NOTES ON ESCHATOLOGY
SAMUEL WALDRON
Introduction:
In both postmillennialism and premillennialism the negative and positive
perspectives about the prospects of the church have often been divided and set
at odds with one another. The proper perspective is the balance provided in the
parable of the kingdom known as the parable of the tares. The appropriate words
of Jesus are, "Allow both to grow together until the harvest ..." (Matt. 13:30).
Jesus' teaching is to the effect that it is God's decretive or secret will that
both the good seed (later identified as "the sons of the kingdom" in v. 38) and
the tares (later identified as "the sons of the evil one") are to be permitted
by divine providence to grow (develop, mature, and have enlarging prominence,
stature, and influence) until the judgment at the end of the age. The dual
growth here predicated by Jesus has appeared contradictory to typical
eschatological thought. Postmillennialists have argued that if the wheat grows,
it will crowd out and destroy the tares. Premillennialists have argued that if
the tares grow, it will stop the growth of and finally destroy the church.
Paradoxical though it may seem to our logic, according to Jesus both wheat and
tares--good and evil--grow together until the harvest. It is not my purpose to
explain in detail this paradox. Suffice to say that one of the profound truths
implied in this paradox is that the very interaction of good and evil leads to
the maturation of both the good seed and evil seed in their respective
development. The main point which we must learn from Jesus' words is that there
is both a negative and a positive perspective to be seen in any discussion of
the earthly prospects of the church in the gospel age.
Of course, the subject of the earthly prospects of the church in this age is
a vast subject. Any balanced treatment of the subject, as we have seen, has to
deal with the negative side of the subject under the general heading of the
tribulation of the church and the positive side of the subject dealing with
the expansion of the church.
A. The Tribulation of the Church
There is no more extensive, nor pivotal passage on the subject of the
tribulation of the people of God than the Olivet Discourse of our Lord found in
Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. I am not going to attempt an exposition of
this passage, because I consider that an authoritative and satisfactory exegesis
of the Matthaean version of that crucial passage has been given by Professor
John Murray in the article entitled, "The Inter-Adventual Period and the
Advent," found in the second volume of his Collected Writings published by
Banner of Truth Trust. Though I have heard and read many expositions of this
chapter, none have ever satisfied me so thoroughly as the exposition of
Professor John Murray. Dispensationalists assume the reference of the chapter is
to the so-called great tribulation and the second coming taking a futurist
view.(1) A
postmillennialist I have read makes the entire chapter refer exclusively to
events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem taking a preterist view.(2) I
have read several Reformed authors who are amillennialists who take a double
fulfillment view making the same language refer to both the destruction of
Jerusalem and the second coming of Christ.(3)
The genius of Murray's exposition is his carrying through the entire passage a
clear distinction between the destruction of Jerusalem and the second coming of
Christ without abandoning or distorting the canons of biblical hermeneutics.
Murray's material is found in written form in the second volume of his
Collected Writings (pp. 387f.). Murray's exposition forms the
foundation for the following treatment of dating Christ's return. I have
included that article in an appendix at the end of this syllabus of lectures.
One of Murray's conclusions in that article is "that interadventual history
is characterized by tribulation, turmoil, strife, perplexity, wars and rumours
of wars. Contemporaneous with this, however, is the universal expansion of the
church." Here we find the balance that the New Testament requires of us in
treating the earthly prospects of the church in this age. Both the expansion of
the church and the fact of tribulation for the church throughout the
interadventual period are plainly declared. Murray's assertion is confirmed by a
number of other considerations. A few of which must be mentioned here.
Col. 1:24 brings to expression the thought that suffering must be the lot of
the church in this age. The Apostle remarks, "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for
your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body (which is the
church) in filling up that which is lacking in Christ's afflictions." A thorough
study of this text will show that in back of this text is the prophetic
perspective of the sufferings and glory of the Messiah. Just as the Messiah in
His own flesh had to endure suffering before he could enter into glory, so also
in His body, the church, a quantity of suffering must be endured before the
church can enjoy the glory of its exalted head. All of this implies, of course,
that until the time in which the church enters into glory, she must endure
suffering.
