He will build a literal, visible, and physical kingdom on earth. He gave some hints about this kingdom yet to come—

For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” (Luke 22:16—18, tNIV)

All the Apostles believed in a future kingdom, especially Paul who said this—

“We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22, tNIV)

All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. (2 Thessalonians 1:5, tNIV)

In the future literal, visible, and literal kingdom, Jesus Christ will be the great sovereign of the entire world. He will be King over every nation and every people.

Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’ (Daniel 7:27, tNIV)

This passage, along with Luke 22:30 specifically promises a position of authority to the apostles. It is certainly fitting that the apostles, who were Jewish, should inherit special positions governing Israel in the future kingdom.

However, promises of positions in the Lord’s kingdom were not only given to the apostles. Consider what was promised to the faithful Gentiles of the church at Laodicea—

To those who are victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. (Revelation 3:21, tNIV)

And let’s not forget that that the parables of the bags of gold and the ten minas teach us that certain positions and rewards in the kingdom will be determined by the quality of faithful service rendered now (see Matthew 25:14—30; Luke 19:11—26).

A long awaited deliverance

As I read what I have just written, I am struck by a couple thoughts. First, this is exciting stuff! I feel sorry for liberal Christians who don’t have the hope I have because they view the Bible as a book full of symbolism and stories not intended to be taken literally. That’s sad; my view of the Bible is that it is meant to be taken literally whenever and wherever possible. Rather than be encouraged and ignited by reading the Bible the way it was meant to be read–literally–some people would rather cling to their liberalism and be miserable. The other thing that strikes me about this wonderful hope we have is what Paul wrote in Romans 8:19–23. This is such a powerful passage! All of creation, Paul wrote, is longing to be set right. This “restoration of all things” is linked to the Second Coming of Christ. If all creation longs to be made right, how much more do Christians long to meet their Savior and stand shoulder to shoulder with Him?

Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:23, tNIV)

Imagine…the day we see our Lord face-to-face; we won’t need eye glasses to see Him! We won’t need to be pushed into His presence in our wheelchairs. Our arthritic aches and pains will a dim memory of the past! How great will that be!

(c) 2009 WitzEnd

Crying out for Restoration and Revival

Published August 7, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: Millennium, Psalms, Restoration

Psalm 85

It is hard to imagine that this beautiful psalm could generate controversy, but leave it to Bible scholars to do just that. As it turns out, there are two ways to view Psalm 85.

First, the “traditional” view teaches that this psalm was penned some time after the return of the exiles from Babylon. Scholars point to similarities with the circumstances described in Nehemiah 1:3 and Haggai 1:6—11; 2:15—19. Both of these books discuss what the Jewish exiles did upon returning to the ruins of Jerusalem.

The second view sees this psalm as prophetic in nature. Proponents of this view teach that this psalm looks to the future kingdom age when God gathers His people from the four corners of the earth back to Jerusalem, restoring the city of God and the temple.

My own view is that Psalm 85 looks to the past, considers the present, and prays for the future. So both views are correct, as far as they go.

In terms of genre, Psalm 85 may be considered a “national lament,” as the people recall pray for restoration, recall God’s past acts, and anticipate God’s salvation.

1. Praise, verses 1—3

You showed favor to your land, O LORD;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.

You forgave the iniquity of your people
and covered all their sins.
Selah

You set aside all your wrath
and turned from your fierce anger

If we first consider the “traditional” view, then this section pictures the return of the exiles from their captivity in Babylon to Jerusalem. The “favor” spoken of was allowing the Jews to return home. However, as is pointed out by those who believe this psalm prophetic, only a small percentage of Jews actually chose to return home. It is estimated that only 60,000 exiles left the comforts of Babylon to return to the wreckage and ruin that Jerusalem had become. The “fortunes of Jacob” could hardly be said to have been restored at that time. Therefore, they say, this psalm is looking forward in time to when Christ returns to rule and reign from Jerusalem and Israel is restored to the glory God had promised.

As I indicated, I think both views are correct. Even though a small group of Jews had enough faith to trust their God and return home where they belonged, God did, in part, restore Jacob’s fortunes. God had forgiven the sins of His people that caused their exile in the first place, and subsequently He removed His wrath and anger in allowing them to go home and rebuild. The Hebrew word translated “iniquity” is awon and suggests two things: the forgiveness of sins and the removal of their consequences.

Here is a marvelous real-life illustration of how forgiveness works. God graciously and mercifully forgives the sins of repentant sinners and He takes away the guilt of those sins and removes the consequences of those sins. No longer does a pardoned sinner ever have to worry about being punished for his past transgressions.

As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12)

However, with forgiveness comes responsibility. Just as the exiles who chose to return home had to get up and leave the homes and businesses they had built for themselves in Babylon and risk their very lives in the journey back and in the process of rebuilding the city of Jerusalem, so the repentant sinner has to turn away from that which he has been forgiven and press on, not looking back at his old life, and live a life of obedience, constantly walking in forgiveness.

Looking back, how can any Christian not give praise, as the psalmist did, for their own deliverance? Since coming to Christ, is your life not better in every way? Some Christians don’t see that, and that leads me to wonder if they really left their old ways behind or not?

