|
I. Are We Living in the Last Days?
Some within, as well as outside of the church are asking if we
are living in the last days. The New
Testament Scriptures we are about to consider say emphatically “Yes!
We are living in the last days”.
Notice in the following Scriptures how this is the historical
context in which Jesus’ Person and Work take on saving significance
for his people. In fact in Acts
2:17ff, the Apostle Peter says that what was prophesied concerning the last
days of God’s salvation has
come and helps us to interpret the significance of Pentecost (Acts
2:1-15). The author of the Book of
Hebrews compares the time long ago
in verse 1, with the last days of
God speaking to his people by his Son Jesus:
Acts
2:17-23 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.' 22 "Men of
Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God
with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your
midst, as you yourselves know- 23
this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and
foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
Hebrews
1:1-2 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, whom he appointed the
heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
The question that should be asked is not whether we are living in
the Last Days, but rather, “Knowing we are living in the Last Days as the people of God, how should we then live?”
The word eschatology simply means
the “study of last things, or the study of the end, from two Greek
words: eschatos, meaning “last”, and
logos, meaning “the study of” as in the word biology or theology. The important
thing to note about the study of eschatology in scripture is that it is not
so concerned about 'when Jesus will return', as well as all of the
speculations that can go along with that.
In fact that is exactly what Jesus does not want to teach us.
It
could be said that eschatology is not so much about us finding out the
future in the present, as much as it is about the future finding us in the
present and informing our lives in light of this future reality in the
present.
Notice in the following verses that what Jesus wants to teach the
people is to be alert, to watch, to be faithful to the Living Jesus, just because they do not know when
he shall return. Practically
speaking, Christ’s people are called to faithfulness and preparedness
in light of his coming, and they are called to rest in the finished work of
Jesus as they proclaim that work to others.
Matthew 24:42-44 42 Therefore, stay awake,
for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master
of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he
would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken
into. 44 Therefore you
also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not
expect.
Matthew 25:13 13 Watch therefore, for you
know neither the day nor the hour.
Mark 13:31-33 31 Heaven and earth will pass
away, but my words will not pass away.
32 "But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33
Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.
II. Eschatology and the Kingdom of God
Eschatology (or, literally "the study of last things")
in Scripture is simply about the Person and Work of Jesus Christ and the
inauguration of His Kingdom, the pouring out of His Spirit on His People
and how they are to understand themselves as a New Creation-People. That is, eschatology is about what Jesus
did when he came the first time in inaugurating his Kingdom here on
earth.
Eschatology in Scripture is about the grace that was revealed in
Jesus' preaching of the Kingdom, and the manifestation of the Kingdom
itself here on earth. As well, eschatology is also about the grace,
as well as judgment that will be revealed when Jesus’ Kingdom will be
fully realized when he returns!
Eschatology is not trying to fancifully and creatively try and
understand 'when' Jesus will return, but it is about a way of life for
Christians until he does return. Eschatology in scripture is
concerned with teaching us an 'eschatological faith'. That is, a
faith that is ever looking to Christ for salvation, living obediently out
of gratitude here in the last days, while awaiting his return at any
time! It is living by faith as Paul describes in Philippians
3:20-21. We are citizens of heaven, while we await a Savior from
there. Notice the dual nature of our
citizenship as Christ’s people, as well as the dual nature of our
location as the people of God: in
heaven, as well as here on the
earth. This should inform our
identity as Christ’s people as we await his glorious return.
Philippians
3:20-21 20 But our citizenship is in
heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our
lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even
to subject all things to himself.
How is biblical eschatology related to the Kingdom of God? When Jesus casted
out demons, he said the Kingdom of God had come! (Mt. 12:25ff). In Matthew 12:25, the Pharisees dispute
Jesus’ Messianic identity revealed in his miracles. The Pharisees blasphemously assert that
Jesus does his work by the help of Satan, Beelzebul, or the Lord of the Flies indicating their
blindness to the reality of the King and the Kingdom of Christ. Jesus
says to them that the miracles point to the greater reality of his
Kingship, as well as the fact that His Kingdom has come, and will continue
to manifest itself by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew
12:25-28 25 Knowing their thoughts, he
said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and
no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan casts out
Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by
Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out?
