We come today to the last service of this year,
2025. And I'd like to end the series that I've
been going through by speaking on joy to the
world, the prophecies of the worship of Jesus
in all the world. Our texts are from Isaiah chapter
49. and from Matthew chapter 2. We'll begin with
Isaiah chapter 49 in verse 1, and then reading
down through verse 18, and then verse 23. Listen,
O coastlands, to me, and take heed, you peoples
from afar. The Lord has called me from the womb.
From the matrix of my mother he has made mention
of my name. And he has made my mouth like a sharp
sword. In the shadow of his hand he has hidden
me. And made me a polished shaft. In his quiver
he has hidden me. And he said to me, You are
my servant, O Lord, in whom I will be glorified.
Then I said, I have labored in vain. I've spent
my strength for nothing and in vain. Yet surely
my just reward is with the Lord and my work is
with my God. And now the Lord says, who formed
me from the womb to be his servant, to bring
Jacob back to him so that Israel is gathered
to him, for I shall be glorious in the eyes of
the Lord, and my God shall be my strength. Indeed,
he says, it is too small a thing that you should
be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the preserved ones of Israel.
I will also give you as a light to the Gentiles.
that you should be my salvation to the ends of
the earth. Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of
Israel, their Holy One, to whom man despises,
to him whom the nation abhors, to the servant
of rulers, kings shall see and arise, princes
also shall worship, because of the Lord who is
faithful, the Holy One of Israel, and he has
chosen you. Thus says the Lord. In an acceptable
time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation
I have helped you. I will preserve you and give
you as a covenant to the people to restore the
earth, to cause them to inherit the desolate
heritages, that you may say to the prisoners,
Go forth. To those who are in darkness, show
yourselves. They shall feed along the roads,
and their pastures shall be on all desolate heights.
They shall neither hunger nor thirst. Neither
heat nor sun shall strike them, for he who has
mercy on them will lead them. Even by the springs
of water he will guide them. I will make each
of my mountains a road, and my highways shall
be elevated. Surely these shall come from afar.
Look, those from the north and the west, and
these from the land of Sinim. Sing, O heavens,
be joyful, O earth, and break out in singing,
O mountains, for the Lord has comforted his people.
and will have mercy on his afflicted. Now we'll
go to verse 22 and 23. Thus says the Lord God.
Behold, I lift my hand in an oath to the nations
and set up my standard for the peoples. They
shall bring your sons in their arms and your
daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
Kings shall be your foster fathers and your queens
their nursing mothers. They shall bow down to
you with their faces to the earth and lick up
the dust of your feet. Then you will know that
I am the Lord for they shall not be ashamed who
wait for me. And now we turn over to the book
of Matthew, chapter 2, beginning in verse 1.
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea
in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men
came from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where
is he who has been born king of the Jews? For
we have seen his star in the east and have come
to worship him. When Herod the king heard this,
He was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
And when he had gathered all his chief priests
and scribes of the people together, he inquired
of them where the Christ was to be born. So they
said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus
it is written by the prophet, But you, Bethlehem,
in the land of Judah, are not the least among
the rooters of Judah, for out of you shall come
a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. When
Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men,
determined from them what time the star appeared.
And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and
search carefully for the young child, and when
you have found him, bring back word to me that
I may come and worship also. When they heard
the king, they departed. And behold, the star
which they had seen in the east went before them
till it came and stood over where the young child
was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with
exceedingly great joy. And when they had come
into the house, they saw the young child with
Mary, his mother, and fell down and worshipped
him. When they had opened their treasures, they
presented gifts to him, gold, frankincense, and
myrrh. Then being divinely warned in a dream
that they should not return to Herod, they departed
for their own country another way. Now when they
had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared
to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, take the
young child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and
stay there until I bring you word, for Herod
will seek the young child to destroy him. When
he arose, he took the young child and his mother
by night and departed for Egypt. and was there
until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet,
saying, Out of Egypt I called my son. Then Herod,
when he saw that he was deceived by the wise
men, was exceedingly angry, and he sent forth
and he put to death all the male children who
were in Bethlehem and in all its districts from
two years old and under. according to the time
which he had determined from the wise men. Then
was fulfilled what was spoken of by Jeremiah
the prophet, saying, A voice was heard in Ramah,
lamentation, weeping, and a great mourning, Rachel
weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more. Let's come to the Lord
and ask for his blessing in this time. Our Father,
we thank you. for the word of God which we have
read. We thank you for the great and precious
promises, the glorious promises. And yet, Lord,
we also are reminded that those promises are
not unaccompanied at times by grief or persecution
or sorrow. We ask, Lord, that as we look at your
promises today, that we would look at them in
reality, that our hearts would rise with great
joy. But also, Lord, we pray that you would give
us faithfulness in times of difficulty. We pray
for your blessing on this time. We ask in Jesus'
name. Amen. All was quiet for a time after the
birth of Christ and the visitation by the shepherds
who came and worshipped on the night of Christ's
birth. Mary and Joseph continued to live in Bethlehem,
perhaps for a year or more, maybe even two years.
