Joy to the World! The Prophesies of the Worship of Jesus in All the World, 12/28/25

We come today to the last service of this year,

2025. And I'd like to end the series that I've

been going through by speaking on joy to the

world, the prophecies of the worship of Jesus

in all the world. Our texts are from Isaiah chapter

Isaiah 49 · chapter mention

49. and from Matthew chapter 2. We'll begin with

Matthew 2 · chapter mention

Isaiah chapter 49 in verse 1, and then reading

Isaiah 49 · chapter mention

down through verse 18, and then verse 23. Listen,

O coastlands, to me, and take heed, you peoples

from afar. The Lord has called me from the womb.

From the matrix of my mother he has made mention

of my name. And he has made my mouth like a sharp

sword. In the shadow of his hand he has hidden

me. And made me a polished shaft. In his quiver

he has hidden me. And he said to me, You are

my servant, O Lord, in whom I will be glorified.

Then I said, I have labored in vain. I've spent

my strength for nothing and in vain. Yet surely

my just reward is with the Lord and my work is

with my God. 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. Indeed,

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. Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of

Israel, their Holy One, to 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. Thus says the Lord. In an acceptable

time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation

I have helped you. I will preserve you and give

you as a covenant to the people to restore the

earth, to cause them to inherit the desolate

heritages, that you may say to the prisoners,

Go forth. To those who are in darkness, show

yourselves. They shall feed along the roads,

and their pastures shall be on all desolate heights.

They shall neither hunger nor thirst. Neither

heat nor sun shall strike them, for he who has

mercy on them will lead them. Even by the springs

of water he will guide them. I will make each

of my mountains a road, and my highways shall

be elevated. Surely these shall come from afar.

Look, those from the north and the west, and

these from the land of Sinim. Sing, O heavens,

be joyful, O earth, and break out in singing,

O mountains, for the Lord has comforted his people.

and will have mercy on his afflicted. Now we'll

go to verse 22 and 23. Thus says the Lord God.

Behold, I lift my hand in an oath to the nations

and set up my standard for the peoples. They

shall bring your sons in their arms and your

daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.

Kings shall be your foster fathers and your queens

their nursing mothers. They shall bow down to

you with their faces to the earth and lick up

the dust of your feet. Then you will know that

I am the Lord for they shall not be ashamed who

wait for me. And now we turn over to the book

of Matthew, chapter 2, beginning in verse 1.

Matthew 2 · chapter mention

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea

in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men

came from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where

is he who has been born king of the Jews? For

we have seen his star in the east and have come

to worship him. When Herod the king heard this,

He was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

And when he had gathered all his chief priests

and scribes of the people together, he inquired

of them where the Christ was to be born. So they

said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus

it is written by the prophet, But you, Bethlehem,

in the land of Judah, are not the least among

the rooters of Judah, for out of you shall come

a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. When

Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men,

determined from them what time the star appeared.

And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and

search carefully for the young child, and when

you have found him, bring back word to me that

I may come and worship also. When they heard

the king, they departed. And behold, the star

which they had seen in the east went before them

till it came and stood over where the young child

was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with

exceedingly great joy. And when they had come

into the house, they saw the young child with

Mary, his mother, and fell down and worshipped

him. When they had opened their treasures, they

presented gifts to him, gold, frankincense, and

myrrh. Then being divinely warned in a dream

that they should not return to Herod, they departed

for their own country another way. Now when they

had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared

to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, take the

young child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and

stay there until I bring you word, for Herod

will seek the young child to destroy him. When

he arose, he took the young child and his mother

by night and departed for Egypt. and was there

until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled

which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet,

saying, Out of Egypt I called my son. Then Herod,

when he saw that he was deceived by the wise

men, was exceedingly angry, and he sent forth

and he put to death all the male children who

were in Bethlehem and in all its districts from

two years old and under. according to the time

which he had determined from the wise men. Then

was fulfilled what was spoken of by Jeremiah

the prophet, saying, A voice was heard in Ramah,

lamentation, weeping, and a great mourning, Rachel

weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted,

because they are no more. Let's come to the Lord

and ask for his blessing in this time. Our Father,

we thank you. for the word of God which we have

read. We thank you for the great and precious

promises, the glorious promises. And yet, Lord,

we also are reminded that those promises are

not unaccompanied at times by grief or persecution

or sorrow. We ask, Lord, that as we look at your

promises today, that we would look at them in

reality, that our hearts would rise with great

joy. But also, Lord, we pray that you would give

us faithfulness in times of difficulty. We pray

for your blessing on this time. We ask in Jesus'

name. Amen. All was quiet for a time after the

birth of Christ and the visitation by the shepherds

who came and worshipped on the night of Christ's

birth. Mary and Joseph continued to live in Bethlehem,

perhaps for a year or more, maybe even two years.

