Latest / Reformed Thinking / From the Empty Tomb to the Fall of Jerusalem | Jonathan Edwards

Transcript

From the Empty Tomb to the Fall of Jerusalem | Jonathan Edwards · Reformed Thinking

0:00
Welcome to Reformed thinking. Today we are doing a deep dive
0:03
into a really critical pivot point in history, those roughly
0:07
4 decades right after Christ's resurrection.
0:10
It's a period that often gets a bit glossed over, I think.
0:13
It does, but it gives us this incredibly clear picture of what
0:17
Christ's success on the cross actually produced almost in real
0:21
time. That's right, we're looking at
0:23
the precise framework laid out by Jonathan Edwards in his
0:26
historical account of redemption.
0:28
Specifically, we're zeroing in on how Christ's purchase success
0:31
was carried out between his ascension and, well, the
0:35
terrifying destruction of Jerusalem in 7080.
0:37
And it's such a crucial span of time because Edward saw this
0:40
success as instantaneous, revolutionary, not gradual at
0:45
all. Exactly.
0:45
Our sources taken from Edward's analysis really structure this
0:48
success into three massive historical movements.
0:52
Well, first, there is this swift, positive success of the
0:55
Gospel which he calls the Great Effusion, 2nd the fierce
0:59
organized opposition it immediately stirred up, and 3rd,
1:02
the ultimate, inescapable judgments God brought down on
1:05
that opposition. So our mission in this deep dive
1:08
is to really distill Edwards most significant points from
1:12
that analysis. We want to show you how the
1:14
entire spiritual landscape change the very moment Christ
1:18
entered the Holy of Holies with His own blood.
1:20
And Edwards captures this this radical shift perfectly.
1:24
He says the success was so quick.
1:25
It was like Satan falling like lightning from heaven.
1:28
It was the collapse of a spiritual Kingdom in a single
1:30
glorious instant. Let's unpack that idea of
1:33
Satan's immediate downfall. Because there is such a dramatic
1:38
theological irony built into what happens right after the
1:41
crucifixion, we have to try and put ourselves in Satan's
1:44
perspective on that Saturday. You do?
1:46
Edward suggests. Satan wasn't just pleased, he
1:48
was filled with absolute triumph.
1:50
From his point of view, he had just engineered the murder of
1:52
God's Son. He destroyed the Covenant head.
1:55
He thinks he's won a total, irreversible victory.
1:57
Completely. He believes he's now reigning
1:59
supreme, especially through this vast heathen Roman system he's
2:02
cultivated. So he sees the cross not as a
2:04
defeat, but as the perfect trap. The Son of God is dead.
2:09
The plan of redemption is stopped in its tracks.
2:11
Right, but the ascension instantly flips that script.
2:15
Christ enters heaven, he's installed as high priest,
2:18
receives the Spirit as his reward, and then what does he
2:20
do? He immediately pours it out on
2:22
humanity. So that supposed victory becomes
2:25
the very catalyst for Satan's ruin.
2:27
Precisely, and Edwards details this link so well, Christ's
2:31
entry into the heavenly sanctuary, his receiving of the
2:34
Holy Spirit, and the outpouring that follows, it's all one
2:38
seamless, instantaneous transaction.
2:42
The redemption he purchased was applied immediately.
2:44
Immediately, and the result was abundant and a fusion of the
2:48
spirit for the conversion of thousands and then millions of
2:51
souls, not just in Palestine but across the entire known world.
2:55
And when we talk about the scale of this, Edwards makes a truly
2:58
audacious claim about this great effusion.
3:00
He does. He argues, based on his reading
3:02
of the global reach of the apostles, that there were likely
3:05
more souls converted and brought into the visible church in the
3:07
span of that one generation than in the entire span from the
3:11
beginning of the world until that time.
3:13
So think about that. Adam to Christ is 1 era.
3:16
The Apostolic Age is this new accelerated era.
3:20
The speed and scale were completely unprecedented.
