The character Weston, in C.S. Lewis’ Out of the Silent Planet, is convinced that man can live somewhere in the universe for all eternity. He believes that man will...
“...march on, step by step, superseding, where necessary, the lower forms of life that we find, claiming planet after planet, system after system, till our posterity...dwell in the universe wherever the universe is habitable.”
A nice, yet arrogant, worldview for a science fiction novel, but it is not a biblical worldview. The universe, as we know it, is headed in a very specific direction.
Biblical Worldview
The Bible tells us that there will be a sudden, personal, visible, and bodily return of Jesus Christ (Matt. 24:44, 1Thes. 4:16). There will also be a final judgment when Jesus Christ judges the living and the dead (Rev. 20:11-15, Matt. 12:36). The universe as we know it will pass away and there will be a new heavens and new earth (Rev. 21:1, 2Pet. 3:13).
But the conviction I want to stress for our mission as a church is that the end of human history will result in the praise of God’s glory. One day in the future, every person who has every existed will acknowledge Christ’s lordship, whether willingly or unwillingly. From Philippians 2 we learn that...
...God has highly exalted him [Jesus] and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11
Even though the knees of non-Christians are not now bowing to Jesus, one day they will bow at the name of Jesus. They will acknowledge Him as Lord. They will confess with their mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord. And all of this will be to the praise of God’s glory. A similar picture is given to us in Revelation 5.
Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" and the elders fell down and worshiped. Revelation 5:11-14
This is an incomprehensible picture of the future praise of God’s glory. It is not just all of humanity that will acknowledge and sing the praise of God’s glory, but “every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea.” There will be no denying the absolute rule, and authority, and praise of the Lamb and the glory of God.
CrossWay exists as those who will one day sing, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" In the meantime, we exist to warn non-Christians of the future judgment and to proclaim to them the good news of God’s gracious provision of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
Related Posts:
Conviction 1 – The Glory of God
