The Beauty and Glory of the Last Things

The Beauty and Glory

of the Last Things

Edited by

Joel R. Beeke

Reformation Heritage Books

Grand Rapids, Michigan

The Beauty and Glory of the Last Things

Copyright © 2019 Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Direct your requests to the publisher at the following address:

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With heartfelt appreciation for

Ronald Kalifungwa and Conrad Mbewe

dear Zambian brothers and good friends,

able preachers and pastors,

and former speakers at the PRTS Conference.

—JRB

Contents

Preface

Scriptural Studies

1. The Day of the Lord: Escaping the Inescapable (Zephaniah 1–2)—Michael P. V. Barrett

2. The Number of the Sealed (Revelation 7)—David Strain

3. The Last Battle (Revelation 19:11–20:15)—David Strain

4. Beauty and Glory in Isaiah and Revelation 21—Daniel C. Timmer

Topical Studies

5. The Signs of the Times—David P. Murray

6. Heaven on Earth—Derek W. H. Thomas

7. Jesus Believed in Hell: The Modern Christian’s Dilemma—Derek W. H. Thomas

Historical Studies

8. The Beauty and Glory of the Puritan Millennium—Greg A. Salazar

9. Jonathan Edwards: Surprised by the Beauty and Glory of God—Adriaan C. Neele

10. Thomas Boston on the Last Things—William VanDoodewaard

Experiential Studies

11. The Marriage of Christ and His Church—Joel R. Beeke

12. The Final Victory (1 Corinthians 15)—Gerald M. Bilkes

Contributors

Preface

We live in a challenging cultural moment; there are reasons for great alarm and concern in society around us and it’s easy to lose heart. We are daily surrounded by the ugly and the unthinkable, by the vain and the vanishing. We dare not join the world in its discordant anthem of rebellion against God—in the evil thoughts, words, and actions of a self-asserting, fallen humanity. Yet even as we say no to ungodliness, we cannot avoid being stung by the discouragement of living in a fallen world. The Christian hope of the last things, so wonderfully disclosed in the Scriptures and so certainly embodied in our risen Savior, is a beacon of beauty and glory shining on our way as we traverse the ugly and the gloomy.

Suffice it to say that there are few things more important than the theme of the last things for faithfully living the Christian life: Nothing fills the Christian’s heart with more joy than the anticipation of seeing Christ face to face and joining Him in His eternal glory. Sadly, there are few themes more abused, misunderstood, and misapplied by believer and unbeliever alike. What are the signs of the last times and what do they mean? What will heaven be like? How does the Bible describe hell? These questions require biblically-informed, practical, and reverent treatment, especially in the face of a kaleidoscope of far-flung opinions the world presents us with. There is a heaven that awaits; there is a hell that we must flee; there is a victory of Christ in the world by the gospel.

At the Puritan Reformed Conference held in August 2019, we glimpsed afresh the beauty and glory of the last things. We benefited greatly from the combined wisdom and experience of professors and ministers who have unfolded the captivating and transforming truths of the last things. This book presents conference messages that so satisfyingly fed the souls of those in attendance.

The first part of this book provides scriptural studies on the last things. It begins with Michael Barrett’s stirring message on the Day of the Lord from Zephaniah 1–2, in which, after depicting the terror and imminence of that Day, he calls us to flee not from the Judge, but toward the Judge, for He extends mercy to repentant sinners. This is followed by two messages from David Strain, the first one explaining what John’s vision of the number of the sealed in Revelation 7 teaches us about the unspeakable joy that awaits us in Emmanuel’s land. Strain’s second message, on the last battle in Revelation 19:11–20:15, helps us see our daily life in the world with new eyes, as the arena of Christ’s final victory. Finally, Daniel Timmer’s incisive message on John’s use of Isaiah in Revelation 21–22 gives us a sense of the beauty and glory of the new creation while providing clear biblical-theological principles to help us appreciate the striking unity between the Testaments.

Three topical studies comprise the second part of this book, the first being David Murray’s practical look at the characteristics of the signs of the times, the perils of misinterpreting them, and what they mean for us today. Derek Thomas provides the next two messages. In the first, he describes the heaven that awaits us and that we hope for, and in the second, he outlines the biblical teaching on hell, especially from the lips of Jesus, while providing arguments against annihilationism.

The third part of the book gives us three historical studies. First, Greg Salazar’s fascinating paper argues that the Puritans framed the eschatological statements of the Westminster Standards with a conscientious conservatism that enabled generations of believers who held differing millennial views to maintain unity. Let us follow the humble charity and unity modeled by the Puritans of the Westminster Assembly. Then, Adrian Neele gives us an inspiring analysis of the thoughts, journals, and sermons of Jonathan Edwards, revealing that, for Edwards, the themes of the beauty and glory of God, the Christian life, and the last things were a common and constant ever-developing thread of devotion. Thirdly, William VanDoodewaard’s address on Thomas Boston shows us how a seasoned shepherd, through his sermons and journal entries, prepared both himself and his congregation for the appointment that no one can miss, by reminding himself, and us, of the interest we have in the covenant of grace through Christ.

