Reading from the majority text version, because there is something in there that you won't find in the New King James here, but Revelation 1, verses 1 through 3, it's on page 18 of your bulletins. The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his slaves, things that must occur shortly. And he signified it, sending it by his angel to his slave John, who gave witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, the things that he saw, both things that are and those that must happen after these. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things that are written in it because the time is near. Amen. Father, we thank you for this, your word, and I pray that you would enable me to faithfully teach it and to apply it. And Father, that your Holy Spirit would draw our hearts out to you in faith and hope and in love. And we pray this in Christ's name. Amen. You may be seated. If you don't have this chart, at least somebody near you, you may want to go to the back and get a copy of this because I'm going to be referring to it. later on in the sermon, but last week we saw that the book of Revelation is absolutely saturated in the scripture, especially in the Old Testament, but you see other scriptures that are involved there as well. There are over 1,000 references to the Old Testament in the book of Revelation, so much so that one commentator said, No one has any business reading the last book who has not read the previous 65. Now, maybe a little bit of an exaggeration, but it does show how tightly integrated this book is with the previous 65. But today we're going to be looking at two more interpretive principles that the Apostle John lays down for us to give us a roadmap, to help us to see how this book is laid out. We're now up to principle number 14. And this one is actually similar to principle number 9. We had previously seen that this book was being written with symbols. That's what the word signified means. It was a symbolically written book. But principle 14 goes beyond that. And I should have written this on your outline, sorry about that. These two principles aren't written out. But this principle says, this is a book that contains a high degree of visualization. So you could just write down the word visualization. Not simply analytical words and not simply symbols. Think of it like a play or a movie. Verse two says that John is relating all things that he saw. Okay, so this wasn't just words that were streaming into his mind that he wrote down, but he sees this vision, it's a panorama that is displayed before him, a very visual, visual panorama. Vic Reasoner's commentary says, it has been said that Revelation is not a puzzle book, but a picture book. The visual nature of the book is demonstrated by the fact that 41 times John sees. Now let me try to illustrate for you how this is different from principle number nine. A movie or a play can have spoken communication, it can have symbolic communication, and it can, and it always does, have a visual communication to you in other ways. And I'll just use one arbitrary movie to illustrate that. Well, any of the Lord of the Rings or the Hobbit movies, you can see that the ring is a symbol of the sin nature that tends to pull men down. But then there are just words that the narrator narrates onto the movie and that some of the actors talk about, the evil that was creeping and that in that kingdom and some of that was analytical but it's a verbal communication about the evil that is symbolized by the ring and then you have a visual display that is not symbolic but it's a visual display of the way that evil has impacted people in the orcs who were corrupted elves and in Saruman who was a corrupted wizard and I tell you it is displayed so vividly that it is disturbing they are so ugly I mean you look at those creatures you don't have to be told that they're evil you know they're evil creatures just looking at them and So those are three different kinds of ways of communication that you'll see in the book of Revelation. And unfortunately, those who see principle number nine, that Revelation is symbolic, sometimes try to treat absolutely everything in the book as symbolic. Every feature of Christ becomes a symbol for them. And with Harold Camping, even the interpretations of the symbols, those interpretations become symbolic as well. Now let's think about that a little bit. It really doesn't make sense when you analyze it. Our verses 1 through 3 of our chapter, of chapter 1, Is that symbolic language? I think you'd have to say no it is not. The first three verses are pretty straightforward words that are helping us to analyze the nature of this book. Now I want you to take a look at verses 12 through 20 and you'll see a mixture of all three forms of communication in these verses. Beginning to read at verse 12. Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me." Now that's not a symbol, it's a straightforward narrative of John's reaction when he suddenly hears a voice in his vision. It goes on to talk about both symbols and visualization. It says, And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. Now in verse 20, he's going to be explaining what that symbol means, but obviously the lampstands are symbols. However, not everything in this paragraph is a symbol. He's describing a vision almost like a movie. He says in verse 13, and in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the son of man clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes like a flame of fire. His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters. Now all of that is visualization. It's a very highly graphical portrayal of Jesus, which, by the way, just as a side note, I think helps to factor in to whether it is lawful or not to make images of Jesus. I played on the safe side, and we don't have any in our home. We don't do anything, but is