"The Time is Near"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 1
Texts: Revelation 1:1-3; Daniel 12:1-13
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I. No book of the Bible has captured people's imaginations-both positively and negatively-as has the Book of Revelation. From frightening depictions of the white horse and its rider administering divine wrath upon the nations of the earth, to the image of a multi-headed dragon who persecutes the church, to an evil beast who wages war upon the saints, to the seductress who dwells in the great city and who has prostituted herself with the merchants of the world, to John's description of Jesus in his post-ascension glory, the Book of Revelation stirs us like no other book of the Bible. Some find these scenes frightening. Some find them confusing and, sadly, avoid the book altogether. Far too many have seen this book as a springboard to fanciful and wild speculation. Despite such a dubious reputation, Revelation is a comforting and pastoral book, and there is much here for the people of God, especially in a time of uncertainty such as our own.
This morning we begin a new series on the Book of Revelation. When I begin to preach through a book of the Bible, I like to jump right in and get started. But that's not possible with a book like Revelation. There is so much confusion about the way in which this book is to be interpreted that in order to avoid adding to that confusion, we will spend a fair bit of time on background material this morning, before we tackle the first three verses of the book, known as the prologue. Even John Calvin, the father of the modern science of biblical studies, is often quoted as saying that he did not write a commentary on Revelation because he did not think he understood it well enough to comment in detail. It is a shame that more commentators did not follow Calvin's wise decision!
That being said, this is one book of the Bible where recent studies in first century literature can give us a great deal of help in understanding the nature of this book and the meaning of the symbols found throughout. We really do know a great deal more about apocalyptic literature now than we did even thirty years ago. This explains why it is that so many outstanding commentaries and studies on Revelation have been published of late. Whereas twenty years ago, Reformed pastors had but one trustworthy commentary on Revelation (William Hendricksen's venerable, More Than Conquerors) there are now at least five major commentaries or studies ranging from basic guides for the first time reader, to exhaustive studies numbering a thousand pages or more. I will be providing bibliographical information as we go along (see bibliography). It is my prayer that whatever uncertainty and apprehension you may have about studying this book will give way to a confident sense of understanding.
Simply put, Revelation is a book about Jesus Christ's victory over Satan and all his allies, as John describes the redemptive drama on earth from a heavenly perspective. (1)
According to the best internal and external evidence, the Book of Revelation was written by John, the apostle and the author of our gospel and three epistles, during his captivity on the Island of Patmos some time in the mid-nineties of the first century. (2) Revelation is the last book to be written which is included in the canon of the New Testament. This means that in many ways, Revelation is the most practical book of the entire New Testament since it is specifically written to Christians who live in the post-apostolic age. This means that the symbols and visions we find here are meant for us. Therefore, we must make every effort to interpret them correctly and apply them to our present context.
When we worked our way through the Book of Exodus in our previous series and studied Israel's journey through the wilderness, it was easy to think, "well, this is interesting, but how does it impact my life?" But when John uses symbols throughout the Book of Revelation drawn directly from the Exodus account, he now applies them directly to Christ's church. As members of that church, we are the people wandering through the wilderness, sustained by the living bread from heaven, fully dependant upon the living water to quench our thirst, while always living under the constant threat of attack from God's enemies. Nevertheless, we have the certain knowledge that God will fulfill all of his covenant promises made to his people. Nothing that Satan can do will ever stay God's mighty hand. As we will soon see, the symbols and images in Revelation describe a conflict in which God calls us to participate as combatants. This is why we must make every effort to understand these symbols correctly, and lift the veil of mystery which continues to shroud this great book.
The Apocalypse of John, as it is known, contains a combination of literary forms. First, Revelation is a letter (an epistle), written by John and sent to the seven churches scattered throughout Asia Minor and which are mentioned by name in chapters 2-3. But this book is certainly not your ordinary letter! Even though Revelation takes the literary form of an epistle, the content of this letter is what is known as "apocalyptic," a literary form utilizing visions and highly symbolic language to depict the cosmic struggle between God and Satan. (3) In apocalyptic literature the symbols are never intended to be taken literally-a mistake that far too many interpreters of this book have made. Instead, they are to be interpreted through the lens of both the Old Testament and John's own age (the later years of the first century) and historical situation (the increasing persecution of the church in Asia Minor).
John writes against backdrop of the Roman empire with its imperial cult-emperor worship-and with Rome's massive military and political influence upon all aspects of life always lurking in the background. The evil visage of the emperor Nero is inescapable in the Book of Revelation. Nero, who lived in the 60's, was at first ambivalent towards Christianity, but later unleashed a savage attack upon the church, burning Christians as human torches in his private garden, feeding them to lions and wild beasts in the Coliseum, as well as putting to death both Paul and Peter. For John, Nero Caesar is evil incarnate, the historical reference point for all of those enemies of Christ who come after him.
But the primary key to interpreting the symbols in Revelation correctly, is the Old Testament. The Book of Revelation is very much like the prophecies of Daniel, Ezekiel, and Zechariah, which also make use of similar apocalyptic symbols. Most of those who heard the Book of Revelation when it was read in the churches to whom it was addressed, were probably able to immediately connect the symbols and images John uses to those Old Testament passages from which they are drawn. But since we are two thousand years removed form the original context, and not Jews steeped in the Torah and Jewish apocalyptic writings, we will have to do some work to keep such a background in mind. This means that in many ways the Book of Revelation is a divinely-inspired commentary on those Old Testament themes which were not completely fulfilled by the first Advent of Jesus Christ. To interpret this book correctly, then, we will look to the Old Testament find the meaning of the symbols used by John. It is John who explains to us what the Old Testament prophets meant in the greater light of the coming of Jesus Christ and the messianic age.
Therefore, as we try and interpret these symbols drawn from the Old Testament, let us not make the mistake of seeing the conflict they depict as a struggle between good and evil as though these were two equal poles fighting for supremacy. No, Satan struggles against the kingdom of God throughout the Book of Revelation as an already defeated foe (cf. Colossians 2;13-15). The final outcome is never in doubt. In fact, since Revelation was written after the first coming of Christ and the inauguration of his messianic kingdom, we must understand that John's vision presupposes that Satan's head was already crushed by Christ at Calvary and that Satan's final defeat is rendered certain by Christ's resurrection from the dead.
But make no mistake about it, the images of conflict which are depicted through the lens of apocalyptic symbols and images are that of a real conflict in which the people of God will suffer greatly at the hands of the devil. Having been defeated by Christ's cross and empty tomb, Satan is portrayed as a wounded animal, certain to die, but utterly vicious and irrational in his anger before the end finally comes. Satan wages war upon the saints, but he cannot defeat them. When he kills them, they come to life and reign with Christ. Indeed, this is a conflict in which the final outcome is never, never, in doubt. If you take nothing else from this series, take this with you: God wins decisively in the end.
The Book of Revelation is not only a letter filled with apocalyptic visions, it also contains predictive prophecy in which certain future events are foretold well in advance. Yet, while there are some elements of predictive prophecy in this great book, it is wrong to look at Revelation as though it were simply "history before it is written," as some have described it. To do this is to confuse John with Nostradamus. John is not writing this letter to tell us about the minute details of future events. Rather, John is writing to tell us about Jesus Christ's ultimate triumph over sin and death as the final chapters of redemptive history draw to a close. Therefore, we should view the prophetic elements of Revelation in service of redemptive history, and not just as sensational information given to titillate the curious.
There are four major approaches to interpreting the Book of Revelation. (4) The one with which most of you are familiar is the futurist view, which holds that much of what is written here remains yet to be fulfilled in the days immediately before our Lord's return. This explains why it is that people who hold this view (like Hal Lindsey, and Tim LaHaye) spend so much of their time and energy trying to tie the symbols in the Book of Revelation to current events. As many of you know, many evangelical churches and ministries devote themselves to explaining every tragedy and political crisis directly from the pages of Revelation. But if you are expecting me to do the same you'll be very disappointed. I am not going to identify the Antichrist, predict the date of our Lord's return, or explain the roles of America and Israel in biblical prophecy. Instead, I will be talking about what John talks about: Jesus Christ's certain victory over all of his enemies.
Another view-which is gaining acceptance among Reformed Christians-is preterism. This view holds that Revelation was written before the destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70, and that much of what we find in the Book of Revelation has been fulfilled when the Roman army sacked Jerusalem in A. D. 70, destroying the temple and dispersing surviving Jews throughout the Mediterranean world. Preterists make the opposite error as do the futurists. Instead of treating this book as though it deals with future events, preterists treat Revelation as though it is largely historical, and that everything written here has already taken place, with the possible exception of Christ's second coming and the resurrection, a view taken by so-called partial preterists like R. C. Sproul and Ken Gentry. (5) This is very problematic because it reduces Revelation to a mere historical record, robbing the book of its apocalyptic character and its stress upon Christ's final and eschatological victory when he returns in judgment to raise the dead and make all things new on the "last day."
A third view is one which has been widely held by historic Protestants and is known as historicism. Though few still hold it today, this view sees the book of Revelation as a kind of historical map which plots the history of Christ's church from the apostolic age unto the time of the Reformation. Proponents of this view usually identify the Harlot of Babylon in Revelation 18 with the papacy and the Roman church, a view which has been elevated to confessional status by the Westminster Confession. Although the papacy may indeed be a part of the anti-Christian opposition to the preaching of the Gospel, this view does not comport well with the nature of apocalyptic literature, which depicts not specific events, but general patterns of a re-occurring conflict between Christ and Satan which culminates in a final eschatological battle.
A fourth view is called idealism, a modified form of which I will be presenting throughout this series. This view emphasizes the apocalyptic nature of the book, and understands the various visions throughout Revelation as depictions of the struggle which takes place during the entire period of time between the first and the second coming of Jesus Christ. Each vision is describing the same period of time but from a different perspective or vantage point, each vision with a different theological theme or emphasis. As Dennis Johnson from Westminster Seminary puts it, each of these visions is like looking at the same scene from a different camera angle. (6) This means that we must not see Revelation as depicting strictly future or historical events, nor does Revelation exhaustively map out the history of the church age. Instead, we must see the visions and symbols in them as pictures of the on-going struggle between Christ and Satan and his agents, the beast and the dragon, a struggle which Christ will inevitably win on behalf of his people. This is the way apocalyptic literature works.
III. With this background material out of the way, let us now turn to our text this morning, Revelation chapter 1, beginning at verse 1.
The opening words of this letter contain a general summary of the whole book as well as identifying the nature of what follows: "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John." This declaration can be taken two ways. Either this book reveals Jesus Christ as the main character, or else Jesus Christ is the source of all that is about to be revealed to John through the angel. (7) In a sense, both of these are true because the revelation itself is from Jesus Christ as well as being about Jesus Christ. The Book of Revelation is certainly one of the most Christ-centered in the New Testament.
But the primary sense of this declaration is that although this revelation concerns Jesus Christ, it comes from God through the means of an angel, and is, in turn, given through the pen of John, "the servant of the Lord." He is the one through whom Jesus Christ is revealed in the vision and symbols which follow.
Notice too, that this revelation of Jesus Christ concerns things which "must soon take place." This assertion creates a serious problem for futurists since it means that what John is about to reveal will concern the entire church age-these are things which must soon take place-not just events located at the end of the church age as Bible prophecy pundits often insist. That John is speaking of the entire church age in the Book of Revelation is reinforced by several other important passages in the New Testament. For one thing, in the Pentecost sermon, Peter declares that the last days were already at hand just fifty days after Christ's resurrection because of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 2:17). The author of Hebrews likewise states that the coming of Christ means that Christians in the first century were already living in the last days (Hebrews 1:2). This means that the entire period of time between the first and second coming of Jesus Christ-"this present evil age," as Paul puts it in Galatians 1:4-are also the "last days."
Therefore, the argument we hear from so many, that "the last days" are limited to a period of time immediately before the Second Coming of Jesus, is simply unfounded when we look at the teaching of the whole of the New Testament. In fact, when Jesus Christ took on human flesh, lived a perfect life, died upon a cross, rose again from the dead and ascended into heaven, human history entered its final phase. While the duration of this period of time-the "last days"-is never revealed to us, it is certain that the last days began with the first coming of Jesus Christ and will end at his second (Hebrews 1:2; Matthew 13:39). Throughout his messianic ministry, Jesus warns us not to pre-occupy ourselves with the date of his return, but instead to keep watch, eagerly anticipating his coming (cf. Matthew 25:1-30). Therefore, what John is about to reveal are things which are soon to take place, things which concern the final age of human history, an age which ends when Jesus Christ returns in great glory, to judge the world, raise the dead and make all things new.
In fact, when John speaks of the "apocalypsis" (Revelation) of Jesus Christ, he very likely has in mind that what is about to be revealed is directly connected to earlier revelation about the last days in the Old Testament, especially that found throughout the Book of Daniel. (8) In his prophecy, Daniel repeatedly speaks of "the last days" in connection to the rise of great empires and the coming of the Son of Man. When John says that the things he will reveal must soon take place, he has in mind those things Daniel foretold, which were already coming to pass when John reveals his apocalyptic vision. Indeed, there is a direct connection made throughout the New Testament between the first advent of Jesus Christ, the dawn of the messianic age, and "the last days," because these things fulfil the expectations of Israel's prophets regarding the end of the age. John will reveal in the light of the coming of Jesus Christ, those things Daniel could reveal only through the types and shadows of the pre-messianic era.
This connection between the apostle John and the prophet Daniel can be seen in our Old Testament lesson this morning. As Daniel's prophecy came to a close, Daniel is told that his own prophecy is being sealed until a later time. In Daniel 12, we find this declaration: "At that time," that is, at the end of the age, "Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise." Michael is the name of the valiant angelic warrior of the Jesus Christ. At the end, "there will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people--everyone whose name is found written in the book--will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever."
Daniel is not only speaking of the end of the age and the bodily resurrection which accompanies the return of Jesus Christ, he also speaks of a time of unprecedented tribulation which precedes these events. This is the so-called "great tribulation" which Daniel connects to the resurrection, but which John reveals to be that entire period of time between the first and second comings of Jesus Christ (cf.. Revelation 7:14) While Daniel speaks in general terms of a horrible distress, John will describe the nature of this great tribulation through a series of visions and apocalyptic symbols. As we will see, it is the dragon, the beast and the harlot who bring about the distress of which Daniel foretold. John's vision describes Satan's final struggle before he is crushed by Jesus Christ and hurled into the lake of fire on that great and glorious day when our Lord returns with the hosts of heaven to destroy all of his enemies with a final judgment. Indeed, the last enemy to be destroyed is death, which explains why Daniel connects this to the resurrection.
It is what follows which connects John's vision directly to Daniel's prophecy. In Daniel 12:4, Daniel writes, "But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge." That prophecy which Daniel was ordered to seal up until the end, is now unsealed-after what appears to be a reference to the general advance of civilization-and revealed by the angel to John. The Lord himself says to Daniel in verses 9-10 of his prophecy: "Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end. Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand." Not only will Daniel's prophecy be sealed until the time of the end when Christ comes to fulfill all righteousness and lay down his life for his own, but these things will be intelligible only when viewed through the eyes of faith. As Jesus said, the course of this age will be very much like the days of Noah. People will go about their business all the while scoffing at the gospel. But a sure and certain judgment will come upon the world when people least expect it (cf. Matthew 24:36-42). It was also Jesus who said that unless God grants us understanding of these things, they will remain a mystery. Daniel foretold of this but his vision was sealed. John now unveils that which was sealed.
In verses 2-3, John moves on from speaking of the content and the manner of this revelation of Jesus, to his own trustworthiness as a reporter of the things he has seen in this vision. It is John, the servant of the Lord, who "testifies to everything he saw--that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ." And it is John's reader who will be blessed by receiving this book's testimony of Jesus Christ, which is the word of God. Says John: "Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near."
As we have seen throughout our earlier series on redemptive history, the entire redemptive drama unfolds against the backdrop of a covenant of works, and the works-principle of blessing for obedience and curse for disobedience. With the time of distress being at hand, John now pronounces a blessing upon all who read the words of this prophecy-for these words are the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. The blessing extends to those who hear these words and who take them to heart, because the time is near. Since Revelation was a circular letter intended to be read aloud in the seven churches to which it is addressed, John may mean "hearing" here in the ordinary sense of "hearing" this letter as it is read aloud. But given the stress upon taking what is heard to heart, "hearing" is probably used in the sense of hearing not merely as listening to the words, but truly believing what was heard and taking comfort from the testimony of Jesus Christ which is being revealed. If we believe what we hear and take it to heart, there is a great blessing in this book for Christ's church.
This is the first of seven "beatitudes," or "blessings" found in this prophecy. Numbers used in Revelation are never accidental or coincidental. They are symbols which point to something else. Throughout the Scriptures, seven is the number of completeness or perfection. (9) The seven blessings in Revelation are connected to believing and hearing in chapter 1, to being faithful unto death in chapter 14, to being ready for the Lord's coming (chapter 16), to receiving rest from our labors (chapter 14), to responding to the invitation to the marriage supper (chapter 19), to participating in the first resurrection in chapter 20, to finally being granted the right to eat from tree of life and enter the new Jerusalem in Revelation 22. Therefore, anyone who hears these words of this prophecy and responds in faith to all seven of these promised blessings of God, will have the reward of eternal life and victory over death, rest from our labors, and will dwell in the city of God. In other words, they will receive their seven-fold inheritance that is ours in Christ (completeness), and obtain every blessing that God has for his people (perfection).
As we hear John's words in the Book of Revelation throughout this series, let us continue to respond to the Savior whose testimony they reveal to us, by taking every word to heart. For God promises us a great blessing if we do so. In this book, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, we have the sure and certain testimony of that one who gave himself for us and who conquered death and the grave so that we may ever be victorious. That same Jesus whose testimony is given in this vision, will indeed bless all those who hear these words and take them to heart.
As we read in Revelation 22:12-13, 20: "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon."
Beloved, in the name of Jesus Christ, take
these wonderful words to heart, for the time is near. Amen!
1. Bauckham, The Theology of the Book of
Revelation, p. 7.
2. A comprehensive discussion of this can be
found in Beale, The Book of Revelation, pp. 4-36.
3. See the discussions of this in: Bauckham, The
Climax of Prophecy and Beale, The Book of Revelation, pp 50-69.
4. These are summarized in Beale, The Book
of Revelation, pp. 44-49.
5. See R. C. Sproul, The Last Days
According to Jesus (Baker); Ken Gentry, The Beast of Revelation
(ICE).
6. See Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb.
7. Poythress, The Returning King, p.
69.
8. Beale, Book of Revelation, pp. 181
ff.
9. Bauckham, The Climax of Prophecy, p. 30.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:36:11 CST
"The Alpha and the Omega"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 2
Texts: Revelation 1:4-20; Daniel 7:13-14
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I. Throughout his messianic ministry we see Jesus in his state of humiliation. In the four gospels Jesus is revealed as the son of God whose true and eternal glory is hidden by a veil of human flesh. In the gospels Jesus hungers. He thirsts. Jesus suffers. And he bleeds. When our Lord died upon the cross, we see him in his most humble estate, torn and bloody, bearing the wrath of God toward our sins in his own flesh. But the gospels do not end with the cross and Jesus' humiliation. The gospels end with the account of the resurrection, the empty tomb and Christ's glorious exaltation. The Christ we meet this morning in the Book of Revelation is not the carpenter's son. Nor is he the humble and suffering Christ. The Christ we meet in the Book of Revelation is the exalted Christ, the Risen and Exalted one who is Lord of his church, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
As we continue our series on the Book of Revelation we move from introductory matters to the material in the first chapter of John's vision. As I mentioned last time when we surveyed the way in which this book has been interpreted, it is sad that so many Christians avoid Revelation because of its difficult and mysterious nature. It is even sadder, perhaps, that so many use this book as a springboard for speculation about the Bible's relationship to current events.
Revelation is not a guide for interpreting the evening news. Instead, Revelation depicts Jesus Christ's victory over all his enemies as the final chapters of redemptive history draw to a close. Therefore, we should not be afraid of this book. Nor should we handle it irresponsibly by attempting to connect it to recent headlines, as though John predicted every war, earthquake and global crisis which could possibly befall the human race. John does not do this.
What John does do is describe the on-going struggle between Christ and Satan until our Lord returns to judge the world, raise the dead and make all things new. While John may not predict specific future events in exacting detail, he does provide us with a theological explanation of all the wars and rumors of wars, the earthquakes and famines, and those signs of his coming which Jesus called the birth pains of the end (Cf. Matthew 24:8).
Throughout the Book of Revelation John tells the glorious story of our Lord's victory over all of his enemies. He does so using symbols and visions typical of apocalyptic literature. In apocalyptic writings, the author uses such symbols to depict a cosmic struggle between good and evil. In Revelation, the specific struggle is the on-going conflict between Christ and his already defeated foe Satan, during that period of time between Christ's first advent and his second coming. In other words, John describes a struggle which goes on this very morning even as we assemble for worship.
As we saw last time, Daniel calls the age in which we live "the great tribulation," while other New Testament writers speak of the age which begins with the coming of Jesus Christ as the "last days." This means that what John sets forth in the Book of Revelation specifically concerns Christ's church, and therefore, each one of us.
The symbols and images found in apocalyptic literature are not to be taken literally. Rather, they are word pictures which point the reader to the story behind the story. In Revelation these symbols are drawn directly from the Old Testament and are set against the backdrop of the Roman empire of the first century. If we want to know why John uses certain numbers, say a "thousand years," or "seven," we look to the Old Testament. If we want to correctly understand why John speaks of lampstands or dragons, mentions particular cities and so on, we look to the Old Testament. All this means that the Book of Revelation is God's commentary upon those redemptive historical themes which have been introduced earlier in the redemptive drama (the Old Testament), but which have not yet been brought to fruition.
Revelation, therefore, is that book in which God wraps up all of the loose ends of the story. This book gives Christ's church a heavenly perspective upon our present earthly struggles. Ultimately, our struggle is not against flesh and blood. It is against the principalities and powers who manifest themselves in flesh and blood (cf. Ephesians 6:12).
John opens this book by telling us that what follows is the revelation of Jesus Christ, a revelation which concerns things which must soon take place. This is why we should not understand John's vision as a description of things limited to that time immediately before Christ returns as taught by dispensationalists. Rather, John is giving us a vivid description of the entire church age. While each one of his visions tell the basic same story, they tell it from a different vantage points, focusing upon different periods of time within the inter-advental period. Furthermore, what John reveals comes from God through an angel. It concerns Jesus Christ, the center and sum of redemptive history. What follows then, is John's testimony concerning Jesus Christ. It is, therefore, the word of God. In fact, says John, there is a great blessing here-the first of seven such blessings-for all of those who hear these words and then take them to heart. So as we proceed, let us prayerfully and obediently do as John instructs us. Let us listen and hear. What follows the testimony of Jesus Christ about himself. And this testimony says John, is certain and true. It is the word of God.
II. As we turn to our text this morning, Revelation 1:4-5 we have before us the historical setting in which Christ's testimony is revealed to John. John's letter is addressed to seven specific churches scattered throughout Asia Minor (Turkey). This means that Revelation is not dealing with abstract principles or timeless truths like Aesop's Fables. (1) This book is written to seven Christian congregations, each one struggling with real evil and persecution at the hands of a pagan empire, or with heresy and false teaching arising from within. Their struggle is indicative of the struggles that Christ's church will face throughout this present age until the bridegroom comes for his bride at the end of the age.
From the salutation in verse 4, it is clear that the author is well known to his readers (hearers). His vision comes to them in the form of a circular letter. "John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia." The seven churches will be listed for us shortly. Given the fact the author needs no introduction, it is very likely that he is the apostle John. According to Christian tradition, John lived for many years in Ephesus, the first church named in the list of churches to whom this vision is sent. It is believed that John is the only one of the twelve apostles who did not die a martyr's death, although John was exiled for a time to the island of Patmos, where Christian tradition says he received and recorded the vision we know as the Book of Revelation. (2)
As is typical of such epistolary greetings throughout the New Testament, the greeting "Grace and peace to you" is given in the name of the gracious God "who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth." Perhaps alluding to the divine name first revealed in Exodus 3:14, when I AM spoke to Moses through the burning bush, John tell us that God is without beginning or end. He is the Lord of the past, the present and the future. (3) The Trinitarian theology of Revelation also becomes very apparent when John refers not only to the eternal God, but to the seven spirits before his throne, which is almost certainly a reference to the Holy Spirit. (4)
The number seven always signifies completion and perfection in this book, and since these seven spirits are said to participate in extending grace and peace to believers, this cannot be a reference to a creature or angelic being. The key here is the Old Testament. In chapter four of the Book of Zechariah we read: "I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it . . . `This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.'" The Lord's Spirit is depicted by Zechariah in his sevenfold fulness or perfection. This same language reappears in Revelation 4:5: "From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God." In the opening chapters of Revelation, the seven spirits are connected to the seven lampstands-symbolic of God's presence in the seven churches mentioned below-which explains is why these churches are effective witnesses to the world and why that witness ends if the lampstand is removed. This may explain why the Holy Spirit is mentioned here by John before Christ in John's salutation. (5)
But the central role of Jesus Christ is made plain in what follows. It is Jesus whose testimony is given in this vision and his testimony is true because Jesus Christ . . . is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Jesus alone is the one who has conquered death. He is the one who bears witness in this vision. This is significant for John's reader because of the fact that when Jesus died on Calvary his messianic testimony about the coming of God's kingdom seemed to be brought to naught. A dead Messiah is no Messiah. Yet, the same Jesus who died on Calvary also rose again from the dead and is now exalted on high where he has taken his place at the right hand of God as the ruler of all the kings of the earth. (6) But since the exalted Christ rules over all kings, his rule extends to the current emperor of Rome, even if Caesars refuses to acknowledge it. The knowledge of this would have been very comforting to Christians who lived under the oppressive thumb of that pagan empire which had put thousands of believers to death. For even Caesar will on bended knee one day confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
III. With his thoughts now turned to
the triune God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ the faithful witness, John
bursts forth with a doxology verses 5b-8.
In the preceding verses, John has called his readers attention to Christ's
kingly and prophetic offices. Now he reminds us of Christ's priestly office.
"To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and
has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father----to him
be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen." This is an important
reference point to open this book because ultimately it is human sinfulness and
the curse brought upon us because of our sin in Adam that lies at the root of
the conflict which will unfold in the pages of this book. The same Jesus Christ
who has risen from the dead and whose testimony is true, John says, loves us.
Jesus has freed us from our sins by his blood. He has fulfilled his covenant
promises in us, his people, since he has made us a kingdom of priests to serve
his God and father.
Recall from our study of Exodus, the priesthood was limited to certain individuals from the tribe of Levi. But in Jesus Christ, all believers from all nations are priests. We are allowed that intimate access to God which had been limited to Israel's priests. Furthermore, we are now free to participate in that worship of God which is accepted not on the basis of the blood of beasts, but on the basis of the priestly work of Christ, who has freed all of us from our sins. The very thought of this moves John to praise the savior: "to him be glory and power, for ever and ever, Amen!"
But the same Jesus who has loved us, died for us, and who was raised for us, will one day come for us and receive us to himself as his bride. Says John, "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." John's language here echoes, in part, the prophecy of Daniel 7:13-14, our Old Testament lesson this morning. Daniel writes: "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."
But John also has in mind the great prophecy of Zechariah 12:10: "They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and mourn for him as one mourns for an only child." These two themes, mourning and the glory of the kingdom, coalesce in only one person, Jesus Christ.
A couple of points are worth mentioning. For one thing, our Lord's second coming cannot be limited to God's judgment upon Israel in A. D. 70 as preterists contend. The language John uses is universal, not local. "Every eye shall see him." Indeed, in their prophecies both Daniel and Zechariah see our Lord's second advent in connection to Christ's everlasting kingdom, a kingdom which will never be destroyed. This certainly implies the final judgment, the resurrection from the dead and the re-creation of the heavens and the earth, not the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman army. The point is that the crucified one of Zechariah's prophecy who causes the nations to mourn, is also the son of man of Daniel's prophecy who approaches the ancient of days and who will now bring terror to his enemies when he comes in all of his glory. (7) This is a reference to the final, eschatological judgment.
This stress upon Christ's glorious exaltation at his second coming, leads John to remind his hearers of just who this coming one is: "`I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, `who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.'" There is no stronger statement of the deity of Jesus Christ found anywhere in the New Testament. This is the first of seven such declarations about Jesus Christ in the Book of Revelation pointing to the fullness and perfection of the divine name. (8) Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, which are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet indicating that not only is Jesus is the beginning and the end, he is also everything in between. This Alpha and the Omega is the Lord God who is now testifying through this vision. Jesus is the one who was, who is, and who is to come. He is the almighty.
This declaration must be seen against the background of several important Old Testament texts. In Exodus 3:14 God reveals his divine name, I AM. In Isaiah 48:12, the Lord declares, "I am he; I am the first and the last." Throughout this section of Isaiah's prophecy, YHWH demonstrates his superiority over the idols of the nations, a point which would not be lost to John's readers suffering persecution at the hands of a pagan empire known for calling its political ruler (Caesar) a deity, the very height of human idolatry. (9) In this context, we can see John's declaration as a statement that Jesus is God and that he will come again to establish in its fullness that kingdom of which Israel's prophets had spoken and which Jesus inaugurated at his first coming. Jesus will crush all idols and those who worship them.
IV. With the salutation completed, John now discusses his apostolic commission as a prelude to the first vision of Revelation, recorded in Revelation 1:12-3:22.
Confirming the fact that John was well known to his reader, he speaks of himself not as an apostle, but as a fellow sufferer and brother in Christ. "I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus." Writing from the island of Patmos, which was a Roman penal colony located off the coast of Asia Minor where John had been exiled, like the other authors of the New Testament, John is very blunt in his assertion that Christians will suffer because they are followers of Jesus Christ. (10) As Christ is hated, so too will be those who serve him. John has suffered along with those to whom he is writing. But while he urges patience in the midst of such mutual suffering, he also reminds his hearers that they are all members of that glorious kingdom of which he has just spoken.
In verses 10-11, John speaks a bit more specifically about the circumstances behind the writing of this book. "On the Lord's Day," which is Sunday, the first day of the week and the day of Christ's resurrection, "I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: `Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.'"
There are a couple of things here worth noting. When John tells us he is "in the Spirit," he is referring to the Holy Spirit who gave John the visions recorded here by transporting him to those vantage points from which they are described. This is a statement which appears again in Revelation 4:2, 17:3 and 21:10 and is used to make plain that the testimony of Jesus comes through the agency of the Holy Spirit. This means that the Book of Revelation is not simply John's visionary musing, but is in fact, the very word of God.
Furthermore, John hears a loud voice, presumably Christ's. Throughout the Book of Revelation we will repeatedly hear of loud voices, sounds and noises, indicating that what follows is of great significance and universal in its relevance. (11)
This is the first time where the seven churches to whom this is circular letter is addressed are mentioned by name. Since we will turn our attention to the seven letters to the churches beginning next week, let me briefly say this morning that there are "seven" churches, which should immediately get our attention. While some have argued that the seven churches represent seven different ages of church history-the church of Ephesus being the earliest period and the church of Laodicea supposedly being the apostate church on earth when Christ returns-it is better to see these churches listed in the order in which the circular letter is to be delivered. If you simply look at a map of Asia Minor, you can see that these churches form a semi-circle, lying along the road which a messenger would have used to deliver John's letter. (12) But the number seven-indicating fullness and completion-does mean that these seven churches and their individual circumstances represent Christ's church throughout the time between his first advent and second coming. Those things for which these local churches are commended and rebuked are things which will characterize Christ's church throughout the entire present age. The issues these churches face are the same issues that we will face until Christ comes back. (13) Their struggle is our struggle.
V. In verses 12-20, John introduces us to Christ in his post-ascension glory as John begins to unfold the first of a series of visions which depict the course of the present age. But John does so in a way which moves from his own time and place in the first vision, to things yet to come until we come to John's final vision in Revelation 21-22 which depicts the New Heavens and Earth.
Christ now appears to John and John is undone by what he sees. If anyone needs additional proof that the symbols and images of apocalyptic literature are not intended to be interpreted literally, simply considers what follows after verse 12. "I" (John) "turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone `like a son of man.'" This description comes directly from the Old Testament, specifically Daniel 7:13-14 where Christ is called the son of man, as well as from Exodus 25:31, where the construction of lampstands is described in the context of the tabernacle and the acceptable worship of God. The important thing to note here is that Jesus is now described as the Lord of his church, who walks among the lampstands, the symbol of the Spirit's presence among God's people and symbolic of the church's function as light-bearers to a dark and fallen world. This is a theme to which we will turn next week when we turn our attention to the letter to the church in Ephesus.
John now attempts to describe what his eyes behold: The son of man who "is dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters." What Daniel sealed until the time of the end has now been opened. Jesus Christ has indeed received that promised dominion from the Ancient of Days. (14) Jesus is that one who has been given "authority, glory and sovereign power." As Lord of his church, "all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him," as evidenced by the presence of these churches throughout pagan Asia Minor. Evidenced by his post-resurrection glory, Jesus' "dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed."
His robe and golden sash indicates he is God's all sufficient and final priest. His white head and hair connect him to the Ancient of Days. His fiery eyes and bronze feet echo a number of Old Testament texts in which God's glory is manifest in fire and metallic objects. The image of a furnace suggests purification. His voice is that of God himself. John says that "in his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance." The seven stars are explained in verse 20: "The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches." This simply means that Christ is the Lord of his church. And having seen the risen Christ in all of his glory, John can only do but one thing. "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead." (15)
Although Christ is now manifest in all of his glory, he remains that tender savior who has purchased us with his own blood. It was "then," says John, that the exalted Christ "placed his right hand on me and said: `Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 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.'" John will not be consumed by Christ's glory. He will be spared by that one who has power over death itself. Indeed, the Risen One now gives John his marching orders: "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later." This is exactly what John does by recording the letter from the angel to the seven churches to which this epistle is addressed.
Beloved on this, the Lord's Day, we too have heard the testimony of John and it is true. We have heard the testimony of the firstborn and faithful witness, Jesus Christ, that one who has loved us and freed us from our sins by his own blood, and it is true. While the gospels show us a humble Christ who must suffer and die to fulfill all righteousness, in the Book of Revelation, John reveals to us the Christ who is "the Alpha and the Omega,' `who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."
And this is the Christ with whom we have to do. He is the Lord of his church who holds the seven stars in his hand, who walks among the lampstands, and who holds in his hand the keys to death and hell. Therefore, let us humble ourselves before the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the almighty, who is alive forever more. Let us ascribe to him all praise and glory and honor and power as we bow before him this morning in humble faith and adoration.
Amen!
1. Bauckham, The Theology of the book of
Revelation, p.19.
2. Beale, The Book of Revelation, pp.
34-36.
3. Poythress, Returning King, p. 72.
4. Beale, The Book of Revelation, p.
189.
5. Beale, The Book of Revelation, p.
189.
6. Poythress, Returning King, p. 73.
7. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 53.
8. Bauckham, The Theology of the Book of
Revelation, pp. 25-27.
9. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 53.
10. Poythress, The Returning King, p.
75.
11. Poythress, The Returning King, p.
76.
12. Hemer, The Letters to the Seven
Churches of Asia Minor in Their Local Setting, p. 15.
13. Bauckham, The Theology of the Book of
Revelation, pp. 14-16.
14. Poythress, The Returning King, p.
79.
15. See the helpful discussion in: Beale, The Book of Revelation, pp. 210-216.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:35:51 CST
"To the Church in Ephesus"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 3
Texts: Revelation 2:1-7; Exodus 25:31-40
__________________________________
I. Jesus Christ is the Lord of his church. He walks among the seven lampstands and holds the seven stars in his hand. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. He is alive forevermore and holds in his hands the keys of death and Hades. Jesus Christ is our great high priest who has freed us from our sins through the shedding of his own blood. He has made us to be a kingdom of priests to serve his God and father. That same Jesus comes to us this morning with words of exhortation and rebuke found in the seven letters addressed to the churches of Asia Minor.
We are continuing our series on the Book of Revelation and this morning we come to that section in Revelation (chapters 2-3) in which we find seven letters which were originally addressed to the seven churches scattered throughout Asia Minor (Turkey) and to whom John is sending this circular letter we now know as the Book of Revelation. The letters to the seven churches are part of a larger vision which begins in Revelation 1:12 and which continues on to the end of chapter 3. Before we go any farther, it is important to put these letters in their proper context in order to interpret them correctly.
Although a number of commentators believe these letters represent seven consecutive periods in church history-the Ephesian era being the first, the Laodician being the last-it is much better to see these churches as historical Christian congregations facing horrible persecution at the hands of the pagan Roman empire in addition to struggling with heretical teaching arising from within. Throughout the Book of Revelation, the number seven represents completeness and perfection. The letters to the "seven" churches means these letters and situations they describe are representative of the whole of Christ's church throughout the ages. The issues they faced in the first century, are issues we will face in the 21st .
As we have seen in previous weeks, it is also important to keep in mind the unique literary style of the Book of Revelation as we work our way through John's visions. Each of these visions serves as a different camera angle as the redemptive drama unfolds during the course of this present evil age. Each vision focuses upon a particular aspect of the struggle between Christ and Satan during the last days and the great tribulation, which is, as we have pointed out, the entire period of time between the first advent and second coming of Jesus Christ.
Throughout these visions, John uses apocalyptic language in which symbols serve as word pictures of the cosmic struggle between Jesus Christ and his already defeated but ever defiant foe, the devil. John uses symbols such as lampstands, stars and keys, as well as certain numbers, such as "seven," to point us to the realities which these symbols represent. This means that the symbols used in apocalyptic literature are not to be taken literally, as can be seen by the description of Jesus Christ which opens this vision in verses 12-20.
In order to correctly understand the meaning of these symbols we must look to the Old Testament from where they are drawn, as well as to the first century Roman empire, which serves as the historical backdrop against which the struggles these symbols portray is played out. For example, in these letters to the seven churches, John will refer to the historical circumstances faced by the Christians of first century Asia Minor. But John will frame these historical issues in the context of a greater struggle in which apocalyptic symbols are used to point us beyond Asia Minor and the Roman Empire of the first century to the struggles we face in our own age. The Christ of the seven churches of Asia Minor is the same Christ who wins the great victory over Satan and all those allied with him. The Christ of the first century church is the Christ of the twenty-first century church. The Christ who walks among the lampstands of the seven churches in Asia Minor, is the same Christ who walks among us this very morning.
II. But before we look at the first of these seven letters this morning-the letter written to the church in Ephesus-there are several things which can be said about these letters in general and which we should keep in mind during the next few weeks.
It is vital that we connect the seven letters to the Christ who is ever-present in his church. This particular vision begins with John's vision of the resurrected Christ recounted in verses 12-16 of chapter 1. Says John: "I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone `like a son of man,' dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance."
All of the images John uses are drawn directly from the Old Testament and it is pointless to try and interpret these things literally as some medieval artists attempt to do. When Jesus is described as being like a "son of man," John reveals to us the true meaning of Daniel 7 and the everlasting kingdom of which Daniel had been speaking. When John speaks of Jesus with a long robe and golden sash, he is telling us that Jesus is the great high priest. When we hear that his head and hair are white, we see the reflected glory of the ancient of days. When Jesus' feet glow like a furnace we should think of his purifying power. His voice, being like that of rushing water, means that his word is the word of God. When Jesus speaks all creation must listen, for his testimony is true.
Furthermore, the lampstands are symbolic of God's Holy Spirit, present in the churches, and who, through these lampstands, reminds us of the church's function to be light-bearers to a fallen world. This is why in Exodus 25:31 and following-our Old Testament lesson-Moses describes in great detail how a golden lampstand with seven lamps is to be constructed for use in the tabernacle and then later in the temple. Even in Israel's days in the wilderness, God was revealing his presence with his people through his Holy Spirit, to which the gold lampstand with seven lamps symbolically pointed. And now in John's vision the same symbol appears again, only this time we are told of its true significance. Where the lampstand is present, Jesus is present. Where Jesus is present the Holy Spirit is present. And where the Holy Spirit is present, the church brings God's light to the world around it which lives in darkness.
In verse 19, John is commanded by the Lord to write, "what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later." Some have argued that this statement is the interpretative key to the whole book, dividing things into the past (what you have seen), the present (what is now) and the future (what will take place later). But a number of commentators have pointed out that the correct division here is actually two-fold. John is commanded to write about what he has seen, things present and things future. (1) Since John has already told us in verse 1 that the things about to be revealed concern events which are soon to take place, it makes a great deal of sense to understand that John will discuss things that now are-i.e., the issues facing the seven churches to which he is writing, and then later-beginning in Revelation 4:1-he will address things which are yet to take place in the future course of redemptive history until Christ's second coming.
But there is something else we must consider for each of the next seven weeks. Jesus addresses seven historical churches in these letters. But when he addresses them, he also addresses us, promising blessing for obedience, and threatening curse for disobedience. Yes, these are real imperatives which we must heed. But like all imperatives in the New Testament, they must be seen in the light of the indicatives (promises) which precede them and follow them.
III. With these things in mind, let us now turn to our text this morning, Revelation 2:1-7 and Christ's letter to the church in Ephesus.
Before we look at this letter, however, it might be helpful to know a bit about the city of Ephesus and the church which was founded there in the early 50's of the first century. The city of Ephesus was famous throughout the ancient world for its temple dedicated to Diana (Artemis). In the Acts 19, we read of Paul's two plus years spent in the city, which came to an end after certain Jews tried to exorcize a demon in the name of Jesus, only to have the demon possessed-man turn on them and beat them to a pulp. As a result of this incident, there were so many occultists in the area who came to faith in Jesus Christ that it was not long before those making a living selling religious trinkets associated with Diana worship and the temple began to see their formerly thriving businesses dry up. As Luke recounts in Acts, a near riot ensued when the local theater was filled with scores of merchants and worshipers of Diana shouting "great is Diana of the Ephesians,"and seeking to do great bodily harm to the apostle Paul.
Archaeological evidence indicates that the temple drew pilgrims from the surrounding areas-making it quite a tourist attraction-but that the temple held much land and financial clout, controlling much of the local banking interests. Ephesus was also the home to one of the world's largest libraries, as well as being a center for the occult. In the words of one writer, "if there was any city in which the church needed spiritual discernment, it was Ephesus." (2) Indeed, this congregation will be commended by Christ because of that very fact. But the Ephesian church will also come under rebuke for having lost its first love, perhaps the inevitable fall-out in a church besieged by false doctrine and controversy.
All seven of the letters to the churches begin with the same command from Christ: "to the angel of the church in Ephesus." Some believe that the term angel (or messenger) is a reference to the ministers of these churches, or to the messengers who brought John's letter to that particular congregation. (3) But more likely, the reference to angels is to those angels assigned by Christ to each of the churches mentioned. In Daniel 10:12-11:1, the prophet Daniel speaks of heavenly princes ruling over earthly nations, and so it might follow that God has assigned angels to particular congregations to rule them and protect them.
The letter to the Ephesians begins with a reminder of the authority of the one speaking to them through the pen of John: "These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands." Jesus is the Lord of his church, who now comes to the Ephesian congregation with a word of blessing and a warning of curse. Because Jesus holds the seven stars in his hand and walks among the lampstands, he is uniquely aware of the circumstances of this particular congregation. He is aware of the circumstances of all his congregations. Far from being an absentee landlord, indifferent to the plight of his people, Jesus knows full well what his people have endured. He knows the struggles the Ephesians have faced. He also knows their sins and their failures.
As the Lord of the church who walks in their midst, Jesus has this to say to his people: "I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary." In the midst of a very hostile and pagan environment, the Ephesian Christians have faithfully persevered. They have not tolerated wicked men-perhaps a reference the church's removal of those who embraced the pagan immorality around them. The Ephesians have tested all those who claim to be apostles and found these claims to be false. This is probably a reference to what appears to be a common problem in the first century church-people who claimed to be associated with what some call the outer circle of apostles, men like James the Just, Silas, Andronicus, and Junia. But these people had no such association and used the supposed connection to the apostolic circle as a means of garnering support for their false teaching. (4)
After carefully examining such apostolic pretenders, the Ephesians found their claims to be false and exposed the evil of their ways, preventing them from getting a forum and removing them from the midst of the church. Indeed, the Ephesians have persevered in rooting out such evil and for this Christ commends them. But how, exactly, this rooting out of false teachers is connected to the declaration is verse 6: "you hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate," is not clear. The Nicolaitans are mentioned again in the letter to the church in Pergamum and we will take up this particular heresy in more detail when we turn to that letter in several weeks.
The teaching of the Nicolaitans is compared to two Old Testament figures, Balaam and Jezebel, who sought to lure Israel away from YHWH by tempting the people to adopt pagan practices in addition to worshiping YHWH. As it concerns the Ephesian congregation, either the false apostles were Nicolaitans-teaching that it is acceptable to worship Christ and pagan deities-or else, the Nicolaitans represented yet another threat in addition to that of false apostles. In any case, Christ commends this congregation for their doctrinal faithfulness and perseverance in removing false teachers from among their midst. He commends them, because like him, they too hate the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
But in addition to his word of commendation, we also hear word of rebuke from the Lord of the church. "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place." This congregation has lost its first love and because of this, Jesus says, it has fallen from its earlier lofty heights. In fact, they have fallen so far, that Jesus' threatened curse is very drastic-the removal of his blessing and his presence from this congregation. When Jesus threatens to remove his lampstand, he is referring to the fact that the lampstand is the symbol of his presence and the Holy Spirit's empowerment of this congregation to be a light to the unbelieving world around it. Jesus exhorts this congregation to go back and do those things it did at first or else, he says, his blessing will be removed and this congregation will cease to be a light to unbelievers around it.
What does Jesus mean when he speaks of losing our first love? Many have taught that this refers to losing our love for Christ, the symptom of which is that our relationship with God grows cold, we cease from praying, we are no longer concerned about seeing unbelievers come to Christ, and so on. But this misses the mark. Jesus has just commended this congregation for persevering in the faith and pursuing sound doctrine! Although many evangelicals believe this to be the case, the Ephesian's stress upon doctrinal purity has not lessened their love for Christ. Quite the contrary is true. Christ commends them for being faithful to him as evidenced by their discernment of false teaching!
Therefore, the loss of the first love is much more likely a reference to the fact that all of the doctrinal infighting this congregation has experienced has produced a bitterness and judgmental attitude within the congregation. (5) The problem is not that the desire for sound doctrine has dried up their love for Christ. Rather the struggles over sound doctrine has produced a poisonous atmosphere in which believers have lost their love for each other. Given what they have been through, they suspect others of teaching false doctrine. They have become overly critical, questioning not only doctrine, but motive. They have become contentious and they argue about theological minutia. Indeed, they have stopped doing what they did at the beginning. They have lost their first love. The solution, Jesus says, is to do those deeds that these Christians did at first, that is, when the congregation was first formed.
But the Lord's word of rebuke and his warning about the removal of his lampstand is not the final word to the church in Ephesus. Jesus reminds the Ephesians that it is not too late and that repentance is still possible. "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." This church can indeed go back and do what it did at the beginning and not come under Christ's judgment. This is clear from the final promise of blessing: "To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." The command to repent is followed by the promise of the gospel. In the words of one writer, "In this first letter the painful memory of paradise lost . . . is transformed into hope, as the promise points ahead to the tree of life in the new Jerusalem, bearing a different crop each month and healing the nation through its leaves." (6)
There is also an amazing irony here which should not be lost to us. The temple of Diana was built upon the site an of ancient tree-shrine. (7) In fact, the symbol of the temple and the worship of Diana was the date-palm which was reproduced on many of the religious trinkets sold in the city. The irony is that Jesus, the Lord of his church, will crush all the idols of such pagan worship. He offers access to a far better tree than a mere palm! He offers us the tree of life which yields "endless delight and eternal life." (8)
IV. Since the letter to the church in Ephesus is written to Christ's church in all ages, what should we learn from our Lord's word of condemnation and rebuke to this congregation?
After hearing Christ's commendation of the Ephesian church for their perseverance in sound doctrine and his rebuke of them for losing their first love, I don't think it accidental if you thought to yourself that the Ephesian church of the first century sounds like many a Reformed church in the 21st century. While it is certainly an overstatement to say that this letter describes all Reformed churches, the fact of the matter is, since the thought probably occurred to many of us and since so many other Christians accuse Reformed Christians of stressing doctrine without love, we'd be remiss if we did not consider the importance of listening very carefully to what the Spirit says to us-Christ Reformed Church-through this letter.
The first thing we should say is that resolution to the problem of believers losing love for each is not to give up stress upon sound doctrine in order to become more loving. The sentiments of one noted local pastor- "I'd rather have the right attitude than the right doctrine"-are every bit as muddle-headed as that of Christians who use sound doctrine to bully their friends who don't know the bible as well as they do. Jesus commends this church for sound doctrine, but rebukes them for not loving each other. It seems to me that to sacrifice doctrine for love is just as bad as sacrificing love of the brethren for sound doctrine. Christ's church should continue to drive out false apostles and hate the teaching of the Nicolaitans. And it is sound doctrine which comes to us in the words of John from his first epistle: "we love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19). Sound doctrine-understanding that Christ loved us before we loved him-is the prerequisite for truly loving our brothers and sisters in Christ. We cannot truly love others as we ought, apart from understanding Christ's prior love for us. Therefore, in order to love others, we must start by reflecting upon Christ's love for us, love which we do not deserve.
Second, we must be clear that the command to return our first love carries with no power of fulfilling it. When Jesus commands us to our love neighbor, or to return to our first love, in one sense, he is condemning us. How can I love someone I don't even like? Commanding me to love someone doesn't make me able to love them. The key here is to two-fold. On the one hand we need to see others in terms of our mutual relationship to Christ-Christ has died for others, redeemed others, and loved others, even as he has done these things for me when I am undeserving of them. On the other hand, we also need to make sure that we have a proper meaning of what it means for Christians to love one another like they did at the beginning. A group hug and singing "we are the world," won't do the trick. Indeed, what often passes for loving the brethren is often a superficial show of emotion.
Wherever churches were founded in the New Testament, there were concrete signs of love among the brethren within these congregations. No one went without the essentials of life. Widows and orphans were cared for. Christians shared their burdens-material and spiritual-which each other. We read that they prayed for one another and they supported one another with food and clothing. This is kind of thing associated with loving the brethren in the Scriptures. In our present context, such love will manifest in some of the following ways. When someone loses a loved one, do they get calls and cards of sympathy? Are meals prepared and baby-sitting provided when someone gets sick? When someone loses a job, do people in the church help them find a new one? When someone stops attending church, do they get calls from concerned members who miss them? This is the kind of thing that Jesus is talking about when he speaks about doing the things the church did at the beginning. Jesus is not asking us to make superficial demonstrations of emotion. Jesus is talking about genuine love which manifests itself in action. By doing these things, the church is able to contend against false teachers and the poisonous cloud of suspicion, judgmentalism, and acrimony will be wonderfully dissipated by acts of mercy and charity.
As we consider the commendation and rebuke given to the Ephesian congregation, let us pray that God will grant us to hear what the Spirit says to the church in Ephesus.
May we as a church be faithful to our Lord's call to persevere in the face of false apostles and false teaching.
May we also be faithful to our Lord's command to love our brethren.
For the Lord of his church comes to us this morning with the promise that if we are his people through faith in Jesus Christ, together we will overcome and one day, together, we will eat from the tree of life in the paradise of God.
Beloved, Christ has purchased us with his own blood and made us all a kingdom of priests. Jesus is ever faithful even when we are not. And we love our brothers and sisters in Christ, only because Jesus has first loved us.
Amen!
1. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
32.
2. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
70.
3. Poythress, The Returning King, p.
85.
4. Beale, The Book of Revelation, p.
229.
5. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p. 72.
6. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
73.
7. Hemer, The Letters to the Seven
Churches of Asia in Their Local Settings, pp. 41-47.
8. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p. 73.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:36:31 CST
"To the Church in Smyrna"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 4
Texts: Revelation 2:8-11; Zechariah 3:1-9
_________________________________
I. In the fifteenth chapter of John's gospel, Jesus tell his disciples, "if the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first . . . . If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also." And now in his letter to the church in Smyrna, Jesus tells this struggling congregation that they will suffer great persecution, persecution even to the point of death. The one responsible for this persecution is Jesus Christ's ancient foe, the devil, who conducts his campaign against the church in Smyrna through the agency of the local synagogue and the local government. In Revelation 2:8-11, we see, in part, the historical outworking of that about which Jesus was warning his disciples in John 15, the inevitability of the persecution of God's people at the hands of Satan. But Jesus Christ is the Lord of his church and even when persecuted unto death, his people triumph.
This morning as we continue our series on the Book of Revelation, we are in that section (chapters 2-3) in which Jesus Christ addresses seven letters to historical congregations scattered throughout western Asia Minor. When we dealt with the first of these letters last week-the letter to the church in Ephesus-we saw that Jesus Christ is the Lord of his church and that he addresses a number of specific issues facing each of these particular congregations. While Jesus addresses the specific issues which these congregations face, he is also speaking to his church throughout the entire church age, which is the present period in redemptive history, the period between our Lord's first advent and second coming, also known as the "last days" and the great tribulation. Indeed, Jesus pronounces his blessing upon churches which are faithful in the midst of their struggles, while he threatens curses upon churches who are not.
The letters to the seven churches are part of a larger vision which began in Revelation 1:12 which opens with John's description of the resurrected Christ. In this vision, John describes seven golden lampstands which are symbolic of Christ's presence with his church as well as the Holy Spirit's empowerment of these congregations to serve as light to the unbelieving world which lives in darkness. Therefore, as we work our way through these letters to the churches, we must see them as part of a larger vision which begins with a description of Jesus Christ in all of his post-resurrection glory. It is Jesus who is the Almighty, the Alpha and the Omega, the First and Last, that one who was dead but is now alive forevermore. Jesus holds in his hand the keys of death and Hades. It is this Jesus who walks among his churches. He knows the exact circumstances that each one of these congregations is facing. He knows their troubles and the nature of the evil they must confront. And Jesus commends these churches for their faith and perseverance, but also confronts them with their sins.
In the first of these seven letters, Jesus commended the Ephesian congregation for faithfully persevering in the face of false teaching. Ephesus was a city dominated by the temple of Diana (Artemis), paganism and the occult. This church has faithfully persevered in the face of this opposition to the gospel by exposing all of those who claimed to be apostles but who were not. The Ephesian church is also commended for hating the teaching of the Nicolaitans, a group teaching that Christianity could be synthesized with paganism.
But Jesus also has a stern word of rebuke for the Ephesian congregation. They have lost their first love and as a result have fallen from their lofty heights. Jesus threatens this congregation with the removal of his lampstand from their midst, symbolic of his presence among them and of and the Spirit's empowering of this congregation to be a light to those around them. The solution was for the Ephesians to go back to do those things they did at the beginning.
While the loss of our first love is often interpreted to mean the loss of a believer's love for Christ, this is not the case. Jesus commends this particular church for their faithfulness in sound doctrine. The common interpretation that somehow the pursuit of sound doctrine is an obstacle to love for Christ is simply false, as though the way to become more loving was to become less interested in the truth. But what, then, does it mean when Jesus warns this congregation about losing their first love? Well, no doubt, given all that this congregation had been through, the struggle against false doctrine produced a hostile and contentious climate in which believers lost their love for each other. The continual and necessary debate over sound doctrine, sadly, produced a climate in which believers within this congregation were now divided, suspicious of each another and judgmental. They no longer showed any signs of the brotherly love, which Jesus says, is the sure sign to unbelievers that we are Christ's people.
The solution, Jesus says, is for the Ephesian church to repent and to go back to doing those things which they did at the beginning. They were not to abandon the stress on sound doctrine. Rather, they are to do those things which we see throughout the opening chapters of the Book of Acts. They are to ensure that no one in this church went without the essentials of life. They are to care for widows and orphans. They are to share their burdens-material and spiritual-with each other. They are to gather for prayer and fellowship. They are to do those things which were the concrete signs of genuine love that believers feel for each other. Shallow displays of emotion and unity won't cut it. The presence of genuine works of mercy and charity keep things in their proper perspective-sound doctrine and love for the brethren go hand in hand. We love our brethren because Christ first loved us.
II. As we will see this morning, there are a number of things which all of these letters have in common and which we ought to keep in mind before working our way through them. (1)
Each of these letters is addressed to the angel of that particular congregation. Some have argued that this is a reference to the pastor of these congregations or to the messenger who delivered the letter. But as we saw last time, there are good reasons to believe that this is a reference to actual angels (messengers) who are assigned to each of these churches. Furthermore, in each of these letters Christ identifies himself by referring back to the description John had given of him in the opening of the vision (Revelation 1:12-20). This ties the resurrected Christ to each of his churches. In the letter to Ephesus, this reference to John's vision is a reference to Christ's authority. In the letter to the church in Smyrna, the reference is to Christ's power over the grave, something especially germane to a church facing persecution unto death.
Another element common to each of these letters is Christ's knowledge of the circumstances facing each congregation. Jesus says to these churches: "I know. . ." and then describes in exacting detail the precise struggle facing each church. Jesus knows the doctrinal zeal of the Ephesians. He knows that the Smyrnan Christians are spiritually rich. But Christ also exhorts several of these congregations to take specific actions to avoid the loss of his blessing and presence. The Ephesians must repent and do those things which they did at the beginning. The Smyrnans, on the other hand, are one of two churches not rebuked at all by Jesus. Instead, they are called to suffer for Christ's sake. In addition, Jesus also holds out a promise to each of these churches, promises which also refer back to John's description of the resurrected Christ which opens the vision. The Ephesians were promised that if they repented, they will eat from the tree of life. The Smyrnans are promised that they will be delivered from death. Finally, each of these letters ends with an exhortation from the Lord of his church, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches." This exhortation not only applies to the congregation to which the letter is addressed, it applies to us as well when we hear our Lord's word to his church.
III. Before we turn to the details of our text this morning, it might be helpful to know something about the city of Smyrna where this particular congregation was located.
The ancient city of Smyrna-now the city of Izmir-is a port city on the western coast of Asia Minor. Possessing a fine harbor, the Smyrna of John's day was a thriving commercial center of about 250,000 people. The city had a long history of loyalty to Rome and as early as 195 B. C. built a temple dedicated to the goddess of Rome. In 26 A.D. the city built a temple in honor of Emperor Tiberius, and boasted of being the first city which promoted worship of the emperor. This is one of the first concrete steps taken on the slippery but inevitable road to full-blown emperor worship. The imperial cult-emperor worship-is the backdrop against which John will describe the beast, the supreme agent of Satan. (2)
Ancient writers describe Smyrna as among the most beautiful of cities because two of the local temples-the temple of Zeus and the temple dedicated to Cybele, a pagan goddess-gave the cities' skyline the appearance of a crown, hence the reference in ancient writings to "the crown of Smyrna." The city was also well-known for groves of trees whose bark produced an aromatic gum known as myrrh, one of the precious spices brought to Jesus by the astrologers from the east and which was the basic element used for our Lord's embalming and burial. (3)
Since there were citizens of Smyrna in the audience during Peter's Pentecost sermon in Acts 2, it is possible that a church existed here from the beginning of the church age, although some of the church fathers suggest the church here was founded much later. There was also a very large Jewish population in the area which was openly hostile toward the struggling church. Coexisting with emperor worship, the members of the local synagogue, apparently, made every effort to make sure local authorities did not regard Christianity as a form of Judaism, and therefore, not a legally sanctioned religion. Instead, these Jews openly encouraged the Roman government to crack down on them. In AD 155, Polycarp, who had been the bishop of the church there for many years was arrested and then killed for refusing to deny his Lord. The famous church historian Eusebius reports Polycarp as saying to his inquisitor: "Eighty-six years have I served Christ, and he has never done me wrong. How can I blaspheme my king who saved me?" For uttering these words, Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna was burned at the stake. (4)
IV. Let us now turn to our text this morning, Revelation 2:8-11 and our Lord's letter to the church in Smyrna. In this letter, Jesus warns his church about the persecution they will face at the hands of Satan. But even though this church is called to suffer, it is also called to triumph.
It is Jesus Christ who commands John to write this letter "to the angel of the church." Indeed, our Lord's divine authority to speak to his people is borne out by the following assertion: "These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again." When Jesus speaks of himself as the First and the Last, there are powerful echoes from the prophecy of Isaiah when YHWH addresses Israel. In Isaiah 44:6, YHWH declares in almost identical words to those we find here: "This is what the LORD says--Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God." Given the similarity between these two texts, it is clear that Jesus's authority to address the church in Smyrna is identical to that of YHWH's authority to address Israel. The implication is clear. Jesus' authority over his church is the same as God's authority because it is God's authority.
Notice too, that Jesus speaks of himself as the one who died and came to life again. It was Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of his people and who was raised to life for our justification, and who by virtue of his humiliation, has now been exalted to the status of King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In Revelation 1:18, John has already quoted the Risen Jesus as declaring of himself: "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." To the church in Smyrna, Jesus reaffirms this glorious promise which is especially important in the context of Satanically inspired persecution facing Christians there, the constant threat of imprisonment and death.
Throughout the Book of Revelation we will see Satan attempt to imitate the power of Christ in order to receive worship for himself. This blasphemous deception can be seen in a number of ways, such as in the false Trinity composed of Satan, the beast and the false prophet, who mimic the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (5) In the letter to Smyrna, Jesus speaks of himself as the "living one, the one who holds the keys of death and Hades." This means that Jesus alone is the Lord of life and of death. But this is a claim Satan will attempt to counterfeit. In Revelation 13, we find this description of the beast, who is the supreme agent of Satan: "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."
