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The Future and the Little Flock

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INTRODUCTION

Our attitude toward the future reveals, as few others things do, our actual doctrine of God, our actual theology. It is perilously to have our catechism truths down pat, there on the paper, but then to have the slightest threat or disturbance or turmoil or ominous cloud unsettle everything for us. We can’t sleep, it wrecks our appetite, and so our worries creep into all our conversations. This is a sin, and we must learn how to mortify it.

THE TEXT

“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

This passage from Luke is unique to Luke, but it comes in the middle of some very familiar teaching. Immediately before this, we have a reprise of the Lord’s teaching from the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7). Consider the ravens. God feeds them. Consider the lilies. God clothes them. So don’t worry about what you are going to eat and drink and wear. And right before that is the parable of the rich man who thought he had it all under control (Luke 12:15-21). The warning is for those who are not rich toward God. A man’s life does not consist of the abundance of things he owns (Luke 12:15). Do not be of a doubtful mind (v. 29). The nations pursue that stuff, and the Father knows what you need (v. 30). Seek first the kingdom, and God will take care of you (v. 31).

Then the Lord says, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (v. 32).

Then right after this verse, He tells us to save up by giving away (v. 33). The best way to hold on to these things is with an open palm Put your treasure where you want your heart to be (v. 34).

TWO KINDS OF WORRY

One kind of worry has to do with your personal fortunes. The world is perceived to be operating normally out there, generating its normal ratios of winners and losers. Your worry has to do with whether you are going to wind up as one of the losers. This is the kind of thing the Lord was addressing directly when He told us not to worry about what we were going to eat, or drink, or wear. These are personal concerns. What if I go bankrupt? The good thing about this is that at least it is obvious that your concern is about yourself. When you are worried in this way, you have multiple Bible verses bouncing off your forehead.

But the other kind of worry disguises itself as “an interest in politics,” or “awareness of geopolitical affairs.” You see a bunch of people who appear to have lost their minds, bent on burning down the country, and a bunch of other people who appear to have lost their spines, who are bent on not interfering with them as they do it.

I want to treat this second kind of worry—the kind that follows the news avidly. But the base coat of sanctification paint for this kind of worry has to be dealing with personal worry correctly—whether it is worry about cancer, or slippery roads, or financial ruin, or how the kids are doing.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6, NKJV).

“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

THE LITTLE FLOCK AND THINGS TO COME

The Lord is aware of how imposing the church looks to the outside world, which is to say, not very. He calls us His “little flock.” But what is He going to do for this little flock? He is going to give the kingdom to us, and He is going to do this because it is His good pleasure.

“Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:37–39).

“Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s” (1 Cor. 3:21–23).

There are two things to consider in all of this. The first is the protection that God promises His people. We have nothing to worry about from external threats because we are more than conquerors. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. One of the emphases here is the fact that we are protectedagainst all those things that might come after us in order to separate us from the love of God in Christ. We are protected in the event of unsuccessful attack, whether from death, or life, or celestial powers, or anything going on around us, or anything in the future. In fact, the end result of us being able to fight off all these is that we conquer. We are more than conquerors.

But it is not enough that the world is not going to be able to own us. Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth. Fear not, little flock, and remember the Father’s good pleasure. Not only will the world not be able to own us, it will actually be a turnabout case. We own the world. All things are yours, whether the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come.

Yes, secular man wants to gather everything up in his arms and claim all of it. Yes, their hostility toward the church needs very little prompting to be fully manifested. But when they attack the heavens, the only thing they will succeed in doing is dragging deep heaven down upon their heads.

“Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, And hath conceived mischief, And brought forth falsehood. He made a pit, and digged it, And is fallen into the ditch which he made” (Psalm 7:14–15).

And why? Because Christ was crucified. And why? Because He was also buried. And why? Because He rose from the dead. And why? Because He is enthroned at the right hand of the Father, and is busily engaged in giving us kingdom.

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Nation, Family, Church, and Gospel (Further Up #4)

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INTRODUCTION

We continue our series on Christian maturity and the pursuit of excellence, and we turn to what the Bible teaches about political maturity. In the midst of the mud-slinging of much political discourse, it can be easy to lose sight of basic Biblical principles, much less, long term goals. Apathy, perfectionism, and compromise are all enemies of political maturity. Central to mature thinking, planning, and acting politically is understanding the Lordship of Christ over all, and the different jurisdictions he has assigned to different authorities.

THE TEXT

“… Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press. And it was told Him by certain which said, ‘Thy mother and Thy brethren stand without, desiring to see Thee.’ And He answered and said unto them, ‘My mother and My brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it’” (Lk. 8:19-21).