Other than the circumcision in the temple and
the prophecies of Simeon and Anna, we read of
nothing else between that and the strange occurrence
of which I will now speak. Life most certainly
became routine, and yet Mary probably pondered
over all the life -changing things that had happened.
The visitation from Gabriel. The pregnancy without
a man involved. The prophecy of Elizabeth, the
mother of John the Baptist, to her. And of Mary's
response with a song of praise. The Magnificat
in which she herself prophesied that all generations
will call me blessed. Then there was the birth
and the shepherds coming to worship. There was
the prophecy of Simeon that this child is destined
for the fall and rising of many in Israel. and
for a sign which shall also be spoken against.
Your own soul also, yes, a sword will pierce,
he says, that the thoughts of many hearts may
be revealed. So much was unknown, and surely
questions might have risen up in her mind, but
she was a woman of resolute faith. Then one day,
a number of wise men came from the east to Jerusalem.
These are called magi, that is Gentile philosophers,
priests, or astronomers. They were the learned
men of the eastern nations, devoted to astronomy,
to religion, and to medicine. Held in high esteem,
most likely in the Persian court, they were admitted
as counselors and followed the camps in war to
give advice. There were likely more than three
and they probably had an entourage with them,
servants and so forth. They started asking around,
where is he who is born king of the Jews? They
spoke about a star they saw in the east and how
they traveled from the east to worship him, to
give him homage and to worship him. To give him
that homage and worship which means to kiss the
ground with the forehead as an expression of
profound reverence. This star was prophesied
by Balaam in Numbers chapter 24 verse 17 and
was probably not an actual star as one of the
heavenly bodies that we see in the sky. It could
have been a comet or a meteor but as John MacArthur
says it is more likely a supernatural reality.
similar to the Shekinah glory that guided the
Israelites in the days of Moses, as in Exodus
13 and verse 21. Whatever it was, the star was
visible to them when they lived in the east,
possibly Arabia, but most likely Persia, and
they came to Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel.
Now Herod, the one called Herod the Great, ruled
at this time, and he heard about these men. Given
the restless nature of the Jews who wanted to
throw off the yoke of bondage, and the history
of the wars that had happened in the intertestamental
time, and as a strong ruler and a tyrant, this
concerned him greatly. Being troubled along with
all Jerusalem, he gathered the chief priests
and the scribes together and inquired of them
where the Christ was to be born. They, able to
read and search the prophetical writings, answered
him that the ruler who would shepherd the people
of Israel would come from Bethlehem, quoting
Micah chapter 5 and verse 2. He secretly met
with them in order to determine what time the
star appeared. And then figuring the time of
travel, which was probably at least two or three
months, and allowing time for preparation, Herod
estimated about how old this young child was.
He sent them off to Bethlehem and told them that
after they had found him, to come back and to
report to him that he might come and worship
him also. And as they departed, lo and behold,
the star came again. And it led them to Bethlehem.
It took them right to the house. where the young
child is. This entourage probably excited the
townspeople as they saw this desert caravan of
either horses or camels, probably quite beautiful
and illustrious given the state and the status
of these people, of these men. They rejoiced
with great and exceeding joy, joy to the world
on seeing the star. And they came to the house
where they see the young child with Mary his
mother, and they fell down. and they worshipped
him. They gave him great treasures, gold and
frankincense and myrrh. These three gifts were
extraordinarily valuable in the ancient world.