While John's assertion about the beast is best understood against the backdrop of the so-called Nero myth-which held that after his death in AD 68 Nero had not really died but he would return to wreak havoc on his enemies (6)-John sees the healing of a fatal wound as illustrating a pattern of Satanic deception which will continually re-emerge throughout the course of the present age. Satan will repeatedly attempt to imitate Christ's power in order to receive worship for himself. This has always been Satan's goal. In fact, John tells us in Revelation 13:13-14, that the dragon (Satan) "exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived." It is Satan who enables his agents to imitate the power of Jesus Christ when the beast's seemingly fatal wound is miraculously healed. But let us not forget that it is Jesus Christ who will hurl Satan, the beast and all his henchmen into the lake of fire on the day of judgment, while all those who are Christ's will never taste the second death. Those Christians in Smyrna who face death at the hands of the devil need to know that Christ alone holds in his hands the keys of death and Hades. His promises are not the imitation, they are the reality.
As we find in each of these letters, Jesus tells the Smyrnans that he is fully aware of their struggles: "I know your afflictions and your poverty--yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan." Because they refused to do as the Jews had done and make peace with emperor worship, Christians in this church were now suffering economically and were living in poverty. By refusing to acknowledge Caesar as Lord, Christians may have been prevented from entering the cities' central marketplace and conducting normal business. What is more, the charge of slander seems to indicate that the Jews were active in reporting Christians to the authorities, who would in-turn arrest them, ironically, for being "atheists," that is, denying that the emperor was divine.
Satan is a liar from the beginning and lives to slander God's people as seen, for example, in the Book of Job. In Zechariah 3-our Old Testament lesson-we read of Satan approaching the Angel of the LORD, who is Jesus Christ, to make false accusations against God's people. After rebuking the Devil for his lies and slander, the LORD's response is to order the removal of the filthy garments from his servant Joshua and to replace them with rich, clean ones. Just as he has done in defending his servant Joshua, Jesus will do for the suffering Smyrnans. As LORD of life, Jesus will ensure that his people will not taste the second death, and that he will clothe his own with the robes of his perfect righteousness.
But the temporal consequences of declaring that Jesus Christ is Lord in the face of the Satanically-inspired beast who controls the local government, were quite serious. These consequences are described here-the Smyrnans live in poverty-and again in Revelation 13:16-17, where we read that the Dragon "forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name." This mysterious mark of the Beast-which we will take up in detail later on-refers to all those who worship the beast and pay him the homage he craves. The Mark of the Beast is the profession that someone other than Jesus Christ-in this case, the Roman emperor-is Lord.
Whenever Christians proclaim that Jesus Christ alone is Lord in places such as Smyrna where the beast rears his demonic head they will suffer material loss, hence the description of the poverty facing this congregation. But the reality is that since the Smyrnan Christians possess Christ through faith, they are rich. While the Jews slander them, the Roman authorities arrest them to put them to death, these poor Christians actually possess riches far greater than the temporal wealth of the local merchants. For God's people will receive the crown of life and the rich and luxuriant robe of Christ's righteousness.
When John speaks of the local synagogue as the synagogue of Satan, he speaking of those Jews who have made peace with paganism and who openly persecuted Christians-both Messianic Jews and Gentile-by turning them over to those very same pagan authorities. Although these Jews may have been ethnic descendants of Abraham, they not only rejected the basis of the covenant, which is faith in Jesus Christ, God's promised redeemer, they sought to co-exist with those who hated everything for which the Abrahamic covenant stood. These were not misguided Jews who rejected Jesus as their Messiah, they were secularized Jews who saw no problem with confessing allegiance to both YHWH and Caesar. (7)
In order to comfort these Christians facing such difficult persecution, Jesus gives them the following promise: "Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." While the news that these Christians will suffer hardly sounds like a word of encouragement, Jesus not only tells the Smyrnans that their suffering will be of a limited duration-ten days-he also tells them that those who are faithful unto death will receive the crown of life.
Again, there are several things here we should not overlook. As we have seen, throughout the Book of Revelation, numbers have symbolic meaning and are usually drawn directly from the Old Testament. In Daniel 1:12-14, we are told that Daniel and several others asked to endure a ten-day time of testing to demonstrate to the Babylonians that they had God's blessing. At the end of the ten days of persecution in Smyrna, it will be apparent to all of God's enemies that those who are Christ's receive vindication from God. We also know that the Roman prison system incarcerated people only for a short time before executing them, which possibly explains the connection John makes between the short imprisonment and the reward which follows, "the crown of life." This too must be seen against the backdrop of the ancient world, in which a triumphant athlete received the laurel wreath only after emerging from a contest victoriously. (8) Having endured the ten day trial, God's people will receive the crown of victory.
But there is no greater victory than to be victorious over death-which is why Satan attempts to imitate the power of Christ. In fact, in Revelation 20:4-5, the famous millennial passage where John speaks of Jesus Christ's thousand year reign over the earth, John sees the souls of certain individuals, who"had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years . . . This is the first resurrection." Those Christians in Smyrna-or anywhere else for that matter-who faithfully endure the ten days of persecution and who are put to a martyr's death by the Beast, are rewarded when they come to life and reign with Christ for a thousand years. Again, the numbers John uses are significant. A thousand years is ten cubed (10 x 10 x 10), and indicates completion. Those who suffer for ten days, will live for a thousand years!
The promise of victory for those martyrs who lay down their lives because of their faith in Jesus Christ is an important one for persecuted churches like the one in Smyrna. Indeed, just when it looks like Satan wins when he secures the sentence of death for the saints, instead the saints receive the crown of life! And this promise of eternal life comes not from that one who imitates the power to give life, but from that one who "was dead, and is now alive for ever and ever and holds the keys of death and Hades in his hand." And this same risen Christ exhorts the church in Smyrna, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death."
Therefore, the point of application for us this morning drawn from Christ's letter to the Smyrnans is really a simple one. No matter what Satan can do to us-even if he forces us to live in poverty, even if he turns the government against us, even if causes other religions to slander us, even if he takes our lives-he cannot win.
Satan may take away our material goods, but in Jesus Christ we have all the riches of heaven.
Satan may turn the state against us, but Jesus Christ is our king and to him, the nations are but a drop in the bucket.
Satan may lie about us and slander us, but Jesus Christ rebukes him and strips off our filthy rags while clothing us with his perfect righteousness.
Satan may even take our lives, but if he does, we will come to life with Christ and reign with him for a thousand years.
The application then is very simple. In Jesus
Christ we are rich. In Jesus Christ we overcome. In Jesus Christ we will never
face the second death. In Jesus Christ we have already received the crown of
life. Therefore, "he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to
the churches! Amen!
1. See the helpful chart in Poythress, The
Returning King, p. 84.
2. Kistemaker, Revelation, p. 121-122.
3. See the discussion in Hemer, The
Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia Minor, pp. 55-77.
4. Kistemaker, Revelation, p. 121-122.
5. See Poythress, The Returning King,
p. 16, ff.
6. Poythress, The Returning King, p.
142.
7. Hemer, The Letters to the Seven
Churches of Asia Minor, p. 67.
8. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p. 74.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:36:09 CST
"To the Church in Pergamum"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 5
Texts: Revelation 2:12-17; Numbers 25:1-9; 31:16
_________________________________
I. Throughout the Book of Revelation, Satan is depicted as a defeated foe, who, in a final act of desperation, wages war on the people of God. In certain instances, we read of Satan empowering the Beast to persecute Christ's church using the full power of the state and the point of the sword. But in other instances, Satan takes a much more subtle approach. As the father of lies, Satan is not only the persecutor of the church, he is also the seducer of the church. In the Book of Revelation we not only read of the Beast who makes war upon the saints, we also read of the harlot, who seduces the peoples of the earth. Like the church in Smyrna, the church in Pergamum faces intense persecution from the God-hating Roman empire. But the church in Pergamum also faces an enemy from within, a seductress who entices God's people to commit spiritual adultery.
As we continue our series on the Book of Revelation, this morning we come to Christ's third letter to the churches of Asia Minor; our Lord's letter to the church in Pergamum. Recall that each of these seven letters are part of a larger vision which began back in Revelation 1:12 with John's description of the resurrected Christ. When John is granted the privilege of seeing Jesus in his post-resurrection glory, he describes what he sees. But words obviously fail him and so John describes the struggle between Jesus Christ and his ancient foe, the devil, using apocalyptic language in which words that are used are symbols which point to the "story behind the story," namely, Jesus Christ's certain victory over Satan and all of those allied with him.
No longer depicted as a bruised reed, the Jesus of the Book of Revelation is the Almighty, the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the one who was dead but who is now alive forever more. In the Book of Revelation, Jesus is the great high priest who not only purchases us with his own blood but who also makes us to be a kingdom of priests. In this book, Jesus is God's final prophet, for Jesus speaks to us about the course of this present evil age which is the great tribulation, that final period of human history, depicted throughout the New Testament as the "last days." In the Book of Revelation, Jesus is described as God's all-powerful king.
Throughout this series of visions, John describes how Jesus is even now ordering the affairs of men and nations to bring all things to that end for which God has appointed them. In what is, perhaps, the greatest display of his kingly power, Jesus holds in his hands the keys of death and Hades. Therefore, Jesus has the power to do as he has promised; he will undo the curse of sin and death and one day he will make all things new. Although Revelation is a mysterious and often misunderstood book, it is one of the most practical books in the whole of the New Testament. There is much here for us to contemplate as we eagerly await the second coming of our Lord.
II. As we have mentioned in the past few weeks, it is important to keep several things in mind about these seven letters as a group, before we look the individual letters in some detail.
Recall that in the opening chapter of this book, John sees Jesus walking among seven golden lampstands, which are symbolic not only of Christ's presence with each of these churches, but the lampstands are also symbolic of the Holy Spirit's blessing of these particular congregations to be a light to the world around them. In the Book of Revelation the number seven symbolizes completeness or perfection. Many commentators understand the fact that there are seven letters to seven churches to mean that in these letters Jesus is speaking to his entire church throughout the course of this entire age, even though the historical circumstances are that Jesus is speaking to seven historic congregations in Western Asia Minor in the mid-nineties of the first century. When Jesus speaks to each of these churches, he is describing situations which Christians living during John's time were actually facing. But while Jesus is speaking to the Christians in these particular congregations, he is also speaking to us. "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
It is also clear from John's account that Jesus knows the exact circumstances facing each one of these congregations. Five of the seven churches are commended for being faithful to Christ, while three of the five are also rebuked for specific sins and areas of failure. Two of these congregations, Smyrna and Philadelphia, receive no rebuke whatever from Jesus. Instead, they receive an exhortation to persevere. Two more churches (Sardis and Laodicia), receive only a rebuke and are not commended in any sense at all. One of these churches thinks it has life but is actually dead (Sardis), while another thinks it is rich, but is actually poor (Laodicia). (1) Since Jesus is always present with his people, he knows what each of these churches faced. He knows what we face.
III. Before we turn to our text this morning in Revelation 2:12-17, it might be useful to quickly survey some of the things that Jesus said to the churches in Ephesus and especially in Smyrna, since the situation in Pergamum is somewhat similar.
The first of these seven letters was addressed to the church in Ephesus. This particular congregation was commended by our Lord for faithfully persevering in true doctrine and for driving certain false apostles out of the congregation. The Ephesians are also commended for hating the teaching of the Nicolaitans, who were a heretical sect who sought to synthesize Christianity and paganism and who are singled again out by our Lord for rebuke in our text this morning. But while the Ephesians are given great praise by our Lord for their faithfulness and perseverance in sound doctrine, they are also given a very stern rebuke. According to Jesus, the Ephesians have lost their first love-which is not a reference to their love for Christ, but a reference to their love for each other. Unless this congregation repents and goes back to doing those things which they did at the beginning, Jesus will remove his lampstand from them, effectively removing his blessing and the effectiveness of the church's witness to the city. When Jesus exhorts this congregation to do those things they did at the beginning, he is referring to those acts of mercy and charity which characterize the apostolic church we see in the opening chapters of the Book of Acts. Works of charity and mercy go hand in hand with perseverance in sound doctrine.
As for the church in Smyrna, a different set of circumstances are in view than those in Ephesus. Yet, the circumstances facing the Smyrnans are quite similar to those facing the church in Pergamum. The Smyrnan congregation lived in a city with a sizable, but apparently, secularized Jewish population. In addition, the city was very devoted to emperor worship, among the most devout found throughout the entire Roman empire. Although the Jews of Smyrna made peace with emperor worship-proclaiming allegiance to both YHWH and Caesar-the Smyrnan Christians did not. Barred from the marketplace for refusing to pay homage to the emperor and slandered by the Jews, the Christians in Smyrna lived in abject poverty. Refusing to confess "Caesar is Lord" in order to buy and sell-which is to take the Mark of the Beast-the Smyrnan Christians paid dearly for their confession, "Jesus Christ is Lord." Many of Christians were imprisoned. Many more would die at the hands of the Roman Beast.
But Jesus makes a promise to his persecuted church. In Revelation 2:10-11, Jesus tells the Smyrnans, "Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life . . . . He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death." Although the warning of impending persecution does not sound like much of a promise, the fact of the matter is that the Smyrnans will face persecution for a very short time-ten days-and by persevering, they will receive the crown of life. To the victor goes the spoils.
In the famous millennial passage in Revelation 20:4, John sees "the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years." Therefore, even when it looks like Satan triumphs over the saints, he is actually being defeated. For those who suffer for ten days will be raised to life and reign with Christ for a thousand years! This, then, is one of the great paradoxes in redemptive history-Satan loses the most ground when his wrath against God and his people is the greatest!
IV. Therefore, with the similar circumstances of the Smyrnans in mind, we now turn to the letter to the Church in Pergamum.
Once again, some historical background here is necessary to understand some of the things which our Lord mentions in this letter. The city of Pergamum was sixty miles north of Smyrna and about fifteen miles inland. The city was widely known for its fine animal skin parchment-the English word parchment actually comes to us from the cities' name-and housed a number of libraries and temples. One thousand feet above sea level, Pergamum was a noted religious center with temples dedicated to Zeus "the Savior," Athena, and Dionysus. There was also a temple dedicated to Asclepius "the Savior" who was the "god of healing" and whose symbol, the serpent, is still used on medical emblems today. As in Smyrna, the Romans built a huge temple to the goddess of Rome in 129 B.C., followed by temples to emperors Trajan and Severus. The ruins of several of these temples are now housed in the world famous Pergamum museum in Berlin.
By John's time in the late 90's, Pergamum had even surpassed its southern neighbor (Smyrna) to become the de facto center of emperor worship. The city was rewarded by being given the seat of the local Roman government. (2) Pergamum was dominated by various forms of paganism, some offering salvation in the name of Zeus, while others offered salvation in the name of Asclepius. (3) What is more, Pergamum was a city where Caesar was also worshiped as "a god" making this a very difficult place for a Christian to profess, "Jesus Christ is Lord," and that his name alone is only one name whereby people may be saved.
Indeed, ancient writings from the area indicate that Christians-the christiani-were mocked by the Romans and labeled as infidels to the empire, and therefore subject to expulsion, imprisonment, or even certain cases, capital punishment. The Jews in Pergamum regarded Christians as "Nazarenes," a seditious sect who were to be shunned because they would not attend the pagan feasts or honor the Greek and Roman deities in the marketplace. It was the refusal to call Caesar "Lord" which prompted the Romans to have Christians arrested. And, as in Smyrna, the Jews were only too happy to help the Romans identify them. Christians in Pergamum faced the full wrath of the Satanically empowered beast, who we read in Revelation 13:8 was given "power to make war against the saints and to conquer them." But as we have already seen, Satan's apparent victory over God's saints is certainly a hollow one.
As is typical of each of the other letters, the letter to the church in Pergamum opens with both the familiar address to the congregation and a specific word from Jesus which recalls to mind a particular aspect of John's vision of the Risen Christ in Revelation 1 which uniquely applies to this church: "To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword." The image of a sword dominates the entire letter. The sword is symbolic of Jesus Christ coming to this church in his kingly office for the purpose of bringing judgment upon his enemies. The sword symbolizes Christ's judicial power-the power to judge all things according to the truth of God's word-and it warns the apostates within the church of Christ's impending judgment upon them. (4)
But the sword is also symbolic of something else. Roman governors were granted the "power of the sword" by the emperor in order to put to death those Christians who refused to acknowledge the divinity of Caesar. While the Satanically inspired beast-the Roman empire-wields the sword against Christians and wages war upon them, Jesus Christ uses the same symbol to remind his church of just who it is who wields the real sword of justice and power. The message is clear: All of those who persecute Christ's people with the sword in this life will themselves face the judgment of Jesus Christ in the next. The ancient proverb is true, those who live by the sword will die by the sword. But this warning is also aimed at those individuals who seduce Christ's people through false doctrine. They, too, will face his sword of judgment. Jesus is a jealous bridegroom who will do everything in his power to protect his bride.
This must be kept in mind when Jesus says to the church in Pergamum: "I know where you live--where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city--where Satan lives." As the Lord of his church, Jesus knows exactly what the Christians in Pergamum are facing. The city is dominated by paganism and emperor worship. In fact, the cities' most prominent landmark was a large hill upon which the temple of Zeus stood and which dominated the cities' skyline. This is where Satan lives. This is where he has placed his throne! (5) But despite the deeply rooted paganism, the Christians in Pergamum have remained faithful to their Lord even though one of their own, a man named Antipas, was put to death in this very city-that city dominated by Satan himself.
Even though this persecuted church has faced the point of the Roman sword and yet remained faithful to her Lord, nevertheless Jesus does have a strong word of rebuke for the Pergamum church. This church has become far too tolerant of false teaching and compromise: "Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans." These doctrinal errors are so grievous that Jesus threatens to "come to them soon and fight against them with the sword of his mouth." For tolerating such heresy, Jesus commands the Pergamum church to repent, lest he come in judgment.
The issue is similar to what Christians faced in Smyrna, although there is a new wrinkle this time. Even though Christians in this church have faithfully resisted the powerful external pressure put upon them by the local Roman government to deny Christ-the Satanically inspired beast who has put some of their own number to death-a number of these same Christians are slowly but surely being seduced by false teachers in the congregation who are leading them away from Jesus Christ through deceptive means. These false teachers don't force believers to deny Christ at the point of a sword. Instead, they entice believers to deny Jesus Christ using more subtle means. And how do they do this? The answer is to be found by looking at the Old Testament example of very similar circumstances mentioned by John in this letter.
The group singled out for rebuke by our Lord Jesus hold to the teaching of Balaam. As you may know, the story of Balaam is told in Numbers 22-25. Through the means of his deceitful counsel, Balaam deceived Israel into worshiping idols and committing immorality bringing the nation under the wrath of God. We read of the consequences of Balaam's deception in Numbers 25:1-9 and Numbers 31:16 our Old Testament lesson this morning: "While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods. So Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor. And the LORD's anger burned against them. The LORD said to Moses, `Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the LORD's fierce anger may turn away from Israel.' So Moses said to Israel's judges, `Each of you must put to death those of your men who have joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor.' Then an Israelite man brought to his family a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear through both of them--through the Israelite and into the woman's body. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped; but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000."
In the Numbers account, Israel never denied YHWH in so many words. Rather, many in Israel began worshiping Baal without ever formally denying YHWH. But away you look at it, this is a denial of YHWH, because YHWH alone is God and he will not share his glory with any other. As a result of Israel's spiritual adultery, God not only brought judgment upon a couple caught flagrante delicto but some 24,000 Israelites died from a plague God sent upon the people. In the summary comment in Numbers 31:16 we read; "They were the ones who followed Balaam's advice and were the means of turning the Israelites away from the LORD in what happened at Peor, so that a plague struck the LORD's people."
Therefore, when we read in the New Testament that Jesus Christ threatens the church in Pergamum with the sword for tolerating the Nicolaitans, what provokes our Lord's righteous ire must be false doctrine similar to that of Balaam. Here we have a situation in which Christians would absolutely refuse to deny Christ at the point of a Roman sword. But at the same time, they thought nothing whatsoever wrong with participating in certain pagan practices with their non-Christian friends, family and business associates outside the church. Just as in the days of Balaam when citizens of Israel worshiped YHWH and Baal at Peor, so here in Pergamum, Christians were being led away from Christ by those in their midst who were teaching that it is perfectly acceptable to worship Jesus and at the same time to participate in certain pagan ceremonies and sexual practices which dominated the civic and cultural life of Pergamum.
That the Nicolaitans were not denying Christ directly, but doing so implicitly can be seen when Jesus warns this church about eating meat sacrificed to idols, as well as reminding them that Christians must avoid all sexual immortality, especially when these things are directly connected to paganism. These are very prominent themes throughout the New Testament even though they seem foreign to us so many years removed. Recall that Paul speaks about this same matter in his first letter to the Corinthians. It is addressed at the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15, when the leaders of the church affirmed with one voice the doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone on account of Christ alone, while at the same time insisting that Gentiles avoid eating meat used in pagan sacrifices and sexual immorality.
What is in view here is not vegetarianism or celibacy. God is not against meat or sex. What is in view is the fact that Christians cannot eat meat which was left over from pagan sacrifices and rituals, and then sold in the marketplace at a discounted price. For a Christian to eat such meat is, in effect, to sanction or condone the pagan practice of animal sacrifice and bloody fertility rites. Paul calls this sharing the table with demons in 1 Corinthians 10. While Christians are to avoid all sexual relations outside of marriage, this is especially a serious matter in places like Pergamum where so many people were involved in temple prostitution or participated in drunken feasts and orgies and directly tied to the civic, cultural and commercial life of the city. And it is easy to see how such a thing could take place.
In order to conduct business, Christians were invited to pagan feasts where ungodly things took place. And since it was possible to improve one's social standing or business prospects by marrying someone whose family was well-connected, Christians were tempted to marry outside the church so as to avoid the stigma and persecution associated with being a follower of Jesus Christ. As the Israelites indulged themselves with Moabite women, so too, the Christians in Pergamum saw nothing wrong with being sexually involved with pagans or joining with them in pagan religious practices. And for this, Jesus will come to them with the sword of judgment.
The principle for the church in Pergamum as well as the application for us today is very simple. Christians cannot worship Christ and at the same time participate in pagan or non-Christian religious practices. We have but one master, Jesus Christ. And we serve him only. To participate in paganism in any form is to deny Jesus Christ and invoke his wrath. Indeed, what Satan has not been able to accomplish through the sheer power of the Beast, he has able to do through the seduction of the church. Christians in this congregation saw nothing whatsoever wrong with worshiping Christ on the Lord's day and then participating in the ceremonies of pagan religions later in the week. Furthermore, the biblical sexual ethic was being obliterated by a pagan sexuality in which professing Christians were marrying outside the church, or participating in sexual activity directly tied to paganism.
This is a very serious matter and Jesus warns the Pergamums of their peril while commanding them to repent. We read in verse 17, the now familiar exhortation, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches," along with the promise of covenantal blessing, "to him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it." To those who overcome by remaining faithful to Jesus Christ, Jesus promises them to eat from the hidden manna-a reference, perhaps, to the manna which is preserved in the Most Holy place in the tabernacle, or more likely, to the fact that in John 6 Jesus himself promises to nourish his people with the living bread from heaven. (6) This living bread from heaven is none other than Christ's gospel word of promise, a promise which is confirmed through the sacraments.
Indeed, those who overcome will be given a
white stone with a new name. The white stone not only symbolizes purity, a
source of great comfort to those who had fallen victim to sexual immorality,
but the name which appears upon it is known only to the one who receives it,
even as Jesus Christ, the rider of the White Horse of judgment in Revelation 19
has a name known only to himself. The white stone therefore binds the recipient
to the Savior, who one day will come with his sword to execute judgment upon
those nations who have persecuted Christ's people, as well as judging all those
who seek to lead Christ's people away from him through the seduction of
spiritual adultery. Those with the white stone need never fear the sword of
justice, for they are Christ's and he knows those who are his! Amen.
1. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
68.
2. Kistemaker, Revelation, p. 127.
3. See Beale, The Book of Revelation,
pp. 245 ff.
4. Beale, Revelation, pp. 246-247.
5. Beale, Revelation, p. 246.
6. Poythress, The Returning King, p. 87.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:34:29 CST
"To the Church in Thyatira"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 6
Texts: Revelation 2:18-29; I Kings 16:29-33
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I. In his letter to the church in Ephesus, Jesus commends the Ephesians for persevering in sound doctrine. But Jesus also rebukes the Ephesian church for losing their first love, which is their love for the brethren. The church in Thyatira has the opposite problem. Indeed, Jesus commends the congregation in Thyatira because of their love for their brethren-so much so, says Jesus, that their love for their fellow Christians has actually increased over time. But Jesus also rebukes this church for tolerating false teaching within their midst. The Christians of Thyatira are loving, but they are not discerning.
This morning, we continue with our series on the Book of Revelation. We come to the fourth in a series of seven letters addressed by Jesus Christ to the churches of Asia Minor-Christ's letter to the church in Thyatira. Recall that these seven letters are found in a larger vision which began in Revelation 1:12 with a description of the resurrected Lord who walks among the seven golden lampstands which are symbolic of Christ's presence with his church. It is Jesus Christ, the Almighty and Lord of life, who stands in the midst of his churches, commending them for being faithful, encouraging them in the midst of persecution, and rebuking them for failing to do as they ought to do.
As we have seen in the past few weeks, there are a number of reoccurring themes in these seven letters. In his opening comments to each of his churches, Jesus addresses the angels of these congregations as well as referring back to John's vision which opens the chapter. Next, Jesus specifically addresses the circumstances facing each of these congregations, saying "I know . . ." your situation, before describing what each church was enduring in some detail. Then our Lord promises covenantal blessing for obedience and faithfulness to his word, while also threatening curses for continued disobedience. Each of these seven letters concludes with the promise of Christ's blessing as well as the familiar exhortation, "he who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
This exhortation from our Lord is important because while Jesus is speaking to each of these congregations in the specific cities named in western Asia Minor near the end of the first century, Jesus is also speaking to his entire church throughout the course of this present evil age. We have pointed out that throughout the Book of Revelation seven is a number which symbolizes perfection or completeness. There are seven letters to seven churches because the issues facing these churches are issues which will confront Christ's church until he comes again with great power and glory at the end of the age.
II. The letter to the church in Thyatira is the longest of these seven letters, and perhaps the most difficult to interpret.
As we have seen with each of these letters, it is essential for us to understand something about the historical context of this particular church in order to correctly interpret our Lord's letter to this congregation. The city of Thyatira is quite unlike the earlier cities we have seen-Ephesus, Smyrna and Pergamum. These were all large cities and important centers of commerce-Thyatira was not. All of three of the former cities were dominated by various forms of paganism. The Christians of Ephesus lived in the shadow of the temple of Diana and were immersed in a culture which was dominated by the worship of Diana. The cities of Smyrna and Pergamum were not only filed with pagan temples of every sort, but were also centers of emperor worship. Christians who lived in these two cities found themselves facing death and imprisonment at the hands of the beast-that is, the Satanically empowered Roman government-which attempted to force Christians to confess that "Caesar is Lord" at the point of a sword. Unless Christians in these cities were willing to confess that Caesar was Lord-which is to take the Mark of the Beast-they were not allowed to buy and sell or to participate in the commercial and cultural life of the city. If you were a Christian living in Smyrna and Pergamum, it truly cost you something to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and that Caesar is not.
In addition to living under such difficult circumstances because of the paganism which was rampant in these cities, Christians in these cities faced another problem. They were slandered by certain Jews who were secularized to the point that while they continued to worship YHWH, they also were willing to confess the divinity of Caesar in order to conduct their business and participate in the cultural affairs of the city. As a result of all of this persecution and slander, the Christians in Smyrna were forced to live in abject poverty. Many were arrested and imprisoned. And even though Satan persecuted them to the point of death, Jesus promises to give them the crown of life.
The Christians in Pergamum likewise refused to abandon Jesus Christ and confess the divinity of Caesar. One Christian who lived in Pergamum, a certain Antipas, had already been put to death. But the Christians in Pergamum also faced another, more subtle enemy in addition to the persecution of the Beast. Members of the Pergamum church were taken in by false teachers, known as the Nicolaitans, who followed the example of the secularized Jews and had somehow managed to seduce a number of Christians into thinking that they could confess Jesus as Lord and then participate in various pagan practices which were so prevalent throughout the city-a city which by the way, was so filled with pagan influences that Jesus identifies Pergamum as that place where Satan lives, where he has established his throne.
For tolerating these Nicolaitans in their midst, the Pergamum church is rebuked by Jesus, who threatens to come to them in judgment using his two-edged sword of truth. For all those who overcome, Christ promises them the hidden manna-which is the promise of the gospel signed and sealed in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper-as well as a white stone which links believers to Jesus Christ who rides the white horse of judgment. To possess the white stone with one's hidden name is to be known by Christ and to receive eternal life from him who judges all men.
But the situation in Thyatira is somewhat different from that facing Christians elsewhere. Now known as Akhisar, Thyatira was a very insignificant place when compared with the wealth and status of other three cities we have just mentioned. As one writer puts it: "the longest and most difficult of the seven letters is addressed to the least known, least important, and least remarkable of the cities." (1) Thyatira was located on the Hermus River in a broad valley through which the military forces of the ancients world's great empires often passed on their way to more strategic points elsewhere. Lying on the road between Pergamum and Sardis, and near another road leading to Smyrna, Thyatira was occupied countless times by one army, only to be recaptured by their opponents. Thyatira was not known for its culture or wealth, but instead for its almost accidental role in military history. Thyatira is like Gettysburg or Panmujom, cities which are famous for battles fought in them even while the cities themselves had no real strategic significance.
With a growing local economy, Thyatira was home to many local industries including bakers, painters, tanners, potters, coppersmiths, along with all of the trade guilds which formed to support these industries. To belong to one of these particular trades also meant belonging to the appropriate guild associated with that trade. Much like a modern labor union, a baker didn't bake, and a painter didn't paint, a shoemaker didn't make shoes, unless they belonged to the local guild. But belonging to one of these guilds, often times meant participating in pagan feasts, various temple rituals and prostitution, and fertility rites.
Therefore, the problem facing Christians in Thyatira is very difficult. While they were not being arrested and persecuted by the state they faced another subtle yet powerful form of pressure. If you were a Christian and happened to a coppersmith, in order to get work you had to join the local coppersmith guild. But the coppersmith guild may have identified itself with a pagan deity in order to invoke that deities' blessing upon the local coppersmith industry. Guild meetings were probably held in the temples devoted to that deity. And guild members may have been encouraged to participate in all kinds of ungodly behavior to honor the pagan deity to whom the guild was devoted. And there were people within this church who saw nothing wrong with Christians participating in such activities.
One of the more prominent industries in Thyatira was the production and dying of fabric. (2) Recall that Lydia, who came to faith in Christ in the city of Philippi was a "seller of purples," and lived for a time in Thyatira. The city was also an important center of the manufacture of bronze, which is made from copper and tin, explaining certain features of John's description of the risen Christ, soon to follow. Although the city of Thyatira was insignificant in many ways, the church there was not. What Jesus says to the Christians in Thyatira, he also says to us. The same temptation to make peace with paganism that these Christians faced, is same temptation Christians elsewhere face.
III. With historical background in mind, let us now turn to the text of the letter itself, Revelation 2:18-29.
Our Lord's letter to Thyatira begins with the now very familiar address in verse 18: "To the angel of the church in Thyatira write." And as has been the pattern throughout these letters, Jesus' first words to the church refer back to John's original vision of the resurrected Christ which opened the chapter. "These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze." But why the reference to our Lord's eyes of blazing fire and to his feet of burnished bronze?
The most obvious reason to refer to the appearance of our Lord's feet as though they were bronze is probably the presence of a thriving bronze industry in the city. The Greek word for bronze used here is unique to the New Testament-it appears no where else in Greek literature. It may very well be that John uses a local word which refers to the specific type of bronze made in Thyatira. Those who gazed into a bronze smelter and saw the molten metal inside may understand a great deal about the glory of the risen Christ who is the Son of God. (3) The image points us to Christ's transcendent glory and purifying power.
While our Lord's words here echo Psalm 2 and Daniel 7, there is also another important echo here from the Old Testament. When we add the image of a furnace with molten metal to the image of our Lord's eyes like blazing fire, there is a strong allusion to Daniel 3, when Daniel tells us of one who looked like a "son of the gods" walking in the blazing furnace with Sharach, Meshach and Abednigo. Such a connection should remind the Thyatirans that even as Jesus preserved these three young Hebrew men in the midst of a Babylonian furnace, so too, he will preserve the Thyatirans in the midst of their troubles as well. (4) Jesus is a savior who knows full well how to preserve his people when they suffer persecution at the hands of God's enemies.
Once again, Jesus speaks directly to the situation facing this congregation, this time commending this congregation for a number of good things going on in their midst. "I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first." Here is a church doing the very things the Ephesian church is not. Their deeds of love are self-evident and through these deeds they manifest their great faith in the son of God. In fact, over time, their works of mercy and charity for the brethren have actually grown. Unlike the Ephesians who needed to do those things they did at the beginning, the Christians in Thyatira were actually doing more now than they did at first. They were growing in their love for each other. And for this, Jesus commends them. But a rebuke will now follow. As Dennis Johnson so aptly puts it, it were as though Jesus were saying to this church, "I love your love, but hate your tolerance." (5)
According to verse 20, Jesus says: "Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols." As was the case in the previous letter to the church in Pergamum, Jesus refers to an incident in the Old Testament to inform this church about the precise nature of their sins. Jezebel, as you may know, was the princess of Sidon and the wife of Ahab. As we saw in our Old Testament lesson this morning, Jezebel was married to Ahab during that time the people of Israel were seduced into the worship of Baal. As we read in 1 Kings 16:29-33, "In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him. He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him."
Although Jezebel is barely mentioned in 1 Kings-Ahab receiving all the blame-we read in 2 Kings 9 that Jezebel was the source of the "witchcraft and idolatry" then present in Ahab's family. Her fate is spelled out in the balance of 2 Kings 9. Jezebel was killed when her servants threw her down from a window and her body was eaten by dogs. Therefore, the story of Jezebel is symbolic of what someone, apparently, a woman, was actually teaching in the Thyatiran congregation. This woman was leading Christ's people into the arms of the harlot, even as the original Jezebel deceived Israel into the worship of Baal.
In this case, the Jezebel of Thyatira fancied herself as a prophetess of sorts-claiming to reveal the secret things of God through means of predictive prophecy. Furthermore, this woman was actively encouraging the Thyatirans to participate in paganism, probably that associated with the local trade guilds. These pagan practices once again involved sexual immorality and eating meat sacrificed to idols, which is probably a reference to eating certain foods within the context of pagan feasts. As we have seen, if Satan cannot conquer Christ's church through the sheer power of the Beast, he will attempt to do so through the introduction of destructive false teaching, depicted throughout Revelation as seduction by the harlot, whose end is depicted in Revelation 18 when Babylon the Great is destroyed.
But even the midst of Jezebel's grievous sin, we still see God's graciousness on display. According to verse 21, Jesus says "I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling." Through whatever means-perhaps the preaching of the word, perhaps through the leadership of the church-Jesus has warned this woman Jezebel about the consequences of her actions. But despite this display of God's kindness which should lead her to repentance, the Jezebel of Thyatira will not repent. She is still encouraging Christians to participate in paganism. And not only will Jezebel not repent, the Thyatiran church has not cast her out. Therefore, Christ warns this congregation in no uncertain terms that he will come to them in judgment.
In fact, in verse 22, Jesus himself declares, "So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead." Not only does Jesus threaten to bring sickness and suffering upon this woman, he will also punish all those who commit spiritual adultery with her as well. And just as the original Jezebel was cast from her own window and killed, so too, Jesus threatens to bring death upon this woman and upon all those who continue to follow her now that they have been duly warned.
This threat of temporal punishment is not an isolated case in the New Testament. There are other such warnings. In Acts 5, we read of how God struck Ananias and his wife Sapphira dead, because they lied to the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 11, we are warned of God's judgment upon all those who do not discern Christ's body in the Lord's Supper. And here too, we see the threat of temporal punishment for disobedient Christians who commit spiritual adultery. God does not do this because he is cruel or because he is a tyrant. He does it to protect the purity and sanctity of his church. Jesus himself says to the Thyatirans: Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. God will do what it takes to prepare a spotless and radiant bride for his son. He will protect the church by whatever means he deems appropriate.
There is yet another theological problem mentioned in this church stemming from Jezebel's influence. In verse 24 Jesus says, "Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan's so-called deep secrets." With these words Jesus acknowledges that there are faithful people in this church who have not listened to this woman and because they have not listened to her have not learned Satan's deep secrets. This reference to the so-called "deep secrets of Satan" is probably a metaphor playing upon the familiar phrase the "deep things of God," which this Jezebel probably claimed to be revealing to the Thyatirans through her self-proclaimed prophetic office. Perhaps she was practicing a kind of proto-gnosticism and was revealing "secret knowledge" to people through her prophecies. But in actuality she was not revealing the deep things of God-she was revealing the deep things of Satan. She is leading people astray, hence John's reference to the Satan's so-called deep secrets. (6) But to those who have not been taken in by this woman's deception, Jesus says: "I will not impose any other burden on you. Only hold on to what you have until I come." Jesus' yoke is easy and his burden is light. All he now asks of his faithful, is to hold on to the gospel until he comes at the end of the age.
As in each of these letters, Jesus ends this letter with a final word of exhortation: "To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations-`He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery'- just as I have received authority from my Father." To those who persevere in the faith, they are now promised that Christ himself will share with them his messianic authority. Just as Jesus rules over the nations, so too, all those who are his will reign with him. To those Christians who lived in this small backwater town, and who may have felt powerless in the face of such deeply entrenched paganism, they should be greatly encouraged with the promise that they will receive one of the greatest privileges of all-ruling with Christ.
But not only will these Christians rule with Jesus, he gives them something much better. "I will also give him the morning star." Recall that in a vision recorded in Numbers24:17, Balaam saw a star emerging from Jacob, one who would ride forth from Israel and crush the Moabites. This star pointed ahead to a warrior-king, who will identify himself later in the book of Revelation. In Revelation 22:16, Jesus says: "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star." Therefore, Jesus not only promises this struggling church that they will reign with him, but that they will be given the greatest treasure of all; himself. (7)
Once again the application for us is very straightforward. Jesus Christ warns us not to tolerate people in our midst who claim to reveal secret things, but who then attempt to lead us into making unholy compromises with the paganism around us. As followers of Jesus Christ we can never make peace with paganism, nor with the teaching of non-Christian religions, whether it be to get a job or because of a desire to participate in cultural and civic activities.
But while we must be always be willing to make sacrifices in such situations, and while we must be willing to receive the scorn of men for being followers of Christ, let us never forget what Jesus himself promises us. Since he alone possesses all authority, not only will he crush his enemies and all those who hate him and persecute his church, but Jesus, the morning star, gives us nothing less than himself through his word and through his sacraments.
Therefore, we need no secret knowledge or prophecies. We need not make peace with paganism. With Jesus Christ in our midst through word and sacrament we have everything that we need. For he is our morning star.
Therefore, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." Amen!
1. Cited in Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 79.
2. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
79.
3. See the discussion in Johnson, Triumph
of the Lamb (p. 79) and Poythress, The Returning King, pp. 88-89.
4. Beale, Revelation, p. 259.
5. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
80.
6. See the helpful discussion of this in
Beale, Revelation, pp. 265-266.
7. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
82.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:36:42 CST
"To the Church in Sardis"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 7
Texts: Revelation 3:1-6; Exodus 32:15-35
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I. When Jesus speaks to the seven churches in Asia Minor, he usually commends these struggling churches before giving them a word of rebuke. Not so with the church in Sardis. This congregation receives only a stern rebuke. "Wake up," Jesus warns, or else he will suddenly come upon them in judgment. Although the church in Sardis thinks it is alive, in reality it is near death. This congregation has stopped preaching the gospel in order to make peace with paganism. It is no longer a faithful witness to God's saving mercy in Jesus Christ. Therefore, this church must wake up and repent, or else face the wrath of Jesus Christ who is the Lord of his church.
We are returning this morning to our series on the Book of Revelation. We are in that section of Revelation beginning in Revelation 1:12 in which John records his vision of the resurrected Christ along with the seven letters that Jesus addresses to seven historic churches in western Asia Minor. In each of these seven letters, Jesus relates a particular aspect of his post-resurrection glory to specific issues facing each of these congregations. Jesus commends several congregations for those things they are doing well. He points out the issues and struggles that each of these congregations was facing. He promises blessings to these churches when they are obedient to his word, while threatening curses if these congregations fail to repent. But even when there is a word of rebuke, each of these letters ends with a promise of blessing to all those who overcome and who remain faithful to Jesus Christ despite the suffering, persecution and temptations that these Christians faced.
Jesus is not an absentee Lord of his church. When John sees the resurrected Christ in his vision, Jesus is walking in the midst of his churches, represented by seven lampstands, symbolic of Christ's presence among his churches, as well as symbolic of the Holy Spirit empowering these congregations to be faithful witnesses of God's grace in Jesus Christ to those around them who are living in darkness. Jesus knows full well what each one of these seven churches is facing. He knows their struggles, their victories and their failures. Indeed, these seven churches are also representative of Christ's church throughout the entire period of time between Christ's first advent and his second coming. The issues these churches faced in the first century, will mirror situations that Christians will face until Christ comes again with great power and glory at the end of the age. What Jesus says to these first century churches, he says to us in the 21st. Therefore, each of these seven letters ends with the now familiar exhortation: "he who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
II. Our Lord's letter to the church in Sardis is the fifth of seven letters, and so, given the fact we've been away from the text for a couple of weeks, some brief review of the previous four letters is probably in order.
The first of these seven letters was written to the church in Ephesus, a church which developed in the shadow of the Temple of Diana in a region dominated by Greek religion. Christ commends this congregation for faithfully persevering in sound doctrine in the face of an onslaught of false teaching and false apostles who tried to worm their way into the congregation. But Christ also sternly rebukes the Ephesians for losing their first love-which is their love for their brethren-and he commands them to repent and go back to doing those things which they did at the beginning. They are to stop all of their infighting and go back to taking care of widows and orphans, the poor and the needy, and to bear one another's burdens like they did when the church was first founded. In fact, unless they repent, Jesus will remove his lampstand from their midst, the sign of his presence and blessing. But those who overcome will one day eat from the tree of life in the paradise of God.
The second letter from our Lord was written to the church in Smyrna. The situation facing Christians here is very serious. Smyrna was not only filled with paganism, it was also a city dominated by emperor worship. Although the Jews living in the area were willing to compromise and worship YHWH while at the same time confessing the divinity of Caesar, Christians in the area were not willing to do so. Therefore, this struggling church faced tremendous persecution at the hands of the local government, some of it because of slander from members of the local synagogue. Many Christians in this church were imprisoned. Many more were put to death. Because of their refusal to take the Mark of the Beast and acknowledge that Caesar is Lord, Christians were prevented from buying and selling in the local markets and were forced to live in abject poverty. Therefore, Christ promises them that although they will suffer for a short time-ten days-they will come to life and reign with Christ for a thousand years. When the beast puts them to death and appears victorious over them, instead, those who overcome will come to life and reign with Christ for a thousand years.
The third of the seven letters was addressed to the church in Pergamum. Christians living here faced many of the same things faced by the Christians in Smyrna. Pergamum was a city which was so filled with pagan temples and so zealous in its worship of the Roman emperor, that Jesus speaks of the city as that place where "Satan dwells." Like the church in Symrna, many Christians here held fast to their profession that Jesus Christ is Lord. One of their leaders, Antipas, had already been put to death. But nevertheless, Jesus rebukes this congregation for tolerating the teaching of the Nicolaitans, who were, apparently, encouraging Christians to also participate in certain pagan practices, such as eating meat sacrificed to idols and participating in sexual immorality, things likely attached to the paganism which flourished in the city. Jesus exhorts this church to repudiate those teaching such things, lest he come to them in judgment with the double-edged sword of truth. To all those who overcome and reject the teaching of the Nicolaitans, Jesus promises that they will eat heavenly manna and receive the white stone, symbolic of the fact that Jesus Christ knows all those who are his.
Unlike the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna and Pergamum, Thyatira was a small, insignificant backwater town. The situation facing the church here was a difficult one and seems to be the exact opposite of that of the church in Ephesus. The Thyatiran church was progressing in its love for the brethren, showing more love now, then it did at the beginning. But this church was not very discerning, and is rebuked by Jesus for a very lax attitude towards false teaching. Thyatira was dominated by local trade guilds who allied themselves with various pagan deities, so as to obtain the blessings of that deity upon that particular trade. Therefore, if a Christian happened to be a tradesman represented by one of these guilds, they faced the problem of maintaining allegiance to Christ and yet not compromising by participating in the pagan practices of their guild. Jesus rebukes this congregation for tolerating a Jezebel in their midst, a woman who fancied herself to be a prophet and who in the process, was supposedly revealing the deep things of God. But in actuality, this woman was revealing the deep things of Satan and encouraging Christians in this church-probably in connection to these trade guilds-to participate in pagan rituals, which once again involve sexual immorality and eating meat sacrificed to idols, probably a reference to participation in pagan feasts and orgies. To these Christians who hold on to the gospel, Jesus promises that not only will they rule with him, they will also be given the morningstar, namely Christ himself.
III. Once again, the situation facing the church in Sardis is unique and illustrative of the kinds of things which Christ's church will face until the end of the age.
The city of Sardis is located some 50 miles to the east of Smyrna and just to the north of Philadelphia. There are two adjoining sites for the city, hence the plural name Sardis. The original city developed inside a huge fortress built upon a rocky point which dominated the valley below. Over time, another large and prosperous city developed in the valley some fifteen hundred feet below the fortress-a second city, so to speak. The original fortress was built upon steep cliffs which supposedly could not be scaled, thereby enabling the fortress above to dominate the entire area below, including the main roads and the commerce which developed down in the valley. Because of its strong defenses and strategic location, Sardis eventually became the capital of Lydia. Meanwhile, the city which developed in the valley was noted for its mercantile industry and for a thriving marketplace in which countless merchants traded with those who passed through the city along one of the major trade routes between regions to the north and south, as well as to cites both east and west. Because of its fertile soil, Sardis was also a thriving agricultural center. Given its economic importance, its location on major trade routes, and with its strategic fortress nearby, the city grew very wealthy and influential in local politics. (1)
The city played a prominent role in the history of Asia Minor. Home to King Midas, who was known for his golden touch, Sardis was also the home of King Croesus, one of the wealthiest men in the ancient world. Croesus' reign, however, ended in one of the greatest debacles in the annals of military history. Because of his unbridled confidence in the Sardis' impregnable fortress built high above the city below, when Cyrus, king of Persia invaded the area, he not only defeated Croesus' army down in the valley, but a few of Cyrus' men actually managed to climb the rocky point and scaled the wall of the fortified city. Since Croesus thought the city was safe from such attacks, he ordered than no men be stationed along the cities' walls inside the fortress. Therefore, a very small group of Persian soldiers were able to capture the entire fortress, ensuring Croesus' total defeat, simply because he left the fortified city undefended. It was a humiliating and crushing defeat for a wealthy king and city regarded to be an impregnable fortress. This episode certainly lies in the background to this letter when Jesus rebukes the church in Sardis for the same tragic lack of diligence in the face of the challenges of influence of paganism. (2) Like Croesus, the church in Sardis thinks it is doing fine, when in reality it is not. And like Croesus' army, this church risks being overcome by her enemies by ignoring the very real threat it is now facing.
IV. And so, with that bit of historical background before us, let us turn now to our text this morning, Revelation 3:1-6.
As in all of these letters, the opening salutation is addressed by Jesus to "the angel of the church in Sardis" who in turn is to directed to write, "these are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars." By referring back to the vision of the resurrected Christ which opens the chapter, Jesus begins his rebuke of this congregation by reminding the church in Sardis that he alone holds the seven spirits-a reference to the Holy Spirit, who is all knowing, without limit and omnipresent. Not only does Jesus know the true condition of each of his churches through the presence of his Holy Spirit, but the reference to Jesus holding the seven stars in his hand indicates that he holds the very future of this congregation in his hand as well. (3) Therefore, while the Christians in Sardis may think of themselves in a certain light, Jesus knows the truth about them. And that truth is about to be exposed.
The importance of this pointed reminder of Christ's knowledge of the true state of affairs is made immediately clear when Jesus says to them, "I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead." The church in Sardis has a very positive and favorable reputation, not only in the eyes of its own members, but perhaps, in the estimation of neighboring churches as well. But appearances can be deceiving. The reality is that despite this church's reputation for life and vitality, the church in Sardis is not alive at all. In fact, it is dead. And is what is worse, perhaps, this church is not even aware of its true condition. Because of this grandiose over-estimation of itself, the church in Sardis is indifferent about its true condition. Its reputation for life has gotten in the way of any honest self-evaluation. Just as king Croesus once thought the city to be completely safe from attack, so too, the church in Sardis thinks it is alive. But the Lord of the church knows it is not.
This deplorable condition explains why this church receives no commendation whatsoever from its Lord, only a strong and direct imperative in verse 2. "Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God." The Greek text rather forcefully states that the members of this church are "become one who is watchful." This indicates that the problem facing this church is that its members have become so lethargic or indifferent (NIV-"asleep") to the paganism around them that they that they might as well be dead. To demonstrate a proper level of watchfulness, the Christians in Sardis must strengthen that which is about to die, their faith in Christ. (4)
The meaning of this exhortation to become watchful by strengthening that which remains, but is about to die, is explained a bit further in the final clause of verse 2 when Jesus says, "I have not found your deeds complete." At the very least, this implies that the church in Sardis began in faithfulness to Christ and for a time, served as a faithful witness of the gospel to those around them. But something has happened which has not only impeded this church's progress, but has virtually snuffed out this congregation's witness to those around them. Thus, their deeds-that which remains, and which hasn't yet died but is about to-are not yet complete. These Christians have not brought what was begun to its fruition. What was started, was never finished. The situation is such that while this church has apparently gained human approval (and has the appearance of life), it has not gained God's approval and is about to die.
It is curious that nothing is mentioned about this congregation being persecuted or suffering because of their confession of the Lordship of Christ. While Sardis was not filled with pagan temples or guilds to the same degree as some of the other cities we have mentioned, the city was nevertheless every bit as pagan as the rest of Asia Minor. The fact that these Christians were lethargic to the point of death, seems to indicate that this particular congregation had somehow made peace with the paganism around them. This would explain the lack of suffering and the lack of persecution. The reference to being dead or near death, apparently, stems from the fact that this congregation had ceased to be a witness to the gospel of Christ-a fault which seems to center in the teaching and preaching conducted here. Indeed, when Jesus rebukes this church, he refers back to the opening vision of the seven spirits and the seven stars, all indicative of the church's witness to those non-Christians around them. The bottom line seems to be that this church compromised with the surrounding culture so badly, that it ceased to proclaim the gospel to those within as well as outside the church. What looked like signs of life and success-probably good attendance and material blessing-could not disguise the fact that this church had failed to be a light in the darkness. (5) This church was dying, if not already dead.
The solution to this situation is prescribed by Jesus in verse 3. "Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent." Like the church in Ephesus, Jesus exhorts this church to go back to doing those things it had done at the beginning, when it was first established in the city. Three specific things are prescribed.
First, members of this church are to remember what they received and heard when the church was first founded, i.e. the message of the gospel. This was the message that gave them birth and established their witness to the pagans around them.
Second, Christians in Sardis are to obey that gospel. Since most references in the New Testament speak of the gospel as something which is believed (cf. Romans 1:5; John 6:29), John must mean something along the lines of behaving in accordance with the gospel's gracious promises. Those who say they trust in Jesus Christ for their salvation, must live like it, in distinction from the paganism around them. In other words, Christians in this church are to live out what had been taught to them earlier. They are to believe the gospel, i.e., the Christian faith. They are to live lives of gratitude before God and reject the pagan influences they have apparently tolerated. And they are to once again become witnesses of Jesus Christ to those around them.
Third, Jesus instructs the Christians in this church to repent. They must immediately change their minds about their present course. They must wake up and realize their precarious situation, acknowledge and confess their sinful behavior. If they do not do what Christ prescribes, their fate (which is in his hand) is sealed. "If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you."
The reference to our Lord coming like a thief echoes his words in the parable of the thief, recorded in the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24:42-44. While some take this to be a reference to our Lord's second advent, more likely, Jesus is referring to an historical visitation of Christ upon this congregation before the end of the age. This means that if this congregation does not repent of their false estimation of themselves and realize to degree of their compromise with the spirit of the age, Jesus will bring this congregation to an end, perhaps similar to the threat of the removal of his lampstand as in the letter to the church in Ephesus. (6)
Jesus now sets forth a word of promise to the true believers in this church. Says Jesus, "Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes." This is a reference to the fact that some of the members of this church have not given into pagan influences. They have not stained their garments-i.e., the imputed righteousness they received through in Jesus Christ-by participating in pagan practices such as sexual immorality or pagan feasting. Indeed, those who remain faithful, who have not compromised their confession of faith, are given the following promise by Jesus. "They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels."
This is one of the most glorious promises in the entire book of Revelation. Sinners have their filthy garments removed and replaced by spotless white garments provided to them by Christ himself. Those who walk with Christ by faith do indeed overcome. They are counted as worthy. They are given white garments which reflect Christ's perfect righteousness and that purity being worked in them through the indwelling Holy Spirit. What is more, Jesus promises never to remove their names from the book of life. He will acknowledge all of his people before the father. He has made them to be a kingdom of priests, redeeming them through the shedding of his precious blood. None of them will slip through his hands.
The warning our Lord gives to the church in Sardis contains several loud echoes drawn from our Old Testament lesson, Exodus 32, and the account of Moses coming down off Mountain Sinai only to find Israel celebrating around the golden calf. God had just revealed his holy law. The people had already sworn the oath of covenant ratification, saying "we will do everything the Lord has commanded." And now when Moses comes down the mountain and returns to the people, he finds them singing and dancing around an idol. Their behavior risks making Israel a laughing stock among the nations. Israel's witness to the nations around her of God's covenantal blessing is compromised by such actions. For such idolatry, the Lord orders the death of some three thousand people, to be cut down by the sword.
It is in his office as covenant mediator, that Moses pleads for the people of Israel before the Lord. "Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. But now, please forgive their sin--but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written." This book was the so-called book of the census in which the twelve tribes of Israel and their respective inheritances were recorded. Because of Israel's great sin against God, those who participated in the worship of the golden calf are summarily eased from the book, eliminating them from receiving the promised inheritance. Indeed the Lord declares: "Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book." These individuals and their children are thereby removed from the covenant and its blessings.
The great difference between the mediation of Moses and that of Christ, however, is the fact that when Jesus Christ intercedes for his people their names will never be removed from the Book of Life. The Book of Life contains the names of all of the elect, all those whom God has chosen to save in the person of his son. These are the people for whom Christ has died, who are called to faith and who are reckoned as righteous. But like Israel in the desert of Sinai, those professing and so-called Christians in Sardis who have made peace with paganism, and who have engaged in idolatrous behavior, have completely compromised their witness to unbelievers, just as Israel had done. Their state is so bad that Jesus describes them as dead. These people receive no such promise from Christ. They were never numbered among the elect and although they profess faith in Christ, they are not his. Like those in Israel whose names were blotted out of the book of the census, those in the church in Sardis who fail to repent will discover that their names were never written in the Book of Life.
What, then, are we to learn from our Lord's letter to the church in Sardis? Again, it is very simple. Our God is a jealous God who will not tolerate people who name the name of Christ but who also engage in spiritual adultery, idolatry and who participate in pagan religious practices. Christ's church is to be a light to the world, not a place where Christians make peace with the spirit of the age. Whenever a church-or a denomination for that matter-becomes like the church in Sardis, avoids preaching the gospel because of the scandal of the cross, and thinks of itself as alive when in actuality it is quite dead, that church risks coming under the judgment of Christ himself. For our Lord founded his church upon the preaching of the gospel and through the administration of the sacraments. His church is that place where all those he has redeemed come to hear his word, to be comforted by the fact that our names are written in the Book of Life never to be erased, and to hear the glorious promise that in Christ we are worthy, in Christ we overcome, in Christ we wear white garments of his perfect righteousness.
Without these things, we are not a church. We are dead. But with these things clearly before, we are a light to a fallen world which lives in darkness.
Therefore, "He who has an ear, let
him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." Amen!
1. Kistemaker, Revelation, pp.
147-148.
2. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, pp.
82-83.
3. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
84.
4. Beale, Revelation, p. 273.
5. Beale, Revelation, p. 274.
6. See Beale's discussion of the meaning of Christ's coming prior to the parousia at the end of the age." (Cf. Beale, Revelation, pp. 275-276).
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:36:19 CST
"To the Church in Philadelphia"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 8
Texts: Revelation 3:7-13; Isaiah 22:20-25
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I. Jesus has no word of commendation whatsoever for the church in Sardis. Because of their lax attitude toward doctrinal matters and because their compromise with paganism, the congregation in Sardis receives only a stern word of rebuke from the Lord of the church. But to the church in Philadelphia, Jesus utters no words of rebuke. For the Christians living in Philadelphia, Jesus only has words of commendation. Unlike the church in Sardis, Christians in this church have kept Christ's word and refused to deny their Lord even though their church was weak and struggling. Because of their faithfulness, Jesus promises to deliver them from the trial which is coming upon the earth and to grant them entrance into the heavenly city.
This morning we are continuing with our series on the Book of Revelation and we are working our way through the opening section of this amazing book which begins in Revelation 1:12 with John's vision of the resurrected Christ who walks in the midst of his church. This first vision recorded by John extends through the end of chapter three, and includes the seven letters addressed by Christ to seven churches scattered throughout western Asia Minor. In weeks past, we have covered five of these seven letters to the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, and Sardis. This morning we turn to the sixth of these letters, our Lord's letter to his church in Philadelphia.
As we have seen in each of these letters, Jesus speaks directly to his churches. He commends several of them for being faithful, before offering each of them encouragement in the midst of their struggles. But he also rebukes the churches in Ephesus, Pergamum, Thyatira and Sardis for serious shortcomings. Either these churches have lost their first love-their love for their brethren-or else they have tolerated false teaching and paganism in their midst. Jesus commands Christians in these churches to repent, lest they face immediate judgment. But we have also pointed out that each of these letters ends with a promise from the Lord of his church to all those who are faithful and who overcome through faith in him. Jesus knows the struggles his people face. He promises all those who are his that they will overcome, despite the efforts of those who oppose the gospel and seek to do Christ's people harm.
II. As I have pointed out with each of these letters, knowing something about each church and its particular environs is very critical in understanding the promised blessing or threatened curse given by Jesus. Philadelphia was a city which had experienced wide-spread damage as a result of an earthquake in A. D. 17. In fact, the recent history of this city factors greatly into word of encouragement Jesus gives to this struggling congregation.
The ancient city of Philadelphia (modern day Alashir) was founded about 140 B.C. by Attalus the second, whose surname was Philadelphus. Out of love and admiration for his brother, Eumenes, Attalus named the new city Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. (1) Located along the strategic road which linked Asia with Europe, Philadelphia became an important center of commerce and trade. As such an important crossroad, the was city a kind of open door through which Greek culture spread south and east into Asia Minor, Syria and Persia, and through which, in turn, Asian goods passed to the north en route to Greece and Rome. Philadelphia was, in a sense, a kind of gateway between east and west.
The city was built on a very fertile volcanic plain and the local vineyards produced renowned wines and fermented beverages. But given the proximity of the city to an ancient volcano, the area was often hit by powerful earthquakes. A massive quake did in fact hit the area in A. D. 17. The damage was so severe and widespread that the Roman government under the emperor Tiberius exempted the city from paying tribute (taxes) for some time. Tiberius even donated a vast sum of money to help the city rebuild. But the aftershocks from this quake were so strong and persisted for so long that people slept outside of their dwellings for years afterward. According to ancient records, a number of people maintained homes and businesses in the city, but at dusk left the city to sleep in the surrounding countryside because of fears that the next quake would bury them in their sleep. The people lived in fear for generations and the city continually suffered damage from these aftershocks.
But Philadelphia's political leaders were so impressed with Tiberius's generosity toward them that they decided to honor Tiberius by renaming the city Neocaesarea (New Caesar), a name which stuck for some thirty years, until the city was renamed "Flavia" in the 70's, in honor of Emperor Vespasian (Titus Flavius Sabinus Vespasianus). But local residents still called the city Philadelphia, even though the city's name had been officially changed at least twice.
According to the famed archaeologist/historian William Ramsey, in his book on the seven churches, all of these events play an important role in our Lord's letter to this particular church. Ramsey points them out to us; "First, [Philadelphia] was the missionary city ; secondly, its people lived always in dread of disaster, `the day of trial'; thirdly, many of its people went out of the city to dwell; fourthly, it took a new name from an imperial god." (2) All of these things, from the city being an open door to both east and west, to the fact that people lived in constant fear of further earthquakes, many people choosing to dwell outside the city rather than in it, as well as the renaming of the city, will be mentioned by our Lord in his commendation of this particular congregation.
III. Our Lord's letter to the church in Philadelphia contains a number of wonderful promises to a very hard-pressed congregation. And so let us turn to our text this morning, Revelation 3:7-13.
As he has done in each of these letters, Jesus begins by instructing "the angel of the church in Philadelphia" to write: "These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open." Our Lord's reference to the angel of each of these churches probably refers to the angel (messenger) assigned by our Lord to each one of these congregations. As we have also seen, the opening salutation made by our Lord refers back to some particular aspect of Christ's post-resurrection glory which was set forth earlier in the vision of the Risen Lord recorded by John in Revelation 1:12-20. Jesus does this so as to reinforce the point that he is the Lord of his church, who walks among the people and who is, therefore, always present with them. Indeed, Jesus promises his churches blessing for faithfulness, protection from danger, and he warns his people of their need to repent when they are unfaithful.
