Jesus Unveiled – Page 2 – Idaville Church

A Marriage Made In Heaven

A MARRIAGE MADE IN HEAVEN

Whose wedding do you think of when you think of a marriage made in heaven? Maybe you think of royal weddings such as Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in 2018 or Kate Middleton and Prince William in 2011 or Lady Diana and Prince Charles in 1981. If you are a little older you may think of the wedding of Priscilla and Elvis Presley in 1967 or Grace Kelly and Prince Ranier in 1956 or Jackie Bouvier and JFK in 1953. Now most of these weddings were probably not made in heaven and some still remain to be seen how they will turn out but on that special day they probably thought it was going to be.

When I think of a marriage made in heaven, I think about a wedding on Saturday, April 16, 1988. It was held in the Mount Olivet UMC in Shiremanstown, PA and it began approximately at 6:30 PM in the evening. If you haven’t figured it out yet – that was my wedding day. The day that Judy and I were married.

Now I don’t remember a lot about that day. I don’t know if that is normal or not but I do remember the first time I saw Judy at the back of the sanctuary as she started down the aisle. And I want to tell you, there was like a glow all around her, it was like the sun was shining inside and it all was focused on her, that I heard a heavenly choir singing something like the Hallelujah Chorus. But I can’t tell you that. All I remember when I first saw her at the back of the sanctuary was I wanted to faint. I don’t know why. I wasn’t nervous about being married. I have always said that being married was like going over to your best friend’s house and never leaving. So maybe it was just the fact that I was standing in front of a couple hundred people and that was just not normal for me. But I do remember looking at my father in the front row right after feeling that fainting spell coming on and he gave a look like he knew what was happening and if I didn’t keep it together he was come up there and slap me on the side of the head. So I did keep it together through the ceremony though I remember that I lost my corsage as we knelt down to take communion. And honestly that is all I remember of my wedding ceremony. I remember at the reception Judy almost caught herself on fire. Then the hotel reservation I made for the wedding night got lost somehow and the hotel was booked for the night. All that said, it was the most wonderful day of my life and the beginning of the happiest time of my life that has now lasted almost 31 years.

For you who are married or have been married I want you to think about your wedding day. What do you remember? What were you feeling? Who was there to celebrate that special moment with you and your future spouse? We all probably remember something special about our wedding ceremonies or others ceremonies that we thought was special.

I think it is pretty cool to see the interesting things people do at their wedding. The things that make their ceremony memorable. I really like Hunter and Amy Russell’s wedding as they got married back in September beside a pond in jeans and cowboy boots. I must say I was kind of jealous. I don’t think I could have paid Judy any amount to have our wedding in jeans. I also think about the different things people do during the wedding ceremony. Hunter and Amy braided three cords together, Judy and I took communion together and Seth and Emily Johns put together a unity cross. All of these were signifying the unity of the man and the woman in putting God first in their marriage. That must be an important part of any marriage.

God has always seen the value and importance in marriage. It’s very clear that from the beginning, God intended the marriage union to be blessed, fulfilling and happy. Genesis 2:24. It says, 24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. Ecclesiastes 4:9, says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?" And Ephesians 5:25, says, “For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her."

God views marriage as a sacred and highly exalted relationship! Marriage is seen as one of the greatest events in our lives and weddings are times of excitement and great celebration. And that’s the very imagery God wants to place in our minds here in our scripture this morning. In Revelation 19:6-10, we see that when Jesus comes again, there’s going to be a great wedding feast. It’s going to be one of the greatest events of all time and eternity. Thousands upon thousands of people and angels will be gathered in a great celebration. Folks will be all dressed up in the finest of clothing. There’s going to be a lot of shouting and singing and rejoicing and the excitement will never end. Jesus is the groom and those that believe in him are His bride. When Jesus comes again, He’s going to bring His bride into His father’s house and they will live with Him forever. It’s the ultimate Cinderella or Prince Charming story but those stories cannot begin to compare with what believers are going to experience at their Groom’s Second Coming.

There was a story of a wedding between the daughter and son of two families who had been in the same church for many years. At the house of the Bride on the day of the wedding several of the ladies gathered to prepare the bride. The mother of the bride presented her daughter with a string of pearls to adorn her neck. All the ladies reacted with awe as the pearls were a family heirloom, passed from daughter to daughter for more than five generations. Their history was storied, not the least of which was having been hidden in a dirt cellar of a South Carolina farm to save them from the looting Yankee troops during the days following the end of the Civil War. Tears and hugs were distributed in great abundance by all the ladies in the household. It generated a certain level of emotional intensity at the time. Later that morning another event generated an almost equal level of emotional intensity but for a different reason altogether.

The wedding ceremony was to be conducted in the main auditorium of the church building and the bridal party was moving from the parking lot to the smaller auditorium in the back wing where the bride was to await the moment her father would deliver her down the aisle to the expectant groom. To reach the back wing of the building the bridal party had to pass under a covered walkway alongside the main auditorium to a set of double doors giving access to the wing containing the smaller auditorium. This walkway as it happened was home to a fair amount of nesting pigeons which for one reason or another were flushed from their perches as the bridal party passed beneath and one of the feathered flying rats deposited on the radiant bride a string of something quite unlike the antique pearls. The reaction of the mother of the bride and the other attending ladies was worthy of battlefield commanders. As the bride and her court were in various states of hysteria and stunned disbelief, the mothers moved like a well-oiled machine, whisking the bride into the mysterious environs of the ladies lounge where in very short order the offensive stain was eliminated from everything but horrified memory.

It’s likely that the bride of this story is not the last to have experienced the seeming disaster of a soiled dress but there is one other bride I want us to consider who is found in our scripture today, a bride for which each of us may choose to adorn with pearls or with pigeon poop. Christians are the bride we are going to talk about this morning and if you are a Christian this morning, your wedding day is coming and our scripture this morning tells us she has prepared herself and she has been given her wedding dress, which brings us to our big idea this morning that John is asking us: Will you be wearing pearls or pigeon poop on your wedding day?

So, as we open God’s Word this morning, let’s pause for prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, we pray for the Holy Spirit to come upon us this morning and to open our hearts and minds to what you have to say to us. We thank you for the opportunity to worship you and give you all the praise and glory, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Last Sunday, Pastor Stuart introduced us to chapter 19 and the word “Hallelujah.” The word Hallelujah means “Praise the Lord” and is used only four times in the NT; all of them from Revelation 19 verses 1-6. A couple of weeks ago, Pastor Stuart showed us the triumphant saints in heaven as they were praising the Lord for his salvation, for his judgments being true and just and for the results of that judgment on Babylon. Then we saw the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fall down and worship God. They say “Amen, Hallelujah” meaning they are confirming and agreeing to the worship of God in the previous hymns. Their “Hallelujah” not only continues the praise established in verses 1-3 but also leads to the call to praise that we will see realized in verse 6 which is where we start this morning. Follow with me as I read from Revelation chapter 19 verse 6 – 8. 6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)

This shout of praise is again from the host of the redeemed. John did not see the multitude but he could hear the sound of it and he goes out of his way to heap up similes to describe it. He compares it to the sound of many waters and the sound of mighty thunderclaps.

The multitude sends up this praise for two reasons. One, it anticipates the return of Christ and his reign in heaven and on earth forever. It is an announcement of what will soon take place that focuses on God’s omnipotence and sovereignty. Now is the time for “his will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The multitude calls all of God’s people to “rejoice and be glad” in anticipation of the reign of God.

The second reason for this joy is because the wedding of the Lamb has come. The thought of the relationship between God and his people as a marriage goes far back into the OT. The prophets thought of Israel as the chosen bride of Christ. Isaiah 54:5 says this, “For your husband is your Maker, Whose name is the Lord of hosts;
And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, Who is called the God of all the earth.” The marriage symbolism also runs through the gospels. Jesus talks about the marriage feast in Matthew 22:2, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.” And John the Baptist calls himself a friend of the bridegroom in John 3:29. To Paul the relationship of Christ to his Church is the great model of the relationship of husband and wife. Ephesians 5:31-32 says, 31 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.

This morning I am going to expound upon this wedding of the Lamb to the Church by paralleling it to ancient Jewish weddings. The first step in an ancient Jewish wedding would have been something called the mutual commitment or what we would call the proposal. In biblical times, people were married in their early youth, and marriages were usually contracted within the narrow circle of the clan and the family. In ancient times, the father of the groom often selected a bride for his son, as did Abraham for his son Isaac in Genesis 24. In ancient times, marriage was looked upon as more of an alliance for reasons of survival or practicality, and the concept of romantic love remained a secondary issue, if considered at all. Romantic love would grow over time. Of course, the consent of the bride-to-be was an important consideration. Rebecca, for example, was asked if she agreed to go back with Abraham’s servant to marry Abraham’s son, Isaac. She went willingly. Likewise, we cannot be forced into a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Have you ever seen one of those bold public marriage proposals? In the middle of a crowded restaurant the guy gets down on one knee, brings out the ring and pops the question “Will you marry me? Or the guy arranges for the question to show up on the jumbotron at a stadium. Or getting a plane to fly by with the long sign trailing behind it. Well, those proposals are nothing compared to the way Jesus proposed to you and me. It was a public spectacle. He fell to his knees several times on the way to the place where he proposed. He nailed his love for you and me to the cross, signed his intentions with his own blood, spread his arms out wide and said, “I want you for my own. I want you all!” The official proposal reads like this: “For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

You can trust me on this: YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE A BETTER OFFER! The world will try to sell you the idea that something better will come along. That you can reject God’s offer and still get in to heaven your own way. That you can submit your own proposal based on good deeds, church attendance, religion, giving to charities…etc. But you can’t buy your way into heaven! Jesus already paid the price. He’s already “popped the question.” The question is, what’s our answer going to be?

In his book 50 Days of Heaven Randy Alcorn tells of a friend, Ruthanna Metzgar. She was a professional singer and she was asked to sing at the wedding of a very wealthy man. After the wedding, the reception was to be held on the top 2 floors of Seattle’s tallest skyscraper, the Columbia Tower. At the start of the reception, the bride and groom approached a beautiful glass and brass staircase that led to the top floor. Someone ceremoniously cut a satin ribbon draped across the bottom of the stairs and the bride and groom ascended, followed by their guests.

At the top of the stairs, outside the door to the great banquet room the maitre d’ stood holding a bound book. “May I have your name please?” he asked. “I’m Ruthanna Metzgar and this is my husband Roy.” He searched the M’s. “I’m not finding it. Would you spell it, please?” She spelled her name slowly. But after searching the book, the maitre d’ looked up and said, “I’m sorry, but your name isn’t here.” “There must be some mistake,” Ruthanna replied. “I’m the singer!” The man answered, “It doesn’t matter who you are or what you did. Without your name in the book you cannot attend the banquet.” He motioned to a waiter and said, “Show these people to the service elevator, please.”

The Metzgars followed the waiter past beautifully decorated tables laden with shrimp, whole smoked salmon, and magnificent carved ice sculptures. Adjacent to the banquet area, an orchestra was preparing to perform, the musicians all dressed in dazzling white tuxedos. The waiter led Ruthanna and Roy to the service elevator ushered them in, and pressed G for the parking garage. After driving several miles in silence, Roy reached over put his hand on his wife’s arm. “Sweetheart, what happened?” “When the invitation arrived, I was busy,” Ruthanna replied. “I never bothered to RSVP. Besides, I was the singer. Surely I could go to the reception without returning the RSVP!”

She started to weep – not only because she had missed the most lavish banquet she’d ever been invited to, but also because she suddenly had a small taste of what it will be like for people as they stand before Christ and find that their names are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

In order to get into the wedding of the Lamb and his banquet, we must RSVP. In order to RSVP, we need to admit that we are a sinner and are in need of a savior. Romans 3:23 says all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death and the only way to be saved from that death is to believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior through his death and resurrection. Finally, we need to confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord.

Maybe you have never sent your RSVP in to be included in the wedding of the Lamb. If so, the first next step on the back of your communication card this morning is for you. My next step is to send my RSVP for the wedding of the Lamb by accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior.

If you took that next step for the first time this morning, please mark your communication card so Pastor Stuart and I can get in touch with you because after that it is time to put your wedding announcement in the paper. It is time to publicly declare your allegiance to the Lamb through baptism. This lets the whole world know you have been changed on the inside by Jesus and allows the church to rally around you by discipling you and keeping you accountable to the vows you’ve made to Jesus.

Next, after the time of the mutual commitment the families would decide upon the dowry or payment for the marriage contract. The groom would then give a dowry to the bride’s father in order to seal the marriage agreement. Jesus offered His own blood in payment for our sin so that we could be His eternal bride. Hebrews 10:19-20 says, 19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body.”

Once the dowry was decided upon, there was a period of betrothal that usually lasted a year. This betrothal period is what we would call the engagement today. This betrothal period would be legally binding. The man and woman would agree to be married and during this extended time they would call themselves husband and wife and remained faithful to each but there was no consummation of the relationship. For example, when Joseph learned that Mary was pregnant he "... planned to send her away secretly" (Matthew 1:19) because they were legally married even though the marriage ceremony hadn’t happened yet. Our marriage ceremony to Christ hasn’t happened yet, but we are already legally owned by Christ. For us this period of betrothal corresponds to the present extended era of church history.

During this year the groom would return home and prepare to bring his bride to his home to start their married life together. In John 14:2-3, we see that Jesus did the same thing for us. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. This would also be the time for the bride to prepare herself for marriage.

So how do we prepare for our wedding day and our marriage to the Lamb? Our readiness is symbolized by our wedding dress. The bride makes herself ready for the Lord’s return by one, being faithful to Christ in a fallen and evil world, two, by maintaining their testimony for Jesus and taking the gospel to all tribes, languages, peoples and nations, three, by enduring hardships in the midst of suffering and trusting God in the face of martyrdom, and four, by obeying God’s commands.

Of course, our wedding dress is not of own making; like the white robes given to the martyrs, it is given to us. Verse 8 says that our wedding dress is fine linen, bright and clean and was given to us to wear. Our dress signifies the sanctity of God’s people which only comes from Jesus’s death and resurrection. Salvation is a free gift given by God to those who believe in Jesus and we prepare ourselves for the wedding day by living the Christ-like life that is described above. The righteous acts of the saints are the deeds that follow salvation as necessary proof that regeneration has occurred.

Jesus is the one who makes us clean enough for heaven. Ephesians 5:25-27, says, “Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

Our righteous acts, or good works, weave a garment that brings glory to God. There are two ideas wrapped up in one here. On the one hand the desire and the ability to do right are gifts from God. We cannot be good on our own. On the other hand, we are responsible to do what is right in the sight of God. Paul explained it this way in 1 Corinthians 15:10, 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Ephesians 2:10 says this, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

Dr. Lehman Strauss put it this way: "Has it ever occurred to you... that at the marriage of the Bride to the Lamb, each of us will be wearing the wedding garment of our own making?" Which reminds us of our big idea which is - Will you be wearing pearls or pigeon poop on your wedding day?

As we all ponder that question this morning, maybe the second next step on the back of your communication card is for you. My next step is to weave my wedding dress with righteous acts and to adorn it with pearls.

The next step of the wedding was the wedding procession where the groom dressed in his best clothes and accompanied by his best friends, leaves home to go get his bride. He goes to the bride’s house and escorts her back to the home he has prepared for her. Although the bride knew to expect her groom after about a year, she did not know the exact day or hour. He could come earlier. It was the father of the groom who gave final approval for him to return to collect his bride. This will happen for us when Jesus returns for us and takes us to the place he has prepared for us.

Last came the wedding feast which usually lasted seven days and was full of food, music, dancing and celebrations. It was the happiest event in Jewish life. We are told in verse 9 that the wedding supper of the Lamb will be a happy event in the Christian’s life as well. Follow along as I read verse 9. 9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

Another word for blessed is happy. Why are those who are invited to the wedding supper happy? Because it is an honor and a privilege to be invited into the family of God. We are blessed to have been called by God to follow Him.

Now some commentators see a distinction between the bride in verse 7 and the invited guests in verse 9, but Caird sees no problem with the Church being the Bride and also the guests of the wedding feast. He states it is like John calling Jesus the Lamb and the Shepherd. Osborne states that “such mixing of metaphors was common in the ancient world to add richness to the imagery. I tend to agree with this view.

Mention of the wedding feast of the Lamb and his bride, is a signal that the climax of the drama is very close. Satan is about to be overthrown and his dominion is nearing the end. The angel concludes that “these are the true words of God.” This would be equal to the “Amen” in the Gospels. It was to anchor a particularly important truth and Osborne says it is referring to this section dealing with the messianic banquet. Again, I believe John as he has done all throughout Revelation, is giving his readers hope. Hope that as they have been wooed by God and their wedding day is approaching and have been invited to the wedding supper it will be the happiest day of their lives even though they still must persevere and be faithful in the midst of persecution. John wants them to remember God’s words are true and as they await their wedding day they need to continue to be steadfast and dress themselves in pearls and not pigeon poop.

The final verse of this section, according to commentators is not easy to interpret. We see John in verse 10 do something very strange. Follow along as I read verse 10. 10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.” When the angel says, “These are the true words of God”, it says John falls at the feet of the angel to worship him. Why? Again, commentators don’t agree but here are a few suggestions:

Maybe, it is in response to the magnificent worship scene we have seen in chapter 19 so far. The “hallelujah” hymns have established such a tone of worship that John has to fall on his knees. Courson says that John is so blown away by seeing the bride that he falls at the feet of the angelic messenger. Osbourne says John’s natural response to the incredible truths he has been told is to fall on his knees.

It may be John was confronting something in the early church which was the tendency of worshipping angels. In certain circles of Judaism the angels had a very high place. Judaism stressed the transcendence of God or the distance between God and man. God was both too distant and too holy to be approached by man so they needed an intermediary, such as the angels. When Jews converted to Christianity they brought this belief with them forgetting that with Jesus there was no need for an intermediary.

Since he was talking to an angelic herald, not to God or Christ, falling down in worship was inappropriate. It would be tantamount to idolatry even though that was not John’s intention. So maybe John was warning his readers about idolatry which has been a huge theme in Revelation. Idolatry can infiltrate our lives in many ways such as deception, seduction and coercion. We can also idolize our religious experiences and revelations. We need to be careful not to mistake the cause we champion for the one true God.

The angel rebukes John and gives him three reasons why he should not worship the angel. One, because I am a fellow servant who holds to the faithful witness given by Christ. Two, God is the only one who is worthy of worship and three, the true spirit of prophecy always points to Jesus. John wants his readers to know that angels are no more than the servants of God and must not be worshipped. God alone is to be worshipped.

The last part of verse 10 is also a difficult phrase according to commentators. It says “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Osbourne says that it means when the saints maintain the testimony about Jesus, the Holy Spirit is inspiring them in the same way as the prophets. Everything in the Bible, the OT and the NT points to Jesus Christ. Much of modern day teaching about prophecy focuses on what they think the future will be like, but any teaching about prophecy that does not keep Jesus in the spotlight is false teaching.

ONCE UPON A TIME there was a woman who lived in the forest. She was not far from a town, where she would occasionally go to buy staples for her kitchen and other items not available to her in the wild. For the most part though, she stayed to herself, choosing to live her own life, meet her own needs and enjoy her uninterrupted solitude.

In her younger years she had been hurt both physically and emotionally by other people, and as a result she had put up walls of stone and doors of solid oak that only opened from the inside, to protect herself.

The woman, like all of us, would occasionally grow lonely, and her solace during these times was found in the movie theater in town. She would go there and sit in the back row, watching the male actors on screen, then go home and for days after, dream of romantic interludes with these stars. Of course, they weren’t real; they were movie idols. But they were all she had. One day the woman was near her woodland cabin, attempting to repair the bucket that brought water from a well she had dug for herself. It was a very deep and dark well. To fall into that well would mean certain death.

The bucket had been attached to the well rope by a chain which had only ten links, but since the rope was worn she could see that she would have to replace it, and that is what she was endeavoring to do when she slipped. As she fell forward, a cry of despair escaping her lips, she clung to the short chain and her fall stopped.

At first she tried to climb to safety by the short chain, but as she struggled she looked up and with horror, noticed that a frayed section of the rope holding the chain was unraveling under her weight. She knew it was only a matter of time, and she would be set free to tumble into the abyss below her.

Suddenly a shadow was cast over the mouth of the well above her. She heard a voice say, “Stop struggling, you will only make it worse. Trust me and I will lift you out.” A strong hand reached toward her, and she noticed that her savior had deliberately wrapped the chain around his wrist several times first. After the hand had firmly gripped her forearm the voice told her to let go of the chain and trust him only. When she did so and her weight dropped, the chain wrapped so tightly around the man’s wrist that it cut deeply into his flesh.

Nevertheless, he brought her up out of the pit with his own blood flowing down her arms and dripping into the well. Once she was standing on the solid rock that surrounded the well she could see that the man was not really tall, and not especially handsome, but he smiled at her with kind eyes and with a love that came from deep within him, and as she smiled back she felt something she had not felt for a long time, and never this strongly. It was gratitude and affection and a desire for fellowship.

The man and woman were married shortly thereafter, in a small chapel in the town. The townspeople were there to witness her newly found happiness. After they returned home however, the woman quickly forgot the fear of the dark well and she forgot the pain this man had suffered to rescue her. She spent her days going about planting her own garden and repairing her own fences and very much living life the way she had before he came along.

The man spent his days not far away, building a beautiful mansion for her, having promised that when he was done he would take her there where they would live happily ever after. In the evenings though, when work was done and there was ample time for sweet fellowship, she would read a book or mend a garment or sit in the twilight hours and stare proudly at her garden, paying little or no attention to the man. Every once in a while she would hear him say something to her, but over time she ignored him so often, that much of what he said would go entirely unnoticed, as though he hadn’t spoken at all.

