Please turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Revelation, chapter two. The book of Revelation, chapter two. We are continuing in our study of eschatology, which is what the Bible teaches concerning the last things before the ushering in of the eternal state for God's people. You might say the last things for the world as it presently is. Revelation chapter 2, we will pick up the reading at verse 1. Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write, These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil. And thou hast tried them which say they are apostles and are not, and has found them liars, and hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first work or else I will come unto thee quickly and will remove thy candlestick out of this place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life. which is in the midst of the paradise of God. And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write, these things saith the first and the last, which was dead and is alive. I know thy works in tribulation and poverty, but thou art rich. And I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not. but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried, and ye shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges. I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is. and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel. to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it. And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write, These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass. I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience in thy works, and the last to be more than the first. Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication, and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death, And all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts, and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. But unto you, I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine and which have not known the depths of Satan as they speak, I will put upon you none other burden. but that which ye have already hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh and keep my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers, even as I received of my father. And I will give him the morning star, He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write, These things saith he that hath the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars. I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and are dead. Be watchful and strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die, for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember, therefore, how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Thou hast a few names, even in Sardis, which have not defiled their garments, and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. He that overcometh the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my father and before his angels. He that hath an ear, Let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth. I know thy works. Behold, I have set before thee an open door, no man can shut it. For thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews and are not, but do lie. Behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly. Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out. And I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God. And I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write. These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would thou wert cold or hot. So then, because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked, I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, and thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous, therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and will sup with him and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne. even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Let us pray together. Our Father in heaven, we are grateful for the gift of the Savior Christ. Grateful for his voice, his living voice in our midst. That word touching our ears externally by the precious words of scripture, and for that internal word delivered by the Spirit reaching the heart. In the reading and hearing of these precious epistles from the Scripture, these precious epistles that come from the Savior Christ, we are reminded of our need for him. For indeed, his word is life for us, and the knowledge of him is eternal life. We know by receiving thy word in faith that Jesus is in our midst. This is the promise. When two or three are gathered together in his name, he is there. But we ask that thou would grant thy help so that we might be sensible of this presence, the reality of it. And when we depart from the assembly, let us do so with the assurance that the King hath been in our midst. Hear us as we pray unto thee in his wonderful name. Amen. Please turn with me and your Bibles to the Gospel of Matthew chapter 25. We are indeed in need of the Lord Jesus Christ. And really there can be nothing better for us than to be with him, to be in his presence. But we know how we are. It's very easy for us to be taken up with the concerns of this world, even the legitimate things, things that we're duty-bound to attend to. But it's easy for us to be pulled away and consumed by these things. It's easy for us to say, of course, that we can take the Lord Jesus with us, that we can walk with him and do all of the things of our lives. That's an easy thing to say, an easy thing to think. But given our fallen condition and our forgetfulness, it's not always an easy thing for us to do. One of my hopes is that as we study what the scripture has to say about eschatology, one of my hopes is that the Lord Jesus won't seem so very far away, but that we will feel a certain sort of press and impression of of his nearness, that he is indeed at the door. And the more different angles at which we can look at the closeness of the Christ to us, the better off we will be. What I'm getting ready to start into was originally designed as one