3:23
It was a signal that God was operating the covenant in a
3:26
fundamentally new way. And that burst of immediate
3:29
success, it just confirms God's long standing promise to Christ.
3:33
It shows that the suffering was instantaneously redeemed by the
3:37
Father fulfilling His oath. It connects the suffering
3:40
directly to the harvest. The moment Christ suffered, the
3:43
Father was bound to fulfill His promise, which was that the Son
3:47
should see his seed and that the pleasure of the Lord should
3:50
prosper in His hand. So the immediate success of the
3:53
gospel was basically the Father handing Christ the fruits of his
3:56
labor. It was, and the first focus of
3:58
the success, naturally was among the Jews.
4:01
OK, so why was that essential covenant, Alamein?
4:03
Why did the Jewish people have to be the first recipients, even
4:07
though God was clearly preparing to reject the vast majority of
4:09
the nation? Because the covenants up to this
4:11
point had always, always been administered through Israel, God
4:15
needed to gather the elect remnant from Israel first.
4:17
To demonstrate his faithfulness. To demonstrate that he remains
4:21
faithful to His Word and that salvation continues to proceed
4:23
from the Jews. Only then could the broader
4:26
mission to the Gentiles begin. Grafted onto this purified
4:29
Jewish stock, it establishes the continuity of the Church.
4:33
This remnant concept is so key to how Edwards understands God's
4:37
work in history. It's not a new idea, of course,
4:40
but it's a powerful historical precedent he keeps coming back
4:43
to. It absolutely is.
4:45
Edwards constantly reminds the learner that God operates this
4:48
way during periods of national calamity or judgement.
4:52
He draws a strong historical parallel.
4:54
Like what? Well, consider the time of Ahab.
4:57
The bulk of Israel was rejected and destroyed, and yet God
5:00
preserved A remnant, the 7000 who hadn't vowed the need of
5:04
bail. Or, similarly, when the nation
5:06
went into Babylonian captivity, only a small faithful group
5:10
returned to rebuild Jerusalem. So even when God executes
5:13
judgment on the entire visible covenant nation, He preserves
5:16
this faithful portion to carry on His purposes.
5:19
The line of spiritual succession is never broken.
5:21
The Scriptures confirm this idea powerfully.
5:24
In Romans 9, the Holy Spirit explicitly compares the
5:27
conversion of the Jews by the apostles preaching to these
5:31
former remnants. Isaiah.
5:33
Though the number of the children of Israel be as the
5:36
sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved.
5:39
The very small number of Jewish conversions compared to the
5:41
nation's size demonstrated that salvation is always a work of
5:45
sovereign grace, rescuing a specific few from the general
5:49
calamity. And the start of this success
5:51
was just monumental. The effusion of the Spirit on
5:54
the Day of Pentecost from Acts chapter 2.
5:58
This wasn't just a spiritual event, it was a public
6:00
declaration in the very heart of the old dispensation.
6:04
It was shocking, sudden and completely public.
6:06
Edwards emphasizes the immediate numerical yield. 3000 people
6:10
converted in a single day. In one day.
6:13
In one day, followed shortly by the number reaching about 5000.
6:17
These weren't slow considered conversions over weeks.
6:20
This was immediate mass conviction brought about by the
6:22
visible outpouring of the Spirit.
6:24
But Edward stresses that this wasn't just about quantity.
6:28
The true sign of the great effusion was the the quality and
6:32
the spiritual maturity of this new church.
6:34
That's where the real Reformation lies.
6:36
Acts shows the early Church was eminent in piety.
6:39
They possessed A distinctive revolutionary spiritual and
6:42
social character. They were united in heart and
6:45
soul. They shared their resources.
6:47
So that none among them lacked anything that communal
6:50
structure, the sharing of goods, the cost of devotion, that must
6:53
have been socially and economically revolutionary in
6:55
that culture. It was, and Edward saw it as the
6:58
immediate, visible proof of genuine spiritual reformation.
7:03
In his view, external actions like sharing property
7:06
demonstrated that the selfish, carnal impulses of the old man
7:10
had been genuinely subdued by the spirit.
