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What the Work of Redemption Demands From Us Now | Jonathan Edwards · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to reformed thinking. And this is the deep dive.
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Our mission today is, well, it's a big one.
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We're taking a single really powerful set of reflections on
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the work of redemption and we're going to try and distill its
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core claim, which is that all of history, and I mean all of it is
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actually one single unified building project.
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That's right. And when you read these sources,
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especially the ones that look at the whole sweep of history,
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you're really pushed to stop seeing events in isolation,
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right? Instead, we're being asked to
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look at the entirety of divine Providence stretching from, you
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know, the moment of the fall right up to the final day of
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judgement. The whole timeline.
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The whole thing, the goal is to really grasp how all these
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events, all the political upheavals, all the different
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ages, how they all converge on this one magnificent plan, and
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it all culminates in the laying of what the source calls the top
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stone. The final piece of the.
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Building the final glorious consummation of the work.
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OK, let's unpack this right at the start, because that is a
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massive claim. The material we're drawing from
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argues that the work of redemption is in fact the
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greatest of all of God's actions, and that that needs
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some immediate justification. I think most of us are used to
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thinking of creation, you know, bringing everything from nothing
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as the ultimate display of divine power.
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So what details help us appreciate that redemption
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actually holds this this immense scale?
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Well, the Source defines the greatness of this work through
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really three connected ideas. The first one is the magnitude
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of the particular events themselves.
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The greatness of the work is shown by the specific, profound,
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and often just astonishing things God did both to purchase
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our redemption and then to secure its success.
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Right. So it's not just one act, it's a
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series of them. Exactly.
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And in these acts, we see God's glory magnified in a way that's,
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well, the six days of creation, as spectacular as they were,
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they just don't allow for. That immediately focuses our
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attention on the period of the Messiah, on Christ.
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But the material points out that even before the purchase itself,
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there were great things done just to prepare the way.
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Oh. Absolutely.
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If redemption is the greatest work, then that preparation must
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also be pretty spectacular. What kind of preparation could
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possibly rival the act of creation itself?
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In a word, the entire Old Testament, really every
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prophecy, every covenant, every deliverance from Abraham all the
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way to Malachi, it was all preparation.
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But the absolute apex of that preparation, and really the
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first act of the purchase itself, is the incarnation.
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God becoming man, yes. Yeah, and when we stop and
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consider the astonishing nature of that God becoming man, we
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realize this is an act of of condescension so far beyond the
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scope of merely speaking a world into existence.
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I think we sometimes lose the sheer theological weight of that
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because we're just so familiar with it, you know, we.
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Do. When we talk about the
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incarnation, we're not talking about a quick glorious visit.
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We're talking about the eternal God consenting to live on earth
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for what, 333435 years? And specifically choosing a mean
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despised condition. The source really stresses the
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duration and the nature of that stay.
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It does. The sheer scope of that willing
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descent into humanity is it's just astonishing.
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It was a sustained life of Labor, of temptation and
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suffering, all of which was required for the purchase.
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And that's the key difference. It is the greatest acts of
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creation required God merely to speak a word.
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The greatest act of redemption required God to suffer and to
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die. And the purchase price itself,
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then that becomes the single most significant transaction in
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the entire history of the cosmos.
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His laborers, his intense sufferings, and then finally his
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agonizing death on the cross. These are the definitive acts,
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the center point that all of history turns on.
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If the point of the greatest work is to glorify God's
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attributes, this transaction shows mercy and justice and
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holiness all at the same time in a way that creation just by
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itself couldn't. And that leads directly to
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securing the success of the work, which itself required
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divine acts of unparalleled might.
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I mean, what great things were done to put him in a capacity to
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accomplish that success? His resurrection.
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His resurrection from the dead, conquering death itself, and
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then his ascension into heaven. And this ascension wasn't just a
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return home, it was a coronation.
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It resulted in all things being made subject to him.
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So the resurrection and ascension essentially placed
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Christ in the executive position over all of Providence.
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He's given the controls specifically to make sure the
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work he purchased succeeds. That's it.
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And since that moment, we've seen that success unfolding
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through these mighty revolutions.
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The material points to, for example, the overturning of
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Satan's Kingdom in the Pagan Roman an empire as a massive
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historical landmark. A huge one.
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And the source doesn't stop there.
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It asserts that even greater revolutions are still to come,
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all culminating in the final judgment.
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Absolutely. This shows the project is
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constantly active, constantly disrupting the course of human
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kingdoms. The scale isn't just about those
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moments of high drama, it's about the sheer grinding
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duration. Which brings us to the second
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element that proves the scale of the work, it's duration, and the
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sheer number of events involved. Right, the time scale.