discourse that ended up just being too long. So in some ways, this is only, I don't know, half a thought. But hopefully enough to get us started, hopefully enough for us to draw some living water from the fountain tonight and gather some strength for the rigors of the coming week. But I wanted to start tonight with an eschatological paradox, a puzzle, a poser, If you have been a student of the scripture for any length of time, it's probably struck you. If you're like me, maybe you have wondered about it for a long time. I encountered it pretty early in my own study of the scripture and have thought about it from time to time for the last 30 years. Once I say it, you'll probably recognize it. So when we read the scriptures, we are frequently called upon to recognize and to live in the light of a certain truth, that the coming of the Lord Jesus is imminent. Sometimes in the scripture it's presented as if it could come to us at any moment. We'll look at a text, this text, that talks about it in that way. But on the other hand, there are other texts of scripture that seem to open up some distance between where we are now and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we're left with a paradox or a puzzle. Is this coming imminent? Could it happen quite literally at any moment? Or is it still some time off? How do we put these scriptural teachings together in a way that is cogent, in a way that makes sense? So let's look first at the one hand of the paradox, which is the kind of teaching that seems to make it sound as if his return is imminent, like it could be at any second. So look with me at Matthew chapter 25, beginning in verse one. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so, lest there be not enough for us and you. But go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.' And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgin, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh. For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one. to every man according to his several ability, and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them five other talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth and hid his Lord's money, After a long time, the Lord of those servants cometh and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliverest unto me five talents. Behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His Lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things. I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliverest unto me two talents. Behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His Lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things. I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art in hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown and gathering where thou hast not strawed. And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth. Lo, there thou hast that is thine. And his lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed. Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance. But from him that hath not shall be taken away, even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." So here, just to give you a little bit of context, We are rapidly at this point in the gospel of Matthew approaching our Lord's last sufferings. We have just had his great eschatological discourse in Matthew 24, famously difficult to understand. Lord willing, next week we'll get into that just a little bit, just a little bit. I tremble to try to handle it in any kind of detail. But in chapter 25, the Lord turns his attention to some parables with some pretty evident applications. If we look at the parable of the ten virgins, five wise and five foolish, we get it we get a very definite practical message at the very end of the parable verse 13 notice the word second word therefore he's drawing a conclusion from the story watch therefore for you know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh it's an exhortation to readiness to stand prepared. And of course, as part of the psychology of that, it's kind of living with a sense that I might be called upon at any moment. That great call in the context of the parable to enter into the wedding feast could come at any time. And that seems to indicate something, by the way, of imminence. Although, in fairness to the parable as a whole, the fact that some substantial oil is necessary does seem to indicate that things are going to take a longer amount of time. The point of the second parable is to stay busy in the meantime. We're not to be sitting on our hands waiting for the return of the Lord. We'll see that in 2 Thessalonians in just a few minutes. But we're to be busy, we're to be working. But you see already the tension in verse 19 In the context of this parable, it's presented as if the coming of the Lord took a long time before the reckoning. Interestingly enough, if you go back to chapter 24, ask the question, is return imminent or distant? It's very difficult because the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD which is within a generation of that lively teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, is pretty near at hand, and it's treated as a type or an image, living picture, if you will, of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, judgment upon his enemies, and the deliverance of his people. a matrix of things. It's very much like a living picture of how things will be at the end of the age when Jesus returns bodily. So that's treated as being imminent and somehow related to his ultimate return. I've suggested a way that it could be related, and that would be typology. But then he does get into the end of the age and his ultimate return, which was which was long removed, right? So we have this tension in these two chapters between elements that seem imminent, like he's right at the door, we need to stand ready, but also some things that seem to indicate some passage of time. Interestingly enough, now flip with me to 2 Thessalonians 2. 