In this letter to the church in Philadelphia, Jesus begins by speaking of himself as "holy and true," both of which are divine attributes. To use such words of himself is tantamount to a claim to deity. It is important to notice the context in which Jesus uses these self-designations. The prophet Isaiah uses the word "holy" of YHWH nearly twenty times in his prophecy, which is interesting especially in light of the fact that Jesus is about to refer directly to a Messianic prophecy found in Isaiah 22. (3) But Jesus is not only "holy" as is YHWH, he is also "true," which is a reference to the fact that he is Israel's true Messiah. This is an important point given the fact that the persecution facing the church in Philadelphia was largely instigated by the local synagogue. In many of the cities of Western Asia Minor, there were sizable Jewish populations. In Philadelphia, the synagogue was very active in opposing Christianity.
But not only is Jesus Holy and true-therefore both truly God and Israel's Messiah-Jesus alone holds the key of David. Not only does this recall to mind Christ's words in Revelation 1:18 when Jesus speaks of holding the keys of death and Hades, Jesus now cites directly from Isaiah 22:22: "I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open." From this it is clear that Jesus not only holds power over death and the grave but he alone is that one in whom is found salvation from the guilt and power of sin. Since the resurrected Christ alone holds these keys, he is judge of all the earth. (4)
In the Isaiah 22 passage from which Jesus quotes verse 22, we find the prophecy regarding Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, about whom YHWH says, "I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the house of Judah." When YHWH goes on to say of this coming one "what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open," the image is that Eliakim is a type of the Messiah. He is given the key of David, the robe of royal authority and so on. But the Jews of John's day apparently interpreted this prophecy to refer to their own authority to shut the assembly (the synagogue) to those Jews who became Christians and who were subsequently excommunicated. Since the Jews claimed the authority to shut the assembly to Christians, Christ now cites the same passage to demonstrate that it is he, not they, who determines membership and entrance into the true assembly, which is his church. (5) Therefore, Jesus is not only aiming these words as words of comfort to those Jews who had been excommunicated when they came to faith in Jesus Christ, but these words are also a word of warning to the Jews in Philadelphia who were persecuting Christians and claiming messianic authority to do so.
In verse 8, Jesus, the Lord of his church and ever-present with his people, reminds them that he knows their situation and how they have struggled. Says Jesus: "I know your deeds." The Lord knows his people have been faithful under very difficult circumstances. Indeed, Jesus goes on to say to them, "See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name." Since the Jews claimed to have shut the door to the messianic kingdom to those who came to embrace Jesus as Israel's Messiah, Jesus now tells them that he has placed before the Philadelphians an open door which cannot be shut. This door not only is depicted as the entrance into "the house of David" in verse 7, which is a reference to the messianic kingdom, but in verse 12, we read that this also entails entrance into the city and the temple of God. Since Christ has opened this door through his death, burial and resurrection, no one can shut it. Not Satan, not the beast, not those Jews in Philadelphia who persecute Christ's church. As the city of Philadelphia was an open door of trade to both east and west, so too the church in Philadelphia will be a open door of sorts, that is, an open door to Christ's messianic kingdom.
This is an amazing promise when we consider the fact that this congregation had very little strength, literally, "little power." The church in Philadelphia was probably a small congregation numerically, with little material resources. Nevertheless, this congregation is given an open door by Christ which cannot be closed, because they have kept Christ's word and not denied his name. They have faithfully preached the gospel despite the fierce opposition from the Jews living in the area. Because of this, the church in Philadelphia is an open door to the messianic kingdom of Jesus Christ, that one who is the key of the house of David and about whom Isaiah was speaking in his prophecy.
But there is a special context in which the church of Philadelphia will be especially effective as a witness to those around them, namely to the Jews who have been persecuting them. This becomes clear in verse 9, when Jesus promises this church, "I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars--I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you." Several things here require some explanation. When Jesus speaks of the synagogue of Satan, especially in reference to those who claim to be Jews, who are not, and who are liars, I take him to mean that the church is being opposed by Jews who claim to be the true Israel and who regard Jewish Christians as apostates.
From the time of the Council of Jamnia in A. D. 90, when the Jews met to formalize their canon of Scripture as well as respond to the spread of Christianity, the Jews prayed the following prayer (the twelfth benediction) when someone converted to Christianity:
For apostates let their be no hope, and the kingdom of insolence mayest thou uproot speedily in our days; and let Christians (noserim) and the heretics perish in a moment, let them be blotted out of the book of life and let them not be written with the righteous. Blessed art thou O Lord, who humbles the insolent. (6)
In the context of modern Anti-semitism and post-holocaust Jewish theology, people don't like to talk about such things, but the fact of the matter is by the time of the writing of Revelation at the end of the first century, Jews and Christians were deeply divided and hostile to each other as evidenced by the persecution churches in Asia Minor were receiving from the Jews. The issue in this particular letter is that while the Jews claimed authority to shut the messianic kingdom to Christians, the Messiah himself reminds the Jews that it is he who alone possesses such power. Furthermore, Jesus addresses those who claim to be the guardians of the messianic kingdom, but who are not, as those who are, in effect, doing the work of Satan by hindering the work of the gospel and persecuting the true people of God.
Indeed, Jesus himself will ensure that those Jews who hinder the gospel will bow before the feet of those they have persecuted. This is an allusion to a number of Old Testament passages in which the prophets predict that in the messianic age, the Gentiles will come and bow down before the people of Israel and Israel's God. Ironically, all of these prophecies are fulfilled in the Christ's church, largely made up of Gentiles. Now, says Jesus, the Jews in Philadelphia will be forced to acknowledge that Christ's church, including those Jewish believers who have joined it, are the beloved people of YHWH, something which was foretold in the Old Testament. To the prophetic theme of Gentiles worshiping Israel's God in the messianic age, Jesus now adds the image of Jews will come to worship the God of all nations, YHWH.
Because the Philadelphian Christians have remained faithful, Jesus promises them in verse 10, "Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth." This verse has been variously interpreted, most notably by the dispensationalists who believe that a secret rapture of the church takes place before the seven-year tribulation begins. This verse is often cited as a proof-text for this erroneous notion, since Christ supposedly promises to remove this church from the hour of trial (i.e., the tribulation period) which is yet to come upon the earth by means of the rapture.
The problem with this should be obvious. According to Revelation 7:14, the great tribulation began with coming of Christ! Therefore, we are in the midst of the great tribulation even now. The church of Philadelphia has not been kept from the trial in the sense of being removed from the earth during the tribulation. In fact, this church is in midst of tribulation of some sort even before Jesus addresses this letter to them!
But what does Jesus mean when he speaks of keeping this church from the hour of trial? In John 17, in his high-priestly prayer, Jesus prays for believers who will remain in the world, even after he leaves them to be with his father in heaven. Jesus never promises to remove his people from the world. Rather, he promises to protect them in the midst of the world. And this is most likely what John has in mind here in Revelation 3:10. Because these Christians have faithfully persevered in the face of persecution, Jesus will keep them-in the sense of protecting them-during an hour of trial which is coming upon the whole world. Notice too that the length of this trial is relatively short (one hour) in contrast to the usual designation for the period of time between Christ's first advent and second coming in the Book of Revelation: 3 and ½ years, 42 months or a thousand years. So this particular trial does not refer to the entire inter-advental age (i.e., the last days and the millennium) but to a brief trial which occurs at some point during the present age.
Therefore, this may be a reference to a period of great turmoil in the days immediately before Christ returns at the end of the age. It seems certain that Jesus teaches this trial is yet future when Revelation was written, but two thousand years later, we cannot be sure if this church's hour-long trial during which they will be protected, has already occurred or is still yet to come. But in any case, I would be remiss if I didn't point out the fact that this particular church remained faithful to the gospel down through the centuries, even after Islam became the dominant religion in Asia Minor. In fact, throughout the twentieth century the church in Philadelphia has flourished and is the only one of these seven church which continues on into the present age. (7) God has kept them, as he promised he would.
I would also be remiss if I didn't point out that the trial which is expected is coming upon the whole earth-not just Jerusalem in A. D. 70, as preterists erroneously insist. This coming trial is universal, not localized. Whatever trial Jesus is speaking about and whether it is yet future or has already passed-he clearly promises to preserve this congregation in the midst of this trial. He never promises to remove this church from the earth through a so-called "secret rapture." It was Jesus after all, who prayed in John 17:15, "my prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one." Jesus will not remove his church from the earth to protect them from the hour of trial. But during the hour of trial he will protect and preserve them from the evil one who manifests himself in Revelation through the efforts of the Beast and the harlot, as well as in those synagogues which persecute Christ's church and attempt to hinder the spread of the gospel.
Having promised to deliver this church from further suffering, Jesus gives them the following word of exhortation: "I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown." Not only does Jesus promise to come to the Philadelphians quickly to preserve them from the hour of trial, he also encourages them to hold on to what they have, i.e., the gospel which they have heard and believed. By holding fast to the gospel, no one will take from them their crown, probably a reference to the fact that in the Isaiah 22 passage just cited, God promises to take away the evil Shebna's crown and gives it to Eliakim, who has been faithful. (8) The image here is that the Jews will not be able to take their crown, since the Philadelphians are like Eliakim-faithful-while the Jews there are like Shebna-faithless.
One again, Jesus closes out this letter with several promises, promises which reflect the historical situation facing the inhabitants of the city. "Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name." There are a number of interesting points here as we wrap up.
For one thing, Jesus promises to make the overcomer a pillar in God's temple, a temple which they will never be forced to leave. This promise makes perfect sense against the backdrop of continual earthquakes which rocked the earthly city of Philadelphia. Instead of sleeping outside and living in fear, God's people will given a permanent residence as pillars in that heavenly temple which even now God is building as the body of Christ. Unlike earthly structures which can be destroyed, this temple cannot be shaken. There is no need to flee from within or to sleep outside. For all those who dwell in this temple dwell in perfect peace and safety. And they will dwell in this temple forever.
For another, Jesus promises to give each of his people the name of his father, as well as the name of the heavenly city. God's people and his heavenly city bear the eternal name of the true and living God. The idea of naming implies ownership and protection. Unlike their own city, which had its named changed twice to honor pagan emperors who claimed to be divine, the heavenly city is named by the eternal God, and its name will never be changed. Thus we read in Revelation 22:4, those in the New Jerusalem, "will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads." Bearing God's name, we will live in that glorious heavenly city named by God. This is what awaits these Christians in Philadelphia who have been faithful and who will be delivered from the hour of trial coming upon the whole world.
Once again the application for us is very simple and straightforward. God knows how to protect all those who are his, even in the midst of the hour of trial. Christ's promise to us is that he will protect us from the wrath and wiles of Satan, and that he will preserve us in the hour of trial whenever it comes. Indeed, through his own death and resurrection Jesus has given us an open door into the kingdom of heaven, a door which no one can close. And what is more, even now, Jesus is preparing for us that heavenly city which cannot be shaken and where we will dwell in his presence for ever and ever! Therefore, let us hold on to that which we have been given-the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ and all of its promises. For by doing so, we will overcome and dwell in the heavenly temple for ever and ever!
"He who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches."
1. Kistemaker, Revelation, p. 157.
2. Cited in Kistemaker, Revelation,
pp. 156-157.
3. Beale, Revelation, p. 283.
4. Beale, Revelation, p. 284.
5. Beale, Revelation, p. 284.
6. Cited in Kistemaker, Revelation, p. 160.
7. Kistemaker, Revelation, p. 157.
8. Beale, Revelation, p. 293.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:35:59 CST
"To the Church in Laodicea"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 9
Texts: Revelation 3:14-22; Hosea 12:1-14
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I. The church in Laodicea thinks of itself as wealthy, very well-off, and without any apparent needs. But the reality is far different. While this congregation may have an exalted opinion of itself, Jesus describes this church in completely different terms: wretched, pitiful, poor and naked. This church is lukewarm and is about to be spit out of Christ's mouth. With these words of rebuke, the church in Laodicea joins the church in Sardis as the only two congregations among the seven addressed by our Lord which receive no word of praise. Instead, these two churches receive only a word of rebuke and a command to repent, lest they face Christ's judgment.
As we continue our series on the Book of Revelation, we come to the seventh and final letter addressed by Jesus Christ to his churches in Asia Minor, the letter to the church in Laodicea. With this particular letter we come to the end of John's opening vision of the resurrected Christ which began in Revelation 1:12 and which ends in chapter three with Jesus' words of encouragement, admonition and rebuke to those congregations struggling to remain faithful in the face of paganism, persecution from the state and from those Jews who lived in significant numbers in several of these cities. In the next few weeks, Lord willing, we'll turn our attention to John's second vision, the vision of God's throne room in Revelation 4 and 5 and the worship which takes place in heaven.
II. But this morning as we wrap up with more mundane themes, we turn our focus to Christ's letter to the church in Laodicea, a city located some forty-miles south of Philadelphia and some hundred miles to the east of Ephesus. Once again, knowing something about the background of this particular city is very helpful in understanding some of the things that Jesus says to this congregation.
Established well before the rise of the Roman Empire, the city of Laodicea was historically known as the city of Zeus. About 250 BC, the city was renamed by the Syrian ruler Antiochus II in honor of his wife, Laodice. When the Romans entered the area some one hundred years later, Laodicea became an important crossroad and the seat of local government. In addition to being an important and thriving center of commerce, Laodicea was also widely known for its black wool and for its medical school which produced an effective eye-salve which was in wide demand throughout the Roman world as one of the few effective treatments for a number of eye ailments. Although hit hard by the same earthquake which had decimated the city of Philadelphia in A.D. 17, Laodicea received limited financial aid from the Roman government. This was because the city was wealthy enough to meet its own needs while still being able to contribute substantial sums to help several neighboring cities rebuild. (1)
After the Jewish captivity in Babylon had ended and large numbers of Jews sought to return to their ancient homeland, Antiochus the Great enticed nearly 2000 Jewish families to relocate to this area in Western Asia Minor about 250 B.C. Given the fact that there is no mention of opposition from the Jews living in the area to the church in Laodicea, coupled with the fact that there is no mention of opposition from Gentiles in the form of persecution from the state, nor is there any mention of problems associated with false teachers being in their midst, we can but wonder if the church in Laodicea had stopped preaching the gospel altogether. The fact that this church actually thrived in an area dominated by Jews and paganism-the city was home to a huge temple dedicated to the worship of Caesar-is a good indication that this congregation had long since stopped being a threat or an offense to those outside the church. (2)
Given the reference to its material wealth and prosperity it is very likely that this church had grown complacent, self-satisfied and self-reliant. (3) By worldly standards, this church is a huge success. It is probably well-attended and has lots of money. By Christ's standards, however, this church is absolutely poor and wretched. It has lost interest in the gospel and in Christ. This church thinks it has everything it needs without them-therefore, it has nothing.
One more bit of background about the city of Laodicea needs to be mentioned before we turn to the text of the letter itself. The city had no local water supply. The Lycus river which ran through the city was described as "turbid with white mud . . . nauseous and undrinkable." The neighboring city of Colossae to the east was watered by a cold mountain stream. Hierapolis, to the north, sat on a natural hot spring which was believed to have medicinal qualities. But Laodicea obtained its water through an aqueduct running from a hot spring located five miles to the south. The water was scalding hot when it entered the aqueduct. But it was filled with calcium carbonate and by the time the water traveled five miles down the system and arrived in the city, it was lukewarm and barely drinkable. (4) It is a matter of record that throughout its early history, Laodicea's growth and prosperity was hindered by its lack of drinking water, a situation with which every one of Laodicea's residents would have been familiar.
III. And so with this bit of historical background in mind, we now turn to Christ's letter to the church in Laodicea, where we find a very familiar pattern.
As we have seen in each of these seven letters, in verse 14, Jesus instructs "the angel of the church in Laodicea [to] write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation." This directive makes it clear that Jesus who is Lord of his church, possesses full authority over his individual congregations, and therefore when he speaks to his churches, he does so in this capacity. It is also quite significant that Jesus speaks of himself here as "the Amen," and "the faithful and true witness," especially when the congregation to whom he is writing has such a false estimation of their own standing before God. Each of these terms overlaps a bit with the others and together they serve to remind the hearer that Jesus is God's word of "amen," the faithful witness, that one who alone testifies about the true condition of things on earth before his father in heaven. The point we should note is that even as Jesus was a faithful witness to Israel when testifying about his father during his earthly ministry, so now, after his resurrection from the dead, Jesus is a faithful witness to his heavenly father when testifying about the condition of this church. (5) He sees what the Laodiceans do not.
In the NIV, Jesus is also said to speak of himself as "the ruler of God's creation," but this is probably not the best translation of the original language. A better translation is something like, "the beginning of God's creation," a phrase which should be seen in the light of the earlier declaration in Revelation 1:5, in which Jesus is declared to be the "firstborn" from the dead. (6) The idea is simply this. In Christ's resurrection from the dead, the new creation has already begun. Through Christ's conquest of the grave, even now God is removing the curse by breaking the power of sin and death through Christ's sacrificial death and triumphant resurrection. To a church such as that in Laodicea-which trusts in itself, its money and its success-Jesus is confronting them with the truth that he alone can bring true spiritual renewal-"the new creation." He alone can undo the effects of sin. He alone will raise the dead. The Laodiceans must therefore look to him, in whom creation is renewed, rather than rely on temporal and worldly things as they have been doing. (7)
Once again, Jesus reminds this particular congregation that as the faithful witness he knows their true condition. "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!" Anyone living in Laodicea and who was familiar with the lukewarm and tepid water which came through the cities' aqueduct would have immediately grasped what Jesus was saying. Jesus knows the true state of affairs of this church. The Laodiceans may think of themselves as wealthy and without need-these, by the way, are the same sentiments echoed by the Harlot in Revelation 18, who has enriched the world's merchants with her wealth, all the while seducing them into unbelief. In reality, this church is just like the tepid and bitter water the people of Laodicea were forced to drink on a daily basis.
And this, of course, explains why Jesus warns this church about its lukewarm condition, as well as why he so pointedly tells them that it would be better if they were either hot or cold. If the church becomes cold, it will see the gospel as a kind of refreshing spring like that which watered the city of Colossae to the east. If the church becomes hot, it will see the gospel as having medicinal value like the springs of Hierapolis to the north. To remain lukewarm then, is a metaphor for continuing to compromise with the spirit of the age in order to attain material success, rather than seeking to please God by remaining faithful to the gospel, which is to be hot or cold.
If you've ever tried to drink flat Alka-Seltzer or room temperature "Bud Lite," you know exactly what Jesus is talking about. This is why he goes on to say in verse 16, "So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth." The complacency toward the things of God and the interest shown in things of this world has rendered this church nothing but a bitter and disgusting taste in our Lord's mouth. And so, unless this church repents, the Lord will spit them from his mouth. How can such a congregation be an effective witness to those around them? They cannot. They have compromised to the point that they no longer offend anyone and in the process, sadly, have become an offense to the Lord of the church. They may be a success in the world's eyes, but they are a failure in Christ's estimation.
Completely self-deceived and utterly complacent-perhaps even the adjective "lazy" applies-because of their wealth and success, Jesus describes this congregation's self-assessment before pointing out to them the very stark reality of their situation: "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." From this description of their true condition, it is clear that because of their success in terms of their wealth and prosperity, this church thinks that it has no needs. Its members have equated material blessing with God's favor. And since they have acquired great wealth and have no apparent material need, they mistakenly assume that they are pleasing God by their conduct.
This assertion by our Lord about thinking of themselves as rich when the reality is that they are poor, is based upon some very loud echoes from the Old Testament, especially from those passages where Israel had come to believe that the nation's economic prosperity was supposedly evidence of its healthy spiritual condition. There are a number of instances in the Old Testament where the Jews mistakenly assumed that material prosperity was proof that the nation had been faithful to the covenant, even though material prosperity was seen at the time as a human accomplishment instead of a great blessing from God. The reality was far different from the appearance for Israel even as it is for the church in Laodicea.
Once such place where this same idea can be found is Hosea 12, our Old Testament lesson this morning, where Ephraim had become overly confident because of Israel's wealth. According to Hosea's prophecy, we read that "Ephraim" who is Manasseh's brother, but in Hosea's prophecy, is symbolic of the nation of Israel as a whole, "feeds on the wind; he pursues the east wind all day and multiplies lies and violence. He makes a treaty with Assyria and sends olive oil to Egypt. The LORD has a charge to bring against Judah; he will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds. In the womb he grasped his brother's heel; as a man he struggled with God. He struggled with the angel and overcame him; he wept and begged for his favor. He found him at Bethel and talked with him there--the LORD God Almighty, the LORD is his name of renown! But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always. The merchant uses dishonest scales; he loves to defraud."
And just like the church in Laodicea, "Ephraim boasts, `I am very rich; I have become wealthy. With all my wealth they will not find in me any iniquity or sin.'. . . But Ephraim has bitterly provoked him to anger; his Lord will leave upon him the guilt of his bloodshed and will repay him for his contempt." As Israel [Ephraim] had become a merchant with no problems with dishonest gain while defrauding her neighbors for the sake of earning a greater profit, so too, the church in Laodicea boasts of its wealth, thinking that its money will cover up its sins. Jesus, however, now exposes the truth. This church is not rich and without need. In fact, it is "wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked." What is worse, is the fact that the members of this church have not the slightest clue as to their true condition. These people have compromised with the spirit of the age to the point where they are blind to their true condition. Yes, in the eyes of the world, they have prospered greatly. But the economic gains and well-being this compromise has produced obscures the fact that what was lost in the process is the real treasure-the gospel! And not having the gospel means that in Christ's eyes, this church has nothing. It is wretched.
It is with this deplorable condition in mind that in verse 18 Jesus now instructs this church as how to rectify their situation: "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." Being wretched, pitiful, poor and naked, the remedy which Christ prescribes is for this church must come as a shock to them. They must to come to their senses and give up trusting in their own material prosperity which is ultimately worthless. They must look to Christ, whose ability to supply them with what they truly need is inexhaustible. (8) This true prosperity of the messianic age is depicted by the prophet Isaiah, when in Isaiah 55:1 the prophet writes, "Come, all you who are thirsty; come to the waters, and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come buy wine and milk without money and without cost." In Christ are found all of the riches and treasures of heaven. And this treasure is freely offered to us, if we humbly receive it with the empty hands of faith.
What the Laodiceans truly need then is to participate in the new creation through faith in Jesus Christ's victory over death and the grave. What these people truly need is the righteousness of Christ, which he alone has earned for them through the refiner's fire of the cross and the empty tomb and which covers the shameful nakedness (the unrighteousness) of those in this church who have forgotten all about what constitutes the true riches of which Christ is speaking. But the imagery of refining by fire also seems to suggest that the Laodiceans must be purified themselves, in the sense of removing all those pagan influences from their midst which have lead to their complacency. Therefore, they must clothe themselves with Christ and purify themselves from the influences of the spirit of the age. Furthermore, these people need the salve of the Law and the gospel to open their eyes so that they might see their true condition-wretched, not rich-come to their senses, and repent, before it is too late.
Indeed, Jesus is Lord of his church and he will punish all those who do not repent. But this does not mean Jesus is cruel or unloving. On the contrary, says Jesus, "those whom I love I rebuke and discipline." If Christ cared nothing for his people, he would simply leave this church in its wretched condition and come to them in judgment without any final word of warning. But, says Paul, it is God's kindness which leads sinners to repentance (Romans 2:4). And since Jesus loves his people, he rebukes and disciplines them. So, says Jesus to this disobedient and apathetic church, "be earnest, and repent." These are words of love from the Lord of his church. For they constitute a final word of warning before he brings down his judgment upon this congregation.
That this is the case can be seen in the very next verse when the warning to repent is followed by an amazing invitation to those who do so. "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." It is truly an act of grace for Jesus to invite the members of this church to renew their fellowship with him which they claim to enjoy, but which in reality is all but gone. (9) While this verse is frequently misquoted, as though the context was an evangelistic one-Jesus stands outside the door of the human heart waiting for the person to open the door of their heart to him if only they will accept Christ as their personal savior-the fact of the matter is that this letter is written to Christians in the church of Laodicea who need to be reminded that their relationship with Christ must be renewed or face the judgment of Christ.
In fact, this verse echoes an ancient canticle (song) of a bridegroom who stands outside the door of the bedchamber, knocking, waiting for his wife to admit him. Likewise Christ is asking this church to invite him in so that his relationship with this church might be renewed in all of its fullness. (10) Indeed, having accepted Christ's gracious invitation, Christ will dine with his people, which is most likely a reference to the fellowship of the savior with his people expressed in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. But this invitation must be heeded immediately because Christ is even now standing at the door of this church, knocking, waiting for his people to repent and invite him in to renew their fellowship.
As is the case in all of these letters, to those who repent, heed Christ's warnings and continue to hold fast to that which has been revealed in the gospel, Jesus promises them that they will overcome. Says Jesus in verse 21, "To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne." Those who acknowledge that Christ is the faithful witness, and that his testimony about this congregation's spiritual condition is indeed true, Jesus will grant to them the right to rule in his messianic kingdom, a kingdom which dawned at his coming, continues to conquer unbelief despite the opposition from the beast, and a kingdom which will be fully realized at the end of the age, when Jesus returns to judge the world, raise the dead and make all things new.
The application for us this morning is simply this. The success of a church cannot be measured by its size, its property and buildings, or its wealth. It must be measured by its faithfulness to the gospel. While the world sees success in terms of numbers, programs, buildings, endowments and bank accounts, such things often times breed complacency and compromise. Indeed the church in Laodicea was able to obtain such wealth only by compromising the gospel message it proclaimed so as to make peace with the prosperous unbelievers around them. Only then did the church in Laodicea prosper. But it was a false success and led them into their lukewarm and pitiful condition.
What Christ asks of us as his people is that we seek not success, but that we seek to be faithful to the gospel which he has entrusted to us. Although all good things come from our father's hand and God may indeed choose to bless certain churches with great prosperity, let us never mistakenly assume that the presence of wealth is the sign that we are being faithful to the will of God. That must be measured by the things we have seen throughout these seven letters: whether or not a church preaches the gospel, whether or not a church drives out false teachers from its midst, whether or not a church loves the brethren, not forsaking its first love, and whether or not its members will refuse to take the Mark of the Beast by acknowledging someone other than Christ is Lord, even if that act costs us our lives or our livelihoods. This is what Christ expects of us as he walks in our midst, and as we seek to be a witness of the gospel to those around us. If we do these things, we will overcome and receive all of those glorious things Christ has promised to his people. So on this the Lord's day, once again we open the door and invite our savior into our midst through his word and sacraments, so that we can dine with him this morning and renew our fellowship with the Lord of the church.
"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
1. Kistemaker, Revelation, pp.
166-167.
2. Kistemaker, Revelation, p. 167,
3. Poythress, The Returning King, pp.
92-93.
4. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 90.
5. Beale, Revelation, p. 296.
6. See the discussion of this in Beale, The
Book of Revelation, pp. 297 ff.
7. See the discussions in Johnson, Beale and
Poytress about Christ's connection to the renewal of all things as implied by
this assertion.
8. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
92.
9. Beale, Revelation, pp. 307-308.
10. Beale, Revelation, p. 308.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:35:35 CST
"Before the Throne"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 10
Texts: Revelation 4:1-11; Isaiah 6:1-7
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I. If the Book of Revelation has a single theme, surely it is God and his greatness. This is clear in Revelation 4 and 5 where we are given a visionary glimpse of heaven. God is enthroned amidst the angelic hosts. His undescribable glory fills the universe. He is worshiped with songs of praise, celebrating all that he has done. His rule has been established at creation and his mighty hand has guided the course of the history of redemption. But also prominent in the heavenly scene is the Lamb, who alone is worthy to open the scroll detailing the purposes of God for the future. Heaven itself resounds with praise "to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb."
This morning we come to a new section of the apocalypse, Revelation 4-5, which includes John's vision of the heavenly throne. Before we turn to our text this morning in Revelation 4:1-11, we need to keep in mind the context of John's vision of the heavenly scene as well as some of the distinctives of apocalyptic literature. In apocalyptic literature, the author uses symbolic language to paint word pictures describing spiritual realities which lie behind the events of the redemptive history. John does not intend us to understand the things he describes literally. The symbols he uses are drawn directly from the Old Testament and we are to interpret them in light of the broad panorama of redemptive history.
This means that the Book of Revelation is a kind of divine commentary upon the Old Testament showing how all that was foretold was, or will be, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Lamb who was slain and upon whom the redemptive story is focused. The key to interpret the symbols in Revelation correctly, including the scene in heaven, is to observe how these symbols were used in the Old Testament and how they are now interpreted in the light of the coming of Christ.
In these two chapters of Revelation alone (4-5) there are fourteen elements drawn from Daniel 7 and the prophecy regarding the Son of Man and the Ancient of Days. There are also direct echoes here from Ezekiel 1-2, as well as that of Isaiah 6:1-7, our Old Testament lesson. (1) But John will now do what the Old Testament prophets could not. He will point us directly to the Lamb who alone is worthy to open the scroll which was sealed until the time of the end.
Through the use of apocalyptic imagery, John ties together a number of Old Testament themes, giving the church on earth, heaven's perspective on Jesus' words in the Lord's Prayer, "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." In this scene we are given a glimpse of God's will being done in heaven. Therefore, we may say that in these two chapters we are given a summary of history of redemption, viewed from a heavenly perspective. (2) Christ not only rules over his church, he rules over the entire cosmos. Before the redemptive drama reaches its conclusion, we know that the outcome is certain. Because God's will is being done in heaven, we have every reason to believe that one day it will be done upon the earth, despite the apparent victory of the Beast over the saints. "Thy will being done on earth" is exactly what God has promised and that for which Jesus has asked us to pray. And in Revelation 4-5 we see God's will being done in heaven, giving us hope for what will one day be a reality upon the earth.
This is very significant, given the ground we have just covered in the first three chapter of this book. The first three chapters of Revelation focused upon John's vision of the resurrected Christ as he walks in the midst of his churches, empowering them through the Holy Spirit to be witnesses of his grace and mercy to those around them. This became clear in the seven letters the Risen Christ addressed to the seven churches of western Asia Minor mentioned in Revelation 2-3. In each of these letters, Jesus knew the exact circumstances facing his people. He spoke words of encouragement to them. He promises blessing for obedience and curse for disobedience. But these seven churches are also typological of Christ's church in every age, and so what Jesus says to these churches, he says to us as well. What he has promised to the seven churches, Christ has also promised to us.
In Revelation 3:21, Jesus promised the overcomers in Laodicea that one day they will sit with him upon his throne, ruling over the nations. This is important to God's people since many of these Christians faced persecution and death from the satanically-empowered beast who sought to force Christians to confess that Caesar was Lord. A number of people had lost their lives and livelihoods. Other Christians faced slander and persecution from those Jews who sought to stop these churches from preaching the gospel. Most of these congregations struggled with the question of how to remain faithful to Christ while living in the midst of pagan culture. Hard-pressed, hated and persecuted, and repeatedly tempted to compromise with the spirit of the age, the Christians in these seven churches are promised that if they overcome by remaining faithful to gospel, they will receive all of the blessings promised them by Christ.
Therefore, it is no accident that John's vision of heaven immediately follows upon the letters to the seven churches. The best way to encourage suffering and persecuted churches is to give them a glimpse of God's throne. A glimpse of God's power will give us courage to face the Beast, for the final victory is certain and the Beast will be defeated. A glimpse of heaven reminds us of God's goodness and justice, reinforcing the promise that righteousness will triumph and the wicked will be punished. A glimpse of the Lamb who was slain, reminds us as God's people that our redemption is an accomplished fact in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This heavenly vision reminds the saints that in the midst of their trials, their suffering, and in their temptation, God sovereignly controls all things. And one day, God's will, which is now being done in heaven, will indeed be done upon the earth. (3)
One final note of introduction needs to be mentioned before we turn to our text. In the second commandment we are told that we must worship God only as he commands. Therefore, it should be obvious that when we come to a passage such as this which describes the worship of God which takes place at this very moment in heaven, we should be looking for patterns in the worship depicted in this heavenly scene so that we might pattern our Lord's Day worship after that which transpires in heaven. There is even a sense when we as the people of God gather together on the Lord's day to worship the one who sits upon the throne and the Lamb, we add our worship to that which presently takes place in heaven. At the very least our worship here on earth should prepare us to worship in heaven, for one day we will all take our places among the multitude who surround the glassy sea and add our voices to the heavenly choir. Worship is not only one of the great joys of the Christian life, it is serious business.
II. With this brief bit of background, let now turn to our text this morning, Revelation 4:1-11.
In Revelation 4:1, we hear words from John which echo earlier words from the prophets Daniel and Ezekiel when they too were given glimpses of this heaven scene. Says John: "After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven." John uses the phrase, "after this," or "after these things," which gives us an important clue about what is to follow. "After this," should be understood to mean that the vision which follows, was revealed to John after the vision recorded in Revelation 1-3. This does not necessarily mean that the events of this vision are to occur in history after the events in Revelation 1-3. There is a much overlap between John's vision of the resurrected Christ and the letters to the seven churches with that of the worship described in Revelation 4-5. In Revelation 1-3, Jesus speaks to the seven churches which are symbolic of the church militant during the last days, which encompass that period of time between our Lord's first advent and his second coming. But in Revelation 4-5, John is describing the same period of time from the vantage point of God's throne in heaven.
The first thing we should note is that the image of an open door tells us that John is being permitted to see things otherwise barred from human sight. (4) John has already heard Christ's voice in Revelation 1:12, now he hears it again. "And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, `Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.'" John is now given a vision of the last days from the perspective of heaven, whereas the earlier vision had been given from the perspective of Christ's presence with his churches. (5) Like the prophet Ezekiel who was repeatedly raptured by the Spirit so as to see heavenly things, says John, "At once I was in the Spirit." Through the Holy Spirit, John is given a vision of the heavenly scene, which is, as one writer puts it, "a timeless dimension where truth and reality can be clearly discerned." (6) And like the prophets before him, this vision constitutes John as a prophetic messenger of what he sees. He is given this vision so that he might now proclaim what he sees to Christ's church.
When our dispensational friends tell us that in this verse John is describing the rapture of all Christians off the earth, and that the rest of the Book of Revelation concerns the supposed seven-year tribulation, they are sadly mistaken. This verse has nothing whatsoever to do with the rapture. Rather it has to do with John's being caught-up into heaven to describe what follows.
Like the prophets Ezekiel, Isaiah and Daniel, John is granted sight of things about which we can but imagine, namely the throne of God. According to John, "there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it." It is vital to notice that John never attempts to describe God, only the divine glory and the creatures who surround him. God is Spirit. Elsewhere he is described as a consuming fire who dwells in unapproachable light and glory. Thus John describes the scene around the throne and the creatures who attend the one who sits there, but he does not describe God, only his glory. "And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne." The precious gems refract light in almost all the shades of the color spectrum pointing to God's undescribable glory, while the rainbow recalls to mind God's covenant oath and faithfulness in providing for the salvation of his people. As the rainbow was the sign of the new creation after Noah's deliverance from the flood, so too the presence of the rainbow in heaven directs our gaze to the new creation which began with the resurrection of Christ and which one day will be God's will on earth.
In verse 4, John now turns his focus away from God's glory to the creatures who attend the divine throne. "Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads." The identification of these beings is the subject of much debate. The number of them, twenty-four, certainly points us to the church in both testaments, the twelve tribes in the Old Testament and the twelve apostles in the New. Given their function before the throne, these elders are probably angelic beings who are the heavenly representatives of God's people in both the old and new testaments. (7) While the earlier vision in Revelation 1-3 viewed the church in light of its earthly struggles, this vision views the church in light of its heavenly identity. If the elders depicted here are indeed connected to the angels of the seven churches, this should remind us that the church on earth must find its true identity in heaven, where God and the Lamb are worshiped in Spirit and in truth. Therefore, what is done on earth in the churches must be conducted in the light of what is even now being done in heaven.
God's glory in heaven is accompanied by the phenomena associated with God's judgment and presence found on earth throughout redemptive history. According to John, "From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder." Since these same phenomena repeatedly appear at key moments in the biblical drama, it is not accidental then that they will appear again in the Book of Revelation at the conclusion of the seven judgments yet to be revealed. The presence of lightening and thunder reminds God's people that God has not forgotten them in the midst of their earthly struggles. (8) But this is not all John sees. "Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God." Drawing upon the visions of Zechariah and Ezekiel connecting lamps with the Spirit of YHWH and with the Spirit of Christ present with his churches in Revelation 1, this is clearly a reference to the seven-fold fullness of the blessed Holy Spirit. (9)
And there is more. "Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal." This scene certainly echoes Exodus 24, when Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, went up on the Mount of Sinai and saw God, and then reported that under his feet they saw a pavement of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. This may also refer to a transparent pavement which surrounds the throne. But one thing is certain. The heavenly sea is tranquil, like glass. The seas of earth are the frequently the scene of storm and tempest. The sea is also depicted in Revelation as the place of chaos and rebellion, from which the beast emerges to wage war upon the saints as we read in Revelation 11:7 and 13:1. But in heaven, the sea is calm, like glass, clear as crystal. There is no storm or tempest here, only calm and peace. (10)
Not only does John see twenty-four elders, like Isaiah, he sees other creatures who attend the one who sits upon the throne. "In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings." Similar creatures were seen by Ezekiel in his vision of God's throne as he reports in the first chapter of his prophecy. These creatures were also were seen by Isaiah, who tells us, "I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: `Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." Such an amazing sight overwhelms Isaiah with a sense of his own sinfulness.
Throughout the book of Revelation, numbers are always used symbolically. The number four is used throughout the apocalypse as the number of the world, since the earth is said to have four corners (north, south, east and west), four winds, and is divided into four regions; earth, sea, rivers and springs, and the heavens. (11) Therefore, when John sees four living creatures, they represent the entire created order. This is why they are depicted as looking like the earth's great creatures, man, the lion, the ox and the eagle. But given their function as part of the royal entourage surrounding the throne who continually worship the one seated there, and given the fact that they are covered with eyes which see everything, these creatures serve as the royal guardians who keep God's heavens from being defiled. They not only worship God and the Lamb in heaven, they also execute God's judgments upon the earth. (12)
In fact, in Revelation chapter 6, we learn that these same living creatures will go forth to bring judgment upon the earth when the first four seals of judgment are opened. But in Revelation 4, John describes their function in worship, "day and night they never stop saying: `Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.'" The heavenly hymns they sing remind us that God is holy, that he is triune (hence, the three-fold repetition "holy, holy, holy") that he is eternal (without beginning and end) and that he is sovereign (he is the Almighty). Given these glorious attributes and Tri-unity of God, he alone is worthy of praise. And he has been from all eternity.
Furthermore, when these living creatures praise God, they represent the whole of creation praising the creator. And when they worship-as they have from all eternity-the twenty-four elders join them. The picture we are to draw from this that all creation (represented by the four living creatures) as well as all of God's redeemed people (represented by the twenty-four elders) worship the one who is alone worthy of our worship. John describes this scene for us in verses 9-11. "Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: `You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.'" This not only reminds us of God's unspeakable greatness, but the heavenly scene should become the pattern for all Christian worship on earth.
III. Given this amazing scene, there is much here for us this morning in terms of application.
For those persecuted and struggling churches of Asia Minor, such a scene would not only have given them great encouragement in the face of their struggles, John's vision of God's throne will confirm for them that God's will is being done on heaven, even while Satan wages war upon them while they live upon the earth. Not only does this point us ahead to a time when God's will will be done upon the earth, this scene confirms the blessed state awaiting all those who die in Christ. Therefore, when the beast puts one of God's saints to death, that saint comes to life and they reign with Christ. And now having been given a glimpse of the heavenly throne, the persecuted saints on earth know what awaits them in heaven when they die. But not only does this scene give comfort to Christians facing death as the hands of the beast, it should give comfort to all of us who have stood beside the graves of those we love. For all those who die in Christ-including all those who we have loved and who precede us in death-have taken their places before the throne, adding their voices to those of the heavenly choir. They have come to life and now reign with Christ for a thousand years, as they await the great and glorious day of the resurrection.
This heavenly scene should inform our understanding of worship. Any worship that is truly Christian must be directed toward God, since he alone is worthy. Any other conception of worship is intrinsically idolatrous. What this means for us is simply this: God is the audience of our worship, since he blesses us through a divine visitation through word and sacrament. Indeed, our worship is directed to the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb who walks in our midst. Therefore, the congregation as a whole assembles for the purpose of worshiping God in heaven. We do not come here this morning to watch what goes on in the front of the church or to listen to the choir. We come here to add our voices to those of the elders, the angels, the four living creatures and multitude of departed saints who worship God in heaven at this very moment.
This is why Christians from the very beginning have used a liturgy similar to the historic Protestant liturgy we use each Lord's Day. We hear God's word of greeting. We sing his praises and come into his very presence. We pray as Jesus taught us to pray in the Lord's Prayer. We confess our sins and hear Christ's word of forgiveness so that we worship without guilt or fear. We confess our faith in the words of the creed, a testimony to those around us of the worthiness of the one who sits on the throne and of the Lamb. And then God replies to us, speaking to us in his word, and confirming to us his promises in the sacraments.
This eliminates any type of so-called worship which is designed to entertain the congregation or which is designed to meet the felt-needs of so-called seekers, people who are really sinful idolaters who need to be told how God wishes to be worshiped. Therefore, we do not do what we like in worship-we worship as God directs us to worship, especially in light of what we find in passages such as this one. This is why worship is such serious business and why we must not view the assembly of the saints on the Lord's day like going to a Laker game or a concert or a movie. People arrive before the first quarter is over. People leave early to beat the crowd. People get up and wander around and chat with their friends. But this is not appropriate during worship when God is our audience and visitor and when he is speaking to us. The criterion for worship is not whether the pastor was funny, the band was great, or whether or not we received a blessing. The only acceptable criterion is whether or not God received the blessing of his people in accordance with his word. This is why we must give due preparation and due attention to what transpires in this place on the Lord's Day. When we come here, we enter into God's presence and the perspective is not that things earthly, but things heavenly.
Even a glimpse of the heavenly throne reminds us of what Calvin described as the greatest of Christian privileges, to enter the presence of God and be numbered among the assembly of those who are allowed to worship the creator of the world and the redeemer of the saints. Let us never forget that God could have left each one of us in darkness and bondage to sin. If he had done so the only time we would enter his presence would be to hear the words, "depart from me, I never knew you." But this not the case for all those in Christ. God has chosen us despite our unworthiness. He has sent Christ to die for our sins and raised him from the dead for our justification. He has called us to faith through the preaching of the gospel and he has confirmed those promises through the sacraments. And he has done all of this so that we might be numbered among the assembly of those who enter his presence on the Lord's Day and add our voices to the heavenly choir, singing praises to the one who sits and the throne and to the lamb.
And with them we sing, "You are
worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory, honor and power, for you created
all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."
For once we have been given a glimpse God's throne in heaven and realize that
this is the end to which we have been called, how can we not help but fall
before the throne and worship the one seated there and the Lamb? Amen!
1. Beale, Revelation, pp. 314-315.
2. Poythress, Returning King, p. 97.
3. Poythress, Returning King, p. 97.
4. Kistemaker, Revelation, p. 183
5. Beale, Revelation, pp. 317-318.
6. Beale, Revelation, p. 319.
7. Beale, Revelation, p. 322.
8. Beale, Revelation, pp. 326-327.
9. Poythress, Returning King, p. 104.
10. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 99.
11. Bauckham, Climax of Prophecy, p.
31.
12. See Beale, Revelation, pp. 328-331; Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p. 101.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:35:12 CST
"Worthy is the Lamb"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 11
Texts: Revelation 5:1-14; Daniel 12:1-13
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I. In Revelation 4 and 5 the apostle John is caught away by the Holy Spirit and given an amazing vision of God's throne in heaven. The glory of the one sitting upon the throne, says John, has the appearance of precious gems and reflects virtually every color of the spectrum. A rainbow encircles the throne, from which emanate flashes of lightening and peals of thunder. Surrounding the throne are twenty four elders, angelic beings representing God's redeemed people in both testaments. They are present before the throne along with four living creatures who have six wings and who are covered with eyes. These creatures represent all of creation. Together with the elders, the living creatures worship the one seated on the throne. But they also worship another: the Lamb who was slain and who alone is worthy to open the mysterious scroll containing God's plan for the final chapters of redemptive history. They sing a new song, "worthy is the Lamb."
This morning as we continue our series on the book of Revelation, we have come to the opening scenes of John's second vision which are recorded for us in Revelation 4-5. Recall that in earlier chapters-Revelation 1:12-3:22-John was given a vision of the resurrected Christ walking in the midst of his churches. While this earlier vision depicts Christ's presence with his church on the earth, John's second vision in Revelation 4-5 is intended to give God's people a heavenly perspective upon their earthly struggles. Like the Old Testament prophets Ezekiel, Daniel and Isaiah before him, John is caught away by the Holy Spirit and given a vision of God's throne room in heaven. While the heavenly scene is in many ways beyond description, John's vision is nevertheless designed to give comfort and encouragement to those Christians previously addressed by our Lord in his letters to the seven churches of western Asia Minor, those Christians to whom the Risen Christ had directed words of encouragement, admonition and promise.
While Christians on earth must face the slanderous accusations of those who oppose the gospel, while they struggle to avoid compromise with the spirit of the age, while they fight against those pagan influences surrounding them, and while they struggle against the Beast-which is the satanically inspired Roman government which was putting Christians to death who did not acknowledge the divinity of Caesar and which also prevented them from buying and selling-John now gives these same Christians a glimpse of heaven. The purpose of this vision is, no doubt, to remind Christians in the midst of their struggles against these earthly foes, that God's will is being done in heaven, and that one day God's will will be done upon the earth.
Indeed, the knowledge of this fact would have been of great encouragement to believers struggling to fight the good fight of faith under the most difficult of circumstances. Despite the apparent victory of the Beast in taking the lives of the saints, keeping the heavenly scene before our eyes should remind God's people that despite the wrath of Satan against them, God's people will be victorious, because on Calvary's cross and in the garden tomb, the Lamb has already defeated the serpent. Therefore, in Revelation 4, John's focus is upon the glory of the one who sits upon the throne, while in chapter five, the focus shifts to the Lamb who was slain and who alone is worthy to open the scroll. Not only is the Lamb worthy to do this, and not only has the Lamb already triumphed over Satan, but one day the Lamb's triumph over Satan upon the cross will extend to all the earth. At the end of the redemptive drama, Satan and his henchmen will be cast into the lake of fire, never to torment God's people again.
II. In many ways, Revelation 5 continues the vision of the heavenly throne begun in chapter four. But the focus now shifts from the glory of the one seated upon the throne and the elders and living creatures who attend to him, to the Lamb who is the only one worthy to open the scroll. With this in mind, let us turn to our text this morning, Revelation chapter 5:1-14.
As I have already mentioned, the focus of John's vision shifts from the scene in the opening verses of chapter four in which all creation-represented by the four living creatures-praises the one seated on the throne, to the image of the representatives of the redeemed praising God (the twenty-four elders), to God's re-creation of all things as seen in Revelation 5:1-14. (1) We can see this pattern in the intensified focus upon the Lamb who not only redeems his people from sin and death, but who is also the one in whom all things will be re-created by virtue of his resurrection from the dead. The Lamb was slain, but now he is alive forevermore and he will make all things new. In this vision then the broad panorama of redemptive history-creation, fall, redemption, re-creation-is displayed in summary form. Because the Lamb alone is worthy, he will open the mysterious scroll and its seals, a subject which we will cover in the coming weeks in chapters 6-8 of the Book of Revelation.
This shift in emphasis from the one seated on the throne to the Lamb becomes clear in Revelation 5:1 when John reveals that the one upon the throne is holding something in his hand. According to John, "Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals." The first thing we should notice is that the scroll John sees has writing on both the front and the back. On the one hand, this reference is probably intended to remind us of the scroll the prophet Ezekiel had seen in the opening chapters of his prophetic vision. Because Ezekiel was to preach the contents written upon the scroll to the people of Israel, he was commanded to eat the scroll, a symbolic act pointing to his preparation to preach it contents. (2) But the scroll which John sees is sealed-and someone must be found who is worthy to open it. This sets in motion the great drama of this vision, John's lament that no one is worthy to do so.
Some historical background here is important. People living in John's day would have immediately grasped the significance of the fact that the scroll was sealed. Such scrolls often served two functions in the first century, official documents or a last will and testament. When an official document was sealed with wax, the seal was made with the author's official and personal mark, usually from his signet ring or his official seal, so as to ensure both the authenticity and the authority of the sealed document's contents. The seal not only ensured privacy, it ensured that only one who had recognized authority could open the document and read its contents. If the heavenly scroll is a last will and testament, this might explain the double-sided writing, which was a common Roman practice in legal documents. Furthermore, a will had to be witnessed and sealed by seven witnesses-the seven fold Spirit of God who is present before the throne. The terms of such wills could be executed only upon the death of the testator. In this case, the seven seals contained in the scroll are to be opened by the Lamb who was slain, and who by virtue of his death for his people is reckoned worthy to do so. (3) Thus the Lamb is not only the author of this heavenly scroll, by virtue of his death, he alone is worthy to open it and execute its instructions.
But what is this mysterious scroll all about, and why is it that no one can be found who is worthy to open it? As we read in verses 2-4, this fact causes John great consternation. "And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, `Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?' But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside." As we have seen in our Old Testament lesson this morning, in verse 4 of Daniel 12, the angel tells Daniel, "But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end." Despite the angel's instructions, Daniel remains perplexed about the meaning of these matters and asks the angel beginning in verse 8: "So I asked, `My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?' He replied, `Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end. Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.'" Those who are wise and who understand are the same ones whom Jesus says have been given ears to hear. And having been given ears to hear, it is time for the scroll to be opened and its contents to be revealed to God's people who struggle upon the earth against the beast.
Daniel's prophecy was to be sealed until the time of the end, because the Old Testament saints could not have possibly understood how God would bring about the blessings of the messianic age without a direct knowledge of the person and work of Jesus Christ. But with the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ now accomplished facts, the time of the end has finally come. Once Jesus Christ conquers death and the grave, human history now enters into its final phase. Therefore, it is indeed time for that which was sealed in Daniel's day until the time of the end to be revealed. And so with the coming of Christ some seven hundred years after Daniel, that which was sealed will now be opened. But we still have not answered the critical questions, "what is on this scroll and why is no one able to open it?" If we answer the former question, we will also be able to answer the latter.
Given the fact that the scroll in Ezekiel's vision had to do with God's covenant promises to his people, and given the fact that Daniel's prophecy which was sealed until the time of end has to do with the resurrection from the dead and the redemption and purification of God's saints, we have every reason to believe that the scroll mentioned in John's vision describes events which are associated with the final chapters of redemptive history. The main theme of the Book of Revelation is about God and his glory, and God's glory is made manifest for all to see through the redemption accomplished by the Lamb.
Furthermore, we need to keep in mind the big picture of the redemptive story. God promised that Adam would reign over the earth if he obeyed the terms of the covenant of works- "do this and you shall live." Adam did not and as a result of eating from the forbidden tree plunged the entire human race into sin and death, bringing God's curse down upon all creation. Jesus Christ, therefore, came as the Second Adam, the one who will undo the damage wrought upon the human race by the fall. So, the scroll must contain information about how this final redemption of all things will come to pass. The scroll, therefore, contains the record of future things which must take place so that God's will is done upon the earth.
Like all of God's dealings with man, the contents of the scroll must be covenantal, because the things to be revealed will not only tell God's people about God's dominion over all the earth and his promised covenantal inheritance for all of his people, the scroll will reveal details of God's judgment upon all those who have broken his covenant and who are under his curse. The themes of blessing and curse reappear yet again, and so we can safely assume that the scroll is the covenant declaration (or testament) of the Lamb, specifically as to how God will bring all of redemptive history to its glorious and final climax. This had been given to Daniel, but the angel commanded it to be sealed until the time of the end.
Since the scroll contains information about the final chapters of redemptive history, it can only be opened by a human, since all of the promises contained in it are related to God's promise of a redeemed people. Because of human sin, no one is worthy to open the scroll. Only Jesus Christ, the Lamb who was slain and who is both God and man, is able to earn the promised inheritance by fulfilling what God demands of his people under the covenant of works and their restatement in the Ten Commandments. This explains why it is that only Jesus Christ is worthy to open the scroll, and that no one else is. (4) For he alone has kept God's law perfectly and is without sin. As for the reason as to why John weeps about the possibility of the scroll remaining sealed, God's people will not have access to its contents unless it is opened. (5) But once the seal is opened, God's people are permitted to see God's purposes for the final chapters of redemptive history. Therefore even in the midst of their earthly struggles and war with the beast, they will see and understand that God has a purpose for everything which come to pass and that God's will cannot be thwarted, despite the wrath of the beast who wages war upon the saints. (6) God's eternal decree will come to pass. His will will be done
So it is glorious news to John when, according to verse 5, "one of the elders said to me, `Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.'" Not only is Jesus worthy to open the scroll, the elder goes on to describe the Lamb in terms of his messianic glory. Jesus is the lion of Judah foretold in Genesis 49:10. Jesus is the root of David predicted in Isaiah 11. In his resurrection from the dead he has triumphed over humanity's greatest enemy, death and the grave! Therefore, because Jesus has fulfilled the glorious messianic prophecies which speak of God's chosen one overcoming his enemies and then exercising his judgment upon them, Jesus alone is worthy to open the scroll and its seals.
The language used here by John is important. Christ's triumph is not something which lies ahead in the distant future at his Second Advent, but because of the cross and the empty tomb, Christ's victory over Satan is already an accomplished fact. With the unsealing of the scroll, the time has now come for the Conquering One to execute his righteous judgments on behalf of his people. (7) And the nature of these righteous judgments will be revealed when the seals are opened and when Christ's victory over Satan is explained in the following chapters.
Having heard the declaration of the elder, John now describes what happens next. As he puts it in verse 6, "Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders." Not only do the elders and living creatures worship him who sits upon the throne, they also worship the Lamb. The fact that he is the Lamb who was slain, not only ties his redemptive work to all of God's covenant promises made throughout redemptive history, such as events like the Passover and the shedding of the blood of sacrificial animals, but as Isaiah prophesied of God's suffering servant, he is like a sheep who was lead to the slaughter. Ironically, then, the Lamb conquers by dying, and this very important point explains why it is that unless we are granted understanding of these mysteries by the Holy Spirit, and "given ears to hear," so to speak, the things in this book will remain utterly mysterious to us. (8) Apart from the eyes and ears of faith, it is impossible to understand that Christ's ultimate victory must come through his death and resurrection.
John also describes the Lamb as follows: "He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth." The image of horns suggests the idea of conquest. And since the number "seven" when used in the Book of Revelation symbolizes perfection of fullness, the seven horns indicates the fullness of his triumph over death and the grave. John's reference to the Lamb's seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God are images drawn once again from the third and fourth chapters of the prophecy of Zechariah. The seven lamps and the seven eyes of Zechariah's prophecy are Old Testament pictures of the blessed Holy Spirit who is omnipotent and all-powerful. Before the dawn of the messianic age, the seven-fold spirit appears before the throne, but now after the conquest of the Lamb and the dawn of the new creation, the blessed Holy Spirit now goes out to the ends of the earth to execute God's sovereign decree. In this, John sees the spread of the kingdom of God unto the ends of the earth, and the fact that the Holy Spirit will empower Christ's church to preach the gospel as the means by which Christ's kingdom will advance.
Since he is declared to be worthy to open the scroll the Lamb came "and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne." The echo here from Daniel 7:13-14 is unescapable. Says Daniel, "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." John and Daniel are describing the same scene. The fact that the Lamb is worthy, enables him to approach God's throne and open the scroll and its seals which will demonstrate his authority and power over all the earth and to establish that kingdom which shall never be destroyed. And when the Lamb draws near to the one seated upon the throne, heaven worships him.
According to John, "when [the Lamb] had taken [the scroll], the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints." There are a number of important things here. For one thing, the Lamb possesses the same glory and authority as does the one sitting on the throne. When heaven worships the Lamb, they are worshiping God, the second person of the Holy Trinity. The Lamb's majesty and glory are clearly equal to that of the one seated on the throne. No mere creature could ever possess such glory. It is nothing less than the glory of God. Furthermore, the elders who represent the redeemed and the living creatures who represent creation fall before the Lamb and worship him. This also points us to the fact that Christ's glory and worthiness is equal to that of the father's, for the hosts of heaven would never bow before any creature or any created thing.
Later on, in the Book of Revelation, we will read that the prayers of the saints rise to heaven. In Revelation 6:9-11 and 8:4 the saints pray for vindication of martyred believers. They cry out for judgment upon the ungodly. The fact that these prayers ascend to God's throne and to the Lamb reminds us that the opening of the scroll is somehow connected their vindication. The judgments yet to come and contained in the scroll will, in part, bring about the vindication of the saints.
With the elders holding harps in their hands and singing, the scene in heaven is suddenly reminiscent of the Levitical priests who were commissioned to lead the people in the praise and worship of YHWH. And they sang a new song: `You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.'"
Throughout the Old Testament, a new song is sung as an expression of praise to God for granting his people victory over their enemies. Given the worthiness of the Lamb who was slain, the new song commemorates Christ's victory over sin and death and the inauguration of the new creation. The words of the hymn clearly express this. Jesus has died for his chosen ones and in doing so purchased a people from every tribe, language, people and nation. The king is vested with an everlasting kingdom which extends to the ends of the earth and encompasses his elect from every nation. Because Jesus has conquered death and the grave, all of his people participate in his kingdom rule by virtue of the new creation, specifically the new birth in Christ, which John will later call "the first resurrection." All those who are Christ's are said to reign with him because death has no hold upon them. The Beast may kill them, but they will reign with Christ nevertheless. And then when Christ comes back at the end of the age, God's people will rule indeed with him upon the renewed heaven and earth in the age to come.
When the new song of redemption is sung, the whole of heaven worships the Lamb. According to John, "Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders." These are the angels and legions of heaven who return to earth with Christ on the day of judgment. But before the dreadful day of judgment, they worship the Lamb along with the elders and living creatures. "In a loud voice they sang: `Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!'"
This wonderful scene points ahead to a great and glorious day yet to come. For as the chapter and its focus upon the Lamb comes to a close, John's vision of the throne is extended from the present to the time of the end, when universal acclaim is offered to Christ by a redeemed creation at the end of the age. (9) "Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: `To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!' The four living creatures said, `Amen,' and the elders fell down and worshiped." John not only sees the worship of the Lamb in the present, he also sees that worship of the Lamb by a redeemed creation which takes place at the end of time.
Therefore, the vision of the heavenly throne ends with all of creation and all of God's redeemed worshiping the one seated upon the throne and the Lamb. When Daniels' vision was sealed, when Ezekiel and Isaiah saw the throne, their visions were incomplete because they did not see the Lamb who was slain. For it is only after Christ has come, only after he has died for our sins, only after he was raised for our justification, that we can fully understand the meaning of the new song. For the new song centers upon what God has done in Christ to free us from our sins, to make us a kingdom of priests and to ensure that one day we will rule with Christ upon a redeemed earth.
And so in the midst of our earthly struggles,
let us always keep John's vision before our eyes, knowing that even as God's
will is being done in heaven, one day it will be done upon the earth. And until
it is, let us add our voices to those of the multitude in heaven. "Worthy
is the Lamb who was slain!" Amen!
1. Poythress, The Returning King, p.
107.
2. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
pp. 103-104.
3. Beale, Revelation, pp. 344-346.
4. Beale, Revelation, pp. 340-342.
5. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
105.
6. Beale, Revelation, p. 342.
7. Beale, Revelation, p. 350
8. Beale, Revelation, p. 354.
9. Beale, Revelation, p. 365.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:34:51 CST
"The Seven Seals"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 12
Texts: Revelation 6:1-8; Zechariah 6:1-8
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I. Human curiosity can be a good thing. But it can also be a bad thing. One place where human curiosity often extends beyond legitimate bounds is when it comes to the book of Revelation. People are naturally curious about what the future holds. It is only natural that we seek explanations for those things which plague human existence; evil and human suffering, wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, floods and famines. But add sensational or catastrophic events to our natural curiosity to understand the ebb and flow of human history, events like those associated with the end of the millennium or the terrorist attack of 9-11, our curiosity jumps off the chart.
Many preachers and Bible teachers tell us that in the Book of Revelation we will find specific explanations for virtually every current event mentioned on the evening news. We are told that the way we should interpret biblical prophecy is by correlating currents events with the things God reveals to us here in the Book of Revelation. Yes, Revelation addresses the future. But it does so not by predicting every event which transpires in the middle east or which effects the global economy. Revelation gives us the big picture of future events by reminding us that God is sovereign over all the affairs of men, and that whatever comes to pass, does so because God has decreed it. Throughout this book, Christ's church is reminded that God is bringing all of human history to a great and glorious goal, the second coming of Jesus Christ to judge the world, raise the dead and make all things new.
As we move along in our series on Revelation, we are in the midst of John's second vision. We now come to a new aspect of this vision in Revelation 6:1-8:5, where John discusses the opening of the scroll and its seven seals which had been sealed until the time of the end. The scroll reveals God's purposes during the last days-that period of time between Christ's first advent and his second coming. The unsealing of this scroll begins a pattern in which God will reveal dramatic information about the future course of redemptive history.
But the Book of Revelation is not written to predict specific future events. The apostle John is not to be confused with Nostradamus. In apocalyptic literature such as this, John does not intend for us to understand the things he reveals literally. Rather, the apostle paints vivid word pictures depicting the course of redemptive history and the on-going struggle between Christ and his already defeated foe, the Devil, who, like a wounded animal, is all the more vicious before his final destruction (cf. Revelation 12:12).
This means that the Book of Revelation is essentially a divinely revealed commentary upon the Old Testament. They key to understanding this book correctly is not to look for particular verses which explain current events. Rather, we must understand John's symbolic language in the light of the Old Testament. John's visions are intended to explain how Jesus Christ fulfills Old Testament prophecy and how God will bring all things into submission under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. This fact was especially important to those Christians to whom John was writing in the first century. They faced the sword of the Satanically empower beast, which is the state. They were forced to acknowledge Caesar as Lord or else risk life and livelihood. They faced the full flower of Greek and Roman paganism. They faced false apostles and prophets who sought to undermine the purity of the gospel by introducing destructive heresies. Since they were forced to confront all of these issues, God's gives his struggling people a heavenly perspective through the visions given to John and recorded in this book. They must know that their struggles are not in vain and that when all is said and done they will be vindicated.
