Keep Building Your Cathedral
As we come to the end of this book, I want to leave you with one final thought. Every generation of Christians must decide what kind of people it will be. Will we become survivalists, merely trying to preserve what remains until Christ returns? Or will we become builders, believing that our risen Lord is even now extending His kingdom throughout the earth? That question is far more important than many Christians realize. It is not simply a question about prophecy. It is a question about faith. It is a question about whether we truly believe the promises God has made concerning His Son. God has promised that the knowledge of the glory of God will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. Hab. 2:14. Do we believe this? Why are so many ministers working so hard to convince us that God cannot possibly pull this off. Why do they promote their pessimism and thier faith killing and chilling preaching?
Postmillennialism and the Latter-Day Glory
I think we need to consider something about the nature of postmillennialism and the latter-day glory. Consider the analogy of building cathedrals. We are builders, building the kingdom of God, just as those who built the great cathedrals were builders. We may not see the latter-day glory, just as those who built the cathedrals may never have lived long enough to worship in them — yet they were part of the process that would eventually bring that finished glory to pass. Just as the descendants of the cathedral builders would one day inherit and enjoy the great cathedral that was being built, even though the original builders might not live to see it in its finished condition, so we labor now toward a glory we may not live to see in full.
Here's another analogy: think of a good fireworks show on the Fourth of July. The fireworks usually start somewhat small and gradually build through the night — getting stronger, brighter, more spectacular as the night goes on. It's all very wonderful. It's all very amazing. It's all very special. But then comes the grand finale — that amazing ending where everything goes over the top, and the lights, the explosions, the flares, the different colors are just magnificent and breathtaking. That's much like the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God and the gospel of Jesus are amazing things, and we are building — and it's getting greater and better all the time. But then will come the grand finale at the end, when it gets even greater still and explodes in one great, final expression of God's sovereign omnipotence and greatness.
I've recently been considering the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I've thought to myself: there is nothing in all the world as glorious as the gospel. There is nothing in all the world as brilliant as the gospel. There is nothing in all the world as amazing as the gospel. There is nothing in all the world — in any religion, in any philosophy — that even remotely comes close to the amazing majesty of the gospel. The gospel towers above every thought. It is the most astonishing thing you could ever imagine. Only God could come up with this wonderful gospel. As John Newton wrote, "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me" — how we praise God, how we praise the Lord for this wonderful gospel!
Let us not forget that this is true of the millennial period. We are in this period now — building the kingdom, preaching the gospel, and doing God's work. We are having a part. But there will come, eventually, that grand finale, and this amazing, wonderful, glorious gospel will explode in its final expression of beauty and wonder.
I love what Spurgeon used to say when concluding many of his sermons: "Pause, my soul, adore and wonder, ask, 'Oh why such love to me?' Love so amazing, so divine, demands my life, my soul, my all." There will come a time when we will see the great and unsearchable riches of Christ and His grace, and the gospel will explode in majesty and splendor. And then we will say, like Spurgeon:
"Pause, my soul, adore and wonder, ask, 'Oh why such love to me?' Love so amazing, so divine, demands my life, my soul, my all."
The Purpose of the Resurrection of Christ
The resurrection of Jesus not only proves His deity and ensures His victory over sin, death, and hell, it also signifies much more. The Lord Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead merely to rescue a defeated people from a defeated world. He rose as the conquering King. He ascended to the right hand of the Father, where all authority in heaven and earth has been committed into His hands. From that throne He now reigns until every enemy is placed beneath His feet. The Gospel is not retreating. The kingdom is not shrinking. Christ has not surrendered one inch of His rightful dominion. He is accomplishing His eternal purpose exactly as the Father ordained before the foundation of the world.
This truth (Postmillennialism) changes everything. It changes the way we preach. It changes the way we pray. It changes the way we educate our children. It changes the way we conduct our businesses, govern our homes, support missions, write books, compose hymns, establish churches, and labor in our communities. It teaches us to think beyond ourselves and beyond our own generation. It reminds us that the work of God has always been larger than one lifetime.