7:12
So it wasn't just a temporary religious fad.
7:14
Not at all. It was a new way of living.
7:16
It showed Christ's Kingdom impacts the wallet and the
7:19
household just as much as it impacts the heart.
7:21
And this visible revolutionary Mary piety made the Church
7:24
attractive to the outside world, earning them favor with all the
7:27
people. And that initial formation in
7:30
Jerusalem is central. The Christian Church began
7:33
there, and then it was propagated to all nations from
7:35
that geographical center. Yes, Jerusalem became the mother
7:38
church. The Gentiles were called and
7:40
grafted onto that existing purified Jewish stock, making
7:44
them proselytes to the spiritual Israel.
7:47
This makes Jerusalem the spiritual epicenter, which
7:49
aligns perfectly with ancient prophecy in Isaiah.
7:52
Out of Zion go forth the law and the word of the Lord from
7:55
Jerusalem. Exactly the entire Church of
7:58
God, whether Jewish or Gentile, is still regarded by Edwards as
8:01
Christ's spiritual Jerusalem. And this rapid spiritual
8:05
expansion triggered by Pentecost is what Edwards defines as the
8:08
beginning of Christ's coming in his Kingdom, a spiritual,
8:12
authoritative arrival. Precisely this spiritual coming,
8:15
which marked the glorious establishment of His Kingdom in
8:18
the world, is repeatedly represented in Scripture as
8:21
Christ coming down from heaven, not in a physical body, but
8:25
through the Spirit's power. It fulfills His promise in John
8:28
14. I will not leave you
8:30
comfortless. I will come unto you.
8:31
It does, and it allowed the apostles specifically to witness
8:36
the Kingdom of heaven arrive with power, just as Christ had
8:39
promised them. This was the inaugurated
8:41
eschatology. The age of the Spirit had truly
8:44
begun. It seems like Edwards is setting
8:46
up a narrative where the Old Testament age ends with this
8:49
immediate, powerful demonstration of Christ's rule.
8:53
There's no time lapse, no ambiguity about his authority
8:56
after the resurrection. That is the analytical point.
8:59
The efficacy of the redemption was applied immediately.
9:02
The moment the high priest entered, the blessing flowed.
9:05
The Kingdom wasn't waiting for a later date.
9:07
It started with the sound of a rushing wind.
9:09
So as the light spread, it didn't stay confined to
9:11
Jerusalem for long. The very next step in the
9:14
Spirit's progression involved a group that represented a
9:17
significant theological bridge, the Samaritans.
9:20
So why Samaria next? Their inclusion marks a vital
9:23
stage of transition. The Samaritans were well they
9:26
were a historically and theologically complex group,
9:28
descendants of Assyrian settlers mixed with remnants of the 10
9:32
captive tribes. They practiced A modified
9:34
version of Mosaic rites, but they had corrupted the religion.
9:38
They had their own rival temple on Mount Gerism.
9:41
Right. Edwards classifieds them as
9:43
mongrel Jews, and he distinguishes them from the pure
9:46
Gentiles. This distinction is often
9:48
overlooked. Why was it so critical that the
9:50
Samaritans were brought in before Cornelius, the first true
9:54
Gentile convert? It symbolized the gradual,
9:57
orderly opening of the covenant. The Samaritans were not totally
10:00
cut off. They had a version of the
10:02
covenant scriptures and it retained a historical, though
10:05
fractured, link to Israel. So Cornelius marked the calling
10:09
of the nations people completely alien to the Covenant.
10:12
Exactly. The Samaritans represented the
10:15
breaking down of the first barrier, religious and cultural
10:18
animosity within the broader covenant sphere.
10:21
And this movement came through Phillips preaching.
10:23
The result was a glorious pouring of the Spirit in
10:26
Samaria, leading to great joy and the conversion of many men
10:30
and women. The harvest was ripe for them,
10:32
just as Christ had hinted years earlier at Jacob's well.
10:35
Their positive disposition then blossomed into mass conversion
10:38
now. What's particularly striking is
10:41
the resulting socio political peace.