And yet, as we have also seen, when John speaks to the churches of Western Asia Minor near the end of the first century, he is also speaking to us living in the opening decade of the 21st. This becomes apparent when John's focus in this second vision shifts from the scene of the throne in heaven to the scroll and its divine perspective on those covenant blessings and curses which will unfold throughout the millennial age, which is that period of time between the two comings of Christ, elsewhere spoken of as the "last days." When the Lamb opens the scroll, God will reveal a great deal about the final epoch of human history in those days before God brings redemptive history to its glorious climax.
But before we turn to our text this morning, a couple things need to be said about how we are to understand what follows. From here on out, we will find a series of judgments which occur in a cyclical fashion. There are the seven seal judgments in Revelation 6:1-8:5, the seven trumpet judgments in Revelation 8:6-11:19 and then the seven bowl judgments of Revelation 16. We should not read these sections of Revelation as though they were historical narrative in which the seal judgments occur in time chronologically prior to the trumpet judgments, with the bowl judgments finally coming at the end. Rather, in apocalyptic literature each of these cycles of judgment overlap. Therefore, what is depicted in the seal judgments covers the entire period of time between Christ's first and second advents. The same is true for the trumpet and bowl judgments-although the bowl judgments intensify at the time of the end.
And yet, as we move from the seals to the trumpets to the bowls, we will indeed see an intensification of God's judgment upon the Dragon (Satan), the beast, the false prophet, and all those who serve them, as well as an increasingly violent response from the Dragon and his henchmen as they wage war upon the Saints before their appointed end finally comes. Therefore, each of these series of judgments covers the entire church age. But as the three cycles of judgment are revealed, they intensify as we move from the seals to the trumpets to the bowls. Furthermore, each of the individual cycles of judgment intensifies before the end of the age in the days immediately before our Lord's return. Therefore, we have every reason to believe that while these cycles of judgment characterize the present age, they will intensify greatly immediately before the end.
This retelling of the course of history from different perspectives is a key feature of apocalyptic literature. Technically known as recapitulation, it is helpful to recall the analogy used by Dennis Johnson of Westminster Theological Seminary in California, who likens each of these reoccurring visions and cycles to differing camera angles upon the same event. In the first vision, John looks at the present age from the perspective of Christ's continuing presence with his people. Then, in Revelation 4-5, John then describes the scene before the heavenly throne. And then beginning in Revelation 6, John will describe the course of the present age through the lens of a series of on-going judgments which culminate in the return of Jesus Christ.
In order to understand this pattern better, it is helpful to turn to the gospels. Jesus addresses this same subject in the Olivet Discourse, when our Lord speaks of the signs of the end of the age in response to the disciple's questions about the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. As we read in Matthew 24 (beginning at verse 3), "Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. `Tell us,' they said, `when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?' Jesus answered: `Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains." This sounds remarkably similar to some of the things in our text this morning.
Jesus describes the cycle of wars and rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, and so on, found throughout the church age before his return as being like "birth pains." While intense pain characterizes the entire process of labor and delivery, early on the contractions are followed by brief periods of relief. But as labor proceeds to birth, the pain becomes more and more intense and the periods of relief virtually disappear. Just before the birth itself, the pain becomes so intense and the contractions so violent, that it becomes impossible to tell which contraction will be the final one.
This same intensifying cycle of signs of the end preceding the Lord's return and which Jesus describes as birth pains, should be kept in mind when we look at the cycles of judgment in the Book of Revelation. The cycles of judgment begin when the scroll is opened. They continue throughout the course of the present age. They reach their climax with the return of Jesus Christ to judge the world, raise the dead and make all things new at the end of the age. (1)
Another point we should consider before we turn to the text is the way in which the seal and trumpet judgments are arranged, for they clearly parallel each other. Each of these series of judgments begins with an opening scene explaining the judgments to come. In Revelation 5:1-14, the opening scene has to do with the worthiness of the Lamb to open the scroll, while in Revelation 8:2-5 the scene preceding the trumpet judgments has to do with the seven angels who respond to the prayers of the saints. There are seven seals and seven trumpets, indicating that when these judgments are complete, God's wrath will have come to its end, having been poured out against the earth and its inhabitants in all of its fury. When both the seal and trumpet judgments begin, six separate cycles of judgment unfold, followed by a dramatic interlude in which God's care for his people is reaffirmed, before the seventh and final judgment begins. In both cases the cycle of seven judgments bring us to Christ's return and to the end of the age-the perfection and fullness symbolized by the number seven.
Therefore, while not predicting a specific war, or a specific famine, or a specific earthquake, or specific events in Israel, in these cycles of judgment Revelation depicts all future wars, all future famine and plague, and all the upheavals of the earth as judgments of God pointing to a final judgment yet to come. As Christians, who view these matters through the eyes of faith, we should not be alarmed when such events occur, in fact, we should expect them. These things remind us that creation has been corrupted by sin and that the world groans under our feet until the day of redemption. But one day, Christ will return to remove the curse and renew the heavens and the earth. For there is no solution to human suffering and the tumult of the nations except for God's direct and final intervention in the person of his son, the very thing to which all of these signs and cycles of judgment point us.
II. And so with this background material behind us, we now in a position to turn to our text this morning, Revelation 6:1-8.
The vision in Revelation 6-8 is a direct continuation of the vision which began in Revelation 4-5. As the vision of the heavenly throne unfolds in Revelation 4, John shifts his focus from the glory of the one seated on the throne and the creatures who attend him to the scene in Revelation five, the Lamb who was slain and who alone is worthy to open the mysterious scroll which had been sealed until the time of the end. The Lamb is worthy because he has purchased men and women from every tribe, tongue, nation and race to be a kingdom of priests in direct fulfillment of the messianic expectations of Israel's prophets. Because Jesus Christ-who is the lion of Judah and the Root of David-has died for his people and removed the guilt of their sins, and, in addition, kept God's law perfectly, the Lamb has fulfilled all of the righteous requirements of the law, making him alone worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals. Although John wept when he thought that no one was worthy to open the scroll, he was reminded by one of the elders that is the Lamb is indeed quite worthy to take the scroll and open its seals. And so the Lamb approaches the one seated upon the throne and takes the scroll. When he does so, all of heaven worships him. It is truly a dramatic scene as the heavenly choir sings praises to Lamb who has redeemed his people through the shedding of his blood and to the one seated on the throne.
Since the material in Revelation 6 is a continuation of the vision begun in Revelation 4:1, we read in Revelation 6:1, that John "watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, `Come!' I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest." In order to understand the significance of this vision and the four horsemen mentioned in the first four of the seal judgments, we need to recall the words of Zechariah 6, when the prophet saw four colored horses and their chariots symbolizing the four winds of heaven. In Zechariah's prophecy, the horses represent God's judgment upon the enemies of Judah going out to the four corners of the earth.
As we have seen in previous weeks, in the Book of Revelation, the number four symbolizes the earth. Therefore, in John's vision, the four horsemen go forth to the very ends of the earth for the purpose of bringing God's judgment upon all those nations who oppose God's rule and who oppress Christ's church. All the earth is effected by the devastation brought about by the horsemen. The four horsemen not only bring about the vindication of God's people through that series of judgments found here in the first four seal judgments, these judgments virtually mirror the signs of the end mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse. The final three seals, to which we turn next week, include the fifth seal which is the cry of the martyrs, the sixth seal which is the return of Christ, and the seventh seal which is absolute silence in heaven, indicating that when God's judgments are complete, there is nothing left to say as all of heaven stands in awe of God and the Lamb. (2)
Because the Lamb is worthy to open the scroll, he is the one who empowers these riders to go forth and bring desolation upon the earth. Since the first rider goes forth to conquer and rides upon a white horse, a number of commentators connect this particular rider to the image in Revelation 19 of Jesus Christ riding upon a white horse coming in judgment. Thus the interpretation often given the white horse and its rider here by our postmillennial friends, is that of Christ going forth to conquer unbelief through the power of his word, that double-edged sword which brings judgment upon the nations. But there are good reasons to believe that this horse and its rider depicted in the first seal judgment is not directly connected to the later vision of Christ.
In Revelation 19, Jesus wields a sword and wears many crowns, while here in Revelation 6, the rider has a bow and a single crown. Therefore, most likely the rider is not Christ, but Christ's agent, who leads the three riders who follow him in bringing the devastation of war, famine, hardship, and death upon the earth as the direct judgment of God. (3) In the ancient world, white horses were often a symbol of conquest. So, when the rider of the white horse goes forth to conquer, he unleashes all of the horrible judgments which follow. And because he is the conqueror, nothing can stay his hand.
Once the first rider goes forth the others immediately follow. "When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, `Come!' Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword." The rider of the white horse symbolizes conquest, while the rider of the red horse symbolizes the bloodshed and warfare which breaks out upon the entire earth until Christ returns at the end of the age to bring peace to all of creation. While a number of commentators speculate about the relationship of the first seal to the second, the main point is that together these two riders remove peace from the earth. And with peace removed from the earth, ever increasing bloodshed and warfare follow.
It has been said that in the twentieth century more lives were lost in war and through atrocities than in all of previous human history. Indeed, there were not only two world wars in which millions were killed, there were countless other conflicts of a lessor scale. Then there was the Holocaust in which some six million Jews were killed along with millions of Christians and other ethnic minorities. There was the genocide brought about by the Turks in 1915 upon the Armenians which killed millions. Pol Pot reportedly slaughtered a million Cambodians in the so-called killing fields of the mid-1970's. Throughout the 30's, 40's and 50's, Josef Stalin killed millions of his own people in the endless purges of dissenters and military officers by the Soviet party machine. Clearly, the white horse and the red horse have gone forth and removed peace from the earth. Although there have been wars from the time of Christ until the present age, the cycles of judgment are clearly intensifying. There will not be genuine peace upon the earth until Christ comes again, and if the intensifying pattern holds, the coming century may well be worse than the last.
Next, John sees the Lamb open the third seal. In verse 5, we read, "When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, `Come!' I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, `A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!'" Some historical background is necessary to understand the meaning of this particular judgment. In John's day and age, a quart of wheat was an average day's supply for a soldier, and that amount of wheat usually cost the typical worker one-eighth of a denarius. But after the black horse goes forth, the price of grain is inflated 800%. Barley was much cheaper but was eaten by the poor since it did not have the food value of wheat. Three quarts of barley for a day's wage was an outlandish price. But notice that the supplies of oil and wine are not effected. (4)
Therefore, what is symbolized by the rider of the black horse is famine and the resulting economic turmoil. Although famine and the related hardships result from God's judgment, the famine brought about by the third rider on the black horse is not total. God is holy and will punish all human sin. But God is also gracious and longsuffering. This tells us is that God's judgments are restrained in some sense, and are limited in their scope until the time of the end. This is what is known as common grace. Indeed, things could be much worse if God was not restraining his wrath and his judgment upon the earth. But one day he will no longer restrain his righteous anger and these cycles of wrath will reach their climax when Christ returns in judgment.
In verses 7-8, John sees the Lamb open the fourth seal. "When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, `Come!' I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth." The rider of the pale horse (literally the "green horse," the color used in Koine Greek for the pallor of sickness), is named death and Hades closely follows him when he goes forth.
Recall that in Revelation 1, Jesus held in his hands the keys of death and of Hades, symbolizing his power to liberate people from death and its consequences. Now the rider on the pale horse is given the power to kill, to bring war, to bring famine and plague upon the earth. He also possesses the power to cause the beasts of the earth to rebel against human dominion. When the fourth horseman goes forth, all of the earlier calamities increase in intensity.
III. What then, should we take with us this morning from John's account of the four horsemen going forth in judgment?
When the Lamb opens the scroll which had been sealed until the time of the end, we see, in part, the future of the course of redemptive history. The seals take us from the time of John into our present age, all the way to end of time and the coming of Jesus Christ. The seven seal judgments are the first of three cycles of judgment, which intensify in severity as we move from the seals, to the trumpets, to the bowls. These cycles of judgment each cover the inter-advental age from different perspectives-or camera angles. While these various judgments characterize the entire inter-advental period, the intensity of the judgment increases dramatically within each cycle as we near the time of the end. This fits perfectly with Jesus' description of the signs of the end as entailing war, famine and earthquakes, events which he calls birth pains of the end.
To the original audience-persecuted Christians living in the first century-John's vision of the seven seals would have brought great comfort. For all intents and purposes, the Roman empire seemed invincible. Its military and economic power, its cultural achievements and civic infrastructure was the marvel of the ancient world. And yet, when empowered by Satan, the Roman empire became the Beast, the arch-enemy of Christ's church which demanded that Christians affirm that Caesar is Lord, not Christ, and which was willing to put Christians in prison, to forbid them from buying and selling, and even to put many of them to death because of their faith in the Savior. John's vision of the seals reminds the persecuted church that not even Rome was able to withstand the seal judgments of the Lamb. As God brought Pharaoh and the mighty Egyptian empire to its knees through the mediation of Moses, so Jesus Christ-to whom the mediation of Moses pointed-will bring Rome to its knees. Indeed, war, famine and pestilence, along with the increasing immorality and paganism in response, was the empire's undoing. The lesson to Christ's church is that as God brings down empires, as God brings earthquakes, famines, pestilence and wars, so too, he will bring all human rebellion to an end. In the present, God's judgments are restrained. But one day they will not be so restrained. There is coming a final judgment, when all the scales will be balanced, and all evil-doers punished. Christ's people will be vindicated.
Having heard John's words, Christians know how the redemptive-historical drama will turn out. Christ, not the Beast, wins in the end! Therefore, when we are persecuted by the state, when we are hated because we are followers of Christ, when the earth shakes beneath our feet, when war comes, when economic hardship occurs, when terrorists crash airliners full of innocent victims into the World Trade Center, this is not a sign that God is indifferent to us and unable to help. This points us ahead to the fact that one day, God will bring all things into submission to Christ. In fact, these successive judgments are rehearsals of the final judgment yet to come.
Let us not forget that since God has poured out his wrath upon his own dear son, when Jesus suffered for our sins on Calvary's cross, we need never fear that final judgment yet to come, that terrible day to which the seven seal judgment point us. For wars and rumors of wars, earthquake, famine and pestilence are the signs that all is not right in the world and that one day Jesus Christ himself will return to raise the dead, judge the world and make all things new. Only then will there be peace on earth, and only then will creation no longer groan under our feet!
Come quickly, Lord Jesus! Amen!
1. Poythress, The Returning King, p.
113.
2. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 117.
3. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 118-119
4. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p. 121.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:34:19 CST
"There Was Silence in Heaven"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 13
Texts: Revelation 6:9-8:1; Zephaniah 1:7-10
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I. When the disciples asked Jesus about the signs of the end of the age, our Lord spoke of wars and rumors of war, of earthquakes, sickness, and famine-signs which our Lord describes as birth pains of the end (cf. Matthew 24:8). In the Book of Revelation these same signs appear when the Lamb took the scroll and opened it's seven seals. In our text last week, we read of four horsemen going forth in judgment, taking peace from the earth and bringing famine, pestilence and death upon the earth's inhabitants. The judgments contained within these seals, are the first of a series of cycles of judgment, each of which are rehearsals for the final judgment yet to come at the end of the age, when Jesus Christ returns to judge the world, raise the dead and make all things new. The same one who spoke of the signs of the end, is the only one worthy to open the scroll and execute the judgments prescribed within. God is directing all of history to its appointed end, the wrath of the Lamb.
We are now in Revelation chapters 6-7, working our way through John's second vision in which the Lamb opens the mysterious scroll and its seven seals which had been sealed until the time of the end. When each of the first four seals is opened, a colored horse and its rider goes forth to execute God's judgment upon the earth, to scatter his enemies and vindicate his people.
When the lamb opens the first and second seals, we read of a white horse and its rider representing conquest, and a red horse whose rider was given a sword. As these two riders go forth, peace is removed from the earth. This mean that the entire period of time between our Lord's first coming and his second advent will characterized by wars and rumors of war which will only increase in intensity as we near the time of the end.
When the lamb opens the third seal, a black horse and its rider goes forth. He brings famine and economic hardship upon the earth. And then there is the fourth rider on a pale horse, who is named death and Hades follows closely behind him as he rides forth in judgment. John says that the consequence of these particular judgments is that one quarter of the earth's population will die as a result.
Therefore, in the first four of the seven seal judgments we are reminded that because of human sin the earth groans under our feet. When God removes peace from the earth, the wickedness of the human heart inevitably produces the wars which lead to the horrible slaughter depicted in these particular judgments.
But there are three more seal judgments yet to come, and we will turn to them this morning in Revelation 6-8:1. As we saw last time when we covered the first four of the seven seals, the seal judgments represent the first of three cycles of judgment found in the Book of Revelation. The trumpet and bowl judgments are yet to follow in Revelation 8-11 and 15-16. Each of these cycles of judgments views the entire period of time between Christ's first coming and second advent from a different perspective. This period of time is variously described as the time of the end, the last days, or the thousand years. The seven seal judgments refer to events which occur between John's time at the end of the first century until the present, and which will continue until Christ comes again on the last day.
There are two senses in which these cyclical judgments intensify. The trumpets are more intense in their severity than the seal judgments, and the bowl judgments are more intense than the trumpets. Each of these cycles of judgment also intensifies within itself, meaning that these judgments intensify during the course of this present age, before coming to their culmination at the second coming of Jesus Christ. This is why Jesus spoke of the signs of the end as similar to birth pains. The signs intensify to the point it becomes impossible to tell which particular sign is the final harbinger of the end. We can't tell which contraction will be the last!
We should also take note of the fact in each of these cycles of judgment, there are seven individual judgments. Throughout the book of Revelation, the number seven symbolizes perfection or divine fullness. When these cycles of seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls run their course, God's wrath will come to an end with the second coming of the Jesus Christ, who removes the curse, brings about the final judgment, moving the redemptive drama to its final goal, a redeemed people and a new creation where there are no more tears, pain, sin or suffering and where God dwells with his people in his temple, just as he did in Eden before the Fall. One day, we shall see him face to face.
Therefore, in this section of Revelation, John maps out the general course of human history, setting it against the backdrop the broad panorama of redemption. John does predict specific historical events, such as a particular war, a particular earthquake, or particular event in Israel or the Middle East. Rather, through these vivid word pictures, characteristic of apocalyptic literature, John is showing us how Jesus Christ fulfills Old Testament prophecy, and that all wars, famines, earthquakes and human travail point us ahead to a final judgment yet to come. These things constantly remind us that because of Adam's Fall and human sin all is not right in the world. One day the Lord himself will return to undo the effects of human rebellion. Therefore, despite its mysterious character, the Book of Revelation is a book of hope, reminding us that God is in control of all things and that one day we will realize all of God's gracious covenant promises when all of creation bows before the Lamb who was slain.
II. Let us turn to our text this morning, and pick up where we left off last time with the fifth seal judgment, beginning in verse 9.
With the opening of the fifth seal, the scene dramatically shifts from earth to heaven. While the earth convulses and its people wreck havoc upon one other when peace is removed, it is only natural for God's people to wonder about their own fate, as well as that of those who have died at the hands of the Satanically-motivated beast. The saints in heaven cry out for justice, not spitefully nor because of a desire for revenge, but because they desire to see God's will done on earth as they have already witnessed it being done in heaven. (1) While the earth and its people cry out in the midst of the calamity brought about by the four horsemen of the seal judgments, the saints before the throne in heaven cry out as well.
According to John, "when [the Lamb] opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, `How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?'" Not only does the scene shift from earth to heaven, this is the first mention of the altar. In the Old Testament, the tabernacle and the temple had two altars. One was in the courtyard, where the sacrificial animals were slain, the other was within the Holy Place. These altars are designed to teach us that sinful people can approach the Holy God only through means of a sacrifice for sin. But in heaven there is one altar. According to Book of Hebrews, the earthly altars were but copies and shadow of that which is in heaven (8:5) and in Hebrews 9:11 we read that "when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation." It is to this heavenly altar that the prayers of the saints ascend when they cry out for God's will to be done, "how long, O Lord?" (2)
John sees the souls of the martyred saints under this altar where sacrificial blood had been shed. This is not only proof that life continues on after death-the soul lives on even after the body dies-but these are the same people John sees in Revelation 20:4 during the thousand years: "I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years." They are in the presence of the Lamb, under the altar and before the throne, because they have already participated in the first resurrection. In John 5:24, Jesus told us, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." Therefore, all Christian believers cross over from life to death-the first resurrection-when we are born again. Because we have already crossed from death to life in the new birth, when we die, we do indeed take our place in heaven with the martyrs who were killed by the Beast and who come to life only to reign with Christ for a thousand years.
While the martyrs cry out for God's will to be done, we read in verse 11, "Then each of [the martyrs] was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed." Clothed in the righteousness of Christ, symbolized by the white robe, the saints in heaven anticipate that great and glorious day when the seven seals, the seven trumpets and the seven bowl judgments run their course. As John puts it in Revelation 14:13, "Then I heard a voice from heaven say, `Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.' `Yes,' says the Spirit, `they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.'" The last elect sinner comes to faith in Jesus Christ when the judgments described in the seals are finally complete. Then the number of servants and brothers will be completed and God's wrath will reach its fullness on the last day when Jesus Christ returns to judge the world, raise the dead and make all things new. God will save his people and he will remove the stain of sin from every corner of creation.
III. The lament of the martyrs brings us to the sixth seal judgment, which describes the second coming of Jesus Christ.
In the fifth seal we learned that the judgments associated with the first four seal judgments-wars, famine, pestilence and death-will not come to an end until all of the martyrs have died and their full number is complete. But in the sixth seal we learn that when the end finally comes, God's wrath will shake the earth. In fact, it will extend to the ends of the cosmos as the sky turns to darkness and the heavens roll up like a scroll. (3) This is a symbolic picture of events which John will later describe in Revelation 21:1, when he tells us, "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea."
According to John, "I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place." As we have seen when we covered the seven letters to the churches of Asia Minor, John's original audience knew first hand the destructive power of earthquakes. Severe quakes rocked Asia Minor in AD 17 and the Island of Cyprus in AD 76. Then in AD 79, the entire Roman world was shocked by the destruction of city of Pompeii. (4) Now John warns that a great earthquake, far greater than anything known to man, will yet rock the earth.
Certainly John not only has in mind the recent geological history of Asia Minor-which would have been familiar to all his readers-but more importantly John has in mind the Old Testament background of the wrath of God in which earthquakes are frequently connected to God's coming to earth to deliver justice. Indeed, the ground quakes when God gives the law at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:18). Creation is said to shake when God comes as a warrior to lead his host into battle (Judges 5:4-5; Joel 2:10, Micah 1:4, Psalm 78:7-8). The earth shudders before the coming of the Lord to judge the wicked (Isaiah 13:13; 24:18-20; 34:4; Jeremiah 51:29; Ezekiel 38:20; Nahum 1:5). In all of these texts, the prophets foretell of a great earthquake which accompanies the Day of the Lord. (5) This great earthquake appears again in Revelation 11, in connection to the two witnesses and again in Revelation 16:18 when the angel pours out the seventh bowl of God's wrath. These are all references to the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Furthermore, these same cosmic signs appear in the Olivet Discourse when Jesus speaks of the signs of the end. After describing the signs of the end, Jesus speaks of those signs which will accompany his second advent. Jesus declares in Matthew 24:29-31, "Immediately after the distress of those days," that is, the distress associated with the last days and scroll judgments, "the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' `At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other." Clearly, Jesus and John are speaking of the same event. Therefore, when the sixth seal is opened, Christ returns in judgment, and when he does so the entire cosmos is purified from sin.
But while the Lord speaks of the angels gathering his elect at his return, in John's vision we learn the fate of those who are not prepared to meet the Lord. According to verse 15, "Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains." The fact that there are of seven kinds of people listed here is surely intended to remind us that God's judgment upon humanity is complete and total. (6) No one will escape. The terror of facing Jesus Christ coming in judgment soon overwhelms these people like a flood. "They called to the mountains and the rocks, `Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?" No one!
In Psalm 130, the Psalmist writes, "If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared . . . O Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins." While the redeemed need never fear the judgment of Christ-because Christ has died for our sins, removing the very record of them-those who are not Christ's would rather be buried alive, then face the wrath of the Lamb! He has kept a record of their sins and they cannot stand in his presence.
IV. But before John takes us to the scene of the lamb opening the seventh seal, there is a dramatic interlude in chapter 7. Having heard the frightening word about the judgment yet to come, God assures his people that he will protect them from the judgment which is coming upon the earth.
In Revelation 7:1, John sees four angels who restrain God's wrath during the seal judgments as well as two images of God's protection of his people. The first of these images is that of the twelve tribes of Israel and the reference to the 144,000 in verses 1-8. The second in found in verses 9-17, where John is given a vision of a great multitude in clothed in white robes. In verse 1, we read, "After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: `Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.'"
The four angels restrain God's wrath against the earth until such time as all of God's people are sealed. We read in Revelation 14:1 that this seal is the name of Christ and of God, and may be connected to Christian baptism in the name of the Holy Trinity. Thus God's seal stands in direct contrast to its Satanic counterfeit, which is the Mark of the Beast. (7) God's seal ensures the deliverance of his people, while the Mark of the Beast ensures the destruction of all who take it. While God's wrath is continually poured out upon the earth through the seal judgments before the Lord's return, God's judgment is restrained for the sake of his people who are now sealed.
According to John, "Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000, 6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000, 7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, 8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000."
The total number sealed mentioned by John, the 144,000, is often the subject of much speculation. Since the twelve tribes are listed, some argue that this is a reference to the believing Jewish remnant, or to the Old Testament saints. But since they are sealed with the name of God and of Christ just as has been promised to the overcomers in the church of Philadelphia, and since they are called servants of God, the number 144,000 is more likely symbolic of the church, which includes believing Jews and Gentiles.
As a number of commentators have pointed out, this particular arrangement of the twelve tribes is nowhere found throughout the Old Testament. Then there is the fact that in Revelation 14, the 144,000 are said to be those purchased from the earth as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. Indeed, the Lamb shed his blood for people from every race and tribe and tongue under heaven. In fact, given the way in which the names of the tribes are arranged by John, "the order of the tribes in Revelation 7, symbolizes the reign of Jesus, from the tribe of Judah; the incorporation of outcasts; and the exclusion of idolaters from the covenant community which God shields from his terrible wrath." (8) The 144,000 are symbolic therefore, of the church of Jesus Christ, purchased by the blood of the Lamb, clothed in his righteousness and sealed with God's name, so as to be protected from God's wrath which is coming upon the earth.
While verses 1-8 view the church from the perspective of the history of the covenant, which now includes Gentiles, the scene in verses 9-17, emphasize the fact that gospel has gone out to the ends of the earth and has brought all of God's elect from every nation into the church of Jesus Christ. In verse 9, John now testifies about what he has seen, "After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: `Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.'"
Therefore, the great covenant promise which God made to Abraham, "through you, all peoples of the earth will be blessed," is gloriously fulfilled. Not only does this tell us that God has his elect among every race and includes people who speak every language, it also demonstrates that the number of the elect is not small. In fact, it is so large that John cannot count all of them! This is the church triumphant now enjoying its heavenly rest from its earthly labor and tribulation. Its members are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ and they hold palm branches in their hands while singing the heavenly Hosanna.
And this glorious scene of God's redeemed people becomes yet another cause for worship. "All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: `Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!'"
The angels and elders sing a seven-fold refrain as the sight of the redeemed leads the heavenly choir to ascribe perfection to God and to the Lamb.
But the interlude reaches its conclusion in verse 13, when a question is put to John. "Then one of the elders asked me, `These in white robes--who are they, and where did they come from?' I answered, `Sir, you know.' And he said, `These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'" From this it is clear that the great tribulation is not limited to the end of time, but that the entire church age is a period of great tribulation for the people of God, who despite their tribulations, have been washed by the blood of the Lamb and covered with the righteousness of Christ.
Indeed, says John, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them," which is symbolic of divine protection associated with the blessings listed in verse 16. "Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst." This because Christ is the living bread and the living water which runs beneath the throne. "The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat," because God shields them with his tent. "For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." These are words which require no explanation. All we can do after hearing them is to recite the seven-fold blessing of the heavenly choir given to God and to the Lamb. Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!
V. And so, with the scene of the church triumphant before us, the interlude is over. But the first cycle of judgment ends quite unexpectedly in the opening of the seventh seal in verse 1 of chapter 8.
John simply reports, "When [the Lamb] opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour." Now, you would think that after all that was described in the first six seals, when the cycle of seal judgments is completed, there would be a great climax at the end. Instead, there is only absolute silence for a time. But this too was foretold in the prophets. Zephaniah spoke of silence in connection with the day of the Lord: "Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the LORD is near." Habakkuk did the same: "But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him."
Once this first cycle of seal judgments is
complete, God has redeemed his people, he has brought final judgment upon all
those who reject his son. After the earth shakes, the cosmos shudders, then,
the heavens roll up like a scroll and the choirs of heaven cease their singing.
All creation stands in awe of him who is seated upon the throne. There is
nothing left to say. Judgment has run its course, and because God has brought
all things to their appointed end, for a time, there is only glorious silence
in heaven. Amen!
1. See Poythress, The Returning King,
p. 116.
2. See Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 125.
3. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, pp.
126-127.
4. Bauckham, The Climax of Prophecy,
pp. 206-207.
5. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
127; cf. Bauckham, Climax of Prophecy, pp. 199-209.
6. Poythress, The Returning King, p.
117.
7. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
129.
8. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p. 132.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:36:29 CST
"The Seven Trumpets"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 14
Texts: Revelation 8:2-13; Joshua 6:2-5
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I. When the Lamb opened the seventh seal there was silence in heaven. But now a new cycle of judgment is about to begin, as John sees seven angels with seven trumpets. "Woe!" "Woe!" "Woe, to the inhabitants of the earth, for God's wrath is coming upon the nations." God has heard the prayers of his saints and he will crush all those who oppose his kingdom and his Christ.
We left off last time with the opening verse of chapter 8, when the Lamb opened the seventh seal of the mysterious scroll and then there was silence in heaven for a short time. At first glance, the grand climax of the cycle of the seven seal judgments becomes the grand anti-climax. And yet, as we have seen, there is some rather extensive Old Testament background connecting the Day of the Lord to a period of silence after God's judgment has fallen upon a wicked and unbelieving world.
So, the silence in heaven is not really anti-climatic at all. It simply means that when the seal judgments have at last run their course and Jesus Christ has returned to judge the world, raise the dead, and make all things new, there is nothing left to say. The entire universe is left speechless. All of creation remains silent before the Lamb and the one seated on the throne.
Before we begin looking at the next cycle of judgments revealed by John-the trumpet judgments of Revelation chapters 8-11-it is important the we remind ourselves about the nature of apocalyptic literature such as that we find here in Revelation. This book is not historical narrative. We are not to read the Book of Revelation like we would the historical books of the Old Testament, which set things forth in a very straightforward and chronological manner. Apocalyptic literature is not like that. Things are arranged in this book by topic, not so much by the order in which they occur in history.
We also need to remind ourselves that John does not in any sense intend for us to take the things he writes about literally. What the apostle is doing is using highly symbolic language to describe the theological meaning of the on-going struggle between Christ and his already defeated foe, the Devil. John uses this highly symbolic language to paint a word picture of the final goal of redemptive history. The interpretive key to understanding this highly symbolic language, therefore, is the Old Testament. Nowhere is this more evident than with this next section of Revelation and the series of trumpet judgments beginning here in Revelation chapter 8, as there are many allusions to Old Testament themes.
Recall that there are three cycles of judgment in Revelation. The first cycle of judgments are the seven seals of Revelation 6-8:1. Here we saw a series of judgments from the perspective of the throne room of God and of the worthiness of the Lamb, who redeemed his people and who, through this series of judgments vindicates their cause, even though they suffer at the hands of the Beast during the great tribulation. When the Lamb opened the first four seals we read of four horsemen going forth and removing peace from the earth, as well as bringing famine, sickness and economic hardship to one fourth of the earth's population. But the fifth seal contained a vision of the saints in heaven before the throne of God, crying out "how long O Lord" as they await the return of Jesus Christ and the resurrection at the end of the age. When the beast kills one of Christ's saints during the great tribulation, that saint comes to life and reigns with Christ.
When the Lamb opens the sixth seal, the great day of judgment has come. The entire cosmos shudders with the second coming of Jesus Christ. There was a great earthquake-connected throughout the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation to the final judgment. Using apocalyptic imagery, John describes how the skies will roll up like a scroll, how the sun ceases to give light, how the moon will turn to blood and how the stars will fall from the sky. And then God's judgment comes upon all the earth's unbelieving inhabitants. Great and small, rich and poor, kings and generals are terrified by the wrath of one who sits upon the throne and the Lamb. They would rather the rocks fall upon them then behold Jesus Christ coming in judgment!
After the sixth scroll is opened and judgment comes upon the earth when the Lord returns, there is a dramatic interlude, in which John describes the fate of God's people while the seal judgments are executed upon the earth. In Revelation 7, John gives us a vision of the 144,000, symbolic of the church militant upon the on earth, sealed by God with the name of Christ and thereby protected from his wrath during the time of tribulation. Though the world may attack them, they need never fear the wrath of God depicted in the sixth seal judgment or in the trumpet and bowl judgments yet to follow. In addition, John sees a great multitude in heaven so numerous that no one can count them. These are people Christ has redeemed by the shedding of his blood. They come from every race and tribe and tongue under heaven. But not only are they washed in his blood, they wear white robes-since as justified sinners they are clothed in the righteousness of Christ-together with the elders and the living creatures they praise the Lamb who has redeemed them. It is after John has reassured the readers of this book that they will be spared from God's wrath that we come to the seventh and final seal in the opening verse of chapter 8, which is silence in heaven.
The way these seven seal judgments unfold in human history is important because the seven trumpet judgments in Revelation 8-11 follow much the same pattern. Like the seal judgments, the trumpet judgments also cover the entire period of time between Christ's first advent and his second coming. But they do not view things not from the perspective of the heavenly throne and the worthiness of the Lamb. Instead, the trumpet judgments describe the present course of history from the perspective of the plight of the unbelieving inhabitants of the earth who as a result of the prayers of the saints ascending to God's throne, now face a series of judgments from God very much like those faced by the Pharaoh in Egypt.
Because of their direct connection to a number of Old Testament themes, in these judgments we are also given the picture of the church in the midst of a new Exodus from bondage and captivity to sin, now en route to the glorious freedom that awaits them in the heavenly city, even while believers remain in the midst of the great tribulation going on upon the earth during the last days.
As we work our way through the trumpet judgments we must keep in mind that these judgements cover the same period of time as do the seal judgments. (1) As we have seen with the seals, there are six trumpet judgments and then comes an interlude. Like the seven seal judgments, when the seven trumpet judgments have run their course, God's wrath is complete when we arrive at the end with the second coming of Jesus Christ. So, even though the trumpet judgements come after the seals in the Book of Revelation, and indeed are more intense than the seals, they are nevertheless describing the same period of time as the seal judgments, namely the period between first and second coming of Jesus Christ, known as the church age, the last days, the thousand years and a time, a times and half a time.
Perhaps it is helpful to think of these cycles of judgment as follows. Each one of these cycles of judgment views the same events from different perspectives and tells the same story from a different angle. Think of watching an entire football game through the lens of one camera in the end zone-you'd get a very important, but certainly one dimensional perspective on the game. Then think of watching the same game through a wide angle lens positioned at the 50 yard line. Because of the change in perspective you'd think you were watching a different game, perhaps. Then think of watching the same game through a camera which zooms in for close-ups on each play. This too would be a different, but more intense look at the same game. This is very much like we find in apocalyptic literature. Each vision describes the same period of time, but from a different perspective or angle.
Add to this the fact that each vision intensifies as it moves closer to the return of Jesus Christ. Then as the visions move from the seals to the trumpets to the bowls, the visions become more intense and the imagery more dramatic. John does this to remind us that human history is racing towards its divinely appointed end-the second coming of Jesus Christ at the end of the age when the father will bring all things into submission under one head, Jesus Christ. Therefore, human history has a final goal and that everything which happens to Christ's church and his people is bringing this to pass.
II. With all of this in mind then, let us turn to our text this morning in Revelation 8:2-13.
If you know the Scriptures, you know that the sounding of a trumpet has an important place throughout the biblical narrative. When YHWH descended upon Mount Sinai to give Moses the Law, trumpets announced the great event. In Numbers 10 we read of two silver trumpets fashioned to summon the people of Israel to assemble before the Lord outside the tent of meeting. The jubilee year was announced with the sound of a trumpet, as was the news of the king's coronation. In Joel 2, we read that a trumpet will announce the Day of the Lord. On three occasions in the New Testament we read that the second coming of Jesus Christ will be heralded with the sound of a trumpet. (2) But when we read in Revelation 8:2, that John "saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets," we are immediately harkened to another Old Testament event involving seven trumpets, the fall of Jericho.
In our Old Testament lesson we read "Then the LORD said to Joshua, `See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in." The fortified city of Jericho blocked the entry of God's people into the promised land. To remove this obstacle God commanded that for six days the army of Israel, with the ark of the covenant in the front, were to march around the city sounding their trumpets. On the seventh day, the Israelites encircled the city seven times. When the trumpet sounded on the final lap, the cities' walls collapsed and Jericho was totally defeated.
It is not accidental then, that the seven trumpet judgments mirror Joshua's actions at Jericho, for when the seventh trumpet sounds, the city of man, built in opposition to the kingdom of God and later identified as Babylon the Great in Revelation 17-18-falls as a direct result of the judgment of God. Even as Jericho blocked the entrance to the promised land, so too, the city of man stands in the way of the New Jerusalem. Like Jericho, Babylon the Great will also fall under the hand of God's judgment. Later on in Revelation 11:19 we read that when "God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of the covenant," and we are once again reminded of Joshua's actions at Jericho, when the priests sounded the trumpets and the ark was present. (3) But this is not the last of the direct connection between the trumpet judgments and the Old Testament, as we will see shortly.
In Revelation 8:3-5, John sees "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." With the seal judgments, the setting was the throne in heaven and John's lament that no one was worthy to open the scroll. With the trumpet judgments the prelude to the judgments takes place before the altar in heaven. This time it is the prayers of the saints suffering upon the earth which now ascend to the throne and which causes the angel to fill his censer with fire and throw it to the earth. Therefore, in this cycle of judgment, it is the prayers of Christ's church which lead to the downfall of the city of man. (4) Even while the Beast persecutes God's people and the city of man seeks to seduce and exploit them, God hears their cries and will come to avenge them. The peals of thunder, the flashes of lightening and the earthquake, remind us that the next cycle of judgment is about to begin. Indeed we read in verse 6, "Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them."
Before we examine the first four of the seven trumpet judgments this morning, it will soon become apparent that six of the seven trumpets have direct parallels to the plagues God sent upon Pharaoh and the nation of Egypt. As God raised up Pharaoh and hardened his heart so that his glory might displayed to people of Israel, as well as to the pagan magicians of Pharaoh's court, so too, the trumpet judgments are designed to show that the destruction which will come upon the earth during this cycle of judgments is the outworking of God's sovereign hand in response to the prayers of his people. As he did with Israel while in captivity in Egypt, God protects and preserves his people even while he brings judgment upon his enemies. And yet, as in the seal judgments, God's wrath is restrained until the time of the end.
Furthermore, the obvious parallels between the trumpet judgments and the plagues God sent upon Egypt preclude us from interpreting these images of judgment in light of modern technology. John is not depicting nuclear war, ballistic missiles, meteors or acid rain. Through the use of these apocalyptic images drawn directly from the Old Testament, John is describing in general terms those countless calamities-war, famine, economic hardship, plague, ecological disaster and so on-which come upon the world and are a result of human sin.
Therefore, the purpose of this vision is not to prophetically foretell of modern technology of which John had no knowledge. Rather it is to tell us that as a result of the prayers of his people, God brings judgment upon the earth while protecting his people from harm. (5) Thus the correct interpretive key is not the most recent edition of Jane's All the Armies and Navies of the World, but the Old Testament. This is apocalyptic language, and is very generalized and not specific.
The first trumpet judgment mirrors the seventh plague upon Egypt. In verse 7, we read, "The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up." In Exodus 9:23-24, we read, "When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt; hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth."
Recall that the damage inflicted by the seal judgments extended to one fourth of the earth, so now with the trumpets they increase to include one third of the earth. Not only does John have in mind the seventh plague upon Egypt but the fact that fire is mixed with blood also recalls the first seal judgment and the rider on the red horse who brings war upon the earth. Therefore, the first trumpet judgment includes war and the damage which results from the continual strife upon the earth. (6) This time, one third of the earth is so ravaged.
The second trumpet recalls the first plague upon Egypt when the Nile turned to blood. According to John, "The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed." Here again, we need to keep in mind the literary genre of this book. John's own qualification, "something like," means we are not to take him literally. The entire Roman world of John's day knew of the destruction of Pompeii when Mount Vesuvius erupted in A. D. 79, likely the source of the image of a fiery mountain wreaking havoc on the ships in the bay of Naples. This volcanic eruption therefore probably underlies what John describes as the fate of those sea-based empires of the Mediterranean world such as Rome, who dominated the commerce of the ancient world and who persecuted Christ's people. But God's judgment will come upon Babylon the Great-beginning with the city of Rome-and will bring about her end. (7) As the Nile turned to blood ruining Egypt's agriculture and commerce, so will God bring judgment upon the seas, restraining the domination of the city of man over the people of God.
The third judgment does not a have a direct link to the plagues on Egypt, although it echoes the first plague upon the Nile as well as an incident from the Exodus. In Exodus 15:25 while at Marah, Moses threw wood into bitter water and it became sweet. Here, the opposite is the case. Wormwood, which is a plant with a strong bitter taste is thrown into the earth's water and it becomes bitter. "The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water--the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter."
Again, the key here is not to take John literally, but look to Old Testament passages which help explain what John sees. In Jeremiah 9:15, we read: "Therefore, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: `See, I will make this people eat bitter food and drink poisoned water.'" The prophet Jeremiah announces that the poisoning of the water-which brought death to certain Israelites, but which also brought famine by killing the vines and fig trees of Israel, is a direct judgment upon Israel because of her gross idolatry.
Therefore, the poisoning of the water is a judgment upon the idolatrous nations of the earth, typified by Babylon the Great. To drink the water made bitter by wormwood would, over time, poison a person and bring death after much suffering. It also points us to famine and starvation. The image of the third trumpet then, is God bringing judgment upon the city of man by causing that which is pristine to become bitter and poisonous. The rivers and springs are no longer pure. People suffer and die, crops fail and lush vegetation shrivels and dries up. Bounty becomes famine. (8)
With the fourth trumpet, we have a direct parallel to the ninth plague God sent upon Egypt, that of darkness. In verse 12, we read, "The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night." This judgment clearly affects the skies and the amount of light which shines upon the earth. While this particular judgment sounds very much like the cosmic signs associated with the sixth seal, there are major differences. In the sixth seal, the effects were universal and total, while here, the judgment is clearly limited to one third of the light. Therefore, this judgment is not referring to the final judgment, but to a series of trials which effect a third of earth, and which precede the final judgment almost as dress rehearsals for it.
Once again, the interpretive key is the Old Testament, specifically Exodus 10:21, where we read, "Then the LORD said to Moses, `Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness will spread over Egypt--darkness that can be felt." God's judgment upon Egypt-three days of darkness-was localized, and specifically designed to humiliate and expose those who worshiped Ra, the Egyptian God of the sun. Pharaoh, his magicians and all Egypt were shown once and for all that YHWH made the sun, and that YHWH, not Ra, was to be worshiped. The same thing must be seen here with the fourth trumpet judgment. The periodic interruption of light and cosmic events which appear throughout the course of the age are but constant reminders that on the great day of judgment yet to come, God himself will shake the cosmos-and not just one third of it, but all of it.
Therefore, despite the apparent power, splendor and greatness of the city of man, the period lessening of light and the signs in the sky are a constant reminder that God is creator and that he, not man, controls all things. God controls the earth and the harvest, he rules the seas and the skies. Even as the curse has brought the earth into decay and bondage, these judgments remind us that one day God will make all things new. His sovereign control of the heavens and the earth, and the judgments he inflicts upon unbelievers through them, point us ahead to the great climax of this book, which is the new creation of Revelation 21.
And so once the first four trumpets have sounded, all of the inhabitants of the city of man, Babylon the Great, have been warned that because of their idolatry and unbelief the final judgment of God is coming, and that one day it will extend to all of the earth, not just one third of it. Through these trumpet judgments, God reminds his people that he has heard the prayers of his saints and that he will punish all idolaters, even while he spares his own people.
But after the fourth trumpet sounds, John sees something else. "As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: "Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!" There are three more trumpet blasts yet to come and unlike the first four trumpets, which are much like the four horsemen of seal judgments and limited in scope, the final three trumpets effect all unbelievers and describe in great detail the torments that await those who will not worship the one seated on the throne and the lamb. Indeed, the eagle warns us three times, "woe be to the inhabitants of the earth!"
When the idolatrous city of man stands in the way of the kingdom of God, when the beast rears its ugly head and wages war upon the saints, God's people cry out to him in prayer. In these, the first four trumpet judgments, we are reminded that God hears and answers that prayer of his saints which Jesus taught us to pray, "thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." If this doesn't convince us of the importance and power of prayer, nothing will!
Indeed, as the city of Jericho was destroyed on the seventh day on the seventh by blast of the trumpet, so too, when the seven trumpet judgments are completed on the last day, the city of man will collapse and then the kingdoms of this world will have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ! It is the prayers of the saint which bring down pagan empires. God has given to his people a great and mighty weapon in their struggle against Satan and the Beast. And that weapon is prayer.
Amen!
1. Beale, Revelation, p. 472.
2. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
140.
3. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, pp.
140-141.
4. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
142. Cf. Poythress, The Returning King, p. 122.
5. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 143.
6. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
pp. 143-144.
7. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 144.
8. Beale, Revelation, p. 480.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:36:07 CST
"Still They Did Not Repent"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 15
Texts: Revelation 9-21; Joel 2:1-11
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I. In John's gospel, Jesus speaks of Satan as a thief who comes to rob, kill and destroy (John 10:10). In Revelation 9, John describes the fifth and sixth trumpet judgments, in which Satan manifests every one of these qualities, exploiting and punishing the very people who serve him and who worship demons. And yet, despite the treachery of Satan and the display of God's glory and power, manifest in these trumpet judgments, men and women still will not repent of their sins.
We are making our way through the seven trumpet judgments of Revelation 8-11, and we come to John's vision of the fifth and sixth of the trumpet judgments in Revelation 9. As you have gathered from our Scripture lessons, this is, I dare say, one of the weirdest passages in all the Bible. What on earth is John talking about when he describes swarms of locusts, stinging scorpions and armies of 200 million soldiers? As many of you know, this section of Revelation is one of those places where Bible prophecy experts have had a field day coming up with bizarre and irresponsible interpretations.
But the nature of the judgments found in this text make much sense if we carefully lay some groundwork before we proceed to look at the passage in some detail. When we look at the historical background of the symbols used by John, and then compare Scripture with Scripture, these things are not as bizarre as they may appear at first glance, or as prophecy experts make them out to be.
As I have said on many occasions, context is everything with the Book of Revelation. Not only is this apocalyptic literature in which John uses vivid word pictures to explain the meaning of the events we see unfold in human history, John does not intend us to understand these visions literally. In fact, as we have seen, the key to understanding Revelation is not CNN or contemporary events, but the Old Testament. To interpret John's symbolic language correctly, it is also necessary to look at the trumpet judgments in relationship to the seal judgments which we have already covered in chapters 6-8.
Both sets of judgments are cyclical and cover the entire period of time between Christ's first coming and his second advent. Both sets of judgments intensify as we move closer to the second coming of Jesus Christ. There are seven judgments in each cycle-which means that when the judgment depicted in each cycle has run its course, God's wrath will be complete, which is why each cycle ends with the return of Jesus Christ.
Both the seal and trumpet judgments include a brief interlude between the sixth and seventh judgment so as to remind God's people that they are protected from his wrath, even if they must face the wrath of men and the Satanically empowered beast during the time of tribulation, described elsewhere in Revelation as the last days, the thousand years and the three and a half years. Although they view the present period of time from different perspectives, the judgments brought upon the earth by four horsemen of the seals sound very much like the destruction brought upon the earth by the first four trumpets. While the seal judgments describe events from the perspective of the heavenly throne and come about after John's lament that no one is worthy to open the scroll, the trumpet judgments come about when the prayers of God's saints rise before the heavenly altar. They are more intense, affecting one third of the earth instead of one fourth of the earth as in the seals.
Recall that the blast of trumpet is an important redemptive historical image throughout both testaments. Trumpet blasts accompany the giving of the law at Sinai. A trumpet blast announces the jubilee year as well as the coronation of a new king. A trumpet blast announces the Day of the Lord and accompanies the return of Jesus Christ to judge the world, raise the dead and make all things new. But another critical moment in redemptive history when we find seven blasts of a trumpet is in Joshua 6 when the city of Jericho fell to the army of Israel. The fortified city of Jericho blocked God's people from entering the promised land during the Exodus, just as in the Book of Revelation the city of man-Babylon the Great-prevents the establishment of the New Jerusalem on the earth. It is not until the seven trumpet judgments are completed that the great city falls-just as Jericho did when Israel's priests sounded the seven trumpets. Only then will God's people enter the true promised land, that city whose architect and builder is the Lord God himself. Like the seven seals, when the seven trumpet judgments have run their course, the city of man will be destroyed and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our God and of his Christ. And all of this results-John tells us-because God hears the prayers of his suffering saints. When the prayers of his people ascend to his throne, God acts.
It is also important to put ourselves back in the first century for a moment so as to understand the images John uses in the fifth and sixth trumpet judgments. John speaks of locusts and scorpions-two of the most feared and destructive pests known in the first century world. If we don't consider this very important point, we may make one of the worst and most common of interpretive mistakes and attempt to understand John to be describing contemporary technological advances in warfare found in our own time, completely unknown to John in his own day. It is Hal Lindsey who tells us that the locusts of which John speaks is a first century description of the Bell Huey helicopter gunship and that the sting of the scorpion might be nerve gas sprayed from the helicopter's tail. When we read of the two hundred million soldiers coming from the east, says Lindsey, this is a reference to the Red Chinese army which will invade Israel during the great tribulation in preparation for the last battle at Armageddon. (1)
Wrong! This is exactly the kind of ridiculous speculation that has made the Book of Revelation so utterly mysterious and practically useless to God's people. If you lived in John's day, one of the first things you did before you went to bed or before you put on your sandals in the morning was to make sure there were no scorpions in them. These pests were everywhere and inflicted a very painful sting upon anyone who was careless.
Recall for a moment the opening scene in the movie Patton where the bedouin children swat the scorpions away from the dead Americans so that they can loot the bodies. According to the testimony of our Marines in Afghanistan, the scorpions there have given them more trouble than the Taliban! In an age of Raid and DDT, we forget how destructive locusts can be. But in 1866-not that long ago-a locust plague in Algiers caused so much destruction and crop loss that over 200,000 people are thought to have died as a result. There are many ancient documents describing the horrors of swarming locusts. When the locusts swarmed, the skies turned dark and the destruction of the crops and agriculture was nearly total. Famine and death always resulted. Therefore, both of these creatures-the locust and the scorpion-were feared and dreaded. They are perfect and obvious symbols of pain and destruction to a first century reader. John's original audience knew this without having to be told. We must understand this as well.
Then, there is the biblical background. Two texts come to mind in regards to locusts. In Exodus 10:15, we read of locusts which God sent upon Egypt, "They covered all the ground until it was black. They devoured all that was left after the hail--everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt." Like the four previous trumpet judgments, the fifth trumpet judgment is directly connected to one of the plagues on Egypt-only unlike the eighth plague upon Egypt when the locusts ate everything, the locusts of the fifth trumpet do not harm the trees and grass. Instead, they harm only unbelievers. This is an important clue as to their identity.
There is also the text found in Joel 2:1-11, our Old Testament lesson this morning which gives us this description of invading locusts: "Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come. Before them fire devours, behind them a flame blazes. Before them the land is like the garden of Eden, behind them, a desert waste--nothing escapes them. They have the appearance of horses; they gallop along like cavalry. With a noise like that of chariots they leap over the mountaintops, like a crackling fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army drawn up for battle. At the sight of them, nations are in anguish; every face turns pale."
While commentators disagree as to whether or not Joel is speaking of actual locusts or locusts as symbolic of an invading army, the result of this invasion is indisputable: a severe famine. In the fifth trumpet, the result of the swarm of locusts is also a great famine, only it does not result from the destruction of crops, which these locusts are prevented from attacking. These locusts are symbolic of the demonic forces of Satan. They cause a spiritual famine, inflicting torments of various kinds on their unprotected victims. (2)
As for scorpions, in Luke 10:17-19, Jesus himself speaks of the demonic in terms of scorpions and snakes, an image which also appears here in Revelation. We read in Luke's gospel that "the seventy-two returned with joy and said, `Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.' He replied, `I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.'" Therefore, it is Jesus who compares demons to serpents and scorpions, whose bite is painful, if not deadly. Like lowly serpents and snakes, they torment the unsuspecting, those not sealed with the name of Christ.
The key to interpreting these things correctly is the Old Testament and the Roman world in which John lived. When seen in this light it is clear what John is telling us-Satan is a thief, a destroyer and a murderer just as Jesus said he is. He seduces people into serving him and then torments them when they do so. Satan hates life, even the life of those who worship the Beast and his image. All those who reject Christ are not sealed with his name, they are left unprotected and they will experience the horrible things depicted in these judgments. It is clear, therefore, that John is speaking of those demonic forces unleashed upon those upon the earth to torment those who worship and serve the Beast. This then is the context in which we must read the fifth and sixth trumpet judgments.
II. When we turn to the fifth trumpet judgment in Revelation 9:1-11, we learn of the fate of those upon the earth not protected by God. They are tormented mercilessly by demonic forces-a fate which should warn them of their impending doom while there is still time to repent-but which instead, only hardens their hearts and further entrenches them in unbelief.
It is important to take note of the fact that the fifth trumpet judgment parallels the fifth seal judgment, though viewing things from a completely different perspective. Recall that in the fifth seal judgment of Revelation 6:9-11, when the Lamb opened the seal, we saw the martyrs before the throne, clothed in white and awaiting Christ's return to earth to avenge their blood. We also need to keep in mind the scene in Revelation 7:1-8, during the interlude between the sixth and seventh seal judgment. John sees the 144,000 upon the earth-the church militant. These are Christ's people who have been redeemed by his blood and who are sealed with the name of Christ, protecting them from the wrath of God.
In Revelation 7:9-17, John sees a huge multitude so vast that they cannot be counted. This is the church in heaven before the throne. In the fifth seal and in the interlude between the sixth and seventh seal, John sees the church both on the earth and in heaven. Its members are sealed and protected from the wrath of God. When they die, they enter the presence of the Lord, safe and awaiting the great resurrection at the end of the age.
But in the fifth trumpet, John sees the same period of time, only this time not from the perspective of the redeemed on earth and in heaven, but from the perspective of those who reject the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ-in other words from the perspective of unbelievers upon the earth during the tribulation. And their fate is horrible.
This will become clear as we turn to the opening words of our text, Revelation 9:1-2, "The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss."
For one thing, we should notice that the star is symbolic of an angelic being, since the star holds in its hands a key to the abyss. This same scene is described by Jesus in Luke 10:18: "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." Either John is describing Satan or a fallen angel being cast from heaven as result of the judgment of God. Once cast out, this angelic being now inflicts a host of torments upon the earth's inhabitants by unlocking the shaft of the abyss, which is the realm of the demonic. When this fallen angel opens the abyss, dense smoke, symbolic of judgment, rises and darkens the sky. (3)
A number of things need to be said here. For one thing, John's vision demonstrates that the sovereignty of God extends even to Satan's realm. (4) Jesus holds in his hand the keys of death and Hades, not Satan. The angelic being cannot harm anyone until Christ gives him the key and casts him to earth. This means that the demonic wrath this fallen being unleashes upon unbelievers is a direct result of the fifth trumpet judgment upon the earth. Satan is a defeated foe and can act only as God permits. This is why we find language of Satan being bound during the present millennial age in Revelation 20. Since this fallen angel cannot attack those who are sealed by Christ with any of these torments, instead, he turns on his own.
Beginning in verse 3, we now read of the demonic forces unleashed from the abyss, depicted in terms of locusts and scorpions. "And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth." Unlike the locusts who decimated the crops of Egypt during the eighth plague, these demonic creatures "were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads." Limited to ravaging those who are not sealed, these creatures "were not given power to kill them, but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes a man." The torment they inflict will be so great that "during those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them."
Unleashed from the abyss by the fallen angel to torment unbelievers, these demonic creatures cause destruction like that of locusts and yet have the powerful sting of the scorpion. They are to harm only unbelievers-making them long for death since the demonic horde cannot kill anyone-and their power to torment is limited to five months, which was the life span of a locust.
The point is simply this: demonic forces, once freed from the abyss are now free to assault the very people whom Satan has enticed to worship the beast and his image or who have been seduced by the harlot. (5) They will create spiritual famine. They will bring hardship, pain and suffering upon all those who are not sealed with the name of Christ. They will destroy all hope and make people wish they were dead, although death itself flees from them. This demonic army will leave these people as empty and desolate as the locusts left the grainfields of Egypt.
Echoing the earlier vision of Joel 2, in verse 6, John describes them as follows: "the locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. Their hair was like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth. They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. They had tails and stings like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months."
Clearly it is wrong-headed to interpret this literally. Like the prophet Joel before him, John is describing the ability of this demonic legion to carry out their mission. Like a mighty army dressed for battle, these demonic beings swarm out of the abyss when the fifth trumpet sounds. They are a frightening and devastating foe-yet, because we are sealed with the name of God and of Christ, these creatures cannot and will not touch us. We are Christ's.
That these are demonic beings becomes even clearer in verse 11. "They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon." This name literally means "destruction," or the one who destroys. This angel-if it is not Satan himself-is king over the abyss and the horrible creatures previously confined there. And what does Satan do to those who serve him? He comes as a thief to rob, kill and destroy his own. His treachery and evil knows no bounds.
III. But these frightening trumpet judgments are not yet over. Indeed, says John in verse 12, "The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come." And so we now turn to Revelation 9:13-21, and the sixth trumpet judgment.
According to John, "the sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before God." Recall that the altar is the very place where the prayers of the saints had been offered to God. The voice now commands "the sixth angel who had the trumpet, `Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.' And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million. I heard their number.'" In Revelation 7:1-3, John told us that four angels hold back the four winds, symbolic of the restraint of God's wrath so that the people of God might be sealed with the name of Christ. But when the sixth trumpet sounds, God's restraint is lifted and his judgment now falls upon one third of the earth's population.
John's mention of the Euphrates River has led some to speculate that John is speaking here of a literal 200 million man army from the east invading Israel, thereby setting the stage for the final battle of Armageddon. China, of course, is the only nation which even remotely fits the bill, hence Hal Lindsey's speculation that this is John's reference to the Communist Republic. But this is what happens when we don't look to the Old Testament and the historical context to interpret John's symbolic language.
Throughout the Old Testament, the Euphrates River is a kind of symbolic boundary beyond which lay exile and danger for the people of God. The dreaded cities of Nineveh and Babylon both were beyond the Euphrates, as was the dreaded Medo-Persian empire which later conquered Babylon. It was also the home of the hostile nations listed in Ezekiel 38-39, led by the mysterious Gog and Magog. Most importantly, it was beyond the Euphrates that Israel had been taken during the years of her exile and captivity in Babylon.
In the Roman world, the Euphrates River was the eastern edge of the empire beyond which dwelt the savage Parthians, who repeatedly attacked Roman outposts guarding the frontier. Therefore, the Euphrates River is a symbolic boundary between peace and safety and war and uncertainty. That this is symbolic language becomes clear in verse 17, when it is not the armies of the east, but their horses which bring dread upon the earth. "The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury."
Unlike the demonic horde of the fifth trumpet who could only torment those who are not sealed, but could not take their lives, the sixth trumpet blast will lead to the death of one third of the world's inhabitants. The image is therefore one of the demonic empowerment of the armies of the world to wage war upon each other in service to the beast, in effect, doing the Devil's bidding. (6) John is describing soldiers all right-but not those of a modern nation. John sees those demonic forces which repeatedly bring war to the earth, and which leave death, devastation and suffering in their wake.
Think of what has happened throughout history when men worship the beast and his image. There have been countless wars since John wrote the Book of Revelation. In the past century alone we saw the rise of Hitler and the Third Reich and the subsequent slaughter of some six million Jews, Christians and others. We saw Emperor Hirohito-a self-proclaimed deity-and the horror that the empire of Japan brought upon the nations of Southeast Asia under the guise of creating a "co-prosperity sphere." Then there is Stalin and the estimated 20 million people killed by the Soviet state to advance the cause of communism-a prime example of the Beast which wages war on the saints.
We have all witnessed the militant Islamic states wage war upon Israel and persecute all Christians found within their borders. This is what John has in mind when he speaks of a demonic army of 200 million wreaking havoc upon the earth and bringing death to a third of the world's population. And all of it is brought about by the Satanic empowerment of the Beast, which is any government which seeks to oppress the people of God, and force them to worship someone other than Jesus Christ.
But after the sixth trumpet sounds and devastation comes upon a third of the earth, what do we find? Do we find a world ready to embrace Jesus Christ through faith? Do we find a world ravaged by these demonic hordes now ready to repent of its sin? Do we find a world which finally understands the treachery of Satan and is ready renounce him? No.
Says John in verse 20, "The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood--idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts."
