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Powerful Testimony (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #2)

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INTRODUCTION

When Jesus ascended, He promised that when He got to Heaven, He would prove it by baptizing His people with the Holy Spirit, making them powerful witnesses of His resurrection and the Kingdom. He did, and then they did. And that’s how we’re here.

THE TEXT

“And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father…” (Acts 1:4-14).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

On the day of His ascension, Jesus instructed His apostles to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit, which John had promised at the beginning of His ministry (Acts 1:4-5). The apostles asked if this would be when God restored the kingdom to Israel, and Jesus said that time was not for them to know (Acts 1:6-7). But what they could know was that they would receive power soon when the Holy Spirit was given to them, to be witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). After this, Jesus was taken up into Heaven, and two angels appeared promising that He would one day return in the same physical, visible manner (Acts 1:9-11). So the apostles returned to Jerusalem, and began waiting and praying together in an upper room (Acts 1:12-14).

THE PROMISE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

John had promised at the baptism of Jesus that One mightier than him was coming who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matt. 3, Mk. 1, Lk. 3). In some ways, the answer to the question, ‘Why did Jesus come?’ is: ‘To give us the Holy Spirit.’ And this implies that the only way to give people the Holy Spirit was to be crucified for their sins, rise from the dead, and ascend to the right hand of the Father. This is because the Holy Spirit is the full fellowship of God with us (1 Jn. 3:24, 4:13).

Jesus was full of the Spirit throughout His ministry (Lk. 3:22, 4:1, 4:14, 4:18), culminating in His Ascension (Heb. 9:14), and so He is able to baptize with the Spirit with full authority. In fact, Jesus had told the disciples that the promised Spirit of the Father is His Spirit (Jn. 14:16-18, 14:26, 15:26-27).

The promise of the Spirit goes back to the Old Testament: The Root of Jesse, the Lord’s Servant, would be full of the Spirit (Is. 11:1-2, 42:1, 61:1). And because He was full of the Spirit, He would pour that Spirit out on Israel and on their children forever (Is. 44:3, 59:21). Ezekiel promised that God would give Israel a new heart and a new spirit, and He would put His Spirit inside them so that they would obey God’s laws (Ez. 36:26-27, cf. 37:14).

BAPTISM AND THE SPIRIT

In the history of the Church, the temptation has been to either separate water baptism and Spirit baptism or else collapse them into the same thing. But Scripture holds them together while distinguishing between the outward actions of men, and the inward actions of Jesus and His Spirit. Paul says, “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body… and have been all made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13). But Jesus says that those branches that bear fruit “abide” in Him (Jn. 15:4). And we abide in Him by abiding in His Word (Jn. 15:3, 7).

Calvin says: For when these titles are attributed to baptism, namely that it is the laver of regeneration (Tit. 3:5), a washing away of sins (Acts 22:16), the fellowship of death and burying with Christ (Rom. 6:4), and a grafting into the body of Christ (cf. Rom. 11), it is not declared what man, being the minister of the outward sign, does, but rather what Christ does, who only gives force and efficacy unto the signs.” So outward water baptism is a true sign of the promises of God which is meant to point us directly to Christ.

THE AUTHORIZED TESTIMONY

The particular mission of the Spirit initially in the apostles is to give them the power/authority to be witnesses of Jesus from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Many have pointed out that this also serves as a rough outline of Luke’s work: Jerusalem (Acts 1-7, Judea and Samaria (Acts 8-12), and the whole known world (Acts 13-28). At the same time, this also highlights an implied assignment: the apostles needed to make sure that their testimony reached Argentina, Japan, and Idaho. How would that happen? A quick study of the Old Testament scriptures answers the question easily: they would write it down (Ex. 24:4, 25:16, 31:18, 34:29). The law of God was to be written on doorposts and city gates, and kings were to write down their own copies of the book of the law (Dt. 6:9, 17:18, Josh. 1:8).