The expositions of Revelation 20 and 2 Thessalonians 2 earlier in these
lectures make plain that the suffering and the tribulation which is always more
or less the lot of the church in this age will intensify in a short and
concentrated period of tribulation at the end of the age. This is probably also
the significance of Rev. 11:1-13, especially v. 11, where the 1260 days of
prophecy are followed by the three and a half days in which the prophets lie
unburied in the streets before the destruction of the city by an earthquake.
Consonant with this understanding of the church's tribulation is the
expectation of a personal antichrist to appear during this brief period of
tribulation at the end of the age. In favor of the interpretation which looks
for the appearance of a personal antichrist are a number of considerations.
First, the alternative interpretation which identifies the antichrist with the
succession of popes in the Roman papacy is closely identified in the history of
prophetic interpretation with the discredited historicist method. Second, the
expectation of a specific, concentrated period of tribulation at the end of this
age is conceptually inseparable from the expectation of a specific or personal
antichrist. Third, the view that identifies the apostasy of 2 Thessalonians 2
with a specific, future event naturally requires that the appearance of the man
of lawlessness be the appearance of a specific, future person. Thus, this future
person cannot be identified with a line of Roman popes already present and
revealed in the past history of the church. Fourth, the most natural and
straightforward interpretation of that which is revealed about the man of
lawlessness in 2 Thessalonians 2 is that which identifies him as an individual
man. For one thing, the language of this passage is borrowed from other
predictions which looked forward to individuals who wickedly blasphemed God and
persecuted the people of God.
These negative aspects of the future prospects of the church have exhausted
some views of the church's future prospects. Such views have been denounced as
pessimillennialism. Indeed, if this were all the New Testament taught on the
subject of her prospects, we might conclude that pessimism is warranted.
B. The Expansion of the Church
Balancing these considerations are a number of perspectives in the New
Testament which confirm the expansion of the church. Now an
eschatological context discussion of the expansion of the church immediately
raises the issues of a future, national conversion of the Jews and a consequent
fuller conversion of the Gentiles. As we have seen, these two issues are
distinct. Some have held a future, national conversion of the Jews, but rejected
a related ingathering of the nations. With regard to the key passage, Romans 11,
I must with hesitation and appreciation decline the view of John Murray in his
commentary on Romans and opt instead for the view of William Hendriksen
expounded in his little booklet, Israel in Prophecy and O. Palmer
Robertson's article, Is There a Distinctive Future for Ethnic Israel?
Hendriksen and Robertson argue that Romans 11 does not reveal a future
conversion of the nation of Israel, nor a subsequent conversion of the Gentiles.
Their view is that what is in view is simply the conversion of a remnant of the
Jews in every generation. Their articles are included in the appendices at the
end of this syllabus of lectures. I believe that Hendriksen and Robertson, on
the one hand, and Murray, on the other hand, present interpretations which are
consistent with a Reformed understanding of the church which rejects a
Dispensational church/Israel distinction. So long as those who hold a future
conversion of the Jews hold that they are converted by the gospel into the
church, such a position accords with a Reformed view of redemptive history.
But even though I must regretfully disagree with Murray and those who look
forward to a national conversion of the Jews and great ingathering of the
Gentiles, there yet remain clear teachings in the New Testament which require us
to look forward confidently to the continued expansion of the church. We have
already seen the grounds for such confidence provided in the parables of the
kingdom, especially the parables of the sower, leaven, and mustard seed. The
emphasis of the New Testament on the universal character of the work of Christ
also requires us to adopt expansive views of the spread and advancement of the
church. For instance, a passage like Colossians 1 and especially verses 6 and
20-23 teaches us that Christ has accomplished a reconciliation of the entire
world. Though, of course, this does not mean that everyone in the world will be
saved, it does mean that the world as a whole will be saved. Since we know that
such salvation must come to men in the present age, this speaks great things
about the spread and expansion of the church.
The classic declaration of the growth and progress of the church during this
age is found, however, our Lord's Parable of the Mustard Seed. Because in our
day and age it is the expansion of the church and advancement of Christ's
kingdom which is least appreciated and most often denied, it is my purpose to
expound that parable in some detail in the excursus which follows.
