“Hope springs eternal in the human breast” Those words of Alexander Pope well describe the optimistic nature of people, especially Americans. A recent LA Times article speaks to this hopefulness with regard to the age old question of heaven and hell. According to Barna Research, an overwhelming majority of Americans continue to believe that there is life after death and that heaven and hell exist. What's more, nearly two-thirds think they are heaven-bound. On the other hand, only one-half of 1% said they were hell-bound. (K. Connie Kang, LA Times, Next stop, the Pearly Gates ... or hell? posted 10/24/03 )

"We're optimists at heart," Robert Johnston, professor of theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, said of the survey's results. "If you really believe in hell, you wouldn't want to be there. By definition, hell is the denial of goodness.” Like the children of Lake Woebegone, we think of ourselves as all above average, but such misguided optimism is the stuff of fairytales.

We believe we can script the here after just like we do our children’s fairytales, that we’ll all live happily ever after. It is a common human longing that our lives would imitate fairytales in the here and now, too. We want a happily ever after ending to all that life throws our way. We see this in entertainment. If we are going to fork out a small fortune to go to the movies, we expect to feel good when we leave. On Friday night our family went to see Radio, a wonderful heart warming story that will both tug at your heart. While we can deal with conflict in the midst of a film, we want to be sure that in 120 minutes, all will work out. The plot in the movie may have twists, but you know that good will win in the end. Otherwise, why spend money to be depressed? In the end we want to know that good triumphs. We want that in our lives, too. We live with the hope of Romans 8:28 that God works all things to good, but then we are faced with the bad each and every day and may be left wondering.

This is the case with the unsatisfying ending in Acts. Luke, whose two volume tome to Theophilus promises to fill in the gaps about the life of Jesus Christ, encompassing both his earthly ministry as well as his continuing work through His Church, ends not with the customary “…and Paul lived happily ever after.” Rather we are left wondering what happened next. Where’s chapter 29? Is there a third volume now lost or he neglected to write? There is no happy ending here … or is there? As we conclude over two years of preaching through this book, covering over 20 years of the early Church, the only way to make sense of this ending is to see it in light of Luke’s purpose, to rethink our need to have our stories always end “…happily ever after. READ Acts 28:17-33.

Paul finally made it to Rome. Years before he wrote of his desire to come to Rome. But the journey was far from easy. He endured numerous trials, both in the civil court as well as in life. After riots and arrests, sitting in jail and sailing on a journey, through ship wreck and attempted murder he travels down the Appian Way to the eternal city. Once there, while under house arrest, he does what he has always sought to do, he reaches out to anyone who will listen to the gospel. The Jewish leaders come. He explains why he is in Rome, quickly rehearsing the events which lead to his arrival. He makes it clear that he has nothing against his own people; he is not seeking revenge or a legal victory. But he is in chains because of the hope of Israel (v20), a phrase which takes us back to the centrality of the resurrection which was at the core of the Jewish charge against Paul.

The Jews in Rome claim to know nothing of these charges, a statement which is a bit implausible as the church in Rome was already sizeable and just ten years prior, conflict between Jewish Christians and those who rejected the gospel resulted in the expulsion of Jews from the city. While acknowledging hearing something about this sect (hairesis, sect or party, false teaching, from which we get heresy) they’re diplomatic, willing to investigate the matter on their own, a noble response. The next day Paul’s room is packed with Jewish leaders who’ve come to an all day seminar. From morning till evening Paul explained with great thoroughness, the centrality of the gospel, which in v23 is given the two pronged descriptors: kingdom of God and Jesus. The response is predictable, for it is the same response seen repeatedly through Acts – division. Paul’s parting words to these Jews states the case simply: they are culpable for their own unbelief. But despite the rejection of the people as a whole, Paul continues doing what he had always done (v31): proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. And yet, the ending isn’t complete. There is no happily ever after in the way we imagine. But that is the good news, for what we see here tells us that the story isn’t over.

