If Christ Has Not Been Raised… (Easter 2024) 1 Corinthians 15

 

 

IF CHRIST BE NOT RAISED

Easter 2024

1 Corinthians 15:14-18

THE TEXT:

The text for the sermon today is 1 Corinthians 15:14-18. Our text can be found on page 961. These are the words of God:

14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

GRAB THEIR ATTENTION

In the 1950’s, John Updike wrote a poem entitled Seven Stanzas at Easter which has become rather famous. Here are just two of the seven stanzas:

Make no mistake: if He rose at all

it was as His body;

if the cells’ dissolution did not reverse, the molecules

reknit, the amino acids rekindle,

the Church will fall.

Let us not mock God with metaphor,

analogy, sidestepping, transcendence;

making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the

faded credulity of earlier ages:

let us walk through the door.

Now, here’s what Updike is saying: either the resurrection of Jesus Christ occurred as a fact of history, or nothing the church does matters. The resurrection cannot be a mere spiritual event. It can’t be analogy or metaphor. If you make it a parable you are sidestepping everything.

RAISE THE NEED, SIGNPOSTS, STATE THE DESTINATION

That’s exactly what the Apostle Paul is saying in the passage we read. Essentially, he says, “You must confront, head-on, the claim that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. What are you going to do with it?” That is the question of Easter.

If Christ is truly raised, then everything in your life has to change.

Ok. That’s a bold claim, but let’s walk through this passage and unpack it. And we’ll do that by asking 3 questions about the resurrection:

  1. WHAT IS IT?
  2. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
  3. HOW DOES IT CHANGE US?

  1. WHAT IS IT?

Corinth, the city for which this letter gets its name, is a city in Greece, and Paul founded the church there around A.D. 50. This letter was written around A.D. 54. Here’s what this means: the letter of 1 Corinthians predates the writing of all 4 gospels & Only two other New Testament books are older than 1 Corinthians.

This makes 1 Corinthians the one of the earliest Christians documents arguing for the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.

If you read the rest of the chapter, it’s clear that Paul is combatting a teaching which denied the resurrection.

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

Now, it’s become common today to look down on ancient people as ignorant, or gullible, or superstitious. Someone says, “Of course they believed in the resurrection in the ancient world, they were prescientific. We know better.” The problem with that assessment is there may be no more skeptical group of people concerning the resurrection than first century Jews and Greeks.

If a first century Jews believed in a resurrection, they only believed in a general resurrection of the dead at the end of history. And there was an entire sect of Judaism called the Sadducees who denied the resurrection altogether.

The Gentiles basically held to a dualist understanding. The material world is corrupt and the spirit needs to escape the material. So, the idea of a bodily resurrection ran entirely counter to their predispositions.

In fact, we actually see this played out in the gospel accounts of the resurrection. Thomas, one of Jesus’ own disciples was incredibly skeptical, so much so that he’s been forever labelled as, “Doubting Thomas.”

Again, in Matthew 28, the risen Jesus appears to a group of disciples and here’s what Matthew writes:

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.

In other words, they had the proof in the pudding, and still some doubted. So, these were not superstitious barbarians who wanted to believe in a resurrection. These were highly skeptical individuals who were predisposed to doubt.

And yet, all the Apostles preach the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ at immense personal cost to themselves. If you look up to verse 3 Paul says this:

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

Do you see what he’s saying? This is less than 20 years after the crucifixion of Jesus. Paul’s saying, “This really happened, and if you want eyewitnesses, here’s the list. Go talk with them.”

Throughout this passage Paul is using deductive logic; he’s making arguments. Over and over, he says, “If Christ is raised, then this… If he isn’t raised then this.” He says, if there’s no resurrection, then my preaching is in vain. I’m wasting my time. He says, “If there’s no resurrection, then I’m misrepresenting God.” He says, “If there is no resurrection then I’m still in my sins.”

In other words, Paul says, “Because the resurrection really happened, as a fact of history, I can stake my entire life and ministry on it. I’m all in.”

Now listen to me: we don’t have enough time to go through all of the evidence the Apostles provide for the historicity of the resurrection. It would take weeks. I can point you to resources after the service if you like, but hear me out: whether you believe in Christ or not, one thing is clear: the Apostles all saw the resurrection of Christ as an unassailable argument that they must submit to even when it meant their becoming martyrs.

 

The resurrection and deification of Jesus wasn’t a scheme they cooked up to make themselves powerful or rich. Their belief in those truths cost them everything.

 

So, the resurrection isn’t merely an inspirational story we tell at Spring time. It’s not just a parable about renewal, or warmth after cold, or light after dark. As Updike said: “If the dissolution of Jesus cells did not reverse… if the molecules of his body did not reknit… then the church will fall.

You say, “Ok, the church is built on the historicity of the bodily resurrection of Christ, but why does it matter? What’s the meaning of the resurrection?

  1. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

In order to answer the question of the resurrection’s meaning we must first ask, “Why did Jesus Christ die on the cross?”

And Paul actually addresses that question at the top of this chapter in v. 3:

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,

Several things are happening here. First, Paul says this teaching is of first importance. The word he uses is protos, it’s where we get our word prototype. He’s saying that the death and resurrection of Christ represent the most important teachings in all of Christianity.

And then he says that Jesus died in accordance with the Scriptures. He’s speaking of the Jewish Old Testament and what he’s saying here is earth shattering. If you’ve read the OT you know its full of many different stories: Moses and the deliverance of Egypt, David and Goliath, Noah and the Flood.

What Paul is saying is that all of the Old Testament stories of deliverance point forward and foreshadow the great story of God’s deliverance of his people from their sin.

All of the Old Testament sacrifices of animals point forward. Those sacrifices were a shadow of Christ, the truly sinless one who is offered up in the place of his people.

When Paul says the death of Christ was in accordance with the Scriptures he means that the death of Christ wasn’t accidental; it was preplanned. It was foretold. It was prophesied.

There’s a famous passage in the prophet of Isaiah. It says that the Messiah would be God’s servant, and though he was innocent, he would take the place of guilty people and bear the punishment for their sins. It says that he would be pierced for our wrongdoings. He would be crushed for our iniquities. And upon him would be the chastisement that would bring us peace.

And in this same passage, Isaiah says, “it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief;”

You know what this means? Before the first person had ever sinned, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit had already planned the redemption and sacrifice of Jesus.

That’s why John Murray famously said, “Who delivered up Jesus to die? Not Judas, for money; not Pilate, for fear; not the Jews, for envy; — but the Father, for love.”

Listen, the cross of Christ shows us that we are at the same time, more evil and sinful than we want to admit. Because it required his death to pardon us. Yet at the same time, the cross tells us the we are more loved by God than we dare to imagine—because look at what he has done for us!

That’s what it means. That’s why it’s central to the Christian message. Without it we are hopeless, and remain in our sins.

  1. HOW DOES IT CHANGE US?

If you read the entire chapter, you’ll notice Paul saying that the resurrection of Jesus Christ has transformed and changed his entire life. Specifically, the resurrection changes how we relate to our guilt/or past, it changes how we relate to our present difficulties, and he changes how we relate to death itself.

First, it changes how we relate to our guilt:

Consider for a moment the life of the Apostle Paul. And don’t think of him in stained glass in a cathedral with candles lit in front of his icon. Don’t think of him as an older Christian writing to the churches. No, think of him as a young man, zealous for Judaism, and murdering Christians; a lot of them. In v. 9 he says:

9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

You know what he’s saying? He’s saying, “I’ve got a past. I’ve done stuff that you can’t imagine. And if you knew the glee I took in those evil deeds, you wouldn’t want to listen to me.”

He’s saying what is true about all of us. We all have a past. We all have done things we pray never sees the light of day, things that would ruin us if there were known.

And yet, if you read on in verse 10, look what he says:

10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

In verse 9 he says, “I was the worst of the worst,” and then he turns right around and says, “But by God’s grace I’m the best of the best.” What’s going on? Friend, he’s telling you that the only way to deal with your past, the only way to get past your past is the cross of Christ.

The death of Jesus Christ was God’s plan to deal with all of the shameful, sinful things we’ve done. That Christ’s death was a substitution. He died in the place of sinners. He bore the penalty for our sin and shame. At the cross, God forever put away the sins of his people. At the cross, justice was truly served against sin.

And this is why the resurrection is so crucial to Christianity. This is why Paul writes in verse 17:

17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.

If we preached that our sins were forgiven because Jesus died, but he remained dead, who would have any confidence that the message was true? If I told you that Christ died in your place, but you could go see his bones in a tomb in Israel, you’d look at me and say, “How do you know that?”

The resurrection of Christ is how we know that our sins are dealt with. At the resurrection God removed all doubts that he has forgiven sinners. It’s the supernatural guarantee that we have new life, forgiveness, pardon, and welcome from God.

In the cross we see that we were so sinful Christ had to die for us. In the resurrection we see that his death was so perfect that we no longer need to fear our sins condemning us.

Listen, if Christ hasn’t been raised, you’re still in your sins. But reverse that. If he has been raised, where are you? You are in him. Alive, perfect, not longer judged on your own record, but on his. And to the degree that you are conscious of being in him, your guilt, your past won’t crush you.

Second, the resurrection changes how we relate to our present difficulties.

If you look down in verse 31 Paul basically says, “Listen, if Christ isn’t raised, then I am suffering a lot for no reason.” He says, “I die daily,” and then he says, “What do I gain if I fought with beasts at Ephesus?” And we aren’t even sure what he’s referencing there. Apparently it was well known to the recipients of his letter, but not to us.

What’s going on? Paul is saying the only way he has strength to live each day, to love the unlovable, to serve the ungrateful, to care for those who frankly aren’t worth his time, to even face persecution… the only way he can do that is because he knows the resurrection is true.

You see, he’s saying that the resurrection is a fact, but it’s far more. He’s meditated so much on the truth of Christ’s resurrection that it now is the power and the strength he needs to face his troubles.

Now listen, if it’s true that Jesus Christ came out of the grave, then you can love the unlovable, you can serve the ungrateful, you can face all of the difficulties that presently surround your life.

Do you see how this works? This is very logical, but its immensely practical. And it’s only practical if it’s both true and you constantly apply it to your mind, to your heart.

The resurrection is like a medicine. It only works if you take it into yourself. It has to come into your life, daily, and reorient you to your troubles.

Finally, the resurrection changes how we relate to death.

In verse 19, Paul says:

19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

It’s as if he anticipates our opposition to everything he has said. You might say, “Ok, Paul, so the resurrection helps me deal with my past guilt. So, it gives me some motivation for my present difficulties. But you know what… in the end we’re still going to die.”

And Paul says, “I know. You’re absolutely right. Even if we can deal with our guilt and our troubles… death is still the great enemy.”

He says your absolutely right. If the resurrection of Jesus doesn’t answers the problem of death, then nothing really matters, “If Christ isn’t raised, eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

At the end of this chapter Paul explains that those who are in Christ, even though they die, will be raised immortal. Those who perish will be raised imperishable. And he says this:

54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

                        “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

            55         “O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is a passage many Christians know and take comfort in, but what does it mean, the sting of death?

Years ago? a popular minister named Donald Gray Barnhouse, driving his children to the funeral of his wife, was trying to figure out a way to talk to his kids about the death of their mother. On the way he passed a truck and the shadow of the truck goes by them and he turns to his daughter and says, “Honey, do you see that truck? Do you see the shadow of that truck? Would you rather be hit by the truck or the shadow? His daughter says, “The shadow.” And Barnhouse said to her, “I really want you to know that the truck of death hit Jesus, so that mommy only has to go through the shadow of death.”

Listen, because of Jesus, the sting of death has been removed. And if the resurrection is true, if it really happened, you’ll no longer say, “Let’s eat and drink for tomorrow we die.” No. If your faith is in Christ you’ll say, “Let us eat and drink, for yesterday we were dead.”

Coexist? What is Worldview and Why Does it Matter?

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever seen a Coexist bumper sticker? They were far more popular 20 years ago but I still see them on occasion. Traditionally, the sticker contains the word “Coexist” in white lettering on a blue background. Upon closer inspection, one notices that the letters in the word “Coexist” are made up of various symbols from world religions. The “C” is made of the crescent moon of Islam, the “O,” a peace sign, “E” is the Hindu symbol for the mantra “Om,” the “X” is a Jewish Star of David, “I” is a Satanic pentacle, ying-yang for the “S,” and a Christian cross for the “t.”

On the one hand, the sticker makes sense. We should want the various religions of the world to be at peace with one another. On the other hand, the sticker deserves copious amounts of mockery and derision, for the sticker assumes that there is enough in common between these worldviews that they can be put side-by-side in harmony with one another. They cannot.