NATIONS AND FAMILIES

The Bible teaches that nations are the natural extension of families multiplying. It frequently refers to nations as the “families of the earth” (e.g. Gen. 28:14, Ps. 22:27, Zech. 14:17). In Eph. 3:15, Paul writes, “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.” The word translated as “family” in Greek is patria, which is derived from the root word pater, which means “father,” but it can also refer to a much larger sociopolitical group such as an entire nation of people. Patria is where we get the words “patriot” and “patriotism” and the notion of right love and loyalty to one’s nation. This family-nation connection is true biologically, but Paul is clearly insisting that it goes deeper and broader than that, since every family is named after God the Father. And this is precisely what God began to teach His people early on through the gift of His covenant. To Abraham, God said, “As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee” (Gen. 17:4-5). While biological conception was always an important part of the growth and expansion of families/nations, from this very moment, God also instituted circumcision, in effect saying, but do not think of this covenant as a purely physical/blood relationship. Abraham’s entire household, including his male servants, were circumcised, Israel went up out of Egypt as a “mixed multitude” (Ex. 12:38), and Paul goes to great lengths to insist that this covenant was by faith not by the power of the flesh (Rom. 4:16-21). “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham” (Gal. 3:7ff). God has always taught His people that water is thicker than blood.

JESUS, LORD OF ALL NATIONS

All of this means that the Bible views the governments of the family, church, and state, as different sorts of families, nations, or covenants. While we have already seen this with families and nations, the Church also has “fathers” (cf. 1 Cor. 4:15) and is called the “household of faith” (Gal. 6:10), “the household of God” (Eph. 2:19, 1 Tim. 3:15, 1 Pet. 4:17) as well as a “holy nation” (1 Pet. 2:9) in which Christians have a citizenship (Phil. 3:20). And this brings us full circle to the words of Christ: “‘My mother and My brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it’” (Lk. 8:21). The point is not merely one about biological family (although it includes that); it’s far more expansive, including all of our “mothers and brothers,” in our families, churches, and nations – all natural loves and kindred are subject to God’s word. When Jesus rose from the dead, He said, “All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me, therefore go and disciple the nations…” (Mt. 28:18ff). Jesus is Lord of the nations: Lord of family-nations, church-nations, and country-nations. In the ordinary course of things, there are spiritual and physical relations and loves, similarities and differences running through all of these nations, including language, culture, belief, tribes, practice, land, work, marriage, children, history, symbols, and more. But only allegiance and obedience to the Father who is over all and in all can rank and sort these allegiances rightly (Eph. 4:6). How do you build a family, a church, or a nation? By hearing and obeying the Word of God.

HOW SHALL WE THEN LIVE?

Family: The marriage covenant is the core of this governmental jurisdiction, and it constantly pictures the Covenant of Grace in which Christ is Head of the Church (Eph. 5:22ff). As Lord of the family-nation, Jesus assigns the tasks of education, health, and welfare to this jurisdiction (Eph. 5-6). This includes care for elderly parents or other needy relatives (Mk. 7:11), the first line of defense for orphans and widows and similar needs, and a man that does not provide for his own household is worse than an unbeliever (1 Tim. 5:1ff). Our fundamental allegiance to Jesus sometimes does mean losing or straining family relationships where there is a refusal to hear God’s word and obey. But the gospel turns the hearts of fathers and children (Mal. 4:6).

Church: The church has been given the keys of the Kingdom by Jesus Christ and is commissioned to preach the gospel to every nation, teaching them to obey the entire Word of God, calling the saints together for worship, admitting disciples through baptism to the Table, and barring those from fellowship who do not obey Christ (Mt. 16:17-19, 18:15-20, 1 Cor. 5:1-5, 2 Thess. 3:14-15). The church proclaims the water of the Word – which is the Word of the New Covenant in the shed blood of Christ that cleanses families and nations from their animosities and feuds. But the church is not partisan to any other government. It teaches all men to honor all of their fathers (at every level), and so it teaches true family loyalty and patriotism in Christ. A patriot honors his fathers. But the church is a completely independent government from all other governments. This is why it is unseemly and confused (at best) and idolatrous (at worst) for churches to conduct worship services that confuse national identity with Christian identity.

