Daniel 7 is one of the key visions contained in the book of Daniel. Because the vision begins with symbolic imagery, some commentators have interpreted the vision as mostly symbolic. Some have even proposed that the vision refers to the spiritual victory that occurred as a result of Jesus’ crucifixion and ascension. Other commentators maintain that the vision refers to the future because the language goes beyond what happened at the cross. Let’s examine the chapter to see if a clear interpretation can be found.

To interpret Daniel correctly, we first need to understand how the chapter is broken down. Daniel 7 can be broken down into three primary sections.

1. The Symbolic Vision (Daniel 7:1-8) – The first part of the chapter is a vision by Daniel in which he sees four kingdoms symbolized by disfigured beasts.
2. The Heavenly Response (Daniel 7:9-14) – The second part of the chapter is a heavenly vision in which Daniel sees God’s response to the beasts. Daniel’s vision is heavenly, but not symbolic in the same way the first part of the chapter is.
3. The Angel’s Explanation (Daniel 7:15-28) – In the third and final part of the chapter the angel explains the symbolic vision of Daniel 7:1-8 using literal language.

Can we look at Daniel 7 and determine conclusively whether the vision refers to the past or to the future? The good news is that, if we examine the chapter carefully interpreting it is not difficult.

The first thing to recognize is that God provided an angelic interpreter so that Daniel would understand the interpretation of the symbolic vision. In verse 16, Daniel tells us that “one of those who stood by” interpreted the vision for him.

¹⁶I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: (Daniel 7:16 NKJV)

God sent an angel to Daniel to make the vision plain so that he would understand it, and so that we would understand it. This means that the vision is so important to God that He did not want to leave any room for misinterpretation. He wanted us to know the plain meaning of the strange things Daniel saw.

The angel explained the symbolism in the vision using plain language that describes a very specific sequence of events. These events are obviously important to God because He took the time to include them in the chapter, therefore these events should be important to us. These events form a basic storyline and when we study that storyline, it becomes clear whether Daniel 7 is referring to something that has happened in the past or is describing events that remain in the future.

The Storyline

The angel gives Daniel the heart of the storyline in Daniel 7:23-27. Let’s look at some of the key phrases in the angel’s explanation in order to understand the storyline.

A “Different” Kingdom

The first thing that angel emphasizes is that a kingdom will arise on earth that is different from every other kingdom. Daniel uses the word “different” four times in this chapter to describe this kingdom, to emphasize that this kingdom bears little resemblance to the great empires of history.

²³“Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast shall be A fourth kingdom on earth, Which shall be different from all other kingdoms, And shall devour the whole earth, Trample it and break it in pieces. (Daniel 7:23 NKJV)

It is important not to miss the overarching context of Daniel’s vision because it helps us to better understand the angel’s words. Daniel lived during the golden age of Babylon and he lived as a conquered subject of the empire. Babylon was destroying every other kingdom in the region and was about to decimate Daniel’s people and leave their land desolate. Daniel was intimately familiar with the king who was a megalomaniac and led a cruel, conquering army growing an empire given to pagan religion and sensuality. Daniel’s people were experiencing the weight of Babylon’s crushing, the seduction of Babylon’s religion, and being carried off as conquered slaves. Jerusalem had been completely destroyed and lay desolate. The angel tells Daniel that a kingdom is coming that will be “different, different, different, different” from Babylon.

The vision itself emphasized the difference of this final kingdom because it was represented by a beast that is completely unnatural and bears no resemblance to anything in the natural realm. In contrast, the three other kingdoms in the chapter are symbolized by distorted, natural beasts (a lion, bear, and leopard). Daniel is also told that this kingdom devours the whole earth. This language is not applied to any of the other beasts, so it is not a hyperbolic statement, instead it’s a statement that differentiates this kingdom from the other three. This final kingdom has an unparalleled effect on the earth. It devours, tramples, and “breaks into pieces” the entire earth. Of course, many empires have sought to do this, but no one has yet accomplished this.

The Rulers of this Kingdom

Next Daniel is told that ten kings will arise from this kingdom first who will them be followed by a much more dreadful king.

²⁴The ten horns are ten kings Who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first ones, And shall subdue three kings. ²⁵He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time. (Daniel 7:24–25 NKJV)

The angel compares the dreadful king to the other ten in the same way he compared the final kingdom to the other three. Just as the final kingdom is “different” so too this king will be “different” from the initial ten rulers of the kingdom. In other words, not only does he emerge from the most dreadful kingdom, he himself is far more evil, and dreadful than the rest of the leaders that lead the kingdom.

After this dreadful king emerges, he then subdues three of the ten kings ruling in this kingdom – presumably because they do not fully submit to his leadership and agenda. Daniel is also told that he will persecute the people of God and obtains a temporary victory over them. God’s people will be subject to this king during his dreadful reign.

The End of the Rule of the Evil King

The angel tells Daniel that the rule of this wicked king will be short lived. A court of judgment will be seated and his dominion will be taken away.

²⁶‘But the court shall be seated, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and destroy it forever. (Daniel 7:26 NKJV)

This king has “dominion” because the kingdom he is leading has trampled and devoured the earth. We must recognize is that the king is a real king and the kingdom is a real kingdom on the earth. The language in the angel’s interpretation is all physical, earthy language because he’s describing events that will happen on the earth. Those events have a spiritual dimension to them, but we cannot lose site of the fact that the angel describes these events from a physical perspective. This means the destruction of this king will end a physical kingdom on the earth. Though this king is spiritually wicked, he is a real, physical king who must be physically destroyed.

The angel also tells us that this wicked king’s dominion will be consumed and destroyed forever. This is a key indicator. It means that this king, though an earthly king, is more than a king. There is something trans-historical about him. There is a reason that his dominion is consumed “forever.” When he is removed from his position, the dominion of wickedness over the earth is ended. It is a spiritual victory, but it is more than a spiritual victory. The victory happens through the defeat of a king leading a kingdom on the earth and this victory secures a season of blessing that affects the earth and the structures of society. The victory over this king has spiritual implications, but it is a physical victory that ends the reign of evil over the earth.

The Divine Transition

Verse 27 describes a dramatic transition after the removal of this wicked king. 

²⁷Then the kingdom and dominion, And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.’ (Daniel 7:27 NKJV)

Verse 27 begins with a conjunction usually translated “then” and sometimes translated “and.” The key thing is to recognize that the verse is a part of a sequence. Verse 27 is the result of the destruction of the evil king in verse 26. That means the blessing of verse 27 cannot come until the destruction of the wicked king in verse 26 happens. Therefore if the blessing of verse 27 has not yet happened, then it means the evil king of verse 26 has not yet been destroyed.

The angel tells Daniel that, after the evil king is destroyed, the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the saints of the Most High. The language of kingdom in the angel’s explanation is consistently referring to kingdoms on the earth and it is important that we interpret it consistently. This means that the kingdom and dominion referred to in verse 27 is a kingdom and a dominion on the earth. The wicked king led kingdom on the earth and now God’s people are given a kingdom on the earth.

Verse 27 describes the most dramatic transition in the experience of life on the earth since the fall. The saints will be given governmental authority in the earth as part of God’s everlasting kingdom. The angel refers to the realm where God’s people are given government as the “kingdoms under heaven.” This phrase was used in Daniel’s time as a reference to the realm of the earth. Again, this emphasizes that he is referring to a kingdom in the earthly realm and predicting that the saints will be given governmental authority on the earth. The promise in this chapter is not primarily a promise to rule spiritually in the heavens, but primarily a promise to rule physically on the earth.

If we look at the key points of the storyline in Daniel 7, it becomes clear that this has never happened in history. The angel predicts a kingdom that tramples the entire globe. Many have sought this, but so far no one has accomplished this. The angel also tells us that this kingdom is completely different from anything else in history. Again, an evil empire has not yet emerged on the earth’s stage that merits this kind of description. We are also told an evil king is coming that is far more wicked than any other. When this king is defeated, as a physical king, it is the end of the dominion of wickedness on the earth. This obviously has not yet happened. Finally, we are told that the saints are going to rule and reign over the earth when this evil king is defeated. Again, we can clearly see that the saints are not yet ruling on the earth. To give us even more confidence in the time of the vision, the angel also includes specific details such as the fact that there will be ten kings, three of whom are deposed, along with a very specific time period for the most intense part of the king’s rule. There is simply no time in history that matches the sequence of events the angel predicts.

Conclusion

Daniel 7 is a key passage in Daniel’s visions and because it contains apocalyptic imagery it is important that we are careful to interpret the vision correctly. The good news is that God wanted to make sure that we understood the vision so he sent Daniel an interpreting angel to explain the plain meaning of the vision.

The angel’s interpretation describes a very clear sequence of events that take place on the earth, and he includes specific details about those events. Each of these details were given by God so that we would understand the vision. The details help us to know and understand the time of the fulfillment of the vision. If the details are not fulfilled literally, then we know that the events of the vision have not yet come to pass.

When we understand the structure of Daniel 7, we see that the chapter is relatively straightforward. It begins with a symbolic vision, but it ends with a very specific interpretation of this imagery. Some commentators have tried to interpret the events of Daniel 7 as “spiritual” events because of the symbolic imagery at the beginning of the chapter. However, the chapter does not allow for this interpretation because the interpretation given by the angel refers to a specific series of events that must happen on the earth. We cannot “spiritualize” these events because the angel did not.

When we allow the angel in Daniel 7 to be the authoritative interpreter of Daniel 7, we can conclusively say that the events of Daniel 7:23-27 are yet future. These events will have an unparalleled effect on the earth, and God gave us this information ahead of time so that we would be understand how the age ends and prepare the earth for that hour of human history.

The Roman Colosseum has two critical lessons for followers of Jesus.

⁶For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6 NKJV)

In 2 Corinthians, Paul describes the power of God in the act of creation and compares it to the power of God in the salvation of individuals. The very same God who created all things out of nothing has redeemed us. He spoke into darkness and suddenly it was illuminated with light. He spoke into a void and it suddenly had shape, form, and definition. At the moment He spoke, what was previous dark and without form was suddenly illuminated and brought into proper shape and order.

We are born in the same condition that creation existed before Genesis 1. We were born in darkness. Our spirit was without the proper shape and form. We were lifeless and in darkness unable to experience and express life in the way we were created to.

The work of the new birth is just as glorious and marvelous as creation. His voice is just as powerful whether it is directed to a galaxy without form or void or a human spirit that is dead and lifeless.

The Power of the New Birth

Because the inner transformation of the human heart does not seem as outwardly dramatic as the formation of the physical world, we tend to not fully appreciate exactly what happens when God speaks to the human spirit. Though God’s work inside a human being may not seem as outwardly dramatic as the formation of the cosmos, it is just as powerful and marvelous. This is why in the next chapter Paul will say that anyone in Christ is a new creation. We are literally a creation of God in the same order as His creation of our entire world.

¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV)

This should give us tremendous confidence in the work of God inside of us. The God of creation has redeemed us and His work inside of us is of the same magnitude as His work in creation. His voice is just as powerful to the human spirit. We are not redeemed by a creed of beliefs or by religious ritual. We are redeemed by the very power of God.

What is inside us as a result of God’s voice is tremendously powerful. We are a new creation – a new creature made to live with God forever. We have an indestructible life that is God breathed and God formed. We do not fully understand the magnitude of what is in us. We need revelation of what God has done for us and in us. The power within us is the very power of creation. This is why Paul says the light of creation has shone on our hearts. That light has transformed our past, given life to our present, and secures the glory of our future.

The Knowledge of the Glory of God

Paul continues to tell us that the light that has shown on our hearts is a very specific light. It is not the same light that illuminates the earth; it is actually something far more glorious. It is the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. The glory of God is ever present, but ever since the fall men have been cut off from the knowledge of that glory. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul discussed the fact that Moses experienced and demonstrated a measure of God’s glory, but that the ministry of the Spirit has now released a greater experience of the glory of God.

⁷But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, ⁸how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? (2 Corinthians 3:7–8 NKJV)

Moses experienced God’s glory in a measure, but now that God’s light has shown on our hearts we are able to come into the knowledge of the glory of God. The word “knowledge” used here does not simply mean an intellectual awareness of God’s glory. It refers to the experience of God’s glory. We are now capable of experiencing the glory of God in His work on our hearts and our experience of that glory does the work of transformation in the human heart.

Paul is very specific on the focus of the knowledge of the glory of God – it is in the revelation of the face of Jesus Christ. This is the knowledge of God’s glory that was previously veiled to us, but is not freely and openly available. Because God has released His light on our Spirit, we can now experience the glory of Jesus Christ. His face and His person are no longer hidden from us.

This is why the knowledge of the glory of God is more than a mental understanding of that glory. It is more than a concept that can be described; it is a person that can be experienced. The glory of God is found in the face of a person. It’s found in relationship and communion. Our hearts can be transformed now because we can experienced that Man and His person, His face, is enough to transform our heart. This is why the experience of the glory of God is not just an ecstatic experience, though the Bible certainly allows for this, it is the privilege of the ability to receive revelation of God’s Son.

This is the transformational power that is released into our hearts when God shines the light of new creation on our heart. It is even more powerful than the light released at creation. The light of creation illuminated our world. The light of the gospel illuminates God for the human heart. It makes God’s Son visible. It enables us to see and experience Him. This is why Paul continues in verse 7 to remind us that the “excellence of the power” within us is of God and now us.

⁷But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. (2 Corinthians 4:7 NKJV)

The glory of the new birth is not that we have power, but rather that the power of God dwells in us. The excellence of what dwells in us is more than human; it is divine. The Son through His unique union of God and man has enabled us, as men, to host the power and glory of God in our human frame. The excellence within us is not us, it is the glory found in the face of Jesus Christ.

Too often we live a substandard Christianity because we do not recognize the power of what God has done for us, or the means through which He wants to continue to make power available to us. If the light has not yet shone on your heart, this is the one thing you need to enable you to know the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. If the light of God has illuminated your soul, it is critical to remember that God continues His work in the human heart in the same way he begins it: by the revelation of His Son.

I’m so proud to be part of the team at One King: Jerusalem. The issue of Israel and the Middle East is escalating in the nations and this is the time for a fresh approach to the issue. It’s time for a robust and comprehensive approach to the issue based on solid, biblical foundations.  For more information, visit http://oneking2015.com and join us in Jerusalem next June.

In the last generation, the church has focused in on the assignment the Lord has given to reach every tribe and tongue. The phrase “tribe and tongue” ultimately refers to what we would call a people group, which is a group of people with a common language and culture. The phrase is used biblically to describe God’s zeal for a holy remnant from every people group on the earth.

The church’s mission to every tribe and tongue is usually presented in terms of evangelism, but there is much more to reaching every tribe and tongue than evangelism. When we look carefully at the verses in the New Testament that describe the church in every tribe and tongue, we can more a robust view of the mission of the church in the nations.

The Gospel of Matthew

First we should look at what Jesus says about the mission to every tribe and tongue. In the book of Matthew Jesus gives instructions to the disciple two different times that summarize the mission of the church in the nations of the earth. Matthew 24:14 is one of the best known verses on missions because it contains Jesus’ prediction that He will not return until there is a proclamation of the gospel that reaches all the nations. When we look at this verse closely, we can see that the proclamation is far more than evangelism.

¹⁴And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14 NKJV)

Jesus is careful to say that there must be a declaration of the gospel of the kingdom. Jesus wants to make sure we include the proclamation of Him as King, and therefore also Judge, over all the nations. Contextually, this verse exists within a greater context in Matthew 21-25 that focuses on the question of when Jesus will rule over Israel and therefore also over the nations of the earth.

This proclamation is a witness to all the nations. This means that everyone in the nations will not receive it, but everything in the nations must hear the proclamation of Jesus as a coming King before Jesus will return to judge the nations. Matthew 24:15, the verse after Matthew 24:14, tells us that the witness of Matthew 24:14 is actually preparatory to the coming of the Antichrist. God will not allow the Antichrist to come until Matthew 24:14 prepares the nations.

¹⁵“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), (Matthew 24:15 NKJV)

The gospel of the kingdom actually prepares the globe for the crisis that comes at the end of the age. This means that witness of Matthew 24:14 is intended, not only for evangelism, but also to be a warning for the nations of the darkness that is coming and a means to maturity in the church. Matthew 24:14 must encapsulate a preparation for the church that brings the church to the place of maturity necessary to stand in the most difficult hour of human history.

Matthew closes his gospel with a second admonition from Jesus regarding the nations. Again, Jesus gives us instructions that go beyond evangelism.

¹⁸And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Matthew 28:18–20 NKJV)

Jesus tells the disciples to go make disciples in all the nations, teaching them to observe all Jesus’ commandments. Discipleship in all of Jesus’ teachings is a part of the mission that must reach every tribe and tongue. Evangelism is important, but it is only the first step. It must be followed be leading believers into all that Jesus instructed. Jesus cares that we teach them all His commandments, because the goal we are to labor for is a mature church.

A mature church is not just a body of believers who have received salvation. A mature church is walking in everything Jesus commanded. This means walking in the fullness of holiness and obedience to Jesus that is possible in this age. It means experiencing the fullness of our inheritance through the Holy Spirit. For example, Jesus predicted that the church would experience a season of power greater than His own earthly ministry (John 14:12). He told the disciples it would be better for them if He left because they would experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit when He was physically taken away from them (John 16:7). All of these things are part of what it means to observe or obey all that Jesus commanded. A generation must come into everything that Jesus commanded, which includes experiencing all His promises, before the mission of God is over. This means the conclusion of the mission to every tribe and tongue will also be the time the church comes into full maturity, expressed by Jesus as obeying and experiencing all that He said.

Notice that Jesus again connects the mission of the church to the end of the age. Just as He did in Matthew 24:14-15, Jesus connects the maturity of the church to the end of the age by finishing His instruction with the promise that He will be with His church in the end of the age. In light of Matthew 24’s promise that the church will come into maturity before the end of the age, Jesus expects us to understand that the labor of Matthew 28 will lead the church into a maturity that must come before God allows the reign of the Antichrist.

God will not end the age until the church comes into maturity. Therefore, when the church comes into maturity in every tribe and tongue through the labor of Matthew 28, it removes one of the key barriers to the end of the age. This is why Jesus promises the church that He will be with us especially in the end of the age. It is a promise to the church in every generation, but Jesus specifically emphasized the promise to the final generation of the church because He knew that their obedience to His command would bring the church to maturity and that the church that comes into maturity will be God’s witness on the earth during the reign of the Antichrist.

By surveying Jesus’ references to the church’s mission to every tribe and tongue we find that evangelism is only one of the key purposes of the mission to every tribe and tongue. We can summarize the mission as having three key objectives.

• Enlarge the Church by Evangelism – The gospel is intended to bring a remnant to salvation among every people group.
• Bring the Church to Maturity through Discipleship – The maturity of the church includes all that Jesus spoke. This means obedience to Jesus’ commands as well as a church functioning in all the promises Jesus gave to the church.
• Be a Witness to the Nations – The mature church is intended to warn all the nations to submit to Jesus’ leadership as King. God will not allow the Antichrist to emerge in history before this happens.

The Book of Revelation

The book of Revelation is the other key book in the New Testament where we find specific references to every tribe and tongue. The book makes a reference to every tribe and tongue 5 times (Revelation 5:9; 7:9; 11:9; 13:7; 14:6), and because Revelation describes the church in the end times, it provides a glimpse into what the church will like when it reaches maturity in every tribe and tongue.

When we look at the book of Revelation, we find that it confirms Jesus’ predictions in Matthew and gives more shape and definition to how the church in maturity will function among the nations. To see what Revelation tells us about the church in maturity, we can look at it through the lens of the three objective of the church’s mission that Matthew highlighted: enlarging the church by evangelism, bringing the church to maturity through discipleship, and being a witness to the nations.

Enlarging the church by Evangelism

The book of Revelation both presents and confirms the work of evangelism in the nations. Interestingly, evangelism is the least emphasized activity in the book of Revelation, but the evidence of evangelism is evident. In Revelation 7:9 John sees a great multitude that no man can number from every tribe and tongue before the throne. The angel tells John that these are the believers who lost their lives in the great tribulation for their testimony of Jesus. The fact that just the martyrs of the great tribulation compose an innumerable multitude from every tribe and tongue reveals that the gospel has incredible evangelistic success in the nations. This isn’t even counting the believers who survived and were not martyred. All of this points to incredible harvest and evangelism in the nations.

⁹After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands…¹⁴…So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Revelation 7:9, 14 NKJV)

Revelation 14 also describes the proclamation of the gospel at the end of the age. John sees an angel proclaiming an everlasting gospel from a heavenly perspective, and this heavenly perspective is connected to what is happening on the earth. This means the angel’s proclamation is also being delivered to the nations by human vessels. The message to be declared is more than a message of salvation, it is an everlasting gospel, meaning everlasting “good news.” The everlasting good news to the nations is that God’s King is coming and that He will rule. In other words, this is the gospel of the kingdom that Matthew 24:14 also declares must be delivered. Revelation 14 is from a heavenly perspective and Matthew 24:14 is from an earthly perspective, but they both describe the same event.

⁶Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—⁷saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” (Revelation 14:6–7 NKJV)

Bring the Church to Maturity through Discipleship

The book of Revelation is one of the best sources of information on what the maturity of the church looks like because it describes the church in the final moments of this age. In other words, the church in Revelation describes what the mission of God will produce in the nations before the return of Jesus. It is God’s finish line for missions in this age. In the book of Revelation, we find both the depth of the maturity of the church and a description of how the church in maturity functions. Revelation 5:9; 7:9; and 13:9 tell us what a discipled church looks like. It is what the church looks like when Matthew 28 is obeyed.

