Is There Hope For This World?
Or Are Things Bad And Going To Get Worse?
The last command Jesus gave His apostles before ascending into heaven was the Great Commision.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, “and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20
Did Jesus expect fulfillment of the Great Commission, or did He think it would be a failure?
Jesus fully expected the fulfillment the Great Commission.
Would things get better because of the discipling of the nations or would they still get worse? Is there a scriptural basis to justify this?
What do the Scriptures say?
Does “make disciples of all nations” mean to disciple a FEW AMONG each nation, or people group, or does it mean to disciple MANY of each nation?
What did Jesus mean?
I. JESUS SAID THE HARVEST IS PLENTIFUL
“Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.”
Matthew 9:37
“Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.””
John 4:35-38
The phrase “It’s still 4 months until the harvest means
- Human expectation: “It’s not time yet.”
- Jesus’ point: “The time is now.”
- “White fields” = spiritually ready people. In ancient Judea and Samaria, grain turns pale or “white” when fully ripe. Jesus used this image to say:
Don’t wait—people are ready to believe now.
John saw a multitude in Heaven that couldn’t be counted.
“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.”
Revelation 7:9
Was John seeing the multitude of all those already saved in the 1st century, or a vision of all people saved in all of time. Maybe Jesus was encouraging him with the present progress of the Gospel to encourage him as the church faced intense persecution
All the families of the nations will bow down before Him
“All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.”
Psalms 22:27-28
The Father promised Jesus the nations.
“Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.”
Psalms 2:8
Jesus said all authority HAD BEEN GIVEN to Him in heaven and earth.
Psalm 2 was cited by the apostles in the book of Acts, and had fulfillment in THEIR time.
The Father had begun making the nations the inheritance of Jesus and this process would INCREASE.
“I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father.”
Psalms 2:7
This was referring to the resurrection.
“We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: ‘You are my son; today I have become your father.’ God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As God has said, ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’”
Acts 13:32-34
The resurrection already happened. Psalm 2 is for today.
“The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”
Psalms 110:1
When does that happen?Is that process taking place now, or will that take place m AFTER Jesus comes. Now.
That BEGAN on the day of Pentecost.
The pouring out of the Holy Spirit was evidence of the reality of Psalm 110, that its fulfillment begins and continues now.
“Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’”
Acts 2:33-35
“Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ.”
1 Corinthians 15:24-27
That started on the day of Pentecost and would increase until it’s a complete reality when Jesus returns. It has ebbed and flowed due to the response of the church. The church needs to be revived and repent, turning to God like Joel 2
“‘Even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing— grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God.’”
Joel 2:12-14
“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.”
Joel 2:28-32
It wouldn’t be unfulfilled until Jesus returns when it becomes a complete reality.
Do you think the Father would refuse that petition from Jesus?
He will rule with total dominion.
“In his days may the righteous flourish and prosperity abound till the moon is no more. May he rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. May the desert tribes bow before him and his enemies lick the dust. May all kings bow down to him and all nations serve him.”
Psalms 72:7-9, “He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.”
Psalms 98:3
All nations are to praise Him.
“Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord.”
Psalms 117:1-2
Will the unsaved praise Him after He comes? No. This is before Jesus returns.
Salvation will reach to the ends of the earth.
“he says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.””
Isaiah 49:6
Nations will come to the light.
“Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”
Isaiah 60:3
The nations will come from the ends of the earth
“Lord, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in time of distress, to you the nations will come from the ends of the earth and say, “Our ancestors possessed nothing but false gods, worthless idols that did them no good.”
Jeremiah 16:19
Many nations will be joined to the LORD
“Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.”
Zechariah 2:11
All these verses present an abundant harvest.
II. WHAT WILL THE WORLD LOOK LIKE WITH AN ABUNDANT HARVEST?
With the discipling of the nations does Scripture justify things getting more evil or better?
I don’t see things getting worse in Scripture. I think we have been conditioned to think that.
People cite 2 Timothy 3:1-5 to say things will get worse.
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power.
Have nothing to do with such people.”
2 Timothy 3:1-5
Mentions the last days which were began in Jesus’ day. , not the 21 st century.
“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.”
Hebrews 1:1-2
Peter said the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the fulfillment of Joel 2, marked the last days.
“ In the last days, God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.’”
Acts 2:17
Paul told Timothy to have nothing to do with the people he described, showing they were contemporaries of Paul and Timothy, not people from the 21st century. This context is false teachers. Paul says that false teachers would go from bad to worse. There has always been false teachers. He wasn’t telling Timothy to avoid ALL people, just the false teachers he was describing. Paul saw an abundant harvest with the Gospel spreading throughout the Roman Empire. He established churches in the major cities. The Gospel increased in the time of the book of Acts.
Jesus expects us to be a preserving influence in the world. Salt and light.
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”
Matthew 5:13
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:14-16
The conclusion is that Jesus meant for the church to disciple the vast majority of the nations. He saw the harvest as plentiful. With a plentiful harvest of the nations, things would greatly improve, not get worse. This world is in disrepair, but we now have the hope of the Gospel. There will come a time with the coming of Jesus, when He brings final fulfillment of perfection in a new Heaven and new earth, where there will be an end to suffering. With the conflict of God’s kingdom and the kingdom of Satan, we see collateral damage from this spiritual war. Christians are persecuted, some believers get sick and die, and there is still suffering. Having said that we have the Hope of the Gospel of the kingdom, which is good news, because God has an answer for the ills of the world. We can see transformation of this world. There IS hope for the world!
III. How Does This Shape Your Hope & Belief?
We act upon what we truly believe.
If we believe things are going to keep getting worse we will be less willing to combat them. If we believe that discipling the nations will make things better, we will be more inclined to disciple the nations.
Action Points
Believe that the effect of the Gospel will transform the world.
Believe that we can turn the tide and reverse the progress of Satan’s influence in the world, and that we can win the culture war.
Revive your passion and love for God, and let it fill you with joy, and once again be diligent in sharing the Gospel.
Revive the gifts of the Spirit to edify the body of Christ.
“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”
2 Timothy 1:6
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”
1 Corinthians 12:7
Things will get better!
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”
1 Peter 1:3-5