This is a sermon manuscript written for Reformation OPC (AZ) to be preached on Sunday, May 30, 2021
Introduction
In this lesson I want to bind your conscience, not in an unbiblical way, but to bind it as it always should be bound: by what Scripture requires us to believe. Many people seem to think eschatology is an area of theology that is left entirely up to the individual. Believe whatever you like, because what the Bible says is so obscure as to be impossible for us to understand alike. You have your convictions, and I have mine, and that’s just the way it will have to be because we can’t expect any more unity than that.
Of course, orthodox Christians understand there are certain doctrinal minimums on which we all must agree. Jesus will return to the earth someday. He will raise the dead. There will be a day of judgment in which all men will answer to God. Those who trust in Christ will be saved and live forever in glory. The wicked will be cast into Hell to suffer eternal punishment. The Lord will judge the world with fire and a new heavens and earth will be established where God will dwell with his people forever. We might call these the eschatological minimums on which all Christians who are orthodox in their doctrine and faithful to Scripture agree.
Beyond these minimums, however, there seems to be almost no agreement. Will Jesus return prior to or after the thousand year reign? Will there be signs of his return? Will the thousand years actually be a thousand years, or is that merely a symbolic description of a long period? Will Jesus reign during the thousand years on earth or in heaven? To what extent will believers share in that thousand year reign? Will our participation be visible or invisible, physical or only spiritual? Will there be a Great Tribulation prior to that thousand years? Has such a Tribulation already taken place, or are we still waiting? Will the Church be on earth during the Tribulation? How many resurrections will there be? I would be happy to settle all of these questions for you. I believe all of them have answers in the Bible. But many people who agree the Bible gives clear answers would not agree with what I think the Scriptures clearly teach!
Herein lies the problem. We are not approaching Scripture neutrally. We cannot. There is no reason we should. We all have certain biases, certain presuppositions, that affect our reading and interpretation of God’s Word. For example, I believe the Bible is God’s Word, that it is inspired, infallible, and authoritative for faith and life. Those are presuppositions. I happen to think they are good presuppositions, valid conclusions with good evidence to support them. But I am not coming to the Bible as an unbiased and indifferent reader; neither are you. We have other presuppositions when we read eschatological texts. Besides the aforementioned eschatological minimums, many people also assume: the world is going to get worse and worse, the Church will have less and less influence, the Gospel will seem to lose its power to convert people, and finally things will get so bad that the Lord will either extract the Church in a sudden Rapture rescue mission or return in order to accomplish by fire what he could not accomplish by the Spirit’s Sword, i.e. subduing his enemies. This is what many people assume as they read Bible prophecy. This is the lens through which they read the Bible (and the news). And if you read prophetic texts with these assumptions, you will draw certain conclusions. That doesn’t mean these assumptions are wrong; it only means we need to be aware of what assumptions we have as we read Scripture and seek to be sure our assumptions are actually biblical, lest they cause us to misread what God has said.
In this lesson I have a small goal: I want to convince you that no matter your eschatological position, your perspective ought to be optimistic. This is not because I am, by nature, an optimist. I am not. But I do believe many Christians have a pessimistic (they might say realistic) bias when they read Bible prophecies, and I want to challenge and overthrow that view. To do that might require us to work through a dozen or more texts people think support a pessimistic eschatology, or I could set before you the more than a dozen texts that absolutely require us not to be pessimistic about the future of this world and the influence of the Gospel. But instead I am simply going to take you to one text, Isaiah 35, and try to show you why what is said in this passage (and so many others like it) actually requires us to be hopeful about the future, even if we don’t yet agree on everything that will happen in that future prior to Jesus’ return.
A Summary of Eschatological Perspectives
We’re using several big words--words some pastors say shouldn’t be used in the pulpit, but words that you will hear a lot at ROPC. I want to be sure you understand what these words mean as we begin.
Eschatology is the study of last things or the end. This includes things we mentioned before like the nature of the world before the Day of Judgment, the millennium, the return of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the eternal state (i.e. heaven and hell). We could say that eschatology concerns what the Bible tells us about the future, how this present world will come to an end and what will happen prior to its end until all the saints live in glory with Christ.
The millennium is the thousand years when Christian martyrs reign with Christ. Believers do not all agree on how many times or places the Bible refers to this thousand years, but it is only explicitly named as a thousand years in one passage, Revelation 20:4: And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. That’s the only verse in the Bible that tells us specifically about the millennium. Every other verse that refers to the millennium is disputed by someone.
