This is the seventh and (for now) final thesis in this series making the case for Christendom. I may add additional theses in the future, but seven is a good number, and there are other topics to explore.
If you need to catch up on the last installment, you can do so here:
Thesis 7 - The zeal of the Lord will do this
All four Gospels record a bold and decisive episode in Jesus’ ministry where he enters the courtyard of the temple—the seat of religious and economic power in Israel—and starts flipping exchange tables and driving both people and animals out of the sacred area which God intended to be a place for prayer, not extortion. In the course of this shocking event John notes: “His disciples remembered that it is written, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me’” (2:17). It was Jesus' zeal for the honor of God's name, embodied in the sanctity of the temple, that compelled Him to confront the prevailing powers with such intensity.
Indeed, zeal for his honor has always characterized God. For example, when reading the Prophets one notices a regular refrain amidst God’s chastisement of his unfaithful people and his promises to save them. The note which rings out time and again is “for the sake of my name.” This refrain is especially prominent throughout Ezekiel:
But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived… But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out… But I withheld my hand and acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations… And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds.
Ezekiel 20:9, 14, 22, 45
Similarly, Isaiah:
For my name’s sake I defer my anger; for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off.
Isaiah 48:9
The Lord, concerned with his reputation both on earth and in heaven (cf. Eph. 3:10), is committed to accomplishing his purposes despite the unruliness of his people. He is not a weak local deity. He is God Almighty, and he is not content to settle for anything less than the absolute redemption of all things. He is the Lord of heaven and earth, and he has set out to cover the earth with the knowledge of his glory as the waters cover the sea.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Isaiah 9:7
Isaiah’s prophecy is not merely inspiration for majestic baroque oratorios; it is a promise of the Messiah's reign and continuous increase in authority over the entire earth. There will be no end to the increase of his government. There will be no end to the increase of his just and righteous rule. God promised it, and for the sake of his name he will fulfill it.
Do we possess the vision to see it, the imagination to conceive it, the faith to believe it, the voices to proclaim it, and the hands to labor for it?
God’s own zeal will bring the reality of his kingdom on earth as in heaven, and no amount of secular humanism in our miserable modern age can stop him. He will bring about Christendom, as surely as he raised Christ from the dead. The nations will worship him. Every tongue will confess Christ as Lord. He will have the obedience of the peoples.
In spite of the present weakness of the Church in the West—barely standing with its light nearly extinguished—the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law.
Isaiah 42:3-4