Abandoning the Loser Gospel: How the Book of Acts Proves an Eschatology of Victory
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SORRY NOT SORRY
If modern evangelicalism were a basketball team, we could be compared to the 2023-2024 Detroit Pistons. In the former days, circa the late 1980s, the Pistons were a dominant team, winning back-to-back titles, pulverizing almost everyone that stood in their path, and becoming a team that was well acquainted with victory. Yet, regardless of such a glorious past, the current iteration of the Detroit Pistons is both laughable and pathetic. Instead of the courage and physicality that defined Isaiah Thomas or the killer instinct of Bill Lamphere, this year's Pistons were weak, they were cowardly, and they did everything within their power to tank their season. By tanking a season, I mean they believed that if they could lose enough games, a hero would get drafted in the next NBA draft, and that hero would come and rescue them. I can think of no better comparison to modern-day evanjellyfish Christianity.
Although having a past and a legacy littered with tremendous victories, infinitely more glorious than the 1980s Pistons, much of today's evangelical Church has become toothless, passive, and seemingly content to simply tread water while awaiting a Deliverer to come and rescue us from our own impotence and incompetence. Rather than boldly advancing the Gospel with the fervor and tenacity that defined giants of the faith like Martin Luther, John Calvin, or the Puritans, many modern evangelicals have adopted an attitude of spiritual pacifism, more concerned with tanking our legacy than with building a dynasty that will last forever. And in the same way, no one admires a dejected team with a penchant for losing; no one admires a pathetic Christian religion with a loser's mentality. This is one area where the Church of Jesus Christ needs desperately to repent.
Now, by repentance, I am not just talking about individual Christians who believe everything is going to hell in a handbasket and have adopted a posture of trembling ostriches within their culture. Sure, they need to repent and grow a spine. But, I lay the majority of the blame, instead, at the feet of pastors and seminaries, who preach such rank eschatological escapism that the laborers have left the fields. I blame pastors and seminaries who publish books, put on conferences, and teach sermon series peddling such an inglorious and hopeless message about how we lose down here that the Church of Jesus Christ can no longer conceptualize what victory is. And as a result, we have become a demoralized church, a defeated church, an impotent church, and a timid church. Precisely none of the things Christ died to make us, we have shamefully become. And, as said before, it is high time we wake up, get up, and get back into the fight.
And that message is precisely what we have been communicating in this series called A Practical Postmillennialism. We have been trying to discover what God says about the end times, what role we have to play in those times, and what that role will require of us as we go and serve our King. If you have followed along, you will know that the Bible's first book tells us everything we need to know about how God made the world. He made the world so that it would be filled with worshippers. He made the world where humans would rule and extend His dominion. And He made a world where godly men and women would populate every square inch of this planet with discipled worshiping Christians. This is the paradigm for how God created the world in Genesis 1:28, and it is the plan God refuses to abandon after sin enters the world. Instead of scrapping His plan to spread His victory over every square inch of earth's dirt, He repeats it, restates it, and reinvigorates it by making astounding promises to Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah. God promises that Noah's family will fill the world with worshippers one day (Genesis 9:1). He promises that Abraham's family will bring God's covenantal blessings to every family on earth (Genesis 12:3). He promises that Isaac's family will bless all the nations (Genesis 26:4). He promises that Jacob will have kings and nations who rule in allegiance to Yahweh coming from his own loins (Genesis 35:11). And He promises that from the line of Judah, the King of kings would come, and bring the wayward nations into obedience to Him.
This means nothing less than God's plans to win the entire world to Himself so that no more pagan religions exist, murder is eliminated, infant mortality is eradicated, and the whole world is filled with Christians who worship their King. If you think the future of the world is pluralistic, you have a flawed view of what God is doing. The future, my dear friends, is Christian. The future is about the bright hope of Jesus bringing His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. The widespread proliferation of pagans with secular philosophies and institutions will fade, will wither, and will give way to the universal empire of Jesus Christ. Far from a loser theology, we have a theology of dominion and victory in the one with the name above all names!