State: The civil magistrate has been given the sword by Christ to punish criminals and keep good public order (Rom. 13:4). Civil magistrates receive their power from God and are established to praise the good and be a terror to those who do evil (Rom. 13:3). Just as God establishes the authority, He also establishes the standards and the definitions. A magistrate who ignores or openly defies the One from whom he receives his authority is cutting off the branch he stands on. Magistrates are true “foster fathers” (Is. 49:23) who hear the word of God and obey it in their offices, laws, and judgments. And those nations that keep covenant with the Lord of the nations will bring their glory and honor all the way into Heaven (Rev. 21:24). But all dogs, sorcerers, whoremongers, murderers, and idolaters will be shut out (Rev. 22:15). So it is right and good to ask God to cast down all evil, to thank Him for the true glory He has given to our nation and celebrate it, and ask Him to grow and safeguard it all the way to Heaven.

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Pressing On (Further Up #1)

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INTRODUCTION

Underlying much of the modern culture wars are questions, confusions, and conflict over the nature and possibility of progress, maturity, and excellence. What is possible in this world? And if real cultural progress is possible, how is it possible? For the next several weeks, we will be looking at a series of texts on the pursuit of excellence and maturity. Christianity gives good reasons for optimism, but not for the reasons the world gives.

THE TEXT

“For our citizenship is in heaven; from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…” (Phil. 3:20 NKJV)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Progress and excellence are words that only make sense if there’s a transcendent standard. What are we pressing for, what are we aiming at? We are aiming at the goal that Jesus aimed for when He saved us and nothing else (3:12). Our initial salvation doesn’t arrive at that perfection, rather, it is the only ground for pressing on, forgetting the things behind and straining to win the prize (3:13-14). This is the mind of Christian maturity: not being satisfied with where we are but pressing on together for that goal (3:15-16). This task includes following the example of others who walk like this (3:17). But many refuse to look beyond this world, and that’s a complete dead end (3:18-19). Christians are colonists of the Kingdom in this world, getting everything ready for Jesus, leaning into the resurrection (3:20-21

FOR WHICH HE LAID HOLD OF YOU

The call to perfection and maturity is a call to the most excellent life in every respect. But sin messes with this: our sin simply weighs us down (Heb. 12:1), but perhaps most deviously, our sin lies to us saying this is as good as it gets, and in the other direction, perfection and holiness aren’t as good as God says. But Paul has just finished saying that nothing in this world compares to the excellence of Christ and the resurrection (Phil. 2:7-11).

For a Christian, aiming for perfection is like aiming for home. Excellence in Christ is what you were made for and saved for. A good deal of our problem with growing in holiness and maturity is our vague and impersonal attempts to be “really good” or “not sin,” which is always a crushing weight, like pushing a rock up a hill only for it to roll back down on you every day. But this is why the first verse of our text is so important for understanding Christian maturity: we are only called to lay hold of that for which Christ laid hold of us (3:12). We are only called to seize/win/grasp that for which we were seized/won/grasped by Christ. Paul made the same point in the previous chapter: “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12-13).

All of the commands of Scripture: love your wife, submit to your husband, obey your parents, bring up your children in the Lord, tell the truth, do not fear, and repent of all your sins and forgive one another – those are commands that Christ has obtained the obedience for. God does not command except what He also has for prepared for us (Eph. 2:10). Just as there is no temptation for which there is no escape (1 Cor. 10:13). If you are in Christ, think of the call to press on toward the prize of perfection in Christ as the gift of learning to drive a fabulous sports car at the Indy 500. All the “rules” are things like: shift your gears like this, make the turn like this, use your brakes like this. Or think of Eric Liddell who said that God made him fast, and when he ran, he felt God’s pleasure. You were made for perfection. You were made for glory.

FOLLOWING EXAMPLES

Paul’s example is still set before us in his letters in the New Testament. Reading the Bible is following examples, putting the lives of the faithful before you as patterns. Do you need to persevere in difficulty? Set Abraham before your eyes. Or meditate on the lives of Moses, Job, or Elizabeth. Do you need wisdom? Consider the lives of Joseph, Solomon, Esther, or Paul. And of course, immerse yourself in the gospels, following the perfect example of Jesus.

But mark the lives of the saints around you as well: Do you see a marriage that is flourishing? Do you see a father delighting in his kids? Imitate them; follow their examples. Ask to talk to them, ask for advice, or invite them over for dinner. Do you see a Christian businessman who is prudent and excelling? Do you see a fruitful wife and mother, full of joy and wisdom? Note them, watch them, talk to them, and learn from them.

And Scripture is clear that wisdom also notes those who are not walking in the light. They are enemies of the cross, who serve their own lusts and appetites, who glory in their own shame – they are proud of their sin. They are obsessed with earthly things. So note this in Cain and Pharaoh and Achan and Ahab and Judas, and note it in those within the church today who are obsessed with what is fair or fads or rumors or fears, or simply muddle along in apathy.

