The theme of this day's conference is The Millennium and Revelation, Chapter 20. To approach this part of Holy Scripture without a sense of inadequacy would be a sign of something amiss in any man. But nevertheless, we know that this part of Scripture, like all of Scripture, is God-breaked and therefore is profitable if approached with reverence and humility of man. Can I say, by way of general introduction concerning the Book of Revelation, that I have no real difficulty in accepting William Hendrickson, the amillennialist, his division of the book into seven visions, forming what he calls progressive parallelism, that is, seven visions covering roughly the same ground. the lot of God's people during the last days. And here we use the term the last days in the biblical sense, that is, the whole New Testament age. The phrase the last days in Scripture does not refer simply to those that time immediately prior to the return of Christ. It applies to the whole New Testament age between the first and the second coming of the Lord Jesus. So Hebrews 1, God who at Sunday times and in divers manners spoken to the fathers by the prophets, hath spoken in these last days by his Son. So the phrase, the last days, there and elsewhere, is used of the whole New Testament age. And so we have no difficulty accepting the idea that the book of Revelation contains basically seven visions or sections dealing with aspects of the lot of God's people in the last days. But as Hendrickson himself observes, though the visions are somewhat parallel, there is progression. and not only giving different aspects of the same thing, but there is increasing emphasis, as we go through the seven visions, on what will take place at the very end. So the theme of the Last Judgment, for example, becomes more dominant as you go through the seven sections of the book. And so when we come to this last section, chapters 20 to 22, after the section on the Millennium, we find that the second half of this chapter deals with the Last Judgment. and then we find chapters 21 and 22 dealing with the eternal state. So this section on the thousand years is followed by the judgment and the eternal state. And so there is no intrinsic objection to regarding the first half of the chapter as referring particularly to that part of the last days or those events of the last days which are towards the very end of the New Testament A. So taking then the overall pattern of the book, there is no reason in that to reject the idea that this part of the chapter 20, verses 1 to 7, 8, that this refers particularly to that which is more near the very end. Now then, let's quickly get to the heart of the matter. First of all, why premillennialism must be rejected? Why premillennialism must be rejected? By premillennialism we mean that view that Christ will come pre or before the millennium, before a particular period called the millennium, the thousand years. Just to summarize this view, on this view the Church is at present entering increasingly difficult times and Christ could return in glory at any time, and when he does, the saints will be raised, and the living saints transfigured to meet him, Antichrist and his followers will be slain, Israel will repent and be restored to the land, and Christ will reign some say in Jerusalem, for a thousand years, during which multitudes of Gentiles will be converted, and then, at the end of the thousand years, the rest of the dead will be raised, followed by the final judgment and the eternal state. We get the basic distinctive feature of this view, that Christ will come and visibly reign on earth for a thousand years before the final judgment. There are fatal objections to this view. First of all, this passage is the only one that gives any possible grounds for an earthly reign of Christ, and it doesn't actually do that. If the basis of this view is not found here, it will not be found anywhere else. This passage says nothing of Christ coming to earth or reigning visibly on earth at all. Secondly, the Scriptures teach that Christ's return is a single event at the very end, at the end, and accompanied by the general resurrection and the judgment. So 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 and verse 8. 2 Thessalonians 1, verse 8. A reading from verse 7. And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints. and to be admired in all them that believe, because our testimony among you was believed in that day." There you see that the judgment of the wicked and the glorification of the saints takes place at one and the same time when the Lord Jesus returns in glory. John chapter 5 and verse 28 Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth, they that have done good, unto the resurrection of light, and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. He says the hour is coming, which points to a single event, and the resurrection of the just and the unjust takes place at the same time. Then in Acts chapter 2, Acts chapter 2 and verse 34, Acts 2 verse 34, For David is not ascended into the heavens, but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy post thy footstool. Christ will reign at the right hand of the Father, until all his enemies are subdued at the last day. Acts chapter 3, verse 19, Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you, whom the heavens must receive, until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. Christ must reign at the right hand of the Father. The heavens have received Him until His coming, raised to a conclusion. At that point, the fulfillment of all those things written by the prophets. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, 1 Corinthians 15, and verse 23. But every man in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, after a day that our Christ said is coming, then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to the Father, to God, even the Father, when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power, for he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. And it is evident, if you examine the context, that the reign in view is his reign from the right hand of the Father, and that will continue until the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father. The Lord Jesus raises his people at the last day, John 6, 39, that of those who were fathered, given me I should lose nothing, but raise it up at the last day, the last day beyond which there are no days, there is only eternity. And then, a third objection to this view is that it involves the bizarre concept of a glorified Christ and glorified saints in the midst of a fallen world and an unrenewed earth. The same glorified Christ that caused the unglorified John to fall at his feet as one death. Revelation 1, 17. For Christ to return before the very end and to dwell in a world where sin still exists, unjudged and unpunished, would involve a measure of humiliation for the Lord Jesus Christ. And that is unthinkable. Christ's humiliation is thinnish. and he is exalted to the right hand of God, there will be no humiliation again for the Redeemer. And when he comes, it will be to judge the world in righteousness and to put all contradiction of his sovereign, majestic claims eternally to an end. So then, for this reason, premillennialism must be rejected. Secondly, why amillennialism must be rejected? Why amillennialism must be rejected as far as this passage is concerned? By amillennialism, we mean nonmillennialism. That is, not that this millennium has no meaning, this thousand years, but according to this view, there is no literal or figurative millennium, that is, no time appointed by God when his blessing will be shed abroad on the earth in an unprecedented manner other than the New Testament age as a whole. That is, that on this view, this passage does not teach a particular time within the last days when the Spirit of God will be poured out in unprecedented abundance. Now, the amillennial view of this passage usually runs rather like this. On this view, firstly, the binding of Satan refers to Christ's work of redemption on the crocks. Secondly, a thousand years refers to the whole New Testament age between Christ's first and second coming. Thirdly, those reigning with Christ are the glorified saints There's the souls of the glorified saints between death and the last day and the resurrection of the body. And fourthly, the first resurrection is the glorification of the souls of believers following the death of the body. And fifthly, what we might call second resurrection, is the resurrection of the body. These are roughly the five points upon which the amillennial view of this passage rests. There is variation and I realize that. Now we wish to show that all five of these points are wrong and contradicted by the text, but none of these points stand up when the text is examined. Firstly, the binding of Satan does not refer to Christ accomplishing redemption on the cross. The binding of Satan does not refer to the accomplishment of redemption by Christ on the cross. And the reason for this is very simple indeed. The passage tells us that it is reverse. Verse 3 And after that, he must be loosed a little season. Verse 7, and when a thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison. The binding of Satan cannot possibly refer to redemption accomplished on the cross of Calvary because it is reversed at the end of a thousand years and Christ's redemptive work will never be revert. And so the binding of Satan through Christ's triumph in his life and death and resurrection is utterly irreversible, and if this binding is followed by a loosing, then this binding cannot refer to redemption accomplished on the cross. Nor can this thousand years be marked as beginning at Pentecost, The significance of Pentecost will never be reversed while this world endures. the Church will continue to be international and with the more abundant presence of the Spirit than was ordinarily enjoyed in the Old Testament Church. Whatever urban flow there may be in the condition of the Church in this world, the event of Pentecost, the significance of Pentecost, the effects of Pentecost will never be eradicated. And so the binding and loosing must refer to the application of redemption. The binding and loosing of Satan does not refer to redemption accomplished by Christ on the cross, but to a variation in the degree of the application of that redemption amongst men by the Spirit of God working in the hearts of God's elect. It refers, then, not to redemption accomplished, but to the application of it by the Spirit through the preaching of the gospel. It refers, then, to the degree of effectiveness of the preaching of the gospel. Secondly, on this rejection of amillennialism, the thousand years does not represent the New Testament age as a whole, and it can't. The