So the Spirit was given to the apostles initially to give them the power and authority to write the New Testament. This was not an afterthought; this was their job as witnesses (cf. 2 Pet. 3:15-16). In Paul’s final letter in the mid-60s A.D., he asks Timothy to bring the “parchments” which were probably copies of all of his letters, if not other apostolic scriptures as well (2 Tim. 4:13). He also notes that Luke is with him (who had access to Matthew and Mark and wrote Luke and Acts), and Paul asks for Timothy to bring Mark with him (2 Tim. 4:11). Tradition places Peter in Rome around the same time, and assuming they all met up, this accounts for most of the New Testament and perhaps John oversaw the final compilation (Rev. 22:18-19, cf.). The New Testament was not a haphazard afterthought; it was the direct result of Jesus giving His Spirit to His eyewitnesses. We are an “apostolic” church because we obey the testimony of the apostles.

CONCLUSION

Numbers describes the war camp of Israel with the tabernacle at the center with the fire-presence of God in their midst, directing the movements of Israel (Num. 9:15-23). While the Spirit of God was with Israel and occasionally came upon various individuals (e.g. Samson), the glory of the New Covenant is that Spirit of Jesus is inside individuals, leading, guiding, teaching.

And the center of this leading, guiding, and teaching is found in the words of Jesus found in the Spirit-empowered words of the Apostles. If His Word abides in you, then He abides in you, and now you are a powerful witness of the resurrection also.

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Introduction to Acts (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #1)

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INTRODUCTION

The book of Acts has often been called “The Acts of the Apostles,” which is certainly what the book describes, primarily beginning with Peter in Jerusalem and then following Paul’s missionary journeys all the way to where the book ends in Rome. But many commentators have pointed out that it is particularly the Holy Spirit who empowers and drives the ministry of the Apostles, and so others have suggested a revised title “The Acts of the Holy Spirit,” which is also good and helpful. But if we read the first sentence of Acts, Luke seems to have yet another layer in mind: these are the Acts and Words of Jesus continued.

The opening line of Acts also highlights the nature of the book: it’s a book of action and words, adventures and messages: from jailbreaks to shipwrecks to sermons, miracles, baptisms in the middle of the night, mobs, beatings, and conspiracies, it ranks among the most fast-paced adventure stories of the Bible. And Luke is teaching us that these adventures are what Jesus does through His Spirit, working through His people.

THE TEXT

“The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach…” (Acts 1:1-3)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

This is the “beloved physician” (Col. 4:14) Luke’s second book on the acts and teaching of Jesus (Acts 1:1, Lk. 1:1-4). As in that first account, Luke is particularly concerned with eye-witness testimony that confirms the certainty of the Christian message (cf. Lk. 1:2-3). “Theophilus” means “lover of God” or “beloved of God,” and therefore, it works as a generic title for any believer, but the formal address of “most excellent” suggests that Luke may have had a particular man in mind as well (Acts 1:1, Lk. 1:4).

Luke’s first volume recounted what Jesus began to do and teach until He was taken up (Acts 1:2). But He wasn’t taken up into Heaven until He had given commandments by the Holy Spirit to His apostles, whom He had personally chosen previously (Acts 1:2, cf. Lk. 6:13-16). It was to those apostles in particular that He proved Himself alive after His death by many signs (Acts 1:3). In fact, He showed Himself alive for forty days between His resurrection and ascension, giving signs and teaching them the things concerning the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3).

THE KINGDOM OF GOD

John Calvin says that during these forty days, Jesus “briefly set down the end of the doctrine of the gospel; namely, that God may reign in us. Regeneration is the beginning of this kingdom, and the end thereof is blessed immortality; the middle proceedings are in a more ample going forward and increase of regeneration.” The reign of God begins in the capture of the capital city of a man and its complete surrender, and it proceeds until the whole country is subdued to His righteousness and holiness. He who begins that kind of work always completes it (Phil. 1:6). This is the central adventure of Christian faith: submitting to Jesus wherever He leads.

The book of Acts begins and ends with this message of the “kingdom.” The book closes: “And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him” (Acts 28:30-31). Closely related to the “kingdom” theme are the last two words of the book in Greek: parresia and akolutos. The word parresia means “boldness,” and akolutos means “unhindered.” We will return to these words throughout our study of the book of Acts, but suffice it to say for now: these are the hallmarks of the Kingdom of God. Citizens of the Kingdom are bold and unstoppable, and this is because Jesus reigns in them. We will see throughout our study that every attempt to stop the gospel failed: prisons, stoning, persecution, mockery, mobs, lies, even the sins of God’s people. At every point, King Jesus broke through, and the mission continued boldly and unhindered.