So with that, I have been trying to take down the loser gospel of dispensationalism, of premillennialism, of some ammillennials, and of the lion's share of evangelicalism. Instead, I would like to see an eschatology of victory, which is the eschatology of Christian history, retake root in this land. I would like to see Christianity become that glorious champion of Christ, who will storm the gates of hell with water guns, and will take their beatings with joy for the name of Christ, and will see the Kingdom growing and pushing back the enemy in our lifetime. I want to see the Church become what it has been in the past and stop pooping her pants every time our culture acts like pagans.
With that in mind, today's episode will examine the Book of Acts and show how it not only proves Postmillennialism but also gives us the attitude adjustment we need to stop losing and start winning, working, warring, building, and extending His dominion.
So, with that, let us begin!
THE LOSER MENTALITY AND THE BOOK OF ACTS
If you want to know what Jesus wanted His Kingdom to look like or how He envisioned us to think, act, or labor in this world, you would be hard-pressed to find a better example than the first-century Church. These are the men who knew Jesus face to face. They are the ones who heard His sermons, wrestled with His parables, and watched as He gave one discourse after another on the nature of the Kingdom throughout His three and a half years of ministry. They also had off-the-record conversations, campfire discussions, and other forms of communication not recorded in Scripture. They had the unique privilege of asking Jesus questions that we do not get to ask, and as a result, they got a unique glimpse into Jesus' vision for the Kingdom of God and what His Church was to be about and to accomplish. Thus, when we look at how the first-century Church behaved, we can actually intuit much about the theology of the Kingdom.
For instance, if the early Church believed in the same way as John MacArthur, that the Church loses down here, we should expect to see the early Church losing. We should expect to hear a bit of pessimism in their vernacular. And we should expect to read a fair amount of hedging on just how much success could be possible in order to maintain our status as losers. And if you think that is harsh, I would remind you that we are English speakers. People who win are winners. People who fight are fighters. People who lose are losers. People who lie are liars. This is not very controversial English. It is only controversial because we do not want to reckon with the implications of our embraced theology. When we say the Church loses down here, we are saying she is the loser down here. Whether we like that or not or have the integrity to admit it, that is precisely what we are saying. And, I, for one, am totally unwilling to speak in such ways about the bride of Christ (whether directly by the words coming out of my face or indirectly through what I believe about her in my mind). I would rather overestimate how much she will accomplish with Christ as her bridegroom than stand before the King of Glory one day and explain why I filled my time with bashing and doubting His bride. If there were ever a husband I would not want to face after slandering His beloved wife, Christ Jesus would rank supreme.
Now, back to the point… The Church we see in Acts does not act like losers, does not think like losers, does not moan and whine like losers, and does not expect to become losers. From the earliest moments of the book all the way to the very end, we see a group of people who expect to win, expect that the Kingdom of God will rapidly advance, and are overjoyed when God begins doing that in their lifetime. So, with that, I would like us to look at a few examples in this book to see how their expectation was nothing short of victory. I would invite anyone interested to see this book with new eyes to continue with me as we open it.
WHEN DO THE LAST DAYS BEGIN?
The end times are not a future period we look forward to - they began 2,000 years ago with the incarnation of Christ. This is because the Bible divides time into two categories. The former times (which are the times of the law and the prophets, temples and tabernacles, priesthoods and sacrifices, etc.) and the latter times or end times (which is the period of Christ and His Spirit-indwelled Church). And guess what? The New Testament makes this abundantly plain for anyone with eyes to see. For instance, the author of Revelation, when talking about the inauguration of the end times says: these events "must soon take place" (Revelation 1:1) and that the "time" for the changing of the ages is not long away in the distant future but "is near" (Revelation 1:3). Jesus warns He will return in judgment "quickly" against apostate Israel (Revelation 22:7,12,20; Matthew 24:34), which is why James declares that the Judge who will pronounce judgment on the Jews is standing "right at the door" (James 5:9). This is why the author of Hebrews so clearly differentiates an era that is passing away (Hebrews 9:26) and a more perfect era (the end times) which has now come in Christ (Hebrews 9:26). He even tells us that in the old times God spoke to His people through the law and the prophets, but "now in these last days God has spoken to us by His Son" (Hebrews 1:2). Since God has incontrovertibly put away the Old Covenant types and shadows and has spoken to us through His beloved Child it is painfully apparent that we are living in the last days. We are not waiting for the end to start - we have been living squarely in the long-promised eschaton for two millennia!