Therefore they will be your judges. 28
But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
We should appreciate as the people of God that when Jesus healed men
of sicknesses, he was beginning the restoration of all creation (Mt. 8-9)
because he was undoing the work of Satan, or at least that work that
resulted from Satan’s temptation in the Garden of Eden and the coming
of sin, death, and misery into God’s world. As the Great Creator himself (cf. Heb.
1:1-2; John 1:1-3; Col. 1:15ff), he was beginning the restoration of all
things, a foretaste of the New Heavens and the New Earth by the Spirit of
God in his miracles. Jesus even
reveals the coming of the Kingdom in these last days by calming the great
waves of the sea which only God can do (Gen. 1:4-8; cf. Job 38:1-11)
Matthew 8:3 3 And Jesus stretched out his
hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And
immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Matthew 8:13 13 And to the centurion Jesus
said, "Go; let it be done for you as you have believed." And
the servant was healed at that very moment.
Matthew 8:24-27 24 And behold, there arose a
great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves;
but he was asleep. 25 And
they went and woke him, saying, "Save us, Lord; we are
perishing." 26 And
he said to them, "Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?" Then
he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled,
saying, "What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?"
Matthew
8:28-33 28 And when he came to the
other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two
demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one
could pass that way. 29
And behold, they cried out, "What have you to do with us, O Son of
God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?" 30 Now a herd of many pigs was
feeding at some distance from them. 31
And the demons begged him, saying, "If you cast us out, send us away
into the herd of pigs." 32
And he said to them, "Go." So they came out and went into the
pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea
and drowned in the waters. 33
The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially
what had happened to the demon-possessed men.
From these verses (and there are many more, especially look at
Matthew chapters 8-10 and how he gives this same authority to his
apostles), we see that when Jesus spoke the Word of power he declared
visually that the Kingdom of God had come in Him. In his preaching, Jesus declared that men
repent for the Kingdom of God had come and was also coming (Mt. 3:1-17; Mk.
1).
Mark 1:15 "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and
believe in the gospel."
Jesus declared that the last days, or the beginning of the renewal
of all things had dawned, or begun in his coming. But there was also
some confusion! (as there is still much confusion today!) John the
Baptist had preached that Messiah would come and set up his Kingdom.
John had preached to the people that Jesus would gather to himself those
who repented, but the others he would remove as chaff and destroy them,
because his winnowing fork was in his hand (Matt. 3). Messiah was to preach the good news to
the poor, bring salvation to the captives, healing to the sick, and sight
to the blind, and bring in the terrible Day of the LORD (Is. 61:1-3; cf.
Luke 4:18). However, Jesus' Kingdom came in an unexpected way. Even when John was in a dark and gloomy
prison, either his faith waned a bit, or his eschatological expectations
needed changing. What is clear from
Matthew 11 is that John the Baptist was in prison about to be killed for
his faith as forerunner of Jesus, and the Kingdom of God had not
come yet in Jesus- -at least in his own eschatological estimation.
Matthew
11:2-6 2 Now when John heard in
prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, "Are
you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?" 4 And Jesus answered them,
"Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their
sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the
dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who
is not offended by me."
What Jesus communicates to John from the prophet Isaiah is that the
Kingdom had come because the manifestation of the Kingdom of God in the
blind receiving their sight, the lame were walking, and lepers were being
cleansed (Isaiah 29), and he was to believe this by faith. What Jesus is implicitly communicating to
John, and to us today, is that although the Kingdom is coming in Jesus and
the beginning of the restoration in the Last Days has begun, yet we are to
be a people who live by faith for an indefinite amount of time
(“blessed is the one who is not offended by me”).
Jesus reveals this delay elsewhere in Luke 4:16-21. Here Jesus preaches from Isaiah 61:1-3 on
the Sabbath. He tells the people
that the prophecy of Isaiah about the coming King and Kingdom is fulfilled
in him, yet he leaves out a very important part of Isaiah’s prophecy,
implying that there is more to come in the future. Again, implying that there will be a time
period where the people of God must live by faith, trusting the LORD that
he will return to be Judge of the earth, but not yet!
Luke
4:16-21 16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought
up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and
he stood up to read. 17
And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the
scroll and found the place where it was written, 18 "The Spirit of the
Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the
poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of
sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the
Lord's favor." 20
And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.
And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to
them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
You see Jesus quoted from Isaiah 61, which says:
Isaiah
61:1-2 1
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to
bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those
who are bound; 2 to
proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the
day of vengeance of our God….
