Covenant Presbyterian Church

The very suggestion that the world may be getting better may strike you as unbelievably foolish. For some pastors and theologians, if it could be proven that the world is in fact getting better, their ministries and messages would collapse, and that in itself is deemed a sufficient reason to refuse consideration to such a ludicrous idea. But I will go on record as affirming my conviction that the world is getting better, as difficult to believe as it may be.

To begin this perilous defense, I will assert that Scripture declares the world will gradually improve under the reign of the Messiah. I say "gradually," for the first idea of which we must rid ourselves is the belief that there will ever be a utopia on earth, a period in which the church will be freed from the duties of cross-bearing, defending the faith, resisting evil, and suffering to some degree for Christ. The reigning eschatological dogma, by the way, asserts that believers, or at least Jewish sort-of believers, will live in such a time, an earthly millennium. If this doctrine is true, then enormous sections of Scripture must be struck out, for the Bible knows nothing of a faith that is not tested, a church that does not fight, or a believer that is freed from the call of suffering for Christ’s sake.

But Scripture does teach that the earth, its citizens, nations, and institutions, will gradually improve under Messiah’s reign, and I believe we are currently in his reign, in the millennium, if you will. The usual litany of twisted prophecies aside, Peter and Paul settle the question. At Pentecost, Peter said, "God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). He does not say "will make" but "has made." Jesus ascension to the right hand of the Father was his monarchical procession to heaven, where, in fulfillment of such promises as Psalm2 and Isaiah 53, he received universal dominion as a reward for his mediatorial obedience, suffering, and death. And Paul, in his blessed letter to the Ephesians, wrote, "And he (that is, the Father), has put all things under his feet, and given him to be the head over all things for the sake of the church." This is the same theology of present dominion, present kingship, and present kingdom. If any doubts remain, Jesus’ claim in Revelation 1 ends all discussion: "And from Jesus Christ, the faithful and true witness, the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth" (1:5). Scripture is clear; our Savior is not a king-in-waiting but a king-enthroned.

Now, under the reign of this glorious King, what are we to expect? Isaiah speaks of gospel expansion, the submission of nation-states, and a universal flocking to the standard of the Savior (Isa. 2:2-4; 11:1-10; 49:23; 60:12; 66:22). David wrote earlier that all the families of the nations will come and worship before him (Ps. 22:27), a promise tucked hopefully after many direct references to the sufferings of our Savior. Ezekiel pictures the kingdom of the Messiah as an ever-widening and deepening stream that gradually covers the earth (47:1-12). Zechariah prophesies that during the reign of the Messiah, even the most common things, like horses’ bells, will be dedicated to the Lord (14:20). Turning to the New Testament, we find the same expectations. Jesus said that his kingdom will grow like leaven - progressively, comprehensively, and influentially (Matt. 13:33). He compared his reign to the spreading branches of the mustard tree - a very small beginning, with clear progression and growth, and an enormous result (Matt. 13:31). He preached that the prince of this world, Satan, would be cast out by his death, and that he would then spoil Satan’s kingdom (John 12:30-32). Before ascending, he claims that all authority has been committed to him, and in light of his universal sovereignty and dominion, the church is to make disciples of the nations (Matt. 28:18-20). And thus, John wrote that Jesus defeated Satan that he might destroy his works - definitively and historically (1 John 3:8). Paul proclaimed that his preaching would result in all nations coming to faith in Christ (Rom. 1:5; 16:26). Our New Testament concludes with the Bible’s most militaristic writing - it is wholly concerned with Jesus Christ’s warfare and victory over his enemies - first, the persecuting power of apostate Judaism, then the hostility of the Roman Empire, and finally throughout history over all his subsequent enemies, leading to his final return in consummating victory and heaven.

What are we to make of this non-wall-chart eschatology? Jesus Christ is the king, the King of every king and the Lord of every lord (1 Tim. 6:15). Jesus Christ has conquered sin, Satan, and death. Jesus Christ is conquering his enemies. Jesus Christ has all power; his dominion is universal and transnational. The Father has placed everything under his feet definitively, and everything will come under his dominion progressively in history. The kingdom of our Savior does not grow by nuclear explosions of victory, divine interventions that rout Christ’s enemies in a day and accomplish the church’s progressive discipleship work for her. The kingdom grows in history as the church makes use of her divinely appointed and empowered weapons. They demolish strongholds, every stronghold raised in opposition to Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 10:4).

In the light of such claims, which are too historical, too measurable, and too comprehensive to be spiritualized or allegorized, where is the proof? I mean, if everything before the coming of Jesus Christ looked forward to him, and everything after him is defined in terms of him, we should expect earth-history to reflect his reign. Yes, there are tares, and the Bible promises no earthly perfection. Yet, we should anticipate tangible manifestations of his dominion, the betterment of the earth, and the Christianization of the nations. They abound. From his ascension until about two centuries ago, the progress of Christ’s kingdom and the betterment of the nations were an unquestioned reality, a creedalized belief, and a missiological force. Who in their right mind would question the progress of the gospel, which, despite various ups and downs, areas yet unreached with the gospel, and periods of spiritual declension in the church and darkness in the nations, that the church had grown exponentially. Every heresy, internal threat, and external foe were faced and gradually subdued beneath Christ’s feet, or they passed into historical oblivion. The membership roll of the church had grown from a few hundred in the earliest post-ascension church to millions of believers scattered throughout the world. The leaders of every civilized nation gave at least outward profession of allegiance to Jesus Christ. Problems, many problems, existed, but these were not taken as signs of approaching defeat but as opportunities for advance and labor for Christ.