WORD & DEED

The other thing Acts emphasizes and Luke underlines here in the opening is the unity of word and deed. Jesus is our Savior and Lord by His actions and His teaching (Acts 1:1). He proclaimed the gospel with all authority, and then He accomplished the gospel with all authority. He proclaimed the authority to forgive of sins, to cast out demons, and to raise the dead, and then He suffered for our sins, destroyed the power of the Devil on the cross, and rose from the dead. This is also the mark of all faithful Christian leaders. Jesus warned against the scribes and Pharisees, telling His disciples that they ought to do what they teach but not what they do (Mt. 23:3). “For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers” (Mt. 23:3). Faithful leaders, like Jesus, lead by action and prove their teaching by their lives.

The Christian faith is not merely a religion of words; nor is it merely a religion of deeds. It is a religion of word and deed, faith and action, doctrine and signs. This begins with faith and obedience: we are justified by faith alone, but we are justified by a living and fruitful faith that always works by love (Gal. 5:6, Js. 2:17-26). As Jesus says, “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not do the things which I say?” (Lk. 6:46) Is Jesus Lord? Is He King? Has He purchased you with His precious blood? Isn’t He worthy? Obedience to King Jesus is the greatest adventure.

CONCLUSIONS

The book of Acts is addressed to the “lover of God” or the “beloved of God.” And there’s no one who loves God, except those who are loved by God first (1 Jn. 4:10). But the love of God is no tame, inanimate thing. It was Augustine who put into words what seems implied everywhere in Scripture: the Holy Spirit is the love of God, the love of the Father and the Son. This love of God is poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5).

But the Holy Spirit is the creativity of God, the power of God, the wisdom of God, the fierce loyalty and kindness of God: think of Creation, Noah, Bezalel, Samson, Ezekiel, Mary, Pentecost. This is no tame Spirit, no tame love. This Love is full of life, adventure, joy, and action. Acts is a record of the bold and unhindered Spirit-Love of Christ driving, compelling, pressing His people forward into the Kingdom, compelling the whole world to come with us.

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The Glory of Being (Biblical Sexuality Sunday 2023)

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INTRODUCTION

Last year Canada passed the C4 bill. It put churches and pastors in the crosshairs by penalizing attempts to confront or contest the GQBLT dogma. Similar legislation is being considered throughout the US and elsewhere. A group of Canadian pastors invited churches around the world to join them in setting aside this Sunday as both a formal protest of these rebellious laws, and an affirmation of Biblical Sexuality. Some might object and say that the pulpit isn’t the appropriate place for such a political topic. But the answer to that is that the pulpit is the battleground for all politics. For it’s here where we declare that Christ is King, His Word is truth, and we are summon all men everywhere to faith, repentance, and obedience.

THE TEXT

For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead (Act 17:28-31).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The Apostle Paul, in his sermon to the Athenians on Mars’ Hill, has provoked them with rebuking their idolatry and superstition. He goes on to proclaim to them the Unknown God which they sought to appease. While their conscience bore witness to this God, Paul sets forth, in the plain words of the Gospel, the God they knew was there.

From this God we receive our life, live our life, and sustain our life (v28). Even the pagan poet Aratus could tell you that (v28). God has made us, not we ourselves (Ps. 100:3). This should make it plain that God isn’t found in our carvings. Whether those carvings were, like in ancient times, in the form of gold, marble, or wood, or in our own time in the form of plastic surgery, hormone treatments, and Instagram filters (v29).

Those who worship the creation are ignorant (literally agnostics). But God, in His patience, bore with mankind until the day His redeeming purposes had fully come; we now live in dawning of that day and all men are summoned to repentance (v30). The reason for this repentance is that God has appointed a day of worldwide judgement. God has appointed a man to sit as judge, presiding over this global judgement. The man ordained as God’s judge is the man who once died but God raised from the dead: Jesus (v31).

THE BODILY RESURRECTION

Notice Paul’s tactic. Rampant idolatry is confronted with the bodily resurrection of the Incarnate God. We live in a world which is governed by a man, a resurrected & glorified man. Christ is bodily at the Father’s right hand. This confronts modern idolaters with (at least) two problems.