Occasionally during the day he would come along and offer to help her with something she was doing, but although she did not outwardly reject his offer, she would turn away or continue doing it her own way, seemingly oblivious to his presence. When her precious garden failed to produce vegetables and when her flowers wilted from lack of nourishment in the soil, she was angry and discouraged. Only then did she turn to him, but not for help as much as to ask why these things happened. The man did not answer these questions, for he felt that since she did not listen when he offered help, she would most certainly not listen while he explained why she failed.

The years passed by very much like this. The woman was often frustrated by her failures, and gave herself credit for her triumphs, never realizing that her successes were primarily due to his coming along behind her and fixing things simply out of love for her. One day, now an old woman, she was going about her business in front of her cabin when a stranger approached on a clean, white stallion. At first she did not recognize him, but when the stranger took a firm hold on her hand and said, “It is time to come to your new home now”, she realized it was her husband.

She paused for a moment in wonder. She remembered him being of average height and a bit below average in general appearance, as the world around her counted attractiveness. But the man on the steed was indeed tall, and ruggedly handsome, yet with a peaceful gentleness shining out from his eyes that almost made her melt. Although she did not struggle against his grip, he maintained a firm grasp on her hand and gently pulled her up onto the horse, and rode off toward their new home.

As they approached the front of the mansion she gasped in awe at the beauty of the thing he had built. It was only then that she realized how little, throughout the years, she had given any thought to what he was doing here while she busied herself with selfish pursuits. She remembered that he had promised her a mansion and said that someday he would take her there, but she had thought of it more as a nice dream, than as a reality.

He stepped aside and scooped her into his arms, and carried her over the threshold, stepping onto a floor of solid gold! As he shut the door behind them she noticed that it was made of a substance that appeared to be pearl, and she wondered at his resourcefulness. The mansion was beautiful beyond her comprehension. He set her down and stood back as she turned around and around, taking in the glory of this wonderful abode. When finally she turned to face him, she saw the same love in his eyes that she had seen so long ago near the well.

Suddenly she was overcome with such shame that she fell to her knees, tears running down her cheeks, and clung to his feet, unable to utter a word. She was so filled with mixed emotions it made her head swim. She was so very, very happy, and yet so remorseful that she had allowed so many years to go by without learning to know him better, return his love, enjoy sweet fellowship with him; she felt that she did not deserve to be here at all.

Then, strong hands slipped under her arms and lifted her to her feet. A gentle finger wiped the tears from her eyes, and through blurred vision she once again looked into his strong, kind, wonderful face, as he said, “Dear, before you knew me, I watched you from afar. I loved you even then. After I saved you I loved you even more. And through all of these years, even though you have ignored me and turned your back on me so often, and squandered so many opportunities for us to know each other intimately, in the way you dreamed of knowing your movie idol lovers in your youth, yet I continued to love you and I love you even now. We will spend the rest of our days together, and beginning right now, you will learn to know me as you should. I only wish our relationship could have been so much farther along now than it is. Our first years could have been wonderful and fulfilling and precious. But the rest of our time together will be that way; I promise. Welcome to my home.” The woman slowly dropped her eyes from his, down his chest, down his arms, to his wrists, and she saw the terrible scars that had been left there by the cruel chain, and she clung to him and wept.

Are you ready for the wedding of the Lamb? There will be a marriage made in Heaven someday, but only the redeemed are invited. Does that include you? If not it can! And for those who are going, consider for a moment how you are preparing for that day! What kind of garments will you be wearing when you stand there at that Royal Wedding? The time to prepare is today! The place to prepare is here! The person to prepare is yourself. Will you let the Lord work in your heart and life? Will you be wearing pearls or pigeon poop on your wedding day?

As Gene and Roxey come forward to lead us in our final hymn and the ushers prepare to collect the communication cards, please bow you heads with me. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your gift of salvation and we ask for your strength as we weave together on this earth our dress for the wedding of the Lamb. Help us to adorn ourselves with pearls and righteous acts as we prepare for Jesus to return and take us home. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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January 27, 2019/by Office

Hallelujah!

Jesus Unveiled Revelation Sunday Morning Stuart Johns Praise, Rejoice, Worship

Jesus Unveiled

Hallelujah!

(Revelation 19:1-5)

INTRODUCTION

“In 1712, the brilliant hot-tempered German composer George Frideric Handel moved to London, where he lived until his death in 1759. He achieved great fame as a composer of Italian opera, but abandoned opera for the oratorio in 1741. The oratorio originated as a musical drama to be played without staging in an ‘oratory’ or meeting room. Principal singers represented biblical characters or saints from Christian history, with a chorus interpreting the events.

Handel began to work on Messiah in 1741, using words from Scripture compiled by his friend Charles Jennens. He composed the music for all fifty-three numbers in an unbelievable twenty-four days. Handle conducted the first public performance for Messiah in Dublin on April 13, 1742. He gave his last presentation the day before he died.

The thrilling ‘Hallelujah’ Chorus is Handel at his best, and the tradition of the audience standing while it is sung began in Handel’s own lifetime. He brilliantly divided the choir into two groups that sing different themes. Messiah has remained the most frequently performed and highly regarded oratorio ever written. While audiences in the United States associate it with Christmas, in Handel’s day Messiah was an Easter presentation, for the ‘Hallelujah’ Chorus is really not about Christmas but about Christ’s final victory. Jennens’ words were taken directly from the only chapter in the New Testament that uses the word hallelujah, Revelation 19. ‘For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth’ will come true in its fullest and most complete sense only at the mighty return of Jesus Christ in triumph.”

[Easley, Holman New Testament Commentary, Revelation, 345].

BODY

ME
- Creation
  - - December 29, 2018 was the last day of deer hunting at Letterkenny Army Depot
    - I met my buddy early in the morning and we drove over to Letterkenny
    - After checking in, getting dropped off, and settling in to the location where I was going to hunt, I had time to sit in the dark and marvel at God’s creation
    - A beautiful day was unfolding as I stared up into the night sky
    - The moon was nearly full, the stars were speckled across the sky
    - I sat there and rejoiced at the beauty of God’s creation
    - I didn’t even see a deer that day, but it didn’t matter, because I had seen the creative hand of God and that was enough
- Birth of our boys
  - - I was able to be in the labor delivery room for all three of our boy’s births
    - Judy will verify that I cried all three times
    - Birth has been one of the most profoundly emotional and spiritual experiences for me
    - To see God’s creative power birthed is unlike any other thing I’ve experienced
    - My tears were simply tears of joy, as I rejoiced in God’s glory and power

WE
- Rejoicing in God’s power and glory
  - - All of us have at least one experience in life where we have rejoiced in God’s power and glory
    - What was that experience for you?
    - I want you to think about that as we look at this passage this morning

John continues to hear incredible things taking place at the end of time. He heard in Revelation 18 about the destruction of “Babylon the Great,” and three groups that lamented the loss of this great city. In Revelation 19 he will hear the praises of three groups that have viewed the exact same scene, the destruction of “Babylon the Great.” What John wants us to understand is that . . .

BIG IDEA – Our view of God’s justice determines whether we lament or praise Him.

Let’s pray

GOD (Revelation 19:1-5)
- Heavenly multitude (vv. 1-3)
  - - After this
      - What John is about to hear happens right after he hears the news about Babylon’s destruction
      - That’s what we saw in chapters 17-18
      - In fact, the praises we’ll see from the three groups, are in obedience to the command found in Revelation 18:20, “Rejoice over her, O heaven! Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets! God has judged her for the way she treated you.”
      - The praises from these three groups are in direct contrast to the weeping and mourning of the kings of the earth, the merchants, and the mariners (Rev. 18:9-20)
    - Roar of a great multitude in heaven
      - We see again this little word, “like,” that John uses to try to describe what he’s hearing and/or seeing in these visions about the end times
      - What he heard sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven
      - Most English translations of the Bible say that John heard what sounded like the voice or loud/great voice of a great multitude in heaven
      - We know what was being said, because John records it for us
    - Hallelujah!
      - Hallelujah is actually a transliteration of two Hebrew words
        It only appears in the New Testament in Revelation 19
        It is derived from two Hebrew words that are combined
        Hālal – which means “praise”
        Jah – which is a shortened version of Yahweh
        “The basic meaning of the verb is ‘to be bright,’ and the causative meaning of the piel imperative means, literally, ‘make Yahweh bright,’ that is ‘illuminate the Lord by casting a bright light on Him and His works!’ ‘Praise Yahweh!’ ‘Praise the Lord!’” [Rogers & Rogers, The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament, 645-46]
        Hallelujah is found throughout the Old Testament, especially in the Psalms
        Psalm 113-118 are called the Hallel psalms
        The title “Praise the Lord” is used at the beginning of multiple psalms (106, 111, 112, 113, 117, 135, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150)
        What we see next are six attributes of God and works He’s done, that this great multitude in heaven are praising Him for
      - Reasons for the multitude’s praise
        Salvation
        This isn’t the first time we see praise in Revelation for God’s salvation (7:10; 12:10)
        The multitude in heaven is probably comprised of angels, but also saints who died either by natural causes or martyrdom
        The saints are particularly aware of the Lord’s salvation
        They are with Him now as a result of a personal relationship with His Son, Jesus
        As followers of Jesus Christ, who have a personal relationship with Jesus, we can also praise the Lord for His salvation
        We don’t have to wait until we get to heaven
        We can praise Him every day for sending Jesus to take our punishment on the cross
        Perhaps there are those here today, who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ
        There are all kinds of belief systems that Satan uses to keep us from experiencing true salvation
        He likes to use the misconception that hopefully the good things we do, will outweigh the bad things we do (false)
        He tells others that all religions lead to heaven and the One true God – all religions/roads will lead to God, but not all will lead to heaven (false)
        God is loving and therefore He will accept me when I die no matter what I’ve done on earth (false)
        In our humanness we try to find another way to heaven without following God’s plan
        Proverbs 14:12; 16:25, There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death
        We have to follow God’s way of salvation for humanity
        Paul outlines God’s salvation plan throughout His letter to the Romans
        All have sinned – human condition (Rom. 3:23)
        We all deserve to die for our own sins (Rom. 6:23)
        God’s great love for us motivated Him to provide a solution to our human condition of sin (Rom. 5:8)
        Romans 10:8-10, 13, But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved . . . for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
        My Next Step Today Is To: Confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead, and be saved from my sins.
        While salvation certainly speaks of individual deliverance from our sins, it also speaks of the “safeguarding of God’s entire redemptive program” [Mounce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 342]
        Salvation is the foundation for God’s glory and power, which are manifestations of His salvation
        Glory
        This is God’s majesty revealed through His redemptive plan
        God is recognized as the King of kings and Lord of lords – worthy of our praise
        Power
        This is God’s omnipotence at work
        He is all-powerful – nothing is too hard for Him
        Judgments are true and just
        How many of us are aware of an individual who was convicted of a crime that they were later exonerated of? [Patterson, The New American Commentary, Revelation, 341]
        Some investigator finds new evidence that proves that the person in jail is innocent of the crime that are serving time for
        Most of the time these individuals are found guilty due to errors in human judgment
        Sometimes human judges give in to bribery or allow their own personal motives and convictions to cloud their judgment
        PRINCIPLE – God’s judgments are valid and fair.
        Fortunately, God is not like human judges or juries
        “God’s justice is ‘true’ because it is based on his own covenant faithfulness and ‘just’ because it is based on his holy character. In other words, his judgments are both morally true and legally just.” [Osborne, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 664]
        So, we don’t have to worry that God’s condemnation of the great prostitute and His avenging the blood of his servants is done maliciously
        Condemnation of sin and evil
        The reason for His condemnation of the great prostitute is based on her corruption of the earth through her adulteries
        This has been developed in great detail in chapter 18 (it was the pursuit of wealth, sexual immorality, and religious influence that took the place of God)
        God is grieved when we sin, but He is especially grieved when we lead others to sin alongside us
        Read Romans 1:28-32
        Matthew 18:5-6, “And whoever welcomes a little child in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”
        Avenging the blood of His people
        PRINCIPLE – God keeps His promises to His people.
        We can praise the Lord, because He always keeps His promises
        When the fifth seal was opened, John saw the souls of those who had been martyred under the altar (Rev. 6:9)
        They were asking the Lord when He was going to judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge their blood (Rev. 6:10)
        The Lord’s answer, was for them to wait a little while longer
        We see now that He kept His promise to them
        He did avenge their blood
    - God’s judgment is final
      - Because God’s judgments are true and just (valid and fair) there is no chance for reversal
      - His judgments will be complete and final
      - “Because God lives “for ever and ever” (15:7), his righteous condemnation must also endure forever.” [Easley, 347]
      - The great multitude in heaven is praising the Lord for His complete and final judgment of the wicked
    - As the first group completes their praise, we see the second group agreeing with them
- Elders and living creatures (v. 4)
  - - The 24 elders and the four living creatures fall down and worship God
      - We see that God is still on His throne
      - This is the final time that the 24 elders and the four living creatures are mentioned in John’s vision
    - Their praise
      - It is short, only two words
      - Amen
        It means “so be it”
        They are agreeing with the praise of the great multitude in heaven about God’s salvation, glory, power, judgments, condemnation, and avenging
      - Hallelujah – “Praise the Lord!”
      - They don’t need to add anything else to what has already been said
    - The final group is called on to praise the Lord
- Believers on earth (v. 5)
  - - John hears a voice from the throne
      - Some scholars believe it is God or Jesus speaking, but what is being said seems to eliminate these two options
      - It seems as though the command or encouragement is coming from another source other than God or Jesus
      - Other scholars believe it could be one of the living creatures or one of the 24 elders
      - We are not told who the voice is, which is alright, because the content of what they are saying is of greater value
    - Praise our God
      - The command to praise our God leads us to believe that the voice is someone other than God or Jesus
      - They are including themselves in the command to praise
    - Who are these individuals who are supposed to praise our God?
      - First, they are identified as all you his servants
        Revelation 1:1, The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place.
        To be a servant (bond slave) of the Lord means that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ
      - Second, they are identified as you who fear him, both great and small
        The same Greek verb translated as “fear him” is used in Rev. 11:18, but is translated as “reverence your name”
        That is what is being communicated here, the believers on earth who reverence the name of the Lord are to praise Him
        It doesn’t matter what their socio-economic status is or their level of spiritual maturity [Mounce, 343]
        Every believer is commanded to praise the Lord

YOU
- As a servant of God it is imperative that you praise Him
  - - You can praise Him for you salvation
    - You can praise Him for His glory displayed in His creation
    - You can praise Him for His power that is evidenced in your life
    - You can praise Him for His judgments that are valid and fair
    - You can praise Him for who He is and what He has done in your life
- When was the last time you stopped and reflected on God’s attributes and His mighty works in your life?
  - - Perhaps you can take time this afternoon to make a list and then praise the Lord
    - My Next Step Today Is To: Make a list of God’s attributes and the great things He has done in my life and then praise Him!
    - Our praise can take many forms [show the cartoon about Dexter]

WE
- We have the opportunity this morning to praise the Lord through song
- We’ll be singing “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” in just a moment as our closing song
- We can reflect on who God is and what He has done for us as we sing that song

CONCLUSION

“Christians have joyful, stirring songs that celebrate the wonder of our relation with God. This is especially true during the Christmas season with songs such as the spine-tingling Handel’s Messiah. In contrast to this, in 2011 comedian Steve Martin performed a song on The Late Show with David Letterman that he called “the entire atheist hymnal” (on one page of paper). He called it: “Atheists Don’t Have No Songs.”

Christians have their hymns and pages,
Hava Nagila’s for the Jews,
Baptists have the rock of ages,
Atheists just sing the blues.

Romantics play Claire de Lune,
Born agains sing “He is risen,”
But no one ever wrote a tune,
For godless existentialism.

For Atheists there’s no good news.
They’ll never sing a song of faith.
In their songs they have one rule:
The “he” is always lowercase.

Of course, his humor is meant to entertain us—and does. But what a contrast to a piece of music that moves hearts and masses across the board. Handel’s Messiah is arguably one of the most mellifluous [pleasant to the ear] expressions of Christian doctrine ever produced.

In fact, I think it makes all the sense in the world that both inexplicable tears and profound joy accompany the words and sounds of Handel’s Messiah. For this Messiah brings with him an invitation unlike any other: Come and see the Father, the Creator, the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. Come and see the Light, and the Overcomer of darkness, the One who wept at the grave of a friend, and the one who collects our tears in his bottle even before he will dry every eye. Christians, let’s sing our songs!”

[Jill Carattini, “Random Hallelujahs,” RZIM: A Slice of Infinity (12-16-16)]

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2018/december/comedian-steve-martin-atheists-dont-have-no-songs.html].

January 13, 2019/by Office

Turn Out The Lights . . . The Party’s Over

Jesus Unveiled Revelation Sunday Morning Marc Webb Discipline, Judgement

TURN OUT THE LIGHTS, THE PARTY’S OVER

There was a study commissioned by Post-It Brands in 2013 that founded you are not actually crazy when you forget where you're keys are on a regular basis. In fact, the results say the average person forgets four things a day. The study was conducted with 2,000 adults and the most common things forgotten in addition to forgetting where your keys are were misplacing your phone and misplacing your wallet. In total, most of the respondents were found to have forgotten over 1,400 things in a year.

According to this study, ladies, it should be noted that 56% of guys really rely on YOU in a relationship to remember things. The opposite is said for you; most women say they can't rely on their other half to remember things. There is also proof that guys are more forgetful on passing along important messages or remembering birthdays and anniversaries.

Post-It Brands says, “Our days are so jam packed full of tasks whether at work or at home, it’s no surprise people find it hard to keep track of everything. With much longer working hours, financial concerns and just busier lifestyles, even those with the best memory can stumble when it comes to remembering even the most simplest of things during a hectic day.”

So what are the most common things forgotten by people? They came up with what they called the "THE FORGOTTEN FIFTY.” Here are some of them. See if these are true for you.

Forgetting what you went into a room for, forgetting where you put your keys, forgetting where your car is parked, forgetting where you put your wallet, forgetting where you put your glasses or sunglasses when they’re on your head, forgetting your passwords or pin numbers, forgetting special days such as birthdays or anniversaries, forgetting a meeting and then double booking yourself, picking up the phone and forgetting who you were going to call, forgetting your debit/credit card in the ATM machine, forgetting to charge your phone, forgetting to flush the toilet or to put the toilet seat back down, forgetting to renew your car registration or inspection, forgetting to take your medication and finally forgetting to return library books

Those last couple are the ones that I have had trouble with over the years and still do. A couple of years after I moved up to Pennsylvania in 1987, I was going through my stuff and found a library book that had been due in 1979. It was 10 years late. They must not have missed it as I never received a notice in the mail. I have also forgotten to renew my car’s registration and inspection. My wife, Judy was stopped one time in my car with one of our youth from Hanover and was cited for an out of date registration. I think it was 6 months late. And then a year or so after coming to Idaville, Seth Johns and I were coming back from Gettysburg after delivering canned goods to the Gettysburg Soup Kitchen when I was stopped for an out of date inspection. I think it was only three months late. My biggest one even today is forgetting to take my medication. If my routine in the morning is changed in any way I forget to take it. In fact, one of the days I was working on my sermon for this morning I actually did forget to take my medication.

So, how about you? Yell out something that you tend to forget.

What do you think the following places have in common? St. Elmo, Colorado, Monte Ne, Arkansas, Monroe, VA, Tartown, PA, Aitch, PA, Ricketts, PA, Somerfield, PA. They are all towns that for one reason or the other were once alive and teeming with activity but today have been abandoned and forgotten.

St. Elmo, Colorado was founded in 1880. It was once a highfalutin gold mining town and popular whistle-stop on the Pacific Railroad. It boasted almost 2,000 residents and more than 150 mines, and enough hotels, brothels, saloons, and dance halls to keep everybody in town happily cutting a rug. When the Alpine Tunnel closed in 1910, however, the music stopped. With the price of silver already down, the last remaining rail service stopped in 1922.

Monroe, VA is supposedly located beneath Smith Mountain Lake. The history of the town of Monroe is a bit of a mystery. Some don’t believe that the town ever existed, but most think the 19th-century community was submerged by the construction of the Smith Mountain Lake dam.

In 1946, the town of Somerfield, PA was flooded to make way for the Young Dam. Every once in a while, the water level in the dam becomes low enough that glimpses of this underwater ghost town can be seen. The historic 1818 US 40 bridge is one such rarely seen landmark.

Tartown, is an extinct community in Adams County, PA. The remains of Tartown are located on the property of the Waynesboro Borough and in the adjacent Michaux State Forest. The locale has in part been inundated by the reservoir created by the Waynesboro Dam.

Aitch is an extinct town in Huntingdon, County, PA. The town site was inundated by the creation of Raystown Lake.

These cities are called Ghost Towns or Lost Cities. A lost city is a settlement that fell into terminal decline and became extensively or completely uninhabited, with the consequence that the site's former significance was no longer known to the wider world. A ghost town is an abandoned village, town or city, usually one that contains substantial visible remains. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, prolonged droughts and government actions.

