THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: Living By Faith In God

LXXII. Anticipating Christ’s Coming Reign

(Psalm 72:1-20)

Introduction: (To show the need . . .)

We Christians need edifying insight on handling recent actions by “woke” globalists at the United Nations:

(1) Last Sunday, one of our members told me that many believers are upset over a U. N. summit in September that will allegedly set a seven-year goal to form a global government. The believers fear that this seven-year goal is in some way related to the Bible’s Daniel 9:27 prophecy on the antichrist’s seven-year treaty with Israel, a treaty that he will break halfway into its seven-year term to set himself as God in the Jerusalem temple and try to destroy Israel.

(2) I researched this matter and learned that back in 2015, the U. N. had set 17 “Sustainable Development Goals” (SDGs) for the world to be reached in 15 years – in 2030. Those goals involve applying “woke” Marxist aims like transferring wealth from richer to poorer nations (the “No Poverty; Zero Hunger; Good Health and Well-Being; Affordable Clean Energy; Quality Education; and Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure” SDGs), practicing social engineering (the “Gender Equality; Decent Work and Economic Growth; Sustainable Cities and Communities; Responsible Consumption and Production; and Partnerships For The Goals” SDGs), promoting environmentalism (the “Clean Water and Sanitation; Climate Action; Life Below Water; and Life On Land” SDGs), and applying social justice (the “Reduced Inequalities; and Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions” SDGs). (“SDG Summit 2023,” un.org)

However, this is year 8 in the U. N.’s 15-year timeline of reaching its goals, but the effort is not going well, so the U. N. is pressing nations to reach its goals in the 7 years left in its initial timeline, claiming, “There is a narrowing window of opportunity over the next seven years to redouble our efforts,” that “(f)ailure to heed this call will fuel greater instability . . . further erode trust in public institutions” and “cause immense suffering.” Thus, “Heads of State and Government” are being called to “recommit to seven years of accelerated, sustained, and transformative action, both nationally and internationally, to deliver on the . . . SDGs.” (“We Need 7 Years of Accelerated, Transformative Action to Achieve SDGs,” United Nations Department of Economic & Social Affairs; un.org)

(3) The reason U. N. leaders are trying to reach their SDGs in the initial timeline exposes an awareness that as “woke” elitists, they are losing public support, what is caused by their own oppressiveness: “(R)uling elites” use “generations of institutional trust and their overwhelming power over who may or may not enter the ranks of the managerial elite to browbeat society into accepting the most extreme elements of the cultural revolution . . . The problem they are running into is that once the credibility of their expertise collapses . . . people just stop believing in them entirely. Confidence in institutions has” accordingly “cratered in this country.” (Jarrett Stepman, “American Medical Association compromised by radical ideology, Republican-American, July 4, 2023, p. 10A)

Need: So, we ask, “What edifying insight does God offer to handle recent oppressive efforts by ‘woke’ globalists?”

I. First, Scripture reveals that the United Nations Summit this September is not related to the antichrist’s seven-year end time treaty with Israel, that we believers should thus stay focused on serving the Lord:

A. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 teaches that the antichrist will not be revealed until God takes the Church to heaven.

B. After this rapture of believers to heaven, the antichrist in the Tribulation will rule the world for 7 years (Daniel 9:27 with 11:36-12:7) followed by Christ’s return to earth with the glorified Church to set up His thousand-year rule of Revelation 19:11-20:6, which rule He will extend into eternity according to Revelation 21:1-22:5.

C. So, believers in Christ should keep serving God in hope of the pretribulation rapture, 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17.

II. Second, in vast superiority to the United Nation’s SDGs dreams, Psalm 72 predicts Christ’s blessed rule:

A. Though Psalm 72:1-20 is a royal psalm for a typical Davidic king, its “ultimate fulfillment” is “in the ideal King, Jesus Christ, David’s greatest Son (Luke 1:31-33),” Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to Psalm 72.

B. Psalm 72:1-17 thus depicts Christ’s blessed reign (Ibid.) in vast superiority to the U. N.’s mere SDG dreams:

1. Christ’s coming worldwide reign will be characterized by justice and righteousness, Psalm 72:1-4, Ibid.:

a. Jesus will make just verdicts, righteously delivering the “afflicted” (‘ani, B. D. B., A Heb. and Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 776-777) and vulnerable children of the needy while crushing oppressors, Psa. 72:1-4 ESV.

b. This governing activity will fulfill the U. N.’s “Quality Education; Gender Equality; and Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions” (un.org) goals that it can only desire today.

2. Christ’s coming worldwide reign will be marked by stable, refreshing peace, Psalm 72:5-7 ESV, Ibid.: People will respect Him forever, and His reign will be refreshing like showers that water the earth, making the righteous flourish with peace abounding forever. This will fulfill the U. N.’s “Good Health & Well-Being” (un.org) goals that it can only desire today.