Other than the circumcision in the temple and

the prophecies of Simeon and Anna, we read of

nothing else between that and the strange occurrence

of which I will now speak. Life most certainly

became routine, and yet Mary probably pondered

over all the life -changing things that had happened.

The visitation from Gabriel. The pregnancy without

a man involved. The prophecy of Elizabeth, the

mother of John the Baptist, to her. And of Mary's

response with a song of praise. The Magnificat

in which she herself prophesied that all generations

will call me blessed. Then there was the birth

and the shepherds coming to worship. There was

the prophecy of Simeon that this child is destined

for the fall and rising of many in Israel. and

for a sign which shall also be spoken against.

Your own soul also, yes, a sword will pierce,

he says, that the thoughts of many hearts may

be revealed. So much was unknown, and surely

questions might have risen up in her mind, but

she was a woman of resolute faith. Then one day,

a number of wise men came from the east to Jerusalem.

These are called magi, that is Gentile philosophers,

priests, or astronomers. They were the learned

men of the eastern nations, devoted to astronomy,

to religion, and to medicine. Held in high esteem,

most likely in the Persian court, they were admitted

as counselors and followed the camps in war to

give advice. There were likely more than three

and they probably had an entourage with them,

servants and so forth. They started asking around,

where is he who is born king of the Jews? They

spoke about a star they saw in the east and how

they traveled from the east to worship him, to

give him homage and to worship him. To give him

that homage and worship which means to kiss the

ground with the forehead as an expression of

profound reverence. This star was prophesied

by Balaam in Numbers chapter 24 verse 17 and

Numbers 24:17

was probably not an actual star as one of the

heavenly bodies that we see in the sky. It could

have been a comet or a meteor but as John MacArthur

says it is more likely a supernatural reality.

similar to the Shekinah glory that guided the

Israelites in the days of Moses, as in Exodus

13 and verse 21. Whatever it was, the star was

visible to them when they lived in the east,

possibly Arabia, but most likely Persia, and

they came to Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel.

Now Herod, the one called Herod the Great, ruled

at this time, and he heard about these men. Given

the restless nature of the Jews who wanted to

throw off the yoke of bondage, and the history

of the wars that had happened in the intertestamental

time, and as a strong ruler and a tyrant, this

concerned him greatly. Being troubled along with

all Jerusalem, he gathered the chief priests

and the scribes together and inquired of them

where the Christ was to be born. They, able to

read and search the prophetical writings, answered

him that the ruler who would shepherd the people

of Israel would come from Bethlehem, quoting

Micah chapter 5 and verse 2. He secretly met

Micah 5 · chapter mention

with them in order to determine what time the

star appeared. And then figuring the time of

travel, which was probably at least two or three

months, and allowing time for preparation, Herod

estimated about how old this young child was.

He sent them off to Bethlehem and told them that

after they had found him, to come back and to

report to him that he might come and worship

him also. And as they departed, lo and behold,

the star came again. And it led them to Bethlehem.

It took them right to the house. where the young

child is. This entourage probably excited the

townspeople as they saw this desert caravan of

either horses or camels, probably quite beautiful

and illustrious given the state and the status

of these people, of these men. They rejoiced

with great and exceeding joy, joy to the world

on seeing the star. And they came to the house

where they see the young child with Mary his

mother, and they fell down. and they worshipped

him. They gave him great treasures, gold and

frankincense and myrrh. These three gifts were

extraordinarily valuable in the ancient world.

