Excerpted from, “Victory in Jesus: The Bright Hope of Postmillenialism” by Greg Bahnsen

Covenant Media Press ISBN #0-9678317-1-7

Chapter Three

The Triumph of the Gospel

The Best News of All

The Bible assures us that the Lord Jesus Christ will be victorious in extending His kingdom over all the earth and that we will see better days ahead for the Church of Jesus Christ. This may not be popular to say today since it does not fit in to the prevailing opinion in many churches and many theological circles. Nevertheless, I believe it is what the Word of God teaches, and I would like to convince you of that in this chapter.

What Have We Seen Up to This Point?

We have seen that the book of Revelation is first of all a revelation and not an obscuring of the truth. If we pay attention to its internal clues, we can figure out what it teaches. It teaches that the Lord Jesus Christ, even as He promised when He gave the Great Commission, is present with His Church. He is glorified, sovereign, and almighty, and He walks among the candle stands. He is with the Church. He addresses the Church in the second section of Revelation, in these seven letters, in such a way that it is clear that He expects His Church to be an overcoming and victorious body.

Those things that are wrong in the midst of the Church need to be corrected and we need to repent of them. Those things that are commendable need to be strengthened and carried on. But all those who have ears to hear must listen since Jesus says the promise is for those who will be victorious. How can the Church be victorious though when we look out and we see all the opposition and persecution that awaits us? How can the Church be victorious when we know the tribulation that comes to all of us? Indeed, the very writer of the book of Revelation was captive on the isle of Patmos for the Word of God. How is it possible that we can have this assurance?

Well, the book of Revelation says that John had two scrolls that he was going to write. One was a seven-sealed scroll dealing with one enemy of the people of God. That turns out to have been Jerusalem. The apostate Jews of His day were going to be judged of God for their rejection of the Savior and their city would fall. In that connection, we know that Satan himself has lost his position of authority and power and has been cast down to the earth. Not being satisfied though, Satan now goes out to persecute those who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ in all the world. We see a second beast arising out of the Mediterranean Sea, the Roman Empire itself. John goes on to show us that it too, like Babylon of old, will fall and will be destroyed by God.

John was talking about His day and age, things that will soon come to pass as he says at the beginning and end of his prophecy. Nevertheless, he does explain to us how this victory is possible because at the end of the destruction of the fall of Babylon, which was Rome in John’s day, we read that the Lord Jesus Christ, in the preaching of the gospel, will go forth and conquer the nations. Indeed, Satan has been bound. Satan was bound during the first advent of Jesus Christ. He is now destroying the house of the devil; He is spoiling the strong man’s house. His people are enjoying spiritual resurrection, the first resurrection. They are seated with Christ upon His throne, spiritually speaking. This period of time that we call the Church age will, therefore, be a period of progressing victory for the preaching of the gospel as nations come to have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and to live that faith out in their external affairs.

Someone might ask, if that happened at the first advent was there supposed to be a thousand years but we are going on two thousand years? What do we make of that? You must remember what I said about the nature of the book of Revelation. This is not newspaper reporting done in advance. This is a highly figurative book. There are many poetic images, figures of speech, symbols and so forth.

Therefore, we are not inclined to begin by reading the “one thousand” in a literal way anymore than we should read the one thousand literally when the Psalmist says the Lord owns the cattle on a thousand hills. Does that mean that God does not own the cattle on hill 1001, 1002 and so forth? Of course not. It is a way of speaking that talks about a long period of time or a great quantity. Likewise, the thousand- year reign of Jesus has begun, and it is set in contrast in John’s writing to a very short period for Satan at the end of history.

What Should We Expect to Take Place During this Thousand-Year Period?

We know that at the end of the thousand-year period Jesus will return in flaming fire from heaven and all men will be raised and be judged at that time. Consequently, a premillennial and dispensational understanding of the millennium are ruled out by our reading of the Bible. But what should we expect in this period of time before Jesus returns? This brings us to the question of whether we should take an amillennial or a postmillennial view of the Church age. Should we look upon the promises of God and the prosperity that is promised in the Bible as pertaining to heavenly or spiritual and hidden blessings within the Church, or should we see them as that as well as external and visible success for the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?

