Church History - Part 10

You are listening to David Porson podcasts. This is a series of 11 talks covering church history, part 10, the future, tribulation, rapture, the millennium. Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy, he gave us new life by raising Jesus from the dead. This filled us with a living hope, and so we look forward to possessing the rich blessings that God keeps for his people. He keeps them for you in heaven, where they cannot decay or spoil or fade away. They are for you who through faith are kept by God's power, as you wait for the salvation, which is ready to be revealed at the end of time. Be glad about this, even though it may now be necessary for you to be sad for a while, because of the many kinds of trials you suffer. Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by fire, and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested that it may endure. Then you will receive praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed. You love him, although you have not seen him. You believe in him, although you do not now see him. And so you rejoice with a great and glorious joy which words cannot express. That Simon Peter the big fisherman telling you that there's something that's more precious than gold, which we do not know what it's worth at the moment, but your faith is the most precious thing of all. And that no one can take from you, no one can devalue, and your treasure in heaven can never be taken from you. It's reserved for you. So the gold reserve of faith is what we are meant tonight to consider and how to build up our faith in the future. Let us stand for prayer. Lord, we come tonight because we seek those things which men can never take from us. We come to seek those things of eternal value, to seek to lay up treasure in heaven. And we thank you that these precious things are freely available to those who believe. And we pray that our faith may be wonderfully strengthened and our hope be enriched. And our love be exercised as we meet together in worship. And so in a world that is disturbed, a world of turmoil, a world of uncertainty, a world of fear and doubt, we come and ask that that rock of certainty may be planted within our hearts. The rock of age is even Jesus Christ the same yesterday today and forever. We ask it in his name and for his sake. Amen. Now I meet many pessimistic Christians who think that the church is on the way out and that Christianity will die out at least before the end of the 20th century. Well, that's one way of looking at it. It's the pessimistic way, a bit like the man who said his church was half empty, but a block to Mr. would say the church is half full and there are other ways of looking at the church of Jesus Christ. One of the most encouraging facts to me is the interest in God's word. Now this new translation of the New Testament by the American Bible Society, Dr. Bradshaw, called Good News for Modern Men, was produced just over a year ago. And the American Bible Society ordered 150,000 copies to be printed. To this last week, nine and a half million copies have been sold and it's selling at the rate of 13,000 a day. Now there's something here and those who feel that Christianity is on the way out, need to way up such facts as that. People still want Good News because there's so much bad news and this book contains Good News for modern men. Now our subject tonight is the future of the church, what we can look forward to. And I didn't know what to choose to read tonight. I would have liked to read to you for an hour, but I'm not sure that you would have liked that. So I'm just going to dip into it three or four places, some important passages that will tell you something of what the church can expect in the future. First of all, a short paragraph from Paul's letter to the Thessalonians, chapter four, "Brothers, we want you to know the truth about those who have died, so that you will not be said as those who have no hope." We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have died believing in Him. For this is the Lord's teaching we tell you, we who are alive on the day when the Lord comes will not go ahead of those who have died. There will be the shout of command, the archangels voice, the sound of God's trumpet, and the Lord Himself will come down from heaven. That's described as the noisiest verse in the Bible. Those who have died believing in Christ will be raised to life first. Then we who are living at that time will be gathered up along with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, cheer each other up with these words. Well now we turn next to the last book in the Bible. You would expect me, I think, to read from the final book. It's the unveiling of the future. Chapter 7 verse 9. After this I looked and there was a great crowd. No one could count all the people. They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language, and they stood in front of the throne and of the Lamb dressed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They called out in a loud voice, our salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb. All the angels stood around the throne, the elders, and the fall of creatures. Then they fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God saying, Amen, praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and might belong to our God forever and ever. Amen. One of the elders asked me, who are those people dressed in white robes and where do they come from? I don't know, sir, you do, I answer. He said to me, these are the people who have come safely through the great persecution. They washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, that is, while they stand before God's throne and serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will protect them with his presence. Never again will they hunger off thirst. Neither sun nor any scorching heat will burn them. For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will be their shepherd and guide them to springs of living water and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Now let me go right through to almost the last chapter in the Bible. Chapter 20. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven holding in his hand the key of the abyss and a long chain and he sees the dragon that holds serpent that is the devil or Satan and tied him up for a thousand years. The angel threw him into the abyss, locked it and sealed it so that he could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were over. After that he must be set loose for a little while. Then I saw thrones and those who sat on them and they were given the power to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been executed because they had proclaimed the truth that Jesus revealed and the Word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image nor had they received the mark of the beast on their foreheads or hands. They lived and ruled as kings with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were over. This is the first raising of the dead. Happy and greatly blessed are those who have a cart in this first raising of the dead. The second death has no power over them. They shall be priests of God and of Christ and they will rule with him for a thousand years. Then finally in the last chapter then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first death disappeared and the sea vanished and I saw the holest city, the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. Dressed and ready like a bride prepared to meet her husband. and I had allowed voice speaking from the throne. Now God's home is with men. He will live with them and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and He will be their God. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes. There will be no more death, no more grief, no more crying or pain. The old things have disappeared. The angel also showed me the river of the water of life, sparkling like crystal, which comes from the throne of God and of the Lamb, and flows down the middle of the city street. On each side of the river was the tree of life, which bears fruit 12 times a year, once every month, and it leaves the for the healing of the nations. Nothing that is under God's curse will be found in the city. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city and His servants will worship Him, they will see His face and His name will be written on their foreheads. There shall be no more night and they will not need lamps or sunlight, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will rule as kings for ever and ever. Amen. When the early church ran into its first difficulties and some of the Christians were put in prison, one of the wise men on the bench in the courtroom that heard their case said this. In the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone. For if this plan or this undertaking is of men, it will fail. But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God. That's my text for tonight, the words of Gamelio. And tonight we really do finish the series on the history of the church with the subject, the future of the church, which is not the easiest chapter to write, and it would be the easiest on which to speculate. I suppose in the year 1900 people thought that one day the church would come right in, that one day the church would cover the whole world and everybody would become Christians, and the whole world would be a Christian world. That was the Christian belief to a very large degree, about 1900. It was swept in on the wave of optimism of the spreading British empire and all the rest. And if you read the average missionary hymn in our hymn book, which comes from that era, you'll find that very optimistic view clearly there in those hymns. But I want to say very frankly, I do not believe that will ever come. My hope is not centered on the church converting everybody in the world. And in fact, we're fighting a losing battle with the population explosion now. And there are not many Christians who are thinking that way now. Now, if 1900 said the church will come right in, 1950 found a lot of people saying the church is going right out and taking the opposite view, the pessimistic view, which believed that the church is a dying cause and finished. And I would agree that if you're going to many churches, you might well feel that. But that would be a mistaken conclusion. I have the feeling that in the year 2000, they won't be discussing whether the church has come right in or gone right out. They'll be discussing whether it's been taken right up, I guess. Nevertheless, we're going to try and pierce the future. No, I want to speak about the immediate future taking that as the next few decades. Then the intermediate future, which I cannot date, but in which certain events will take place within time. And then the ultimate future of the church in eternity, the immediate future, the intermediate future, at some future date of which I know not, and the ultimate future beyond dating of history. Take the immediate future now. I could spend a lot of time speculating tonight. And I could do so by giving you my guess about the next few decades. The sort of thing that I would say would be either concerning the church's beliefs or the church's behavior. Take the second here are some of my speculations. I believe that the church will never be visibly united in one organization in history. I don't expect that. I don't believe it could happen. Second, I believe the church will become less institutional and less clerical. I think the future Christianity will be the informal Christianity that may not have buildings and may not have clergymen with their colors back to front, but may spring up everywhere spontaneously within homes, within places of work in all sorts of other ways. Thirdly, I believe that the leadership of the church is going to pass from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere, and that the churches that have been traditionally the senders of the gospel and the givers of Christianity will need to become the receivers. And this will humble them greatly. That's one of the reasons I wanted to play that record tonight. Because on Monday night we got this tremendous