Gold symbolized kingship and wealth. It was a

standard royal tribute. Frankincense and myrrh

were aromatic resins from trees in southern Arabia

and the Horn of Africa. And they were often even

more expensive than gold by weight due to their

rarity, their medicinal uses, and their religious

significance. They were used as incense for temples

and embalming and perfumes. And then there was

great danger in transporting and harvesting them.

The Roman historian Pliny the Elder noted that

these resins made Arabia immensely wealthy. Now

the Bible does not speak of quantity, but the

Magi opened their treasures, Matthew 2 verse

Matthew 2:11

11, implying substantial amounts worthy of a

long journey from Persia or the East. Historic

parallels, that is in tributes to kings or to

gods, suggest generous portions, not mere tokens.

Conservative estimates indicate that these could

have been worth anywhere from one to three million

dollars. In today's dollars. Now while the story

continues with the Magi not returning to Jerusalem

in order to escape Herod, being warned in a dream,

Herod flies into a rage when he realized they

duped him and he ordered all the sons, all the

males, two years old and under in Bethlehem and

its surrounding villages to be slaughtered. Joseph.

Being warned in a dream, takes Mary and Jesus.

He fled to Egypt, and thus Jesus escaped the

slaughter. And they lived there until God appeared

again to Joseph, telling him that Herod had now

died. They returned, but are again warned by

God that Herod's son Archelaus is reigning. So

they travel to Nazareth in Galilee, an obscure

and small rural agricultural village with an

estimated 1 ,000 people or less. There Jesus

lived with his parents and half -brothers and

sisters, known as the carpenter's son. This account

is the first fulfillment of how illustrious men

will come to Christ and worship, and therefore

it is an illustration of what will continue to

come to pass. Great prophecies of old. prophecies

that foretell the greatness and the glory of

the reign of Christ, and that many kings and

rulers and notable persons would come and bow

the knee to him, and they would understand that

they are to worship and to serve him. We have

already considered the prophecies of Jesus as

king a few weeks ago. My intention today... It's

to look at a major prophecy of how the people

will respond to that kingship. And how they will

become worshippers who bow down and serve him.

And that this will include kings, rulers, and

princes. We're now going to turn to Isaiah chapter

Isaiah 49 · chapter mention

49 to look at the details of this prophecy in

the Old Testament. We will see. Some of the fulfillment

and reiteration in the New Testament and in the

centuries afterward still continuing to this

day. And this is the passage that I just read.

Now, in the preceding verses or chapters of Isaiah

prior to Isaiah 49, God had promised Israel that

a king named Cyrus would arise and would be an

instrument in God's hand to bring back the Jews

to their land. The Chaldeans and Babylon would

be conquered and humiliated and Israel would

again be able to escape. We know that this came

to pass and eventually around 40 ,000 returned

to the land of Israel. The wall and the temple

in Jerusalem were rebuilt. We read of this in

Ezra, in Nehemiah, and in Haggai. But in chapter

49, the focus changes in the book of Isaiah.

And now the prophecy turns to the far off lands.

And the words proceed directly from Jesus, from

the servant of the Lord. Isaiah is prophesying

the word of the Lord as Jesus speaking, the servant.

He begins, verse 1, Listen, O coastlands, to

me, and take heed, you peoples from afar. Now

the word coastlands is also translated as islands

or isles or region. And it was used to refer

to the distant lands beyond the sea, unknown

regions in the world. The location of this prophecy

was in Israel. So the mention of these distant

lands meant countries across the Mediterranean

and the oceans, the continent of Africa, the

lands of Asia, of India, China, the 17 ,000 islands

of Indonesia, or Malaysia, Japan, Korea, Thailand,

Mongolia, and Siberia, or across the Atlantic

Ocean to the North, Central, and South Americas,

over the South Pacific to Australia. and New

Zealand, and all other far -flung places. The

whole context of verse 1 is to the people who

are afar off, these distant lands, pagans, peoples

and tribes who do not know God and are steeped

in idolatry and darkness, some in cannibalism

or child sacrifice, those who have not received

the revelation of the truth. Of the word of God.

Jesus goes on then. In verse 2. I'm sorry this

is still in verse 1. To say that he is. The chosen

one. The called one. The one called from the

womb. In the matrix of his mother. His name as

Isaiah prophesied. In chapter 8 and 9. Is Emmanuel.