First, it rebukes the escapist fantasies brought to us by the digital age (but whose taproot reaches further back into ancient mystery religions). Second, it reaffirms God’s creational decree that all He made was good, not icky as the gnostics imagined.

God declared His creation good; even after the first man shipwrecked the world by sin, God set about to rescue man & all creation from the wreckage. God saw all He’d made and it was very good. The resurrection is God repossessing His creation from Satan’s dominion, and restoring it to the creational good.

Idolaters want the world to be other than it is. They want a god of convenience. A god which holds up a mirror so man can admire himself. A world that is infinitely malleable to whatever whim or vice predominates. Modern ideas of sexuality & gender are nothing less than a reanimation of the corpse of ancient idolatries. The gods still lust for blood. The worshippers of sexual fulfillment as the greatest good carve themselves (and their unborn offspring) to appease these gods. Meanwhile, the priests of the pharmaceutical companies gladly line their pockets with the tribute of the devout.

The resurrection is the gavel summoning all mankind to live in the good world God made, and live in it as He made it.

THE WONDER OF MUNDANE

While the symptoms of our cultural idolatry are plain to see, underneath the skin the central corruption is that of ingratitude. Sheer, willful ingratitude.

The heavens declare God’s glory. The trees applaud their maker. The hills stand aside out of reverence for the approach of their Lord. Rocks would break forth in praise. The lightning & thunder provide the stage lights and the soundtrack for the divine drama, while the clouds are a celestial fog machine creating a show beyond anything Broadway can produce.

For all this, mankind has opted to not only complain that he wasn’t made some other way, but he has refused to note that his very being is a gift. This is what Paul is getting at in the text. God made us, and all things, and this should lead us to humble reverence before our Maker and Judge. It should lead us to see glory in patterns of the wood-grain & the galaxies, the wonder of microwaves, and the miracle of music.

The “there-ness” of creation is intended to lead us to bend the knee in worship, forsaking all idols, forsaking all manner of remaking the world according to our grasping lusts. Modern sexuality identity dogma insists on defiantly asking, “Why am I thus?” As Isaiah points out there is immense silliness in pots poising themselves as critics of the potters.

THE REBELLION RUNS DEEP

One avenue where Christians can make incursions against the gender madness which has possessed our culture is an appeal to the fifth commandment. Here is Paul’s recitation of it in Eph. 6:2 “Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise.”

The fifth commandment poses a real hurdle for those who would set about to redefine gender & sexuality while also trying to maintain any semblance of fidelity to Scripture. Notice what is presupposed in this commandment: male & female, covenantal union, and hierarchical duty.

These are the precise things which men, given over to their lusts, have laid siege to. Rebelling against the 1st & 2nd commandment will lead to breaking the 5th commandment. This commandment not only presupposes these vital creational truths, it forces us to either affirm that God’s law is holy, good, and wise and thus submit to both the explicit command and the implicit creational good, or else adopt the serpent’s line of questioning: did God really say?

This is why faith in the resurrected Christ, followed by Spirit-born obedience is a potent refutation of the lies which surround us. Faithful fathers and mothers, nurturing their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, are a shield-wall against the madness. God made fathers, and mothers, and this is how we each came into being, by God’s decree. You didn’t come into being outside of the story, but as part of a long line of stories. Trying to live outside this story is to live in the madness of nightmares.

GOD MADE YOU

The application is this. God made you. And God made all things. Combat the lies by looking to the cross. There is a man. A male human. There He is bleeding. There He is enduring the wrath of God for all your damned idolatries, all your lusts, your puffed up pride, every bitter gripe, every sexual kink. He did it all to redeem the world. Including you. All of you.

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State of the Church 2023

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INTRODUCTION

As you all know, it is our custom sometime around the first of the year to give a “state of the church” message. Sometimes it relates more to the condition and challenges of the national church, and other times the emphasis is more local. This year, for reasons that should become obvious, the observations and exhortations will be more local.

THE TEXTS

“But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel” (Exodus 11:7).

“When a man’s ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him” (Proverbs 16:7).

“And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch. Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly” (Acts 5:12–13, NKJV).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXTS

I have selected three texts that all have a common theme. When the children of Israel departed from Egypt, they did so with the rank-and-file Egyptians respecting them highly. “And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians” (Exodus 12:36). Pharaoh was hostile to them, but others around him could see the bigger picture (Ex. 10:7).