The book of Revelation predicts that the church at the end of the age is an overcoming church that is faithful to Jesus and overcomes the most wicked man in history. The battle at the end of the age affects every tribe and tongue and God has a faithful witness in every tribe and tongue who is faithful to Jesus even at the point of death. This means that the church will be brought to an unprecedented place of maturity to provide a global witness of their love for Jesus.

In Revelation 7, John sees a multitude so great he cannot number who are martyred for their loyalty to Jesus. They are from every tribe and tongue, and they refused to bow to the most evil man in history.

⁹After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands.¹⁴…“These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Revelation 7:9, 14 NKJV)

Revelation 13 describes the terror of the Antichrist and the temporary suffering that the saints endure at his hands. He “overcomes” them by taking their lives. Verse 8 tells us that all those whose names are not written in the Lamb’s book of life will worship the beast (the Antichrist), but the key to the verse is that to recognize that those whose names are written in the book do not worship. This means that the Antichrist may “overcome” the saints by taking their lives, but they overcome him by refusing to worship. This will happen in every tribe and tongue and it is an unprecedented moment of maturity for the global church. Across the earth the entire church will be faithful unto death.

⁷It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. ⁸All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:7–8 NKJV)

The book of Revelation not only describes the depth of maturity of the church, it also describes one of the key ways it functions as a corporate body. There are two key passages where we see the church in every tribe and tongue and each time they are functioning the exact same way.

⁸Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, ¹⁰And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.” ¹¹Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, ¹²saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:8–12 NKJV)

⁹After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” ¹¹All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹²saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” (Revelation 7:9–12 NKJV)

These two passages are the only specific glimpse we get of the church in every tribe and tongue functioning together. That is why both these scenes are so important. When John sees the mature church functioning across all people groups, he sees them gathered in corporate worship and intercession declaring the glory of Jesus. Biblically, this is part of the maturity of the church. One of the ways the mature church will express its life together is being joined in worship and prayer.

While both scenes that John observed are set in a heavenly context, this is simply because the book of Revelation is primarily written from a heavenly perspective. However, the heavenly perspective throughout the book is also directly connected to events on the earth. If the church in every tribe and tongue is in corporate worship and intercession before the throne in heaven, then the corporate church on earth is in the same posture as well. Every tribe and tongue is before the throne in intercession after their martyrdom in Revelation 7, but they were in that same posture on earth before their martyrdom.

In the book of Revelation “bowls” of prayer in heaven are the catalyst for God’s activity on the earth (Revelation 5:8; 8:3-4) and these prayers are not only the prayers of the saints in heaven. They are also the prayers of the saints on earth. The fact that John sees bowls being filled means something is happening to bring intercession on the earth into fullness to complete or fill the intercession necessary to bring God’s work in the nations to completion. What John sees happening in his heavenly perspective is a direct result of what is happening in the church on the earth.

Not only does the evidence in the book of Revelation point to the fact that the heavenly intercession of every tribe and tongue is mirrored on the earth, Jesus also asked us to pray for it. In Luke 11:2 when Jesus teaches the disciples to pray, one of the first prayer requests He gives them is that it should be on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus gives us a glimpse into how the church functions in heaven in Revelation 5 and 7 and He’s asking us to pray that it would be just like that on the earth. This means that the unified expression of prayer and worship among every people group that is present in heaven should also be present on the earth. To be obedient to Jesus we should pray for it and we should also labor to see the church formed according to the pattern He gave us. Moses did this when he put night and day worship in the middle of the people of Israel. David did it when he established an order of worship and prayer. The apostles did it (Acts 6; 13). The book of Revelation predicts that it will happen on the earth globally among every tribe and tongue.

A Witness Warning the Nations

The book of Revelation, like Matthew 24:14, also describes the mature church functioning as a witness to the nations. Revelation 11 describes the ministry of two unusually anointed witnesses who are given unusual power to back up their testimony of God’s plan. Their message to the nations is so intense that they are eventually executed and when they are killed, there are those in every tribe and tongue who celebrate the demise of the witnesses because they reject and refuse the message of these witnesses. The message spoken by these witnesses affect every tribe and tongue and while their ministry is very unique, the implication is that the global church is giving a witness and a warning about God’s plan to the nations.

³And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”…⁷When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them…⁹Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. ¹⁰And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. (Revelation 11:3, 7, 9–10 NKJV)

In Revelation 14, John sees an angel carrying the everlasting gospel. The angel proclaims a loud warning over the nations to fear God and give Him glory. His proclamation contains a warning for the nations that the hour of judgment has come. The nations are being warned of the urgent need to respond to God before time runs out. This loud proclamation will be delivered to the nations through human messengers who will warn the nations to respond wisely before the day of God’s judgment. Every tribe and tongue will need to hear this warning to respond rightly to God.

⁶Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—⁷saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” (Revelation 14:6–7 NKJV)

Conclusion

God’s plan to exalt His Son goes far beyond saving Israel or even saying a remnant of the gentiles. He intentionally plans to save a remnant in every tribe and tongue because God wants to give Jesus the gift of the adoration of every group of people on the earth. Jesus has invited the church into God’s great mission of seeing every tribe and tongue loving Jesus.

This mission is often expressed as the evangelization of the nations, but when we look at the Scriptures, the church’s mission in the nations goes far beyond evangelism. Evangelism is a key component of finishing the mission, but it is not enough to finish the mission. To finish the mission there is a maturity in the discipled church that God wants to see produced. There is an expression of night and day intercession and worship that God desires from every tribe and tongue. There is also a warning that must prepare the nations to respond in wisdom to God’s judgments. All of these elements are part of what it means to reach every tribe and tongue.

This is part of the series God's Goal for Prayer and Missions in the Global Church. The previous post in this series is A Biblical Basis for Global Worship and Prayer.

Biblically, a global prayer and worship movement is one of the most significant signs of the end of the age. There are many, many Scriptures that prophesy and imply a global worship and prayer movement at the end of the age (Isaiah 19:20-22; 24:14-16, 23; 25:9; 26:1, 8-9; 27:2-5, 13; 30:18-19, 29, 32; 35:2; 42:10-13; 43:26; 51:11; 52:8; 62:6-7; Jeremiah 31:7; 51:8; Micah 5:3-4; Joel 2:12-17, 32; Zephaniah. 2:1-3; Psalm 96:1, 9, 13; 98:1-9; 102:15-22; 122:6; 149:6-9; Zechariah 8:20-23; 10:1; 12:10; 13:9; Matthew 21:13; 25:1-13; Luke 18:7-8; Revelation. 5:8; 6:9-11; 8:3-5; 9:13; 14:18; 16:7; 18:6; 22:17). In light of what the Scripture predicts, the sudden emergence of large-scale prayer and intercession across the earth, and the burning desire to do it among young people, must be recognized as a work of the Holy Spirit and a biblical part of missiology.

The expression of prayer and missions that are emerging on the earth are part of God’s plan to bring the church to fullness in the nations. We will continue to see creative new expression of prayer as a part of missions that create an opening for evangelism. At the same time, we must also adopt prayer with worship as a missiological objective because the Bible predicts that the global church is going to be characterized by extravagant worship and prayer. This means it must be a key part of our missiology.

This is part of the series God's Goal for Prayer and Missions in the Global Church. The previous post in this series is Prayer as a Missiological Objective. The next post in this series is The Significance of Night and Day Prayer Joined with Missions.

One of the most prominent trends at the end of the age is a global movement of worship and intercession. God has designed that the age will end in an extravagant demonstration of worship and prayer as a gift of love to Jesus accompanied by unequalled intercession. This intercession will be one of the primary means by which the church cooperates with God in His plan to end the age. The church, in unison, will cry out with the Spirit for Jesus to return.

¹⁷And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:17 NKJV)

The first time Jesus came only a handful of people perceiving the significance of His appearing. Men were so silent at His birth, that the angels could not restrain themselves and erupted in praise to announce the coming of the Divine Son.

¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:13–14 NKJV)

The angels will again sing their songs again at His second coming (Revelation 5:9-13; 12:10-12), but this time it is accompanied by the songs of multitudes of men (Revelation 7:9-12; 15:2-4; 19:1-2, 6-7). Jesus will return to a global chorus of worship and prayer both in heaven and on the earth – both from men and angels. This time angels will struggle to keep up with the chorus of worship that will erupt from saints in heaven and on the earth.

The Father has prepared an elaborate and extravagant welcome for Jesus at the end of the age, and in the darkest hour of human history when wicked men are resisting Him most, there will be a company from the ends of the earth singing songs of love and longing asking Jesus to come. The Father will not send Jesus until this global welcoming party is in place (Isaiah 42:10-14).

It is not a coincidence that the same generation that is focusing on fulfilling Matthew 24:14 is also being moved on by the Holy Spirit to fulfill the prophecies regarding global worship and prayer. Worship and prayer is part of the final thrust of world missions and this is why missions movements all over the earth are all considering how to incorporate a culture of prayer in their ministry expressions in the nations. It is important that we recognize the leadership of the Holy Spirit and understand what the Bible predicts will happen in the nations leading up to the Lord’s return. To have a complete missiology, these verses must become a part of our missiological objectives.

Malachi 1:11

¹¹For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,” Says the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 1:11 NKJV)

Malachi predicts an event that has yet to happen in human history, but will happen before Jesus returns. Malachi’s prediction is the result of missions in the nations. Malachi predicts that, as a sign to Israel, the God of Israel will be adored and magnified by gentiles even before He is adored by all of Israel. This adoration will be a provocation for Israel as gentiles take up the priestly ministry with great zeal.

According to J. G. Baldwin the phrase “from the rising to the setting of the sun” used in Malachi 1:11 is found elsewhere in the Bible “in contexts which look towards an eschatological demonstration of the Lord’s person to the whole inhabited earth” (cf. Psalm 50:1; 113:3; Isaiah 45:6).[1] In other words, this specific phrase is tied to the Lord’s demonstration of His own person to the nations at the end of the age.

Malachi’s use of this phrase in his prophecy ties the second coming directly to a display of worship and prayer throughout the nations of the earth. The fact that worship exists from the rising to the setting of the sun points to how extravagant this display will be. It will not be easily overlooked. It will take significant resources, be a primary initiative of the church, and even require individuals whose primary vocation is to maintain public incense and worship among the nations. The church across the earth will have to embrace God’s agenda to have an offering of worship and prayer so extravagant and so visible that Israel can look upon it as a sign designed to provoke them to their own salvation.

Matthew predicts that Israel will respond with the gentiles in worship at the appearing of Jesus. The triumphal entry in Matthew 21 serves as a foreshadowing of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem at the end of the age. As Jesus enters the city just before His crucifixion, multitudes welcome Him into the city through song, crying out of His worth and singing the Messianic prophecy of Psalm 118:26.

⁹Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9 NKJV)

The worship of Jerusalem in Matthew 21 was a sign of a day to come. A day that Jesus predicts in Matthew 23:39:

³⁹for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ” (Matthew 23:39 NKJV)

Jesus prophesied that He would return to Jerusalem in power only when the people worshipped and welcomed Him. Jesus connects the worship Israel gave Him when He entered Jerusalem just before His death to the worship that He will receive when He enters the city in the future to begin to rule and reign. Their worship was an eschatological sign and He will not enter the city again without it. Both the nations and Israel will be welcoming Jesus with extravagant songs when He returns. Missions exists to see that emerge in the nations.

Isaiah 24

Isaiah also summarizes a global worship movement at the end of the age. In Isaiah 24, Isaiah graphically records the devastation that accompanies both the actions of the antichrist and the end-time judgments of God.

¹Behold, the Lord makes the earth empty and makes it waste, Distorts its surface And scatters abroad its inhabitants…⁴The earth mourns and fades away, The world languishes and fades away; The haughty people of the earth languish. ⁵The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, Because they have transgressed the laws, Changed the ordinance, Broken the everlasting covenant. ⁶Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, And those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, And few men are left. (Isaiah 24:1, 4–6 NKJV)

Isaiah specifically tells us that, in that day, the songs of men fail because of the magnitude of the judgments of that hour. The songs of vanity are no longer being sung.

⁷The new wine fails, the vine languishes, All the merry-hearted sigh. ⁸The mirth of the tambourine ceases, The noise of the jubilant ends, The joy of the harp ceases. ⁹They shall not drink wine with a song; Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it. (Isaiah 24:7–9 NKJV)

However, amidst all the destruction that comes, an eschatological sign is visible on the earth. A sweet-smelling fragrance arises to the Lord. He hears songs welcoming Him back to the earth.

¹⁴They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing; For the majesty of the Lord They shall cry aloud from the sea. ¹⁵Therefore glorify the Lord in the dawning light, The name of the Lord God of Israel in the coastlands of the sea. ¹⁶From the ends of the earth we have heard songs: “Glory to the righteous!” But I said, “I am ruined, ruined! Woe to me! The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously, Indeed, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.” (Isaiah 24:14–16 NKJV)

During the most devastating hour of human history, Isaiah hears and sees what Malachi prophesied. Among the nations there is a singing remnant that can be heard from the ends of the earth. All among the nations there is an expression of worship from believers who are unoffended and sing for His return rather than complain at the pressure of their trial.

The language that Isaiah uses shows that this is a global phenomenon. It is not a small company of people and it is not isolated to a small region. From the very ends of the earth singing can be heard. Across the planet, there is a strong, singing company and it is the global church in her finest hour, welcoming the King because desire for Him far eclipses any mourning at their tribulation. This is a significant theme in Isaiah and Isaiah prophesied concerning singing at the end of the age over 100 times (Isaiah 5:1-7; 6:3; 9:3; 12:1-6; 14:3-27; 24:14-16; 25:1; 26:1-6; 27:2- 5, 13; 29:19; 30:29-30; 35:1-10; 38:19-20; 42:10-17; 43:21; 44:23; 48:20-21; 49:13; 51:3, 11; 52:8-10; 54:1; 55:12; 56:7-8; 60:18; 61:3, 7-11; 62:6-7, 9; 63:7; 65:13-14; 66:10-14, 21).

Isaiah 42

One of Isaiah’s most dramatic prophecies is found in Isaiah 42 where Isaiah directly connects the return of Jesus to singing across the earth.

¹⁰Sing to the Lord a new song, And His praise from the ends of the earth, You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, You coastlands and you inhabitants of them! ¹¹Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, The villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, Let them shout from the top of the mountains. ¹²Let them give glory to the Lord, And declare His praise in the coastlands. ¹³The Lord shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies. ¹⁴“I have held My peace a long time, I have been still and restrained Myself. Now I will cry like a woman in labor, I will pant and gasp at once. ¹⁵I will lay waste the mountains and hills, And dry up all their vegetation; I will make the rivers coastlands, And I will dry up the pools. ¹⁶I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, And crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, And not forsake them. (Isaiah 42:10–16 NKJV)

Isaiah’s language describes a visible, global movement of singing all over the earth. The language of his prophecy shows it is a global phenomenon, something unequalled in human history. Worship erupts from the ends of the earth, through the wilderness and through cities. The tops of the mountains and the coastlands both are described as being filled with singing.

According to Isaiah 42 singing is not just a sign of the end of the age, it is one of the factors that causes Jesus to return in glory (Isaiah 42:12-13). His long “silence” is broken in response to the singing of His people all across the earth. Because the church refuses to hold her peace, He now refuses to hold His peace and be silent (Isaiah 42:14). Suddenly the King of Glory emerges on the scene with eschatological judgments and justice all because He could not resist answering the cry of a singing church.

There is a clear parallel between the church on the earth and Jesus’ response in heaven. The church is crying out, so He will cry out. The church is refusing to be silent, so He will refuse to be silent. The church has “held its peace” for a long time being content with Jesus’ absence and the promise of a long-distant return, but a day will come when the church decides His absence is not permanent and refuses to hold its peace until He appears. Jesus will respond to this cry and He will answer the church’s invitation with a shout that is compared to the cry of labor and transition the age.

The comparison of Jesus’ response to a woman in labor is also an indicator of the nature of the singing of the church in this generation. A woman in labor cannot be silenced. She does not care what anyone thinks or cares. She is consumed by the birth event and she cries out loudly and unrestrained. She is focused on a birth that must come. She knows that is cannot and must not be restrained. Her only goal is to accelerate that event and to get to the conclusion of it. A loud and unrestrained cry will mark both the church’s invitation for Jesus to return and His response to that invitation. Corporate, visible, and extravagant singing marks the church in the last generation. Though they are living in the most difficult hour of human history, they are singing songs of worship and praise from unoffended hearts that are primarily concerned, not with the pain of their trial, but with the pain of Jesus’ absence.

Jesus’ great humility allowed Him to come the first time and be virtually unheralded and largely ignored. The Father’s heart is filled with such zeal for His Son that He will see to it that His Son returns to a passionate welcome. He will not allow His Son to again endure the indignity of His first coming. He was sent and rejected the first time. Because the Son endured that, the Father will ensure that His second coming is by invitation from a white hot worship movement all over the earth who are content with nothing less than the Son’s appearing. It is a love offering by Father, the Spirit, and the church for the divine Son. The Father will not send His Son again without this welcome.

Zechariah 2

Zechariah commands the nations to join with Israel in great song before Jesus’ return. Zechariah essentially reaffirms the prophecy of Isaiah 42:14. As in Isaiah, this singing will bring God from His holy habitation and cause Him to return and ultimately dwell among the people. Zechariah 2:13 tells us that global singing will give way to global awe and silence as the object of our singing comes from His place and takes center stage.

¹⁰“Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” says the Lord. ¹¹“Many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. ¹²And the Lord will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem. ¹³Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for He is aroused from His holy habitation!” (Zechariah 2:10–13 NKJV)

Romans 15

Singing was Paul’s objective in his labor among the gentiles. In Romans 15, he summarized his mission as a mission to get the gentiles singing to the God of Israel.

⁸Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, ⁹and that the gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: “For this reason I will confess to You among the gentiles, And sing to Your name.” ¹⁰And again he says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!” ¹¹And again: “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!” ¹²And again, Isaiah says: “There shall be a root of Jesse; And He who shall rise to reign over the gentiles, In Him the gentiles shall hope.” (Romans 15:8–12 NKJV)

Luke 18

In Luke 18 Jesus teaches persistence in prayer through a parable. In the parable the widow is determined to obtain justice from the judge so she refuses to give up. She continues asking and the judge acts on her behalf because she is persistent and he knows she will not stop until he acts.

¹Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, ²saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. ³Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ ⁴And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, ⁵yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ” (Luke 18:1–5 NKJV)

Jesus contrasts the heart of God with the heart of the unjust judge in verse 7. If the unjust judge acts because of the widow’s persistence, how much more will God respond to our persistent cry?

⁷And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? (Luke 18:7 NKJV)

God’s “bearing long” is not simply a refusal to answer, but rather a phrase that indicates that God is enduring the pain of the delay as much as we are. Though He contrasted the heart of the judge with the heart of God, He used the judge to make a point about how He would release ultimate justice. He is not unmoved by our situation. He is longing for the same resolution that we are, but in the mystery of His partnership with us He is waiting for our cry because it plays a significant role in His answer.

Justice at the end of the age requires the appearance of the judge. The woman in the parable needed the judge to act on her behalf, and for the earth to truly receive justice the Judge must be among us. He alone can rule the earth rightly and He alone can release true justice. The true cry for justice is the cry for Jesus. The widow obtained justice because the judge knew her intercession would not stop until she received her heart’s desire. This is the critical ingredient in corporate intercession. Contending prayer is good, but the prayer movement must decide to contend, not just until something happens, but until Someone appears. Because we do not know the day or hour of His appearing, this is what makes this intercession such a precious offering to Him. It will be a sign and wonder on the earth when, all across the earth, the church makes an agreement to stay in intercession, no matter what, until Jesus appears.

Jesus finishes the parable by asking a critical question:

⁸I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8 NKJV)

His final question is provoking. Will He find “faith?” In other words will He find a company like the widow who has set their hearts to cry out until the Judge appears? Jesus defines faith as persistent, hope filled intercession that continues until He appears.

Prayer and Worship in the End Times

It is impossible to read the book of Revelation and not notice the prominence of worship and prayer at the end of the age. At critical moments in the revelation John sees that bowls of incense, defined as the prayers of the saints, are what actually trigger events on the earth. The events in Revelation do not occur in a vacuum; God executes His plan in partnership with a church that engages with Him through intercession and worship.

⁸Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, ¹⁰And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:8–10 NKJV)

³Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. ⁴And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. ⁵Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake. (Revelation 8:3–5 NKJV)

³They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: “Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! (Revelation 15:3 NKJV)

In addition to prayer, Revelation is filled with worship and singing. Repeatedly throughout the book there are pictures of extravagant worship and singing breaking out in the heavens over the unfolding of God’s plan (Revelation 4:8; 10-11; 5:8-14; 7:11-12; 8:3-4; 11:15-19; 12:10-12; 15:3-4; 16:5-6; 18:20; 19:1-7). If they heavens are singing and the church is in partnership with heaven through intercession, then the church on the earth at the end of the age is certainly marked by worship and singing as well.

The Scripture concludes in Revelation with a promise that the Spirit would orchestrate a corporate cry for Jesus’ exaltation on the earth.

¹⁶“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.” ¹⁷And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:16–17 NKJV)

The church that longs for Jesus’ return will reorganize its ministry to express this corporate cry, because the church was always to intended to minister to God first and foremost. If the book of Revelation tells us that this is the way the church will express itself at the end of the age, then it is a clear, missiological objective that we should work towards.