Today, we are going to see a picture of the final destruction and obliteration of the ‘harlot’ system of religion, philosophy, political power and commerce of the Antichrist that the Scriptures call ‘Babylon’. For John and his readers, they would have seen this as the destruction of Rome and even though Rome was very much alive, so great is John’s faith in the sovereignty of God and so great is his confidence that the justice of God must eventually punish evil, John writes as though Rome had already fallen. We will see the sudden, violent and complete destruction of this evil city. This is God’s judgment of the many evil incarnations of the cities of Satan down through history. This morning in chapter 18, verses 21-24 Babylon will become more than a Ghost Town; it will become a place that will never be found again and will be totally forgotten forever. This morning John wants us to know that those who align themselves with Babylon and its idolatry and other evil ways will be forgotten just as suddenly, violently and completely as the city itself. That is the big idea I would like for you to take away from here today: Those who align themselves with Babylon will be forgotten forever.

Before we dive into the passage today let us pray. Heavenly Father, we ask for the Holy Spirit to dwell in us this morning. We ask you to give us ears to hear what you want us to know and learn this morning. We ask you to help us take what we hear and give us opportunities to share it with those you put in our paths this week. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

In Scripture, rebellion against God is often associated with a “city”. Cain, for example, the son of Adam and history’s first murderer, after being cast out of the presence of the Lord, went out and founded the first city ‘Enoch’, named after his son. This was the beginning of man’s boasted civilization. All the arts and sciences had their origin there. There were skilled craftsmen in brass and iron. There was trade and barter and the pursuit of the unrighteous all-mighty dollar began there. Those who played the harp and the organ also dwelt there. Music charmed the weary sons of Cain as they sought to make themselves happy and this world attractive apart from God.

As we know God blotted all this out in the Flood during Noah’s time, but it is evident that Ham, Noah’s son, had learned the same ways. The world as an ordered system of things, apart from God, had a new beginning in his family. Nimrod—who was the grandson of Noah’s son Ham (whose son Canaan fell under Noah’s curse because of Ham’s sin) also founded many cities; and we’re told that “the beginning of his kingdom was Babel …” The tower of Babel was built on a spirit of rebellion against God’s command to spread out through the earth and multiply. It became the mother-city from which others went out and built a selfish and godless civilization.

Of course, not all cities of the Bible were built upon a spirit of rebellion against God. But it does appear that ‘cities’ and ‘rebellion’ against God’s rule have at times been strongly connected together. The history-long spirit of warfare against the rule of God will one day be summarized in a single city in the future; and as Pastor Stuart has already shown us in the two previous sermons in chapter 18, that future city is called Babylon and is already slated for judgment.

Our text, this morning, is separated into three parts. The first part is called the Symbol of Judgment and we see this in Revelation 18:21. This is what God’s word says: 21 Then a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer.

Here we see a strong or mighty angel take up a large stone and throw it into the sea. This is another angel from heaven and it clearly means that this angel has the authority of heaven in actively bringing about Babylon’s downfall.

The millstone would have been a very heavy stone usually four to five feet in diameter and a foot thick used for pulverizing grain into flour. Here God is telling us that Babylon is going to be pulverized into nothing, just as a heavy millstone pulverizes grain. It will no longer be a great city with great power. A stone of that nature would sink to the bottom of the sea. It could not float back to the surface and it would never be recovered. This stone is used to illustrate the judgment that is coming upon Babylon. It will be sudden, swift and sure. And it is a judgment that is forever settled! Babylon will be destroyed and will never be found again. We see a parallel in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in that no trace of those two cities has ever been found to this day.

John is taking his picture from the destruction of ancient Babylon. His readers would be reminded of Jeremiah 51:63-64. Jeremiah, the prophet, had written on a scroll about all the disasters that would come upon ancient Babylon. He sent the scroll with Seraiah who was to read the scroll to the Jewish people who had been taken to Babylon from Jerusalem. After reading the scroll he was to tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates River, and as it sank, say, ‘So will Babylon sink to rise no more because of the disaster I will bring on her. And her people will fall.” To the Jewish people in Babylon this would be symbolic of God destroying Babylon. The curse on Babylon in Jeremiah's day is echoed in the words of the mighty angel. In Osborne’s commentary it says, “The same violence that occurred when the huge boulder was “cast” into the water will occur again when God’s wrath “casts down” the empire of the beast.” The parallel is striking because Jeremiah had written of Babylon's judgment on a scroll, and if you remember back in Revelation chapter 4 a scroll was used to introduce all the judgments in the book of Revelation.

There are three things we can see from this verse about the destruction of Babylon. One, the destruction of Babylon would be violent. This action of the angel throwing the millstone it into the sea would speak of a violent ‘crashing’ judgment. The words “with violence” in the Greek carries with it the meaning of a “sudden rush or violent impulse,” which means that the destruction of Babylon is going to be swift and furious. This is not a playful skipping of a rock across a pond. This is a forceful throwing down of a heavy rock like you are trying to kill something.

Two, the destruction of Babylon will be sudden. Imagine how quickly that heavy millstone would disappear under the surface of the water and how quickly it would get to the bottom of the sea. The destruction of Babylon will be sudden and it will be quick just like that millstone being swallowed up by the sea when thrown down.

Lastly, the destruction of Babylon will be complete. Like the stone cast into the sea it cannot be raised, so the destruction of Babylon will be so complete that it will never rise again. The end of verse 21 says it “will not be found any longer”. Babylon will never be found again in any form.

This is stressed seven times in chapter 18 showing the completeness of Babylon’s judgment. We see this once in verse 14, once in verse 21, three times in verse 22 and twice in verse 23. Further, in each case the negative “no” or “not” in the Greek text is a very emphatic double negative that means “by no means.” This is the final incarnation of that evil city that Satan has used over the millennia for his purposes against the people of God. The destruction of Babylon that John is seeing will be violent, sudden and so complete that it will never be found again and will be forgotten forever. The warning for John’s readers and for us today is our big idea this morning. That those who align themselves with Babylon will be forgotten forever.

The second part of our text is called, “The Sound of Silence” and we see this in verses 22-23a that tell us of the things that are no longer found in the city. This is what those verses say, 22 And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer; 23 and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer;

When Babylon is judged and ceases to exist, her passing will also signal the passing of life as the world knows it. All normal things of this earth will cease. As with any ‘great city’, there are many things that are connected with it and that either draw their life from it, or add their life to it. These things will end with the destruction of Babylon and are described here by the angel.

One, there will be no more music. Music has always been associated with happiness and joy. There will be no more reason for rejoicing for those opposed to God. Music and entertainment will come to an end. This would, of course, speak particularly of ungodly forms of such music and entertainment. Things that have often been used by the devil to corrupt cultures and lead people into immorality.

Two, there will be no more manufacturing. The tools of the craftsmen who furnished the items of luxury will suddenly be as silent as a tomb and the wheels of industry will grind to a halt. There will be no more making or selling of merchandise. The love of things that has often degenerated into idolatry will be no more. People have always been industrious. Man has always found a way to work with his hands and provide for his family. Man works because he has hope for the future. When Babylon falls, the hope for the future for those opposed to God vanishes with her.

Three, there’s an end to the food industries. The millstones which grind the grain for flour will also stop. The food supply, which at that point is already in short supply, will now disappear altogether.

Four, there’s an end to the constant, twenty-four hour activity of the marketplace as illustrated in the loss of the lamps to illuminate commerce both night and day. The lamp which lights the homes and businesses will be permanently dark. A light in the window of a house suggests happiness, hope and family. All these are taken away when Babylon falls. The homes of the world will be plunged into darkness and despair! Darkness, symbolizing the spiritual state of the world and the system of the beast, will now engulf everything. Imagine how it would be to experience total blackness. This would again echo the plague of darkness in Egypt.

In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Throughout history God has always had a witness in the world. That witness has always been at war with the kingdom of Satan. Here God is telling us that the light of a candle will no longer shine. This could also mean there is no longer a flicker of the gospel to be taught anymore because the day of salvation for those who oppose God is now past.

This ‘city that never sleeps’ will now sleep forever never to wake again. Today, when we think of a city that never sleeps, we would probably say New York City. It was probably one of the first to be called the city that never sleeps. New York's subway system never closes, tons of restaurants and bars are open until the wee hours of the morning and the Staten Island Ferry is still hopping at 2 a.m. You wouldn’t have trouble finding food and or entertainment at any time in New York City. Imagine if we woke up tomorrow and New York City was totally destroyed and had become a ghost town. Imagine, no more Times Square on New Year’s Eve. It would be a shock to our way of life. Babylon will be destroyed and it will be a shock to those who have aligned themselves with that evil, idolatrous, God-hating city.

Lastly, there will be no more marriage celebrations. No longer will love bring a hopeful couple to an altar to exchange their vows. There will be no more beautiful brides in their white dresses. No more nervous grooms in their tuxedos. There will be no flower girls, ring bearers and wedding bells. Weddings are times filled with hope and happiness. A couple meets at the altar with their hearts full of love and hope for the future. They begin their relationship with great expectations. When Babylon falls, there will be no more love, no more marriages and no more hope for the future! John’s readers might well have recalled the words of God through Jeremiah in Jeremiah 7:34: “I will remove from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sound of joy and gladness and the voices of the bridegroom and the bride, for the land will become a desolate waste.”

As Christ prophesied, men and women will be marrying and remarrying without any real concern for marriage as a divine institution of God. When marriage is entered into, it will be a mere convenience if they bother to marry at all. Life during the Tribulation will go on as usual in spite of its judgments, which shows just how callused people will become and how much they will be enslaved to the luxuries and pleasures of the world. All the activities of this ungodly system together will pridefully proclaim, “We can be happy and fulfilled and great without God.” But it will come to a sudden and violent end. Note that we’re told that none of these things will be found anymore in the city, or seen any more in the city or heard any more in the city. The diversity of occupations indicates the impossibility of escape—the destruction will fall on all classes of people alike. The sound of silence in Babylon will be final and deafening and that silence will be a testimony to God's devastating judgment.

The third part of our text this morning is called the “Reason for Judgment” and is found in verses 23b-24. This is what it says, “for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.”

There are three reasons we are given for the judgment of Babylon being so final. One, we’re told it is because Babylon’s “merchants” were “the great men of the earth”. The expression “great men” in the Greek means “the chief, noble, the magnates of society.” These are the men who were looked up to, worshipped, honored, adored, and presented to everyone as the ultimate. They had the power in society; they controlled the destinies of men, and lived in the super luxury which everyone is supposed to want and that people think will give them happiness.

They were made ‘great’ in a strictly human sense by Babylon and they held their greatness over others in an oppressive and inhumane manner. Matthew 20:25 says this, “But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them.” And James 5:1-6 say this, “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you.”

It is because of this viewpoint that judgment comes. It is a perversion and a prostitution of divine values and priorities. These were people who worshipped and longed for wealth and luxury and thereby compromised their principles and priorities to play the harlot with the merchants of Babylon. Money and luxury was their god. To them character, righteousness and integrity meant nothing.

Two, we’re told that this judgment upon Babylon is ‘final’ because it deceived all the nations by its “sorcery”. The Greek word for sorcery is farmakeia where we get our word, pharmacy. This is the use of medicine, drugs or potions as in casting spells,” and metaphorically, “to deceive and disorient.” The word was used of poisoning and witchcraft, or trafficking in the demonic. In effect this Babylonian system will use whatever method it can to poison the minds of the people and deceive them—demonism, drugs, and various forms of propaganda will be the norm.

This evil system was a world conspiracy by the merchants in control of the commercial system of Babylon to completely deceive the people. People were lead to believe that salvation was in achieving riches and success. That is the lie of the devil! It is better to have none of this world’s goods, than for this world’s goods to have you. Proverbs 11:4 says, Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. Proverbs 11:28 says, He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like the green leaf.

Thirdly, we’re told that this judgment upon Babylon is so final because in the city was found “the blood” of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth”. The word “blood” is plural which stresses the many deaths and the magnitude of Babylon’s crimes against the people of God all through history. Babylon as a system was responsible for all the murders of God’s people from the murder of Abel to the time of John’s Revelation and to the end of time. Therefore, because of Babylon's accumulated guilt it will be destroyed once and for all at the end of the great tribulation.

Jesus similarly lamented over the generation of the city of Jerusalem in His time in Matthew 23:35. This is Jesus talking, “so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.” Jerusalem’s destruction was temporary, Babylon’s will not be.

At the end Babylon will be joyless, dark, and silent, and will stand out as a monument to the utmost vengeance of God. Babylon will fall and will never rise again. Her destruction can’t be cured or changed.

What a horrifying place this future city will be! What a dreadful system of ungodliness it will embody! No wonder God’s judgment will, at last, fall upon it so suddenly, violently and completely!

Pastor Stuart three weeks ago told us in chapter 18, verse 4 that we, God’s faithful people, are commanded to ‘come out’ of Babylon, lest we “share in her sins” and “receive of her plagues. But why do we need to “come out” of Babylon? What’s the harm?

In an issue of Atlantic magazine there was an article by Prof. Bernard Lewis of Princeton, the dean of American orientalists. At that time, before his retirement and disappearance from public life, he was a respected scholar and commentator upon all things having to do with Islam. In the article he notes that the two “expansive and civilization-defining” religions in the world are Christianity and Islam. Both of them, he says, have a problem with tolerance. And that is inevitable. For they both believe that they have the final truth from God and that everyone must believe that truth and accept it and live by it or else. Prof. Lewis, like so many others who think the same way, failed to recognize that everyone is intolerant in this way; the difference is simply what they happen to be intolerant about! Nevertheless in the article Bernard Lewis expressed the hope that more and more Christians would become Christians of the modern, relativistic type who believe that all religions lead to God, that there are many ways to conceive of religious truth, that there is nothing really important at stake in the choice of one religion or another. If so religion would increasingly become no big deal, certainly nothing to fight and die for as did the terrorists of 9/11. In that way we would all get along.

But to say that – and of course there are many others besides Bernard Lewis saying just that to the Christian church today – to wish that is precisely the same thing as saying that Christians should not come out of Babylon. It is to wish for the reverse of what John commands Christians to do. It is to wish that Christians would make their peace with Babylon, which, of course, is precisely what Babylon wants them to do! Then they will have forsaken Christ and gone over to the Devil, left the City of God to become a citizen of the City of Man.

I remind you that the Book of Revelation was written to and for the Church. This book was to be read in the worship services of the churches John was writing to. If you ask why churches go bad, why they lose their way, why Christian churches in great number, especially in Europe, the United States, and in Canada that once stood for the gospel of Christ, now spout smooth, vapid and toothless slogans to largely empty sanctuaries; why such churches no longer interest their own children; why they never witness the revolutionary impact of the gospel of Christ on human life; the answer is this: in every case they refused to come out of the world, they got into a double harness with unbelief, they weakened, blurred, smudged and then finally obliterated the bright line that distinguishes faith and unbelief, wickedness from righteousness, darkness from light, God from idols. They did precisely what Bernard Lewis hoped Christians would do! By refusing to keep the difference between Babylon and the New Jerusalem clear, by refusing to keep the distinction between the two kingdoms front and center, and then by refusing to live out that distinction, they lost the distinction altogether and became part of Babylon and didn’t even realize it in most cases. Many of Babylon’s most beautiful churches were once Christian churches! When Christians merge with Babylon, Babylon does not become Christian; Christians become Babylon! We need to come out of Babylon because if we continue to align ourselves with Babylon, we will be forgotten forever. That brings us to our next step for this morning. My next step is to come out of Babylon so I will not share in her sins and be forgotten forever.

My title this morning is taken from a Willie Nelson song called, “Turn out the lights, the party’s over.” It also comes from Monday Night Football back in the days of Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford and Don Meredith. Don Meredith was a star quarterback in college at SMU and later for the Dallas Cowboys. His style was a down home, country boy image being from Texas. One of the funniest things he would do took place toward the end of games in which the outcome was obvious – one team was just too far ahead and it was a foregone conclusion that they were going to win the game. In this situation, Meredith would break into the old country western song by Willie Nelson…“Turn out the lights…the party’s over”. There is coming a day when the One who is the Light of the world, will turn out the lights of the world. The code name that is used here for the world is “Babylon.” What we have seen today is this evil city and its people in the end of time who are only worried about the “party” will be destroyed and will be forgotten forever.

In the late 90’s Judy and I were working with the youth at Uriah UMC just over the way from Idaville. For about three or four years in a row we would have a New Year’s Eve lock in. I remember our lock in on December 31, 1999. For weeks or even months everyone was worried about computers and other infrastructure in the area and the entire United States. What was going to happen when the clock struck midnight as we rung in the New Year and a new millennium? Would the world become dark and be plunged into chaos? Of course, I put a flyer together. I always thought I had a flair for the dramatic so would try to come up with a catchy phrase when putting events together. It actually comes in handy even now when I work on titles for sermons etc. So when I put the flyer together for this particular New Year’s Eve Lock In it read, “Where you going to be when the lights go out?” My premise was what better place than church to be at if “the world was coming to an end”. So as I finish this morning, I want to leave you with a question, “Where will you find yourself when the lights go out and the party’s over?” Will you find yourself aligned with Babylon, with this world, and forgotten forever, or will you be aligned with God and the Lamb and spend forever in their presence?

As the ushers prepare to take up the communication cards and the praise team comes to lead us in a final song, bow your heads with me as I pray.

Dear Heavenly Father, we confess that at times we are “of the world” and not just “in” it more than we care to admit. This morning we ask you for the strength to “come out” of Babylon. We do not want to share in her sins and be forgotten and separated from you forever. I pray that we would heed your Holy Spirit in our lives daily and follow your command to “be in the world but not of it.” In Jesus’ name. Amen.

December 30, 2018/by Office

Fair Weather Friends

Jesus Unveiled Revelation Sunday Morning Stuart Johns Compromise, Salvation, Wealth

Jesus Unveiled

Fair Weather Friends

(Revelation 18:9-20)

INTRODUCTION

“In January 2013, a team of ‘dental hygiene experts’ and design gurus gathered in Germany and decided the modern toothbrush needed a makeover. The resulting product: a $3,200 Euro (about $4,300 USD), full-titanium toothbrush. The company's website offers a video that likens its creation to a world-class sports car:

Undulating curves of the sleek and slender body encompass elegance and sumptuousness. A unique design … German precision engineering … A decisively lightweight full-titanium body which has unparalleled durable strength. The accomplished silhouette captures elegance and timelessness where beauty, functionality and utility complement each other. A timeless luxury is now an option.

Their entry-level ‘Premium’ package price includes one ‘everlasting’ titanium toothbrush in a color of your choice, one titanium toothbrush holder (with ‘anti-slip pad’), a bumper, and what they call ‘Fresh Service’ for three years—every six months, they'll send you six bristle heads (choice of soft or medium) and a new bumper. You can also personalize it with an engraving for an extra $540. But keep in mind that after the three year ‘Premium’ plan runs out, you'll need to pay a few hundred bucks for another upgrade. Who said luxury was cheap?”

[Adapted from Zachary Crockett, “The $4,000 Toothbrush,” Priceonomics blog (8-7-14)].

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2014/august/6082514.html]

BODY

ME
- Fair weather friend
  - - My best friend in California worked for Sony PlayStation
    - He designed the menus for video games on the PlayStation Portable (PSP) system
    - He was able to get games, systems, and controllers at a deep employee discount
      - It was nice to be able to get games and a gaming system at a cheaper price than in the retail stores
      - If I only based my friendship with him on his employee discount with Sony, that would be really self-centered and shallow
      - We had already moved back to PA before he was laid off from Sony
      - Our friendship continues to this day, because our relationship wasn’t based on his employee discount
    - It was based on something much more significant
- Discipleship and study of God’s Word
  - - This friend of mine accepted the Lord while we were living in California
    - I wasn’t part of his salvation experience
    - His wife attended church with us and she had invited him to the beach baptism and cookout in Oceanside
    - While we were there, she and Judy encouraged me to talk with him
    - So, I started a conversation with him and we found out that we shared some common interests – one of those being video games
    - The rest is history
      - They hosted the small group Bible study that I facilitated
      - We would play video games together
      - We worked on cars together
      - We fished together
      - I enjoyed his incredible cooking abilities
      - I answered all the questions he had about Christianity as he grew in his faith
      - We still connect from time-to-time
      - We got to see he and his wife and two boys while we were on the mission trip in Spokane, WA – they drove up from Oregon, where they live now

WE
- School
  - - The desire to be part of the “in” crowd can cause us to develop friendships based on shallow things
      - Those friendships are cheapened, because they’re based on our own selfish desires, instead of a desire to really get to know someone
      - We may strive to befriend someone who plays sports, or is really talented with drama, or is a cheerleader, etc.
      - We may even do things that we would never think of doing in order to be accepted
    - When you find that true best friend, it’s completely different
      - Many times the relationship isn’t based on having to do anything specific to be accepted, but rather on shared interests
      - The relationship actually enriches your life instead of cheapening it
- Work/Church/Neighborhood
  - - The same is true for adults in the workplace, neighborhood, and even church
    - There may be times that we have tried to befriend someone because they have a boat, are successful at hunting and fishing, have a nice car, a nice house/property, or more money or connections than we have
    - The motive behind trying to befriend that person is to see what kind of benefit we can get from the relationship – it’s all self-centered
    - Think for a moment then of those we call our best friends
      - There is no pressure to act, talk, or be a certain way around them
      - We can be ourselves
      - We enjoy just being together with them whether or not we do anything special
      - We aren’t looking for how we can benefit, but rather how we can be a blessing to them

John hears the lament of three groups of people in Revelation 18:9-19. They are all upset that the great city has fallen. They’re not upset that the inhabitants of the great city are dead, but rather that they will no longer be able to benefit from her power and wealth. John wants us to understand that . . .

BIG IDEA – Wealth has a way of cheapening our friendships.

Now the opposite of that is also true – true friendships have a way of enriching our lives.