Gold symbolized kingship and wealth. It was a
standard royal tribute. Frankincense and myrrh
were aromatic resins from trees in southern Arabia
and the Horn of Africa. And they were often even
more expensive than gold by weight due to their
rarity, their medicinal uses, and their religious
significance. They were used as incense for temples
and embalming and perfumes. And then there was
great danger in transporting and harvesting them.
The Roman historian Pliny the Elder noted that
these resins made Arabia immensely wealthy. Now
the Bible does not speak of quantity, but the
Magi opened their treasures, Matthew 2 verse
11, implying substantial amounts worthy of a
long journey from Persia or the East. Historic
parallels, that is in tributes to kings or to
gods, suggest generous portions, not mere tokens.
Conservative estimates indicate that these could
have been worth anywhere from one to three million
dollars. In today's dollars. Now while the story
continues with the Magi not returning to Jerusalem
in order to escape Herod, being warned in a dream,
Herod flies into a rage when he realized they
duped him and he ordered all the sons, all the
males, two years old and under in Bethlehem and
its surrounding villages to be slaughtered. Joseph.
Being warned in a dream, takes Mary and Jesus.
He fled to Egypt, and thus Jesus escaped the
slaughter. And they lived there until God appeared
again to Joseph, telling him that Herod had now
died. They returned, but are again warned by
God that Herod's son Archelaus is reigning. So
they travel to Nazareth in Galilee, an obscure
and small rural agricultural village with an
estimated 1 ,000 people or less. There Jesus
lived with his parents and half -brothers and
sisters, known as the carpenter's son. This account
is the first fulfillment of how illustrious men
will come to Christ and worship, and therefore
it is an illustration of what will continue to
come to pass. Great prophecies of old. prophecies
that foretell the greatness and the glory of
the reign of Christ, and that many kings and
rulers and notable persons would come and bow
the knee to him, and they would understand that
they are to worship and to serve him. We have
already considered the prophecies of Jesus as
king a few weeks ago. My intention today... It's
to look at a major prophecy of how the people
will respond to that kingship. And how they will
become worshippers who bow down and serve him.
And that this will include kings, rulers, and
princes. We're now going to turn to Isaiah chapter
49 to look at the details of this prophecy in
the Old Testament. We will see. Some of the fulfillment
and reiteration in the New Testament and in the
centuries afterward still continuing to this
day. And this is the passage that I just read.
Now, in the preceding verses or chapters of Isaiah
prior to Isaiah 49, God had promised Israel that
a king named Cyrus would arise and would be an
instrument in God's hand to bring back the Jews
to their land. The Chaldeans and Babylon would
be conquered and humiliated and Israel would
again be able to escape. We know that this came
to pass and eventually around 40 ,000 returned
to the land of Israel. The wall and the temple
in Jerusalem were rebuilt. We read of this in
Ezra, in Nehemiah, and in Haggai. But in chapter
49, the focus changes in the book of Isaiah.
And now the prophecy turns to the far off lands.
And the words proceed directly from Jesus, from
the servant of the Lord. Isaiah is prophesying
the word of the Lord as Jesus speaking, the servant.
He begins, verse 1, Listen, O coastlands, to
me, and take heed, you peoples from afar. Now
the word coastlands is also translated as islands
or isles or region. And it was used to refer
to the distant lands beyond the sea, unknown
regions in the world. The location of this prophecy
was in Israel. So the mention of these distant
lands meant countries across the Mediterranean
and the oceans, the continent of Africa, the
lands of Asia, of India, China, the 17 ,000 islands
of Indonesia, or Malaysia, Japan, Korea, Thailand,
Mongolia, and Siberia, or across the Atlantic
Ocean to the North, Central, and South Americas,
over the South Pacific to Australia. and New
Zealand, and all other far -flung places. The
whole context of verse 1 is to the people who
are afar off, these distant lands, pagans, peoples
and tribes who do not know God and are steeped
in idolatry and darkness, some in cannibalism
or child sacrifice, those who have not received
the revelation of the truth. Of the word of God.