[1] J. G. Baldwin, “Malachi 1:11 and the Worship of the Nations in the Old Testament,” TynBul 23 (1972): 122. See also Achtemeier, Nahum—Malachi, 177–78; B. Glazier-McDonald, Malachi: The Divine Messenger. SBLDS (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1987), 55–61.

This is part of the series God's Goal for Prayer and Missions in the Global Church. The next post in this series is A Biblical Basis for Global Worship and Prayer.

Churches across the earth, regardless of denomination or model, are sensing an increasing burden for a culture of prayer. There is a growing conversation among local churches on how to establish prayer as a foundational element of their congregations. At the same time we have also seen the explosion of large-scale prayer gatherings over the past few decades as stadiums have been filled across the earth with concerts of prayer. In the same way that prayer is touching the local church, we are also seeing a growing movement in the missions movement in the nations towards expressions of missions that are built on a culture of prayer.

Prayer has always been a core component of missions. Due to the challenge of their task, missionaries have always been praying people and their sending congregations have likewise always prayed for the success of their mission. What is happening in this generation is unique. We are seeing an emphasis on doing missions in such a way that it operates within a culture of prayer and seeks to establish a culture of prayer. At the same time we are also seeing prayer as a method of missions as expression of prayer in the nations begin to engaging unbelievers and are opening doors for the proclamation of the gospel. All of this is a significant shift in how we think about the way missions is done.

Historically when people have thought about cross-cultural missions, they primarily think about cross-cultural evangelism and church planting. These are critical and necessary components of missions, but we are beginning to see that there is more to the work of missions. When we look at the Scripture, we find that the Bible predicts a day will come when the global church has a culture of prayer that expresses itself in extravagant, corporate prayer.

If the Bible predicts that the church must become a praying church worldwide, it means that prayer must become a missiological objective because we want to produce what God wants in the nations. When we think missions we cannot only think about evangelism and church planting, we must also think about the establishment of prayer and worship in a region because God wants prayer in every tribe and tongue as an expression of the church in the nations. John Piper’s well known quote summarizes it best:

“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the Church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man.”[1]

What Piper is expressing is that God wants something in the nations and that missions exists as a tool to produce what God wants. That is why it is important that we have a robust view of what God wants in the nations. In this case, Piper highlights worship as the ultimate expression of missions. Biblically, one of the primary expressions of worship in the nations is night and day prayer with worship. Because God wants night and day prayer with worship, missions must labor towards that end.

God’s Finish Line for the Church

It is important that we look at biblical descriptions of the church at the end of the age so that we can better understand God’s finish line for the church. For the labor of missions to have precision, it must take into account these key passages that predict what the result of missions will be in the nations. God has told us ahead of time what the church will look like when He returns, so we already know the end result of world missions.

Our part is to develop missions strategies that partner with God to see what He has already predicted will happen begin to emerge in the earth. Because God has a predetermined plan for what the church in maturity will look like at the end of the age, it is important that we search out the Scriptures to understand that plan and labor towards His goal for the church because it is part of the divine finish line for world missions.

Many of the characteristics of the church at the end of the age described in Scripture will take years to develop so we know that we must labor over a long period of time for the fulfillment of what we see in Scripture. We do not know if many of the things recorded in Scripture will develop 5 or 50 years before His return, but we can be confident that these signs of the time are missiological goals we should labor towards when it is in our power to do so. With that in mind, let’s examine some of the primary characteristics of the church at the end of the age and what missiological goals can be developed from them.

[1] John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad! The Supremacy of God in Missions (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993/2003), 17.

Throughout the book of Acts, we see Paul’s apostolic character revealed in amazing ways. One thing that is consistent in Paul’s life is his willingness to use his own strength and ability for the sake of others. In that way, Paul chose to follow the same path that Jesus did. Paul’s body, his rights, and his privileges were simply tools and resources that he willingly used to advance the church.

Paul’s suffering in the city of Philippi provides one of the best examples of how Paul functioned as an apostle, and the key to understanding Paul’s suffering in Philippi is to understand his privileges as a Roman citizen. As a Roman citizen, Paul was exempt from certain forms of punishment and also had certain legal advantages. The Roman system provided much more due process for a citizen and protected citizens from degrading forms of punishment such as crucifixion. For example, the reason that Paul was beheaded while Peter was crucified was due to Paul’s roman citizenship. As a citizen, he could not be crucified. Peter, on the other hand, was not a citizen.

Paul’s citizenship was a significant asset and it’s fascinating in the book of Acts to see how Paul uses his citizenship to accomplish his mission. He is best known for using his citizenship to make an appeal to stand before Caesar at the end of the book of Acts, but Paul used his citizenship for the sake of his apostolic mission throughout his life particularly in the city of Philippi.

Suffering in Philippi

In Philippi, Paul casts a demon out of a slave girl. Her masters promptly drag Paul and Silas to the authorities because they use the spiritual powers the girl has as a result of the demon as a source of income.

¹⁸And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour. ¹⁹But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. (Acts 16:18–19 NKJV)

Paul and Silas are not given any form of due process by the city magistrates. Instead, they are immediately abused and punished. What is shocking about this scene is that Paul never protests the punishment. There is no record that he once asked for the due process that was his privilege as a Roman citizen.

²⁰And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city; ²¹and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.” ²²Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. ²³And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. (Acts 16:20–23 NKJV)

Imprisoned and in pain as a result of their beating, Paul and Silas are singing hymns at midnight, a key indication that their spirits were at rest in their suffering. In the midst of their singing, God shook the jail and created a context for Paul to deliver the gospel to the jailer and to other prisoners as well.

²⁵But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed…²⁹Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:25-26, 9–30 NKJV)

The next morning the magistrates send a message to have Paul and Silas released. This reveals that the charges against Paul and Silas were not real. The city officials knew that Paul and Silas had been punished without real charges so they attempted to send them away without any further action. They were hoping they had intimidated Paul and Silas and would not hear from them again.

³⁵And when it was day, the magistrates sent the officers, saying, “Let those men go.” (Acts 16:35 NKJV)

Interestingly, at this point Paul begins to protest the lack of legal process. Paul demands his rights as citizens, which include a proper legal process. The leaders of the city had assumed that Paul was not a citizen and therefore treated him as a person living under Roman occupation with minimal rights. When Paul demanded his rights, the leaders were afraid and came personally to plead with Paul to dismiss the charge and simply move on as if it never happened. Their response to Paul’s statement indicates just how significant Paul’s citizenship was and just how much scared the leaders were of possible repercussions from the way they had treated Paul. They had abused Paul and Silas publicly so Paul could easily make a public complaint against them.

³⁷But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us openly, uncondemned Romans, and have thrown us into prison. And now do they put us out secretly? No indeed! Let them come themselves and get us out.” ³⁸And the officers told these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans. ³⁹Then they came and pleaded with them and brought them out, and asked them to depart from the city. (Acts 16:37–39 NKJV)

What is so fascinating about this situation is that Paul refused to claim his rights when he was persecuted for the gospel, but then after that persecution he asserted his rights. While Paul’s behavior may seem confusing at first, it actually reveals quite a bit about his apostolic value system.

Paul’s Use of Privilege in Suffering

Paul’s behavior in Philippi demonstrates precisely how Paul utilized both his life and his privilege for the sake of the church. When Paul was initially accused, he was fully aware that his citizenship required a legal process. However, Paul behaved as though he had no rights and submitted to a degrading and painful punishment.

This raises the question – why did Paul submit to such a punishment if he did not have to? The answer is that Paul submitted out of his deep love for the fledgling church in Philippi. Paul submitted to persecution to give the church in that city confidence that it could endure opposition as well. Paul was very likely concerned that if he exercised his Roman privilege to avoid suffering that some of these recent converts might be insecure about their own ability to endure suffering if it came. If the apostle could not endure suffering, could they? When Paul and Silas chose to silently suffer, they chose to give the young church courage and hope. If the city became hostile to the gospel, they would have already seen an apostolic witness that God was able to give courage for suffering. Just like Jesus, Paul chose to embrace a suffering that he did not have to embrace for the sake of the church.

If Paul chose to endure suffering to give the church courage, why did he suddenly assert his privilege the day after his suffering? This is where Paul chose to utilize his privilege for the sake of the church. The city leaders had persecuted Paul without due process because they assumed that they did not need to treat him with respect. Paul demanded respect after the fact because he wanted the city to leaders to be more cautious in the future before they persecuted believers without due process.

When Paul stood up for his rights, he was essentially standing up for the rights of the new church in that city. The city leaders would remember what happened with Paul the next time a complaint was made and they were far more likely to dismiss it. This is why Paul demanded a personal and public apology. The people in the city would all be more hesitant to bring charges against members of the new church. Paul refused to exercise his privilege when it would have helped him, but he did not hesitate to use it when it was for the benefit of the church.

It is even possible that the earthquake God sent gave Paul special courage to make the statement to the city leaders that he did. Paul could have interpreted that earthquake as a sign of God’s desire to make a statement on behalf of the church in that city. If so, it gave Paul courage to be so bold with the city leaders and demand that they publically apologize for the way they had treated him. What is amazing for us is to see Paul’s apostolic value system. Whether he suffered or whether he utilized privilege to escape future suffering, he did both for the sake of the church. He utilized what he had, whether it was his own body or his citizenship for the sake of the church, and ultimate for the sake of His Lord.

There are two common errors made when people think about modern Israel. Each of these errors is significant because they can cause us to not recognize God’s purposes for Israel nor relate to His purposes properly. Both of these errors can also cause us to misinterpret God’s dealings with Israel. In Ezekiel 11 God addresses both of these common errors. Ezekiel’s oracle is based on God’s covenant with Israel and this oracle helps us not only understand God’s relationship with ancient Israel, but also his relationship with modern Israel as well. The two errors that Ezekiel addresses can be described as unbiblical mercy and as gentile arrogance.

Error One – Unbiblical Mercy

The first error Ezekiel addresses is the one of “unbiblical mercy.” Unbiblical mercy is a problem anytime we extend mercy to someone on any terms other than God’s terms. God gives mercy freely, but it must be given on His terms. When we extend mercy on any other terms than God’s we are extending unbiblical mercy and when we do this we can obscure the biblical requirements for receiving genuine mercy.

Ezekiel addresses this error in Ezekiel 11:12.

¹²And you shall know that I am the Lord; for you have not walked in My statutes nor executed My judgments, but have done according to the customs of the Gentiles which are all around you. Ezekiel 11:12 NKJV

The phrase “and you shall know that I am the Lord” occurs repeatedly in Ezekiel when he is describing God’s judgments. In verse 12, God reminds Israel that they are going to know that He is the Lord when He responds in judgment to Israel’s sin. What God is communicating to Israel is that He cares, He is involved, and their decisions really do matter. God also identifies the reasons for His judgments. He will judge Israel because they have not walked in His statutes, meaning His commands, and because they have followed the ways of the gentiles.

Ezekiel reminds Israel that God is involved and that He cares about Israel’s condition. God’s complaint with Israel was not only that Israel had disobeyed – something common to all men – but also that Israel had followed the ways of other nations, or the ways of the gentiles. God rebuked Israel anytime she walked in the ways of the gentiles because of His high purpose for Israel.

For God’s purpose on the earth to succeed, Israel must be a light to the nations and a host for the glory of God. This is why Israel cannot go the way of the gentile nations. It is normal for gentile nations to operate in darkness, but God will not allow Israel to do so. Israel must be a light to the nations calling them to something higher by hosting the presence of God for the nations and calling the nations to repentance.

God’s complaint to ancient Israel was that Israel had followed the way of the nations, and God makes the same complaint to modern Israel. While He loves Israel, and is still working through her, God’s charge against Israel remains because, as a nation, modern Israel has patterned itself after the “customs of the gentiles.” The modern state is patterned after a western, secular democracy who does not see itself as a nation whose laws must flow from right relationship with God. This is following the ways of other nations and God has the same issue with Israel now that He did in Ezekiel’s because of His ultimate purpose for the nation. Right now Israel wants to be like the other nations, but God is not content with that. His unique covenant with Israel demands He respond whenever Israel seeks to go the way of the nations.

It is God’s desire to extend mercy to Israel, but it must be on His terms. We are extending unbiblical mercy to Israel anytime we assure Israel of God’s unconditional favor before Israel meets the necessary terms for God’s favor. God is longsuffering, and frequently extends temporary mercy to Israel, just as He does to all mankind, but it is unbiblical to assure any people of God’s mercy when they are not meeting His terms.

The only way the modern state of Israel can be assured of God’s mercy and protection is to obtain it on God’s terms and that is through repentance and faith in Jesus as Israel’s Messiah and only hope. While God has made an unconditional promise to save and glorify Israel in the future, those unconditional promises do not justify a premature offer of unbiblical mercy to a nation that has not yet met His terms. Biblically, we are to call Israel to repentance through Jesus while understanding the remind her of the certainly to God’s ultimate promise to bring the entire nation to salvation on His terms. The error of offering Israel unbiblical mercy is a serious one, but it is not the most common error made when relating to Israel. There is another error that affects far more of Christianity right now.

Error Two – Gentile Arrogance

The biggest error made by believers when dealing with the subject of Israel is the error of gentile arrogance. God also addresses this error in Ezekiel 11.

¹⁶Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.” ’ ¹⁷Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.” ’…¹⁹Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, ²⁰that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God. (Ezekiel 11:16-17, 19–20 NKJV)

Ezekiel 11 begins with God’s warning of judgment for Israel’s sin, but it finishes with God’s assurance of Israel’s future salvation. Even though the nation will suffer the effects of God’s judgments until the nation receives God’s mercy on God’s terms, God still reaffirms His ultimate commitment to Israel. While its unbiblical to offer Israel national mercy before she fulfills God’s terms, it is also unbiblical, and serious, to overlook God’s unwavering commitment to the promises He has made.

Many people assume that Israel lost her promises because of disobedience, but this kind of thinking is a serious error, and it is not what the Bible teaches. Israel’s promises were never secured by her own righteousness or obedience (Deuteronomy 7:7-8) – they were secured by God’s commitment (Genesis 15). If Israel’s promises were not received because of her own righteousness, then it also means they cannot be lost by her unrighteousness. Individuals can lose their individual access to God’s promises through their refusal to meet His terms, but the nation cannot lose by disobedience something that was never gained by obedience.

God’s promises to Israel are unconditional because no people, Jew or gentile, are capable of meeting the standards of God’s righteousness. When we take a position that Israel’s promises are lost or forfeit due to her own disobedience, we are striking at the very heart of the gospel, because the gospel tells us that no one is righteous. All have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:10-12). If Israel’s promises, the ones that were given to Abraham, are in jeopardy because of the sin of Israel, then the promises associate with our salvation are in jeopardy as well because Paul tells us that we have received the promise of salvation in the same way that Abraham did (Romans 4).

Paul anticipated that this would be an issue in the church and that is why he warned the believers in Rome to not become arrogant when they received the gospel, but Israel as a people seemed to be rejecting it.

²⁵For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. ²⁶And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; (Romans 11:25–26 NKJV)

Paul warned the gentiles to not be “wise in your own opinions” because he knew what would happen when many gentiles began receiving the gospel while most of Israel seemed to be rejecting it. Paul tells us that this is actually part of God’s sovereign plan to bring a vast multitude of gentiles to salvation (Revelation 7:9) while also bringing to entire nation of Israel to salvation at the conclusion of His great plan. Israel was tempted to believe that God cared only about them and that He did not have a plan for the gentiles. However, after Jesus’ first coming resulted in such a dramatic salvation of gentiles, the gentiles have been tempted to believe that God no longer has a plan for Israel. Paul reminds us that God intends to do both: save a great multitude of gentiles and fulfill the promises made specifically to Israel.

In our generation, we continue to see the kind of arrogance in the nations that Paul warned us about. Some times that arrogance is a result of an overreaction to a small number of believers who love Israel in a way that is unbiblical. Many times it is due to a system of theology that does not expect God to fulfill His promises literally. Now that we have a Jewish state again on the earth – an unparalleled historical miracle – we can no longer afford to be ignorance or arrogant of God’s promises towards Israel because the central place the Jewish people have played in the history of the 20^th century reveals that God is not finished with this people yet.

Conclusion

The modern state of Israel poses challenges for many believers. Many believers have been told that God no longer has any special purpose for Israel and the Jewish people. This caused most of the church throughout history to be ignorant of what the apostle Paul clearly taught – a day will come when Israel receives the gospel and that day will be like a resurrection from the dead for the earth (Romans 11:15).

While many believers throughout church history have assumed God is finished with Israel, the last 60 years of history have challenged the idea that the people of Israel no longer have any significance among the nations. The emergence of the modern state of Israel caused many believers to go back to their Bibles to look again and see what the Bible predicted about Israel’s future. They found that God has made specific promises to Israel that began before the law at Sinai and therefore were not forfeited by Israel’s disobedience as a nation.

The challenge that they faced was that, while God was obviously emphasizing His plan for Israel, modern Israel is not yet a saved people and they cannot enter the fullness of their promises without receiving the divine Messiah. Because of zeal for God’s purposes, some referred to Israel as though she were already a saved people which caused confusion. The answer to that confusion is to recognize that a historical work is happening among the Jewish people and many are embracing Jesus, but that Israel as a nation is not yet saved and cannot yet be embraced as such.

The historical challenges of Israel’s disappearance from the world stage and sudden reappearance as a secular nation have led many believers to fall into one of these two common errors concerning Israel. To avoid these errors, we must stick with what the Scripture says about Israel:

• The promises made to Israel in Genesis 12 and 15 are permanent and based on God’s righteousness, not Israel’s. God has secured them and will bring them to pass. He has a unique purpose for this people group and He will save the entire nation as the great finale to His missions enterprise in the earth.
• While we affirm the certainty of Israel’s salvation, we must be faithful to the Scriptures meaning Israel’s salvation must come God’s way. The present state of Israel, while part of God’s redemptive plan for Israel, is not yet a saved nation. Anytime we assure them of God’s unqualified favor in their present condition, we are offering unbiblical mercy.

Our calling is to maintain a witness of biblical mercy to the modern state of Israel. This means we recognize and speak up for Israel’s unique and permanent promises while also reminding Israel that they must come into the fullness of those promises on God’s terms. Until they do so, they cannot find present security in those promises. However, the saved remnant in Israel can find future security in the fact that God has promised to bring Israel to an ultimate day of salvation.

Understanding this allows us to both recognize God’s righteous purpose for Israel and the Jewish people while also acknowledging that Israel presently falls short of God’s purposes for her. Israel is called, but Israel must also be saved. If we keep these two things clear, we can better understand Israel’s place among the nations, God’s dealings with Israel, and God’s ultimate purpose for Israel.

This is part of the series The Secret of Paul's Preaching. The previous post in this series is Paul’s Determination.

In Corinthians 2, Paul states that he has intentionally decided to limit himself to one topic: “Jesus and Him crucified.”

²For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. (1 Corinthians 2:2 NKJV)

Paul explains in that chapter that this single, determined pursuit is what forms the essential element of his preaching. It is what produces a demonstration of the gospel before the people. The authenticity of Paul’s preaching is a direct result of Paul’s decision to limit Himself to this one subject.

Because Paul defines “Jesus and Him crucified” as the essential element of his preaching, it is important to ask, what does it mean to preach and communicate the gospel with this singular focus? What fruit does this produce? What apostolic expression came through Paul as a result of his determination? What would be the results on our preaching if we had Paul’s apostolic determination?

Three Key Elements

There are three key elements a preacher should expect to be present in his preaching if he commits to Paul’s determination. These compose some of the key elements of Pauline preaching which we could also call “apostolic preaching” because it is patterned after the apostle’s example.

It Means the End of Yourself – This means that the power in your preaching cannot rest on your own personality or ability. It does not mean that God may not choose to use your natural gifting, but it does mean that you cannot rest on the strength of your natural ability. Whatever natural ability you have only has power for apostolic preaching so far as you are willing to allow it to be laid aside – to “go down into death.” The only power you rest on is the power of the resurrection, and resurrection power only comes on those willing to face the end of their own strength.

From the death of our own strength God brings something far greater than what existed before. God may choose to release His power on natural abilities, or He may choose to release power on a vessel in an area where they have no natural gifting. The path that He chooses with an individual is entirely His prerogative. Either way, the principle is that the power of apostolic preaching comes from the resurrection life God places on a vessel entirely apart from their natural strength and ability.

It Means that You Preach for the Sake of Others – Following Paul’s pattern also means that your preaching is not for your own benefit, but for the benefit of your hearers. While it may seem obvious that preaching is to be done for the sake of the listener, this still has significant implications for preaching.

Preaching is not primarily about the calling of the preacher – it is about the calling of his audience. This means that the pleasure that comes from preaching must be the transformative effect that it has on the audience. The preacher is most satisfied when he disappears in the mind of the people and the power of the gospel instead begins to work on a human heart.

This understanding is what drives apostolic preachers into difficult places. When called, they proclaim the beauty of the gospel in hard and difficult places. At times they face difficult audiences. When necessary put their own personal lives at risk. Apostolic preachers do all this and more because they understand that they don’t carry a message for their own benefit – they carry it for the benefit at others.

What is rarely discussed is that carrying the gift of apostolic preaching is often a liability for the preacher himself. Jesus’ own life as a preacher ended up provoking His enemies to execute Him. Paul’s driving obsession to preach before kings is what ultimately led him to travel as a prisoner to Rome and ultimately face his own execution. Apostolic preaching is not always a safe occupation. This is why it is so essential that a preacher conform to the pattern of Jesus and Him crucified.