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We celebrate the six days of creation, but the source
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contrasts this so sharply. The particular wonderful events
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that carried on the work of creation.
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They filled up six days of the great dispensations.
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The individual acts of Providence that carry on the
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work of redemption. They are so numerous that they
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fill up 6 or 7000 years at least.
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That is a staggering way to frame history as one long
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succession of wonderful works, all dedicated to a single
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continuous project. It completely reframes what we
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might call secular history. It just becomes chapters in this
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divine narrative. It does.
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Let's trace this detailed chronology.
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Then the source starts even before what we'd recognize as
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the beginning of the nation of Israel.
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We have to. The work of redemption began
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immediately after the fall with that first promise, and great
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things were done in this affair even before the flood.
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We consider the scale of the flood itself, the entire world
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being destroyed by water. A total reset a.
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Total reset. And yet God's church, Noah and
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his family, was so wonderfully preserved from it, specifically
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in order to carry on this work. Redemption wasn't paused.
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The Flood was a massive act of global judgement that was
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subordinate to the continuity of the Covenant line.
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That's a crucial insight. So judgment and destruction
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aren't deviations from the plan, they're actually tools for the
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plan. Exactly.
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So moving past that massive reset, we get into the post
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flood era. What follows is this long
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sequence that's necessary to manage the human race all
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leading up to the Messiah. Indeed, we see the resettling of
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the world. We see the scattering at the
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Tower of Babel, an event that dispersed nations and confused
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languages. The Source treats this not as
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some Side Story, but as a deliberate act of God to set
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boundaries for the nation's it created, the framework within
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which the subsequent, much narrower redemption narrative
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would proceed. And it also involved the
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shortening of human life. Yes, which limited the ability
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of wickedness to compound over these really long generations.
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OK, these are all global civilization defining movements,
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and they're all viewed here as just preparatory work for the
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lineage of the Redeemer. And then, after all that, the
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focus narrows dramatically to the critical step, the calling
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of Abraham. This marks the beginning of that
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specific lineage through which the Redeemer would come.
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And the story gets narrower but no less dramatic.
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We see this long series of Providence is concerning
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Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, and their lives were
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constantly filled with peril, famine, exile, sibling rivalry,
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enslavement. All of the drama.
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All of it. Yet the source emphasizes that
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the line was always preserved. Joseph's dramatic rise in Egypt,
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for instance, wasn't just a fascinating biography.
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It was the mechanism God used to preserve the 70 souls of Jacob's
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family from famine, ensuring the line survive to grow into a
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nation. Which leads right into the
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spectacular demonstration of power in the Exodus, right?
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The wonders in Egypt, the display of power at the Red Sea,
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the 40 years in the wilderness, and then the final conquest of
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Canaan in Joshua's time. This entire history of the
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Jewish nation, with its cycles of faithfulness and apostasy,
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it's viewed not just as tribal history, but as the necessary
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architecture for the coming king.
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It's all about trajectory and the pace of preparation.
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It just increases right before Christ.
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Advent, the source, talks about the great things God did and so
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openly overturning the world to make way for his arrival.
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You mean things like the Roman Empire?
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Exactly. The establishment of the Roman
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Empire, the Pax Romana, the network of roads, the
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standardization of koi and Greek, all these massive secular
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geopolitical achievements suddenly become essential
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components of this divine master plan.
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So Caesar Augustus, when he commands a census that brings
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Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, he isn't acting independently.
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He's just a subordinate wheel in this grand machine.
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That's a fundamental reorientation of what we
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consider great in history. It is, and the work doesn't stop
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with the cross or the apostles. Consider the spiritual and
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political battle that followed the overturning of Satan's
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Kingdom and the Pagan Roman Empire, and then the subsequent
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preservation of the Church during what the source calls the
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dark times of potpourri. Let's pause there and just
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contextualize that term for our listeners, since it reflects the
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specific theological categorization used in the
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source material. Good idea.
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When the source talks about dark times of potpourri, it is
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referring to the historical dominance of the Roman Catholic
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Church, which was viewed by those in the Reformed tradition
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as an institution that had corrupted the purity the Gospel
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and suppressed true worship. That's right.
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For the author, the institutional corruption and the
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persecution during the medieval period represented a powerful
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resurgence of Satan's Kingdom. So preserving the true Church
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through that. Yes, the preservation of the
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true church, often just small scattered groups through those
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struggles, along with the eventual bringing about of the
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Reformation, are explicitly mentioned as massive
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institutional and political struggles, but they're just
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major chapters in the history of redemption success.
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They're not random schisms, they're necessary battles.
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They're necessary battles in the ongoing war against the Serpent
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Seed. And we're told that this list of
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events continues into our future.