Christians have various views of this thousand years and when Jesus will return in relation to it, and this gives us more terminology you need to understand. Premillennialists believe Jesus will return before (pre-) the thousand years. Postmillennialists believe Jesus will return after (post-) the thousand years. Amillennialists are a kind of postmillennialist. They believe Jesus will return after the thousand years. But they are called amillennialists because they believe the thousand years is symbolic of the Church Age, not a literal thousand years, and not necessarily of period of great triumph for the Gospel among the nations, but simply the period during which Christ reigns invisibly over his Church from the time of his ascension until his return prior to Judgment Day.
Terms are supposed to be helpful in understanding key ideas, but that’s not always the case. For example, amillennialism suggests there will not (a-) be a thousand year reign, but that is not what amillennialists believe. Furthermore, most postmillennialists agree that the thousand years is symbolic of the Church Age and not literally one thousand years. The difference between the two groups is primarily over how much influence the Gospel will have during that period between the ascension and Jesus’ return, and there is not even perfect agreement among postmillennialists (or amillennialists) on that. Instead of being helpful, these terms sometimes cause us to talk past each other. (I’m still waiting for an amillennial candidate for licensure to come through the Credentials Committee who can accurately describe postmillennialism.) We make assumptions about other positions that are not always true. There are even optimistic amillennialists, which historically would simply be known as postmillennialists, but because of assumptions about postmillennialism, those with a more optimistic bent feel the need to create another category. There are even Christians who simply adopt what they think is a more spiritual (or necessary) eschatological agnosticism. They don’t know what the Bible says about the future beyond a few minimums and they don’t seem to care. They are pan-millennialists because they simply assume it will all pan out in the end! We can do better than this. We ought to.
An Overview of Isaiah 35
We don’t have time to fully unpack Isaiah 35 in this lesson, nor is that our purpose. But I want to quickly survey the chapter and give you a sense of it so that you can see how it (and many other texts like it) ought to inform our overall eschatological perspective.
The preceding chapter describes the day of Yahweh’s vengeance. Specifically the passage identifies Edom as the target of God’s wrath (34:5-6), but the context makes it plain this prophecy is about God’s greater judgment of the world (34:2). This is not necessarily the final day on which God will judge the world, though it anticipates that, but it is a description of God’s judgment of the enemies of his people so that his saints will be vindicated and the cause of truth and the heavenly kingdom would be established (34:8).
Come near, you nations, to hear; And heed, you people! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, The world and all things that come forth from it. For the indignation of the Lord is against all nations, And His fury against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to the slaughter. Also their slain shall be thrown out; Their stench shall rise from their corpses, And the mountains shall be melted with their blood. All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; All their host shall fall down As the leaf falls from the vine, And as fruit falling from a fig tree. “For My sword shall be bathed in heaven; Indeed it shall come down on Edom, And on the people of My curse, for judgment. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, It is made overflowing with fatness, With the blood of lambs and goats, With the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, And a great slaughter in the land of Edom. The wild oxen shall come down with them, And the young bulls with the mighty bulls; Their land shall be soaked with blood, And their dust saturated with fatness.” For it is the day of the LORD’s vengeance, The year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
(Isaiah 34:1-8)
It is after this judgment that we see the blessing, fruitfulness, and glory described in chapter 35. The earth shall rejoice and blossom in the light of Yahweh’s glory (35:1-2). The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will leap, the mute will sing, and the desert will be filled with streams (35:5-7). A highway of holiness will be established where no unclean or wicked person will be allowed to pass but where even a simple person (a fool) can travel safely without fear of beasts or bandits (35:8-9), and those whom God has redeemed will travel on that road all the way to Zion with songs of gladness and everlasting joy, and all their sorrow and sighing will be over (35:10).
Now when would this chapter be fulfilled? How you answer that question will depend on your eschatological presuppositions. If you are a premillennialist, you will read it one way; if you are a postmillennialist, you will read it another way; and if you are an amillennialist, you may read it in still another way. Conservative Christians say they believe in the clarity of Scripture, but when it comes to eschatology we seem to think that what the Bible says is so obscure that we will never be able to agree! Isaiah 35 isn’t going to settle anything in terms of the millennium, but it should have a major impact on our eschatological perspective.
This chapter is describing in vivid, poetic terms the blessing that the Messiah would bring to the world. We know this because of how Jesus describes his own ministry.
And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” (Matt. 11:2-6)
Jesus alludes to Isaiah 35 (and other passages like it) in telling the messengers of John this is what Isaiah was talking about. The ministry of Christ was bringing the renewal and glory which our text describes in poetic terms. At the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus announced: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38). Where did the Scripture prophesy this? Here in Isaiah 35: For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert (v.6).