This is why the preacher spends hours before God to receive his message and burden. It is why the preacher proclaims the message “in season and out of season” meaning when it is enjoyable and when it is not. The preacher is willing to feel to satisfaction in his message and subject himself to the ridicule of his audience if it is for the benefit of his audience. The preacher who cannot submit to this cannot operate in the fullness of apostolic preaching.

There are so many things that preaching can offer to the preacher whether it is the allure of the stage, affirmation of his hearers, the pleasure that comes from delivering a passionate word, or the fame that can come from successful preaching that it is critical that preacher must embraced a cruciform view of preaching. Any pleasure that comes from preaching, beyond the satisfaction in obeying the call of God must be considered secondary to the actual mission of preaching and must be regarded as potentially dangerous to the soul of the preacher.

It Means Your Aim is to Glorify Another – True apostolic preaching has the goal of glorying someone other than the preacher. This is foundational because the calling of the preacher naturally sets him up to draw men to himself. Whether it is preaching before large audiences or delivering the gospel in small group settings, the very act of communicating new and powerful information to a people naturally sets up the preacher to be the object of attention; however, this is antithetical to Paul’s vision for preaching and proclamation.

To preach from the vantage of Jesus and Him crucified means that the preacher’s primary goal is that someone else gets the glory from their proclamation. To go one step farther, not only is it the preacher’s goal to give glory to another, it is actually their highest joy.

Paul’s great joy was not the enlargement of his apostolic ministry; it was that his ministry led people into deep desire for Jesus. The fruit of Paul’s ministry was a people where betrothed or full committed to Jesus. Paul actually rebuked the people who aligned themselves with him because he recognized that the ultimate goal of his preaching was to align the people with Jesus.

³for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? ⁴For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal? ⁵Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? (1 Corinthians 3:3–5 NKJV)

²For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:2 NKJV)

Paul is following the pattern of Jesus Himself who chose to seek the Father’s glory rather than His own. In the agony that came upon Him before the cross, we find Jesus uttering the simple phrase, “not My will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42). Jesus actually rebuked the preachers of His day by defining who a true messenger is. According to Jesus, the true preacher is the one who seeks the glory of the one who sent him and not his own glory.

¹⁸He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him. (John 7:18 NKJV)

This characteristic of apostolic preaching is clearly demonstrated in the life of Paul and Jesus, but greatly emphasized in the life of John the Baptist. After centuries without a prophetic voice, John the Baptist emerged as the most powerful preacher of his generation. He drew crowds of ordinary people, the religious, the tax collectors, and even the Roman soldiers. The diversity of his audience emphasizes just how powerful his preaching was because there was nothing else to draw the people to him. He did not do any miracles to draw the people. He preached in the desert in an out of the way place. He preached a confrontational message.

Though John had an incredible gift of preaching, he also demonstrated the very essence of apostolic preaching. It was his joy to use his gift for the fame of another.

²⁷John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. ²⁸You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ ²⁹He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. ³⁰He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:27–30 NKJV)

John’s statement in John 3:30 highlights the very heart of Pauline preaching. John used his gift so that he, as an individual, would decrease so that another would increase. John was so committed to this value that he did not follow Jesus as a disciple because he was concerned that his own personal anointing might draw attention away from Jesus. John’s deep joy was not in operating in his gift, but more so in seeing Jesus come into His glory. John’s entire life was one of the most focused examples of Pauline preaching. John operated in an unusual anointing simply to see Jesus increase. John was willing to go down into death, in terms of his calling, to see Jesus’ glory increase.

Conclusion

Paul’s single-minded determination (1 Corinthians 2:2) set the context for his life and his ministry, but especially his preaching because Paul describes his determination in relationship to his manner of preaching. Paul’s determination not only affected his personal life in God, it also affected his public ministry because Paul recognized that God wants a demonstration of the gospel in the messenger as much as he wants the transmission of the gospel through words.

We often view “preaching” as a relatively narrow ministry for individuals that have specific platforms, but the ministry of preaching has multiple expressions because the essence of preaching is simply the communication of the gospel. This can take place in many forms and in multiple different contexts. Everyone, at various times, will end up communicating the gospel to others.

Paul’s single-minded determination challenges us to set a similar focus in our lives. Paul lived according to a narrow vision and that narrow focus is what produced the fruit of his ministry. Often we only measure the fruit of a ministry by its external results, but part of the fruit of Paul’s life and ministry was Paul himself. The decisions he made and the narrow focus he carried is what enabled the Lord to form him into the mature, seasoned apostle that Paul became by the end of his life.

What we do with our life is part of our gift to God. The external fruit of our ministry in terms of how we impact others is only part of our gift to God. We are actually a key part of our gift to God. The goals that we set for our lives will produce real fruit in our own lives. When we stand before the uncreated God part of our gift of love to Him will be the choices we made to live in such a way that He could do with us as He wished.

God’s ultimate goal is to enjoy us intimately and have deep communion with us for ages to come. When we make decisions that allow us to be formed into His image, we give Him the great joy of a companion that He will be able to enjoy for eternity. This is why Paul’s determination is so important. It not only enables authentic ministry, it also aligns us with God so that we can be formed into His image and experience deeper communion with Him.

All the church recognizes Paul as a towering individual in the way he lived out his life and his apostolic calling. In light of that, let’s follow his apostolic advice, follow his example, and embrace his determination.

¹Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1 NKJV)

²For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. (1 Corinthians 2:2 NKJV)

This is part of the series The Secret of Paul's Preaching. The next post in this series is Jesus and Him Crucified.

In 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 Paul describes the wisdom of God in the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Paul quotes Isaiah 29 as the basis of God’s wisdom to demonstrate that God’s wisdom is consistent both in His plan for Israel and in His plan for His Son. Paul wants us to understand that God’s wisdom is not something isolated to how He led His Son. His wisdom affects how He deals with all His people.

¹⁹For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” ²⁰Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? ²¹For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. (1 Corinthians 1:19–21 NKJV)

God’s wisdom applies to how He governs and advances His plan on earth, but it is important to recognize that Paul has a very specific application point for God’s wisdom in mind – the preaching or proclamation of the gospel. Paul begins his discussion on the wisdom of God in 1 Corinthians 1:17 by describing His apostolic mission to preach the gospel.

¹⁷For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. (1 Corinthians 1:17 NKJV)

In the midst of his teaching on the wisdom of God, God also emphasizes how central God’s wisdom is to preaching.

²¹For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. (1 Corinthians 1:21 NKJV)

Paul’s final application of his teaching on God’s wisdom also is given in the context of preaching the gospel where Paul emphasizes that he has adopted the wisdom of God in his preaching rather than the wisdom of God.

²For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. ³I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. ⁴And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:2–5 NKJV)

It’s important not to limit “preaching” simply to the formal delivery of a sermon in front of a large crowd. Sometimes we are tempted to think only of formal preaching, but the apostle Paul reveals that the wisdom of God governs all proclamation of the message. In fact Paul deemphasizes the role of the eloquent words and powerful delivery that we normally associate with preaching (1 Corinthians 1:17; 2:4). This means that Paul’s message here applies to all believers. He is not speaking only to public orators who formally address congregations. He is addressing everyone who communicates the message of the gospel, which covers all believers.

Paul’s Determination

In the conclusion on his teaching on the wisdom of God, Paul summaries his response to God’s wisdom. This one sentence gives us the essence of Paul’s apostolic approach to his preaching.

²For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. (1 Corinthians 2:2 NKJV)

Paul says He is determined not to know anything other than Jesus and Him Crucified. This means Paul is making a specific effort to restrict His ministry to this focus. He is putting thought and effort in it. He has determined that this will be his focus. This was not something that Paul desired or something he hoped for, it is something he is determined to know. You can hear the tenacity in his words. There is nothing casual in his focus. He governed his mind and his activities. He evaluated things, and he discarded things based on this determination.

Paul is not only determined to know Jesus and Him crucified, Paul also determined that he would not know anything else. That says volumes about how central this was to Paul’s preaching and his person. It is one thing to commit to knowing a thing and something entirely different in determining to know only that thing. Paul was exclusive. This one thing was at the center of his preaching, but not only was it at the center of his preaching, it was also the boundary of his preaching. Paul did not want to go beyond this focus. He wanted to make sure he stayed within this focus. He restricted himself. He restrained himself from pursuing other things.

Paul did not simply determine to know Jesus; he determined to know Jesus crucified. There was something in the wisdom of God, as demonstrated in the crucifixion of Jesus, that Paul desperately wanted. It was a plumb line for him. He could have said he wanted to know Jesus in His glory, but it is interesting that Paul focused specifically on Jesus’ crucified. Paul recognized that there is something in the crucified Jesus that God intends believers to embrace in themselves.

Paul’s apostolic determination was not unique to his ministry. John the Baptist expressed the same determination as Paul when he summarized his ministry in John 3:30. John’s summary of his life was very simple and it expresses the exact same focus as the apostle Paul.

³⁰He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:30 NKJV)

First John says, “He must increase.” This is the burning desire to know Jesus, to see Him revealed for who He really is. John’s deepest delight was not the crowds of people who come to his preaching, it was the chance to see and experience the God’s revelation of Jesus to the earth. John wanted the knowledge of Jesus to increase both for himself and for the people.

Second John says, “I must decrease.” John embraces the essence of the crucifixion. John recognizes that Jesus’ exaltation requires the death of his own ministry and John gladly embraces this. He must decrease. He knew he must embrace his own crucifixion that the glory of God be made manifest. This was not only John’s obligation; it was also his joy because he knew that extinguishing his flame would allow the flame of Jesus to burn even brighter before the people.

Rare is the man who will extinguish his own flame that God alone may be visible to the people.

Not only was this the path of John, it was the path of Jesus Himself. Paul expounds on this theme in Philippians 2 when he describes how Jesus embraced his own crucifixion for the sake of the people.

⁵Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, ⁷but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. ⁸And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:5–8 NKJV)

Not only that, Jesus sought the glory of His Father over His own glory:

⁵⁰And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges. (John 8:50 NKJV)

¹Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, (John 17:1 NKJV)

Paul’s Demonstration

Because of Paul’s determination, his preaching became a demonstration. This is why when Paul describes his preaching he primarily describes it as a demonstration of the wisdom of God.

¹⁷For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. (1 Corinthians 1:17 NKJV)
¹And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1 NKJV)
⁴And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:4–5 NKJV)

The person of Jesus and His death and resurrection in the wisdom of God did not just determine the content of Paul’s message; it also determined the nature of Paul’s life as a messenger. Paul’s preaching was a demonstration of the wisdom of God because Paul’s life was a demonstration of the wisdom of God. Whenever Paul began to speak, the suffering and resurrection of Jesus were on display. This is why Paul chose to describe his preaching in terms of the demonstration of the Spirit and power that accompanied. Only the power of the Spirit was capable of taking Jesus down into death and back up into life and it required that same power for Paul to demonstrate that same willingness to embrace the wisdom of God. In this process Paul became the living, breathing example of the message he was preaching.

Paul embraced the same wisdom that Jesus did and therefore he gained access to the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. The Holy Spirit found a friend in Paul who embraced the wisdom of God and therefore He was able to demonstrate the power of God in Paul the same way that He was able to demonstrate His power in Jesus.

This is why Paul’s message did not primarily consist in the words he choose, and the strength of his message was not found in carefully chosen words or brilliant oration. Paul did not simply bring a message – Paul was the message. He was a demonstration of Jesus and Him crucified and therefore when he spoke about the risen Savior, His words carried weight and power. People were transformed, not by clever words, but by the power of the life of Jesus that was dwelling in Paul because he had determined to restrict his life and his focus to the wisdom of God. It did not matter what topic Paul was speaking on, he remained a demonstration of the one thing he was determined to know and experience.

Paul’s Discovery

Paul’s determination was born out of his discovery. Paul discovered that the nature of God is revealed in the person of Jesus and especially in His suffering. Paul was born with a zeal for God, but he came to the shock of his life when he discovered that his zeal was not according to a true knowledge of God (Romans 10:1, 2; Galatians 1:13, 14). Paul was pursuing God, but then found that he was pursuing a God of his own making.

When he discovered Jesus, Paul discovered God as He truly is. Paul had focused his entire life on God as he had known him, and he now realized that God was completely different than he had imagined. This is why, once Paul made this discovery, that he restricted and restrained himself to this one thing. Paul’s burning desire had always been the knowledge of God. He sought the knowledge of God as a young man, but he ended up with a false knowledge of God. Paul was determined not to make this same mistake again and this is why he determined to limit himself to Jesus and Jesus crucified. He knew this was the place to find a true knowledge of God. He knew that this revelation of God was his safety.

Paul discovered exactly what John saw in Revelation 5. In Revelation 5 John finds himself caught up before the throne of God and, as he gets strength to gaze towards the throne of God, John describes exactly what he sees:

⁶And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. (Revelation 5:6 NKJV)

John sees one of the most staggering things imaginable as he gazes into the very heart of God’s identity. John sees God in all his glory surrounded by an innumerable multitude postured in worship, but amidst all God’s power and glory he suddenly sees that at the very center of God’s personality is a slain lamb.

This is why John’s vision is so shocking. The natural thing for John to see would be God as sovereign king, or God as a great warrior, or even so transcendent that he could not even see a manifestation of His person. In reality, John did see all that and that is exactly what is so shocking. All the most glorious aspects of God’s personality find that ultimate crescendo in a Lamb and not only a Lamb, but also a Lamb slain.

Think of it – in His exalted glory before the majesty of mighty angels, Jesus is not only seen as a Lamb, but as a Lamb visibly slain. It is His eternal identity. This is not simply what He did, but who He is. It is a visible part of His person and the most prominent attribute.

When John stood before the throne, he saw the true identity of God. God’s most intimate revelation of Himself is that He is the crucified Lamb of God. This is why Paul limited himself to this revelation. He was restricting Himself to God’s ultimate revelation of Himself. He did not want to stray from this. He did not want to pursue any other vision of God. He did not want to take the risk of basing his life on a revelation of God other than that of the crucified Lamb.

When Paul determined to know Jesus and Him crucified, he was focusing his life on the knowledge of God – the knowledge of God as He is. Paul had already pursued a knowledge of God that was not rooted in truth, and this is why Paul had such zeal to know nothing except Jesus and Him crucified.

Paul’s Destiny

In Philippians 3, Paul expresses this same determination in another way:

¹⁰that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, ¹¹if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:10–11 NKJV)

Philippians 3 reveals that Paul’s determination was not only about his preaching, it was about his destiny. Paul was determined to know Jesus so that He might know the power of His resurrection. He was determined to know Jesus crucified (“the fellowship of His sufferings”) so that he would be able to participate in the resurrection from the dead.

Paul saw something foundational in the life of Jesus. He saw the character, the personality, and the very nature of God. He realized that there is something foundational about who God is that is revealed in God as the crucified God. Paul longed to be compatible with God, to be resurrected to be in permanent fellowship with God. Paul longed for compatibility with God because his destiny was to experience the power of the resurrection in this age through the power of the Spirit and physically at the day of the Lord. Paul knew that his destiny was at stake and this is why he determined to be an intimate friend of God so that he would be a compatible companion of God in the age to come.

Conclusion

Preaching is meant to be a demonstration of the nature and person of God because God is ultimately the subject of all preaching. Paul wisely understood that the communication of the gospel was meant to be the communication of a person through a person rather than only a conversation about a person.

When a preacher speaks, God intends for the people to encounter Him not merely hear information about Him. Paul understood this and this is why he intentionally restrained his life and his preaching to a single subject. He knew that God wanted a demonstration given to the people – a messenger who was a message – so that the people would have confidence in the power of God. This comes from the spirit of God so dwelling in a human being and so demonstrating the nature of Jesus through a person that when people encounter that person they encounter God. This is the ultimate goal of preaching.

In order for the people to have a true encounter with God, the messenger must know God as He actually is. For this reason, Paul determined to know God in His ultimate revelation – in the person of Jesus and Jesus crucified. If we want to follow the apostolic path into the knowledge of God so that we can speak about him as He is we should consider following the apostle’s example and determine to know nothing except Jesus and Him crucified.

Jeremiah 50-51 is the longest continual prophecy in the Bible and therefore it deserves careful study as one of the key passages in the Scripture. When we consider all the topics addressed in the Scripture, and particularly in the prophets, it is interesting that God chose to direct the longest prophecy in the Bible at the city of Babylon. While many commentators assume that this prophecy was exhaustively fulfilled in ancient history, when we examine the prophecy closely we find that there are many details in the prophecy that were not fulfilled in ancient history. These details are repeated as key components of the prophecy.

The difference between what happened when ancient Babylon fell and what Jeremiah predicts in Jeremiah 50-51 forces us to make some decisions on how we will interpret the passage. Many commentators choose to deal with the discrepancy between the prophecy and ancient history by interpreting the details in the passage as figurative language that God never intended to fulfill literally. The problem with this view is that many of the details in the passage that do not match ancient history are repeated and emphasized.

If we consider predictive prophecy as one of the means by which God demonstrates His leadership over history, then we are faced with a decision on how we interpret this passage. Either the power of prophecy failed in some measure because the prophesied details did not actually come to pass or those details await a future, more complete fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy. Let’s look at some of the key details in the passage that were not fulfilled in ancient history and therefore point to a future and final fulfillment of this passage.

Key Details of Jeremiah’s Prophecy of Babylon’s Destruction

A Mighty Nation from the North

Jeremiah repeatedly prophesies that the invader who destroys Babylon will be a mighty nation who comes from the north. Jeremiah even describes the conquering invader as a strong coalition of nations and something stronger than a single nation. This detail is repeatedly emphasized by Jeremiah and does not describe the conqueror of ancient Babylon – Persia – who came from the east.

³For out of the north a nation comes up against her, Which shall make her land desolate, And no one shall dwell therein. They shall move, they shall depart, Both man and beast. (Jeremiah 50:3 NKJV)
⁹For behold, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon An assembly of great nations from the north country, And they shall array themselves against her; From there she shall be captured. Their arrows shall be like those of an expert warrior; None shall return in vain. (Jeremiah 50:9 NKJV)

⁴¹“Behold, a people shall come from the north, And a great nation and many kings Shall be raised up from the ends of the earth. (Jeremiah 50:41 NKJV)

⁴⁸Then the heavens and the earth and all that is in them Shall sing joyously over Babylon; For the plunderers shall come to her from the north,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 51:48 NKJV)

Not only does Jeremiah describe a great army coming from the north, he also tells us that multiple “great nations” are involved and verse 9 describes them in unity as they set themselves against Babylon and capture her. While the Persians did conquer the Medes and assimilate others into their army before taking Babylon, the Persians do not match this description of a multi-national force coming from the north.

Military Invasion and Siege

In addition, Jeremiah’s description of Babylon’s fall as a result of military invasion in no way resembles the nearly bloodless conquering of the ancient city by the Persian armies who snuck into the city. Instead, the language sounds much more like the eschatological king of the north that Daniel describes in Daniel 11 (Daniel 11:40). Ancient Babylon was defeated rather quietly in a sneak attack at night, but Jeremiah prophesies a great military conflict over the city.

As Jeremiah’s prophecy continues, he also repeatedly predicts a siege around Babylon in which the walls of the city are destroyed in the midst of a heated battle. Once again, this does not match the description of the defeat of ancient Babylon. Ancient Babylon was not taken by siege and her walls were not destroyed.

¹⁴“Put yourselves in array against Babylon all around, All you who bend the bow; Shoot at her, spare no arrows, For she has sinned against the Lord. ¹⁵Shout against her all around; She has given her hand, Her foundations have fallen, Her walls are thrown down; For it is the vengeance of the Lord. Take vengeance on her. As she has done, so do to her. (Jeremiah 50:14–15 NKJV)

²¹“Go up against the land of Merathaim, against it, And against the inhabitants of Pekod. Waste and utterly destroy them,” says the Lord, “And do according to all that I have commanded you. ²²A sound of battle is in the land, And of great destruction. ²³How the hammer of the whole earth has been cut apart and broken! How Babylon has become a desolation among the nations! I have laid a snare for you; (Jeremiah 50:21–23 NKJV)

²⁹“Call together the archers against Babylon. All you who bend the bow, encamp against it all around; Let none of them escape. Repay her according to her work; According to all she has done, do to her; For she has been proud against the Lord, Against the Holy One of Israel. ³⁰Therefore her young men shall fall in the streets, And all her men of war shall be cut off in that day,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 50:29–30 NKJV)

³²The most proud shall stumble and fall, And no one will raise him up; I will kindle a fire in his cities, And it will devour all around him.” (Jeremiah 50:32 NKJV)

³⁵“A sword is against the Chaldeans,” says the Lord, “Against the inhabitants of Babylon, And against her princes and her wise men. ³⁶A sword is against the soothsayers, and they will be fools. A sword is against her mighty men, and they will be dismayed. ³⁷A sword is against their horses, Against their chariots, And against all the mixed peoples who are in her midst; And they will become like women. A sword is against her treasures, and they will be robbed. (Jeremiah 50:35–37 NKJV)

⁴¹“Behold, a people shall come from the north, And a great nation and many kings Shall be raised up from the ends of the earth. ⁴²They shall hold the bow and the lance; They are cruel and shall not show mercy. Their voice shall roar like the sea; They shall ride on horses, Set in array, like a man for the battle, Against you, O daughter of Babylon. (Jeremiah 50:41–42 NKJV)

⁴³“The king of Babylon has heard the report about them, And his hands grow feeble; Anguish has taken hold of him, Pangs as of a woman in childbirth. (Jeremiah 50:43 NKJV)

³⁰The mighty men of Babylon have ceased fighting, They have remained in their strongholds; Their might has failed, They became like women; They have burned her dwelling places, The bars of her gate are broken. (Jeremiah 51:30 NKJV)

³¹One runner will run to meet another, And one messenger to meet another, To show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on all sides; (Jeremiah 51:31 NKJV)

⁴⁴I will punish Bel in Babylon, And I will bring out of his mouth what he has swallowed; And the nations shall not stream to him anymore. Yes, the wall of Babylon shall fall. (Jeremiah 51:44 NKJV)

⁵⁸Thus says the Lord of hosts: “The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, And her high gates shall be burned with fire; The people will labor in vain, And the nations, because of the fire; And they shall be weary.” (Jeremiah 51:58 NKJV)

The assault on the city and the siege are so dreadful that Jeremiah predicts the following details:

• Terror will strike the king of Babylon.
• Terror will reduce the mighty men of the city to “women.”
• The ground will shake at the fall of the city.
• Babylon’s armies will be completely exhausted.
• The walls of the city will fall.
• Messengers will be carrying the urgent message of the warfare in the city.