After all of these warnings, the world still will not repent. People will not stop worshiping demons. They reject the gospel and the warnings of a final judgment, says Jesus, because a sinful world loves darkness rather than light (John 3:19). Therefore, one more woe will come upon the earth. A seventh trumpet will sound. It will announce that day non-Christians dread most-that day when Jesus Christ returns to judge the world, raise the dead and make all things news. The trumpet is the harbinger of the dreadful day of judgment
But for those who are Christ's-whether before the throne crying our "how long?" or sealed with the name of Christ while suffering upon the earth-the seventh trumpet will bring about an end to all the horrors depicted in the fifth and six trumpet judgments. This is the day when God rewards the prophets and those who revere his name. This is the day when God's glorious salvation comes to earth, and when God's will is done on earth as it is heaven.
Amen!
1. Hal Lindsey, There's a New World Coming,
136-142.
2. Beale, Revelation, p. 500.
3. Beale, Revelation, pp. 491-493.
4. Beale, Revelation, p. 493.
5. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 149.
6. Poythress, The Returning King, p. 124.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:35:41 CST
"As Sweet as Honey"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 16
Texts: Revelation 10:1-11; Ezekiel 2:1-3:11
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I. Even as God's wrath is poured out upon the earth during the last days through the seven trumpet judgments, and as non-Christians must now face the wrath of the demonic hordes released from the abyss, what is it that we as Christians are to be doing during this time of great tribulation, known as the last days? John will speak to this subject in Revelation 10 and 11.
We have spent the last several weeks discussing the seven trumpet judgments found in Revelation chapters 8-11. Two weeks ago, we took a look at Revelation chapter 8 and the first four of the seven trumpets in which God's judgment comes upon one third of the earth. And then last week, we covered Revelation chapter 9 and the fifth and sixth trumpet judgments. This morning, we come to Revelation 10, where we will now turn our attention to the interlude which follows the sixth trumpet and in which John details the mission of the church upon the earth during the last days. Lord willing, we will continue this theme next week as well as we look at the two witnesses and the seventh and final trumpet judgment in Revelation 11.
A brief bit of review is in order to bring everyone up to speed before we tackle our text this morning in Revelation 10. Recall that the seven trumpet judgments in Revelation echo the seven trumpet blasts of the priests of Israel which brought down the city of Jericho as recorded in Joshua chapter 6. As the fortified city of Jericho blocked the way so that Joshua and the people of God could not enter the promised land, so too, in the Book of Revelation, the city of man (Babylon the Great) which is depicted in Revelation 18, stands in the way of the New Jerusalem, which even now is coming down from heaven. Once the seventh and final trumpet sounds, says John, the city of man will be destroyed and the kingdoms of this world will finally become the kingdom of our God and of his Christ.
But there are other allusions in the trumpet judgments to the Old Testament as well. One allusion, which we have not yet mentioned, may be to the destruction of the infamous city of Sodom. When the angel sounds the first trumpet, hail and fire rained down upon the earth. When the sixth trumpet sounds, a demonic horde looking like horses appears, breathing smoke and fire and sulphur. (1) All of these elements were present in the fire and brimstone which rained down from heaven, destroying the wicked city of Sodom and all of its inhabitants.
Then, we have also seen how six of the seven trumpets clearly echo the plagues which God sent upon Egypt. The point is that through these seven trumpet judgments, God will display his glory and power upon the earth, even as he humbled the arrogant Pharaoh and exposed the fact that his court magicians were worshiping nothing but their own vain imaginations.
But not only must we look to the Old Testament to find the meaning of the dramatic symbols John uses throughout the trumpet judgments, we must also look to the historical background of them so as to understand what John's original audience would have understood John to be saying. We have spent a fair amount of time doing just this so I won't belabor the point, except to remind us that this is apocalyptic literature and we must not attempt to understand John's highly symbolic language literally. The key to understanding the Book of Revelation is not the ability of the interpreter to correlate current events to John's symbolic language, but to see how the symbols are used throughout the Old Testament and now reinterpreted by John in the light of the coming of Christ.
It might also help to be reminded of the fact that in many ways the seven trumpet judgments reiterate the seven seal judgments of Revelation 6:8:1 since they cover the same period of time, this present age which lies between the first advent of Jesus Christ and his second coming. Not only do the first four trumpet judgments describe judgments very much like those ascribed to the four horsemen of Revelation 6-although the ferocity of the trumpet judgments is greater, extending to one third of the earth-but the fifth seal describes peace and safety of the martyred souls in heaven, while the fifth trumpet describes the fate of unbelievers upon the earth. While God's people cry out, "How long, O Lord" in anticipation of the resurrection at the end of the age, the tormented people upon the earth who reject Christ, are now subject to the wrath of demonic forces. They cry out to be spared from such torment, longing to die, but such relief is not given to them. The irony in this should not be overlooked. Non-Christians long to die so as to end their torment, while the Saints in heaven long for the resurrection and their inheritance.
Then, in the sixth trumpet judgment, John sees army of 200 million soldiers-a reference to the demonic horde which brings havoc upon the earth through a series of seemingly endless wars and conflicts in which death and destruction come upon one third of the earth. At the end of these six judgments, you would think that the world's inhabitants would have had enough, that they would be ready to repent. But no, says John, the people of the world still would prefer to worship demons, create idols and they trust in the works of their own hands. Seeing no need for the blood and righteousness of Christ, one more woe is coming upon the earth, a woe which takes the form of the seventh trumpet judgment, which is the return of Jesus Christ to judge the world, raise the dead and make all things new. This is the day all non-Christians fear, but is that glorious day when God's salvation comes to the earth in its consummate glory.
Recall that after the sixth seal judgment, there was an interlude in Revelation 7, in which John describes the church upon the earth during the great tribulation-the 144,000 who are sealed with the name of Christ and thereby protected from God's wrath-and the church in heaven, that great multitude before the throne, a multitude so vast that no one could number them. The point of this particular scene is to remind the suffering church that even though we must face the wrath of the beast, we will never face the wrath of God. And now here in Revelation 10 and 11 after the sixth trumpet, we find another such interlude, only this time the vantage point (or "camera angle") is that of the church on earth, whose mission is to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth during the last days.
The great irony is that while unbelievers upon the earth face the wrath of God, they also face the wrath of Satan. Those who worshiped the Beast and his image are not sealed by God with the name of Christ, so they are left unprotected. Now they encounter the demonic legions pictured in the fifth and sixth trumpet judgment who come to torment them. Satan who is a thief and a liar, who comes to destroy, mercilessly turns upon and betrays those very same people who serve him and who worship the Beast and his image.
Although I didn't have time to say much about this previously, the fifth and sixth trumpet judgments give us much information about how we as Reformed Christians should understand the demonic. To begin with, John has made it clear that Christ's people are protected from his wrath, as well as from all demonic assaults. Therefore, Christians cannot be demon possessed or in any way tormented by demons like unbelievers, as we saw in our text last week. Furthermore, John describes Satan being cast down to the abyss during this present age, unable to release his demonic legions unless given permission to do so by God. Luther had it absolutely right when he said, "the Devil is God's Devil." Despite his great power and his rage, Satan is a creature (a fallen angel), already defeated by Christ, but filled with anger and wrath because he knows his final doom is sure. This means he is a vicious, deceitful and fierce foe, but his fate is certain. His head has already been crushed by Jesus Christ. Jesus has already turned him into a public spectacle, triumphing over him while dying for our sins upon the cross (cf. Colossians 2:15).
Since neither Satan nor his demonic horde can attack Christians directly, he will do so indirectly. One way mentioned by John is when Satan empowers the Beast to wage war upon the saints. As we have seen in the letters to the seven churches, this occurs when Satan empowers the state to persecute the church. In many of the cities mentioned in Revelation 2-3, Christians were prevented from buying or selling, and some were even put to death because they honored Jesus Christ as Lord, and refused to do of the state or its leaders. Another way Satan attacks the church is through seduction, like that depicted in the seven letters and through the efforts of the harlot as described in Revelation 18.
Therefore in our present age, Satan works through the point of the sword of an anti-Christian government, or through the introduction of false doctrine into the church, through false religions like Islam or non-Christian cults and paganism, or when he entices Christians to compromise with any of the above so as to escape persecution. Satan does not make people's heads spin around, nor does he make them blaspheme at the sight of a crucifix. He is a robber and a liar, who to brings destruction upon the earth. We oppose him with the truth of the gospel and with our prayers, which, as John tells us in Revelation 8, ascend before God's throne where God answers them with the trumpet judgments we have just seen. While Christians are to flee from temptation, we are commanded to resist the Devil. Our best weapon against him is the truth of the gospel, bathed in prayer, which ascends before the throne of God.
II. In the interlude which follows the sixth trumpet judgment, there are two scenes describing the church on earth during the great tribulation. The same struggles we have seen in the letters to the seven churches are also described in Revelation 10 and 11, this time in terms of the church's witness to the world during the present age. This morning we will focus upon the scene in Revelation 10, and John's vision of an angel with a little scroll.
To make sense of the change of subjects beginning in Revelation 10:1, we need to go back to the opening verse of this book, Revelation 1:1: "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John." Through the actions of the angel who now appears to John, John's commission as the prophet to whom this full revelation from Jesus Christ now comes, is complete. (2) Everything has been revealed to him. In light of the fact that this entire section of Revelation has allusions to Daniel 10:5-6 and Ezekiel chapters 2-3, John is hereby commissioned to bring the bitter and sweet words of the Lord to God's people, only this time in light of the coming of Jesus Christ and the dawn of the Messianic age. It is John who will reveal that which lay hidden from the Old Testament prophets, Daniel and Ezekiel. John can do so because Jesus Christ has come and redeemed his people with his precious blood, conquered death and the grave, earning the keys to death and Hades, and because Jesus Christ has ascended on high, taking his place as Lord of his church. He is the Lamb who was slain, and alone worthy to open the scroll.
In verse one of Revelation 10, John describes what he sees. "Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars." The identity of this mighty angel is the subject of much debate. Some hold that it is Christ, (3) while others, including most Reformed commentators, believe that the angel is a messenger of Christ, who reflects his master's glory. (4) In Revelation 5:2, John has already spoken of a "mighty angel," who asked the question which caused John so much anguish, "who is worthy to open the scroll?" In Daniel 10:5-6, the prophet describes how "I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude." This sounds very much like the being who appears here. When we consider the fact that this same angelic being later tells Daniel that the prince of Persia prevented him from successfully completing his mission until he was assisted by Michael the Archangel (cf. Daniel 10:12-14), it becomes clear that this not Christ, but an angelic messenger sent to John, from Christ. (5)
According to John's testimony, [the angel] "was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand." This little scroll, or a more literally, a book, is the same one previously opened by the Lamb in Revelation 5, who then proceeded to open its seven seals. The angel "planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion," the reference to the sea and the land, most likely refer to the two areas of the earth directly impacted by the first two seal judgments. The voice like that of a lion echoes the earlier testimony of the prophet Amos, who once declared, "Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. The lion has roared--who will not fear? The Sovereign LORD has spoken--who can but prophesy?" Indeed, by giving John the scroll which had been unsealed, God reveals to John his sovereign purposes for the present age. And so having revealed these purposes to John, how can John not prophesy? That is, how can John not proclaim these things to God's people which the angel is now revealing to him.
But while John must proclaim certain things to God's people, other things are to remain sealed. "When [the angel] shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, `Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.'" Though at first glance it is somewhat perplexing that God would reveal this vision and the scroll to his prophet John, and then forbid him from proclaiming everything in it, there is a larger principle here. As a general rule, the secret things do indeed belong to the Lord, and his prophets must reveal only what God commands them to reveal.
But there is probably something else going on here as well. The sealing of the seven thunders, which are not be written down, most likely means that there will not be yet another cycle of judgments occurring after the seven trumpets, but that the seventh trumpet will bring all things-including the horrors depicted in the fifth and six trumpet judgments brought about by human rebellion, the worshiping of demons, the refusal of men and women to reject the works of their hands so that they might seek the righteousness of Christ-to an end when Jesus Christ returns to earth in judgment on the last day. (6) We see this elsewhere in the New Testament, such as in 1 Corinthians 15:52, where Paul speaks of the last trumpet as the herald of the second coming of Jesus Christ and the resurrection.
But it is the solemn oath uttered by the angel which now captures John's attention. According to verse 5, "Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, `There will be no more delay!' But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.'" The seven thunders will be sealed and not written down, and there will be no delay before judgment comes. When the seventh trumpet sounds, that is it! There will be no more time to repent, no more chances for unbelievers to renounce their own righteousness. Judgment day will come. The angel has sworn to it, and all of the mysteries of God's eternal decree will have finally unfolded in human history. Everything revealed in type and shadow to the prophets of old will be accomplished. God will punish all evil-doers, destroy the Devil and all of his minions, vindicate and reward his people, and usher in the glories of the age to come. This, of course, would have been of great encouragement to suffering Christians in the first century. It is equally comforting to us. Everything will turn out in the end just as God has promised. There will be no cosmic surprises.
III. But this scene in Revelation 10 ends with a dramatic turn of events, which harkens us back to the prophets of old.
In verse 8, John informs us, that "then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: `Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.'" Doing as he is instructed, John says "I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, `Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.' I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Then I was told, `You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.'"
This scene is similar to Ezekiel's commissioning the opening chapters of his prophecy, as we read in our Old Testament lesson (Ezekiel 2:1-3:11). Ezekiel had been commanded to prophesy against the people of Israel after they had rebelled against God. He was to take the scroll and eat it-symbolic of internalizing God's word to his people-so that he might proclaim the word of blessing and curse in his office as God's prophet. The eating of the scroll, which the prophet says was as sweet as honey, also involved the proclamation of bitter words of lament, warning and woe. The symbolism seen in the sweetness of the scroll and the words of blessing and curse it contained, is that Ezekiel is commanded to preach the blessings and the curses of the covenant to God's covenant people, Israel. He is to preach that which is sweet-the promise of blessing and the gospel-as well as that word of woe, lament and warning, which is the Law and the threatened covenant curses for continued disobedience on the part of the nation and its people.
Much the same thing holds in John's case here in Revelation 10, only John is to preach from the vantage point of fulfillment, since Christ has now come and revealed himself to be worthy to open the scroll, since he has, in fact, died for our sins and fulfilled all of the righteous requirements of the Law. But the bittersweet message found in the scroll that John is to eat is to be proclaimed to all of the nations. This means that John's mission is extended from that mission given earlier to Ezekiel. Ezekiel was to preach to God's disobedient covenant people, Israel. John, on the other hand, is to preach to the nations and to their kings, who are in the Book of Revelation almost always depicted as allied with the Beast or at least, doing his bidding. (7) Furthermore, John is to preach his bittersweet message to all kinds of people, in many different languages, which, of course, is a picture of the missionary endeavor of the church.
As in the case of Ezekiel, the scroll is to be eaten by John and tastes sweet at first, but soon turns sour in his stomach. Why is this? There are two lines of explanation we need to flesh out. The first, which we have already discussed, is that the message John is internalize and to preach is bittersweet in nature. That is, the message given John and which he is to pass on to the churches contains both the word of blessing (the sweetness of the gospel), and a word which turns bitter (the demands of the Law and the sanctions which result when God's law is broken). And since the message is given by the angel to John specifically so that it might be revealed to God's people, the application for us becomes very clear. While the seal and trumpet judgments roll across the earth during the last days, intensifying in ferocity as we get closer to the return of Jesus Christ, the church is to be about the business of proclaiming the Law and the gospel. Therefore, our divinely-appointed mission is to take the gospel to the nations. We are to proclaim this bittersweet word of law and gospel to everyone within our sphere of influence. It is one of our primary weapons against Satan, the beast, the harlot and all those who serve them. For the best way to expose the works of the Devil and frustrate his purposes is with the light of the truth.
But John's message is bittersweet in a second way. John must reveal God's word to the churches that the wrath of God is indeed coming upon the whole world through a cyclical series of judgments which culminate with the return of Jesus Christ. Although God's people are sealed with the name of Christ and protected from his wrath as well as from those demonic forces unleashed from the abyss by the fallen angel, at times Christians will indeed face the Satanically empowered beast who wages war upon the Saints. Christians must also be on guard for the seductive ways of the harlot, who seeks to entice Christians way from their Lord. As we have seen, in addition to proclaiming the bittersweet word of law and gospel, God has reminded us that his judgments come forth against the earth, because he hears the prayers of his suffering Saints upon the earth. And when these prayers ascend before his throne, God acts to vindicate his people. Indeed, when the beast takes their lives from them, John says, the martyred saints come to life and reign with Christ for a thousand years. Therefore, we cannot be defeated, even if God calls us to suffer for Christ's sake.
There are a number of texts elsewhere in the New Testament which speak of these same matters in ways we are more used to considering. The apostle Peter speaks to this matter in his second epistle when he writes,"For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)-- if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment"(2 Peter 2:4-9).
Paul also speaks of this same struggle in Ephesians 6:10-18, when he describes the Christian life in terms of proclaiming the gospel and the power of prayer. "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."
As the seal and trumpet judgments are brought against the earth during the days of tribulation, God's people are to be about the business of preaching the Law and the gospel and praying that God's will might be done on earth as it is in heaven. God not only knows how to protect those who are his, he has given us the weapons we need to face the Devil and all those allied with him-namely the Law and the gospel, along with prayer. In Revelation 10, John gives us a message of hope, all the while the nations rage and Satan seeks to do us ill. For the mighty angel with the scroll reminds us that not only does God protect us during the time of tribulation, he equips us to do battle. For he has given us his gospel, which John says, tastes as sweet as honey. For in Jesus Christ, God will never count our sins against us. And in Jesus Christ, God has sealed us as his own, ensuring that we need never fear his wrath. Amen!
1. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
156, n. 2.
2. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
157.
3. Most notably Beale, Revelation, pp.
522-526.
4. See Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
pp. 157-159; cf. the discussion in Bauckham, The Climax of Prophecy, pp.
253-254.
5. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
pp. 158-159
6. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 161.
7. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
164.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:34:49 CST
"The Third Woe Is Coming Soon"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 17
Texts: Revelation 11:1-19; Zechariah 4:1-14
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I. Throughout the Book of Revelation, John has spoken of the church on the earth during the last days, the time of great tribulation. But even in the midst of the church's struggle against the Satanically empowered beast, God's people are sealed and protected from the wrath of God as well as from those demonic forces unleashed upon the earth. But John has also described the church in heaven, triumphant and awaiting the great day of resurrection and judgment yet to come. And now, during the interlude of Revelation 10 and 11 John speaks to the subject of the mission of the church on the earth. Not only is the church to preach the bittersweet word of law and gospel to the nations, the church is also to bear witness that God's wrath is coming upon the whole earth.
We have been working our way through the seven trumpet judgments recorded in Revelation 8-11. In Revelation chapters 8-9, we dealt with the fifth and sixth trumpet judgments in which God's wrath is poured out upon one third of the earth. Recall that when John witnessed the angel sound the fifth trumpet, he saw a star cast down from heaven to earth-symbolic of a fallen angel-now given the power by Christ himself to unlock the abyss, the realm of the demonic. Now released from their imprisonment, the demonic horde, depicted by John in the symbolic language of stinging scorpions and destructive locusts, is freed to assault all those upon the earth who have rejected the gospel and who are not sealed with the name of Jesus Christ. These are the 144,000, who are protected from the wrath of God and from this demonic host which now mercilessly turns upon all those who worship the Beast and his image.
Then, when the sixth trumpet sounds, John witnesses the release of four angels who bring death and destruction upon one third of the earth. When the four angels go forth, John sees 200 million soldiers waging a series of endless wars across the earth, leaving death and destruction everywhere in their wake. These are the armies of the world's great nations, empowered by Satan, waging war upon each other, in effect, doing the serpent's bidding, which is to deceive, rob and destroy. And yet, despite the havoc wrought upon the earth by the fifth and sixth trumpet judgments, the earth's inhabitants still refuse to repent. Although at times things get so bad that the inhabitants of the earth wish they were dead, their wish is not granted.
According to John, the men and women still worship demons. They still create and worship idols rather than worship and serve the true and living God. The earth's inhabitants still count upon their own righteousness, rejecting the only righteousness which can account them righteous before God, the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Therefore, one more trumpet blast will sound. One more final woe is coming upon the earth. Indeed, just as the seventh trumpet blast from Israel's priests brought about the destruction of the walled city of Jericho, when John witnesses the angel sound the seventh trumpet, the city of man, Babylon the Great, will be laid waste and all the earth's inhabitants will face the wrath and judgment of God. There will be no more time to repent. The great day of judgment has finally come and all who know not Christ will face the wrath of God in all of its horrible fury.
But before describing the seventh and final trumpet in the latter part of Revelation 11, there is an interlude in which John describes the mission of church of Jesus Christ upon the earth during the time of tribulation. As God had commanded the prophet Ezekiel to eat the scroll-an act which is symbolic of internalizing the contents of the scroll so that the prophet could preach the word of covenant blessing and curse to disobedient Israel-so now the mighty angel of Revelation 10:1 commands the apostle John to likewise take the scroll and to eat it. This is the same scroll which the prophet Daniel said had been sealed until the time of end, but which has been opened by the Lamb along with its seven seals, which are the seven seal judgments depicted Revelation 6-8:1, judgments which, in many ways, parallel the seven trumpet judgments here in Revelation 8-11.
When John eats the scroll, at first it tastes as sweet as honey, but it quickly turns bitter in his stomach. The message contained in the scroll is bittersweet. It contains a word of blessing, but also a word of curse. Like Ezekiel, John is to proclaim these bittersweet words-the Law and the gospel-as well as that word of woe which declares that God's wrath is coming upon the earth. Although God's people are sealed with the name of Christ and protected from God's judgment as well as from the demonic hordes unleashed from the abyss, nevertheless, at times, God's people must face the rage of Satan in the form of the Beast and all those who ally themselves with him. And John, who has received from the angel this revelation of Jesus Christ, is now instructed to pass along this bittersweet word to Christ's church, which, in turn, is commanded to proclaim this message of blessing and curse to all the nations and their kings. According to John, this is the mission of the church during this time of great tribulation.
Therefore, all the while the two series of cyclical judgments-the seals and the trumpets-are sent by God against the earth and it's inhabitants, God's people are to be about the business of preaching the Law and the gospel. The church declares God's word of woe, fully confident that we are protected from God's wrath and from these frightful demonic legions, even while we are called to face the Beast and all those who do his bidding. When the contents of the little scroll are revealed by the angel to John, and in turn passed along to us, we have been given our marching orders as the church of Jesus Christ. We must preach the Law and the gospel. We must announce the word of woe to the ends of the earth. And we must do so in the face of opposition from all of those who serve the Beast and worship his image.
But let us not forget that it is the prayers of the saints which bring about the trumpet judgments. When we pray, God acts to vindicate our righteous cause. God has given to us the truth of the gospel, which exposes the deceptive ways of the devil and reminds us of the certain defeat of our enemies. We may be prevented from buying and selling because we proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that caesar, the emperor, the fuhrer, and the president are not. We must confess Jesus as Lord, even if it costs us our lives. John told us that when the Beast wages war upon the saints and kills them, the saints come to life and reign with Christ for a thousand years. Therefore, we cannot lose. We cannot be defeated. Christ has won the ultimate victory when he triumphed over death and the grave, and his victory is ours. This, beloved, is John's message throughout the Book of Revelation. And here in this interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpet judgments, John describes this struggle against the Beast, that struggle we have already discussed in the seven letters to the churches in Revelation 2-3, but which is now seen from the perspective of the church's mission to the ends of the earth.
II. Having covered the material in Revelation 10 last week, recall that the interlude between the final two trumpet judgments continues in Revelation 11:1-14, when John speaks of two mysterious witnesses upon the earth, witnesses who are killed because of their testimony of Christ, but who are also vindicated by God.
In the first two verses of Revelation 11, John continues to describe the heavenly scene. But the focus shifts from the mighty angel with the scroll to the heavenly temple. Says John, "I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, `Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there. But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months.'" Before we say anything about this passage, it is important to remind ourselves of the fact that this is apocalyptic language. It is highly symbolic and not to be interpreted literally. As we have seen, the key to understanding the symbols John uses is the Old Testament and as well as how these symbols have been used elsewhere in the Book of Revelation.
In the prior interlude between the six and seventh seal judgment of Revelation 7, John has already described the church on earth (the 144,000) and the church in heaven (the great multitude no can count). He sees the same scene again, only this time in terms of the temple. John has already told us that the church on earth suffers during the great tribulation while the church in heaven triumphs. This is the interpretive key here as well. Remember the parallels we saw last week between Ezekiel's prophetic ministry and John's. Both were commanded to eat scrolls, symbolic of the messages they were to preach. Ezekiel was to preach to disobedient Israel, while John was to preach to the nations. Recall that at the end of Ezekiel's prophecy beginning in the 40th chapter, Ezekiel describes the heavenly temple, and how he watched while the angel measured it and recorded its dimensions (40:5). (1)
This time John is commanded to measure the temple himself using the measuring rod given him by the angel. What jumps out as us is the fact that John is to count all the worshipers within. Later on in Revelation 21, John will describe the temple in great detail, its size and its appearance. Here, John is preoccupied with those within the temple walls, safely dwelling in heaven. The symbolism should be obvious. Throughout the New Testament the people of God are depicted as the temple of God, indwelt by his Spirit.
This is an especially prominent theme in Paul's writings (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:16; Ephesians 2:20-22) and in Peter's as well (1 Peter 2:4-10; 4:14-17). It is also important to recall that John has already told us in Revelation 3:12, "Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name." When he measures the temple, John is counting the members of the triumphant church in heaven, surrounding the altar where the prayers of the suffering saints upon the earth ascend to heaven. (2)
But John also sees the outer court of the temple, which is given to the Gentiles, and which he is not to measure. This is symbolic of the church suffering upon the earth for 42 months. As we have seen in our earlier discussion of the prophecy of the seventy weeks in Daniel 9:24-27, 42 months is three and a half years. This same period of time is mentioned throughout the Book of Revelation, sometimes referred to as the 1260 days, or as "a time, a times and half a time," but all referring to a period of time 3 ½ years long, the same time period as the last half (3 ½ years) of the seventieth week of Daniel. According to Daniel, it is that time after the anointed one, Jesus Christ, has come to finish transgression, put an end to sin, atone for wickedness, seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy (Daniel 9:24) until the final jubilee is ushered in by Jesus Christ as his second coming.
In Daniel's prophecy, (9:26) the messiah is cut off in the middle of the seventieth week of years, in the middle of the 70th "7." In doing so he confirms a covenant with the many for the final seven years (9:27), leaving the last three and half years of the seventieth week yet to be fulfilled before God's ultimate jubilee is ushered in and all captives are freed and all debts are paid. Here in Revelation 11:2, John now interprets this last half of the seventieth week of Daniel 9:24-27 (the 42 months), to be a reference to the church age, that period of time known as the great tribulation and the last days, which is the entire period of time between the first advent and the second coming of Jesus Christ. To put it as simply as possible, in Revelation11:1-2, John sees the church triumphant in terms of the heavenly temple, and the church militant on the earth-the outer court-now trampled down by the Gentiles for 42 months (the remaining 3 ½ years of Daniel's 70 weeks prophecy). This is the suffering church upon the earth. The scene clearly echoes Revelation 7, as John sees the same scene and period of time, but from yet another vantage point (or camera angle).
In Revelation 11:3, John's focus shifts from the temple to the earth to two mysterious witnesses who preach the gospel to the nations at great cost to themselves, but who are vindicated by God in the end. In verse 3 we read that the one who instructed John to measure the temple will "give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth." Throughout the New Testament, God calls his people to be witnesses of Jesus Christ, since we have been entrusted with his testimony as to his person and his work. (3) But these two witnesses, clothed in sackcloth and ashes, recall to mind several images from the Old Testament-Hezekiah and the king of Nineveh put on sackcloth and ashes, symbolic of repentance (Isaiah 37:1-2; Jonah 3:5). Jesus reminds us that the wicked cities of Tyre and Sidon would have done the same if Jesus had performed his miracles there (Matthew 11:2).
Furthermore, there are two witnesses mentioned because two is the number of witnesses required to establish the truth of their testimony. (4) Given the fact that they are to preach for 1260 days (the same length of time as the 42 months, during which the outer court of the temple is trampled down by the Gentiles), their ministry extends throughout the entire church age. But this still begs the question, "who are these guys?"
Beginning in verse 4, their identity is revealed. "These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want." Once again, the key to understanding John's symbolic language is the Old Testament.
As we have seen in our Old Testament lesson this morning, Zechariah used these same images-the two olive trees which supply oil for the lampstand-to refer to Zerubbabel, the royal figure who was to rebuild the temple, and Joshua, the priest who would lead the people of God in their worship of YHWH. Both of these two men in turn pre-figure the coming of Israel's messiah. Like Moses, the two witnesses described by John can bring destructive plagues upon the earth. Like Elijah they can shut up the sky and destroy their enemies with fire. Therefore, the two witnesses are clearly prophets, and the allusion to Zerubbabel and Joshua, means that they are kings and priests as well. (5)
The vision of the two witnesses, then, is a symbolic picture of the church upon the earth during the entire time of tribulation. They are not to be interpreted literally, as is often done by our dispenstionalist friends, who teach that Moses (or Enoch) and Elijah will physically return to the earth during the seven year tribulation, only to be killed by the Antichrist. We know that this is symbolic of the entire church for three reasons.
First, in Revelation 5:10, John has already stated that God's people are constituted "a kingdom and priests to serve our God," who "will reign on the earth." Here John adds a prophetic role to the kingly and priestly offices.
Second, we are also told in verse 7, that "when [the two witnesses] have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them," a statement which is virtually repeated in Revelation 13:7 when we read that the Beast "was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them." The Revelation 13:7 text is a clear reference to the Beast's assault upon the church.
Finally, when we consider that these two witnesses minister during the same period of time as the outer court of the temple is trampled by the Gentiles (1260 days/42 months), it is clear that these two witnesses are symbolic of Christ's church upon the earth during the entire church age as she proclaims the bittersweet words of law and gospel while warning the inhabitants of the earth of the final woe, yet to come. But because of their message, the Beast turns upon them whenever empowered by Satan, and kills them, seeking to silence them.
But as long as their mission to preach the gospel has not been completed, they are protected by God through the judgments which come upon the earth, judgments which sound very much like the four horsemen of the seal judgments and the first four of the trumpet judgments. Indeed, the fire which destroys their enemies, the drought which befalls the earth, the calamities which come upon the sea and the various plagues which God sends upon the earth through the two witnesses, echo the seal judgments John has already described in Revelation 6:-8:1 and the trumpet judgments of Revelation 9-11. God protects his people and frustrates his enemies.
But then when the witnesses' mission is complete, the Beast is finally allowed to take their lives. According to verses 8-11, "Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth." Having been killed by the beast, the bodies of the witnesses lie unburied in the great city, later on depicted as Babylon the Great, but here depicted as Sodom, a prime Biblical image of godlessness, and as Egypt, that nation which cruelly held the people of God in slavery.
The reference to the place where Jesus was crucified has lead some to believe that John sees the witnesses as actually dying in Jerusalem during the supposed 7-year tribulation. But since the context is the church's witness to the world, the point may simply be that since Jesus died in Jerusalem, rejected by his people, the earthly Jerusalem ironically becomes a symbol of the rejection of Christ by the entire city of man, epitomized by Babylon the great. (6) Nevertheless, the church faithfully bears witness of Jesus Christ throughout the entire church age (the 3 ½ years, 42 months and 1260 days) while the beast's apparent triumph is symbolically much shorter, only 3 ½ days. Refusing to bury the corpse of one's enemy was, in the ancient world, the ultimate sign of contempt. As the world's inhabitants rejoice at the death of the witnesses, their bodies are left in the street unburied, a symbolic sign of just how much the world hates them and their message.
But the world can never defeat the kingdom of God. We read in verse 11, that "after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them." Here again, there are loud echoes from Ezekiel's prophecy in 37:10, where Ezekiel writes, "So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet--a vast army." Just when the Beast appears to triumph, God raises up a mighty army to continue the church's witness. Furthermore, as we have already seen earlier in this book, when the Beast kills the saints, they come to life and reign with Christ for a thousand years. John sees the same thing here, this time in the context of the church's mission. "Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, `Come up here.' And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on." This symbolic resurrection and ascension into heaven strikes terror in the hearts of all those who hate Christ and reject his gospel. Just when the witnesses appear to have been shamed and humiliated, God vindicates them.
But not only does God's vindication of the witnesses strike terror in the hears of those who persecute the church, so does the judgment of God which now comes upon the great city which foreshadows the final judgment yet to come. Says John, "at that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven." This earthquake destroys a tenth of city, perhaps as part of the seal and trumpet judgments, and clearly prefigures the sixth seal judgment, which is the great earthquake associated with the cosmic renewal which accompanies the return of Jesus Christ to earth. In an amazing bit of irony, John now describes how 7000 unbelievers are killed, the same number of true believers who remained in Israel during the time of Elijah. Having watched God preserve his people and vindicate his cause, when his hand of judgment comes against the earth, the people of the great city's response is to be terrified and give God glory. But it may be too late.
According to John, with the interlude now complete, "the second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon." The end has now come and John witnesses "The seventh angel sound . . . his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: `The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever." The boastful and blasphemous city of man has fallen and the New Jerusalem will take its place. The kingdom of God has indeed triumphed over all the enemies of God and of his people. And this kingdom-unlike Babylon the Great, will never end.
The glorious news of the destruction of the city of man means the end of the age is at hand, and all of heaven rejoices. Says John, "the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: `We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great--and for destroying those who destroy the earth." Indeed, the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our God and of his Christ. Then, we read, "God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm."
The revelation contained in the scroll given John by the angel is now complete. The presence of the ark before the altar, and which was carried before the armies of Israel when Jericho fell, is the final reminder that when the seventh trumpet has sounded, the city of man is destroyed. The lightening, thunder and the great earthquake are the signs that God has now fully revealed his glory. The full mystery of our redemption has been revealed and God has brought all things to their appointed end. (7)
But while the Beast wages war upon the church, we must never forget that we are sealed with the name of Christ, forever safe from the wrath of God and the forces of hell. We have been given the truth and gospel as well as our marching orders as a church. As the seal and trumpets judgments come forth from the throne of God, we are the witnesses of Jesus Christ, preaching the bittersweet word of law and gospel, and announcing to an unbelieving world, "the third woe is coming soon." But what for the world is a day of terror, is for us, the glorious day of our redemption. It is a day we do not dread. It is a day for which we long!
Come quickly Lord Jesus! Amen!
1. See Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb,
(pp. 163-164).
2. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
166.
3. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
170.
4. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
170.
5. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
170.
6. See the discussion of this in; Beale, The
Book of Revelation, p. 591 ff.
7. Poythress, The Returning King, p. 131.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:34:28 CST
"By the Blood of the Lamb"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 18
Texts: Revelation 12:1-17; Isaiah 54:1-8
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I. John has witnessed the Lamb open the scroll and its seven seals. He has witnessed seven angels sound seven trumpets, announcing God's judgment against the city of man which persecutes the church of Jesus Christ. Now, John sees a war in heaven in which Satan is cast down to the earth where he wages war upon the saints who are protected by God and who overcome the Devil and those allied with him through the blood of the Lamb.
We now enter a new section of John's apocalyptic vision in Revelation chapter 12. As with all things in the Book of Revelation, a word of explanation is in order before we go any further. Beginning with this chapter, we find a whole new perspective on the course of redemptive history, markedly different from that of the seal and trumpet judgments which we have already covered. Revelation chapter twelve marks the literary center of this book and is an important turning point in the apocalyptic drama. (1) But while in certain sense, Revelation 12 contains a change in subject from what we have just covered in Revelation 8-11, in other ways it really doesn't. Let me explain.
Recall the analogy we have been using-that of different camera angles focusing on the same series of events. Take, for example, the seal judgments of Revelation 6-8:1. The focus is upon the Lamb who was worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals. When the Lamb open the seven seals, God's judgment comes against one fourth of the earth. When the seven seals-seven being the symbolic number for perfection-have run their course, we read of the second coming of Jesus Christ, to judge the world, raise the dead and make all things new. Although the seal judgments intensify before the end of the age-remember the birth pain analogy-these judgments cover the period of time between the first and second coming of Christ from the perspective (or the camera angle) of the worthiness of the Lamb.
Then in Revelation 8-11, we read of a new series of judgments upon the earth, this time more intense than the seals, effecting one-third of the earth and its inhabitants. The series of trumpet judgments run simultaneously with the seal judgments, and as we have seen, there are many parallels between these two cycles of judgment. The trumpet judgments are the result of the prayers of the suffering saints, which ascend before the throne of God, who hears the cries of his people suffering upon the earth, and then acts to vindicate them. And yet despite God's judgment upon the earth, the earth's inhabitants are unwilling to repent. They prefer to worship the beast and his image, to worship demons and to reply upon the works of their hands. Therefore, the trumpet judgments run their course with the second coming of Jesus Christ. The trumpets cover the same period of time as the seals, but from a different "camera angle" with a completely different perspective. When the seventh seal was opened there was silence in heaven. But when the seventh trumpet sounds, heaven is opened and the ark of the covenant is seen, the symbolic sign that the wicked city of man-like Jericho-has fallen, totally destroyed by the judgment of God.
In both cycles of judgment there is an interlude between the sixth and seventh judgment. In Revelation 7, during the interlude in the seal judgments, John sees the church upon the earth (the 144,000) sealed with the name of Christ and thereby protected from his wrath. He also sees the church in heaven (the great multitude no one can count). During the interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpet judgments, likewise, John sees the church on earth and in heaven. John sees the heavenly temple-the mystical body of Jesus Christ-as well as the church on the earth, the outer court of the temple, trampled down by the Gentiles for 42 months (three and a half-years), which is the last half of the seventieth week of Daniel's prophecy of the seventy weeks as recorded in Daniel chapter 9:24-27. Both interludes describe the church militant on the earth struggling against the beast and those allied with him, and the church triumphant in heaven, which has conquered her enemies and is now safe awaiting the day of resurrection.
The purpose of these two interludes is not only to give the persecuted church of John's day hope in the face of persecution from the pagan Roman empire, but to explain to us the nature of the spiritual warfare we face two-thousand years later. In Revelation 10, we read of a mighty angel who gave a little scroll to John and commanded him to eat it. The scroll contained the bittersweet word of the Law and the gospel, as well as the declaration of the final word of woe which is coming upon the earth when the seventh trumpet sounds and when Jesus Christ returns to earth to judge the world. This message was given to John, and who now, through this vision, passes it on to the church. This means that it is our mission to preach the Law and the gospel, and to warn the world of the final judgment yet to come.
In Revelation 11, John describes two mysterious witnesses, who like Zerubabbel, build the temple of God, who like Joshua, serve as priests, who like Elijah, can shut up the heavens and call down fire upon the earth, and who like Moses, can bring plagues upon those who oppose the kingdom of God. These images, as we have seen, virtually mirror the first four seal and trumpet judgments. But when empowered by Satan and allowed to do so by God, the Beast turns upon the two witnesses and kills them, leaving their bodies in the street of the boastful and arrogant city of man, the symbolic sign of the world's disdain for their message. The two witnesses are symbolic of the church of Jesus Christ, preaching to the world the bittersweet words given by the angel to John, and in turn, by John to the church.
But just when it appears that the Beast silences the preaching of the gospel, God intervenes and vindicates his witnesses by raising them from the dead and taking them to heaven. He also raises up more witnesses to preach the gospel after them. The point is that Satan cannot win. He cannot triumph. The Beast may kill the witnesses of Jesus Christ only to find God raise up new ones to take their places. But this struggle will come to an end, John says, when the seventh trumpet sounds on the great day of judgment, when, at long last, the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. When the seventh and final trumpet sounds, the city of man is destroyed and the New Jerusalem will come down from heaven to take its place. When the seventh trumpet sounds, the elders around the throne worship God because all that was hidden is finally revealed. God's will is now done on earth, just as it has been in heaven. Babylon the Great is no more! The New Jerusalem will take its place.
Therefore, the seal and trumpet judgments each view the same period of time, and some of the same events, though they do so from different perspectives, or from different "camera angles." So when Revelation 12 opens with a new vision, we should not see what is written here as descriptive of that which comes after the seal and trumpet judgments simply because Revelation 12 comes after Revelation 8-11, but instead, we should view this section as the beginning of a whole new vision, a vision which once again takes us from the first coming of Christ to his second advent, which is depicted in Revelation 14:14-20. Once again, we will discuss the period of time between the first advent and second coming of Christ, from yet another camera angle or theological vantage point.
Although there is no explicit numbering mentioned here, beginning in Revelation 12 John discusses seven main characters-in symbolic form, of course-who are the primary combatants in the cosmic war between Christ and Satan during this present age, (2) which is that same period of time between the two comings of Christ and variously spoken of by John as the "last days," "the great tribulation," "the thousand years," "the forty-two months," and the "1260 days." The seven histories of the seven symbolic characters include the account of the Dragon, the Woman, the Beast, the False Prophet, the angelic announcers, the 144,000 and the Son of Man.
The antagonists in the story are the Dragon (who is Satan), and his primary henchmen, the Beast and the False Prophet. Together, these three enemies of God form a counterfeit "trinity" of sorts, and attempt to lead the world away from Jesus Christ. (3) We will face these same antagonists in our own lives as Christians and as a church. As Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6:12, "or our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." The two main protagonists are the woman (Israel) and the 144,000 (the redeemed people of God). These characters are the primary figures in the spiritual conflict we watch play out in redemptive history as a whole, as well as in this present evil age in which we live. (4)
II. Turning to our text this morning, Revelation 12:1-6, we find two of the central characters in the great drama of redemption, the woman (Israel) and the Dragon (Satan).
The vision opens with a dramatic scene. "A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth." Who is this woman? Some, most notably Roman Catholic interpreters, have argued that this is the virgin-to whom they refer as the queen of heaven-in part, based upon this vision. (5)
But once again, the key to proper interpretation is the Old Testament. For one thing, this vision immediately recalls to mind Genesis 37:9-10 and the account of Joseph's dream. "Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. ` Listen,' he said, `I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.' When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, `What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?'" The stars, you may recall, represent Jacob, his wife and the heads of the tribes of Israel. This foreshadows the coming messiah.
Then, there are a number of Old Testament texts, including our Old Testament lesson Isaiah 54:1-8, which speak of the nation of Israel, using the metaphor of a mother whose house is filled with the children of the husband-redeemer. Isaiah puts it this way: "`Sing, O barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,' says the LORD. `Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities. . . . For your Maker is your husband--the LORD Almighty is his name--the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. The LORD will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit--a wife who married young, only to be rejected,' says your God." From passages such as this one-and there are many more (6)-it is clear that the woman in John's vision is symbolic of the nation of Israel, which includes the virgin, who has given birth to the Messiah as well as the chosen remnant who will become his people.
If the identity of the woman requires discernment, the identity of the dragon is quite explicit. As we read in verse 3, "Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads." The Dragon is identified as Satan in verse 9. The fact that he is depicted as a dragon symbolizes his ferocity, while the hideous imagery of seven crowned heads and ten horns reminds us that there are many different manifestations of Satan's power in history, seen in the kingdoms of this world which arise and persecute the church. Seven, being the number of fullness or perfection, indicates that Satan's kingdom is spread throughout the whole world and that his kingdom imitates the kingdom of God-the very height of blasphemy and idolatry. (7)
In a demonstration of the Devil's power, we read that "his tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth," perhaps a reference to those angelic beings who followed Satan in his revolt against God, but more likely, an echo from Daniel 8 in which a great kingdom grows so powerful it displaces part of the heavens. In any case, the primary image given us here is one of blasphemous arrogance, first seen in Antiochus Epiphanes, who attacked the Jews two centuries before the coming of Christ and who desecrated the Jerusalem temple after it had been rebuilt. Antiochus becomes a type of all god-hating, self-deifying emperors who oppose the kingdom of God, including Caesar Nero. (8)
The struggle between these two characters-the Woman and the Dragon-is as old as redemptive history itself. In Genesis 3:15, The Lord God says to Adam immediately after the fall, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." Here in Revelation 12:4, we see another stage in this conflict when the Dragon attempts to kill the promised seed (Jesus Christ), before he can bring redemption to God's people and usher in the messianic kingdom.
According to John, "The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne." Here, we have in apocalyptic form, the account of the birth, the life, the death, the burial, the resurrection, and the ascension of Jesus Christ, as well as God's protection of Jesus and Mary from the efforts of Herod when he ordered the death of all young Hebrew males in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1-11).
Having given birth to the Savior, the dragon turns upon the woman-who is now protected by God from the wrath of Satan. "The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days." This too, recalls to mind a number of Old Testament events. God kept Israel safe during their 400 years of Egyptian captivity as the people of Israel dwelt safely in Goshen while God's judgment fell upon Egypt. During the Exodus, God protected Israel in the wilderness while providing them with manna. Just as God provided for Elijah, when he was feed by ravens while hiding in the wilderness (1 Kings 17:2-6), so now God provides for the woman, throughout the entire period of time between Christ's first and second coming (the 1,260 days). This, of course, means that the church is the new Israel, protected from Satan's attacks and given everything she needs during her exile in the wilderness until at last she enters the promised land. Therefore, the church, like Israel, is in the midst of a great exodus from the city of man (John has already called it "Egypt"), wandering in the wilderness, protected by God who feeds us with bread from heaven and who gives us living water, until one day, he will bring us to the promised land, the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem.
But in verse 7, John describes the same period of time, yet from a different perspective-not that of the struggle on earth between the woman and the Dragon which we see throughout the great drama of redemptive history-but this time a "behind the scenes glimpse" of the cosmic and heavenly struggle, which culminates in the banishment of Satan from the presence of God. Once the woman has given birth and the Messiah has come, Satan suffers a great defeat. Again, John describes this in apocalyptic terms, as a war between angelic beings. Says John, "And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he [the Dragon] was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven."
As a result of this defeat, says John, "the great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him." This is what Jesus is speaking of in Luke 10:18, when he says, "I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven." This is the same event described by John in Revelation 20, when the thousand years (the millennial age) begin. "And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time." Therefore, having been defeated by Jesus Christ, Satan is cast down to the earth, banished to abyss, bound by the preaching of the gospel, and now enraged because his days are numbered. But like a mortally wounded animal, Satan is more dangerous now than ever.
As a result of Satan's defeat, heaven resounds with the sounds of victory. "Then [John says] I heard a loud voice in heaven say: `Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short." No longer can Satan enter heaven and make accusations against the saints! For they overcome the Devil by the blood of the Lamb, since their sins have been paid in full, and since Christ's blood washes them, removing every hint and trace of sin. How can Satan accuse us of anything, since God himself has cleansed us from our sins? The saints don't fear death, nor do they fear Satan, who can kill the body but cannot touch the soul. But, as John warns his reader, woe to the earth, for Devil has been cast down, and he is furious because his time is short.
In verse 13, John returns to describing the battle which rages on the earth between Satan and the woman, this time as the battle takes shape after Satan is cast down from heaven. According to John, "when the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach." Again, the apocalyptic symbols John uses draw upon Old Testament images of the Exodus. In Exodus 19:4, the Lord says to Israel, "You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself." As YHWH had done for Israel, so now he does for the woman, preserving her in the wilderness for the now familiar period of three and a half years, this time spoken of as "a time, a times and half a time."
Enraged by his defeat and his impending doom, and frustrated by his inability to overcome the woman or her offspring, John describes Satan opening his mouth and "spew[ing] water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent." The image is not literal, but symbolic. Recall that in Revelation 1:16, John had described a sharp sword coming from the mouth of the Son of Man. This, of course, was not a literal sword, but was symbolic of the power of God's word, able to divide bone from marrow. Unable to conquer the church directly, Satan will attempt to deceive. Therefore, the serpent (dragon) opens his mouth and imitating the powers of the Son of Man, spews forth his own deceptive word to deceive the people of God, symbolized by a great flood. This is the spirit of Antichrist which has already gone forth into the world to deceive the people of God through false teaching and which was already plaguing the churches described in the seven letters of Revelation 1-3 (1 John 2:18 ff). (9)
Because the woman sought refuge in the safe place prepared for her by God, God will protect her. Thus we read in verse 16, that "the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth." Here again, John's somewhat mysterious language makes perfect sense in light of several Old Testament texts. In Numbers 16 we read that the ground opened and swallowed the false priests of Israel, God's judgment on those who sought to deceive his people. As soon as Moses finished speaking in verses 31-33, we read, "the ground under [the priests] split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah's men and all their possessions. They went down alive into the grave, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community." As the ground swallowed Korah's men alive, so too, God will ensure that the flood of Satanic lies will not overwhelm the church.
Not only do we have the image of God's judgment coming upon false teachers-symbolically depicted by the earth swallowing the river of Satanic lies-there are covenant promises to be considered here as well. Through the prophet Isaiah, God promises his people, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze" (43:2). Therefore, when we take refuge in Christ and in his covenant promises, Satan's lies are of no avail. Satan is defeated by the truth. And, so says John, after being frustrated two times, "The dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring--those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus." The Dragon will now wage his battles through the agency of the Beast-those anti-Christian governments who persecute the church-and who, at times, is allowed by God to wage war upon the saints. The story of the god-hating and blasphemous beast is our subject next time, when, Lord willing, we turn to Revelation 13.
Therefore, as we conclude our time this morning, let us be mindful of what John says to Christ's church which must face the rage of Satan after he is cast down to earth. Despite the Devil's rage, he cannot defeat us! Rather, John says, [we] overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of [our] testimony; [we] did not love [our] lives so much as to shrink from death. Here again, we are reminded of the weapons God has given to us which equip us for this great struggle. God has given us the gospel-the power of God unto salvation-which announces to us that Christ has died for our sins and that he has been raised for our justification.
Since the guilt of our sins has been removed-Christ paying our debt in full-Satan's accusations have no merit.
No longer can he accuse us before God.
Sin no longer has any hold upon us. Its power over us is broken. The penalty has paid in full.
The truth of the gospel has set us free.
And since Jesus Christ has conquered death and the grave in his resurrection, we need not fear death. For even if the beast is permitted to take our lives, we come to life and reign with Christ. And then we take our places before the throne, and join that multitude so vast they cannot be counted as we await the resurrection at the end of the age.
Beloved, John's point is simply this. We
overcome the Devil and all his works by the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, we
need not fear the sword of the Beast, nor lies of the Devil. In fact, we need
not fear even death itself. Through the shed blood and triumphant resurrection
of Jesus Christ, we have overcome all our enemies. Amen!
1. See Beale, Revelation, p. 621.
2. Poythress, The Returning King, p.
133.
3. Poythress, The Returning King, pp.
16 ff.
4. Poythress, The Returning King, p.
133.
5. Catechism of the Catholic Church,
1138.
6. See the discussion in Johnson, Triumph
of the Lamb, pp. 179-180.
7. Poythress, The Returning King, p.
135.
8. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
181.
9. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p. 186.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:36:40 CST
"Men Worshiped the Dragon"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 19
Texts: Revelation 13:1-10; Daniel 3:1-15
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I. "Know your enemy," has long been a maxim of military strategy. It is also, apparently, a maxim of the apostle John. Throughout the Book of Revelation, John has been describing the nature of spiritual warfare to which God's people are called. From the attempts of Satan to deceive the church through false teaching, to his attempted seduction of the church by the harlot, John has repeatedly warned us about the tactics of our enemy. Now in Revelation 13, John warns us about our greatest enemy, the Satanically empowered beast who wages war upon the Saints.
Beginning in Revelation 12, we come to yet another scene in John's apocalyptic vision in which he describes the period of time between Christ's first advent and his second coming from a new theological perspective. Unlike prior visions of the seal and trumpet judgments, which depicted God as sending a series of woes upon the earth, this time John's focus is upon the seven main characters who participate in the great drama of redemption. The drama described in Revelation 12-14, includes heavenly and earthly scenes, and depicts the nature of the spiritual conflict between the kingdom of God and the geo-political kingdoms of Satan. The characters mentioned in this section of Revelation include the Dragon (who is Satan), the Woman (the Israel of God) the Beast (the Satanically empowered state), the False Prophet (the spokesman for the beast), the 144,000 (the church upon the earth) the three angelic announcers of Revelation 14:6-13, and the Son of Man, whose return to judge the world, raise the dead and make all things new is depicted in the latter part of Revelation 14 (vv. 14-20).
Recall that in Revelation 12, John has already introduced us to two of these seven characters, the woman and the dragon. Since the woman has twelve stars on her head, symbolic of the twelve tribes of Israel, the woman represents Israel and the people of God. As we have seen, there are a number of Old Testament passages which speak of the nation of Israel as the metaphorical bride of her redeemer-husband, Israel's Messiah, who will remove Israel's barrenness and give to his bride countless spiritual children. It is Israel who gives birth to the Messiah-the gospels stress that the virgin is able to trace her ancestry back to Abraham-as well as to all those Jews who embrace the Messiah through faith.
The second character introduced by John is the dragon (Satan) who seeks to destroy the woman's child, (the Messiah), before turning on the woman herself. This is yet another battle in the on-going war between the seed of the woman and the serpent which first began in Eden after the Fall of Adam, when the Lord God announced Satan's final defeat even as conflict was just getting underway. In this vision, Satan is described as a hideous dragon, symbolic of his ferocity. His ten horns are symbolic of those kingdoms which arise throughout this age which do the dragon's bidding, namely, persecuting Christ's church. The seven heads and the seven crowns represent those kings who lead these kingdom and who swear allegiance to Satan. The number seven is symbolic of the fact that Satan's kingdom is spread throughout the whole world and is a deliberate and blasphemous attempt to mimic the kingdom of God.
Despite the Dragon's ferocity and apparent power-his tail sweeps a third of the stars out of the sky, which is an echo from Daniel 8, where a great and blasphemous kingdom spreads throughout the world, growing so large as to displace part of the heavens-the dragon is unable devour the woman's child, because God protects the woman, spiriting her and her child away to a safe place in the wilderness. Satan may be fierce, he may be powerful, but he is a creature, and therefore, subject to the will of God.
But when the Messiah is born to the woman, Satan suffers a great defeat. John describes this as a war in heaven, the result of which is that Satan no longer has access to the throne of God, where he has been bringing accusations against the saints. The Devil is now cast down to the earth where he leads the whole world astray. He is enraged because he knows his time is short and his doom is certain. Lashing out, he attacks the woman once again, who after giving birth to the Messiah, now represents the true Israel of God, the church of Jesus Christ. In order to protect the woman for the 1,260 days (this present age), God gives her wings of an eagle, symbolism taken directly from God's preservation of the people of Israel during the Exodus from Egypt, when the people crossed safely through the Red Sea on dry ground, and when they began their journey through the wilderness.
Having been cast down, the Devil now attacks the woman with a torrent of lies, depicted in apocalyptic symbolism as a great flood which spews from the mouth of the Serpent, who is the father of lies, and who attempts to imitate the Son of Man, who speaks forth the very word of God. But instead of sweeping the woman away with his deceit, miraculously, the earth opens and swallows up this river of Satanic lies, thereby protecting the woman from the Devil's futile efforts. All of these images are drawn directly from the Old Testament, (passages such as Numbers 16:31-33 where ground opened and swallowed Korah and his men) and graphically remind us that the church, like Israel, is in the midst of our own Exodus from captivity to the guilt and power of sin, to the glorious freedom that awaits the children of God in the New Jerusalem where there is no longer any curse, or hint or trace of human sin.
John's point is that God has not left his people on their own. Having heard the word of woe-a warning to the whole earth of the impending judgment soon to come-God's people flee from the city of man (Babylon the Great), before it is destroyed when the seventh and final trumpet sounds on the day of judgment. The church of the New Testament is very much like Israel of the Old Testament. For we must make our way through the wilderness of this present evil age, all the while longing to enter the heavenly city. And like Israel, we must depend in faith upon God to provide us with everything we need, from streams of living water, to the heavenly bread which sustains us on our way. Were it not for God's protection of the church from the rage of the Dragon, Satan would consume us with a torrent of lies. But twice frustrated in his efforts to consume the woman, the Devil seeks other avenues of attack, and so John now introduces the next two characters in the redemptive historical drama, the Beast and the False Prophet, the agents of Satan, and who together with their master form an unholy and counterfeit Trinity. (1)
But in Revelation 12, John leaves us with a very solemn warning. In verse 17, John tells us that "Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring--those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus." Therefore, in Revelation 13, John will tell us how this happens by introducing the third of seven principle characters in the redemptive drama, the Beast, about whom we read, wages war on the Saints.
II. As we turn to our text this morning, Revelation 13:1-10, we come to one of the most interesting-and dare, I say most sensational-passages in all the Book of Revelation. It is also one of the most misinterpreted. So, rather than hurry through the whole chapter this morning, we will take time our time, and cover this chapter in some detail. If we are called the face the Beast and engage him in spiritual warfare, it certainly behooves us to know all that we can about him.
Before we look at the text itself, however, I need to reissue my word of warning about context. In Revelation13:18, John tells us that understanding these things correctly, "calls for wisdom." This is, in part, a reference to the fact that many in John's original audience were Jews, who were thoroughly familiar with the Old Testament. I have no doubt that upon hearing John's apocalyptic vision read aloud in the churches, the minds of these Jewish Christians were immediately filled with Old Testament texts which provide the context for John's vision and the key to rightly understand his highly symbolic language. I face the question preparing every one of these sermons, "what Old Testament text do I choose for the Old Testament lesson?" because virtually every line in this vision refers-directly or indirectly-to one or more Old Testament passages. People who knew the Old Testament knew exactly what John was talking about.
But John's call for wisdom also entails something else. Not only is the Old Testament the main part of the context, and certainly the key to understanding the symbols that he uses, but John also writes against the backdrop of a very large and very pagan god-hating world empire-Rome, an empire which was also predicted by one of Israel's prophets, Daniel. It seems to me that John is asking his reader not only to think about how Jesus Christ fulfills the Old Testament passages to which John refers, he also asks his audience to then make the connection between Christ's fulfillment of these things and how they are playing out before their very eyes in the Roman empire, as seen for example in the struggles of the seven churches to whom John was originally writing.
In other words, once Christ has come and fulfilled the expectations of Israel's prophets, the long anticipated messianic age has begun. With the coming of the Messiah, the struggle between Satan and the people of God takes on new dimensions as we enter the final chapters of the story of redemption. The context we must keep in mind then, is God's victory over Satan when Christ dies upon the cross for our sins and is raised for our justification. But the question remains, "How does Christ's victory over Satan relate to the on-going struggle with the godless nations who persecute the church?" John's answer has been stated repeatedly. Because of Christ's victory on Calvary and in the Garden Tomb, the final outcome is certain, even though the consummation of all things has not yet come. This is why John has repeatedly spoken of the church in two sense, as victorious in heaven-the church triumphant-and as a struggling church upon the earth-the church militant. This is why John warns us that even though we must face the Beast, we do so with the certain and final victory yet to come firmly in our minds.
The historical context is the manifestation of the beast in John's day-imperial Rome, with her emperor cult, and her economic and military domination of much of the ancient world. In the Book of Revelation, then, the Roman empire itself becomes a symbol of all those god-hating empires and their self-deifying leaders which follow in her wake. In other words, the Roman Empire is fourth beast of Daniel's prophecy, and the Beast who comes out of the sea as described by John and empowered by the Dragon. But Rome is also a picture to the saints in subsequent ages of all those Satanic kingdoms which will raise again and again throughout the course of this age, bent upon waging war on the saints.
But the question we face-and for which we must seek God's wisdom to answer correctly-is to identify the manifestation of the Beast in our own age, as well as weigh the possibility of whether or not a final beast will arise in the days immediately before Christ's return, a beast which will make the Roman Empire and its persecution of the church pale by comparison. And that is a question, which barring knowledge of the future course of world events and the date of our Lord's return, we cannot fully answer. Revelation does not predict future events with the precision we would like. But John does lay out the way in which Satan works and he reminds us of those weapons we must use against him, namely the Law and the gospel.
Now as for the Old Testament context, in Daniel 3, our Old Testament lesson this morning, we see what it means for the beast to persecute the people of God, when we read of three young Hebrew men who are cast into a fiery furnace because they refuse to worship the image erected by King Nebuchadnezzar. God protects them because they remain faithful unto death. The other Old Testament image which comes to mind is one we have already mentioned, the four kingdoms described in Daniel 7, which represent the four great empires of the ancient world-the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, the Greek Empire and then finally, the beast of John's day, which is Rome. It is significant that John describes the Beast of his day as having ten horns and seven kings, making Rome the apocalyptic symbol all of those Satanic kingdoms which will arise to persecute the church until Christ returns. (2)
In verse 1 of chapter 13, John's vision is again quite dramatic. "And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea." In the ancient world, the sea was considered the home of monsters, it was a place of storm and tempest and was particularly frightening to a people who had never seen a world map, much less a satellite photo of the earth. The sea is a fitting symbol for the abyss to which Satan has been cast down. (3) As the home of the Dragon, it is also that place from whence comes the prime agent of Satan, the Beast. As John simply says, "I saw a beast coming out of the sea," connecting the beast (Rome) directly to dragon (Satan). The Beast "had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name." It is vital to notice how the beast virtually mirrors the Dragon as John has depicted him in the previous chapter (Revelation 12:3): "enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads." The similarity between these two indicates that the beast draws its power directly from Satan and serves as his chief tormentor of Christ's church.
That the Beast is a Satanically empowered empire is clear in verse 2, when John connects the Beast who comes out of the sea directly to the fourth beast of the vision recorded in the seventh chapter of the prophecy of Daniel. Says John, "The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority." In Daniel 7:7, the prophet spoke of a fourth beast which was "terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns." While Daniel prophesied of this beast in connection with the dawn of the messianic age some six hundred years yet in the future, John speaks of this same beast as a present reality. The letters to the seven churches of Revelation 2-3, tell us that the Beast is even then persecuting the Saints.