Notice by contrasting the Isaiah prophecy with the sermon from Luke
4 that something very important is missing.
Jesus ended his sermon in Luke 4 with “to proclaim the year of
the LORD’s favor”, yet the end of the
prophecy is “and the day of vengeance of our God”. This teaches us that Jesus’ Kingdom
should be understood in the Last Days as a Kingdom that has come in Jesus,
but that will come in its fullness in the future. It suggest to us an interim that Jesus
will make clearer as he moves closer to the crucifixion and the laying down
his life for his people. The lesson
that we learn (as well as what John learned) is that Jesus’ winnowing
fork is indeed in his hand (we know this because when the words is preached
some believe and some are judged already, cf. Matt. 13 in the parables),
but he is waiting until later to bring about this final judgment. This is why the Apostle Paul teaches that
“Today is the Day of Salvation” in these Last Days!
Jesus did indeed bring salvation; he preached the good news; he
gathered to himself those who repented; and he released the captives, but
the Day of the LORD was to come at a later time. In other words,
Christ's Kingdom would come in two modes, or two acts. It began to
come into the present age with the coming of Jesus, particularly when he
accomplished his life, death, resurrection and ascension and sent forth his
Spirit who is called the "firstfruits"
or "downpayment" of what is to come
(Eph. 1:13; 2 Cor. 1:22; cf. 2 Cor. 5:5). The Kingdom will come again when Jesus
will judge the world. This interim period, called the "last
days" is the period when Christ builds his Church and prepares his
bride for himself in purity and holiness, while allowing men to repent of
their sins and turn to the Living God avoiding the imminent coming wrath!
Biblical eschatology is about how the Kingdom of God came in Jesus Christ, but will come fully in the
future. That is why the Apostle Paul says that "Now is the Day
of Salvation" (2 Cor. 6:1,2). It is
the time of hope as his people await our Living Hope to return (1
Peter 1:3ff).
III. Two-Faced Christianity in the Last Days
What kind of faith and attitude of life should the believer have in
light of Christ’s First Coming, and with a view to His Second
Coming to gather his people to himself and to judge the world? As Christians, we should be the most
two-faced people in the world in the Last Days. We should be a people who are ever
looking back at the completed work of Christ Jesus on our behalf, while
awaiting our Savior to return.
This kind of two-faced living is possible because of the Holy Spirit
who lives within us because of Christ’s humiliation and exaltation on
behalf of his people. In the
following scriptures notice that something new has happened in these Last
Days because of Christ’s work on our behalf. Notice how the Apostle Peter calls us to
two-faced living in these Last Days because Christ's Kingdom has come, yet
has yet to fully come!
1
Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his
great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and to an inheritance
which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5
who by God's power are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be
revealed in the last time.
Peter teaches us that we have already been born anew, yet there is
much more to be revealed in the last time (Peter uses "last time"
and "last days" interchangeably). Our full salvation, or
inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, is a NOW-Reality, but we wait for Jesus
to return for it to be completely fulfilled. This hope keeps us
focused on Jesus, the Author and Pioneer of our faith! This hope is a
hope in the last days as we await the imminent and glorious return of our
Lord Jesus, when we shall see him face to face! It is interesting to
note comparing 1 Peter 1:3 and verse 5 (above) that there "has been a
salvation revealed" (past tense), and that same salvation "has
yet to be revealed" (future tense).
We should understand as the people of God this great truth:
|
A lasting faith for the
last days begins with a strong, extraspectiive
(out-of-self-focused-faith) in Jesus Christ.
|
Jesus is the Savior of sinners. This is a reality NOW!
But we await this reality to be fully revealed. As the Apostle John says,
we know we are children of God, but we do not know what we will fully be
when we see him as he is. All who have this hope purifies
himself as he is pure (1 John 3:2-3).
1 John
3:1-3 1 See
what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called
children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not
know us is that it did not know him.
2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will
be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like
him, because we shall see him as he is.
3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as
he is pure.
