The Christ Centred Cosmic Civilisation

Episode 90 - Kingdom Unveiled: The Christ-Centered Cosmic Civilization

• Paul

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Today, we dive into the nature of God's kingship as revealed in Psalm 97, exploring its significance for our lives today. The reign of Christ invites us to rethink our understanding of power, worship, and our cosmic place in His plan.

• The Lord's reign as a source of joy and justice 
• Exploring the Old Testament foundations of the Kingdom of God 
• Perspectives on cosmic phenomena as manifestations of God's glory 
• The challenge of wading through idolatry in our lives 
• How Christ’s kingship affects both believers and non-believers 
• Understanding our role within the cosmic narrative of God’s kingdom 


The theme music is "Wager with Angels" by Nathan Moore

Speaker 1:

Well, welcome to the next episode of the Christ-centered cosmic civilization. We're still looking at the kingdom of God and last time we said we were going to dive straight into some Old Testament scriptures about the divine kingdom and the focus, remember, always on the Lord himself, who is the king of the kingdom. He's always the center of attention. It is Christ, the Lord, jesus Christ, who is the center of attention. Appointed and anointed by the Father, filled with the Spirit, that's always the center of attention. He is it. And last time we were thinking about how to avoid abstracting the kingdom away from Christ. But let's jump straight into Psalm 97. I'm going to read Psalm 97 and then let's think about some of the amazing things that are in Psalm 97 about the kingdom of heaven. So, again, one of the things why we're doing this is sometimes people say I'm a New Testament Christian, I'm a kingdom Christian. I heard somebody say that and I think no, if you're a kingdom Christian, you're an Old Testament Christian. Well, I'm the New Testament too, but there's nothing especially unique to the New Testament about the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is this huge theme in the Old Testament. So, psalm 97. The Lord reigns Let the earth be glad, let the distant shores rejoice. Oh, just on that, I meant to just read it all through. But you remember, if you remember, in our last episode we had this idea that the Father through the Son in the power of the Spirit, the Father through the Son in the power of the Spirit, that living God, he does whatever he pleases. The Father does whatever he pleases through his appointed and anointed Son in the power of the Spirit. Like that, and the fact that he does whatever he pleases is wonderfully good news, because what pleases him is wonderful. He loves to do good. When we come to him as a child and just ask for help, he loves that and gives us help. And if we are arrogant and proud and full of ourselves and hard-hearted and things, then what pleases him is to bring us down to size, because that's what we need, that's the treatment, that's the treatment that's necessary to us. So what pleases him is good.

Speaker 1:

So notice that the Lord reigns. Let the earth be glad, let the distant shores rejoice. He's in charge and at the end of the day, that is the ultimate source of reality, this reign of the Lord from the throne of heaven. And that's good, because if it was earthly rulers that reigned, or even rulers in heavenly places, spiritual beings, the gods. Think of the gods that people worship, you know major world religions, and the god they worship seems to me to be a tyrant. I'm not at all. It'd be a nightmare if these gods reigned. But the scriptures reassure us. Don't worry, neither the tyrants on earth nor tyrants in spiritual places. They do not ultimately reign, there is the Christ-centered cosmic civilization that is in true charge of all things, the heavens and the earth. And so let the distant shores rejoice, let all the nations of the world rejoice. This is good news to hear of this kingdom, and that's why, again, we're thinking about how do we share the gospel, how do we preach evangelistically, and part of it must be this good news of christ reigning over the heavens and the earth.

Speaker 1:

Um, all right, let's just get into psalm 97, because I can easily clouds verse two clouds and thick darkness surround him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Again, the clouds and thick darkness reference back to the Exodus and thinking of that, that the father is hidden in thick darkness, but he sends his son with the Shekinah glory, the cloud of fire and cloud, the pillar of cloud and fire that represents the spirit being upon the angel of the Lord, all that language of how he reigns, and Sinai and all that. And yet what is the foundation of his throne? Not tyranny, not selfishness, not pride, but righteousness and justice. And then, from verse three, we see all this language that comes from really the Exodus, and the prophets take it up as well. Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side. Verse four his lightning lights up the world. The earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax.

Speaker 1:

Before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth, the heavens proclaim his righteousness and all peoples see his glory. All who worship images are put to shame. Those who boast in idols worship him. All you, gods, zion hears and rejoices and the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments. Lord, lord, for you, lord, are the most high, exalted over all the earth. You are exalted far above all gods. Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name. Wow, what a psalm and it's the scale of it. So he comes down to manifest his reign on earth and he does that through fire and lightning, volcanoes and things, earthquakes, all these things.