thousand years does not represent the New Testament age as a whole. The reasons are as follows. First of all, we have seen that there are no grounds for regarding this thousand years as beginning at the beginning of the New Testament age. There are no grounds for it. The binding of Satan is not the cross. Yes, the language of the binding of Satan is used elsewhere of the cross, but in this passage it doesn't refer to that and it cannot, as we have seen. But then secondly, this thousand years ends before the end. The thousand years ends before the end, verse 3. And after that, he must be loosed a little see. Verse 7, And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of prison. So this thousand years, whatever it is, it doesn't start at Christ's first coming, and it doesn't end at Christ's second coming. So this millennium, neither starts with the start of the New Testament age nor ends with the end of it, and so it cannot possibly represent the whole New Testament age. Then thirdly, the reigning with Christ does not refer to the heavenly intermediate state of the saints between death and the last day. The reigning with Christ does not refer to the heavenly intermediate state of the saints between death and the last day. Why is this? Because this reign ends before the end. Verse 4, And I saw thrones, and they that sat upon them, and so on. At the end of verse 4 it says, And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But verse 7, and when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of prison. In other words, this reign does not last until the last day. And so it cannot possibly refer to the intermediate state of the believers in heaven. Intermediate in the sense of the glorified souls of the saints where their bodies are still in the grave. It cannot. It ends before the end. Whereas believers, when they are absent from the body and present with the Lord, their souls are present with Christ until their bodies are raised to glory at the last day. And so this reigning with Christ cannot possibly refer to the glorified state of the souls of believers. because it does not last until the last day when the body is resurrected and the eternal state is Ashinti. Calvin, incidentally, rejects the view that a thousand years represents the heavenly blessedness of the Church. That's in his Institutes, Volume 3, 25. Much less does it represent regeneration. because the effects of regeneration in the soul are eternal, whereas this reigning with Christ lasts to the end of a thousand years, but not beyond. Fourthly, the first resurrection is not the entry of the believer into glory at death. The first resurrection is not the entry of the believer into glory at death. This follows from what we've already said. This first resurrection mentioned in verse 5, and if you put the previous part of verse 5 in brackets, this is the first resurrection refers back to verse 4. This resurrection leads to something that ends with Satan's little season coming in. And so it cannot refer to the entry of the believer into glory at death. That automatically follows from what we have said. And then fifthly, the second resurrection mentioned is not the resurrection of the body. The second resurrection mentioned in verse 5 is not the resurrection of the body. Verse 5. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. There are three reasons why this cannot refer to the resurrection of the body. Firstly, it applies only to the rest, not to all. It is not descriptive of a general resurrection. Secondly, it has something analogous to the first. There is something about this second resurrection. They live not until the end of a thousand years, whereas the first resurrection, the saints live with Christ, then these live not until the end of. There is something that corresponds between the two. And if the first is not a physical resurrection, neither is the second. And then thirdly, It does not take place at the last day. This resurrection does not take place at the last day. It says, but the rest of the dead live not again until the thousand years were finished. But that doesn't take us to the last day. There's still Satan's little Caesar. So it cannot possibly refer to bodily resurrection, which takes place only at the last day. So all in all, then, all in all, the failure of the amillennial view to recognize that the thousand years do not include Satan's little season, which the text makes abundantly plain, is fatal to all five of its main pillars, and the whole interpretation collapses. And so it has to go. Good and godly men have held it, but it will not stand up in the text. That brings us, thirdly, to why Rushduni's postmillennialism must be rejected. Why Rushduni's postmillennialism must be rejected. This view is not, I'm sure, unique to Rushduni, no doubt others of the Reconstructionist school and some of an earlier period held this view, but I stick to calling it Rushduni's postmillennialism because I know that it is his. The basic framework of Rushduni's position is the same as the amillennial, except that the railing with Christ seems to be applied to the overall triumph of the Gospel. In other words, on Rushduly's view, yes, the thousand years is the whole New Testament age, but the reigning with Christ is applied to the overall progress and triumph of the Gospel throughout the whole New Testament age. Now, on this view, The thousand years and Satan's little