God with us. And he speaks. In this word. Revealed

by Isaiah. The word that he brings in verse 2

will go out to the far off nations. That word

is described as a sharp sword going out of his

mouth. We read that again in the book of Revelation

and other places. He is an arrow and a polished

shaft piercing the darkness around. But then

in verse 4. Jesus speaks of the abandonment that

would come in the days of living in Israel as

a man. And he says, I have labored in vain, spent

my strength for nothing and in vain. And sure

enough, many depart from Jesus during his life

on earth. And he ends up standing alone under

trial, accused before all men, with no one standing

by him to defend him. He stands before Pontius

Pilate and he attests that he is the king of

the Jews. But where is his entourage? Where is

his kingdom? He stands there alone. Where are

those who surround him and who will stand by

him in order to defend him? They have all run

away, one of them even denying that he ever knew

him. And yet Jesus places trust in the Father

for he continues in verse 4 saying, Then 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 is and my work with

my God. But then the Lord God Almighty... The

Lord Jehovah answers him and says in chapter

6, indeed 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. What God is saying there to the son is

saying, Israel is not enough. The people gathered

here, they're not enough. Then he says, I will...

also give you as a light to the gentiles that

you shall be my salvation to the ends of the

earth not only will jesus be glorified in israel

but he will be a light to the gentiles a light

to the nations and he will bring salvation to

the very ends of the earth to the very far off

places of the world including the southernmost

tip Of New Zealand. Which is about the very furthest.

Any land point is. From Jerusalem. There. The

gospel will come. And Jesus will be known. There's

actually a marker there. And what will happen

to the one. Who is despised and rejected of men.

Who was nailed. To the cruel cross. The Lord

Jehovah continues. In verses 8 to 13 saying.

Thus says the Lord. In an acceptable time, I

have heard you. And the day of salvation, I have

helped you. And he goes on to describe what all

is going to come to Jesus. And we're going to

consider just for a moment what all Jehovah says

to the son in verses 8 to 13, but in outline

form. What will he do? He will give him for a

covenant to the people, all of the people. This

covenant is not just to the Jews, but it is for

all the people and nations of the earth. Remember

that Malachi said he is the messenger of the

covenant. And here Isaiah says, quoting God,

God speaking to the son, that he would give him

for a covenant to the people. He would then also

restore the earth. He will restore the earth.

And this, of course, is through the power of

the gospel. He will cause them to inhabit the

desolate places, the places that are a wilderness

that seem to be abandoned. He will inherit. Furthermore,

he will set the prisoner free. He will bring

light to the darkness and he will shepherd them.

He will have mercy on them and lead them to green

pastures. He says that he will make each of his

mountains a highway. This is called a highway

of holiness in Isaiah chapter 35 verse 8. It

Isaiah 35:8

will be throughout the world a place where all

the peoples will know him and the word of God

goes forth throughout the world bringing this

holiness, delivering people from sin and renewing

and restoring them in a right relationship with

God. This highway of holiness extends everywhere.

And so what happens because of this? Everything

breaks forth into singing. Verse 13. Sing, O

heavens, be joyful, O earth, and break out in

singing, O mountains, for the Lord has comforted

his people and will have mercy on the afflicted.

