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The End of the World is Just the Beginning: Part 3
Christ Church on December 18, 2022
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The End of the World is Just the Beginning: Part 2

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INTRODUCTION

Revelation is a notoriously challenging book of the Bible, but like the rest of Scripture, it was written for our edification. Much of it is written in highly symbolic language, but it was written to “reveal” the truth not confuse or obscure it. One of the interpretive keys comes at the very beginning: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God have unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass… Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear… for the time is at hand” (Rev. 1:1, 3).

What John saw in the Revelation was an apocalyptic vision of things that had happened or were about to happen in the first century. We noted last week that what Jesus described as the end of the world was the end of the Old Covenant world and the inauguration of a New Heavens and New Earth upon His Ascension. Likewise, here we see another angle on the same events: the defeat of Satan and His kingdom by the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus.

THE TEXT

“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feed, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: and she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered…”

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

John sees two signs in Heaven: first a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head (Rev. 12:1). Like Joseph’s dream, this woman represents Israel, from Eve to Mary, travailing in birth (Rev. 12:2), and she is being threatened by the second sign: a dragon standing before the woman waiting to devour her child (Rev. 12:3-4). This reminds us of Herod and the slaughter of the innocents. The child that is born is Jesus: the man who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron (Rev. 12:5, cf. Ps. 2), and He is caught up to Heaven to God (Rev. 12:5). While the woman flees into the desert, a war breaks out in heaven, and Michael and his angels fight and defeat and cast out the great red dragon, who is that old serpent from the Garden of Eden, the Devil and Satan (Rev. 12:6-9). When this happens, John hears a loud voice announcing that salvation and the kingdom of God and of His Christ is come because the Accuser has been cast down to earth where he is overcome by the saints by the blood of the Lamb and their testimony (Rev. 12:10-11).

THE ACCUSER OF THE BRETHREN

This text together with others implies that before Christ came Satan (meaning “Accuser”) enjoyed far greater power, and in particular, access to heaven to accuse the brethren before God night and day (Rev. 12:10). We see this in the book of Job, where Satan is in heaven accusing Job of only serving God because God has blessed him (Job 1:9-10).

But at the Ascension of Jesus, the power of the Accuser was destroyed and he was cast down out of Heaven. How did this happen? The power of Satan the Dragon is the power of death: “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb. 2:14-15). Why do sinners fear death and why are they in bondage? Because “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 8:23). Guilty sinners know that they deserve death, but Christ came to deliver sinners by paying for their sin and forgiving them, so that they no longer fear death and Satan has no power over them: “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:13-15).

THE JUDGMENT OF THIS WORLD

This cosmic change cannot be underestimated. Jesus described this shift as the “judgment of this world”: “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die” (Jn. 12:31-33). Likewise: “And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house” (Mk. 3:26-27). This is exactly what Jesus came to do, and He did, beginning with sending out the 70 evangelists during His earthly ministry: “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Lk. 10:17-19).

In Daniel, an angel describes angelic beings over nations (e.g. the “prince of Persia” and the “prince of Greece”), and how Michael “your prince” (“one of the chief princes”) fought with them (Dan. 10:13-21). This suggests that in the Old Covenant world, angels and demons played a far more significant role in international politics, but with the coming of Jesus, the “principalities and powers” have been spoiled. Because Christ is on the throne, those who reign with Him will judge angels (1 Cor. 6:3). Whether the war in heaven that John saw is symbolic of the earthly ministry of Jesus or it is the heavenly parallel of the same events, the point is the same: Satan has been cast down, significantly bound, and His power of accusation is greatly diminished because of the blood of the Lamb. Jesus has taken captivity captive (Eph. 4:8).

CONCLUSION

So what does this mean for us? Satan has been cast down to earth where he can still make some havoc. He can and does prowl about like a lion (1 Pet. 5:8), but because of Christ, he is a wounded and shackled lion and his lies and accusations can be overcome by the blood of the Lamb.

This is why Paul tells the Romans that they can expect the God of peace to “crush Satan under your feet shortly” (Rom. 16:20). Because of Christmas, we live in a new world: “No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found.”

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The End of the World is Just the Beginning: Part 1

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INTRODUCTION

The coming of the Messiah Jesus at Bethlehem was in many ways the end of the world. It was the end of an old world and at the same time the beginning a new world. In the old world Satan, Sin, and Death had a fierce power. The god of that age blinded many, and they served many idols and false gods viciously. The light of God was relatively faint and shadowy, largely limited to a tiny nation in the middle east.

