Which become the Inheritance of Christ and the Church.
Psalm 82.
1885 334 The last verse of this psalm contains the subject that is to occupy us this evening: "Arise, O God, judge the earth; for Thou shalt inherit all nations." It is God who is to judge the earth, and, as the consequence of this judgment, to become possessor of all the nations.
We have spoken of Christ, Heir of all things with the church His co-heir; then of the coming of Christ, or of the moment when He takes the inheritance. The appearing of the church is to be with Him in glory: it is the time when the risen church shares its inheritance with Him. Even departed souls, blessed as they are with Him, wait for the resurrection of their bodies to enjoy the fulness of blessing and glory. Therefore a christian may desire death, because he is thereby delivered from all affliction and suffering: hut he awaits the resurrection for the consummation of his glory. We have spoken of the progress of evil, and proved that, so far from the world being converted by the preaching of the gospel, the tares are to increase and ripen until the harvest. And, in our last lecture, we have pointed out the evil come to its closing fulness in the beast that goes into perdition (or the apostacy of the civil power of the fourth empire), and, in the false prophet, who exercises his energy in its presence and who is destroyed along with it.
We have seen that there are two beasts, and that the second is transformed into the false prophet. Compare Rev. 13 with the end of Rev. 19
Now the scene extends a little; and we shall see not only the fourth empire destroyed but all the nations judged. All the races of men existing upon the earth, and formed into peoples as the result of the division of Noah's sons, will be found at the end gathered together and judged of God. All that is high and proud will be abased by the power and glory of God, in order that He in full blessing may enjoy the kingdom and enter upon the inheritance of all the nations.
At our last meeting I dealt with the most difficult part, the point where the two dispensations meet, and where the evil caused by the ruin of the present' dispensation requires the intervention of God, and consequently the judgment which terminates it. I have spoken of the apostacy and of the Antichrist specially, because it is in fact the consummation of the apostacy. But when this event takes place, there is also the judgment of all the nations. Not only does God judge the last revolt of the Anti-christ and of the beast; but, having made His power felt, and the moment of His wrath being come, He judges all the nations.
This is what we read in Rev. 11:15-18, "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The world-kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ is come; and He shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders who sit before God on the thrones, fell upon their faces and worshipped God, saying, We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, Which art, and wast [and art to come]; because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and unto them that fear Thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth."
Let us follow up the passages which speak on the same subject.
We before remarked, that the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, the true King over the whole earth, was presented to the fourth beast and to the Jews, that is, to the Gentiles and Jews (to the Gentiles in the person of Pontius Pilate, and to the Jews in the person of the high priest). He was presented to the world and to His own, and was rejected. Bat in a much more extended sense it is said, "The nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come." It is the wrath of God breaking forth against them in judgment by His Son.
Psalm 2. Two things are set forth here. First, the Son is anointed (margin) King upon Zion, God's holy hill, and then He has the heathen for His inheritance: Zion is His throne; the nations, His inheritance. Secondly, His way of dealing with the nations is a way entirely opposed to the gospel: — "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron." The sceptre (rod) of Christ, in the gospel, is a rod of goodness and love; it is everything that is most sweet and most powerful in His love; it is not a sceptre of iron. The psalmist is speaking of the kings of the earth: "Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings; … kiss the Son." The decree of God is, that His Son shall be anointed, that is, declared King overall the earth; and He invites the kings of the earth to submit themselves to Him. He says to them, "I am about to speak in My wrath; I give the heritage of the 'nations to Christ: He will bruise you with a rod of iron; He will break you in pieces. Now then submit yourselves to Him, to My Son, King in Zion." These kings follow their own ways: their policy is settled according to the wisdom of man. Alas! it is not of Christ, King in Zion, that they think. Go and speak to the kings of the earth of Christ, King in Zion: you would be taken for one out of his senses. Nevertheless God has decreed His reign surely, irrevocably; and He will bring it to pass in spite of the kings of the earth. He will establish Him King in Zion, and will give Him the nations as His heritage, and the ends of the earth for His possession. "Now," says He by the prophet Micah, "shall He be great unto the ends of the earth" (Micah 5:4).
At the birth of Christ, hatred burst forth upon the least appearance of His royalty. When the cry was heard that a king had appeared, immediate efforts were made to get rid of Him. Will the nations then, at last, listen to the invitation made to them to submit themselves? The answer is to be found in Psalm 82
These judges of the earth will have to give an account of their conduct. "They know not, neither do they understand." "I have said, Ye are gods," for God Himself had set them as having authority over the earth ("the powers that be are ordained of God"); but God shall judge them. It is not christians who hold this threatening language; it is He who has the right of judging those whom He has named judges — of setting aside those subaltern powers, in order to take to Himself His great power and reign.
