The One True Fairytale--Isaiah Series

In recent years, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings trilogy have gained immense popularity after they were adapted into movies. These stories—which were each written by Christian men—touch on timeless themes such as good versus evil, the hope of a golden age in which good triumphs, and the promise of a chosen one who will lead the world into this golden age. I have to think that these stories have gained their popularity because their broad outlines tell the real story of mankind according to the Bible. In the Bible we read that mankind was created by God and placed into a paradise to rule over it with loving care, but we lost our position in this paradise after joining up with a rebellion against our Creator led by Satan. Ever since, mankind has been engaged in a struggle of good versus evil, with God giving us the promise that His Chosen One would come to defeat evil once and for all and lead mankind back into paradise and the honored position of rulership which we once held. Now if all of this sounds a bit like a fairytale, it’s because fairytales have freely borrowed from the storyline of the Bible for centuries. This storyline has been so captivating to us because it is true! C. S. Lewis called Christianity “the one true fairytale,” and I think that is a great description. The message of Christianity may appear too good to be true, but that is only an appearance, because the awesome reality is that it is true! In Isaiah 32-35, we read more about this Chosen One whom God has promised to send and how He will bring the world into a Golden Age that will restore so much of what we lost from the Garden of Eden. Let’s allow our hearts to rejoice and our imaginations to soar as we learn more about the coming kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. In what ways will God’s original design for the world be restored during the kingdom of Christ? 1. Mankind will rule over the world in righteousness and justice (32:1-8; 33:5-6; 33:17-22) According to Genesis 1, this is why God created us in the first place. He used Himself as the blueprint to create us so that we could be like His princes and princesses in this world by taking care of it and ruling over the other creatures within it. We strayed from God’s design for us when we sinned, but God has never given up on His original plan for us. Mankind will one day fulfill the role for which we were created, and this will be primarily through the reign of the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will rule over this world as the perfect expression of what mankind was meant to be. Let’s read a bit about His reign [READ 32:1-8]. I think v. 5 of that passage is so encouraging—“the fool will no more be called noble, nor the scoundrel said to be honorable.” Think of how much suffering has been unleashed in this world through fools and scoundrels who have gotten into positions of power. Think of the people in North Korea today; think of the people of Cuba; think of the policy of infanticide in China. But when Jesus reigns, fools and scoundrels will never again be in positions of power, because Christ Himself will be our King. Now please follow with me as I read 33:17-22 [READ 33:17-22]. Notice in v. 22 that Jesus will fulfill all three of the tasks that our government has assigned to different branches. The Lord is our judge—there’s the judicial branch; the Lord is our lawgiver—there’s the legislative branch; and the Lord is our king—there’s the executive branch. Now at the present time, it is wise for us to divide those powers because of the possibility of government corruption and abuse, but when Jesus reigns, we won’t have to worry about that problem anymore! So Jesus will be Lord over all in His kingdom, but notice that Isaiah 32:1 also mentioned princes who will rule. These princes could be you and me depending on the rewards we receive from Christ. This idea corresponds to what Jesus told the Apostles in Matthew 19:28—“Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” This reward is held out to all followers of Christ in verses like Revelation 2:26-27, where Jesus states, “The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.” So one day—led by the Lord Jesus as King—mankind will rule over the world as God has always intended. According to the Bible in the Gospel of John (12:31, 14:30, 16:11), Satan is the ruler of this world today because he has deceived us all into rebelling against God. But when Jesus takes His throne in this world, mankind will have a kind of second chance to do what God created us to do in the first place. 