Daniel 2:24-49 Thy Kingdom Come

Calving Quote But our chief consolation is that this is the cause of God and that he will take it in hand to bring it to a happy issue…whatever resistance we see today offered by almost all the world to the progress of the truth, we must not doubt that our Lord will come at last to break through all the undertakings of men and make a passaged for his Word. Let us hope boldly, then, more than we can understand; he will still surpass our opinion and our hope.

thats where we are going

Sermon Reading Daniel 2:31-35

Intro

What is God’s plan for human history? Where is all this going?

When you start asking questions about that, you are asking questions about eschatology.

If you don’t know, eschatology is the study of last things.

And usually, when we hear the word eschatology, our first thought is the end of the world. The end of days.

When is Jesus going to come back, and what should we expect to happen before that day?

Its about the Judgment seat of Christ and Heaven and Hell.

And it is about all those things. But here’s the thing. Its about so much more.

Eschatology isn’t just about the end of the world. Its about the end, the telos, the ultimate purpose of the world.

What is God doing in human history? What is He moving the world towards?

But here’s the difficulty with Eschatology.

If you haven’t noticed…let’s just say Christians disagree.

There are all kinds of eschatologies out there, and there are biblical arguments for almost all of them, although some are better than others.

Here’s what that means for us. When we start talking Eschatology, we need to understand that we are talking about a 3rd Tier issue.

Tiers

1st Tier Issues are issues of salvation. Jesus is Fully God and Fully Man. God is Trinity. Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the dead 3 days later.

Things you need to believe that make you a Christian or not a Christian.

2nd Tier Issues you might call church shaping Issues. These are things within the realm of Christian orthodoxy, but would probably affect whether or not we can be in the same church.

Do you baptize babies or do you only baptize believers?

Is your church Calvinist preaching the doctrines of grace or do you have an unbiblical view of salvation?

That’s a joke! But you see what I mean. 2 Tier Issues are ones where we are all still Christians, we are all still members of the Universal body of Christ, but we may not be members of the same local church.

3rd Tier issues are issues in which we can happily disagree, discuss, and debate.

Eschatology is one of those. We don’t all have to have the exact same opinion.

Throughout History, the Christian Church has only been able to agree on a few things.

Jesus will return in glory.

He will raise all men, the just and the unjust for the day of judgment.

Those in Christ will go into the resurrection of life, and those who have not put their faith in Him will go into the resurrection of judgment.

That’s it. That’s all the Tier 1 things you need to believe to be an orthodox Christian. Everything else in eschatology is up for debate.

However, that doesn’t mean eschatology is not important.

How you understand eschatology will have an impact on how you see everything else. It will affect how you read the Bible, how you view the world, and therefore it is foundational to building a biblical worldview.

Truthfully, it will affect how you live your day to day life, and how we as a church carry out the Great Commission.

Equivocation

Why am I telling you all this?

Because Daniel 2 forces me to deal with eschatology.

And here’s the problem with that. Eschatology is one of those things that most people have an opinion about and usually have a pretty strong opinion about.

So I want to say this as clearly and explicitly as I can.

You do not have to believe what I believe about eschatology. 3rd Tier issue remember?

Even if we differ on particulars, we all agree on the essentials. 1. Jesus is King 2. He will return, and 3. our job until then is the Great Commission.

I honestly don’t know where most of you are coming from in regards to eschatology.

My suspicion is that many of you are Dispensational which basically means you believe in a secret rapture, 7 year tribulation, and a future AntiChrist before Jesus returns.

And some of you only believe that because that is all you think there is.

Others of you, might be like I was a little over a year ago. I was a Panmillennialist. My Eschatology was that it will all pan out in the end.

I believed the three things Christians have to believe about the second coming and other than that I don’t have an opinion.

And one of the difficulties in dealing with eschatology is that we come to the Bible with a preconceived idea of what the right eschatology is, and then interpret every passage through that lens.

And listen that’s not all bad. And in some ways its unavoidable.

We all come to the text with preconceived ideas. A theological framework.

But the danger is when that framework is not rooted in God’s Word and instead relies mostly on speculations of men about God’s Word.