And just like the Beast of Daniel 7 which spoke boastful words against God, so too, we learn in verses 5-6 of Revelation 13 that this beast was "given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months," which, as we have seen, is the entire church age. Furthermore, "he opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven." God has sealed his people on the earth with the name of Christ (the 144,000) protecting them from his own wrath. God protects the church (the woman) from Satan by hiding his people in the wilderness. Enraged at being cast from heaven, and twice frustrated in his attack upon the woman, Satan now seeks revenge upon the people of God through the agency of the another-the Beast. And so doing the Devil's bidding, the Beast rises from the sea, and like his master the Dragon, he blasphemes God and his church throughout the entire inter-advental age.
But since the Beast is empowered by Satan, he seeks the very same things the Devil does, namely to receive the worship of the peoples of the earth unto himself. In order to deceive the whole world, the Beast now beast imitates the power of God, specifically the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In verse 3, we read, "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." The resurrection of Beast must be seen against the historical background of John's own age and the so-called "Nero myth."
The Roman emperor Nero-one of the most notorious and evil figures of the ancient world-at first was indifferent to Christianity, but later on became violently opposed to it, probably putting both Paul and Peter to death in Rome, along with countless other Christian martyrs. Nero was a vain man, and completely preoccupied with personal luxury. He quickly bankrupted the imperial treasury and then confiscated land and property from the nobles so as to continue his spending. He was also a violent man and killed his pregnant wife (who was no saint), by kicking her in the stomach. But he was falsely suspected of starting the horrible fire which for six days burned much of the city of Rome during the summer of AD 64. In order to deflect criticism from himself, instead he blamed the Christians in the city for starting the fire, many of whom, subsequently, he had tortured by turning them into human torches. (4)
After he committed suicide in AD 68 at only thirty years of age, rumors spread throughout the Roman empire that Nero was still alive and that he had gone into hiding in some remote part of the empire. Rumors spread that he would soon return to take revenge upon all those who cast aspersions on him once they thought him dead. There were even wild rumors that Nero would come back to life or had already been raised from the dead. Although he was hated in Rome, Nero was admired throughout much of the empire, perhaps explaining why these rumors spread so rapidly. The Jews living in Rome compared Nero with the little horn of Daniel's prophecy and identified him as the Antichrist, an evil figure whom the Jews believed would arise in the days immediately before the appearance of the Messiah. A number of Christians followed suit, hence the connection often made between the Beast and the Antichrist which exists to this day. (5) In any case, Nero Caesar figures prominently in John's teaching about the Beast and his persecution of the church. Nero is the historical backdrop against which all subsequent self-deifying persecutors of the church must be measured. If we want to know what the Beast will be like, we look to Caesar Nero and the Roman empire under his rule.
This point is even more significant in light of the fact that in Romans 13 (written by Paul in the mid-50's of the first century), Paul calls the very same Roman government a minister of God. But by the time John writes Revelation (near the end of the first century), Nero began the persecution of the church and moved the empire further down the road to the deification of the Roman emperor. Therefore, between the time of Paul and of John (30 some odd years), Satan had transformed a pagan Gentile empire which was largely indifferent to Christianity, into a ten-horned, seven-headed beast, which wages war upon the saints and is led by men who consider themselves divine, and who demand worship from their subjects.
But what about John's comments that the Beast suffered a seemingly mortal wound, only to come back to life again? Although the account of the succession of emperors who took Nero's place is beyond our scope this morning, the historical record is clear that under the rule of emperors Vespasian, Titus and Domitian-men who came after Nero-Rome regained the power and wealth she had before Nero brought the empire to virtual collapse. Indeed, a case can be made that when one of the Beast's seven heads was slain (Nero), a series of emperors arose who saw themselves as deities and restored to Rome her imperial majesty. The fatal wound to the Beast was, apparently healed. But as one writer reminds us, even though many commentators focus almost exclusively upon the details of the history of the succession of Roman emperors, this might not be as important as the big picture. "The symbolism has broader application. The revival of a powerful movement or an institution after serious trouble seems to indicate to its followers that it is invincible. The Empire seems to survive all threats, thereby showing that is was eternal and attracting more worship than ever." (6) A counterfeit resurrection, in the sense just described, is one of the tell-tail signs that Satan is at work.
Given the reversal of Roman prestige and power, we should not be surprised when we read in verse 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?" Imperial Rome had come back from the brink of collapse. Her grandeur was restored. Her military was victorious once again. By worshiping the emperor and the state, men were actually worshiping the Dragon who brought up the Beast from the sea. For even fallen humanity will never worship Satan directly-he is too hideous and too evil. But humanity will gladly worship the Dragon disguised as the beast. In fact, John goes on to say that this resurrected beast "was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast--all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world." Those who are not Christ's-those whose names were never written in the book of life-are at the mercy of the Dragon. And he has no mercy!
But not only was the Beast given authority over the nations, he also appears to be victorious over the Saints. As John warns us in verse 7, the beast "was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them." As we have seen, this refers to those Christians living throughout the Roman empire, especially in cities such as Smyrna and Pergamum, where Christians had not only been prevented from buying and selling, but many had their lives taken from them because they refused to worship the Beast and his image. It was widely known in John's day that countless Christians lost their lives in Rome for refusing to renounce their faith in Jesus Christ and acknowledge Caesar as Lord. But this is not a phenomena limited to ancient Rome and the first century. According to people who keep such statistics, throughout the 1990's, an average of four Christians per day were put to death because of their faith in Jesus Christ and for their refusal to deny their Lord. The continued activity of the Beast throughout this present age is why John warns us now, even as he did his first century hearers, "He who has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints." John can say this without despair, because he know how the story ends.
John has repeatedly told us that when the Beast takes the life of one the saints, that saint comes to life and reigns with Christ for a thousand years, taking their place in the triumphant church in heaven, that multitude so vast they cannot be counted, as they await the resurrection of their bodies. They are safe in the presence of God, and spared from the lies of the Devil. When God raises up witnesses of the Law and the gospel, and should the Beast takes their lives, God only raises up more! Let us never forget who wins in the end. When we go to the city of Rome what do we see? The ruins of the Roman empire! When we go to Berlin, what do we see? The remains of Hitler's chancellory and the bunker where he committed suicide. We can actually buy pieces of the Berlin Wall, the very epitome of Marxist-Leninist attempts at world domination and the destruction of Christianity. Christ's kingdom always wins in the end!
But the question remains unanswered as to whether or not a final beast will arise before the judgment, a beast who will be the sum total of all the others. This is why John calls for wisdom. Recall that Jesus spoke of the course of this present age using the analogy of birth pains, indicating great travail would come immediately before the end. We have seen that both the seal and trumpet judgments intensify as the end draws near. It is certainly possible that the Roman Empire of John's day is a foreshadowing of a horrible and final beast yet to come, a global geo-political empire which will persecute the church in those days immediately before the return of Jesus Christ when Satan is released from the abyss at the end of the thousand years, and which Paul describes in 2 Thessalonians 2 as a time of wide-spread apostasy, characterized by Satanic deception and appearance of the man of lawlessness, the ultimate Nero, symbolically come back to life.
But we need not fear the Beast. For our
victory over him is assured through the blood of Christ the Lamb. And while men
worship the Dragon, and while the Beast wages war on the Saints, let us fight
against these foes with the weapons God has given us-the Law and the gospel.
Instead of living in fear, let us sing the song of victory recorded in
Revelation 5:12-13, "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive
power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"
"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and
glory and power, for ever and ever!"
1. See Poythress, The Returning King,
pp. 16 ff.
2. Poythress, The Returning King, pp.
138-139.
3. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
187.
4. ISBE, vol. 3, sv.,
"Nero."
5. ISBE, vol. 3, sv.,
"Nero." Cf. also Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, pp. 190 ff.
6. Poythress, The Returning King, p. 142.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:36:18 CST
"His Number is 666"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 20
Texts: Revelation 13:11-18; Daniel 8:15-26
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I. There is no subject-with the possible exception of the unpardonable sin-which has caused as much consternation for the people of God as has the so-called "Mark of the Beast." John pointedly warns his hearers against taking such a mark on the back of the hand or the forehead. He also tells us that anyone who takes such a mark swears allegiance to the beast. This has given Christians throughout the ages a healthy suspicion of any government which persecutes the church or hinders the preaching of the gospel. It has lead to a number of questions in our own day about advancing technology and increasing government control over many areas of our personal lives. Such a warning from an apostle, creates a climate in which sensational predictions and warnings about political events and technology are the norm. So we must do our best this morning to bring clarity to this most difficult and controversial of subjects.
For the past several weeks, we have been working our way through Revelation 12-14 in which John introduces his reader to seven of the main characters in the great drama of redemption. Like the seal judgments of Revelation 6-8:1 and the trumpet judgments of Revelation 8-11, the vision recorded in Revelation 12-14 describes the entire period of time between the first advent and the second coming of Christ from a distinct theological perspective (or "camera" angle as we have been calling it). In this section of Revelation, John gives us a vivid description of the struggle between the people of God and our great adversary, Satan, who has been cast down from heaven to earth, where he now seeks to wage war upon the church of Jesus Christ through the agency of his henchmen, the Beast and the False Prophet.
Recall that in Revelation 12, John introduced the first two of these seven characters, the woman and the Dragon. The woman, as we have seen, is the Israel of God. Bearing a crown of twelve stars upon her head (symbolic of the 12 tribes of Israel), the woman gives birth to the Messiah and is subsequently protected by God from the wrath of the Dragon who seeks to sweep her away with a torrent of lies. But God protects the woman from the Devil's attacks. And so frustrated on two occasions, the Dragon leaves the woman in the wilderness where God is protecting her and now seeks to make war on her children, those whom John describes in Revelation 12:17 as people, "who obey the commandments and hold to the teachings of Jesus." John is, of course, referring to the church.
Another major character in the story is the Dragon, who is identified as Satan. Depicted in Revelation 12 as a hideous creature with seven heads, seven crowns and ten horns, the Dragon has the power to sweep a third of the stars from the sky. This symbolic imagery harkens us back to Daniel 8 and the prophet's vision of a huge pagan empire which waged war on the saints and covered with world with lies. Using apocalyptic symbolism, John describes how the birth of the Messiah brings about a war in heaven in which the Dragon suffers a great defeat and is cast down to earth. Satan can no longer enter God's presence and make false accusations against the saints. Having lost all access to the throne of God, Satan is completely enraged. Unable to overcome the woman directly, the Devil seeks the agency of another to continue his on-going war against the church of Jesus Christ. And this brings us to the third character introduced in Revelation 12-14 by John, the Beast. If Satan cannot overcome the woman and her children with a torrent lies, he will do it at the point of the sword of a willing government.
As we saw last week in Revelation 13, the Beast which rises up from the sea is empowered by the Dragon to do his bidding. And like the Dragon, the Beast has ten horns and seven crowns, closely identifying him with a world-wide empire which will arise repeatedly throughout the course of the present age, bent on persecuting the church. The key to interpreting this apocalyptic symbolism correctly is both the Old Testament and the historical situation in which John is writing to the seven churches of Asia Minor.
When viewed from the perspective of the Old Testament, John is describing the forth beast of Daniel 7, in which the prophet foretells of a huge god-hating Gentile empire which arises at the dawn of the messianic age. Daniel's fourth beast is symbolic of an empire much greater than all the others and which makes arrogant and boastful claims against God, all the while waging war upon the people of God and attempting to deceive the nations with its lies. When viewed from the perspective of the audience to whom John is writing in the first century, the Beast of which Daniel had foretold some six centuries earlier, is now a present reality in the form of the Roman empire, which has been empowered by Satan to persecute those who hold to the testimony of Jesus Christ. Recall that in the letters to the seven churches of Revelation 2-3, we read of Christians who were prevented from buying and selling in several of the churches to whom John is writing. A number of Christians in these churches have already laid down their lives as martyrs, remaining faithful to Jesus unto death and then taking their places before the glassy sea with the great multitude of the redeemed. Therefore, when John sees a beast coming up out of the sea, the apostle is speaking of the Roman Empire which was even then persecuting Christ's church.
But the activities of this beast are not limited to the Roman Empire, nor to John's day and age in the first century. In fact, this Satanically empowered beast will rise again and again throughout the course of this age only to be thwarted by God, after a brief period of time during which the Beast is allowed to persecute the church. We see the Beast in recent past with Hitler's Third Reich and in Stalin's Socialist Republic. We see it in the present with the rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan and in the People's Republic of China, and in the corrupt Islamic nations of sub-Saharan Africa and the Arabian peninsula.
For the Beast is not subtle nor is he hard to identify-he wages war upon the saints, and as John says, "he was given power . . . to conquer them." But the Beast's victory is only a fleeting one. All those whom he kills are raised by Jesus Christ and come to life, joining that glorious and triumphant church in heaven. Therefore, even though it may look like the Beast is triumphant, he is actually being defeated. For the martyrs overcome the Dragon through the blood of the Lamb.
But this beast from the sea apparently suffers a fatal wound to one of its seven heads, but when the wound is miraculously healed, John says "the whole world was astonished and followed the beast. Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast and asked, `Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?'" This is a reference to a counterfeit resurrection which prompts men to worship the Dragon as he allies himself with the Beast, and must seen against the backdrop of the so-called "Nero myth," and the mortal wound to the Roman empire, from which it was miraculously healed.
Nero Caesar was perhaps the most notorious of all of Rome's emperors. Nero was a vain man and a thief. He killed his pregnant wife and blamed Christians for a fire in AD 64 which destroyed much of the city of Rome. He then used this a pretense for beginning a reign of terror upon the church. By all accounts, Nero was evil personified and a ruler under whose reign Rome went from being a pagan empire which was largely indifferent to Christianity, to an empire which was overtly hostile to Christianity and whose emperors would be increasingly regarded as deities. When Nero committed suicide in AD 68, at thirty years of age, rumors quickly spread that Nero had either gone into hiding and would soon return to seek revenge upon his enemies, or that Nero, would be raised from the dead.
Nero becomes an important object lesson for Christians in all ages. If we wish to identify the Beast in our own age, we look to the Roman empire under Nero. But the resurrection of the Beast has a wider application beyond that of the rumors associated with Nero's death. Nero bankrupted the Roman treasury and left the empire in shambles. Much of the city of Rome had burned and was not rebuilt. There was rampant crime and civil disobedience. Military victories were few and far between and the great Roman empire had suffered what appeared to be a mortal blow. And yet, through the succession of emperors who followed after Nero, including Vespatian, Titus and Domitian, Rome not only regained her former glory, she exceeded it. Order was restored, the army achieved a number of victories, and the economy flourished.
Indeed, from all appearances it looked as though the Roman empire had suffered a serious set-back under Nero, only to recover and then achieve greater heights under his successors. Not only did the Beast achieve a resurrection of sorts, but it was during this period that emperor worship began to flourish. This is what John is getting at when he says, men began to worship the Dragon and that the whole world was astonished by Rome's recovery and expansion. Who can make war against the Roman Empire? The answer in those days was, "no one!" When an empire such as Rome survives an apparently mortal wound, and comes back stronger than ever, the beast appears invincible and men and woman gladly pay it homage. And there is one coming on the scene whose sole purpose is to make sure that this happens.
II. This, then, is a brief recap of the ground we covered last week, and which brings us to our text this morning, the latter half of Revelation 13. It is here that John introduces the final member of the counterfeit Trinity and the fourth main character of this section, the so-called "False Prophet."
What John sees in verses 11-18 is very closely connected to the first beast which rises out of the sea. Says John, "then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon." There are a number of very important points in this short declaration. The first is that this particular beast is called the False Prophet in Revelation 16:13, while here it is depicted as a messianic pretender coming out of the earth. Second, since the first beast came up out of the sea and this beast comes up out of the land, together, it would seem that their influence extends to all the earth (land and sea), in an attempt to mimic the kingdom of God and attract worship to the Dragon whom they serve. (1)
Furthermore, John describes this beast as having two horns like a lamb, but speaking like a dragon. This two horned-lamb is clearly an imitator of the seven-horned Lamb who was slain in Revelation 5:6. He is therefore, a false messiah who is closely allied to the first beast. His two horns mimic the two witnesses, the two lampstands and the two olive tress of Revelation 11. (2) As a false messiah, he promulgates false worship, or worship which is directed to someone or something other than God. Whereas the ministry of a true prophet is to lead people to worship God, the false prophet's mission is to entice people to worship the Beast, which is the state. (3) Together with the Dragon, the Beast and the False Prophet form a false Trinity, placing themselves in positions of power and authority so as to deceive the world and receive the worship of the earth's people, which is rightly directed only unto God.
Based upon the prophecy in Daniel 8 of a secular empire-this lamb speaks with the full authority of the Dragon, who is Satan. When he opens his mouth on behalf of the first beast, he speaks nothing but lies. He is not only a false messiah, he is a master of religious deception. Like the figure depicted in Daniel chapter 8:25, this false prophet "will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power." According to Daniel he exercises his power during a time of great upheaval, described in Daniel 8:23-24. "In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a stern-faced king, a master of intrigue, will arise. He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men and the holy people." While Daniel spoke of this as coming to pass in the distant future, it is a present reality for John and the Christians to whom he is writing in the first century.
This second beast has been variously associated by Christians with the Roman emperor cult, the Roman Catholic church, and a myriad of false teachers throughout the history of the church. (4) There is a measure of truth in each of these associations. Indeed, there is much in the New Testament warning us of false teachers who will come and try and lead the saints away from their savior. Recall that in Matthew 24:5, Jesus himself warned us of false messiahs who would arise within the church. In his first epistle, John warns us, "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. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us" (2:18-19). According to John in verse 7 of his second epistle, "many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist."
But the second beast of Revelation 13 is not just any false messiah-he is a false messiah with a very specific purpose. It is his purpose to deceive people into worshiping the state. He will use any means he can. He is, as we will see, a Satanic propagandist par excellence. (5) Indeed, John makes a direct connection between this second beast-the false prophet-and the first beast, which is Rome. In verse 2, John tells us that the False Prophet, "exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed." This connection between the False Prophet and the Roman empire is very important because it means that the second beast is the imperial emperor cult (emperor worship), which included priests who devoted themselves to the emperor, but also extended to a number of pagan cults which regarded the Roman emperors as deities. This also extended to the so-called "Commune of Asia," which was a council of various representatives from cities throughout Asia Minor, where emperor worship was promoted in exchange for favors from the Roman government. (6)
You know the story-a delegation comes to Rome from some out-lying city, tells the emperor that a temple has been built in their city so that he might be properly worshiped, and then the committee goes home with the promise of funding for a new road or a new aqueduct. While the political quid pro quo is certainly part of the equation, we must not overlook the fact that local authorities not only encouraged emperor worship and built temples and shrines to practice it, but worship of the emperor in many places became the law of the land.
The historical context for this reference to the False Prophet, then, is clearly to those individuals in John's day who promoted the worship of the Roman state and its emperors. We have already seen how pervasive this was in the letters to the seven churches in those cities in Asia Minor where emperor worship was central to community life, such as in Ephesus, Smyrna and Pergamum. In many cases, Christians were prevented from buying and selling. Many more were killed by the Beast. There were also the local trade guilds which frequently devoted themselves to a pagan deity seeking that deity's blessing upon the guild. These guilds also encouraged and supported emperor worship since it was necessary to conduct business. Unless a Christian tradesman was willing to ally himself with such a guild, and acknowledge the pagan deity or the deity of the emperor, he may not have gotten work.
We have also seen references made by John in the seven letters to the Jezebels and certain false teachers in these churches who hold to the teaching of Balaam, as well as to certain others, who were telling Christians that they could serve two masters simultaneously, Jesus and Caesar. These are false prophets who seek to entice Christian people to worship serve the Beast. All of this is in view when John speaks of a second beast, a false messiah who comes up out of the earth and who does the first's beast bidding.
But what about the false prophet's miraculous powers? In Revelation 11, when we discussed the two witnesses who were slain by the Beast, we saw that the church was given power to bring destructive plagues upon the earth like Moses. The church was given power as to shut up the heavens and bring fire down upon the earth, like Elijah. These powers mirror the first four seal and trumpet judgments. Even as Satan gave Pharaoh's magicians powers to perform signs matching that of Moses, the Dragon gives such power to the second beast. According to verse 13, "And [the false prophet] performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men." This should come as no surprise to the church. Jesus himself told the disciples: "For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible."
Are these genuine miracles, or Satanic deceptions and chicanery? Although they are probably the latter, John does tell us in verses 14 and 15 that these Satanic signs and wonders have great effect. "Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed." As recounted in Daniel 3, Nebuchadnezzer had ordered the three men into the furnace for refusing to worship a golden image, so too the False Prophet is given the power to take the lives of those who will not worship the Beast or the Dragon who empowers him. Mimicking God's prophets and the Lamb who was slain, all three characters of this counterfeit Trinity-the Dragon, the Beast and the False Prophet now take their place in the great drama. They are the arch-enemies of Jesus Christ and his kingdom, and seek, through any means possible, to deceive the world so that men worship the Dragon. Those who will not bow before them, will forfeit their very lives. But their work was foretold by Daniel, and was already a present reality when John was given this vision to record and disseminate to the churches. This is the background for verses 16-18, when John speaks of the so-called Mark of the Beast and reveals to the churches the beast's secret number, which is 666.
According to John, the False Prophet "forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name." Despite the insistence of our dispensationalist friends that this is a reference to a future technology (probably computer generated or an imbedded microchip or some other technological gizmo) supposedly placed upon people by the Antichrist during the seven-year tribulation, the fact of the matter is that there is no seven-year tribulation. John calls the entire period of time between Christ's two comings the great tribulation. Christians in John's original audience already faced this very threat. John is warning all Christians in every age to be on guard for the state to impose its mark upon us when it forces us to declare that someone other than Jesus is Lord. To take this mark is to worship the Beast, which is to worship the Dragon who lies behind him.
John has already made it clear in Revelation 7 that the 144,000 (the church upon the earth) are sealed with the name of Christ, protected from God's wrath, though subject to persecution by the Beast. John has also told us in Revelation 13:8 that all those whose names are not written in the Book of Life worship the Beast. Therefore, the Mark of the Beast is a first century phenomena, probably an allusion to the practice in John's day of the tattooing of slaves, soldiers and devotees of various religions, indicating that they are owned by or solely devoted to another. Such a mark may even be a reference to the emperor's image, which was on coins, contracts and official documents. The Mark of the Beast, taken on the back of the hand or the forehead is an apocalyptic symbol for the "states's stamp of approval," given only to those who go along with the religious demands being made by the state. Those who comply can buy and sell and conduct normal commerce. Those who do not, cannot buy and sell. (7) This was already going in some of the churches to whom John is writing. Christians were forced to choose-Christ or Caesar?
But what about the number 666? In verse 18, John says "this calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666." Throughout the history of the church there has been much speculation about what this number means. I am not going to use what time remains to go through the history of this. But I think we already have the solution in view. John's call for wisdom likely entails Christians looking to the Old Testament background, and then attempting to understand, how, in the light of the coming of Jesus Christ, these things were being fulfilled before their very eyes. Soon after Revelation was written, Christians figured out that this was a kind of ancient code, a gematria, since letters in many ancient languages were also assigned a numeric value. When the Greek words "dragon" and "beast" are given such numeric value in Hebrew, both total "666." When done with Neron Kaisar (Greek for Nero Caesar) the total is 666. This fits perfectly with John's assertion that 666 is the number of a man, and connects Nero to those who empower him, the Beast and the Dragon. (8) But while Nero may very well be in view, the thrice repeated "6's" also tell us something important as well-they point beyond Nero to the Beast in every age!
John has been making the point that the Dragon, the Beast and the False Prophet constitute a counterfeit Trinity, seeking the worship of the nations, rightfully meant for God and his Christ. The number 7 is the number of perfection and completeness, hence the divine number would be 777. But "6" is the number of man, and repeated 3 times, "666" consistently falls short of 777. Therefore, the number 666 is an apocalyptic symbol for those rulers, nations and false teachers, whose Satanic nature becomes apparent to the people of God. (9) Nero may have been the first whose number was 666, but he will not be the last.
This has nothing to do with bar codes, debit cards, microchips and modern technology-although all of things may be enlisted by the False Prophet in service to the Beast. The Mark of the Beast and the number 666 has to do with the Beast and False Prophet forcing people to acknowledge that the state and its ruler are divine. The mark was present when someone in John's day confessed "Caesar is Lord" and worshiped his image in some symbolic way so as to buy and sell. The Mark of the Beast is seen in news reels when German school children sing "Hitler is our savior, Hitler is our Lord." It is not a phenomena limited to a future tribulation. The Mark of the Beast and the number "666" is the tell-tail sign of our enemy Satan and his two henchman, the Beast (the state) and the False Prophet (the beast's spokesman).
Beloved, we are the people of God. We need
not fear the Dragon, the Beast or the False Prophet. We need not fear their
mark. For we are sealed with the name of God and of his Christ in our baptism.
Our hope is not to escape from our enemies through a secret rapture, but as our
baptismal liturgy puts it, we are to manfully fight against and overcome sin,
the Devil and his whole dominion. And our weapon against the Beast and the
False Prophet is the truth of God's word-the Law and gospel-which exposes all
Satanic deception and reminds the world that "666" is but the number
of a man. And what can men do to the church of Jesus Christ? If they kill us,
we come to life. If we live, we preach the gospel. Either way, we have nothing
to fear. As John has already made clear-we have already overcome the Devil
through the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, no messianic pretender, no false
prophet, can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord! Amen!
1. Poythress, The Returning King, p.
145.
2. Beale, Revelation, p. 707.
3. Beale, Revelation, p. 707.
4. G. K. Beale, Revelation, p. 707.
5. Poythress, The Returning King, p.
143.
6. Poythress, he Returning King, p. 143.
7. Beale, Revelation, p. 715.
8. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 192-193.
9. Beale, Revelation, p. 726.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:35:58 CST
"They Will Rest from Their Labor"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 21
Texts: Revelation 14:1-13; Psalm 2:1-12
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I. The imagery of Revelation 14 is that of stark and utter contrast-eternal torment in burning sulphur with never a moments rest, over against eternal rest in the heavenly Zion. In this vision, John sees Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, in all of his messianic glory, standing upon the heavenly mountain, protecting his church and giving unto them the promised reward for faithfulness. For the followers of the Beast, who worship and serve the Dragon and take his mark, John has only a message of warning: a final judgment is soon to come upon all the earth and its inhabitants.
This morning, we return to our series on the Book of Revelation. We are working our way through Revelation chapters 12-14, where John introduces seven of the main characters in the great drama of the history of redemption. Recall that in the opening verses of chapter 12, John introduces the woman-the Israel of God-and her arch-enemy, the Dragon, who is Satan. The Dragon seeks to consume the woman and her child (the Messiah) but fails, since the Messiah is protected by God and is taken up into heaven. Using apocalyptic symbolism, the successful mission of the Messiah-his birth, death, resurrection and ascension-is depicted by John as war in heaven in which Satan suffers a humiliating and ultimately fatal defeat. The Dragon is now cast down to earth where he awaits his final destruction.
Enraged by this defeat and the loss of access to the throne of God, where he had been making accusations against the saints, the Dragon once again turns his rage upon the woman. Once more God protects her. In the vivid language of the Exodus, we read that God hides her in the wilderness while the Devil attempts to destroy her with a flood of lies and deception, from which the woman is miraculously delivered. Frustrated yet again, we read in Revelation 12:17 that the Dragon went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring, "those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus." This is not only a reference to the church-composed of all the redeemed whose names are written in the Book of Life and who belong to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world-it certainly explains to those Christians to whom John is writing the reasons underlying the persecution they were facing in daily life.
Unable to defeat the woman through a direct assault, the Dragon now enlists the aid of two surrogates, who collectively form a counterfeit Trinity of sorts. In Revelation 13, we read of two more characters who John now introduces into the story. These are the two beasts empowered by the Dragon and they begin to wage war upon the Saints. The first beast arises from the sea and is a hideous creature with ten horns and seven heads, representing a world-wide, god-hating empire, which fulfills Daniel's prophecy of a fourth beast which arises at the dawn of the messianic age, making proud and blasphemous boasts claims against Israel's God. Not only is this beast the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy, he is a present reality for John's original audience. For this beast is the Roman Empire, which, in apocalyptic imagery, becomes a kind of biblical prototype of all those subsequent empires which will arise throughout the messianic age intent upon persecuting the church of Jesus Christ.
John speaks of this first beast as recovering from an apparently fatal wound which is probably a reference to the so-called "Nero myth" and to the succession of emperors who followed Nero's reign of terror. As we have noted, Nero was an incredibly evil man who began to persecute the church and under whose reign emperor worship began to flourish. Nero's self-absorption brought the Roman empire to brink of collapse. His decadent lifestyle left the treasury bankrupt, and a fire in AD 64 destroyed much of the city of Rome, which because of poor economic conditions was not immediately rebuilt. And so after Nero took his own life at age 30, it looked as though the Roman empire had suffered a fatal blow. Given his evil persona and the legends that surrounded him, rumors were rampant throughout the empire that Nero would come back to life to bring vengeance upon all his enemies.
Then we have the fact that Nero's successors, Vespatian, Titus and Domitian not only restored the empire to its former greatness, under their rule Rome grew more wealthy and powerful than ever. As John puts it, in Revelation 13:3-4: "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. 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?" Whenever a geo-political empire, such as Rome, suffers a blow of this magnitude, only to quickly reverse course and become more powerful than ever before, people will gladly pay it homage. For all intents and purposes Rome appeared invincible. Who is like Rome? Who can wage war against the Roman empire? No one! By regarding Caesar as a deity, men were actually worshiping the Dragon who gives the Beast its power.
But not only did Rome grow more powerful and wealthy in the years after Nero's death, in many parts of the empire, people increasingly began to view the emperors as deities and Christians began to experience greater and more violent persecution as a result. For a Christian, Jesus is Lord, not Caesar, and many believers paid dearly for their profession of faith and unswerving allegiance to the Son of God. According to verse 7, [the beast] "was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation." By the time John records the Book of Revelation near the end of the first century, Christians in several of the churches to whom he is writing have already been prevented from buying and selling. A number of others had been put to death. The Beast is already waging war upon the saints, and apparently, triumphing over them.
To make matters worse, in Revelation 13:11-18, John speaks of an second beast coming up out of the earth, and who together with the first beast appear to rule much of the earth. Identified in Revelation 16:13 as the false prophet, this second beast is likewise empowered by the Dragon, this time so as to perform false signs and wonders so that the inhabitants of the earth whose names are not written in the Book of Life worship and serve the first beast, which is the state. If the first beast exercised the power of the sword, this beast uses the power of deception so as to deceive the earth's inhabitants into worshiping those governments who take for themselves authority reserved only for God. This beast, says John, "forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name." That number, of course, is the mysterious "666."
The reference to those who were forbidden from buying and selling is to Christians living in the first century who were preventing from engaging in commerce because they would not acknowledge the Roman emperor as a deity, or in the case of those who could not join those trade guilds devoted to pagan deities or emperor worship. In such cases, Christians could not buy or sell, nor exercise their vocation. John's reference to a mark placed on the back of the hand or the forehead, is best understood against the first century practice of the tattooing of slaves, soldiers and devotees of religious cults, identifying them as belonging to another. As an apocalyptic symbol, this Mark of the Beast stands in sharp contrast to the mark placed upon believers by Jesus Christ, described in Revelation 3:12 in the letter to the church of Philadelphia and again in Revelation 7, when John sees the 144,000 who were sealed with the name of God on their foreheads. The Mark of the Beast is, therefore, the Satanic counterpart to being sealed with the name of God and of his Christ effected by baptism.
The mysterious number 666 may be a gematria, a kind of numeric code in which letters are assigned numeric value in those ancient languages which did not yet use Arabic numerals. As we saw last time, when the Greek words for dragon and beast are translated into Hebrew and assigned numeric value, the number is "666." When the same thing is done with Neron Kaisar (Greek for Nero Caesar), the number is also "666." This fits perfectly with what we know about the character of Nero and his successors and with the fact that John tells us that "666" is the number of man. This connects Nero directly with the beast and the dragon who empower him. He is the agent of Satan.
There is an important theological significance to this number as well. The number used throughout Revelation for perfection and fullness is seven. Man's number is "6," and thrice repeated is "666." Since the divine number is seven, the corresponding divine number would be "777." Not only does the number of man "666" consistently fall short of divine perfection, "666" becomes the number which identifies all god-hating empires and their leaders, whenever the Dragon, the Beast and False Prophet form their counterfeit trinity, imitate the works of God, and seek to attract the worship of the world's inhabitants. As I pointed out last time, Caesar Nero may have been the first whose number is 666, but he will certainly not be the last. The Beast and the False Prophet of which John is warning us, will rear their heads again and again throughout the course of this age. It is the duty of Christians in every age to fight against these foes with the weapons given to us by God, the preaching of the Law and of the gospel.
II. As we turning to our text this morning, Revelation 14:1-13, John introduces the next two sets of characters who play major roles in the drama of redemption, the 144,000 and the angelic heralds who issue a call to the world's inhabitants to repent, as they announce God's judgment upon Babylon the Great and all those who worship the Beast and his image.
After seeing the Dragon, the Beast and the False Prophet-these members of the unholy trinity-wage war upon the saints and appear to conquer them, John now comforts God's people with yet another reminder of the final outcome of the redemptive drama. If chapters 12-13 concentrate upon the efforts of Satan to attack the church, the balance of the vision describes what awaits the faithful, as well as reminding those who are Christ's of the ultimate fate of the dragon and his allies. (1) This is very much the same pattern we have seen in both the seal and trumpet judgments and once again reminds us that Revelation is series of visions which "recapitulate," or re-tell the story of redemption as it unfolds during that period of time between the first and second advent of Jesus Christ, each from a different theological perspective.
In verse 1, the apostle describes an amazing sight. "Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads." That John sees the same group previously described in Revelation 7:1-8, and which have been called a 'kingdom of priests" in Revelation 5:10 is clear. As we pointed out earlier, the 144,000 is the church in its fullness upon the earth. Its members have been sealed with the name of God and Jesus Christ and are thereby protected from God's wrath which comes upon the earth, even though they, at times, must face the rage of the Dragon, the Beast and the False Prophet. Now John sees the 144,000-the church-from a different perspective, that of the Lamb's presence with them in the heavenly city.
When John sees the Lamb standing on Mount Zion a number of biblical images are invoked. For one thing the Lamb is the true messiah, not merely a messianic pretender as is the beast. (2) Zion is that place where God sat enthroned in Israel's temple, thus the one who rules from here is the true ruler of the cosmos, not the Dragon, nor the Beast, nor the False Prophet. (3) In this glorious scene, the Lamb stands amidst his people in that holy city which God himself will establish and rule after the end of the age. (4)
There are also references here to the past, the present and to the future. Recall that throughout the Old Testament, Mount Zion is that place where God will one day gather and save his believing remnant. Furthermore, it is also that place where God will establish his Messiah and from whence he will rule over the nations. We see this in the form of a messianic prophecy in Psalm 2, our Old Testament lesson this morning, where the Psalmists writes, "the kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One." But "the One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, `I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill' . . . `I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.'" Writing from the perspective of the messianic age after Christ's resurrection and ascension, John sees that the Messiah is already established on his holy hill and is even now ruling over the nations.
While the Beast may appear invincible to those whose names are not written in the Book of Life, John reminds the church that no nation and no empire, no matter how powerful it may be, can withstand the judgment of the Lamb. Christ is king, not Caesar. And while in this age, the Lamb permits the false trinity to wage war on his people, one day he will indeed dash all his enemies to pieces like so many broken pots. Furthermore, in this vision the Lamb stands in the midst of the his people, where he protects them from those enemies whom one day he will crush. He will never give them more than they can bear and he will always provide for them a way of escape.
In apocalyptic imagery, Mount Zion is a reference to the heavenly city, and is that symbolic place where Lamb dwells with his people, making the premillennial contention that this is a prophecy yet to be fulfilled on the earth during a future millennium, an utter impossibility. Therefore, even though the Beast may wage war upon the saints, and for a time, appear victorious, the reality is that the Lamb will ultimately triumph. Through his resurrection and ascension, Jesus Christ presently stands victorious on Mount Zion, just as the prophets said he would. The final defeat of the Dragon is therefore assured.
The whole scene is one of contrasts. The name of God and of Christ is written on their foreheads is meant to demonstrate the utter contrast to the Mark of the Beast. If 144,000 is a number symbolizing fullness (the 12 tribes of Israel x the 12 apostles, x 1000), representing the entire church upon the earth in Revelation chapter 7, here in Revelation 14, the number 144,000 is now the absolute antithesis to the number 666 which shows the incompleteness and counterfeit nature of the Dragon's kingdom. (5) In this particular vision, the 144,000 is not confined to the church upon the earth during the great tribulation as was the case in Revelation 7. Here the number is symbolic of the sum total of the people of God who now dwell safely-whether on the earth or in heaven-on the spiritual mount Zion with the Lamb who stands in their midst because he has redeemed them.
This is evident in the fact that John now hears "a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth." The sound which John hears is that of a new song, which is a loud echo from a very prominent theme throughout the Old Testament in which the people of God sing songs of victory in jubilant celebration after deliverance from their enemies, as in Psalm 33, 40, 96, 98, 144, and 149. (6) Notice that only the redeemed can sing the new song, because it is a song of victory. The followers of the Beast who worship the Dragon, cannot sing the new song, since they will be defeated along with the counterfeit trinity they worship and serve.
Notice too that 144,000 are justified sinners. According to John in verses 4-5, "these are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless." The symbolic chastity and blamelessness of these people is based upon the fact that they have been purchased by the Lamb through the shedding of his blood on their behalf. They are the firstfruits, those who are redeemed from the mass of humanity. We have in John's vision a powerful argument for definite atonement-the Lamb's death did not purchase the world, but the firstfruits from out of the world, namely the sinful men and women who are now regarded as virginal, without falsehood and blameless. The Lamb redeems all of those for whom he dies! And all those whom he redeems are as pure and blameless as the Lamb himself-the blessed fruit of justification.
Beginning in verse 6, the scene of the vision shifts yet again, when John tells us that God will judge all men and nations who worship and serve the beast. The next set of characters, three angelic announcers, now enter the story. They announce that God's judgment is coming upon the world and that now is time to repent. While the focus in verses 1-5 has been upon the redeemed, reminding them that the Lamb is victorious in the end, in verse 6, the focus shifts back to those who follow the beast, making clear the contrast between the fate of the two groups. In verses 6-7, John tells us that "I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth--to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, `Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water." According to the noted theologian, Jan Crouch, this is a biblical prophecy fulfilled by the TBN satellite, the "holy beamer."
As the Beast wages war on the saints, God ensures that the gospel will be preached to the ends of the earth. We have already seen this in Revelation 11 with the ministry of the two witnesses. The reference to the four regions, the heavens, the earth, the seas, and the fresh waters, is the same as was mentioned in relation to the seal and trumpet judgments. Jesus himself told his disciples in Matthew 24:14, "and this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." But while the gospel will be preached to the whole world, there is no evidence of the conversion of the world as in the postmillennial vision in which all nations supposedly embrace the gospel and the world is effectively Christianized. Although the number of the elect is not small-the multitude in heaven is so vast that no man can count them-the angels announce the gospel to the unbelieving world as a form of judgment upon those who worship and serve the Beast. The Lamb graciously redeems his people, who dwell with him in Zion. But the earth's inhabitants would rather serve the Beast and worship his image. Their fate is equally certain.
John now sees a second angel, who "followed [the first angel] and said, `Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries." The fall of Babylon is a subject John will take up in some detail in Revelation 17-18. We have already read of the fall of this city when we surveyed the trumpet judgments back in Revelation 8-11. Here, we are reminded that Babylon the Great has seduced the nations. They have committed spiritual adultery with her, which explains why the nations would rather serve the Beast, than believe the gospel when it is preached.
The point of announcing the fall of Babylon at this point in the vision is to remind the persecuted church in the first century, that the city of man, epitomized by the military, economic and cultural grandeur of Rome will one day fall under the judgment of God. This also serves to remind Christians throughout this present evil age, that the city of man will seek to seduce us, draw us away from Christ, and entice us to commit spiritual adultery. But the great Babylonian whore will receive the sentence of death when the seventh trumpet sounds. The inhabitants of the world have been warned, while the persecuted church should be confident that God will vindicate his cause and grant them victory over their enemies.
In verse 9, John sees yet another angel who announces to the world the horrible fate which awaits those who worship the Beast and his image. "A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: `If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name." Once the third angel has spoken, it is clear that those who worship the Beast and receive his mark will suffer the same fate as their master.
Let us be perfectly clear about this point-John teaches that all those apart from Christ will suffer eternally. There will be no rest, nor sleep for those who reject the redemption offered them by the Lamb. Neither is hell eternal separation from God. According to John, hell is the eternal presence of God without the cross.
With this angelic declaration, the illusory nature of victory of the beast over the Saints becomes crystal clear. When the Beast wags war upon the saints and kills them, they come to life and reign with Christ. But when Christ kills the Beast, he and his followers experience what John will later call the second death, which is eternal punishment. Therefore, John not only reminds his readers that God will vindicate his people when they suffer, but he will bring eternal judgment upon all those who receive the Mark of the Beast. And this warning should be heard by all those who reject the eternal gospel as it is preached throughout the course of this present age-there will never be a moment's rest, only everlasting torment.
Since this is a section of great contrasts such as that between the number 666 and 144,000 and between the fate of those who worship the Beast and those who dwell with Christ in the heavenly Zion, no contrast is greater than that of the eternal suffering of those who reject Christ and the reward given to those who renounce the Dragon and who are redeemed by the Lamb. In verse 12, John tell us that "this calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus," for on this side of the day of judgment, the full extent of Christ's victory over the Beast and his followers can only be seen through the eyes of faith. Unbelievers will scoff in the meantime, but that for which we hope, the day of our Lord's return and our eternal redemption, will, for those who reject Christ, become the terrible day of judgment. We must be patient, while they must be warned.
But in a glorious word of benediction to a suffering church, John hears yet one more word of contrast from heaven. "Then," John says, "I heard a voice from heaven say, `Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.' `Yes,' says the Spirit, `they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.'" Because Jesus Christ has taken his place in the heavenly Zion, having conquered death and the grave, his absolute triumph over all his foes secures the blessing granted to all those who die trusting in him. Indeed, all those who die in Christ are blessed. For not only do they take their place among the great multitude who surround the glassy sea and add their voices to those of the heavenly choir, they will be given rest from their labor. In the heavenly city, there are no more tears, no more pain, no more injustice, no more suffering; only glorious, blessed and eternal rest.
Recall that during his messianic ministry, Jesus gave his followers the following invitation in Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Our Lord extends that same invitation to us this morning.
If you are not a Christian, Jesus will relieve from the burden of your sins, he will give you rest.
If you are a Christian, but tired and weary, Jesus not only promises to give you rest in the heavenly city, this morning he invites us to his table, where the Lamb himself will refresh us with spiritual food and drink as we make our journey to Zion.
So let us take this moment and rest from our labors and reflect upon the vision given us by John, before we leave here this morning and continue on in our journey to the heavenly city where there will be no labor, only rest. For the Lamb stands upon Mount Zion, completely victorious, and we will rest from our labors.
Amen!
1. Beale, Revelation, pp. 730-731.
2. See Poythress' comparison of the beast as
a messianic pretender, to Christ, in The Returning King, pp. 139-140.
3. Beale, Revelation, p. 733.
4. Beale, Revelation, p. 731.
5. Beale, Revelation, p. 733.
6. Poythress, The Returning King, p. 148.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:35:34 CST
"God's Wrath is Completed"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 22
Texts: Revelation 14:14-15:8; Exodus 15:1-19
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I. Blessing and curse is a prominent theme running throughout the whole of Scripture. We see blessing and curse in the opening chapters of the account of our redemption, when, in the Garden of Eden, God promises eternal life to Adam and Eve upon the condition of perfect obedience to the demands of the covenant of works (Genesis 2:15-17). We see blessing and curse again at the end of the story of redemption, when, in Revelation 14, three angels announce God's impending judgment upon the earth, while at the same time speaking of the blessedness of those who die in the Lord. But the theme of blessing and curse reaches its climax with the second advent of our Lord and the ultimate dispensing of blessing and curse, that associated with the harvest and the bowl judgments at the end of the age.
We are wrapping up John's vision of the main characters in the drama of redemption which runs from Revelation chapters 12-14. We will also introduce John's next vision this morning, and which is closely related, that of the bowl judgments which follows in Revelation 15-16. Recall that in Revelation 12-14, John describes the roles of seven of the major characters in the drama of redemption, viewed from the perspective of a war in heaven in which Satan, having lost, is now cast down upon the earth. John describes how the woman (the Israel of God) is assaulted by the dragon (who is Satan). Because God protects the woman from the Dragon, the Dragon is enraged and enlists two surrogates to continue his assault upon the people of God.
The first of these demonic surrogates is the Beast who rises out of the sea. This is the Roman empire, headed by a series of emperors who are worshiped as deities, and are empowered by the Dragon to wage war upon the saints, all the while amazing the world through the means of an apparent resurrection from the dead. But the Roman empire becomes a type of all subsequent world empires which arise throughout the course of this age (which is the entire period of time between the first advent and second coming of Jesus Christ) which persecute the church of Jesus Christ on behalf of the Dragon. The Roman empire may have been the first of these Satanically energized, God-hating empires, but it will certainly not be the last. Hitler's Third Reich and the Soviet Union under Josef Stalin are but two recent examples.
Then, John sees a second beast who rises from the earth, and who is identified elsewhere in Revelation as the false prophet. Through the means of Satanic deception in the form of miraculous signs and wonders, the False Prophet seeks to entice the world's inhabitants to worship the Beast (the state) and therefore, worship the Dragon. This beast causes those who worship the state to take the number of the Beast (666) on their hands or forehead, so as to be able to buy and sell and to avoid being persecuted by the Beast for confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord. This counterfeit trinity-composed of the Dragon, the Beast and the False Prophet-repeatedly attempts to deceive the world's inhabitants by mimicking the works of God.
But this unholy trinity also persecutes the church of Jesus Christ, preventing Christians from buying and selling, and, in many cases, taking their very lives because of their confession of faith in the Son of God, and for their refusal to worship the Beast or to take his mark. Many in John's original audience had already come to face to face with these enemies of Jesus Christ and of his church.
In Revelation 14:1-7, John sees the next set of characters. These include the Lamb, who stands triumphantly on Mount Zion in the midst of his people, and the 144,000. Unlike those who worship the Beast and have taken his mark, the 144,000 are sealed with the name of God and of Christ in their baptism. They triumphantly sing the new song of victory. This is the church victorious, now described in terms of chastity and blamelessness, since its members are forgiven of their sins and clothed with the perfect righteousness of Christ, received through faith alone. Their number, 144,000, is symbolic of perfection and fullness and stands in marked contrast to the number of the Beast (666), which is merely the number of man, and even when repeated three times, continues to fall short of divine perfection. Even though we are persecuted by the Beast, the church will triumph over Satan and all of his kingdoms, because Jesus Christ is Lord of his church, and he has already conquered death and the grave. And as John reminds us, the Lamb now stands among his people, as their ever-present protector and Lord.
Then in verses 6-12, John sees yet another group of characters, the three angels flying midair. John witnesses the first angel preaching the eternal gospel to the ends of the earth, which is a form of judgment upon the earth's unbelieving inhabitants who have rejected the Savior and who worship and serve the Beast. The second angel announces the impending destruction of the idolatrous city of man, Babylon the Great, which has seduced the nations into committing spiritual adultery with her through her great wealth and whose destruction will be described by John in some detail in Revelation chapters 17-18. Then, the third angel announces the fate of all of those who reject Christ and who worship and serve the Beast and who have taken his mark. In a frightening vision of the ultimate act of divine curse, the angel declares that all those who worship the Beast and the Dragon will face the eternal wrath of God, never to find rest, nor relief from their torment. Hell is not separation from God, but, as John describes it here, hell is to be eternally tormented in the presence of the Holy angels and of the Lamb. Imagine facing God in his wrath, without regard to his mercy-this is what hell is and why the torment is so great.
But even as the angel proclaims this solemn word of woe upon all those who worship the Beast, John also hears an amazing word of blessing pronounced upon all of those who die in Christ: "Then I heard a voice from heaven say, `Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.' `Yes,' says the Spirit, `they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.'" This is the glorious realization of that blessing long ago promised to all those who are united to Jesus Christ through faith. For Christ has died for our sins and was raised for our justification-therefore, when a Christian dies they receive the ultimate blessing, which is rest from all their labors, as they at long last enter into the eternal Sabbath, where there is only rest and eternal blessedness. The blessedness of those who die in Christ, stands in utter contrast to what awaits those who die apart from Christ, having taken the number of Beast.
II. And so it is after hearing these angels announce blessing and curse upon the earth, that John re-introduces the seventh and final character in this section of Revelation, Jesus Christ, the triumphant Lamb of the heavenly Zion, who returns to earth on the great and terrible day of judgment, depicted here by John as a day of harvest of grain (an image of blessing) and a harvest of grapes, an image of curse, since these grapes are thrown into the winepress of God's judgment.
Turning to our text this morning-Revelation 14:14-16-John is given a vision of the return of Jesus Christ, first depicted in terms of a great harvest of grain. Says John, "I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one `like a son of man' with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, `Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.' So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested."
As we have seen, the Jews in John's original audience were probably very familiar with the Old Testament prophets, and throughout these visions, John is repeatedly able to demonstrate to them how Jesus fulfills the remaining Old Testament prophecies regarding the messianic age. No doubt, many in John's audience upon hearing the words recorded here, immediately thought of the messianic prophecy in Joel 3:12-13, in which it is foretold that Israel's Messiah will preside over a final judgment upon the earth which entails both blessing and curse. According to Joel, "Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat [which means "the Lord judges"] 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!"
Now, in the vision granted John and recorded at the end of Revelation 14, John sees Jesus, Israel's Messiah, bring about the great and final harvest, as well as the trampling of the grapes, symbolic of God's judgment upon the wicked. During his own Messianic ministry, Jesus spoke of his return at the end of the age to judge the world, raise the dead and make all things new in terms of a great harvest. His words echo this prophecy in Joel. When Jesus explains the parable to the weeds to his disciples in Matthew 13:37, Jesus states that "the one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. `As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.'"
Clearly the harvest at the end of the age is the second advent of Jesus, when judgment comes upon the entire world. The wheat is spared and stored in the barn (v. 29). But the weeds are thrown into the fire. This seems to indicate that the harvest of the grain is associated with the final ingathering of the church, as when Jesus speaks of his angels as gathering the elect from the four corners of the earth, and when one is suddenly taken while the other is left to face the judgment (Cf. Matthew 24:31; 36-41).
Indeed, in Revelation 14:4, John has already spoken of believers as the first fruits of the harvest offered to God. (1) Therefore, it is likely that John's vision of a harvest of grain is a glimpse of final blessing, when the harvest of souls is completed and all of the God's elect have been gathered by the angels. (2)
But the second image-that of the harvest of the grapes-beginning in verse 17 and running through the end of the chapter, is clearly a reference to judgment upon unbelievers. According to John, "Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, `Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe.' The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia." That this is a picture of the final judgment is apparent in several ways.
In Isaiah 63:1-3, the prophet speaks of the winepress of God's judgment upon sin. The image is a frightening one and clearly is in the background of John's vision in Revelation 14. God asks of Isaiah, "Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? "It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save." Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress? "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 spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing. I trampled the nations in my anger; in my wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground."
One thing of which we should take note is the fact that the blood of God's enemies-the wine which flows from the winepress- "intoxicates [them] and renders them senseless." (3) This theme in which God's enemies drink in (or consume) God's cup of wrath which is their own blood, also appears here in Revelation 14, as John has already told us in verse 10, that those who worship the Beast "will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath." What John depicts here, brings to fulfillment Isaiah's prophecy, in which the Messiah who rears a robe soaked in blood-a reference to the cross-will also shed the blood of all those nations who reject him in the final judgment.
But there are other images of judgment in Revelation 14:17-20 as well. The blood of judgment is depicting as flowing up to the horse's bridle (stomach)-a symbol used in Jewish Apocalyptic writings for the complete and utter destruction of an army in battle (4)-and for a distance of 1600 stadia, or about two hundred miles, which would cover the length and breadth of Israel. (5) The entire land will be covered with blood several feet deep-an apocalyptic image of a judgment so horrific no one can fully comprehend it. In addition, John sees an angel who is in charge of fire. This calls to mind the imagery of the tabernacle and the temple throughout the Old Testament in which the blood of sacrificial animals was shed to the point where it visibly flowed down from the altar, before the animal's remains were consumed by fire.
But it is also recalls the scene which transpires earlier in Revelation 8:3-5, where we read of, "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." Thus the angel who hurls fire to earth in response to the prayers of the saints, is probably the same angel who now ensures that those who shed the blood of the martyrs will find their own blood spilt on the day of judgment.
Throughout this vision, God is reminding his suffering and persecuted church that he will indeed vindicate all those whom he calls to face the Dragon who wages war upon God's people through the sword of the state and through the lies of the false prophet. But those without faith who reject the Savior cannot grasp the true state of affairs. They may indeed put God's people to death, and by doing so think that they triumphed over Christ and his kingdom. But such is not the case, for God now reminds John that everyone of the martyrs will be avenged. God will shed the blood of all of those who shed the blood of his people. They will die outside the city of God, which, as John will tell us later in Revelation 21:27 is that place where, "Nothing impure will ever enter [the city of God], nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life."
And so the vision of Revelation 12-14 covers the entire interadvental age as did the previous visions of the seven churches and the seal and trumpet judgments. We have been taken from the birth, life, death, burial, resurrection and ascension of the Messiah in chapter 12, all the way to his second advent and the long-expected harvest of believers and that of judgment upon all those who reject the Messiah and worship and serve the Beast here in chapter 14.
III. But the vision in Revelation 12-14, is very closely connected to the vision which follows in chapters 15-16, and indeed prepares the way for the series of judgments depicted there which brings God's wrath to its completion with the return of Jesus Christ to judge the world, raise the dead and make all things new at the end of the age.
In the opening verse of chapter 15, John says, "I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues--last, because with them God's wrath is completed." With this declaration, the final, and certainly the most intense cycle of judgment is about to begin. John sees seven angels-seven being the number of fulness or perfection-who will bring human history to its appointed end when they complete their mission. Like the seal and trumpet judgments, these judgments are cyclical and perhaps occur throughout the entire interadvental period, but they are also tied to the end of age.
Unlike the previous cycles of judgment the bowl are much more destructive than either the seal judgments (which affected one fourth of all the earth), or the trumpet judgments (which effect one third of the earth). The seven bowl judgments are not constrained by the mercy and longsuffering of God, so they are much greater in scope and intensity. Mirroring the plagues which came upon unbelieving Egypt during the days of Moses and Pharaoh, the bowl judgments greatly magnify the cosmic aspects of the destruction of the earth and sky depicted in the sixth seal judgment of Revelation 6:12-17, and that of the seventh trumpet judgment of Revelation 11:15-18. Clearly, the bowl judgments come to their fruition in direct connection with those events associated with second advent of Jesus Christ, which is why they are so closely tied to the vision recorded Revelation 12-14, which ends with the two-fold harvest of blessing and curse. For with the seven bowl judgments, which contain the seven last plagues to come upon the earth, God's wrath is completed. (6)
But even as John observes the seven angels about to bring to pass the final judgment, in anticipation of the glorious end of the age associated with the second coming of Jesus Christ, John sees the Lamb and his victorious church, who are also awaiting the great and glorious outcome of the redemptive drama. The Lamb's people are no longer the persecuted suffering church, victims of the Dragon, the Beast and the False Prophet. They are triumphant! According to John's testimony beginning in verse 2, "and I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: "Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed."
Those who sing the new song are the victors. They are the first fruits of the harvest and have been given to the Father. They have persevered to the end in faith, even in the midst of the horrible persecution from the hands of the Beast and the False Prophet. And now, having endured, they are saved. Even though the Beast has taken their lives and appeared to have conquered them, this scene reminds us of the heavenly reality for all those who have died in Christ. For all who are Christ's, including the martyrs, have come to life and even now are reigning with him in heaven for a thousand years. They have taken their places beside the heavenly sea, which, John now describes as looking like glass mixed with fire. Sealed with the name of God and of Christ, they are victorious over the beast and those who do his bidding. They have truly conquered, because death now longer holds them in its grip. The Beast has taken their lives, but Christ has given them eternal life!
Once again the heavenly scene resounds with echoes from the Old Testament, especially those of the Exodus and the journey to the promised land. Recall that when God delivered his people from their captivity in Egypt and after immediately they crossed through the sea on dry ground and Pharaoh's army had been utterly destroyed by the waters of judgment, Moses, as covenant mediator, led the people in singing the "Song of Moses," recorded in Exodus 15, and our Old Testament lesson this morning. In Moses' song, the people of Israel joyfully recount the great and mighty deeds of YHWH, to commemorate all that he has done for them. And now, having been delivered from their captivity and bondage to sin, the redeemed in heaven in the presence of the Lamb, not only sing the Song of Moses, they sing the New Song as well, recounting the great and mighty deeds of the Jesus Christ, who has saved them from the Dragon, the Beast and the False Prophet. "Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed."
As was the case with the seal and trumpet judgments, this next cycle of judgment also begins with a glimpse of the glorious heavenly scene. "After this I looked and in heaven the temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony, was opened. Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed." God's glory is on display. The seven angels are given the seven bowls of wrath and are ready to pour them out upon the earth. The final act in the great drama of redemption is about to take place. The great and wonderful story is about to enter its final and glorious chapter. God's wrath will be completed.
But until everything is completed, no one can enter the heavenly temple. As in Exodus 40, when the temple was consecrated by Moses and then later in Israel's history when Solomon's temple was completed as recorded in 1 Kings, God's glory was present and so Israel's priests were unable to enter to perform their duties. (7) God is Holy and sinful creatures cannot approach him until every hint and trace of sin is removed from the creation. John is reminding his audience of this very point. Everything is now ready for the end. The stage is set. The Lamb and his people have triumphed. The seven angels are ready to pour out God's wrath upon the earth. They await his final command. And while they wait, God's glory fills the temple and no one can enter. All that remains, is for God's wrath to be completed.
And so beloved, like the seven angels, we
too, wait for the great and glorious day yet to come when we will enter into
the presence of the Lord. We wait in wonder and anticipation. We do not doubt
that day will come. It is not a question of "if," only
"when." For one day, God's wrath will be completed and on that day of
harvest we will receive the glorious blessing of eternal rest. Maranatha! Come
Quickly Lord Jesus. Amen!
1. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 212.
2. See Beale, Revelation, pp. 770 ff.,
for the opposing view, the harvest of grain is a judgment.
3. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
pp. 213-214.
4. Bauckham, The Climax of Prophecy,
pp. 40-48.
5. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 214.
6. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, pp.
214-224.
7. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p. 218.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:35:32 CST
"The Place Called Armageddon"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 23
Texts: Revelation 16:1-21; Zechariah 14:1-9
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I. One of the most frightening images in all the Book of Revelation is that of a great and final battle, known as the Battle of Armageddon. Yes, such a battle is indeed coming, but it has little to do with what most people have been led to expect. Armageddon is not about the modern nation of Israel nor does it take place on the plains of Megiddo. John's reference to Armageddon is instead connected to the final eschatological battle between Christ and the Dragon, that day when Satan turns his full wrath upon the church, only to find himself crushed by Jesus Christ and cast into the lake of fire.
We now enter the latter part of this book and this morning as we will focus upon the bowl judgments of Revelation 16, before taking several weeks to deal with John's account of the destruction of the harlot-in Revelation 17-18-who has seduced the nations of the world with her wealth and power.
We have completed that section of Revelation which runs from chapter 12-14 and which includes the account of the woman (Israel), the Dragon (Satan), the Beast (the state), the False Prophet (who promotes worship of the state), the 144,000 (the church), the three angels who announce God's judgment to the world, and the Son of Man, who stands triumphantly in the midst of his people on the heavenly Mount Zion.
But this section is very closely linked to the bowl judgments of chapter 16. As we saw last time, Revelation 15 serves as a kind of literary bridge between the return of Jesus Christ at the time of the great harvest and the bowl judgments which are in some way associated with that harvest. As John says in Revelation 15:1, "with them [the bowl judgments] God's wrath is completed." Therefore, the bowl judgments are especially connected to the end of the age.
Throughout this series, I have been using the analogy of camera angles mentioned by Dennis Johnson throughout his fine commentary on Revelation, the Triumph of the Lamb. This is a very helpful way to understand the series of repeating visions in Revelation, which are indeed similar to different camera angles focusing on the same event.
The first cycle of judgment in Revelation 6:1-8:1-the seal judgments-covers the entire period of time between Christ's first advent and second coming, before culminating in the sixth seal, which is the return of the Lord. The series of seal judgments brings death and destruction upon one fourth of the earth's inhabitants and demonstrates the Lamb's authority to bring judgment upon the earth.
The second cycle of judgment-the trumpet judgments of Revelation 8-11-likewise runs its course throughout the entire inter-advental period, but is more intense than the seal judgments. Mirroring the plagues which came upon Egypt, the trumpet judgments will bring death and destruction to one third of the earth's inhabitants. This cycle also culminates with the return of Jesus Christ at the seventh trumpet, when the city of man-Babylon the Great-is destroyed, just as Jericho, which blocked Israel's entrance into the promised land, was destroyed in the days of Joshua. For the city of man blocks the establishment of the New Jerusalem, which John says in Revelation 20, is even now coming down from heaven.
But the bowl judgments of Revelation 16, are by far the most intense of the three cycles of judgment found in this book, for these judgments bring destruction upon the entire world. Commentators are divided as to the question of whether or not the bowl judgments are a cyclical series of judgments which run throughout the entire inter-advental period, (1) or whether they are limited to the time of the end and our Lord's return. (2) Here is where the camera angle analogy is very helpful. If the seal judgments present a wide angle view of the inter-advental period, and if the camera angle afforded by the trumpet judgments is more narrowly focused, then what we see with the bowl judgments would be a close-up upon the events associated with the return of Jesus Christ, specifically that of the sixth seal and seventh trumpet.