season are not periods of time at all. They are figurative periods of time representing, in terms of time, the relative triumph of the gospel all through the New Testament age and the feebleness and futility of Satan's resistance. In other words, on Rushduni's view, time periods, the one much longer than the other, are mere symbols of the relative strength of things. The progress of the Gospel, on the one hand, is represented by a prolonged period, and Satan's resistance on the other, by a little season, because the Gospel will prevail, and Satan's resistance will prove butyr. And so for Rushduni, there is here only a pattern of overall advance from Christ's birth to his second coming of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, as the word of God is preached, individuals, families, nations come into submission to Christ on an overall upward manner. However, this view must be rejected. It must be rejected because although numbers are symbolic in Revelation, symbolic periods of time are symbolic of real periods of time. I'll just say that once more. Symbolic periods of time represent real periods of time. The quantity of time is symbolic, but it's still time that it refers to. Symbolic periods of time represent real periods of time. So in chapter 11, in verse 2, you have the 42 months. In verse 3, the 1,260 days. And in verse 11, the three-and-a-half days. We take these as referring to the New Testament age. Three-and-a-half years, three-and-a-half days, half of seven. The idea of half of the whole of history. History being divided, not necessarily in terms of length of time, divided in terms of the one event in history that is of comparable significance with the creation and the Last Judgment, the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we take these symbolic periods of time as referring to features that will be found throughout the New Testament age. But be that as it may, the point is, that symbolic periods of time still represent real periods of time. And that's why Rushduly's form of postmillennialism must be rejected. Fourthly, which brings us fourthly, why orthodox Puritan postmillennialism is the truth. Why orthodox Puritan postmillennialism is the truth. By postmillennialism we mean Christ's coming post or after a millennium, after a period of great blessing and great advance of the truth. And we hold that the orthodox Puritan postmillennialism is the truth of Scripture. Let us look at this. First of all, The binding of Satan must refer to the progress of the gospel. We've seen that. It is reversible. The progress of the gospel is subject to divinely ordained ebb and flow. There are times when the Gospel advances mightily, and there are times of declension and apostasy when the Church of Christ is diminished on earth. And this binding and loosing of Satan must refer to the progress of the Gospel. It can refer to nothing else. Secondly, the thousand years must refer to a period of great gospel advance. The thousand years must refer to a period of great gospel advance. We've seen that this thousand years does not represent the whole New Testament age. It is a comparatively long period that precedes a comparatively short period, Satan's little season, which precedes the last day. So if you work backwards, you've got the last day, the final judgment, you've got Satan's little season, and then you've got this thousand years, this symbolic period when Satan is said to be bound. If the little season of Satan, when he's loosed, results in the Church being opposed, then the period when Satan is bound must be a period when his ability to oppose the gospel is restrained. The thousand years is not to be taken literally. It indicates certainly a fixed and an appointed and a complete period of time. And the fact that it's ten times ten times ten indicates a prolonged period of time, but not a literal thousand years. It is, then, a prolonged period when Satan's activity in opposing the gospel is particularly limited. It coincides with the reign of the saints, and evidently comes after many have been martyred for the witness of Jesus. You can see that from verse 4. The vision includes, at the beginning of the thousand years, those who have been martyred for the witness of Jesus. So it doesn't start with the beginning of the New Testament age, and of course it doesn't end at the close of it. It ends before the close of the New Testament age. And so that means Thirdly, that the reigning with Christ refers to the glorious advance of the cause for which the martyrs die. The reigning with Christ refers to the glorious advance of the cause for which the martyrs die. Notice, 1. We are not told where the thrones are. Verse 4. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them. No doubt this is deliberate. We're not told. We're just told they were thrones. Secondly, judgment is given to them. We just read that in verse 4. Judgment was given unto. What does this mean? Judgment was given unto them. Judgment indicates the vindication of one's righteous cause. So in Isaiah 40 verse 27, Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest thou Israel, My way is did from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God? So judgment means, judgment being given unto them, means the vindication of their righteous cause. that they are given redress for the injustice done to them, that the Lord avenges them and their righteous cause. If you turn to Daniel chapter 7 and verse 22. Daniel 7 and verse 22. Verse 21, And I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them, until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. Judgment was given to the saints of the Most High. They had been oppressed by the little horn, the Antichrist, and now judgment is given to them. Their righteous cause, which they as a body, not necessarily the same people, but as a body had suffered and died for, now judgment is given to them and the kingdom is given to the saints. over against the Antichrist, who in that passage is destroyed, that Antichrist who sought to wear them out. Now the only other reference, or the other reference to the souls of the martyrs in Revelation, is in Revelation chapter 6. Revelation chapter 6 and verse 9. And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true dost thou not know of the martyrs that is in view? And it takes place before the last day. Of course, the full vindication of the truth of God is at Christ's second coming. But this vindication of the truth for which the martyrs suffered, the cause that they suffered, takes place during this thousand years. And therefore it refers to the vindication of the martyrs' cause on earth through the glorious advance of the gospel that they suffered and they died for. And so the church in verse 4 is represented as a continuous stream of witnesses, as it is in Daniel 7. It's not the same saints that the Antichrist, the little horn, persecuted, that the judgment is given to and the kingdom is given to, but it is their spiritual descendants and successors And so it is here that the Church is represented as one continuous stream of witnesses, some suffering horrendously for the cause of the gospel. But those who come after them, judgment is given unto them. The cause of the martyrs is vindicated by the gospel advancing in unprecedented manner. And that brings us, fourthly, to the first resurrection is the glorious reviving of the Church on earth. The first resurrection is the glorious reviving of the Church on earth. When we read in verse 4, And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years, a period beginning after the beginning of the New Testament age, a period ending before the end of the New Testament age. And so this resurrection is not a physical resurrection. It is something that can be reversed because the thousand years comes to an end and Satan's little season follows. And so it must refer to the reviving of the church on a previously unequaled scale. And once we grasp that this first resurrection is the resurrection, the reviving of the cause of truth, the cause for which the martyrs suffered, then we understand, fifthly, what the second resurrection is. The second resurrection is the resurgence of ungodliness that brings in Satan's little season. So in verse 5, But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. So the resurrection of the saints is the resurrection of the cause of Christ on earth. and the resurrection of the rest is the resurgence of ungodliness at the end of this glorious period of the church for a little season before the recurrent prife. And so the second resurrection is confined to the rest in verse 5. Those who are not the same, their cause revives griefly before the end. So now we have the picture. And the picture is this, that towards the end of the New Testament age, there shall be a prolonged period of glorious gospel advance, signified by the resurrection, or the living of the saints, and the cause of the martyrs being raised up, and the saints reigning with Christ. And after that glorious period of unprecedented gospel advance, there will be the resurrection of ungodliness in a brief period called Satan's little season, which will take place before Christ comes to judgment. Do you understand the basic idea? Towards the end of the New Testament age, a prolonged a period of vast gospel expansion, a short period of revived opposition to the cause of the gospel, and then the return of Christ. Next, some confirmatory evidence. And here we have, firstly, The Parallel with Ezekiel 37-48. You have to read that at your leisure. The Parallel with Ezekiel 37-48. In Ezekiel 37-48, you have in chapter 37, the vision of Israel's reviving, the valley of the dry bones brought to life. Then secondly, you have the destruction of Gog and Magog. And then thirdly, you have the vision of the beautiful temple. So the dry bones brought to life, first. The disruption of Gog and Magog, second. The beautified temple, third. In Revelation 20 to 22, you have the millennium, first. Gog and Magog destroyed, second. And the holy city, and the glorified temple third. That means that if the two passages are parallel, and they obviously are meant to be, the millennium, the thousand years, corresponds to the vision of the dry bones being brought to life. And the vision of the dry bones being brought to life was a vision of Israel that the Old Testament church is reviving. And so the The thousand years and the living, the saints reigning with Christ, is of the same significance. It is the most glorious period of the Church's reviving that this world will ever see, and it's still to come. Secondly, the destruction of Antichrist. The destruction of Antichrist. Daniel chapter 7, and verse 26. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom unto the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. Now, the Puritan John Owen applies this to the latter-day glory of the Church, the consuming of Antichrist, the Pope of Rome, through the Gospel. That's how John Owen applies this passage. When we turn to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 8, we find greater weight to this view. 2 Thessalonians 2, and verse 8. And when that wicked shall be redeemed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. The man of sin, which we take to be the papacy, is said to be that it will be destroyed by the breath of Christ's, or the spirit of Christ's mouth, and destroyed, consumed with the spirit of his mouth, and destroyed with the brightness of his coming. Now the first phrase, consumed with the spirit of his mouth, is evidently a reference to Isaiah chapter 11 and verse 4. Isaiah 11 and verse 4. But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meat of the earth, and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. that raised the breath of his lips is evidently the phrase in view when the apostle, under the inspiration of the Spirit, speaks of the spirit of his mouth. The Old Testament word breath can also mean spirit. And this refers to the word of his mouth. And this indicates that it is through the word of God proclaimed that the man of sin shall be brought down. So John Calvin on Isaiah 11, 4 says, when the prophet says, by the breath of his lips, this must not be limited to the person of Christ. For it refers to the word which is preached by these ministers. Potpourri will be brought down through the preaching of the gospel. And for the overturning of Potpourri to take place through the preaching of the gospel, We must believe that there will be a future, mighty revival on a scale as yet not seen. The Reformation was a marvellous work of God, but the papacy survived it. So there is to be an advance of the gospel that will exceed anything that we have yet seen, so that the man of sin will be consumed with the breath of Christ's mouth, the word of God proclaimed among the nation. Thirdly, Israel's in Galilee. Israel's in Galilee. Romans chapter 11. Romans chapter 11 and verse 12. Speaking of Israel, now can I say that I believe that throughout this chapter, Israel refers to ethnic racial Israel. I believe there is no ground whatsoever for causing it to mean anything other than the theme of this chapter is to show that Israel's rejection is not total, nor is it final. That even in the apostles' day, as in ours, there was a remnant according to the election of grace among the Israelites who believed. And then he's going on to show that that remnant will not always be a remnant. It will become a fullness. And so in verse 12, now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them, the riches of the Gentiles, how much more their fullness? And in verse 15, for if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead? So that what took place following Israel's rejection by God and Israel's rejection of the gospel, or the bulk of Israel's rejection of the gospel, with the advance of the gospel among the Gentiles, Pentecost onwards, that was glorious. But, you see, when Israel is gathered in, when the veil is taken from their hearth and the Jews are brought, not into some separate organisation or separate array, but into the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, how much more their fullness, it'll bring greater blessing, greater gospel advance than has been seen from Pentecost to this day. How much more their fullness. Now that passage requires separate treatment, but I believe that that is the only tenable view of the passage, the only passage which requires no forcing or imposition upon the text. And so the in-gathering of the Jews to Christ through the gospel, not some separate message of the kingdom distinct from the gospel, ignore all that nonsense, but through the gospel, will bring greater blessings still to the Gentiles, what the Puritans often called the Latter-day Glory of the Church. This is the mystery in verse 25. I would not, brethren, have that you should be ignorant of this mystery. The mystery, not something weird and strange, but the mystery of God, God's secret for hidden purposes, unknowable to man except that God has revealed them. And that term mystery is applied, for example, in Ephesians 3, to the interaction between Jew and Gentile in the unfolding of God's purposes of salvation. And it's used here of the same thing. A mystery says, Brethren, Gentile Brethren, don't be ignorant of this mystery. What you see now is not always going to be what they will be. When the fullness of the Gentiles are brought thee, then Israel will be caval. A greater blessing still to the Gentiles. Revelation 20, same idea as in Ezekiel 37, life from the dead. the reviving of the cause of truth. Then, fourthly, there is Old Testament prophecy. Psalm 22, 27, all the ends of the earth shall remember and turn unto the Lord. Psalm 67, verse 7, the earth shall yield her increase and men shall fear him to her utmost end. Psalm 72, and verse 17 to 19, listen to this. Psalm 72, verse 17, His name shall endure forever. His name shall be continued as long as the sun, and men shall be blessed in Him. All nations shall call Him blessed. You see, all nations shall call Him blessed. Not just one or two in every nation, all nations shall call Him blessed. The promise to Abraham that in his seed all