2. The Earth will be abundantly fruitful and productive (32:9-15; 35:1-2, 6b-7) Around here, we know what it’s like to struggle with the Earth to make it fruitful and productive. We battle weeds that threaten to dominate and choke out our crops. We feel the effects of droughts and severe storms. But the Earth has not always been this way. Adam had been given the task of working the ground in the Garden of Eden, but his efforts were not resisted by thorns and weeds until after he had sinned. When God spoke to Adam after his sin, He said, “cursed is the ground because of you” (Gen. 3:17). When mankind began to suffer the effects of sin, so did the Earth over which he had been made to rule. But Scripture tells us that this situation will be reversed when the Lord Jesus reigns in this world. Look at a couple of passages with me [READ 32:9-15; 35:1-2, 6b-7]. Imagine what it will be like to work the ground without having to battle weeds, to have the satisfaction of an abundant harvest from your efforts! Now notice that Isaiah 32:15 tied the renewal of the Earth together with a spiritual renewal for mankind. That verse stated that the present conditions would continue, “until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high.” Since the Earth is suffering because of our sin, its suffering will end when righteousness reigns during the kingdom of Christ. Paul described this connection between the Earth and mankind in Romans 8:19-21—“For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” So just as the rule of mankind will be restored to what it was meant to be, the Earth will be restored to what it was meant to be as well. 3. Mankind will live in peace with each other (32:16-18) Hostility came into the human race as a result of sin, and hostility was only magnified after our race was divided at the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. The threat of violence from other people is one of the worst things that we have to live with today. Some people face the threat of violence from their own parents or their own spouse. Many more people face the threat of violence from their neighbors, and even more people face the threat of violence from their own government or from the people of a neighboring country. But friends, Jesus ain’t called the Prince of Peace for nothing! His kingdom will be characterized by peace and quiet [READ 32:16-18]. I know we think we have it good around here, where we can get away with leaving our doors unlocked, but even Montezuma isn’t totally untouched by the threat of violence. But one day, Jesus the King will bring about true world peace, which people have only dreamed about for so long. What a time to look forward to! 4. Human suffering of every kind will be eliminated Suffering in our lives can take several different forms because of the different aspects of our humanity. We know that we have a physical aspect to who we are, an emotional aspect, a spiritual aspect, and a mental aspect as well, and we can face suffering in each of these different areas. But when Christ sets up His kingdom, He will address all of these areas of suffering and alleviate them: • Physical (33:24, 35:5-6) • Emotional (35:10) • Spiritual (33:24) • Mental (35:3-4) The Old Testament consistently describes the promised kingdom as a time when human suffering will be alleviated. That’s why Jesus gave the answer that He did when John the Baptist had a moment of doubt about whether Jesus was truly God’s chosen one. John had sent messengers to Jesus to ask Him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” Jesus said, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.” To a Jewish person like John the Baptist, this was the clearest answer that Jesus could give—I am relieving human suffering! And the Lord Jesus will do so again when He once again walks on this Earth. Make no mistake, my friends—Jesus is coming again! Isaiah makes it clear in chapter 33 that this fact should be a source of fear for those who reject God, but He also describes for us the kind of person who has no need to fear the return of Christ. Let’s consider what Isaiah wrote in 33:13-16 [READ 33:13-16]. Notice that the person described in vv. 15-16 has a proper concern for God and a proper concern for others. These attitudes are consistent with what Jesus called the two greatest commandments—to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. This person’s concern for God is shown by the fact that he “walks righteously and speaks uprightly.” In both his conduct and his speech, he is mindful of God’s commands. His concern for others is seen in that he “despises the gain of oppressions.” He does not oppress others just to get something for himself, as we see in the fact that he also refuses to take a bribe. Isaiah also writes that he “stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking on evil.” Now this statement does NOT mean that he ignores violence committed against others—it means that he will not listen to temptations to do violence himself. He guards the points of entry where suggestions can enter the mind—namely, the eyes and the ears. Now as anyone knows who has ever tried to live this way, we simply cannot produce this kind of behavior ourselves. As we’ve been reminded this morning, our hearts are tainted by sin, but Jesus made a way for us to be forgiven during His first coming to the Earth. Jesus offered himself as a sinless sacrifice for us by dying on the cross in our place to pay the price for our sins. Then He rose from the grave, and 40 days later He returned to heaven to wait until God the Father would send Him back into this world to establish His kingdom. His sacrifice for us makes us fit to enter His kingdom if we will confess our sin to God and believe that Jesus has paid the full price for our sins so that we can be saved.