2 Thessalonians 2. Here you have a church that is sure of his imminent return. They're very confident and so confident that they have left off working. You can see that expressly mentioned in chapter three. And then Paul is going to expressly deny that Jesus' return could be at any moment, but there are some things that have to happen first. Come here, baby, on that. All right, so look with me at 2 Thessalonians 2. 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 is that the day of Christ is at hand. that 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 worshiped. So that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing 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 that, 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, 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 believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. So here we get something of a chronology We're not told how long each one of these phases or stages is going to take, but as long as these stages have not been run to their completion, you know that the Lord isn't going to come. In other words, Paul says that you know that the Lord's not going to come until these other things happen first. Well, what things happen first? Well, he said the apostasy led by the man of sin, that has to happen first. And you say, okay, well, can we know when that's gonna happen? And Paul says, and that's not happening yet because there is something that is hindering. Now this introduces a really fascinating biblical mystery. Paul says that the Thessalonian Christians, having received oral teaching from him, know what it is that's hindering the arrival of the apostasy and the man of sin. So they know, but he doesn't say what it is in this particular epistle. Interestingly enough, The ancient Christians who were in, based on this text, the best position to know, and who did know, at least some of them, the testimony that comes out of antiquity that it was the Roman Empire itself and the emperor sitting on the throne that was hindering this particular manifestation. But at any rate, however you take it, there's something hindering that's not been removed yet. Now for us, has that been removed yet or not? That's a separate question, but for them it hadn't been removed yet. Then you have to have the apostasy and the appearance of the man of sin. Again, has that happened for us yet or not? That That's actually a separate question, but I'm just trying to get at what Paul's saying here plainly on the face of the text. These steps have to happen. And it's only when these steps, hindrance, then the removal of the hindrance, then the rise of the apostasy led by the man of sin. And that only then will you have the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. But there's also a possibility for like more time is the wearing out of the man of sin by by the spirit of the mouth of the Lord, one phase, and then his destruction by the brightness of his coming, a separate phase? Or are those one and the same things being expressed in two phases? That's hard to say. But the main point to be taken away is sometimes when the scripture talks about the coming of the Lord, it seems like it's right at the door. It could happen at any moment. And at other times, the scripture seems to be providing some distance. And so then the question is, how do we put these things together? Now, right away, I do want to say that when we're dealing with the teaching of scripture concerning the future, There are some things that are right on the surface of the text. They come out of the plain didactic teachings of the text. They're frequently repeated, and they're pretty easy to gather up. That the Lord Jesus Christ is returning in his body in the same way that he ascended into heaven is said multiple times in straightforward teaching. Nobody can miss that. So Jesus is coming again in his body. When he comes, he is going to raise the dead. And then when he raises the dead, there's going to be that great judgment, the separation of the sheep and goats and the ushering in of the eternal state. However, when we start looking at the details of teaching in eschatology, a lot of times that's presented in literary figures. It's not easy for us to see or to understand how to interpret those particular figures. And sometimes some of the things seem to be in tension, like the paradox in front of us, like is Jesus returning soon? Is it imminent? Could it be at any moment? Or are there yet things that have to happen before that? How do we put together those difficult things? And we need to be modest and careful. There should be some reserve, I think, when we draw these kinds of conclusions. We ought to be our optimism and enthusiasm about penetrating these kinds of Mysteries ought to be tempered by the Jewish Church of old as it wrestled with Old Testament prophecy concerning the first coming of the Lord Jesus. If you think about it right on the face of it, how to reconcile the portrait of the victorious Davidic king and the suffering servant, how to put those things together, it's not easy to see, right, looking forward. Now looking back and having seen the fulfillment in our Lord Jesus, it's pretty easy. It's pretty plain. But looking forward, those were not easy things to put together. One day, after the fulfillment of these things, we'll look back at the prophecies, and I'm sure that the putting of the things together will be easy in like manner. But looking forward, we should be careful because of course many in the Jewish church of old, many of the ancient rabbis got it wrong and did some kind of weird stuff like made the suffering servant of Isaiah and the conquering Davidic king two different figures, maybe even two different messiahs and so on. So they made some pretty significant errors and pretty significant mistakes. Uh, the fulfillment of these things is ultimately the final and best interpreter In some ways, I remember some years ago, I was working on a little work on the construction of Noah's Ark by John Boutteo. And in giving a proposal for the construction of Noah's Ark, how it could have been fashioned and how it could have been laid out to contain all of the animals and so on, He simply