nations of the earth would be blessed will receive abundant fulfilment. Verse 19, and blessed be his glorious name forever, and let the whole earth be filled with his glory. David's prayer has not yet been answered, but that prayer of David's, also the prayer of the people of God in succeeding generations, it will be fulfilled. Psalm 86, verse 9, all nations who thou made shall come and worship reverently before thy face and they, O Lord, thy name shall glorify. Psalm 102 and verse 21. Psalm 102 and verse 21. When the people are gathered together and the kingdoms to serve the law. And when will this happen? Verse 16, when the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory. The Psalms speak constantly of the gathering of the nations through the gospel. That's why historically psalm singing churches have tended to be of an optimistic view of the advance of the gospel in the world. Keep singing! Isaiah chapter 60, Isaiah 60 and verse 8. Read the whole chapter when you get home. Isaiah 60, verse 8. Who are these that fly as a cloud and as the doves to their windows? Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee. For in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee. Therefore thy gates shall be opened continually, they shall not be shut, day nor night, that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. For that for the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish. Those nations shall be utterly wasted. Then look at verse 16. Thou shalt also sup the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt sup the breast of kings, and thou shalt know that I, the Lord, am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. Malachi chapter 1 and verse 11. For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same. My name shall be great among the Gentiles, and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering, for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts. So there is abundant testimony in the Old Testament to lead us to believe that the advance of the gospel will not be just in terms of the conversion of a representative remnant, a mere few here and there from every nation. That will not do. but that the Church will advance ultimately mightily among the nations. The parable of the mustard seed indicates that also. It starts as a small seed, it becomes a great tree that fills the whole earth and the heavens, that the birds of the air nudge in it. Ah, but you say, this means that Christ cannot come any day? Absolutely right. Absolutely right. The Bible does not teach that every generation of Christians has to believe that Christ could come at any moment. The Bible does not teach that, and the apostles didn't believe it in their day. 2 Thessalonians, chapter 3. 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 1. 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 1. 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 from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away person, and that man of sin be revealed the son of perdition. Do you understand what the Apostle is saying? He's saying to these Thessalonians, if anyone tells you Christ can come any day now, they're wrong. from his point of view, there was still to be the development of a man of sin. which we, as I've said, regard as the development of the papacy. But the point is, Paul did not believe that Christ could come any day. He didn't believe that. He's telling them not to believe it, and we don't have to believe it either. Even though the man at sin, that particular strand of prophecy, has developed and we have the papacy in Rome and have had for generations, it doesn't mean that there aren't other scripture prophecy yet to be fulfilled and that we can say The time of his coming is not yet. The Apostle Peter didn't believe at all that he would live to see the return of Christ. 2 Peter chapter 1 and verse 14. Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me The Lord Jesus had shown Peter in John 21, 18 and 19 what kind of death he was going to die to glorify God. Peter knew Christ wouldn't come while he was still alive. He would go to the grave. His body would go to the grave. He expected to die. He didn't believe that Christ would come tomorrow or the day after or the day after that. He knew he was going to die. And yet he still talks of looking for and hasting on to the day of God. Maybe you thought to do that you had to believe that you might not see death. You don't. You don't. We can't go into that now, but you don't. There's nothing about looking for the glorious hope of the coming of the Lord. that requires us to say Christ could come any day and it will come perhaps in our lifetime. No. And many of the parables indicated lengthy delay from Christ's first to his second coming. Many of the parables were given for that purpose. to show the disciples that the consummated kingdom was not now, it was when he returned. And his return would be a long way future from now, from when he was speaking to them. Let's sum it all up. Three things stand out in Scripture. First of all, Christ's coming is a single event at the very end. Secondly, There are promises of great gospel blessing among the nation. Thirdly, there are some passages of scripture which seem to indicate the church in difficulties at the very end. Three points. They're very important. Christ coming a single event at the very end. Secondly, great gospel