Kingdom Come (Part 3)

Introduction

English Standard Version Chapter 1

according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

This week we reach the third part of our series called Kingdom Come, what you might also call a survey of eschatology from an amillennial perspective. Now, without rehashing too much of what we’ve already covered I want to take a few minutes to recall what we’ve seen thus far. This series began when we reached the end of Matthew chapter 25 where Jesus warned his disciples of the dangers associated with his second coming. That when he comes judgement will accompany him, and that how they treated their fellow disciples, that is, Christ’s church, will demonstrate how they treated Christ himself. In other words, how they treat one another will be used as a litmus test on judgement day.

And Jesus told his disciples that his coming would be sudden and unexpected, and followed by final judgement, so, at the outset of this series, I pointed out that Matthew 25 indicates clearly that Jesus’ second coming will be marked by final judgement, that judgement will accompany his coming. Then we looked at Revelation chapter 20, at what’s infamously called the millennial kingdom, a kingdom that many argue will be inaugurated at Jesus’ second coming. However, I argued that Revelation 20 is describing the period of time that began at Christ’s first coming, that the Apostle John is pulling back the spiritual curtain, as it were, to show us how Jesus’ first coming played out in the heavenlies. Where the devil is described in Revelation 12 and 20 as a great dragon being cast down from heaven and bound for a thousand years, so as not to deceive the nations, in order that the gospel of the kingdom might advance throughout the whole world, like a small mustard seed that eventually becomes the largest of the garden plants.

And I argued that this was why Jesus came preaching that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. That at his first coming he ushered in the kingdom of heaven. However, I also argued that this kingdom was, and is, at first, primarily spiritual. As Jesus indicated in Luke 17:20, that “the kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” But rather that the nature of the kingdom is at first, and primarily, spiritual, yet will nevertheless be made manifest at his coming in the new heavens and the new earth when he comes again to judge the world. And that, in the meantime, we’re to be witnesses and ambassadors of this kingdom until he returns.

Now, this week, I want to hone in on two additional points, 1) I want you to see how the kingdom of heaven spans two periods of time (or ages), and 2) I want to look at how we experience the kingdom in this age in contrast to how we’re told we’ll experience it in the next. So, let’s look at the first point together.

Two age eschatology

Amillennialism is often described as a two age eschatology. It’s described in this way because the Scriptures speak in the language of ages, and in the NT it speaks repeatedly of two different ages, or two different time periods. It was actually this NT language that caused me to question, for the first time, my premillennial view of eschatology, where the premillennialist must advocate for more than two ages. One of the refrains you often hear from Jesus and his Apostles to describe the time we live in, and the time that we look forward to in the future is, “this age” and the “age to come”.

In Ephesians chapter 1, verses 19-23, which we read at the outset, the Apostle Paul speaks in these terms. Paul is describing how he prays that God would give the believers in Ephesus wisdom and knowledge to know the “immeasurable greatness of his power toward those who believe.” That this power is the same power that,

English Standard Version Chapter 1

worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

Amillennialism is often described as a two age eschatology because of passage like these, which indicate that there only two ages, this age and the age to come. Whereas, the premillennialist must read these texts with the assumption that there are at least three ages, this age, and at least two other ages to come, the thousand year reign of Christ, and the age that follows, described as a new heavens and a new earth. The assumption in most cases is that Jesus and the Apostles simply didn’t find it necessary to mention the additional thousand year reign of Christ when describing his second coming. So, again, the premillennialist’s understanding of Revelation 20 becomes the lens for interpreting all other eschatological passages. Whereas the amillennialist is contending that these other passages should form the lens by which we rightly understand Revelation 20 and the binding of Satan for a thousand years.

To give you some additional examples listen to Titus 2:11-12,

Titus 2:11–12 (ESV)

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

In Galatians 1:4 Paul writes,

English Standard Version (Chapter 1)

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age,

In 1 Timothy 6:17, when telling Timothy how to exhort the rich he says,

English Standard Version (Chapter 6)

17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

Jesus, in Luke 18:29-30, tells Peter, after he brags of how the disciples have left everything to follow him, says,

English Standard Version (Chapter 18)

“Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

And lastly, most of us have heard of the so called unforgivable sin in Matthew chapter 12 when Jesus tells the Pharisees,

English Standard Version (Chapter 12)

I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

Last Days

The Bible also describes this age, at least since Christ’s first coming, as the last days. Often people think of very specific events or periods of time to describe the last days, but the Bible simply qualifies the time between Christ’s first and second advents as the last days, leading up to, of course, the last day, the day of Jesus’ second coming when he comes to judge the world.

The most famous passage that teaches this is the passage that the Apostle Peter quotes in his Acts 2 sermon on the day of Pentecost, when he quotes the prophet Joel,

English Standard Version Chapter 2

17  “ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

and your young men shall see visions,

and your old men shall dream dreams;

18  even on my male servants and female servants

in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

19  And I will show wonders in the heavens above

and signs on the earth below,

blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;

20  the sun shall be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood,

before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.

21  And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

Again, this is descriptive of the period immediately following Christ’s first coming and before the day that the Lord comes again.

Peter would later describe again the last days, in his first letter to the church, like this,

English Standard Version (Chapter 1)

20 [Jesus] was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God,

The writer of Hebrews opens his letter like this,

English Standard Version Chapter 1

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,

And, then, the writer of Hebrews goes on in chapter 9, verse 26 to say,

English Standard Version (Chapter 9)

[Christ] has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

So, in short we have two ages, this age and the age to come, and we find ourselves in the latter days of this age, leading up to Jesus’ second coming at the end of the age.