it lawful? In Deuteronomy 4, it says one of the reasons why you don't make an image of God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit is you saw no image. And it would detract from God to make any kind of an image, but when people were here on earth, they did see an image of Jesus. They did see a form. And here I just challenge you. Some people say if you think in any image in your mind you're breaking that commandment. Well I challenge you to read these words and not have some kind of an image coming into your mind. He is painting a very vivid image of the Lord Jesus Christ. But anyway that's just a side note. And here's the point, Jesus doesn't stand as a symbol of anything. There are other symbols that point to Jesus in this book, but Jesus is Jesus, OK? It's just a very graphic visualization of the glorified Jesus. But in verse 16, his visualization, his movie, as it were, contains more symbols. He had in his right hand seven stars. There's the first symbol. Out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword. There's a second symbol. And his countenance was like the sun, shining in its strength. Now, you could legitimately argue whether or not that's a symbol or whether, very literally, Jesus's face shines and radiates like that in his glorified form. In verse 17, you find analytical language. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. So he did see a visualization, but he very literally fell down. And then he continues to discuss both the visualization of Christ and the words that Christ speaks. But he laid his right hand on me saying, do not be afraid. I am the first and the last. I am he who lives and was dead and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and death. Write the things which you have seen and the things which are and the things which will take place after this. The mystery of the seven stars, which you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches and the seven lampstands, which you saw are the seven churches. So using normal words, he communicates what those symbols mean. But all of this is done in a very visual way. Now, that's all I'm going to say on this principle. I think it's fairly straightforward. If you try to symbolize absolutely every word in the book of Revelation, you're going to become unbalanced. But if you look at the first 11 verses where he lays out the principles by which he wants you to read this book, you're going to be forced to realize, OK, he's going to be communicating with literal words. Normal words he's going to be communicating with, symbolic words and he's going to be communicating with very visual representations of things we ordinarily would not be able to see with our eyes. He's helping us to part the curtain as it were and to see into the spiritual realm. Distinct kinds of communication just like you would find in most movies and plays. But verse 2 gives us one more principle. Principle number 15 talks about the theological concept known as the inaugurated kingdom, or maybe what you've heard more commonly as the already and not yet. We're already in some sense in the kingdom, but there's a whole bunch of stuff in the kingdom that has not yet been fulfilled, not yet been realized. And though some Bibles don't have this phrase in verse 2, they all have it in verse 19. But in any case, in the majority text, verse 2 speaks of John giving witness to the things that are and those that must happen after these. And verse 19 says, write the things which you have seen and the things which are and the things which will take place after this. Now, it is pretty complicated Greek grammar, and I'm not going to bore you with the seven viewpoints that have historically been given on this phrase. But based on the immediate context and the grammar and the fact that this is a reference to Daniel, which many people did not realize until computer analysis came along, Mounts and G.K. Beale and Wall and Yeats and some other modern commentaries have written very, very convincingly that what the Greek here means is that John's vision, what he saw, deals with the current experience the already, and it deals with the trajectory of where this world is headed, the not yet. In fact, the evidence is so strong that nowadays it's not just all mills and post mills who agree that we are living in the kingdom. Even dispensationalists, believe it or not, are now saying, okay, the evidence is overwhelming. We are living in the kingdom, but we're still divided into three or four camps as to what in the world that means. The question is, how can John say that we are currently in the kingdom if we're not currently experiencing everything that is characterized by the kingdom, okay? That's what the theologians wrestle with. That's what this inaugurated kingdom theology, or the already not yet, however you wanna word it, that's what it is trying to wrestle with. So, for example, in verse five of our chapter, Jesus is currently the ruler over the kings of the earth. And in verse 6 it says, he's already made us to be kings. Now you probably don't feel like kings sometimes. And it sometimes feels like Jesus is not ruling. You look around you and you wonder what is going on. And in fact, in chapters 2 through 19, you're going to be discovering all kinds of resistance to Christ's kingdom. Chapter 17 is going to be describing the kings of the earth fighting against Jesus' rule and Jesus fighting against those kings. But by the time you get to the end of this book, you're going to see all kings and all nations saved and gladly embracing the kingship of the Lord Jesus Christ. But there's a tension between the already, what John says is the case right now, what we are experiencing, it sure doesn't seem like victory, and what the victory will look like eventually, what John describes at the end of the book. So let me just put some flesh on this. As