For the next several weeks I will be using these letters to explain why these religions cannot simply “coexist.” This is because they all represent diverging worldviews. What is a worldview? That’s the purpose of this initial letter in the series. Let’s begin by getting our definitions straight.

WHAT IS A WORLDVIEW

In my opinion, the single greatest introduction to the subject of worldview is The Universe Next Door by James Sire. If you do not own it, buy it now, or ask to borrow one of my copies. I first read Sire’s book in my undergraduate studies and his framework has guided my thoughts ever since. Here is how Sire defines worldview:

A worldview is a commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart, that can be expressed as a story or in a set of presuppositions that we hold about the basic constitution of reality, and that provides the foundation on which we live and move and have our being.[1]

Let’s break down Sire’s definition into a few bite-sized chunks. First, Sire says that a worldview is a commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart. In other words, a worldview isn’t just a set of truths in the mind, worldviews go deeper into our heart and direct our lives, actions, and attitudes. Second, worldviews can be expressed in a story or set of propositions about the basic constitution of reality. For instance, the Christian worldview is the story of God, the Creator, redeeming fallen humanity through the work of his Son. Lastly, that story, or set of propositions provides the foundation on which we live.

Sire’s book goes on to survey the most prominent worldview in the world today. They are Christian Theism, Deism, Naturalism, Nihilism, Existentialism, Eastern Pantheistic Monism, New Age Spirituality, Postmodernism, and Islamic Theism. He proceeds to “ask” each worldview 7 basic questions. They are:

  • What is ultimate reality? (What is really real?)
  • What is the nature of the world around us?
  • What is a human being?
  • What happens to a person at death?
  • Why is it possible to know anything at all?
  • How do we know what is right and wrong?
  • What is the meaning of human history?

Most people cannot fully articulate a cohesive philosophy of life, but everyone has a worldview. We all have basic assumptions about reality, humanity, and morality. And the way that we answer the 7 questions above orients our lives in vastly different directions. Studying worldview (and the various worldviews around the globe) helps us understand both ourselves as well as our neighbors.

WHY WORLDVIEW MATTERS

Worldview matters because our nation, and the world, are in a time of violent transition. Western nations, having embraced secularism have lost their grip on reality. We do not know what a woman is anymore. We do not know what a human life is anymore. These extreme and antihuman ideas on gender and the family are no longer confined to obscure departments in Ivy League schools. They are front and center on aisle 5 at the grocery store.

Much like Daniel and his fellow exiles, we are being compelled to eat the king’s meat (see Daniel 1), and out of faithfulness to the Lord of Heaven and Earth, we must decline. We simply cannot go along with the insanity, and we don’t really care what the king thinks about our rejection of his table. Our responsibility is to seek God’s approval, no man’s

15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)

We must also take responsibility to teach our children the truth and help them to discern error on their own. They are being forced to navigate a world we couldn’t have imagined 20 years ago. Parents, you are the primary evangelist in your home. God has given you the weighty and glorious duty of training your children in Godliness and proclaiming the gospel of Christ to them. Your pastor and our children’s ministry are only supplemental to your leadership in the home. We are here to help you, but the next Christian generation depends upon you.

We also have a responsibility to explain to the world (our neighbors and visitors to our church) the distinctiveness of the Christian worldview. Why are our values and behaviors so different from the surrounding culture? Why do we oppose transgenderism, abortion, inflation, and evolution? The answer is that the Christian worldview sets a foundation beneath our feet which orients our lives in an opposing direction to the surrounding culture.

SUMMARY

In the coming week we’ll spend time further explaining why worldview matters. We’ll summarize the main competing worldviews in our culture today, apply worldview thinking to the family, church, and our public life. Between now and the elections in November, I expect the volume of our national disagreements to only increase. Christians must be prepared with the truth, and we must be prepared to endure persecution for the sake of Christ.

My prayer is that you will both read and share these posts with other Christians. I pray you will read Scripture and pray daily. I pray that you will prioritize gathering with the church on the Lord’s Day for worship. I pray for your endurance in the faith.

P.S. If you would like a hardcopy of this letter, it will be available near the bookstall in our sanctuary at Lake Wylie Baptist Church.

 

[1] Sire, James W.. The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog, 5th Edition . Kindle Edition.

 

Shall We Sit Still and Do Nothing?

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. (Luke 5:1-3)

Over two years ago the leadership of our church began exploring the possibilities of expanding the physical plant of our church campus. The Lord has graciously brought many new faces to our weekly gatherings and space is limited. Because we want more people to hear the good news of Christ, and because we want to be good stewards of the assets God has given to us, our goal has been to expand our physical space without incurring debt.

The first 6 months of our expansion planning were smooth sailing. The last 18 have been filled with obstacles. The Lord continues to bring new faces to our church, but he has not yet opened all of the doors for the expansion project. As we wait for those doors to open, and as we have faced the reality of some doors slamming in our face, our church is being tested by a wise and gracious God.

This reminds us that God isn’t simply growing our physical structures, he is growing us as a people. Far more important than larger classrooms is larger faith. Greater endurance and trust are to be desired above a greater seating capacity.

Lately, in my devotional reading, I have been reading Luke’s gospel along with J.C. Ryle’s notes on the text. Ryle was a faithful Anglican minister in the 19th century and I highly recommend you read his notes which can be found for free here.

Commenting on the passage above, in which Christ preached to the gathering crowds from a boat in the open air, Ryle writes:

The servants of Christ should learn a lesson from their Master’s conduct on this occasion. We are not to wait until every little difficulty or obstacle is removed, before we put our hand to the plough, or go forth to sow the seed of the word. Convenient buildings may often be lacking for assembling a company of hearers. Convenient rooms may often not be found for gathering children to school. What, then, are we to do? Shall we sit still and do nothing? God forbid! If we cannot do all we want, let us do what we can. Let us work with such tools as we have. While we are lingering and delaying, souls are perishing. It is the slothful heart that is always looking at the hedge of thorns and the lion in the way. (Prov. 15:19; 22:13.) Where we are and as we are, in season of out of season, by one means or by another, by tongue or by pen, by speaking or by writing, let us strive to be ever working for God. But let us never stand still.

Lake Wylie Baptist, this is a hearty encouragement from the Lord straight to us through a long-dead minister. If we cannot do all we want…

  • If we do not have enough rooms
  • If we do not have enough seats
  • If we do not yet know the final destination of our expansion
  • If we cannot understand yet how God will provide
  • If we must wait another 5 years, 15, years, or 30 years…

Then let us do all we can. Let us fill the seats we have, trusting in the sovereign God to bring men and women, boys and girls which he desires to save. Let us serve one another, many or few, as if we are truly brothers and sisters in Christ. Let us fill in the gaps where volunteers are needed with joy, knowing that no work of God is ever thrown away, but that in the Lord, our labor is not in vain. Let us pray ever more for God’s will to be known and obeyed as we seek to expand our church’s buildings.

Join me. Join the men who serve us as deacons. Join Marcy as she leads our children and youth ministries. We need every hand on deck, ready to serve. Our God has promised to supply our every need according to his riches in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:19) Trust him, and let us strive to be ever working for God. But never stand still.

The Winepress of the Wrath of God: A Final Harvest on Earth – Revelation 14

THE WINEPRESS OF THE WRATH OF GOD:

A Final Harvest on Earth

Revelation: Every Eye Will See Him

Revelation 14

THE TEXT:

The text for the sermon today is Revelation 14. Our text can be found on page 1036. These are the words of God:

Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, 3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, 5 and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.

 

6 Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7 And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

 

8 Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”

 

9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”

12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”

14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” 16 So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.

17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.

GRAB THEIR ATTENTION

Many of you know that I grew up in the home of a Baptist pastor. When you grow up in the home of a pastor your life takes on a certain 7-day rhythm. Your weekly calendar really is formed by the church calendar.

For instance, Saturday evenings were always the same. Our family rarely if ever went out on a Saturday night because that was the night that Dad would finish his final preparations for Sunday morning worship. The family would choose and lay out our clothes for the morning; Dad and I would would clean & polish our shoes for church; and Dad would spend a few hours pouring back over his sermon notes for the following morning.

I can still envision walking into the room where my Dad kept either his typewriter early in his ministry, and later a computer and printer. His face was locked into the screen, the wheels of his mind spinning furiously for just the right words to communicate the truth in ways that were both powerful and relatable.

One time I walked in and asked, “What you preaching on tomorrow, Dad?” He looked at me, and said, “Hell, damnation,” and turned back to his computer. From that moment on, a running joke began.

For the rest of my childhood, on a Saturday night, when I asked Dad, “What you preaching on tomorrow,” regardless of the topic, whether he was actually preaching on the life of Abraham, marriage, or baptism, he would always look at me with a grin and say, “Hell, damnation.”

RAISE THE NEED, SIGNPOSTS, STATE THE DESTINATION

As we turn once again to the book of Revelation, today we come to the conclusion of yet another cycle of visions. This cycle began in Revelation 12 with the birth of of child, Christ, to a woman who was fleeing a dragon. Last week, in Revelation 13 we saw the twin beasts of political power and false religion and their persecutions of the people of God. Today, in Revelation 14 we close out this cycle of visions with a warning of the final judgment of Christ.

Hell isn’t mentioned by name in this passage, but the subject matter is clearly the final separating of those who love God from those who oppose him. The former are seen as protected and blessed, while the latter are shown to be tormented with fire.

Once again, the book of Revelation employs vivid and visceral imagery in order to shake us and wake us up to spiritual realities. Our passage is full of terrifying pictures, and my goal this morning is to simply and straightforwardly explain them to you.

I won’t be flailing my arms, or screaming about hell, but I do hope the content of this chapter of Scripture grips you nonetheless.

Just this week I was reading of J.C. Ryle’s Expository Notes on Luke’s Gospel (1858). Here’s what Ryle had to say about the ministry of Jon the Baptist which I think is even more applicable today:

Well would it be for the Church of Christ, if it possessed more plain-speaking ministers, like John the Baptist, in these latter days. A morbid dislike to strong language–an excessive fear of giving offence–a constant flinching from directness and plain speaking, are, unhappily, too much the characteristics of the modern Christian pulpit. Uncharitable language is no doubt always to be deprecated. But there is no charity in flattering unconverted people, by abstaining from any mention of their vices, or in applying smooth epithets to damnable sins.

Revelation 14 will not allow us to, as Ryle put it, “apply smooth epithets to damnable sins.” No, it smacks us on the cheek with the reality of God’s holiness, man’s sinfulness, and the impending doom upon all who refuse to turn from their sin. As we consider the message of this passage let’s study it under three headings:

  1. THE LAMB & THE REDEEMED (14:1-4)
  2. THE THREE ANGELIC MESSAGES (14:5-13)
  3. THE FINAL HARVEST OF THE EARTH (14:14-20)

And as we examine the final judgment yet to come, if you have not yet turned from your sins and turned to Jesus Christ in faith and belief, then I pray you would do so today. Our church desires to make the message of Jesus Christ and his mercy plainly clear so that you might know your need and run to Christ in faith.

Christians, as we walk through the terrors that await those who refuse Christ, I pray that this sermon will rekindle your heart for the lost world—that you will pray more for those who do not know Christ, that you will, as the Apostle Peter said, “always [be] prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” (1 Pet. 3:15)

  1. THE LAMB & THE REDEEMED (14:1-4)

Revelation 14 breaks down cleanly into three sections, the first of which is verse 1-4; a vision of Jesus Christ (as the Lamb of God) surrounded with his people signified by the multitude of 144,000 on Mt. Zion.

Keep in mind what we have just seen in the previous chapter: the beast, and his followers who all bear his mark: 666. So, John is now drawing a contrast. He’s saying, “In contrast to the followers of the beast, here is how you can identify those who know and love Jesus.”

They are those first, “who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.”

This name of their foreheads signifies ownership. A Christian is someone God has claimed as his own. They have been brought into his family, made his children. They wear the name of God. They call God their Father. They no longer belong to themselves. They are no longer free to do as they please, but now live in order to please their new heavenly Father.

As we continue to identify the redeemed we read in verse 2:

2 And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, 3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

Now John hears the church begin to sing. This is a choir, a singing bunch. And their song is like the roar of many waters.

Last year our family traveled to Niagara Falls. I don’t know if you have ever been there but if you can make it it’s worth the trip. We all boarded one of the Maid of the Mist boats which takes you right up to the base of the falls. And as you stand there, blasted by the spray, you are also surrounded by the crashing thunder of millions of gallons of water. It’s so loud that you have to yell at one another just to be heard.