Keep in mind that in speaking of eschatological living we want
prayerfully by God’s grace to understand more clearly what the
Apostle Peter describes as “now” in his epistle to the
persecuted and suffering church. Notice as you read the Apostle
Peter’s First Epistle how he speaks of the "NOW" as
well as the "NOT YET": 1 Peter 1:6-“now you
have to suffer various trials”; 1:8- “you do not now see
him but you believe in him”; 1:12- “the things which have now
been announced to you”; 2:10- “now you are God’s
people…now you have received mercy from God”; 2:25-
“now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your
souls”. But Peter also teaches
us of what is yet to come: 1:5- “a salvation ready to be revealed in
the last time”; 1:7- “your faith may prove real at the
revelation of Jesus Christ for his honor and glory”; 1:13- “set your hope fully on the grace that is
coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Peter is saying that Christ has been manifested in his Person and
Work at the end of the times for our sakes (already) 1:20; but he will be
manifested again to reward his people for their faith with an unfading
crown of glory (not yet) 5:4. Also, if
our salvation has been accomplished in these last days, how should we
respond to suffering? Notice, that
although now we suffer; the Lord has an end, an eschatology he wants us to
look to by faith to give us hope now: 4:9- “But
the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your
prayers”; 5:10- “And after you have suffered a little while,
the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ,
will himself restore, establish, and strengthen you.”
Let these great truths be
the encouragement and insight of God’s covenant people who are living
in the last days as we await his glorious return. Let us reflect upon our union with the
Living and Resurrected Jesus, as we ponder the reality of our being seated
in the heavenly places with him, knowing that our salvation has been fully
accomplished in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension, and that
although we will experience real pain, persecution and problems in this
world, we have a Living Christ and therefore a Living Hope who will rescue
us from sin, death, and misery when he returns for His People! Amen.
IV. The Age of the Spirit in the Last Days
When
Jesus is leaving his disciples in this world to be ascended to God’s
right hand, he tells them two important truths about himself. He gives them a message to declare and a
mission to perform until he returns, and he comforts them with the reality
of his authority and presence with them until
the end of the age.
Matthew 28:18-20 18 And Jesus came and said to them,
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am
with you always, to the end of the age."
Jesus sends the apostles out founded upon two realities: All
authority has been given to him, and he will be with his apostles until the
end of the age. What age is Jesus
speaking of? The age he is speaking
of is the present age that the
Apostle Paul will elaborate upon more fully in his letters when he
interprets the resurrection and ascension of Christ for the churches then,
and for us today- -both who live in the Last Days, and also in this present
age. Jesus is referring to the Last
Day when he will return in a glorified body to make his people as he
is! That is why he encourages his
apostles that he will be with them in this present age.
The Apostle Paul speaks similar language in Ephesians chapter 1, as
he prays for the Church at Ephesus and encourages them to persevere in their faith in Christ. Notice the comparison again between
Christ’s Authority, or “incomparably great power for us who
believer” and the promise of his present by the Spirit “not
only in the present age, but also in the age to come”.
Ephesians 1:19-21- "[I pray that you
may know] his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power
is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when
he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in heavenly
realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every
title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the age
to come."
Perhaps this passage from the Apostle Paul’s pen can be
understood more clearly in light of the Biblical teaching of
two ages: this age and the age to come- "This age", or "the
present age" is described and characterized by sin, the fall,
death, and the devil's dominion over the age (that is why Paul calls
the devil the "god of this age" in 2 Cor.
4:4).
2 Corinthians 4:4 The god of this age
has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of
the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
In contrast to the present age characterized by sin, death and the
devil, "the age to come“ or the "future age" is
described as the time of the reign of Christ, the completion of his saving
work for his people, and the sending forth of His Holy Spirit. The
"age to come", "future age", or "Age of the
Spirit" has intruded upon the present age in the coming of Christ and
His Kingdom, thus the reason why it was important for him to face the devil
in his temptation in the wilderness as well as to cast out demons and to
heal the sick. In Christ’s Kingdom, the beginning
restoration of all things had begun in his Person and Work on the
earth. The "Age of the
Spirit" has dawned in the present age, as the present age passes away
(1 John 2:15-17).
1 John
2:15-17 15 Do not love the world or the
things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is
not in him. 16 For all
that is in the world- the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes
and pride in possessions- is not from the Father but is from the
world. 17 And the
world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of
God abides forever.
The contrast in this passage from the Apostle John shows the
impermanent, defeated nature and character of this present age, or
world-order. This world literally is passing away. It is not here where Christian’s
should have their hope- -but in the world that is to come in Christ. These two ages overlap now, since Jesus came
into this world to redeem sinners, defeat the devil in his life and death,
and to undo what Adam did.