said, in making my proposal, I'm not saying exactly how the ark was built. Scripture does say some things for sure, but there are many details that are not expressed. He said, I'm just giving one way that it could be done. And if you can give just one way that it could be done, then at the very least, you have shown that it's not nonsensical or contradictory. And in putting these pieces together, I'm pretty sure from what we can gather from scripture that we're not looking at something that is, there's a tension here, there's a paradox, but ultimately no contradiction. And we are given some materials that might provide a clue on how to put these things together, how to understand them together. It's at least one way to understand them together. Is it the way? Ultimately, the fulfillment will be key. So I'm offering this for, by way of biblical reflection, but if you were to ask me, am I sure that this is the way to put these things together, I would not say that I'm absolutely sure. It's just one way, biblically, that they could be understood together, and then we will have to wait to see if this is the way that the Lord is indeed doing it. So at least the first facet of harmonizing these is a concept that is known as realized eschatology. The idea behind realized eschatology is that even while recognizing that there are things that are in front of us, like there's a future age that's coming that's still future to us, even while we're recognizing that and giving that its due weight, In a certain sense, that future age has already begun to invade the present age. You might say that the future is now. The way that this was drummed into my head at Westminster was it's the already but not yet dynamic, right? So there are elements of the future that have already been introduced and yet we're awaiting the future age and the final consummation of all things. But that is an important piece. What if it is true? What if the Bible is teaching that the future that this future age has already begun to invade. As a matter of fact, this idea of realized eschatology, this is a theme that runs pretty consistently through the Gospel of John. Flip with me to the Gospel of John chapter 5. We'll pick up reading in verse 16. Let me give you an imminent illustration. We tend to think of the the resurrection of the dead as future, and there's a sense in which that's an altogether sound way of thinking about it. With respect to numbers, the large crop of the resurrection is certainly going to come in as ushering in that great future age. But in some other ways, another way of thinking about the resurrection is that it is already begun in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is sometimes talked about as being the first fruits of the resurrection. Sort of like if you think about the resurrection as a harvest, the first fruits would be that first portion of the harvest that's brought in. And it bears testimony that pretty soon the rest of the crops are going to be ripe and they're going to be brought in as well. The Lord Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection. And although numerically most of the people of the blessed resurrection are still future, that's a future resurrection, the most important part of the resurrection has already happened. in the Lord Jesus Christ. He has been raised and he has entered into his glory. So there's a sense in which that future resurrection has already intruded into the present age and the resurrection has already begun. It's hard to be certain about very much about this cryptic text, but most of you will remember only Matthew records it, but when Jesus died, there was an earthquake. and the tombs were broken up in Jerusalem. And then when Jesus was raised, there were saints of old that were raised with him at that same time, and they went out into Jerusalem bearing witness to these things. What happened to these people, we're not told in Scripture, but later on we are told that they Well, they simply disappeared. Interpreters have wondered, like, what happened to those that had been raised. I think maybe the leading hypothesis is that perhaps they ascended with the Lord Jesus Christ, never to die again. In other words, Lord Jesus is the firstfruits of the resurrection, but perhaps there was already a little bit of a broader crop that was raised with him and ascended with him at the beginning of the future age with respect to the resurrection. In the Gospel of John, The Lord Jesus seems very much to delight in teaching that eternal life is not something that we're just looking forward to. In all of its consummate fullness, that's true. But the Lord does seem to love and delight to indicate it as the already present possession of the believer. or in other words, eternal life with the Lord Jesus has already begun. So pick up with me at John chapter 15, or chapter five, sorry, beginning in verse 16. And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus and sought to slay him because he had done these things on the Sabbath day. But Jesus answered them, My father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought them more to kill him, because he had not only broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his father, making himself equal with God. Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, the son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the father do. For what things whoever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth. And he will show him greater works than these that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, that all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself, and hath given him authority to execute judgment also. because he is the Son of Man. Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in the which all that are in the grave shall hear his voice and shall come forth, they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation. I can of my own self do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just. because I seek not mine own will but the will of the Father which has sent me. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. So let's take the text and the time and work backwards. If you look back at verse 28, the hour is coming in the which all that are in the grave shall hear his voice and shall come forth they that have done good unto the resurrection of life and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation. So this is an hour that is coming but has not come yet. But if you back up to verse 24, you see a realized eschatology present. He that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life. I want you to notice the present tense verb. Not we're going to have everlasting life, but it's a present possession. And when the judgment comes, notice the shift to the future, and shall not come into condemnation, but then back to the present, but is passed from death unto life. This would be another way of speaking about regeneration as it was given by Jesus to Nicodemus in John chapter 3, which is not very remote in context. And it appears this spiritual passing from death unto life through the grace of regeneration seems to be what's in view in verse 25. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming and now is. That is so interesting. Verse 28 which talks about things clearly future, resurrection of the just and the unjust, is just styled the hour that is coming. But here we have an hour's coming and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall live. It's interesting the relationship that's being drawn between the future age and its resurrection, and the spiritual resurrection that's even present now. Just as Jesus will call physical bodies out of their graves at the end of this present age, even now, by his word and spirit, he is calling souls out of spiritual death into spiritual life. And these are realities that are being related to one another pretty plainly, and they are both resurrections of a sort. Maybe another way of saying this is that when our souls are renewed, nothing less than that same resurrection power is at work in us that will be at work at the end of the age in the raising of the dead. So I offer this as at least a first proposal on how to understand this tension between the imminent return of the Lord Jesus, as it seems to be sometimes, as well as a more remote return. Maybe one way of thinking about it and looking at it. I'm going to try to put some I'm going to try to put some meat on this bone next week. It's just going to take some time. But at least this might be a partial and introductory thought. Perhaps that future age is already invading the present age. And in that sense, the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, whenever it might be in the future, that bodily return, The power, force, and strength of that reality is already present and at work right now. One other thing, we started, turn with me now back to Revelation chapters two and three. I remember some years ago, I had already had this dynamic presented to me, but one of the reasons I wanted to read Revelation chapters 2 and 3 to you at length is because years ago when I started to preach this, in spite of the fact that the idea was not new to me, spending so much time in Revelation 2 and 3 really struck my mind with this very same dynamic. So first of all, just by way of the outlining of the book, if you look at Revelation chapter 1 verse 19, the Lord Jesus gives us an outline of this book. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter." The things that John had seen is the vision of the Lord Jesus Christ arrayed as a priest-king in Revelation chapter 1. After that you will get the things that are. that's the condition of the seven churches in Asia Minor. So Revelation 2 and 3 does not appear to be some sort of like veiled prophecy concerning future things or seven church ages or something like that. Here they're simply called the things that are. That's the present condition of the seven churches in Asia Minor. So full of instruction for us. But it's fascinating the way that the things that you get at the very end of the book, things pertaining to the end of the age and the eschaton are portrayed as having an immediate bearing upon Christians in Asia Minor in the 90s AD, like that eschaton is not distant, but it's near. And sometimes you might be able to dismiss that with, well, we have practical responsibilities between here and there, and that's true. Like when the things at the end of the age are presented, say, as reward, as you get at the end of each of the epistles, perhaps you could say, well, it's just the practicalities of it, like we need to be watchful, we need to be faithful, we need to endure hardships, all of that is part of the path that leads to the rewards at the end of the age, and that's true. But it's very interesting that on a couple of occasions in the Epistle, the Lord will talk about his coming He will talk about his coming in a way that sounds like what we read in Matthew 24 and 25, like the thief and the knight, but he applies it very immediately to them, like he will come to them ecclesiastically, maybe even perhaps personally. So look with me at Revelation chapter three. Now, the thou here, you'll notice it's second person singular. It's referring immediately to the angel of the church of Sardis. It'd be a long discussion, but this is likely a reference to the ministers, the messengers of the churches in Sardis, probably multiple of them in view, but here contemplated as a collective singular, but real concrete historical first century people. Verse 3, remember therefore how that thou hast heard received and heard and hold fast and repent if therefore thou shalt not watch I will come on thee as a thief and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. It's very interesting so this this coming as a as a thief in the night is very common kinds of language. You'll get it in 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 as well, which is clearly referring to his coming at the end of the age. We saw some of it in Matthew's eschatological discourse, and here we have it again, but clearly not referring to the end of the age. But if they don't