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The Day Every Secret Is Brought to Light | Jonathan Edwards · Reformed Thinking

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Reformed thinking. Welcome to the deep dive.
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This is the show where we take some of history's most
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significant sources and try to synthesize them into knowledge
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you can really get a handle on. And today we're doing a very
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specific, very intensive deep dive.
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We're looking at the conclusion of Christ's work of redemption
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through the vision of one of the great minds of the First Great
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Awakening, Jonathan Edwards. That's right.
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Our focus is really on the grand finale.
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We're moving past the Church age, past the application of
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grace in our own time, and looking straight at the ultimate
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success of Christ's purchase. We're drawing straight from his
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major work, a history of the work of redemption, where He
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lays out step by step, the general judgement and the
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bestowal of eternal glory. So our mission for you listening
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is to synthesize Edwards's very meticulous chronological account
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of that last great day. It's a clear progression, isn't
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it? It moves from this current age
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of grace through a kind of cosmic crisis and into the
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final, eternal state of glory. We really want to get into how
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he structures history's final moment.
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And to do that, to really grasp the scale of it, we first have
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to understand his framework for what he calls the success of
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Christ's purchase. He says it's twofold.
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There's a success that consists in grace and a success that
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consists in glory. If you miss that distinction,
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the whole thing doesn't quite line up.
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OK, so let's set that baseline then.
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Success in grace. That's what's happening now,
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wrought during the life of the Christian Church through the
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means of grace, preaching, sacraments, the work of the
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Spirit. That's the redemption we
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experienced today. Yes, exactly.
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Grace is the necessary work, but it's preliminary.
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It's the whole sanctifying process that makes the elect
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able or meet for their final inheritance.
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But glory? That's the crowning act, and
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that's accomplished chiefly at the Day of Judgement.
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Edwards is very clear that the bestowal of glory is the one
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point toward which all of history has been moving.
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And he also says this final stage is the true salvation and
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redemption in the fullest sense of those words, right?
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Absolutely. He points to Hebrews 9.28 where
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Christ appears a second time unto salvation.
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It's the moment the church is fully and finally saved.
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He also calls it redemption, citing Ephesians On the day of
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redemption and Luke, Your redemption draws nigh.
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The payment was made at the cross, but the final complete
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delivery of the purchase possession the whole glorified
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church that only happens on that day.
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That brings up a huge question about historical perspective.
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I mean, we spend so much time analyzing the high points of
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church history, the conversion of Constantine, the Reformation,
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future revivals, the fall of Antichrist.
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If Edward sees the bestowal of glory as the crowning act, what
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does he make of all that came before?
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Well, this is the key insight that kind of reshapes your whole
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value system for history. He says everything that comes
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before that day, all the glorious things, you know, the
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peace under Constantine, the fall of Antichrist, even the
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means of grace themselves. It's all just preparatory.
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It exists for one reason, to make the elect ready for glory.
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And his language here is, well, it's striking.
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He calls all of those earthly spiritual achievements but
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images and shadows of the glory to come.
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Images and shadows. That's a powerful statement,
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especially when you think that he personally witnessed the
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Great Awakening. He's saying even the greatest
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outpouring of the Spirit on Earth is just a shadow cast by
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the sun of final glory. It's a massive theological
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point. It means that the value of our
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current spiritual life, while very real, is by its very
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designed temporary. It's meant to be replaced by
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something infinite, greater. It shifts the whole center of
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gravity of redemptive history onto those final cosmic events
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of the general judgment. OK, so if the general judgment
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is the very purpose toward which Providence has been steering the
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whole universe, then the stage is set.
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Let's move into the detailed steps Edwards lays out.
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We'll start with Part 1, the glorious summons, and this
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begins with Edwards, point to one Christ's second glorious
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appearance. What's the immediate scene on
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Earth just before this happens? Edwards paints a picture of
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extreme tension. It's always darkest before the
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dawn in his view of redemption. He says Christ appears at the
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very moment the wicked are enjoying their greatest earthly
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success. He says they're reveling in
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their wickedness and specifically compassing the holy
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city, ready to destroy it. So it's that classic picture of
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suddenness. They're in the middle of their
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persecution or just, you know, celebrating themselves, eating,
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drinking, scoffing at the idea of a judge.