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The Source looks forward to the glorious times of the Church yet
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to come, which will involve great and wonderful things,
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followed by Christ's last coming on the Day of Judgement, the
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destruction of the world and the carrying of the whole Church
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into heaven. It's just this continuous multi
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millennial chain of cause and effect with not one link
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failing. The project is still ongoing.
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And this exhaustive accounting, it leads to the third and most
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crucial point of this first section.
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Redemption is the end of all God's other works.
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The purpose? The purpose?
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This allows the source to make its definitive argument.
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The work of redemption is the principle of all God's works of
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Providence, and crucially, all other works are subordinate to
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it. So if you were to put creation
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and redemption on a hierarchy, redemption wins because it's the
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reason for creation. Let's spend a moment on that
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contrast. We might assume creation is an
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end in itself, just establishing existence, but here creation is
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kind of reduced to a prerequisite.
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The source uses a very helpful, a very relatable analogy to
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explain this. The work of redemption is the
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end of creation, just as the use of a house is the end of its
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building. Right.
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You don't build a house just to have walls and a roof.
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Exactly. You build it for living in, for
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shelter for its function. Creation is the structure,
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redemption is the function, the glorious residence for God's
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purposes concerning His Son and His people.
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And this means that all revolutions, all geological and
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astronomical phenomena, everything is designed to
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subserve this one grand design. The new creation is considered
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superior because the building's purpose is superior to the
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building itself. And this superiority of the new,
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excelling the old is a consistent motif in Scripture
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which the source draws out in detail.
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We see this deliberate increasing quality control for.
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Example. Well, the temporary moving
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Tabernacle gives way to the fixed Glorz temple.
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The shadowy Old Covenant gives way to the new Covenant
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established by Christ's blood. The priesthood of Aaron yields
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to the permanent priesthood of Christ, and the earthly
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Jerusalem points forward to the heavenly New Jerusalem.
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The lesson is clear. Every new structure is superior.
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It's an escalating trajectory of glory.
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Furthermore, God has used creation for no other purpose
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but to subserve the designs of this affair.
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The sources argue that God created and disposed of mankind,
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angels, the earth and the highest heavens for this
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specific purpose, to provide a spouse and a Kingdom for His
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Son. Wow, that puts a tremendous
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theological weight on the covenant relationship.
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It implies that the entire cosmic structure, everything
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that exists, is essentially just the scaffolding for the Church.
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It does the entire creation, as the source says, laborers and
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travails and pain. That's a reference to Romans 8,
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to bring this spiritual marriage between Christ and His Church to
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pass. Everything is instrumental.
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This is a powerful synthesizing argument.
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If redemption is so central, then all other works are either
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parts of it, appendages to it, or just reducible to it.
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And that includes even the eternal decrees of God, the
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deepest, most secret actions of the divine mind.
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The Source suggests that all the decrees of God somehow belong to
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that eternal covenant of redemption which existed between
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the Father and the Son before the foundation of the world.
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It frames the entire divine agenda from eternity past to
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eternity future as centered on this one redemptive agreement.
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So if the decree of election is part of the covenant of
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redemption. And creation is merely the stage
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to enact election. Then redemption is indeed the
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principal work. That's the logic, and this
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explains why beings outside of mankind, the angels, desire to
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look into it and why it is the main subject of all Scripture.
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Every part of the Bible, its histories, its prophecies, its
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songs, its doctrines, is focused on this one great subject.
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It's the central thread that unifies the entire revelation.
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OK, so moving from the sheer scale of the work to its
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architect, we see how this work of redemption confirms the very
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identity of God. The whole course of Providence
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is presented as a design that begins in God and concludes in
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God, which confirms those titles He has in Scripture, Alpha and
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Omega, the beginning and the ending, the 1st and the last.
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That's right, and the source makes specific reference to
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scriptural declarations of this character, showing it's not just
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some generic theological title, it's specifically tied to the
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unfolding of history and future events.
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Right, like in Isaiah 12, I the Lord the 1st and with the last I
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am He. That speaks to God's total
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dominion over time itself. And this characterization, Alpha
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and Omega, is used repeatedly by Christ himself when He's
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revealing future great events of Providence relating to His
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Church. You see it in Revelation
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1/21/22. Christ reveals Himself under
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this title as He speaks of the things that are to come.
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So since alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the
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Greek alphabet. It signifies his absolute
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control over the entire historical sequence, from the
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very first event to the very last.
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Nothing is outside of his control.
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This perspective draws a really sharp, necessary distinction
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between God and everything he has made.
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We see how other things are temporary and come to an end.
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States, kingdoms, empires, they all fall, even the strongest
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ones. The world itself is subject to
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destruction, first by water and finally by fire.