Speaker 1:

Sometimes people in their stupidity will say, oh, these are just natural phenomena, there's no spiritual significance to any of them. And yet, you know, it's manifestly obvious that they are manifestations of the kingdom of the heavens. And people go, oh, but this storm is happening because it's been brewing, you know, and it's come across the Atlantic and then it's here and the lightning and the high pressures and low pressures and it's like, yeah, the high pressure, low pressure, movement of winds and all that. You're just describing what a storm is in different language, in in atmospheric language or pressure language. You're not, uh, you know, you're not in any way diminishing the reality of experiencing a storm simply by describing its history and development and the manifestations on atmosphere and things like that.

Speaker 1:

That's what a storm is, and the and the manifestations on atmosphere and things like that, that's what a storm is, and the lightning and all that can happen. And yet we are supposed to, when we see such phenomena and experience it, far from simply going, oh, there's nothing to this, we are supposed to see it as a demonstration, an opportunity, an invitation to experience and meditate on, like a small glimpse of heavenly glory. Heavenly glory and power, rain coming down like judgment, or the lightning falling and that what happens when it strikes this power from on high that can come out of the sky. And that's only the first heaven, remember. But so it's a tiny mess of manifestation of heavenly power and glory. And yet was lightning, we'll see it.

Speaker 1:

I remember when I was young and saw lightning strike a house and almost the whole side of the house was was damaged and ripped and and devastated by it. And that is just a very tiny manifestation of power from the first heaven, let alone the second heaven, let alone, unimaginably, the power that resides in the third heaven. And were the lightnings of the third heaven to strike, wow. Well, you know, galaxies are destroyed by such such lightning and power. And so all these things that happen are to be, are to be, visual invitations.

Speaker 1:

Well, the more than visual, the audible, the tangible times, and as a storm comes and all that that does to our body and the buildup to it, as all those features of the storm and the pressure grows and there's a feeling of uneasiness and concern. As the storm clouds gather, as this sort of heavenly judgment comes, then it happens. Other, as this sort of heavenly judgment comes, then it happens, and then, in the aftermath of it, the clarity. There's a wonderful feeling to live in the aftermath, to walk outside in the aftermath of a terrible storm and there can be a clearness to the atmosphere. All of that is to be experienced as almost like a sacrament of the kingdom of the third heaven, the highest heaven, and it's this little manifestation of it in the first heaven that is done to help us, to help us to take seriously this Lord who reigns, and that we should rejoice in this, rejoice in the storms, rejoice in these things and how he consumes his foes, and again it's his foes that are in danger by his presence, but they should be our foes too. We should be so aligned with him.

Speaker 1:

There's so much in that, but I like from verse six of Psalm 97, the heavens declare his righteousness and all people see his glory. It's that question, isn't it, that we return to and I never tire of thinking of it, as it is in Romans 10. What about people who've never heard of Jesus, god, the sun, the cosmic logos? What about people who've never heard of it. Well, the scripture says there isn't anybody who's like that. Because, as Paul quotes Psalm 19, and he just goes hey, the heavens declare the glory of him. And he, of course, in Psalm 90, gives the example of the sunrise as an example of showing off this divine bridegroom from whom all light and heat come, and so on. So, yeah, the heavens proclaim his rise, all people see his glory.

Speaker 1:

Now, they see his glory. They don't necessarily comprehend his glory. They may attribute the glory of the heavens and storms and weather and things. They may attribute that to nothing. They may just say, oh, that's just the cycle of nature. Nature does it all by itself. Or they may attribute it to another god. They might say, oh, baal does that. Well, of course, there were plenty of people in the Bible who thought Baal was responsible for the weather and things like that. Responsible for the weather and things like that. But this is reminding us. No, they are seeing the glory of the cosmic, christ, the king of the heavens and the earth. They are seeing that.

Speaker 1:

Whether they acknowledge it and, as Romans 1 tells us, no, actually they suppress the truth and unrighteousness. Actually, they suppress the truth and unrighteousness. They kind of, are apprehended by the truth, but then have with our false religions, false philosophy, selfishness, stupidity, wickedness, hard heartedness, hard headedness, all of that, we don't see it, we don't comprehend it properly. And then, at verse 7, when it says, you know, worshipping images or idols, worshipping material things that we have made or any material things that are obviously not the source of the order and energy of the universe, anything like that, what stupidity, what shame there is. And particularly if we end up worshipping an idol or a god who demands that we serve them. If they really are the cosmic divine king and they have all the resources of the universe at their disposal, why do they need our service? Why do we need to submit and serve them when you know what do they need from us, these idols and gods? Now, we're shamed if we worship a God who needs things from us or idols that need to be carried about.