So here’s what I’m asking you to do.

Just listen to what I have to say.

Listen. You don’t have to agree with me. Even if you think I’m a total idiot, I’ll be ok.

I might weep quietly at night, but eventually I will make it through.

Most pastors don’t want to touch eschatology because it has potential to blow up the church, but I remember what I promised you.

I promised to preach to you the Word no matter how difficult or how unpopular it might be.

And Eschatology counts as both.

But one of my core values is that I say what I mean and I mean what I say. I always aim to shoot you straight so that you don’t have to worry or wonder if I’m trying to sneak something past you.

And in that spirit, I will tell you, I am going to try and convince you of Postmillennialism.

Now you don’t have to agree with me.

And while I might attack and critique other views, that doesn’t mean I think any less of you if you don’t hold the same view I have.

I know you love Jesus and this church, and you’re committed to the Great Commission and that’s enough for me.

Even if we disagree, we can still be friends.

This is not something to fight over. We might differ on the particulars, but we agree on the essentials.

And all I ask of you is that you would come to the word like the noble Bereans to see if these things are so.

Now, there are basically four main views of Eschatology: 1. Premillennialism, 2. Dispensationalism (which is an offshoot of Premillennialism) 3. Amillennialism, and 4. Postmillennialism.

We will work through each of those and what they all mean in a few weeks, but today we are only focusing on Postmillennialism.

Postmillennialism

Basically what that means is that Jesus will return after, post, the Millennial Kingdom.

In other words, The Kingdom is now.

1. Jesus is King of Heaven and Earth today.

2. The gospel will be successful in discipling all nations, His Kingdom will grow, and the vast majority of people will be saved.

And 3. The success of the Great Commission will have an effect on this world. As the nations submit to Christ the blessings of His Kingdom, of justice, righteousness, peace, will flow and according to 1 Corinthians 15:23-26 every enemy raised against Christ will be destroyed, and then Christ will return and destroy the last enemy which is death.

And upon His return, He will deliver the Kingdom to God the Father and usher in the fullness of His Kingdom, the New Heavens and New earth where every trace and stain of sin will be removed forever and ever.

I believe this is God’s end for the world. And I think, when we let the Bible speak, this it proven over and over and over again in Scripture all the way from Genesis to Revelation, not the least of which our passage today, Daniel 2:24-49.

Here’s the BIG IDEA:

The Kingdom of Christ will fill the earth and He shall have dominion over all nations, peoples, and kings.

Let’s go to Daniel and see how God promises this will be true.

Daniel 2:24-25 Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.”

If you remember where we are. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon had a dream, and it terrified him.

So he called his wise men and told them to tell him the dream and its interpretation.

If they didn’t, he would tear them limb from limb, and lay their houses in ruins.

This was obviously impossible and so the king gave the order to put all the wise men to death.

When they get to Daniel, in faith, Daniel said, I can give the King the interpretation. So Daniel prayed, and God gave him a vision, and here we are.

Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste and said thus to him: “I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.”

Daniel 2:26-30 “The king declared to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days.

Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind.”

Daniel says, Nebuchadnezzar, God gave you this dream.

And God gave it to you to show you what God is going to do in the latter days.

Literally that could be translated in the end of the days or the last days which is why we are dealing with eschatology.

We don’t have time to get into it, but the last days do not just refer to the days immediately before Christ’s return.

According to the New Testament, the last days are better understood as the days of the Messiah. The Messianic Age. The Kingdom of Christ which began in His incarnation and will continue until he returns.

Because according to 1 Corinthians 15 He must reign until all his enemies are put under his feet which is Psalm 110:1 the most quoted verse of the New Testament.

And the last enemy to be destroyed is death which he will once and for all when he returns and we are resurrected.

Then comes the end, which Pauls says is, when He delivers the Kingdom, His Kingdom, to God the Father that God may be all in all (1 Corinthians 15:23-28).

So we are in the last days and we have been in the last days for 2000 years because the Messianic Age is the last days of Human History.

After Christ returns that will be the end and we will enter into eternity.