V. Our Comprehension of the Eschatological
Tension
Because these two ages overlap, Christians presently experience joy,
but we also experience persecution; we experience strength from
the Spirit, but also experience weakness; we have the life of Christ
within, but unless Christ returns first, we will die and our
bodies return to dust; we have confidence of being renewed, but we still
suffer. The overlapping of the present age characterized by sin,
death, and devil, and the age to come with the dawn of a new creation, a
new age, and we as new creations experience the conflict of these two ages
as we live by the Spirit each day of our lives.
In light of these two ages, Paul tells us to live putting on the
full armor of God so that we might be able to stand upon Christ's
victorious resurrection, living by His powerful Spirit, so that we might
continue to journey in the present age, even though we know we are citizens
of the age to come (Ephesians 6:10-18; cf. Philippians 3:20,21). We are presently saved and the Devil has
been defeated (Heb. 2:14-18; Col. 2:13-15), but we will be ultimately saved
and the Devil will ultimately be defeated when Christ returns and all
things will be restored in the New Heavens and the New Earth, the full
revelation of the Age to Come (cf. Rev. 19-20).
Our hope is that when Christ returns, the present age will be
completely in the past and we will live fully in the Age to Come, or the
New Heavens and New Earth in the very presence of the Living God.
Then there will be no more persecution, conflict, death, suffering, or an
sin whatsoever. From all of the pain we have experienced in the
overlap of the two ages, God will wipe our tears from our eyes as he
promises in Revelation 21:1-7.
Revelation
21:1-7 And I saw a new heaven and a
new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and
the sea is no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her
husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold,
the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they
shall be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them, and be their
God: 4 and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes;
and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying,
nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away.
5 And he that sitteth on the throne said, Behold, I make all things
new. And he saith, Write: for these words are
faithful and true. 6 And he said unto me, They are come to pass.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give
unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7
He that overcometh shall inherit these things;
and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
What hope for the people of God in this present age! This explains the conflict, as well as
the joy in the Christian life between the First Coming of Jesus and his
completed work on our behalf and our living in the Age of the Spirit
as the Church with the indwelling Spirit of which was spoken by the
prophets Jeremiah (31:31-34) and Joel (2:28ff) (which indicates that
the two ages are not only a New Testament concept but were insinuated
in the Old Covenant, cf. Rom. 16:25-27).
This teaching of the two ages includes the real tension of being a
true believer, passing from death to life, yet still mortifying, or dying
to our sin. In other words, this
helps to understand the way the Apostle Paul teaches the real tension
between offering our bodies to our new LORD (and Master) who is
Christ, opposed to our old lords (and masters) who were sin and
the devil. Paul begins in Romans
speaking of Justification by faith in chapter four. He proceeds to
establish the once and for all character of our justification as Christ
having reconciled God to us and therefore we have peace with God in Romans
chapter five. In addition, we are
united with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection in chapter six,
but we still struggle with real sin in this life according to chapter seven
(cf. with the conflict between the flesh and the Spirit in Gal.
5:17-18). However, our hope is in chapter eight where we clearly see
that although there is a tension between this present age and the age to
come, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Rom.
8:28ff), because he who began a work in us if faithful to bring us into his
presence (Phil. 1:6).
VI. Our Eschatological Union with
the Risen Christ
We should keep in mind that in speaking of eschatological living and
faith in the Last Days we have in mind what the Apostle Paul calls being
“in Christ” throughout his letters, and understand our union
with Christ as central to our understanding of who we are as
Christians. Our union with Christ
helps us to understand that we are united to the Living Christ by His
Spirit and he is a “man of two ages”. That means that Christ became a man in
the present age in order to defeat the devil, redeem his people, and to
receive the Holy Spirit as a glorified man so as to be the first man of the
Age to Come (Heb. 2:14-18; John 7:37-39; Acts 2:33)! What an incredible truth! That is why the Apostle Paul, when
speaking of Christ’s resurrection into the Age to Come, speaks of him
as the first-fruits of those he
will resurrect on the day he returns.