2. Prayer, verses 4—7

Restore us again, O God our Savior,
and put away your displeasure toward us.

Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger through all generations?

Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?

Show us your unfailing love, O LORD,
and grant us your salvation.

From three verses of prayer, we now read four verses of prayer. Very often prayer follows praise because very often when we praise God we become so humbled we are compelled to pray.

When the psalmist thinks about the greatness of God, he is confronted with the state of the people and the problems that robbed them of enjoying God’s favor. Life has a way of doing that to believers. God blesses us, but at the same time we are subject to the ups and downs of life and that can cause us not to enjoy those blessings.

Those who view this psalm as a prophecy see this prayer as a longing to be restored as a nation, which will occur during the Millennium. Those who see it as purely historic in nature see the natural longing redeemed people have for more of the goodness of God. Both senses are at work here. Facing the rubble that once was the glorious city of God, Jerusalem, the Jews, though thankful for the opportunity to return home, long for their homes to be restored and for their faith to be restored; in a greater sense, Jews of all ages long for the Messiah to come to restore the national glory of Israel.

As Christians, we long to be with God and to experience the culmination of our salvation—

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. (2 Corinthians 5:1—3)

Verse 6, Will you not revive us again, is an adequate translation, but the emphatic pronoun, “you” makes the verse read like this:

Is it not you who can revive us again? (VanGemeren)

The psalmist is acknowledging the people’s utter dependence on God for their future, and it God alone who can change their grief to joy. Of course, it would have been nice to return home and find it sparkling and new, but true joy comes from the God, not one’s surroundings. For the believer, wouldn’t it nice if the balls always broke your way? How wonderful, we think, if life was easy. But, circumstances are what they are, and circumstances should never dictate how we feel or the level of our faith. We trust in God, not life. And only God can revive tired, worn out spirits.

3. Prospect, verses 8—13

I will listen to what God the LORD will say;
he promises peace to his people, his saints—
but let them not return to folly.

Surely his salvation is near those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.

Love and faithfulness meet together;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.

Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.

The LORD will indeed give what is good,
and our land will yield its harvest.

Righteousness goes before him
and prepares the way for his steps.

Verse 8 is packed with meaning. When we pray, we should wait, in submission to the Lord, for His response. Does God always respond to our prayers? Not always in the way we think. For this psalmist, he received assurance that God would speak. While God may not “speak” verbally to us, He always responds to our prayers. He gives us peace, for example. It always pays to remain quiet in God’s presence after we have spoken to Him. The prophet Habakkuk did just that in his watchtower—

I will stand at my watch
and station myself on the ramparts;
I will look to see what he will say to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint. (Habakkuk 2:1)

That should be our attitude. But notice to whom the Lord speaks:

I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly. (verse 8, KJV)

Moffatt translates “saints” as “devout men.” The sense is clear: God will speak to those who are both devoted to Him and devoted to avoiding “folly.” “Folly,” here as elsewhere in the Old Testament, means more than just foolishness, but outright evil. Very often it refers to idolatry, which would have been stern reminder to those returning home after the exile. The exile, remember, was largely caused by Israel’s continued idolatry.

This is a lesson to Christians, who, while not known for worshiping statues or totem poles, are known for putting many other things ahead of God, which is a subtle form of idolatry.

Verses 10 and 11 portray the restoration of God’s people as being in God’s hands. This is obvious to the psalmist, as it should be obvious to us. Only God can provide the “love,” faithfulness,” “righteousness,” and “peace” necessary to accomplish His purposes. These four attributes are part of who God is. The words “love” and “faithfulness” are often used in tandem to describe God’s loyalty. As God builds His people and establishes His kingdom, His “righteousness” is manifested in and over His people. God’s abiding presence among His people guarantees “peace.”

These verses are reminiscent of the prophet Isaiah’s words in Isaiah 45:8—

You heavens above, rain down righteousness;
let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide,
let salvation spring up,
let righteousness grow with it;
I, the LORD, have created it.

God’s kingdom will be both in heaven and on earth!

The final two verses of this psalm give the reader assurance. God restored the exiles to their land, verse 1, and in verse 11 God promises these exiles that He will provide what is good and the land (their land then and in the future) will provide what is needed for the people to prosper.

What a marvelous promise for all of God’s people. Given the state of the world today, this verse in particular is yet unfulfilled in a national sense. The Jews are not prospering and the earth is not in a utopian state. Here is something all God’s people may look forward too with eager anticipation. But may we seek a present-day application of this tremendous promise? Absolutely we may! If there is one thing this psalm teaches us it is this: Those who trust in God, who are devoted to Him, can enjoy the some of the benefits of the future kingdom of God now. We can enjoy forgiveness, reconciliation, peace, joy, God’s abiding presence and an assurance of future blessings.

As those ancient Hebrews waited patiently for their God, they experienced the firstfruits of the coming age. Sadly, continued sin got in the way. For believers, we are able, through the work of Christ on the Cross and the ministry of the Holy Spirit, to experience some of those same blessings of the kingdom to come today!