Let’s pray

GOD (Revelation 18:9-20)
- King’s Lament (vv. 9-10)
  - - Who are the kings of the earth?
      - These are not the same kings that we were introduced to in Rev. 17:16 that joined with the beast to destroy the great city
      - These are “the governing heads of all nations who have entered into questionable trade with the commercial center of the ancient world.” [Mounce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 331]
      - We’ve already discussed what they did with the great city/prostitute, but it is mentioned here again
        Committed adultery – they committed themselves to the false religion of the beast, which included sexual immorality and idolatry
        Shared her luxury – they embraced the kind of over-the-top lifestyle that the great city afforded them
      - The kings of the earth loved what she could provide for them, but they never truly loved her [Akin, Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Revelation, 277]
      - When the kings of the earth see the smoke of her burning, they do three things
    - Their reaction to the great city’s destruction
      - Weep – it’s not quietly crying alone, but rather crying out loud (others would hear the weeping of the kings)
      - Mourn – this is again not something that’s done quietly, but rather a beating of the chest
      - Stand far off
        They are not standing far off out of respect for the dead, but rather out of fear for the great cities torment
        They do not want to get caught up in the great judgment and punishment of their lover
        Notice that they aren’t rushing in to help the great city that gave them power and wealth
        PRINCIPLE – Judgment or difficult times reveal the motives of those who are close to us.
        The kings of the earth only wanted to be close to the great city when it was prosperous and met their needs for sensual desires and luxurious living
        When judgment came, they didn’t want anything to do with the great city
        It’s reminiscent of the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32)
        He took his portion of his inheritance and went to a far off land
        He lived the high life and squandered his inheritance
        While the passage doesn’t mention friends, it’s assumed that his “wild living” involved other people
        Once the money was gone, so were his “friends”
        He had to hire himself out to a citizen of the country where he was living
        Even though he had invested in other people, no one was investing in him
        The same is true for us today
        We may have friendships that we maintain simply because of the benefits we receive from the friendship
        Some of us do this with God
        We maintain a surface/nominal relationship with Him, so we can go to Him when difficulties come
        During those times we make promises to God and we spend more time at church, in prayer, and in His Word, hoping that He will help us out
        What normally happens after He helps us out, is we return to maintaining the surface/nominal relationship with Him until the next difficult thing comes along
        God’s desire for us is to have a true relationship with Him
        When we have a true relationship with Him, it enriches our lives
        My Next Step Today Is To: Confess that my relationship with God is based on how He can benefit me.
        My Next Step Today Is To: Maintain a true relationship with God, so that my life will be enriched.
        We may realize that some people only want to be our friends because they’re trying to receive some kind of benefit from us
        We hear stories all the time of those who win the lottery, realizing that they have long lost relatives that have finally found them
        The same can happen when a family member dies and leaves an inheritance for the survivors – everyone scrambles to claim a portion of the inheritance – they’re your best friend
        Wealth has a way of cheapening our friendships and relationships – it reveals our true motives
      - The kings of the earth are weeping and mourning, because of the loss of power and luxury (it is self-serving sorrow they are experiencing)
    - Their lament
      - All three groups start their lament the same way, “‘Woe! Woe, O great city . . .’”
      - After that each group is more specific about what they have lost as a result of the great cities destruction
      - For the kings of the earth they are lamenting the loss of power – it was political power that caused them to be wealthy and influential
      - All three groups mention the swiftness with which destruction comes, In one hour . . .
        This is probably not a literal hour of time, but rather a literary way of saying that her destruction did not take long
        God’s judgment will be swift and complete and the world will recognize it as such
        The kings of the earth are shocked at how quickly this city of power and strength was destroyed
      - John then hears about a second group that is lamenting the destruction of the great city – it’s the merchants
- Merchant’s Lament (vv. 11-17a)
  - - Their reaction to the great city’s destruction
      - Weep and mourn
        Again it’s a loud crying mixed with the beating of the chest
        They are not weeping and mourning for the dead, but because no one buys their merchandise any more
        They grew wealthy because of the luxuries that the great city demanded from around the world
        Nothing was beyond their financial ability to obtain
        Money was of no concern
        Again, we see the sorrow of a self-serving group of people
        Their friendship with those in the great city is of less importance than the wealth they accumulated from them
        Wealth has a way of cheapening our friendships and relationships
        Had they developed true friendships with those in the city, they would have wept and mourned at the loss of a rich relationship
      - Recognize that riches and splendor are gone forever
        The merchants will say what everyone of us realizes, the pleasures and possessions of this world will one day vanish, never to be recovered
        PRINCIPLE – The riches of this world are temporary.
        Every great kingdom of this world strives to accumulate wealth and possessions
        The worldly belief system is that wealth and possessions prove success
        King Solomon perhaps pursued every conceivable form of satisfaction in this world
        He was wealthier than anyone had ever been
        He had everything his heart desired
        He had wisdom from God
        And yet, the book of Ecclesiastes expresses his findings, that everything is meaningless (wisdom, pleasures, folly, toil, advancement, riches)
        He recognizes that there is a time for everything
        His conclusion at the end of the book is profound
        Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
        God is all-knowing, just, and sovereign
        He desires for us to have true relationship with Him, so that He can enrich our lives
        Application
        Perhaps you’ve been pursuing the riches of this world at the expense of relationships
        It’s a part of our culture today that we have to have what our parents have, although it took them many years to get to that point
        We also live in a culture that desires to have everything, right now
        We’re living above our means, which creates stress and lowers our life expectancy
        We have to hold multiple jobs in order to maintain our lifestyle
        Both parents have to work, leaving daycare, before and after school care to train and teach our children
        Our non-verbal communication with our children is that they are not important
        We take Sunday as our day off and fill it fun activities instead of going to church
        We need to heed Solomon’s wisdom – everything is meaningless – the pleasures and possessions of this world are meaningless and temporary
        We should be pursuing activities that will last into eternity
        Sharing the Gospel with those around us
        Praying on a regular basis
        Studying God’s Word
        Being in fellowship with other believers
        Serving the poor, the widow, and the orphan
        Worshiping the Lord corporately and individually
        Making disciples for Jesus
        Giving back to God a portion of what He has allowed us to steward
        Pursuing, Growing, and Multiplying Disciples (Matt. 28:18-20)
        My Next Step Today Is To: Admit that I have been pursuing the riches of this world, and make the change to pursue activities that will last into eternity.
        We see then that the merchants also stand far off
      - Stand far off
        They are also terrified of her torment
        They don’t want to be get caught up in her punishment
        The motive behind their relationship with her is revealed
        They were only interested in selling their wares to the people of the great city and gaining wealth as a result
        Wealth has a way of cheapening our friendships and relationships.
    - The cargo they sold
      - Easley [Holman New Testament Commentary, Revelation, 332-33] and Osborne [Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 648-50] provide more detailed information about all of the cargo and where it would have been shipped from, to Rome, in the 1st Century
      - Precious stones and metals (gold, silver, precious stones, pearls)
        Gold was so prevalent in the first half of the 1st Century that the wealthy began to import and use silver as an expression of wealth
        Pearls were considered the most luxurious of jewels (Julius Caesar gave Servilia one worth $18,000 in today’s currency)
        Wealthy women would use multiple pearls to decorate their hair
      - Luxurious fabrics (fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth)
        The dye used to make purple cloth came from the murex (a shellfish) and was extracted one drop at a time (labor intensive)
        The dye for scarlet cloth came from certain berries
        All of the fabrics were hand made with countless hours of work put into them, therefore they were very expensive
      - Expensive wood and building materials (citron wood, ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron, and marble)
        Citron wood was highly prized for its beautiful grain patterns (show picture of citron wood cabinet)
        Tables made from citron wood with ivory legs were very popular, especially with men [Osborne, 648]
        Cicero paid what would be equivalent to $2.5 million for a single table and Gallus Asinius paid $5 million for one table [Osborne, 648]
        The costly wood probably included cedar, maple, cyprus, and ebony
        The bronze from Corinth was well known for its quality and highly valued
        I believe if there was a $4,300 full-bronze toothbrush available in the 1st Century, the wealthy would have ordered it from Achaia.com (the region where Corinth was) and had it shipped, literally
      - Spices and perfumes (cinnamon and spice, incense, myrrh and frankincense)
        It is not like the cinnamon we use today, but was for incense, perfume, and medicine
        Spice (Amomum) was used primarily as a hair fragrance
        Myrrh came from Somalia and was very expensive, because it was one of the most popular perfumes
        Frankincense was half the cost of myrrh and also came from Somalia
        It is not by coincidence that the Magi from the east gave baby Jesus gold, frankincense, and myrrh
        Read Matthew 2:1-12
        They recognized that He was a king worthy of such expensive gifts
        Frankincense and myrrh were also used during the burial process, which could have been a foreshadowing of Jesus’ purpose in coming from heaven to earth to take our punishment for sin by dying on the cross, being buried, and coming alive again
        That is what we celebrate during Christmas – the birth of Jesus
        Our celebration shouldn’t stop at just His birth
        His birth was just the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s plan to deal with humanity’s sin (Rom. 3:23; Rom. 6:23)
        Jesus grew up to be a man and at the age of 33, He willingly gave His life on the cross to take our punishment for sin (1 Cor. 15:3b-4)
        John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
        My Next Step Today Is To: Believe in Jesus as my Savior and receive God’s gift of eternal life.
        Jesus is the King of Kings and the Lord of lords, so the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh were appropriate for him when the Magi came
        Spices and perfumes were not the only thing that the Roman Empire purchased from the merchants, they also purchased food items
      - Food items (wine and olive oil, fine flour and wheat)
        Pliny and Aristides expressed the extravagance that Rome was known for
        “At one of Nero’s banquets the Egyptian roses alone cost nearly $100,000. Vitellius had a penchant for delicacies like peacocks’ brains and nightingales’ tongues. In his reign of less than one year he spent $20,000,000, mostly on food.” [Mounce, 332]
        Another commentary lists the breasts of doves as another delicacy that Vitellius had a penchant for
        I can believe that, because I know there is not much meat on a dove and they are not easy to hit with a shotgun
        My brother is an avid dove hunter, but I’ve never gotten into that part of hunting
        I say that dove meat is the most expensive wild game there is, because you have to use a lot of shotgun shells to get a little bit of meat
        I enjoy shooting clay pigeons, but they don’t taste very good – they’re chalky and muddy tasting
      - Animals (cattle, sheep, horse, carriages)
        The animals that were imported were not for eating
        The cattle were beasts of burden used to pull carts and plow fields
        The sheep were used as breeding stock to help with the wool production
        Horses were used in chariot racing, riding, and for pulling carriages
      - Slave market (bodies and souls of men)
        It has been estimated that there were 60,000,000 slaves in the Roman Empire in the 1st Century
        These slaves were more than just bodies, they were created in the image of God
    - Their lament
      - As noted in the lament of the kings of the earth there are two elements that are repeated – the Woe! Woe, O great city and the swiftness of God’s punishment (one hour)
      - The merchants point out the items they had sold to the great city/prostitute (fine linen, purple and scarlet, gold, precious stones and pearls)
      - They are only concerned that her great wealth has been brought to ruin so quickly
      - They are lamenting their own loss
    - The merchants had to import many of the items that they sold to those in the great city, which required a transportation system
    - That group is the final one that laments the destruction of the great city
- Maritime Worker’s Lament (v. 17b-19)
  - - Who are the maritime workers?
      - Sea captain – not the owner of the ship, but the one who steered it
      - Passengers, which probably included the merchants (all who travel by ship)
      - Sailors, dock hands, fishermen, pearl divers, etc. (all who earn their living from the sea)
    - Their reaction to the great city’s destruction
      - They are weeping and mourning because they had become wealthy through providing transportation for all of the merchandise the great city wanted
      - They also threw dust on their heads
        This was an outward expression of deep distress and mourning
        “Their mourning is even more elaborate than that of the others, for throwing dust on their heads is intense grief.” [Easley, 335]
        Perhaps they realized more than the kings of the earth and the merchants that the economic bubble had burst and they would had to return to scraping out a living on the sea
      - Stand far off
        As with the other two groups, the maritime workers are not willing to help the great city in her distress
        They only wanted to be associated with her when things were going well and money was flowing
        Once the money stopped flowing they were not interested in being part of her destruction
        Wealth has a way of cheapening our friendships and relationships.
      - Their exclamation
        “Was there ever a city like this great city?”
        They were caught up by the wealth, power, and splendor of the great city
        This parallels the statement by the inhabitants of the earth concerning the beast in Revelation 13:4, Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?”
        The expected answer to both of these questions is “no” and “no one”
        Yet we know that there is a greater city coming down from heaven someday – the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:1-27)
        We also know that there is someone greater than the beast, who did and will make war against him and be victorious – Jesus Christ!
      - This brings us to their lament
    - Their lament
      - Again we see the repeated elements at the beginning and end of their lament
        Woe! Woe, O great city
        The swiftness of their ruin
      - The center section focuses again on what they have lost since the city has been destroyed
      - They became rich from her desire for wealth and luxuries
- Rejoicing (v. 20)
  - - At first blush, we may bristle as the thought of rejoicing over the destruction of a great city, filled with people
      - We may feel like that is calloused and out of place
      - But, we have to understand the context here
      - The verb is in the imperative, meaning that those who are to rejoice are commanded to do it
    - Those who are to rejoice
      - This command is directed to heaven
      - Mounce points out that it is the church glorified that is being commanded to rejoice – the ones who remained faithful to the end and gave their lives for the Gospel [Mounce, 336]
      - Those in heaven include the saints, apostles, and prophets
    - The reason why they are to rejoice
      - The reason they are rejoicing is not because people have been destroyed, but because God has kept His promise to judge the inhabitants of the earth for the way they treated His people
      - God’s justice has finally been fulfilled
      - “The rejoicing does not arrive out of a selfish spirit of revenge but out of a fulfilled hope that God has defended the honor of his just name by not leaving sin unpunished and by showing his people to have been in the right and the verdict rendered by the ungodly world against his saints to be wrong.” [Beale cited by Osborne, 655]
      - PRINCIPLE – As God’s children, we can rejoice in His justice.

CONCLUSION

“It is easy for us to believe that life as we know it will go on forever. We are, of course, aware of the ebb and flow caused by wear and natural calamity. By and large, civilization as a whole seems to make progress. The Renaissance gave way to the Age of Reason. The Enlightenment paved the way for the Industrial Age. The twentieth century – interrupted by two world wars – ultimately reaped great harvest in areas such as medical and communications technology. Despite problems such as crime and terrorism, world civilization appears able to march on forever.

The message of Revelation 18 is that what is seen is temporary and subject to the judgment of Almighty God. On the other hand, Babylon the Great provides power, privilege, and prestige to those willing to be seduced by her spell. Monarchs, merchants, and mariners are among those who taste her pleasures and lament her demise. On the other hand, Babylon moves forward on the misery of human slavery, moving people away from true religion into impurity. She is always hostile to the things of God; in fact, the blood of all Christian martyrs drips from her hands.

If this is true, the Christians of every age need to evaluate the call to “Come out of her, my people.” Only those who refuse to share her sins will not receive any of her plagues. Two exclamations summarize the two opposing responses to Babylon’s death. On one hand are those who cry “woe,” because they, too, have been condemned. On the other hand are those who cry “hallelujah,” (19:1) because the martyrs have been avenged at last. The choices we make now will determine whether one day we cray “woe” or “hallelujah.” [Easley, 337]

December 23, 2018/by Office

Dancing With The Devil

Jesus Unveiled Revelation Sunday Morning Stuart Johns God's glory, Holiness

Jesus Unveiled

Dancing With The Devil

(Revelation 18:1-8)

INTRODUCTION

“Most people have heard of the "five second rule"—that if food spends just a few seconds on the floor, dirt and germs won't have enough time to contaminate it. Parents sometimes apply the rule to pacifiers (after their first child of course). The history of the five-second rule is difficult to trace. One legend attributes the rule to Genghis Khan, who declared that food could be on the ground for five hours and still be safe to eat.

But a 2016 experiment should permanently debunk the five second rule. Professor Donald W. Schaffner, a food microbiologist at Rutgers University, reported that a two-year study concluded that no matter how fast you pick up food that falls on the floor, you will pick up bacteria with it. You can check it out for yourself in his journal article "Is the Five-Second Rule Real?" found in the always exciting journal for Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

Professor Schaffner tested four surfaces—stainless steel, ceramic tile, wood, and carpet—and four different foods: cut watermelon, bread, buttered bread, and strawberry gummy candy. They were dropped from a height of five inches onto surfaces treated with a bacteria. The researchers tested four contact times—less than one second and five, 30 and 300 seconds. A total of 128 possible combinations of surface, food, and seconds were replicated 20 times each, yielding 2,560 measurements. So after those 2,560 drops they found that no fallen food escaped contamination, leading Professor Schaffner to conclude, "Bacteria can contaminate instantaneously." In other words, they debunked the legendary five second rule.” [Adapted from Christopher Mele, "'Five-Second Rule' for Food on Floor Is Untrue, Study Finds," The New York Times (9-19-16)]

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2016/october/2101716.html].

It doesn’t matter how long the food’s been on the floor, it has been contaminated by bacteria if touches the floor.

BODY

ME
- Five-second rule
  - - I have to admit that I have lived by the Five-Second rule in my own life
    - I have done it with our boys also
    - This may be surprising, because I am somewhat of a germaphobe
- Germaphobe
  - - Just this week I’ve experienced some germaphobic situations
    - Levi has been dealing with a sinus infection and cold
    - Wade was off work for two days with a stomach virus
    - I have washed my hands with soap and water more frequently this week, because or the germs in the house
    - Levi knows that I’m a germaphobe, so he was messing around with me one day
      - I had my phone laying around by me and he walked up to me and acted like he was going to touch my phone
      - I gave him the “Dad look” that Jason mentioned several weeks ago
      - It was that look that said, “Don’t even think about touching my phone.”
      - He didn’t touch my phone, but he knew he could get a reaction out of me, just by acting like he was going to
    - Sometimes we have to separate ourselves from various circumstances in order to remain healthy, safe, or above reproach

WE
- Addictions
  - - Individuals who are addicted to anything have to separate themselves from those things
    - An alcoholic may not be able to even smell alcohol without being tempted to drink
    - A drug addict may be triggered by going down a certain road or area of town, because that’s where they used to buy their drugs
    - Someone addicted to pornography may have to have extra protection place on their computers and electronic devices in order to keep them from viewing pornographic images
    - Whatever addictions we struggle with (shopping, food, gossip, etc.) may require us to separate ourselves from those places, items, or individuals that cause us to give in
- Contaminated with one touch
  - - I’ve heard from individuals, time-and-time again, who believe that they are strong enough to handle their temptations or addictions on their own, admit that they need someone to hold them accountable
    - All it takes sometimes in one touch with their addiction to cause them to fall back into the addiction full-time
    - We may not realize how one touch with the sin of this world contaminates us

John hears from one angel and another voice from heaven in the first eight verses of Revelation 18. The angel tells him that Babylon the Great has fallen. The voice from heaven explains that the reason for her fall is the sins that have piled up and her pride. She will be judged and punished according to her sins. God is the One who will judge her. In the middle of these two announcements is a command from the voice in heaven for the people of God to come out from Babylon the Great. What John wants us to understand is that . . .

BIG IDEA – God desires for us to seek holiness instead of worldly desires.