Jesus goes on then. In verse 2. I'm sorry this
is still in verse 1. To say that he is. The chosen
one. The called one. The one called from the
womb. In the matrix of his mother. His name as
Isaiah prophesied. In chapter 8 and 9. Is Emmanuel.
God with us. And he speaks. In this word. Revealed
by Isaiah. The word that he brings in verse 2
will go out to the far off nations. That word
is described as a sharp sword going out of his
mouth. We read that again in the book of Revelation
and other places. He is an arrow and a polished
shaft piercing the darkness around. But then
in verse 4. Jesus speaks of the abandonment that
would come in the days of living in Israel as
a man. And he says, I have labored in vain, spent
my strength for nothing and in vain. And sure
enough, many depart from Jesus during his life
on earth. And he ends up standing alone under
trial, accused before all men, with no one standing
by him to defend him. He stands before Pontius
Pilate and he attests that he is the king of
the Jews. But where is his entourage? Where is
his kingdom? He stands there alone. Where are
those who surround him and who will stand by
him in order to defend him? They have all run
away, one of them even denying that he ever knew
him. And yet Jesus places trust in the Father
for he continues in verse 4 saying, Then I said,
I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength
for nothing and in vain, yet surely my just reward
is with the Lord and my work is and my work with
my God. But then the Lord God Almighty... The
Lord Jehovah answers him and says in chapter
6, indeed he says, it is too small a thing that
you should be my servant to raise up the tribes
of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of
Israel. What God is saying there to the son is
saying, Israel is not enough. The people gathered
here, they're not enough. Then he says, I will...
also give you as a light to the gentiles that
you shall be my salvation to the ends of the
earth not only will jesus be glorified in israel
but he will be a light to the gentiles a light
to the nations and he will bring salvation to
the very ends of the earth to the very far off
places of the world including the southernmost
tip Of New Zealand. Which is about the very furthest.
Any land point is. From Jerusalem. There. The
gospel will come. And Jesus will be known. There's
actually a marker there. And what will happen
to the one. Who is despised and rejected of men.
Who was nailed. To the cruel cross. The Lord
Jehovah continues. In verses 8 to 13 saying.
Thus says the Lord. In an acceptable time, I
have heard you. And the day of salvation, I have
helped you. And he goes on to describe what all
is going to come to Jesus. And we're going to
consider just for a moment what all Jehovah says
to the son in verses 8 to 13, but in outline
form. What will he do? He will give him for a
covenant to the people, all of the people. This
covenant is not just to the Jews, but it is for
all the people and nations of the earth. Remember
that Malachi said he is the messenger of the
covenant. And here Isaiah says, quoting God,
God speaking to the son, that he would give him
for a covenant to the people. He would then also
restore the earth. He will restore the earth.
And this, of course, is through the power of
the gospel. He will cause them to inhabit the
desolate places, the places that are a wilderness
that seem to be abandoned. He will inherit. Furthermore,
he will set the prisoner free. He will bring
light to the darkness and he will shepherd them.
He will have mercy on them and lead them to green
pastures. He says that he will make each of his
mountains a highway. This is called a highway
of holiness in Isaiah chapter 35 verse 8. It
will be throughout the world a place where all
the peoples will know him and the word of God
goes forth throughout the world bringing this
holiness, delivering people from sin and renewing
and restoring them in a right relationship with
God. This highway of holiness extends everywhere.
And so what happens because of this? Everything
breaks forth into singing. Verse 13. Sing, O
heavens, be joyful, O earth, and break out in
singing, O mountains, for the Lord has comforted
his people and will have mercy on the afflicted.