Excursus: Jesus' Assertion of the Advancement of the Kingdom of
God in The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Luke 13:18, 19)
Preface:
Luke 13:10-19 contains one of three accounts of Jesus' telling of the parable
of the mustard seed. The other two are found in Matthew 13:31 and 32 and Mark
4:30-32. Luke's account (for reasons I will give below) brings out in a
peculiarly clear light the idea of the growth, progress, or advancement of the
kingdom. It is, thus, to that account I want to turn your attention.
10 And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And
behold, there was a woman who for eighteen years had a sickness caused by a
spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all. 12 And when
Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from
your sickness." 13 And He laid His hands upon her; and immediately she was made
erect again, and began glorifying God. 14 And the synagogue official,
indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the
multitude in response, "There are six days in which work should be done;
therefore come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day." 15 But
the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites, does not each of you on the
Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall, and lead him away to water
him? 16 "And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan
has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this
bond on the Sabbath day?" 17 And as He said this, all His opponents were being
humiliated; and the entire multitude was rejoicing over all the glorious things
being done by Him. 18 Therefore He was saying, "What is the kingdom of God like,
and to what shall I compare it? 19 "It is like a mustard seed, which a man took
and threw into his own garden; and it grew and became a tree; and THE BIRDS OF
THE AIR NESTED IN ITS BRANCHES."
Notice carefully how I stated my theme: Jesus' Assertion of the
Advancement of the Kingdom of God. I am not speaking of a vision for
the advancement of our own religious agenda or favorite personalities. Nor am I
speaking of a vision for the advancement of the many unbiblical and unjustified
ideas about the kingdom floating around in religious circles today. I am
speaking of a vision regulated by the promises and precepts of the Word of God
and especially the teaching of Jesus in this parable for the advancement of what
the Bible defines as the kingdom of God. I intend to open up this theme from the
parable of the mustard seed under seven heads:
I. The Subject of the Parable
II. The Symbolism of the Parable
III. The Substance of the Parable
IV. The Setting of the Parable
V. The Substantiation of the Parable
VI. The Safeguarding of the Parable
VII. The Significance of the Parable
I. The Subject of the Parable
It is obviously Jesus' purpose to enlighten his disciples further regarding
the subject of the kingdom of God in this parable (v. 18). This requires,
however, that we have at least a general notion to begin with of what our Lord
means by the "kingdom of God." Great volumes of exegesis have been written upon
this immensely important biblical theme. Because of this, I can only provide you
a very brief treatment of it, but one which I hope will be both accurate and
adequate for our purposes.
What is the kingdom of God? It is the long-prophesied1 reign of
God2 mightily present in the world through the Word of God producing
sons of God3 and intimately associated with the church of
God.4
1 The coming of the kingdom is the thematic essence of O. T.
prophecy. Isa. 52:7 says, "How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who
brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who
announces salvation, and says to Zion, `Your God reigns!'" Dan. 2:44 prophesies,
"And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which
will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people;
it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure
forever." Dan. 7:13, 14 adds, "I kept looking in the night visions, and behold
with the clouds of heaven one like a son of man was coming, and he came up to
the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion,
glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language
might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass
away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed."
2 Psa. 103:19--The kingdom is not in the first place a piece of
real estate--as we tend to imagine (the Kingdom of England or Monaco)--but the
royal power and authority of the king. The word is often better translated
"reign" rather than kingdom in the Bible. When it does designate a realm over
which a king reigns, this is a secondary and derivative meaning.
3 I assert that the kingdom of God is mightily present in the
world through the Word of God, because the parable of the mustard seed is
intimately connected with parables in both Matthew and Mark which also liken the
kingdom of God to seed. In those parables the seed is identified as the Word of
God which produces sons of God (Mark 4:26-32; Matt. 13:19-38; and cf. Matt.
24:14 where the gospel is described as "the gospel of the kingdom".
4 As I have indicated already, the kingdom is not in the first
place a realm over which God rules, but the reign of God himself. It is wrong,
therefore, simply to equate the kingdom and the church. It is equally wrong,
however, to miss the intimate relation there is between the kingdom and the
church. This relation is pointedly manifested in the first and classic passage
on the church in the New Testament (Matt. 16:17-19). Peter, who is here
identified as in some sense the rock or foundation of Christ's church, exercises
as such "the keys of the kingdom of heaven." In Matt. 18:15-20, the first
explicit mention of the local church in the New Testament, the binding and
loosing performed by the use of these keys is exercised by the local assembly.