10:43
This conversion immediately dissolved the bitter enmity that
10:47
it existed between Jews and Samaritans for hundreds of
10:50
years. It offers profound insight into
10:52
the spiritual power of the gospel.
10:54
That deep seated hostile separation was instantly healed
10:58
by the unifying blood of Christ. Edwards views this unity as a
11:01
glorious instance of the prophetic vision.
11:04
He does in Christ Jesus is neither Jew nor Samaritan.
11:09
The wolf dwelling with the lamb wasn't just about different
11:11
personality types coexisting. It was about ancient cultural,
11:15
religious and political hatred just dissolving under the
11:18
authority of Christ's reign. So having bridged the
11:21
Samaritans, the spiritual expansion, they move to the
11:24
Gentiles, and Edwards describes this as the great and glorious
11:27
dispensation, the event that was anticipated throughout the
11:30
entire Old Testament. This was the major world
11:33
altering event. It fundamentally reshaped the
11:36
church, taking it from, you know, a Jewish sect to a
11:38
universal body. It started small, with
11:40
Cornelius, the devout centurion. And Peter, the instrument of
11:43
this shift, was completely astonished when the Holy Spirit
11:47
fell upon Cornelius and his household even as he was
11:50
speaking. He was.
11:51
It required a special vision for him, didn't it?
11:54
The Jewish believers fundamentally struggle with the
11:56
idea that the uncircumcised could be included without first
12:00
becoming Jewish proselytes. The sheep descending from
12:03
heaven. Yes, that vision demonstrated to
12:05
Peter that God no longer observed those Old Testament
12:09
ritual distinctions. It confirmed that God was
12:12
accepting the uncircumcised into His covenant people purely by
12:16
faith, without the prerequisite of Mosaic law.
12:19
So the next large influx came not from an organized mission,
12:23
but from persecution after Stephen stoning.
12:25
Right. The scattered disciples, instead
12:27
of running home, carried the gospel outward.
12:30
Eventually they reached Gentiles in Cyprus, Cyrene and Antioch.
12:33
And Antioch became the true strategic launchpad for the
12:36
Gentile mission. It really did.
12:39
Far surpassing Jerusalem's initial role, it was a thriving
12:43
cosmopolitan center, a melting pot of different cultures, and
12:48
the success there was so notable.
12:50
And the faith was so distinct from Judaism that the disciples
12:53
were first called Christians at Antioch.
12:55
Which signaled that the new faith had achieved this truly
12:58
universal identity outside the bounds of Judaism.
13:01
It had. And the primary engine driving
13:03
this massive worldwide expansion was, of course, the Apostle
13:07
Paul. Through Paul's ministry, vast
13:10
multitudes of Gentiles were converted all across the known
13:13
world, from Greece to Asia Minor and eventually to Rome itself.
13:17
And the number shifted quickly. Within a short period, the sheer
13:20
number of Gentile members came to far exceed that of the Jewish
13:22
members, radically reversing the original composition of the
13:26
church. The pace of progress was just
13:28
incredible. Edwards notes that in less than
13:30
10 years after Paul was commissioned to the Gentiles, he
13:32
and his companions were already being accused of having turned
13:35
the world upside down. That is an astonishing
13:38
statement. Think about what that phrase
13:40
implies. It wasn't just about religious
13:42
conversion. It was social disruption.
13:44
Idol makers were losing. Business philosophers were being
13:48
challenged. Social hierarchies were inverted
13:50
as slaves and masters worship together.
13:53
So the gospel wasn't a quiet private belief.
13:56
Not at all. It was a loud public declaration
13:58
that challenged the foundational assumptions of the Roman world,
14:02
forcing the authorities to acknowledge that a new Kingdom
14:04
was rising. And Edwards highlights the
14:07
extraordinary inn gathering in three major centers
14:09
specifically. Yes, the spiritual success was
14:12
concentrated in the great urban hubs.
14:14
First Ephesus, a great city known for its Temple of Artemis.
14:19
Second Corinth, one of the greatest commercial and
14:21
intellectual centers in Greece. You finally Rome.