It is to this that John likens the choir of heaven. We do not know the lyrics they sang. John tells us that only they can learn this tune. It’s a reminder that only a Christian knows the saving love of God. Only the Christian has tasted the mercies of heaven. Only a Christian knows what it is like to live as a slave who has been truly liberated, a dead man who has been raised to new life.

Side note: this is one of the reasons we sing every Sunday. And all of you ought to sing. You have had a new song put in your mouth. You once were lost and now you are found. You once were blind to your sin, and now you see the face of your Father in heaven who loves you. Oh that the church of Jesus Christ would sing even more loudly on the earth today; that the foundations of hell would shake at her singing.

In verse 4 we’re told that these 144,000 are those who have not defiled themselves with women. Remember, this is all visionary and symbolic language. The 144,000 are not a literal number of men who are virgins. No, this is a picture of the purity of the church. They follow after him and no one else. They have no competing allegiances. They are faithful to their Lord and Master.

And finally, we’re told they they are redeemed from mankind as a firstfruits. If you’ve read the OT you know the firstfruits were an offering to God. That’s what is pictured here. Christians are people whose lives are giving to Christ in sacrifice. They aren’t given in order that they might gain, but because they have already gained everything in and through Christ.

So, this is one thing you may not understand about Christianity. Christians aren’t trying to work their heads off in order to please God in hopes that he might do something for them. Christians are people who recognize that God’s own Son, Jesus Christ has already done everything to make them pleasing and acceptable to God by living a perfect life in their place and paying the penalty of their sin in his death.

So, we are not saved by our good words. We are not approved by God because we offer ourselves. We offer ourselves to God because God has already offered Jesus Christ for us. Any obedience we have is merely the overflow of the grace of God given to us freely.

Those who follow the Lamb become like him in his purity, truthfulness, and holiness. The first receive his righteousness, then pursue righteousness.

Friend, I wonder if you would number yourself among the redeemed today? Can you say that you have received the name of God by believing in Jesus Christ his Son? Do you know what it means to sing a new song—the song of forgiveness and mercy? If you do not—friend, stick around after the service. Come talk to me, or to one of the people around you. We’d love to tell you more about Jesus.

As we move into verse 6, the focus begins shift from the redeemed to the unredeemed, and here we take note of the…

  1. THE THREE ANGELIC MESSAGES (14:5-13)

The second section of our chapter brings the messages of 3 angels that John see’s flying overhead. Look at verse 6:

6 Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.

Surprisingly, this is the only occurrence of the word “gospel,” in all of John’s writings. The word gospel means “good news,” and it was a word which was common in the first century. Whenever a general would go off to war, when the battle was won they’d send a messenger back home declaring, “Good news.. gospel!” The king has won. Victory is secured.

But just as in any military campaign, the good news of victory for one side also means the declaration of defeat for the enemies. Here, the good news of Christ’s victory, declared by the angel also declares the downfall of the beast and all his followers.

Verse 7:

7 And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

The call is to fear God and glorify him… why? Because the hour of his judgment has come. This is the final judgment. He’s the creator, he’s the sustainer, and he is not coming as the judge of all.

In our day, it isn’t popular to think of God as judge. We may want to think of him as creator, or even our friend, but as the judge? But consider for a moment how important it is that God judges.

If there is no judge, if there is no ultimate authority on good and evil, if there is no final reconing of deeds whatsoever, then what hope do we have for justice in the world today? Oh, there’s so much talk of justice, and how badly we need justice. And we do. This world is not well. It is not getting better and better. There is so much evil in the world today. We dare not deny it.

And if there is no judge, if there is not judgment, then we have no hope for evil to be brought to justice. Not in any ultimate sense.

But, if there is a judge, if there is a living, personal, being who knows and sees all things, and who has all the power to bring every creature, every deed, every action, every thought into his penetrating and revealing light… if there is true divine justice, then what hope is there for you an me?

Do you see the predicament? If there is no judge, then we have not hope for justice. But if there is, then we are most certainly in danger because we have made ourselves his enemy.

This is why the gospel is so important. We are all guilty sinners. God is a holy judge. Christ paid the penalty for our sins in his death so that God might be both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Rom. 3:26)

So, friend, according to the Scriptures, you are either justified because Christ was judged in your place, or you are still in your guilt and awaiting the judgment which this angel announces. Let’s take a closer look at this judgment:

8 Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”

Here we are introduced to Babylon. Babylon is the symbol of fallen human society against God. It’s yet another picture of the beast out of the sea. Babylon was the center of idolatry in the OT, and the chief oppressor of the people (from Abraham in Gen 14 to Israel in exile.) Therefore it is a fitting symbol for every evil empire which has opposed God. And we’re told that Babylon, the beast, the world opposed to God is falling in God’s judgment. It will not stand.

Then, in verse 9, the third angel speaks. All those who worship the beast, all those who take its mark, all those who oppose God, in the end will drink the wine of God’s wrath. Verse 9-11 are three of the most sobering verses in the Bible, for several reasons.

First, we are told that on the day of judgment, God’s wrath will be poured out, full strength.

Today, though this world is under God’s judgment, we also still experience God’s mercy. The rain falls on both the just and the unjust. The sun rises on the evil and the good. But, this angel warns of the day when God’s wrath will be unmixed and undiluted, no longer tempered with mercy and patience.

Second, we’re told that this cup of anger will be poured out in the presence of the lamb and his holy angels.

God, himself will look on, oversee, and administrate the perfect execution of his justice.

Third, this punishment on the ungodly will never end.

11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”

Friend, maybe you grew up in a church which taught that after dead, the souls of unbelievers simply cease to exist, or that their souls are destroyed. This has often been termed annihilationism.

But that’s not what Scripture teaches. Revelation 14, in speaking of the destruction of the ungodly does not speak of a single moment when those who oppose God are destroyed, and their existence comes to an end. No, this is a destruction, a torment, which continues forever.

If this is your first time in church, I can imagine how this portion of the sermon is striking you. You may even feel the urge to stand up and walk away. I must tell you that the doctrine of eternal punishment challenged me greatly in my 20s. It was a doctrine that I struggled to understand and even believe. A few thoughts:

First, the Bible is a challenging book, because God is speaking, and he challenges us.

If your God never challenges you, never disagrees with you, then you don’t have God, you are just believing in yourself.

Friend, the Christianity which never mentions Hell is not the Christianity of Jesus.

Second, our first responsibility is to ask, “What do the Scriptures clearly teach us?”

And the Scriptures clearly teach the eternality of Hell. There’s no way around it.

  • Matthews 25:41
  • Matthew 25:46
  • Mark 9:43
  • Mark 9:48
  • Luke 16:22-24
  • Luke 16:28
  • Revelation 14:9-11
  • Revelation 19:3
  • Revelation 20:10

Third, the Scriptures also teach that God never sends someone to Hell against their own wishes.

Friends, I’m convinced that our modern world despises the doctrine of Hell because we believe ourselves to be better than we are. We do not see ourselves as sinners in need of God’s mercy. And therefore, we do not see ourselves as sinners who have sinned against an eternal God for which the punishment is eternal.

This Bible has no category for a person who says to God, “Please do not send me to Hell, I want to know you,” to whom God says, “No.”

Romans 10:13 says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved!”

So, as long as you will admit your sinfulness, your neediness, your hopelessness, and call out to God, believing in Christ – friend, you will be saved. Not maybe, not hopefully, not possibly. Will be!

This is the message we preach. Our message cannot dilute the doctrine of hell, because if we do we dilute the urgency of repentance and faith. As uncomfortable as it may be for us to speak of Hell, if we are silent then we are traitors to our fellow man. Never be ashamed to say there is a “wrath to come,” because only then can you also say that it is possible for men and women to be saved.

Call upon the Lord today. Today is the day of salvation.

Finally, we have seen the Lamb and the redeemed, we have heard the three angelic messages…

  1. THE FINAL HARVEST OF THE EARTH

In the final section of Revelation 14 we see a picture of what happens when Jesus Christ returns.

14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand.

We’re told of two harvests that take place. First, Christ comes to gather to himself all who belong to him. Once all of the believers are gathered to Christ another harvest takes place in which all the wicked are gathered to be thrown into the winepress of God’s wrath.

Jesus himself spoke parables about this harvest. If you go back and read through Matthew 13 Jesus told two parables, one about a field which was mixed with good and bad seed—and at the final harvest the owner of the field would sort out the wheat from the chaff. Jesus explained the parable with these words (Matt. 13:40-43)

40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

As we conclude on this final harvest, so much could be said, but I will leave you with two simple applications:

If you have not surrendered your life to Jesus, if you have not placed your faith in him, this final harvest ought to make you tremble. You ought to see in this Word, your final doom unless you repent and are converted. You are sowing misery for yourself if you continue in your neglect of the God who made you and the Christ who offered himself up for you. Do not mistake God’s patience with forgetfulness. God’s kindness in patience is meant to lead you to his mercy today.

If you have placed your faith in Christ, then you ought to take immense comfort in this final harvest. This final harvest will gather you to be with Christ eternally. This harvest will summon you to see what you have long desired to see—a perfect church and a perfect communion with the saints.

J.C. Ryle writes:

How beautiful will the whole body of believers appear, when finally separated from the wicked! How fine will the wheat look in the barn of God, when the weeds are at length taken away! How brightly will grace shine, when no longer dimmed by incessant contact with the worldly and unconverted!

On that day, the church will “shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” Your sanctification will be perfected and your justification will be published. When Christ our life is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory. (Col. 3:4)

What rush of alleluias
Fills all the earth and sky!
What ringing of a thousand harps
Bespeaks the triumph nigh!
O day, for which creation
And all its tribes were made;
O joy, for all its former woes
A thousandfold repaid!

Bring near Thy great salvation,
Thou Lamb for sinners slain;
Fill up the roll of Thine elect,
Then take Thy power and reign;
Appear, Desire of nations,
Thine exiles long for home;
Show in the heavens Thy promised sign;
Thou Prince and Savior, come.

eve

A Call for the Endurance & Faith of the Saints: The Two Beasts of Political Power & False Religion – Revelation 13

A CALL FOR THE ENDURANCE OF THE SAINTS

The Twin Beasts of Political Power and False Religion

Revelation: Every Eye Will See Him

Revelation 13

THE TEXT:

The text for the sermon today is Revelation 13. Our text can be found on page 1035. These are the words of God:

13 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. 4 And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”

5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear:

10 If anyone is to be taken captive,

to captivity he goes;

if anyone is to be slain with the sword,

with the sword must he be slain.

Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.

11 Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. 13 It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. 16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

You’ve likely heard the saying, “He couldn’t see the forest for the trees.” It’s an expression that basically means, “Don’t miss the big picture because you are so busy attending to the smaller details.” When we come to the beasts of Revelation 13, and especially the mark or number of the beast, not only do many Christians lose the forest for the trees, they actually become focused on the leaves.

While there are many details in this passage, the overarching message is quite clear. The very center of the passage (end of v. 12) says, “Here is a call for the endurance of the saints. And what must the endure? They must endure the attacks and deception of two monsters. The first, as we will see is the monster of worldly political power which seeks to elevate itself to the place of God. The second monster is that of false religion, which acts as if it speaks for God.

Chapter 12 was all about the war between the dragon (Satan) and the church, and the last verse of 12 ends with the dragon standing on the shore of the sea.

Chapter 13 begins with a beast rising out of the sea, and concludes with a beast rising out of the earth. They are both Satan’s allies in his war against the church. Before we identify the beasts, let’s note a few differences between them:

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE BEASTS

Different in Appearance

First Beast:

  • 7 Heads, 10 Horns, 10 Crowns
  • Feet like a Bear
  • Body like a Leopard
  • Mouth like a Lion
  • Similar to the 4 beasts Daniel saw in a vision (Dan. 7) All of which represented empires.
  • First beast is ferocious

Second Beast:

  • Docile
  • Looks like a Lamb.
  • But this is deceptive because it speaks like a dragon.
  • Parades like a savior similar to Christ, but it is a false savior.

Different in their Dominion

            First Beast:

  • Political Dominion – “Who is able to make war on him? (Rev. 13:4)
  • This first beast would seek to usurp Christ in his office as king.

G.K. Beale notes several similarities between the first beast and Christ:

  • Both were slain and rise to new life (5:6 and 13:3).
  • Both have followers with their names written on their foreheads (13:16 and 14:1).
  • Both have horns (5:6 and 13:1).
  • Both have authority over every “tribe, tongue, people, and nation” (5:9; 7:9 and 13:7; 17:12, 15).
  • Both receive worldwide worship (5:8–14 and 13:4, 8).
  • Both have a final coming or manifestation, though one is to destruction and the other to eternal victory (17:7–18).