Thus, there is an intimate relation between the kingdom of God and the church
both in its universal and local dimensions.
One thing should be clear. The kingdom of God is not merely a vague ideal or
a future reality. It is intimately associated with, it is operative in
the Word of the Kingdom, the Sons of the Kingdom, and the church which exercises
the Keys of the Kingdom. All this means that there is a direct application of
this parable to you and to this church.
II. The Symbolism of the Parable
The symbols Jesus uses in this parable are drawn from things common in
agricultural Palestine. The smallest of the common garden seeds in 1st Century
Palestine was the mustard seed. This is why it is said in Matt. 13:32 that it
"is smaller than all other seeds."
This is, by the way, the answer to those who use this statement to quibble
over the doctrine of inerrancy. These quibblers inform us that, as a matter of
scientific and botanical accuracy, the mustard seed is not the smallest of all
seeds. This objection completely ignores the historical context of Jesus'
assertion. The context of Jesus' assertion is not the technicalities of
botanical science, but the realities of gardening in Palestine.
This smallest of all garden seeds--the mustard seed--was proverbial for its
germinal power--its ability to grow. Though at the beginning of the summer it
was the smallest seed yet by the end of the summer it would become vastly the
largest of the garden plants growing to heights of 8, 10, and even 15 feet.
Thus, it comes to visibly dominate the other plants in the garden. In the fall
when its branches become rigid, birds even occasionally built nests in the
mustard plant--now the size of a small tree.
III. The Substance of the Parable
Having briefly examined the realities of everyday life which Jesus points to
in this parable, we must now come to ask about their significance. How precisely
is the kingdom of God like a mustard seed? The matters which Jesus emphasizes in
telling this parable--as they are recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke--indicate
at least three respects in which the kingdom of God is like the mustard seed.
A. It appears at first as the smallest, weakest, and most insignificant of
things (Mark 4:31; Matt. 13:32--it "is smaller than all other seeds").
B. Yet it has a marvelous power to germinate, grow, and increase (Lk. 13:19
and note the three durative, present tenses in Mark 4:32).
C. And will finally dominate all the world. Note the reference to "the birds
of the air" in Luke 13:19 and the parallel passages. This is an allusion to and
perhaps even a quotation of two Old Testament passages (Ezek. 17:22-24; Dan.
4:21, 22).
Jesus is, thus, asserting that the knowledge of the Lord proclaimed in the
gospel--the gospel of the kingdom--will rule the world. Thus, the prophecy of
Isa. 11:9 will be fulfilled: "For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the
Lord as the waters cover the sea."
I do not believe that there is any real uncertainty that in these three
points we have grasped the heart of the analogy between the mustard seed and the
kingdom of God. If further confirmation is needed, however, we have it when we
examine under our next heading the setting of this parable as it occurs in the
gospel of Luke.
IV. The Setting of the Parable
There is a pointed connection between the parable of the mustard seed and its
context or setting in the Gospel of Luke (v. 18--"Therefore, He was saying").
According to Luke the incident "in one of the synagogues on the sabbath"
provided a fitting introduction and clue to the meaning of the parable of the
mustard seed.
The kingdom there appears at first as the smallest, weakest, and most
insignificant of things. It "is smaller than all other seeds". Nothing could
have seemed more insignificant and ordinary than the appearance that sabbath
morning of the young Jewish carpenter-turned rabbi from Galilee of the Gentiles.
Nothing could have seemed less like the entourage of the coming king than the
motley band of followers who came with him that day to the synagogue.
Yet this mustard seed here manifests a marvelous power to germinate, grow,
and increase. The Word of the Kingdom in the mouth of Jesus manifests a unseen
potential
--to liberate those in bondage (v. 12)
--to humiliate (and convict) those in opposition (v. 17a)
--to excite those in unity (rejoicing Jesus' friends--v. 17b)
And it will finally dominate all the world. Note the "therefore" of v. 18. In
the parable of the mustard seed Jesus is asserting to his followers that what
they have just seen is characteristic and will be characteristic of the kingdom
of God as a whole to the end of time. It will be always like that mustard seed.
It will always come in apparent weakness, but surprise with its marvelous
germinal power. And finally, says Jesus, the message I preach along with myself
and my despised followers will rule the world. This, and nothing less than this,
is the astounding assertion of Jesus of Nazareth in the parable of the mustard
seed.