But note well, this does not only go to the people
on the bottom of the langur, to those languishing
in darkness, to those who are downtrodden by
all or pressed. It is also prophesied, it is
prophesied to them. It is prophesied to the common
man, but it does not stop there. It extends to
those who rule, to those who are kings and princes
and notables. This is specifically prophesied
in three verses in this chapter. First in chapter,
in verse 7, Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer
of Israel, their Holy One, to him whom man despises,
to him whom the nation abhors, to the servant
of rulers, kings shall see and arise, princes
shall worship, because of the Lord who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel. And then again in verse
22 and verse 23, thus says the Lord, I will lift
up my hand in an oath to the nations and set
my standards for the peoples. They shall bring
your sons in their arms and your daughters shall
be carried on their shoulders. Kings shall be
your foster fathers and their queens your nursing
mothers. They shall bow down to you with their
faces to the earth and lick up the dust. Then
you will know that I am the Lord, for they shall
not be ashamed to wait for me. What this is prophesying
is that as the Spirit and the Word of God and
the presence of Christ is diffused among the
nations, that kings and rulers will go from being
tyrants and from crushing their subjects with
cruelty. And instead, they will become foster
fathers and queens, nursing mothers, that is,
supporters of the faith, protectors of the church,
bringing blessings to their people rather than
cursing. These rulers and leaders will learn
of God and of his law, and they will understand
how to reward and protect and promote the good,
and they will punish the wicked so that the righteous
can flourish. Remember the passages in Proverbs
28, verse 5. Evil men do not understand justice,
but those who seek the Lord understand all. And
again in chapter 29, verse 2. When the righteous
are in authority, the people rejoice. But when
a wicked man rules, the people groan. These rulers
will not be ashamed to confess Christ openly
and will seek to rule, to guide, and to govern
according to his word. Now, as an aside, the
address of Paul to the Romans in chapter 13 about
civil government must be understood in this light.
In this light. This is what rulers are called
to. Romans 13 is not simply describing what is
there. For many rulers in his day were terrors
to the righteous and were rewarders of the wicked.
But it is prescriptive. It sets forth a standard
describing what ought to be. That rulers are
number one. They are servants of God. And they
know what evil is and they punish it. And they
know what good is and they praise it. Adam Clark
sums up this passage with these words. Jesus
here is introduced in person in Isaiah 49, declaring
the full extent of his commission, which is not
only to restore the Israelites and reconcile
them to their Lord and Father, from whom they
had so often revolted, but to be a light to the
Gentiles, to call them to the knowledge and obedience
of the one true God. and to bring them to be
one church together with the Israelites, and
to partake with them of the same common salvation
procured for all by the great Redeemer and reconciler
of man to God. This is what Isaiah 49 is talking
about. Now there are many other passages in the
Old Testament that I could turn to. It's quite
a number of prophets and prophecies who speak
about this very thing. But I'll give you just
a few more. The theme of the earth being filled
with the glory of the Lord and the worship of
God is in many places. Habakkuk 2 verse 14. For
the earth will be filled with the knowledge of
the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the
sea. Psalm 22 verse 27 to 31. all the ends of
the earth all the ends of the world shall remember
and turn to the Lord and all the families of
the nations shall worship before you for the
kingdom is the Lord's and he rules over the nations
all the prosperous of the earth shall eat and
worship All those who go down to the dust shall
bow before him, even he who cannot keep himself
alive. A posterity shall serve him. It will be
recounted of the Lord to the next generation.
They will come and declare his righteousness
to a people who will be born that he has done
this. Then there's Psalm 72, verse 10 and 11.
The kings of Tarshish and of the Isles. There's
the word Isles again, or the nations. They will
bring presents. The kings of Sheba and Seba will
offer gifts. Yes, all kings shall fall down before
him. All nations shall serve him. Then there's
Isaiah again in chapter 11, verse 9 and 10. They
shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain.
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge
of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. For
the Gentiles shall seek him and his resting place
shall be more glorious. There are many, many
more. There's Isaiah chapter 60, which we read
this morning. There's prophecies in Joel, in
Ezekiel, in Daniel. But this will suffice. And
we'll move on to the fulfillment, number two,
the fulfillment in the Apostles' Day. Now this
is just prior to the Apostles' Day, but in the
time of Jesus, we just see the Magi, recorded
in Matthew 2, of whom I have already spoken.
But notice again, the great joy that these...
that these notable people had, they come with
exceeding great joy. When they saw the star and
it led them to the house, the scripture says
they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. How many
more superlatives can you put in there? It is
such an abounding joy that they had in finding
the Christ child. We also know that the gospel
penetrated to Caesar's household during Paul's
first imprisonment in Rome. For Paul says in
Philippians chapter 4 verse 22, All the saints
greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar's
household. Now keep in mind, Jesus spoke about
the seed of a mustard seed and then it growing
to be a tree that fills the whole earth. But
remember that the seed was very small. How many
were in the upper room? There was 120 in the
upper room. They were gathered together. And
from that then, several thousands were converted
to Christ in the next few days or weeks. And
then we see this growing, but this was very,
very small. When you look at the immensity of
the population of the world, one would think,
what difference is this going to make? How can
this ever affect? How can this go to the ends
of the earth? This is so small. And yet, it did.