Second Beast:

  • Religious Dominion – “makes the earth worship the first beast” (Rev. 13:12)
  • The second beast would seek to usurp Christ in his role as prophet and priest.

Again, there are several similarities between the second beast and Christ:

  • Both described as a lamb with horns (strength).
  • Both direct the worship of their followers.
  • Both work miracles.

IDENTIFYING THE BEASTS

Go read the commentaries and you will find interpretations all over the map for the identity of these two beasts. But John’s original audience would have had no difficulty in finding parallels to these two beasts.

They would have easily identified the first beast with the Roman Imperial government. No one could stand against the power of Rome in the first century. So, the first beast represents the deification of political and military power. It’s the civil magistrate elevating himself to the place of God.

The second beast would also have been easy to identify for John’s original audience. The Romans did not oppose the worship of many deities, so long as the worshippers were also willing to confess that Caesar was lord. There was an entire system of priests dedicated to directing the worship of the citizens to Caesar.

Now, you may ask, “Why didn’t John simply say, “Caesar,” and the “Imperial Cult”? Why the symbolism? And the answer is two fold:

  • First, when you are a persecuted minority you typically don’t put down in writing that the Caesar is a pawn of Satan.

  • Second, John understood that the Roman empire was not an eternal power. Eventually, Rome would fall, and in its place would rise a new global power. For that reason, these two beasts can be found in every age.

  • This is where many modern commentators miss the mark in identifying the first beast only as the end-time Anti-Christ. The beast out of the sea surely is final Anti-Christ, but he is far more.

In fact, that’s what John is saying in verse 3:

3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast.

Nero died, but the empire and its persecution didn’t. Domitian came. When he died, then came Tajan, then Hadrian, then Marcus Aurelius, then Diocletian.

And it didn’t stop with Rome. Throughout the centuries, Satan has empowered evil empires to wage war on the church and the spread of the gospel. Just think of the Reformation, when both the state and the church persecuted believers. This is one of the reasons most of the Reformers and the Puritans saw the Pope as the antichrist.

And the same twin beasts are working even today. World governments and economic forums act as if they are supreme. False religions abound.

This is why John could say these words in 1 John 4:

4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

While the Apostle Paul tells us of a final antichrist to come, the New Testament teaches that every age has its own antichrists—those who would usurp the authority which Christ alone has. Antichrist is anyone or anything which claims to have the power to save which only Christ posses. Antichrist is anyone or anything which claims to have the power to condemn which only Christ possesses.

And, just out of curiosity, let’s turn over to Paul’s words in 2 Thessalonians 2:1

2 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

So, I do believe there will be a final “A” antichrist before the return of Christ—but John is warning believers in the first century, and Christians in the 16th century, and you Christians today at Lake Wylie:

Beware that you only give your worship, your true allegiance to Christ and Christ alone.

THE MARK & NUMBER OF THE BEAST

16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.

Once again, because Revelation is a book of pictures, images, and symbols, we ought not to think of this “mark” in literalistic terms. This isn’t a barcode, or a credit card number, or a microchip.

This mark of the beast is analogous to the seal of God we studied back in chapter 7:3. The angel which held back destructive forces cried out:

 

“Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.

So, just as God knows who belong to him, in the same way the mark of the beast is a sign of Satan’s ownership. It means serving Satan, obeying him, worshipping him. The mark is on the forehead and hand symbolizing that the thoughts and actions are given over to the elevation of the power of man which, in the end, is really the elevation of Satan.

The number of the beast is rendered as a trinity of sixes: 666

18 This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.

The symbolism is that of perfect imperfection. The number 6 is the number of fallen man. As William Hendriksen explains:

Six is not seven, and never reaches seven. It always fails to attain to perfection; that is, it never becomes seven. Six means missing the mark, or failure. Seven means perfection or victory. Rejoice, O Church of God! The victory is on your side. The number of the beast is 666, that is, failure upon failure upon failure. It is the number of man, for the beast glories in man; and must fail.

APPLICATIONS

  1. Keep the Civil Government in its Proper Place

Many Christians I know er in one of two directions when it comes to the civil government. Some Christians act as if the government doesn’t matter at all, and therefore they retreat from the public square. This is a mistake because the civil magistrate is instituted by God himself. (Romans 13). So governments matter. Elections matter. Midterms matter. God has given the power of the sword to the civil magistrate to punish evil doers and promote peace in the society.

On the other hand, especially during election seasons, too many Christians act as if the civil magistrate alone has the power to save us, or to do us harm. This inordinate fear, or inordinate hope in government makes them worshippers of the beast.

Christians both submit to the civil magistrate because we know their authority comes from God, and yet we are also able to resist the civil magistrate because we know he isn’t God.

Lake Wylie Baptist, pray for the grace to recognize when you are tempted to fear the beast of government more than Christ.

  1. Study Divine Revelation

The second beast is false religion, false doctrine parading as if it were true. From the beginning Satan has been a liar and deceiver. Your greatest shield against his deception is the Word of God.

Friend, God has revealed himself to you in nouns and verbs. He has not hidden the truth about himself, his purposes, his salvation, his Christ. He has not left you and I guessing as to the true nature of belief and faith and obedience.

This is why the Scriptures are called the Sword of the Spirit in Ephesians 6:17. They are a sword because they cut through lies; they penetrate falsehoods. And they are of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity is the one who has inspired the Scriptures. He is the one assuring their accuracy, authority, clarity, and sufficiency.

Charles Spurgeon once said that Scripture is like a lion. Who ever heard of defending a lion? Just turn it loose; it will defend itself.

  1. Set Your Hope on the Lamb

The dragon of chapter 12, who empowers the beasts of chapter 13 is terrifying. The German Reformer Martin Luther wrote A Mighty Fortress is our God speaking of the dragon like this:

For still our ancient foe
does seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great,
and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.

The dragon and the beasts are terrifying, and no pastor, no single congregation, no Christian can equal their power. One beast rises out of the sea, the other out of the land threatening the saints of God.

Yet we do not fear, for we have already read Revelation 10:1-3

Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. 2 He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, 3 and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring.

Friend, the dragon and the beasts are frightening, until you look to Christ. Christ’s authority towers over every ocean and every continent. He dwarves every empire, crushes every endeavor to oppose him. For 2,000 years, beast have risen and beasts have fallen, and the church continues to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth.

I love how Albert Barnes introduces the book of Acts:

“This book contains incontrovertible evidence of the truth of Christianity. It is a record of its early triumphs. Within the space of 30 years after the death of Christ the gospel had been carried to all parts of the civilized and to no small portion of the uncivilized world. Its progress and its triumphs were not concealed. Its great transactions were not “done in a corner.” It had been preached in the most splendid, powerful, and enlightened cities; churches were already founded in Jerusalem, Antioch, Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, and at Rome. The gospel had spread in Arabia, Asia Minor, Greece, Macedon, Italy, and Africa. It had assailed the most mighty existing institutions. It had made its way over the most formidable barriers. It had encountered the most deadly and malignant opposition. It had traveled to the capital (Rome), and had secured such a hold even in the imperial city as to make it certain that it would finally overturn the established religion and seat itself upon the ruins of paganism.

Within 30 years, it had settled the point that it would overturn every bloody altar, close every pagan temple, bring under its influence everywhere the men of office, rank, and power, and that “the banners of the faith would soon stream from the palaces of the Caesars.” All this would be accomplished by the instrumentality of Jews – of fishermen – of Nazarenes. They did not have either wealth, armies, or allies. With the exception of Paul, they were people without much education. They were taught only by the Holy Spirit, armed only with the power of God, victorious only because Christ was their Captain, and the world acknowledged the presence of the messengers of the Highest One and the power of the Christian religion. Its success never has been, and never can be accounted for by any other supposition than that God Himself attended it! And if the Christian religion is not true, the change which was brought about by the twelve apostles is the most inexplicable, mysterious, and wonderful event that has ever been witnessed in this world. Their success will stand until the end of time as an argument for the truth of God’s overall plan. It will always confound the infidel. And, it will forever sustain the Christian with the assured belief that this is a religion which has proceeded from the all-powerful and infinitely benevolent God.

Let goods and kindred go

This mortal life also

The body they may kill

God’s truth abided still

His kingdom is forever.

They Loved Not Their Lives: The Woman, the Child, & the Dragon – Revelation 12

THEY LOVED NOT THEIR LIVES:

The Woman, the Dragon, & the Child

Revelation: Every Eye Will See Him

Revelation 12

THE TEXT:

The text for the sermon today is Revelation 12. Our text can be found on page 1035. These are the words of God:

 15 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. 5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, 6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.

 

7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. 15 The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16 But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. 17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Revelation is a book of cycles. The cycle of 7 churches, seals, trumpets. Revelation 12-14 is the fourth cycle in the book, wedged between the 7 trumpets and 7 bowls of wrath. Each cycle follows the arc of history from Christ’s first advent, and conclude with the second coming. So, chapter 12 today tells us about the birth of Christ, and chapter 14 will end with the judgement of Christ at the end.

Revelation 1-11 give a surface picture of the suffering of the saints; the trial and tribulations of this world. Revelation 12 is the true halfway point in the book, and now chapters 12-22 pull back the curtain to show us what is going on behind the scenes.

At the top of the chapter we’re told that these are two signs. The woman and the dragon; they’re symbolic. But what are they symbolizing. Rather than walk verse by verse through this chapter, let’s take it character by character. The woman, the dragon, and the child.

But, before we look at the characters, you might have realized that so much of Revelation is about battle, or wars, or fighting. That’s because John wants us to realize that even if we cannot see it with our eyes, every day of this life we are engaged in a cosmic conflict. So, this vivid sign of this woman and this dragon, and a war in heaven, are written in this way in order to shake spiritually anesthetized Christians into reality.

First, the Woman.

Is it Mary? (v.5)  No, In fact, she is not any particular woman in history. We’re told in v. 1 that the woman is a “sign,” or “great wonder.” She is symbolic.

And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

Reminiscent of Genesis 37:9-10 – Joseph’s Dream

9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?”

So, Jacob understands who the sun, moon and stars are, him and his 12 sons. So, the woman of Rev. 12 who is clothed with the sun, moon, and crown of 12 stars first of all symbolizes believers in the Old Testament – Israel.

Then, in verse 5 we read:

5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, 6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.

Now, this time in the wilderness is symbolic of the church age. After Christ ascended to his Father, all of this age is an age of tribulations. And look down at v. 17:

17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.

So, this woman is the saints of the Old Testament, she is the faithful line of believer through whom the Messiah comes into the world, and her offspring are all those who keep the commands of God. So, this woman is symbolic of God’s people in all ages.

Second, the Dragon

It doesn’t take much investigation to figure out that the Dragon is the devil.

9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

It’s also important to note that the OT often characterizes evil nations as dragons—specifically because behind every evil ruler, every evil empire is one malevolent being, the devil.

For the rest of the book of Revelation John is going to contrast the work of Christ with the work of Satan. And most of the time, the work of Satan will be shown as a parody of Christ, a mockery of Christ.

For instance, instead of the Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and Spirit, John will show us an unholy trinity of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. Instead of a perfect trinity of 777, we will see the trinity of imperfection symbolized as 666.

So, we’re being introduced to Satan here. If we go back up to v. 3 the dragon is red, which is the symbol of bloodshed in Revelation. He has seven heads and seven crowns—his authority appears to be almost godlike. His ten horns represent incredible strength.

  1. 4 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth.

This is a reference to Satan’s rebellion against God in the beginning, when one third of the angels followed him and were cast out of heaven.

And then look at the activity of this dragon. And, stick with me because the chapter jumps around chronologically.

  1. 7 7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.

  1. 4 And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.

  1. 13 13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.

  1. 17 17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God

Here’s the big picture: from the beginning, shortly after his creation, Satan has been at war with God and all those who love him.

One last character:

Third, the Child

Flip all the way back to the beginning of your Bible to Genesis 3. The serpent, the dragon had already rebelled, and he’s in the garden of Eden, and he deceives Eve, who takes fruit, eats it, and gives it to her husband. The serpent provokes the first human sin. God comes to give his judgment, he curses the human race, and he also curses the serpent.

  1. 15 –

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and her offspring;

he shall bruise your head,

and you shall bruise his heel.”

This is the first promise of the gospel. Right out of the gate, God has already established the way in which he will conquer the serpent. He isn’t going to conquer him in that moment, for doing so would require that he also destroy the human race. Instead, he promises a child to be born who will defeat the serpent.

Back to Revelation 12:

2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.