repent, he'll come to them now. What's interesting is it's portrayed as a coming, It's portrayed as a coming that has an immediate bearing and relevance, although it's not going to be his physical return, we don't know that for sure. But it is a coming, it's rightly contemplated as a coming, and it has a lot of the same sorts of elements that you'll have at the end of the age. There will be judgment upon Christ's enemies and the recalcitrantly disobedient. And in the midst of that, a deliverance and a rewarding of his true, believing, persevering people. So there's like in a microcosm in this particular thing, a patterning after that great event at the end of time. By way of general impression, and I'm going to come back to that idea next time. And like I said, try to fill that out so it's not quite so abstract. But I was deeply impressed with the way that Revelation was not portraying the eschaton in these chapters as being like distant, remote, but you feel a certain sort of pressure from it, and even an intrusion of that great age into the present environment. And hopefully, when we think more particularly about our Lord Jesus Christ, and again, Lord willing, we'll develop this some more next week as well. Hopefully, we will not think of him being distant, but near. And that's precious, something to gladden all of our hearts. Let me tell you a little bit of a story. When Dr. Young came to visit us for the first time in Northern Virginia, I wasn't ordained yet. I was installed there. I was a sentient. installed there for preaching with a view to a call but I was not ordained yet. He was coming to administer the Lord's Supper for us and I was very excited in one way because I had for a long time read about the celebration of the supper at a common table. I had become convinced of the value of that practice But I had actually never seen it done, never. And so he was coming and he was going to administer the supper in that fashion, very excited. And one of the things that really struck me about being at the common table with other believers was the nearness of the other believers. I'm not alone in the celebration of the supper. This is not even just a private supper between me and the Lord, but there's the nearness of the other believers. This is a common supper. We are all together in the presence of the Lord, our great host and benefactor. There was something about that that was wonderful. But he also did something for me on that particular occasion, but something where I was spiritually at the time too, it was very valuable to me, made a deep impression on me. He said, the Lord instituted the supper historically 2,000 years ago. And in that regard, the Lord can seem really far away. However, when the supper is done according to his institution, we're being called in a very particular and individual kind of way. So the Lord tells us how to do the supper. It also tells us who is qualified for attendance upon it. These are Christ's own rules. And suddenly, as it's done the way that Christ commands. It's not just some minister up there doing it. This is not the minister supper. This is not even like the ecclesiastical hierarchies supper. This is not the Presbytery supper. This is the Lord's supper. He is hosting us and it is being conducted according to his prescription. You start to get a sense that we have a king in our midst and that he's receiving us to this supper. But then one of the precious things about being, not just being left to your own judgment, but being examined by officers according to biblical criteria, it's not quite like the preaching of the gospel, which is indiscriminate. The old language would be promiscuous. It's a call that's going out to everyone. But here the Lord draws very near. I'm being called individually. This is his call and commandment to me. These are the criteria. Do I meet those criteria? I think so, but then I'm not left to my own judgment. The ministers, the representatives of Christ also say that they see that these particular criteria are being fulfilled in me and in my walk. And so then the Lord suddenly seems very near. I might say that in spite of the fact that horizontally there's 2,000 years of separation, a vertical element comes in and you get a sense that he is near. The king has given commandments. This is all being done according to his commandment. And as it's being done according to his commandment, I'm being bidden by him to come. and to fellowship with him in this particular way and with this kind of intimacy. And it was wonderful. It was even life-changing. Well, these eschatological reflections, I guess part of what I'm getting at is the same kind of idea in reverse. From the time of the Lord Jesus to whenever he's coming back, again, there's quite a bit of time separation. And we might have, well, we do have some time separation to endure before his coming physically. And so we can think, well, there are still years, maybe many years, maybe more years than I have left in my life before his return. And so that can seem distant. But suddenly, this other element is introduced, and it suddenly seems very near, that that eschatological age, in various ways, is intruding into the present. And one of the values of that is that Our Lord Jesus is not far off from us, but near. Earlier, I talked about our union with him in resurrection. The resurrection has begun. He has been raised. That becomes an assurance to us that we are going to be raised. But then in Ephesians chapter two, we're told that our resurrected Lord has ascended on high, and even now, we are seated with him in heavenly places. In some way, like heavenly places, we think of the end of the age, but eternal life has already begun. Our eternal life with him has already begun in ways that are true, in ways that are poignant and powerful and tremendously important. We're already seated with him. in the heavenly places. That fellowship has already begun, not fully consummated. We're not in the full enjoyment of that yet, but that future age has intruded, and in doing so, our Jesus has come very near to us indeed. Let us pray together.