In part four of this book we have two experiential studies. First, Joel Beeke gives us a panorama of the beauty and glory of the marriage supper of the lamb in Revelation 19:7–9, revealing that Christ, who makes heaven heavenly, is the one to whom we may one day be married in the greatest wedding of all time. May Christ, the centerpiece of heaven, be the centerpiece of our hearts! Finally, Gerald Bilkes’s message on 1 Corinthians 15 gives us a taste and an expectation of the final victory, when the last Adam at the last trumpet defeats the last enemy. How wonderful and encouraging it is to have our hearts filled with the promise of Christ’s victory and of the glory that awaits!

SCRIPTURAL STUDIES

CHAPTER 1

The Day of the Lord: Escaping the Inescapable (Zephaniah 1–2)

Michael P. V. Barrett

There are some texts in the Bible that leave us with happy consideration. There are some texts that the poorest of preachers can expound and transport hearers into the heavenly places. The great gospel themes of salvation deserve the attention of faithful preaching. But there is another side of the gospel that is never easy to preach and is often unpopular to pulpit and pew alike. But it is a vital message that highlights and intensifies the beauty of saving grace. God’s sovereign love for sinners is understood to be all the more gracious in the light of His just wrath and judgment of sinners. It is on this hard word of judgment that I want to focus our thoughts in this address. We must understand that the way and end of transgressors is hard. Those outside of Christ must heed the warning of certain doom and flee to Christ. Those who know the safe refuge of grace must be ever grateful and increasingly diligent to see others enter the stronghold of grace and flee the wrath to come.

Our text is from Zephaniah—not a household name among the prophets, but one whose recorded pedigree is traced back to the good king Hezekiah. He preached during the reign of Josiah, king of Judah (Zeph. 1:1), in an era of corruption. After the forgotten reforms of Hezekiah, Zephaniah most likely helped to foster the yet to come reforms of Josiah. Zephaniah’s ministry most likely did not cover the entire span of Josiah’s lengthy reign from 640–609 BC, which is evident, for instance, from the fact that Nineveh’s fall in 612 BC had not yet occurred (2:13). In addition, many of the sins cited in 1:3–13 were common before, but not after, Josiah’s reforms. Second Chronicles 34:3–35:19 indicates that Josiah’s reforms occurred in two stages: the first, in his 12th year, and the second, in his 18th year (that is, 628 and 622/621 BC). So, Zephaniah’s preaching would have spanned between 640–621 BC, during the first half of Josiah’s administration, making him contemporary with the early days of Jeremiah.1

Politically, socially, and spiritually, the nation tottered on the brink of collapse. To this depraved and perverted society, God raised up this prophet and gave him the authority of heaven (Zeph. 1:1) to warn sinners of the judgment to come. As a messenger of judgment, he announced the terrors of the Lord. He declared impending doom, called sinners to repentance, and unfolded the mercy of God. Zephaniah preached the whole counsel of God, a message of judgment and salvation.

As common for the prophets of his day, some aspects of his message saw near fulfillment in the Babylonian captivity, while other predictions leap forward to that ultimate divine judgment yet to come. It was a hard word to hear—a message of bad news about the terrors of the Lord to be let loose on the impenitent. But the announcement of bad news opened the very way for a call to repentance and for the unfolding of the mercy of God, the good news. The certain judgment of sinners is the reason for repentance. Whether we consider God’s past or future work of judgment, there are lessons that are timeless and warnings that are universal. The God of the past or future is the same God of the present. Indeed, Zephaniah’s message of judgment and grace assures us that God controls all of history and will vindicate His name in the final victory over sin and the ultimate salvation of His people. So, in this address, I want to consider Zephaniah’s timelessly relevant message on how to escape the inescapable.

Divine Judgment is Just

God’s judgment of sinners is never capricious; it is always earned and deserved. Nothing is quite as fearful as getting from God’s hand what is deserved. Zephaniah gives two reasons for this fearful thought of God’s judgment.

First, God’s judgment is fearful because of who the Lord is. He is righteous. Zephaniah 3:5 refers to Him as the just LORD, that is, the righteous Lord. The root word for righteous or righteousness designates straightness, and by extension, conformity to a standard of evaluation. It is not necessarily a moral term. For instance, a path of righteousness describes a straight path, one that does not curve or bend; or a righteous balance describes accuracy with regard to the standards for weights. But when the standard of evaluation is God’s law, righteousness refers to moral conformity to that law. When it refers to God, it means that God conforms to Himself; God cannot deviate from who He is. That God is righteous simply means that God can be nothing other than what He is. As the psalmist declared, the righteous LORD loveth righteousness (11:7). This straightness, or conformity to the divine self-standard, extends to the entirety of His person and perfections, one of which is His infinite, eternal, and unchanging justice. Because God is inflexibly just as is evident in His person and expressed in His law, He cannot ignore or tolerate sin, which is totally contrary to His character. For sin to go unpunished would require God to waiver from Himself. His justice means that judging sin is the right thing for Him to do. Judgment is inescapable.