Too many modern Christians believe that the Lord’s requirement to love our enemies somehow means that we are not supposed to have enemies. But a simple glance at Scripture (not to mention church history) should show this to be false. Nevertheless, the fact that we must have enemies does not mean that we must be perpetually belligerent. Just the opposite, if we believe ourselves to be under the Lord’s favor, then we should seek for that favor to grow and increase. One tell that this is happening is that the Lord grants a measure of stability, and even our enemies get tired of the hostility. And then last, right after Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead by the Lord for lying about their generosity (Acts 5:1-11), we are told that the attitude toward the Christians held by the general population was something that ran along the lines of whoa.

SUMMARY OF OUR SITUATION

For a number of complicated reasons, Moscow, Idaho has made a series of splashes. Something is going on here, and seemingly unrelated events are conspiring to turn it all into one big something. I am talking about Meet the Press, other international news organizations showing interest, the reach and influence of Canon+, the international news created by the horrific and sensational murders, the national controversy over Christian nationalism, and the fact that our disintegrating national culture has decided that the conflicts in our small town are a microcosmic representative of the larger chaos. That is where we are. Like it or not, that is where we are.

HOW SHALL WE THEN LIVE?

When we come to the realization that a bunch of people are staring, a natural question is “what are we supposed to be doing?” While I have a few specific suggestions for you, the main things we should be doing in this unique circumstance are all the things we should be doing in all the mundane circumstances. That is, worship the Lord—every Lord’s Day, come before His presence with singing (Ps. 100:2). Love your family and hang together with them (Josh. 24:15). Work hard at your vocation and seek to bless the city (Jer. 29:7). Use all the content that has been generated here over the decades as a force multiplier—do what it takes to get up to speed (1 Chron. 12:32).

And then just a few unique things . . .

  • The Moscow Police Department: It should be possible for you to pray for two distinct things at the same time. The first is that you be praying earnestly for their success in capturing the one responsible for the recent murders. This is the job that God has assigned to them. At the same time, you should also remember that they are currently being sued (rightly) by one of our deacons for an unlawful arrest, and in another suit (rightly) by one of our elders for a host of tangled and incompetent corruptions. You can pray that the extra scrutiny that has resulted from the murder cases might be used by God to bring about some much-needed reforms. Remember the spirit of this proverb: “Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: Lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him” (Prov. 24:17–18).
  • Don’t get conceited or giddy: The fact that God can work through insignificant people does not make them important or significant in their own name or in their own right. “For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” (1 Cor. 4:7). If God is just giving us Warhol’s fifteen minutes of fame, we shouldn’t be acting like we are a new Geneva. If we were to be privileged to be part of something like that, it won’t happen through us plumping it up. “For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear: For a servant when he reigneth; And a fool when he is filled with meat; For an odious woman when she is married; And an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.” (Proverbs 30:21–23). In short, focus on your assigned duties, and don’t act like an idiot with a full tank of gas.

CHRIST BUILDS HIS KINGDOM

As we are engaged with all these different issues, with moving pieces everywhere, it is easy to find yourself chasing squirrels, all of which are faster than you. Let me return to the earlier point that we should keep the main thing as the main thing.

And worshiping is always the main thing, and it is something that cannot be approached or done apart from the mediatorial work of Jesus Christ. We gather here on the Lord’s Day in the name of Jesus Christ. And that is the name that has authority over every other name.

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

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The End of the World is Just the Beginning: Part 3

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INTRODUCTION

Two weeks ago we saw that Jesus described the sun and moon going dark like an Old Testament prophet describing the destruction of a great city/empire (e.g. Is. 13). Last week we also looked at the judgment of Satan, as the “ruler of this world,” his defeat and binding and plundering by Jesus on the cross. When the curtain was torn in two, Satan was cast down, Jesus ascended, the saints have been delivered from bondage to death and accusation, and a new heavens and new earth came into existence.

In our text this morning, we look at another New Testament reference to a prophetic destruction of an old world. And the apostle says that what the prophet was describing was happening right there in the first century in those last days at the first advent of Christ and the beginning of His Kingdom which will draw all the nations and have no end.