an example, chapters 21 through 22 show Christ's total victory, worldwide righteousness, peace, all nations serving Christ, all kings bowing before his throne, prosperity, living out God's law, God's heavenly kingdom, fully coming to earth, and a whole bunch of other wonderful, wonderful things. And yet, even in those chapters, there are indications in there that all of that started in the first century with Christ, okay? And yet we look around us and we see wars and paganism, and we see kings fighting against Jesus, and we see a church that certainly is not submitting to God's law, and we wonder, how do we reconcile those statements? Okay, we recognize there's something going on in chapters 20 through 22 that we're not experiencing, and yet Revelation 1 through 19 is strewn with all kinds of passages that indicate, in some sense, we are, we are. What is going on there? How do you reconcile those? Why does chapter five say that Jesus has prevailed when it looks like the opposite? It looks like Christ's church is being wiped out. Why does chapter 11 verse 15 say that the kingdoms of this world have become, this is past tense, have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign forever and ever and yet it's making that statement smack dab in the middle of a horrific first century war. Why does John tell the church in Philadelphia in chapter 3 verse 12 that overcomers have the privilege of being involved in the New Jerusalem, which he says is, and the Greek is the present ongoing tense, which is coming down from heaven when Revelation 21 seems to indicate that the New Jerusalem is going to come down from heaven in the future in some sense and be merged with the earth. How can saints in chapter 15 in the midst of fiery persecution rejoice in God's victory and make this absolutely confident statement, for all nations shall come and worship before you, when it looks like the opposite? It looks like all of these nations are fighting against the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, those are the kinds of statements that have made theologians try to wrestle with the already and the not yet. And I've given you a chart. that helps you to see the post-millennial view of the already and not yet, and contrast that with other viewpoints. And I know this may seem like heady stuff, but this is so, so important. Settling this issue is absolutely critical to understanding the rest of the book of Revelation. So take a look at the chart at the top left-hand side, and I'm gonna start highlighting some themes that everybody acknowledges are present in Revelation. On the top left, you have the creation of the heavens and the earth in Genesis. And it says that the old creation was blessed. Okay, that's in Genesis one through two. And then in Genesis three, the old creation was cursed. And that factors hugely into the paradise lost and the paradise regained motif in the book of Revelation. Then move over just a little bit further to the right, you'll see the cross of Jesus Christ as the central focus of history. And to the right of that cross it says, all things made new legally. And if there was space, I could put in a whole bunch of other things that you find in the gospels related to the cross and the resurrection of Jesus. For example, Jesus says, now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out. You think, really? Did that happen? So why does Paul say Satan is going about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour? Jesus said it's now. In what sense can that be? Well, legally, Jesus had purchased that. Legally, it was true. And everybody acknowledges that those statements can't be taken as the full historical outworking of the kingdom. So most affirm that legally Jesus purchased everything needed for the new heavens and the new earth in his life and in his death. And he actually inaugurated all things new with his resurrection. Every promise in the book is yes and amen in Jesus. And so there's clearly some kingdom stuff that was fulfilled in him. But if you move over to the right side of the chart, you'll see a green line that speaks of the end of history. It says all things made new in finality. Even though there was a massive resurrection of Old Testament saints in the first century A.D., there is still a massive resurrection that has to happen at the close of history. Even though Revelation indicates that there's going to be peace and prosperity in the future, there must still be a final renovation of the heavens and the earth, bringing in the final state. So those three lines that I've just outlined for you, they're not controversial at all. Everybody except for full preterists acknowledge those three lines. Okay, this is orthodoxy, standard orthodoxy. Those lines traverse all of history from old creation to new creation, from paradise lost to paradise regained. What is controversial is whether that change happens gradually over this whole age that we are living in or whether it happens, boom, suddenly at the second coming of Christ. That's the controversy. What is controversial is the green upward arrow that's giving forward progress from the cross to the final line of history. Between now and the second coming, the church will move from being a remnant of all nations to being the fullness of all nations. And Jews will move from being a remnant, tiny remnant, to the entire nation being converted at some point. Everything in green in that section is connected to the postmillennial box on the left hand side of the page. Now in contrast Amillennialism and premillennialism are both encased there in a brown box, and the reason for this is that they do not see this progressive conversion of the world, this transformation of the whole world prior to the second coming. Now move your eyes up to the large brown arrow in the top chart. Above it I have written, remnant anticipates