advance among the nation. Thirdly, difficult times for the church at the very end. Premillennialism falls on number one, because it doesn't teach that Christ's return is a single event at the very end. Amillennialism falls on number two. Now, I know amillennialists don't think that, but it falls on number two, because they dilute the promises. They dilute the promises to mean that merely a representative remnant in each nation will be converted. The premillennialist knows that that's wrong, but he comes up with the wrong answer, the wrong solution. Rushduni's postmillennialism falls at number three, because there are some passages which indicate difficulties at the very end. And that is why only orthodox, Puritan, post-millennialism squares with all three, and the greatest days of gospel blessing are still to come, and then a short, sharp resurgence of ungodliness before Christ's return. This is the truth of the Word of God. Now what is the practical application? Is there a practical application? Does it matter? Well, it does. It affects our outlet. The Covenanters, the Covenanters believed that though they would not live to see it, yet the cause that they were suffering for would one day fill the earth. And so they aimed high And this was the view, I mention this for those few Reformed Presbyterians here, this was the official view of the Reformed Presbyterian Church expressed in its testimonies until the earlier part of this century. This view, Puritan Postmillennialism, is Orthodox Reformed Presbyterianism. I mention that for those who are Reformed Presbyterians. And so Richard Camerer, two months before his death, preached on the text, He will not come unto me that he might have life. And that sermon was so blessed of God that the memory of it was handed down and people talked about it, having heard of it from their fathers and grandfathers 200 years later. And in the middle of that sermon, Cameron stopped and wept and prayed for the restoration of the Jews, for the fall of Antichrist, for the day when the stewards would be swept from the throne. The third part of his prayer has been answered. The rest will follow. And three days before his death, Cameron preached on Psalm 46, verse 10, and he said this, The Church of Christ is to be so exalted that its numbers shall be made to ride, its members shall be made to ride upon the high places of the earth. Let us not be judged to be of the opinion of some men in England called the fifth monarchy men, who say that before the great day Christ will come in person from heaven with all the saints and martyrs and reign a thousand years on earth. But we are of the opinion that the church shall yet be more high and glorious, as appears from the book of Revelation, and the church shall have more power than ever she had before. James Rennick said this, There have been great and glorious days of the gospel in this land, but they have been small in comparison of what shall be. And so James got me when he was about to be hanged and the rope was around his neck. He lifted up the napkin they put over his face and he cried out, the covenant, the covenants shall yet be Scotland reviving. He knew he wouldn't see it in this world but he knew that the cause for which he was about to die would flourish again and it will and whether we live to see it or not, the Lord will perform all his work. What he has promised, he is able also to perform. Let us aim high in our doing and in our praying. Listen to the Postmillennial Flavoured Larger Catechism Answer 191. in the second petition, which is thy kingdom come. Acknowledging ourselves and all mankind to be under the dominion of sin and Satan, we pray that the kingdom of sin and Satan will be destroyed. The gospel propagated throughout the world, the Jews called, the fullness of the Gentiles brought in, the church furnished with all gospel offices and ordinances purged from corruption, cantonance than maintained by the civil majestic. You pray for those things you should. When we pray thy kingdom come we pray for the coming of the kingdom of glory but we pray for the advance of the kingdom of grace and that's what we should have in our mind John Howard, a Puritan, said, we expect to see, lamenting the lack of belief in these things, he says, we expect to see what we have been warned to see. And men are apt to measure their faith by their eyes, for the most part, in reference to these things. Only that can be done, which they have seen done. And men are hardly brought to raise their faith and expectation higher than this. Why should it be thought an incredible thing that there should be a resurrection of religion? You see, all the Puritans were men at that time. Rubbish! It's us! It's us that are men and women who are influenced all the much by what we see rather than what God has said. And so we look around us, we see the cause of biblical and Reformed truth at a low ebb, and we think, it'll always be so, I will not be much more than it is. We stutter at the promises of God. Abraham didn't and neither must we. He will do it. He will perform his pleasure. and fulfil all that is written. And we are to crave and to labour in that blessed stream of those whose hearts have been attached to that cause which shall yet have its resurrection day in this world. The ends of the earth shall remember, and they shall turn unto the Lord, and the seal of the Lord of hosts will be upon it.