Systematic Theology – Eschatology

Eschatology and Man’s Kingly Office

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Systematic Theology

Genre: Speech

Lesson: 30 of 32

Track: #30

Year:

Dictation Name: 30 Eschatology and Man’s Kingly Office.

[Rushdoony] Let us begin with prayer.

Oh Lord our God unto whom all honor, power, and authority belong, we come to Thee to beseech Thee oh Lord to strike down those who would seize Thy kingdom, who seek to control Thy church, Thy children, Thy realm. Grant oh Lord that a mighty victory may be attained in the days ahead against the powers of humanistic statism. Grant oh Lord that we make of this nation, and of the kingdoms of the earth Thy kingdom and Thy people. Bless us oh Lord in Thy service, and make us faithful soldiers in the wars of Thy kingdom. In Christ’s name we pray, amen.

Our scripture is from I Corinthians 15 verses 24-28 and our subject Eschatology and Man’s Kingly Office. I Corinthians 15 verse 24-28

“24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.

28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.”

As we saw last week in Revelation one verse six, the title of king is applied to the Christian. Now this, as we saw, is an amazing and a bold statement. Not even the Caesars of Rome dared assume the title of king. Rome had become a Republic out of the background of kingly rule, and there was jealous suspicion of monarchy. As a result for anyone to claim the title of king, or to have that title ascribed to him, was a very serious matter, it invited the death penalty and of course the charge against our Lord, in fact the inscription on the cross, declared that He was king of the Jews.

Now for Christians to speak of themselves as priest, prophet and king, was an audacious fact. It meant that they were claiming a title that placed them under the penalty of death. Rome did not find it necessary to charge them with kingship and to prove that fact because their mere refusal to confess that Caesar is Lord was enough. They were denying the imperial power of Caesar. They and their church were seen by Rome as a separate empire, and hence war was waged against them.

Now our concern this morning is with this questions “is our kingly vocation for time only, or for time and eternity?” Do Christians reign as kings eternally, or are they in the world to come simply harp players? The verses that we read sometimes are used to indicate that the end of history is the end of Christ’s kingship, and thus of man’s also. We are told by more than a few that when the last enemy that is destroyed, death, occurs then Christ also Himself shall be subject unto Him and shall deliver the kingdom up to the Father and thereby bow out of the scene forever. In other words that in eternity Christ is no longer king, and therefore we who are now kings, priests, and prophets in Christ will not be kings eternally. Now it is this misinterpretation of the passage here, and some other passages as well, that has led to the static conception of heaven and the new creation. It has led people to wonder “well what do we do for all eternity, besides playing harps?”

Now, it is important therefore to consider this questions, because if Christ’s kingship comes to an end then ours does also, but if Christ does not, then neither does ours. Christ as the last Adam came to accomplish what the first Adam failed to do, to exercise dominion and to subdue the earth; to bring everything into the kingdom of God. The task is accomplished by Christ only when all His enemies, save death itself, are under His feet. Let us remember, there is no limit to be placed on the term “all things”, it is a total victory and therefore we must say that when the end of the world comes Christ will have triumphed totally without any reservation, any restriction, any limitation on that victory. The subjection of the Son then is not as the second person of the trinity, but as the incarnate God/man. The text does not say that the Son will surrender His kingship nor bring His kingdom to an end. Rather when all is done, when all is accomplished, when this world shall be completely under Christ and then death itself shall be destroyed we are told “then shall the Son also be subject unto Him.”

There are two emphasis then here in this passage. First, when all things are under Christ, the kingdom delivered to the Father, death shall be destroyed; and second, the Son shall also be subject to God the Father. But here we need to consider very closely what that means. The end of the world with the second coming and the last judgment, the Son becomes subject to the Father. Does that mean that Jesus Christ is not now subject ot the Father? It would be blasphemy to say so. Does it mean that now Jesus Christ is only rendering partial service to the Father? That again is blasphemy. I, because I am not perfectly sanctified, am not totally subject to the Father. All of us, though we are believers, cannot now yield that perfect subjection which comes with perfect sanctification. But we cannot say this of Christ. And yet we are very plainly told that “then the Son also Himself shall be subject unto Him that put all things under Him.”