the kingdom with prophecies and types. Throughout the whole Old Testament, The church was always a tiny remnant. It was never a majority of the world's population. They were always looking forward to the kingdom of Christ and not yet possessing it. Now the New Testament and certainly the book of Revelation says all of that changed as a result of the cross of Jesus Christ. Gradually the Great Commission is guaranteed to be fulfilled. It's guaranteed to Christianize all nations. It's guaranteed that all nations will obey all things that Christ has commanded them. Revelation 20 verse 3 says that the nations will no longer be deceived by Satan like they were in the Old Testament. They will eventually all be converted. And so Revelation 21 verse 24 says of the church, and the nations of those who are saved indicating saved nations, right? The nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. That's the trajectory of history. It's a very exciting trajectory. Rather than defeat, it guarantees victory. Chapter 22 verse 22 says the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. It's not just individuals who need God's grace and who need healing. Nations as nations need them as well. There will be cultural transformation in history. And so it's clear that eventually remnant gives way to fullness and that's why it transitions from brown to green representing growth. Okay. Now, if I were to have duplicated that top chart that goes across the page for amillennialism of every stripe, whether it's optimistic or pessimistic, and for premillennialism of every stripe, you wouldn't have that green upward arrow. Instead, you would have that brown arrow going all the way from creation all the way through to the second coming. On the right of the cross, the words might change from anticipating the kingdom to the remnant appreciates all that Jesus has done for us in our future experience. Okay. That's what you would probably have there. But for those two systems, it is a remnant from the time of creation. all the way through to the second coming. For them, the cross does not reverse anything in history, anything in culture. Let me quote from one commentary, and this person agrees with this statement, okay, he's representing himself, on the view of all pessimists in the brown box. Commenting on Revelation 119, Yeats says, Wall captures this twofold distinction quite well. What is refers to the Christological, what has already been realized in Christ, and what is to take place after this refers to the eschatological, what is expected yet to be accomplished. Now, let me give you a word picture, because sometimes people say these concepts are a little bit difficult, Phil, so let me give you a word picture that amillennialists and premillennialists, I've heard them used many, many times. They will say, especially the Old Testament prophets, but they will say, that this tension between the already and the not yet in the book of Revelation is John seeing two mountain ranges with a huge dark deep valley between those mountain ranges now for John it sure looks like those mountain ranges are one range because he's looking at it from a distance but unknown to John really there's a 2000 plus year gap between Mountain Range 1 and Mountain Range 2, and it's that tension between the already and the not yet. The already is the first mountain range that describes our position in Christ legally, and the second mountain range is the second coming that describes our full possession of what we now legally possess in Christ. But we have to wait. We have to wait till the second mountain range. And the thing I appreciate about those two pessimistic positions is at least they're trying to wrestle with the text. They know our current experience is not what the last chapters of the Book of Revelation are describing. But they also know there are many statements in chapters 1 through 19 that describe our current victory and our current reigning. And in some sense, a tasting of the powers of the age to come. And as I have studied the amillennial books historic premillennial books and theories out there, it's sometimes a bit hard to wrap your brain around what they mean by the already and the not yet. It just seems so theoretical. When you quote Revelation 1, verse 5 to them and show that John claims that we are already kings, they will say, well, that's true. That's true in a sense. We are seated with Christ in the heavenlies. And so when he rules, we are ruling. And I say, yes, I agree with you. But what difference does that make in your day-to-day living? And they're at a loss for words on what the practical ramifications of that might be. For me, it is not theoretical at all. My being seated with Christ in the heavenly places transforms my prayer life. I want you to turn with me to an astonishing promise given in Revelation chapter two and verses 26 through 27. And he who overcomes and keeps my works until the end, and I believe that's a reference to the end of the old covenant in 70 AD, that's a huge redemptive historical transition. He overcomes, keeps my works until the end. To him I will give power over the nations. He shall rule them with a rod of iron. They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels, as I also have received for my father." So Jesus is speaking and He is saying that because of our union with Him, if we have an overcoming faith, we can presently rule over the nations. We can smash the nations with that rod of iron when they resist His word. He gives that rod to us, gives us the privilege of resisting the demonic that is out there. And the post-millennial church of the first few centuries did exactly that. They prayed with incredible power and authority because they saw themselves seated with Christ in the heavenlies. It was not simply a theoretical concept. It gave them faith to expect great things