V. The Substantiation of the Parable
I have asserted that Jesus is emphasizing the growth of the Kingdom
in the parable of the mustard seed. Ladd limits the meaning of the parable to
the contrast between the small beginning of the kingdom and its grand
consummation and rejects the thought that the process or growth of the kingdom
is taught in it. He suggests that the idea of process implies the idea of
evolution.(4)
The idea of process or growth does not, however, imply the theory of evolution.
Neither does it demand postmillennialism. There may be progress without
postmillennialism. The framework of seed-time and harvest present in many of the
parables of the kingdom in Matthew 13 illustrates the idea of a process of
maturation. It is noteworthy, however, that such a process of maturation by
itself would never bring harvest. There must be the direct intervention of
the Harvester. Evolutionary theory is not necessary either. It is the direct
activity of God and His Word of power that brings both growth and harvest. It is
not a natural or immanent process of evolution, but an action of the
transcendent God through His Word that brings the advancement of the Kingdom.(5)
Below are collated the exegetical considerations which point to the presence
of the idea of growth in the parable of the mustard seed: (1) The Parable of the
Sower which occurs in the context of the parable of the mustard seed in Matthew
13 itself implies the germinal power, the amazing fruitfulness of the Word(6).
(2) The parallel occurrence of the Parable of the Mustard Seed in Mark 4:30-32
gives a clearer emphasis to the idea of growth by its use of three, durative
present tenses in v. 32: "yet when it is sown, grows up and becomes
larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so
that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR can NEST UNDER ITS SHADE ." (3) The context of Mark
4:30-32 points to the idea of growth. The parable found in 4:26-29 seems, in
fact, to stress growth: "And He was saying, "The kingdom of God is like a man
who casts seed upon the soil; and goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and
the seed sprouts up and grows-- how, he himself does not know. "The soil
produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain
in the head. "But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle,
because the harvest has come."" The term, µ, found in v. 28 and translated in
the NASB "by itself" plainly suggests it. Also the delineation of the three
stages of growth in v. 29 points up the idea of growth. (4) The context of the
Parable of the Mustard Seed as it is found in Luke 13:18-20 also stresses
present, ongoing process. Note again the connection between verses 10-17 and
verses 18-20 marked by the conjunction, . These verses emphasize the present
power of Jesus' word to heal the sick, humiliate His enemies and gladden the
multitude with the word of salvation. (5) The allusion to such parables as that
of the mustard seed in Col. 1:6, 10, 11 confirms the presence of the growth idea
in them.(7)
VI. The Safeguarding of the Parable
Before coming to the application proper of this parable, something must be
said by way of safeguarding it from two serious misinterpretations which have
plagued the history of its exposition.
A. Dispensationalism
Many Dispensational expositors (and among them the author of the original Scofield Reference Bible) see in the twin parables of the mustard seed and leaven a prophecy of the progressive corruption of the professing Christian church. Leaven, they say, is equivalent to an evil influence and a vegetable becoming a tree is, they say, a monstrosity.
One scarcely knows where to begin to enumerate the exegetical impossibilities
involved in such an interpretation. Two things which sufficiently manifest the
absurdity of this interpretation. The connection of this parable in the Gospel
of Luke, first of all, is an incident which is full, as we have seen, of the
triumph of Christ's Word. The conjunction, therefore, which introduces the
parable of the mustard seed here declares that this incident is illustrative of
the meaning of the parable. How in this context the parables of the leaven and
the mustard seed could be seen as predicting the progressive corruption of the
Christian church is impossible to explain!
Second, a simple reading of the passage as Scofield interprets it also
refutes this interpretation. Luke 13:18 upon this interpretation be interpreted
as follows: "Therefore He was saying, "What is the kingdom of God like, and to
what shall I compare it? 19 "It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and
threw into his own garden; and it grew and became a monstrosity; and
THE BIRDS OF THE AIR NESTED IN ITS BRANCHES." 20 And again He said, "To what
shall I compare the kingdom of God? 21 "It is like a slowly working evil
influence, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of meal, until it was
all evil-ly influenced."
It is impossible to conceive of an interpretation which more completely
misunderstands and frustrates the true meaning and application of this parable.