And we see the seeds starting to sprout in the
book of Acts. When Paul wrote the book of Romans,
he was residing in Corinth. And at the end of
Romans, he sends greetings from one Erastus.
Now, Erastus is an interesting person, except
we hardly know anything, except that he was the
treasurer of the city of Corinth. So he was a
notable person in Corinth at that time. And he
came to know Christ. We also see an example of
this as the goal of Paul in his conversations
with Felix. and also with King Agrippa in the
book of Acts. What does he do? He reasons with
them of righteousness and judgment, and they
tremble before him with King Agrippa saying,
almost you persuade me to be a Christian. Paul
there is going after him. He is preaching the
word of God to him. He's pleading with him to
come and to know Christ and to bow before him.
And it's like Agrippa is on the verge, but he
just doesn't go that far. He doesn't make it.
By the end of the first century, the gospel to
the Gentiles had spread with the aid of the well
-built Roman roads to Syria, to Asia Minor, which
is modern -day Turkey, to Greece and the Balkans,
to Italy, to Egypt, to Ethiopia, and possibly
other parts of North Africa and Armenia. Most
of these are mentioned in the New Testament,
and at the end of the book of Romans, Paul was
planning to journey to Spain, which he most likely
did after his first imprisonment in Rome, and
possibly even going to Britain, although the
actual journey is not mentioned in the Bible
other than Paul's illusion in his desire to go
to Spain. But there's some history that would
indicate that he actually did. The letters to
the church breathe the very spirit of expansion
to the world. And of the word sounding forth
with letters to the scattered Jewish and Gentile
Christians. Such as the introduction of 1 Peter.
And then the great multitude spoken of in the
book of Revelation. The Apostle Thomas is said
by early historians such as Eusebius to have
traveled all the way to India and planted a church
there by 52 AD. There's also the possibility
of Andrew to Greece, of Bartholomew to Armenia
or northwest India, of Matthew to East Africa,
to Simon the Zealot, to possibly either Britain
or Persia. It's not clear. Throughout the New
Testament, Psalm 2 and Psalm 110 are alluded
to and quoted, and most importantly, they are
emphasized that they will be fulfilled. What
do these two psalms prophesy? That the nations
belong to Christ, that his enemies will be conquered,
because the nations are his possession. In the
high priestly prayer of John 17, Jesus prays
for all those who will believe in him through
the word of the apostles, praying that all would
be one in us, that is in the triune Godhead,
so that the world may believe that Jesus was
sent by the Father. In Acts, in 1 Corinthians
15, in Ephesians, in Colossians, in Philippians,
in Hebrews several times, and in the book of
Revelation, Jesus is proclaimed as the king who
is seated at the right hand of God and that he
is the head of all principalities and powers
and that he will reign until his enemies become
his footstool or bow to him. Remember what I
taught in the Kingdom series when preaching on
the destruction of Jerusalem. I said that the
New Testament, in order to understand the New
Testament well, we need to understand two things.
It is weighed down with foreboding and it is
buoyed. with hope it is foreboding at the soon
coming tribulation and destruction of the apostate
old covenant jewish order in the destruction
of the temple and the city of jerusalem which
happened in ad 68 to 70 but it is also filled
with the hope that has come through the full
scale inauguration of the multinational multi
-ethnic victorious global church of Jesus Christ.
And as the gospel spreads, light dawns and joy
abounds. Finally, let's go to the end of the
Bible, to Revelation chapter 21. What do we see
entering this great city, the holy Jerusalem,
descending out of heaven from God? Verse 24 through
26 of Revelation 21. Hear these words. And the
nations of those who are saved will walk in its
light. And the kings of the earth bring their
glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not
be shut at all by day. There shall be no night
there. And they shall bring the glory and the
honor of the nations into it. Saved nations,
kings of the earth, the glory and honor of nations.