What kind of subjection is this that Paul speaks of? The subjection of Christ which is still lacking, which is still to come, is covenantal. Christ is the head of the new humanity. He is the last Adam until everyone is in Christ and totally subject to Christ; Christ’s subjection to the Father is not complete. The point Paul makes here is that he contrasts the two Adam’s. There is a radical rebellion under the old Adam, and all who are under the old Adam are reprobate. Christ comes and creates a new humanity, and only at the end when all are in Him and perfectly sanctified is there the full subjection of the last Adam to the Father. This does not mean then that Christ surrenders the Kingship, but He enters into the totality of His Kingship; so that the new creation does not see the end of Christ’s royal power, but its fullness. So, because now mankind is still far from subject to God, the same is true of Christ and of the church. The subjection will be total when the sanctification is total. And thus now we must work to bring about that total subjection of the second humanity, of the new humanity. All men must be brought into the kingdom. All the world must be made Christ in every aspect, every area of culture, of the arts, of the sciences, must be brought into captivity to Christ.

Berkhof in commenting on this passage said, and I quote: “And this kingdom of Christ will last until the victory over the enemies is complete and even death has been abolished. At the consummation of all things the God-man will give up the authority conferred on Him for a special purpose since it will no more be needed. He will return His commission to God, that God may be all in all. The purpose is accomplished, mankind is redeemed, and thereby the original kingship of man is restored.” Now Berkhof makes a good point, but there’s a contradiction there because he says man is restored into the original kingship, in terms of which Adam was created, but Christ ends His kingship. But how can Christ as the eternal head of the new humanity lose His kingship precisely when all men find theirs in its fullness? Genesis 1:26-28 declares that man was created to exercise dominion and to subdue the earth. What Paul means here is that when Christ and all who are within Christ accomplish their task, when all things are subdued to the Father, then the Son and all who are in Him are truly and fully subject unto Him, and Christ unto the Father.

Let’s illustrate this in a very simple manner. If I am subject to Christ, but my wife, and my children, and my work, are not subject to Christ then I am far from truly subdued and under Him. When I reach that total subjection, when I bring myself and my work and my family totally under Christ, I do not abdicate my place under God. I do not abdicate the headship that is mine, I realize it more fully. So too Christ’s presents the kingdom to the Father and is then totally subject to Him as the head of the new humanity, His kingship is total because His rule over us is total. Thus Paul speaks not of the end of kingship, but it’s fullness.

Moreover, when we look at Revelation 22 verse 1, which gives us the vision of the new creation, we see there the enthronement of Christ; not His abdication. So that we are told very clearly that God the Father and the Lamb of God are enthroned in the new creation. But this is not all. We see the royal estate of man set forth in Revelation four verse ten and eleven, as well as verse four.

Thus Revelation 4:4 “And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.”

And then in verses 10 and 11: “10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

The word “seats” in verse four means thrones, the four and twenty elders are enthroned. The term elder means a ruler, the twenty four elders stand for the fullness of the saints of the Old Testament, the twelve tribes of Israel, and the fullness of the believers, the saints of the New Testament – the twelve apostles. So here we see before the throne other thrones, all the people of God enthroned as rulers, elders, symbolically in the four and twenty elders. Moreover the epitome of their rule is casting down their crowns before the throne of God. What does this symbolize? There recognition that all their authority, all their kingly power comes from the throne of God so that they rule in Him; and the more we cast our crowns before Him, the more we subject ourselves totally to God the Father, to the triune God, the more we then sit enthroned before Him.

Thus we do not have a picture in Revelation as Christ as abdicating, nor of believers losing their kingly office, but rather as gaining it in all its fullness. As a matter of fact this is what the whole of Revelation is about. Revelation begins with the fact that the world is in the hands of the fallen Adam and his humanity. Then there is a war to disposes them, the scroll is opened by the Lamb, the Son of God, the scroll was a last will and testament. It declared that the kingdom belonged to Christ and to His humanity. And so when the Lamb appears, He alone can open the scroll, He is the heir. And then He proceeds to wage war against the false heirs who have taken over the realm, who have taken over the earth, and claim it falsely, and so they are to be disposed and you have, as in the seven judgments upon Egypt which struck Egypt alone, the first three struck Goshen and Egypt alike. You have the seven bowls, the seven judgments in various forms dispossessing the ungodly, ousting them from their power and authority over the earth; so that the kingdoms of this world might become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and then with the end the fullness of their reign throughout all eternity. What happens is that the dominion of conquest gives way to the dominion of peaceful reign. So that our royal office and Christ’s royal office in the world to come is the dominion of peaceful reign and His servants shall serve Him, and there shall be no more curse.