from God and to attempt great things for God. And their view of the already, not yet, made them attempt the transformation of every nation long before those nations ever became Christian. George Grant's book, A Third Time Around, is filled with thrilling short little stories of men, women, and children from the early centuries who did astounding things in the face of way worse odds than what we are facing here in America. It's a very encouraging book. They believed abortion. could be done away with and they did do away with abortion even before those nations became Christian they believed that women's rights could be established in these nations and they achieved it because they had faith to achieve it and They believe that the gospel of the kingdom calls us not just to evangelize, but to make cultural change. And George Grant's book shows the incredible impact that the early church had in establishing orphanages, caring for widows, ending infanticide, doing away with unbiblical slavery, promoting literacy, and in so many ways preparing those nations to become Christian nations. It was precisely because of their conquering faith that they saw Malta converted, and Edessa, and then Armenia converted. And then that was closely followed by Ethiopia and Georgia and other countries with finally Rome itself becoming more than 50% Christian under persecution, more than 50% Christian in the early 300s AD and then becoming an official Christian nation in 380 AD. This view of the already not yet is not an inconsequential issue. It spells the difference between having a faith to transform culture and not having faith to transform culture. Now, if you look at the bottom left side of your chart, you will see three diagrams of the three main views of eschatology. And because transformation on this chart is symbolized by the color green, I've given three green statements by each of these views of eschatology. Now, beside post-millennialism, I have put comprehensive transformation in history. Beside amillennialism, I've put no transformation in history. That's by far the majority amillennial viewpoint that sees the kingdom as primarily in heaven. It's an escapist viewpoint. But there's another view of amillennialism, so I've put a second thing there, minimal transformation in history. That's the so-called optimistic amill viewpoint. Next to the pre-mill chart, I have written future transformation in history. In other words, no transformation until after the second coming of Christ. Right now, we have no faith to expect that anything can be changed on any kind of a country or global scale. So all views of eschatology can be summarized in four phrases. No transformation. minimal transformation, future transformation, and comprehensive transformation. Now, if you go over to the right, I have listed some of the key distinctives of each of those schools of thought. The reason why post-millennials like Charles Spurgeon and William Carey and David Livingston and others like them had such profound impact upon the cultures that they ministered to, and established universities and orphanages and newspapers and scientific discovery and so many ways were driven to impact their culture is because their version of the already not yet, which is identical with my own, energize them to attempt great things for God. But I want you to notice the key points under postmillennialism. First point is that they see the cross as being the central focus of history, not the Second Coming. Second, in post-millennialism, the cross reverses history, not the second coming. The cross is the fulcrum upon which all history turns. All mills and postmills are constantly waiting, excuse me, premills, did I say postmills? All mills and premills are constantly waiting for Christ to come in power. And we respond, now wait a minute, why are you waiting for Christ to come in power? He promised us in the Great Commission, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. We don't need anything more than His spiritual presence to be able to accomplish what He commanded us to accomplish. He is spiritually with us. Where they have focused on the second coming, the book of Revelation does not focus on the second coming. In fact, the second coming is only mentioned very, very briefly in this book. Very interesting. The book of Revelation shows all of history and the second coming flowing from the cross of Jesus Christ. It is a cross-centered book. In any case, neither group sees the cross as pivotal in changing or reversing history. We do. Third, the cross empowers the kingdom, not the second coming. That's quite contrary to the other two viewpoints. I have a sheet of quotes, actually it's about five or six sheets, full of quotes from amillennialists and premillennialists who say that God has not given us sufficient grace to convert the nations. Well, that's basically saying he's given us a job to do and then refused to give us the grace to do that job. What's the Great Commission? The Great Commission is a call to disciple all nations and teach those nations to obey everything that Christ has said in his word. And they're saying, well, it's going to be a failed Great Commission. We're not we've not been given sufficient grace to do that. That means that their view. is a view that really robs people of faith. Most in both camps have a powerless view of the current kingdom. It kills their faith to be involved in culture. Now there are exceptions, but they're exceptions. They're not the rule. Fourth, on the postmillennial view, the grace of the cross reaches far as the curse is found during history, not simply at the end of history. Now, premillennialists agree that it will impact every area of life in history, but only after the second coming. All males see no hope for God's grace, reversing the ravages of sin culturally until Christ destroys this world at the