1
Corinthians 15:20-26 20 But in fact Christ has been
raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those
who have fallen asleep. 21
For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the
dead. 22 For as in Adam
all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own
order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming
those who belong to Christ. 24
Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after
destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he
has put all his enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
As Christians we are united with Jesus Christ in his
resurrection. The Apostle Paul uses
other language as well describing this close Holy-Spirit union. Paul says we are seated with Christ in
the heavenlies (Eph. 1:3, 20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12). Our life is also hidden in Christ and this reality
encourages us to set our minds on where Christ is and where we are, as well
as to meditate or reflect upon who we
are as Christ’s Last-Days-People who await the glory to be
revealed (cf. Romans 8:17-24).
Colossians
3:1-4 1
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above,
where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things
that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and
your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life
appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
The eschatological focus of Paul, as well as all of the NT
writers is that Christ’s work has been accomplished in his life,
death, resurrection, and ascension (Acts 2:14-41). This means that we are already now
realizing the promises of our salvation by the application of His
Spirit as Paul teaches in Ephesians 1:3-14. Notice the work God has done for us in
Christ and the present tense reality of
this gracious work!
Ephesians
1:3-14 3 Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every
spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him
before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless
before him. In love 5 he
predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose
of his will, 6 to the
praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the
Beloved.
7 In him we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the
riches of his grace, 8
which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the
mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in
Christ 10 as a plan for
the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and
things on earth. 11 In
him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to
the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his
will, 12 so that we who
were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when
you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in
him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our
inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
We are
a people living in the Last Days with a view to the Last Day
Practically, this means that we should have an eschatological
faith. This present age is
characterized by walking by sight, but as partakers and citizens of the
'Age to come" we must learn by grace to walk by faith (2 Cor. 5:5-7).
This is an eschatological faith that is centered on the Person
and work of Christ in our behalf as we look by faith to his
return. Jesus is the Author, better the Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:1-3). He is our
champion and all of his blessings by the Spirit are a reality NOW (Heb.
12:1ff; cf. 1 Peter)! In Hebrews 11,
the “cloud of witnesses” who looked to the promises of God by
faith had an eschatological faith, that is why they are effective witnesses
to us. This is our great hope
knowing that we live our Christian life not by sight, but by faith in the
promises of God because of his accomplishment in Christ, the down-payment
of the Spirit in our lives, and the ability to live according to
God’s commandments, with an eschatological faith that Christ will return
for us on the Last Day.
Again, we live in the Age of the Spirit now. That is, we live in the Last Days prior
to the Last Day when Christ will come and judge the wicked and renew all
things. The believer’s hope
and life should be lived with this constantly in mind. It is an eschatological faith that does
not look within, but looks to Christ and his righteousness, sanctification
and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30). It is an eschatological faith that knows
God is faithful and as he has fulfilled his promises in the past, so he
will ultimately deliver us and bring us into his presence forever! What great hope for the Christian! Although we do not see him, we love him
with an eschatological faith- - a faith that looks to his work on our
behalf because he first loved us and looks constantly for his return,
working now to please him in the calling which he has given us to perform
in this life.
VII. No Time for Rest as the Pilgrim People
of God in the Last Days
Another way of understanding our living by faith in the last
days is to consider how the Book of Hebrews teaches we as a people to think
eschatologically (that is, as a people who
understand they live in the last days between the time of Jesus' first
coming in grace and his second and final coming to judge the world and
renew all creation). In Hebrews
4, the author tells us that we can rest in Christ’s work on our
behalf NOW, but the author encourages us to persevere by His grace in the
covenant community in order to enter into God’s ultimate
rest. Hebrews 4:3 says: "Now we who have believed
enter that rest..." In the context, the contrast is between
Israel entering into their physical rest in Canaan by faith (some did not
enter in by faith), and we who enter into 'salvation-rest' by faith in the
person and work of Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 4:1-13 1
Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let
us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2 For good news came to us
just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because
they were not united by faith with those who listened.
3 For we who have believed
enter that rest, as he has said, "As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall
not enter my rest,'" although his works were finished from the
foundation of the world. 4
For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: "And God
rested on the seventh day from all his works." 5 And again in this passage he
said, "They shall not enter my rest."
6 Since therefore it remains
for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed
to enter because of disobedience, 7
again he appoints a certain day, "Today," saying through David so
long afterward, in the words already quoted, "Today, if you hear
his voice, do not harden your hearts." 8 For if Joshua had given them
rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a
Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10
for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God
did from his. 11 Let
us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same
sort of disobedience. 12
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow,
and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden
from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we
must give account.