And this did not noticeably change until the gradual acceptance of an eschatology of historical defeat by some segments of the church, i.e., Premillennial Dispensationalism. The gospel would not disciple the nations. The end would be dark, very dark, and only the sudden return of Christ, an earthly military battle on an obscure plain in the Middle East, and the removal of the church from history would establish the kingdom of Christ. Talk about turning Christian theology, almost two millennia of preaching, practice, and passion, and the great creeds of the church upside down. This is exactly what this eschatological system did and is still attempting to do. But there is a problem. The world is getting better.

I do not mean that bad men and anti-Christian philosophies are getting better, or nicer, or friendlier to Jesus Christ. Have they ever? Yet, taking everything into consideration, the progress of the gospel is as if not more remarkable now than it has been, even in the glory days of the past. Consider, for example, the impact in this culture of the Christian faith, even our weakened Christian faith. Candidates of neither major party can hope to be elected without giving at least lip-service to Jesus Christ and the Bible. Abortion laws are being reconsidered; attempts to nullify them altogether are underway. Even Hollywood is making "pro-life" movies, for a pro-abortion movie cannot hope to make any money. Who in his right mind would find child-murder entertaining anyway? Millions in this nation homeschool, which is almost always religiously motivated. Hundreds of thousands continue to rally in defense of the Ten Commandments, even though their theological systems would seem to make the Ten Commandments the last thing of pressing social concern. Scientists, even non-Christian ones, are questioning the myth of evolution, affirming some form of creation, and working to blast away at the politically driven and potentially fatal commitment to global warming, genetic explanations for morality, and every other silly scientific theory that masquerades as inspired truth. You see, we simply cannot get away from our past because our past is the present - Christ is King. His claims cannot be avoided, even by those who do not personally know him, a well-attested promise in Scripture.

And in other nations? Everywhere the church is a persecuted minority, she is a growing minority. Growing. Many are working to translate the Bible into hitherto unknown languages. There may be missionary compromise and comparative disinterest in this nation, but this is not the case elsewhere. Chinese believers are training thousands of missionaries to send into the Middle East to convert Muslims. I am not closing my eyes to the atrocities being committed in many nations, the problems of hunger, disease, and war that ravage much of the world. Much evil remains in the world, billions of unconverted men and woman. But what was Europe? Or the United States? Or Korea? They were once unreached areas of the globe, centers of barbarism, now reached, now filled with believers in Jesus Christ. The presence of evil in the world should motivate us to get busy with the gospel, not dig bomb-shelters in anticipation of the end. The reality of sin is evidence that the gospel has not yet reached its final goal of world discipleship, not that the gospel is doomed to historical defeat, only to be rescued by an apocalyptic, eleventh-hour rescue mission.

But what of secularism? Of globalism? I remember another tower that man once attempted to build. It was desperation architecture. Man was haunted by God, by the recent world-judgment, by the desire to escape from his claims. What did God do? He scattered the nations. He did the same to the later world empires: Babylon, whose walls were so thick and high that its citizens laughed at the Persian siege-engines being erected in the valley below, Persia, Rome, the Roman Catholic Church, the Third Reich, and the Soviet Union. All gone. All scattered. Secularism is another Tower of Babel, another desperate attempt to circumvent God’s claims, Christ’s reign, and the gospel’s advance. It is a teetering tower. There is no money to fund the utopia. Our would-be leaders are simultaneously laughable and dangerous. Government credit cards, i.e., the Federal Reserve System, are maxed out. Secularism’s primary religious institution, the government schools, are tragic monuments to the unworkable idea that man is a machine, a factory worker, a creator of his own world of rebellion against God. They are only the monopoly in history that experiences increasing failure with increasing funding. The much-vaunted liberation of man from religious authority has given us debauchery, disease, and divorce. The reason these things seem so insurmountable is that they receive all the press, just like a building on fire is more impressive than the untouched house next door. The burning house receives the media attention and the spectators, but when the fire burns out, the rebuilding begins. The untouched houses, however, continue much as they were, strong and habitable. Similarly, evil is venturing out into the sunlight because it is growing desperate. This is nothing but a chance for righteousness to confront, expose, and prevail. The righteous families receive little press, but they are there, praying, worshipping, educating, and influencing.

This is not to underestimate secularism, and its many cousins. An enormous effort from the entire church will be necessary to face and overcome the evil of our particular time in history. But it makes a world of difference whether one works with the expectation of historical victory or the expectation of defeat. It is the difference between compromise and faithfulness, faith and unbelief, hope and despair, confidence and cowardice. We have a part to play. We were born for such a time as this. Others have lived and labored and overcome in worse times, more desperate times. They overcame by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of his testimony. And the world grew better. We are reaping where others have sown. How will the next generation find your field, your little corner of the Lord’s vineyard? Will they find any fruit to reap? Any encouragement to do their own sowing? Any joy in your legacy of faith and faithfulness? They will, if you will see the glory of Christ again - that all the nations are under his authority, that his purposes are being worked out in history, and that the gospel is the most powerful force on the planet. You can leave, dear believer, the world in a better condition than when you entered it. This is not a fairytale; it is the age of Messiah the Prince. The world is his; the outcome is certain.