sense. The paragry Christians without any of our push buildings, without any of our financial resources seem to have a life and a vigor that we cover and could do it. And that's going to be a future pattern. As far as beliefs go, going back to the threefold division I made last time between Catholic, liberal and evangelical, or whatever other labels are used, for example, evangelicals are sometimes called fundamentalists and liberals are sometimes called neo-orthodox, but whatever the labels, there are three groups. I could predict that all those in the middle group or the main denominations affected, namely Anglican, Presbyterian Methodist and Congregational, are likely to draw much closer together over the next 20 years. And indeed, are likely to unite in many countries, as they have already done in Canada and South India, and are already seeking to do in Pakistan, and are already seeking to do here for the Anglicans and the Methodists are talking together, congregationals and Presbyterians are talking together. And if they manage those two, then those two will talk together and those four are likely to come together. So I could say that they will be coming together. I will also hazard the speculation that that will not make much difference to their impact on the world. Without going so far as Malcolm Muggridge with his rather cynical comment, the Church Unity reminded him of a group of drunk men who had to hold on to each other to stand up. Without going to that degree, I would nevertheless agree with that Church history professor in Yale University, who said, "We're not quite sure what we believe, but let's unbelieve together." I think in the last analysis, it is truth that makes the impact not unity and that people do not stay away from churches because they're not united, but because they're bewildered and don't get a clear voice. This is what we believe. Now, of those who do give the clear voice, frankly, the field will be left to the Catholics and the evangelicals. Those who say this is what the Church says, those who say this is what the Bible says. And I think the future belongs to one or other of those two. I think the Catholics, if they go on adapting themselves in method as they are, are likely to gain ground. They're losing it in southern Europe, but they'll gain ground in the northern, part of Europe, and elsewhere in the world, if they adapt themselves. The evangelicals will become at once more united and more divided. There is a double stream that seems to crisscross at the moment, and I think those double things will become more pronounced over the next few decades. They will at once be more united and more divided for various reasons. Now, all this is speculation. And it makes this one big assumption that present trends are going to continue in the same direction. But the one fact I've left out is the fact of the possibility of God the Holy Spirit breaking in on the situation. And that could completely change all that I've said, because I set no limits to what the Holy Spirit can do in any church, in any dominant denomination, in any country, and in any person. And present trends can be completely reversed. There have been an England from time to time, when the Holy Spirit has poured out revival on our country, and history has been changed. Pray, God, that we might live to see again such a revival as this country has seen. But mark my words, it will not come as it came before. No revival ever repeats another. And you'll need to be watching carefully to see where God is working, sometimes in the most unexpected places, and through the most unexpected people. But having said all that, which is speculation, and has made no allowance for what the Holy Spirit might do, may I tell you of some things of which I am certain, because God has said so in the Scripture. Number one, the gospel will go to every nation in the world. Now, we are nearer that than we've ever been. The one dark continent of which it was not true was Latin America. But in this century, the gospel has been breaking into every country in Latin America in a wonderful way. So that literally now there are Christians on every continent. But there are still one or two areas in the world where the gospel has not been until recently some of the islands in the Pacific. But those are now being entered. The Wichliffe Bible translators, as we were hearing on Friday evening, are going sometimes to a tribe of 13 people and considering whether they can justify the time and money and energies spent on translating part of the word of God into a language for 13 people in a tribe. I believe that God is willed, that the gospel should go to every nation, every tribe, every people, every tongue. And if God is willed, that it will be done. And the church is doing it in His will. So that's the first thing. That is not to say that everybody will be converted. It is to say that everybody will hear. And with modern methods of mass communication, I believe it is within our reach. At least by the year 2000, to have completed that task. Secondly, He has also told us very clearly that there will be a great falling away and that the love of many Christians will grow cold. In other words, the world full of backsliding Christians. I find that an ominous and a terrible thought, but it's there and I cannot avoid it in the Bible. I am impressed again and again with the fact that Britain is full of backsliding Christians, full of them. You go out and stop the first man in the street and say, "Did you go to school? Did you hear about Jesus when you were a child? You'll be amazed how many people there are, whose love has grown cold." And how many set off well as young people, as youngsters, they were doing what Mr. Baton was doing, preaching in the open air. I have a photograph of him that a member of the congregation gave me, of him preaching in the open air and say, "A green of the young dark head man." And I've shown in that photograph, young people did that. The Mr. Baton has kept doing it. Others have not. And the love of many has waxed cold. I believe that there will be a great increase in