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And then the crown at midnight comes.
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They are caught completely off guard.
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And the visual contrast that follows is just absolute.
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It reverses the entire story of the first Advent.
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You have to remember that comparison at his first coming.
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He's born in a stable, a root out of a dry ground, disguised,
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afflicted, hanging on a cross with soldiers mocking him.
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That was Christ in his humiliation.
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But now this is the glorification.
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Yes, the ultimate reversal. Christ appears in his perfected,
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glorified human body, and he's radiating what Edwards calls the
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glory of his Father. He's not alone this time.
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He's attended by all his holy angels, principalities, powers.
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He uses that biblical language, thousand, thousands ministering
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to him. His simplest attendance are
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angels, beings of immense glory themselves.
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The scale is just astronomical and it's visible to everyone,
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Edwards says. The sheer light of this event is
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so intense that the sun in a clear sky will be but darkness
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in comparison of it. It's an undeniable universal
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event that fulfills revelation. Every eye shall see him.
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No more hiding. And this arrival has immediate,
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drastic effects on everyone, splitting them instantly into
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two psychological states for the wicked.
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Their parties, their drinking, their schemes, it all just stops
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instantly. The whole army surrounding the
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Saints just falls apart. They drop their weapons.
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Their whole tone changes from laughter and scoffing to
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something much darker. Right.
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Their laughter gives way to hideous, hellish yelling.
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Edwards describes their faces changing from pride to ghastly
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terror and amazement, and they're seized with trembling
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and chattering of teeth. They're face to face with their
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judge, who is infinitely holy, infinitely powerful, and whom
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they despised. That's the moment they realize
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it's not just a moral reckoning, but the very person whose blood
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they trampled on. Their fear isn't just a fear of
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punishment, it's the dreadful sight of God's wrath made
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visible against their unrepentant souls.
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But on the other hand, for the Saints, this same site is the
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greatest possible joy. They're delivered instantly from
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all fear, from the very persecutors who are about to
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destroy them. It's that moment from Luke 21.
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They lift up their heads. They see infinite love in His
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face even in the middle of all that majesty, and that sight
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floods them with gladness. Their expressions change from
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sorrow to exceedingly joyful and triumphant.
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The temporary success of the wicked is just dismantled in a
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second. So that sets the visual stage.
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After this appearance, Edwards moves to .2, the sound of the
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great trumpet and universal resurrection.
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If the first point is the visual signal, this is the audible one,
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right? The signal is the blast of the
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last trumpet. He calls it a mighty sound which
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shakes the earth. It's so powerful that in First
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Thessalonians it's called the Voice of the Archangel.
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This sound is the command for the dead of all ages to rise.
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The scope of that is hard to even imagine.
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Edwards asks you to think about the number of the dead.
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I mean, how many people have lived and died since Adam and
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Eve? The world will be physically
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fuller of resurrected bodies than at any point in its
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history. Every grave opens.
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The sea gives up its dead. It creates this grand assembly
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of all humanity. Everyone, whoever lived, appears
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on the earth at once. Think about it.
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Adam and Eve, Abel, the prophets, the apostles, the
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martyrs, Saints from every single age.
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And it makes a special point to include those from what he calls
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the wilderness state. That's a concept tied to his
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reading of Revelation, isn't it? It is.
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It's about that time, especially during the reign of Antichrist,
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which for Edwards was the papacy, when the true church was
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persecuted, hidden, driven into obscurity.
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Even those believers from the darkest times of persecution
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will rise to join this assembly. And the enemies rise too.
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This isn't just for the faithful.
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The resurrection of the wicked is just as necessary for the
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judgement. Wicked heathens, Jews,
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Muhammadans, Papists, hypocrites, sensualists,
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heretics, deists, persecutors, everyone.
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And then the final step in this stage is the change of the
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living, and it's a dual change to fit both groups for their
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eternal destiny. The bodies of the living wicked
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men are changed to make them fit for eternal torment.