From a parable specifically intended to encourage Christ's disciples on the
basis of the power of the Word of God and the triumph of the Church of God, such
interpreters derive a teaching well calculated to create pessimism and kill all
zeal to work for the building of Christ's church.
B. Postmillennialism
Postmillennialists see in these parables a prophecy of the complete triumph
of the gospel in the world in which politically, externally, economically, and
spiritually Christianity has triumphed. Listen to two modern postmillennialists.
Postmillennialism is the faith that Christ will through His people accomplish and put into force the glorious prophecies of Isaiah and all the Scriptures, that He shall overcome all His enemies through His covenant people, and that He shall exercise His power and Kingdom in all the world and over all men and nations, so that, whether in faith or in defeat, every knee shall bow to Him and every tongue shall confess God (Rom. 14:11; Phil. 2:11). . . .
How is Christ's Kingdom to come? Scripture is again very definite and
explicit. The glorious peace and prosperity of Christ's reign will be brought
about ONLY as people obey the covenant law.
What is needed is a view of history that guarantees to Christians external, visible victory, in time and on earth, as a prelude, a down payment, to the absolute and eternal victory which Christians are confident awaits them after the day of judgment.
This interpretation of the parable of the mustard seed is much more plausible
than the last. Therefore, it is especially necessary that I remind you of the
parables which precede and surround this one in Matt. 13 and form its bodyguard
(to protect it against misinterpretation). It appears that God foreseeing this
possible misunderstanding in that passage deliberately surrounded our parable
with others calculated to guard it against this misinterpretation.
In vv. 18-23 the parable of the sower carefully instructs the disciples that
the gospel will always meet with a mixed response. In good soil the seed of the
kingdom will indeed manifest its wonderful germinal power. In the three other
soils, however, it is destined to meet with a much less encouraging result.
Jesus thus teaches that till the end of the age we must expect that the gospel
will meet with much less than universal success and reception.
Providentially, the parable of the mustard seed is surrounded by the parable
of the tares. We have the narration of the parable of the tares in vv. 24-30 and
its interpretation in vv. 37-43. In between these two passages is sandwiched the
parable of the mustard seed and the leaven. In the parable of the tares we learn
that till harvest, the second coming of Christ, good and evil are going to grow
together and co-exist in the world (13:30, 40-43). Yes, the gospel seed will
grow, prosper, and triumph, but this does not mean the uprooting or subduing of
all its enemies before the end of the age. In fact evil too will experience a
kind of growth as evil men grow worse and worse (2 Tim. 3:13) and the mystery of
iniquity comes to fruition (2 Thess. 2:7).
As noted earlier, the context in which the parable of the mustard seed is
presented in both Matthew 13 and Mark 4 makes frequent reference to the analogy
of seed-time and harvest. This backdrop is also implied by the parable of the
mustard seed itself. We must note, then, that the growth of seed never by itself
produces harvest. This takes the intervention of the harvester. The triumph of
the kingdom of God awaits the return of Christ.
The superficially plausible interpretation of postmillennialism is
contradicted by the plain force of the context of the parable of the mustard
seed. The ultimate and unchallenged triumph of the kingdom of God must wait till
the return of the King in glory.
Having seen what the parable does not teach, we must now come to examine what
it does teach.
VII. The Significance of the Parable
What are, then, the central perspectives from Jesus' Assertion of the
Advancement of the Kingdom of God which must encourage and guide us as we hope,
pray, and work with Christ in the building of His church? Let me urge upon you
four perspectives which grow directly out of our considerations:
A. The Kingdom of God will advance and finally triumph in the history of the
world!
It will advance in this age. It will triumph in the age to come. And I remind
you that this advance means, as we have proven earlier, the increasingly
powerful proclamation of the Word of God producing genuine sons of God and
resulting in the building of the visible church of God.
Some Christians have concluded that the days of great revival are past and
that the professing church must now only become increasingly apostate. Now it is
true that the church has violent enemies. It is also true that evil men will
grow worse and worse. But, brethren, we also know on the basis of the Bible that
the name of the king will endure forever, that it must increase as long as the
sun shines (Psa. 72:17), and that, if this is to be the case in spite of the
raging wickedness of men, the church must continue and increase as a pillar and
foundation of truth (1 Tim. 3:15). So, I do not believe that there is no hope
for the church. I emphatically deny that the day of the great works of God is
past. It is perfectly possible, it may even be likely, that God will pour out
such a work of His Holy Spirit on our nation that even many of the gross,
outward manifestations of our national wickedness might be greatly restrained
and that without many of the questionable means Christians are now turning to.