Now very obviously the implications of this are beyond us. It’s very difficult for us since we are living in a fallen world, a world conditioned by sin and death to imagine an eternity without sin and death and without the problems that are a part of a world of sin and death. A world where we serve God joyfully and work and Sabbath are one and the same. A world where potentiality and actuality are one and the same, a world in which we rule and there are unlimited and total possibilities for our rule under God. The implications are beyond us, but we cannot neglect them. They are plainly set forth in scripture and we have to recognize that man’s kingly office is for all eternity.

In the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 verse 14-21 our Lord very plainly teaches us that the exercise of dominion here, in this world, is a preparation for dominion in the world to come so that he that takes his talents and develops them properly is told “be thou ruler over ten cities, well done thou good and faithful servant.” And the other is told “well done thou good and faithful servant, be thou ruler over five cities.” But those who do not develop their talents at all, and the Lord is here judging those within the kingdom, those who are of the church are told that they are to be cast into the outer darkness because they have not used their talents. They have, as our Lord says, failed to exercise that he reaps where He has not sown. “For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance. But from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath and cast ye, the unprofitable servant, into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

One man whom I often like to refer to and one of his prize statements I cherish greatly, is general William Booth, the founder of The Salvation Army. A very remarkable man whose book In Darkest England and the Way Out is a Christian classic. General Booth was a great Christian Reconstructionist. On one occasion he said of church members that “it appeared that being saved nowadays was a process whereby the moment you were converted you were mummified so that you would sit from that day on in the church and do nothing.” “And so” he says, “the church is full of Christian mummies who are absolutely worthless to God and the kingdom, all they do is to occupy a pew.” Well I think he stated it all to accurately. The ostensible salvation of these mummies was to do nothing, was to be mummified for life and isolated from the world and its problems. But we have not been called to be mummy Christians, but to be kings unto Christ and in Christ, and no-one who is a mummy Christian today, the term is a contradiction, a mummy church member, can expect to be a king in eternity, a member of the new creation, serving God and exercising dominion in His name. We are called, our Lord makes clear on the parable of the talents, to exercise dominion now in order to exercise it in Him and with Him eternally. Let us pray.

Our Lord and our God we come to Thee beseeching Thee to de-mummify Thy church. Raise up the dead that sit in the pews, make them a new creation and send them forth as kings, priests, and prophets in Jesus Christ, to exercise dominion, to occupy all things in Thy name, to the end that the kingdoms of this world might become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. Grant us this we beseech Thee, in Jesus name, amen.

Are there any questions now with respect to our lesson?

Yes?

[Audience member] Have you read The Structure of Biblical Authority by Kline?

[Rushdoony] Yes.

[Audience member] What is your opinion of the book?

[Rushdoony] Meredith Kline is really a dispensationalist. He’s a brilliant scholar in his research but when he comes to applying it what He says is that the Old Testament and that there is really nothing in the New Testament but a kind of a vague requirement to go out and save people and love people. He speaks of a interim ethics. What he does is to castrate the faith and to say that salvation is just salvation and after that there is no program for action. As a result he has been very instrumental in leading people into symbolic theology whereby you convert the scripture into a kind of coded book of all kinds of esoteric symbols. He is doing a great deal of writing now which takes the Bible and finds all kinds of new meanings in it by reading it symbolically. Kline is doing a great deal of damage to the church I believe.

[Audience member] I was just wondering because I just finished reading that book and the majority of the book I didn’t particularly care for, but he draws an awful lot of, he seems to draw a lot of parallels and conclusions which are contradictions of his own position. I don’t know how he got published that way. I know you mentioned some of deliverance out of Egypt and what have you in Exodus and elsewhere, and he says that one of the statements that he makes in his book is that there’s a great deal of parallel between the Exodus and the book of Revelation in terms of its covenant treaty form. But then he never carries that to its logical conclusion and he goes off on a tangent somewhere. I just was trying to find out if there was anybody else that was as confused by his work as I was.