Now, as clear as that is, not everyone agrees. Many modern evangelicals seem to conveniently overlook these things and insist that we are living in "the age of the church" and still waiting for the end times to begin. Not only have they invented a new age in which the Bible does not even countenance, but they have also ignored the clear teaching of the New Testament, which forcefully disproves their assumption. Perhaps most shocking is how they arrogantly dismiss Jesus' own words that the Kingdom arrived in His incarnation (Luke 17:21) and would be entrusted to His people, the Church, to bear its Kingdom fruit (Matthew 21:43). They ignore the prophecies of Zechariah how this coming Prophet, Priest, and King will establish God's Kingdom on earth (Zechariah 1-7), which began when He rode into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey and set up His empire (Zechariah 9:9). They've become deaf to the words of Christ, who said that the Kingdom was near to the first century people listening to Him (Mark 1:15), that it was already at hand two thousand years ago (Matthew 4:17), and was being inaugurated as Christ ascended to the ancient of Days (Daniel 7:13-14) and sat upon His rightful throne to reign (Matthew 28:18) with all authority (Matthew 28:18). The clarity in all of this is astounding and even more astounding at how readily it is ignored.
These blind guides not only fail to see this generally, but they fail to see this, particularly in the book of Acts, which screams that a new era of history, the last days (or end times), has already begun! For instance, according to the apostle Peter in Acts chapter 2, the last days began at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on all flesh. As the crowds watched the rushing wind of the Spirit descend upon the early Church, Peter reminded them that all of this was prophesied in the book of Joel, who not only prophesied this event would occur but said it would mark the arrival of God's end-time Kingdom! (Acts 2:17-21). So, just in case you missed that, according to Peter and Joel, the pouring out of the Spirit is the definitive evidence that the end times have already begun. The fact that men and women can be indwelled by the Spirit, grow the fruit of the Spirit, and have the gifts of the Spirit is undeniable evidence that the old era of sacrifices and ceremonialism has been fulfilled so that a new era in Christ and His Spirit could begin!
Now, maybe some would say, 'Wait a minute!' Joel and Peter also talk about signs like the sun turning dark and the moon turning to blood (Joel 2:31; Acts 2:20), and both of these men use grand cosmic images of things happening in the sky that could not have happened yet! This is a common objection, and I believe it comes from a total illiteracy of the Bible and how the Bible employs Biblical symbols.
So when the cosmic imagery emerges of the sun, moon, and stars turning away their light, it symbolizes the faithful heavenly rulers rejecting the crumbling earthly regime of wicked human leadership. The prophets employ vivid apocalyptic language to depict this judgment on rebellious nations. Against Egypt, God declares, "All the shining lights in the heavens I will make dark over you, and will set darkness on your land" (Ezekiel 32:8). Regarding Tyre, He warns, "I will cover the heavens and make dark their stars; I will cover the sun with a cloud and the moon shall not give its light" (Ezekiel 32:3-7). Of Babylon's fall, Isaiah foretells, "The stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth their light; the sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will not shed its light" (Isaiah 13:10). Concerning Edom, it is prophesied "all the host of heaven will wear away, and the skies will be rolled up like a scroll...for the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion" (Isaiah 34:4-5). Joel foresees "wonders in the sky and on the earth, blood, fire, and columns of smoke...the sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood" (Joel 2:30-31) before the great day of the Lord against the nations.