3. Christ’s coming worldwide reign will be marked by His comprehensive ruling power, Psa. 72:8-11. This will fulfill the U. N.’s “Partnerships For The Goals” (un.org) goal that it can only desire today.

4. Christ’s coming worldwide reign will be marked by His worldwide compassion, Psalm 72:12-15, Ibid.:

a. Christ will deliver the needy who cry out for help, the afflicted who have no one to help them, and He will have pity on the vulnerable to deliver them from death, oppression and violence, Psalm 72:12-14.

b. The psalmist thus urged that Christ be rewarded, honored and blessed with an endless reign, Psalm 72:15.

c. This will fulfill the U. N.’s “Reduced Inequalities” (un.org) goal that it can only desire today.

5. Christ’s coming worldwide reign will be marked by both rural and urban prosperity, Psalm 72:16-17, Ibid.:

a. Farmlands will be so fertile that waves of grain will sway in the wind at the tops of hills like Lebanon’s great cedars whose branches rustle in the wind, v. 16a. (H. C. Leupold, Expos. of the Psalms, 1969, p. 521)

b. In the cities, people will thrive and grow in thick profusion like grass in a field, Psalm 72:16b; Ibid.

c. Such universal prosperity and well-being will fulfill the U. N.’s “No Poverty; Zero Hunger; Clean Water & Sanitation; Affordable Energy; Climate Action; Decent Work & Economic Growth; Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure; Sustainable Cities & Communities; Responsible Consumption & Production; Life Below Water [implied]; and Life on Land [implied]” (un.org) goals that it can only desire today.

d. The psalmist thus called for great and eternal blessing for Christ, and praise from all of His subjects, v. 17.

C. Psalm 72:18-20 then closes Book II of the Hebrew psalter with a note of praise to the Lord, Ibid.

Lesson: In light of Bible prophecy, may we believers in Christ not fret over some report that we are facing the Great Tribulation with its antichrist, for Christ will take us to heaven in the rapture before that time of trouble. Rather, may we abound in every good word and work to prepare for the rapture and for Christ’s future Kingdom.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of eternal life, John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. (2) May we then rest in the hope of the pretribulation rapture and stay committed to every good word and work in preparation for the rapture and for Christ’s future Kingdom.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message and provide additional guidance . . .)

For more encouragement in view of the United Nations summit this September, several of the U. N. “Sustainable Development Goals” are Biblically impossible or futile for it to reach, so we should not fret about them:

(1) The U. N.’s SDG of “No Poverty” (Ibid., “SDG Summit 2023;” un.org) is critiqued by Jesus as impossible today, for in John 12:8 ESV He said, “The poor you always have with you.” As evidence of this fact, Bruce Yandle’s July 11^th Washington Examiner op-ed, “The student debt relief effort has spurred even more borrowing” (“Quotable,” Ibid., Republican-American, July 12, 2023, p. 8A) noted, “‘According to a recent National Bureau of Economic Research study, a large sample of the paused debt significantly increased mortgage, auto, and credit card borrowing and even increased the level of student loan debt.’” Poverty is thus often fueled by errant behavior, a character issue!

(2) The U. N.’s SDG of “Climate Action” (Ibid.) is futile, for God in Genesis 8:22 said He would make the earth habitable for man for the rest of the planet’s existence, but that there would be “hot” and “cold” times in its climate. As evidence of it, during “the Medieval Warm Period (approximately 900 A. D. to 1300 A. D.)” long before the Industrial Revolution and enhanced pollution and huge fossil fuel use, “there was little glacier ice in Greenland . . . No writings of this time period indicate that any coastal European cities were under water. Certainly, Venice should have been destroyed” according to climate catastrophism ideology. “(B)y the 1300s, the returning cold caused Greenland’s climate to become very inhospitable, forcing the Vikings to leave. There is no indication a rapid, decrease in sea level occurred as the massive glaciers reformed in Greenland during the Little Ice Age” that followed! (James Barrante, “Scant wisdom from people on the street, Ibid., Republican-American, March 8, 2017, p. 7A)

(3) The U. N.’s SDG of “Affordable Clean Energy” (Ibid., un.org) is futile according to Christ’s example! In John 21:9-17, Jesus built a “charcoal” (anthrakia, Zon. Pict. Ency. Bib., vol. One, p. 779, citing John 21:9) fire for cooking fish and bread, He told His disciples to bring some of the fish they caught to be cooked on that fire, He invited His disciples to eat the food cooked on that fire, and He went around serving those men the food that He had cooked on that fire, John 21:9-13. Jesus would not condone an abusive, excessive use of such fuels, but His example of making and using a charcoal fire to cook shows there is no sin in using such fuels even if they give off pollutants!

May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God’s gift of eternal life. May we rest in the hope of the Pretribulation Rapture and keep living for and serving the Lord.