So Daniel is saying “God has shown you, Nebuchadnezzar, what will be the last days. What the Messianic Age will look like. What Messiah’s Kingdom will be. What God’s plan is to save the world.”

And then he tells him the dream.

Daniel 2:31-35 You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.

As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

So in this dream there is a great image, a great statue in the shape of a man.

It was mighty and shone like the sun and it was made of different metals from head to feet

And in the dream there was a stone cut from a mountain but not with human hands and this stone struck the statue on the feet, and the great statue turned to dust and vanished in the wind.

But then that stone began to grow. And it grew into a great mountain that filled the whole earth.

Well what does that dream mean? Verse 36.

Daniel 2:36-38 This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold.

Nebuchadnezzar is the head of gold.

The statue represents the Kingdoms of Men and each metal represents a different kingdom.

Nebuchadnezzer is gold because he is glorious. His kingdom is the greatest world empire the world has ever known at this point.

And its interesting how Daniel describes him. God had given him the kingdom, power, might, and glory. God had even given him all the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens.

Now why would God give this pagan, wicked king a kingdom like this? And in fact, if you read it in light of Genesis, it sounds like God had made Nebuchadnezzar what Adam was supposed to be.

And I think that’s the key here. The Jews would read this and in their hearts know something wasn’t right.

This isn’t the kind of man and kind of kingdom God started in Eden. Its wicked and hates God.

And that’s the point. God is driving in a longing in his people for a better Adam. A better King. A better Kingdom.

And thats what God will bring in the stone who crushes the Kingdoms of men and fills the whole earth.

Verse 39.

Daniel 2:39-41 Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay.

So we have to ask what are these kingdoms?

They are the major world empires that follow Babylon.

And in fact if you look ahead to Daniel 8:20-21 Daniel tells us what two of these kingdoms are.

Daniel 8:20-21 As for the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of Media and Persia. And the goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first king.

The chest and arms of silver represent the Medo-Persian Empire which overtook the Kingdom of Babylon under Cyrus in 539 BC.

And the Middle and thighs of bronze represent theGreek Empire which verse 39 says ruled over the whole earth under Alexander the Great who according to history wept because he had no more kingdoms to conquer.

That leaves the fourth Kingdom. This kingdom was strong as iron because it shattered all things.

What kingdom was that? Well if you follow what Daniel says it was the next world empire after Greece. And that would have been the Romans.

The Roman Empire was strong as iron because they conquered the world under the brutal force of the Roman armies, and then ruled their empire with an iron fist.

Well what about these feet that are mixed with Iron and clay? Is that another Kingdom or the same one?

Its the same. Daniel is numbering the Kingdoms and specifically says this one is the forth one.

Some of you may have heard that this passage teaches that there will be a a revived Roman Empire that will rule the world just before Christ returns.

But where do you get that from this text. Its not there. There are four kingdoms. You don’t magically get five kingdoms out of four.

The feet mixed with iron and clay is not a new kingdom. This is all about Rome. The same RomeJesus was born into in the first century.

So what’s the iron and clay?

Daniel 2:42-43 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay.

The Roman Empire was as strong as Iron but it was also brittle.

They had civil wars, generals going against generals competing for the title of Emperor.

Roman policy was the Pax Romana. The Roman peace. Basically when Rome conquered a nation they said you can keep your culture you can keep your gods, but you need to adopt ours as well.

In fact if you read the original language, it doesn’t say they will mix with one another in marriage. It literally says they will mix with one another in the seed of men.

A figure of speech talking about sowing a field with different seeds.

The idea being that the Roman Empire would be one Empire made up of many nations in that empire which is why they do not hold together.

And that’s exactly what Rome did which made their empire that was strong as iron very brittle.

So those are the four kingdoms. Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. And they are one statue because it is a picture of how the nations rage against God and His Kingdom as a whole.

All the kingdoms of men are in rebellion against God.

Now put yourself in Daniel’s shoes. In the people of Israel’s shoes. They were the Kingdom of God on earth. They had the temple and were God’s royal priesthood commissioned by God to bring the nations into His Kingdom.

But now they were in exile. Dominated by pagan world Empires. Was it always going to be this way?