But with the coming of Christ, Satan has been struck with a fatal blow, and now sin and death are on the run. Satan has been cast down and now Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father. This means that we live in a radically new world, a new heavens and a new earth, and we are witnesses of a New Jerusalem coming down out of Heaven.

THE TEXT

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken…” (Mt. 24:29-35)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

We call this passage the “Olivet Discourse” because Jesus gave this message on the Mount of Olives (24:3, cf. Mk. 13, Lk. 21). While Jesus had just called down a great curse upon Jerusalem and the temple (23:35-38), His disciples pointed out how beautiful the temple was, and Jesus says every single stone will soon be cast down. This provokes the disciples to ask when these things would take place, when Christ would be coming, and when the end of the world would be (24:2-3).

While they may have assumed that the destruction of the temple/Jerusalem would coincide with the final return of Jesus and the final end of the world (24:3), Jesus proceeds to answer these questions like an Old Testament prophet, describing the destruction of the temple as a cataclysmic, world-ending event with the sun and moon going dark and the stars falling out of heaven (24:29). He describes a coming of the Son of Man on the clouds of heaven (24:30) and a gathering of the elect by angels and sounding trumpet (24:31). But Jesus insists that the disciples understand that these things are very near, like they know summertime by the leaves on a fig tree (24:32-33). Jesus says that what He is describing will happen during that present generation (24:34). Heaven and earth will pass away, but His words will not pass away (24:35).

COLLAPSING SOLAR SYSTEMS

It’s important to remember that when God created the sun, moon, and stars, they were created in part for “signs,” and the sun and moon were created to be rulers of the day and the night (Gen. 1:14-16). This is why when Joseph dreamed that the sun, moon, and 11 stars were bowing down to him, everyone knew what the dream implied (Gen. 37:9-10). When the great darkness covered the land of Egypt, God was warning Pharoah that his world-empire was about to come to end if he didn’t relent (Ex. 10:22).

So when the prophets take up descriptions of collapsing solar systems, we should read the contexts carefully: Ezekiel 32 addresses Egypt centuries later, and in addition to other plague-like language, says, “And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD. I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known” (Ez. 32:7-9). We see the same thing in Isaiah 13 describing the destruction of Babylon and again in Joel 2 regarding the destruction of Jerusalem. So when Jesus says the sun and moon will go dark and the stars will fall from the sky, He is describing the apocalyptic end of the world of Jerusalem.

THE SON OF MAN COMING

When Jesus says that a sign will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will see the Son of man coming in the clouds, He is quoting Daniel: “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom thatwhich shall not be destroyed” (Dan. 7:13-14). Notice where the Son of Man is coming to: He is coming to the Ancient of Days in heaven. Jesus is talking about His Ascension, not His final coming at the end of history. What’s the sign that all the tribes will see? Pentecost: the pouring out of the Spirit upon all the nations represented there. This would be the most natural reading of the angels gathering the elect: these are the apostles and evangelists preaching the gospel (Mt. 24:31, cf. Acts 6:15, Gal. 4:14).

CONCLUSION

Jesus says that “this generation” will not pass away until all these things take place (Mt. 24:34). Many Christians attempt various exegetical gymnastics to make “generation” mean something longer than the usual 40 years or else some way of selectively choosing which things happened in the first century and which things are still awaiting fulfillment. But the words of Christ are clear, and He did ascend to the Father where He was given all authority and power and that was proven by the gift of the Holy Spirit. And about 40 years later, in 70 A.D., the city of Jerusalem was burned to the ground and the temple was destroyed.

We must not underestimate what the first coming of Christ accomplished. What was only foreshadowed in the tabernacle and temple has been accomplished by the crucifixion of Jesus: the curtain in heaven has been torn open and a new and living way has been opened through the flesh of our Lord (Heb. 10:20). The old heavens and earth truly were dark, but the Sunrise from on High has visited us (Lk. 1:78). And a new heavens and a new earth have been inaugurated by the coming of Christ. “Arise, shine, for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon us” (Is. 60:1). We have come to a New Jerusalem that is coming down out of Heaven; Immanuel has come and the dwelling place of God is with men (Heb. 12:22, Rev. 21:1-3).

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