the love of many grown cold. Why? Well, for many reasons, false teaching coming in, perverted ideas of Christianity, preachers who play to the gallery and preach fat fences and fables simply because people want to hear something new instead of something old. But the biggest reason for this will be my third prediction from the Scripture that persecution of Christians will increase and increase. It will be more and more difficult to tend for Jesus Christ and the Church of Jesus Christ will need to prepare now for difficult days ahead. It is going to be increasingly difficult to live the Christian life as history draws to its final catastrophic denumment. Well, now so much for the immediate future may I now pass on to the intermediate future of the church. I'm looking beyond the immediate decades. I'm looking now to the next great event in world history, which will not be World War 3, though I believe that's coming. It will not be the day the first man stands on the moon, though I believe that's coming and may well be here by 1971 or two. Although if the finance crisis goes on, it's going to be put up for some years. What is the next great world event? It's an event mentioned 300 times in the New Testament. Not the cross, that's past, though that's mentioned 300 times, but the return of our Lord Jesus Christ to this world in physical, visible form. Coming back in his body, the same body with which he left, a body that has nail prints in hands and feet. That is the next great world event. And when it happens, the condition of the church will be radically changed. Now here I'm going to tread on a few corners. I sense it before I start. And so I must be very frank and truthful with you about my own understanding of these things. And I realize that there are others of you in the congregation who will be frustrated because I'm not passing on your understanding of these things. Let me say straight away that all Christians who love the Word of God believe that Jesus Christ is coming again. And believe the same thing about the day when he comes. But Christians are divided or at least differ over something that is to happen before he comes and something that is to happen afterwards. And it's about these two things that I want to speak briefly. And all I can do is to share with you and I'll share it with you purely on the grounds of my own understanding and not on any dogmatic ground. After what some 20 years of studying the New Testament, I can only tell you what I find therein and leave you to study it for yourself and see what you can find in those pages. The three events which concern us here are given technical names by many Christians, the tribulation, the rapture and the millennium. And these are the three things about which I want to speak now. We're agreed about the middle one. There is some difference of understanding about the tribulation. There is some difference of understanding about the millennium. But let me tell you what these three words mean. And emphasize that middle one and underline it. Get your hope fixed there. First of all, the tribulation is a phrase we use sometimes the great tribulation which is a biblical phrase for the final few years of history when there will be terrible trouble. The word tribulation means trouble. It's just a grown-up word for trouble. And it comes from the Latin tribulum which was used of a threshing sledge, a sledge with spikes underneath that ran over the corn to separate it from the chaff. And the tribulation is when you feel everything is going over you and ripping it a bit. And that's the word used here. The great tribulation a few years at the end of history when history goes wrong. There will be years of dictatorship when there will be a world dictator and a world religion, a totalitarian state which in return for peace and security makes a total claim on the human race not just physically but mentally and spiritually. And does that by establishing dictator worship? Now we have seen the horrors of totalitarian states. We've lived through the horrors of those some of us. And every totalitarian state sooner or later plunges its people into war and suffering. And that multiplied on a world scale is what is meant by the great tribulation in Scripture. That crime acts a totalitarian government at the end of history that will plunge people ultimately into a major war. Now then having said that, Christians differ over this. What will happen to the church during the great tribulation at the end of history? Many sincere Christians for whom I have a profound respect but from whom I must in love differ, believe that the church will be taken out of the world before that tribulation. It's an idea that never appeared until the 19th century and then it appeared in two people, Edward Irvin and Jan Derby. Edward Irvin, a Presbyterian, Jan Derby and Anglican Curit. From Jan Derby it passed to all the groups known as the Brasron and through what's called the Scofield Bible, the idea passed to many many other Christians. I can only say that I have been unable to find this in the Scripture. I can find it in the Scofield Bible, I can find it in books by many people, but I cannot find it in the Bible. And I have yet to meet a person who found it by reading the Bible alone. I simply pass that on as a sincere conviction. Others believe that the church will be taken out of the tribulation halfway through. And others, and here I frankly put myself, believe that the church will go through that trouble and that Jesus will come at the end of it and take them out. This is my own understanding of Scripture. At least the only way out of that trouble, as I can see it, will be by martyrdom. Now why is it that that will be a time of such trouble for God's people? The answer is very simple. There are two groups of people who never fit in to a totalitarian state, Jews and Christians. There are only two groups of people in totalitarian states in the past who have said we cannot worship men. Even for the price of peace and security we cannot worship men in Germany so many years ago. In China today, totalitarian states. It is these two