But note well, this does not only go to the people

on the bottom of the langur, to those languishing

in darkness, to those who are downtrodden by

all or pressed. It is also prophesied, it is

prophesied to them. It is prophesied to the common

man, but it does not stop there. It extends to

those who rule, to those who are kings and princes

and notables. This is specifically prophesied

in three verses in this chapter. First in chapter,

in verse 7, Thus 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

shall worship, because of the Lord who is faithful,

the Holy One of Israel. And then again in verse

22 and verse 23, thus says the Lord, I will lift

up my hand in an oath to the nations and set

my standards for the peoples. They shall bring

your sons in their arms and your daughters shall

be carried on their shoulders. Kings shall be

your foster fathers and their queens your nursing

mothers. They shall bow down to you with their

faces to the earth and lick up the dust. Then

you will know that I am the Lord, for they shall

not be ashamed to wait for me. What this is prophesying

is that as the Spirit and the Word of God and

the presence of Christ is diffused among the

nations, that kings and rulers will go from being

tyrants and from crushing their subjects with

cruelty. And instead, they will become foster

fathers and queens, nursing mothers, that is,

supporters of the faith, protectors of the church,

bringing blessings to their people rather than

cursing. These rulers and leaders will learn

of God and of his law, and they will understand

how to reward and protect and promote the good,

and they will punish the wicked so that the righteous

can flourish. Remember the passages in Proverbs

Proverbs 28:5

28, verse 5. Evil men do not understand justice,

but those who seek the Lord understand all. And

again in chapter 29, verse 2. When the righteous

are in authority, the people rejoice. But when

a wicked man rules, the people groan. These rulers

will not be ashamed to confess Christ openly

and will seek to rule, to guide, and to govern

according to his word. Now, as an aside, the

address of Paul to the Romans in chapter 13 about

civil government must be understood in this light.

In this light. This is what rulers are called

to. Romans 13 is not simply describing what is

there. For many rulers in his day were terrors

to the righteous and were rewarders of the wicked.

But it is prescriptive. It sets forth a standard

describing what ought to be. That rulers are

number one. They are servants of God. And they

know what evil is and they punish it. And they

know what good is and they praise it. Adam Clark

sums up this passage with these words. Jesus

here is introduced in person in Isaiah 49, declaring

the full extent of his commission, which is not

only to restore the Israelites and reconcile

them to their Lord and Father, from whom they

had so often revolted, but to be a light to the

Gentiles, to call them to the knowledge and obedience

of the one true God. and to bring them to be

one church together with the Israelites, and

to partake with them of the same common salvation

procured for all by the great Redeemer and reconciler

of man to God. This is what Isaiah 49 is talking

about. Now there are many other passages in the

Old Testament that I could turn to. It's quite

a number of prophets and prophecies who speak

about this very thing. But I'll give you just

a few more. The theme of the earth being filled

with the glory of the Lord and the worship of

God is in many places. Habakkuk 2 verse 14. For

Habakkuk 2:14

the earth will be filled with the knowledge of

the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the

sea. Psalm 22 verse 27 to 31. all the ends of

Psalms 22:27–31

the earth all the ends of the world shall remember

and turn to the Lord and all the families of

the nations shall worship before you for the

kingdom is the Lord's and he rules over the nations

all the prosperous of the earth shall eat and

worship All those who go down to the dust shall

bow before him, even he who cannot keep himself

alive. A posterity shall serve him. It will be

recounted of the Lord to the next generation.

They will come and declare his righteousness

to a people who will be born that he has done

this. Then there's Psalm 72, verse 10 and 11.

Psalms 72:10

The kings of Tarshish and of the Isles. There's

the word Isles again, or the nations. They will

bring presents. The kings of Sheba and Seba will

offer gifts. Yes, all kings shall fall down before

him. All nations shall serve him. Then there's

Isaiah again in chapter 11, verse 9 and 10. They

shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain.

For the earth shall be full of the knowledge

of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. For

the Gentiles shall seek him and his resting place

shall be more glorious. There are many, many

more. There's Isaiah chapter 60, which we read

Isaiah 60 · chapter mention

this morning. There's prophecies in Joel, in

Ezekiel, in Daniel. But this will suffice. And

we'll move on to the fulfillment, number two,

the fulfillment in the Apostles' Day. Now this

is just prior to the Apostles' Day, but in the

time of Jesus, we just see the Magi, recorded

in Matthew 2, of whom I have already spoken.

But notice again, the great joy that these...

that these notable people had, they come with

exceeding great joy. When they saw the star and

it led them to the house, the scripture says

they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. How many

more superlatives can you put in there? It is

such an abounding joy that they had in finding

the Christ child. We also know that the gospel

penetrated to Caesar's household during Paul's

first imprisonment in Rome. For Paul says in

Philippians chapter 4 verse 22, All the saints

Philippians 4:22

greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar's

household. Now keep in mind, Jesus spoke about

the seed of a mustard seed and then it growing

to be a tree that fills the whole earth. But

remember that the seed was very small. How many

were in the upper room? There was 120 in the

upper room. They were gathered together. And

from that then, several thousands were converted

to Christ in the next few days or weeks. And

then we see this growing, but this was very,

very small. When you look at the immensity of

the population of the world, one would think,

what difference is this going to make? How can

this ever affect? How can this go to the ends

of the earth? This is so small. And yet, it did.