What did Jesus accomplish by his life, death, and resurrection? What was the result of his ministry? The earth has been filled and is being renewed by the light of Yahweh’s glory (35:1-2). Those blinded by sin now see God in the person of Christ. The deaf hear the Gospel and believe. Those made lame by sin now leap with new strength and joy. Those whose voices were silenced now sing. The desert has been filled with streams as the Holy Spirit has been poured out upon the Church (35:5-7). A highway of holiness has been established, and the redeemed of God travel that road all the way to Zion with songs of gladness and everlasting joy (35:10). There are still many trials and sorrows which the Church must endure, but this is the spiritual reality actualized by the Gospel. This is life in the kingdom of God. This is the fruit of Christ’s work. We are not merely waiting for restoration and joy; we have it right now, and we have it because of the Lord.
Now in saying Isaiah 35 describes the blessings of Christ and the kingdom of God which began during the Lord’s earthly ministry does not mean that is the end of its fulfillment. Christ has begun to bring these blessings to the world, and they will continue to increase and abound until we finally reach the full consummation which Scripture promises in the eternal state. This is how John Calvin interpreted the passage, and we have good grounds for doing the same.
“The Lord began some kind of restoration when he brought his people out of Babylon; but that was only a slight foretaste, and, therefore, I have no hesitation in saying that this passage, as well as others of a similar kind, must refer to the kingdom of Christ; and in no other light could it be viewed, if we compare it to other prophecies. By ‘the kingdom of Christ,’ I mean not only that which is begun here, but that which shall be completed at the last day, which on that account is called ‘the day of renovation and restoration,’ (Acts 3:21;) because believers will never find perfect rest till that day arrive. And the reason why the prophets speak of the kingdom of Christ in such lofty terms is, that they look at that end when the true happiness of believers, shall be most fully restored.” --John Calvin, Commentary on Isaiah Vol. 3, s.v. 35:1
This is what we sometimes call the already, not yet aspect of eschatology. Already these blessings of redemption and renewal have come to the world, but not yet in the fullness we will one day see.
Applying an Isaiah 35 Paradigm to Eschatology
It does not matter what your eschatological position may be, Isaiah 35 is in your Bible, and it should make a (profound) difference in your eschatological perspective. I’m not concerned in this lesson what you believe about the thousand year reign or when Jesus will return in relation to it or what else we can expect to happen before and after that period. I want you to see that no matter what you think about those questions, Isaiah 35 (and many others) should change your perspective about where we are, where we’re headed, and what God is doing in the world right now.
If you assume the world is going to hell in a handbasket, then you will find many reasons on the news and social media to confirm your bias. Admittedly, the situation we find ourselves in is serious. We are not minimizing the hatred, hostility, violence, and embrace of totalitarian ideology that appears to be rising in the western world. Some people are watching the news and reading the tea leaves and think they are seeing the fulfillment of prophecy. Whatever is going on, we know it is ultimately under the supervision and sovereign providence of the Lord of heaven and earth.
But regardless of what any political party or government or tech platform may do, Isaiah 35 is still in your Bible, and it is still true. It might be that the earth is being removed, mountains are falling into the sea, the waters are roaring and troubled, the mountains are shaking and swelling (cf. Psa. 46:1-3), in other words, the peoples of the world are raging as the present age passes away and the strongholds of this present, evil world fall apart. But still it is true that there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn (Psa. 46:4-5). The (wicked) world may be falling apart, but the Church is traveling the highway of holiness, and the kingdom of glory is not falling apart but falling into place. This is our confidence and peace.
“God not only begins, but conducts to the end, the work of our salvation, that his grace in us may not be useless and unprofitable. As he opens up the way, so he paves it, and removes obstacles of every description, and is himself the leader during the whole journey. In short, he continues his grace towards us in such a manner that he at length brings it to perfection. And this ought to be applied to the whole course of our life. Here we walk as on a road, moving forward to that blessed inheritance. Satan presents numerous obstructions, and dangers surround us on every side; but the Lord, who goes before and leads us by the hand, will not leave us in the midst of the journey, but at length will perfectly finish what he has begun in us by his Spirit…. Yet the godly often suffer heavy distresses, and are not exempt from grief. This is undoubtedly true, but they are not overwhelmed; for they look straight towards God, by whose power they become victorious, just as if a person, elevated on a lofty mountain, looking at the sun, and enjoying his brightness, beheld others in a low valley, surrounded by clouds and darkness, whom that brightness could not reach.” --John Calvin
Pastoral Application: Stop Being Puddleglum
I hope you know who Puddleglum is. If you don’t, be sure to pick up a copy of The Silver Chair this week. It’s Book Four in The Chronicles of Narnia. (If your set has The Silver Chair as Book Six, be sure to fix the order.) Puddleglum is a Marshwiggle. He lived all alone in a marsh. He had “a long thin face with rather sunken cheeks, a tightly shut mouth, a sharp nose, and no beard.” He wore “a high, pointed hat like a steeple, with an enormously wide flat brim.” His “hair, if it could be called hair, which hung over [his] large ears was greeny-grey, and each lock was flat rather than round, so that they were like tiny reeds.” His “expression was solemn, [his] complexion muddy, and you could see at once that [he] took a serious view of life.” You get a sense of his character when he greets Jill and Scrubb the morning after they arrive at his wigwam.