Second, God’s judgment is fearful because of who sinners are. Verse 1:17 sums up the cause of the justly deserved judgment: because they have sinned against the LORD. The word sinned is from a root meaning to miss a target, vividly picturing the sinner’s missing the mark of God’s perfect standard. This is no trivial matter, highlighted by Paul with his all-inclusive assessment that all have sinned and come short of God’s glory. Remember that God is righteous and cannot tolerate the slightest deviation from His holy law. Significantly, Paul’s conclusion in Romans 3:23 follows a detailed exposé of specific sins. Similarly, Zephaniah, anticipating the Pauline logic, exposes the people’s sins with overwhelming and condemning evidence.

The people were idolaters (Zeph. 1:4, 5). They were guilty of breaking the first and greatest commandment. God requires total devotion (Deut. 6:5) and prohibits having any other god before Him (Ex. 20: 3). They did not love the Lord, but replaced Him with gods of their imagination and of the world around them. Their worship was a hellish mixture of Baal worship (a perverse fertility cult), astrology and magic (the host of heaven) with the professed worship of the one true God. They swore (pledged their allegiance) to both the LORD and to Malcham (a common designation of Baal). What a clear case of missing the mark of the first commandment as the people brought these other gods before the Lord! Tragically, they followed their religious leaders into these transgressions. There were renegade, black-robed priests of foreign gods, called the Chemarim, who seemed to work alongside the Levitical priests (the supposed legitimate clergy) in leading the people in this worship of nature and fate mixed with a bit of orthodoxy. They were attempting to cover all the bases, appealing to whatever god would do them good. Religion was a way of manipulating some god to satisfy personal needs—a religion for profit.

The manifestations of idolatry may look different today than they did then, although there are striking similarities with earth worshipers and cults led by charismatic leaders who use and abuse the Bible for personal gain. But whenever and however God is reduced to being nothing more than an instrument to be manipulated for personal satisfaction, His law is violated and those who are guilty are in jeopardy of judgment (especially in violation of the third commandment, Ex. 20:7). God demands love and total allegiance. He will not share His glory with another. Violating those demands is warrant for judgment.

The people were also spiritually insensitive: they turned back from the LORD; and…have not sought the LORD, nor enquired for him (Zech. 1:6). They recoiled from the Lord, drawing back and shrinking away from Him. Not seeking the Lord equates to spiritual ignorance (see Ps. 14:2). Without spiritual perception, they were alienated in their minds, insensitive to gospel grace, and doomed in their ignorance. This ignorance or insensitivity is no excuse; rather, it is another reason for God’s just judgment. To have no bent toward God is to be bent toward hell. To have no heart for the Lord is certain doom. That was true then; it is true now.

The final piece of evidence proving their sin is that they were incredulous (Zech. 1:12). Those on the verge of judgment had no excuse for being ignorant because God had given them His word of warning. Throughout Israel’s history, God had revealed Himself and His law; His expectations and demands were clear. Perhaps preaching to these same people, Jeremiah had said that the Lord had sent His servants the prophets daily rising up early [an idiom expressing earnestness] and sending them: Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their heart (Jer. 7:25–26). Likewise, Zephaniah addressed those who refused to believe the word of God. He refers to God’s thorough searching as with a light to expose and punish those that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil (1:12). The picture is of wine that has not been drained from its dregs and has thickened into a viscid sludge. The image describes those who are confirmed and hardened in their obstinate denial of God, His Word and His work. They interpreted the delay of what the prophets had warned as evidence that God was inactive and incapable. Peter encountered skepticism in his day regarding the same issue (2 Peter 3:4–15). There is something about the status quo that lulls unbelievers into complacency and denial of impending doom. But unbelief is a deadly sin that damns the soul.

The evidence is overwhelming. Sinners are justly under the wrath and condemnation of the righteously just and holy God. Zephaniah is a pattern for modern preachers to be bold in exposing sin and faithful in proclaiming the righteousness of God that includes His just wrath against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (Rom. 1:18). Part of gospel preaching is warning sinners of impending and inescapable judgment.

Divine Judgment is Terrible

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Heb. 10:11) who is described as a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29) and just in all His ways. Zephaniah highlights three reasons why divine judgment is so terrible.

First, it is terrible because of its source. The judgment is divine. The prophet designates this judgment as the Day of the Lord (Zeph. 1:7, 14). This is why this text is fitting for a conference on the last days. The Day of the Lord became a frequent theme in prophetic preaching. This expression occurs around twenty times in the Old Testament, with fifty more corresponding designations occurring (a day belonging to the Lord, a day belonging to the Lord of Hosts, a day of vengeance belonging to the Lord, a day which is coming of the Lord, or simply, that day). Significantly, some of the most detailed expositions of the Day of the Lord appear in the earliest of the writing prophets (Obadiah and Joel in the 9th century BC, on my dating of these books), and are carried throughout both the Major and Minor Prophets. Zephaniah’s description and development of the Day is one of the most explicit.

The Day of the Lord refers to God’s spectacular intervention in time to bring retribution against wickedness and