Whether or not these judgments occur throughout the entire inter-advental period is not as important as the fact that in this chapter, John is setting forth what will happen to the earth and its unbelieving inhabitants when Jesus Christ comes again at the end of the age, to judge the world, raise the dead and make all things new. No thing or no one will escape. By the time the bowl judgments have run their course, God's wrath against sin and unbelief will be complete.
II. As we turn to our text in Revelation 16:1-21, there are two main features to notice. The first thing to notice is the way in which these judgments echo the judgments which came upon Egypt and the wicked Pharaoh, and the other is the great intensity of these judgments which far surpasses anything we have seen in Revelation so far.
Since Revelation 15 serves as a bridge between the vision of Revelation 12-14 and Revelation 16 it is important to recall that each of the cycles of judgment (the seal, the trumpets and the bowls), begins from the vantage point of the heavenly throne. In doing this, the point is made repeatedly that God' will is presently being done in heaven. But as a result of these judgments, God's will one day will be done upon the earth.
But there is something very frightening about this cycle, for once the bowls of judgment have been poured out upon the earth, God's wrath will be complete, it will extend to all the earth and all of its inhabitants. This, of course, means that the return of Jesus Christ is the day of final judgment, a point which is very problematic for premillennarians, who believe that the final judgment does not occur until the thousand years (the millennium) are over.
The series of the bowl judgments begins when John says "then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, `Go, pour out the seven bowls of God's wrath on the earth.'" The loud voice comes from the temple, indicating that everything which is about to happen will take place according to God's plans and instruction. (3) This is moment that those before the throne crying out, "how long O Lord," have been so anxiously awaiting. The time has come for God to pour out his wrath upon all those who reject the gospel of Jesus Christ, who persecute his church, and who defile the heavens and the earth with their idolatry. As God brought the Pharaoh to his knees so that Israel could begin the journey to the promised land, so now God will bring the world to its end, establish the new heavens and earth so that his people will enter the heavenly city and receive their promised inheritance.
Notice that throughout this series of judgments, God's wrath is now focused directly upon those who have worshiped the Beast and taken his mark upon the back of their hands or their foreheads. "The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly and painful sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his image." When the first trumpet judgment sounds, God's wrath is poured out upon the earth itself, the trees and the grass. But this time, judgment falls directly upon the earth's unbelieving inhabitants.
Like the painful boils and sores of the sixth plague which came upon Egypt (cf. Exodus 9:8-12), so too, this particular judgment uses apocalyptic imagery to make an important redemptive-historical point. God seals those who are his and protects them from his wrath. But those who have taken the Mark of the Beast will find their master now powerless to protect them from the plague sent by God. (4) Just as the magicians of Egypt could not protect the Pharaoh nor his people, so now the Mark of the Beast not only fails to protect those who serve the Dragon, it actually identifies them as objects of God's wrath. And all those bearing the number of man-666-will suffer beyond measure.
Likewise, the second bowl includes a number of powerful biblical images. Echoing the first plague upon Egypt, when the water of the great Nile turned into blood, we read in Revelation 8:8-9, "The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed." In verse 3 of Revelation 16, we read of the second bowl judgment, "The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died." Whereas in the second trumpet of Revelation 8, a third of the sea had been turned to blood, now God strikes dead every living creature in the oceans. Nothing survives. The domain of the Dragon is smitten at the time of judgment. According to Revelation 21:1, in the new heaven and earth, there is no more sea, that place of storm and tempest which is the symbolic realm of the Dragon.
According to verse 4, "The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood." God had turned all of Egypt's water to blood. In the third trumpet judgment, God makes one third of the waters of the earth bitter, bringing sickness or death upon those who drink it. Now God fouls all the waters of the earth, symbolic of the fact that God's judgment now extends even to the sources of life. But what is perhaps most interesting about this judgment is the response it elicits from the angel who carries it out. Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: `You are just in these judgments, you who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have so judged; for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.'"
There are loud echoes here from Deuteronomy 32:4, when, just before entering Moab prior to Israel's conquest of Canaan, Moses proclaims of YHWH: "He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he." God's judgments are altogether righteous. For those who have shed the blood of the saints, will now be forced to drink their own blood-an apocalyptic symbol of how God's just punishment perfectly fits the crime, as seen in Isaiah 49:26, where the prophet declares concerning God's judgment, "I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob." Recall that in Revelation 14:10, John describes a scene in which the blood of God's enemies would flow the length and breadth of Israel. (5) Upon witnessing the righteous nature of this judgment, we read of the heavenly response from the suffering saints in verse 7, "And I heard the altar respond: `Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.'" God will avenge his suffering servants, and heaven resounds with praise to God, when the day of final retribution comes, news of great comfort to a suffering and persecuted church.
According to Revelation 8:12, when the fourth trumpet sounds, the light of the sun, the moon and the stars will be diminished by a third. But the fourth bowl judgment results not in diminished light, but in a massive intensification of the sun's heat. According to verse 8, "the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was given power to scorch people with fire. They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him."
Lest we forget the significance of this particular judgment, we need to recall to mind the words of Revelation 7:16, describing an earlier vision of the saints in heaven: "Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat." The point is that God's people are protected from his wrath, while those who serve the Dragon curse God, refuse to repent or give God glory, despite the ferocity of his judgment. So deep are the effects of sin upon the human heart, so thoroughly have the Beast and the False Prophets deceived the world's inhabitants that they curse their creator even while his judgment is being poured out upon them.
The fifth bowl judgment also echoes the ninth plague upon Egypt, which is darkness. We read in verse 10: "The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. Men gnawed their tongues in agony and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done." Earlier in Revelation 2, we read of Satan's throne being in Pergamum, a symbolic reference to the prevalence of pagan temples and false religion centered in the area. One of the saints there, a certain Antipas, had already laid down his life in martyrdom. But after taking the life of one of the saints, Satan's kingdom cannot stop darkness from coming upon the whole earth. The great irony is that the throne of Satan-symbolic of the kingdom of darkness-will now itself be shrouded in darkness. And yet, despite the agony which comes upon the inhabitants of the earth, those who worship the Beast and his image are so devoted to their master they continue to curse God and refuse to repent.
III. With the coming of the sixth bowl judgment, the scene in verse 12 now shifts from various judgments upon the earth and its inhabitants, to the final eschatological battle in which God will crush all of his enemies. This the great battle of Armageddon.
The vision of the sixth bowl takes place against the backdrop of the sixth trumpet judgment and the symbolic barrier-the Euphrates River-which prevented the army of 200 million soldiers described in Revelation 9:13-15, from killing one third of humanity until released. The sixth bowl judgment depicts a massive escalation of this conflict. Says John, "the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East." Recall that Israel's oppressors, Assyria and Babylon had lived beyond the Euphrates, the symbolic border of that place where Israel had been held in captivity. Those living in the time of John, regarded the Euphrates as the eastern border of the Roman empire, and therefore, the edge of civilization itself.
But the image of the barrier imposed by the Euphrates being removed as a form of judgment is found throughout the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah. When the Euphrates is dried up, it exposes Israel's captors to judgment themselves. In Isaiah 41-46, we read of an invading army led by Cyrus, king of Persia, who defeats the Babylonians so that Israel is freed to return to her home in Palestine. According to Isaiah 44:26-28, the prophet foretells of a time in which "Jerusalem, 'shall be inhabited,' of the towns of Judah, 'They shall be built,' and of their ruins, 'I will restore them,' who says to the watery deep, 'Be dry, and I will dry up your streams.' who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, "Let it be rebuilt," and of the temple, "Let its foundations be laid." Note that Cyrus liberates Israel from her Babylonian captivity after God dries up the streams of Babylon-i.e., the Euphrates, so that the Persians can invade Babylon and defeat her. Similarly, Jeremiah announces that God's judgment will come upon Babylon when God brings a drought which dries up her waters. (6) Therefore, the removal of the barrier allows the agents of judgment to enter.
But there are other accounts of the drying up of bodies of water very prominently featured throughout redemptive-history. God created dry ground in the midst of the sea so that Israel could pass safely though. God dried up the Jordan River, so that Israel could enter the promised land. Now God symbolically dries up the water of the Euphrates to provide final deliverance for his people through the defeat of God's enemies. With the symbolic barrier of the Euphrates removed, the enemies of God now rush to assault the church, only to find themselves totally defeated by the direct intervention of God.
The kings of the east-later identified in verse 14 as kings of the whole world-advance upon God's people because they have been deceived by the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet. Says John in verse 13, "Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty." The imagery of the frogs, recalls to mind the second plague upon Egypt, but here are symbolic of the demonic power which deceives the kings of the earth, gathering them for battle.
Notice that the great battle occurs on the great day of God Almighty, the same day as the event depicted in verse 15. "Behold," Jesus says, "I come like a thief!" Even as Satan deceives the kings of the earth, gathering them for what they think will be a victory over the kingdom of God, to their great chagrin, this day becomes the day of defeat, themes which John will address in some detail in Revelation 19 and 20. The point is that once the barrier is removed, symbolized by the great river Euphrates, those who do the bidding of Satan gather for what they expect will be the final battle. But this is the day when Jesus comes suddenly, like a thief. And just as Jesus had warned his disciples when he was with them on the Mount of Olives, "watch, for you do not know when I will return," so now Jesus pronounces his blessing upon those who do as he instructed. "Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed." Given what follows in Revelation 17-18, where the seductive ways of the harlot brings God's judgment, getting caught naked seems to imply that Christians must not be caught in bed with the harlot when Christ returns to bring about her end. (7)
What follows in verse 16, is the subject of much debate, and is one of those verses which gives Revelation its reputation for being so mysterious. Says John, "then they [the demonic spirits] gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon." Most commentators believe that Armageddon is a reference to the plains of Meggido, northeast of Jerusalem, and the site of several important battles in Israel's history (cf. Judges 5:19; 2 Kings 23:29). The most common interpretation of this verse is that at the end of the age, the armies of the world assemble on the plains of Meggido to finish off the nation of Israel, or to fight against the armies of heaven, when Jesus Christ destroys them.
But a growing number of commentators convincingly argue (and I think rightly so) that the reference to Armageddon, has nothing whatsoever to do with the plain of Meggido or to the war supposedly waged against the nation Israel at the end of the seven-year tribulation. Rather, it is argued that Armageddon should be understood as Har-Magedon, or "the Mount of Gathering" or Assembly. (8)
Recall that in Zechariah 14, the prophet speaks of the final battle occurring at Jerusalem, not Meggido. According to Zechariah 14:2-4, the Lord says, "I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south." The similar language is used in Zechariah 12:3 where the prophet also speaks of Jerusalem, not Megiddo, as the scene of the final conflict.
Har-Magedon, The Mount of Gathering, (Mount of Assembly) is therefore, much more likely a reference to Mount Zion, the earthly counterpart of the heavenly assembly. (9) In Revelation 14, we read that Jesus Christ stands triumphantly on Mount Zion among his people. If true, this means that the reference to Armageddon is not a description of a literal military battle in which men in tanks and airplanes fight against God. Instead, we have an apocalyptic image of the kings of the earth being gathered together by the Dragon to wage war against Mount Zion, which is symbolic of the church of Jesus Christ.
This is the same event depicted from yet another "camera angle" in Revelation 19:19-21 when John sees the beast and the false prophet being thrown into the lake of fire. It is also described in Revelation 20:9-10, where those deceived by Satan after he is released from the Abyss, " marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
Therefore, it is certainly correct to think of Armageddon as the final and ultimate battle between Christ and his enemies. But this battle has nothing to do with the plains of Meggido, the nation of Israel, or the armies of the world fighting against Christ. John is giving us an apocalyptic vision of Satan's final assault upon the church (Mount Zion, Har Magedon, the Mount of Assembly), an assault which is crushed by Jesus Christ at his return to earth in judgment. On that day, says John, Satan and all his henchmen (the beast and the false prophet), along with the kings and nations who serve them, are thrown into the lake of fire. This is judgment day, when God's wrath is completed.
When the final battle gets underway, we read in verse 17, "The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, `It is done!' Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake," already mentioned in Revelation 6:12-14. This earthquake was also mentioned in Zechariah 14:3-5. But this is no ordinary earthquake. "No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. The great city split into three parts (Babylon), and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible. The seventh bowl describes the destruction of Babylon the Great, and is treated by John in some detail in the next two chapters of Revelation and to which we will turn in the coming weeks.
Therefore, the battle of Armageddon has nothing to do with Israel or the armed forces of the nations fighting against armies of Christ. The battle of Armageddon has to do with the fact that the on-going war between the Dragon and his allies (including the beast, the false prophet, Babylon the Great, the harlot, the kings and nations who serve him) and Christ and his church (represented by Mount Zion, and the Mount of Assembly) is coming to an end. The final outcome is never in doubt. For just when it appears as though Satan will overcome the church, Jesus Christ will return and destroy the Dragon and his henchmen, casting them all in the lake of fire where they will be tormented forever and ever.
Therefore, as God's people, who even now
dwell in the spiritual Zion with Christ in our midst, we must remain ever
vigilant. We must not sleep. We must stay awake, watching for the Lord's
return. We must avoid the seductive ways of the harlot, lest we be caught naked
and be shamefully exposed on the day of Christ Jesus. For Jesus Christ will
return like a thief and crush all his enemies and deliver his people from the
whiles of Satan. And with the saints in heaven, we cry out, "Yes, Lord God
Almighty, just and true are your judgments." For a day is coming in which
God's wrath will be poured out upon the whole world and all the enemies of
Jesus Christ will receive their just desserts at the place called Armageddon.
1. Beale, Revelation, p. 803.
2. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
223.
3. Poythress, The Returning King, p.
155.
4. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 225.
5. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
pp. 227-228.
6. See Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb,
pp. 231-232.
7. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
234.
8. See Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 235; and M. G. Kine, "Har Magedon: The End of the Millennium,"
JETS 39 (1996), pp. 207-22.
9. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p. 235.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:35:31 CST
"The Great Prostitute"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 24
Texts: Revelation 17:1-18; Jeremiah 51:45-53
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I. Throughout the Book of Revelation, John has warned us about the Beast, who wages war upon the saints. Empowered by The Dragon, who is Satan, the Beast is an apocalyptic symbol of the state, whenever it assumes rights and prerogatives which belong only to God. In John's day, the Beast was the Roman empire, which viewed its emperors as deities who demanded worship so that people were granted the privilege of buying and selling. But John has also warned us of another threat besides that of the Beast wielding the sword, and that is the glamour, wealth, seductive power of the city of man, which continually seeks to entice God's people away from the Savior and into the arms of another, depicted by John in the Book of Revelation as the great prostitute, Babylon the Great.
This morning we move into a new (and final) section of the Book of Revelation. As we saw last time with the seven bowl judgments of Revelation 16, when the cycle of bowl judgments runs its course, God's wrath will be complete. Intensifying the plagues which came upon Egypt in the days of Moses and the Pharaoh, the first five of the bowl judgments come upon the whole earth and all of its inhabitants. But even in the midst of this final outpouring of the wrath of God, God's people are spared because they have been sealed with the name of God and of his Christ. All of heaven resounds with the declaration of the angels and the saints before the throne: "Lord God Almighty, just and true are your ways." For all those who shed the blood of the saints, will now be forced to drink their own blood, an apocalyptic symbol demonstrating that the Holy God will punish all those who hate Christ and his church.
The sixth bowl judgment foretells of a great and final battle resulting in the defeat of Satan and all of those allied with him. This is the battle of Armageddon, which is Satan's final assault upon the church. Satan and his all allies (including the Beast and the False Prophet who deceive the kings of the earth through demonic power) which gather together at Har-Megedon (the Mount of Gathering) for what they anticipate will be the final defeat the kingdom of God. When the symbolic barrier of restraint (the Euphrates River) is removed, the nations rush headlong to assault the Christ's church in what they think will be the final victory over Christ and his people. But instead of a Satanic victory, we will read of Satan's final defeat in Revelation 19 and 20 when the Devil and all those who serve him are cast into the lake of fire.
And then with the seventh bowl judgment, a great earthquake brings total destruction upon Babylon the Great, the proud and arrogant city of man which stands in the way of the New Jerusalem, even as the city of Jericho prevented Joshua and the people of God from entering the promised land in the days of Israel's sojourn in the wilderness. When the seventh bowl is poured out, says John in Revelation 16:19, "The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath." And while the people of God await that glorious day when Jesus comes like a thief so that they might enter their eternal rest and received the promised inheritance, all of those who worship the Dragon and bear his mark, will curse God and refuse to repent, even on the day of judgment as God's wrath is poured out upon them.
Therefore, as we move into the final chapters of this book, John will set forth in very vivid imagery the final outcome of those who wage war on the saints and who persecute the church the church of Jesus Christ. Given the fact that John is writing to seven churches, facing the Beast on a daily basis, the knowledge that Christ's church is victorious, despite appearances to the contrary, would have brought great comfort. By describing the fate of the Dragon and those who serve him, John also points us ahead to the closing scene in the redemptive drama which began at the dawn of time in Genesis 2-3. In the final chapters of Revelation, we are indeed given a glimpse of the glorious outcome of redemptive history.
As this book draws to a close, in Revelation 17-18 we see the destruction of Babylon the Great, the proud and boastful city of man standing in the way of the New Jerusalem which even now is coming down from heaven. Then in Revelation 19 we read of the fate of the Beast and the False Prophet. All those nations who neglect their proper function in providing for the public good and restraining and punishing evil-doers, and who are instead deceived by the lies of Satan so that they persecute the people of God . . . all those nations will suffer judgment directly alongside the harlot who seduces them.
Next, in Revelation 20, we read of the fate of the Dragon. One day, he will be cast into the lake of fire prepared for the Devil and all his angels. (1) In the final chapters of John's vision, Revelation 21-22, John then describes the new heavens and the new earth and all of the glories which await the people of God. So in this section of Revelation, we are brought from the opening chapters of the Bible and the account of creation, and the fall of the human race into sin, to the glorious scene in the final chapters of the Bible, which is the defeat of our enemies, the recreation of all things, and our glorious inheritance in Christ.
II. Flowing directly out of the seventh bowl judgment of Revelation 16:17-21, chapters 17-18 describe not only the seductive ways of the harlot Babylon, but detail her final destruction as well.
When we read in verse 1 of Revelation 17, "one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, `Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters," there is an important contrast being made between the harlot and to the bride, the wife of the Lamb, as set forth in Revelation 21:9. In Revelation 21 John writes, "One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, `Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.'" Therefore, the account of the harlot in Revelation 18-19, who is, in a sense, the bride of the Beast, and that of the bride of Christ in Revelation 21 will be one of great contrast. (2)
While very seductive because of her wealth, glamour and celebrity, the beauty of the harlot is temporary and fleeting, lasting John says but "one hour." The harlot is the epitome of impurity and wickedness. But the beauty of the bride of Christ is eternal, since the church is clothed in the perfect righteousness of her bridegroom, and is therefore, a radiant and spotless bride, beautifully adorned for her husband.
The great prostitute, shortly to be identified as Babylon the Great, sits on many waters, also identifying her with the great river of Babylon, the Euphrates, mentioned in the previous chapter. As will we read in verse 15, the fact that John expands this to include many waters, is indicative of the fact that her dominion extends to all "peoples, multitudes, nations and languages." Her sin is depicted in Revelation 17:2, in terms of her adultery, which is a metaphor used throughout the Old Testament for spiritual infidelity, which is idolatry. Says John, "with her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries."
Throughout the writings of Israel's prophets, there are a number of important references to pagan empires and nations, in which they are said to be drunk on military power, or great wealth, or false religion and self-righteousness. In Ezekiel 16:15-34, the prophet speaks of Israel's spiritual unfaithfulness in terms of adultery and prostitution. Israel loves her sinful ways so much she takes lovers without charging them her normal fee. In Nahum 3, we read of God's impending judgment on Ninevah. In Isaiah 23, and Ezekiel 27-28, we read of the prophecies against the cities of Tyre and Sidon, cities which boasted in their great wealth and military power, but which we filled with wickedness. In Jeremiah 50-51 (including our Old Testament lesson this morning) we read of God's impending judgment upon the historic city of Babylon, which had conquered Israel and held God's people in captivity.
Thus when John speaks of the great prostitute who seduces the kings of the earth, he has in mind the culmination all of these Old Testament images. He also has in mind the fourth beast of Daniel 7, namely the city of Rome and the mighty Roman empire which extended to the ends of the earth. For Rome not only persecutes the church as the Beast, but Rome's military prowess, her great cultural attainments and her massive economic power had already seduced a number of Christians. This was clearly seen in the seven letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3, when John mentions that the church in Thyatira tolerated the false teaching of Jezebel, while Christians in Laodicea placed great confidence in their wealth and success even though they actually are poor, blind and naked, and about to come under the judgment of Christ.
Through the use of apocalyptic imagery, John not only has in the mind the city of Rome and the Roman empire which was even then both the Beast and the harlot, the great prostitute Babylon the Great also symbolizes the city of man in every age, which through wealth, celebrity, and luxury, seduces Christians away from Christ into the arms of the bride of the Dragon, and who, after the seduction, will leave them with nothing, much the same way a female black widow spider kills its mate after he has fulfilled his obligation to his bride. Therefore, the harlot is Rome, while at the same time is symbolic of any idolatrous nation or empire which persecutes Christ and his church, and which attacks the church, not with the sword, but through seduction. Like most harlots, who think their actions will gain them love and affection, it will not be long before her pimp, the Beast, will cast her away the moment her glory fades.
Just as the prophet Isaiah had been taken away into the wilderness to witness four horsemen (described in Isaiah 21:9), one of whom brings destruction upon Babylon when all her idols were smashed on the ground, John is now caught away to same wilderness where he now witnesses the destruction of Babylon the Great. There are a number of important things in view here. As we read in verse 3, "Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns." Recall that in Revelation 13, John was also spirited away into the wilderness to witness God protect the woman (Israel) from the Dragon. Now he sees a different woman, the harlot. Just as Israel was hidden away in the wilderness to be spared from the assault of the Dragon, to protect her so that she might later receive her promised inheritance in the heavenly city, in a great reversal, the glittery and wealthy Babylon the Great, will be left desolate (a wilderness) after God's judgment falls upon her. The great irony is surely intentional.
We know that this particular woman is not Israel because she is the one who seduces the nations and intoxicates the kings of the earth with her great wealth. Instead of being hidden away in the wilderness and protected by God, this woman rides the Beast-that same beast whom John had witnessed rising out of the sea, the Beast with ten horns and seven heads, the same beast who is covered with blasphemous names and colored scarlet-the same as the Dragon of Revelation 13:1 who attempted to attack Israel. Furthermore, this woman is dressed to seduce. According to John, she was "dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls," an image of a temple prostitute, something well-known to John's first century readers. Her cosmetic beauty makes her a kind of counterfeit to the true bride, the bride of Christ. Hers is an earthly glory, not the heavenly glory of the righteousness of Christ. Her gross idolatry is symbolized by the fact that "she held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries." This is the drink (idolatry) which intoxicates the kings of the earth so that they commit spiritual adultery with her. She is clearly identified in verse 5 along with her crimes. "This title was written on her forehead: MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."
Having seduced the kings of the earth and allying herself with the Beast to earn his favor, she too is held responsible for her actions which result in the persecution of the church. Thus John can say of her, "I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus." As one writer so aptly puts it: "[The harlot's] seductive influence and the Beast's coercive violence are symbiotic; the nations bow to Rome not simply because its legions suppress insurrection (the Beast), but also because Rome's far-flung administrative efficiency maintains societal stability and economic prosperity (the harlot). The threat of force and the allure of affluence work perfectly together, so, of course, Babylon celebrates the slaughter of Jesus' people, since they refuse to buy into her economic interests." (3) When Christians refuse to take the Mark of the Beast so as to buy and sell, they also cut into the wealth and power of the harlot, thus she celebrates the death of the saints, even as does the Beast. Although she is intoxicated by her apparent success, because of this, her fate is sealed.
This amazing connection between the power of the sword (the Beast) and the seduction of temptress (the harlot) moves John to declare: "When I saw her, I was greatly astonished." It is almost as if, having seen for the first time how the power of beast and the attraction of the harlot come together in the form of the Roman empire, John now understands as he never did before, the great power of the Dragon over the peoples of the earth. And John is amazed! But not for long. In verse 7, John tells us that it was at this point "the angel said to me: `Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of The beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns.'"
The explanation of the mystery is as follows: "which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come." The Beast is a counterfeit of Christ, for he was, is not, and is yet to come. John has already told us that one of the Beast's heads was slain, a reference to the Nero myth and to the fact that the Roman empire suffered what appeared to be a mortal wound, only to come back stronger than ever. At the time of John's writing, the Beast, in the form of the Roman empire was already persecuting the church. But John now speaks of a future beast yet to come, something implied by the sixth bowl judgment when three demonic spirits deceive the kings of the earth, gathering them for battle against Christ's church at the Mount of Gathering, Armageddon. (4)
This will occur when the Beast comes up out of the abyss, which John tells us in Revelation 20, comes at the end of the thousand years, or the millennial age. This is a reference to the great apostasy mentioned there by John when he says in Revelation 20:7-10: "When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison [the Abyss] and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth--Gog and Magog--to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever." The Beast comes up from the abyss at the time of his destruction, when those whose names were not written in the Book of Life are also to be judged. This means that all of the events foretold in Revelation are fulfilled at the time of Christ's second advent.
There are two important points we should draw from this. One, this means the Battle of Armageddon, the sixth bowl, the seventh trumpet, the sixth and seventh bowl judgments, the judgment of the Beast, the False Prophet and Satan, all occur at the same time. According to Revelation 20, this is when the thousand years are over (the millennium), that is, immediately before Christ returns to earth at the end of the age. Therefore, the millennium of Revelation 20 is a present reality lying between the first and second coming of Christ and is not a future hope.
Second, the Beast of John's day and age (the Roman empire), will be resurrected through the power of Satan, in those days before our Lord's return. When this resurrection of the Beast occurs, the whole world will be amazed. But it also means that judgment day is at hand.
In Revelation 17:9, the angel reminds John, "This calls for a mind with wisdom," just as it did to understand the mysterious 666 the number of the Beast. The first matter is that "the seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits," which is mostly likely a reference to the city of Rome, famous for it seven hills. But throughout the prophets, mountains are often symbolic of great power and are mentioned in connection with the rule of pagan empires, hence the fact that the seven mountains, "are also seven kings." Seven mountains and seven kings not only refer to the city of Rome and its empire, persecuting the church even while John was writing, but the apocalyptic symbolism as used here refers to the fact first mentioned in Revelation 13:7, that the Beast was given authority over every people, nation and tongue and nation, and reiterated again here of the harlot who sits on many waters, and who seduces many peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. (5)
Verses 10-11 are probably the most difficult verses to interpret in all of Revelation. Indeed, the angel has said it calls for wisdom. "Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction." There are probably as many theories as to what this means, as there are commentators. Most try and correlate these seven kings to the four great empires of Daniel 7:17, or to the succession of Roman emperors beginning with either Julius Caesar or Augustus down through eight successive emperors, with the supposition that five emperors have come and gone, and that John is writing during the reign of the sixth emperor (the one who is). But although there may be merit to this approach, perhaps it is better not to view this succession of kings historically, but theologically. (6)
The number seven, as we have seen, is the number of fullness or completion. If we look at the angel's words with this in mind, it is possible that the seven kings represent the entire history of fallen humanity. By the time of the coming of Christ, five of these empires have come and gone, with John and his readers facing the sixth (Rome), with a seventh yet to come, who will remain for but a short time, which is the same period of time John has already mentioned in Revelation 12:12 to refer to the short time remaining for the Dragon after his defeat at Calvary's cross. According to the angel, after these seven kings have come and gone, one of the earlier kings, connected to the Beast, re-appears, as an eight king who will go to his destruction. This, it seems to me, indicate that however we understand the relationship of seven kings to the emperors of Rome, we should not overlook the fact that with these words, we are fast-forwarded from the time of John to the time of the end.
When the eighth king appears, probably in direct connection to the release of the Beast from the abyss, we are once again given a picture of that final battle of Armageddon, when Satan seeks to destroy the kingdom of God only to be destroyed himself. If true, this means we can expect an unprecedented manifestation of Satanic power, taking the form of a world-wide empire which is the final manifestation of the Beast with the seductive attraction of the harlot reaching full flower. And like it was in the days of Rome, the final beast will amaze the world through its military power, its great wealth, and the deification of its leaders. While the whole world is amazed and worships the Beast, the Beast is seeking a final victory over Christ's church. Therefore the time of the end may be characterized by unsurpassed peace and prosperity, while at the same time the world's worship of the Beast, leads to unsurpassed persecution of God's people.
This same apocalyptic pattern follows with the ten kings depicted in verses 12-14. "The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings--and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers." Like the seven kings, the ten kingdoms, depicted by the ten horns, will likewise do the bidding the of beast. These are probably the same kings mentioned in Revelation 16 in connection with the sixth bowl judgment who are deceived by the three demon spirits, and who gather together at Armageddon to wage war on the church, depicted here, by the mention that these kings wage war on the Lamb and his chosen and faithful followers. And like the Dragon, the Beast, the False Prophet, these ten kingdoms cannot prevail over the King of Kings.
But what is perhaps the most amazing thing about this vision, is John's description of the fate of the harlot. Although she has served the Beast and done his bidding, she suffers the same fate as those she has seduced and then jilted. As the saying goes, "what goes around, comes around." In verse 15, we learn of the harlot's fate. "Then the angel said to me, `The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled. The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth."
When the time of the end finally comes, Satan's kingdom will be divided against itself, the first casualty being the harlot. The very same kings and nations who committed spiritual adultery with her, will now turn on her, strip her naked, and then burn and destroy her. Just as ancient Rome fell under the weight of its own immorality when sacked by the very nations who profited from Roman trade and order, so too, the final manifestation of the harlot will see her come to an end at the hands of those whom she had seduced. Ironically, the Beast will himself become the agent by which God brings judgment upon the great prostitute. For God puts it in the Beast's heart to hate the harlot. In Revelation 18, we will read of two angels and a voice from heaven who will explain the meaning of the demise of the great prostitute.
But what should be apparent to those who read this prophecy, is that the glories of the city of man are superficial and fleeting. The beauty, celebrity and wealth of the great prostitute are illusory. The harlot uses her charms to lead us away from our bridegroom, Jesus Christ, so that we might become involved in her idolatrous adulteries. Let us never forget that true beauty is only found in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. For he purifies us from all our sins. His blood washes away every imperfection. He is making us into a holy people, without spot or blemish. And for this, the Beast and the harlot will hate us. And so will the world which worships them.
But in Jesus Christ, we will overcome them
all, just as he has.
1. Poythress, The Returning King, p.
159.
2. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 243.
3. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 246.
4. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 248.
5. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
pp. 248-249.
6. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb, p. 251.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:35:10 CST
"Come Out of Her My People"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 25
Texts: Revelation 18:1-17; Isaiah 52:1-12
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I. The harlot Babylon has seduced the kings of the earth with her wealth, power and beauty. John is now given a glimpse of the future, when Babylon the Great will come to her appointed end. Indeed while heaven celebrates Babylon's fall into ruin, the nations will weep and mourn. For the kings of the earth have committed spiritual adultery with the harlot, and her destruction will bring them to ruin as well. But the declaration that God's judgment is coming upon Babylon is also intended to serve as a warning to all of God's people-flee from the evil city before it is too late.
This morning we turn our attention to Revelation chapter 18 and the account of the reaction from heaven and the earth to the news of the destruction of Babylon the Great. Recall that in Revelation 17-our text last time-Babylon the Great is depicted as the great prostitute and harlot who seduces the kings of the earth, who commit spiritual adultery with her, which is idolatry. The great city, as John calls the harlot, sits on many waters and rules over the kings of the earth, having seduced them with of the allure of her wealth and beauty. Because of her seductive ways, the nations, kings and people who serve her, also serve her master, the Beast. John has depicted the harlot as a woman riding upon the Beast, which, in apocalyptic symbolism, indicates that the harlot does the bidding of the Beast and that the two of them-the Beast and the harlot-have forged an unholy alliance.
As we have seen throughout the past few weeks in our on-going series on the Book of Revelation, the destruction of Babylon the Great occurs as a direct result of the seventh bowl judgment which God pours out upon the earth at the end of the age. The bowl judgments are the third and final cycle of judgment found in the Book of Revelation. They are connected to the time of end and are far more intense than all the other judgments, extending to all of the earth and to all of its inhabitants. When the bowl judgments have run their course, John says, God's wrath is complete. And yet, God's people are spared from his judgment because they are sealed with the name of Christ. But all those who worship the Beast and his image, including those who have taken his mark so as to buy and sell, or to avoid persecution, will bear the full fury of God's wrath.
We have seen how the sixth bowl judgment (the demonic deception and gathering together of the nations at Armageddon to wage war on the church) and the seventh bowl judgment (the destruction of Babylon) both occur at the time of the end, when Jesus Christ returns to judge the world, raise the dead and make all things new. This is, as we have been pointing out, a very powerful argument against all forms of premillennialism. Premillennialism holds that Jesus Christ returns to earth and then establishes his millennial kingdom, before judging the world when the thousand years are over. But throughout this book, John teaches that judgment day occurs when Christ comes back-not a thousand years later.
Emphasizing different theological points, each of the various visions in Revelation is like a different camera angle on the same period of time, that lying between Christ's first coming and his second advent which is the present age. Each of these visions ends with Christ coming in judgment. When we turn to Revelation 20 and the famous millennial text in several weeks, we will see that the thousand years mentioned there by John is a description of this present evil age and not a future millennium in which lions lie down with lambs and when Jesus rules over the earth from the city of Jerusalem. Simply put, this means that we are in the so-called millennial age right now, and that the millennium is not a time of peace and prosperity on the earth. Instead, the thousand years refers to the reign of the saints in heaven during that time when the Beast and the harlot are persecuting the church upon the earth.
There is also an important pastoral emphasis in the Book of Revelation as well. John is seeking to offer hope and comfort to the persecuted Christians to whom he is writing. This becomes especially clear as we draw closer to the end of the book. Beginning with the bowl judgments of Revelation 16, and then moving on to the account of God's judgment upon the harlot in Revelation 17, then to the reaction of heaven and earth to the destruction of the city in Revelation 18, to the introduction of the bride of Christ and his second coming in Revelation 19, to the thousand years and final judgment of Satan in Revelation 20, to the establishment of the new heavens and earth in Revelation 21-22, John gives us a glimpse of how the great drama of redemptive history is coming to its final and glorious climax.
In these final chapters of Revelation, we are given a glimpse of the back of the book-so to speak-which would not only have brought tremendous comfort to those in John's original audience who were facing both the sword of the Beast and the seduction of the harlot on virtually a daily basis, but which also serves to remind us of the central theme of this vision. Jesus Christ wins in the end! Although to unbelievers, it may look like the Beast triumphs when he wages war on the saints and kills some of them, to believers, on the other hand, who see these things through the eyes of faith, the martyred saints come to life and reign with Christ for a thousand years. Even when Christians are forced to face the point of the sword, we know that we will inherit the riches and treasures of heaven no matter what the Beast may do to us. We also know that the Dragon, the Beast and all who serve him will get exactly what they deserve. They will be cast into the lake of fire and suffer eternal torment.
Recall too, that we identified the harlot of Revelation 17 as the city of Rome, while the Roman empire itself is the beast. When John finally understood the connection between the Beast and the harlot in this vision, he was amazed at how the power of the sword (the Beast) and the allure of the harlot, came together to rule the known world. All of Rome's subjects were amazed by her apparent resurrection from the dead. Rome not only dominated the first century world with its military power, but its administrative efficiency, economic prosperity and cultural achievements seduced the kings of the earth, as well as a significant number of Christians. Her wealth and grandeur blinded people to her idolatrous ways.
And so it is in this sense that Rome is the great harlot. For the harlot promises wealth and prosperity to those who ignore their allegiance to Christ, and who will confess "Caesar is Lord" so as to avoid persecution and conduct their business-even if they do it half-heartedly or with their fingers crossed behind their backs! John has already told us that this was going on in certain congregations in his letters to the seven churches in chapters 2-3 of this book. Indeed, there were many Christians who were increasingly attracted to the money, power, glamour, and celebrity which the harlot dangled in front of them. And so rather than suffer persecution for refusing to worship the Beast and his image, the harlot seduces them by offering what looks like an easier and better way. John's point is to warn the church that Satan will either attack us directly at the point of the sword (the Beast), or indirectly, through the wiles of a seductress (the harlot). Therefore, we must always be on our guard.
It is also important to remember that in apocalyptic symbolism, the Beast and the harlot, which are the Roman empire of John's day, in turn, become vivid prophetic images of all those governments which will arise throughout the present age and which will also persecute the church with the sword, as well a picture of those nations and empires which seduce Christians into spiritual adultery drawing them away from Christ. By mentioning the seven heads and ten horns, one of whom is yet to come, John is fast-forwarding his reader from ancient Rome to those days immediately before the second advent of Jesus Christ, when the world will again witness the rise of an even greater empire (with the full power of Beast and the harlot exercising her full sway) connected to the release of Satan from the abyss.
This world-wide empire in which beast and harlot once again join forces, will not only mimic the power of God, but like Rome, with the evil Nero serving as the type of a final ruler yet to come, once empowered by Satan, this empire will assume to itself divine privileges and prerogatives and demand worship for itself and its leaders. Although world conditions may actually improve when this empire emerges, and economic prosperity may reach great heights, it will be that time in which the people of God face the greatest persecution. For, according to John, the Beast unleashes his final fury on the church immediately before Christ returns to destroy him at Har-Mageddon and to bring about final judgment upon the earth.
II. And so as we turn to our text this morning in Revelation 18, we will complete the section we began last time, when John announced God's impending judgment upon Babylon the Great.
In Revelation 17:15-18, John has already told us about the fate of the great harlot: "Then the angel said to me, `The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled. The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.'" The irony in all of this is that the very same kings whom the harlot has seduced will suddenly turn upon her and destroy her. When the time of end finally comes, Satan's kingdom will be divided against itself-a division which God puts into their hearts-so that God's words and the promise of impending judgment are fulfilled. When the seventh bowl is poured out, the harlot meets her end at the hands of her erstwhile lovers, who then mourn her loss.
When the news of Babylon's destruction is announced there are two sets of responses. The first response is that from heaven, found in verses 1-3 and 20 of Revelation 18. The second response, in verses 4-19, is the lament of those who profited from the great city and who participated in her idolatry. Starting with the response from heaven, we read in verse 1, "After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. With a mighty voice he shouted: "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!" Earlier in Revelation 14:8, an angel has already announced Babylon's impending doom. We read "a second angel followed and said, "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries."
The earlier announcement of judgment upon Babylon is now reiterated in connection with the seventh bowl judgment. There are a number of echoes in these words from the Old Testament, especially from Jeremiah 50-51 (from which we took our Old Testament lesson last week), which depict the fall the city of Babylon, as well as Ezekiel 27, which predicts the fall of the city of Tyre. Israel's prophets foretold that these two Gentile cities which seduced and oppressed Israel would be destroyed by the hand of God. Their destruction centuries earlier, in turn, becomes a picture of what will happen to Babylon the Great at the time of the end. The angel who reveals this speaks with the authority of God (the mighty voice), and having been in God's presence, radiates the divine glory, thereby illumining the earth. (1)
Babylon's end is fitting. According to the angel, "She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird. For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries." The glittering city of man, will suddenly become a desolate wasteland, inhabited only by demons and vultures. Her fleeting glory (lasting but "one hour," as John puts it in Revelation 17:12) is now gone. Without her jewelry and her make up, her beauty is no more. Her true ugliness is exposed, and her lovers desert her. She is left destitute, a hollow shell of her former self. But all those entangled with her idolatry will suffer her fate.
But even as heaven resounds with the announcement of Babylon's destruction, a solemn warning is proclaimed to all those who dwell upon the earth. According to John's testimony in verses 4-5, "Then I heard another voice from heaven say: `Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.'" This time another angel sounds a warning to God's people, commanding them to flee from the city before God's wrath rains down upon her. This too, is a loud echo from the Old Testament. Three times in Jeremiah 51, God calls out to his people, commanding them to flee from Babylon before it is too late. In Isaiah 52:11 (our Old Testament lesson), the prophet is speaking of a future exile for Israel, warning God's people that a time will come when they must, "Depart, depart, go out from there!" They are to "touch no unclean thing!" Indeed, God commands: "Come out from [the city] and be pure, you who carry the vessels of the LORD." A similar warning is now reported by John.
Since this message is proclaimed by John to those living throughout this present evil age, we must be reminded that we are God's people, living in exile here in the city of man. We wander through the wilderness of this evil age as pilgrims, functioning as salt and light, while making our way to the heavenly city. And while we must take the cultural mandate with great seriousness-as we seek to build a godly culture and rule and subdue the earth in the name of Christ-let us not forget that our true citizenship is in heaven, where Christ is seated above. And indeed, we are warned by John in no uncertain terms, that the great harlot will tirelessly seek to entice us away from Christ, through the allure of the city of man, its wealth, its power and its glamour. As the prophets warned Israel during her time of exile, and as John warns us here in Revelation 18, the city of man-Babylon the Great-will fall under the direct judgment of God. And if we become involved in her sins (her idolatry), we, too, risk coming under God's judgment, for God will not be mocked. (2) Therefore, we must heed the angel's warning, and we must come out from the great city while there is still time.
In Revelation 16, the angels and saints proclaim the fact that God's judgments are just and true. The punishment God brings upon the harlot, likewise matches the nature of her crimes. She has seduced the nations of the earth while persecuting the church of Jesus Christ. This is why the angel exclaims in verses 6-8, "give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Mix her a double portion from her own cup. Give her as much torture and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, 'I sit as queen; I am not a widow, and I will never mourn.' Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her." Because of her smug self-confidence and her arrogant pride, in just one day God will give to her exactly that punishment which her sins require. (3) She will be consumed by those very things from which she thought herself immune: famine, death and mourning. Glory and luxury will give way to grief and torture. It is a frightening picture of what awaits for those who have turned their backs upon Christ because of the allure of the harlot.
The consequences of her fall rock the entire earth. In verse 9 and following, we read that "when the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: 'Woe! Woe, O great city, O Babylon, city of power! In one hour your doom has come!'" The kings of the earth worshiped the harlot because of her wealth and power. And now, it is all gone. The kings weep and mourn because in one hour, Babylon the Great goes up in smoke, consumed by the judgement of God.
But the kings of the earth are not alone in their grief. We read in verses 11 and following, "The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes any more--cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and bodies and souls of men. `They will say, 'The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your riches and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.' The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn and cry out: 'Woe! Woe, O great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!'"
Those who were made rich by the harlot and who also participated in her idolatry are now terrified by her fate. As with Ezekiel's description of the destruction of the city of Tyre in Ezekiel 27, John also lists a catalogue of the great wealth which is lost when the great city is consumed by the flames. The merchants lament her destruction because it is too late for them to save any of their own wealth within her confines. But they not only lament the loss of their wealth, John says, they are terrified by the sight of her burning. For as the harlot has been consumed, so will they. Babylon's wealth not only included gold and silver and other fine merchandise, the great prostitute also traded in the souls and bodies of men, which is a description of slavery, perhaps, but more likely of the "culmination of a decadent culture's ruthless pursuit of pleasure, whatever the cost to others." (4) And since God's judgment is just, all those who participated in such despicable behavior must now watch all that they have worked to attain go up in the flames, flames which also foreshadow the judgment that awaits all those whose hands are covered in blood of men and who have exploited God's people in order to increase ill-gotten gains.
The world-wide extent of the losses become apparent in the latter part of verse 17. "Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off. When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, 'Was there ever a city like this great city?' They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out: 'Woe! Woe, O great city, where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to ruin!" Like the merchants who weep, so too will the sailors and tradesmen who hauled her cargos. They too watch as their livelihoods go up in the smoke of the great city. They join the kings and merchants in a heart broken lament for the city. Woe! Woe, O Great City! For in one hour she has been destroyed, and her destruction foreshadows their own.
But even while the earth's inhabitants mourn, heaven celebrates Babylon's destruction. As we read in verse 20: "Rejoice over her, O heaven! Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets! God has judged her for the way she treated you.'" Babylon the Great is responsible for martyr's blood. She has seduced kings, nations and peoples, enticing them into idolatry and the persecution of the saints. She has done the bidding of the Beast, riding upon his back. But one day, God will vindicate his saints who have suffered at her hands, and the great harlot will be destroyed. All those whom the woman has put to death and persecuted, will rejoice at the just judgments of God. Think of what the knowledge of this must mean to a persecuted church. The harlot has seduced many, involving them in his idolatries. The congregations who heard the seven letters read aloud knew the names of some of them. But now the saints learn that the harlot, like the Beast she rides, will come under the judgment of God. God will repay her the exact measure for her crimes. And heaven rejoices at the news!
And so with the knowledge that heaven rejoices while the earth mourns, John now describes the tragic, but inevitable end of the great city. According to verse 21 and following, "Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: `With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again. The music of harpists and musicians, flute players and trumpeters, will never be heard in you again. No workman of any trade will ever be found in you again. The sound of a millstone will never be heard in you again. The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. Your merchants were the world's great men. By your magic spell all the nations were led astray. In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints, and of all who have been killed on the earth."
Crushed by a great boulder (millstone), never to be seen again, Babylon the Great will be utterly and totally destroyed. Since she led the nations astray by her magic spell, since her streets ran with the blood of the prophets and the saints there will be no more sounds of music, joy and laughter within her walls. There will be no sounds of craftsmen plying their trades (which is perhaps a divine retribution for the fact that the harlot was using trade guilds to draw Christians in Thyatira, for example, away from Christ). (5) There will be no signs of life in her homes, and the day to day affairs of life will suddenly cease. Her end is certain, the judgment upon her will be complete. Nothing will remain of her.
The implications of John's vision of the destruction of Babylon the Great should be now be clear. Despite the allure of the harlot, her beauty is false and her wealth will be consumed by the fires of judgment. All those who have become entangled in her idolatry will weep and mourn as they witness her final destruction. For the fate of the harlot soon will become their own and so the kings and merchants are terrified by the awesome sight of the great city disappearing before their very eyes. Therefore, Christians should not only take heart by the fact that the harlot will indeed get what is coming to her in the end, but any who have been seduced by her deceptive ways are given one final warning, one last chance: "come out of her, my people!" Not only is there still time to escape from her arms, but her illusory beauty and wealth are now exposed for what they are, Satanic deceptions which will be stripped away. As John will make plain in the next chapter, true riches and true beauty can only be found in Jesus Christ. For Jesus Christ has died for his bride, purifying her from every stain, spot and blemish of sin, and Jesus Christ was raised for her justification so as to provide her with a perfect righteousness.
While the bride of the Beast (the harlot) faces certain destruction, the bride of Christ is being prepared for a glorious feast, the marriage supper of Christ the Lamb.
And I must ask you, what will it be? The
seductive allure of the harlot, or the true beauty and riches of Jesus Christ .
. . Now is the time to decide. Before it is to late.
1. Poythress, The Returning King, p.
168.
2. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 255.
3. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
pp. 255-256.
4. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
257; cf. Poythress, The Returning King, p. 169.
5. See Beale, Revelation, pp. 919-920.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:34:57 CST
"Blessed Are Those Who Are Invited"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 26
Texts: Revelation 19:1-10; Isaiah 61:1-11
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I. As we get closer to the end of the Book of Revelation, John begins to reveal more and more about the future. Although Revelation opens with John focusing upon the persecuted church's struggle with the first century Roman empire-things which John says must soon take place-now at the end of this vision, John fast-forwards his reader to the end of time. This means that the Roman empire and its emperors serve as a symbolic picture of all of those empires which will arise throughout the course of the present evil age and which persecute the church of Jesus Christ. Beginning with the final two bowl judgments of Revelation 16, John focuses more intently on those events associated with the end of the age in the chapters which follow.
We are continuing our series on the Book of Revelation. This morning we turn our attention to Revelation 19 and John's account of the wedding of the Lamb. While the harlot is committing spiritual adultery with the nations, the bride of Christ is preparing herself for her groom. Therefore, the bride of Christ stands in stark contrast to the harlot, whose beauty is a Satanic deception and whose destruction has been the subject of previous section, Revelation 16:17-18:24. But in order to fully understand the significance of the contrast John makes between the bride of Christ and the bride of the Dragon (the harlot), we need to do a bit of brief review this morning before turning to our text in Revelation 19.
Recall that at the end of Revelation chapter 16, John witnesses an angel pour out the seventh bowl of God's wrath-the final act of the three great cycles of judgment depicted in the Book of Revelation. The seventh bowl judgment causes a great earthquake which splits the city of man into three parts. The great city (Babylon the Great, as John identifies it), is destroyed by the quake, along with all of the cities allied with it. Using apocalyptic symbolism, John informs us that this particular city sits upon seven hills and serves as the headquarters for a series of great kings who arise within. Again, the key to understanding John's symbolic language is the Old Testament, viewed from the perspective of the coming of Jesus Christ and set against the backdrop of the historical context in which John writes, the Mediterranean world of the first century, then dominated by the military and economic might of the Roman empire.
More than likely, John's first century reader-especially one who knew the Old Testament-would have immediately made the connection between the ancient city of Babylon and the city of Rome, which was then the current source for much of the persecution facing John's readers. Indeed, throughout the Old Testament, the city of Babylon is the heart of a pagan empire. It is that horrible place of humiliation where Israel is taken in captivity. Babylon is also depicted throughout Israel's prophets as the epitome of Gentile godlessness and the oppression of the people of God. But one day, the prophets tell us, Babylon will fall under the hand of God's wrath. This, in turn, anticipates the fall of a great city depicted in Revelation 17-18.
Now identified by John in Revelation as the great prostitute and harlot, John describes the corrupting influence of the Babylon the Great in terms of a seductress, who has enticed the kings and nations of the earth into committing spiritual adultery with her, which is for idolatry. But as John has already told us, the harlot has also seduced a number of Christians, drawing them way from their bridegroom, Jesus Christ. Her allure is her superficial beauty, her great wealth and her power. But, as we have seen, all of these are Satanic deceptions which will fade in short order.
As John's vision unfolds, the gravity of the woman's crimes become more and more apparent. According to John, the harlot "holds a golden cup in her hand filled with abominable things." Furthermore, the harlot is depicted by John as riding upon the scarlet Beast, symbolic of the unholy alliance forged between the woman and the Beast. Indeed, the harlot gladly does the beast's bidding, even to the point of participating with the Beast in the persecution of the church, which is why John describes her as "drunk on the blood of the saints." Using her powers of seduction with great effect, she furthers the Beast's evil agenda so successfully that John describes her as sitting on many waters, indicating that her influence is spread throughout the world. In fact, in Revelation 17:15, John speaks of her as having seduced peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.
In Revelation 18, John moves on to describe the response of both and heaven and earth to the news that God's judgment is going to come upon Babylon. Heaven with resounds with praise, because God's judgments are just and he will repay this evil woman in such a way the her punishments clearly fit her crimes. The glittering and prosperous Babylon will become a desolate wasteland, home to nothing but demons and vultures. But it is at this point in his vision that John also hears a voice from heaven warning God's people one last time that Babylon's destruction is immanent and that now is the time for all of God's people to flee from the great city before it is too late.
But while heaven rejoices at the news of Babylon's destruction and even as God warns his people to flee from the arms of the harlot, three times in verses 4-19, John reports that an anguished cry of lament rises from the inhabitants of the earth, moved by the sight of the great city being consumed by flames. The kings of the earth, we are told, weep and mourn at her loss. Likewise, the merchants of the earth weep and mourn, as do the sailors and the stevedores who move the goods produced and traded by the city. Because they have all done the harlots' bidding, Babylon's destruction not only wipes out their own ill-gotten gains, but the fate of the great city is an eerie foreshadowing of the judgment soon to fall upon all those who have worshiped the Beast and his image, and who have taken his mark on the back of the hand or the forehead so as to buy and sell. The flames which now consume Babylon will soon consume them! Thus even as they mourn her destruction, they are also terrified.
Therefore, Revelation chapter 18 comes to an end with a description of Babylon being crushed by a giant millstone. No longer will there be any sounds of laughter or music within the great city. No longer will there be the sounds of life or of commerce in her streets, retribution because the streets of the harlot city have run with the blood of the prophets and the saints. As the harlot has helped the Beast shed the blood of the saints, so too, God will take all life from Babylon the Great. There will be no voices or sounds within her walls, only silence. Her fate is sealed, her doom is sure.
II. And so it is with all that we've learned about Babylon in the past few weeks in mind, that we now turn to the first 10 verses of Revelation 19, where John is given a the vision of bride of Jesus Christ, which is his church. While the great city Babylon has been committing spiritual adultery with the kings and nations, God has been preparing a bride for his Son. Indeed, with the destruction of Babylon now complete, the long-anticipated wedding is about to begin. Thus the account of the harlot which began in Revelation 16 with the seventh bowl of judgment, now comes to an end in a most unexpected way. The destruction of the harlot becomes the occasion of the marriage of the Lamb. And heaven resounds with the sounds of celebration.
Revelation 19 opens, as does the previous chapter, with the sound of rejoicing in heaven at the news of the destruction of Babylon the Great, who, for so long, has persecuted the suffering church upon the earth. But this time heaven rejoices not only because of the harlot's final destruction, but because the long anticipated wedding day of the Lamb has now come. The Messiah and redeemer of God's people is ready to take his bride. In fact, it is important to notice that some five times in the first six verses of what follows, we hear "hallelujahs" coming from the company in heaven, which includes not only the angels, but from all the saints throughout all of redemptive history, who have died in Christ, believing God's promise to save sinners and longing for this great day to arrive. (1)
According verse 1, "after this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: `Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.' And again they shouted: `Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.'" Recall that in Revelation 18:20, God speaks to the heavenly host, inviting them to begin the celebration: "Rejoice over her, O heaven! Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets! God has judged her for the way she treated you.'" Having vindicated his people just as he promised he would, the hosts of heaven do indeed respond, rejoicing and singing the oft-repeated refrain "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments." God has now avenged the blood of all those who have suffered for righteousness sake at the hands of the harlot.
Notice that this is no small group rejoicing in heaven. John describes them as a great multitude singing God's praises. This is the same multitude described earlier in Revelation 7:9 as being so large that no one could begin to count them, meaning the number of the elect is not small. They come from every nation, tribe, people and language, meaning that God has his elect among all the nations. All of them have come out of the great tribulation, which is the entire period of time between the first advent and second coming of Jesus Christ. They either died trusting in Jesus Christ, or else they were put to death as martyrs for their confession that Jesus Christ is Lord and they refused to worship the Beast and his image. These are the same people who, in Revelation 6:10, "called out in a loud voice, `How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?'" Although they have suffered greatly on earth, the time has now come for them to celebrate. God has judged the earth and avenged them! (2) Therefore, they cry out "Hallelujah!" "Hallelujah!" for the time has come!
Indeed, the sight of Babylon going up in smoke not only produces the shouts of Hallelujah from the multitude of saints in heaven, the heavenly court also joins in the great celebration. "The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: `Amen, Hallelujah!'" There are loud echoes here from Psalm 106:48: "Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, `Amen!' Praise the LORD." The Psalm recounts Israel praising YHWH for delivering them from their enemies who oppressed them, which is now the case with the destruction of Babylon. The elders and the living creatures not only shout "Hallelujahs" along with the redeemed saints, they also shout "Amen!" formally ratifying God's just judgment. (3)
But immediately after their "Amen!" another voice is heard, directing the multitude of redeemed saints and the heavenly court to worship the God who has delivered his people from the hands of all their enemies. Thus we read in verse 5, "then a voice came from the throne, saying: `Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both small and great!'"
Not only is the destruction of the harlot a cause for celebration, the destruction of Babylon means that the consummation of all things is at hand. As we read in verses 6-7, "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. 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.'" These greatly intensified voices of praise are indicative of two major developments.
The first development is unfortunately obscured a bit here by the translation the "Lord God Almighty reigns." John hears the great multitude shouting "Hallelujah!" with great intensity because something dramatic and climatic has happened-"The Lord God Almighty has begun to reign!" (an ingressive aorist, not a present tense for those of you who care about such things). (4) The point is that God has begun to reign over all because Babylon, finally, has been destroyed. This doesn't mean that God has not ruled over all prior to this moment. Of course he did. But until this moment, God has ruled according to his long-suffering mercies, allowing evil to run its course, even allowing the Dragon, the Beast, the False Prophet and the harlot to persecute his people. No longer. God's wrath is now complete.
Indeed, John foresees the time when God destroys the godless harlot who so arrogantly assumed divine prerogatives and privileges unto herself, persecuting the church. Hence his eternal rule enters its final phase-that in which there are no more enemies, for the Lord God Almighty has now destroyed and conquered them all. That which was foretold in Revelation 11:15 in connection with the seventh trumpet judgment is now a glorious reality: "The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: `The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.'" The kingdom which came in Jesus Christ as recorded in the gospels, has now been consummated. The Lord God Almighty has begun to reign!
But there is a second development here which prompts the magnitude of the celebration as well. According to John, for the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. As one writer puts it so well, "with the [coming of the] kingdom comes the wedding." (5) Not only has the bride made herself ready, but "fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)" There are several important points here we must consider as well.
As we read in verse 8, the bride has made herself ready, in part, because of her own righteous acts. These righteous acts are depicted as being like fine linen, bright and clean. But the wedding garments are also said to be given to the bride by her groom before the wedding.
Now, let us be clear here. John is not teaching a doctrine of salvation by good works. In fact, some seven times we read in Revelation of the testimony of Jesus, which is a reference to God's people (the church) bearing witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ in both word and deed throughout the entire time between the first and second comings of Jesus Christ. In other words, throughout this evil age, Christ's bride prepares herself for her marriage to the Lamb, by testifying to the unbelieving world around her of the truth of the gospel, and matching that profession with good deeds-what we might speak of in another context as giving evidence of one's sanctification. (6)
Paul for example, speaks of this in a passage most of you know from memory: Ephesians 2:8-10: "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. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." So not only are we saved by grace through faith and not by works, but to be saved by grace through faith apart from works is to be God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works! John not only speaks of the bride preparing herself, but he also tells us that she is also given her fine garments by her groom.
Therefore, we can say with great confidence that John is indicating that the bride prepares herself for the wedding through the good works that God has called and equipped her to do. But there is more to this, especially given the context.
One way in which the bride prepares herself for the wedding by remaining faithful to her bridegroom and resisting the seductive ways of the harlot. In the previous chapter, John has reminded God's people, "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues." Therefore, to resist the world (including facing the persecution which may come at the hands of the beast-the state), and to reject the money, power and glamour of the harlot, is to receive the white robe. This means that the white robe is outward sign not only of the bride's faithfulness to her bridegroom, it is also her wedding present from Christ.
There is one more thing certainly worth noting. In Isaiah chapters 61-62, the prophet speaks of God giving to his people, Israel, fine wedding garments, which are said to be "garments of righteousness." In Isaiah 61:10, our Old Testament Lesson this morning, we read the declaration of the prophet: "I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." This clearly points to the deity of Christ. Throughout the Old Testament, YHWH is said to be Israel's husband. In Hosea 2:20, YHWH declares to Israel: "I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD." Christ now assumes the role of the Israel's husband, indicative not only of his deity but his divine authority and prerogatives.
As many have noted, the righteousness spoken of by Isaiah points ahead to a time when God will vindicate himself, when he declares his people to be righteous (justification) and them makes them such (sanctification). This points us forward to the messianic age and the coming of Jesus Christ, who not only provides his people with a perfect righteousness-his own-but who also transforms justified sinners into a radiant, spotless church, something made plain by Paul in Ephesians 5:25: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." This is exactly what we see described by John here in Revelation 19, only from the perspective apocalyptic prophecy.
When God gives garments of righteousness to his bride, who is also preparing herself to wear them, he vindicates his people for their faithfulness to Christ, despite the suffering they endure and the persecution that they face. But God also vindicates himself and his own righteous ways in dealing with his creatures. The bride has been prepared for the wedding to his Son, all of God's enemies are all destroyed, and all his judgments have been demonstrated to be perfectly just. (7) God's decision to save sinners through the person of his Son, to justify the ungodly, and then to sanctify them, has been vindicated before the watching world. God's judgments upon his enemies are just. So is his plan of salvation.
With the time for the wedding now at hand, we read in verse 9, that "then the angel said to [John], `Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!' And he added, `These are the true words of God.'" With this we come to the fourth benediction in Revelation ("Blessed are"). The final culmination of redemptive history is often depicted in terms of a great feast, or messianic celebration. In Isaiah 25:6-9, the prophet speaks of it this way: "On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine--the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. In that day they will say, "Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation." The mountain to which Isaiah is referring is the heavenly Zion, the Mount of Gathering, where Jesus stands among his people. The feast to which Isaiah is referring is the great marriage supper of the Lamb now described by John in this vision!
In Matthew 22:1-14 and Luke 14:15-22, Jesus told a parable about a great wedding banquet, in which a great king invites a number of important guests to the wedding of his son, but who then turn down the king's invitation because they are too busy to attend. Here in John's vision, the people in Jesus' parable who refuse to come to the wedding would be those who would rather serve the beast and worship his image, or those who fail to flee from the harlot's arms when warned, because they are too deeply involved in her idolatry.
In both Matthew and Luke's account, the king's judgment falls on all those who reject his gracious invitation. And since his invited guests (Israel) will not come, we read that the king "said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests." In fact, Jesus goes on to speak of how the king provided his guests with the appropriate wedding garments and that any who attempt to crash the party without the right clothing are to be destroyed.