We find in Psalm 9:1–11, that the place where this judgment will be exercised is the land of Israel, and that the Lord will manifest Himself in this act of power. Verse 5 runs, "Thou hast rebuked the heathen; thou hast destroyed the wicked (Anti-christ); thou hast put out their name for ever and ever." In verses 15–20 it is not the language of the gospel; it is the prophetic anticipation — the righteous demand — of judgment. This it is which explains those difficulties which christians often find in the Psalms, owing to not having understood the difference of the dispensations. To convert the wicked, by the announcement of the grace of God, is the gospel; what we have been reading is something quite different. Once the gospel has run its course, Christ will demand righteous judgment against the world. It is no longer Christ, at the right hand of the Father, sending down the Holy Ghost to gather together His co-heirs; but Christ calling for righteousness and asking for it (generally by His Spirit in the humble and lowly ones of the Jewish nation) against the proud and violent men. If God were not to execute judgment, the evil would only grow worse and worse without any consolation for the faithful. God does not execute it until the evil has arrived at its height. Antichrist and the nations rise up against God and His Christ, and the earth must be cleared of His enemies to give place to the reign of God Himself. It is not David asking to rule over his enemies; but Christ who demands judgment, because the time is come.
We may observe the same truth in Psalm 10:15-16: "The Lord is King for over and ever; the heathen are perished out of His land." There is a general principle running through this class of psalms, of a terrible judgment upon the wickedness of the nations — God acting as judge in the midst of the judges.
A passage in Isaiah 2:12–22 also presents to us the great day of Jehovah on the earth: "For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon the high and lofty … when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth." It is not for the judgment of the dead, but of the earth.
To make you understand that this judgment applies to all nations, and that it is after this, and by this means, that God will fill the earth with the knowledge of His name, we beg you to turn to Zephaniah 3:8: "Therefore wait ye upon Me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for My determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms to pour upon them My indignation, even all My fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy." The intention of God is to assemble the nations to pour upon them His indignation — a terrible judgment. For our expectation then, when and how the knowledge of Jehovah shall fill the earth, we refer to verse 9. This blessing will come to pass after He shall have executed the judgment, and put away the evil-doers. The passage is a very explicit revelation.
The same truth, namely, that the knowledge of Jehovah will spread as the effect of His judgment, is presented to us in Isaiah 26:9-11, "When Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness;" for it is added, "Let favour be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness." Grace does not produce the effect, but judgment.
Again, we say, that the determination of Jehovah is to assemble the kingdoms, to pour out on them His indignation, and all the fierceness of His wrath. It will be a terrible day, and one which the world ought to be expecting.
Another passage in support of the truth we are urging is found in Psalm 110: "The LORD (Jehovah) said unto my Lord, Sit thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool." Jesus is set down at the right hand of God the Father, until His enemies are made His footstool. Until that time He acts by His Spirit to gather together christians; He sends down the Holy Ghost to convince us of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. But the day will come when God will make His enemies His footstool, and it is on this account, perhaps, that Jesus says, "Of that day knoweth no man … neither the Son, but the Father" (Mark 13:32). It is written, that He will inherit all things. This has been prophesied of Me; Jehovah said to Me, "Sit thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool." It is not such a year, such a day; but He goes to sit at the right hand of God until — until the moment when the Father will have accomplished this decree: for the Lord Jesus, God blessed for ever, receives the kingdom as Man, as mediator. Now, as to the accomplishment of the decree, it is when "Jehovah shall send the rod of Thy strength out of Zion." We discern the boundary of this dispensation clearly marked, that is, Christ set down at the right hand of Jehovah, until Jehovah put His enemies under His feet. After that come the words, "Rule thou in the midst of Thine enemies." This is what Jehovah will accomplish, when the Lord, at the commencement of the exercise of His power, shall strike through kings in the day of His wrath,, shall judge among the heathen, shall fill the places with the dead bodies, and shall wound the heads over many countries.*
[*Or rather, the chief over a great land.]
In Jeremiah 25:28, the same subject is presented; and it is the end of all that we see around us: "And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Ye shall certainly drink" (see also ver. 31).
There are yet two facts to remark. First, it is at Jerusalem principally that all this disaster will take place; secondly, God has named in His word all the nations which will participate in it. We shall see all the descendants of Noah, of whom we have the catalogue in Genesis 10 re-appear on the scene at the moment of this judgment of God. We shall find nearly all of them under the beast or under Gog.
