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THE ENDS OF
THE EARTH

A Look at Adam's Dominion from Genesis to Revelation

October 11, 2026, at 9:15, before class

Toby plays his song "The Ends of the Earth," which is built on Psalm 2. Then we follow one thread of Scripture from Genesis 1 to the iron rod in Revelation 2:27.

DuringRevelation Class 5Revelation 2:1-29

Connected toRevelation 2:26-27, the iron rod, in the October 11 class on Revelation 2:1-29

The idea

God created man to rule over all creation "in His image and likeness"1: to act as His viceroy over creation and run it the way He would run it if He were here. Adam lost that. The rest of the Bible is not God abandoning His original plan. It is God making that plan succeed, in spite of the world, the flesh, and the devil doing all they can to wreck it.

Jesus, the Last Adam,2 takes back the keys of the kingdom that Adam lost and restores man's authority to rule. He is the true Image of the Father,3 and His rule now is the ongoing restoration of the dominion God gave mankind in the beginning.

So the work of Christianity is nothing more and nothing less than the original blessing and mandate of the human race: to act as God's ruling agents in creation, empowered by His Spirit, making it more and more like Heaven, and so working toward the answer to our own prayer: "as in Heaven, even so on the Earth."4

  1. Genesis 1:26: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion ..." ↩
  2. 1 Corinthians 15:45: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. ↩
  3. Colossians 1:15: "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation." Also 2 Corinthians 4:4: "Christ, who is the image of God." ↩
  4. Matthew 6:10: "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." ↩

The song

"The Ends of the Earth" by Toby Wilson. Nearly every line comes from Psalm 2: the raging nations, the One Who sits in heaven, the King set on Zion, "You are My Son," the nations and the ends of the earth, the rod of iron, and "kiss the Son."

Watch the lyric video
Read the lyrics

Verse 1

Why do the nations rage?What are they plotting for?The kings of the earth conspireand beat the drums of war"Come on, let's snap their shackles,let's throw away their chains"They set their face against the Lordand the King He has ordained

Chorus

The One who sits in heavenjust laughs at all their plansHe has set His King on Zion —the holy hill still standsHe'll shatter their pretendinglike clay against an iron rodThe ends of the earth belongto the Son of God

Verse 2

The Son stands up on Zionand speaks the Father's vow:"You are My Son, begotten —let the kingdoms hear it nowJust ask, and I will hand Youthe nations for Your ownThe farthest coasts and islandswill gather at Your throne"

Bridge

Be wise, you kings and rulers —kiss the Son while mercy waitsFor blessed are all the rebelswho surrender at His gates

The chorus comes back after the second verse and again at the end.

The thread

7 stops. Read each one in the slides, or open your Bible to it.

  1. Genesis 1:26-28"Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion"
  2. Psalm 2"I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession"
  3. Psalm 110"Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool"
  4. Matthew 28:18-20"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations"
  5. Acts 2:34-36"God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified"
  6. Acts 4:24-31"Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain?"
  7. Revelation 2:26-28; 12:5; 19:15"I will give authority over the nations, and he will shepherd them with an iron rod"

How they connect

The last slide puts these passages side by side and draws the lines between them, one at a time. Here are the same lines, in the same order.

  1. Genesis 1:28God blessed themBe fruitful and multiply and fill the earth
    Matthew 28:19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations

    The blessing to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, and the blessing to make disciples of all nations.

  2. Genesis 1:28have dominion over ... every living thing that moves on the earth
    Matthew 28:18All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me

    The dominion God gave in Genesis 1, and the authority Jesus has over everything.

  3. Psalm 2:7-8You are my SonI will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession
    Matthew 28:19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations

    The nations promised to the Son in Psalm 2, and the nations the disciples are sent to.

  4. Psalm 110:1Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool
    Acts 2:36God has made him both Lord and Christ

    Peter quotes Psalm 110:1 at Pentecost (Acts 2:34-35), then says what God has done with Jesus.

  5. Acts 2:36God has made him both Lord and Christ
    Matthew 28:18All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me

    Made both Lord and Christ; given all authority in heaven and on earth.

  6. Psalm 2:7-8You are my SonI will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession
    Acts 4:25, 29Why did the Gentiles ragespeak your word with all boldness

    The church in Acts 4 prays Psalm 2:1-2 back to God.

  7. Acts 4:25, 29Why did the Gentiles ragespeak your word with all boldness
    Matthew 28:19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations

    And they ask Him for boldness to speak His word.

  8. Matthew 28:18All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me
    Revelation 2:26, 28authority over the nationsas I also have received authority from My Father

    The authority Jesus received from His Father, He gives to the one who conquers.

  9. Psalm 2:9You shall break them with a rod of iron
    Revelation 2:27; 12:5; 19:15shepherd them with an iron rod

    The rod of iron in Psalm 2:9, and the iron rod three times in Revelation.

  10. Genesis 1:28have dominion over ... every living thing that moves on the earth
    Revelation 2:26, 28authority over the nationsas I also have received authority from My Father

    Dominion over the earth at the beginning; authority over the nations at the end.

The slides

The whole pre-game as it goes on the screen. On a phone it opens as one page you can scroll.

Open the pre-game slidesBrowser presentation