A Glorious Inheritance (Ps. 2:8)

Sin is an underappreciated political reality. It distorts even the most noble political and cultural efforts. Civil powers are often so corrupt they degenerate into ferocious beasts (Dan. 7:1-8, Rev. 13).

Thankfully, for the sake of Christ’s church, God restrains the sins of men and nations. Yet, this gracious restraint is not absolute. God removed the restraining grace He had given to Pharaoh so that his heart might be hardened (see Ex. 9:16). He allowed Nebuchadnezzar to literally become like a beast (Dan. 4:28-33 ). The book of Proverbs reminds us, “the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord” (21:1).

Sin is not the only political reality. Man traded a garden paradise for a wilderness wasteland, but God did not allow sin to be the last word. In Jesus Christ, grace is restoring and perfecting nature. Wasteland will be restored to garden kingdom. Paradise lost is becoming paradise consummated.

Too often we limit the salvation found in Jesus Christ to a personal salvation from the “sinful” confines of our time, space, and body. This is not a biblical view of Christ’s redemptive work. Although Christ redeems individuals from sin and death, we must remember that salvation is not only individual but also cosmic. John declares, “God so loved the world [cosmos] that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

In other words, God’s purposes for His creation have not been overwhelmed by sin. To the contrary, God’s grace in Jesus Christ is overwhelming sin and fulfilling the original purposes of the creation.

An effect of this cosmic re-creation is that the nations are being restored to their proper function of glorifying God. The promise of the Father to the messianic Son in Psalm 2:8 was, “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.” Psalm 2 declares that the messianic King would be rewarded for His obedient service. The victorious Christ would inherit a royal rule universal in its application. The Apostle Paul put it this way: “And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church” (Eph. 1:22).

A Glorious Temptation (Matt. 4:8-9)

Jesus longed for His promised inheritance. Matthew 4:7-10 suggests the intensity of Jesus’ desire to receive His reward. It also shows Satan’s use of that desire as a means of temptation.

Matthew 4 recounts the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. The first Adam was tempted in a garden paradise. The second Adam was tempted in a wilderness wasteland. At the height of the temptation, Satan took Jesus to a “very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me’” (vv. 8-9).

What did Jesus see? Where does the temptation gain its power? Jesus did not behold kingdoms as they raged in their lust, hatred, warfare, poverty, persecution, and rebellion. Rather, He saw the nations and their glory. All that they possess that is worthy of praise, honor, and dignity is the glory of the worlds’ kingdoms. Included here are all of those cultural achievements through which man has glorified himself as a vice-gerent exercising dominion in the name of the eternal King.

Jesus saw the nations as they might have been if had not been for their rebellion. He saw what they would be when His messianic work had been consummated. Satan spoke into Jesus’ ear the same promise offered by the Father: “Ask of me and I will give you the nations as your inheritance,” but the satanic offer is a counterfeit! Quoting Deuteronomy 6:13, Jesus rebuked Satan, declaring, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.” Jesus would not precipitously embrace glory without the suffering of the cross. This is the way of the gospel.

A Vision of Glory (Rev. 21:22-27)

John’s Revelation provides the original to Satan’s counterfeit vision of the nations and their glory. In John’s vision of the consummation, the New Jerusalem, the glorified Church of Christ, is seen descending from heaven. It is a vision of a humanity renewed by grace. The biblical story that began in the garden of God ends in the consummated garden-city of the new heavens and earth. Creation’s purpose has been fulfilled. Heaven and earth have been united. God dwells with man through Jesus Christ. The pilgrim Church has arrived at its final destination.

Ever wonder what life in the new heavens and new earth will be like? Paul reminded us that, “no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor. 2:9). Still, we are not without insight. After all, our final destination is not to a place we have never been. It is to a place for which we have a deep love and an intimate knowledge. The very place where we have grown, lived, loved, raised our children, and buried our dead. Our final destination is not to a spiritual realm of disembodied cloud dwellers but to a resurrection life lived here in the creation re-created. Gone will be the sorrows. Gone will be the thorns and thistles. Gone will be the violence of the wasting sword and the dread of raging disease. We will be home, but our home will be as glorious as was the splendid resurrection body of our Lord Christ. Grace will have perfected nature, and its perfections will be unceasing.

Man was made for eternity, and every area of our life serves that glorious end. But, if made for eternity, how do your present lives connect with it? Will all of our earthly works and daily enjoyments simply pass away in the fires of judgment? Revelation 21:24-26 suggests an exciting answer:

“By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and honor of the nations.”

Here we find the promise of comforting continuity between the life of this age and the age to come. The kings of the earth are found bringing their glory and honor into the new creation. All that honored Christ as King and brought glory to the name of God will be found adorning the garden-city. Those kings who bowed their knee before Christ’s greater throne will be present, and their glory will adorn their nations who, far from losing their distinctiveness in a heavenly melting pot, will honor God in their ethnic, cultural, and social diversity. As amillennial theologian Cornelis Venema remarks, “According to this vision, the rich diversity of peoples, together with the works and accomplishments of those who have been among the leaders of nations, will contribute significantly to the glory and splendor of the new heaven and earth” (The Promise of the Future, p. 480).