second coming. And some all males will say, hey, hey, don't discount the change of the cross in my life. And I say, I'm not discounting the change of the cross in your life. But let me ask you something. Is the change of the cross in your life any different than the change of the cross in David's life? I doubt it. It's still that brown line all the way across. There's no change in history. There's no cultural transformation. What we're talking about here is how does the cross make a difference on a global scale? I have met some Amillennialists who are so pessimistic that they believe that Satan will eventually win and the church will be extinguished. For example, J.C. Ryle, and I love that man. He's a great man, but he's absolutely wrong in his eschatology. He says, when Christ comes back, there will be as few true believers on the earth as left Sodom with Lot, and as few true believers on the earth as got onto the ark with Noah. That is such a discouraging view. And to illustrate why he believes we are powerless to change things, one Amillennialist insisted last week that there is, and this is his illustration, he says, there's not one molecule on my desk, not one molecule in any given tree or in any of our bodies or any other aspect of this creation that partakes in any way of what we're going to experience in the new heavens and the new earth. And you can see what he's doing. He's trying to drive this incredible wedge between the already of the first century and the not yet of the second coming. So he says there's not a single molecule in the entire universe that is yet renewed. And therefore, he concludes, Christ is the only renewed being. He is the already. Everything else is the not yet. Christ is the first mountain range, and by being united to Him, we participate in the already, but it's not until the second coming that the Theoretical becomes reality on a worldwide scale. Well, if you hold to that viewpoint, it leads to a loss of faith. It leads to a loss of hope. It leads to a loss of even desire to go out there and try anything because it's going to be a hopeless cause to try anything. So the majority of the church believes in these two mountain range, which a huge impassable valley between them. No wonder we are in such trouble in America. We don't have the grounding to make a difference in our culture. And by the way, he is absolutely wrong when he says that no molecule of this universe has been renewed. I say, what about the massive resurrection of bodies in the first century? That is a huge foretaste of physical renewal. What about the mansions that Jesus said, I am going to prepare for you, go to prepare a place for you? Yes, the heavens, that's where it starts, right? In the old creation, he started by building the heavens and the earth on day one. Well, that's how it starts in the New Covenant as well. In 70, well, in the war, 66 actually is when it began according to Revelation, there was this huge war in the heavenlies, and heaven was completely cleansed of all demonic. No demons can go into heaven anymore. And He's prepared all of those glorious places. That seems to me molecules, a ton of molecules that partake of the new heavens and the new earth. What about miracles? What about healing? The Bible promises that eventually the nations, after the nations are converted, God will make animals tame where they're even vegetarian. And he says he's going to make our bodies live longer. It's this progressive advancement toward the final state that he will bring in. It's very physical. It's very tangible. But God starts our age with a resurrection to prove definitively that the old covenant was ending and Christ was in the process of beginning to make all things new. But he reserves the resurrection of all of the rest of our bodies as the last enemy to be destroyed at the second coming. To make it clear, we've got a ton of work to do. We've got a lot of work to do. First Corinthians, Hebrews, and other passages say that everything resistant to God's grace, with the exception of death, must be conquered by grace before Jesus comes back. There's still a long trajectory of kingdom progress before prophecy is fulfilled. The already of resurrection is very tangible. The not yet of resurrection in the future is just as tangible a bookend to show the comprehensive nature of God's kingdom. I think it's beautiful. He starts resurrection on this end. He ends with resurrection on this end to show There isn't anything in this universe that's not going to enter in to this renovation by His grace. In fact, I want you to turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. This is an incredibly important passage to understand, and it gives the range of Christ's activities from the first coming to the end, just like Revelation does. And we're going to start with the not yet in verse 24. Then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when he puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. And literally that should be rendered whenever he shall have put an end to all rule and all authority and power. When he has finished the process of subduing all things, which includes civil governments, the end of history will happen. But that is a description of the not yet, verse 25. For he must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. So the words till and last indicate that there is a progress being made by grace against all resistance to Christ. But God is reserving a resurrection for the last day. But notice in verse 27, there is a strong already. For he has, this is past tense, he has put all things under his feet. But when he says, all things are put under him, it is evident that he who put all things under him is accepted. Well, that's a pretty comprehensive statement of the responsibilities of Jesus. Everything in this universe, except for God, the Father, has been put under Christ's feet and must eventually submit to the Lord Jesus Christ. But in principle, it's already been given to Jesus. Jesus said, all authority has been given to me. in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples." So he's been given all authority, but his foot soldiers go out to possess his possessions. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 28. Now when all things are made subject to him, then the Son himself will also be subject to him who put all things under him, that God may be all in all. So there is a comprehensive picture of what happens between the first coming and the second coming of Jesus. It is the transformation of every square inch of planet Earth by God's gospel and his grace. And all millennialists scoff and they say, well that's triumphalism. As if triumph is a dirty word or something, and I'm thinking, well, call it what you may, it's scriptural. I don't care what you call me, a triumphalist, it is scriptural. And rather than the man-made picture of two mountain ranges with a deep, dark valley in between, which you will not find in the scripture, Hebrews gives us a much better word picture of the already and the not yet. It is the picture of the conquest of Canaan. Joshua was given Canaan before he stepped foot on it. Forty years earlier to be exact and you see the parallels with Jesus. Forty years earlier, but he had to gradually possess his possessions and his foot soldiers took many years to do so. But the ultimate glory had to wait for, you know, the various judges and then David and then Solomon is the final glory of that kingdom. Well, that's the kind of word picture that Hebrews says is going to be true of this whole gospel period of time. The kingdom purchased, the kingdom being possessed, the final touches of the kingdom. Well in the same way, in the first century Jesus was given every square inch of planet earth, but he must possess his possession, so that's the upward green arrow. And Christ's foot soldiers will take a long, long time in doing so. Now they'll do so more speedily when they have faith and when they're like the faithless wilderness generation that Rodney talked about some time back. God will shelve them. He'll put them, you know, wandering in the wilderness. And that's what's happening to the church today. We're not making any progress. We've been put on the shelf. We're wandering in the wilderness. Why? Because we don't have faith. This is not an inconsequential issue. It is an issue that is the basis for our faith. So Scripture says without faith it is impossible to please God. You can only get faith from the Scripture. So if you don't understand what the Scripture's promises are concerning the future, forget having faith. Faith is founded on the Scripture. Eschatology is absolutely critical. Anyway, that's the picture that Hebrews uses to describe the present age following our greater Joshua, which by the way in the Greek is exactly the same name as Jesus. He's the greater Jesus or the greater Joshua. As He conquers planet earth with the gospel, God's grace, and He conforms it to the blueprints of the Word of God. Over and over in the book of Revelation, the saints are promised victory on earth if and only if they have a conquering faith. The kingdom has come in Christ. It is being possessed during this age, and its final form will be seen at the second coming. But all of history is pressing irresistibly toward that final form. And so a fifth point on the outline shows that with postmillennialism, the cross reverses the trend of the church being a remnant to the church being the fullness of every nation, both Jewish and Gentile nations. And Romans 11 is quite clear on that. Six, the kingdom is purchased and sealed in 30 AD, grows through history. That's why we pray, thy kingdom come. And only one last enemy will remain to be vanquished at the second coming, and that is death. And by the way, in 1 Corinthians 15, if you keep reading, which we didn't do, you'll see that the second resurrection, when death is swallowed up in victory, happens as Christ is coming back, and we're caught up to meet Him in the air. Which means what? If that's the last enemy, every other enemy has been put down before the second coming. Post-millennialism, right? To me, it's very, very clear. In any case, post-millennialism is the only system that removes the tension between the already legally at the cross and the not yet experientially at the second coming. And it does so by means of a progressive application of the cross in history. All the others have this huge gap between the already and the not yet that cannot be bridged on a cultural or a worldwide scale. There is nothing to logically connect them. Seventh, the kingdom impacts everything in heaven and on earth. The prayer, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven indicates heaven invading earth. Now I'm not going to take the time to go through all the points under amillennialism and premillennialism, but their focus is on escaping to heaven. It's not heaven invading the earth. We pray thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. How perfectly is God's will being done in heaven? Perfectly. There are no demons up there. Satan has been cast out. It's perfectly done. Which means if we're praying that his will would be done on earth as comprehensively as it is done in heaven, that's a pretty comprehensive vision for how far God's grace is going to go, isn't it? So, eighth. The end of the Old Covenant in 70 A.D. is a crucial redemptive historical event. It is the definitive proof that the Old Covenant has ended and that the New Covenant and the new creation is progressively taking over. God's judgments in 70 A.D. show the paradigm for continuous judgments of nations through history, at least if God's people have the faith to pray for this. In stark contrast, all mills and