As postmillennialists, we believe we should see the kingdom of God advancing in this world spiritually and externally, and that we should continue to see that growth until the very end when Satan is loosed. To put it very simply, as postmillennialists, we believe the Great Commission is going to be fulfilled. Jesus, after His resurrection, appeared to His followers and said, “all power and all authority is Mine in heaven and on earth; go disciple the nations.” He did not say, “go witness to the nations.” He said, “make them disciples, followers of Mine, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe whatsoever I have commanded you.” Jesus expects the nations to not only be in the Church and to be baptized, but also to obey Him in all areas of life and in everything that He has taught. Then He says we can be sure that this will happen, because “Lo, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Moreover, if He has all power and authority in heaven and earth and is with us to the end of the age, there is then no reason for the Church not to complete the Great Commission.

This is really what it means to be a postmillennialist. We believe in the Great Commission; we believe it is going to be fulfilled. We believe the book of Revelation assures us of that. We believe that the teaching of the entire Bible coalesces to teach this view of history. We are now in the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and that kingdom is going to grow and grow as He builds His church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. That means the Church is going to see widespread success, long- range, over the ages. The Church is not only going to see people come to it in conversion, but it is also going to see people nurtured in the faith and living according to what Jesus has taught. Thus, we have better days ahead for us.

One reason biblical postmillennialism is worthy of consideration is that it does justice to two factors: one the premillennialists use against amillennialists and the other the amillennialists use against premillennialists. Postmillennialism is able to incorporate the strengths of both the other two positions. The strength of amillennialism is its understanding of the timing of God’s kingdom, that the millennium began at the first advent of Jesus Christ. At the end of the Church age there will be a general resurrection and a general judgment with no millennial kingdom after Jesus returns. That is its strength, and it has always urged that against premillennialism. On the other hand, the premillennialists turn around and urge against the amillennialists the visible and earthly successes for God’s kingdom, which are clearly promised in the Bible. Amillennialists are always at a disadvantage here because they end up having to do such gymnastics to explain how all these really powerful promises of kingdom success are being fulfilled today in a kind of invisible way or in heaven.

As postmillennialists, we can take the strengths of both positions. We can understand the visible earthly success of the kingdom and apply it to this present age. We can be premillennialists, at least when it is appropriate in terms of the understanding of the golden age, or semi-golden age, that has been promised by the Bible. At the same time, we can be amillennialists with respect to the timing of it. But in our day and age, there is so much garbage, so much misrepresentation, whether purposeful or not; so much misunderstanding of what the postmillennial position actually is, that it would be worthwhile to take a moment and lay out ten things that we believe as postmillennialists, since those who attack postmillennialists often portray them as not believing these sorts of things.