These are all very specific details that pain a very vivid picture of what the destruction of the city will be like. The scene the prophet vividly paints here does not in any way describe the fall of the ancient city. It’s fall was the completely opposite of the scene Jeremiah predicts.

Jeremiah also prophesies that Babylon will be punished the way the king of Assyria was punished.

¹⁸Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, As I have punished the king of Assyria. (Jeremiah 50:18 NKJV)

God specifically humiliated the king of Assyria when he tried to lay siege to Jerusalem. The Lord sent an angel to slaughter thousands of the Assyrians during the night causing the king to return home. The humiliation of Assyria’s king is recorded in Isaiah 37 and Jeremiah’s prediction of Babylon’s end is intended to remind us of how God humiliated Assyria. Of course, this does not resemble the fall of ancient Babylon.

In addition to God’s humiliation of Sennacherib when he laid siege to Jerusalem, the king of Assyria, ancient Assyria was broken by war and violence as Assyria’s empire imploded finally ending in a military defeat by Babylon. Babylon violently conquered ancient Assyria and when ancient Babylon’s fall did not at all resemble the way ancient Assyria was taken.

Babylon’s Global Influence Results in Global Mourning

Interestingly, Jeremiah also predicts a cry of distress in the nations at the sudden destruction of Babylon. This indicates that the fall of the city will have dramatic and negative consequences for other nations and the fierce nature of the city’s fall will cause nations to groan. It seems as though the nations are aligned with this city in a special way and that the destruction of the city is shocking to them. The fall of ancient Babylon was a relief to the nations because of Babylon’s war machine, but the fall of this city is distressing for the nations.

⁴⁶At the noise of the taking of Babylon The earth trembles, And the cry is heard among the nations. (Jeremiah 50:46 NKJV)

⁷Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, That made all the earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; Therefore the nations are deranged. (Jeremiah 51:7 NKJV)

This language is very similar to the destruction of Babylon in Revelation 18 and does not describe the way the ancient city of Babylon was taken. Jeremiah goes so far as to say that the nations have drunk of the “wine” of Babylon. This is more than a metaphorical description of the nations that ancient Babylon conquered. This indicates that the Babylon Jeremiah has in view will have great influence in the nations and will seduce them in the way that wine overcomes the human heart. The Babylon of Jeremiah 50-51 will not only conquer by force, it will have influence on the nations that alters their state and leaves them “deranged.”

Jeremiah also predicts that Babylon has become a praise in the earth and that the nations have streamed to it. This language emphasizes Babylon’s global influence and not just Babylon’s military might because the nations stream to Babylon presumably for worship or for other forms of allegiance. The city is being presented as a counterfeit of the future Jerusalem which will be a center of global worship and pilgrimage (Isaiah 2:2; Zechariah 14:16; Revelation 21:24).

⁴¹“Oh, how Sheshach is taken! Oh, how the praise of the whole earth is seized! How Babylon has become desolate among the nations! (Jeremiah 51:41 NKJV)
⁴⁴I will punish Bel in Babylon, And I will bring out of his mouth what he has swallowed; And the nations shall not stream to him anymore. Yes, the wall of Babylon shall fall. (Jeremiah 51:44 NKJV)

The Day of the Lord’s Vengeance

The fall of Babylon is described as the day of the Lord’s vengeance. While this could be taken simply as vengeance for the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC, the day of the Lord’s vengeance is a specific time in history when God judges the gentile nations for their response to Jerusalem’s final hour of suffering. It is the time when all things that are written are fulfilled and results in the salvation of Israel (Isaiah 34:8; 61:2; 63:3-5; Luke 21:22). The destruction of ancient Babylon was a day of vengeance for 586 BC, but it was certainly not the time of vengeance when all things will be fulfilled.

⁶Flee from the midst of Babylon, And every one save his life! Do not be cut off in her iniquity, For this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance; He shall recompense her. ⁷Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, That made all the earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; Therefore the nations are deranged. ⁸Babylon has suddenly fallen and been destroyed. Wail for her! Take balm for her pain; Perhaps she may be healed. (Jeremiah 51:6–8 NKJV)

22For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. (Luke 21:22 NKJV)

Babylon’s Desolation

Jeremiah repeatedly says that the result of the invasion will be the desolation of Babylon. Jeremiah predicts this 9 times making it a central part of his prediction.

³For out of the north a nation comes up against her, Which shall make her land desolate, And no one shall dwell therein. They shall move, they shall depart, Both man and beast. (Jeremiah 50:3 NKJV)
¹³Because of the wrath of the Lord She shall not be inhabited, But she shall be wholly desolate. Everyone who goes by Babylon shall be horrified And hiss at all her plagues. (Jeremiah 50:13 NKJV)
²³How the hammer of the whole earth has been cut apart and broken! How Babylon has become a desolation among the nations! I have laid a snare for you; (Jeremiah 50:23 NKJV)
⁴⁵Therefore hear the counsel of the Lord that He has taken against Babylon, And His purposes that He has proposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out; Surely He will make their dwelling place desolate with them. (Jeremiah 50:45 NKJV)
²⁶They shall not take from you a stone for a corner Nor a stone for a foundation, But you shall be desolate forever,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 51:26 NKJV)
²⁹And the land will tremble and sorrow; For every purpose of the Lord shall be performed against Babylon, To make the land of Babylon a desolation without inhabitant. (Jeremiah 51:29 NKJV)
⁴¹“Oh, how Sheshach is taken! Oh, how the praise of the whole earth is seized! How Babylon has become desolate among the nations! (Jeremiah 51:41 NKJV)
⁴³Her cities are a desolation, A dry land and a wilderness, A land where no one dwells, Through which no son of man passes. (Jeremiah 51:43 NKJV)
⁶²then you shall say, ‘O Lord, You have spoken against this place to cut it off, so that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but it shall be desolate forever.’ (Jeremiah 51:62 NKJV)

When ancient Babylon eventually became a desolate area over centuries, the conquering of the city by Persia did not result in the desolation of the city. The inhabitants of ancient Babylon did not experience this dreadful prediction that their city would be desolate. The word “desolate” is a frequently used Old Testament word that describes what happened to Jerusalem after the city fell to Babylon in 586 BC and the fall of Jerusalem is intended to be a picture of us of what the fall of Babylon will look like.

The assault on Babylon described in Jeremiah 50-51 is also described in terms that are very similar to the way that Jerusalem fell so it is not surprising that Jeremiah also predicts that invasion will leave the city desolate, and it is important to recognize that the city’s desolation is connected to the violent nature of the assault against it. The language of violent assault does not describe what happened to ancient Babylon and the desolation that comes after the city’s fall also did not come as a result of the Persian invasion of Babylon.

Israel’s Repentance and Final Salvation

Jeremiah also predicts that “in those days and in that time” when this destruction of Babylon happens that the people of Israel will return to the Lord is a permanent repentance unto the salvation of the entire nation. At this time, it will be impossible to find iniquity either in Israel or Judah because they will be completely cleansed. The salvation of all Israel is a consistent eschatological theme in the Old and New Testament (Romans 11:26-27). It occurs at the end of God’s redemptive plan and that makes it a key timing indicator for Jeremiah’s prophecy because Israel was not finally and completely saved and cleansed when ancient Babylon fell.

⁴“In those days and in that time,” says the Lord, “The children of Israel shall come, They and the children of Judah together; With continual weeping they shall come, And seek the Lord their God. ⁵They shall ask the way to Zion, With their faces toward it, saying, ‘Come and let us join ourselves to the Lord In a perpetual covenant That will not be forgotten.’ (Jeremiah 50:4–5 NKJV)

¹⁹But I will bring back Israel to his home, And he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan; His soul shall be satisfied on Mount Ephraim and Gilead. ²⁰In those days and in that time,” says the Lord, “The iniquity of Israel shall be sought, but there shall be none; And the sins of Judah, but they shall not be found; For I will pardon those whom I preserve. (Jeremiah 50:19–20 NKJV)

The salvation of all Israel is a consistent eschatological theme in the Old and New Testament (Romans 11:26-27). It occurs at the end of God’s redemptive plan and that makes it a key timing indicator for Jeremiah’s prophecy because Israel was not finally and completely saved and cleansed when ancient Babylon fell. Jeremiah also specifically predicts that both Israel and Judah will return in repentance at this time. While a remnant of Judah returned under Persian rule, the exiles from northern Israel did not. We are still waiting for the return of exiles that is prophesied here to occur – one that includes both northern and southern trips and includes them all – it certainly did not come as a result of the fall of ancient Babylon.

Jeremiah and the Book of Revelation

Jeremiah 50-51 and Revelation 17-18 both form the longest prophecies in their respective testaments and both focus on the subject of Babylon. There are interesting parallels in the language between both passages and this similarity is more than John borrowing Jeremiah’s language because both Jeremiah and John record specific prophecies that are worded nearly identically. It is important to note that the book of Revelation was written long after the fall of ancient Babylon, but it predicts the destruction of another Babylon. Revelation uses Jeremiah’s language because it is emphasizing the future fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy.

Both Jeremiah and Revelation command God’s people to exit Babylon. This is a message that was not applied to ancient Babylon, but is applied to the future city being described. This indicates that this city must have some sort of dark allure that draws people to it that must be resisted by God’s people. The ancient Jews were liberated by the fall of Babylon, but the situation described here will be very different and salvation will be found by exiting the city of Babylon before it falls.

⁴⁵“My people, go out of the midst of her! And let everyone deliver himself from the fierce anger of the Lord. (Jeremiah 51:45 NKJV)
⁴And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. (Revelation 18:4 NKJV)

Both Jeremiah and Revelation describe heavenly singing and exaltation over the destruction of Babylon. There is something cataclysmic about the fall of this city because the future city has a reach and an influence that the ancient city did not. It is a city that represents the ultimate root of wickedness and has persecuted the apostles, prophets, and all God’s servants. The future fall of Babylon clearly occupies a significant place in redemption history, a place far more significant than the fall of the ancient city.

⁴⁸Then the heavens and the earth and all that is in them Shall sing joyously over Babylon; For the plunderers shall come to her from the north,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 51:48 NKJV)
²⁰“Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her!” (Revelation 18:20 NKJV)
¹After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! ²For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.” (Revelation 19:1–2 NKJV)

Conclusion

The fact that the longest prophecy in the Old Testament and the longest prophecy in the New Testament both focus on the fall of Babylon makes both prophecies worthy of our attention, particularly because the details of both prophecies predict a future destruction of a wicked city with global influence. When we look at the details of the prophecy, we see that there is something more to Jeremiah 50-51 than what happened to ancient Babylon. The language is too precise to be fulfilled in ancient history. Jeremiah 50-51 follows a common biblical phenomenon where an event in ancient history serves as a foreshadowing for an ultimate event in the future.

The emphasis God placed on this prophecy requires that we must also treat is seriously and be familiar with it as a key portion of Scripture. Once we recognize the significance of the passage, we must also be careful not to prematurely try to identify a modern city as the final “Babylon.” There are three key things we should recognize from this prophecy:

• God wants us to recognize the spirit of Babylon and to “come out of it” or refuse the idolatry, immorality, and wickedness that will ensnare the earth and ultimately become concentrated in this final wicked city. God wants us to recognize and guard ourselves from this spirit wherever it manifests.
• God wants us to be aware that a city will emerge just before the Lord’s return that is the ultimate and full embodiment of the spirit of Babylon. This city will influence the nations and operate as a counterfeit Jerusalem.
• God also wants us to have confidence that He will destroy this city. While it will be powerful and prominent for a season, its destruction is assured. We can be confident in God’s sovereignty. He will judge evil; He will make things right. The destruction of the final wicked city of this age will be profound and final. The nations will mourn and the righteous will rejoice.

Throughout history we constantly see the battle of two cities beginning with the ancient city of Babel. Throughout history cities like Nineveh, Babylon, and Rome challenge God’s purposes for Jerusalem, and Jeremiah and Revelation both warn us that the spirit of Babylon did not end with the death of ancient Babylon. Jeremiah and Revelation warn us that before God’s city comes, one final great wicked city will emerge and attempt to ensnare the earth. However, the Bible ends with the promise that God will establish His own holy city on the earth and put an end to wickedness (Revelation 21).

Knowing all of this, we should recognize the spirit of Babylon and resist it wherever it emerges in the earth. Perhaps we will live during the hour of the last, great city of Babylon. Perhaps we will live during the time of other global cities that become centers of wickedness. Either way, we must recognize the spirit of Babylon, labor for a pure church, be aware that a global center of wickedness will emerge, and be settled that God has chosen a day when He will judge the coming city of wickedness just as He has judged previous centers of global iniquity.

In the book of Romans, Paul lays out the essentials of the gospel so that we can understand our redemption, what Jesus did for us, and what God’s plan is for the church. Because Paul was writing to a congregation that included both Jews and gentiles, Paul not only addresses our personal redemption, he also summarizes God’s cosmic plan to save the Jews and gentiles so that Jesus receives an inheritance in all the nations.

The book of Romans consists of 16 chapters and as Paul nears the end of his letter, he gives us a profound summary of God’s vision for the nations in Romans 15. God’s vision is Paul’s driving obsession and Paul wrote this down so that our hearts would be joined with his in the same mission, so it’s important we understand the key points of his mission.

7Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God. 8Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, 9and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: “For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, And sing to Your name.” 10And again he says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!” 11And again: “Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!” 12And again, Isaiah says: “There shall be a root of Jesse; And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, In Him the Gentiles shall hope.” 13Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:7–13 NKJV)

Abraham’s Promise

To understand Romans 15, we have to start with the promises God gave Abraham in Genesis 12.

1Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 2I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1–3 NKJV)

God gave Abraham three key promises:

1. God was going to give Abraham and his descendants a permanent inheritance in the land. This is a promise that has not yet been fulfilled (Hebrews 11:9, 10, 39, 40).
2. God was going to save Abraham’s descendants. God’s promise of blessing for Abraham and His descendants is a promise that a righteous and holy nation will come from Abraham. This promise also has not yet been fulfilled (Romans 11:26).
3. Finally God promised Abraham that all the nations would be blessed through what He would do with Abraham and His descendants. The promise is reiterated in the New Testament as a promise for a remnant of every tribe and tongue to be saved which also has not yet been fulfilled (Revelation 5:9; 7:9).

It’s important to understand these three promises and to recognize that they have not yet been fulfilled, because these three promises are the lens through which Paul viewed the gospel mission. Once we understand that, we can recognize that Paul was not engaging in a “new” mission, but was recognizing and participating in God’s mission to fulfill all three promises.

Two Facets of the Promise

Paul begins his summary of the mission to the gentiles by highlighting the two facets of Abraham’s promises.

8Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, 9and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: “For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, And sing to Your name.” (Romans 15:8–9 NKJV)

Paul reveals that he views Jesus’ mission through the lens of God’s plan with Abraham by calling Jesus a “servant to the circumcision,” referencing Abraham’s primary marker for his covenant identity. Because Paul’s thinking is focused on the promises made to Abraham, he tells us that Jesus has confirmed the promises made to the fathers. The promises given to the fathers are all essentially the same promises made to Abraham that were reiterated nearly verbatim to Jacob (Genesis 28:13-14).

We have to recognize that Paul does not say that Jesus has fulfilled the promises made to Israel, he says that Jesus’ first coming has confirmed the promises. While Jesus will fulfill them, He has not yet fulfilled the promises. This means the promise of a permanent land inheritance and of the full salvation of Abraham’s descendants must be fulfilled in the future because it was not fulfilled in the first coming.

Paul does not see end of Israel’s story, but instead that Jesus is the One who has the ability to bring Israel into her promises. Israel’s sin, like the sin of all men, has kept her from experiencing the fulfillment of God’s promises, but Jesus, by atoning for the sins of Israel, has made the fulfillment of the promises possible. It’s very important that we do not confuse the confirmation of the promises with their fulfillment. Abraham’s promises are sure because of the blood of Jesus, but they have yet to be fulfilled.

It is also important to Paul that we do not forget the global implications of Abraham’s promises, so he reminds us that Jesus’ confirmation of the promises will also mean great blessing for the gentiles. Not only will Israel ultimately be saved, the gentiles will glorify God for His mercy.

9and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy… (Romans 15:9 NKJV)

Paul’s conclusion is simple: Jesus is not willing to surrender either the calling of Israel or the adoration of the nations. He wants them both and His atonement secured them both.

The Gentiles Will Glorify God for His Mercy

Because he was called as an apostle to the gentiles, Paul details in Romans 15:9-13 exactly what it means for the gentiles to glorify God for His mercy. First Paul references both 2 Samuel 22:50 and Psalm 18:49 in Romans 15:9.

50Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name. (2 Samuel 22:50 NKJV)

49Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name. (Psalm 18:49 NKJV)

Paul quotes two different exclamations from King David where he declared his desire to worship YHWH in the nations among the gentiles. Paul recognizes that David is not just expressing his own longing; he is expressing God’s longing that the nations sing to him. Paul’s spirit is filled with excitement because he is experiencing the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s longing that His name is celebrated in the nations through song.

We also have to recognize the centrality of singing in God’s mission. As John Piper has so famously said, “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the Church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man.”¹ God’s desire for the nations is that they would sing. He wants them to believe, He wants them to obey, but above all He wants them to worship. This is why Paul recognizes the consistent prediction of the Old Testament that the nations would sing to the God of Israel.

14They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing; For the majesty of the LORD They shall cry aloud from the sea. 15Therefore glorify the LORD in the dawning light, The name of the LORD God of Israel in the coastlands of the sea. 16From the ends of the earth we have heard songs: “Glory to the righteous!”… (Isaiah 24:14–16 NKJV)

10Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise from the ends of the earth, You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, You coastlands and you inhabitants of them! 11Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, The villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, Let them shout from the top of the mountains. 12Let them give glory to the LORD, And declare His praise in the coastlands. (Isaiah 42:10–12 NKJV)

7Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” (Isaiah 56:7 NKJV)

11For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,” Says the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 1:11 NKJV)

Next Paul quotes the song of Deuteronomy 32:43 in Romans 15:10. Right in the middle of Moses’s song in that chapter about Israel’s unique covenant with God was the prophetic command to the nations to rejoice with Israel in the God of Israel.

10And again he says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!” (Romans 15:10 NKJV)

Paul continues by quoting Psalm 117 in Romans 15:11, an explosive Psalm in which the Psalmist commands the gentiles of all the nations to worship the God of Israel because of His mercy towards them.

1Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples! 2For His merciful kindness is great toward us, And the truth of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD! (Psalm 117 NKJV)

Paul’s emphasis on worship in the nations demonstrates how Paul saw his mission. Notice that Paul introduces each reference by saying “and again” to emphasize that he’s not quoting a single idea, but a theme that’s consistently emphasized in Scripture. Paul wants us to recognize that extravagant singing among the gentiles is a prophetic theme that is repeatedly emphasized. This is why Paul was driven to see the nations singing according to what the Scripture predicted.

Paul’s use of the Old Testament also demonstrates that the prophetic promises of salvation in every tribe and tongue (Matthew 24:14; Revelation 5:9; 7:9) are not ideas that are unique to the New Testament. The Old Testament predicted and looked forward to a worship movement in the nations among every tribe and tongue in addition to the salvation of Israel.

Finally Paul quotes the grand promise of Isaiah 11: a day is coming when a root from Jesse will rule over the nations.

10“And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.” (Isaiah 11:10 NKJV)

12And again, Isaiah says: “There shall be a root of Jesse; And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, In Him the Gentiles shall hope.” (Romans 15:12 NKJV)

Notice that Paul opens verse 12 the same way he opened verses 10 and 11. He begins by saying “and again” which means he sees all of this as one theme. Worship and singing among the gentiles is directly connected to the person of the Messiah. The nations will worship the God of Israel, but Paul is specific that their adoration of the God of Israel is directly connected to the appearing of the Messiah. When He appears He will become a banner and hope for the nations and the gentiles will begin to glorify and magnify the God of Israel.

The Old Testament predicted that the gentiles must sing to the God of Israel, but the catalyst for global singing is the person of Messiah. He is the one who will make the nations sing. As John Piper so wonderfully put it, Paul is emphasizing that the end of his mission is worship among the nations. It is not simply mental agreement with the gospel, but it is a heart transformation that causes gentiles to rejoice and sing to the God of Israel.

Singing is so natural to the human experience we can sometimes miss the significance of what Paul is saying. When we look closely at the Old Testament prediction of the gentiles singing, we see that the worship of the gentiles is something far more significant and substantial than what happens in a worship service. An hour will come when a roar of worship emerges from the nations in the most difficult hour of human history.

Isaiah predicts that, in the most difficult hour of human history, when the hearts of men fail because of global calamity, that there will be a sound of worship in the nations. Even when all other singing stops, there will gentiles in the nations who will life their voice and glorify the God of Israel.