OUR CITIZENSHIP

The old King James says our “conversation” is in heaven, but the word has more political connotations than that. “Polituema” is related to the word for citizen, citizenship, and city, and it’s the Greek root for our words “polity” or “politics.” In that Roman world, the concept was well known, especially in Philippi which was a Roman colony. The idea was that colonists went together to establish an outpost of the Empire in order to bring the ways of Rome to a new land. Only here Paul has reoriented the mission. The Philippian Christians are colonists, but they are colonists of Heaven. They are citizens of heaven, assigned to Philippi to establish an outpost for the Empire of Jesus, from which they await the King. We set our minds on things above precisely so we can see that Kingdom come: “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore…” (Col. 3:2-5)

CONCLUSION

The image Paul uses in Philippians 3 – the prize he is pressing toward, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to what is up ahead – this is the image of a race. It could be a foot race, but it could also be a horse race or a chariot race. And given what he says, Christ is the horse who is carrying us to glory. He is our Savior. We cannot lift ourselves or propel ourselves to this maturity or excellence, but we press toward the goal for which Christ has laid hold of us. Don’t look back. Fix your eyes on Jesus, reaching forward toward His glory in your family, your business, the arts, science, technology, our city, our nation, and the world.

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The Man of Sin (2 Thessalonians #3)

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INTRODUCTION

And now we come to the challenging passage, the one I have been warning you about. Who is the man of sin? What temple are we talking about? Who is the one who prevents this from happening? Good questions all.

THE TEXT

“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thess. 2:1–12)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Paul pleads with the Thessalonians in the name of the Lord’s coming (v. 1), that they not be unsettled through thinking that the final events were happening right then (v. 2). The day of Christ will not come unless the man of sin comes first (v. 3). This man of sin will set himself up in the Temple as God (v. 4). Paul had already explained all this to them (v. 5). Some mysterious power is holding this lawless one back (vv. 6-7). Then the lawless one will be revealed in order to be destroyed by the Final Coming of Christ (v. 8). He will be destroyed despite his ability to work miracles (v. 9). Those who love the truth will be saved in the truth, and those who love the lie will be damned in the lie (vv. 10-12).

THE CHALLENGES

The description here appears to include the Final Coming of Christ, which is still in our future. The coming of the Lord (parousia) could be His coming in judgment on Jerusalem, except that the phrase “our gathering to him” is used. And the man of sin who exalts himself as God will be consumed by the Spirit of the Lord’s mouth and destroyed by the brightness of the Lord’s coming. All this certainly sounds like the final eschaton.

But then what is the temple of God here? The Jewish temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. So if the man of sin set himself up there, then these events would be in the distant past and not a description of the Final Coming. This is one of the reasons why dispensationalists argue that the Temple must be rebuilt. Another argument is that the Temple is the Christian church, and that this false teacher who claims to be God is something like a wicked pope.

A BASIC PATTERN

Realize that Paul is telling the Thessalonians not to think that these events are right on top of them (v. 2). Don’t be unsettled, he says. A number of other things need to happen first. There needs to be an apostasy, a falling away first (v. 3). There needs to be a miracle-working false teacher (v. 9), one who claims to be God (v. 4). He needs to be enthroned in the Temple (v. 4).

At the same time, Paul argues that the spirit of all such things is already at work in his day (v. 7). He says that there is an unnamed external power that is restraining the outbreak of this lawless one (vv. 6-7). He says that the mystery of iniquity is already at work (v. 7), and is pushing against that which restrains it.

So here is my understanding of all this (the third option in the previous message). The events that happened just a decade or so before this, when Caligula attempted to set up a statue of himself in the Temple, was the kind of thing Paul was talking about, but was not the event itself. It was the spirit that was already at work, but was not the final convulsion of mankind’s sin. That is yet in our future, and Paul teaches us that it will run along the same lines. The advance of the kingdom of God is all part of the same long war. It is a protracted conflict, and it is all the same conflict. We are two thousand years after this prediction from Paul, but when Jesus preached to the spirits who were rebellious at the time of Noah (1 Pet. 3:19-20), He was 2400 years after the Flood. And it was all still relevant.

History is a river, not a string of ponds.

GOD-GIVEN DELUSION

The issues are therefore perennial, and they come down to every man and every woman, every boy and every girl. Those who have their pleasure in unrighteousness, and who reject the truth because they did not love it, are going to be sent something that lines up with what they love and hate. This passage says that God will send them a strong delusion so that they should believe a lie. And why is this? It is because they loved the lie. It is because they did not love the truth. Salvation is a function of loving the truth. Damnation is a function of loving a lie, preeminently the lies you tell yourself. Self-deception is the prince of all deception, and so God sends all such a strong delusion. The wrath of God is seen in this, when God gives people over to what they have loved all along.