B. The Kingdom of God will advance through Christians like us and churches
like ours.
If you are like me, you will want to know how all this applies to you. Now it
would be correct to say that there is no guarantee etched in the Word of God
that any particular church will certainly grow, advance, and see great victories
of the gospel. I repeat, it would be correct to say this, but it would
also be a terribly insensitive and inadequate response to this parable. It would
completely miss the whole point and application which Jesus intended for us in
this parable. Why did Jesus give this parable if not to encourage Christians
like ourselves and churches like our own? Did He not intend for us to find in it
power to hope, pray, plan, and in general bust our gut for the advancement of
the Kingdom through the labors we have been given in our particular churches. If
you believe that you are part of a true church of Christ, that you are preaching
the truth of Christ, that you are a genuine Christian, then the Lord Christ
intended that your heart should swell with boldness, joy, triumph, and courage
on the basis of His words.
It will not, of course, be easy. It will not emphatically be painless. There
are no such things as instant victories for the gospel. Three steps forward and
slide back two is an experience many of us are familiar with. The more Satan
fears God's work, the more he will attack it. What will sustain us in this
fierce warfare? Only the ability confidently to apply to ourselves the great
promise of Christ, "I will build my church and the Gates of Hades will not
prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18).
C. The Kingdom will advance and triumph in spite of its apparent smallness
and weakness.
The terrible and daunting objection against all this is very familiar to
every Christian. "All this may be well and good for somebody else, but, pastor,
you do not how weak, frail, small, and just plain sinful I am." Listen to me!
The whole point of the parable of the mustard seed is to answer just this
objection. Nothing seemed more small, weak, and insignificant than the mustard
seed. Yet contained in it, hidden within it, coexisting with its mean exterior
was a mighty unseen potential. So, my brethren, it is with the kingdom. The
preaching of the Word seems so trivial a thing. The sons of God look like
ordinary people. Our church seems so small; yet within, unseen, there is a
mighty potential for good.
D. The Kingdom will advance and triumph through the proclamation of the Word
of God.
The kingdom of God has come. How? Where? It has come in the proclamation of the Word of God. Where you find the preaching of the Word, there you find the kingdom of God. This great truth has three important corollaries or implications which I must briefly state and then be done. (1) The life and ministry of the church must remain focused on the propagation of the truth. (2) The secret of power, life, and growth in any local church resides in its faithful proclamation of the truth. It is only in such proclamation that the reign of God is revealed. (3) If our church-life is to retain this focus, we must maintain our confidence in the power of the truth of the kingdom--power to liberate those in bondage, humiliate those in opposition, and excite and rejoice those in allegiance to Christ. Many so-called churches have lost their confidence in the power of the Word. They are looking to political action, religious entertainment, ethical crusades, youth programs, social concern, and general educational endeavors for power to liberate the lost, humiliate the enemies of Christ, and excite the friends of Christ. These things may be good, but they are the effect of the power of truth, not its cause, and they are emphatically not the central task of the church. The reign of God becomes operative only in and through the proclamation of the Word of God.
1.
Cf. C. C. Ryrie, The Basis of the Premillennial Faith, p. 100; Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come, pp. 172, 196, 276, 413, 469.2.
J. Marcellus Kik, An Eschatology of Victory, p. 67: "The first thirty-four verse of Matthew 24, along with verse 35 in which Jesus cofirms the certainty of his prophecies, deal with the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple."3.
Cf. Herman Ridderbos, The Coming of the Kingdom, pp. 492f.; William Hendriksen, Matthew, pp. 846, 847.4.
Ladd, loc. cit., p. 99.5.
Ridderbos, Coming of the Kingdom, p. 146.6.
Cf. Matt 13:8, 23 and note the comments of Ridderbos, The Coming of the Kingdom, p. 131f.7.
Note the verbal parallels of u with Matt. 13:32 and with Matt. 13:23.The Church, Israel Distinction