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That's a critical point. Their bodies have to be made
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indestructible, but at the same time capable of endless
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suffering. It's a horrifying
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transformation. Precisely just as demands that
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the body which was part of the sin has to be part of the
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punishment, and that punishment has to be eternal, so their
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physical form is altered to have this terrible kind of
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immortality. But for the Saints, the change
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is gloriously the opposite. Their bodies are changed in the
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twinkling of an eye to be like Christ's own glorious body.
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They put off all weakness, all dullness, every trace of decay
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that afflicted them since the fall.
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They gain incredible strength, beauty, activity, and
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incorruptible, unfading glory. Their bodies are made incapable
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of pain or sickness forever. And this physical transformation
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is a huge benchmark in redemption, one we probably
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overlook when we just focus on the legal judgement.
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This is the completion of redemption in a physical sense.
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It absolutely is. Before this day, redemption was
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incomplete. The souls of the elect were in
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glory, yes, but their bodies were still under the curse of
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the grave. Now all the bodies of the Saints
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are saved and glorified with their souls.
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All the elect are redeemed in the whole man, soul and body, in
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perfect, eternal union. That's the physical fulfillment
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of Christ's purchase. It makes the day of judgement a
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kind of cosmic biological restoration.
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The very matter of the elect is finally perfected.
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It's a comprehensive recreation, and it's an immediate global
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separation of the two destinies even before a single sentence is
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spoken. That distinction brings us right
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into Part 2, the great separation and setting the bar
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so everyone's resurrected, everyone's present, and the
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physical division has to be made.
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Edwards calls this first stage .3 ascension of the Saints and
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arraignment of enemies. The visual here is just
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unmatched. Once the dead Saints are raised
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and the living are changed, the entire church, millions of
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Saints from all ages, they all ascend at the same time.
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They are caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
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Christ's throne is fixed in the airy region, visible to everyone
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below but not touching the defiled earth.
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So the Saints are literally taking their leave.
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That massive, simultaneous ascent is the Church's final
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farewell to this world. Edwards describes it as their
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everlasting leave of this earth, which he calls a scene of
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trouble and sorrow, where the devil reigned and Christ was
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cruelly used. They will never set foot on it
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again, and this completes redemption in another major way.
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The Church is perfectly and forever delivered from this
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present evil world. The ascent makes that separation
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physically undeniable. Before this, Saints and wicked
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lived in the same towns, worshipped in the same building.
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Sometimes now all that ambiguity is gone.
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The whole Church is seen rising, a mighty cloud of them joining
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Christ at His right hand. And this ascent allows for the
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perfect union of the Church. They were separated by time,
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distance, death, even heaven and earth.
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Now they are gathered together into one society, all gathered
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under their head, never to be separated again.
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But that leaves the massive body of the wicked still on the
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ground. Exactly.
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They become the audience, and the defendants, all wicked men
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and devils, are gathered at Christ's left hand, stuck on the
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earth. They're held there waiting for
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arraignment. And this is where the great
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cosmic enemy Satan is finally dragged forward.
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Yes, this is the dramatic centerpiece.
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The devil who opposed redemption, who instigated the
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crucifixion, who has tormented the Saints for thousands of
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years. He is dragged up out of hell,
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and he stands trembling before the same Jesus he tried to
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destroy. The public humiliation he's
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always dreaded has finally come. And the reversal of status is
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just amazing. Edwards doesn't just say Satan
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trembles before Christ, but that the Saints themselves will judge
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him. It fulfills that promise in
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First Corinthians 6. Know ye not that we shall judge
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angels? And this isn't just symbolic.
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It's a declaration of Christ's victory through his mystical
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body. Edwards ties it right back to
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Genesis 3 or C5, where the seat of the woman would bruise the
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serpent's head. The Saints, as Christ's body,
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get to participate in that crushing defeat.
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I wonder, does he clarify what that judgement looks like?
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I mean when the Saints judge angels, are they handing down
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sentences or is it something else?