This apocalyptic cosmic imagery of the lights going out, the stars falling, and the heavens shaking and rolling up is repeatedly used in the Old Testament to dramatize God's judgment on wicked human powers and the establishment of His sovereign rule. Whether depicting the downfall of Babylon (Isaiah 13), Tyre (Isaiah 24:23), Egypt (Ezekiel 32:7), or rebellious Israel itself (Joel 2:10), the prophets envision the sun, moon, and stars abandoning their posts as the divine powers of light refuse to countenance the darkness of prideful earthly regimes. This cataclysmic language evokes the de-creation and un-ruling of a fallen cosmos as God's Kingdom comes to bring justice and new creation and not a future event when actual balls of fire fall out of the sky, refusing to give their light or turn red with dripping blood. We have to learn to read the Bible Biblically and employ Biblical symbolism Biblically.
Thus, at Pentecost, the end-time Kingdom of our God and His messiah burst out of heaven in power and made its dwelling place upon the earth. To signify its coming, God united His elect and unified them with a single tongue, showcasing how His Gospel will eventually bring all the peoples on earth together under Him. All who rejected Him would be brought to utter ruin and disaster by Him. They would undergo such ruinous shame that the sun would refuse to shine on them. In both of these scenarios, whether it be God building a world full of worshiping immigrants or bringing to judgment the rebels and reprobate, we see that the Kingdom of God has come, and the book of Acts announces its arrival.
THE POWER THAT FUELS THE KINGDOM
but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." - Acts 1:8
If there was ever any doubt that Jesus intended His Church to win the world, conquering the nations for His glory, it is utterly obliterated by His promise in Acts 1:8 - "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth."
Let that sink in for a moment. The Lord Jesus, before ascending to reign, promises to empower His disciples with the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. He is not giving them a pep talk or a motivational speech. He promises that the third Person of the Godhead, the One who hovered over the waters of creation and ordered the chaos, would be poured out on them! And do we think that the same Spirit who ordered the first creation before Adam's sin will fail to order the new creation bought and paid for by Him? This same Spirit is alive and well in us, and He does not lose!
To believe that we lose down here is to believe that the Spirit who dwells within us loses down here. And it is also dangerously akin to blaspheming the Holy Spirit, denying His power, and saying that He cannot do what He has determined to do. When we adopt a losing mentality, we paint the Spirit as an impotent force, unable to accomplish the very task He was sent forth by Christ to perform, which means we view Him as weak, incapable, and as ineffective as we are. How can we dare claim that the infinite, almighty Spirit of God, who has spent two millennia building His Church and expanding it and will continue to do so until the very end, will lose down here? How can we have the audacity to say that He will fail to achieve His purposes on earth? This is the height of arrogance. In my opinion, this reeks of unbelief.
By the power of the Spirit of God, Jesus births and builds an unstoppable Kingdom that even the gates of hell cannot withstand (Matthew 16:18). The Spirit does not come to preside over a plane crash or a boxer who was paid to go down in the 5th, but to actively conquer the world and claim the nations for as the Son's everlasting heritage (Psalm 2:8). To believe otherwise is to deny the very words of Christ and despise the power by which the Kingdom advances.
Yet, as we have seen in the book of Acts, the Church explodes from a small group of messianic disciples hiding away in an upper room in Jerusalem to the lion-hearted legion of conquerors who filled Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the Roman empire with the Gospel of Jesus Christ in just a few short years (Acts 1:8). This is the same Kingdom that put the devils to flight and triumphed over them with a powerful and glorious Gospel (Acts 8:6-8). Far from losing, the Book of Acts tells of one victory after another after another.
THE EXPLOSIVE GROWTH OF THE KINGDOM
When God created the heavens and the earth, His first command to mankind was clear: "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it" (Genesis 1:28). His first command was that He wanted a world filled with people who worship Him. He commanded Christendom just minutes after Adam and Eve were created and married.