Let’s pray

GOD (Revelation 18:1-8)
- Chapter 18 as a whole
  - - Funeral dirge and laments
      - In vv. 1-8 we’ll see two angels who are announcing the destruction and fall of Babylon the Great
      - In vv. 9-20 we’ll see the laments of three groups of people who had benefited from Babylon the Great (kings of the earth, merchants of the earth, and every sea captain)
      - Finally in vv. 21-24 we’ll see one final angel expressing the results of the fall of Babylon the Great – another funeral dirge
    - There is one major poetic feature in vv. 1-8 that is significant – there is the repetition of three lines found in vv. 2, 3, 6, and 8 [Mounce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 324]
      - Home for demons, haunt for every evil spirit, and haunt for every unclean and detestable bird (v. 2)
      - Nations drink her adulterous wine, kings commit adultery, merchants grow rich (v. 3)
      - Give back what she has given, pay back double, mix her a double portion (v. 6)
      - The plagues are death, mourning, and famine (v. 8)
    - John saw everything that was happening in chapter 17, but now in chapter 18 he is hearing what is being said
- Angel from heaven (vv. 1-3)
  - - Transition to a new section
      - The statement, “After this I saw . . .” is a literary indicator that a transition is taking place in the text
      - After John saw the beast and the ten kings bring the woman to ruin by leaving her naked, eating her flesh, and burning her with fire, he sees another angel come down from heaven
    - Another angel
      - This angel is not one of the seven-bowl angels, like John experienced in chapter 17, rather it is a totally different angel that has been in the presence of God
      - Great authority
        This is the first evidence that the angel had been in the presence of the Lord
        He does not have his own authority, but has been given authority by God to announce the fall of Babylon the Great
      - Reflected glory
        The second evidence that the angel had been in the presence of the Lord is that the earth is illuminated by his splendor
        The Greek word used for “splendor” is doxa which is normally translated as “glory”
        It is God’s glory that this angel is reflecting as he comes down from heaven to earth
        PRINCIPLE – God’s glory is seen in those who have been with Him.
        This is my prayer for us as a body of believers here in the greater Idaville area
        I want those in our neighborhoods to see God’s glory on our faces as a result of us having been with Him
        Our being with God is manifested in multiple ways
        Believers gathering together, corporate worship
        Small groups meeting in homes, like the early church, to study God’s Word
        Personal worship, Bible study, and prayer
        Corporate prayer meetings
        One-on-one discipleship
        Evangelism events
        Service projects in our community
        The list can go on and on
        Any time we pursue, grow, and multiply disciples, we can and do reflect the glory of God
        Too often we reflect the dirt and filth of this world, instead of the glory of God, by what we choose to say and do outside of church
        We put on our church face and speech when we come here
        We embrace the speech and actions of the world when we’re not here (gossip, talking badly about someone behind their back, swearing, coarse joking, adultery, sexual immorality, idolatry, etc.)
        God desires for us to seek holiness instead of worldly desires.
        He wants us to be set apart – to be in the world, but not of it
        As we seek holiness we will reflect God’s glory
        As we prepare to celebrate Jesus’ birth at Christmas, I’m reminded of God’s glory being displayed, as another angel comes from heaven to earth
        Luke 2:8-9, And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
        I’d be terrified too, if I was sitting in the field with only a small fire to light up the darkness and suddenly the glory of God surrounded me and made it like day time
        So, this angel has come from the presence of the Lord with God’s authority and glory, to share his message
      - Angel’s message
        Destroyed
        The angel from heaven cries out with a mighty voice
        He repeats the word “fallen”
        The repetition of words, in ancient times, was part of the funeral dirge pattern, but it also emphasizes how complete the fall of Babylon is [Patterson, The New American Commentary, Revelation, 330]
        This is the second time an angel has cried out about Babylon the Great, A second angel followed and said, “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.” (Rev. 14:8)
        “From this judgment of God there is no redemption. The overthrow is decimating.” [Patterson, 330]
        We see how decimating God’s judgment is in the first three-line repetition
        Desolate
        Babylon the Great is completely desolate – no one is left there
        With no one around there are three things that have taken up residence there
        Demons
        Demons have made their home there
        This shouldn’t come as a surprise, since this great city was characterized as engaging in all kinds of immoral and godless acts
        Now that the human beings have been destroyed it leaves only the demons and evil spirits
        Evil spirits
        While the demons have made it their home, it is a “prison” for evil spirits
        That’s what’s meant by “haunt”
        It gives the idea of being imprisoned there, not being able to leave
        Unclean birds
        It’s also a prison for every kind of unclean bird
        Perhaps you consider all birds unclean
        What’s in view here is probably scavenger birds (vultures, condors, and carrion)
        Patterson includes pelicans, hawks, owls ravens, and ostriches [Patterson, 330]
        Easley includes bats, which I would include with the unclean and detestable beasts [Easley, Holman New Testament Commentary, Revelation, 327]
        Unclean and detestable beasts
        The fall of ancient Babylon is recorded in Isaiah and Jeremiah, which is perhaps the background for what John is hearing in this part of his vision
        Isaiah 13:20-22, She will never be inhabited or lived in through all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there, no shepherd will rest his flocks there. But desert creatures will lie there, jackals will fill her houses; there the owls will dwell, and there the wild goats will leap about. Hyenas will howl in her strongholds, jackals in her luxurious palaces. Her time is at hand and her days will not be prolonged.
        The unclean and detestable beasts would include jackals, wild goats, and hyenas
        Movie (2007) – “I Am Legend” [Actor Will Smith]
        Plot – Robert Neville is a brilliant scientist, but even he could not contain the terrible virus that was unstoppable, incurable, and man-made. Somehow immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and maybe the world
        Alone after the worldwide apocalypse, Neville does a couple things in the desolate city
        He hunts deer that have taken over the city
        He hits golf balls into the city off the wing of fighter jet that is on an aircraft carrier
        VIDEO – 1960’s Postcards In Real Life Then VS Now (stop playing the video at the 2:02 mark) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nHgwDAVKlg&t=39s]
        Reasons why it had to be destroyed
        We’ve already been introduced to two of the three reasons
        The nations or inhabitants of the earth that have gotten drunk with the wine of her adulteries (Rev. 14:8 and 17:2)
        All the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated and then seduced into immorality
        It’s the idea of a corrupt religious system
        The kings of the earth who committed adultery with her
        There was an “unholy union between religion and politics.” [Patterson, 331]
        How often have Christian politicians had to compromise their beliefs in order to function in the political arena
        It is very difficult to hold onto traditional Judeo-Christian values while being a public servant
        We’re now introduced to another group, the merchants of the earth
        They share a lament as we’ll see in two weeks in Rev. 18:16-17
        They became rich by providing the great city with every luxury she desired
        The rare Greek work (strēnos) isn’t speaking of just accumulating wealth, but rather the obsession with wealth [Patterson, 331]
        It’s the desire to have more and more, never being content
        Having to have the newest cell phone
        Spending money to get the newest items as soon as they come out
        Waiting in long lines to purchase the newest items
        A never ending appetite for the newest and best items available
        We see then, the reasons why the great city must be destroyed and will be desolate
    - When the angel from heaven finishes speaking, John hears another voice from heaven
- Voice from heaven (v. 4-8)
  - - Some scholars believe that the voice from heaven is another angel, but most identify the voice as either God or Jesus
    - Command
      - The Greek verb is an imperative – a command that needs to be followed
      - God is calling His people to come out
        This means that there are followers of Jesus Christ still on the earth at this point
        Perhaps they are the ones who have accepted Jesus during the tribulation period
        This speaks again of God’s grace and mercy, because He is warning them to flee prior to His judgment being poured out on Babylon the Great
        PRINCIPLE – God desires for us to seek holiness instead of worldly desires.
        “The saints/holy ones are to separate themselves (the very meaning of ‘holiness’) from the things of the world.” [Osborne, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 638]
        For John’s readers to separate themselves from the great city (Rome) could include withdrawing from business transactions that would cause them to participate in emperor worship or other forms of idolatry [Keener, The NIV Application Commentary, Revelation, 424]
        God may require us to sometimes physically separate ourselves from our culture, but He always wants us to separate ourselves from the ideologies of our culture, especially when they are in opposition to Him and His Word [Mounce, 327]
        Universalism – every religion is basically the same and leads to heaven
        Abortion – it is alright for humans to determine when life begins and whether or not it’s appropriate to kill a baby in utero
        Same-sex marriage/Homosexuality – it’s alright to live with and marry someone of the same sex, even though God’s Word says it’s a sin
        Greed, Pride, Pornography, Addictions, etc.
        We have to separate ourselves from those cultural/worldly desires
        Scriptural backing
        Isaiah (52:11) and Jeremiah (51:45) shared God’s message to the Israelites about leaving Babylon
        God instructed Abram to leave his country (Gen. 12:1)
        2 Corinthians 6:14-16, Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God.
        Ephesians 5:11, Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
        We have all heard and or used the phrase that as followers of Jesus Christ we are to be in the world, but not of it
        This concept comes from John 17:14-19 where Jesus is praying to God for His disciples
        He states that His disciples are not of this world, just as He is not of this world
        Next He says that He is sending them into the world to transform it by the power of the Gospel
        David Mathis suggests revising the phrase to, not of this world, but sent into it. [https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/lets-revise-the-popular-phrase-in-but-not-of]
        Patterson captures the intent of this idea beautifully, “Compassion rather than condescension for sinners is the only appropriate posture for a believer. But this compassion must be exercised from a position of holiness and separation to God, his purposes, and his ways.” [Patterson, 331]
        Application
        What this means for us is that we find truth from God’s Word and not our culture
        We don’t make our own truth
        It requires us as followers of Jesus Christ to love those in our culture who believe and practice things that are in opposition to God and His Word
        We are not to look down on or ignore those who are struggling to understand God’s truth
        Two challenges for us
        Are there areas of your life where you’re connected to this world in an unhealthy way?
        Addictions, ideologies, etc.
        Are there worldly desires that you are hesitant or unwilling to sacrifice and separate yourself from, so you can be set apart for God?
        My Next Step Today Is To: Ask the Lord to help me seek holiness instead of worldly desires.
        Are you loving those who believe and/or practice things that are in opposition to God and His Word?
        For some of us it’s easy to set yourself apart for God and seek personal holiness, but we can become very condemning and critical of those who are struggling to be set apart
        We expect others to be where we’re at in our spirituality or understanding of God’s truths
        We live in a culture that has sold us the lie that we make our own truth, that we are in control of our lives, that there are not moral absolutes
        We have to loving embrace those who are struggling to find real truth and not alienate them from the body of Christ
        That has happened too often in the past and has created animosity towards Christians
        My Next Step Today Is To: Love those, in my sphere of influence, who are struggling with the truths of God’s Word.
        John hears this command for the believers to come out of the great city, but he also hears the reasons why
      - Reasons why they are to come out
        So they won’t share in her sins
        The Greek word for “share” is a compound word joining koinōnia and sun (sygkoinōneō)
        Koinōnia is a Greek word many of us are familiar with – it means “fellowship”
        The fellowship it’s referring to is more than a friendship or acquaintance, it’s much deeper than that
        This Greek word is also used to describe the marriage relationship
        Sun is translated as “with”
        So it literally means “with fellowship”
        Rogers & Rogers translate it as “to be a partner, to be a co-partner with” [Rogers & Rogers, The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament, 644]
        We already know what her sins are (adultery, both physically and spiritually; idolatry; pride; greed)
        The great city has continued to participate in these sins to the point that they have piled up to heaven
        The Greek word for piled up literally means “to stick to, to join to” [Rogers & Rogers, 644]
        There is the idea that the sins here are related to one another, which is why they stick together [Patterson, 332]
        God hasn’t forgotten what the inhabitants of the earth have done to His children – He has remembered their crimes
        He is about to repay the inhabitants of the earth for their evil against His people
        Believers can become ensnared in the sins of this world – they can compromise their values and beliefs to allow them to continue to do what they know God’s Word says is wrong
        When that happens, the law of divine justice is enacted – if you share in the sins, you’ll also share in the punishment for those sins, unless you repent and flee
        So they won’t receive any of her plagues
        The second reason they are to come out from the great city is so they won’t receive any of her plagues
        We’ve already seen what those plagues are in Revelation 16 (ugly and painful sores; sea turned to blood; rivers and springs turned to blood; sun scorched the people; complete darkness; Euphrates dried up; severe earthquake)
        Perhaps the most familiar Biblical record of someone who struggled with sharing in the sins of a city and then receiving the punishment of the city is Lot’s wife
        Genesis 19:15-17, With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.” When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!"
        We see that Lot, his wife, and his daughters are hesitant to leave the city, even though they knew what was happening there was sinful (the men wanted to sleep with the angels who were staying with Lot)
        They had probably compromised and should have left the city sooner, but now they were emotionally attached (Lot’s two daughters were engaged/pledged to be married)
        We see the draw of worldly desires in what happens with Lot’s wife
        Genesis 19:26, But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
        Her heart was obviously still in the city, her desire was to be there – she has become a partner in the sins of the city and received the “plagues” (punishment)
        We have to come out from the desires of this world, so we won’t receive the punishment destined for this world
        God desires for us to seek holiness instead of worldly desires.
      - What John hears next is the punishment the great city will experience
    - Punishment
      - PRINCIPLE – God’s punishment of evil will be just and equitable.
        We see the biblical law of justice handed out here – “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” (Exod. 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21)
        In Latin it’s called lex talionis
        John hears it in one of the repeated three-line poetic features
        God is saying that the great city will be given back what it has dished out
        The background for this is found in Jeremiah’s prophecy of the original Babylon
        Jeremiah 50:29, “Summon archers against Babylon, all those who draw the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her for her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.
        The reference to receiving back double and mixing her a double portion is simply meaning that the great city will receive their punishment in full measure
        This is in keeping with Rev. 14:10, he, too, will drink of the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath.
        Jeremiah 16:18, I will repay them double for their wickedness and their sin, because they have defiled my land with the lifeless forms of their vile images and have filled my inheritance with their detestable idols.
        Divine requital
        We continue to see divine equitable justice being handed down
        She is to receive torture and grief to the same degree that she gave herself glory and luxury
        These are the twin sins she has committed
        She has glorified herself instead of God
        She has lived in sensual luxury (meaning both immoral and greedy living – not content)
        She is also prideful
        It’s another three-line repetition
        Easley expresses it well [Easley, 329]
        She sits as queen (she was mistress of the world, the finest city of all times)
        She is not a widow (she had all the kings of the world as her lovers)
        She will never mourn (she believes she’s in complete control of her destiny)
        While she believes these three things about herself, God is ultimately in control and will judge her justly and quickly
      - Quick punishment
        The reference to her plagues overtaking her in one day, simply means that God’s justice and punishment will not be delayed
        Her punishment will be death, mourning, and famine
        What the great city has boasted in will come to pass
        She is not in control of her destiny and will therefore mourn, she will no longer be queen, she will be a widow
        The fact that she will be consumed by fire means that her punishment will be complete and total

CONCLUSION

“God warns his people to ‘come out’ of Babylon (18:4). This is a call to holiness, but we must not misunderstand holiness. Holiness is not simply a matter of avoiding certain kinds of activities, as some traditional churches have emphasized; holiness is separation from the world to God. Thus one can express holiness by immersing oneself in God’s Word rather than in the world’s values emphasized on television; or by turning down a better-paying job because someone felt God wanted him or her to work in a different place, perhaps among the poor. Such holiness may cost us our place in Babylon and much more. One Christian I have called ‘Stephen’ used to pray two hours a day and began to tell God passionately that he loved God so much that nothing else mattered. Then, in 1987, Stephen lost his wife. Now when he says, ‘God, I love you more than anything,’ he understands what he is saying. Ultimately, if we are truly Jesus’ disciples, our very lives are forfeit (Mark 8:34-38).” [Keener, 436]

December 9, 2018/by Office

A Tale of Two Cities

Jesus Unveiled Revelation Sunday Morning Stuart Johns Sacrifice, Salvation

Jesus Unveiled

A Tale of Two Cities

(Revelation 17:1-18)

INTRODUCTION

“For a thousand years, the Christian thinker with the greatest influence was Augustine of Hippo. His longest book, The City of God, interpreted history as the story of two cities, the struggle between those who depend on God and those who rely on themselves. He traced the earthly city’s origin to the city built by Cain (Gen. 4:17).

Genesis gives much less attention to Cain’s city than to Babel, the first city after the flood of Noah. Settling on a plain in ‘Shinar’ (Babylonia), the builders reasoned, ‘Let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth’ (Gen. 11:4).

The ruins of countless other ancient cities confirm parallels with Babel:

Intense human cooperative labor (‘build ourselves a city’)
Humanly devised religion (‘tower that reaches to the heavens’)
Desire to achieve greatness (‘make a name for ourselves’)
Resolve to do things ‘my way’ instead of by God’s will (‘not be scattered’)

In the case of Babel, God directly intervened, but he has not stopped humans from applying these same principles to their other cities and civilizations. Babel was the model. Consider a roll call of six great ancient cities and their civilizations:

Memphis of the Egyptian Kingdom
Nineveh of the Assyrian Empire
Babylon of the New Babylonian Empire
Persepolis of the Persian Empire
Antioch of the Seleucid Empire (Hellenistic power after Alexander the Great)
Rome of the Roman Republic and Empire

Each was the Babel of its own day. Each rose as an expression of engineering ingenuity, supported by military might and political scheming. Each was a commercial, religious, and cultural center. Each proudly opposed God and the people of God. Roll them all together, and they become the perfect forerunner for one future final great city and civilization opposed to God – ‘Babylon the Great,’ mistress of the world. As with the world’s first great city Babel, so with the last Babel: God will judge her directly and dramatically.”

[Easley, Holman New Testament Commentary, Revelation, 303]

BODY

ME
- Video games
  - - My best friend in high school, Jake, and I both worked at Chick-fil-A and we both loved playing tennis and video games
    - Jake had an original Nintendo, if I remember correctly
      - We didn’t play it much because the only game I remember playing on it was a tennis game
      - We enjoyed playing real tennis more than playing it on a video game system
    - We would go to the arcade quite often to play Galaga
      - I can’t tell you how many quarters we spent playing
      - The longer we played it the less quarters we spent, because we had learned the patterns of the game & didn’t die as often
      - I remember one day being at the arcade at the Galleria Mall in Hoover, AL
      - Jake was on fire that day and eventually got the top score
      - I was so impressed, but I also wanted to play – his one turn lasted quite awhile
    - Jake and I were completely drawn in to this game
      - We were giving our time, talents, and resources to Galaga and the arcade by default
      - I can say, with certainty, that Galaga was more important to me, at that time in my life, than my relationship with Jesus
      - I was always thinking about when I could go to the arcade and play Galaga
      - There was an arcade on the lower level of the mall where I worked at Chick-fil-A, so you can imagine the draw
- Continual battle
  - - Through college and in to my adult life, video games have continued to be something that I can get drawn into very easily
    - I like to finish things, so I will continue to play a game until I’m able to complete it 100%
      - I have done that with two games on my PS3
      - First was the video game based on the animated movie UP
      - I think the second one was Infamous
    - I spend much less time today, playing video games than I did several years ago
      - Levi has wanted me to get a PS4, so I can play video games with him, like I did with Wade and Seth
      - Wade wants me to get a gaming PC, so I can play video games with him
      - I’m content without those two items
    - Today, I spend much more of my time, talents, and resources in building the kingdom of God instead of completing video games

WE
- Being drawn in by the pleasures of our culture
  - - Probably for the rest of us, video games aren’t even a temptation
    - There are other pleasures of our culture that perhaps take our time, talents, and resources
      - Not necessarily bad, except that they can take our time, talents, resources, and focus away from God
        Hunting, fishing, camping, and/or boating
        Shopping, Watching movies
        Traveling, Work, Sports
        Eating out (food in general)
        Etc. (we can all think of that one thing in our lives that we enjoy doing and may take to an extreme)
      - Others that are addictive and destructive in nature
        Pornography
        Alcohol and drug addiction
        Sexual addiction
        Hoarding, Christmas Season, Etc.
    - We need to recognize when those items have taken the place of God in our lives
- Refocusing our time, talents, and resources
  - - When we see that something has taken the place of God, we have to take the steps necessary to refocus
    - We may have to take a break from doing those things in order to reconnect with the One who created us, loves us, and desires our time, talents, and resources

John has one of the seven bowl-angels come to him and take him to the desert to see the next part of this end-time vision. The next section of this vision will focus on two cities. We’ll unpack the two cities over the next several chapters. What John wants us to understand from chapter 17 is that . . .

BIG IDEA – Giving ourselves to anything but God could cost us eternal life.