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Yet God remains the same. He's unchangeable through all
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ages. He was before the beginning of
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this course of things, and He will be after the end of them.
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He is who is and who was and who is to come.
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Exactly. And this stands in stark
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contrast to the fate of all rivals.
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The stability of the work depends completely on the
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stability of the worker. The Source reminds us of the
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fate of all these other gods and systems built on human
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authority, the ancient Canaanite gods, the powerful Roman gods,
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and the great institutional deceivers throughout history
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like Antichlist and Muhammad. In the Source's historical
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framework, they all perish. And we should probably
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contextualize those terms again. Good point.
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When the material speaks of Antichrist and Muhammad, it is
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using 18th century theological terms to describe 2 massive
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opposing forces that historically tried to supplant
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or destroy the true Christian Church.
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Antichrist refers to the perceived apostate power within
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institutionalized Christendom, which was often identified as
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the papacy, and Muhammad refers to the political and religious
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system of Islam, which was seen as an external conquering force
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challenging the spread of the Gospel.
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The point is that all these systems, however vast or strong
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they appear, they eventually fail.
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They rise and vaunt themselves, and Satan, who has set himself
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up as the God of this world, will be cast into the lake of
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fire for his complete punishment.
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But Jehovah remains. His Kingdom is everlasting, and
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of his dominion there is no end. This leads us to a really
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beautiful pair of metaphors for understanding Providence itself,
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starting with the river. Yes, Providence is presented
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like a mighty river. It begins at the head in God's
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eternal counsel, and it flows through various windings.
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It encounters obstacles, but it always maintains its course and
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that it empties itself into the infinite ocean that is God.
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So as it began in God, it ends in Him.
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Which ensures nothing is lost or accidental along the way.
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And the second metaphor is even more evocative, the vision of
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the Mighty wheel from Ezekiel. The source notes that the
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circumference is so high that it's dreadful, but it's rotation
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begins from God and returns to God again.
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The Wheel of Providence, Yeah. All events are like links in a
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chain. The first link is forged by him
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and the last is connected right back to him.
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This cyclical return confirms the sovereignty of the Alpha and
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Omega over everything that happens within the sequence.
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But if God controls everything, the alpha and the Omega, where
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does human agency fit into this complex wheel?
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I mean, is free will just an illusion in this grand project?
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That's a huge question, and the source addresses it by showing
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how even women opposition is subordinate.
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The system describes God's operation through secondary
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causes, which includes the wills and decisions of men where
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they're good or evil. So how does that work?
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The wheel is full of eyes, meaning it's guided by perfect
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knowledge and wisdom, not blind fate.
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Man acts freely according to his nature, but God so governs the
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circumstances and the issues that man's actions still fall
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within the overall determined track of the wheel.
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So the crooked stream is human sin and error.
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But the river still reaches the ocean, yes?
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This naturally leads us to the supreme preeminence of Christ.
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Since redemption is the sum of God's works, it has to highlight
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the glory of Jesus Christ as being above all and through all
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and in all. We have to detail how the world
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specifically relates to Christ in this grand scheme.
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It's not just that He is important, He is the reason for
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existence. God created the world by His Son
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for His Son's use in redemption. This is drawn out explicitly in
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passages like Ephesians 3 and Colossians 1.
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Let's zoom in on that idea. Colossians states that Christ is
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before all and above all, and that all things consist in Him,
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are governed by Him, and are for Him.
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This isn't just a theological statement of rank, it's a cosmic
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mechanism. He is the sustaining power of
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existence. Precisely, the world exists as
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the stage and the means for the unfolding of His redemptive
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reign. Every molecule, every moment is
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held together by Him to accomplish His objective.
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And this places him in a position of authority above all
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human power. God sets him as his first born,
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higher than the kings of the earth.
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His throne is literally above their Thrones, not just
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metaphorically. And because his Kingdom is the
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product of the supreme work, it cannot fail.
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All other kingdoms fall, whether they be Assyrian or Greek or
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Roman. They're all temporary
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structures. But Christ's Kingdom is the
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last, and it never gives place to another.
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It is the permanent final civilization.
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The outcome is absolutely fixed then, regardless of the apparent
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political or social chaos we see.
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Yes. We see that whatever changes
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there are, and however highly Christ's enemies exalt
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themselves, yet He reigns in uncontrolled power and immense
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glory. The result is fixed.
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His people are saved and made perfectly happy, and all his
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enemies become His footstool. God gives the world to His Son
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for his inheritance. Since we've covered the
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staggering size and the singular target of this project, let's
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look at the staggering order of it.
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When we view history this way, not as arbitrary events but as a
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determined sequence leading to Christ's triumph, it changes
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everything about how we understand historical causality.