These birth pangs represent all of the troubles and difficulties of God’s people in the Old Covenant, waiting on this child to come and crush the dragon’s head. This is Noah, rescuing his family from the flood. This is Moses, delivering God’s people from Egypt. This is David, stoning the Philistine Goliath and cutting off his head. Each time, the people wonder, “Could this finally be deliverer, the rescuer, the one who will bring us comfort and rest?”

Second half of verse 4:

And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.

Just as the saints of the Old Testament we constantly looking for this child who would crush the serpent’s head, so was Satan. And, in every OT story, the heroes almost always reveal their sinfulness in failure to temptation. Every time a hero comes, and the people think, “This could be the one,” ultimately all of the OT heroes fail.

But when you come to Matt. 4, we’re told that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Let’s turn to that passage:

3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,

“ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

and

“ ‘On their hands they will bear you up,

lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”

7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,

“ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God

and him only shall you serve.’ ”

11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

What is the question? Are you the Son of God? You know what Satan is asking? Are you the child? Are you the offspring of Eve; the Deliverer?

And unlike Noah, who got drunk, unlike Moses who disobeyed God’s commands, unlike David who committed adultery and murder, Jesus Christ perfectly resisted Satan’s temptation. And from that moment on, Satan knew that Jesus Christ would not fail in his mission through the temptation of sin, and therefore, the only way to stop him would be to kill him.

Revelation 12:5

5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne,

In a few words, John sums up the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Though Satan worked for the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ, God the Father raised him on the 3rd day, and he ascended into heaven.

And from that point on, Satan’s primary target has been the church.

17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

Two applications:

  1. OUR SALVATION

Revelation 12 is the story of our salvation in a succession of steps. The word salvation in the Bible is an umbrella term.

  • Sometimes we use the term “saved” to refer to the initial moment when God forgives our sins and adopts us into his family.

  • Sometimes we use the term “saved” to refer to our final salvation when Christ returns.

A great example of this is Hebrews 9:28

28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

So, we can speak of the term “saved” in several tenses.

  • We have been saved from the penalty of our sins.
  • We are being saved, presently and progressively from the power of sin.
  • We will be saved, ultimately from the presence of sin.

And we see this in Revelation 12. All of history, from the garden to the return of Christ is the story of God sending a deliver who will save, is saving, and has saved his people from their sins. That’s the story of the Bible.

  1. SATAN’S DEFEAT

If the history of the world is the story of our salvation, it’s also the story of Satan’s defeat. In much the same way as our salvation, this passage shows us that the defeat of Satan happens in a succession of steps.

So, in one sense, Satan has been defeated. For he was thrown down to earth.

7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.

And in another sense, Satan has been defeated because he failed to destroy Christ. (v. 5)

5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne,

And in another sense, Satan is currently suffering defeat as the church spreads into all the earth. He is called the accuser of the brothers in v. 10. If you are a Christian, you are his primary target. And, his chief tactic against you is accusation. He means for you to doubt that you are truly forgiven. He means for you to doubt that God will truly remember your sins no more. He brings them back up. He daily accuses you to yourself.

Thankfully, this is why we make a habit of confessing our sins to God. Watson:

In our confessions we tax ourselves with pride, infidelity, and passion, so that when Satan, who is called “the accuser of the brethren,” lays these things to our charge, God will say, “They have accused themselves already; therefore, Satan, your lawsuit is dismissed; your accusations come too late.” The humble sinner does more than accuse himself; as it were, he sits in judgment and passes sentence upon himself. He confesses that he deserves to be bound over to the wrath of God. And hear what the apostle Paul says: “if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged” (1Cor 11.31).

11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

We do not conquer through force of will, but through the blood of the Lamb. We do not conclude our time of confession with a mantra of self-improvement, but of God’s cleansing through Christ.

Ever since the ministry of Christ, Satan has been unable to stop the advance of the church. The gates of hell cannot hold back the incoming tide of the gospel. Why? Because in his earthly ministry, his death and his resurrection, Jesus Christ has bound Satan. (Mk 3:27)

The rest of this age is the story of Jesus Christ, through his church, plundering the house of Satan. Despoiling Satan’s former realm. This will not be easy.

In the coming weeks, we will see that though Satan cannot stop the church, he can oppose her with incredible power: through beastly governments, through temptations to false worship.

One final thought: Scottish Puritan, Samuel Rutherford said this:

“The devils war is better than the devil’s peace.”

He Shall Reign Forever: The Final Victory of Christ – Revelation 11:15-19

HE SHALL REIGN FOREVER:

The Coming Kingdom of Christ

Revelation: Every Eye Will See Him

Revelation 11.15-19

THE TEXT:

The text for the sermon today is Revelation 10. Our text can be found on page 1030. These are the words of God:

 15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” 16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying,

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,

who is and who was,

for you have taken your great power

and begun to reign.

18 The nations raged,

but your wrath came,

and the time for the dead to be judged,

and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints,

and those who fear your name,

both small and great,

and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”

19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Remember, Revelation is not written in a linear fashion, from start to finish. The events in Revelation are not all successive. Instead, Revelation is a series of visionary cycles.

John wrote this way because he wants you to hear the same story from different perspectives.

The 7 seals and trumpets share similarities, but there is a major difference. The seals ended with silence in heaven, while the trumpets end with a song.

So, with the 7th trumpet in our sights today, we notice that this passage is about the end of this age, even though it’s in the middle of Revelation.

  1. 15 – Loud voices in heaven, likely the Great Multitude (7:9-17) declare that the end has come. The kingdom of the world, which God allowed Satan temporary dominion over (John 12:31-36), has been transferred to the full, complete, and forever rule of Christ.

  1. 16 – The 24 Elders (Rev 4) who represent the church, fall down on their faces and worship. In chapter 4, they falls down and worship God as Creator, now they fall down and worship for he has brought all creation to its consummation.

  1. 17 –No longer are the Saints crying out for vindication. This is all gratitude. This is the ultimate Thanksgiving Day. The kingdom of God, which is invisible in this age, will be fully revealed in all its power on the day of Christ’s return.

  1. 18 – Acts as a summary of this age: the nations raged (Psalm 2). And what did all their raging accomplish in the end? The wrath of the Lord came, and the time of the dead to be judged. This judgment includes both the reward of the saints, and the destroying of the destroyers.

  1. 19 – Once the song has concluded, the 7 Trumpets end with the revealing of God’s temple and the ark of the covenant in heaven. What’s happening here? On earth, temple is the dwelling place of God. In the OT, the temple was first the Garden, then a physical building. In the NT, it’s a people. Now, it’s all heaven opening to all of creation. The dwelling of God is with men.

  1. GOD WINS

Unlike most of Revelation, the commentators basically agree that this passage communicates the one overarching message of Revelation: God wins.

“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ” (V. 15)

What Satan had formerly ruled, as the “god of this world,” (2 Cor. 4:4), has now been taken over by the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice in v. 15, that John refers to the “kingdom” of this world in the singular. There are many nations in our world today, but truth be told, they are all apart of one earthly kingdom ruled by Satan.

In 1 John 5:19 we are told that the now, in a sense, the “whole world lies in the power of the evil one,” but the day is coming when God will overthrow every single enemy.

Application: Remember, that the Trumpets are concerned with warning. They warn the unbelieving world to turn around before it’s too late. This is the future we all face.

GOSPEL

  1. THE NATIONS NO LONGER RAGE

When you think of the return of Christ, what do you get excited about? What makes you long to see that day?

John tells us that the return of Christ means the end of the rage of the nations.

18 The nations raged,

but your wrath came,

You may have never prayed, “Lord, please return and judge the nations,” but realize that many Christians have. Most of Revelation is about Christians suffering at the hand of state-sponsored persecution.

This is why the Elders are singing.

Application: the kingdom of the world will not be Christianized until the return of Christ.

 

I want to live in a Christian nation, with distinctly Christian laws, full of Christians who worship Christ.

  • Because I want the nations to worship Christ, I gather every Lord’s Day with you to proclaim the gospel.

  • Because I want the nations to have distinctly Christian laws, I vote.

But I also realize that if we elect a great leader, they won’t last, and if we elect a rotten leader, they won’t either. We are waiting on the enduring reign of the eternal Christ.

  1. GET EXCITED

Verse 18 tells us that when Christ returns and judges the nations, in that same judgment, he will reward his saints:

18 The nations raged,

but your wrath came,

and the time for the dead to be judged,

and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints,

and those who fear your name,

both small and great,

What is the reward of the saints? (Matt. 25:34) It’s to inherit the kingdom God has been preparing since before the worlds were made.

Application: While you can make the mistake of looking forward to heaven more than you look forward to Christ, this passage encourages you to live with eager expectation.

We should all be like my son, who made a 54-day countdown calendar to Halloween.

  1. GOD WITH US

On this day of Christ’s return, when he takes up his power, subdues the nations, and rewards the saints, on that day, God will be with us.

19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple.

Inside the temple, we see the greatest symbol of God’s presence in the Old Testament: the Ark. (Explain) When Israel lost the Ark, it was like losing God himself.

The best news of the gospel is not that the nations are subdued. It’s not that we will be rewarded. The best news is that God will be with us.

And on the day the Great I Am,

The Faithful and the True

The Lamb, who was for sinners slain,

Is making all things new.

Behold our God shall live with us,

And be our steadfast light.

And we shall ere his people be,

All glory be to Christ.

Two Witnesses: The Church Bears Witness to Christ – Revelation 11:1-14

TWO WITNESSES:

The Church’s Identity, Vulnerability, & Invincibility

Revelation: Every Eye Will See Him

Revelation 11.1-14

THE TEXT:

The text for the sermon today is Revelation 10. Our text can be found on page 1030. These are the words of God:

1Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, 2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. 3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”

4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. 6 They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. 7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, 8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, 10 and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. 11 But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13 And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

14 The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.

 

GRAB THEIR ATTENTION

Contra Galilaeos, Against the Galileans was an anti-Christian essay written by none other than the Roman emperor Julian between 361-363.

If you are a student of history, those dates should ring a few bells in your memory. You likely know that Roman emperor Constantine famously decriminalized Christianity in A.D. 313 with his Edict of Milan. Up to that time, the Christian church had spent nearly all of its 300 years of existence as a persecuted minority in the empire.

During the first 30 years after the resurrection, Christians suffered at the hands of Jewish religious leaders in and around Jerusalem. Then, around A.D. 60, waves of state sponsored persecutions would threaten to obliterate and bury the church for the next 3 centuries.

Nero, who was emperor from A.D. 54-68 burned a large section of Rome to the ground and blamed the fire on Christians. During that persecution, tradition tells us that the Apostle Peter was crucified and Paul was beheaded.

Under Emperor Trajan (A.D. 98-117) Christians were not sought out by the state, but when someone in the city informed upon them, they were executed. Around this time, Ignatius of Antioch was thrown to wild beasts in the Colosseum, to which he famously cried out:

“May the wild beasts be eager to rush upon me. If they be unwilling, I will compel them. Come, crowds of wild beasts; come, tearings and manglings, wracking of bones and hacking of limbs; come, cruel tortures of the devil; only let me attain unto Christ.”

 

You can read about the persecutions of Hadrian (A.D. 117-138), Antonius Pius (A.D. 139-161), Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 161-180) and many more.

Christian persecution reached its pinnacle during the reign of Diocletian (A.D. 303-305). His edit of A.D. 303 ordered the cessation of Christian gatherings, the destruction of church buildings, the imprisonment of elders and deacons, the destruction of the scriptures by fire, and the coercion of Christians to make sacrifices to pagan gods. Those who refused were executed.

Astonishingly, less than 10 years after this edict, Constantine decriminalized Christianity. Not only were Christians not arrested and executed, the church was finally able to hold public councils, such as the Council of Nicaea, to work out theological clarity.

But all that changed in A.D. 361. One of Constantine’s own descendants, Julian became Emperor. He had been brought up as a Christian, baptized as a Christian, and was even ordained as a Lector (or reader) in the church, but eventually Julian turned his back on Christ, leading many in the church to refer to him as Julian the Apostate. He wielded his imperial power to turn Rome back to its pagan roots. His Contra Galilaeos became famous as his philosophical reasons for waging war on the church. He banned Christians from education. He ordered old temples rebuilt, and new ones commissioned. He resurrected the old pagan priesthoods. Under his reign it appeared as if all the progress the gospel had made would collapse. What would happen, when the civil authorities, which had previously respected the church, when the government which protected the rights of the church, began to be the very authorities which targeted, and terrorized the church?