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THE STORY ISN’T OVER, FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS STILL TO HERE

When Paul gathered the Jewish leaders, he had but one day to point them to Christ. Yet the description given may confuse, if we don’t think properly about the term used. Taking his audience through the Hebrew Scriptures, he spoke of the Kingdom of God and convinced them that Jesus is the Messiah. The kingdom of God … the way Luke ends his story is the way he begins, for all that occurs in between informs us about this kingdom. If we, like many American Christians of our day, think of the kingdom of God in purely physical terms, a millennial reign of peace and happiness, a happily ever after ending … they will be confused by what they read here. In Acts 1 Luke tells us that Jesus, in the forty days between his resurrection and ascension, spoke about the kingdom of God. With little time remaining on earth, we should expect Jesus’ words to be to the point, concerning that which is most pertinent to the life of the church. The kingdom was the central message, but was this kingdom of which he spoke some future, physical reign of his on earth? The answer to that is seen in v4. As he spoke of the kingdom, he ordered them to remain in Jerusalem. What was to come was the Father’s promised Holy Spirit with whom they would be baptized. This raises the question in v6. The descent of the Holy Spirit had eschatological significance; it was talk of what they would expect at the end of all time. This was kingdom talk. So they ask in v6: “Now Lord? Is the kingdom going to be restored to Israel now?” He gives a non-answer, other than to say – don’t worry about that. Rather you will receive the promised Holy Spirit and you will be witnesses, not just to Israel, but to the ends of the earth. And with that he was gone … and then came the Spirit. With the descent of the Spirit, we see the kingdom come down with force. Philip in Acts 8:12 preached about the kingdom of God. Paul likewise spoke of the necessity of suffering in order to enter the kingdom of God (14:22). Then in 19:8, Paul in Ephesus spent three months boldly reasoning and persuading people about the kingdom of God. The emphasis on the kingdom by Jesus, Philip and Paul is not one of charts of the end times. It is not about fantasy novels sold to fleece Christian sheep. It is not seminars to frighten people about technological advances as some world wide plot of Satan to undo God’s sovereign plan. Rather the kingdom of God is that all important time in which we now live. The kingdom of God is the realm established by the gospel, life under the rule of God, living in obedience to his law, looking to Christ for the grace to live in obedience. It is what Paul describes in Colossians 1:13-14 this kingdom as redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Acts isn’t over, for there is still a world out there who must hear this good news. The kingdom of God is present, for Christ as risen and we have risen in him. While we all long for the hope of eternity in which the pain and suffering of this life will be over, we do not look for God’s grace to only exist then, but here and now as well. God’s kingdom today is one in which there will be suffering and pain, it is one in which his messengers will be imprisoned, in which disease will spread, in which lives will be tormented with grief. But the story is not over. There will be suffering, but we live in two worlds. One wrecked with sin, the other redeemed by God’s grace and both under his sovereign hand. Life is not as though you are on an interminable hold, waiting for Jesus to return. We look forward to that day, whenever it may be, but now, we live in the reign of Christ, live and breathe in his kingdom, know the benefits of the gospel now. The story continues. Today utopias of the left and the right are in shambles. People are uncertain, even apprehensive, whether the kingdoms of this world can manage the present, let alone the future. They are ready for the good news about the kingdom of God. While the kingdom is here and now, we must never imagine it is equivalent to any earthly domain. Many years ago the noted British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge was a guest at a breakfast in Washington, D.C. He made a number of comments about world affairs, all of which were very pessimistic. One of the Christians present said to the speaker, "Dr. Muggeridge, you have been very pessimistic. Don't you have any reason for optimism?" Malcolm Muggeridge replied, "My friend, I could not be more optimistic than I am, because my hope is in Jesus Christ alone." He allowed that remark to settle for a few seconds, and then he added, "Just think if the apostolic church had pinned its hope on the Roman Empire!" (R. Halverson in The Living Body. Christianity Today, Vol. 39, no. 9.) Our hope is not for an earthly, physical kingdom, but the present reign of the risen Lord in the Church. Christ transforms lives, today, as the sovereign king over all creation. Our hope is solid and real, and firmly placed in the reality that God’s work of grace is ongoing, the kingdom is here.