And we see the seeds starting to sprout in the

book of Acts. When Paul wrote the book of Romans,

he was residing in Corinth. And at the end of

Romans, he sends greetings from one Erastus.

Now, Erastus is an interesting person, except

we hardly know anything, except that he was the

treasurer of the city of Corinth. So he was a

notable person in Corinth at that time. And he

came to know Christ. We also see an example of

this as the goal of Paul in his conversations

with Felix. and also with King Agrippa in the

book of Acts. What does he do? He reasons with

them of righteousness and judgment, and they

tremble before him with King Agrippa saying,

almost you persuade me to be a Christian. Paul

there is going after him. He is preaching the

word of God to him. He's pleading with him to

come and to know Christ and to bow before him.

And it's like Agrippa is on the verge, but he

just doesn't go that far. He doesn't make it.

By the end of the first century, the gospel to

the Gentiles had spread with the aid of the well

-built Roman roads to Syria, to Asia Minor, which

is modern -day Turkey, to Greece and the Balkans,

to Italy, to Egypt, to Ethiopia, and possibly

other parts of North Africa and Armenia. Most

of these are mentioned in the New Testament,

and at the end of the book of Romans, Paul was

planning to journey to Spain, which he most likely

did after his first imprisonment in Rome, and

possibly even going to Britain, although the

actual journey is not mentioned in the Bible

other than Paul's illusion in his desire to go

to Spain. But there's some history that would

indicate that he actually did. The letters to

the church breathe the very spirit of expansion

to the world. And of the word sounding forth

with letters to the scattered Jewish and Gentile

Christians. Such as the introduction of 1 Peter.

And then the great multitude spoken of in the

book of Revelation. The Apostle Thomas is said

by early historians such as Eusebius to have

traveled all the way to India and planted a church

there by 52 AD. There's also the possibility

of Andrew to Greece, of Bartholomew to Armenia

or northwest India, of Matthew to East Africa,

to Simon the Zealot, to possibly either Britain

or Persia. It's not clear. Throughout the New

Testament, Psalm 2 and Psalm 110 are alluded

to and quoted, and most importantly, they are

emphasized that they will be fulfilled. What

do these two psalms prophesy? That the nations

belong to Christ, that his enemies will be conquered,

because the nations are his possession. In the

high priestly prayer of John 17, Jesus prays

for all those who will believe in him through

the word of the apostles, praying that all would

be one in us, that is in the triune Godhead,

so that the world may believe that Jesus was

sent by the Father. In Acts, in 1 Corinthians

15, in Ephesians, in Colossians, in Philippians,

in Hebrews several times, and in the book of

Revelation, Jesus is proclaimed as the king who

is seated at the right hand of God and that he

is the head of all principalities and powers

and that he will reign until his enemies become

his footstool or bow to him. Remember what I

taught in the Kingdom series when preaching on

the destruction of Jerusalem. I said that the

New Testament, in order to understand the New

Testament well, we need to understand two things.

It is weighed down with foreboding and it is

buoyed. with hope it is foreboding at the soon

coming tribulation and destruction of the apostate

old covenant jewish order in the destruction

of the temple and the city of jerusalem which

happened in ad 68 to 70 but it is also filled

with the hope that has come through the full

scale inauguration of the multinational multi

-ethnic victorious global church of Jesus Christ.

And as the gospel spreads, light dawns and joy

abounds. Finally, let's go to the end of the

Bible, to Revelation chapter 21. What do we see

Revelation 21 · chapter mention

entering this great city, the holy Jerusalem,

descending out of heaven from God? Verse 24 through

26 of Revelation 21. Hear these words. And the

nations of those who are saved will walk in its

light. And the kings of the earth bring their

glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not

be shut at all by day. There shall be no night

there. And they shall bring the glory and the

honor of the nations into it. Saved nations,

kings of the earth, the glory and honor of nations.

What a cause. for great joy as we see this portrayed

in Revelation chapter 21. Well, I'll consider

Revelation 21 · chapter mention

very briefly just the fulfillment historically.