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It does The consideration of this whole scheme greatly served
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to show us the consistency, order, and beauty of God's works
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of Providence. That is the practical benefit of
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this perspective, isn't it? It is if we behold events in any
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other way. All looks like confusion, like
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the tossing of waves driven by blind chance.
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History just becomes a series of meaningless accidents.
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But when you view it through the light of redemption.
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Then Providence appears as an orderly series of events, all
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wisely directed in excellent harmony and consistence, and it
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proves it is not guided by chaos.
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The metaphors of order are so critical here.
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We have to go back to Ezekiel's vision and remember that the
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wheels of Providence are not turned around by blind chance,
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but are full of eyes guided by the Spirit of God.
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Right where the Spirit goes, they go.
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The eyes represent the omniscience and perfect
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foresight of the Creator, ensuring that even apparent
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mistakes or unforeseen calamities are actually part of
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a greater calculated path. And the entire sequence of
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history is shown as converging all God's works of Providence
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through all the ages. They meet at last, like many
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lines meeting in one center. It's not many distinct
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independent works, but one work, one regular scheme, designed
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from the very outset. It's described as one building,
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many stones, many pieces of timber, but all joined and fitly
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formed together. They have all but one
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foundation, Christ, and are united at last in one top stone.
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The unity is structural and deliberate.
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Which means every era, every person, every Kingdom has a
22:20
calculated place in the final structure.
22:22
We should revisit the river analogy here because it explains
22:25
why things look so confusing to us, the observers.
22:27
Yes. Providence is like a large long
22:30
river with innumerable branches beginning in different regions
22:34
and at a great distance, yet all of them conspiring to 1 common
22:38
issue. So the individual streams might
22:40
look Cryptid from our perspective, and different
22:42
strings might run contrary ways for a time, sometimes even
22:45
fighting each other right. And because of our limited
22:48
sight, we see obstacles, rocks and mountains that appear to
22:52
hinder them from ever uniting and coming to the ocean.
22:55
A great example is when we see human empires rise up seemingly
22:59
to crush the church, like the Babylonian or the Roman empires,
23:02
or the later persecutions under the forces described as anti
23:05
Christ. These appear as insurmountable
23:08
mountains destined to stop the river of redemption.
23:11
Yet the outcome is absolutely certain.
23:13
They all unite. At last they all come to the
23:15
same issue, disgorging themselves in one into the same
23:19
great ocean. Not one stream fails to reach
23:21
its appointed conclusion. The stability derive from the
23:24
beginning and ending in God guarantees the eventual order.
23:28
This unified scheme leads directly to a strong argument
23:31
for the truth of Scripture itself, doesn't it?
23:33
It does. If God is pursuing a great
23:35
desire that involves all rational beings and spans all
23:38
ages, then it makes sense that those rational beings should
23:41
know what it is. And the Scriptures gain
23:44
credibility because they alone reveal this overarching scheme.
23:48
It's entirely reasonable to suppose that all revolutions
23:52
from the beginning to the end are parts of the same scheme,
23:55
all conspiring to bring about the ultimate event the Creator
23:58
has in view. The whole system is coherent,
24:01
and nothing else informs us of this scheme but the Holy
24:04
Scriptures. So that's the challenge to every
24:07
other source of knowledge, every philosophy, every religious
24:10
tradition. The claim is basically no other
24:13
worldview or religion even tries to do this.
24:15
Pretty much. They might have creation myths
24:17
or end time stories, but not a single coherent narrative that
24:20
connects everything in between. Secular history focuses on
24:23
immediate causes, Philosophy tries to find cyclical patterns.
24:27
Only Scripture informs us how all things were from God at
24:29
first, but what end they are and how they will return to God.
24:33
So the Bible alone sets forth a regular scheme or drift in the
24:36
age to age revolutions. It alone attempts to show what
24:40
God would affect by the things which He has done, is doing, and
24:44
will do. And this is vital knowledge for
24:46
mankind because the entire scheme concerns us directly.
24:50
Why is this knowledge so necessary for mankind?
24:53
Specifically, the Source highlights that rational beings
24:56
are principally concerned with God's great design.
24:58
Well, God's design is centered around His reasonable creatures,
25:02
not brute beasts or inanimate things.
25:05
And since God has given us the capacity to see His glory in His
25:08
works, we must know what His design is.
25:11
How can we see God's glory in His works if we don't know what
25:14
He aims at by what He is doing in the world?
25:16
We would be praising the painter for the colors, but have no idea
25:19
what the subject of the painting is.
25:20
And beyond just seeing His glory, we are capable of
25:23
actively falling in with that design, of promoting it and
25:26
acting as God's friends and subjects.