Speaker 1:

So, rather, and then in verse 8, you know, the church rejoices in the manifestation of the cosmic kingdom and of course again, this I love at the end of verse seven, the gods, all these spiritual beings that establish religions around themselves and things. They're told to pack it in and repent and uh, worship christ, worship christ. I love that verse. Psalm 97, 7 worship him all you gods, that's you know again. Um, I was asked years ago, uh, by the follower of a major world religion what what I would do or say when I'm confronted by the God that they worship. And I said I think I'd have to just quote Psalm 97, verse 7, to that God and say, look, you need to start worshipping Jesus.

Speaker 1:

And the reason for that from verse 9 is that the Lord and here it could even really be the father in mind here the most high over all the earth, it's the father who always exercises, who reigns. The father reigns on the throne of heaven, isn't it Our father in heaven? But he reigns through the appointed and anointed king, who is his beloved son, the eternal son of the father. And that there is this kind of structure and order, that the father always acts through his son, by the power of the spirit, but exalted far above all. Gods. All these gods are, you know nothing, far below in the, either in stuck on earth in the first heaven, or part of the second heaven, but certainly they are. They're not reigning in the third heaven. So there it is. That's Psalm 97. What a wonderful Psalm for us to meditate on and fill our hearts and minds with that vision. Let's have another one. It's Psalm 95.

Speaker 1:

People who listen to this know I often refer to Psalm 95 because it comes up in daily prayers in the Book of Common Prayer, psalm 95, verses 1 to 5, the Lord reigns Let the nations tremble. He sits enthroned between the cherubim. Let the earth shake. Now, again, that opening verse is powerful because, again, all the nations, he reigns over all the nations, whether they acknowledge him or not, whether they raise their fists against him or not. All the nations, he reigns over all the nations, whether they acknowledge him or not, whether they raise their fists against him or not. All the nations. And they should tremble in fear and awe and respect um, and and ultimately they should rejoice. But the reference he sits in the room between the cherubim. That's a reference both to the Ark of the Covenant, which would sit in the most holy place in the tabernacle, and the cherubim on either side of the throne space. The Ark of the Covenant is essentially a throne and the Lord, the angel of the Lord, would sit enthroned within the tent of meeting the tabernacle, in that innermost room. And he sits enthroned between the cherubim. Yes, but that is itself a copy image of the throne room that is filled with angels. And then, whenever we get glimpses into that third heavenly throne room, there is the father seated on the throne, with Jesus sharing that throne with him and surrounding, of course, hundreds of millions of mighty angels.

Speaker 1:

So then, verse two great is the Lord in Zion and the concept of Zion. We may have to do a whole episode or two on the concept of Zion in the scriptures, where it is the city of God, but it also is very much church. Church is this city of God in the scriptures, and so Zion. So the great is the Lord in his city, his people, his church. He's exalted over all the nations. Let the nations praise your great and awesome name. He is holy, the king is mighty, he loves justice. You have established equity in Jacob, you've done what's just and right. Exalt the Lord, our God, and worship at his footstool. He is holy. Again, that notion of the whole is holiness, and how he is separated from the mess, how he is dedicated to redemption and judgment and justice.

Speaker 1:

Well, the prophets have the same vision of the Lord, who's been appointed by his father to reign over all creation. It's there all the way through the prophets. Isaiah famously sees the divine king on his throne in Isaiah, chapter 6. And John describes that vision in John's gospel when he quotes from Isaiah chapter 6, he says In John's gospel, when he quotes from Isaiah chapter six, he says ah yes, isaiah was seeing the glory of Jesus there when Isaiah saw the king on his throne in Isaiah chapter six. So Isaiah saw Jesus as the king, re the world, or whatever, because then Jesus will reign over creation. No, isaiah saw him, jesus, reigning, as the comforting vision of the son of man, as the divine. He is the divine emperor and he is arriving to see his church in exile. There's that glorious opening scene, isn't it?

Speaker 1:

Ezekiel 1, there's these um, four living creatures who are the immediate attendants on the divine emperor and they are carrying his throne, which is a mobile throne. It uh, and he is coming. It's as if he's coming from the third heaven, the highest heaven at the center of the cosmic empire, and he visits, on his throne church, his church in exile. What an extraordinary thing for him to do to come to them, to give them comfort, reassure them of his reign and his interest and care for them, them of his reign and his interest and care for them.