Ten Things Postmillennialists Believe

1. As postmillennialists we champion the inspiration, infallibility, and sole doctrinal authority of the Bible. We are not postmillennialists because we read the newspaper, this should be obvious. When we read the newspaper, how could we possibly have this kind of hope? We do not have it because the world is going so well.
2. We are not postmillennialists because we have some kind of understanding of man’s inherent goodness. Evangelical postmillennialists believe that fallen man is totally unable to do any saving good, cannot atone for his sins, and cannot become a member of the kingdom of God except through the redemptive work of the Savior and the regeneration work of the Holy Spirit. Postmillennialists do not have a high view of human nature. Sometimes we hear people say, “Well, I cannot be a postmillennialist because I do not believe man is that good.” Let me be clear. As a Calvinist I do not think that man is good at all, he is totally depraved. The Bible says man is spiritually dead, he is hopeless. He has to be born again if he will even see the kingdom of God. That has nothing to do with being a postmillennialist. If God can save one hopeless, dead, sinner, then He can save two, or four, or ten. In fact, if He wants to, He can save a hundred or a thousand. Saving millions or billions is no problem for Him if that is His choice. When all is said and done, if it does not rest in man, it all depends on what God wants to do. God can do whatever God wants to do. Is any work too hard for Jehovah? (Remember that question in the book of Genesis?) Of course not. If God chooses to do it, it can be done. We are not postmillennialists because we have a very high view of human nature. We have a very low view of human nature, but a very high view of God’s sovereignty. Because God is sovereign. He can even bring the dead to life spiritually.
3. Postmillennialists teach the glorious personal return of Jesus Christ at the end of history to judge the world. Postmillennialists do not deny the second coming or the visible return and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that at the end of history He is coming again and when He comes He will judge the world.
4. We insist that at His first advent, Jesus, the Son of God, came as the messianic mediatorial King and established His saving kingdom among men on earth. The Bible repeatedly speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ ascending to the right hand of God, where being enthroned as the King over all creation, He has been highly exalted. His name is honored above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that He is the Lord. (cf. Phil. 2; Acts 2; Eph. 1; Heb. 1.) We believe that Jesus presently is the King. As we saw in the previous chapter, Peter on the day of Pentecost declared that Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God in fulfillment of the promise to David, which was: “I will make your enemies the footstool of your feet.” And He has now entered into that reign.
5. Postmillennialists are painfully aware that those who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Church itself, those who belong to Him are appointed to suffering in this world. Inevitably, they will undergo persecution and they will undergo affliction in following the Savior who is their King. There is nothing in postmillennialism (contrary to what many people try to malign it as teaching), teaching a triumphalism that says, “Well, then Christians will never suffer.” No, it is a battle out there! “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). We know that it hurts to be a Christian and we are often mistreated. We know that Christians go through a number of emotional and spiritual difficulties as well as external difficulties and tribulation in this world. We do not deny that for a minute. We are in a battle until the Lord returns and sets everything right. What we do deny is that we are on the losing side of this battle.The United States won World War II, not by ourselves, but we were on the winning side. Does anybody think that this means no one from the United States ever suffered in World War II, or that we did not lose any soldiers along the way, or that nobody had a hard time of it? Of course not. Our soldiers suffered and the German soldiers suffered, and others as well. Do you get my point here? Anybody who goes to war is going to suffer—it is a battle. But that does not mean that both sides loose. One suffering side prevails and the other suffering side does not. As postmillennialists we are not denying the suffering—we are denying that we are going to lose—we are denying that we are on the wrong side of history. We affirm and we are aware in our own lives, very painfully, that if you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ you will undergo persecution. You will be afflicted in this world. So, we are not whistling in the dark or engaging in some kind of Pollyanna wishful thinking. That is not postmillennialism.
6. Postmillennialists believe that the gospel is to be preached to all nations by the Church prior to the second advent of Christ. Eventually, this will bring worldwide conversion. This is the Church’s calling from God. God did not give us a little minor commission, “Go out there and do your best to raise a witness in the world.” He said, “disciple the nations.” But Jesus, we cannot do it. He goes on to say, “I am with you always to the end of the age.” Of course, we can do it. God has called the Church to preach and to preach successfully. To preach until we see the world won to the Lord Jesus Christ.
7. Postmillennialism maintains that the victorious advance of Christ’s kingdom in this world will take place in terms of the present peaceful and spiritual power of the gospel, rather than through aradically different principle of operation, namely, physical force and earthly violence in order to subdue opposition.