3The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered, For the LORD has spoken this word…4The earth mourns and fades away, The world languishes and fades away; The haughty people of the earth languish…8The mirth of the tambourine ceases, The noise of the jubilant ends, The joy of the harp ceases. 9They shall not drink wine with a song; Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it. 10The city of confusion is broken down; Every house is shut up, so that none may go in. 11There is a cry for wine in the streets, All joy is darkened, The mirth of the land is gone. 12In the city desolation is left, And the gate is stricken with destruction. 13When it shall be thus in the midst of the land among the people, It shall be like the shaking of an olive tree, Like the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done. 14They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing; For the majesty of the LORD They shall cry aloud from the sea. 15Therefore glorify the LORD in the dawning light, The name of the LORD God of Israel in the coastlands of the sea. 16From the ends of the earth we have heard songs: “Glory to the righteous!” But I said, “I am ruined, ruined! Woe to me! The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously, Indeed, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.” (Isaiah 24:3-4, 8–16 NKJV)

Isaiah also tells us that the worship of the nations will become so compelling that it will actually be one of the things that motivates Jesus to return to the earth.

10Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise from the ends of the earth, You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, You coastlands and you inhabitants of them! 11Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, The villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, Let them shout from the top of the mountains. 12Let them give glory to the LORD, And declare His praise in the coastlands. 13The LORD shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies. 14“I have held My peace a long time, I have been still and restrained Myself. Now I will cry like a woman in labor, I will pant and gasp at once. (Isaiah 42:10–14 NKJV)

Malachi is emphatic that God’s name will be glorified in the nations and that worship will be offered night and day. The book of Malachi is a call to Israel to return to her priestly place, and, in context, chapter 1 is predicting that the worship of the gentiles will be so visible that it will provoke Israel to return to her own priestly ministry to the Lord.

11For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,” Says the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 1:11 NKJV)

The book of Revelation describes a great multitude out of every tribe and tongue crying out before the throne. This multitude lost their lives on the earth and because of their proclamation of who Jesus is. They were as loud and bold about Jesus on the earth as they are here before the throne.

9After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9–10 NKJV)

When we survey how the Scripture describes the end of the mission among the gentiles, we can better understand Paul’s mission. Paul perceived from the Scripture that a day would come when the gentiles would life a voice of worship that was bold, visible, and global. Isaiah tells us this will happen in the most difficult hour of history. Churches will not just be true to the gospel, their hearts will be bursting with affection for Jesus and it will cause them to explode in singing. This will be one of God’s great witnesses on the earth to the worth of His Son.

Once we recognize God’s intended outcome for the gentiles, we can better see just how heinous the effect of Islam is on the nations. Islam deemphasizes singing and music. Islam also takes the person of Jesus and strips Him of His divine identity. Because Jesus is the one that provokes the nations to sing, any religion that attacks His identity also keeps the nations from singing to the God of Israel. It’s important to recognize that religions like Islam are the enemy’s attempt to prevent the nations from seeing the Messiah of Israel and singing to the God of Israel. Anything that maligns the nature of God’s Son is a direct assault on the fulfillment of the gospel mission.

Conclusion

Paul finishes his description of his gospel mission in Romans 15:

13Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13 NKJV)

Paul emphasizes the word hope in his benediction concerning his mission. God is the God of hope. This means God is not discouraged about the success of the gospel. He knows that the gentiles will sing. He knows that what He has predicted will come to pass. He is not discouraged, and once we understand his emotions it helps us press through the delay until the day when the gospel mission is complete. This is why Paul calls on us to abound in the same hope that fills God’s own heart. No matter how dark the nations may seem, the nations will come into their salvation. The promises that God made to the fathers about Israel’s salvation have been confirmed by Jesus and also will come to pass.

Our hope it grounded in the power of the Holy Spirit. If God gave His only Son to confirm the promises that Israel and the nations might be saved how much more will He release the power of the Holy Spirit for the mission of God to succeed in the nations? If God was willing to let His own Son die so that the gentiles could sing, how much more will He release the power of the Holy Spirit to ensure that the nations really do sing and that Israel really will be saved?

¹John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad! The Supremacy of God in Missions (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993/2003), 17.

Isaiah 49 is one of the most intimate chapters in Isaiah. It tells the story of God’s declarations over “His Servant.” In some oracles the concept of the servant can refer to the individual of the Messiah and in other oracles it refers to the corporate people of Israel. In the context of Isaiah 49, God is specifically referring to Messiah as His Servant. Therefore Isaiah 49 prophesies the story of Jesus and the chapter contains an intimate dialogue between Father and Son. In this chapter the Father declares His purposes and promises for His Son and the Son also expresses the pain of His Work.

Isaiah begins in Isaiah 49:1-5 by recording the words of the Servant. He describes the ultimate pain of the cross. Jesus will endure unparalleled suffering and it will seem as though His work has failed. In this moment, He will be required to trust God to bring about the full salvation of the people and the full reward that He promised the Son. You can feel the agony in His voice as Isaiah predicts Jesus’ emotions at the end of His ministry.

4Then I said, ‘I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; Yet surely my just reward is with the LORD, And my work with my God.’ ” (Isaiah 49:4 NKJV)

Only when we consider the magnitude of the people’s relative indifference to the crucifixion and suffering of God on the cross can we fully appreciate just how much it took for the Son to declare that He would wait and trust the Father with His reward. It is easy for us to lose sight of just how terrible those final moments on the cross were for Jesus. He literally spilled His own blood and yet was almost completely rejected. At the end of His earthy ministry it certainly seemed like His labor had been spent for nothing. Israel had rejected Him and the nations were ignoring Him.

Jesus reiterates the Father’s full purpose for His coming. The Father formed Him in the womb to bring Jacob, or Israel, back to Himself. The Father’s great purpose for Him is that Jacob would be saved, and it is this purpose that made His rejection all the more painful.

5“And now the LORD says, Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, So that Israel is gathered to Him (For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, And My God shall be My strength), (Isaiah 49:5 NKJV)

In the Father’s declarations over Jesus in the chapter, we find two things. We first find that the Father affirms the rejection that Jesus will face in His mission. Second we find the Father’s continuing affirmation that He will exalt the Son and that the Son’s sacrifice will be rewarded.

7Thus says the LORD, The Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One, To Him whom man despises, To Him whom the nation abhors, To the Servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise, Princes also shall worship, Because of the LORD who is faithful, The Holy One of Israel; And He has chosen You.” (Isaiah 49:7 NKJV)

Jesus will be the one that man despises and the one that the nation, meaning Israel, will abhor. However, though Jesus will be rejected, the Father affirms that He has chosen the Son and that Kings and princes will one day bow their knee to the Son. Paul also affirms this promise in the New Testament.

10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10–11 NKJV)

The Father continues to comfort the Son by telling Him that He has heard His agonizing prayers. The author of Hebrews also describes the agony of Jesus’ prayers.

8Thus says the LORD: “In an acceptable time I have heard You… (Isaiah 49:8 NKJV)

7who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, (Hebrews 5:7 NKJV)

a. The gospels also highlight Jesus’ desire to frequently go apart from the people and pray. A few chapters after Isaiah 49, God describes the crisis in the earth as a crisis of intercession. God provided His own intercessor because there was not one. While intercession in Isaiah 59 encompasses far more than prayer, the life of Jesus demonstrates that intercession in the form of prayer was a key part of who Jesus was.

16He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him. (Isaiah 59:16 NKJV)

When we examine the life of Jesus, we do not spend nearly enough time on the life of Jesus as an intercessor. The cross was Jesus’ ultimate act of intercession, but Jesus groaned in prayer before He groaned on the cross. He was an intercessor who became a sacrifice. He lived a life of intercession, a life that was often hidden outside of public view, and that life undergirded everything else that He did. Jesus’ life of intercession goes right to the heart of who He was as a person and it demands out study, our attention, and our imitation.

In Isaiah 49, the Father’s gives a firm respond to the Son’s intercession. He has heard the Son’s groans and He promises that He will give Him as a covenant to the people and to restore the land. The Son will ultimately end Israel’s exile and bring back the captives to the land.

The dialogue in this chapter gives us an intimate look into the Godhead. The fact that this conversation played out so long before Jesus came demonstrates just how deep His humility is and how committed the Father is to secure His destiny. In many ways this chapter is a John 17 moment where Father and Son share intimately their joint commitment to God’s mission to redeem the earth. Reading it should cause us to love Jesus even more when we realize that He fully understood the pain and rejection that would accompany His mission. It also enforces the Father’s deep commitment to give Jesus His reward and to give Him the adoration of both Israel and of the nations.

Isaiah 49 not only gives us a peek into the Father’s plan, it also affirms that the Son’s suffering is not the end of the story. God is going to exalt Jesus in a very specific way. He is going to fulfill through Him all the promises that were made to Abraham. This is what Paul meant when he said the that promise made to Abraham would ultimately rest upon not many “seeds” but one “Seed.”

16Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ. (Galatians 3:16 NKJV)

It’s important to recognize that three key promises were made to Abraham in Genesis 12. These promises have never been fulfilled in history and God must fulfill them to be true to His Word.

1Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 2I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1–3 NKJV)

1. God promised that Abraham’s descendants would be a great nation. This promise is reaffirmed in Genesis 15 where God covenants with Abraham that he would have physical descendants who would inherit a land. They would be great which, by implication, means they must be righteous.
2. God also promised Abraham that He was giving him and his descendants a specific land.
3. Finally God promised Abraham that what He did through Abraham’s people would bless all the families of the earth.

In order to fulfill Abraham’s promises, God has to raise up a seed who saves Abraham’s descendants, enables them to inherit the land, and who saves people from all the families of the earth. No one in ancient Israel was able to do this, but the good news is that God would bring His own deliverer. This is why in Isaiah 49:5-6, when Jesus reaffirms the promise the Father made to Him, He specifically mentions each of the three promises made to Abraham.

5“And now the LORD says, Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, So that Israel is gathered to Him (For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, And My God shall be My strength), 6Indeed He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ” (Isaiah 49:5–6 NKJV)

Jesus declares that the Father formed Him from the womb in order to bring Israel to salvation. In other words He was raised up to fulfill God’s promise to Abraham of righteous decedents. He will do what no one could do – bring Israel to salvation. However, there is more to the story than Israel’s salvation. The Father is so proud of the Son that He proclaims it is not enough for Israel alone to love and adore the Son. It is “too small a thing” for Him to save Israel, so God will also make Him the Savior of all the earth, a “light to the gentiles.” Here we see God’s commitment to His promise to Abraham that He would be a blessing to all the nations of the earth. Abraham’s seed will save the nations.

Finally, just a few verses down in Isaiah 49:8, the Father declares that the Son will restore Israel to her land so that they obtain their inheritance that has been desolate. Desolation represents Israel’s experience of God’s judgments under the law. The good news is that Jesus will end the cycle of desolation.

8Thus says the LORD, “In a favorable time I have answered You, And in a day of salvation I have helped You; And I will keep You and give You for a covenant of the people, To restore the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages; (Isaiah 49:8 NASB95)

The word “land” here is sometimes translated “earth” but “land” is the best translation in this context because it I referring to the salvation of Israel who has lost their land due to disobedience. Jesus will not only save the people of Israel, He will fulfill God’s promise of land that was made to Abraham.

The fact that Isaiah specifically predicts that Jesus will fulfill the three promises to Abraham tells us how committed God is to all three of them. Messiah does not just save Israel or save the nations, He must save both and fulfill all that God promised to Abraham. The reward of His suffering is the love of Israel and the nations. The fact that the Father would make this distinction as He prophesied over His Son demonstrates that there is something unique about Israel’s salvation, their future possession of the land, and the salvation of the gentiles that is important to God. Each promise is distinct. Each promise is important.

All together we see that Jesus is the final fulfillment of all three promises made to Abraham. Those promises have not yet been fulfilled but Isaiah 49 declares that they will be. Just as Isaiah 49 is specific about Jesus’ suffering and rejection, it is also specific about His final deliverance of Israel and the salvation of people from all the tribes of the gentiles. Jesus’ glorification in the future is just as certain as His past suffering and the Father invites us to be as committed to Jesus’ glory as He is and to play a part in the story by spending our lives to see the Son receive His great inheritance and fulfill every one of Abraham’s promises.

The covenants set the context for the way God relates to His people throughout biblical history, and they are not just part of our history; they are also part of our present, and part of our future. The biblical prophets prophesied out of a covenantal context. In fact we could say that the oracles of the prophets are primarily an application of the prophets. Once we understand how the covenants interact with each other we can better understand the biblical story, how God is dealing with the nations in our generation, and how He plans to conclude His dealings with the nations in this age.

In Zechariah God makes a dramatic prediction about a day in the future when He will pour out the Spirit on Israel, they will see Jesus, and mourning unto repentance will fill the land. This is the day of Israel’s national salvation, and it is a day we must understand because it is dear to God and because it is emphasized in the New Testament.

10“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. 11In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; (Zechariah 12:10–12 NKJV)

It is important to recognize the key predictions that Zechariah makes in this passage. In verse 10, Zechariah predicts that God will pour out the Spirit of Grace and supplication on Israel. There are three important things to recognize in verse 10.

The first thing is that Israel’s repentance as a nation is not a gradual event. It happens suddenly as the result of an outpouring of the Spirit on the nation of Israel, an outpouring that Zechariah tells us will both reveal God’s grace towards the people and also give them the gift of repentance. Just as we are “born again” in a moment as individual believers, so also corporate Israel will be “born again” in a moment. At this time Israel as a corporate people will experience the full reality of what Jesus explained to Nicodemus about the new birth.

5Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:5 NKJV)

Corporate Israel was “born once” when she passed through the waters of Exodus, but Israel must be “born again” by the Spirit. Zechariah is describing this birth event when the nation is born of the Spirit. Passing through the waters of the Red Sea was a “birth” for Israel and Israel will pass through an outpouring of the Spirit which will cause her to be “born again” as a people.

The second thing to recognize in verse 10 is that God is the one who will bring Israel to salvation, not man. God says, “I will…” A sovereign work of the Holy Spirit at God’s appointed time is required to bring all of Israel to salvation. God will use various factors to prepare Israel for salvation including the salvation of a remnant of the Jewish people, the salvation of gentiles who will provoke Israel, and the trouble that the nation pass through, but ultimately God is the one who will save Israel.

Third, we must recognize that God cares and is concerned for Israel’s salvation. This is why He tells us that a day will come when He will bring all of Israel to repentance. He is not content with Israel’s present condition and He will not let the age end without giving all of Israel the gift of repentance unto salvation.

In verse 10 Zechariah also predicts that Israel will look upon God as the one whom they have pierced. This tells us the timing of their national salvation. Israel’s national salvation occurs when they actually see the One who was pierced for them. When He makes His appearance in the sky, Israel will suddenly see Him for who He is. When he comes, they will see Him as John saw Him in Revelation 5:6. They will see Him both in great glory and as the crucified King. He will be visible and visibly crucified for them. Israel will suddenly recognize Him as they One who died for their sin. God describes the mourning as they way one would mourn for the death of their only son. The people will grieve as if for a first born son. This language emphasizes the depth of the grief the people will feel.

There will be “great mourning” in Jerusalem “like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.” This is a reference to the mourning of Israel at the death of Josiah. When Josiah died the entire nation mourned. Josiah’s death was not only the death of the king; it was the end of the brief revival that occurred before the season of Babylonian destruction. Josiah was Israel’s last hope before judgment and the reference to his death is especially painful because Zechariah is recording this prophecy long after Josiah. Having seen what followed after the death of Josiah, the people can see the great tragedy of Josiah’s death even more than the nation did when Josiah died. The reference to Josiah emphasizes the extent of the morning.

Dramatic mourning that will fill the land. When the nation finally sees their Redeemer for who He is, their hearts will burst and the cry of repentance will erupt all throughout the nation. It is difficult to imagine what this moment will be like. It will be a holy moment. Zechariah describes families going off to weep by themselves.

There will be scenes of inconsolable weeping as fathers who have taught their children that Yeshua is a false Messiah realize in a moment that He is the Messiah of Israel and that they have kept their children from the One who would deliver them. Women will wail together. An unparalleled corporate repentance will occur as the Jews who have borne the brunt of the Antichrist’s rage finally recognize their national Joseph – the chosen son who they have rejected and yet who has become their national redemption.

After 2,000 years of rejection, all of Israel will recognize Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah who paid for Israel sin, loved Israel, and the one who will deliver them from the dreadful hour of Jacob’s Trouble and the unparalleled wrath of the Antichrist against the Jewish people. This scene is so precious and tender to God. It is a passage we should primarily feel rather than analyze.

Not only do we need to recognize the significance of this passage in the Old Testament, it is also imperative that we recognize the significance of this passage in the New Testament. The New Testament emphasizes Zechariah’s prophecy of Israel’s national day of mourning and it is important to recognize this because it means the New Testament authors saw Zechariah 12 as a future event and as one of the primary events of Jesus’ second coming. The sudden, national salvation of Israel was one of the most important parts of Jesus’ second coming to the apostolic church.

Matthew 24

Matthew 24 contains Jesus’ longest direct prophecy of the end times. What is often missed is that Jesus’ teaching is basically a summary of what was prophesied in the Old Testament. This means Jesus is emphasizing Old Testament passages that He considers to be key passages that form the backbone of our expectation of what will happen at the end of the age. The fact that Jesus references Zechariah 12 in His brief summary of the end times tells us that it is one of the primary events of the end times that He thinks about when He considers the day of His return.

30Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Matthew 24:30 NKJV)

At first glance, if we are not familiar with Zechariah’s prophecy, this seems like the mourning of the nations over their impending judgment, but this is not the case. The confusion can come because Matthew 24:30 is translated the “tribes of the earth” while Zechariah 12:12 describes the mourning of families in the land, but we can quickly see that this is the same event as Zechariah because of the words Jesus uses in the Matthew.

New Testament authors frequently quoted Old Testament passages from the Septuagint. The Septuagint was a Greek translation of the Old Testament that was widely used in the early church because most Jews would have been familiar with it and because the newly saved gentiles were predominantly Greek speaking. Those two factors would have made it the most popular “Bible” of the first century before the books of the New Testament were written and added. When we look at Zechariah 12:12 in the Septuagint, we can immediately see the connection with Matthew 24:30 through the three key words in the passage.

• The word “tribe” (φυλή) in Matthew 24 is the same word that is translated “family” in Zechariah 12:12.
• The word “earth” (γῆ) in Matthew 24 is the same word that is translated “land” in Zechariah 12:12.
• The word “mourn” (κόπτω) in Matthew 24 is the same word Zechariah uses for mourning.

This means when Jesus says that the “tribes of the earth” will see Him, He is referring to families in the land that Zechariah describes in Zechariah 12. He is confirming, with Zechariah, that Israel’s national repentance comes when they see Him in the sky (Zechariah 12:10; Matthew 24:30) as He initiates the process of His second coming. Jesus confirms, as Zechariah prophesied, that His appearance in the heavens will initiated a period of mourning throughout the land as the families of Israel finally recognize their Messiah.

By looking at the language of Matthew 24:30 we can see the primacy of Zechariah 12 in Jesus’ thinking about the end times. The first thing He thinks about when He thinks about His appearing, is the mourning of Israel as they recognize and receive Him. His loves the sound of the nations worshipping Him (Matthew 24:14; Revelation 5:9; 7:9), but His heart aches to see those to whom He came first (Matthew 15:24) receive Him.

This is also yet another confirmation that Matthew 24 predicts and event that occurs at the end of the age. This moment was obviously not fulfilled in 70 AD because, after 70 AD, most of the Jewish community continued to reject Jesus as their Messiah as it has been up to the present day. Many individual Jews have come to repentance, but the national day of mourning has not yet come.

John 19

John also makes a brief reference to Zechariah 12 when he records the hour of Jesus’ crucifixion.

35And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. 36For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.” 37And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.” (John 19:35–37 NKJV)

When we read John carefully we note that he was not saying that Zechariah 12 was fulfilled on the cross, but rather that the cross was the prerequisite to the fulfillment of Zechariah 12. John is emphasizing Jesus as the one who Israel will look on at the end of the day as their deliver. Because Jesus has been pierced, He now stands capable of fulfilling Zechariah 12. The prophecy being fulfilled was not that Israel has recognized Jesus as the pierced Savior, but that the Savior has now been pierced so that He can appear in glory in the future as Zechariah predicted. John wants to make sure that we do not miss the fact that Jesus is the deliverer over whom all of Israel will mourn over on that precious day which again indicates the significance of Zechariah 12 in the apostle’s thinking.

Revelation 1

John not only emphasizes Zechariah 12 in his gospel, he also uses it as a key part of his introduction to the end time story in Revelation 1.

4John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. (Revelation 1:4–7 NKJV)

Revelation 1:4-7 serves as one of the primary introductions to the book. John addresses his initial audience (the seven churches) and he then affirms the book as a divine revelation. In verses 4-6 John tells us that this prophecy was given by the Father, Son, and the Spirit and emphasizes the final result of the book – that we would walk before Him cleansed in our priestly identity forever. John ends this statement affirming the origin of the book with “Amen” (“so let it be done”) in verse 6.

After affirming the origin of the book, John summarizes the purpose of the events of the book of Revelation. He says “Behold” to emphasize the significance of verse 7 and then goes on so summarize the message of Revelation by basically quoting Zechariah 12. John emphasizes that every eye will see Jesus because His return will be a global event that will be impossible to miss, and then he immediately associates Israel’s repentance with Jesus’ appearing exactly as Zechariah did. As in Matthew 24:30, the words tribes, earth, and mourn are all the exact same words that we find in the Septuagint translation of Zechariah 12:10-12. Just like Jesus in Matthew 24, John summarizes Jesus’ return as the moment that Israel embraces her Savior.