Let’s pray

GOD (Revelation 17:1-18)
- The vision (vv. 1-6)
  - - Before we begin the vision I want us to go to verse 18, because it will help us understand the rest of the vision
      - The angel tells John that the woman in the vision, who is the great prostitute, is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth
      - For John, and his readers in the 1st Century, they identified the great city as Rome, but that certainly isn’t the case for us today or for the millions of people since the 1st Century
      - Mounce expresses it well, “Yet Babylon the Great, source of universal harlotry and abomination (v. 5), is more than first-century Rome. Every great center of power that has prostituted its wealth and influence restores to life the spirit of ancient Babylon.” [Mounce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 321]
      - So, the great prostitute that John sees is a world system/kingdom that has turned its back on God and given its time, talents, and resources to pursuing the pleasures of evil
    - An angel comes to John
      - We’re told that the angel is one of the ones who had the seven bowls, so there is a connection between this part of the vision and what we saw in chapters 15 & 16
      - The angel tells John that he will show him the punishment of the great prostitute
        He explains that this great prostitute is the one who sits on many waters (this will be explained when the angel interprets the vision)
        This great prostitute was very successful at her trade, because the kings of the earth were drawn in by her beauty, wealth, and advances, and the inhabitants of the earth were caught up with what she had to offer them, which is described as the wine of her adulteries
        The leaders and the common people were all attracted to her and gave themselves to her
        They are in danger!
      - At this point, the angel takes John to the desert to give him a more detailed description of this vision
    - The angel carries him into the desert
      - We see that John is not carried away physically to the desert (he is still on the island of Patmos), but rather in the Spirit, he is in a desert
      - Two characters are introduced at this point
        A woman and a scarlet beast – both are described here
        The woman
        This is the same woman that the angel identifies as the great prostitute in v. 1
        She is now not only sitting on many waters, but also on top of a scarlet beast (we’ll talk about this beast in a moment)
        The woman’s outfit
        She is dressed in purple and scarlet
        The dye for these two pieces of cloth were very expensive to extract, therefore only the wealthy could afford to where purple and scarlet garments
        Purple was considered the color of royalty, while scarlet was considered the color of wealth
        She is glittering with gold, precious stones, and pearls
        If we remember that the woman represents Rome or another city that will rise up in the end times then we can see a contrast between this city bent on opposing God and embracing evil and the new Jerusalem
        “Her gold, precious stones, and pearls (17:4) further contribute to this picture of wealth (18:12, 16), but also help underpin the impending contrast with the city of God, which was built of gold, had streets of gold and gates of pearls, and had precious stones on its foundation (21:18-21).” [Keener, The NIV Application Commentary, Revelation, 406-407]
        PRINCIPLE – The political and religious wealth of this world is enticing.
        It is always tempting to embrace the newest religious beliefs or partner with the fasting growing church movements or denominations
        It’s also tempting to embrace the trending political, economic, technological, and social movements
        We all want to be both physically and spiritually wealthy, but it can come with a cost if we don’t choose wisely
        Keener helps us to have an eternal perspective on wealth, “The true and ultimate wealth comes not from trade with Babylon, not from buying and selling with the beast (13:17; cf. Ps. 73:6), but from relinquishing worldly wealth for the promises of Jesus (3:17-18).” [Keener, 407]
        Revelation 3:17-18, You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
        It brings us back to Augustine’s premise: what city are we going to choose to live in? (God’s or the world’s?)
        1 John 2:16-18, For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.
        Giving ourselves to anything but God could cost us eternal life.
        Is there anything in your life that shows you’re living in the city of this world?
        My Next Step Today Is To: Ask the Lord to direct me to anything in my life that I’m giving myself to ahead of Him, and then ask Him to give me the strength to sacrifice it.
        She has a title written on her forehead
        This certainly corresponds to the mark of the beast found in Rev. 13:16
        But it could also refer to custom of the Roman prostitutes in the 1st Century to write their names on a headband that they wore
        Some believe that the word “Mystery” is part of the name written on her forehead, but others believe it is descriptive of a name with hidden meaning
        Babylon the Great (this is the “great system of godlessness that leads people away from the worship of God and to their own destruction [Mounce, 311])
        The Mother of Prostitutes (to be the “mother of” something means that they are characterized by that thing, but also that they have reproduced that character in others [Osborne, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 613]; Babylon, then Rome in John’s time, and perhaps any major city in our time, and definitely some future kingdom, will be the source of idolatry and evil)
        The Mother of the Abominations of the Earth (again whatever city will be the “great prostitute,” during the end, will be the source that influences the entire earth to adopt all kinds of evil and abominations)
        What the woman is holding in her hand
        The woman represents the religious side of the end times, while the beast represents the political side
        She is holding a golden cup in her hand
        We’re told that it is filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries
        The contents of this cup are obviously what has intoxicated the inhabitants of the earth, as we saw in v. 2 and she made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries as we saw in Rev. 14:8
        The religious practices that this end times city will encourage everyone to participate in will involve moral corruption and things that we, as followers of Jesus Christ, would consider unclean or sacrilegious
        Isaiah 5:20, Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
        “The idols of heart and life are filled to the brim as she shares them with a senseless humanity that falls into a drunken stupor, no longer able to see real truth, beauty, and goodness found only in God and His salvation through the Lamb.” [Akin, Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Revelation, 263]
        The condition of the woman
        She is drunk with the blood of the saints
        It will not be enough to simply set up a godless form of religion, but the woman (religious system of this future city) will also persecute and kill those who are followers of Jesus Christ
        Those who are martyred during this time are sealed in Christ through the willing sacrifice of their own lives
        We know who the woman is, what she is wearing, and what she has in her hand, but she is also riding on a scarlet beast
        Scarlet beast
        We are given a brief description of the scarlet beast
        He has blasphemous names covering his entire body
        He has seven heads and ten horns
        What we see in the remainder of chapter 17 is the angels interpretation of the beast from this vision of the woman and the beast
        It is here that we understand the seven heads and ten horns
        We don’t see the punishment of the “great prostitute” that the angel promised to show John until chapter 18
    - As John looks upon the image of the woman and the beast, he is astonished – he perhaps saw something in the character of the woman that was unexpected [Patterson, The New American Commentary, Revelation, 321]
- Interpretation of the vision (vv. 7-18)
  - - The angel asks why John is astonished and then tells him that he will explain the mystery of the woman and the beast she rides on
    - Wisdom to understand the return of the beast (vv. 8-9a)
      - Some scholars put the beginning of v. 9 with the previous statement about the return of the beast, while others put it with the interpretation of the seven heads – both require a mind with wisdom
      - Twice in v. 8 we see the same statement – the beast once was, now is not, and will come again
        This is an attempt by evil to mimic and mock God and Jesus Christ
        Revelation 1:4, John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come . . . (this is referring to God)
        Revelation 1:18, I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. (this is referring to Jesus, also found in Rev. 2:8)
        This same idea of the beast coming, dying, and being resurrected was mentioned in Rev. 13:3, One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast.
        We see again that the inhabitants of the earth, who have not repented of their sins, will find the resurrection of the beast to be astonishing
        In the middle of these two statements we find the principle – the golden nugget of truth
        PRINCIPLE – Evil tries to imitate God, but will be destroyed.
        This is an incredible promise that we, as followers of Jesus Christ, can hold on to
        We may see evil “winning” in our culture
        Evil will twist the truth, just a little bit, so that it appears to be godly and righteous
        Evil will use imitation of the real to try to deceive humanity
        But the truth remains that evil will be destroyed!
        We’ll see expanded in v. 14
      - The angel moves from explaining the imitation of the beast to his actual features, beginning with the seven heads
    - Seven heads explained (vv. 9b-11)
      - The seven heads represent two things
        Seven hills that the woman sits on
        For John’s readers, the interpretation of the seven heads being seven hills would have immediately brought to mind Rome
        Ancient Latin authors all referred to Rome as urbs septicollis meaning “seven-hilled city”
        “Rome began as a network of seven hill settlements on the left bank of the Tiber . . .” [Mounce, 315]
        Christians in the 1st Century viewed Rome as the godless, immoral, idolatrous city that it was
        The angel also interprets the seven heads as seven kings
        Seven kings
        Here is where the interpretation for us, today, becomes much more difficult
        There are two primary beliefs concerning what the angel meant by seven kings as we try to understand it today
        Kings/Emperors
        Those who hold to this belief try to create a list of six Emperors that would include the Emperor during John’s time
        The only problem is that there is not agreement on who the Emperor was during John’s writing (Nero, Vespasian, or Domitian)
        There is also debate over whether Julius Caesar or Augustus was the first true Emperor
        There is also more than six Emperors between Julius Caesar and Trajan (14 to be exact)
        Some scholars lump three of them together because all three reigned in a one year period
        This is not a very strong solution to the interpretation of the seven heads being seven kings
        In their favor is the fact that the Greek word used for “king” is everywhere in the New Testament translated as “king” and not “kingdom”
        With that in mind the second solution is not very strong either, but is definitely fascinating
        Kingdoms
        If the “great prostitute” represents a city, it would not be inconceivable that the seven kings could represent seven kingdoms
        These kingdoms would all share the same characteristics of being the powerhouses of their time that opposed God’s people
        Scholars have compiled a list of the five fallen kings/kingdoms found in Scripture that would have those characteristics
        Egypt (Memphis) during the days of Israelite slavery (Exod. 1)
        Assyria (Nineveh) during the days of the prophets Hosea and Isaiah (2 Kings 15)
        Babylon (Babylon) during the days of Jeremiah and Ezekiel (2 Kings 25)
        Persia (Persepolis) during the days of Esther the queen (the book of Esther)
        The Seleucid Empire (Antioch) was successor to part of Alexander the Great’s realm (Daniel 8:23-25; 11:21-35)
        Rome would be the sixth kingdom during John’s time (1st Century)
        There’ll be a seventh kingdom that will rise in the future that will share the same characteristics as the first six, but will only be around for a short period of time, because the beast will begin to reign as the eighth king
        “MacArthur says, ‘The Antichrist’s kingdom is said to be both the seventh and the eighth kingdoms because of his supposed demise and resurrection. He is the seventh before and the eighth after his ‘resurrection’’ (Study Bible, 2016).” [Akin, 266]
        There is a third option that I particularly favor
        The number seven is symbolic of completion and the power of the Roman Empire historically
        “In Revelation the seven kings represent the entire period of Roman domination regardless of the exact number of emperors. The important point is that the end is drawing near.” [Mounce, 317]
        Osborne agrees with Mounce that the numbering was not a reference to specific emperors, but rather pointing to the fact that the Roman tyranny would soon end and the eschaton would be ushered in [Osborne, 620]
        The number seven throughout Revelation has been symbolic of completion, so it would make sense that it once again represents completion as it pertains to a world-wide system of godlessness, immorality, and idolatry
      - The angel moves on from the seven heads to the ten horns
    - Ten horns explained (vv. 12-14)
      - The ten horns refer to ten kings and their kingdoms that have not come on the international scene yet
        Daniel 7:7-24 is the only other place in Scripture where a ten-horned beast is mentioned (this is perhaps the background for this beast here)
        Osborne reminds us that in Rev. 7:1 the four angels at the four corners of the earth have been holding back the four winds of destruction and he also reminds us that in Rev. 16:12 the Euphrates is dried up, perhaps by the four winds, allowing the “kings of the east” to easily join the beast for a final battle against God [Osborne, 621]
        They and the beast are given authority by Satan, but it is short-lived (one hour)
        Their reign doesn’t need to be long, because they only have one purpose – to give their power and authority to the beast so he can make war against the Lamb
      - PRINCIPLE – Evil is fighting a losing battle.
        The Lamb will overcome them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings
        This is not the first time that Jesus has overcome Satan and his followers
        He won the victory over sin and death when He died on the cross, was buried, and came alive again
        This is the hope we have as followers of Jesus Christ
        God fulfilled His plan to redeem us from our sin by sending Jesus from heaven to earth to take our punishment for sin
        We’re all born sinners, separated from God, deserving eternal separation from Him
        But because of His infinite love for us, He sent Jesus to take our place – He became for us, even though He had never sinned, so that God would see us as righteous before Him
        It is a free gift from God that we have to take for ourselves
        Romans 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
        We can be on the winning side of this final battle by receiving God’s gift of eternal life through believing in Jesus Christ by faith
        My Next Step Today Is To: Receive God’s gift of eternal life by believing in Jesus by faith.
        Jesus not only overcame sin and death through His perfect sacrifice, but He will also overcome evil in the final battle
        The Lamb is Jesus Christ and He is not coming alone
        He is bringing with Him those whom He has called, chosen, and are faithful
        This is Jesus’ army as mentioned in Rev. 19:14
        God is the One who calls and chooses His own, our response to Him is to be faithful
      - The angel now explains the reference to the woman sitting on the waters
    - Waters explained (v. 15)
      - The waters represent all people, which is evident in the four-fold description of peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages
      - No one is exempt from the influence and control of the woman
      - Osborne explains, “To ‘sit upon’ a nation is to conquer and control it.” [Osborne, 609]
      - Finally we see the destruction of the woman after she has served her purpose
    - The destruction of the woman (vv. 16-17)
      - Evil is only concerned about itself and no one else
        Therefore, evil often turns on itself
        When the immoral, idolatrous religious structure, represented by the woman, has served its purpose in convincing the inhabitants of the earth to worship and follow Satan, then the beast and the ten kings will hate her and destroy her
        They will bring her to ruin and strip her naked – this final great city, which once was dressed like royalty, will be completely stripped, exposed, and humiliated
        To have her flesh eaten reminds us of Jezebel after she fell from the window and was completely devoured by dogs
        The destruction of this once great city will be complete when it is burned with fire
        “God has built into the universe a law of sowing and reaping that cannot be violated.” [Easley, 314]
        Galatians 6:7-8, Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit will reap eternal life.
        Giving ourselves to anything but God could cost us eternal life.
      - PRINCIPLE – God is sovereign!
        The ten kings were not offering their power and authority to the beast of their own accord
        Evil is jealous and controlling – not naturally inclined to offer up what power and authority they have to someone else
        They were willing to do this, because of God’s sovereignty – He put it into their hearts the willingness to do this, so that His purpose could be accomplished
        We have in the Bible God’s promises concerning salvation for those who repent and final destruction for those who do not

CONCLUSION

“My friend C. J. Mahaney has well said, ‘Today, the greatest challenge facing [evangelical, Bible-believing] American [Christians] is not persecution from the world, but seduction by the world’ (‘Is This Verse,’ 22). The Christian apologist C. S. Lewis would add, ‘We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who goes on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are too easily pleased. (Weight of Glory, 25-26). Babylon offers mud pies in the slum. The new Jerusalem ruled by the King of kings and the Lord of lords offers a glorious holiday at a crystal sea that will last forever. Do not be too easily pleased. Do not be seduced by a world that can never deliver what is truly lasting and ultimately satisfying.” [Akin, 269]

December 2, 2018/by Office

Justice, Mercy, and Grace

Jesus Unveiled Revelation Sunday Morning Jason Stansbury Grace, Justice, Mercy

November 25, 2018/by Office

Name That Tune!

Jesus Unveiled Revelation Sunday Morning Stuart Johns Deliverance, Thanksgiving, Worship

Jesus Unveiled

Name That Tune!

(Revelation 15:1-8)

INTRODUCTION

“Some years ago my wife and I went to see Shakespeare's Hamlet. Near the end of the play there is a climactic fight scene—guys swordplay all over the stage. Well, that night, right in the middle of all that action, Hamlet suddenly shouted, ‘Stop! Stop!’ All the actors stopped and looked puzzled. Then Hamlet stepped to the edge of the stage and said, ‘Someone's been hurt. Is there a doctor in the house?’

Apparently, during the fight, his knife had flown from his hand into the audience and struck a woman above her eye. The play stopped for a while till they could attend to her and ensure she was all right. Then Hamlet said, ‘Places,’ and the actors all resumed their frozen mid-fight poses till he said ‘Action,’ and they finished the scene and the play.

When we read biblical prophecy, we come across passages where God, the great healer, is given time to attend to lost souls. The action described is put on hold for a time while God carries out the work of redemption. But soon, God will say, ‘Action!’ and this scene will resume and the end-time drama will come to a crashing end.”

(Lee Eclov, Vernon Hills, Illinois, “Hamlet” Production Resembles Prophetic Events)

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2003/september/14592.html].

BODY

ME
- Singing in the choir at Harvey Cedars Bible Conference
  - - My brother and I worked at Harvey Cedars Bible Conference on Long Beach Island, NJ for three summers when we were teenagers
    - At that time, all staff participated in the choir
    - We would have practices every day, if I remember correctly, and then we would go out to local churches in NJ and Eastern PA on Sunday evenings to perform
    - We also had cassette tapes recorded for each year that we were there and they were sold at the concerts we did
    - Singing in the choir was one of the highlights of the summer for me
    - There was one song I enjoyed most, that I remembered hearing the choir sing, when I was a young boy going to Harvey Cedars for vacation with my family
    - I was excited when we sang that same song while I was on staff
      - It is called “Moses” by Ken Medema [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6JQ3EXNBhw]
      - It talks about Moses going to Egypt to set the Israelites free
    - Singing connected us to each other and to the audience at the churches where we sang
    - We were worshiping the Lord together
- Singing when I’m happy
  - - I don’t know about you, but when I’m down and feeling sorry for myself I don’t normally sing – I normally grumble – I don’t even sing a song of lament like the Psalmist did
    - Now the flip side is true – when I’m feeling good and everything is going great, I love to sing
    - Oklahoma, the musical has a song that sums up how I feel most of the time – “Oh, what a beautiful mornin’, Oh, what a beautiful day, I’ve got a beautiful feelin’, Everything’s going my way.”

WE
- Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh
  - - How many of us can relate to Eeyore’s statement? – “If it is a good morning, which I doubt.”
    - He is the quintessential pessimist – the cup is half empty and it has a hole in it
- Struggles
  - - We all experience struggles and hardship in our lives
    - It’s easy for us to sing a song of lament during those tough times
    - Too often we forget to sing the songs of deliverance, praise, and thanksgiving, when God delivers us from those struggles and difficulties
    - We should be quick to change our tune when God does the miraculous for us

We see in this passage a continuation of the grain harvest scene from Revelation 14:14-16. The believers who have been victorious through the social, religious, and economic hardships, enacted by the beast, are singing a song of deliverance to God. John wants us to understand that . . .

BIG IDEA – When God delivers us, we should change our tune.

Let’s pray

GOD (Revelation 15:1-8)
- Structure
  - - Chapter 15 has three parts to it
      - Each is identified in the Greek by the phrase kai eidon, which means “And I saw”
      - This phrase is found at the beginning of vv. 1 (I saw), 2 (And I saw), and 5 (I looked)
    - It also has an ABA chiastic structure
      - We see the introduction of the seven angels in v. 1 before we learn of the song of the saints and then more details are given about the seven angels in vv. 5-8
      - In v. 1 the angels have the seven last plagues with them, which represents the completion of God’s wrath
      - And in v. 8 we will see that no one can enter the temple in heaven until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed (again this is referencing the completion of God’s wrath)
      - The song of the saints is sandwiched between these two matching references
- Sign (v. 1)
  - - John sees another great and marvelous sign
      - Two signs have already appeared in heaven and we see them both in chapter 12
      - The first is found in Rev. 12:1 which was a woman clothed with the sun (this sign was identified as a great and wondrous sign)
      - The second is found in Rev. 12:3 and was an enormous red dragon (this one was just identified as another sign)
    - This great and marvelous sign is seven angels with the seven last plagues
      - “Signs point beyond themselves and disclose the theological meaning of history. That there are seven angels having seven plagues speaks of the certainty and completeness of divine wrath against all unrighteousness. They are great and marvelous in their awe-inspiring effect on all of nature, the human race, and the kingdom of Antichrist.” [Mounce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 284]
      - The New International Version (NIV) adds the word “last” a second time for effect, but this is not in the original Greek
        The New Living Translation (NLT) translates it without the second “last”
        Revelation 15:1b, Seven angels were holding the seven last plagues, which would bring God’s wrath to completion.
      - The form of the Greek verb for “completed” means that God’s wrath has reached it goal [Easley, Holman New Testament Commentary, Revelation, 270] or has been brought to a conclusion [Patterson, The New American Commentary, Revelation, 299]
    - John immediately sees another scene in heaven
- Song (vv. 2-4)
  - - Sea of glass mixed with fire
      - We were introduced to something like a sea of glass in Revelation 4:6 that was before the throne of God
      - It is probably safe to say that this is the same “sea of glass” and that those who are victorious are standing before the throne of God
      - The “sea of glass” is now mixed with fire
        We saw before that the sea of glass was a metaphor for the majesty of God
        Fire is normally symbolic of God’s judgment, so this sea of glass mixed with fire is simply telling us that something has changed or is about to happen
        Easley helps us to understand this imagery from a natural point of view, “Whenever an ocean’s appearance shifts, a change in the weather is at hand. The change from the appearance of clear glass to that shot through with fire signals stormy weather ahead. In view of the awesome and terrible atmospheric conditions about to come to earth (16:18, 20, 21), no wonder the heavenly sea is fiery.” [Easley, 271]
        Have you ever been on the water when a weather front starts to come in? (then you understand the change from calm water to rough water)
      - While change is coming, the focus is less on that and more on those who are standing around this “sea of glass” mixed with fire
    - Victors standing by the sea
      - These are the individuals who have suffered through the tribulation period and probably experienced martyrdom, because they did not give in the pressures of the beast
      - They were victorious over three things
        The beast (political, reject Christ, follow the Antichrist)
        His image (religious, reject Christ, worship the image of the beast at the demand of the False Prophet)
        Number of his name (economic, reject Christ, take the mark of the beast, so they could buy and sell)
      - Two important notes
        Promised inheritance for those who are victorious
        The Greek word translate “victorious” here in Rev. 15:2 is the same Greek word translated “overcome” at the end of each of the letters to the seven churches
        It’s from there that we see what the victorious saints will inherit [Mounce, 285; Osborne, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 563]
        Tree of life (Rev. 2:7)
        Deliverance/protection from the second death (Rev. 2:11)
        Hidden manna (Rev. 2:17)
        Authority over the nations (Rev. 2:26)
        White garments (Rev. 3:5)
        The honor of becoming a pillar in the temple of God (Rev. 3:12)
        The honor/privilege of sitting with Christ on His throne (Rev. 3:21)
        Similarities between the Exodus from Egypt
        God had provided deliverance for the Israelites when they were being pursued by the Egyptian army
        They thought they were doomed when they were stuck between the Egyptians and the Red Sea
        Then God did the miraculous and parted the Red Sea allowing them to cross over on dry ground
        When the Egyptians entered the sea bed, God caused the waters to return to their place and completely destroy the Egyptian army
        As the Israelites stood by the Red Sea, safe and secure, they sang a song of deliverance
        They were no longer lamenting their misfortune of being trapped
        They had changed their tune
        When God delivers us, we should change our tune
        John not only sees the victorious saints standing by the “sea of glass,” he also notices that they are holding something
      - They were holding harps given to them by God
        We saw in Rev. 5:8 that the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders had harps
        Hand-held harps were common, and part of the worship in the temple
        The victors were accompanying themselves as they worshiped God
      - They were singing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb
        The song of Moses is recorded in Exodus 15:1-18 (read that passage)
        There is debate about whether or not there are two songs being referred to here or just one song
        If it is referring to two separate songs, both are songs of deliverance
        The song of Moses is a reminder of how God brought the Israelites out of bondage to the Egyptians
        The song of the Lamb is a reminder of how God brought humanity out of the bondage to sin
        They’re not in opposition to each other, but focus on the same theme (God’s mighty acts in saving His people, both OT and NT)
        Osborne only sees one song in view and therefore translates it, “the song of Moses, that is, the song about the Lamb.” [Osborne, 564]
        If we remember the final plague that caused Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, then we understand the connection between the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb
        The Israelites had to sacrifice a perfect lamb and spread the blood of that sacrifice on the doorposts of their homes
        This identifying factor protected them from the death of their firstborn son
        Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world
        He was the perfect sacrifice, once-for-all, to take away humanities sin and not just to cover it up
        What we see then in Revelation 15:3b-4 is the song that they are singing
        It is important to note that the victors are not singing about their triumph over the beast, rather they are singing “about the sovereignty, glory, justice, and righteousness of their Almighty God and King.” [Akin, Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Revelation, 253]
        The first two lines are a great example of Hebrew parallelism (the second line repeats the idea of the first line, but with different words)
        The first part is celebrating God’s works
        The second part celebrates God’s ways
        The Lord God, who is Almighty, is also King of the ages
        Next we see a rhetorical question
        Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? (Rev. 15:4)
        We see the same kind of question in the song of Moses, “Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you – majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” (Exodus 15:11)
        The obvious answer to the question is “no one!”
        Finally, we see three reasons for bringing glory to the Lord God Almighty, who is King of the ages
        The Lord alone is holy
        The Greek word used for “holy” means “perfect moral purity”
        The Lord is the only One who has perfect moral purity – there are no others
        All nations will worship before you
        This means that no one will be exempt from worshiping the Lord
        We will either do it voluntarily as His children or in recognition of who He is at the final judgment
        Philippians 2:9-11, Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
        Your righteous acts have been revealed
      - The victors are standing by the “sea of glass” and worshiping the Lord for who He is and what He has done
        PRINCIPLE – Our worship of God should focus on thanking Him for who He is and what He has done.
        When was the last time God delivered you?
        It’s easy to sing a song of lament/sadness/anger to God when we are struggling physically, emotionally, spiritually, or financially
        It’s also easy to forget to worship Him for what He has done after He has delivered you
        Did you change your tune after He delivered you?
        When God delivers us, we should change our tune
        Did you remember to thank Him for what He did?
        My Next Step Today Is To: Thank the Lord, through worship, for how He delivered me from a recent situation or circumstance that was difficult.
        When was the last time you thanked God for extending His grace and mercy to you in salvation?
        We see who God is through His gift of salvation for every person
        He is loving (Jn. 3:16a; Jer. 31:3)
        He is all-powerful, because He raised Jesus from the dead (1 Cor. 15:4)
        He is full of grace (Eph. 2:8-9)
        He is merciful (not getting what we do deserve)
        The list could go on and on
        We also see what God did to deal with our sin
        He made a way for us to have our sins completely removed
        He sent Jesus to die on a cross to take our punishment for sin
        He allowed Jesus to come alive again, so that one day we can be resurrected with Him
        He is preparing a place in heaven for those who have believed in Jesus Christ and received eternal life
        My Next Step Today Is To: Worship the Lord for who He is and what He has done, so that I could have eternal life.
        When was the last time you just worshiped God for who He is?
        Perhaps everything’s been going great in your life
        You haven’t been struggling physically, emotionally, spiritually, or financially
        In those times, we can and should worship God for who He is
        Adoration is simply acknowledging God’s many attributes (Triune, Love, Truth, Sovereign, Holy, Just, Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent, Eternal, Infinite, Immutable, Wisdom, Majestic, Good, Faithful, Merciful, etc.)
        My Next Step Today Is To: Worship the Lord through adoration (acknowledging His many attributes).
    - John sees one final thing in heaven, which brings us back to the seven angels he saw in verse 1
- Saucers (vv. 5-8)
  - - The temple was opened
      - John describes the temple as the tabernacle of the Testimony
        This description takes us back to the wilderness with the Israelites
        “The word for temple is naos rather than hieron. The former references the sacred things particularly, whereas the latter word covers the entire temple complex.” [Patterson, 302]
        So what is opened to John’s view is the holy of holies, which housed the ark of covenant that contained both copies of the Ten Commandments
        The Ten Commandments were also referred to as the Testimony
        Since God, the author of the Testimony, is in the heavenly temple, it can rightly be called the tabernacle of the Testimony
      - The seven angels with the seven plagues come out of the temple
        Perhaps John wrote verse 1 after seeing the whole scene played out, or while John’s focus is drawn to the victors singing by the “sea of glass” the seven angels enter the temple
        Either way, the seven angels are now coming out of the temple after being in the presence of God
        John’s description of their clothing simply lets us know that they are functioning in a priestly role with purity
        They are going to pour out the contents of God’s wrath on the inhabitants of the earth in a just way
      - One of the four living creatures gives each of the seven angels a golden bowl
        Each bowl is filled with the wrath of God, which will be characterized by the plagues that each of the seven angels already have in their hands
        The bowl was not a deep soup bowl like we would think about today, but rather a swallow bowl used for cooking liquids
        Osborne states that “these could be the golden saucers found on the table of showbread and used for sacred libations to God (Exod. 25:29; 27:3; 38:3) as were the censers in Rev. 5:8. By using these bowls, two points would be made: (1) the outpouring of judgment is a sacred offering to God, vindicating his name and bringing him glory; and (2) they come in response to the prayers of the saints (5:8, cf. 8:3-5).” [Osborne, 570]
      - The actual plagues and the pouring out of God’s wrath will be covered in Rev. 16, next week
    - The temple was filled with God’s glory
      - Once the seven angels came out of the temple, we see that God’s glory fills the temple in the form of smoke
      - God’s power is also described as smoke here
      - No one was able to enter the temple at this point
        This is not unusual – it is seen in other parts of Scripture also
        Exodus 40:34-35, Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
        1 Kings 8:10-11, When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple.
        I like how Keener expresses it, “the glory exceeded human ability to withstand.” [Keener, The NIV Application Commentary, Revelation, 387]
        This reminds us of Moses face after he had been in the presence of the Lord in the Tent of Meeting – his face shown so brightly that the Israelites asked him to cover his face until the shekinah glory would fade
      - My prayer, for us, is that we would experience the glory of God in this place – that His glory would come down and that we would radiate His glory on our faces to those in our community