   In the previous chapter I talked about premillennialism and dispensationalism. I said they have the timing wrong. But they also have a misconception of how the kingdom comes. According to the Bible, the kingdom of God does not come in this world through violence, and it does not come through physical threats and compulsion. On the dispensational and premillennial understanding, Jesus is going to come back with the tanks and bazookas. He is going to finally conquer this world. But you will find nothing in the Scripture to suggest this. How does Jesus conquer the nations according to Revelation 19? With a sword, right? But not a sword in His hand, it is a sword from His mouth. It is going to be preaching that changes men’s hearts. It is going to be the power of the Spirit. On the day of Pentecost there was no need for physical compulsion to make people bow the knee to the Lord Jesus. It was the power of the Holy Spirit that brought hearts to Him. As postmillennialists we believe that it is essential that we see the kingdom grow in terms of the present dispensation, using the present resources that are available to the Church, the spiritual power of the gospel, the Word of God being preached, and the Holy Spirit bringing conviction. We do not believe that God will conquer the world through revolutionary might. That means we do not call men to foment a rebellion. We do not call men to storehouse weapons so that we can finally take over the world in a flash of violence. The only way in which the kingdom of Jesus Christ is going to grow is going to be in terms of the character of the Prince Himself, who is the Prince of Peace.

8. Postmillennialism believes in the gradual growth and success of the kingdom of God by the power of the Holy Spirit working through the Church’s preaching of the gospel. We believe the preponderance of many nations and men will submit to Christ sometime in the future in gradual stages.
9. Postmillennialists are not committed to the view that each and every individual on earth is going to be saved. We do not believe that. The wheat and the tares will grow together until the end, as the Bible says. There will always be tares in this wheat field until the final judgment. Of course, it is good to remember that it is a wheat field, not a tare field. I am afraid other schools of theology look at the world as just being full of tares and a little bit of wheat is growing here and there. Our Savior’s vision is quite the opposite. He said this world is My wheat field, although there will be tares that have to be taken out to be sure.
10. Postmillennialists believe that there will be a final apostasy—a falling away just prior to the return of Christ. Satan will be loosed, and he will deceive the nations again. We can only speculate a bit as to why God is going to do it that way, but in the end, we are not obligated to explain the ways of God. He has not told us exactly why, but He has told us that this is what He is going to do and that upon that apostasy Jesus will return in judgment on the world.

Now you know what postmillennialists do believe.

Great Things Ahead

The Bible teaches us what Jesus expects to take place in history, and when all is said and done, should we not agree with Jesus? What does He think is going to happen in the Church age? In Hebrews 10:12 we read: “but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God.” When Jesus had finished His redemptive work, the Bible says He sat down at God’s right hand. Jesus ascended and was enthroned as the King over all creation. We read about this in several places in the New Testament. We also read about it in Psalm 110:1, where David says: “The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand,” until what?, “until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” You will reign from My right hand until all Your enemies have been put under foot. In Hebrews 1 we read that Jesus, having offered a sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God—verse 13 says, “waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.” This is exactly what the Old Testament had told us. What does Jesus expect to take place before He returns? He expected all of His enemies were to be subdued. If that is what Jesus looks forward to taking place, then it is going to happen. Consider Psalm 2:7-12:

I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, “You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron, You will shatter them like earthenware.” Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way.

Psalm 2:8, 10 says that Jehovah has declared this decree, “…ask Me and I will give you the nations for Your inheritance The kings and judges of the earth will serve You.” Men must kiss the Son or they will perish in the way. Jesus simply needs to ask. Now, will Jehovah break His promise? Would the Father lie to the Son? That is blasphemous to think of. So, Jesus only has to ask, and God will grant it. Do you think Jesus forgot to ask? Because the Bible tells us that if He asks, it is going to be given to Him.

Jehovah has decreed it. The nations will belong to Jesus Christ— the uttermost parts of the earth, the kings and judges of the earth will serve Him or else they will perish in the way. What does Jesus expect to take place during the Church age? He expects His enemies to be made the footstool of His feet. All He has to do is ask. As David said, “The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet” (Ps. 110:1).

Tying it Together

Let us bring this all together and incorporate the question of timing for the kingdom of God by looking at 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 where Paul says:

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order.

Paul now starts giving us the order in which these things will happen—each in his own order— Christ the first fruits. Jesus’ resurrection was first—He began the harvest—He is the first fruit. In the Old Testament the first fruit offering is given from the very beginning of the harvest as a way of thanking God for the whole harvest that is coming in. Next in order are those who belong to Christ at His coming. When will we be raised from the dead? Paul says when Jesus comes back.