14:24
And finally, the conversion of many in Rome itself, the chief
14:27
city of the entire world, demonstrating that the Gospel
14:30
was conquering the very centers of power and thought.
14:33
This truly was the gospel sun rising upon a world that had
14:37
been covered in thick heathen darkness for ages.
14:39
The transformation was comprehensive.
14:42
According to Edwards, Christian assemblies were meeting in
14:44
almost all known countries. People abandoned polytheism and
14:48
idolatry. They cast their idols, as the
14:50
Scripture says, to the moles and to the bats.
14:53
They were made nigh by the blood of Christ, brought out of
14:56
Satan's Kingdom of darkness and into God's marvelous light.
15:00
And Edwards connects this entire period of expansion to a
15:03
powerful prophetic climax that was established centuries
15:06
before. He returns to Daniel's prophecy.
15:09
The stone cut out of the mountain without hands, which is
15:12
Christ's spiritual Kingdom, began at this time to smite the
15:16
great image on its feet, and started its steady, irreversible
15:19
advance toward filling the entire earth.
15:21
So this entire Apostolic age, from Pentecost to 70 AD, it's
15:25
framed as a rapid period of harvest and gathering.
15:28
It was the time God gathered His elect from the four winds of
15:31
heaven through the preaching of the apostles.
15:33
They were the angels of the Christian Church, sent forth
15:35
with the Gospel trumpet. This immense spiritual in
15:38
gathering had to be completed before the final terrible
15:41
destruction of Jerusalem. It's a purposeful completion of
15:44
the harvest before the judgement falls.
15:46
Yes, the structure is one of salvation first, then
15:50
separation. So with this rapid and frankly
15:53
unexpected success of Christ's Kingdom, there was a furious
15:57
counter attack. Oh, absolutely.
15:59
Satan, who had assumed his victory was secured on the
16:02
cross, found himself in a state of confusion and astonishment.
16:06
Hell was fully alarmed by the collapse of its earthly power
16:09
structures. And this alarm immediately
16:11
translated into violent opposition against the growing
16:14
church. Edwards pinpoints where the
16:16
primary source of suffering came from during those initial
16:19
decades. Primarily from the Jews, the
16:21
very people who had crucified Christ.
16:23
Edwards highlights that the most severe and sustained persecution
16:26
suffered by the early Church during this period was
16:29
orchestrated by the Jewish religious and civic leaders.
16:32
We see this timeline detailed all throughout the book of Acts,
16:34
starting literally the day after Pentecost.
16:37
Immediately following the first mass conversions, the Jews
16:41
mocked, accusing the disciples of being drunk.
16:43
The scribes, Pharisees, the captain of the Temple Guard,
16:46
they quickly became alarmed. They saw this movement as a
16:49
threat to their authority. So they imprisoned and beat the
16:51
apostles. They did, and they pursued them
16:54
with increasing malice, culminating in the tumultuous
16:57
rage that led to Stephen stoning.
16:59
And the persecution became organized.
17:01
Even state sponsored. Herod, seeking political favor,
17:05
killed James and imprisoned Peter.
17:06
And of course, Paul. Even after his conversion, he
17:09
suffered intensely at their hands.
17:11
He received the 40 lashes -1 was stoned, faced constant threats.
17:16
Wherever he travelled, wherever the apostles went, the Jews
17:19
malignantly opposed the Gospel, contradicting and blaspheming.
17:23
This violence was the final desperate resistance of the Old
17:26
Testament world system. It was, and this opposition
17:30
directly fulfilled Christ's specific prophecy of the fate
17:33
that was awaiting his messengers.
17:34
Matthew 23. Yes, behold, I send you prophets
17:37
and wise men and scribes, and some of them ye shall kill and
17:40
crucify and persecute them from city to city.