1885 347 As to the passages which concern Jerusalem, we may cite Joel 3:1, 9-17; Micah 4:11 to the end of the chapter; and Zechariah 12:3-11: "And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all peoples; all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the peoples of the earth be gathered together against it. In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness; and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah; and will smite every horse of the peoples with blindness. And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God. In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the peoples round about, on the right hand and on the left; and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David, and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, do not magnify themselves against Judah. In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon." Zech. 14:3-4: "Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle. And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south."
It is said (Acts 1), Jesus "shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven," that is, upon the Mount of Olives (compare Ezekiel 11:23). "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives," says the Holy Ghost in Zechariah 14:4 — "His feet," the feet of Jehovah. Though indeed He was the man of sorrows, Jesus is Jehovah, and has been so from eternity.
As to the second point, this is what we have to remark, namely, that the nations, the descendants of Noah, will be ranged either under the Beast or under Gog, the two principal powers. If you consult Gen. 10, you will read (ver. 5), "By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands." In the generations of the sons of Japheth are named Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, under the same names in Ezekiel 38 as followers of Gog; you will also find there Persia which was united to Media (Madai), and from whose hands it received the crown (as we are told in Daniel 8 and other places), so that there only remain Javan and Tiras to be accounted for. Those mentioned above are the nations which comprise Russia, Asia Minor, Tartary, and Persia (all the people, in short, of which the empire of Russia is composed, or which are under its influence). They are described as under the dominion of Gog, prince of Rosh (the Russians), Meshech (Moscow), and Tubal (Tobolsk).
The children of Ham are pointed out in Genesis 10:6. Of these, Canaan has been destroyed, and his country turned over to Israel; Cush (Ethiopia) and Phut are also found (Ezek. 38:5; see margin) under Gog; those of Cush only in part, and for the reason that one part of the family of Cush established itself on the Euphrates, the other on the Nile, that is, north and south of Israel. Those of the north are then, by their position, in direct relation with the partisans of Gog. Mizraim, or Egypt (for Mizraim is none other than the Hebrew name for Egypt), and the remainder of Cush and the Libyans, you will find in the scenes of the last day (Dan. 11:43).
As to the children of Shem (Gen. 10:22), Elam is the same as Persia, of which we have already spoken. Asshur is named in the judgment which will take place in the last times (Micah 5:6; Isa. 14:25; Isa. 30:31); also in the conspiracy of Psalm 83, and in other places. Arphaxad is one of the ancestors of the Israelites. We know nothing of the family of Joktan. It is supposed to be a people of Arabia or the East. Aram, or Syria, was displaced by Asshur, and is found under the title of the king of the North. The same remarks, it appears, may be made of Lud. Javan (Greece) is to be in the last combat (Zech. 9:13). Of all the nations, Tiras is the only one besides Joktan, which is not named as to be in these great judgments. We speak only of the word of God. Profane authors unite Tires (Thrace) and Javan in Greece; but with this we have not to do.
In the present day we may observe Russia extending her power exactly over the nations which will be found under Gog.*
[*We must take care to distinguish the Gog of Ezekiel from Gog and Magog in the Revelation.]
Daniel 11 introduces us to two other powers, to which we must direct our attention; they are the king of the South, and the king of the North. The chapter contains a long account of already accomplished events, as to their wars, etc.; but after this come the ships of Chittim (ver. 30), and then there is an interruption in their history (35). These kings were the successors of the great king of Javan (Greece): the one, possessor of Assyria; the other, of Egypt. The object of their fightings was Syria and the Holy Land. From verses 31-35 the Jews are introduced as set aside during a long period of time (see ver. 35). It is said, "And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end; because it is yet for a time appointed." Then follows ver. 36, "And the king shall do according to his own will:" this is Antichrist. In ver. 41 we have him in "the land" of Israel, in that territory which is the cause of the difference which exists between the king of the North and the king of the South. "And at the time of the end shall the king of the South push at him." That is, after a long interval, behold again the king of the South brought, in this chapter, upon the scene. And this has historically occurred only a few years ago, after an interval of nearly two thousand years.