Was the Kingdom of God that would dominate the world as God promised in the Law and the prophets lost forever?

Was sin, death, and the curse going to have the last word?

Daniel 2:44-45 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.

Then in verses 46-49 Nebuchadnezzar blesses Daniel and makes him one of the highest officials in all of Babylon, and at his request puts Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah in positions of authority as well.

The stone cut from a mountain by no human hand represents Christ and His Kingdom.

In the bible it is common for Kingdoms to be symbolically represented by mountains.

That’s why you hear so often Mount Zion. Mount Zion represents Jerusalem which represents the Kingdom of God.

And Christ is not cut from a human hand because He is God. He is not just a man like these earthly Kings.

And His Kingdom is a heavenly Kingdom. One that is above all the Kingdoms of this world.

And when His Kingdom strikes the Kingdoms of men they fall to dust. And His Kingdom will never be destroyed. And it will never be left to another people.

That’s what you see in the statue. One Kingdom takes over another and a new people rule the world.

But Christ and His people will rule forever and ever. Does it not say that we reign with Christ and that the meek, the people of Christ, humble before God will inherit the earth?

Are we not a royal priesthood?

And I want you to notice something. Why does Daniel focus on this fourth kingdom in a way he doesn’t focus on the others?

The others he just says what they are made of. But this one focuses in and highlights how it is stronger than iron shattering every kingdom that came before it.

He’s trying to say something. He’s trying to say that this kingdom that crushes all things is itself crushed by something far stronger than iron. And what it is crushed by is nothing more than a small stone.

The idea is that Christ and His Kingdom, The Kingdom of His gospel which is the power of God to save sinners is far stronger than any iron. Is far stronger than any kingdom of this world.

And here we come to the question. When Did God set up this Kingdom?

I believe that God established the Kingdom in the incarnation of Christ.

Look what it says. in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed.

Well what kings? There are two options and they both get you to the same place.

Those kings are either the Roman Caesars who ruled the Roman Empire or they are the kings of the four kingdoms represented in the statue.

Either way, the stone not cut from human hands strikes the fourth Kingdom, which is Rome, and breaks the Kingdoms of men into nothing but dust.

Jesus was born under the Roman Empire. And when He began His ministry, His first words, the words that defined everything afterwards, were Mark 1:15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

The Kingdom of God is at hand. Its right here you can reach out and grab it. And the only way to enter that Kingdom is to repent and believe the gospel.

Likewise, after His death and resurrection, did not Jesus say, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me (Matthew 28:18). What do you call that? A Kingdom!

The Kingdom of God is now. It is a present reality. Jesus today sits at the right hand of the Father as King of kings and Lord of lords and to him belongs the obedience of the nations (Genesis 49:10).

That’s why he told us to go make disciples.

And through the preaching of the gospel, His Kingdom is growing and growing, and growing into a great mountain that will fill the whole earth.

Now here’s what people will do to try and get around the plain meaning of this passage.

For one they will say this is not describing human history. The Kingdom that God is talking about here is the eternal state.

The problem is the Kingdom of God does not grow in the eternal state. In eternity His Kingdom is total.

So then they might say, well this a future kingdom, one we are still waiting on.

But it clearly says God establishes this Kingdom in the days of those kings. So this Kingdom was established in the 1st Century Roman Empire and is in process now.

Finally they might say, will you don’t understand this is just a spiritual kingdom. After all Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36).

But what Jesus was saying was the authority of His Kingdom did not come from the world, and that the growth of his Kingdom would not happen through armies fighting. That’s why Jesus said If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting.

Yes. Jesus Kingdom is a spiritual Kingdom. It can only be entered into spiritually. Through faith in Christ and being born again.

But does not our own spiritual faith have a real world effect on how we live?

So does Christ spiritual Kingdom have a real world effect on this world.

His Kingdom is spiritual but it is not merely spiritual.

The idea is that just as the Kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome influenced and dominated the world so too will Christ’s Kingdom influence and dominate the world in an even greater way.

It is another Kingdom in a line of kingdoms. Which means it has to bear some semblance to the ones that came before.