The builders of the great cathedrals understood this principle well. They devoted themselves to projects they knew they would never see completed. Some spent their entire lives carving stones that would one day support arches they would never walk beneath. Others raised walls whose beauty their own eyes would never behold. Yet they labored faithfully because they believed the work itself was worthy of their lives.
The Christian has an even greater reason to build. We are building for the King of kings. Every faithful sermon is another stone. Every child taught the Scriptures is another stone. Every missionary sent to the nations is another stone. Every church planted is another stone. Every Christian school established is another stone. Every hymn that exalts Christ is another stone. Every book that proclaims His truth is another stone. Every prayer offered in faith is another stone. Every quiet act of obedience is another stone laid in the great cathedral of Christ’s advancing kingdom.
Many of us will never witness the full harvest of our labor. We may never know what influence our prayers had upon future generations. We may never meet the people whose lives were transformed through a book we wrote, a sermon we preached, a missionary we supported, or a child we faithfully discipled. But God knows. Heaven keeps perfect records. Nothing done for Christ is ever forgotten. No labor performed in His name is ever wasted.
Throughout history the Lord has delighted to accomplish His greatest works through ordinary believers who simply remained faithful. Noah spent decades building an ark before the first drop of rain ever fell. David gathered materials for a temple he would never see completed. The apostles planted churches that flourished long after they had entered glory. William Carey spent years laboring in India before witnessing the harvest for which he had prayed. Thousands of faithful saints whose names are now forgotten by history helped build the civilization we have inherited today. They lived not for themselves but for generations yet unborn.
Now it is our turn. The generation that follows us will inherit something from us. They will inherit either stronger churches or weaker ones. They will inherit either Christian schools or secular classrooms. They will inherit either faithful pulpits or silent ones. They will inherit either biblical convictions or theological confusion. They will inherit either institutions built upon the Word of God or institutions surrendered to the spirit of the age.
The question is not whether we will leave an inheritance. The question is what kind of inheritance we will leave. Perhaps the greatest tragedy would be for Christians to spend their lives merely lamenting the darkness while neglecting to light a candle. It is easy to criticize the collapse of culture. It is far more difficult—and infinitely more biblical—to build something that honors Christ. The Church was never commissioned simply to analyze the world’s problems. She was commanded to disciple the nations. We are not called to count the victories of darkness but to proclaim the triumphs of our King.
One day our own work will be finished. Our race will be run. Our voices will grow silent, and others will take up the tools we have laid down. They will preach in churches we helped establish. They will read books we have written. They will sing hymns we have composed. They will teach in schools we helped build. They will enjoy the shade of trees we planted, though we ourselves never rested beneath their branches. Then, at last, history itself will arrive at the glorious destination God has ordained from the beginning. The kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. Every enemy shall be subdued beneath His feet. Every knee shall bow before Him. Every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. The knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.
On that day we shall finally understand that every prayer mattered, every sacrifice had purpose, every sermon accomplished God’s design, every faithful witness bore eternal fruit, and every stone laid for Christ became part of a kingdom that can never be shaken. Until that glorious day arrives, let us refuse the spirit of despair that has too often weakened the Church. Let us reject the temptation to retreat from the world Christ has commanded us to disciple. Let us lift our eyes once again to the throne of our victorious Savior and remember that history belongs to Him. The nations belong to Him. The future belongs to Him.
Therefore, let us build. Let us build churches that faithfully proclaim His Word. Let us build homes where Christ is honored. Let us build schools where truth is loved. Let us build ministries that will outlive us. Let us build businesses marked by integrity. Let us build lives that magnify our Savior. Above all, let us spend ourselves without reservation in the service of the One whose kingdom shall never end. May it be said of our generation that we believed the promises of God. That we refused to surrender to unbelief. That we labored with courage. That we prayed with expectation. That we endured with patience. That we gave with generosity. That we finished our course with joy.
And when future generations ask who laid the foundations upon which they now stand, may the answer be that there once lived a generation of ordinary Christians who believed that Jesus Christ truly was King—and because they believed it, they spent their lives building cathedrals.
Soli Deo Gloria.
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