17:43
Because of their obstinate refusal to accept the truth and
17:46
their violent persecution, God executed 3 distinct,
17:50
comprehensive judgments upon. Them and Edwards outlines a
17:52
clear escalation, starting with a spiritual judgment, judicial
17:56
blindness. This is a critical theological
17:58
concept for Edwards. Christ denounced this woe
18:01
repeatedly. Paul confirms it explicitly in
18:04
Acts 28, citing Isaiah's prophecy of hearts growing gross
18:08
and ears becoming dull. And under this curse, this
18:11
judicial blindness and hardness of heart, they have remained for
18:14
what is now nearly 2 millennia. It's an awful instance of God's
18:18
terrible vengeance. How does Edwards view the
18:21
operation of this judicial blindness?
18:23
Is it just God stepping back, or is it an active curse, a
18:26
specific punishment? It is an active, specific
18:29
judgment. It is not ignorance.
18:31
It is the deliberate inability to be convinced, despite
18:34
possessing all the necessary evidence, the miracles, the
18:37
resurrection and, critically, their own ancient scriptures.
18:41
Their rejection of Christ, despite the clear testimonies in
18:44
their own sacred texts, is the proof for Edwards.
18:47
He sees it as proof they were dreadfully left of God.
18:50
They weren't just stubborn, they were supernaturally hardened,
18:53
and Edwards pointed out the stark evidence.
18:55
It was, and it remains a very rare thing for any Jew to
18:58
convert to the Christian faith, which demonstrates the lasting,
19:01
awful depth of this spiritual judgment.
19:04
The second judgment was their visible practical rejection as
19:07
God's visible covenant people. They were replaced in the
19:10
covenant structure. This was the covenantal curse.
19:13
They were symbolically and practically broken off from the
19:16
stock of Abraham. They were no longer considered
19:18
the exclusive people of God, no more so than the Ishmaelites or
19:22
the Edomites. And other people, the Gentiles,
19:25
were taken in their stead. Which fulfilled the predictions
19:27
of their own prophets. Deuteronomy 32 says I will
19:31
provoke them to anger with those which are not a people, and
19:34
Isaiah 65 confirms it. I am sort of them that ask not
19:38
for me. I am fond of them that sought me
19:40
not. The Gentiles, who had no history
19:42
with the covenant, were now the recipients of its blessing.
19:45
And this rejection was made visibly apparent when God
19:48
directed the apostles to definitively turn away from
19:50
them. This moment, repeated in several
19:52
cities, mark the final break. Paul and Barnabas made it
19:55
explicit in Acts 13. Seeing ye put it from you and
19:59
judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life.
20:02
Lo, we turn to the Gentiles. And that directive, repeated in
20:06
Corinth, in Rome, established that the door to the
20:09
persistently resistant Jewish nation was shutting.
20:12
While the door to the Gentiles was fully and finally open, the
20:15
covenant had transitioned. The 3rd, and perhaps the most
20:19
historically decisive judgment was the terrible destruction of
20:23
their city and country by the Roman Empire in 70AD.
20:27
This was the physical, temporal manifestation of God's wrath.
20:31
And this event was preceded by profound and abundant warnings.
20:35
John the Baptist told them the axe was laid at the root of the
20:38
tree. Christ himself wept over
20:40
Jerusalem while foretelling it's complete ruin.
20:43
The apostles warned them abundantly, yet they remained
20:46
obstinate. They did, and even shortly
20:48
before the final calamity, Paul provided one more ultimate
20:52
warning in his Epistle to the Hebrews.
20:53
Which was likely written just a few years before the
20:55
destruction. About four years before, around
20:58
66 AD, it served as a final plea.
21:01
It laid out clear, rigorous arguments from their own law and
21:04
prophets, proving that Christ was the Son of God, that his
21:07
sacrifice was superior, and therefore the entire Jewish
21:10
dispensation, its temple, its sacrifices, it must cease.
21:14
And he specifically warned them of the approaching judgement and
21:17
the fiery indignation which would devour the adversaries.