John’s emphasis on Zechariah 12 is especially significant in light of John’s context. John had heard Jesus teach on and predict the day when the kingdom would be restored to Israel (Acts 1:3, 6). He had heard the promise of Matthew 24 that the nation would turn to Messiah after a great trial. He had seen decades of the gospel expanding among the known gentile peoples in the Roman Empire, the very thing that Jesus told them to do so that Israel could come in her promises (Matthew 24:15; Acts 1:6-8).

However, 70 AD came and went. Jerusalem underwent a brutal siege – their most severe trial to date. However, that trial did not end in the mourning of Matthew 24:30 and Zechariah 12, it ended with the Jewish people in exile and mostly in unbelief. This was the reality John was faced with around 90 AD when he received the Revelation. Israel was not saved. The city of Jerusalem was in ruins. The gospel had spread among the gentiles, but even there churches were facing heresies and a number of challenges. The promised restoration of the kingdom to Israel seemed to have failed.

John had lived most of his life in eager expectation of the fulfillment of all the prophet’s promises, but now they seemed more distant than ever. It is quite possible that John’s grief over Israel’s salvation was a large part of his weeping in Revelation 5:4. E. When we understand John’s grief and the pain he had experienced in the decades leading up to his encounter on the island of Patmos, we recognize that John was burdened to know if the prophet word to Israel really would be fulfilled or not. Like John the Baptist on his deathbed, he wanted the assurance that his life was not in vain and that the Messiah really would fulfill all the promises.

The fact that John emphasizes Zechariah’s prophecy in his introduction to Revelation tells us that he expects us to read the book of Revelation in the context of the salvation of Israel. It also tells us that the book of revelation answered John’s agonizing question of whether or not Israel would ever be used. This is why it’s so important to recognize that the mourning of Revelation 1:7 is a very specific mourning. It is not a universal mourning; it is the mourning of corporate Israel unto repentance. It is not the mourning of the nations because of their judgment. The agony of the nations at their impending judgment is described in passages such as Revelation 6:15-17. It expresses John’s assurance, after receiving the vision of the Revelation, that God would indeed fulfill His prophetic promises.

John doesn’t summarize Revelation as the story of the mourning of the nations over their judgment, but rather as the story of God bringing Israel into her final salvation. This is one of the primary keys for the proper interpretation of Revelation. It is also yet another reason why we know that the book of Revelation does not describe the Roman invasion of Israel in 70 AD. Israel mourned in 70 AD because of destruction, not because of divine deliverance and the visible sight of Messiah.

Conclusion

When we look at Matthew 24 and Revelation1 in both cases we see how important it is to know and understand the Old Testament to begin to rightly understand the New Testament. Matthew 24:30 and Revelation 1:7 are frequently universalized and even understood as a completely different kind of mourning when in fact they are a very specific reference to a prophesied event. Jesus and John are predicting national salvation not the response of the nations at their judgment. Jesus and John do predict the judgment of the nations in the Olivet and in the book of Revelation, but that is done in different verses.

Recognizing how Jesus and John consider Zechariah’s prophesy as one of the primary events of the return of the Lord shows that the New Testament not only clearly predicts the national salvation of Israel, it presents it as one of the primary events of Jesus’ coming. It is so primary in apostolic thinking that John can use it to summarize all of Revelation.

In reading Matthew 24 we can see that the salvation of Israel first and foremost in Jesus’ mind and His emotions when He thought about the end times. We can almost imagine the excitement in His voice as He predicted the mourning and salvation of the nation as His appearing. Jesus was being rejected by the nation when He taught Matthew 24 and that pain no doubt caused Him to explode in pain and joy when He predicted the day Israel would embrace Him. John heart Jesus teach the Olivet Discourse, heard Jesus teach on the kingdom for 40 days (Acts 1:3), and was given direct revelation of God’s end time plan. All of that was summarized by John as the moment that every eye would see Jesus and Israel would finally receive Him as King and Savior.

All of this also tells us that Matthew 24 and Revelation 1 have not yet occurred in history because Israel has not yet entered into national mourning at the sight of Jesus. This further enforces that both Matthew 24 and Revelation 1 speak of a literal, visible return because only the visible sight of Jesus can satisfy Zechariah 12, and this is why Matthew 24:30 and Revelation 1:7 both emphasize the visible appearing of Jesus. This is a future event, not an event in the past. Only a siege on Jerusalem that ends with the visible appearing of Jesus, the outpouring of the Spirit unto repentance, and the repentance of all of Israel over the person of Jesus can fulfill these three passages.

While Zechariah 12 describes a specific event at a specific time in the future, it also illustrates a pattern of national repentance for all people.

1. National repentance requires the gift of the Spirit. The Spirit of grace and supplication must be poured out on a people to enable them to repent.
2. The sight of Jesus is what provokes men to repent. By nature we are blinded by sin and we need the Spirit to give us sight to see Jesus for who He is.
3. National repentance is ultimately a season of intense mourning over how we have responded to Jesus. God will confront us with our response to the One who was pierced for us. When we see Him as the crucified King and our response to Him the most natural response is weeping, wailing, agonizing, and mourning related to how we responded to the crucified One.

Israel’s pattern of national salvation is the pattern for all people. God has promised a unique and total salvation for Israel. We must understand that and labor for it. At the same time, we can understand His divine pattern and implore Him for the Spirit of grace and supplication “in like kind and lesser measure” to be given to our own nations in the earth that a vibrant remnant might love and adore the crucified King of Israel.

This is part of the series The Life and Ministry of John the Baptist. The previous post in this series is John’s Message.

One of the most impactful parts of studying John’s life is studying how his life ended. While John was a burning and shining light that proclaimed the coming Bridegroom and the power of His ministry, John himself did not do any miracles, was not invited to join Jesus’ disciples, never traveled with Jesus, and was executed on the whim of a wicked family. Though he fiercely proclaimed the coming kingdom with power, he never got to see the breakthrough he proclaimed or even participate in Jesus’ ministry. He truly heralded the ministry of the Bridegroom even though he did not get to participate in the Bridegroom’s ministry.

John’s light burned extremely brightly, but it burned for a very short period of time. After 6 burning months, John willingly let his ministry and influence fade at just 30 years of age. He even encouraged his disciples to leave him and follow Jesus instead. All these decisions were the very practical outworking of John’s commitment to be a friend of the Bridegroom.

29He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:29–30 NKJV)

John was perfectly positioned to be Jesus’ first and greatest disciple. He had prepared Himself for years. He was one of the only human beings who actually recognized who Jesus was. However, it was not to be, and I think we fail to realize just how shocking John’s end is. John’s bright light would be snuffed out due to the sensual whim of a drunken king and twelve young disciples who had not given themselves to John’s preparation would instead get to minister with Jesus in signs and wonders for 3 ½ years and ultimately become the foundation of the church. We often overlook just how offensive this could have been for John.

This is why Jesus called the “greatest.” Jesus’ evaluation of John’s life can only be understood in context to John’s death. When the One John proclaimed appeared came on the scene, John did not shine brightly as a part of Jesus’ inner circle; he actually faded. John’s spotlight had to move to Jesus and the staggering thing is that John was ok with this.

Though John’s life was cut down as a young man, he had performed his ministry well, and his extravagant preparation had prepared him for his grand finale – a quiet, grisly execution by pagan guards in a dark prison cell at night. No last words. No final sermon. No public statement.

Evaluating John’s Ministry

Ultimately, we have to recognize that John surrendered his “calling” for Jesus’ calling. He lived to see Jesus’ calling emerge in strength, and, once that happened, he was willing for his extremely brief ministry to fade because John’s had found success in Jesus’ success. John’s life challenges every one of us to follow in John’s footsteps and to surrender our success for Jesus’ success, our calling for His.

His life calls us to shatter the illusion of our own “calling,” lay down our lives, and labor to see Jesus to receive His reward. Jesus laid down His glory and honor for the sake of our purpose, so why it we find it so hard to lay down our “calling” to see Jesus get His inheritance? If you labor to see Jesus’ receive His inheritance, I guarantee you that He will make sure you receive yours.

John’s greatness was ultimately displayed in his burning zeal to see the Bridegroom take his bride even if it meant John’s own ministry would flicker and ultimately falter. His joy in Jesus’ success overcame any offence in John’s heart at the way his role in the story ended.

The Bridegroom’s voice became his joy so much that he sent his disciples to ask Jesus to tell them about His ministry (Luke 7:20-23). As they returned to John with Jesus’ stories of signs and wonders, John’s joy would have been full. The Bridegroom’s voice assured John, and his disciples, that the kingdom really would come and that John’s ministry had prepared the people for the ministry of Messiah. Jesus’ final words to John were very revealing:

23And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” (Luke 7:23 NKJV)

Jesus gave John a special blessing, not only because of how he had lived, but how he died. Jesus wanted to acknowledge how many chances John had to be offended and how significant it was that he had endured faithfully to the end. Jesus also took direct responsibility for the way John’s story played out. John was blessed because he was not offended with Jesus who seemed to have overlooked and ignored John after John baptized Him. Jesus was directing the story and John submitted to his role in the story as a friend of the Bridegroom who rejoiced in the Bridegroom’s future rather than his own.

Conclusion

John the Baptist is one of the most significant individuals in the Scripture. The fact that Jesus identified him as the greater than all the towering figures of the Old Testament should cause us to study his life carefully. By all outward appearances, most of the heroes of the Old Testament far surpassed John in their lives and ministries and yet Jesus evaluated John very differently.

Not only is John’s life worthy of study, Jesus also told us that John’s ministry would reemerge to prepare His way a second time. Though His statement seemed cryptic to the disciples at the time, it ends up being one of the most significant statements Jesus made about John because it illustrates the fact that John was not just a forerunner to Jesus’ first coming. He was actually a prototype for a preparation ministry that would emerge again on the earth before Jesus’s second coming.

Therefore John’s significance transcends his own life. He models what it means to prepare the way of the Lord and to prepare the nations to see the Lord. Ultimately, his way of living embodies what will be required to fulfill Matthew 24:14 and give a witness to every tribe and tongue of the coming King. Out job as we carry the gospel into the nations is to leave them prepared to face Jesus, therefore we must learn from the life of John what it looks like to live in such a way to prepare the nations for the great day when they will see Him return.

You have to decide whether you see John as an anomaly or as a pattern. Was he an enigmatic figure that emerged, or was he a forerunner of a witness that will be given in the nations before the return of the Lord? How you answer this question will dramatically affect how you view John. John’s ministry was in the spirit of Elijah (Matthew 11:14; Luke 1:17) and yet when we compare John to Elijah we see some interesting differences.

• John was extremely familiar with the prophecy over his life that he will operate in the power and spirit of Elijah, but he refused to be called Elijah. It is as if John knows that a greater witness is coming (John 1:21).
• Elijah’s ministry was marked by unusual miracles. In contrast, John did no miracles (John 10:41). John did not demonstrate the primary characteristic of Elijah’s ministry.
• John’s ministry was the ministry of Isaiah 40, but Isaiah 40 has global implications that John’s ministry did not involve and it describes an ultimate conflict that did not occur in the first century.
• John’s prophecies about Jesus were not fulfilled in the first century. John prophesied that Jesus would judge and purge the nations with fire (Matthew 3:11-12; Luke 3:15-17).
• Jesus called John Elijah after John was executed while also predicted that Elijah’s ministry would still come again in the future.

In the gospels, Jesus repeatedly reminds the disciples that, “all that are written must be fulfilled.” (Luke 18:31; 21:22; 24:44) If the suffering that the prophets hinted at had to be fulfilled, how much more His glory? If the nations had to be prepared for the hour of His suffering, how much more will they need to be prepared for the hour of His glory and judgment? In other words, John was a forerunner, not just for Jesus, but a forerunner of a witness in the church that would emerge before the end of the age. He was a prototype in the spirit and power of Elijah, but not the final manifestation of the preparation ministry.

God will again release unusual power in the nations to prepare every tribe and tongue for the return of Jesus. John’s ministry is part of the glorious “already but not yet” of Jesus’ first coming. Jesus came, but He’s coming again. He brought the power of the Spirit, but Paul tells us it is just a down payment and more is coming. Israel experienced judgment related to their rejection of Jesus, but the nations will receive judgment. Jesus brought the baptism of the Spirit in power, but there is a baptism of the Spirit and fire that will purge the earth.

This is part of the series The Life and Ministry of John the Baptist. The previous post in this series is A Prophet Emerges in the Wilderness. The next post in this series is The End of John’s Ministry.

John described his ministry, not just as a messenger, but more specifically as a Friend of the Bridegroom. To John’s audience, this was a shocking description of his ministry, because this description of his ministry was loaded with meaning. While believers now understand the Jesus’ identity as Bridegroom for all believers, John’s audience understood his message in a uniquely Jewish context.

27John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ 29He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:27–30 NKJV)

YHWH had described His relationship with Israel as the relationship between a bridegroom and a bride. His relationship to Israel was unique and He used marriage language to describe it (Jeremiah 2:2; 3:1,14; 31:32; Isaiah 54:4-6; Ezekiel 16:7-34; Hosea 2:19). John’s proclamation put Israel’s covenant relationship with YHWH front and center.

5For your Maker is your husband, The LORD of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth. 6For the LORD has called you Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, Like a youthful wife when you were refused,” Says your God. 7“For a mere moment I have forsaken you, But with great mercies I will gather you. 8With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” Says the LORD, your Redeemer. (Isaiah 54:5–8 NKJV)

2“Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “I remember you, The kindness of your youth, The love of your betrothal, When you went after Me in the wilderness, In a land not sown. (Jeremiah 2:2 NKJV)

John took YHWH’s relationship with Israel one step further. Not only had YHWH made covenant with Israel in the wilderness, He was now coming even closer. He would actually walk among them and consummate the covenant He initiated with them. John was challenging their understanding of the covenant. Sinai was not God’s final word in His covenant with Israel. He was going to walk among His people – much more intimately this time – and again make covenant with them. YHWH walking among them in this kind of intimacy was unthinkable to the Jews and yet John described his deep joy at preparing Israel as a bride for YHWH. In the same way, we are called to declare that Jesus longs to come even closer to His people than He is right now. Our present condition is not the end of the story. We are to remind the church that our physical separation from Him is not permanent. Jesus will reign on the earth among His people – and we must prepare the people for this great hope.

John expressed his message in the context of YHWH’s deep emotion for Israel. He refuses to let Israel go. God was not content with Israel’s condition. His answer to Israel’s difficult situation and compromise was to come even closer. You have to understand God’s deep emotional commitment to Israel to understand John’s ministry and to understand the end of the age.

God will not let the age end with an Israel that does not love Him. He will pursue her until the end. His controversy with her will end up on the world’s center stage and the entire earth will watch YHWH pursue Israel, even in their unfaithfulness, because of of love and it will not end until He gets what He wants. The enemy will rage, but He will prevail. This is exactly how God feels about ever believer. He will not let you go easily. He will come after you. He will hedge you in, with thorns if necessary (Hosea 2:6), until you submit to His love for you.

It is hard to understand how radical the message John described was for his audience. Everyone hearing him understood that YHWH was the Bridegroom of Israel, but John was applying that term to his cousin, Jesus and claiming that the God who terrified Israel with His thunderous voice wanted a more intimate relationship with them and was revealing Himself in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.

John not only used covenant language, he also used an analogy for his ministry that his hearers all understood. When John called himself the “friend of the bridegroom” he was referring to the Jewish wedding custom of the “shoshbin.” The shoshbin was similar to the concept of the “best man” but he had more responsibilities. He would contribute financially to the wedding and help take care of things for the bridegroom. He even helped guard the bride and watch over her for the bridegroom. He had the great joy of hearing the bridegroom’s voice when the wedding was over and the bride finally belonged to the bridegroom. John understood that his purpose was not to draw the people to himself, but to steward them as the property, and dearly beloved, of YHWH.

The Message

The prophetic voice had re-emerged in John, but the core of the message itself was shocking. Repentance itself was not shocking because prophets typically preached repentance. The content of his call for repentance was shocking. Israel at that time assumed that she was “qualified” for God’s deliverance. What “qualified” them in apocalyptic writing of the day was the idea that they were the only nation of all nations to have received the law from God. In some of these non-canonical writings, the world was created for the purpose of blessing Israel:

55All this have I spoken before thee, O Lord, because thou madest the world for our sakes. 56As for the other people, which also come of Adam, thou hast said that they are nothing, but be like unto spittle: and hast likened the abundance of them unto a drop that falleth from a vessel. 57And now, O Lord, behold, these heathen, which have ever been reputed as nothing, have begun to be lords over us, and to devour us. 58But we thy people, whom thou hast called thy firstborn, thy only begotten, and thy fervent lover, are given into their hands. 59If the world now be made for our sakes, why do we not possess an inheritance with the world? How long shall this endure? (2 Esdras 6:55-59; KJV Apocrypha)

Israel assumed their qualification because they had been uniquely chosen by God and severely oppressed by gentile kingdoms. Surely their unique selection by God and the suffering they had endured qualified them to receive God’s favor and deliverance from their enemies. As they struggled to maintain their identity under the control of the mighty Roman Empire, they felt even more how they deserved God’s deliverance and how the gentiles deserved His judgment.

What was shocking was that John was calling for the repentance of Israel in relation to the arrival of the long awaited Kingdom of Heaven. John’s scathing words were directed, not at Rome, but at Israel. Instead of directing his threats primarily against Rome, John warned that being Abraham’s posterity did not automatically secure God’s favor and that God was ready to completely topple the tree that the root of Abraham was supporting.

7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, 9and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 10And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 3:7–10 NKJV)

Israel’s mind, their primary problem was Rome and the oppression of the gentiles, and they were looking for deliverance from this problem. However, there was a much larger issue looming in John’s preaching. Israel’s greatest problem was not Rome. It was God. In the same way, our primary issues are not what they think they are. Our primary issue is God. Israel thought Rome was a problem, just as we worry and fret about the systems of this age, but Rome was ultimately no greater than Egypt. When God was done with Pharaoh, there was nothing he could do and God brought Israel out in power. God can shatter an empire in a moment. The gods of this age do not threaten Him.

God’s greatest opposition was not Rome’s military might, it was Israel’s resistance to Him, because man’s biggest problem is his incompatibility with God. This issue must be dealt with if the people are to be prepared for God. In John’s bold proclamation, Malachi’s prophecy could be heard. Israel’s election did not secure their position; it only intensified God’s contention with them.

2“But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire And like launderers’ soap. 3He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness. (Malachi 3:2–3 NKJV)

John warned of Messiah’s judgment, not on Rome, but on the religious of Israel. The fire of Messiah’s baptism was interpreted by John’s audience as an eschatological event. It was the fire of His judgment. The same fire that would purify the sons of Levi would also judge everything that resisted God. The Messiah was going to baptize with Holy Spirit fire. In other words, He was the eschatological Judge and would pour out the Spirit unto that judgment.

11I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” (Matthew 3:11–12 NKJV)

It was not unexpected that God would pour out wrath upon Israel because of her sins. They were painfully aware of this reality because of the exile. However, this same warning being proclaimed in the context of the fulfillment of the Messianic promise was truly unthinkable. As he baptized Jews, John was communicating a powerful reality to the nation. This immersion in water was one of the means by which a gentile was converted into Judaism and now John was “converting” the Jews into their own coming kingdom.

The entire nation was shocked to hear that there was no inherent security in their national identity as children of Abraham, nor anything earned by their suffering. Apart from repentance they had no more guarantee of entering the coming Kingdom than the Gentiles themselves. John announced that there was no corporate guarantee. The individual’s response to God’s will is significant to their participation in the blessings of the Kingdom of God promised to Israel. Though God would fulfill His promise to national Israel, the nation would be composed of the repentant. Not all Israel was true Israel (Romans 9:6).

John offered a baptism of repentance for the remission, or forgiveness, of sins. This was also a staggering proclamation. John was offering forgiveness apart of the temple sacrifices that were present in Jerusalem. It is hard to fathom how challenging this message was for his Jewish audience.

4John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. (Mark 1:4 NKJV)

Where did this desert prophet get the authority to offer forgiveness for sins through repentance in the desert rather than through the temple service in Jerusalem? That fact that John was not doing miracles points to the sheer authority of his preaching. There was divine authority on John’s words and he had no need to prove it because when you hear authority you know it. It is interesting that Jesus pointed to the miraculous signs as proof of His greater ministry, but the authority of John’s ministry rested entirely on His preaching.

The people were used to control and power, but shocked at the display of divine authority resting on John. A fuller measure of this divine authority would cause them to be astonished at Jesus’ teaching. It was clearly different from the religious establishment and divine authority made the difference.

28And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. (Matthew 7:28–29 NKJV)

The authority that rested on John and ultimately on Jesus separated them from the rabbis even more than the content of their message. There is a difference in the authority obtained by political maneuvering and the authority given from heaven. That is why it is to our shame that we so often seek places of responsibility in the church based on who we know and how we can work a system rather than on the basis of the gift of the Spirit resting on us.

When the religious establishment came out to see John, he forced the implications of his message and asked why they came. Did they want to flee the wrath that was to come on Israel or did they want to continue a system that instead positioned Israel for judgment?

7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (Matthew 3:7 NKJV)

19Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”…22Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”…24Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. (John 1:19, 22, 24 NKJV)

He challenged their position of leadership calling them a brood of vipers. The ancient world believed the vipers ate their way out of their mother because this kind of snake gives birth to live young rather than laying eggs. John was accusing the religious leaders of devouring, and therefore destroying, mother Israel. The priest of the desert was challenging the priests of Jerusalem.