And while sin perverted this mandate, sending humanity on a tragic detour into rebellion and decay, God never abandoned His original plan. By purchasing the sinful world back from the clinches of the serpent through Christ's atoning death on the cross, the stage was set for the renewal of all things - a spiritual re-genesis where redeemed humanity could once again spread gloriously across the planet as fruitful worshipers of YHWH and subduing pagan lands under God's dominion.
With this in mind, the book of Acts is nothing less than a masterpiece of Biblical prophetic literature coming to fulfillment. When we see the newly redeemed Church growing and spreading in Jerusalem, multiplying in Judea, and sending missionaries throughout the Roman world, we should see how these ancient promises from the creation week are being fulfilled before our very eyes. This was the beginning of the end of the curse of death, decay, and darkness - the brilliant dawn of a new creation begins to glimmer and grow in the Acts of the Apostles. No other text in all of human history so accurately celebrates how God's original design and plan for the world, to fill it with worshipers, is being worked out in space in time, in hostile lands, triumphantly progressing little by little to the glory of God. I do not want to understate this; the book of Acts is the story of how Genesis 1:28 began to happen, and it continues to occur in our day and will continue to happen until the end of days!
Let me demonstrate what I am saying so you can see it in the book of Acts. The book begins with a mere 120 disciples huddled together in the upper room, awaiting the Spirit's arrival. When that Spirit did arrive, a spark ignited at Pentecost and exploded into an unstoppable wildfire of Kingdom expansion that would forever change the world as we know it. From 120 in the upper room 3120 after Peter's first sermon, the Church was on a collision course for exponential growth (Acts 2:41). This was just the first shockwave; Luke tells us that "the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved" (Acts 2:47) until over 5,000 more had joined the ranks in Jerusalem not long after that (Acts 4:4).
Luke continues this narrative of exponential growth by telling us that "multitudes of both men and women" flooded into the Church in those early days (Acts 5:14). While being persecuted by many within the Jewish leadership, there were priests, Levites, Pharisees, and Sadducees that repented of killing Christ and came into His Church. Luke tells us that "a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith" (Acts 6:7), which lets us know that this was no small contingency revived in Christ. This once feeble band of followers grew so rapidly that grievances emerged about overlooked widows in "the daily distribution" (Acts 6:1). We see nothing less than explosive exponential growth in the earliest days.
As persecution increased, it only fanned the fires into the regions beyond. No sooner did the religious authorities violently "scatter" the believers than they "went about preaching the word" (Acts 8:4), sparking fresh revivals across Judea, Galilee, and Samaria. As Philip proclaimed the Kingdom, "both men and women" abandoned pagan idols and old covenants to be "baptized" into the overflowing river of redemption (Acts 8:12). So many were swept into this current that gospel evangelists spent entire years discipling "a great many people" until the sect became known as "the Christians" (Acts 11:26).
From Judea, the Kingdom advanced through Samaria, "multiplying" with each foothold (Acts 9:31) as "all the residents" of cities like Lydda and Joppa saturated with new believers (Acts 9:35, 42). So complete was the transformation that entire Gentile churches arose across the empire, the teeming fruit of disciples who "taught a great many people" and "declared...how [God] had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles" (Acts 11:26, 14:27).
Whether in Iconium, Lystra, Philippi, Thessalonica, Athens, Corinth, or Ephesus - the pattern remained the same: Mass conversions of "Jews and Greeks" alike, leading households and communities to flood into the Kingdom's joy. In Ephesus alone, Paul's ministry reached such cosmic impact that "all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord" (Acts 19:10), until pagan magistrates were left stunned that "many thousands...among the Jews...have believed" (Acts 21:20).
Each locale witnessed supernatural wonders and gospel transformation:
A group of 120 believers became "three thousand souls" composed of "multitudes of both men and women" (Acts 2:41, 5:14).
Entire priesthoods converted as the Word "continued to increase, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly" (Acts 6:7).