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Well, in the Reformed view, and certainly for Edwards, it's an
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authoritative, declarative role. The Saints judgement is their
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affirmation and agreement with Christ's perfect sentence.
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It shows that they who fought these spiritual enemies on earth
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now completely approve of their righteous condemnation.
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It's their complete victory. And along with the devil are all
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the human persecutors. Edwards lines them up from
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history. Oh yes, the whole array of
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enemies, proud scribes, Pharisees, Pontius Pilate, the
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mocking soldiers, heathen emperors, persecuting Pope's Gog
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and Magog. All of them standing right
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before the judgement seat. The role reversal is total.
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Christ stood as a criminal before Pilot.
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The Saints were condemned by their rulers.
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Now the same Saints sit as judges, and their enemies have
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to look up and see the glory they've arrived at, the very
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people they so cruelly despised. It's the ultimate writing of all
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wrongs, and it moves us right into the great revelation of
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truth. Which is .4 vindication and
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manifestation of truth. The judgement seat isn't about
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discovering facts, it's about making hidden truth visible to
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the whole universe. That's the essence of it.
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The Saints who were slandered and treated like the filth and
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off scouring near the earth, they are fully vindicated.
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Their reputations are cleansed before everyone.
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And they first appear clothed in the glorious robe of Christ's
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righteousness. That's their legal standing.
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But Edwards goes beyond the legal, doesn't he?
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He talks about their inherent holiness.
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Precisely their actual sanctified holiness is made
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manifest all all their good works, even the secret ones, the
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private acts of charity or patient endurance that only God
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saw, they're all brought to light.
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God will bring forth the righteousness as the light.
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You will be obvious to the whole gathered world that these were
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truly the excellent of the Earth.
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So there's no more ambiguity about the character of the
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redeemed? What about the wicked?
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What's the corresponding revelation for them?
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It's exposure and total shame. All their wickedness, their
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hidden motives, their pride, their malice, their hatred of
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true religion. It's all set forth in its proper
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colors, nothing is hidden. Edwards uses that really
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chilling image. The very hearts of the wicked
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shall be turned inside out before the bright light of that
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day. Yes, and that perfect knowledge
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is necessary so that the justice of their condemnation is
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undeniable. Things said in secret done in
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the dark, They will be proclaimed for angels and men.
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Hypocrites will have their masks torn off and the righteous who
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couldn't get a fair hearing on Earth will now have their cause
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declared before the great Judge. This total manifestation of
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truth sets up the justice of the sentences that are about to
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come. OK, we've gone through the
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appearance, the resurrection, the separation, and the
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manifestation of truth. Now we get to Part 3, Finality
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and consummation, starting with Edwards Point V Pronouncement of
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sentence. This is the definitive word.
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This is the moment Christ's authority is exercised in two
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very different ways. He first passes the blessed
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sentence on the Church at his right hand, and it's delivered
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with infinite love. The words are familiar.
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Come be blessed of my Father. Inherit the Kingdom prepared for
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you from the foundation of the world.
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Edwards focuses on the emotional impact that this voice will
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cause every heart to just flow with joy.
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It's the moment of public honor for those who are despised.
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Christ publicly justifies the millions who were condemned by
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persecutors. He puts a crown of glory on
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their heads so they shine forth as the sun, visible to all their
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enemies below. A public glorification.
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But right after this act of love comes the condemnation, the
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sentence on the wicked at his left hand.
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And that sentence is simple and devastating.
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Depart you cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for
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the devil and his angels. Edwards describes the horror of
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this moment in, well, unforgettable terms.
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The sheer weight of eternal wrath in that sentence strikes
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them with unimaginable horror. He says every syllable will be
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more terrible than a stream of lightning through their hearts,
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and the finality of it drives them to immediate despair.
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It leads to this terrifying scene on Earth.
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Horrible shrieking, queering, gnashing of teeth.
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It's important to note, too, that the righteous Saints concur
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in this sentence, even the martyrs.
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They confirm it's perfect justice.
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That confirmation is vital. The condemnation isn't just a
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decree, it's a global recognition by everyone.
