THE BOOK OF REVELATION

INTRODUCTION - The final chapters of the book of Revelation present us with a variety of subjects which fall under the heading of "eschatology," or the study of last things. Here we are introduced to the idea of the millennium, a thousand year reign of Christ. We are approaching the great subjects of these chapters by laying down some groundwork first. How do we begin a study of eschatology? Many people begin with the book of Revelation, yet this is not the proper place to start. To understand the end times, one must begin at the beginning of time, in the book of Genesis. The direction and the culmination of world history is laid out for us in the beginning of the Bible. How is a Christian to view history? We do not accept the pagan view that life is just one big, never-ending circle with no meaning, purpose, or consummation. The Christian sees history as a line with a beginning and an end. We live in a universe which is proceeding according to the plans and providence of God. Some Christians believe that the line of history is a descending line, heading to destruction and defeat. Christians sometimes take a pessimistic view of life, looking at the world around them, and deciding that the world must be getting worse. Yet we must not judge all of history by simply looking at one fragment of it. Instead, we should realize that Scripture shows us that history is a line going upwards. We are not living in a world bound for destruction. Instead, we are presently living in a universe being ruled and conquered by the Lord Jesus Christ. Since the fall of man and God's promises of salvation, the theme of history has always been one of triumph. Genesis 3:15 shows us that God promised One who would come to reverse the damage of the fall. This Messiah would overthrow the work of the devil and bring the rule of God back into the world. It is certainly not a history without struggle, for there would always be enmity between the two seeds. Evil, however, would never absolutely triumph. History would always head towards the triumph of God in Christ. This morning we shall continue to study that theme in the Old Testament, revealing to us the attitude which the Old Testament saints possessed as they looked at history unfolding before them.

1) THE THEME OF TRIUMPH IN THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT - In Genesis 12:1-3, God introduces the Covenant of Grace to Abraham. The Lord is going to bless him, but here we see that the blessings are not for him, nor for his descendants alone. Instead, the blessings and promises of the Abrahamic Covenant would extend to all the nations of the world. Sometimes Israel thought themselves to be the exclusive people of God, yet here we see that the Lord's mercy extends far beyond Israel. God intends on conquering this entire world with His grace. All the families of the world will be part of His kingdom. We are also shown here how large the number will be. God will redeem for His people an innumerable company (Genesis 13:16; 15:5,6). Is He just speaking of Israel? No, for when we come to the New Testament, we understand that the true children of Abraham are all Jews and Gentiles in Christ (Galatians 3:29). How big will the church be? How many people will be in the kingdom of God? We are not to take the despairing view that the church is going to somehow be a small remnant of people. Instead, God promises that the descendants of Abraham will be like the dust of the earth and the stars of the sky. God will fill His church! Thus, we are to be encouraged in our Gospel preaching, for there are many souls still to enter His great and glorious kingdom! We are encouraged to go to all the nations, for this is where God will redeem His people from. We are living in the period of time when the Abrahamic Covenant will be accomplished. Now, if Abraham took our present pessimistic view of life, do you think he would have believed the promises of God? He was but one man. He had only one child of promise. God promises innumerable descendants, but he has only one child to show for that promise. If Abraham judged history the way we do today, he would have never believed what God had told him. Instead, Abraham believed the Lord, even though he never saw the completion of those promise. This is the faith which we need to regain for our own day. The promises of God are to be our guide, not the daily newspapers. If God said that all the nations will come to worship Him, then this is what we believe and work towards. After Abraham dies, the same promise is made to Isaac (Genesis 26:4,5). Isaac also lived in a world that was not very encouraging on the surface towards the promises of God. Yet God loves adverse circumstances to show us that it is He who will bring victory out of despair. We will know that it is His work and not our own! The promises are also repeated to Jacob (Genesis 28:13,14), despite the evil circumstances which surrounded his life. Abrahamic faith is trust in the face of adversity. It is faith even when the world looks dark. It is believing in the promises of God no matter what may be happening in the world. Do we as God's people have this faith today?

2) THE THEME OF TRIUMPH IN THE MOSAIC COVENANT - The same promises and victory are promised to God's people in the days of Moses. Certainly the history of Israel was not always triumphant. Yet even as they rejected the Lord at the border of the Promised Land, the plans of God would not be thwarted. God tells Israel that "all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord." All of the world will one day bow before Him. God also assures them that He will raise up His Son to bring these promises to pass (Numbers 24:17-19). The Mosaic Covenant was often surrounded by a history of gloom. Israel did not always follow the Lord and great judgments are brought forth. Yet despite these defeats and struggles, the promises of God would not fail. His promises are not dependant upon the signs of the times. The attitude of the Mosaic Covenant was founded upon the sure triumph of God and His Messiah.

3) THE THEME OF TRIUMPH IN THE DAVIDIC COVENANT - The best way to see triumph during the years of the kingdom is to turn to the Psalms. David's Covenant brings the sovereignty of God to the foreground. Here we are shown the Messiah who will come to rule and reign as God's Son and David's offspring. The dominion of this coming Ruler will encompass the entire world. It is the Messianic Psalms which give us such a glorious picture of the work and character of the coming Lord. In Psalm 2 we see the Abrahamic promises brought forward (Psalm 2:6-9). This Messiah will be a King who rules over all the nations. This is what happened at the resurrection and ascension of Christ (Matthew 28:18,19). Our view of history should be shaped by the reality that Christ presently sits on the throne of God and rules the nations as His possession. He sends forth His people with His power and authority and we should expect the nations to fall at our Gospel preaching. In Psalm 22, we are given a description of the sufferings of Christ at Calvary (Psalm 22:1,16-18). It is a Psalm which opens with pain and suffering. Yet the Psalm changes at the end to show us the victory which the sufferings of Christ accomplish (Psalm 22:19-31). Once again the promises made to Abraham are repeated. The outcome of the crucifixion is that the ends of the earth will come to worship Christ. The kingdom will expand to triumph over all. In Psalm 72 we are given a description of Christ's work in history. We are told that Christ will rule over this entire world and the nations will come to bow before Him.