The author of Hebrews wants us to continuously fix our eyes on
Jesus, the Author and Pioneer of our faith that has gone before us to be
with the Heavenly Father. The author of Hebrews wants us to
continue to persevere by his grace and strength, while resting in Christ
Jesus' completed and perfect work on our behalf! Even though we have
entered into our “rest” in the sense that Christ has “sat
down” at the right hand of the Father (Heb. 1:3; 10:12), he wants us
to understand as a covenant people living the Last Days that our faith must
show itself to be genuine by keeping our eyes on Jesus who will be revealed
on the Last Day. Then, we as his
Last Days people, shall fully enter into his rest (4:9-11).
The author of Hebrews wants us as the children of God to be reminded
that just as good works are characteristics of a true and saving faith,
so perseverance is a characteristic of faith as well.
As children of the Living God who are citizens of heaven, we are to fix our
eyes on Jesus who sat down at the right hand of the throne of God when he
fully accomplished our salvation. In
light of this reality of the ministry of Christ and the giving of his Holy
Spirit, we are to remember to be obedient to his Living and Active Word
(4:12-13).
No matter what your challenge or difficulty today, you can persevere by faith, by
fixing your eyes on He who completed his work on your behalf; Who is ever
interceding for you (Heb. 7:25); Who will never leave you nor forsake you
(Heb. 13:5); and Who is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb.
13:8)! His victory and strength is our encouragement as well as our
endurance in the Christian race!
In the Book of Hebrews we are taught to think like pilgrims,
sojourners who have entered into our rest by faith in Jesus, but to
remember at the same time that we have an eternal city built by God, and
have yet to fully enter the Heavenly City described in chapter 12.
Hebrews
12:22-29 22 But you have come to Mount
Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to
innumerable angels in festal gathering,
23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled
in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the
righteous made perfect, 24
and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood
that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 25 See that you do not refuse
him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who
warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns
from heaven. 26 At that
time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Yet once more
I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." 27 This phrase, "Yet once
more," indicates the removal of things that are shaken- that is,
things that have been made- in order that the things that cannot be shaken
may remain. 28 Therefore
let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus
let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming
fire.
Notice in the above verses that we await the Heavenly City of the
Age to Come to be fully revealed.
Notice how we have a great and perfect Mediator in the New
Covenant. God has not changed, he is
still a consuming fire just as he revealed himself to be in the Old
Covenant (Heb. 12:29), yet the Mediator has changed. We have a better, more perfect Mediator
in Christ who shed his precious blood once-and-for-all for our sins and
therefore as his Last-Days-People, no matter how difficult the
circumstances or temptations we face, we are to listen to his voice
revealed in Scripture! By listening
to His voice, we are to be encouraged, as well as warned, that we must not
rest now (save in the work of Jesus Christ), but we should continue to
journey with our eyes on the Heavenly and Unshakable Kingdom of the LORD
God.
The author of Hebrews also encourages us as Last-Days-People that
our High Priest has entered the Most Holy Place in heaven and has made
atonement for our sins- - NOW, according to chapters 7-9. We have been released from the power of
death and the devil (Heb. 4:16-18) and have access to God, but we still
await the triumphant return of our High Priest. In Hebrews 9:24-28 we should appreciate
the completed work of Christ, while we “eagerly await” his
second appearance, not to take away sin, but to save fully those who are
waiting upon him (v. 28).
Hebrews
9:24-28 24 For Christ has entered, not
into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into
heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself
repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood
not his own, 26 for then
he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world.
But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put
away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and
after that comes judgment, 28
so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will
appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are
eagerly waiting for him.
The teaching of Hebrews is to help us to think eschatologically as a pilgrim people in the wilderness,
a people on the way that have yet to arrive, a holy nation and people of
God (1 Pet. 2:5ff). Our salvation
has been accomplished but we are awaiting the day when we enter into the
full and glorious presence of the Lord.
Sin no longer has dominion, but it still remains in us. We have passed from death to life NOW- -
but we still await to fully pass from the remaining elements of death
to the full eternal state.