What a cause. for great joy as we see this portrayed
in Revelation chapter 21. Well, I'll consider
very briefly just the fulfillment historically.
What can I say? This is astounding in many ways.
And unfortunately, because of our lack of historical
knowledge, we know so little about this, about
the great deeds of Christendom. There are some
amazing and wonderful stories. George Grant is
a great historian. I encourage you to look up
some of his writings or listen to some of his
speeches recounting some of these. Wordmp3 .com
is a good place. There's a number of others,
and I can give you additional links. where he
speaks about Scotland and he speaks about some
of the early days. He speaks about people I never
heard of before. It's like, where have I been?
Why have I not learned some of these in history?
But I'll just touch on a few. I will say the
medieval time period understood this much more
than we do today about kings bowing to Christ.
I believe that we will recover this, but especially
before the rise of secular humanism, this was
done. Again, albeit imperfectly. From Constantine
the Great, who ended persecution, he ended the
practice of sacrifice to the gods in order to
be a civil servant and ruler, and he started
protecting the church. He had many flaws, but
he also did some great things for the church.
And there's also King Alfred, who established
a law code for England from the Bible in the
800s and was a very faithful king. Ben Merkle
wrote an excellent book, White Horse King. Excellent
history of King Alfred in the 800s and what he
did in England. There was King Gustavus Adolphus
the Great, who was a Christian king and commander
from Sweden in the early 1600s. He was called
the Lion from the North, and he greatly aided
and defended the Protestants during that time
period. as well as some of our own presidents
loved the Lord Jesus and bowed before him. I
would include in them, and this is not comprehensive,
George Washington, John Quincy Adams, Teddy Roosevelt,
and James Garfield. I also see a recovery coming
in our own nation. In fact, I believe that not
only in our nation, but throughout the world.
I read a headline recently that even China could
possibly be 15 to 20 years from great upheaval
and from Christianity really taking hold there
and then becoming a Christian nation. Just think
of that. There are millions and millions of Christians
there. Communism is going to come to an end in
that country. There are many others. I do not
have time to go into greater detail on this,
but I just give you enough to whet your appetite
to go after and to learn of these things. So
let's close and let's look then at a few applications
from this great truth. First of all, joy to the
world. The Lord has come. Let us rejoice. Christmas.
The incarnation, the celebration of the birth
of Christ is the hinge pin of history. The birth
of Christ is the hinge pin of history. Notice
that, what does our calendar date itself to?
I mean, it's off by a couple years now, but it
was to his birth, to the birth of Christ. Without
Christmas, without the incarnation, there is
not the death of Christ. There is no atonement.
There is no resurrection. There is no ascension
to the Father and the sending forth of the Holy
Spirit. At God's right hand are pleasures forevermore,
and we need to live like it. We are not sour
-faced prunes or dried -up pips, but should be
well -nourished, flourishing, and overflowing
with cheer and goodwill, for our God has prepared
for us a feast, a feast of joy and delight, Has
come. And the spirit of God. Has come. And Christ
is seated. At the right hand of the father. He
is ruling the nations. He will bring down the
evil ones. And destroy them. And he will raise
up the righteous. And he will reign. Until his
enemies bow before him. Psalm 16. Verse 11. 9
says, Therefore my heart is glad and my glory
rejoices. My flesh also will rest in hope. And
again in verse 11, You will show me the path
of life. In your presence is fullness of joy.
At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Brothers and sisters, it's my desire that this
church would be known for its joy, for its cheer,
for its goodwill, for its delight in the things
of God. And that that joy would splash over to
our community, to those around us, to our friends
and our neighbors. If you want to read more about
this, I encourage you to read or listen to Doug
Wilson's book, God Rescue Mary, Why Christmas
is the Foundation for Everything. We look at
this joy. We look at the prophecy about the kings
and the desire and the vision for God to do great
things, bringing the nations to himself. And
we think about it over the last century. What
happened? Where did that joy go? Why was so much
of it lost? Our own Civil War and the World War
I did much to set back the understanding that
I'm teaching here. With the rise of a dispensational
theology, the removal of the understanding of
Jesus as King now, the church, not everywhere,
but in many places in the U .S. and in Britain
and in other places, it fell into miasma of pessimism.