25:28
To do that, we need the map, the revealed plan.
25:30
And the Bible provides that map. Here we learn the true original
25:34
things, the fall, the promise, and have an orderly account of
25:38
the scheme of God's works from the beginning through ages,
25:41
beyond the reach of all other histories or archaeology.
25:43
We're told what God aims at in the whole.
25:45
And how he has contrived the grand design, even utilizing
25:49
human sin and error to promote his good.
25:52
The result is that the Bible gives a rational, worthy and
25:55
excellent account of the whole scheme, history and prophecy,
25:59
showing forth God's perfections, His Majesty, His wisdom, His
26:03
glorious holiness, grace and love.
26:05
Without it, mankind would just be left in miserable darkness
26:08
and confusion, trying to make sense of apparent chaos without
26:12
the key to the entire operation. This magnificent work doesn't
26:15
just explain history, it magnifies God's attributes far
26:18
beyond what creation alone can do.
26:20
We see the glorious majesty and power of God confirmed
26:23
throughout this long history of redemption.
26:25
We see His glorious power appearing first and foremost in
26:28
upholding His Church for so long, often when it was nothing
26:31
but a little spark or a smoking flax with the fire almost
26:33
extinct. Right.
26:34
Think of the lineage of Christ reduced to just one family in
26:37
Noah's Ark, or this single line of Abraham or the Church during
26:41
the worst of the Roman persecution.
26:43
It seems so fragile. So fragile, the combined powers
26:46
of earth and hell, all the great empires, all the philosophical
26:50
attacks, all the spiritual wickedness, have sought to
26:53
destroy it. Yet God has never suffered them
26:55
to quench it. And He will finally bring forth
26:58
judgement unto victory. This is a display of strength
27:01
shown in weakness. It's the sheer irony of the
27:03
conflict God causes his people, who are often, like a number of
27:07
little infants in their own strength, to finally triumph
27:10
over all earth and hell. They shall tread on the lion and
27:14
the adder. And the conquest is executed by
27:16
a person who was once an infinite, a Manger, and who
27:19
appear as a poor, weak, despised man.
27:22
Christ conquers his mighty enemies, and he triumphs over
27:25
them in their own weapon, the cross.
27:27
That is the ultimate conquest, turning the instrument of his
27:30
humiliation into the engine of his victory.
27:33
The Glorious Majesty also appears in conquering all those
27:36
powerful enemies of the Church. One age after another.
27:40
We look at the conquest of Satan, that proud and strong
27:43
spirit, and his hellish host bringing him under foot long
27:46
after he had vaunted himself as the God of this world.
27:49
We are constantly reminded that Christ, our Michael, has
27:53
overcome the devil. Satan was cast out of heaven and
27:56
down to the earth, and he is conquered even in that Kingdom
27:59
where his subtlety and cruelty are most apparent.
28:02
And the glorious power of God appears in conquering the devil
28:05
after he had a long time to strengthen himself to his
28:07
utmost. I mean, think about the time
28:09
scale. Satan was overthrown in his
28:11
heathen Roman Empire after he'd been strengthening himself since
28:14
the building of Babel. That's millennia of human
28:16
civilization being engineered by the Adversary.
28:19
And he will be overthrown again more universally, after yet
28:22
another opportunity to strengthen himself for ages by
28:25
setting up the 2 great systems of opposition, Antichrist and
28:29
Muhammad, systems that dominated the political and religious
28:32
landscape for over 1000 years. Yet when these seemingly strong
28:37
kingdoms of God's enemies appear, they look invincible.
28:40
They build massive structures of institutional authority in
28:43
armies. Yet when God appears, they seem
28:45
to just melt away. Like the fat of lambs before the
28:48
fire, they're driven away as the chaff before the whirlwind,
28:53
those mighty kingdoms which have trampled the world under foot,
28:56
they will vanish away like a shadow.
28:57
They'll disappear of themselves, just as the darkness in a room
29:00
does when the light is brought in.
29:02
And the majesty culminates in the final act, God overturning
29:06
the world from time to time to accomplish His designs, and at
29:08
last in causing the earth and heavens to flee away, all for
29:12
the advancement of the glory of Christ's Kingdom.
29:14
We see the truth of Exodus 15.6 confirmed.
29:17
Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power.
29:21
Thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.
29:25
And moving to the next divine attribute, the work of
29:27
redemption reveals God's glorious wisdom and Providence.
29:30
It shows the wisdom of God in creating the world and that He
29:33
has created it for such an excellent use to accomplish this
29:36
glorious work. It justifies the entire creation
29:39
project. And the wisdom of divine
29:41
Providence shines in bringing great good out of great evil.