What can I say? This is astounding in many ways.

And unfortunately, because of our lack of historical

knowledge, we know so little about this, about

the great deeds of Christendom. There are some

amazing and wonderful stories. George Grant is

a great historian. I encourage you to look up

some of his writings or listen to some of his

speeches recounting some of these. Wordmp3 .com

is a good place. There's a number of others,

and I can give you additional links. where he

speaks about Scotland and he speaks about some

of the early days. He speaks about people I never

heard of before. It's like, where have I been?

Why have I not learned some of these in history?

But I'll just touch on a few. I will say the

medieval time period understood this much more

than we do today about kings bowing to Christ.

I believe that we will recover this, but especially

before the rise of secular humanism, this was

done. Again, albeit imperfectly. From Constantine

the Great, who ended persecution, he ended the

practice of sacrifice to the gods in order to

be a civil servant and ruler, and he started

protecting the church. He had many flaws, but

he also did some great things for the church.

And there's also King Alfred, who established

a law code for England from the Bible in the

800s and was a very faithful king. Ben Merkle

wrote an excellent book, White Horse King. Excellent

history of King Alfred in the 800s and what he

did in England. There was King Gustavus Adolphus

the Great, who was a Christian king and commander

from Sweden in the early 1600s. He was called

the Lion from the North, and he greatly aided

and defended the Protestants during that time

period. as well as some of our own presidents

loved the Lord Jesus and bowed before him. I

would include in them, and this is not comprehensive,

George Washington, John Quincy Adams, Teddy Roosevelt,

and James Garfield. I also see a recovery coming

in our own nation. In fact, I believe that not

only in our nation, but throughout the world.

I read a headline recently that even China could

possibly be 15 to 20 years from great upheaval

and from Christianity really taking hold there

and then becoming a Christian nation. Just think

of that. There are millions and millions of Christians

there. Communism is going to come to an end in

that country. There are many others. I do not

have time to go into greater detail on this,

but I just give you enough to whet your appetite

to go after and to learn of these things. So

let's close and let's look then at a few applications

from this great truth. First of all, joy to the

world. The Lord has come. Let us rejoice. Christmas.

The incarnation, the celebration of the birth

of Christ is the hinge pin of history. The birth

of Christ is the hinge pin of history. Notice

that, what does our calendar date itself to?

I mean, it's off by a couple years now, but it

was to his birth, to the birth of Christ. Without

Christmas, without the incarnation, there is

not the death of Christ. There is no atonement.

There is no resurrection. There is no ascension

to the Father and the sending forth of the Holy

Spirit. At God's right hand are pleasures forevermore,

and we need to live like it. We are not sour

-faced prunes or dried -up pips, but should be

well -nourished, flourishing, and overflowing

with cheer and goodwill, for our God has prepared

for us a feast, a feast of joy and delight, Has

come. And the spirit of God. Has come. And Christ

is seated. At the right hand of the father. He

is ruling the nations. He will bring down the

evil ones. And destroy them. And he will raise

up the righteous. And he will reign. Until his

enemies bow before him. Psalm 16. Verse 11. 9

says, Therefore my heart is glad and my glory

rejoices. My flesh also will rest in hope. And

again in verse 11, You will show me the path

of life. In your presence is fullness of joy.

At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Brothers and sisters, it's my desire that this

church would be known for its joy, for its cheer,

for its goodwill, for its delight in the things

of God. And that that joy would splash over to

our community, to those around us, to our friends

and our neighbors. If you want to read more about

this, I encourage you to read or listen to Doug

Wilson's book, God Rescue Mary, Why Christmas

is the Foundation for Everything. We look at

this joy. We look at the prophecy about the kings

and the desire and the vision for God to do great

things, bringing the nations to himself. And

we think about it over the last century. What

happened? Where did that joy go? Why was so much

of it lost? Our own Civil War and the World War

I did much to set back the understanding that

I'm teaching here. With the rise of a dispensational

theology, the removal of the understanding of

Jesus as King now, the church, not everywhere,

but in many places in the U .S. and in Britain

and in other places, it fell into miasma of pessimism.