The greater part of the nations who, as we are told, are to be at the feet of Gog, are now coming under the dominion of Russia; "and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind." Antichrist will be the object of attack, at one and the same time, to the king of the South, or Egypt; and to the king of the North, the possessor of Asiatic Turkey, or Assyria. I do not say who the king of the North will be at the end; but we see that the circumstances and the personages described in the prophecies, which have reference to this time appointed — "the time of the end," begin to appear. It is nearly two thousand years since there has been a king of the South; and it is but a few years since he has appeared anew. In the same way a great people has come forward, of which the world a century or two ago hardly knew the existence, and which now rules over the exact countries of the Gog in Ezekiel. We do not desire that you should fix your attention too much upon events which are taking place in our time; it is only when we have explained the prophecy, that we advert to the circumstances which pass around us. All nations have their attention occupied about Jerusalem (Zech. 12:3), and know not what to do about it. The king of Egypt wants to call the whole country his own; the king of the North is unwilling to cede it (the Turk being the actual king of the North, or Assyria). The kings of the North and South dispute for the same country, which they fought over two thousand years ago. This is just what the prophecy says is to occur at "a time appointed." We do not mean that all of it comes out plainly: for example, the ten kings cannot be enumerated, and Antichrist is not yet revealed, still less has the beast, or Roman Empire, reappeared. But the principles which are found in the word of God are acting in the midst of the kingdoms where the ten horns are to appear. That is, we find all western Europe occupied about Jerusalem, and preparing for war; and Russia, on her side preparing herself, and exercising influence over the countries given to her in the word; and all the thoughts of the politicians of this world* concentrating themselves on the scene where their final gathering in the presence of the judgment of God will take place — where "the Lord shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor" (Micah 4:12). It is a remarkable coincidence. In observing what is passing around us, we recognise certain prophetical descriptions; at least we see those who are to act, or upon whom God will act, developing the characters which prophecy puts into relief.
[*Every one is aware how much more largely this is the case since, and that the dispute about the holy places was the occasion of the Eastern war. The nations are burdening themselves with Jerusalem (note to the fourth French edition).]
If you take the trouble, dear friends, to follow the chapters which we have been quoting (and many others, as doubtless there are), you will understand Matthew 25 which speaks of the Lord sitting upon His throne, and gathering all the nations (an allusion to Joel 3), judging them, and separating them "as a shepherd divideth the sheep from the goats."*
[*It is commonly supposed that the judgment which is spoken of in this chapter is the last judgment — the general judgment. This is a mistake. It is the judgment of the nations living upon the earth, and not of the dead. Here is no question of the resurrection, but only of the judgment of the Gentiles. What will happen to the Jews is mentioned in chap. 24; next, what will happen to believers, or at least professors of the faith of Christ; and, then, the fate of the Gentiles (25). It is the judgment of the living, and not of the dead. We say it is the judgment of the living, because we read, "Before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth the sheep from the goats." That which has given rise to the supposition that it is the judgment of the dead is this passage, "These shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal;" but this only means that the judgment of the living will be final, like that of the dead. When God judges, whether the dead or the living, His judgment sends the good into life eternal, and the wicked into everlasting punishment. The judgment of the living is as sure as that of the dead.]
Let us remember one thing; that is, that we Christians are sheltered from the approaching storm. We have said nothing this evening about the church; but let us recall its place to our memory. It is, that during these events (yea, even at present, as united to Him by faith), its place is to be with Christ, and to accompany Him; the church has the privilege, the glory, the special character, of being in union with the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, if we search for the church in the Old Testament, it is only Jesus Christ we find. A striking example of this truth is found in Paul's quotation (Romans 8), taken from Isaiah 50 where Christ says, "Who is he that shall condemn me?" which Paul applies to the Christian, being united to Christ as of His body.
The union of the church in a single body, whether Jews or Gentiles, was not revealed in the Old Testament; if we seek for it, it is Christ Himself that is seen. Although there are many things in the relationship of Jehovah with Zion which often exist between God the Father and the church, nevertheless it is not in Zion that we are to look for the church. In the Old Testament the privileges of the church are of Christ Himself, in the person of Christ, because the church has the same portion as Christ. This is it (see Eph. 1:22-23), "which is the fulness of Him that filleth all in all;" for this reason we are not to look for the church in the prophecies. The church is the body of Christ Himself; and Christ is to judge, not to be judged. We have seen that Christ is to smite, and break in pieces the nations; this is said also of the church. The church has nothing to do with that of which we have been speaking, as if it were to be subjected to the same judgments (Rev. 2:26-27). Its place is not to be in the midst of the nations that are to be broken in pieces; but, being united to Christ, it is to enjoy the same privileges as Christ, and with Christ to break in pieces the nations. There is nothing true as regards Christ in the glory which He has taken, which is not also true of the church.
It is always precious for us thus to understand our place, that of joint-heirs with Christ. And the more we think of this, the more our strength will be increased, and the more we shall become in our minds, as heirs of God, detached from the world, which is judged, as indeed the church is justified. The saints are justified; we see not all yet the effects of it; because the glory is not come. The church only has the fruits of justification in glory; the world only has the fruits of wickedness in the judgment. Nevertheless, it is true that the church is united to Christ. The world is judged because it has rejected Christ. "Holy Father," said the Saviour, "the world hath not known thee." But this is what grace has done for us. Just as unbelief separates men entirely and for all eternity from Christ, grace by the Spirit has united us entirely and for ever to Him; and we ought to bless God for it.