29:45
This is really the cornerstone of the wisdom argument, isn't
29:48
it? It is the fallen ruin of
29:50
mankind, though sorrowful and deplorable, became an occasion
29:54
of accomplishing such a glorious work as redemption.
29:58
That ruin became the opportunity for erecting such a building,
30:00
whose top should reach unto heaven a building of mercy and
30:04
glory. This is a consistent
30:06
demonstration of divine skill, frustrating the most subtle
30:09
machinations of Satan, and causing his greatest works, like
30:12
the crucifixion, which was intended to destroy the
30:15
Redeemer, to be wholly turned into occasions for the glorious
30:18
triumph of Jesus Christ. That is the ultimate management
30:22
of evil. It's wonderful to see the wisdom
30:23
of God in bringing all such manifold and various changes and
30:27
overturnings in the world to such a glorious end.
30:29
All these events, the wheels of a most curious machine, are
30:32
directed to a single glorious period at last.
30:35
A manifestation of the divine glory, happiness for His people,
30:39
and an everlasting Kingdom for His Son.
30:42
The sheer calculation required to manage trillions of free
30:45
choices across millennia and guarantee a single outcome is
30:48
what makes this the greatest demonstration of wisdom.
30:50
Finally, the long history of the work of redemption demonstrates
30:53
the stability of God's mercy and faithfulness to His people.
30:56
Yes, this extended history proves that he never forsakes
31:00
his inheritance and remembers his covenant, and this provides
31:03
comfort under all the dark circumstances and confusions of
31:06
the world. The prophet Isaiah confirms this
31:08
absolute immutability. My righteousness shall endure
31:11
forever and ever, and the very name God revealed to Moses,
31:15
Exodus 3.12 I AM. That I am, signifies not only
31:19
His self-sufficiency, but crucially in this context, His
31:22
absolute faithfulness to keep covenant forever.
31:25
And this enduring nature of God's character is why the
31:27
psalmist praises his attributes so consistently.
31:30
Psalm 36 assures us that Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the
31:33
heavens, and Thy faithfulness reaches under the clouds.
31:36
Thy righteousness is like the great mountains.
31:38
These are attributes that are not subject to decay or change.
31:41
This stability of mercy is precisely why the psalmist in
31:45
Psalm 136 so often repeats the chorus, for his mercy endureth
31:49
forever. It's a response of ecstasy at
31:53
the consideration of the perpetuity of God's mercy to His
31:55
church through every single historical event mentioned in
31:59
that song. And that history gives us every
32:01
reason to celebrate that everlasting duration, and to
32:04
take encouragement to earnestly pray for those glorious things
32:07
which God has promised. OK, so here is where the
32:10
historical and theological architecture finds its final
32:13
application in the ultimate division of mankind into two
32:16
societies, right? This entire great Millennium
32:19
spanning work is for the Church driven by everlasting love, and
32:23
it results in their exceeding blessedness.
32:25
So what are the consequences of being the subject of this vast
32:28
central work? The extent of God's favor toward
32:31
his redeemed people is just staggering.
32:33
Christ undertook the work for their sakes, and he carries it
32:36
on for their sakes. This means the entire engine of
32:38
Providence is running on their behalf.
32:41
For their sakes, he overturned States and kingdoms.
32:44
For their sakes, he shakes heaven and earth.
32:46
The source uses strong language. God gives men for them and
32:49
people for their life. They are precious and honorable
32:52
in God's sight, and this high regard is demonstrated by the
32:55
cost. God first gave the blood of his
32:58
own Son the highest cost imaginable, and then he gives
33:01
the blood of all their enemies, thousands and millions, all
33:05
nations that stand in their way as a sacrifice for their good.
33:08
That highlights the absolute priority the Church holds in the
33:11
divine administration of the world.
33:13
All historical events are judged by how they relate to the
33:16
welfare of the Church. For their sakes God made the
33:18
world, and for their sakes he will destroy it.
33:21
For their sakes he built heaven, and for their sakes he makes
33:24
angels. Ministering spirits.
33:26
The scope of favor is summed up perfectly in First Corinthians
33:29
3.21. All things are yours.
33:31
Whether Paul or Apollo's or Cephas or the world, or life or
33:35
death or things present or things to come, all are yours.
33:39
Everything visible and invisible is ordered for the good of the
33:43
redeemed society. This blessed society is redeemed
33:46
from among men, and the ultimate guarantee is tied to the
33:49
conclusion of the whole affair. The Kingdom shall finally be
33:52
given into their hands. And this happens after all the
33:55
kingdoms of the world are come to an end, and after the earth
33:58
is removed and dissolved. Exactly.