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Angels, Saints and the contenders condemn themselves of
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their deserved and irreversible fate, and that seals the
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judgement. So with the sentences delivered,
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the two groups are ready for their eternal destinies.
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This brings us to the two simultaneous events in Edwards
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.6 and the 7th Ascension to the highest heavens and the fiery
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Consummation. The fate of the Church and the
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fate of the Old World are decided at the same time.
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Let's look at the second ascension first.
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Christ and all his Saints, now glorified in body and soul,
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immediately leave this lower world and ascend toward the
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highest heavens, the eternal paradise of God.
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And this ascension, Edwards says, is far more glorious than
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Christ's first one after his resurrection.
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Why is that? Because the first time it was
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Christ alone ascending is the head.
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The second time, it's Christ ascending with his entire
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mystical body, the whole elect church.
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They ascend in triumph. Their warfare is over.
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And the enemies who are left behind on the condemned Earth
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are forced to watch this. That's their final torment
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before the fire. They see this triumphant site,
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millions of people they once despised rising in glory.
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And they hear their triumphant songs as the Church leaves the
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accursed world forever. And once Christ and the Church
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are a safe distance away, and that detail is key, they are
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removed before the judgment falls.
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Then the lower world is set on fire.
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This is the fiery consummation. This is the annihilation of the
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old cosmos. Edwards pulls heavily from
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Second Peter here about how the heavens and the earth, which are
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now our kept in store, reserved unto fire.
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And this is not a metaphorical fire, it's a literal,
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overwhelming destruction. Absolutely.
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The fire will come either from heaven or from the vowels of the
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earth, or both. Just like the Flood, the entire
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lower world becomes a universal furnace of fierce raiding heat.
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The intensity is just hard to get your head around.
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He describes it in terms of cosmic destruction.
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The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements
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shall melt with fervent heat. Even references Deuteronomy
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saying the fire will burn unto the lowest hell, consuming the
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earth to its very center. Why does he emphasize that that
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it burns unto the lowest hell? Is that just a metaphor for how
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hot it? Is it's more than that.
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It speaks to the theological completeness of the vengeance.
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The earth itself, the scene of rebellion and Satan's Kingdom,
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is now judged and totally purified by wrath.
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The phrase means God's judgement gets to the very core of
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material creation. Nothing of the old cursed order
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is left untouched. And this furnace becomes the
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final fixed place of eternal torment for the wicked and for
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the devil. Correct.
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Here, persecutors suffer torments far beyond anything
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they could inflict on the Saints they burned at the stake.
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They now face the infinite direct wrath of the Judge.
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And the bodies of the wicked have that terrible immortality
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we talked about earlier. Yes, Edwards makes that
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horrifying but necessary theological point.
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Their bodies burn and they never be consumed.
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This is the perfection of eternal punishment, he says.
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Their prior suffering in hell was like an imprisonment
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compared to the full execution that follows it.
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This ensures the punishment fits the scale of the offense against
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an infinite God. It does, and this is where the
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devil gets his full punishment in the very world that used to
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be his Kingdom. The fiery end of the earth is
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now the place of His everlasting torment, and this perfectly
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accomplishes the final design of redemption, putting Christ's
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enemies completely under His feet.
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So the stage is now completely cleared, the righteous are gone,
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the wicked are in eternal torment, and the old creation is
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gone. This sets the scene for Edwards
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.8 entry into glory and the deliverance of the Kingdom.
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This is the moment the whole purpose of Redemption's history
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is realized. While the lower world is
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burning, the entire church enters with Christ into the
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eternal paradise of God. The gates of heaven open for
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their triumphant entrance. And Christ presents them to the
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Father. He says, in effect, here am I
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and the children which thou host given me.
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And Edwards describes his presentation in detail.
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Christ tells the Father he is perfectly cleansed them in his
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blood, delivered them from the fall and all their enemies, and
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brought them home in perfect holiness, shining with the
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Father's own image. They are trophies of his
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victory. The Father accepts them,
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welcomes them to their eternal inheritance with a more glorious
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manifestation of His love than they ever experienced before.