Acts is not over for we still call people to respond to the gospel and their responses will be no different than we see here in Acts. What happened in Acts 28 happened every time Paul presented Christ’s death for sin and resurrection so that sinner would be declared just. This is still our job. The Jewish rejection of the gospel in Acts 28 is national, but not final. Some were convinced. After that day, for two years Paul’s door was open to one and all who wished to hear. To this day the church is filled with Jewish people who do not cease being Jewish when they profess Jesus as the hope of Israel. But we do see here a finality, that the church is not going to be ethnically defined, but will include Jews and Gentiles. The preaching of the gospel continues. But as the gospel will continued to be preached, we must remember that some will be convinced and others disbelieve, they will reject the good news. Paul’s applying Isaiah 6 serves as a grim reminder that as the kingdom of God ever expands, not all will embrace its truth. The context of Isaiah 6 is that the northern kingdom of Israel has already fallen to the Assyrians. Because of that, the southern kingdom of Judah is called to repentance and warned of a similar judgment, but they have not listened. God’s discipline is soon to come. Isaiah is commissioned to preach to this disobedient nation, but God made it clear that his task was not to bring repentance, but rather to bring about greater guilt, to fatten these rebellious people for judgment. Indeed, though he was to speak the Word of God to the Jews, the Word of God would only serve to dull their senses, rather than to quicken and convict them for their sin. (R. Deffinbaugh, Lesson 39, Paul in Rome) The pattern continues in Paul’s day. But it must be understood that there is nothing defective in the message. The defect is in the audience's sinfulness. There is a big difference between hearing and understanding, seeing and perceiving. The reason? Verse 27 – their hearts are dull, their ears clogged, their eyes shut. The picture is frightening. They take in the information, but have no apprehension of it. Without the ability to process the information, to personalize the gospel, there can be no repentance, there is no healing. This is passage does not say that with the Jewish rejection in Rome a Jew may never come to know Christ. But their rejection as a people, not individuals, means that the gospel will go to the Gentiles. Before in Acts Paul gave this same response as we see in Pisidian Antioch (13:46), in Corinth (18:6), and in Ephesus (19:8-9). Notice also that his statement about salvation being sent to the Gentiles is in the past tense, a parallel activity of God. This event is not so much about Jewish exclusion from the gospel but as Gentile inclusion. The story continues. People will, by God’s grace, respond. Others, due to their own sinfulness and hard heartedness, will smile politely or curse angrily and move on. But where this warning should be applied most directly is here in this room. Paul was addressing the Old Testament church when he spoke with the Jews. They rejected the covenant in 600 BC, in the first century … and it continues to this day. This sad part of the story continues as some seated here will listen, but not understand, will see God’s grace with their own eyes and perceive nothing. The rejection of the gospel is not most clearly evident in the violent response of persecution, but in the gentile pleasantries exchanged but that there is no life, no hunger for God’s Word. From the first century until today the gospel has been fought over by covenant people, by those within the visible church. • First, the utopist desire to discover the secret key to make the gospel universally appealing, to garner success every time, will never occur. There is no hidden formula that will make some seek Christ, unless God softens his or her heart. • Second, be careful not to be inoculated by the gospel so that you are unresponsive to the gospel. If you find the secret to the Christian life in anything other than in the work of Christ, you’ve rejected the gospel. If the present work of Christ is not central in your faith, if it is Jesus and… you will not turn and be healed. THE STORY ISN’T OVER, FOR THE GOSPEL CAN NOT BE STOPPED The story is not over and while we may not experience a “happily ever after ending” we can be confident that the gospel can not be stopped. The non-ending of Acts tells us that the gospel will go forward even as we may experience tragedy and suffering. Paul is chained to a guard 24/7 for two years. Tradition tells us he was eventually released, traveled to Spain, through Asia Minor and even to Palestine. Later, while in Rome he may well have been arrested again and then beheaded in the last year of Nero’s reign of terror. But while messengers of the gospel suffer, the power of the gospel never does, it moves forward with boldness and without hindrance. We may be bound, but the gospel is free. The boldness of the gospel was seen in the opening chapters of Acts as the 12 preached that first Pentecost, as their boldness was thought to be drunkenness. Boldness was the hallmark as the early disciples were threatened, but still preached (4:31). This word denotes speech that’s candid, clear and confident. Truth is not concealed; there is no fear of consequences. Without hindrance shows that although Paul was in chains, the gospel had complete freedom. The Roman government could not stop it nor can any human authority today quiet its voice. As Paul later found himself in prison once again, he wrote in 2 Tim 2:9: “I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!” In 1937 missionaries were forced out of Wallamo, Ethiopia, leaving the field with only 18 recently baptized converts and a few portions of Scripture in the language of the people. These new believers were cruelly persecuted, and some were martyred. But 5 years later, the missionaries returned to find that the 18 Christians had multiplied to 10,000! The glory of God's grace had shone through! What appeared hopeless, what appeared to the end of their work, what appeared to not be a happily ever after ending, certainly produced a conclusion that none would expect. The reason is simple. The gospel can not be stopped. The fourth verse of our final hymn states it plainly. No earthly power can stop the advance of God’s Word. While we may suffer, while our bodies may be killed, God’s truth will always remain. His kingdom is forever.