Overlapping ages

But we also see an overlap between this age and the age to come, and this is the second point I want to make this morning. Not only are there two ages but they overlap, and this overlap shapes our experience as Christians. It’s clear that at Jesus’ first coming the kingdom of heaven was inaugurated, that it’s now in our midst, that it arrived at the first advent of Christ, yet this present evil age persists. This age is on its way out, yet the next has already come. And while the kingdom of heaven has yet to be consummated it’s a very real and present reality.

Already, not yet

And this creates, as it were, an already, but not yet tension between this age and the age to come. Now, let me give you some examples of what I mean. In Ephesians 1:7 Paul tells us that we’re redeemed through the blood of Christ, he says,

7 In [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses,

but then later in chapter 4, verse 30, he says,

do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

So, in one sense we have been redeemed, yet in another sense we also look forward to the day of our redemption.

The Apostle Paul also says in Romans 8:15 that we’ve been adopted as sons, he writes,

15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

We’ve been adopted, yet only a few verses later he writes in verse 23,

we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons,

So, again, in one sense we have been adopted, yet in another we wait eagerly for it.

Paul says the same thing about our sanctification, that we’re sanctified in Christ Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 1:2 he writes,

2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

But then in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 he prays for the believers in Thessalonica saying,

23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In one sense we’re sanctified in Christ Jesus, yet in another God must sanctify us completely until the coming of our Lord.

Paul teaches us in Philippians 3:9 that we possess a righteousness that comes by faith, but in Galatians 5:5 he says that,

by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

In Ephesians 2:8 Paul says that,

by grace you have been saved through faith.

Yet, in 1 Corinthians 15:2 he says to the church,

15 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved,

Can you see the already, but not yet nature of this age, in these last days? There’s a tension between our present reality and the reality that’s to come. In a very real sense the kingdom has come, yet in a very real sense the kingdom has yet to come in its fullness.

Now, one last example from Jesus himself. In John 5:24 he says,

24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

and then listen to him in Matthew 19:29,

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

If you hear and believe you have eternal life, and you have passed from death to life, yet in another sense we wait for it as an inheritance.

Living in tension

And we live in this tension as Christians until Christ comes. It’s why we’re still tempted by sin, it’s why we’re so often caught between the desires of our flesh and desires of the Spirit, it’s why our sanctification is often challenging and distressing, because we’re caught between two worlds, longing to be delivered from this body of death and looking forward to the age to come where there will be no more sin.

If you’re at all familiar with Romans chapter 7 you’ll recall the Apostle Paul’s utter frustration with his own sin. He says in verse 15,

English Standard Version Chapter 7

15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.

then he goes on in verse 18,

English Standard Version Chapter 7

18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.

then in verse 21,

English Standard Version Chapter 7

21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

You see, the old man and the new man are at war until Christ comes. We are new creations in Christ, yet we still possess indwelling sin. And this experience can be very distressing for the Christian, but we should be (in one sense) comforted by our discomfort, that to hate our sin and to delight in the law of God is evidence of the new birth, it’s evidence that we have been resurrected unto spiritual life. And we must take heart that it is God who works in us, both to will and to work for his good pleasure, and that we are sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

On one hand we rest and take comfort in what is true about us, that we are in Christ, that we are saved, that we have been set free from sin, yet on the other hand we fight until our faith becomes sight.

Firstfruits

And what we need to understand about this age, in these last days, that while the kingdom has come we possess only the firstfruits of the Spirit, but these firstfruits are a guarantee, they’re a pledge, of even greater blessings to come. (Anthony Hoekema) And it’s important that we understand this for a couple of reasons, 1) it gives us hope of what’s to come, because these firstfruits are a down payment of what we’ve been promised, deliverance from the curse, everlasting life, sinlessness, resurrected bodies, and a life spent unhindered in the presence of God.

But the other reason it’s important that we understand the nature of the kingdom in these last days is 2) to guard ourselves from error. The already but not yet tension is usually the reason that we’re prone to misapply kingdom promises. While we experience many spiritual blessings in this age as a result of the coming of the kingdom of heaven, there are still many blessings that won’t be realized or experienced until the age to come.

This is why many are often prone to think that certain blessings intended for the age to come should be experienced now. For example, many Christian groups argue that the Bible promises that we should experience complete bodily healing in this life (assuming we muster up enough faith), because the Scriptures seem to promise it. And many Bible passages are quoted to argue for it, and in one sense they’re right, but in another sense they’re very wrong, and their pursuits are misplaced. While we are promised healing, some assume this promise is for this life when it’s not, and errors like these come from a wrong assumption that all of the blessings of the kingdom are are to be expected now, in this age, when instead many of the spiritual blessings that we enjoy in this age are intended to be a pledge or guarantee of the blessings to come in the next. So, if we’re not careful we can try to drag the promises of the age to come into this present evil age, therefore understanding the already, but not yet nature of the kingdom is important that we have biblical expectations in this life.

Prayer

Lord, I pray that we would rejoice at seeing the coming of your kingdom in the Scriptures, and that it would give us a taste and a desire for the age to come. I ask that you would also give us the strength to endure suffering, hardship and temptations in this life, that you would carry us through, not letting us become complacent with our sin, but emboldened to make war against it, knowing that you have already won and that the day of your coming is near. Lord, we look forward to the day that our faith is made site, when we no longer look through a glass dimly but see you face to face. Amen