YOU
- Have you changed your tune after God has delivered you?
- Have you thanked God for His salvation?
- Have you simply worshiped the Lord through acknowledging His many attributes?

- There is power in corporate worship
- We are connected to each other as we worship the Lord for who He is and what He has done for us
  - - He has allowed us to witness His increase through five salvations and four baptisms so far this year
    - We have experienced His supernatural provision for faith promise giving to the GROW capital campaign in the amount of $25,810, which allowed us to pay off the roof debt of $19,000
    - We have helped our community through benevolence and other ways

CONCLUSION

“We live in a music-driven era. My son must have the car radio cranked up full blast to his favorite radio station the instant the ignition is turned on. Wherever we turn, commercial jingles reach out for our pocketbooks. All of us have had the experience of not being able to get a silly pop tune out of our head; thus is the power of music. If advertisers know the power of melody and harmony, how much more important is music and singing when put into the worship of God?

What, you may ask, is the possible connection between my life today, the experiences of ancient Israelite multitudes singing beside the Red Sea, and the future singing of those beside the crystal sea in heaven after Christ’s return? The common thread is the desire to acknowledge the character and deeds of God Almighty through singing.

Far from being a pie-in-the-sky, floating-on-clouds, playing-harps=after-we-die chapter, this passage can encourage us to be people of worship and singing today. When we look back on ancient Israel and ahead to the victorious saints in heaven, we realize that we have the privilege of standing in the unbroken line of people who worship God with their music and singing.

God expressed his ineffable holiness through overwhelming smoke at the wilderness tabernacle. Just as surely we, too, may get a fresh glimpse of his holiness by visualizing the overwhelming smoke in the heavenly tabernacle that John saw in this chapter.”

[Easley, 275]

November 18, 2018/by Office

The Tale of Two Sickles

Jesus Unveiled Revelation Sunday Morning Stuart Johns Harvest, Judgement, Salvation

Jesus Unveiled

The Tale of Two Sickles

(Revelation 14:14-20)

INTRODUCTION

Miroslav Volf, a Christian theologian from Croatia, used to reject the concept of God's wrath. He thought that the idea of an angry God was barbaric, completely unworthy of a God of love. But then his country experienced a brutal war. People committed terrible atrocities against their neighbors and countrymen. The following reflections, from Volf's book Free of Charge, reveal his new understanding of the necessity of God's wrath:

My last resistance to the idea of God's wrath was a casualty of the war in the former Yugoslavia, the region from which I come. According to some estimates, 200,000 people were killed and over 3,000,000 were displaced. My villages and cities were destroyed, my people shelled day in and day out, some of them brutalized beyond imagination, and I could not imagine God not being angry.

Or think of Rwanda in the last decade of the past century, where 800,000 people were hacked to death in one hundred days! How did God react to the carnage? By doting on the perpetrators in a grandfatherly fashion? By refusing to condemn the bloodbath but instead affirming the perpetrators' basic goodness? Wasn't God fiercely angry with them?

Though I used to complain about the indecency of the idea of God's wrath, I came to think that I would have to rebel against a God who wasn't wrathful at the sight of the world's evil. God isn't wrathful in spite of being love. God is wrathful because God is love.

Miroslav Volf, Free of Charge (Zondervan, 2006), pp. 138-139

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2011/march/5032811.html]

BODY

ME
- Harvesting growing up
  - - When we lived in Greencastle, we had a fairly large garden
    - I remember snapping a lot of green beans, husking a lot of corn, and shelling a lot of peas
    - I only remember doing this one time, but we helped my Grandmother pick corn on her property
      - She had a special tool that I think was a twine knife (show picture)
      - It helped to cut the corn off the stock
      - I remember thinking it was pretty cool to have this special harvesting tool
    - I also remember my mother spending endless hours cutting corn off the cobb so she could freeze it
      - Judy will tell you that she doesn’t have to ask me twice about cutting corn off the cobb
      - I can’t explain why it brings me such joy to cut corn off the cobb, but it does
      - I do it the same way my mother used to do it (cutting towards my body)
    - We not only froze vegetables, we also canned fruit
- Picking cherries
  - - When we lived in Shippensburg my brother, cousin, and I picked cherries one summer for the local orchard
    - We lived in a development outside of Shippensburg that was surrounded by orchards
    - We walked through the orchard or rode our bikes to the place where the cherry trees were
    - We got paid by the bucket, so we worked hard and fast

WE
- Adams County
  - - Adams County is known for its orchards
    - We have the apple blossom festival and the apple harvest festival
    - Most everyone works or has worked for one of fruit growers or fruit manufacturing plants at some time in their life
    - (If you have worked or are currently working for the fruit growing or packaging industry, please stand)
- Personal gardens
  - - How many of you have a personal garden?
    - You understand what it takes to make a garden grow and then to harvest the produce from it
    - Harvesting isn’t the final step for most of us, because there is freezing and canning that come after that

We’ll see today in this passage (Rev. 14:14-20) that two separate harvests are being talked about, a grain harvest and a grape harvest. These two harvests are very different, but they both have God’s judgment in view. John wants us to understand that . . .

BIG IDEA – God’s judgment will be complete.

Let’s pray

GOD (Revelation 14:14-20)
- The Grain Harvest (vv. 14-16)
  - - Son of man sitting on a cloud with a sickle (v. 14)
      - John continues to look at the eschatological scene unfolding
      - He sees a white cloud in front of him
        The cloud is significant
        The background for the significance of the cloud is found in Daniel’s vision
        Daniel 7:13-14, “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
        The Psalmist also highlights the significance of clouds as it pertains to the presence of God/Jesus
        Psalm 104:3, He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind.
        Throughout Scripture we see God’s presence associated with clouds
        His presence with the Israelites, as they wandered through the wilderness, was in the form of a cloud during the day
        At Mount Sinai, God’s presence was indicated by a cloud that covered the top of the mountain
        When the Tent of Meeting was established and later when the Tabernacle was built, the people knew that God was with them because a cloud covered both of those places of worship
        When the cloud lifted, they knew it was time to move to the next location
        We also see Christ’s return associated with clouds
        Revelation 1:7, Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.
        Mark 13:26, “At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
        Mark 14:61b-62, Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” “I am,” said Jesus, “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
        Acts 1:9-11, After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
        The cloud is definitely representative of God’s presence, but the color of the cloud is also important
        The color of the cloud is significant also (white)
        This verse is the only time in Revelation that a cloud has a color associated with it
        Osborne explains clearly the importance of the color white, “Throughout the Apocalypse, the color ‘white’ signifies purity (as in the ‘white robe’ of 6:11; 7:9, 13), wisdom (the ‘white hair’ of the ‘one like a son of man’ in 1:14), glory (the ‘white throne’ of 4:4), and victory (the ‘white horse’ on which Christ and the heavenly army come in 19:11, 14; the ‘white garments’ they wear in 19:14).” [Osborne, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 550]
        So, we see that the color white represents purity, wisdom, glory, and victory
        All of those attributes are true of the person seated on the white cloud
      - There is a person seated on the cloud that looks like a son of man
        Most scholars agree that the one “like a son of man” is talking about Jesus
        This was Jesus’ favorite title for Himself throughout the Bible
        We saw Him use this title with the high priest in Mark 14:62
        John identifies two items that obviously caught his attention as he saw Jesus sitting on this white cloud
        Golden crown
        This is the victor’s crown (stephanos) and not the royal crown (diadema)
        Jesus will eventually wear multiple royal crowns as we’ll see in Rev. 19:12
        This is again reflecting the fact that Jesus won the victory when he died on the cross to take our punishment for sin
        He has the right to judge as the sovereign Lord
        Sharp sickle
        Jesus is holding a sharp sickle in His hand
        This simply means He’s ready to judge
      - As John is watching the scene unfold, he sees another angel come from the temple
    - Angel’s announcement (v. 15)
      - The temple is the heavenly temple where God’s presence is
      - He has a message for Jesus as Jesus sits on the white cloud
        Some commentators see this angel as giving a command to the one sitting on the white cloud, and say that it could not represent Jesus, because Jesus would never be commanded to do anything by an angel
        Yet, this angel has come from the presence of God and is acting as the messenger of God – he is simply relaying a command from God to Jesus
        Jesus taught about remaining watchful, because no one knows the day or hour when God will send Jesus back to earth for the second time
        Matthew 24:36, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
        Jesus then goes on to explain what it will be like when He is told come back to earth a second time
        John is seeing the future when God tells Jesus, through an angel, that it’s time to go
      - The angel gives Jesus the message from God
        “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”
        This is the hope of every follower of Jesus Christ
        In the same way that the Israelites longed for the Messiah to come, we as followers of Jesus Christ, long for His second coming
        We are hopeful that it will happen in our generation, just like the Israelites hoped that the Messiah would come in their generation
        While we still don’t know the day or the hour we wait with patient anticipation
      - PRINCIPLE – God’s timing is perfect!
        Whether we are still alive, when Jesus returns, or have passed away, we can know with confidence that God’s timing is perfect
        He is all-knowing, so He knows when the best time for Jesus to return will be
        His timing was perfect in sending Jesus the first time
        Galatians 4:4, But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
        Romans 5:6, 8, You see, at just the right time, when we were powerless, Christ died for the ungodly . . . But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
      - We see Jesus’ obedience to God’s command in verse 16
    - Harvesting of grain (v. 16)
      - Is this harvest God’s judgment of the ungodly or the righteous?
        Scholars are split on this matter
        Of the nine commentators used in preparation for this message it is almost split down the middle
        Half of them believe it is God’s judgment on the ungodly
        They reference the fact that we see the judgment of the ungodly right before and right after this section of Scripture
        Therefore, these two harvest scenes represent the judgement of the ungodly
        There is also a line of thinking that throughout Scripture the same scene is repeated as a way of drawing attention to the scene as a whole (the first time the scene is presented is more general and the second time it is presented in more detail)
        They use Joel 3:12-13 as evidence for this belief
        Joel 3:12-13, “Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side. Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow – so great is their wickedness!”
        The other half believe it is God’s judgment on the righteous
        We will all stand before God in judgment
        Here we see Jesus coming to gather/harvest His followers
        In the New Testament we see the imagery of harvesting representing people becoming a part of God’s kingdom (Matt. 9:37-38; Mark 4:29; Luke 10:2; John 4:35-38) [Mounce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 278]
        “Bauckham (1993b: 291-96) states that the harvest imagery likely goes back to 14:4 and picks up the idea of the 144,000 as ‘firstfruits’ of the great harvest to come.” [Osborne, 552]
        It’s interesting to note that this harvesting scene does not have any kind of separating of the ungodly from the righteous by way of threshing, winnowing, or throwing branches into a fire [Osborne, 552]
        We’ll see in the grape harvest scene that there is a final destruction of those who are harvested
        I’ve found that when the commentaries don’t agree we have to be cautious
        It is perhaps something God doesn’t intend for us to fully understand this side of heaven
        I lean towards the interpretation that this first harvest is the harvest of believers
        But here’s the principle that I believe we can all embrace and what God really wants for us to understand
        PRINCIPLE – God will judge the people of the earth.
        This will include both believers and unbelievers
        Read Matthew 13:24-30
        Read Matthew 13:36-43
        Both are harvested, the grain (believers) are stored up in the Lord’s barn and the weeds (unbelievers) are burned up in the fiery furnace of hell
      - The harvesting of the grain is complete when Jesus swings His sickle over the earth
      - God’s judgment will be complete
    - John continues to watch as some other angels appear
- The Grape Harvest (vv. 17-20)
  - - Side note
      - Easley brings out a fascinating contrast between literal grain and grape harvests that may be helpful with the two harvests of people on the earth
      - “In the world of the first century, the grape harvest, otherwise called the ‘vintage,’ was as distinct from the grain harvest as, say, Easter is from Thanksgiving. They occurred at two different times of year. The grain harvest was done by mid-June. Grapes were gathered in September and October.” [Easley, Holman New Testament Commentary, Revelation, 255]
      - John’s vision of these two harvest scenes seems to represent two separate groups being judged as we have identified already
      - The reference to two separate times of year in the literal harvest cycle probably does not play a part in the two harvest scenes here – perhaps the two harvest scenes happen one after the other (we are not given enough information in this passage to make a definitive decision)
    - Angel with a sickle (v. 17)
      - In John’s vision, another angel comes out of the temple in heaven with a sharp sickle in his hands
      - This angel will come directly from the presence of God
      - His role will be to harvest the grapes as God’s representative with God’s authority
    - Another angel’s announcement (v. 18)
      - Still another angel arrives on the scene, but this angel is one that we have probably seen before
      - This angel comes from the altar where he is in charge of the fire
        Revelation 8:3-5, Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
        It’s interesting to see how all of Revelation is fitting together
        There is certainly an element of God’s answer to the question of the saints under the altar as found in Revelation 6:10, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”
        So the angel, who is offering up the prayers of the saints under the altar together with incense, is now on the scene with a command for the angel who came out of the temple with a sickle
      - His command, in a loud voice, is for the angel with the sickle to harvest the grapes because they are ripe – it’s time!
      - This takes us back to the same principle shared in the first harvest scene – God’s timing is perfect
    - Harvesting of grapes (v. 19)
      - The angel with the sickle is obedient to God’s command as announced by the angel in charge of the fire at the altar
      - He swings his sickle on the earth and gathers its grapes
      - He deposits them in the great winepress of God’s wrath
        This is all a part of God requiring the inhabitants of the earth to drink the wine of His fury as we saw in Revelation 14:10
        A winepress in the 1st Century consisted of two vats/troughs, an upper and lower, made of stone or wood
        The upper vat/trough is where the harvested grapes were placed
        The lower vat/trough is where the juice was collected by way of a duct that connected the two vats/troughs
        There were people who trampled the grapes under their feet in the upper vat/trough
        Crushing the grapes was a vital part of extracting the juice
        “Treading grapes in a winepress was a familiar figure of divine wrath and judgment.” [Akin, Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Revelation, 247]
        God is the One who does this in Isaiah, Lamentations, and Joel (Old Testament)
        Isaiah 63:3-4, “I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood splattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing. For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redemption has come.
        Lamentations 1:15, “The Lord has rejected all the warriors in my midst; he has summoned an army against me to crush my young men. In his winepress the Lord has trampled the Virgin Daughter of Judah.
        Joel 3:13, Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow – so great is their wickedness!”
        Jesus is pictured as the One who will administer divine wrath in Revelation 19:15, Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.
      - The imagery of crushing unbelievers in God’s winepress helps us to understand the seriousness of His wrath, not tempered with His usual grace and mercy
    - Fate of grapes that are harvested (v. 20)
      - Two important images are related here as it pertains to unbelievers and their fate during the eschaton (end of times)
        God’s winepress is outside the city
        This only makes sense, because the vineyards were outside the city, so they built the winepresses close to the vineyards
        In this judgment scene there is more to it than just geographical convenience
        “To be executed ‘outside the gate’ is to be cut off from the covenant people. In Heb. 13:12 Jesus sacrificed himself by bearing our sins ‘outside the gate,’ while here the nations are judged ‘outside’ the holy city. This emphasis occurs also in Rev. 22:14-15, where the faithful ‘go through the gates in the city’ while sinners must remain ‘outside.’ Also, in 3:12 the ‘overcomers’ will ‘never go outside’ the ‘temple of God’ again, anticipating the final holy city of 21:9-27. Thus, the judgment of unbelievers ‘outside the city’ emphasizes their absolute rejection by God and is in contrast with the blessed state of the faithful.” [Osborne, 555]
        In our humanness we struggle to comprehend God’s wrath apart from His grace and mercy, and yet we have to understand that this is exactly how the inhabitants of the earth have treated God from generation to generation – they have rejected Him and pushed Him outside of the “city of their lives”
        So they are only experiencing the results of what they have done all their lives – this is what they have chosen
        What comes out of the winepress is not grape juice, but rather blood
        The final judgment of God for unbelievers is both a physical and spiritual death
        Here we see the gruesome result of millions of people who have chosen to reject God’s loving gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ
        What is pictured here is blood flowing or splattering as high as about four feet (the height of a horse’s bridle)
        It is flowing for 184 miles (1,600 stadia, the approximate length of Palestine from the Syrian border in the north to the Egyptian border in the south)
        This is not a literal river of blood that is four feet deep and 184 miles long, but rather hyperbole
        It is communicating the death of a massive number of people at the same time
        It is also foreshadowing the battle of Armageddon
        It is another reminder of the principle that God will judge the people of the earth
      - God’s judgment will be complete
        The two harvest scenes both mention the earth
        The harvest of the earth is ripe (Rev. 14:15)
        Grapes from the earth’s vine (Rev. 14:18)
        Take a moment and underline the word “earth” in this section of scripture (we see it used 5 times in the NIV)
        God’s judgment of believers and unbelievers will not miss anyone – everyone will be included in one of these two harvests

YOU
- Are you part of the grain harvest?
  - - Those who will be a part of the grain harvest are the ones who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ
    - Most of us would put ourselves in this category, which is great!
    - I want to encourage you to not make this just an individual thing
    - Jesus commanded us in Matthew 28:18-20 to make it an everybody thing (Pursue, Grow, and Multiply Disciples)
    - My Next Step Today Is To: Identify individuals who need to hear the Gospel and then pray for an opportunity to share my testimony with them.
    - They may be family members, fellow students, friends, neighbors, or coworkers
- Are you part of the grape harvest?
  - - You will be part of the grape harvest if you die in a state of rebellion against God or Jesus returns while you are in rebellion against God
    - It means that you never desired to have a personal relationship with Jesus, but rather decided to live life by your own standards
    - You never admitted to God that you are sinner, that you believed that Jesus died on the cross to take your punishment for sin, and that you wanted to be a part of God’s family
    - You can change from being part of the grape harvest to the grain harvest
      - Admit that you are a sinner (we all are, some have admitted it to God and others haven’t)
      - Believe that Jesus came to earth the first time to take your punishment for sin (He did this by willingly sacrificing Himself on the cross, being buried, and coming alive again in three days)
      - Choose to be a child of God
        John 1:12-13, Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
        It’s a choice only you can make individually
      - My Next Step Today Is To: Receive Jesus into my life and believe in His name, so I can be a child of God.