Next comes a thousand-year reign on earth when He will finally subdue his enemies. Is that what your Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15:24-26? No, Jesus was raised from the dead in the past. When He comes back, we will be raised from the dead. Then comes the end. When He raises us from the dead, at that point He will deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father. What will have happened by then? When He will have abolished all rule and all authority and power. “Then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death.” When will death be abolished? What will be the open visible sign that death no longer has dominion over us? When our bodies are raised from the dead. Paul tells us that death will be abolished at the resurrection and that will be the last enemy that Jesus subdues. He will reign until every enemy has been put under His feet. The last enemy is going to be subdued when we are raised from the dead. When will He raise us from the dead? When He comes. Then comes the end. If you want to put together a chart of redemptive history, this is the passage you need to turn to. Forget the dispensational charts; they have it all wrong. Jesus is now reigning! He has already been raised from the dead. He is ruling from God’s right hand, and He will continue reigning until every enemy has been subdued. Finally, He will subdue our last enemy—death—when He comes back and raises us from the dead. That will be the end!

At that time, He will take the kingdom and deliver it to the Father as a complete whole. He will have consummated His work of redemption and will turn it over to the Father. That is why I am a postmillennialist—because the Bible requires me to believe that Jesus expects, and God has promised, that every enemy will be subdued before He comes back. The millennium is prior to His coming. To put it another way, His coming is after the millennium. That is why I am a postmillennialist. I believe that the nature of the millennium is one of His reigning while every enemy is being subdued under his feet.

The Nature of His Reign on Earth

The Bible teaches us that Jesus will subdue all His enemies under His feet. Nevertheless, some of the things the Bible says about this golden age of Christ’s kingdom on earth cannot be applied to the period after He comes back, cannot be applied to the consummation, and cannot be applied to the new heavens and the new earth. For example, in Psalm 22:27, the psalmist says, “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn unto Jehovah; and all the kindreds of the nations will worship before thee” (ASV). We know that this cannot take place after Christ comes back because after Christ comes back and separates the sheep from the goats there will be no more opportunity for conversion. Yet, the Psalmist says there is going to be a day when all the ends of the earth are converted to Jehovah. So, at least that prophecy must pertain to the period before Jesus comes back.

In Psalm 2, we see that there is still oppression that Jesus will deal with. He must break them with a rod of iron. Therefore, it is not a period after which the new heavens and the new earth have been established wherein righteousness dwells, and the sheep and the goats have been separated and all that is offensive has been cast into hell. It is a period when there is still some kind of opposition to the Lord Jesus—opposition that can be told “kiss the Son” or else perish in the way.

In Psalm 72, where David refers to the coming kingdom of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, he speaks of there being enemies of the king present—those who would oppress the righteous. He talks about the rule of this blessed King that is coming, His reign being until the moon shines no more. That must mean that He is reigning while the moon is shining. It is during this period of history that David is talking about the reign of his greater Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. In Isaiah 2, the prophet Isaiah tells us that in that day, Mount Zion will be lifted above the hills, the Church will be exalted, and all nations will flow into it. We know that when they flow into it, the law of God will be taught. They will not learn war anymore. Notice that it is possible that they could be using their energy for warlike purposes, but instead, being converted, they will want to hear the law of God as their instruction instead.

In Isaiah 65, Isaiah talks about that great day of the new heavens and the new earth, and he says in that day a person who dies at 100 will be considered an infant, a child, who has died prematurely. He is talking about a time when there will be death but because of the blessing of God on His people, life spans will be so extended that dying at 100, you are considered dying as a child. No one is going to die in the new heavens and the new earth, so Isaiah could not be talking about that—the new heavens and the new earth after the consummation anyway. Therefore, we must believe that God has begun the new creation even now, for if any man is in Christ Jesus, he is a new creation. Jesus has already begun that process in history, and Isaiah says it is going to lead to expanded lifetimes for us as well.