Jesus’ baptism by John was an unthinkable endorsement of John’s message. Jesus, the sinless Lamb of God, submitted to John’s baptism to fulfill all righteousness. In other words, he affirmed John’s preaching of repentance as the path to righteousness rather than the path of the scribes and Pharisees.

13Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” 15But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. (Matthew 3:13–15 NKJV)

In His ministry, Jesus continued to force the issue of John’s authority by asking the religious leaders whether or not John’s authority was legitimate.

3But He answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me: 4The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men?” 5And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 6But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.” (Luke 20:3–6 NKJV)

The axe was now at the root. The issue of righteousness was at stake. The issue of Israel’s calling was at stake as Jesus pointed out that righteousness and favor is divinely given from heaven apart from what we can earn. Israel thought they merited righteousness from their suffering and their family lineage, but Israel would have to become righteous through the work of another just as their father Abraham did. Jesus shattered the expectation and reset the foundation of righteousness. It was the free gift and mercy of God in response to repentance. God stood ready to fulfill all His promises to Israel, but only those who responded in repentance would enjoy the benefits of being born into Israel.

The authority on John’s preaching leveled the playing ground. Those who came out to see him were undone and cried out, “What must we do?” because John’s burning message was like an arrow right into the hearts of men. Interesting preaching causes men to think about things, but preaching with authority forces a response. The prophetic word forces you to respond to it. You cannot only consider it, you must make a decision about those words.

10So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?” 11He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.” 12Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13And he said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.” 14Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?” So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.” (Luke 3:10–14 NKJV)

John had such divine authority resting on him that, even though he did not do any miracles, the people questioned whether he was the Messiah. John was so aware that the immense authority on his words was not his own that he refused to take any credit at all. He was aware of his weakness and refused to entertain any speculation that he might be the Messiah. John was a Friend of the Bridegroom and it was his deep joy to use the power resting on him to proclaim the glory of Another. Amazingly John could see who he truly was and who Jesus truly was. John, as Jesus’ cousin, had more reason to see Jesus commonly than everyone else and yet He submitted to who He was.

41Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.” (John 10:41 NKJV)

15Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, 16John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.” (Luke 3:15–17 NKJV)

24Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. 25And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. (John 1:24–26 NKJV)

This is part of the series The Life and Ministry of John the Baptist. The previous post in this series is The Birth of John the Baptist. The next post in this series is John’s Message.

Out of the sight of everyone in Jerusalem, God formed and fashioned His man in the desert for a long thirty years. The Greek word used here highlights a lonely place with few inhabitants. It can refer to an actual desert or simply a place that is more like a wilderness. Thirty years in the desert prepared John for his six months of public ministry. God formed John the same way He formed Moses and Elijah. However, it is important to recognize that John was not living just to get those six months of public ministry. He was fully alive during the thirty years he was hidden in desert. John’s six months of public ministry was simply a brief window of history when everything John had cultivated on the inside came out.

John was not a different person during his public ministry than he was during his time of preparation. God simply chose to put who John was on public display. John did not only carry a message, John had become the message. Luke 1:80 tells us that John was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel. His public ministry was simply God’s revelation to Israel of His friend in the wilderness. John did not suddenly become a public minister; God simply decided to put His friend on display.

God often creates “desert” places to form people and prepare them for His purposes. You cannot manufacture a desert experience, but you must understand it when God leads you into a desert place. When many people find themselves in the desert, the first thing they want to know is when the desert seasons will end. How do you know when you are ready to leave the desert? When you don’t care if you ever leave. God puts you in a desert to set your apart so that nothing else matters anymore except hearing His voice and knowing Him. That’s the point of the desert. God uses the desert to form and fashion vessels and He matures every believer in a unique way.

There is no formula for how God builds men, because God forms voices, not echos. An echo is a reproduction of a voice that seems identical, but is inferior and does not carry the strength of the original. When we seek formulas, we will produce echos. When we embrace the way God forms men we will see voices emerge. The way to become a voice is not to try to become one. The way is to put on the yoke that God designs for you.

The goal is not to get out of the desert. For John his life in the desert was not a path to his calling, it was his calling. He was not looking for something more public. John fed off the Word of God and communion with God by the Spirit in the desert. John feasted on Isaiah, Malachi, and the prophets and the Word of God transformed him so thoroughly that when God did put him on display his simple words challenged even Roman soldiers.

John’s ministry was one of preparation – preparing the people for the coming of the Lord – and deep preparation is necessary for a preparation ministry. A forerunner must prepare themselves in a significant way to prepare others. It is a long building process because it is a time of building foundations. To be effective, foundations must be solid and they must be deep. Foundations like this take a long time and they are built below the ground, where others cannot see what God is doing.

John’s parents were aged when he was born and died while he will still young. The spirit of Elijah began to rest on John in the wilderness as John stood before the Lord and ministered to Him hidden away from the people. Just like Elijah, John would be formed and fashioned in an out of the way place and, like Elijah, he would appear suddenly on the stage of redemptive history. Like Elijah, John would confidently say that he stood before the Lord and this was the most important facet of his preparation and his ministry. The most important facet of your life and your ministry is whether or not you stand before the Lord.

1And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.” (1 Kings 17:1 NKJV)

14And Elisha said, “As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you, nor see you. (2 Kings 3:14 NKJV)

7“Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘If you will walk in My ways, And if you will keep My command, Then you shall also judge My house, And likewise have charge of My courts; I will give you places to walk among these who stand here. (Zechariah 3:7 NKJV)

29He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. (John 3:29 NKJV)

John’s life was in the desert. In the desert he lived in communion with God and a fire burned stronger and stronger in his inner man. The man that Jesus would call the “greatest born of woman” became stronger and stronger in spirit. For John the wilderness was the place for his inner man was fully alive as he stood before God and ministered to Him.

John was called to “go before the face of God” and therefore had to live before the face of God. John had to live as a priest, because he was about to confront the priesthood. No doubt John wept over the condition of Israel. In the same way, we have no right to confront the church until we have cried over it. Many try to speak as prophets simply because they have information about what is lacking, but speaking like John requires more than words. It requires the burden of the Lord and is received, carried, and expressed in the place of intercession – intercession for those who are in compromise.

You have to live before the face of God before you can speak as John spoke. In Luke 11:1 the disciples asked Jesus to teach them one thing: how to pray, and we have to recognize how they ended their question: “Teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” The disciples wanted one thing from Jesus – His prayer life – in the same way that John taught his disciples how to pray. That is a staggering evaluation of John’s prayer life. Prayer was what John taught his disciples because it was his life.

John learned this lesson: Crowds are seducing, but the desert is where the first burns, the burning bush appears, and God speaks. He learned why Jesus was constantly retreating to the wilderness to pray (Matthew 14:23; Mark 1:35; 6:46; Luke 5:16; 6:12; John 6:15). It is important to recognize that John never left the desert. Even when God put him on display, he ministered from the desert. No doubt he could have had bigger crowds in Jerusalem, but he did not want to leave the desert. It was his place of communion. It was his life. He was fully alive there. He did not stay because he was a social outcast, he stayed there because the desert had given him something in God that he knew he knew would be threatened if he left the desert.

76“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, (Luke 1:76 NKJV)

80So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel. (Luke 1:80 NKJV)

Understanding the Desert

There is more than one kind of desert and it is critical to understand the difference in your own life in order to respond rightly because the goal is not always to leave the desert.

The desert of testing is a place of battle and it is temporary. Faith is tested here and refined and Jesus’ own life is one of the best examples. Jesus battled the devil in the wilderness when He was tempted and then emerged in power. The desert of testing is temporary and it is for the sake of war.

1Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. (Luke 4:1–2 NKJV)

14Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. (Luke 4:14 NKJV)

However, there is an entirely different kind of desert. It is the desert of communion. It is the place where God lovingly calls you to come away with Him to a place of communion. His voice calls, “come away with Me.” It is the place where God calls you away and detoxes you simply because He made you for Himself. In His love songs over Israel, God always remembered how He betrothed her in the wilderness with deep emotion.

10My beloved spoke, and said to me: “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. (Song of Solomon 2:10 NKJV)

2“Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “I remember you, The kindness of your youth, The love of your betrothal, when you went after Me in the wilderness, In a land not sown. (Jeremiah 2:2 NKJV)

8“When I passed by you again and looked upon you [Israel in the wilderness], indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine,” says the Lord God. (Ezekiel 16:8 NKJV)

35And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will plead My case with you face to face. 36Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you,” says the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 20:35-36 NKJV)

14“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her. (Hosea 2:14 NKJV)

In the call to this wilderness, you should hear the burning emotions of God who is jealous for a relationship not possible in the midst of distraction and competing affections. This is part of the desert. Just as the stars seems more brilliant away from the lights of the city, so too the person of God burns most vividly in the place of the desert.

The children of Israel suffered in the wilderness after the Exodus only because of their disobedience. It was meant to be a place of tender encounter with God as He made covenant with them, but it became a place of hardship because of their disobedience. It is meant to be the place where God removes all distractions and begins to form a vessel and this is the place where John lived. It is the place where John surrendered to the jealousy of YHWH over His life. John learned the lesson that we must: God will not share us. This is why believers are always miserable and frustrated when they walk in compromise. God is jealous. He will not share us with competing affections.

Jesus’ own life demonstrates His own understanding of both kinds of deserts. Jesus won a victory in the desert of testing and exited it with power, but His soul consistently yearned for and sought out the desert of communion with the Father. Jesus had cultivated something in the desert that His heart longed for and it was vital to His life and ministry.

16So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed. (Luke 5:16 NKJV)

12Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. (Luke 6:12 NKJV)

23And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. (Matthew 14:23 NKJV)

35Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. (Mark 1:35 NKJV)

46And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. (Mark 6:46 NKJV)

15Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone. (John 6:15 NKJV)

Like Jesus, Moses would go outside the camp to commune with YHWH.

7Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the LORD went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp. (Exodus 33:7 NKJV)

We are obsessed with efficiency, but God is not. He is both urgent and patient all at the same time. John was a blaze of urgency for 6 months, but God nurtured and maintained that urgency for 30 years. In the same way, when God responded to Israel’s cries for deliverance from Egypt, He began by spending 80 years forming Moses to lead the people. The last 40 of those years He put Moses aside out in a desert.

God does not consider that kind of investment extravagant. Why? Because He didn’t form John only for 6 months of ministry. He formed John to minister to Him for a billion years. John will be proclaiming the glory of his cousin for billions of years. God is not forming us only for a ministry function. He is forming us to dwell with Him forever. God values natural process and time more than we do. He makes men, individually and uniquely over time. He presses and forms them through the processes of life. He does not wring His hands in despair over the time that it takes to form a vessel. This is the biblical view of urgency.

Our view of urgency is that it must be done “now.” God’s view is very different because it is the magnitude of what is coming that demands urgency. God’s will address the magnitude of the challenge with equal magnitude. Therefore the proper response to urgency is to build things that will withstand the strength of what is coming. God does not do that overnight. He does it over decades. He usually moves more slowly than we like to prepare something that will endure the conflict.

As we have seen, when John’s ministry began he continued his life in the desert because he was a man of the desert. There he had a secret of communion of God. When John began preaching, he wasn’t burning to leave the desert; he was simply compelled by fire in his bones to proclaim the message that had come through a life of communion that he had cultivated for so many years. When this life was revealed to Israel (Luke 1:80), the people went out to hear him. In fact, John never left the desert until he was carried to jail and then executed.

9…But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not. (Jeremiah 20:9 NKJV)

5Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him (Matthew 3:5 NKJV)

7As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. (Matthew 11:7–9 NKJV)

Though John’s life was in the desert and, no doubt, lonely at times, it was not the life of a hermit. He was faithful to minister to others in the desert. John actively taught and invested in a group of young men known as his disciples (Matthew 9:14, 11:2, Mark 2:18, Luke 5:33, 7:18–19, 11:1, John 1:35, 3:25, 4:1). While God cuts us off from many distracting things when He sends us to desert places, that is not the same as isolating ourselves from the body and refusing to engage with others. John was faithful in small things by leading a small group while God constrained the rest of his life.

1Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” (Luke 11:1 NKJV)

1Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (John 4:1 NKJV)

John Breaks the Prophetic Silence

As John ministered to the Lord in the desert, suddenly the Word of the Lord came to him in the wilderness.

1Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. (Luke 3:1–2 NKJV)

In an environment devoid of a prophetic voice and a counterfeit peace, a voice shattered the silence and a light burned brightly in the desert. Even the word shattered is too small to encapsulate all that John’s voice did. Suddenly the Word of God was alive in the midst of Israel again. The voice of the prophet had returned. You never have to advertise a fire. The people went out to see John, and the message he proclaimed, burning brightly in the desert. It was very symbolic that the people had to cross the Jordan to go hear John. Symbolically they were crossing outside the land of Israel back into the wilderness to hear the Word of the Lord just as their forefathers had. Israel was encountering her God again out in the desert and out of the land.

“In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!’” (Matthew 3:1-2 NKJV)

3And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, 4as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight. 5Every valley shall be filled And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth; 6And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ” (Luke 3:3–6 NKJV)

28These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. (John 1:28 NKJV)

26And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!” (John 3:26 NKJV)

John’s generation had endured a famine of hearing the word of God (Amos 8:11). God has done much in our generation, but there is a deep need for this kind of prophetic voice in our generation. Voices are desperately needed. We have many “echo’s,” but few voices. Like ancient Israel, the earth is again waiting to hear the prophetic shout across the nations. As it was in John’s day the need is great, but you do not shatter the silence by trying to. You shatter it by abiding like John did in the hidden places. In the small places. In the deserts of communion. You shatter it by positioning yourself by lots of small decisions that set you apart to hear His voice.

John’s message was not unique. His sermon material was the Old Testament prophets. He repeated their exact message because he had soaked himself in the message over decades. In the wilderness, he became the prophetic messages that he read. The people heard the prophets read in the synagogues regularly, but there was something different in John’s preaching. Isaiah’s words were alive again because they were declared by a man filled with the same Spirit that wrote the words. When John preached Scripture, it hit the hearts of John’s hearers like a sledgehammer.

3And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, 4as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight. 5Every valley shall be filled And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth; 6And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ” (Luke 3:3–6 NKJV)

23He said: “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the LORD,” ’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” (John 1:23 NKJV)

Jesus put John in a specific place in redemptive history by telling the people that all the prophets had prophesied until John.

13For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. (Matthew 11:13 NKJV)

In other words, the prophetic ministry was transitioning. What the prophets had longed for and prophesied John was announcing. God’s plan was not in motion. Messiah was imminent. John’s repeated God’s promises to the people and announced the beginning of their fulfillment and what those promises required of the people.

This is part of the series The Life and Ministry of John the Baptist. The previous post in this series is Introducing John the Baptist. The next post in this series is A Prophet Emerges in the Wilderness.

The announcement of John’s birth by Gabriel alone is enough to indicate the significance of his ministry because Gabriel only makes four recorded appearances in Scripture. He appears twice in the book of Daniel and twice in the New Testament.

15Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. 16And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” 17So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.” (Daniel 8:15–17 NKJV)

21yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. 22And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. 23At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision: 24“Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy. (Daniel 9:21–24 NKJV)

13But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John…19And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. (Luke 1:13, 19 NKJV)

26Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. (Luke 1:26–27 NKJV)

Gabriel’s place before the Lord is obviously very unique. He introduces himself as one who “stands in the presence of God.” It is significant that Gabriel is chosen to steward the unique revelations Daniel was given and this gives witness to his unique ministry to the Lord. Each appearance of Gabriel in Scripture is in context to God finishing His glorious plan. He appears to Daniel to give revelation about the final window of human history and then he reappears only when God begins to inaugurate that plan through the birth of Jesus whose ministry John will herald.

John’s father Zacharias was a member of the Temple priesthood, and his mother Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron the high priest. They were both “righteous of God”, fervent and faithful in their devotion. This is important because John is going to live his whole life as a priest. He will be more priestly than most of the priesthood. While most of the priesthood is concerned with the affairs of man, John will minister to God. To put an exclamation point on it, the angel is going to announce John’s birth to Zechariah as he is offering incense as a priest.

We cannot miss the fact that God chose a priest to prepare the way before Him both because of the significance of John’s life and because John’s life is a pattern for how God chooses to prepare the earth for Jesus’ appearing. At the end of the age, He again will look to the church to function as a priesthood to prepare the way before Him, because Jesus wants to be welcomed by His familiar friends. This is one reason why the prayer movement is growing rapidly in the nations. God wants to emphasize the priestly role of all believers through emphasizing the church’s mission in ministering to God.

This is what Jesus calls the “first commandment” – ministering to God as our first priority and then ministering to men (Matthew 22:34-40). It’s also what Jesus told us to pray for – “that it would be on earth as it is in heaven (Luke 11:2).” Every glimpse of heaven we have in the Scripture reveals a scene of incessant adoration around the throne. Part of our mission in this age is to make this earth as much like heaven as it can be before Jesus returns. Making earth appear like heaven does not primarily mean that we live safe and prosperous lives, but that God is celebrated and adored on earth as He is in heaven. Therefore our primary assignment is to prevent the rocks from having to cry out in adoration by seeing to it that mean take their place on earth and magnify God.

40But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” (Luke 19:40 NKJV)

Though Zacharias was a faithful priest, and Elizabeth was a faithful woman, there was one issue that had marked their lives and that was Elizabeth’s barrenness. It was her shame yet, like Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah, it would become her glory.

1“Sing, O barren, you who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman,” says the LORD. (Isaiah 54:1 NKJV)

Barrenness is an issue of shame that sets the stage for God’s glory. When a “shameful” barrenness exists among the righteous sets the stage for God’s glory. When God needs a deliverer, natural processes sometimes break down so that He can highlight and emphasize His glory. This is illustrated in the lives of Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, and Elizabeth. The shame and pain of their barrenness served as a staging ground for God’s glory.

Zacharias was a member of the division of Abijah, one of 24 clans who maintained the Temple rituals and ceremonies of worship. Only once in a lifetime did a priest of Zacharias’ rank have the honor of offering the incense in the Holy Place before the Holy of Holies. The lot “happened” to fall on him. No doubt he was nervous, but had no expectation of what was going to happen.

God sets the announcement of John’s coming in a thoroughly priestly context. In this chamber, as he was offering the incense and speaking the ceremonial prayers, he expected to be alone and instead was shocked to find to see the angel Gabriel suddenly appear to him at the right of the altar of incense.

9according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 10And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. 11Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. (Luke 1:9–11 NKJV)

When Zacharias emerges from the Holy Place, it is obvious he has had a very significant encounter. He had been given a staggering prophecy about John’s future.

13But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:13–17 NKJV)

Four specific predictions were made about how John would function. These four predictions give us the essence of the man that Jesus called the greatest.

• He would be great in the sight of God.
• He would be filled with the Holy Spirit.
• He would turn many in Israel to God.
• He would go before God in the spirit and power of Elijah.

Zacharias had received a powerful prophecy about John’s future, but he had also been struck mute because of his unbelief and would be unable to speak until the naming of his child. After the days of his service in the Temple were finished he returned home for a season.

19And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. 20But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.” (Luke 1:19–20 NKJV)

The Birth

Elizabeth conceived shortly afterward, and hid away for five months. Having a child was unthinkable at their advanced age. Elizabeth now had a mute husband and was carrying a child long after she had given up all hope of giving birth. After years of barrenness, she no longer entertained the hope of pregnancy just to protect her heart, but now she was pregnant. It is difficult to imagine all the emotion swirling in Elizabeth’s heart during this season. No doubt she wondered if the pregnancy would go term and if she would be able to deliver it safely. As an event, it had strong parallels to the birth of Isaac.

24Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, 25“Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.” (Luke 1:24–25 NKJV)

Gabriel uses the example of Elizabeth to encourage Mary in her shock at the announcement that she would conceive (Luke 1:36-37), because no one was aware of this pregnancy during those five months. In her humility Elizabeth kept a low profile in this season, in awe of the thing that was happened as she wrestled through the sudden shift in her situation (Luke 1:25).

With an explosion of rejoicing for all who had known Elizabeth during all her barren years, John was born, and then circumcised on the eighth day according to Jewish law. To the shock of everyone he was not named according to anyone in the family line, including his father. Since John was the first born and only son, it would be expected that he would carry a family name. Throughout Judea the story of his unusual birth cause many to wonder what prophetic hour they are living in.

63And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled. 64Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. 65Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. 66And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him. (Luke 1:63–66 NKJV)

Filled with the Spirit, Zacharias prophesies a powerful prophecy over his son. He connects John’s birth with God’s promised deliverance (Luke 1:67-79). He specifically prophesies that John would go before the Lord and prepare His ways. Zacharias’ prophecy is very similar to the prophecy Gabriel spoke over John.

15For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:15–17 NKJV)

76“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, 77To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, 78Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; 79To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:76–79 NKJV)

The circumstances around John’s birth had suddenly shattered 400 years of prophetic silence. God was speaking again. However, just as suddenly as the announcement of John and Jesus’ birth had come, silence seemed to fall again. After two visits by Gabriel and some of the most dramatic pronouncements in Scripture, things seemed to fall quiet again for nearly 30 years. The lack of material in the gospels on the young life of both John and Jesus reveal how quiet the subsequent years were. People close to these events had been filled with great hope and anticipate only to wonder when the fulfillment of the things prophesied would come. The people would have to wait 3 long decades to see the fruit of these miraculous births. Those who were filled with hope in their 40’s when these children were born would be 70 before they would see that hope manifest itself again.