RAISE THE NEED, SIGNPOSTS, STATE THE DESTINATION

Well, those questions are at the center of our passage today. Revelation 11 is a reminder that the church of Jesus Christ must endure many hardships as we seek to faithfully live out our witness in this world. In this passage we are given two metaphors for the church—for the collective people of God. In the first two verses we see the metaphor of measuring the temple, and in verse 3-13 we see the metaphor of the two witnesses.

There are many passage of the Bible that are easy to understand:

  • Love one another. (Jn. 13:34)
  • Forgive one another. (Col. 3:13)
  • Pray without ceasing. (1 Thess. 5:16)

They aren’t easy to live out, but they are straightforward, easy to understand passages. Revelation 11 is not one of those easy passages. We have a lot of work to do to understand the symbols and metaphors in this text, but their message is straightforward. Let me summarize it quickly:

First, God knows who truly belongs to him, but there are many who believe themselves to be Christians who are not. Second, the time between Christ’s first coming and his return is an age of tribulation and we can expect trouble. Third, ultimately, God’s power makes the church invincible and she will accomplish her mission to reach the nations with the gospel.

We’re going to study this text under three headings:

  1. THE CHURCH’S IDENTITY (11:1-2)
  2. THE CHURCH’S VULNERABILITY (11:3-10)
  3. THE CHURCH’S INVINCIBILITY (11:11-13)

Friend, though these metaphors are difficult to interpret, here’s my prayer for you: if you already belong to Christ, I pray you will be strengthened to face difficulty. And if you are not a Christian, I pray that you will consider the witness of our church to you today. Consider that though the people in this room are not perfect, we do represent and speak for a perfect God, who made you and desires to welcome you into his family.

Let’s begin by looking at the first two verses in our passage as we learn about:

  1. THE CHURCH’S IDENTITY (11:1-2)

Verse 1 & 2 contain the metaphor of the temple:

Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there,

The OT background for this passage comes from Ezekiel 40-48, where Ezekiel is told to measure the temple of God—and the conclusion of that book is, “The Lord is there.” The temple is the place where God dwells.

The temple here is not a physical rebuilt temple in Jerusalem. Remember, this is visionary, symbolic language, and when you read the New Testament, who or what is the temple most often linked to: the church. That’s right, we are the temple of the living God. (1 Cor. 3:16; 1 Pet. 2:5; Eph. 2:19-22)

So, when John is told to measure the temple, he isn’t doing a physical measurement. In measuring the temple, he’s marking off the correct boundaries of the church, the people of God. He’s saying, “Here is who truly belongs in the temple.” So, Revelation 11 is analogous to the sealing of God’s people that we saw in Revelation 7. To seal is to make secure. To measure is to mark off a boundary.

And this is why John is told not to measure the court outside the temple. Look at verse 2:

2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.

What’s going on there? Well, in the physical temple which was destroyed there was an outer court where basically anyone could go, but not just anyone could enter the inner courts and the holy places. What about the 42 months? Are these actual months, or are they a picture of something?

Now, here’s the first time in this sermon you are going to need to pay close attention. This number, 42 months comes up again and again. If you look down in verse 3, you see that the 2 Witnesses prophesy for 1,260 days. Divide 1,260 by 30 and you get 42: 42 months.

Flip over to Revelation 12. Here we see the picture of a woman running from a dragon. Look in verse 3:

6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.

  1. 14

14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.

So the time of this woman in the wilderness is 1,260 days; 42 months; time, times, and half a time (1 year, 2 years, ½ year)

Now look at Revelation 13:5-7

5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them.

All this imagery of 42 months, 1,260 days, and time, times, and half a time comes from the OT book of Daniel. Daniel also saw a series of beasts, and it comes from the 4th beast that Daniel saw.

Daniel 7:25

25 He shall speak words against the Most High,

and shall wear out the saints of the Most High,

and shall think to change the times and the law;

and they shall be given into his hand

for a time, times, and half a time.

Then, in the last chapter of Daniel, 12;7

7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished.

And, with most Old Testament prophecy, there is both a near and a far fulfillment.

The near fulfillment of this prophecy came in 167 B.C. going to 164 B.C. Antiochus Epiphanes besieged Jerusalem, and desecrated the temple by sacrificing pigs on the altar. 3.5 years.

The same thing happened again in the first century Roman siege of Jerusalem. So, this number of 3.5 or 42 became a numerical picture of suffering and oppression for the people of God; a time of trial.

And these aren’t the only places the number shows up. In the book of Numbers, chapter 33 records the wanderings of the children of Israel in the desert, and during those 40 years of wandering, guess how many encampments are listed in their wanderings? Yep. 42. A time of trial.

Or think about Elijah; Old Testament prophet who shut up the skies so it did not rain. Luke 4:25 tells us that it didn’t rain for… 3.5 years. A time of trial.

Now, back to Revelation 11. The temple is measured, but the outer court is not, and nations trample the holy city for 42 months. When this number of 42 comes up, or 1,260 days, or 3.5 years—I want you to think of this current age—the age in which the church is both measured by God, yet trampled and opposed. I also believe there will be a time of intensified persecution of the church immediately preceding the return of Christ. More on that later in the sermon.

There are many people who come into our churches proclaiming that the know Christ. There may even some here today who think themselves Christians who are not. But God knows who belongs to him. He has sealed his people. He has measured his people.

How is that possible? How can someone come to a church every Sunday, believing themselves to be a Christian when they are not?

Well, we know that this is a possibility because Jesus himself said this would happen. Turn back in your Bibles to Matthew 7:21. This is the ending of Jesus’ great Sermon on the Mount, in which he explained to the people how someone would believe and live if they belonged to his kingdom.

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Jesus is not saying that you enter the kingdom through your obedience to him. Friends, we know that we are only made right with God through faith and faith alone in who Jesus is and what he has done. But Christ is saying that our obedient life externally is a crucial identifying sign that we possess true inward faith.

Friend, I exhort you to consider this question: what evidence is there in your life that you truly belong to God?

Belonging to God isn’t a feeling. It isn’t attending church. It isn’t putting money in an offering plate. Belonging to God is not something you decide to do, the same way that a pack of gum doesn’t decide that you will buy it.

Friend, you know you belong to God because God has drawn you to himself through the preaching of the gospel. You, in turn have confessed that you are a sinner and have placed your faith in Jesus Christ as the only savior of sinners. And because that has happened, you now desire to know God’s Word, his commands, his requirements of you and you delight in obedience.

Friend, if you are not sure if you truly belong to God, after the service is over, find me. Find one of the men who prayed this morning, or even one of the ladies around you. We would love to talk to you about knowing Jesus Christ in a saving way.

So, we see that the church’s identity—God measures and knows who truly belongs to him. Now, you have to listen faster or we’ll never get through this.

  1. THE CHURCH’S VULNERABILITY (11:3-10)

3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”

This image of the two witnesses is another metaphor for the church, just as the temple was in the first two verses. In 11:7 we see that this beast who comes from the bottomless pit overpowers the two witnesses and kills them.

In Revelation 13:7 we are told that, “7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them.” So, in 11:7 the beast overpowers the witnesses and in 13:7 he is given power to conquer the saints. I think both these passages are saying the same thing. The temple is trampled in verse 2. The witnesses are killed in 11:7, and the saints are at war with the beast in 13:7. This is the yet again a picture of the tribulation of the church age.

In 11:10 the entire world sees their demise, suggesting that the church has a worldwide presence. They witness for 3.5 years. This is the same amount of time as the power of the beast, the woman’s flight in the desert, and the trampling of the city. All these things are happening at the same time.

In 11:3, the witnesses are clothed in sackcloth, which was a sign of repentance. This is their message to the world: repent. Turn around. Forsake evil.

You say, “Why are there two witnesses to represent the church?” It’s because in the Old Covenant law, no one could be condemned for murder on the testimony of a single witness. Two were required for a testimony to be validated. John is saying that the church is the validating testimony or witness to God on the earth.

The olive trees in verse 4 reference back to Zechariah 4:6, in which God’s candlesticks, shining light to the world need oil, they need fuel to burn, and there God says, “Not by might, noy by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” The church will prevail against the opposition of this world, not by its own might, not through organizational power, not by human leadership, but by the Spirit who fuels and empowers the preaching of the gospel.

In verse 5 we’re told that: “5 And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes.” This speaks to the power of the churches words: the gospel we preach. Throughout the Bible we see power to give and take life connected to speech. God speaks life into existence. Jesus destroys his enemies with a sword coming from his mouth. I don’t believe these are two future prophets who literally spit fire and consume people. I believe this is more similar to God’s commissioning of the prophet Jeremiah when he told him:

behold, I am making my words in your mouth a fire,

and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them. (Jer. 5:14)

 It’s a reminder that our witness in the world is powerful.

And by witness, I don’t simply mean sharing your faith with someone. Certainly that’s powerful. But the witness of the church includes all of our life. Keeping our word, instead of lying. Choosing to do what is right, even to our own hurt. Our advocation for the unborn. Our ministry to the poor. All of our public preaching and witness is a testimony against this world.

6 They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire.

Here, the church is likened to Moses who brought plague on Egypt and Elijah who shut up the skies so that it did not rain. Moses represents the Law and Elijah represents the Prophets. In other words, the church declares all of God’s Word, his decrees, his truth from the Old Testament Law and Prophets to the New Testament Gospels and Epistles.

7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them,

In the coming weeks we’ll talk more about this beast. But for now, you need to understand that we are coming to a section of Revelation which speaks about all of the church age, but also a period of time, shortly before the return of Christ, in which Satan is given greater power to persecute the church. The Apostle Paul spoke of this heightened time of tribulation in 2 Thessalonians 2. Turn there with me.

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

Again, we’ll teach more on this in the coming weeks, but for now, set this down: in this age, the proclamation of the church is able to go into all the world. It’s a message of repentance. And, it cannot be stopped. But a time will come when the witnessing ministry of the church is coming to a close. And just before Christ returns, Satan will be granted greater power to persecute the church. This “man of lawlessness,” the final antichrist will exalt himself, and it will appear that the church has been destroyed.

Back to Revelation 11:9

9 For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, 10 and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.

During this final time of tribulation, just before the return of Christ, when it appears that church is crushed, the world will rejoice. People will throw parties and give gifts because they think they will no longer be troubled by the voice of the church.

Friends, we partially see this in our own time. Many in the world today would be glad if the church no longer existed. They despise prayer. They mock God’s law. If the churches of our nation closed their doors, they would celebrate.

And this has been happening ever since God sent the first prophet. What happened to most of the prophets? Most of them were not welcomed, or praised, or allowed to grow old. Most of them were despised. In their own day they were social pariahs.

It’s a reminder of the church’s vulnerability. We should not expect to be celebrated. If I continue to preach the truth, you should not expect me to be respected in our community, but rather despised. That’s ok. Jesus himself promised that if we were faithful to him, we would not be welcomed even as he was not welcomed. Listen to his words in Matthew 5:11 –

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

So, we see the church’s identity. The church’s vulnerability. Finally…

  1. THE CHURCH’S INVINCIBILITY (11:11-13)

11 But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them.

I believe two distinct events are picture here. First, I believe this is a picture of the final resurrection. When all of those who sleep in Christ are raised to life. But I also believe John is showing us that throughout history, when it appears that the church has been silenced, when it appears as though the beasts of this age have conquered the church, she always comes back to life.

Ezekiel 37 tells of the valley of dry bones, symbolizing hard-hearted Israel. God breathes on the bones and the come back to life. John’s vision is of the church, trampled, persecuted, martyred, coming to life again symbolized as a resurrection.

The leaders of the Soviet Union once predicted that they would stamp out the church. Mao Zedong tried to do the same in China. Read a book of church history and you will see a recurring theme. The church preaches the truth. The world tries to silence and extinguish the church. The church is raised to new power and witness.

So, by associating with the real Jesus, you may lose your promotion. You may lose your reputation. You will most certainly lose some friends. You may, before the end lose your life. But then again, Jesus promised that only those who lose themselves in him would ever find their true self to begin with.

Jesus Christ is the only anchor for your soul. He is the only rock upon which you can build your house and have it outlast the storms of this life.

Nations will come and go, empires rise, empires fall, but God promises that until Christ returns the church cannot utterly fail. The church’s endurance is guaranteed by Christ himself, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it.

On June 27th in the year 363, Julian the Apostate, who was now 32 years old, who had tried to stamp out the Christian church from the Roman Empire, was at war with a Persian army and was wounded in battle. As he lay dying, sinking into the sand, he picked up a handful of sand filled with his own blood and threw it into the sky with the words, “Thou Hast Conquered, Oh Thou Galiliean.”

The one who wrote Contra Galilaeos, became the final emperor who did not confess Christ. The gospel was not lost. Again and again through Reformation and Great Awakenings, the church has been resurrected to sing songs of praise to Christ. And you and I stand today confessing our allegiance to the Galilean.