The author of Hebrews completes the book with the greatest
encouragement imaginable for those who are sinners, yet at the same time
are citizens of the Heavenly City who still must persevere in the difficult
wilderness of suffering found in this fallen world. He says:
"May the God of peace, who through the blood
of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that
great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing
his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus
Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
VIII. Last Days Identity as the People of God
As we have been studying, the question that should be asked by
Christians today is not whether
we are living in the Last Days (we are! according to Acts 2:16ff), but
rather, “Knowing we are
living in the Last Days, how should we then live?” As we have learned, the study of
eschatology in scripture is not primarily about 'when Jesus will return', in fact that is exactly what Jesus
does not want to teach us (cf. Matt. 24). Rather, eschatology (or,
literally "the study of last things") in Scripture is about
what Jesus did when he came the first time in inaugurating his Kingdom
here on earth.
Further, eschatology in Scripture is about the grace that was
revealed in Jesus' preaching of the Kingdom and the Kingdom manifesting
itself here on earth; eschatology is also about the grace, as well as
judgment that will be revealed when his Kingdom is fully realized when he
returns!
We have learned that eschatology is not trying to fancifully and
creatively try and understand 'when' Jesus will return, but it is about
a way of life for Christians until he does return. Eschatology in
scripture is concerned with teaching us an 'eschatological faith'.
That is, a faith that is ever looking to Christ for salvation, living
obediently out of gratitude here in the last days NOW, while awaiting his
return at any time! It is living by faith as Paul describes in
Philippians 3:20-21. We are citizens of heaven, while we await a
Savior from there.
In light of our study thus far, what kind of identity do we have as
the people of the Living God living in the Last Days? In other words,
how does Biblical eschatology form,
as well as inform our
identity? We have an eschatological identity as the People of God
that is revealed to us NOW because of the completed work of Christ in his
humiliation and exaltation. What is
our eschatological identity as a people of God and what does it mean to be
a holy people, consecrated to the LORD in these Last Days? Our eschatological, Last-Days-identity as
the People of God is formed, as well as informed in several ways. I would suggest to you that preaching,
publicly joining a faithful congregation of believers, partaking in the
Lord’s Supper, as well as worship are all practices we do as a
Last-Days-People.
(1) Preaching is eschatological. When we hear the sermon preached on the
Lord’s Day, the pastor stands in the stead of Christ proclaiming what
God has done in Christ's completed work and the hope of the imminent return
of our savior. When he preaches this
is eschatological because he declares to us the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ and how he has conquered death, hell and the devil on our
behalf, that we have been forgiven of our sins, and that we can live by
faith in the power of the Holy Spirit as we await His return.
Preaching is eschatological because the hope of Christ’s return
in the future interprets our present circumstances in his completed work (1
Peter 1:3-9), and it points us forward by faith to think on the day
when Christ will preach and teach us himself in Paradise in the presence of
God. Preaching teaches us to hear
and to follow the risen Jesus Christ NOW, as we patiently, expectantly, and
alertly await his return for us!
Preaching unites the People of God in the Last Days and is vital for
our spiritual growth. This office of
preaching is given to Christ’s people to encourage them to endure and
to teach them the truths concerning Christ and His Work so that they might
mature. The Apostle Paul explains
this truth to us in Ephesians 4.
Ephesians
4:11-16 11 And he gave the apostles,
the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the
work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the
unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,
to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be
children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of
doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the
truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head,
into Christ, 16 from
whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it
is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so
that it builds itself up in love.
(2) Publicly joining a faithful congregation of believers is
eschatological. It is a
confession before men, publicly recognizing our sins, submitting
to one another out of love for Christ, especially his elders, or undershepherds who are under Christ's
authority, and showing forth in the visible church that we are identified
and confessing members of the Kingdom of God in this present age. Our joining a congregation of believers and
submitting to the authority of the elders in the church is for the Apostle
Peter the same thing as submitting to the authority of God himself. Peter says that it is humble and shows
forth to the world our submission to God, as the elders of the
Last-Days-People are in submission to God as well.
1 Peter
5:1-11 1 So I
exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the
sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to
be revealed: 2 shepherd
the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion,
but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but
eagerly; 3 not
domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the
flock. 4 And when the
chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
5 Likewise, you who are
younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with
humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives
grace to the humble." 6
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the
proper time he may exalt you, 7
casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Joining a congregation is eschatological because by faith in
Christ’s righteousness alone, our names are publicly written down in
the book of church membership, but we look forward to the Last Day when our
names will be publicly displayed as written in the Lamb’s Book of
Life, and how Christ Himself will confess us publicly before
God, men, and a heavenly host of angels.
|
