As the Waters Cover
the Sea (Habakkuk 2:14)
Should we expect the gospel to be successful in this age?
There are those who prophesy certain defeat for the gospel in this world that
all will get worse and worse and that Satan and his forces will increase. Things
will get so bad that the church will have to be taken out of the way and then
destruction will come on the world. Yet, is this really what the Bible teaches?
Is the gospel so impotent that it will go down in defeat and that Satan will
take over the world? Nations that were once Christian are now coming under the
control of Satan’s Kingdom. Is there no future hope for these nations in this
age? Should we consider those nations as completely lost forever? Habakkuk is a
book that gives us much hope for the future. Though things looked bad in his
time, yet God promised better things to come. The nations that were then in
power would not succeed in their evil intentions. God would win in the end. His cause would
prevail.
Habakkuk 2:14 says, “For
the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the
waters cover the sea.” The previous verse shows that the nations will not
be successful in their evil intentions when it says, “Has not the Lord Almighty determined that the people’s labor is only
fuel for the fire, that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing? The
Kingdom of Satan is not going to win. God’s kingdom will prevail. Satan and all
his forces cannot stop the Kingdom of God. He will try and he has tried, but he
will not succeed. There will come a time when the knowledge of the Lord will
cover the whole earth as the waters cover the sea. It is interesting to note the
interpretation given to this verse by Bible scholars from an earlier time. This
same verse is given in Isaiah 11:9 on which Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)
comments saying, “Now the kingdom of Christ shall in the most strict and
literal sense be extended to all nations, and the whole earth. There are many
passages of scripture that can be understood in no other sense. What can be
more universal than Isaiah 11:9. ‘For the
earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.’
As much as to say, as there is no part of the channel or cavity of the sea, but
what is covered with water; so there shall be no part of the world of mankind
but what shall be covered with the knowledge of God.” (p. 315, The History of Redemption) Instead of
relegating this verse to some future age after Christ returns, Edwards
interprets it as referring to this age and the victory of the gospel in this
world in which we live. John Gill (1697-1771) makes the same interpretation as
Edwards. In commenting on Habakkuk 2:14, Gill writes, “…and the great spread
and large abundance of this knowledge communicated by the preaching of the
gospel is thus illustrated and exemplified, as the waters cover the sea;
expressing the nature of gospel doctrines, revealing the glory of Christ and
his grace, which, like waters, refresh and make fruitful; and the force and
power of them, bearing down all before them, like an inundation of water when
it breaks its banks; and likewise the depths of them, these being the deep
things of God; and more especially the general spread and large abundance of
them, and of the knowledge conveyed by them; which will fill the earth, as the
waters of the sea fill up and cover the vast chasm prepared for them…” (from John Gill’s Commentary on Habakkuk – www.studylight.org )
Early pioneer missionaries such as William Carey and David
Livingstone had the same outlook as Habakkuk 2:14. They proclaimed a gospel
that could convert whole nations and whole continents to Christ. After laboring in India for five and one-half
years, Carey and his colleagues finally had one convert in 1800. They said, “He
was only one, but a continent was coming behind him. The divine grace
which changed one Indian’s heart could obviously change a hundred thousand.” (The Puritan Hope, p. 141)
David Livingstone, pioneer missionary to Africa, saw himself
as laying the groundwork for others who would come after him. He wrote in his
Journal, “A good and attentive audience, but immediately after the service I
found the Chief had retired into a hut to drink beer…A minister who had not
seen so much pioneer service as I have done would have been shocked to see so
little effect produced by an earnest discourse concerning the future judgment,
but time must be given to allow the truth to sink into the dark mind, and
produce its effect. The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory
of the Lord – that is enough. We can afford to work in faith, for Omnipotence
is pledged to fulfill the promise….” (The
Puritan Hope, p. 182) He also wrote, “A quiet audience today. The seed
being sown, the least of all seeds now, but it will grow a mighty tree. It is
as it were a small stone cut out of a mountain, but it will fill the whole
earth….Our work and its fruits are cumulative. We work towards another state of
things….Missionaries in the midst of masses of heathenism seem like voices
crying in the wilderness – Reformers before the Reformation; future
missionaries will see conversions follow every sermon. We prepare the way for
them. May they not forget the pioneers who worked in the thick gloom with few
rays of cheer, except such as flow from faith in God’s promises! We work for a
glorious future which we are not destined to see. We are only morning-stars
shining in the dark, but the glorious morn will break…” (The Puritan Hope, p. 182)
David Brainerd, missionary to the American Indians in the 18th
century, lived only a short time and died as a young adult. Yet, during his
short life he won many Indians to Christ through His preaching. As his death
drew nearer, Brainerd wrote, “My thoughts have been employed on the dear old
theme, the prosperity of God’s church on earth. As I waked out of sleep, I was
led to cry for the pouring out of God’s Spirit, and the advancement of Christ’s
kingdom, for which the Redeemer did and suffered so much. It is that especially
which makes me long for it.” Jonathan Edward’s comment was that “He expressed
much hope that a glorious advancement of Christ’s kingdom was near at hand.” (Life and Diary of David Brainerd, p.