34:00
Deuteronomy 33.29 declares Happy art thou, O Israel, who is like
34:06
unto thee, O people saved by the Lord.
34:08
Their security is absolute because the work that guarantees
34:12
it is the greatest work of the greatest power.
34:14
Conversely, then, those in a crisis condition see their
34:18
exceeding misery confirmed by this great work.
34:21
They are never bettered by any of these events.
34:23
In fact, their rejection of the greatest work means their guilt
34:26
is only made greater and the misery they are exposed to is so
34:29
much the more dreadful. They are counted as enemies, the
34:32
seed of the serpent whose head the work is designed to bruise.
34:36
They are liable to be made Christ's footstool, to be ruled
34:39
with a rod of iron, and to be dashed in pieces.
34:42
You're standing in opposition to the central work of God is what
34:45
seals their fate. This leads to the very solemn
34:48
conclusion that the glorious times of the Church are always
34:51
the most dismal to the wicked and impenitent.
34:55
Isaiah 66.14 confirms this concurrent wrath.
34:59
Whenever glorious things are foretold concerning the Church,
35:02
terrible things are foretold concerning the wicked.
35:05
The two societies are perpetually separated in their
35:07
experience of divine Providence, and we see this historical
35:11
pattern of concurrent wrath throughout the entire history of
35:14
redemption. When God delivered Israel out of
35:17
Egypt, He poured out wrath on the Egyptians.
35:19
When He brought them into Canaan, He executed wrath on the
35:22
Canaanites. When they were delivered from
35:24
Babylonian captivity, signal vengeance was inflicted on the
35:27
Babylonians. And the pattern continues right
35:29
into the New Testament era, when the Gentiles were called and the
35:33
elect were saved by Apostolic preaching.
35:35
Jerusalem and the persecuting Jews were destroyed in a most
35:38
awful manner. Deliverance for one group always
35:41
means judgement for the opposing group.
35:43
Because history is a battleground between the seed of
35:45
the woman and the seed of the serpent.
35:47
That's right, And we're told this will hold true in the
35:50
future, in the glory accomplished at the overthrow of
35:52
Satan's visible Kingdom, in the downfall of the institutional
35:56
opponents of the Church, and especially at the Day of
36:00
Judgement. Most awful tokens of the divine
36:02
wrath against the wicked have been or will be exhibited in all
36:06
these instances. God will make use of the wicked
36:09
in this affair, but it will be for the glory of his justice and
36:12
not of His mercy. They are reserved for the
36:15
triumph of Christ's glorious power in overcoming and
36:18
punishing them. They are necessary parts of the
36:21
drama that they do not share in the final blessing.
36:23
There are some of those who shall be consumed with his
36:26
accursed world after the day of Judgement, when Christ and His
36:29
Church shall triumphantly ascend to heaven, leaving the temporary
36:33
structures and the wicked who inhabited them behind.
36:36
Therefore, the source concludes the solemn warning that is
36:38
essential for every listener today.
36:41
Do not be like the foolish people of the old world who
36:44
would not take warning when Noah told them of the coming flood.
36:46
Or like the people of Sodom who refused to flee from the wrath
36:49
to come. Since the pattern of history is
36:52
fixed and the destination of the river is certain, the time to
36:55
choose the side of the work of redemption is now.
36:59
So what does this coherent, massive synthesis of history
37:02
mean for us today? The unified vision of history
37:05
presented here, where Providence is seen as a vast, coherent plan
37:09
starting and ending with God. It moves us away from viewing
37:13
history as random chaos and sets the stage for absolute certainty
37:17
regarding the future. It means that we have been given
37:20
a definitive framework for understanding global events.
37:23
Every event, from the smallest change to the largest political
37:26
revolution, is a calculated link in a chain, guided by divine
37:30
wisdom toward a known conclusion, the final complete
37:33
glory of Christ's Kingdom. The source closes with a solemn
37:36
final declaration emphasizing the speed of Christ's coming and
37:39
the final fixed separation that occurs at that point.
37:42
Key that is unjust shall be unjust still.
37:45
And he that is filthy shall be filthy still.
37:48
And he that is holy shall be holy still.
37:50
The time for repentance ceases. The building is finished.
37:53
The two societies are permanently divided.
37:55
The provocative thought for you to carry forward from this deep
37:58
dive is this. If the Kingdom of Christ is the
38:01
only Kingdom that never gives place to another, the only
38:04
everlasting structure in existence, how does that
38:07
perspective change your understanding of security and
38:09
effort in the current age? What earthly pursuits, even good
38:12
ones, are you viewing as a final building instead of a
38:15
subordinate part of God's one great unified work?
38:19
It calls us to look beyond the temporary and align our deepest
38:21
efforts with the only guaranteed reality.