CONCLUSION

“The faithful Baptist preacher of London, Charles Spurgeon, understood the gravity of what it means to stand either with Jesus or against Jesus. He understood, as many do not, what was at stake. Bringing his own sermon from this chapter to a conclusion, he pled with conviction and passion in words I simply cannot ignore. I urge you to heed his warning and his counsel lest you are thrown into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

I beseech you, do not risk that doom for yourselves. Escape for your lives; look not behind you but fly to the only refuge which God has provided. Whoever will entrust his soul to Jesus Christ shall be eternally saved. Look unto him who wore the thorn-crown, and repose your soul’s entire confidence in Him, and then, in that last great day, you shall see Him seated on the white cloud, wearing the golden crown, and you shall be gathered. . . . But if you reject Him, do not think it wrong that you should be cast with the grapes into the winepress of the wrath of God, and be trodden with the rest of ‘the clusters of the vine of the earth.’ I beg you to take Christ as your Saviour, this very hour lest this night you should die unsaved. Lay hold of Jesus, lest you never hear another gospel invitation or warning. If I have seemed to speak terribly, God knoweth that I have done it out of love to your souls; and, believe me, that I do not speak as strongly as the truth might well permit me to do, for there is something far more terrible about the doom of the lost than language can ever express or thought conceive. God save all of you from ever suffering that doom, for Jesus Christ’s sake! Amen. (“Harvest”).” [Akin, 249]

November 11, 2018/by Office

The Just Judge

Jesus Unveiled Revelation Sunday Morning Stuart Johns Justice, Repentance, Rest

Jesus Unveiled

The Just Judge

(Revelation 14:6-13)

INTRODUCTION

Our culture today does not like to talk about the justice of God. They would rather talk about the love and mercy of God. They want to make them mutually exclusive, but they both are attributes of God and cannot be separated. They are both equally part of who God is.

Evangelists use the illustration of the person you are closest to (father, mother, spouse, etc.), being brutally attacked and killed. The person who killed your parent or spouse stands before a judge. He tells the judge that he has done a lot of good, until he killed the person. The judge agrees with the defendant and releases him. Would you consider the judge to be a good or bad judge? We would all agree that the judge would not be a good judge. God, however, is a good judge. He will rule justly with everyone, not based on how good they have been in their life, but based on whether or not they have turned from their rebellion against Him and accepted Jesus as their Savior from sin. He will judge them based on whether or not they have revered, glorified, and worshiped Him as the Creator of the world.

BODY

ME
- Works for salvation
  - - I know that I can easily fall into a works mentality about my salvation
    - I can become legalistic about my faith and the disciplines associated with it
    - I work hard to do what’s right and expect others to do the same things I do, to prove that they are saved
    - But, that’s not what Scripture teaches
- Works because of salvation
  - - When my attitude is right and my focus is on Jesus, then I work hard as a result of my salvation
    - I practice the various disciplines out of love for God instead of obligation
    - I don’t judge others if they aren’t doing the same things I’m doing with the same amount of enthusiasm or commitment
    - I work as unto the Lord, because He is the One I’m working for

WE
- Writing a paper in school
  - - We can write a school paper one of two ways
    - We can either do it how we think is best, or we can follow the rubric given to us by the teacher
    - If we do it the way we think is best and not how the teacher requires it to be done, then we’ll get a bad grade
    - We can argue with the teacher, but there was a standard that was expected from the beginning and was clearly communicated in the rubric
    - The paper may be very good (done the we way we think was best), but it doesn’t meet the standard
    - That is the same with salvation through faith in Jesus Christ
      - We may think that we have the best way to get to heaven and so we live our lives according to what we think is best
      - Yet, God has given us a standard and a way to spend eternity with Him in heaven
      - If we continue down the road of doing it the way we think is best, the result will be eternal separation from God
      - We have to follow His standard and way of salvation
- Standards at work
  - - There are standards that we have to follow at work in order to be successful
    - Just imagine for a moment that everyone did their job according to what they thought was best
      - What if everyone on the assembly line decided to go the speed that was best for them
      - There may be one guy who is really fast and constantly pushes product down the line
      - The next person in line decides that going a slower pace is what is best for him
      - We can already see what the results will be
      - It would be total chaos, because no one would be following a standard
    - The standard pace is set for the entire line and everyone has to comply with that pace

John sees three angels flying in midair, each one following the one before it. They each have a message for those on earth. All three messages are communicating the same thing . . .

BIG IDEA – God will be just in His treatment of all people.

Let’s pray

GOD (Revelation 14:6-13)
- Final chance (vv. 6-7)
  - - Another angel
      - The last time John saw an angel was in Revelation 11:15 (the seventh angel that sounded his trumpet)
      - There is no real significance to this angel being identified as another angel
      - This was perhaps another angel that John had not yet seen before
    - Flying in midair
      - This angel is flying in midair, which simply means that everyone will be able to see him
      - In verse 7 we read that he will speak with a loud voice, meaning that everyone will hear him
      - No one will be able to claim that they did not see or hear the message that this angel is bringing – no one will have an excuse
      - The message he’s bringing is for everyone on earth, which is communicated by the phrase, to every nation, tribe, language, and people
      - So, what is the message?
    - Eternal gospel
      - John writes that it is the eternal gospel
        The angel is not sharing the Gospel that we are familiar with, as found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures . . . He was buried and came alive again, according to the Scripture)
        Keener expresses correctly that there are two sides to the Gospel [Keener, The NIV Application Commentary, Revelation, 372]
        God restoring His people (Isa. 40:9; 41:27; 52:7; 61:1)
        God is announcing judgment on the enemies of His people (Nah. 1:15)
        Paul expresses these two sides in 2 Corinthians 2:14-16, But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?
      - What we see in verse 7 is the eternal gospel
        It is God’s judgment on those who have chosen not to repent and turn to Him
        The angel gives three imperative commands to all the people of the earth
        Fear God
        This is not to be afraid of God
        Because God is sovereign we should revere Him
        It is recognizing His sovereign power in our lives
        That’s what the people of the earth should be doing instead of revering the beast
        Give God glory
        His is the good and just Judge
        As such, we should pay Him respect and honor
        The people of the earth would have to honor Him instead of the dragon
        Worship God the Creator
        The people of the earth will worship the image of the beast, because the false prophet will perform miraculous signs and wonders
        Yet, God is the only One worthy of our worship, because He created the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the springs of water (in essence what John is saying here is, He created everything)
        “God has therefore revealed Himself both in Scripture (special revelation) and in nature (general revelation).” [Akin, Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Revelation, 243]
        We see this general revelation in Romans 1:18-20
        Romans 1:18-20, The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
        The reason for the three commands is that the hour of God’s judgment has come
        Next week we will see the harvest of the earth
        Then in chapter 15 we will learn about the seven angels with seven plagues
        In chapter 16 we see the seven bowls of God’s wrath
        It’s all coming to an end
        And yet we see an incredible principle here
      - PRINCIPLE – God provides opportunities for people to repent until the very end.
        We can rejoice in this fact as followers of Jesus Christ, as we pray for and share the Gospel with family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers (it’s not too late for them)
        This is also incredible news for those who have, and continue, to reject God’s plan of salvation
        It’s not too late for you!
        You haven’t done too many bad things
        Remember what we’ve learned about the inhabitants of the earth throughout the book of Revelation to this point
        The second seal unleashed the red horse and its rider who was given power to take peace from the earth and make men slay each other
        There are multiple references to followers of Jesus Christ who are martyred throughout the tribulation period at the hands of the inhabitants of the earth
        They are given to idolatry and sexual immorality and probably much more
        Those individuals are in view here, and God is offering them one final chance to repent and show their allegiance to Him through revering Him, giving Him glory as the good Judge, and worshiping Him as Creator
        The same is true for you today
        You have not done too many bad things that God will not accept you
        That’s a lie from Satan to keep you from being set free from the bondage of sin
        All humanity is born with a desire to go their own way and to reject God as their Lord and Savior (Rom. 3:23)
        Because God is holy and just, He has to punish our sin (Rom. 6:23)
        Notice that He doesn’t just tell us what the punishment is, but He also tells us how to deal with our sin problem
        Romans 3:25-26, God presented him (Jesus) as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished – he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
        Justification has been defined as “just as if I’ve never sinned.”
        Ephesians 2:8-9, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.
        Today is the day of salvation – don’t wait any longer
        You don’t have to clean up to come to God, because He is the One who will do the cleaning
        My Next Step Today Is To: Accept God’s free gift of salvation and eternal life by believing in Jesus by faith.
    - The first angel has shared his message with the people of the earth and now John sees a second angel following behind him
- Destruction and Judgment (vv. 8-11)
  - - The second angel’s message is one of destruction (v. 8)
      - Fallen! Fallen!
        The form of the verb in the Greek is pretty fascinating (aorist active indicative)
        It is not repeated by chance, but rather the repetition brings attention to the importance of the announcement
        “The aorist indicative in this case may be what is known as a futuristic or proleptic aorist, which views an action, while future, as so certain that one can speak of it as complete.” [Patterson, The New American Commentary, Revelation, 291]
        There is no doubt that this will take place – Babylon the Great will fall
        PRINCIPLE – God will defeat, once and for all, the idolatrous and adulterous systems of this world.
        What does Babylon represent in this text?
      - Babylon the Great
        First, let’s look back to what Babylon represented in its day
        Ancient Babylon was located in Mesopotamia, which is modern-day Iraq
        It was the seat of political, commercial, and religious life for the world at that time
        At its pinnacle it was “known for its decadence, gross immorality, and idolatry.” [Akin, 244]
        King Nebuchadnezzar was the epitome of the attitude and arrogance of the Babylonia Empire
        Daniel 4:30, he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?
        God’s punishment of Nebuchadnezzar was immediate (he was stripped of his royal authority and sent to live with wild animals)
        In the first century, the Jews saw Rome as a modern Babylon, because it too had a system that opposed God in all areas of life (politically, economically, and religiously)
        “It is a symbol of the spirit of godlessness that in every age lures people away from the worship of the Creator.” [Mounce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 271]
        It is evident in our culture today
        There is a push to remove prayer and the Bible from every public arena
        The Biblical account of how God created the world has been under attack for years (society would rather settle for the theory of evolution instead of the facts about creation)
        Our culture wants to live by moral relativism (what’s right for me is right for me and what’s right for you is right for you) instead of moral absolutes, until something heinous happens that pricks the moral conscience that God has placed in every human being (that’s when they say, “that’s wrong!”)
        Understanding that Babylon represents a system of godlessness, helps with the final phrase in verse 8
      - Drinking the wine of her adulteries
        Drinking represents participation in and/or agreement with something
        In this text it is participation in and agreement with the lifestyle of godlessness
        That is what the people of the earth will be doing – they will be participating in the political, economic, and religious systems that the antichrist will establish
        That whole system will be in opposition to God, yet people will be drawn to it and willingly participate in it
      - We’ll spend more time on Babylon the Great in chapter 17, but for now John sees a third angel following behind the second one
    - The third angel’s message is pronouncing judgment on those who have rejected God and have chosen to follow the beast (vv. 9-11)
      - The angel identifies who he is pronouncing judgment on (v. 9)
        It is the people of the earth who have done two things
        They have worshiped the beast and his image
        They have received the beast’s mark on their forehead or hand
      - Another wine to drink (v. 10a)
        We see here a contrast of two wines
        The second angel was acknowledging that the people of the earth had enjoyed drinking deeply of the wine of the beast’s adulteries (they will enjoy this cup of wine)
        But, they will also be required to drink the wine of God’s fury
        Throughout Scripture we see God’s cup as representing His judgment temporarily on His people and against the wicked nations [Keener, 374]
        This wine will be poured out in full strength
        The literal translation of this phrase from the Greek is “mixed unmixed into the cup.”
        To understand the mixed portion of this text we have to look at Psalm 75:8, In the hand of the Lord is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs.
        So, the mixed part is the addition of spices
        Perhaps the spices, added to the wine, made the flavor stronger
        The unmixed portion of the literal translation is much easier to understand and apply
        It was a common practice in the ancient world to dilute wine with water
        The proportions were at least one-to-one, but could be as much as two to three parts water to wine
        The only time that wine was consumed undiluted was if the person wanted to get drunk – they wanted the full strength of the wine coursing through their veins
        For God to require the people of the earth to drink the wine of His fury at full strength, means that He will not temper His fury with the usual grace and mercy He is known for
        The final judgment has come
        What we see next is what God’s fury will look like on those who have worshiped the beast and taken his mark
      - Results of drinking the wine of God’s fury (vv. 10b-11a)
        Tormented with burning sulfur
        What the angel communicates here is the reality of hell – a place of constant, ongoing, neverending torment
        Hell is for real!
        Easley explains what the torment may be like, “When sulfur burns, it produces sulfur dioxide, a gas that burns eyes and lungs.” [Easley, Holman New Testament Commentary, Revelation, 251]
        Imagine having your eyes and lungs burning all the time
        God used burning sulfur to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:24-25)
        Jesus spoke about hell as a place of fire that never ends and cannot be extinguished
        Matthew 18:8, If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.
        Mark 9:43, If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.
        Matthew 25:41, “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
        Their torment with burning sulphur will be in the presence of God’s angels and Jesus Christ
        It seems as though they will understand, at this point, who the God, they rejected, is
        Jesus taught about a rich man who had a beggar named Lazarus that sat at the gate of his house (Luke 16:19-31)
        Both men die
        Lazarus was taken to heaven, but the rich man was taken to hell, where he was tormented
        When he saw Lazarus with Abraham, he asked if Lazarus could dip his finger in some water and put it on his tongue to cool it
        A great chasm divided them and prevented Lazarus from helping the rich man
        He was aware of heaven and those living there and that he had rejected God
        This is not a short term tormenting that is taking place, but it will never stop, which is expressed in the idea of the smoke of their torment rising for ever and ever
        There is one more result of drinking the wine of God’s fury
        No rest day or night (v. 11b)
        They will not find rest day or night
        It doesn’t take many sleepless nights for us to understand this idea
        Mothers and sometimes fathers understand this when there is a newborn baby in the house (there can be multiple sleepless nights until the baby gets into a routine)
        Pet owners also understand this, especially when they are training a new puppy (again there can be sleepless nights until the puppy gets into a routine)
        Imagine for a moment what it would be like to never get rest again – that will be the eternal status of those who worship the beast and his image and receive the mark of his name
    - PRINCIPLE – God will punish those who refuse to repent and turn to Him.
      - Sometimes that’s hard for us to understand when we see ungodly people getting ahead
      - Remember, they are embracing the world system completely
      - We’re not the only ones who are wondering when God is going to judge the ungodly
      - The saints under the altar in Rev. 6:9-11 were asking the Lord when He was going to judge the inhabitants of the earth
      - It is going to happen, but we have to be patient
    - That’s the encouragement the third angel is giving the believers
- Encouragement for believers (vv. 12-13)
  - - It requires the saints to be patient
      - Those who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus will have to be patient as they endure persecution by the godless people on the earth
      - They will have to wait for God’s just judgment
      - The same is true for us today
        We have to have an eternal perspective, while living in the present culture
        We may not understand God’s timing, but we can trust that it’s perfect
        He will judge the ungodly
      - He will also judge the godly
      - God will be just in His treatment of all people.
      - We see the justice of God for His people in the final verse this morning – verse 13
    - Eternal rest
      - John hears a voice from heaven telling him to write down what is being said
        While it is not stated directly, most scholars believe this is the voice of God, because the Spirit agrees with Him
        The message is clear – those who die in the Lord will be blessed
        From now on, would be from the time of John’s writing until the final consummation
        That includes everyone who has remained faithful to Jesus, but has already passed away
        It will include those who are martyred during the end times
        The blessing comes in the fact that they are now with the Lord and no longer suffering persecution and hardship on earth
        This is the second of seven beatitudes in Revelation
      - Contrast with the ungodly
        While the unbelievers torment will include no rest, the saints will experience eternal rest
        Labor is talking about “diligent and difficult work.” [Patterson, 294]
        That’s what will be required of the saints as they patiently endure persecution – they will have to work diligently through the difficulties
    - God will recognize that these believers were faithful, obedient, and patiently endured
      - That is there reward – their deeds will follow them
      - “There deeds follow them in the sense that there can be no separation between what a person is and what that person does.” [Mounce, 277]
    - PRINCIPLE – God promises to recognize and give rest to His people who endure and are obedient and faithful.
      - This is an incredible promise that we can claim today
        It requires us to patiently endure persecution and hardship
        It requires us to be obedient to God’s commandments
        It requires us to remain faithful to Jesus Christ
      - My Next Step Today Is To: By God’s grace, patiently endure, be obedient to His commandments, and remain faithful to Jesus Christ.

CONCLUSION

In his most recent book What Good Is God?, Philip Yancey writes:

This is a true story from Afghanistan that took place in the early 1970s, before the Russian occupation or the Taliban regime. At the time, the government allowed a small Christian church to service internationals who worked there, though no Afghans could attend.

A friend of mine named Len organized a musical team of young people to tour countries in the Middle East. With some trepidation, he also accepted an invitation to extend the trip to Afghanistan for a concert in downtown Kabul. Len made the teenagers write out exactly what they would say, subject to his approval. "This is a strict Muslim government," he warned them. "If you say the wrong thing, you could end up in prison and at the same time jeopardize every Christian who lives in this country. Memorize these words and don't dare stray from them when you perform." The teenagers listened wide-eyed as he described the ominous consequence of a slight misstep ….

The night of the official concert in Kabul, almost a thousand Afghans filled the hall and spilled outside the open doors to listen. All went well until one teenager on the team put down his guitar and started improvising: "I'd like to tell you about my best friend, a man named Jesus, and the difference he has made in my life." From the side of the stage, Len motioned wildly for him to stop, drawing his finger across his neck. Ignoring him, the teenager proceeded to give a detailed account of how God had transformed his life.

"I was practically beside myself," Len told me. "I knew the consequences, and I sat with my head in my hands waiting for the sword to drop. Instead, the most amazing thing happened. The Minister of Cultural Affairs for Afghanistan stood and walked to the stage to respond.

"'We have seen many American young people come through this country,' he said. 'Most of them come for drugs, and most look like hippies. We have not seen nor heard from young people like you. God's love is a message my country needs. How thrilled I am to hear you! You are a prototype for the youth of Afghanistan to follow in the future. I would like to invite you to expand your tour so that you visit every college and faculty and also give this same message on Kabul Radio. I will make it happen.'"

Len was dumbfounded. That night he gathered the musical group together. "Did you hear what the man said? We're changing our tickets, of course, to lengthen our visit. And he wants you to give this same message— you'd better not change a word!"

Over the next few days, the musical team held other performances. After each event Afghan young people crowded around with questions. Tell me more about this Jesus—we know of him through the Qur'an. You speak of a personal relationship with God. Can you describe it? How does your faith change you? Some asked to pray with the teenagers. Nothing like it had ever happened in Afghanistan.

On the last day, after a triumphant tour, the teenagers met J. Christy Wilson, a revered figure in Afghanistan. Born of missionary parents in Iran, he … [had] spent 22 years in Afghanistan, serving as principal of a government high school and teaching English to the Crown Prince and Afghan diplomats. He also led the Community Christian Church and founded the School for the Blind in Kabul.

Wilson drove the teenagers to an unusual tourist site, the only cemetery in Afghanistan where "infidels" could be buried. He walked to the first, ancient gravestone, pitted with age. "This man worked here 30 years and translated the Bible into the Afghan language," he said. "Not a single convert. And in this grave next to him lies the man who replaced him, along with his children who died here. He toiled for 25 years, and baptized the first Afghan Christian." As they strolled among the gravestones, he recounted the stories of early missionaries and their fates.

At the end of the row he stopped, turned, and looked the teenagers straight in the eye. "For 30 years, one man moved rocks. That's all he did, move rocks. Then came his replacement, who did nothing but dig furrows. There came another who planted seeds, and another who watered. And now you kids—you kids—are bringing in the harvest."

"It was one of the great moments of my life," Len recalls. "I watched their faces as it suddenly dawned on these exuberant American teenagers that the amazing spiritual awakening they had witnessed was but the last step in a long line of faithful service stretching back over many decades."

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2011/january/5012411.html]

November 4, 2018/by Office

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