21:20
Yes, and because the general population refused this final
21:23
conviction, God destroyed them with circumstances that Edward's
21:27
notes are unparalleled by any destruction since the foundation
21:30
of the world he's. Fulfilling Christ's harrowing
21:33
prophecy in Matthew 24. For then shall be tribulation,
21:38
such as was not from the beginning of the world to this
21:40
time, no, nor ever shall be. Edwards compares it to the
21:44
earlier destruction by the Babylonians, and concludes that
21:47
even that, though it was terrible, was nothing compared
21:50
to the suffering inflicted by Rome.
21:52
What were the specific horrors that Edwards focuses on?
21:55
He relies heavily on the eyewitness accounts of Josephus.
21:58
Yes, Josephus, who was present during the siege, confirmed
22:01
Christ's prophecies in terrifying detail.
22:04
The city endured starvation so severe that people resorted to
22:07
acts of cannibalism. And there was internal fighting.
22:10
Savagely internal factions of Jews fought one another even
22:13
while the Roman legions surrounded them.
22:16
They killed far more of their own people than the Romans
22:18
initially did, and the destruction included many
22:21
fearful sights in the heavens, portents recorded by Josephus,
22:24
and the clear separation of the Christian righteous who had fled
22:27
the city from the wicked who were trapped inside.
22:30
It truly was a comprehensive execution of divine justice.
22:33
God brought upon them all the righteous blood that had been
22:36
shed from the foundation of the world.
22:38
And the physical devastation cemented the judicial act.
22:41
The city and the temple were burned and completely raised.
22:44
Roman soldiers were instructed to plow the ground where the
22:47
Temple stood, literally fulfilling Christ's prophecy
22:50
that one stone would not be left upon another.
22:53
So this event was not just a military defeat.
22:56
Not at all. It was the final total end of
22:58
the Old Testament world system. It was, as Edward states, a kind
23:02
of day of judgement for the old dispensation where God's people
23:06
were providentially saved and his enemies were terribly
23:08
destroyed. This event proved that Christ,
23:11
who had so recently been mocked and spit upon by these same
23:14
people, was now gloriously exalted over his enemies.
23:18
Ruling them with a rod of iron, just as promised in Psalm 110.
23:22
The destruction of Jerusalem cemented the success of his
23:25
redemptive work and the temporal authority of his new spiritual
23:28
Kingdom. It confirmed that the era of the
23:31
Church had definitively replaced the era of the Temple.
23:34
So to summarize this critical period, what we see is clear
23:37
evidence of the immediate and successful efficacy of Christ's
23:40
work. Yes, the purchase of redemption
23:43
resulted not in a slow, gradual drift, but in an instantaneous,
23:47
organized and prophesied expansion of the spiritual
23:50
Kingdom, and that was paired with swift, comprehensive
23:53
judgment upon those who refused to submit to Christ authority.
23:57
For you, the learner, this deep dives offers insight into the
24:00
speed and precision of divine Providence.
24:03
It shows that when Christ descends and begins to rule, the
24:05
effects are neither distant nor ambiguous.
24:08
That's a good way to put it. The Kingdom expands in the
24:11
spiritual realm, and judgement is simultaneously executed in
24:15
the temporal realm. It illustrates God's precise
24:18
plan for the transition from the old to the new dispensation.
24:22
And we have to observe this final historical fact that
24:25
Edwards emphasizes. The Jews had ceased to be an
24:28
independent government after the Babylonian captivity, but they
24:31
still had their city and their temple.
24:33
But after the destruction of Jerusalem, their very city and
24:36
land were utterly destroyed, leading to their global
24:38
dispersion. Yeah, this dispersion was
24:40
complete. They lost their national
24:42
identity, their sacrificial system, their home, and they
24:46
continued without a homeland or a civic city for a well over
24:49
1600 years. So what does this thoroughness,
24:53
this enduring judicial act that scattered an entire people for
24:56
centuries, tell you about the finality and comprehensiveness
25:00
of God's judicial acts when the old dispensation comes to a
25:03
close? It's something to really
25:04
consider the theological weight of a judgment that ends not just
25:08
a government, but a distinct cultural presence for nearly two
25:11
millennia. It's the stark gravity of
25:14
rejecting Christ's spiritual reign.