You Must Again Prophesy: The Sweet & Bitter Gospel – Revelation 10

YOU MUST AGAIN PROPHESY:

The Sweet & Bitter Gospel

Revelation: Every Eye Will See Him

Revelation 10

THE TEXT:

The text for the sermon today is Revelation 10. Our text can be found on page 1030. These are the words of God:

1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. 2 He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, 3 and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. 4 And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.” 5 And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven 6 and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, 7 but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.

8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9 So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” 10 And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. 11 And I was told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”

 

GRAB THEIR ATTENTION

Human taste can be distilled down into 5 basic taste qualities. Sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and savory. Some of you have big sweet tooths. Raise your hand if that’s you. Others love salty foods. Raise your hand if you are a salty person. Now, of course we know that it’s often tasty to mix salty foods with sweet foods. For instance, to cover a pretzel with chocolate. Or, even better, who has dipped your French fries into a frosty?

Well, I’m going to need little audience participation here. I’m going to name a food item and I want you to audibly respond with either the word sweet, or the word bitter.

  • Vinegar
  • Honey
  • Coffee
  • Cranberry Juice
  • Horseradish
  • Sugar
  • Garlic
  • Grapefruit

Grapefruit is one of those foods that, depending on who you ask, is sweet or bitter. Dark chocolate is another. To one person, its nothing but bitter. To another, there’s a sweetness.

In Revelation 10, John is told to proclaim a message to the world, and it’s a message that some will be attracted to and find sweet while others are repulsed at its bitterness. But before we dive into the passage itself, let’s take a moment and fit this chapter into the larger context of Revelation.

RAISE THE NEED, SIGNPOSTS, STATE THE DESTINATION

There are a total of 22 chapters in Revelation, which means that we are essentially half-way through the book. Chapter 10 serves as a pivot point or a transition from the first half of the book to the second half. John has already written letters to 7 churches, and unveiled seven seal judgments and 6 of the 7 trumpet judgments. Chapter 10 is an intermission between the 6th trumpet and the 7th which will begin the cycle of the 7 vials of wrath.

As I’ve said before, Revelation is a book that ratchets up the intensity with each successive page. John has already proclaimed terrible judgments, but in the last verse of chapter 10 he is told that there is more that he must say. Look at verse 11:

11 And I was told, “You must again prophesy…”

In a sense, this is John, halfway through his message being recommissioned to shared the second half.

As we consider the ministry of proclamation that John was called to carry out, we find that it is a model for our own ministry. The message that he preached would be bittersweet, so is ours. It’s a message that he directed at the kings and rulers of his own day, which we must direct at our leaders today. It’s a message of Christ’s authority over all the earth. It’s a warning that Christ will judge the earth. And it’s a message that Christ will redeem sinners.

In this page we are told:

  1. WHO THE MESSAGE IS FOR (10:8-11)
  2. WHAT THE MESSAGE IS (10:1-3; 5-7)
  3. HOW THE HEARERS WILL RESPOND (10:9-10)

Church, this passage tells us that we measure success not by how many people respond favorably to our message, but by how faithfully we are to proclaim the message we’ve been given.

Non-Christian, this passage explains, through symbols, the fundamental belief of Christianity: that the risen and ascended Jesus Christ is Lord over all. And for now, he is drawing those who are far from him to himself. But a time is coming when he will no longer draw unbelievers. Instead he will return again as judge.

So my prayer is that you will turn to Christ today—resting in his saving work at the cross, and following him as Lord of all. Maybe you will even put your faith in him as this sermon is being preached.

Let’s begin our study by first seeing…

  1. WHO THE MESSAGE IS FOR (10:8-11)

John is commissioned to preach, and he is told at the very end of the passage to whom he is supposed to preach:

11 And I was told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”

On the one hand, John is to preach, or prophesy to all people . That’s what the word prophesy most often means “Art of Prophesying” by Perkins. Verse 11 sounds a lot like the Great Commission Jesus Christ gave in Matthew 28: 19

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,

John, and us as well, are to preach to the nations—all the ethnic groups; to all people. The word for people is laos, from which we get “laity” meaning people in general, and we are to preach to every tongue, or language.

And the church is doing just that. One of the most fascinating ministries you could begin praying for is Wycliffe Bible Translators. Their focus, as you may have guessed, is to translate the Scriptures into the native tongue of every nation, tribe and subgroup on the planet.

Their ministry is currently in engaged in translating the Bible into 1,633 total languages. However, there are 1,336 languages which still do now have a full Bible translation. This means that 1.5 billion people still don’t have a full Bible in their language. 128 million don’t have any Scripture in their language.

Christian, do you realize how rich we are in Bible translations? Since William Tyndale began his translation in 1526, translators and publishers have created over 900 different English Bibles. I have more than 20 in paper copy and over 100 digital version. Most of you are using software applications which will read the Bible to you in any translation you wish.

Church we ought to regularly pray for the work of ministries like Wycliffe who are putting the gospel into the languages of the nations. John was called to preach to the nations, and so are we.

But I want to pay special attention to the final word of verse 11. John was commissioned to prophesy to all people in general, but specifically to kings. Why is that significant?

It’s significant because the second half of Revelation has much to say to the kings of the earth. In fact, you might say that the entire second half of Revelation is the story of the overthrow of evil kings and the return of the true king, Jesus Christ to rule and reign forever.

In the next few minutes, you will be greatly helped to have your Bible open and ready to survey several passages.

In Revelation 16:12 we see that the kings of the earth are assembled to go to war against God.

12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east. 13 And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. 14 For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.

In Revelation 17:1-2 we see a picture of the kings of the earth desiring to have the same power and might as ancient Babylon which is portrayed symbolically as a prostitute.

17 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.”

In 17:12 we see that the kings of the earth unite together in one beastly government to war against Christ:

12 And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will make war on the Lamb,

Chapter 18 records the fall of Babylon and we’re told that the kings of the earth lament her downfall:

9 And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning.

In chapter 19:17, those kings who oppose Christ are defeated.

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.”

The final mention of kings is in Revelation 22:23 when we are told that some kings, who bowed the knee to Christ are present in the New Heavenly Jerusalem:

23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.

Do you see what’s happening here in Revelation 10:11 – John is given a message – to all people, yes, but especially to the rulers and kings of the earth. The message of the end of Revelation is not that Christianity takes over the world resulting in the conversion of kings—but that the kings of the earth reject Christ and persecute the saints—and for their disobedience, they will be condemned.

Friends, we are called to relay this message to the leaders, the magistrates, the authorities of our own day, who deny Christ, who disobey his commands, who subvert the truth.

We are officially in primary season for the presidential race. All this year you will hear me say this a lot: the church is political, but we are not partisan. We are political because we declare that Christ is Lord—and that’s a political statement. But we are not partisan. We are not the errand boy for any party or candidate. We don’t stump for Murray. We speak for Jesus Christ.

So, when you go vote, vote for those who will defend the unborn. Vote for those who will affirm a Biblical view of male and female. Vote for those who don’t legalize theft through the confiscation and redistribution of your property. Vote for those who will defend the right of your pastor to stand here and say all that I am saying.

So, who is the message for? It’s for everyone—but especially for kings and rulers. But what is the message?

  1. WHAT THE MESSAGE IS

The message that John is commissioned to preach is directly connected with the contents of the book that he eats as well as with the identity of the angel who carries the book. Take a look at verse 8:

8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9 So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take and eat it;

This little scroll or book in the hand of the angel is curious. What is it? What does it contain? There is more than one possible explanation. This little scroll could be the same scroll, sealed with seven seals that we saw back in chapter 5. We notice that just as the scroll in chapter 5 had seven seals which Christ has already broken, this scroll is already open as well. So, if this is the same scroll, then the contents of the scroll are the eternal decrees of God.

But this may be a different scroll than the one mention in chapter 5 because this scroll is referred to as little, or smaller. So, some believe that this scroll is the scroll that shows up in Revelation 21:7:

27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

So, this scroll could be the Lamb’s book of life, containing the names of all God’s elect.

I believe this little scroll, or little book contains the second half of Revelation itself for several reasons. First, in verse 5-7, the angel carrying the book swears an oath to initiate the 7th trumpet judgment which in turn will unleash the 7 vials of wrath which are to come. Second, in verse 11, after John receives the little scroll and eats it, he is told, “You must prophesy again… to kings.” In other words, John had to some extent set forth God’s will in the first half of the book, and he is now required to complete the message.

So, what do we find in the second half of this book? The final salvation of all God’s people and the final judgment of those oppose God. The angel raises his hand to heaven and says: “I swear by the God who made the heavens and the earth that the final trumpet will sound. And the mystery of God—that he will gather to himself a people from every nation—will be fulfilled, and final judgment will come.” The great gathering of God’s people will end. The time of God’s patience with evil will end. History itself will end.

That’s the content of the book. But I also said that the message John was commissioned to preach was bound up with the identity of the angel carrying the book. So, who then is this angel? Look back at verse 1:

Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. 2 He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, 3 and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring.

I believe this angel is either Christ himself, or at the very least an angel who stands as a direct representative of Christ. We know that in the Old Testament, the Son of God often appeared as the “Angel of the Lord” (Gen. 16) Angel can refer to the angelic beings that God created, but it can also simply mean a messenger. So, why do I believe this mighty angel in Rev 10 is Christ, or an angel representing Christ?

All of the descriptions of this angel at pulled directly from other parts of Scripture which describe God.

The cloud (Psalm 97:2), rainbow (Rev. 4:3), the face like the sun and feet like fire (Rev. 1:14-16); these are all the insignia of deity. This angel holds the opened scroll in the hand, signifying he is entrusted with the judgments of God.

In verse 2 he sets his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. This is the language of conquest and possession. In other words, all the earth is under his feet—he has authority over the entire earth.

In Greek mythology, a giant named Atlas is ordered to hold up the earth. And in all the statues and paintings the giant bends and groans under the weight of the earth. But Christ is greater than Atlas. He doesn’t bend beneath the earth. He stands above it.  He holds and upholds the earth with the word of his power.

This means that Christ is the judge of all the earth; every nation, every king, every ruler, every law. He is the ultimate standard of measurement.

So, if we take all of this together, here is the message given to John and to us:

Christ is Lord. Jesus Christ is Lord over all. He is Lord over the galaxies and he is Lord over the dishes in your sink; Lord over every molecule and every black hole and everything in between. And, by his power, he will bring about the redemption of God’s people and the judgment of evil.

How does he redeem God’s people? He offered himself, 2,000 years ago in their place. What is the cross of Christ all about? Friend, it was there that Christ suffered and bore the wrath of God in order to satisfy the justice of God.

You and I have disobeyed God, and therefore we deserve God’s wrath. We deserve to be cut off. But Jesus Christ, the Son of God in flesh, perfectly obeyed God’s law—and deserved God’s pleasure and life. That is what justice is: to receive what you are owed.

But on the cross, Christ received what we were owed. He was cut off, in order that we might receive what he was owed—we are welcomed and favored.

Friend—the perfect life and sinless death of Christ were so pleasing to God that John Owen once said, “God was more pleased with the obedience of Christ than he was ever displeased with the disobedience of Adam.”

And, though Christ died, God raised him from the dead so that we might know God’s approval of all that Christ had done. So that we might be raised with him.

A Christian is someone who can say, “When Christ died, my sins died. When Christ was buried, my sins were buried. And when Christ was raised, my sins were not raised. Their still in the tomb.”

And the only proper response to this gospel message is to respond in repentance and faith. Turn away from all you have trusted before now and turn to Christ in trust today.

So, how will the hearers of this message respond?

  1. HOW THE HEARERS WILL RESPOND

10 And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter.

Very simply: as we proclaim that Christ is both the redeemer and Lord we can expect two opposite responses. To some, the message will be sweet. To others it will be bitter.

In 2 Corinthians 2:15 the Apostle Paul put it this way:

15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.

Here’s what this means: the proclamation of the church will be both attractive and repulsive. That’s one way you know you are preaching the truth. If you are only attractive, if your proclamation never repulses—then you aren’t preaching the true gospel. And, conversely, if you only ever repel and offend, then you aren’t preaching the true gospel.

The message we proclaim is sweet for us when it is heard and received and believed. Nothing thrills us more than to watch people confess their sins and trust in Christ. Nothing excites us more than to baptize new Christians.

Yet, even the sweet gospel of Christ can become bitter when our testimony is rejected and despised by the world. It’s a reminder that it will not be easy to declare this message to those kings who oppose Christ. Our preaching will not, indeed, it cannot please everyone. In fact, often our preaching will enrage the world.