[Rushdoony] I think everyone is because Kline in dealing with the Old Testament should be a thorough going Reconstructionist, a thorough going theonomist. But it’s precisely that he throws out vehemently because somehow with the New Testament everything in the old ended, and all that remains is an interesting thing to point out literary parallels between old and new, how the symbolism has been taken over, but no content. It’s a very exasperating thing to read Kline because it’s so impotent, and impotent scholarship is an anathema to Christ I believe.

[Audience member] There’s a lot of things that he says in his eschatological perspective that are very interesting in terms, if they were just taken out of context and put in some other system of thought, that I had never heard anyone else say before, but it’s beyond me, I imagine there’s probably a very good reason for it. How in the world the man can make some of the statements he makes and keep his sanity, I don’t understand it at all.

[Rushdoony] Well join the crowd. [Laughter]

Any other questions?

Yes?

[Audience member] Do you feel that our work, our dominion, in glory will parallel much the same as what where involved in earth, that our talents on earth are given to us also is the talents we’ll be using in glory?

[Rushdoony] I would imagine that is so. The Lord has made us each with a purpose and He wants us to realize those abilities we’ve given in terms of His calling. And I do believe that we will very much continue in the world to come, because the parable of the talents say “be thou rulers over ten cities, you’ve exercised rightful dominion here, therefore continue in terms of this.” So there is some kind of correlation between what we do here and now, and what will do in the world to come. Now we will realize aspects that perhaps we have barely begun to touch here, but it will be a community and in a community people have differing abilities, so they make each their own contribution.

Yes?

[Audience member] Does scripture indicate any particular purpose for even our existence in a new creation?

[Rushdoony] I couldn’t quite here you.

[Audience member] Does scripture indicate even a purpose for our existence in a new creation that might be somewhat different in our purpose now, as in conquest.

[Rushdoony] We are simply told that we are to serve Him, which is our purpose here.

[Audience member] So it doesn’t change in other words?

[Rushdoony] it doesn’t change and the Lord God will tell us how to serve Him

Yes?

[Audience member] One problem that I see with this is that some people due to their circumstances have more opportunity than others do. How’s that taken into account in the matter of service here on earth?

[Rushdoony] Yes we can develop within a very limited sphere of opportunity a great sense of responsibility. I think one of the Christian classics is brother Lawrence and his life. What he made of being simply a kitchen helper in a monastery. Now very obviously he exalted that task to remarkable dimensions. Therefore out of little much can come. Some people indeed have very limited opportunities in this world, but God knows what they’ve done with it, and what their potentiality is, and will enable it to realize it in the world to come.

Yes?

[Audience member] So based upon that it would seem that attitude has everything to do with how we are viewed by God.

[Rushdoony] Yes, well God knows us better than we know ourselves. I encountered some years ago in a southern city a girl and a family, she was a young woman and she was retarded, but she was a Christian and there was a radiance about her, and she could bring her younger brother’s university classmate to tears by her simple witness, and she knew she wasn’t bright and she wasn’t all right, but there was a radiance about her. Now I don’t know what the Lord will make of her in the world to come, but very obviously it will be something remarkable because by her faith there was a dedication and devotion there that was amazing. As I recall this was in the Atlanta area.

Yes?

[Audience member] We definitely understand though that God creates with the exact talents, and puts us in the exact position, that He needs us in His kingdom both in this person and the world to come, correct?

[Rushdoony] Mm hmm.

[Audience member] So therefore no one really has limited opportunities, the opportunities are fit for the talents we have, would that not be a proper assumption?

[Rushdoony] Yes, and very often we are put in a position of problems and restraints because we’re not going to have an opportunity to shine here, but we’re being tried and tested and developed for the world to come. So we may not make much of a dent on the age, but we have developed in terms of those powers and possibilities God wanted developed.

To often we see the focal point of our live in terms of realization of ourselves in time, and on the public scene. But our real realization is in the world to come, and God may put us through a very long schooling here, and we may feel we never get out of school. We’re continually being tested, but that’s as God wills.

Well if there are no further questions or comments lets bow our heads now in prayer.

We praise Thee oh God for Thy grace, mercy, and peace. For the blessed assurance that is ours that Thou wilt never leave us, nor forsake us so that in the face of all things we may say “the Lord is my helper, I shall not fear what man may do unto me.” Bless us as we go forth to do Thy will. Give us a holy joy and confidence, that we may move in terms of Thy victory, grant us this we beseech Thee in Jesus name, amen.