In city upon city, "a great number...turned to the Lord" and were joined by "many people...added to the Lord" (Acts 11:21, 24).
So widespread was this holy wildfire that those counted among the fruit included influential "leading women" (Acts 17:4, 12) and persecutors like the Philippian jailer whose "entire household...believed in God" (Acts 16:31-34).
Too numerous to exhaustively catalog, the Book of Acts is a gleaming transcript of singular advances like the conversions of Lydia's household (Acts 16:14-15), Crispus the synagogue ruler (Acts 18:8), Athens' Dionysius and Damaris (Acts 17:34), and the many thousands whom Jesus claimed as "my people" in Corinth (Acts 18:10).
Everywhere the Apostolic company went, unbroken fields of ripe spiritual harvest awaited. The scope was so incomprehensible that in the very final verses, Luke can summarize it in cosmic strokes: "The word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily" as Paul basked in proclaiming the Kingdom "with all openness, unhindered" (Acts 19:20, 28:30-31).
This was not the activity of a fringe sect confined to sketchy suburbs. This was a tidal wave of truth crushing every manmade philosophy and counterfeit faith in its path. There was no stopping the inevitable advance - skeptics could only admit they were "convinced" as Paul "testified to the Kingdom of God from morning till evening" day after day after day (Acts 28:23-24).
From Judea to Samaria, to the nations beyond - the exponential onslaught of the Spirit was undeniable. This explosion of Kingdom growth shatters any notion of the Church retreating or admitting future defeat. The only question for the faithful is whether they will embrace this sin-crushing, nation-discipling vision or cower in unbelief.
THE VICTORIOUS ATTITUDE OF THE KINGDOM
Along with the historical record of the Church's explosive growth in the first century, as recorded in the book of Acts, there are also passages that help us understand the kind of attitude that we should have when thinking about the Church and its growth today. Far from a negative Nancy-style pessimism, Acts teaches us that we are to be involved and participate in the growth of the Kingdom, working with all our might, spreading the Gospel, making disciples, joyful and festive, and engaged in kingdom-multiplying endeavors to the glory of God and the advancement of His Church.
Brothers and sisters, the Book of Acts does not simply record the triumphant growth of the early Church—it showcases the courageous, resilient, and victorious attitudes that propelled that expansion. We find no room for pessimism, defeatism, or resignation in these Scriptural accounts. The Spirit that animated the apostles and early believers was one of unflinching resolve, joyful endurance, and a deep conviction that the Kingdom of God was prevailing mightily against the ranks of darkness.
Consider the posture that Acts 4 commends - a fervent cry for boldness amid threats, a hunger to preach Christ fearlessly as signs and wonders confirm the Word. The Church's response? Shaken by the Spirit, "they began to speak the word of God with boldness" (Acts 4:31). There was no softening of their proclamation or wavering in their witness. With the Kingdom's unstoppable momentum at their back, they pressed forward undaunted.
This pattern continues in Acts 5 - though beaten and commanded to be silent, the apostles would not be cowed. They "went on their way...rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. And every day...they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ" (Acts 5:41-42). The victorious attitude? A joyful willingness to endure suffering and a relentless determination to advance the Good News without pause.
When persecution scattered the Church from Jerusalem, what was the response in Acts 8? Those "who had been scattered went about preaching the word" (Acts 8:4) with no self-pity, recrimination, or retreat. Only an undying commitment to seize every new opportunity to spread the unstoppable message of the Kingdom's triumph.
The examples continue to pile up. In Iconium, the violent opposition only caused "the disciples [to be] continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 13:52). In the depths of a Philippian jail, their reaction was not hand wringing or despair, but to be "praying and singing hymns of praise to God" through the midnight darkness (Acts 16:25).