136-137) Edwards wrote, “He expressed on his death-bed a full persuasion that
he should in heaven see the prosperity of the church on earth, and should
rejoice with Christ therein; and the consideration of it seemed to be highly
pleasing and satisfying to his mind.” (p. 137) Brainerd saw a glorious
advancement of Christ’s kingdom on earth.
Rather than seeing the church go down in defeat, the
Psalmist looks forward to her future glory in the world. Psalm 87:3-6 says, “Glorious things are said of you, O city of
God: ‘I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me –
Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush – and will say, ‘This one was born in
Zion.’ Indeed, of Zion it will be said, ‘This one and that one were born in
her, and the Most High himself will establish her.’ The Lord will write in the
register of the peoples: ‘This one was born in Zion.’” People from all over
the world would come into the church and God would establish His church and her
future would be glorious.
The Psalmist points to glorious days for the church in the
future when he says, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and
the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick
darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears
over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your
dawn.” (Psalm 60:1-3) This Psalm and
the glorious future for the church are brought out in Thomas Hastings hymn
written in 1831 – “Hail to the brightness of Zion’s morning! Joy to the lands
that in darkness have lain! Hushed be the accents of sorrow and mourning; Zion
in triumph begins her mild reign…See, from all lands, from the isles of the
ocean, Praise to Jehovah ascending on high; Fall’n are the engines of war and
commotion, Shouts of salvation are rending the sky.” (Trinity Hymnal, p. 274)
One of the most encouraging events of 2010 was the meeting
in Tokyo of evangelical missions leaders in commemoration of the 1910 Edinburgh
World Missionary Conference. There were 967 delegates from 73 countries that
met in Tokyo. They issued the following declaration: “We, representatives of
evangelical global mission structures, being intent on fulfilling the ultimate
objective of the Great Commission, have gathered in Tokyo May 11-14, 2010 at
this Global Mission Consultation to make the following declaration. We set
forth this declaration in obedience to Christ’s final command, as a means of
calling Christ-followers everywhere to whole-heartedly embrace and earnestly
engage in ‘making disciples of every people in our generation’….” (www.gnms.net ) These mission leaders saw as
their goal nothing less than discipling all the peoples of the world. Dr. Yong
Cho, International Director of the Global Network of Mission Structures and
leader of Tokyo 2010 stated, “Despite our denominational differences and
various Christian traditions, we have been able to come together for the sake
of fulfilling the Great Commission. It is my hope that we might see similar
forums develop that will enable the entire global mission movement to interface
on national, regional and global levels, to the end that indigenous churches
might flourish in every nation, tribe, people and language in our generation.”
(Mission Frontiers – July-August 2010
Edition, p. 17)
Tokyo 2010 also showed a concern for reaching nations that
were formally Christian but have fallen away such as the nations of Europe.