There are things that are said in the Bible which cannot possibly be applied to the post- consummation kingdom of God. They must be applied to history. Among those things that are said that must be applied to history are all the images in the Old Testament about growth of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is not going to grow after Jesus has come at His second coming and has consummated it and turned over the kingdom to the Father. If He turns it over to the Father and it continues to grow, He did not finish His work. Paul said He is going to turn it over to the Father because it will be complete and yet the Bible says that we are going to see growth for the kingdom of God.

Biblical Examples

To put things in context, consider Isaiah 9:6: “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” Now look at verse 7: “There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.” When is the throne of David established? When is the Davidic kingdom established? We have already seen from Acts 2 that this was fulfilled in the resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ—The increase of His government will never stop— “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.” We must know that God is zealous to get this done. God has made a decree to His Son, “Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession” (Ps. 2:8). Therefore, we expect that when the Davidic kingdom is established— and it has been in the resurrection, and in the ascension of Christ—that now this kingdom will grow and grow and grow.

Come to Daniel the second chapter, where Daniel is interpreting for King Nebuchadnezzar his dream of this idol—this image that has four different sections in it. Daniel 2:35, “Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.” There is going to be a stone that destroys these world empires and then it is going to grow, and it is going to consume the entire earth—it is going to fill the earth. Daniel 2:44-45 continues:

In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.

There is no doubt about this, the kingdom of God is going to come, and the Roman Empire, which is the final one of these kingdoms, is going to be crushed to powder by it. It will be blown away by the winds of history, and that stone will grow and grow and grow, and it will consume the earth. This is what the Old Testament leads us to expect. “There will be no end to the increase of His government” (Is. 9:7).

As Isaiah 54:2 says, we will have to “lengthen the tentlines”—enlarge your tent—because now the nations are going to be brought in. Ezekiel 47 says there will be an ever-deepening stream that flows from the holy of holies, or as Jesus tells us in the kingdom parables of Matthew 13:31-32, His kingdom is like a mustard seed that begins very small but grows to be one of the largest of bushes or trees. It would be like leaven, that though it is just miniscule in its quantity in the beginning, nevertheless effects the entire lump of dough as it is baking. The kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is to grow and grow and grow—larger and larger and larger. It is to permeate all of life and all of the world, and all the nations will finally be consumed in it.

This is what the Bible says. It is really just a question of whether we can believe the Bible. I have to put it to you just that bluntly, because when I tell people I am a postmillennialist, they will tell me these things cannot happen. But God can do anything He wants. Nothing is too hard for Him. The real question is, has God promised to do this? It seems we have seen plenty from what we have read in the Bible—it indicates that God has every intention of doing this. The Great Commission is going to be fulfilled.

What kind of success should we expect to see in terms of this growing kingdom where Jesus makes every enemy the footstool of His feet prior to His return, raising us from the dead, and bringing the end of history to bear. The Bible tells us that the success that we are going to see is all encompassing, just as broad as the scope of sin. If Jesus came into this world to deal with the problem of sin, then we should believe that His kingdom deals with sin in all of its manifestations. Jesus did not come into the world simply to save our souls for all eternity. Praise God He did that—this is where it all begins to be sure. Nevertheless, Jesus also wants to defeat Satan and the effects of sin in every area of life. Has Satan been active in politics? Has he been active in economic affairs? Has he been active in the arts and sciences, in industry, in family life, in sexual matters? On and on we go. Has sin not infiltrated all of the nooks and crannies of life?

Jesus comes to make His blessings flow as far as the curse is found. As far as the curse of sin has affected this world the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is going to reverse that. Therefore, Jesus is going to reverse the curse in politics, He is going to reverse the curse when it comes to our sexual affairs, our family affairs, our financial affairs, our artistic affairs, our industrial affairs. It makes no difference. If sin has touched it, Jesus is going to deal with it. 1 Timothy 4:8 tells us: “…godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” The godliness that is instituted by the powerful reign of our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, is profitable for everything in the present world. Jesus said, “all power and authority in heaven and on earth is Mine.” And what did He teach us to pray? Do you remember when the disciples went to Him and said, “Jesus, show us how to pray.” He said you should pray in this manner, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come” (Matt. 6:9-10). And this is explained in the next line, “Thy will be done.” Where is God’s will supposed to be done? “On earth as it is in heaven.” That is what we should be praying for. We should all be postmillennialists on our knees. We should be praying that the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will permeate all areas of life so that God’s will would be done on earth, just as perfectly, just as consistently, just as thoroughly, as it is in heaven above.