This, dear brothers and sisters, is the blazing Spirit of a people assured of their King's victory - a people who "sorrowful yet always rejoicing" (2 Cor. 6:10). Even in the hardest of trials and the cruelest injustices, they remained "as unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold we live, as punished yet not put to death" (2 Cor. 6:9). Their eyes were fixed on eternity's horizon, on the blessed hope of Christ's Kingdom coming in more significant waves of glory across the earth.
This is the heart cry of Postmillennialism - that our Sovereign Lord most certainly shall have the nations as His everlasting possession (Psalm 2:8). Our attitudes must burn with that same longing and certainty! If we truly believe the Gospel will prevail, overtaking all opposition and discipling the peoples to worship Christ, if we behold the unstoppable march of the Spirit bearing kingdom fruit across the globe in our day, then how can we help but adopt the apostolic example of unwavering courage, unshakable joy, and patient constancy?
Let us fling aside the defeated mindset that has so plagued the Church in recent centuries. Our calling is not to bemoan or retreat but to stand firm and labor faithfully, knowing that our King has overcome and His Word will not return void. Let a spirit of bold witness, sacrificial endurance, and Holy Spirit-empowered tenacity mark our every step, no matter the cost or hardship, until Christ is adored among every tribe and tongue.
The future, beloved, belongs to the overcomers - those who, like the Church of Philadelphia, have "kept [Christ's] word about patient endurance" and to whom He promises, "I am coming soon; hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown" (Rev. 3:10-11). So let us take heart and press on in this legacy, unwavering in our joyful witness and unstinting labor until Christ's Kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven!
THE END OF THE KINGDOM
"So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing." (Acts 19:20)
Luke the Evangelist would indeed be shocked to witness the prevailing pessimism and defeatism that has infiltrated much of the modern American Church. As the author of Acts, he would likely challenge us with pointed questions: "Do you not each have access to the complete Scriptures? Do you not gather freely in churches without threat of persecution? And is this not the fruit of the Spirit's ongoing work since those earliest days when the Kingdom went forth in such triumph?"
He would rightly remind us that the believers in the first century endured far greater hardships - beatings, imprisonments, and threats of death. Yet their attitude was one of profound joy, unshakeable courage, and an unwavering conviction that the Gospel was powerfully prevailing. In contrast to their willingness to suffer all things for the name of Christ, how small are our present discontents with the Church's influence waning in an increasingly secular culture?
Luke would no doubt encourage us to repent of our spiritual pacifism, our doubt-filled hand-wringing over kingdoms that are fading while Christ's Kingdom is ever-increasing. His final words in Acts give no sense of resignation or fatalism. Instead of that, the image of the Apostle Paul, advanced in years yet burning with zeal, welcoming all who came and "preaching the kingdom of God...with all openness, unhindered" (Acts 28:31) is the vision Luke invites us to ponder and keep on pondering.
This was the crowning snapshot Luke left his readers—not of martyrdom or oppression overcoming the Church but of kingdom proclamation continuing unabated. Just as he began his account with the birth pangs of the Church exploding into global ministry, Luke's final brushstroke captured the same unstoppable momentum. The Word was still "growing mightily and prevailing" to the very end of the narrative (Acts 19:20).
Brothers and sisters, how can we read these accounts and then adopt the mindset of losers? Luke's divinely inspired testimony will not allow it! His unmistakable message is one of courage, resilience, and abiding in the certainty of Christ's victory - a spirit sorely needed in our day.
We must ignore the loser mentality that is so common these days and refuse to channel the Spirit of the 2024 Detroit Pistons. No, we are called to a paradigm of spiritual conquest, of pressing on in patience and holy tenacity, confident that our King has overcome and His Word will not return void.
Let us resolve to abandon the naysaying and hand-wringing and instead embrace the radiant joy and bold witness that defined the apostolic company. No matter the opposition, no matter the changing winds of cultural hostility, we can remain steadfast in our Gospel labor - for it is a labor that will not fail until Christ is worshiped among every tribe and tongue. The future belongs to the overcomers, so let us take our stand with them, unwavering in our hopeful service until that day when every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!