Stefan Gustavasson, leader of the Swedish Evangelical Alliance, gave a
Macedonian call to the conference. He pointed out that the vast majority of
Europe today are turning to secularism, atheism, and agnosticism. When he gave
his plea for help, Dr. Yong Cho came to the podium with tears in his eyes and
led the whole assembly in prayer to God for the peoples of Europe. David Taylor
in reporting on this moving prayer stated, “The significance of this moment,
from an historical perspective, was immediately obvious. We were at Tokyo 2010
to celebrate what has taken place in the last century since the Edinburgh 1910
World Missionary Conference. Yet in those same 100 years, while the Church
exploded in Africa, Asia and Latin America, one of the greatest tragedies in
the history of Christianity also took place in Europe. As we began to pray, we
could all perceive the deep sense of gratitude, obligation and loss felt by the
non-Western mission leaders who were at this very meeting because of the
efforts of European church and mission leaders a century ago. How is it that a
Church that weathered so many storms for centuries could be at risk of
virtually disappearing in the next 50 years? ‘Not on my watch!’ was the
response of Tokyo 2010.” (Mission
Frontiers – July-August 2010 Edition, p. 6)
Is there a glorious future for the church in this world in
this age? Will the earth be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord
in this age or is this something only possible in a future age or dispensation
after Jesus returns? The popular view today is the latter. The church will go
down in defeat and have to be evacuated from this world. The gospel will not
prevail in this age. Yet, is this the view that we should be holding? Is this
the view of the Scriptures? Those of
earlier generations certainly believed that Scripture gave a much more
optimistic outcome for the church in this age. Andrew Fuller, contemporary and
friend of William Carey, wrote in 1799: “All the vicissitudes of nations, all
the efforts to overturn the doctrine of the cross, or blot out the spirit of
Christianity from the earth, we consider as permitted for wise and holy ends;
and being satisfied that they make a part of God’s eternal plan, we are not
inordinately anxious about them….We have no doubt that these things are wisely
permitted – that they are a fan in the hand of Christ, by which he will
thoroughly purge his floor – and that the true gospel of Christ, like the sun
in the heavens, will finally disperse all these interposing clouds. We are
persuaded, as well as they, that things, upon the whole, whether we, in our
contracted spheres of observation, perceive it or not, are tending to the
general good – that the empire of truth and righteousness, notwithstanding all
the infidelity and iniquity that are in the world, is upon the increase – that
it must increase more and more – that glorious things are yet to be
accomplished in the church of God – and that all which we have hitherto seen,
or heard, of the gospel dispensation, is but as the first-fruits of an abundant
harvest.” (The Works of Andrew
Fuller, p. 97) Such a view of the church prevailed in an earlier age.
Today, we have come full circle to a much more pessimistic view of the church
which has contributed to the weakness of the church in our day. No longer do we
hear such grand predictions of the future of the church in this age. Such was
the old school. Today, we know better. The church’s days are numbered and we
need to get ready to evacuate. Satan is winning the battle and we can do
nothing about it. The Kingdom of Satan is prevailing and the Kingdom of God is
on the retreat. Such is the attitude of much of evangelical teaching today.
From this kind of attitude, we need to retreat. The Bible teaches no such
doctrine. We have deluded ourselves to believe those who teach such things. It
is high time, the evangelical church wakes up and gets on with its mission in
this world “for the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”
Works Cited
All
Scripture quotations are from the New International Version unless
indicated otherwise
Edwards,
Jonathan. The History of Redemption.The National Foundation for
Christian Education, Marshallton, Delaware, first published in 1773.
Edwards,
Jonathan. Life and Diary of David
Brainerd. Sovereign Grace Publishers, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1971.
Fuller,
Andrew Gunton, Ed. The Works of Andrew
Fuller, Banner of Truth Trust, Carlisle, PA, 2007 (First published 1841).
Gill,
John. John Gill’s Commentary on Habakkuk,
(www.studylight.org)
Marsden,
Robert S., Chairman. Trinity Hymnal.
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, 1961.
Murray,
Iain. The Puritan Hope. The Banner of
Truth Trust, London, 1971.
Wood,
Rick, Ed. Mission Frontiers, Vol. 32, No.
4. U. S. Center for World Mission, Pasadena, California, July-August 2010.
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