And the one who causes delusions to evaporate is a preached Christ. And He is a preached Christ only because He is a crucified Christ, and a buried Christ, and a risen Christ. He is the truth, and He is preached. Do you love Him? If not, then the strong delusion is already resting upon you. If so, then you are loving the truth, by which you are saved.

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The Day of the Lord

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INTRODUCTION

As we work through this next portion of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, we want to continue to hold the various elements of “the last things” loosely, and in the palm of our hand. After we have all the pieces on the workbench before us (e.g. after 2 Thess. 2), we will then look at how they relate to one another. For the moment, to help keep things clear in our minds, I am going to begin referring to the end of all things as the Final Coming, and not the Second Coming.

We should work through all of this in humility, remembering that Augustine, one of the greatest minds in the history of the church, once said of 2 Thess. 2: “I frankly confess I do not know what he means.”

THE TEXT

“But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do” (1 Thess. 5:1–11).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Paul had not had the opportunity to teach the Thessalonians everything he had wanted to, but he had already covered this. You know the “times and seasons,” he said (v. 1). The day of the Lord would be sudden and unexpected, like a thief in the night (v. 2). Be aware that throughout Scripture, “the day of the Lord” is commonly used for any number of historical judgments. The day of the Lord is not necessarily the Final Coming. When they are expecting peace and safety, they will suddenly give birth to “sudden destruction” (v. 3). But their complacency was a moral darkness, not an intellectual one (v. 4). The believers in Thessalonica were children of the day, children of light, which would prevent the day from overtaking them like a thief (vv. 4-5). So his exhortation is that they remain awake and sober (v. 6). Sleep and drunkenness belong the night, not the day (v. 7). Those who are of the day should be sober, putting on the helmet of the hope of salvation, and the breastplate of faith and love (v. 8). The reason for this preventative behavior is that God has not appointed them to wrath (as He did the others), but rather to obtain salvation through Christ (v. 9). Christ died for those believers who were already dead, and for those who remained alive, so that all would live through Him (v. 10). These were to be words of comfort and edification, which Paul assumed the Thessalonians would continue in (v. 11).

THE SOMEWHAT OBVIOUS

Paul obviously has the Thessalonians of the first century living in a state of high alert. They are to be awake, and with their armor on. If they could read his words to them, and not be looking out the window at what might be happening in their day, then it would the result of not paying close attention. That tone of urgency is very clear in this passage. Just as I have argued that the presence of the general resurrection is an indication we are talking about the Final Coming, so also the presence of an “any minute now” vibe is an indication that we are talking the events that run up to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. In the two letters of Thessalonians, we have both elements weaving in and out with each other.

And looking ahead to 2 Thess. 2:6-7, we see something similar, in that Paul tells the Thessalonians that “he that restrains” is currently restraining, and that is why the man of lawlessness has not yet appeared.

A BASIC TAKE

As the first century Christians were navigating their way through a very dark pagan century, they were warned by Paul against some very real perils in their day. Formal emperor worship had begun under Augustus, and Thessalonica had a temple to the emperor. In 41 A.D. Caligula had ordered a statue of himself to be set up in the Temple at Jerusalem, which was only forestalled because Caligula was murdered. To give you a sense of the atmosphere of the times, in the forecourt of one of his homes, Nero had a bronze statue of himself built, a statue that was 120 feet tall—like a twelve-story building.

There were certain signs that indicated the pending destruction of Jerusalem (the day of the Lord), and that destruction was something that had to occur before there could be a Final Coming. That Final Coming was in Paul’s view, but it was like a very high and distant mountain range behind the mountain range that they were about to cross.

The Jewish War would “fill up” the sins of Israel (Matt. 23:32). That time would begin the “times of the Gentiles,” a period of time that would eventually be completed. I take that completion as being marked by the conversion of Jews, an event that has not yet happened (Rom. 11:15).

REMAINING ON HIGH ALERT

Once the judgment begins, that is no time to begin to prepare. The judgment might be temporal and historical (a day of the Lord), or it might be the Final Coming. In either case, the daylight is coming, and so Paul’s charge to us is to act as though the day has already come. We are not to be ethically groggy for whatever reason. You don’t want to be among those who were appointed to wrath—because that appointment will be kept. Rather, we should yearn to be among those who will “obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us.”

And this is what brings us back to the everlasting center—Christ, our Lord. Because He was not overcome by the night, it becomes possible for all those who have trusted in Him to follow Him and to do the same.

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