Summary

The kingdom of God is going to break the power of sin wherever there is defection from the will of God. Wherever God’s will is not being done the kingdom’s coming breaks the power of sin there. Therefore, fundamentally the success for the kingdom that we look forward to, biblically, is going to be found in mankind returning to faith. According to Psalm 22, there will be worldwide conversion. Isaiah 11:9 tells us that “the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” God one day flooded the world in judgment in the days of Noah. He now, in the days of Christ, is flooding the world with the knowledge of Him in salvation. How thorough will it be? Is it adequate for us to say there is always going to be a few converts here and there—a few righteous remnants in this city and that, in this country and that? No! The knowledge of the Lord is going to cover the earth in the same way that the water covers the sea. How does the water cover the sea? In little puddles, a little puddle here, a little puddle there? No! The water inundates the sea. Isaiah says this is what we should expect—the knowledge of the Lord is going to be just that thorough. It will flood the world.

Moreover, Jesus, in Matthew 28, does not hesitate to call on us to baptize the nations. Psalm 72 says the righteous will flourish in His day. It is not going to be these yahoos that we have in Washington now that are going to flourish, not these wicked evil people who flourish in the media, that sing songs and make movies and draw people away from righteousness, but the righteous will flourish in His day.

Paul tells us in Romans 11:11 that the day is coming when Israel, seeing how God has blessed the Gentile world—has blessed it so abundantly—Israel will be provoked to jealousy. Israel too, will turn to the Savior. Paul says if the blessing is so great even before the Jews turn to embrace the Savior, what will it be after they turn, but like life from the dead for the world. That is what the Bible looks forward to: Jews and Gentiles alike turning in mass to the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is going to be a visible, numerical increase of believers. There is going to be personal peace with God, piety, assurance of our calling, and wholeness in our lives. This is going to bring a blessed purification and expansion of the Church. In Malachi 1:11, the prophet Malachi says the day is coming when a pure offering will be offered to Jehovah. No longer this weak and ineffective and impure worship that has been offered, but in that day a pure offering, and God will be worshipped from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof. There will not be a place on planet earth where Jehovah is not purely worshipped. That is great! This is not wishful thinking; this is not something we have made up; this does not come from watching the 6 o’clock news. Only God could give us something this wonderful, this blessed.

These Promises are God’s Own Word

He calls on us to believe His promises. If there is going to be widespread conversion, a growing kingdom, a completion of the Great Commission, then of course there must be secondarily success seen in the moral improvement and consecration of vital areas of earthly life and conduct to the Lord. Psalm 72 speaks of charity being shown to the poor and of those who are being oppressed being relieved. It speaks of justice in our laws and justice in our courts. Isaiah 2 speaks of a turning away from warfare. Isaiah 65, of the expansion of lifespans, Revelation 21:24 speaks of kings who have been converted now honoring Christ and coming into the new Jerusalem. There is going to be a subduing of the earth to God’s glory, and we are going to see the kingdom of Jesus Christ come to expression in medicine, in technology, in the arts, in economics, in politics, in our courts, in our families, in our schools. Indeed Zechariah 14:20 tells us very nicely what it will be like in that day when the Lord is King over all the earth, Zechariah says, “In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO THE LORD”—upon the bells of the horses—the least significant detail of life—that final touch that you do when you take a horse out on parade day, and you put bells on its bridle, even those bells will serve the glory of God in that day. How much more everything else?

That is what the Bible tells us to look forward to. That is what Jesus says must take place because He said, “…I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Matt. 16:18). In Revelation 11:15 we read that, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our

Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” This is why I believe there is a bright hope for the future.”