THE TEXT

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel…” (Acts 2:14-21).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

When the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost and the disciples began speaking in different languages, some mocked them as drunkards (Acts 2:13). But Peter stood up and explained that this was not drunkenness but rather the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy (Acts 2:14-16). Joel had prophesied that in the “last days” the Spirit would be poured out on all flesh, young and old, men and women, with prophesying and dreams (Acts 2:17-18). This would mark the beginning of the end of a world, with blood, fire, smoke, and the heavenly lights going out before the Day of the Lord (Acts 2:19-20). But whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Acts 2:21).

THE DAY OF THE LORD

In the Old Testament, the “Day of the Lord” is used prolifically in the prophets to describe a great judgment (Is. 2:12, 13:6-9ff, Jer. 46:10, Ez. 30:3, Amos 5:18-20, Zeph. 1:7-14ff). A similar phrase is “Day of Visitation” (Is. 10:3, Jer. 46:21, Hos. 9:7). This ultimately goes back to the day of the first sin and the first judgment: “And they heard the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day…” (Gen. 3:8). The day of the Lord is a day on which God visits His people for judgment but also salvation. This reminds us of when God came down to the Tower of Babel and confused the languages of the people (Gen. 11). In one sense, God reversed Babel at Pentecost, but foreign tongues are also a sign of judgment (Is. 28:11, 1 Cor. 14:21-22). So Pentecost was both: salvation for those who believed but judgment for those who did not.

THE LAST DAYS

So Peter says that the “last days” that Joel was talking about were right then in the first century (Acts 2:17). Hebrews agrees: “[God] hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son…” (Heb. 1:2). Likewise, later, it says, “but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Heb. 9:26). Peter is still thinking this way when he writes of Christ, “who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you…” (1 Pet. 1:20). And he seems to have the same thing in mind when he writes: “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer” (1 Pet. 4:7, cf. 1 Jn. 2:18).

Certainly, there are references to the final last days, the final end of all things: “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day” (Jn. 6:44, cf. 6:38-40, 54). The resurrection has certainly not happened yet, and so we await that “last day” (cf. Job 19:25-27). Christ must reign until all of His enemies are put beneath His feet; the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death – then shall come “the end” (cf. 1 Cor. 15:12-26, cf. 2 Tim. 2:18). But the primary referent of the phrase “last days” in the New Testament is the last days of the Old Covenant world, the end of that world, when Jesus came, which was also the beginning of the New World, the New Heavens and the New Earth in which the Holy Spirit has been poured out (Acts 2:17), the era in which salvation is proclaimed to the nations, so that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Acts 2:21).

AS THE WATERS COVER THE SEA

Part of the significance of the end of the Old Covenant world is the promised explosion of the gospel for the nations. “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all the nations shall flow into it” (Is. 2:2). And the prophet Micah says almost the exact same thing (Mic. 4:1).

Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dream as what will happen in the “latter days” (Dan. 2:28): “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever” (Dan. 2:44). And the King’s dream was of a rock cut out without hands that shatters the metal statue and grows into a mountain that fills the whole earth. This is the promise of the Messiah: “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, The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end…” (Is. 9:6-7). “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious” (Is. 11:9-10).

CONCLUSION

While there have been and continue to be the “last days” of earthly kingdoms and empires, we are in the era of the New Creation, when Christ’s kingdom grows and fills the earth. In these “last days” of sin and death, we are promised the growth of the kingdom and the nations flowing in.

The Lord certainly still visits this world with His temporal judgments, but in the New Covenant, one of the central ways God visits the world with judgment is through the gathered worship of the saints on the Lord’s Day – the Day of the Lord. In Revelation, John was in the Spirit, “on the Lord’s Day,” and He saw the saints worshipping and judgments falling on the earth. Hebrews says that we have come to Mount Zion, to God the Judge of all, to Jesus the Mediator, and God is shaking all things in Heaven and on Earth (Heb. 12).

This is why worship on the Lord’s Day is central to everything we do. In worship, we are lifted up by the Spirit into the Heavenly places to glimpse the end of all things in order to ask God for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Part of that is being worked out in us individually, making us more like Christ in every area of life, but part of that is also being poured out on the earth by the Prince of Peace who was born at Christmas.

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