groups of people who cannot accept a total authority of men over their soul. And that is why in any totalitarian state it is God's people who will suffer most, whether his former people are Jews or his new Israel, the church. And I believe personally the church must be prepared for that and must be ready to go through that trouble as she's come through other troubles and look for the appearing of Jesus Christ who will come to rescue his church and come to take them to be with himself. Now if you do not hold the view that I have come to, then God bless you. Let us agree to different love. May I plead with you not to read any Bibles with notes in, not to read any other books, but go to the Word of God with an open mind and say, what does this book say? But the second thing of the intermediate future, I can be more dogmatic on the rapture. What will happen when Jesus comes back? I'll tell you this, if you've never flown before, you'll fly then. It is, as I said, the noisiest verse in the Bible, the trumpet will sound, the archangel will cry. And when a shout, the Lord will descend from heaven. It will be a shout loud enough to wake the dead. And the first people to meet him on that day will be those who've died. And the second group of people to meet him on that day will be those who are still living. That means that one generation of Christians will never die. There will be no funerals for one group of Christians. That's an exciting thrilling thing to me. And yet it's a sobering thought too. I remember the final rally of the Billy Graham Crusade last year in Wembley. And looking round at what was it, 120,000 Christians and others singing the praises of God in the stands. And I remember thinking, this is a big meeting, but what kind of a meeting will it be up there in the clouds with Jesus? Every Christian has ever lived. There wouldn't be a stage in big enough on earth. So Jesus has arranged to meet in the air. That's big enough. And you can imagine the crowd that there will be from every nation, from the dead, people of bygone years. In one meeting, that'll be the biggest Christian meeting ever held. Furthermore, it'll be the longest. And they shall be forever with the Lord. A wonderful day. But the Bible reminds us of this. That those who meet Christ in the air and what an exhilarating experience that will be even physically. What a wonderful experience to meet Christ in the air. Those who are taken to meet him will leave others behind. And in one of the most sobering things he ever said, Jesus said, "There will be two women in one kitchen and one will go and the other will be left. There will be two people in the same bed and husband and wife will be left alone in a double bed. It will be an extraordinary day when Jesus calls the church home. May I solemnly ask you, if you are quite sure that you will be meeting in that great Christian rally at the end of history, you need to be sure. Even if your partner sure that doesn't mean that you will be there, you may drag your unbelieving partner to a church service but you won't be able to drag them to that meeting. One will be taken to Jesus the other left. But oh, what a sight in the sound it will be when we meet the Lord Jesus. That's why my grandfather has on his grave stone what a meeting exclamation mark. A comment which puzzles those who enjoy looking around tombstones. What a meeting and it will be a meeting. The third thing that I mentioned of the intermediate future was the millennium and the word is a Latin word, meaning a thousand years. A former word that was used was the word chillionism which comes from the Greek word for a thousand years, a chillion or chillion and I want to speak of this known. I read a passage from the New Testament which mentioned a thousand years at the end of history. A thousand years after Christ comes again in which he will reign for a thousand years in this world of ours. Now again, I want to say very frankly, Christians do differ in their understanding of this. Some believe that this is a purely symbolic figure and doesn't mean a period of time. Others believe that the church is to start that thousand years and Christ will come at the end of it and others, including myself, feel that it means what it says and that there will be a thousand years in which Christ will show what he can do when he is in charge of this world. This is a world that was meant to be God's world, the devil got hold of it and the devil runs it at the moment. We know we are God and the whole world live in the power of the evil one. Jesus called the devil the God of this world. He's running it. If you want to know why there's a Vietnam, it's because Satan is running the world. And if you're so Vietnam tomorrow, there'll be another war somewhere else the next week because he's running it. Why is it that we can't with all our resources, with all our knowledge, with all our science and education create a world in which we're happy for our children to grow? Because Satan's running it, that's why. But what a wonderful world it could be if Jesus ran it. We'd have peace because we'd have justice. We'd have the things that we were meant to have. We'd have a world in which even the animals wouldn't pray on each other. And I believe that Jesus will show what he can do at the end of history when he takes over the government. I believe the government will be upon his show the one day. And so I look forward to that in the intermediate future. But I'm not going to say any more about it, except to say that when I sing the Lord's prayer tonight and sing thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven, I'm in justice. Because that phrase on earth as it is in heaven applies to the three previous phrases. "Hallowed be thy name on earth as it is in heaven." Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven qualifies all three. And I believe there will be a kingdom of Christ that the kingdoms of this world must become the kingdoms of Christ. And then he can hand them back to the Father and God will be all in awe, which brings me to the ultimate future that lies beyond the third great stage in the future of the Church. There is surprising little said about the ultimate future of the Church because it's unimaginable. You and I could not have imagined what this world was like if we'd been told about it before we got here, could we? May I say that the only thing I need to say here is this. What I has not seen, what ear has not heard, what has never entered into the heart of man to conceive or imagine, God has prepared for them that love him. And so I can't tell you much about the ultimate future. I can tell you that it is different as being engaged to being married. It's wonderful to be engaged, to be in love, but to be married is the real thing. And Paul said, "I have betrothed you engaged you to Christ, but one day there's going to be a marriage." And the relationship to Christ in heaven will be as different from my relationship to Christ now as my relationship to my wife now is to when we were engaged. And that's something to look forward to. You're going to be worshipping in heaven. Do you know, it makes me ashamed when people grumble at the length of a service it really does. I know some of you did last Sunday night. And it makes me ashamed. When I think of Baptist meeting in Moscow, we meet for three hours. When I think of the churches in Germany after the war with their roofs off and no heating and ten degrees of frost and meeting for four and five hours. When I think of people in Latin America, if you don't want to go home from the service and just want to go on and on, why in Britain do we say he's been an hour? Let me tell you first that God asked you to give him one day in set, not a couple of hours in it, one day. And that when you get to heaven, you're going to be worshipping it all the time. To some people, that would be hell, you know. It really would. The idea of worshipping forever, but when you really love the Lord, to worship him forever is heaven. It really is. And every time you have a four taste of heaven down below, you could go on worshipping, couldn't you? You'll be worshipping. You'll be serving him day and night, 24 hours shift. Don't you ever grumble that you're doing too much for the Lord that he's loading you too much? You're going to be serving him day and night up there. What a wonderful preparation to be doing as much as you can for the Lord here. Serving him day and night. I don't know what service there will be to render. I haven't been given the details. I just know that I won't be sitting in an armchair or day with an enter Maccassor embroidered with the letters RIP. I will be doing something I'll be serving God. Busy doing the Lord's work day and night in his holy temple. It will be a most active place. In fact, so wonderful that I just can't describe it. And neither could you, even if you'd been there. There was a man called Paul and he said, "One day, whether in the body or in the spirit, I know not, but I was caught up to the seventh heaven and I saw things of which I may not speak." "An imaginable future for the church." And the church doesn't look to the immediate future or even the intermediate. It looks right beyond them, says there's an ultimate future in which there will be a new world, a new heaven and a new earth. And everybody in it will be in the church of Christ. And for the first time what I've always believed in but never seen, there will be one holy Catholic which means universal and apostolic church for the apostles will be there in the centre of it. The glory of it all. And so I finish. I believe that the only human society on earth that has a future is the church. Mainly because it's the only society on earth that never loses a single member by death. And the only society on earth that is bigger, every minute of every hour of every day of every way. of every month of every year, of every decade, of every century, of every millennium, and has been growing ever since Christ said, "Peter, I will build my church." Over these few months, I've tried to trace the building of that church. How in times when it seemed as if the church would die out, the Holy Spirit has brought the Word of God and the Gospel to people, and it's sprung to life again and gone on growing. There are three Christian virtues, three. One is faith which builds on the past and what God has already done. The second is hope which builds on the future and what God is going to do. And the third is life which builds on the present. A Christian life is unbalanced, that is strong in faith, and even in love, but lacking in hope. And through this series of church history, I've been seeking to stimulate your hope. And for the Christian, the Word of hope does not mean, as it means to many other people, wishful thinking. It means absolute certainty for the future. I finish with some words of the great men, Bishop Great Men, Bishop Ryer, that great Anglican Bishop of Liverpool, of a former decade. He has a little pamphlet called the true church and he finishes. Men fancy if they join this church or that church and become communicans or go through certain forms that all must be right with their souls. It is an utter delusion, it is a gross mistake. Take notice, you may be a staunch Anglican or Presbyterian or Congregationalist or Baptist or Methodist or Plymouth brother, and yet not belong to the true church. And if you do not, it will be better at last if you had never been born. Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, you are building your church and the gates of Hades cannot prevail against it. And we look forward to your coming and the cries in our hearts even so come Lord Jesus. And we look forward to going to heaven, to glory, and then we shall worship in sight and not in faith. And then we shall worship in service we ought. Lord keep our eyes fixed in hope. This blessed living hope which came to us by the resurrection from the dead. And to you be that glory and honor the majesty and the might. And to your father and your spirit forever and ever. Amen. You have been listening to David Paulson. Other talks by David Paulson can be found and downloaded free of charge by visiting www.DavidPawson.co.uk.