The world empire of Christ will rule the earth like the world empires of the other nations.

And what does it mean to rule? That your law and your authority is recognized and obeyed.

And one day, through the preaching of the Gospel, Christ law and authority will be recognized and obeyed by the whole world.

His Kingdom is growing into a great mountain that will fill the earth, and it will be made up of every tribe, tongue and nation, but unlike Rome it will not be brittle because there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, but we are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal 3:28), and through the new birth, the nations will not only obey His Law and authority, but love his law and authority from the heart and the power of the Holy Spirit.

And Daniel says the dream is certain and its interpretation sure.

This will come to happen. Its happening now. The question is, do we have faith in the promises of God.

Still, it seems too good to be true. Too amazing. Its unimaginable that the gospel would have this kind of influence in the world and that the nations would recognize Christ as King

But look at how Isaiah describes this stone that becomes a great mountain in Isaiah 2:2-4.

Isaiah 2:2-4 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.”

For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

Here again we have the mountain of the Lord. The Kingdom of God.

And it is the mountain of the house of the Lord. That is the church.

Here’s what’s interesting. You can translate flow to it as flow up it. Water doesn’t flow uphill.

This is God drawing the nations to Himself in Christ.

So this mountain is the highest of the Mountains. God’s Kingdom is over every other kingdom, and all the nations shall flow to it.

The nations flow into the church through the gospel to learn God’s Law, how to live under his rule and authority. How to live under His Kingdom.

This is describing the success of the gospel in the world and the effects of the gospel as God saves sinners and gives them new hearts.

And it leads to a new world. A world of peace ruled by the Prince of Peace.

God saves the nations and that salvation has a real tangible effect on the world.

And before you say, well that has to be the eternal state, it says it shall come to pass in the latter days. Same phrase as from Daniel that means the last days.

No matter what Eschatology you have, everyone agrees that the last days is before Christ returns and the eternal state.

So Isaiah 2 happens before Jesus returns in the Messianic age. The last days.

Also notice that he shall decide disputes for many peoples. There are no disputes in heaven that Christ will need to judge.

All of this is talking about what God will do in Human history through the power of the gospel.

Now to be sure, there is a greater, ultimate fulfillment we are waiting on in the eternal state, but the blessings Christ do not wait until eternity.

Just like sanctification. Do you not have every spiritual blessing in Christ today even while you are waiting for the fullness of those blessings? Its like that.

They blessings of Christ’s Kingdom begin to flow as the nations turn to Him in faith and submit to His Law.

Do you want more proof? Look at Isaiah 9.

Isaiah 9:6-7 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given [this is putting us in human history. Christ was born and God sent His Son during the days of the Roman Empire. This prophecy began to be fulfilled when Christ was born.] ; and the government [that is the Kingdom] shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

The Titles Christ is given all reflect His Kingship.

Wonderful Counselor means He is a wise King who rules according to God’s Law, justice, and righteousness.

Mighty God means He is a champion who is victorious in His mission to bring God’s Kingdom to earth.

Everlasting Father means Jesus is the Forever Head, the Forever Father of the New Covenant Kingdom of God.

And Prince of Peace means His Kingdom and Rule grows through the preaching of peace and reconciliation in the gospel, not violence and bloodshed like the Kings of the earth.

Jesus grows His Kingdom by shedding His own blood, ]not the blood of His enemies to conquer the nations.

And of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end.

His Kingdom will increase until he rules over all.

Again this shows us Isaiah is not talking about eternity. The Kingdom of God does not grow in the eternal state.

There’s no place in eternity where God is not perfectly and sovereignly reigning.

But today it is increasing more and more just like Daniel prophesied and of the increase there will be no end meaning Psalm 22: 27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord and Isaiah 42:4 the coastlands [the farthest most reaches of the earth] wait for his law.

This is also by the way why Isaiah 42:4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth. If this is talking about the eternal state, why would Jesus ever grow faint or discouraged?

This is talking about the slow growth of the Kingdom in the world as the church carries the gospel to the ends of the earth.

And he will establish it and uphold it from this time forth forever more.

His Kingdom will endure forever and ever just like Daniel promised.