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And this is the most perfect sense of the marriage of the
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Lamb. The Millennium on earth was like
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a marriage, but this is the real consummation, the New Jerusalem
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revelation says, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
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They enter heaven for an everlasting wedding day.
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The bridegroom and bride rejoice together in a state of
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blessedness that will never, ever end.
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And at this point the whole work of redemption is declared
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finished, the top stone of the building is laid, the church is
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in the harbor of complete and eternal glory, all Christ's
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enemies are under His feet, all the Father's promises to Christ
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are accomplished, and all the hopes of the Saints are
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fulfilled. It's a definitive end to the
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preparatory state. The glory they knew on Earth is
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now seen for what it was, a faint shatter of this her
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consummate glory in heaven. The glory of the Trinity is
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maximized as well. Christ the Redeemer is glorified
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in his completed body. God the Father is glorified in
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Him, His justice satisfied, His mercy magnified, and the Holy
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Ghost is glorified in the perfection of His work on the
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Church's hearts. And along with this glorious
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entry comes the completion of the new creation.
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Yes, the new heaven and new earth is completely finished.
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After the old one is destroyed by fire, the former things are
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passed away and everything is fixed in a glorious permanent
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state for all eternity. Which brings us to a really
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crucial and kind of nuanced theological point from Edwards
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based on 1st Corinthians 15, the deliverance of the Kingdom to
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the Father. If Christ is going to reign
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forever, what does it mean that he delivers up the Kingdom?
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This is a really important clarification and Reformed
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doctrine. When Christ began the work of
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redemption, a specific Kingdom, a mediatorial Commission, was
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given to Him by the Father. He took on the unique job of
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managing the entire universe in order to accomplish redemption.
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He was the Father's vice measurement for that specific
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task. So delivering up the Kingdom
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doesn't mean Christ stops being God or stops raining.
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Not at all. Scripture is clear on his
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eternal reign. Luke 1 says of his Kingdom there
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shall be no end. Daniel 7 says his dominion is an
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everlasting dominion. So the distinction is purely
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functional. It's tied to the purpose of the
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historical process. Precisely, the Commission ends
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when the design is accomplished. Since the task of gathering the
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elect, defeating their enemies, and bringing them to glory is
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now done, That specialized management function is formally
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delivered back to God the Father.
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Christ continues to reign as God and as head of His church
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forever, but that special office tied to overcoming enemies is
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concluded. That brings the entire history
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of the work of redemption to its most perfect theological end.
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Yes, we've traced the whole story from the preparatory
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stages of grace, through the cataclysm of the general
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judgement to the eternal state where the Church is secure, the
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enemies are subdued, and the full purpose of the Triune God
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is realized. That was an incredibly detailed
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step by step account. We started with the age of grace
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and we've ended with the church entering complete eternal glory.
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It paints a picture where all of history moves with a purpose.
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Edward really did map out this progression to highlight the
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huge scope of Christ triumph over sin, Satan, death, and
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hell. It confirms that history isn't
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random, but moves with sovereign certainty toward this final,
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glorious end. And everything that happens in
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our lives now, even the greatest spiritual blessings we get, they
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are all temporary, all designed to prepare us for that moment
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when we put on incorruptible, unfading glory, their shadows
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pointing to the real substance. Which brings us to a final
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thought for you to carry with you.
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Edward shows us that the final state of perfection requires the
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demolition of the old order by fire.
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The entire world, the whole scene of redemption's progress,
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has to be consumed before the highest glory can be enjoyed.
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So if God says the entire material world, the context for
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the fall and the struggle is unfit for the final state, what
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does that say about the preparatory nature of even the
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very best spiritual victories we experienced in this life?
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Consider the things you value most right now, your spiritual
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disciplines, your ministry, your knowledge.
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What specific shadows in your current life are you in?
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Tina? Painting will give way to that
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ultimate substance of glory when you see the judge ascending with
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his perfected church. That's the scale Edwards forces
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us to confront. We hope this deep dive has
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equipped you with a more informed and detailed vision of
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the powerful, inevitable hope that is set before us.
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Until next time.