premills see those 70 A.D. judgments as unique, and they claim that we should not expect God to bring historical judgments to advance his kingdom prior to the second coming. Now, there are exceptions out there. They're just people who are inconsistent with their system, OK? There are people who are inconsistent. But again, they think we're in this deep, dark valley between the two mountain ranges, and we should not expect Jesus to be doing too much to planet Earth during this period. Now, there are elements of truth in all three systems, but it is post-millennialism alone that shows a logical and necessary change from the brown to the green in your chart. The green sections of this chart show the basis of a faith to expect great things from God and to attempt great things for God in history. It is post-millennialism that has the most logical basis on which to oppose compromise with the world, pluralism, neutrality. When it comes to science, politics, and the humanities, it is so tempting for those who are in the brown box to either say, you know, it's hopeless, so we're not going to get involved, we don't want to get corrupted by the world, so they back away, or when they do get involved, they advocate neutrality of some sort. Let me give you a quote from a wonderful video that every one of you should see at some point. It is so well done. It's God's law in society. And there's interviews of Rush Dooney and George Grant and 14 other people on that video. But I want to make a quote. One of the themes is the comprehensive claims of Christ over every square inch of earth. But I'm going to give you a quote from Phil Volman. At one point he said, neutrality is a myth. There is no such thing as neutrality. God did not design the fabric of the universe to allow for neutrality. There is not one atom in this whole universe that can claim neutrality. Jesus was very clear in this. He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by me. This is a winner-take-all battle. It is either going to be the disciples of Jesus Christ in time and history who are out there leading the fight for righteousness, peace, and joy of the Holy Ghost, and doing it in the public square, which will produce the peace that we are all after, or it's going to be the disciples of Molly Yard, Margaret Sanger, and Joseph Stalin who are out there doing that. The feminist is not neutral in her worldview or in her apologetic. The humanist is not neutral in what he does and says. Teddy Kennedy, Bill Clinton, and Hillary Clinton are not neutral. It is time for the church to wake up and realize this issue. We are the largest single institution within the confines of the contiguous 48 states. There are more people in America who profess Christ. Some estimates have said 40 million. Some estimates are as optimistic as 65 million. We are the largest single institution in this nation who says that we believe in Christ. At the same time, we are the most irrelevant and the most impotent. Why is that? We have forgotten that truth. There is no neutrality. And I would also say that eschatology really, really impacts it. But there is no neutrality. He goes on. If homosexuals who comprise less than 5% of this nation who are without the Holy Ghost Without the Holy Scriptures and the patriarchs and the oaths and the promises can turn the nation on its ear in the space of 25 years, what could 40 million Christians moving under the power of the Holy Ghost and with reformed orthodoxy undergirding them, what could they do? We could win. And we could win quickly. There is no neutrality. If we could learn that, if the pastors of America would simply learn that, the battle would be over inside of three months. And I agree with him. I agree with him. The book of Revelation does not present two mountain ranges where everything is all for Jesus in the first century, all for Jesus on the last day of history. But with a 2000 year period of dark and evil valley where the only way we can survive is if we play nice with the enemy, if we have neutrality. Our only survival is in pleasing our Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. In this book of Revelation, He calls us to be sold out to Him in all that we do. and be willing to lay down our lives for the advancement of his kingdom. It is because Christ has already purchased everything needed for the transformation of this world that we can work with zeal to move the world towards its guaranteed trajectory in chapters 21 through 22. It's because of the already, in fact, you could divide the whole book up into these three parts. It's because of the already that Jesus has accomplished in chapters one through five, that we in the now can be aggressively moving things forward in history toward the not yet of chapters 20 through 22. OK. And when we have many, many generations of those who follow their victorious faith, chapters 20 through 22 guarantees that we will win. Brothers and sisters, we will win. We will win. be grounded in the already, be zealous in the now, and have an unwavering faith that the not yet will happen. Amen. Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank you for the encouragement that it gives. Forgive us, Father, for those times that we have doubted the power of your grace. We have doubted the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have doubted that he rules in history. We have doubted that your Holy Spirit can transform everything. We have doubted your promise that where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. Please forgive us, Father, for our lack of faith and help us as we approach this book to be stirred up in our souls with a holy zeal that is grounded in knowledge, that lives by faith, and that is driven by hope and love. And I pray, Father, that this, Your people, would be the stronger for having studied this book. In Jesus' name I pray it. Amen.