It's like, oh, all is lost. I forget to put the
quote from Spurgeon here, so I'm not going to
give this exactly, but he said one time, the
end of all things is at hand and there's to be
no prosperity, there's to be no reign of Christ
and there's to be no joy on the earth if you
listen to what some of our brethren say. And
then he goes on to expound further on the great
joy of the lands of the earth coming to know
Christ. What happened? Well, As we are sometimes
prone to do, we start interpreting the Bible
through current events instead of interpreting
current events through the Bible. We interpret
the Bible through current events. We see what's
happening around us, and then we go and say,
well, that's what this is speaking of here, and
so this is all we can expect. Now, it is true
that there is persecution. There still is persecution.
We have begun a habit here of praying for the
persecuted church. And I'm giving you more information
as we pray for these countries. Persecution is
a reality. We know that. And that is something
that Jesus even tells us to rejoice. But the
persecuted church is looking forward to the glorious
church. Because sometimes, Triumph comes through
great pain and difficulty. And so do not think
that because there is persecution that all of
these wonderful passages of scripture do not
mean anything anymore. That is not the case.
We must understand that it is through great trial
and persecution that the kingdom advances. And
obviously that is under the lordship of Christ
as well. One of the things that we can pray for
is that of lesser magistrates who will stand
up and protect the people that are in their care
and protect them against the tyrant. There's
a whole doctrine and theology of that. I don't
have time to get into it all today. I do need
to do that. But the doctrine of the lesser magistrate
protecting those who are under him against the
tyranny of the greater magistrate. This is really
what happened in the whole Declaration of Independence
of our own country and many other places. There's
books written about it, some excellent ones,
but I'm just going to mention it here. The great
works of God will not come about through legislation
or education, although both are important. This
great work of God in the world comes by the Spirit
of God renewing the face of the earth. By the
work of Christ redeeming and calling to himself
a people from every nation, every tribe, and
every family. And through a transformed people,
they do good works. They meet together for worship.
And Christ builds his church. And the gates of
hell will not stand against the onslaught. of
Christ and of his kingdom. We think, when we
think of that passage, we often think of the
gates of hell coming out against us. But no,
the gates of hell are defensive. And what Jesus
is saying to Peter and to the apostles in that
passage is that the gates of hell won't stand.
They should not stand against Christ's church.
They will be torn down. The rise of secular humanism,
as we have seen in our own country, is a temporary
setback. It too will self -destruct. The curse
of abortion will come to an end and children
will be loved and valued. The nations who do
not serve God will perish and God will raise
up a people and nations in their stead wherein
the true worship of God will abound. Just a couple
more closing thoughts, applications. As we consider
our own political involvement here in our own
country, we seek to do that which is best. And
obviously, some of the candidates that we might
choose... to rule over us are not necessarily
the best, but they're better than others. And
sometimes we have to make decisions about that
as to what is in the best interest for us at
this time, even though this particular candidate
may not be ideal in all respects. But I will
say this, a biblical political theory does not
just seek to conserve, but it rather seeks to
be obedient to Christ in our practice and to
choose. Rulers and magistrates who will humbly
fulfill their duties while bowing and acknowledging
Jesus as Lord. That is what we desire. Conservative
values are not enough. They need to kiss the
sun in light of Christ's authority. Hear the
instructions of Psalm 2 verse 10 to 12. Now therefore
be wise. O kings, be instructed, you judges of
the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice
with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry
and you perish in the way when his wrath is kindled
but a little. Blessed are all those who put their
trust in him. Perhaps God will raise up out of
this congregation someday some judges or senators
or representatives, Or maybe even a governor.
We don't know what the future holds. But what
we want to do though. Is to lay the foundation.
For good governance. For good ability. But of
confession of Christ. And of bowing before him
as Lord. In submission. The outworking of these
prophecies. Are yet. to be completely fulfilled.
The work of Jesus conquering the nations until
all submit will likely take a very long time.
We could be yet in just in the infant stage of
the church with thousands of years to come. We
do not know this, but we must seek to build lasting
things. Let us build for many generations. Lay
the foundations now for many years to come of
which I will preach next day, Lord willing, in
the first Sunday of the year. Let's pray.