It's like, oh, all is lost. I forget to put the

quote from Spurgeon here, so I'm not going to

give this exactly, but he said one time, the

end of all things is at hand and there's to be

no prosperity, there's to be no reign of Christ

and there's to be no joy on the earth if you

listen to what some of our brethren say. And

then he goes on to expound further on the great

joy of the lands of the earth coming to know

Christ. What happened? Well, As we are sometimes

prone to do, we start interpreting the Bible

through current events instead of interpreting

current events through the Bible. We interpret

the Bible through current events. We see what's

happening around us, and then we go and say,

well, that's what this is speaking of here, and

so this is all we can expect. Now, it is true

that there is persecution. There still is persecution.

We have begun a habit here of praying for the

persecuted church. And I'm giving you more information

as we pray for these countries. Persecution is

a reality. We know that. And that is something

that Jesus even tells us to rejoice. But the

persecuted church is looking forward to the glorious

church. Because sometimes, Triumph comes through

great pain and difficulty. And so do not think

that because there is persecution that all of

these wonderful passages of scripture do not

mean anything anymore. That is not the case.

We must understand that it is through great trial

and persecution that the kingdom advances. And

obviously that is under the lordship of Christ

as well. One of the things that we can pray for

is that of lesser magistrates who will stand

up and protect the people that are in their care

and protect them against the tyrant. There's

a whole doctrine and theology of that. I don't

have time to get into it all today. I do need

to do that. But the doctrine of the lesser magistrate

protecting those who are under him against the

tyranny of the greater magistrate. This is really

what happened in the whole Declaration of Independence

of our own country and many other places. There's

books written about it, some excellent ones,

but I'm just going to mention it here. The great

works of God will not come about through legislation

or education, although both are important. This

great work of God in the world comes by the Spirit

of God renewing the face of the earth. By the

work of Christ redeeming and calling to himself

a people from every nation, every tribe, and

every family. And through a transformed people,

they do good works. They meet together for worship.

And Christ builds his church. And the gates of

hell will not stand against the onslaught. of

Christ and of his kingdom. We think, when we

think of that passage, we often think of the

gates of hell coming out against us. But no,

the gates of hell are defensive. And what Jesus

is saying to Peter and to the apostles in that

passage is that the gates of hell won't stand.

They should not stand against Christ's church.

They will be torn down. The rise of secular humanism,

as we have seen in our own country, is a temporary

setback. It too will self -destruct. The curse

of abortion will come to an end and children

will be loved and valued. The nations who do

not serve God will perish and God will raise

up a people and nations in their stead wherein

the true worship of God will abound. Just a couple

more closing thoughts, applications. As we consider

our own political involvement here in our own

country, we seek to do that which is best. And

obviously, some of the candidates that we might

choose... to rule over us are not necessarily

the best, but they're better than others. And

sometimes we have to make decisions about that

as to what is in the best interest for us at

this time, even though this particular candidate

may not be ideal in all respects. But I will

say this, a biblical political theory does not

just seek to conserve, but it rather seeks to

be obedient to Christ in our practice and to

choose. Rulers and magistrates who will humbly

fulfill their duties while bowing and acknowledging

Jesus as Lord. That is what we desire. Conservative

values are not enough. They need to kiss the

sun in light of Christ's authority. Hear the

instructions of Psalm 2 verse 10 to 12. Now therefore

Psalms 2:10–12

be wise. O kings, be instructed, you judges of

the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice

with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry

and you perish in the way when his wrath is kindled

but a little. Blessed are all those who put their

trust in him. Perhaps God will raise up out of

this congregation someday some judges or senators

or representatives, Or maybe even a governor.

We don't know what the future holds. But what

we want to do though. Is to lay the foundation.

For good governance. For good ability. But of

confession of Christ. And of bowing before him

as Lord. In submission. The outworking of these

prophecies. Are yet. to be completely fulfilled.

The work of Jesus conquering the nations until

all submit will likely take a very long time.

We could be yet in just in the infant stage of

the church with thousands of years to come. We

do not know this, but we must seek to build lasting

things. Let us build for many generations. Lay

the foundations now for many years to come of

which I will preach next day, Lord willing, in

the first Sunday of the year. Let's pray.