The dream is certain and its interpretation sure. How do we know?

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

The Lord of hosts is military and Kingdom language.

The Lord of the armies of heaven who have power to conquer all nations, his zeal, determination, fiery hunger of the Lord for the glory of His name and salvation of the world will do this.

Jesus Himself taught us this. This is the last passage we are going to look at today.

Matthew 13:31-33 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”

Just like the Stone that turns into a mountain, Jesus said His Kingdom starts off small. It started out with Him and 12 Disciples, one of whom betrayed Him.

And look at it today. Christianity is the Largest religion of the whole world. It has outlasted the Roman Empire and every Empire since because all the nations belong to Christ and if they do not submit to Him he breaks them with a rod of Iron (Psalm 2:9-12).

And remember How Nebuchadnezzar’s Kingdom was described as having all authority over the birds of the heavens?

Jesus says His Kingdom will grow to be a great tree, larger, grander, more glorious than all the garden plants, and the birds of the air, that is the the Kingdoms of the earth will come to roost in the branches of the Kingdom of God.

Not only that, but the Kingdom of heaven is like leaven. It will pervade and influence all things till everything is leaven.

Family, Economy, Government, Law, Justice, Medicine, Innovation and technology - There will be nothing that will not be touched and affected by the Kingdom of God.

All things will submit to Him.

Does God not tell us that all things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Did God not say He is reconciling all things to himself, whether in heaven or on earth, through the blood of his cross (Colossians 1:15-20).

What will this look like? What will this leaven do?

Zechariah 14:20 And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the Lord.” And the pots in the house of the Lord shall be as the bowls before the altar.

The bells on the horses. The most inconsequential details of life will all be for the Lord.

Your pots and pans in your house will be like the sacrificial bowls that offered drink offerings to the Lord.

Not only will God’s Kingdom grow to fill the earth it will dominate every aspect of life to the glory of His name.

Conclusion

The question is, do we believe the promises of God?

Do we believe that the Great Commission will be successful and that Christ will make disciples of all nations.

That is after all, why he said he’d be with us. He’s promising to see it through.

Most Christians today, build their eschatology on what their eyes see. But that’s building it backwards.

We don’t build our eschatology off of what our eyes see. We build it off what God has said.

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).

And after all, shouldn’t our eschatology, our expectation of what will happen in the last days match Jesus’ own expectation?

Well what does He expect?

Hebrews 10:12-13 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting [that is expecting] from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.

That is what the Father has promised Him.

Psalm 110:1 “The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”

Psalm 2:7-8 The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.”

Did Jesus forget to ask? No.

And now He reigns King of kings and Lord of lords expecting His Kingdom to grow like a mustard seed, leaven, and stone into a great mountain that will fill the whole earth.

The Kingdom of Christ will fill the earth and He shall have dominion over all nations, peoples, and kings.

I believe a Postmillennial worldview gives us hope in the power of God to save sinners.

It gives us confidence to preach the gospel boldly we know the Great Commission will succeed.

And I believe it lets us take hold the promises of God that seem too good to be true without having to spiritualize them or jump through hoops to explain them away.

And at the end of the day, Postmillennialism lets us pray the Lord’s Prayer like we actually mean it.

How else could Jesus have commanded us to pray Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done... and what did He say? Just In heaven and the Kingdom of our hearts?

No. He said Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:9-10).

Let’s Pray

Scripture Reading

Psalm 72:8-11, 16-19

May he have dominion from sea to sea,

and from the River to the ends of the earth!

9 May desert tribes bow down before him,

and his enemies lick the dust!

10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands

render him tribute;

may the kings of Sheba and Seba

bring gifts!

11 May all kings fall down before him,

all nations serve him!...

May there be abundance of grain in the land;

on the tops of the mountains may it wave;

may its fruit be like Lebanon;

and may people blossom in the cities

like the grass of the field!

17 May his name endure forever,

his fame continue as long as the sun!

May people be blessed in him,

all nations call him blessed!

18 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

who alone does wondrous things.

19 Blessed be his glorious name forever;

may the whole earth be filled with his glory!

Amen and Amen!

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