“Good morning, Guests…. Though when I say good I don’t mean it won’t probably turn to rain or it might be snow, or fog, or thunder. You didn’t get any sleep at all, I dare say.”
“Yes we did, though,” said Jill. “We had a lovely night.”
“Ah,” said the Marsh-wiggle, shaking his head. “I see you’re making the best of a bad job. That’s right. You’ve been well brought up, you have. You’ve learned to put a good face on things.”
When Jill and Scrubb ask Puddleglum if he can help them find Prince Rilian, he replies:
“Well, I don’t know that you’d call it help…. I don’t know that anyone can exactly help. It stands to reason we’re not likely to get very far on a journey to the North, not at this time of the year, with the winter coming on soon and all. And an early winter too, by the look of things. But you mustn’t let that make you downhearted. Very likely, what with enemies, and mountains, and rivers to cross, and losing our way, and next to nothing to eat, and sore feet, we’ll hardly notice the weather. And if we don’t get far enough to do any good, we may get far enough not to get back in a hurry.”
It’s hard to know whether Puddleglum was evaluating the likely success of the children’s quest or summarizing many Christians’ perspective on gospel ministry in the present age. The sad thing is that, like Puddleglum, many believers seem to think this sort of realism is more spiritual than the cheerfulness and hopefulness which Isaiah 35 might otherwise impart.
“Don’t you lose heart…. I’m coming, sure and certain. I’m not going to lose an opportunity like this. It will do me good. They all say--I mean, the other wiggles all say--that I’m too flighty; don’t take life seriously enough. If they’ve said it once, they’ve said it a thousand times. ‘Puddleglum,’ they’ve said, ‘you’re altogether too full of bobance and bounce and high spirits. You’ve got to learn that life isn’t all fricasseed frogs and eel pie. You want something to sober you down a bit. We’re only saying it for your own good, Puddleglum.’ That’s what they say. Now a job like this--a journey up north just as winter’s beginning, looking for a Prince that probably isn’t there, by way of a ruined city that no one has ever seen--will be just the thing. If that doesn’t steady a chap, I don’t know what will.”
It’s not spiritual to be like Brother Puddleglum. Our perspective ought not to be determined by the dangers we perceive or the probabilities of failure but, rather, by the promises of God. These promises are not only of future glory, as great as that will be. They are promises about our present experience, the life we live in the world right now. Scriptures commands us to have a cheerful, hopeful, optimistic perspective on eschatology.
Strengthen the weak hands,
And make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who are fearful-hearted,
“Be strong, do not fear!
Behold, your God will come with vengeance,
With the recompense of God;
He will come and save you.” (Isaiah 35:3-4)
“Those that by faith are made citizens of the gospel Zion may go on their way rejoicing (Acts viii. 39); they shall sing in the ways of the Lord, and be still praising him. They rejoice in Christ Jesus, and the sorrows and signs of their convictions are made to flee away by the power of divine consolations. Those that mourn are blessed, for they shall be comforted…. Our joyful hopes and prospects of eternal life should swallow up both all the sorrows and all the joys of this present time.” --Matthew Henry, Commentary, s.v. Isaiah 35:10
Conclusion
We may disagree on the nature, location, and duration of the millennium. We may disagree on what Christ will do before and after that thousand year period. We may disagree on the extent to which the Gospel will influence, transform, and finally overcome all the kingdoms of this world. But what we ought not to disagree on is that the Gospel is and will have that effect. Judgment has begun, and though the peoples of the earth rage, their mountain fortresses are collapsing. In the end only the mountain of God will remain. The Lord has brought life and light, healing and hope, joy and fruitfulness to this sin-cursed world, and though we still live as pilgrims, we are traveling the highway of holiness that leads all the way to Zion. We need not fear any lions we meet along the way. We will not miss a turn or fail to reach our destination.
And the ransomed of the LORD shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness,
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
--JME