Speaker 1:

Daniel thinking of the church in exile, and why it's so important to realize that his kingdom is more extensive than church, isn't it Like church are those people who trust in Jesus and are born again as citizens of this kingdom. But the kingdom reigns over people who don't trust him, and so Daniel is given a very deep sight of that in his visions because he's there serving the Babylonian, babylonian Empire, persian Empire, right at the center of world power in a way. And so Daniel is constantly kept clear that the throne rooms that he was serving as this extremely senior um civil servant, those throne rooms that he's serving on earth, are not where power really lies, the, the real power, the, and history is really shaped by the throne room of the third heaven, where the father is and when and the father has appointed this divine emperor. That's what matters, that's the kingdom that never passes away. So Daniel has some of the most thorough explorations of the divine son of man and his kingdom that will never pass away. And we know how Daniel 7 describes the Son of man receiving all authority as an equal from the ancient of days. But the whole book of Daniel shows how this Son of man, divine emperor, steers history and how the nations are raised up and brought down at his command, and how the nations are raised up and brought down at his command. And all of that is explicitly in Daniel steering history towards his own incarnation, his reigning on earth, in a way that utterly overturns all the earthly ideas about authority and prestige and status.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, there's so much to say likeiel, chapter 10 and 11 and things like that, and sometimes people say, oh, how are you supposed to make sense of all that throughout from this perspective? Why does it go on about? Why does those visions of daniel have like as if mapping the rising and falling of so many nations and empires throughout history and some people you know? Can we identify which particular nations are rising and falling in each verse and so on? Maybe, but it doesn't even matter if we can't.

Speaker 1:

The point, the message of those chapters is clear, whether it's ancient Persia, greece and Rome rising and falling, whether it's ancient Persia, greece and Rome rising and falling, and they're all. The point of it all is they're all under the divine empire. They think, will think of themselves as the answer to the, to the, to reigning over the world. They'll think of themselves that way. And yet scripture, even before they exist, exist even before these kingdoms exist. They're already described, seen, described, ordered. They're already kind of written in the annals of the divine empire what, what is decreed for them.

Speaker 1:

And we need to remember that in our own day, of course, where people get very alarmed about elections or the rise and fall of this person or that person, we need to just read plenty of Daniel and think no, all of this has been, is in the hands of Jesus, and we trust him, we trust him, trust him, we trust him. So heaven is to be the constant focus of our attention, remembering how Jesus instructs us to always begin our prayers with our father in heaven. And again, like that concept of the three heavens, the atmosphere of the earth is the first heaven, the inconceivably vast expanses of the countless galaxies is the second heaven. And there's that third heaven that scales up in grandeur and glory, size and situation at least as much as the jump from first to second heaven. And it's from that third heaven that we experience the kingdom of heaven, the empire whose center and soul is the living God, from the father through the spirit anointed son. And in that sense, viewed from this big perspective.

Speaker 1:

Viewed from this big perspective, the planet Earth might seem very distant from the throne room, the divine throne room, and there is a way very peripheral to this massive cosmic empire that covers millions of galaxies, billions and billions of stars and things all across the second heaven and everything. And there's Earth, the third rock from the sun, and all of this, and how tiny and peripheral we can seem from one perspective to this massive cosmic empire. It's almost. We could, if we were not careful, think of ourselves as an irrelevant, peripheral territory in a vast empire, almost as like the Roman Empire. And we are on the very border, on the very edge of this empire and we're a tiny little hamlet of a handful of farmers right on the edge of the Roman Empire, and imagining that, you know, we might think what do they think of us in Rome? Probably nothing at all, nothing at all. They probably don't even know you're there. So it sometimes is good to kind of remember that perspective.

Speaker 1:

But actually the Bible has a different way of thinking about this, a different way of thinking about this, and that's what we're going to look at in the next episode how there's, yes, a sense of how distant we are from the throne room and how peripheral and lightweight. The kingdoms of the earth think of themselves as heavy and serious, and yet, from the perspective of the divine throne room, light and trivial, yeah, but there's a way. The Bible says yeah, you can see things from that perspective. But don't only have that perspective. You need to have the truth, because the divine emperor, as we keep saying, isn't a tyrant who belittles us and says look how much bigger I am and stronger I am than you. You're nothing to me. No, the false gods talk like that. That's a disgusting way to talk. The living God doesn't talk like that, and so in our next episode, we'll get into the way that he does talk about us and how he does use his strength for us.