Often, your testimony will drive a wedge between you and your spouse, or you and your children, or you and your friend. But it is impossible to be faithful to Christ and avoid the displeasure of some.

In John 6, Jesus declared to the crowds that he and he alone was the bread of life; that only those who feasted upon him would find real and lasting nourishment for their souls. That no one can come to the Father unless he first granted it.

And in John 6:66 we hear these words:

66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.

Friend, even Jesus Christ himself, the perfect man, knows the bitter taste of rejection.

As we continue to unfold the second half of Revelation there will be many opportunities to turn away. There will be many truths which, in our sinfulness, are unpalatable. There are many sermons which, if we preach them faithfully, will draw the ire and scorn of the lost world.

And yet, there will be a sweetness. God has chosen to use our preaching as the means by which many will turn to Christ and receive life. Our calling is not to please the world, but to be faithful to Christ. Our calling is not to be sweet, or to be bitter, but to say what is true no matter what.

Church—if you displease Christ, it does not matter who you please. And, if you please Christ, it does not matter who you displease.

Woe: The Reality of Demonic Judgment – Revelation 9:1-21

Woe: The Reality of Demonic Judgment – Revelation 9:1-21

No Description

WOE:

The Reality of Demonic Judgment

Revelation: Every Eye Will See Him

Revelation 9

THE TEXT:

The text for the sermon today is Revelation 9. Our text can be found on page 1030. These are the words of God:

1 And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. 2 He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. 3 Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. 4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. 6 And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.

7 In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, 8 their hair like women’s hair, and their teeth like lions’ teeth; 9 they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. 10 They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails. 11 They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.

12 The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.

13 Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind. 16 The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number. 17 And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were like lions’ heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. 18 By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. 19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.

20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, 21 nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

 

GRAB THEIR ATTENTION

“And though St. John saw many strange monsters in his vision, he saw no creature so wild as one of his own commentators.” – Chesterton

In my study of this passage, pouring through commentaries, I found at least 9 different possible interpretations for these locusts and the army pictured in Revelation 9; and they range from the plausible to the ridiculous. Here are a few.

Some commentators, connecting the symbols of Revelation with historic events see the locusts as invaders from the East, such as the Vandals sacking of Rome in A.D. 455, or the Muslim invaders of A.D. 846. Others see the locusts, not as an invading army, but as internal corruption either in the Roman culture or as the apostasy of a new Pope.

Some connect these visions with epidemic and the spread of disease throughout the centuries, or the spread of occult and pagan practices.

Other mid-century commentators connected these locusts and this army as a future event in which John was describing Cobra Helicopters in Vietnam.

So, as you can see, Chesterton was right. John saw many strange monsters, but he saw no creature so wild as one of his own commentators.

If you are new to Lake Wylie Baptist, you likely have several questions running through your mind:

  • What is this guy talking about?
  • Why did I decide to come to church?
  • What could I possibly learn from a sermon on such a strange passage?

Well, friend, at our church, we preach sequentially through books of the Bible, and we’ve been studying the book of Revelation for several months. The section we are currently studying has to do with a vision of 7 trumpets blowing, each of which is a warning to those who are far from God.

Last week we studied trumpets 1-4, seeing that God uses natural disasters to wake us up to our own frailty and immortality.

RAISE THE NEED, SIGNPOSTS, STATE THE DESTINATION

Today, as we study the 5th and 6th trumpets, the vision of locusts and a great army, we do well to remember these are called “Woes.” They are a warning, sent to wake up hardened unbelievers to the reality of God, his holiness, and his coming wrath.

Today, we’ll study this text under two headings:

  1. THE FIFTH TRUMPET & THE FIRST WOE (9:1-12)
  2. THE SIXTH TRUMPET & THE SECOND WOE (9:13-19)

This passage tells us that God uses even demonic commissioned judgment in order to wake unbelievers up and call them to repent and turn to Christ in faith. It tells us that that though the demonic realm is real, and potent, ultimately it has no lasting power over those who belong to Christ.

So, there is a great warning in this passage, but a great hope as well.

  1. THE FIFTH TRUMPET & THE FIRST WOE (9:1-12)

Chapter 9 begins:

And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. (9:1)

From this abyss come smoke and a horde of locusts unlike any in nature. These locusts are symbolic of the work of the Devil and those fallen angels who followed his rebellion against God. There is no need to associate them with a people group such as Muslims or Communists or Nazis. Neither are we to think of them as symbolizing the false teaching of a Pope.

No, this is a warning, that while there is a God who shows mercy to sinners, and angelic beings who protect and minister on behalf of those who know Christ, there is another category of supernatural beings who desire the destruction and corruption of all human life.

This “star” in verse 1 must be Satan, who Jesus said in Luke 10:18, “I saw Satan fall like lightening.” Similarly, in Isaiah 14, we are given a similar description of the fall of Satan:

12    “How you are fallen from heaven,

O Day Star, son of Dawn!

       How you are cut down to the ground,

you who laid the nations low!

13    You said in your heart,

‘I will ascend to heaven;

       above the stars of God

I will set my throne on high;

       I will sit on the mount of assembly

in the far reaches of the north;

14    I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High.’

15    But you are brought down to Sheol,

to the far reaches of the pit.

Friend, the Scriptures teach that there is a real Devil, his original name was Lucifer, and he rebelled against God in heaven and was cast out with 1/3 of the angels who had followed him. He doesn’t dress in a red leotard and carry a pitchfork.

No, instead he is a powerful enemy who seduced our first parents, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The Apostle Peter says that he prowls like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8-10) Here, we see that he is given a key, representing authority to rule over the abyss—or Sheol, or the place of the dead. Smoke billows out, blocking the sun’s light, and from this place of destruction come hoards of demons.

This picture is meant to frighten you. It’s meant to stop you in your tracks. John sees that behind the visible history of the world is an invisible spiritual world full of demonic deception, manipulation, temptation, and destruction.

This plague of locusts don’t harm the trees and grass like a normal plague, instead they are given power to harm all those who are not sealed by God. Christian, the great comfort of this verse is that while Satan and his demons may cause torment around you, they have no claim on your soul.

In verse 7, John gives a description of their appearance. This isn’t a literal description, but a symbolic one. They are like horses prepared for battle; ready to go to war. They have crowns of gold symbolizing great power. Their faces are human, reminding us that demons are intelligent ad discerning beings. Their hair is like a woman and their teeth like a lions. In other words, they can be seductive and ferocious.

What is the effect of these demonic afflictions? Verses 4-5 says the sting of their tail is like that of a scorpion, and those who are tormented live a life that is worse than death.

Friend, you may be tempted to tune this sermon out. As disturbing as this passage may be, and as much as you may want to look away, don’t. John is trying to get you and I to look beyond what our eyes can see. There is much evil in this world that cannot be explained. There is much emotional suffering in this world that cannot be explained by mere physical explanations.

Why is there an opioid epidemic in our nation? Why is there so much confusion and delusion on what it means to be male and female? Why are so many living lives of hopelessness?

Is it not possible that there is an unseen realm of beings leading people to lives of destruction? In fact, that’s their very goal.

Thankfully, as powerful and fearful as Satan and his demons are, in comparison to Christ, they are insects. Their power is limited. Their authority is delegated. And, because of Christ, they are under judgment. In Colossians 2:13-15 we’re told that:

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Friends, the gospel of Christ is the power that delivers sinners from the clutches of demons. The gospel seals us by God and to God. At the cross, God revealed how fallen humans could be delivered from the power of fallen angels.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, bore God’s holy wrath against sin at the cross. He absorbed the sting of death, so that any who turn to Christ in faith could be forgiven, redeemed, and sealed.

So, if you belong to Christ, you have nothing to fear. But if you do not, will you hear the sound of this trumpet warning you today? The only way to stand against the power of hell is to be sealed by Christ. Confess your sins today. Believe in Christ even now.

  1. THE SIXTH TRUMPET & THE SECOND WOE (9:13-21)

13 Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” (Rev. 9:13)

These four angels in turn, unleash war on the earth. Verse 16-19 describe an army of 200 million spreading over the earth, killing 1/3 of mankind. Again, the 1/3 isn’t a literal third, but rather symbolic that war is a partial judgment. So, while the demons of verses 1-12 only torment, not kill, now with the coming of war comes death as well.

Back in verse 11 we’re told that the king over the demons is named Apollyon; literally “the destroyer.” And here we see the classic example of human destruction: war. I don’t believe these verses are describing any one war or army, but rather every war in every age. War is always with us.

The number 4 in Revelation symbolizes the earth (4 corners, 4 winds) and therefore no part of the earth is spared from the presence of war. According to some estimates, between 1480 and 1941, Britain engaged in seventy-eight wars; France, in seventy-one wars; Spain, in sixty-four wars; Russia, in sixty-one wars; Austria, in fifty-two wars; Germany, in twenty-three wars; the United States, in thirteen wars; China, in eleven wars; and Japan, in nine wars. Even now, two wars are raging in the Middle East and in Ukraine. And the war drums continue to pound.

With this 6th trumpet, God is saying: this is what men and women are apart from my mercy and intervening grace. This is what happens when I remove my restraints.

Look around at our world today. Rather than humble, our world is proud. Rather than peacemaking, our world seeks division. Rather than generous, our world is envious. The leaders of our nations either have no moral anchor at all, or their moral anchors are evil. Friend, I do not say this as a fear-monger, but the world stands on the edge of a knife. It would not take much for us to see total war again in our time.

Let this be a warning to you. Your hope cannot be in the next election (though you ought to take it seriously and vote as a Christian). Your hope cannot be in human-made world peace. Your hope cannot be in anything but God himself. There is no other true refuge.

Sadly, in the last few verses of our passage, we are told how most people respond to the Woes of demon activity and war:

20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, 21 nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

This is how hard the human heart is. Apart from God’s saving grace, this is how stubborn they are. Even when they see the work of demons in broad daylight, and hear the drums of war pounding in their ears—they do not repent of their sins.

Listen to how Michael Wilcock describes this entire chapter:

These trumpets… are not only tanks an planes… They are also cancers and road accidents and malnutrition and terrorist bombs and peaceful demises in nursing homes. Yet ‘the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues’, still do not repent of their idolatry, the centering of their lives on anything rather than God, or of the evils which inevitably flow from it.

They hear of pollution, of inflation, of dwindling resources, of blind politicians, and will not admit that the first four Trumpets of God are sounding.

In the end they themselves are affected by these troubles, and for one reason or another life becomes a torment: the locusts are out, Trumpet 5 is sounding, but they will not repent. Not even when the angels of the Euphrates rise to the summons of Trumpet 6, and the cavalry rides out to slay – a friend or a relative, a husband or a wife: not even in bereavement will they repent”.

THREE APPLICATIONS:

  1. Recognize the Depravity of Man

When I say the word depravity, I don’t mean that every human is as bad as the could be. I do mean that we are all infected and corrupted by sin. I do mean that when we are born, our nature is sinful at the root.

People are not basically good. Verse 20 tells us that even when truth stares us in the face we reject it. The basic human problem is not that we are ignorant of God, but that we are absolutely aware of his reality—and we don’t want it.

19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Romans 1:19-20)

Have you recognized your own sinfulness; that if God did not first seek after you, you would never seek after him?

  1. Recognize God’s Sovereignty

The Scriptures are clear that God is completely sovereign, even over evil. He is not guilty of committing evil—but even evil itself is within his sovereign power.

When John see’s this massive army unleashed in Revelation 9, notice that a voice from heaven releases the four angels in v. 14. In other words, even the devastations of war are not outside of God’s control. Verse 15 says that the four angels of this war had been prepared for the year, month, day, and hour.

We take great comfort in knowing that our future doesn’t ultimately hang on the actions of a president, or a warlord with a few nuclear weapons. The future of this world is not found in the White House, or the Kremlin, or the Parliament. The future is in the omnipotent and benevolent hands of God.

  1. Turn to Christ Today

Over and over, God says in his word, “Today, if you hear my voice, turn around.” We do not understand all of God’s reasons for allowing sickness, allowing war, allowing even demonic activity.

29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. (Deut. 29:29

So, God does not reveal to us all that he is doing and why he is doing it—but he has at least told us this: one of his purposes in all that he allows is to humble us and bring us to a place of belief and obedience to him.

He wants us to know that we are not safe apart from trust in Christ. Friend, have the “Woes” of this world softened you, or hardened you? Are the anxieties of this life driving you towards Christ or further from him? Are you believing or unbelieving?

Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore,
Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity, love, and pow’r.

Come, ye weary, heavy laden,
Lost and ruined by the fall;
If you tarry till you’re better,
You will never come at all.