John now speaks of the blessing of receiving an invitation from God himself to attend the wedding of his Son. But this invitation is not that of a guest, but as a bride! Thus in Revelation 19:7-8, the glorious messianic wedding feast for which Israel's prophets had longed, and of which Jesus spoke in his parable, has now become a reality. Indeed, upon learning of the glories of what lies ahead for the people of God, John instinctively responds: "At this I fell at [the angel's] feet to worship him. But he said to me, `Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
Moved by what he has just seen, John instinctively seeks to worship the angel who has brought such glorious news. But he must not worship the messenger, he must worship God! For blessed are all those who hold to the testimony of Jesus in the face of persecution and seduction, for they are now invited to the marriage supper of Christ the Lamb.
By holding fast to the message of what God has done for sinners in the person of Jesus Christ, we are even now preparing ourselves to receive the glorious gift Jesus Christ himself will give us, the wedding garment of fine linen, bright and clean. For our righteous deeds are wrought by Christ himself, as we testify to a dying world of the love and grace of Jesus Christ, while we resist the Beast in our proclamation, "Jesus Christ alone is Lord," and as we flee the harlot and her seductive ways.
To all of you who are trusting in Jesus Christ through faith alone, you have received your invitation to the marriage supper of Christ the Lamb. With the true beauty of our wedding garment before us, the fine linen of Christ's perfect righteousness, white and clean, we can see the apparent beauty of the harlot for what it truly is-a false and fading glory, destined to perish in the flames of God's fury.
Beloved, in Jesus Christ, God has invited us to that glorious feast which celebrates the destruction of his enemies and the final vindication of his grace and his judgments. There will be the finest of fare, aged wine, the best of meats. There is no more death, despair, pain or suffering. But it is also the appointed time for the glorious wedding of the king's son.
And we are invited to this wedding, but not merely as guests to watch the grand pageant. Beloved, we are invited to become Christ's own glorious bride: "radiant, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."
Blessed are those who are invited to the
wedding supper of the Lamb! Amen.
1. Poythress, The Returning King, p.
171.
2. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, pp.
260-261.
3. Beale, Revelation, p. 930.
4. Beale, Revelation, p. 931.
5. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
263.
6. Beale, Revelation, pp. 934-935.
7. Beale, Revelation, pp. 941-942.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:34:26 CST
"A Robe Dipped in Blood"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 27
Texts: Revelation 19:11-21; Ezekiel 39:17-24
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I. In Deuteronomy 32:35, God warns the inhabitants of the earth, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay." In verse 41 of that same chapter, God declares, "when I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand grasps it in judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries and repay those who hate me." In the closing chapters of the Book of Revelation, John is given a glimpse of this terrible day when God's judgment comes upon the whole earth. God's long-suffering mercies toward his rebellious creatures have come to an end. The end of the age has finally come. Judgment day is at hand.
As we continue to survey the final chapters of the Book of Revelation, John takes us from the issues facing his original audience-the persecution of the saints by the Beast (the Roman empire)-to those things directly connected to the of the age. Therefore, once John has been given a vision of the three cycles of judgment (the seven seals, the seven trumpets and seven bowls) each of which intensifies as the end draws near, John now fast-forwards his first-century reader to those events associated with the second advent of Jesus Christ at the end of the age. These events include the glorious redemption of all the saints and the final destruction of all of God's enemies, including the harlot, the Beast, the False Prophet, as well as the destruction of the Dragon (Satan) whom they worship and serve.
In the previous section of Revelation, which runs from Revelation 16:17 to Revelation 19:10, John describes God's judgment upon the harlot, and contrasts the bride of the Dragon (Babylon the Great) with the bride of Jesus Christ (which is the church). While the great harlot commits adultery with the kings of the earth, continually increasing her guilt, Christ's bride, meanwhile, is preparing herself for her marriage to the Lamb. By holding fast to the testimony of Jesus in the face of persecution, by remaining faithful to her spouse, and resisting all of the seductive efforts of the harlot, while walking in the good works that Jesus Christ has prepared her to do, the bride readies herself to receive the gift of spotless wedding garments of fine white linen from her husband. Because of the mercies of her bridegroom, she is now holy and blameless, purified from every hint and trace of sin.
Indeed, heaven rejoices at the news that the time has come for God to destroy his enemies and all those who have persecuted the church. First on the list is the great harlot who is destroyed when God causes those who have committed spiritual adultery with her to turn upon her and bring her to ruin. The great city is consumed by flames, having become a desolate wasteland, the fitting punishment for her crimes. But while heaven rejoices, the kings and merchants of the earth mourn at the sight of Babylon going up in smoke. Not only do their own fortunes go up in the flames along with the city, the heart-broken onlookers know that the fate of the city will soon become theirs. For God will not only judge the harlot, he will judge all those who have participated in her idolatrous ways. God has warned them to flee from her before it is too late, but they will not. They would rather perish than repent.
But heaven not only rejoices because the destruction of Babylon vindicates God's just ways in dealing with his creatures, Babylon's destruction also means that the time has now come for the Lamb to take his bride. Christ's bride has remained faithful and all rivals for her affections have been removed from the scene. Those very same saints who have been crying out "How long, O Lord, before you avenge the wrong done to us by the beast?" now celebrate because the moment for which they have been waiting has finally come. The Lord God Almighty has begun to reign! The great day of their redemption has come. Death and sadness will be no more. This becomes the occasion for a great feast which celebrates the end of the age. God will provide the best meats, the finest of wine, along with the glorious wedding garments which are righteous deeds of the saints which flow from the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. This is not only the great messianic feast foretold by Israel's prophets, this is the great feast mentioned by Jesus in several of his parables.
This, beloved, will be a feast beyond all human comprehension. For it celebrates the final consummation, the marriage of the Lamb, and is that to which we are pointed every Lord's Day when we celebrate the Lord's Supper in anticipation of this great feast.
II. Once the great benediction has been declared to all of God's people, "Blessed are all those who are invited to the marriage supper of Christ the Lamb," the time has now come to discuss the fate of all of those who are not Christ's when the terrible day of judgment comes upon the whole world.
Before we begin, we need to be candid about the fact that there are several difficult doctrines associated with Christianity, and we cannot escape from them, even if they make us uncomfortable. This should not come as a surprise since Christianity is based upon the entrance of the Holy God into human history. Throughout redemptive history, God repeatedly reveals his will, but supremely so in the Ten Commandments. Because Adam sinned as our representative before God, and because each one of us has broken these commandment countless times, were are reckoned as sinners, without excuse, without any means of making things right. Since God is Holy he must punish every infraction of his law. If any are to be saved from God's just punishment, God himself must provide a means of salvation. Therefore, Christianity is a religion necessarily grounded upon the shedding of blood as a sacrifice for our sins. Either Christ is punished for us and in our place, or else God himself must punish us in the final judgment.
Not only does the very thought of this make us nervous, but many of us have unsaved loved ones and we not only fear for them, we grieve for them. Texts like this force us to face what lies ahead for those who are not Christ's. But this should not leave us without hope or confidence in God's mercy.
There are several things we need to keep in mind when we consider the final judgment. For one thing, the end of the age has not yet come. There is still time for our loved ones to come to faith in Christ. And let us not loose heart. John has also told us through the Book of Revelation that Christ's bride continues to bear witness of the gospel to unbelievers right up until the end. It is the preaching of the gospel through which God calls his elect to faith and there are very likely many more who will yet respond.
Furthermore, as we learned back in Revelation chapter 8, the prayers of the saints ascend into heaven, where God hears them, and then answers them, acting upon behalf of his people according to his will. Therefore, as we proceed to wrestle with this most difficult of subjects, let us keep in mind that God is still in the business of answering our prayers and saving sinners, even those sinners for whom we pray.
Let us also not forget the pastoral context in which John is writing. Even as John pens this letter, Christ's people are being persecuted and put to death by a Satanically-controlled government which used its full economic and military power to enforce it godless ways upon people who humbly follow Christ. Therefore, when John describes the day of judgment, is should be clear to God's people that despite the apparent power of the Beast whenever he rears his ugly head, they should not fear, nor despair. The Beast will get his in the end! Christians who are facing the Beast and the harlot ought to do so with great confidence and not in fear, because they already know the fate all of those who persecute the church.
Beginning in verse 11 of Revelation 19, John sees yet another vision, this time when Christ now appears as the divine warrior par excellence ready to wage war upon all the enemies of God who have been deceived by the Beast and the False Prophet.
This particular vision is intended to give us an unmistakable contrast between the Beast of Revelation 13, who being energized by the Dragon arises from the sea, and the Lamb. Notice, that the Beast is depicted as the image of Satan, while Christ is the ikon (image) of God (cf. Colossians 1:15). The Beast has ten crowds, indicating that his kingdom is limited, while Christ wears many crowns (Revelation 19:12). The Beast has blasphemous names written upon him while Christ has worthy names written upon him. The Dragon gives the Beast his power, while Christ's power and authority is that of his father. The Beast seeks to imitate Christ through a fatal wound that is apparently healed. The Beast seeks the worship of the inhabitants of the world. But Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead and one day the whole world will confess him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And then there is the contrast which is most apparent in our text this morning. The Beast has been waging war on the saints. Christ now makes war on the Beast. (1)
The final battle brings to its climax the great victory that Jesus Christ has already won over Satan through his death and resurrection. All of the great battles between Christ and the Antichrist throughout redemptive history-from God's defeat of Pharaoh and his armies in the sea, to God's crushing of the City of Jericho which blocked the entrance into the promised land, to the divinely-ordained slaughter of the Canaanites, including men, women and children, who occupied the land God promised to Abraham-all of these things point us ahead to this final battle when Jesus Christ puts all of God's enemies to death with his flashing sword as he warned us he would do all the way back in the Book of Deuteronomy. What is depicted here is nothing less than the day of God's vengeance, foretold by all the prophets and apostles.
Postmillennarians understand John's vision in Revelation 19:11-21 to be an apocalyptic symbol of the word of God spreading throughout the world and subduing God's enemies by converting them to Christianity. While this is an attractive proposal and there is an important element of truth to it, the parallels between this passage and the sixth seal judgment, the seventh trumpet judgment, and the sixth and seventh bowl judgments, as well as the scene of judgment in Revelation 20:7-10, indicate that John is not depicting something which goes on throughout the course of present age, but is instead describing an event which brings the present age to its end. Therefore, this is not a reference to the word spreading throughout the present age, but is a reference to the final battle associated with the day of judgment. (2)
We need to keep in mind the fact that Revelation is not to be read like we would historical narrative-we start at the beginning and follow events through to the end in chronological fashion. The Book Revelation, on the other hand, contains a series of visions (each one being like a different camera angle looking at the same event). This means that Revelation 19:11-21, like the sixth seal, the seven trumpet, the sixth and seventh bowl judgments, is a yet another symbolic picture of what happens at the end of the age, when Jesus Christ returns to judge the world, seen from yet another new perspective.
Beginning in verse 11, John reports what he sees in this vision. "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war." It is striking that John sees heaven open. In Revelation 4:1, we were informed that God had previously revealed this open door only to John. Now with heaven open wide, the time has come for God to reveal himself to all humanity. (3) That which was previously hidden and which could be glimpsed only by the saints, will now be witnessed by the whole world. The divine warrior rides who the white horse-white suggesting that the rider of the horse is victorious, like those clothed in the white robes-has been vindicated through his just judgments. He is faithful and true, covenantal language reinforcing the worthiness of the rider to bring judgment upon the earth. Hence this rider alone can both judge and make war with a justice not influenced by sinful human emotions or passions. His judgments are just and altogether righteous. (4) His judgments are those of God himself. And his judgments are final.
Recalling the scene from the opening two chapters of this book when the risen Christ walked among the golden lampstands, which were symbolic of Christ's presence with the churches, John once again describes Jesus as having "eyes are like blazing fire." This reminds John's readers that Jesus Christ sees all things, judging the inmost thoughts of the human heart. Jesus does not judge based upon outward appearances as men and women do. Furthermore, John says "on his head are many crowns." Not only does this remind us that Jesus possesses and infinite authority and dominion, this also exposes the deception of Satan. The Dragon had seven diadems, merely pretending to rule the world, while the Beast's authority was limited to ten nations. (5) Now we see these pretenders for what they are, for Jesus' authority to rule is without any limit or pretension whatsoever.
There is a strong connection in the prophets between the risen Christ wearing many crowns, and the fact that "He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself." According to Isaiah 62:2-3, a time is coming when "The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow. You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God." In the original context, the prophet Isaiah is speaking of Jerusalem. God fulfills his covenant promises in Jesus Christ, who possesses the name no one else knows. He now bestows that name upon his bride, further identifying her with her husband.
Recall that back in Revelation 3:12, John spoke of the New Jerusalem and its identification with the "new name" given to believers mentioned in Revelation 2:17. The point is this. Not only have we been invited to the bridal feast, we have been given the groom's secret name known only to him. (6) This is further explained in verse 16, where we learn more about the mysterious name. "On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." This is a fitting name for the one who brings judgement upon the earth as depicted in what follows. It is also a great blessing for the bride to be united to a husband who possesses such a regal and glorious title.
In verse 13 we read that the great warrior is "dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God." This may indeed be a reference to Christ's own blood, shed for sinners. John has already told us that the Lamb is "worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because [he was] slain, and with [his] blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation." It is certainly possible that John is referring to Christ's death for our sins in using such language.
But given fact that the previous verse alludes to Isaiah 62, more than likely John has in mind the next chapter of Isaiah, where we read these amazing words in Isaiah 63:1-3: "Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? "It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save." Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress? "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 spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing."
Therefore, John is describing the coming judgment, not our redemption. Isaiah was speaking of God's judgment upon the Gentiles nations. Israel's redeemer is also a warrior is covered with blood, just as though he had been in a winepress. Given the fact that the context here is one of judgment, the point is that Israel's God-now revealed in Jesus Christ-is stained with the blood of the nations he has now slain. The imagery of judgment-not redemption-is certainly reinforced by the balance of the chapter.
In verse 14, John witnesses a mighty host. "The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean." When Jesus Christ returns in judgment he does not come alone. The hosts of heaven follow after him, wearing the garments given them by their leader. As to the identities of those who accompany Christ, there are a number of texts which speak of an angelic army executing Christ's final judgment.
In Matthew 13:40-42 we read, "As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." But given the fact that these people are clothed in white garments, and given the statement in Revelation 17:14 that the Lamb "will overcome [his enemies] because he is Lord of lords and King of kings--and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers" it is likely that these are the saints who accompany Christ and his angelic armies on the day of judgment. Notice too, these soldiers do not fight in the great battle. But they do accompany the one who slays the wicked, who will strike the nations with his rod of judgment. (7)
What follows in verse 15 is filled with a number of loud echoes from the Old Testament. "Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter.' He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.'" In Isaiah 49:2 we read of the word of God, placed in the prophet's mouth, and cutting like a sword. In Isaiah 11:4 we read of the word of God's mouth, striking the nations. Now these two verses are brought together to speak of divine vengeance. In Psalm 2:9, the Psalmist speaks of Israel's Davidic Messiah, who will break all of his enemies with a rod of iron. And then, as we have seen, in Isaiah 63, we read of YHWH judging the nations as though he were stomping wine in a press, venting his fury. All of these are now brought together to demonstrate the severity of the divine judgment which is coming upon the whole world, as well as to remind us of the authority of the judge.
The time has come for another angel to reveal some of the gruesome details associated with God's righteous judgment. Before we turn to Revelation 19:17 and following, recall that in the 39th chapter of Ezekiel, our Old Testament lesson this morning, the prophet foretells of a coming judgment, in which birds of prey will feed upon the flesh of those defeated by Israel's God. Beginning in verse 17, Ezekiel writes, "Son of man, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Call out to every kind of bird and all the wild animals: 'Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood. You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls--all of them fattened animals from Bashan. At the sacrifice I am preparing for you, you will eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk. At my table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, mighty men and soldiers of every kind,' declares the Sovereign LORD. "I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay upon them. From that day forward the house of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God."
John sees the same gruesome scene, this time directly connected to the day of judgment and Christ's second advent. "And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, `Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great." There is great irony contained within these verses. In the first 10 verses of Revelation 19, John has told us of the great blessing of being invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb-that great feast which the prophets described as including the best of meat and the finest of wine. Recall that we are not invited to this wedding as mere guests. Rather, we are invited to be Christ's own bride.
But there is another feast yet to come. A feast of judgment. For this feast, YHWH also issues an invitation, this time to all the birds of prey. All those who reject the mercies of Jesus Christ will be invited to this feast along with the birds. They won't be mere guests either. They will be the main course! The great and the mighty in the eyes of the world, will fall under the judgment of God. Their power, prestige and wealth will not afford them the dignity of a decent burial. They will be nothing more than food for vultures.
John now sees one more graphic image-the next scene in the final judgment, which is the last battle. Thus we read in verses 19-21, "then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh."
The great struggle of redemptive history now reaches its grand climax. All those who have worshiped the Dragon will now suffer the full consequences of their actions. In the midst of the final and furious war the Beast is waging upon the church at the end of the age, suddenly Christ will appear and the Beast will be caught alive and thrown into the lake of fire, to be tormented forever and ever. The False Prophet, who enticed and deceived the peoples of the earth into worshiping the Beast and his image will suffer the same fate. All those who serve the Beast will be consumed by the wrath of God, their remains will be eaten by birds. The harlot has now been judged. The Beast will now be judged. The False Prophet will likewise be judged. And all those who serve them will be judged. And in the next chapter, we will watch as the Dragon suffers the same fate as do all his henchmen. Jesus Christ will triumph over all of enemies and he will vindicate his bride, those he as marked with his secret name. But all of those who wear the Mark of the Beast will suffer the full fury of God's eternal wrath!
While the second coming of Jesus Christ is pure gospel for all those invited to the marriage supper of Christ the Lamb-it is good news for all of those who trust in Jesus Christ through faith alone need never fear the judgment of God, it has been taken away by the cross of Jesus Christ-for those who know not Christ, his second coming is pure law. It is that day every non-Christians should dread. On that day, our great God will appear in his wrath, his robe dipped in blood and he will crush the nations of the earth like grapes in a winepress.
Be warned. If you are not trusting in Christ for your salvation, you cannot stand. You will be consumed. You now know what awaits you.
But it is not to late to receive an
invitation to the supper of the Lamb. Flee to Jesus Christ this very moment,
before that day comes when he shall be your judge, not your savior. Amen!
1. Poythress, The Returning King, p.
173.
2. Poythress, The Returning King, p.
173.
3. Poythress, The Returning King, p.
174.
4. Beale, Revelation, p. 950.
5. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 270.
6. Beale, Revelation, p. 953.
7. See Beale, Revelation, pp. 906 ff.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:36:06 CST
"They Came to Life and Reigned With Christ for a Thousand Years"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 28
Texts: Revelation 20:1-15; Ezekiel 39:1-8
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I. For many Christians, the mere mention of the millennium (the thousand years of Revelation 20) brings to mind images of lions lying down with lambs, children safely playing with poisonous snakes and Jesus ruling over all the nations of the earth while seated on David's throne in the city of Jerusalem. It is argued that Jesus' rule guarantees a one thousand-year period of universal peace upon the earth. But is this really what we find in Revelation chapter 20? It is not.
The question of the millennial reign of Jesus Christ and the proper interpretation of Revelation 20 has been a divisive one almost from the beginning of the Christian church. In those churches in which I was raised, premillennialism was regarded as a test of orthodoxy and anyone who wasn't premillennial was probably either a liberal or a Roman Catholic, neither of whom took the plain teaching of the Bible very seriously. Premillennialism, which is far and away the dominant view held by American evangelicals, teaches that in Revelation 20, John is describing that period of time after Jesus Christ returns to earth.
At first glance, the premillennial argument is iron-clad. If Revelation 19 describes Jesus Christ's second coming, then what follows in Revelation 20 must describe what happens after Christ's return. On this view, Christ's return comes before the thousand years begin, hence his coming is "pre" millennial, or before the millennial age.
Premillennarians believe that when John speaks of a thousand years, he means a literal one thousand years. The first resurrection, mentioned by John in this passage, is thought to be a reference the bodily resurrection of believers at the end of the age when Christ returns. Premillennarians believe that when John speaks of the binding of Satan, which begins the thousand years, he must be referring to that period of time after our Lord returns when Satan is literally bound with a chain by an angel, placed in a pit, and thereby prevented from deceiving the nations while Christ is ruling on the earth. It is the binding of Satan which guarantees the thousand years of peace supposedly mentioned in this passage.
Having been taught premillennialism from my earliest youth, it came as a quite a shock when I learned that the historic Protestant position taught by all the Reformers, the Lutheran and Reformed churches which they founded, and expressed in all of the Reformed confessions, and which is still held by the vast majority of our theologians, is that known as amillennialism. Although amillennialism literally means "no millennium," it is better to understand this as a present millennialism. Amillennarians believe that the millennial age refers to the present reign of Jesus Christ in heaven and that the thousand years is a symbolic reference to the entire period of time between Christ's first coming and his second advent.
Despite its initial attractiveness, it is my contention that premillennialism makes very poor sense of this passage, and, if true, creates several very serious theological problems which cannot be easily dismissed. Suppose for the sake of argument that premillennialism is indeed the correct interpretation of Revelation 20. Four questions immediately arise. First, where in this passage does John describe universal peace on earth? Second, where does John speak of Jesus Christ ruling from the city of Jerusalem over the inhabitants of the earth? If these things are not taught here, then what remains of the premillennial understanding of the millennial age? Third, if true, premillennialism teaches that many people somehow make it through the judgment associated with Christ's second coming and live on in natural bodies to repopulate the earth. How do these people escape the judgment to co-exist with the resurrected and glorified saints who have already been given their resurrection bodies? Where does John ever teach or imply that resurrected believers live on the earth together with unregenerate sinners? Fourth, premillennarians must deal with an even more serious problem. What happens at the end of the thousand years? Satan is released from the abyss, he then deceives the nations, orchestrating a world-wide revolt against Christ while he is ruling over the nations from Jerusalem. This leads to a massive apostasy on the part of those living under Christ's reign. Not only does this mean that there will be a second fall, of sorts, but what does it say about the character of Christ's millennial rule? Therefore, the presence of evil during the millennial reign is a very serious problem which premillennarians cannot be allowed to ignore.
Rather than attempt to refute premillennialism point by point, let me set forth as simply as I can, the amillennial interpretation of Revelation 20. Not only does it make much better sense of the text, it avoids all of the serious problems just mentioned. Suffice to say, the amillennial interpretation of Revelation 20 builds upon that which has gone before. Therefore, what is described in this text does not at all follow after the events of Revelation 19 in any chronological sense. Revelation 20 contains another vision, which like the others, describes the entire period of time between the first coming and second advent of Jesus Christ from yet a different theological camera angle, this time depicting the fate of the Dragon.
Context is everything-especially with disputed texts like this one. Recall that Revelation 17-18 dealt with the destruction of the harlot. Revelation 19:1-10 described heaven's reaction to the news of God's judgment of the harlot, the occasion for the marriage supper of the Lamb. Then, Revelation 19:11-21 depicts the fate of the Beast and the False Prophet-who are caught alive and thrown into the lake of fire at time of Christ's return. If all of Christ's enemies are destroyed during the judgment described in Revelation 19, and the birds of prey feast upon the remains of all men, great and small, slave and free, then what follows in Revelation 20, must be a retelling of the final judgment from yet another perspective. If all people and nations are judged at Christ's return in Revelation 19, why do they immediately resurface in Revelation 20? This means that the relationship between these two chapters is not a chronological one. Building upon these previous visions, in Revelation 20 John now describes what happens to Satan beginning with the time he waged war in heaven and was cast down to earth (as described in Revelation 12:7-9), until the time of the end (depicted here in Revelation 20).
Recall that in Revelation 12:7-9, John records the following: "And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him." At the time we covered this passage I made the point that this was not a reference to a literal war in heaven, but to the fact that when Jesus begins his messianic ministry and ushers in the kingdom of God, he overcomes all of Satan's efforts to prevent the seed of the woman-promised way back in Genesis 3:15-from ever being born. Not only does the Messiah usher in the kingdom of God, but when Satan orchestrates Jesus' crucifixion, ironically, he assures his own defeat. For when Jesus Christ dies upon the cross for our sins and then rises again from the dead, he crushes Satan under his feet, though his own heel be bruised.
Paul puts it this way: "having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." Therefore, Satan was defeated by Jesus Christ during his public ministry, something John describes in Revelation 12:7-9, using apocalyptic symbolism-i.e. a war in heaven with Satan losing and being cast down to the earth, and here in Revelation 20 with the language of Satan being bound.
It is very important to notice the parallels between Revelation 12:7-9 and Revelation 20. In Revelation 20, Satan is said to be cast down to the abyss, bound by the preaching of the gospel. At the time of the end-which as John has already told us-we will see the rise of one last Satanically energized world empire, bent upon waging war on the church. Notice, too, that in Revelation 20, John speaks of Satan being released from the abyss, before orchestrating a final revolt against the beloved city, the camp of God's people (the church) only to be cast into the lake of fire at the time of the end.
Therefore, in Revelation 20, John is not in any sense predicting a future millennium in which the earth is partially restored and when Jesus rules over the nations from Jerusalem. Rather, the thousand years is an apocalyptic symbol of Christ's present reign in heaven, together with all those who come out of the great tribulation and who have suffered at the hands of the beast. Indeed, we will read that when the Beast takes their lives, the saints now come to life and reign in heaven with Christ! Therefore, Revelation 20 is a description of the this present age, viewed from the perspective of the final fate of the Dragon (Satan), which wraps up John's vision depicting the fate of all the enemies of Jesus Christ, beginning with the harlot, moving on to the Beast and the False Prophet, and finally to the Dragon.
II. As we turn to Revelation 20, I will set out the amillennial interpretation as best I can. But as I do so, I am asking you-especially if you know nothing but premillenialism-to pretend for the next few minutes that you have never heard an exposition of this passage before. Listen carefully, see if it fits with the text and what has gone before, and look for three things.
First, where does the scene take place? In heaven or on earth?
Second, is John talking about the present or the future?
Third, is there, or is there not, a period of universal peace described anywhere in the passage?
Revelation 20 clearly begins a new vision-a theological replay of the same events which began in Revelation 16 with the sixth and seventh bowls-and which culminated in Revelation 19:11-21 with God's final judgment upon all the peoples and the nations of the earth. In verse one we are tipped off to the fact this a new vision when John says, "and I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain." Throughout the Book of Revelation, whenever John uses the word "eidon" (I saw) he is introducing a new vision, that which we have been describing as different camera angles of the same event. (1) In this vision, John sees an angel coming down from heaven holding the key to the abyss and a golden chain to frustrate the purposes of Satan.
The first thing we must remember is that this is apocalyptic symbolism. John never intends us to understand these things literally. How can an angel bind a spiritual being (Satan) with a real chain? How can a spiritual being be locked away in a pit. The second matter is the identification of this particular angel and the meaning of the symbolism of the key to the abyss and the chain. Keys have been mentioned throughout Revelation. In Revelation 1:18, Christ holds the keys of death and hades in his hand. In chapter 3, we read of the Holy One who has the key of David which opens and shuts. And then in Revelation 9:1-2 we read that "the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss." Therefore we look back to see how these terms were used earlier in Revelation.
Given the symbolism of the keys prior to this text, we have the "key" (pun intended) to interpret correctly all of these things with some degree of certainty. The abyss is a reference to death and Hades-the realm with which Satan is most closely associated in this book. Having been cast of out heaven (according to Revelation 12:7-9), John now sees an angel (either Christ himself, or an angel exercising Christ's authority) confining Satan to the realm of the dead since Satan has been cast from heaven where he had been making accusations against the saints. According to verses 2-3 the angel "seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time." There are several issues which we need to tackle head on. We must be clear about what John is actually saying. Satan is bound to the abyss-the realm of death and hades-for a specified time (a thousand years), for a specific purpose (so that he is prevented from deceiving the nations), until the thousand years are over.
Therefore, the binding of Satan does not in sense mean that his evil activities completely cease during the thousand years. In fact, John has already told us in Revelation 12:12 that after Satan is cast out of heaven the earth is warned, "woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short." Like a sick or wounded animal sure to die, Satan is more dangerous now-even while being confined to the abyss-then he was when he had free access to heaven. He has been defeated by Christ's death and resurrection. His doom is assured. The truth of the gospel exposes his lies for what they are. But nevertheless he has nothing to lose, hence he wages war on the saints, and at times, appears to overcome them. This is why Peter speaks of Satan as our enemy who "prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour," and while Paul can speak of him as "the god of this age, who blinds the minds of unbelievers." Remember, you can put a vicious dog on a chain, but you sure don't want to get within the radius of the chain or you'll still get mauled!
John's point is not that Satan ceases all activity during the thousand years-in fact the Scripture implies the Devil's rage increases because he knows the end is coming. But Satan is prevented from deceiving the nations so as to organize them against the church until being released at the end of the thousand years. Isn't this what John has been telling us from the very beginning of this book? The Beast was already manifest in the Roman empire (the fourth empire of Daniel's vision). But Christ has defeated Caesar, which is why we go to Rome today to look at the ruins of the Roman empire. Rome's Antichrist emperors have come and gone, relegated to the annals of history. Indeed, beasts in many forms have come and gone throughout the age, persecuting the church for a time, only to be overcome by the testimony of the saints and the blood of the Lamb. Hitler's thousand year Reich lasted less than fifteen years. Stalin's great socialist republic collapsed before our eyes. Even though nations who persecute the church come and go, they are prevented from organizing against the church as a whole. And inevitably they come to an end-often times a bloody end brought about by the providential intervention of God.
But John now warns us that one day Satan will be released from the abyss, and then he will organize the nations against Jesus Christ and his church, only to be crushed by Jesus on the day of judgment.
As for the thousand years, John never intends us to understand this as a literal one-thousand year period of time. Recall that numbers are used symbolically throughout Revelation. Seven is the number of perfection and completion, four is the number of the earth, and so on. A thousand is the third power of ten, and is, therefore, symbolic of a long period of time, perhaps an ideal period of time. Recall that in Revelation 2:10, the saints in Smyrna were forced to endure ten days of suffering, but were rewarded by reigning with Christ for a thousand years! Therefore, the intensification of ten days (a short time) to a thousand years (an ideal time) is intended to show that our momentary suffering is rewarded by great glory, even during this present age, prior to the eternal state. (2) Thus when John speaks of Satan being bound for a thousand years, he is talking about Satan being cast from heaven and confined to the realm of the dead until released.
Recall that in the tenth chapter of Luke's gospel, Jesus sends seventy-two followers out to preach the gospel, two by two. They came back and reported to Jesus, "Master we saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven." Thus the confining of Satan to the abyss is somehow connected to the preaching of the gospel. And because his defeat is certain, Satan is furious, and attempts to wage war on the church in a final act of desperation. But since he is now bound by the preaching of Christ crucified, he is prevented from organizing the nations until released before the time of the end.
In verses 4-6 the scene now shifts to heaven. Says John, "I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years." Again, there are a number of important points here which we must address.
Throughout the Book of Revelation, thrones are always in heaven, not on the earth. Therefore, this scene is a heavenly one, not earthly. This is further supported by the fact the John sees "souls," not people. According to John, these souls are the disembodied spirits of those who were put to death for refusing to worship the Beast or to take his blasphemous mark upon their bodies. These individuals held to their testimony for Jesus and his word, until taking their final breath. But when they die, John says, they immediately come to life and reign with Christ for a thousand years! This is hardly a description of a future earthly millennium characterized by a time of universal peace. This is a time characterized by persecution and suffering. People are dying because they confess "Jesus is Lord," in the face of the persecution of the Beast. Not only do these people come to life, but the second death-which is a reference to eternal judgment and the fires of hell-has no power over them. They come to life and reign with Christ in heaven until his return at the end of the age.
John calls this translation from earth at the time of death to the reign in heaven, the "first resurrection." Indeed "blessed and holy" are those who take part in it. This is not a reference to the bodily resurrection at the end of the age, but is instead a reference to a believer's regeneration, conversion, and entrance into heaven at death, a point confirmed by a number of New Testament passages, most notably John 5:24-25, where John quots Jesus as saying, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live." In his Gospel, John very clearly teaches that all those who come to faith in Jesus Christ, do so because they have already crossed over from death to life. Thus the first resurrection occurs at the time of regeneration when we are born again, and is manifest when we leave this life and enter into the presence of Christ in heaven, where we will reign with Christ as priests until the thousand years are over.
But it is what happens at the end of the thousand years to which we should now direct our attention. According to verse 7, "when the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth--Gog and Magog--to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever." John's focus shifts back to earth, to those days immediately before the return of Jesus Christ. Satan will be released from his prison in the abode of the dead. Through the agency of the last and greatest beast, the False Prophet and the seductive efforts of the harlot, Satan will manage to deceive the nations for the express purpose of waging war upon the church of Jesus Christ. The "camp of God's people," and "the city that he loves," are symbolic references to Israel wandering in the wilderness and to the New Jerusalem, which even now is coming down from heaven.
Notice too, that John mentions the mysterious Gog and Magog, who, as we saw in our Old Testament lesson this morning in the 39th chapter of Ezekiel's prophecy of the final judgment, are the leaders of the Gentile nations who attack the people of God. These two evil leaders, interestingly enough, appear in the very same prophecy we read last week of birds of prey who feast upon the inhabitants of the earth at the time of final judgment. This is yet another compelling piece of evidence that Revelation 19:11-21 and Revelation 20:7-10 are both referring to the same event, the final judgment.
Throughout the Book of Revelation, John has already referred to this final battle when the nations gather to make war on the church on at least three occasions. The most famous of these is the Battle of Armageddon, described in the sixth bowl judgment in Revelation 16:12-16. There is also the sixth seal judgment in Revelation 6:12-17, which describes the kings of the earth cowering in fear, hiding themselves in rocks, and crying out, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?" And then according to Revelation 11:15, when the seventh trumpet sounds, "there were loud voices in heaven, which said: `The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.'"
Thus Revelation 20:1-6, is not a description of a future millennial reign of Christ upon the earth. It is a description of the present reign of the saints in heaven. And in heaven, those who have suffered at the hands of the Beast are now protected from Satan's assaults, for Satan no longer has access to heaven, having been cast down to earth and confined to the abode of the dead. Instead of suffering, the saints now rule and reign for a thousand years as priests of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, Revelation 20:7-10 describes what happens when Jesus Christ returns to earth in judgment. Not only does Jesus come to rescue his church and deliver his people in their greatest hour of trial, consuming his enemies with fire from heaven, but Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire to be tormented, forever and ever. He will suffer the same horrible fate as the harlot, the Beast and the False Prophet.
Therefore, in Revelation 20 John reminds a suffering a persecuted church, that despite all of Satan's lies, deceit and rage, his end is certain-he will suffer eternal torment forever and ever. God has decreed it and it will come to pass.
All that remains then is the final judgment, described in verses 11-15. Says John, "then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
With this, human history comes to an end and we now enter the eternal state, which is the subject of the final two chapters of Revelation. There is much here of great importance and we will discuss these verses in some detail next week, Lord willing. But it is important to at least read the passage in connection with Revelation 20:1-10, because it is clear from John's description that once the harlot has been destroyed, once Christ has taken his bride, once the kings and nations have become nothing but food for birds of prey, once the Beast and the False Prophet have been caught alive and cast into the lake of fire, and once Satan has likewise been thrown into the same place to be tormented forever and ever, the day of judgment, when we all appear before God's throne, has now come. The books will be opened, and all men and women will be judged according to what they have done. We have reached the final chapter of redemptive history, a chapter which never ends.
Thus when all is said and done, Revelation 20:1-10 is not describing a golden age upon the earth or future hope. The reign of Christ described in these verses is a present reality. This is also a text which should bring us great comfort. For when we die-either at the hand of the Beast or because of the wages of sin-we immediately enter the presence of Christ and reign for a thousand years as priests, safe from Satan and delivered from our sins.
Because we who are Christ's have already been made alive (the first resurrection), the second death (eternity in the lake of fire) has no power over us. It also means that all those whom we have loved, who have died in Christ have "come to life and are reigning with Christ for a thousand years."
With this glorious scene before us, let us not fear death. Let us confess Jesus as Lord with great courage in the face of the beast. For we know how the story ends.
We are victorious because the Lamb has triumphed! For we will come to life and reign with Christ for a thousand years! Amen.
1. Beale, Revelation, p. 975.
2. Beale, Revelation, p. 995.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:35:50 CST
"The Books Were Opened"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 29
Texts: Revelation 20:11-15; Daniel 7:9-14
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I. No subject strikes terror into the human heart like the thought of standing before God on judgment day, knowing that we must each give a full account of all those things we have done. But this is exactly what we find in the latter part of Revelation chapter 20, when John describes a very sobering scene before the throne in heaven. The books will be opened and the dead will be judged according to what they have done, whether that be good or evil.
We complete our discussion of Revelation chapter 20, as we move into the final section of this book dealing with the eternal state. The eternal state is that period of redemptive history which comes after human history as we know it, is no more. To put it in basic terms, in the balance of Revelation, John is describing what we commonly speak of as "heaven." But before we enter the eternal state, John reminds us that there is a final judgment yet to come. The very thought of facing God on judgment day gives us reason to pause.
Last week, we read the last 5 verses of Revelation 20 in connection with our discussion of the millennial age. We did so to make the point that the second coming of Jesus Christ and the final judgment occur after the millennial reign of Christ, demonstrating that the Bible does not teach premillennialism. But these few verses also serve as a very climatic and final turning point in redemptive history. Therefore, they deserve our full attention, especially when we look back at the ground we have covered in the Book of Revelation so far. In a sweeping survey of the messianic age, John has taken us from the first century to the time of the end and beyond, describing the course of redemptive history between the two comings of Christ from a number different camera angles, so to speak, using apocalyptic symbolism drawn from the Old Testament and set against the backdrop of the first century Roman empire.
In order to fully appreciate the importance these verses play in redemptive history, we need to briefly survey that which has gone before. In the first three chapters of Revelation, we covered John's vision of the resurrected Christ walking among his churches, as well as the seven letters to the churches of Asia Minor, in which John was speaking to those issues facing Christians in his original audience. As we have seen, these are issues which Christians will face throughout this present evil age. John has told us something of the persecution Christians were facing at the hands of Roman empire. We have also read of false teachers slipping into these churches, dividing them through false doctrine and deceptively leading people away from Christ. In speaking directly to the seven historic churches about the nature of Satan's assaults, John is warning Christians throughout this present age of those things they can expect from their great enemy, the Devil, a defeated foe who rages against us because his doom is sure.
In Revelation 4-8, John is taken up to heaven, where he glimpses the throne in heaven. He describes the worthiness of the Lamb to open the seven seals of the mysterious scroll, an act which begins the first of three cycles of judgment against the earth, bringing death and destruction to one fourth of the earth's inhabitants. Like birth pains, the seal judgments become more violent and intense toward the end of the age, before the sixth seal is opened which depicts a great earthquake and the second coming of Jesus Christ. Then with the seventh seal there is only silence. Then in Revelation 8-11, John describes a second cycle of judgment, the so-called trumpet judgments. Like the seals, the trumpet judgments are cyclical in nature and intensify before the time of the end. But the trumpets judgments are more intense than the seals, bringing judgment upon one third of the earth's inhabitants, ending with the seventh and final trumpet, announcing the second coming of Jesus Christ and the destruction of the city of man.
In Revelation 11-14, using apocalyptic symbols, John sets forth the roles of several of the principle players in the redemptive drama, including the woman (Israel) the Dragon (Satan) the first beast from the sea (Roman empire), the second beast from the earth (the false prophet), the 144,000 (the church upon the earth) the two witnesses who preach the gospel, the three angelic heralds who announce the coming of final judgment, before pointing us to the victorious Lamb of God who dwells among his people in the heavenly Zion. Like all the previous visions, this section takes us from the coming of Christ right up to the final judgment, while not actually describing the final judgment of the earth's inhabitants.
Next, in Revelation 15-16, John describes the third and final cycle of judgment, the so-called bowl judgments, when God's fury is poured out upon the earth. Far and away the most intense cycle of judgment, the bowl judgments extend to whole earth and to all of its inhabitants and are primarily focused upon the time of end. Indeed, John points out that once these seven bowls of wrath have been poured out upon the earth, God's wrath is complete (in the sense of being finished). Once again, John brings us right up to the moment of final judgment without describing the final judgment itself.
Then, in Revelation 17-18, John uses the city of Rome and the Roman empire as graphic illustrations of a future world-wide anti-Christian empire which will arise at the time of the end. John describes the seductive ways of the great city using the imagery of a harlot who seduces the kings of the earth, involving them in her gross idolatries. But John also describes her final destruction. According to the testimony of the angel, God himself puts it in the hearts of those the great harlot has seduced to turn upon her and bring her to ruin. John watches as the kings of the earth weep and mourn as Babylon the Great is consumed in the flames, the smoke of her destruction serving as the frightening reminder of what is about to befall all those who participated in her idolatries.
In the first half of Revelation 19, John describes the return of Jesus Christ to destroy all the nations of the earth, as well as those, great and small, who done the bidding of the Beast and worshiped his image. There is rejoicing in heaven at the news that the time of the end has come. Not only has God vindicated his suffering saints, but the news of the destruction of Babylon means the time has come for the marriage supper of Christ the Lamb, when the church is now a radiant spotless bride, prepared for her husband. In the last half of Revelation 19, John describes yet another feast, this time when God brings the birds of prey to feast upon the flesh of the those who are destroyed by Christ during the last great battle when the kings of the earth begin their final assault upon the church. The Beast and the False Orophet are caught alive, John says, and thrown into the lake of fire.
All this brings us to our text last week, Revelation 20:1-6, the famous millennial passage in which John describes the reign of Christ in heaven for a thousand years along with the saints who come out of the great tribulation. In this vision, which likewise covers the entire period of time between Christ's first coming and second advent-the thousand years not being a literal one thousand years, but an apocalyptic symbol for an ideal period of time-John sees an angel coming down from heaven, confining Satan to the abode of the dead so that he can no longer deceive the nations. John goes on to speak of the first resurrection, which is when a believer crosses over from death to life at the moment of regeneration, so that upon their death they "come to life" and reign with Christ in heaven for a thousand years. Then in verses 7-10 of Revelation 20, John then witnesses a brief time of great apostasy at the end of the age, when Satan is let loose from his abyss when the thousand years are over. The Devil now goes out to the four corners of earth to orchestrate one final revolt against Jesus Christ and his church (the camp of God's people, the city that he loves), which culminates in the final battle when Satan himself is at long last thrown into the lake of fire where he will be tormented forever and ever.
Why this quick survey of what has gone before? Because in each of these visions, John has brought us right up to the very threshold of the final judgment, but has never described the judgment itself. We have seen Christ's glorious victory over all his enemies, including the Devil, the Beast, the False Prophet, the harlot, the kings of the earth who sided with them, and all those who have taken the Mark of the Beast and who have worshiped his image. All of these images describe what is, as well as what is to come, but in rather general terms.
But when we come to the last five verses of Revelation 20, we are no longer speaking in generalities. Things now get intensely personal. No one here this morning can know exactly what the future holds for us. Neither can we know what our own role will be in the great pageant of redemption John has just set forth. But we do know that the scene in Revelation 20:11-15 is one in which we will all participate. Each one of us here this morning will stand before the God's throne and give an account of what we have done. No longer is John's apocalyptic vision dealing with generalities of what will come to pass. Here, we are told in no uncertain terms precisely what lies ahead for each one of us. Whatever the future holds and whatever our role in it may be, one thing is clear, we will all stand before God in the judgment.
The church's reflection upon these verses have had a tremendous influence upon the course of Western Civilization. Many of you know that the fear of the final judgment so tormented Martin Luther that he took up the study of theology, looking for a way to bring relief to his troubled conscience. Luther could not erase from his mind images he had seen in his youth of the final judgment with men and women being dragged off kicking and screaming into hell by demons, after being denied entrance into heaven because of insufficient good works or because of a particularly heinous sin. Indeed, it was part and parcel of medieval Christian piety to portray the final judgment depicted by John in graphic detail in painting and woodcuts. This preoccupation with hell and judgment had it roots, in part, in Dante's famous book, The Divine Comedy, written in the 13th century and which to this day still impacts much of our understanding of judgment and eternal punishment. What most people think of when they think of hell and the final judgment actually comes from Dante, not from the Scriptures.
There are many of us who have grown up in the church who can readily identify with Luther's fears of the final judgment. I recall hearing my dear and pious grandmother speaking of the final judgment being like a movie, in which God would replay my every sinful thought, reveal my every secret sin and expose the depths of my depravity. Blessedly, she accompanied this alarming description of the supreme humiliation and embarrassment of having my secret sins made public, by reminding me that Christ died for all of my sins and that I had nothing to fear. I still think of the final judgment in these terms. Images like this are hard to shake.
II. Realizing that this is a very uncomfortable subject and that many of us probably have misconceptions about what the final judgment actually entails, let us turn to our text this morning, Revelation 20:11-15.
In verse 11, John sees the pivotal event which brings all of human history to its final conclusion. Says John, "then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it." Recall that throughout the Book of Revelation, John never describes God's appearance, only that which surrounds him. The white throne symbolizes the purity and righteous character of the one who is seated upon it, whose ways are altogether just and right, and whose cause is now totally vindicated. The white throne is also a symbol of victory. All of God's enemies have now been defeated. Jesus Christ is the victor. All of God's enemies must now give an account for their rebellious ways. (1) But this vision also conveys the idea that the heavenly court has assembled to hear the final verdict for each man and woman, and the event which will bring all things to their appointed ends and usher in the eternal state.
The heavenly scene in Revelation 20:11 resounds with a number of loud echoes drawn directly from Daniel 7:9-14, our Old Testament lesson. Like John, Daniel attempts to describes what he sees: "As I looked, `thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool." Like the vision in Revelation, this scene from Daniel's prophecy is not intended to tell us what God looks like-that he's a man wearing a white robe with white hair-but rather to illustrate the majesty and divine authority of the one seated on the throne. Like John, Daniel uses highly symbolic language to describe what he sees. "His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him." The heavenly court is filled with the hosts of heaven, now watching as the final verdicts are to be pronounced. "Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened." Like John, Daniel, too, sees the final judgment.
But not only does John see the heavenly throne, John also witnesses the cosmic upheaval and the shaking of entire universe associated with the final judgment. Says John, "earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them." Recall that earlier in Revelation 6:12-17, when the sixth seal was opened, John reports how "I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. . . . For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?" Obviously, no one can stand!
Likewise, in Revelation 16:17-21 John told that when the "seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air . . . out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, `It is done!' Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake . . . . Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible." Therefore, this scene in Revelation 20:11, is a retelling of that we have already seen in Revelation 6 and 13-the shaking of the universe-this time from the vantage point of final judgment.
The same imagery appears in 2 Peter 3, where Peter also describes the Day of the Lord in terms of a recreation of the universe. "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness." Thus the day of judgment is also the day when the entire universe is renewed, and when every hint and trace of human sin is purged from all creation. The fact that heaven and earth (called the first heaven and earth in Revelation 21) flee from the presence of God, opens the way for the creation of a new heavens and earth and is described more fully in Revelation 21.
Returning now to Revelation 20, John not only sees the renewal of the cosmos, like Daniel, he too witnesses the heavenly court convene so that the final sentence can be pronounced upon all individuals. In Revelation 20:12, we read "I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne and books were opened." These books contain the records of everything we have done, because as we read in the next verse, "the dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books." This idea of a final judgment according to our works should come as no surprise. At the dawn of time, God instituted a covenant of works with Adam in the Garden of Eden in which he promised Adam eternal life upon the condition of perfect obedience. That covenant still remains in force, even after the fall. It has never been abrogated. In fact, we will be judged according to terms of this original covenant of works-that is according to what we have done.
Recall that when God makes a covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai and the general terms of the covenant of works are republished with much greater clarity on tablets of stone, the same basic principle is reiterated. God will bless those who obey to his law. He will punish all those who disobey to his commandments. This is why the Scriptures make the point throughout that all people will be judged according to their works. In Psalm 62:13, we read: "O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done." In Romans 2:6, Paul says the exact same thing: "God `will give to each person according to what he has done." In 2 Corinthians 5:10, Paul describes the same event John describes here in only slightly different terms. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad."
Therefore, the books which are opened on the day of judgment, do indeed contain the records of all things we have done, good or evil. And if we are judged according to our deeds, what is the only possible outcome? Who among us is without sin and has obeyed God's law perfectly as he demands?
The good news is that this is not the only sets of books to be opened. In verse 12, John informs us that "another book was opened." This book does not contain the record of our deeds, but is instead described as "the book of life." This book contains names of specific individuals, not a record of their deeds. (2) This is the book mentioned back in Revelation 13:8 when John mentions that those who worship the Beast are those "whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world." We find the same language in Revelation 17:8, where John speaks of those who follow the Beast as those "whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world." The Book of Life contains a list of the names of God's elect. These are the people for whom Christ has died and for whom he has perfectly obeyed the covenant of works and the Ten Commandments. While all men and women will give an account of their works, those whose names are written in the book of life escape eternal punishment having been purchased by the blood of the Lamb.
In chapter 12 of Daniel's prophecy, Daniel also describes the final judgment in terms of the opening of the book of life, connecting the opening of the book to the general resurrection at the end of time. "At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people--everyone whose name is found written in the book--will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge."
The scroll which was closed until the time of end, has now been opened in the Book of Revelation and is now revealed to John. In Revelation 20, John, like Daniel, also connects the day of judgment to the day of resurrection. In verse 13, John tells us that "the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done." Recall that throughout the Book of Revelation, these are the three names used for the region of the dead. At the time of the end, all of those held in these places are now raised from the dead and stand before the presence of God to give an account of all that they have done. (3) The focus here is clearly upon unbelievers, since those who have died in Christ are not confined to the sea, death, or Hades, but have been depicted throughout the Book of Revelation as already being in the presence of Christ in heaven, awaiting this great day of resurrection and the creation of a new heaven and earth.
Emptied of the dead they contained, we read in verse 14, "then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire." In other words, the temporary places where the dead have been kept-the sea, death and Hades-give way to the permanent abode of the unbelieving dead, the lake of fire, which John now tells us is "the second death." Furthermore, John goes on to say in verse 15, "If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." It should be perfectly clear that all those whose names are not written in the book of life and have been judged according to their deeds, failed to stand in that judgment, and are, therefore, cast into the lake of fire, which is an apocalyptic symbol for unending, conscious torment in the presence of God. (4) This is not a literal lake of fire, but something much worse. John is describing the presence of God (who is a consuming fire) in his wrath for all eternity. This is what we mean when we speak of hell, and words cannot describe it. This is the fate of all those who are not Christ's, who reject the gospel, and whose names are not written in the book of life.
But if you are trusting in Jesus Christ this is not a day you should fear! Indeed, all those in Christ escape this horrible fate, because their names have been written in the book of life before the creation of the world. This is obviously a reference to all those whom God has chosen to save in Jesus Christ, and for whom Christ has died. These are the people who have redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, and who are marked with the name of God, and thereby saved from his wrath.
The second death, which is eternal punishment, has no claim on anyone whose name is written in the book of life. As Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 15:26, "The last enemy to be destroyed is death." That glorious day of final victory has come. The last enemy death, is defeated, just as Satan, the beast, the false prophet, and the harlot have already been defeated on the day of Christ Jesus. The curse is no more. There is only life everlasting.
Beloved, we need never fear that day when the books are opened. Yes, we will appear before the throne and be judged according to our deeds. But in God's sight, we have obeyed his commandments perfectly. He will find no hint or trace or stain of sin in anyone of us. Why is that? Because we have obeyed his commandments perfect and have made amends for our every infraction of God's law? No, of course not. On that day God will see us as though we have been perfectly obedient and as though we are without sin. How is this possible? Because Jesus Christ fulfilled the covenant of works and kept the law of Moses. Through faith, his obedience is credited to us. Furthermore, Jesus Christ died for every sin we have ever committed or will ever commit in the future, no matter how public or private it may have been. How can God punish us a second time because of those sins for which Christ has already been published?
Therefore, even though we will appear before the throne to give an account of our deeds, for us, this is not judgment day. Indeed, for God's people judgment day is not in the future. Judgment day is in the past. The day we dread most has already come and gone. For a Christian, judgment day was Good Friday, when Jesus Christ bore God's wrath and anger toward our sins in his own body on the cross. When the scene depicted here by John finally comes, we appear before the throne, having already been made spotless and blameless. We will appear before the throne clothed in the white robe of Christ's perfect righteousness. Our names have been written in the book of life and the second death has no power over us. We will live in Christ's presence for ever and ever.
So when the books are opened, we need not
fear. In that great day, Christ's perfect obedience is credited to us, and his
shed blood has washed away all our sins. The book will say that we are without
sin and perfectly obedient! And because of Jesus Christ, God will say to us,
"well done, good and faithful servant, come and share your master's
happiness!" Amen!
1. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 297.
2. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, p.
299.
3. Beale, Revelation, p. 1035.
4. Beale, Revelation, p. 1036.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:35:21 CST
"Then I Saw a New Heaven and Earth"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 30
Texts: Revelation 21:1-22:5; Isaiah 65:17-25
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I. As the Book of Revelation progressively unfolds, the apostle John gives us a panoramic vision of the history of redemption. He has taken us from the coming of the Messiah all the way to the end of the age. But after describing the final judgment in Revelation 20:11-15, in the final two chapters of this great book John now gives us a glimpse of the New Jerusalem and the so-called eternal state. What is described here is what we commonly speak of as heaven.
The first 20 chapters of Revelation have told quite a story. Through the use of dramatic apocalyptic symbols taken directly from the Old Testament and then set against the backdrop of the first century Roman empire, John has "revealed" the story behind the story, taking us from the demonically-empowered Roman empire waging war upon the church of Jesus Christ, to the final chapters of redemptive history which describe the coming destruction of the Babylon the Great, the fate of the Beast and the False Prophet, the defeat of Satan, and the final judgment.
Recall that in the previous section of Revelation (chapter 20, verses 11-15), John describes the final judgment and that terrible day when the books are opened and all of the dead are judged according to what they have done. Having established a covenant of works with Adam in the Garden of Eden at the very beginning of the redemptive drama, at the end of time God will judge all men and women according to their deeds, whether good or evil. For those who know not Christ, this will be a day of absolute terror, when all of their public and private sins are revealed, and when they hear the final and irreversible verdict of eternal punishment in the lake of fire, along with the Devil and all those who have served him.
But for the Christian believer, on the other hand, judgment day is not future, it is past. Indeed, when Jesus Christ died on the cross that first Good Friday, he was punished for all of our sins and for all of our transgressions-sins past, sins present, sins future. Because Jesus Christ bore the judgment of God we will not face God's wrath on the final day. Therefore, when we appear before God's throne on the day of judgment, we will not hear words of condemnation. Rather, because of Christ's saving work on our behalf, we will hear words of blessing-"well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into that kingdom which has been prepared for you from before the creation of the world." And now in Revelation 21-22, John describes the glorious inheritance which awaits all of the people of God.
II. As we turn to our text in Revelation 21, John will contrast the city of man and the city of God, contrasting the beauty of bride of Christ and the glories of the inheritance she will receive, with that which awaits the inhabitants of Babylon the Great, the bride of the dragon.
In Revelation 20:11, John has just told us that at the time of the final judgment, "earth and sky fled from [God's] presence, and there was no place for them." Therefore, even as the final judgment follows immediately upon the destruction of the cosmos, so too, the new creation follows immediately upon the heels of the final judgment when the new creation replaces the present heaven and earth. (1) In fact, it is the destruction of the present heaven and earth which prepares the way for a new heaven and earth as described by John in verse 1: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away."
John is making a distinction between two radically different orders of things, what we have spoken of elsewhere in terms of two redemptive ages, "this age" and "the age to come." The current heaven and earth belong to this present evil age, which, John says, is even now passing away in anticipation of the glorious new creation depicted here. However, when John speaks of a "new earth," the English-speaking ear hears a "second" earth, created subsequently to the first one. But in Greek, a new earth (kainos gae) is primarily of a different kind than the present heavens and earth. This simply means that the present heaven and earth is temporary and is destined to perish. But the new heaven and earth, on the other hand, belong to the age to come, and are therefore, eternal. They will never perish.
Perhaps it is useful to think of the contrast between the present heaven and earth and the new heaven and earth just as we think of the resurrection of our bodies. Like the present heaven and earth, our bodies are also destined to perish. Because of Christ's bodily resurrection-the first fruits-one day we too will be raised imperishable. And just as our bodies will be raised without loss of our personal identities, so too, the new heaven and earth will be completely re-created while at the same time maintaining some continuity to the present heaven and earth. (2) In other words, although they will be completed recreated with every trace of human sin purged from them, the new heavens and earth will recognizable in the same way our resurrection bodies will be.
Therefore, we should not think of heaven as eternal existence as disembodied spirits. Rather we will spend eternity in resurrected and glorified bodies, dwelling in the new heaven and earth in the presence of God, fulfilling the end for which we have been created.
The Apostle Paul puts it this way in Romans 8:19-23: "The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." Paul very clearly describes the new creation being liberated from decay being directly connected to the resurrection of our bodies. All things will be made new, when the curse is removed. This liberation from decay is what John is describing here in Revelation 21-22.
It is also very important to notice that John connects the cosmic renewal directly to the dawn of the age to come and that this follows the final judgment. This means that the language throughout the Bible of a redeemed heaven and earth is not in any way related to this present age. This contradicts the contention of a number of postmillennial writers, who argue that passages such as Isaiah 65:17-25 (our Old Testament lesson this morning), are fulfilled, in part, during this present evil age, in an earthly millennium yet to dawn. (3) Rather, Isaiah is referring to the same event as is John, only doing so in pre-messianic terms. In Isaiah's prophecy, YHWH declares, "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind."
Isaiah uses language of earthly renewal to point to that which John now explains with much great clarity after the coming of Jesus Christ. Says Isaiah, "but be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. `Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands. They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent's food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,' says the LORD." Although Isaiah speaks of the new heavens and earth in exaggerated earthly terms, Isaiah is depicting the new heaven and earth as an age in which there is no longer any curse. This is clearly a reference to the age to come and not to an earthly millennium which dawns before Christ returns, as postmillennarians believe.
But there is a major point of difference between this present earth and the renewed earth yet to come. This is because in the new creation, "there was no longer any sea." Throughout the Book of Revelation, the sea has been described as the abode of the Dragon (Satan), the abode of the dead, the center of commerce which is transversed by the unbelieving nations and dominated by Babylon the Great who sits on many waters. The sea is the place of storm and tempest, cold, dark and frightening to all of John's first century readers. But in the new heaven and earth there is no longer any sea. This is not because God hates the ocean and the creatures who live in it! Rather in the new heavens and earth there will be no place for the Dragon to hide, no abode for dead, no unbelieving nations engaging in commerce. No longer will storms sweep the earth. Therefore, in the New Jerusalem there will be no more sea.
In verse 2, John "saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband." The new creation which replaces the old is now called the New Jerusalem, also drawing upon a theme in Isaiah (this time taken from Isaiah 52:1), which speaks of a glorious time of Israel's restoration at the end of the messianic age. Throughout the Old Testament, the prophets have repeatedly spoken of the redeemed Israel as the bride of YHWH. But here in Revelation, John speaks of the church as both the heavenly Zion and the bride of the Lamb. Now he depicts the church in terms of a New Jerusalem, which even now is coming down out of heaven. This reinforces the point made throughout the New Testament that the kingdom of God has already come and is even now forcefully advancing before the day of final judgment, when Christ's kingdom comes in all its fullness and when all of God's enemies are destroyed, having received their final sentence.
John refers to this New Jerusalem as the bride of the Lamb, a point which further serves to highlight the huge contrast between the city of man in all it manifestations and the city of God. From Babel to Nineveh, to ancient Babylon, to the city of Rome of John's day, to the Babylon the Great of John's vision, the allure of the city of man is like that of a harlot, based upon temporary gratification and a beauty which is merely a Satanic deception. Indeed, as we will soon see, the beauty of the New Jerusalem, now radiantly adorned by her bridegroom, completely and totally transcends anything the city of man can offer. Once having glimpsed this scene as Jesus had, we now see why Jesus was not interested in receiving all of the kingdoms of this world when they were offered to him by Satan during his time of temptation during the 40 days in the wilderness. Jesus sees the city of man for what it is. This should serve to remind us that despite the attraction of the city of man, its glory is an illusion, its beauty can never compare to that which God is preparing for his people.
John now reports those words for which those of us living in this fallen and sinful world, full of sickness, suffering and human cruelty, so desperately long to hear. In verse 3 we read, "I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, `Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.'" The great covenant promise God made first to Abraham and then to all of his people throughout redemptive history is now a glorious reality. Promise has become fulfillment. Type and shadow have become reality. God dwells with his people, who are fully redeemed and glorified, forever safe from peril and danger. God's people have at long last entered the promised land and begin their Sabbath rest. With God's people dwelling in his presence, all effects of human sin the curse are now gone. God himself "will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." And with the old order of things done away with, we read in verse 5, "He who was seated on the throne said, `I am making everything new!'" The new creation has come, the former things are no more. There is no more death. There is no more suffering. There are no more tears. Everything is made new.
Then the voice said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." The creator-redeemer God only speaks the truth when he affirms that his great covenant promise as now a present reality for the people of God. But this is not all he has to say. In verse 6 we read that the one seated on the throne, said to John: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son." God has spoken of a new creation and it is so. He also identifies himself as that one is before all things and after all things. In other words, he alone is the sovereign one who rules over everything from the beginning of history until its end. This means that all of human history is under God's sovereign control and he has finally brought all things to the end for which they have been created. God works all things according to the counsel of his will.
This is only the second time in the Book of Revelation where God is explicitly quoted and this is one of the great proof-texts in Scripture for the deity of Christ. (4) Here, God declares himself to be the Alpha and the Omega, while in Revelation 1:17-18, Jesus affirms of himself that he is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. The conclusion is obvious-Jesus is God. And he who is the living water, will now give that living water to his people without cost or without limit. One day we will drink of this water and we will never thirst again.
We know from our study of earlier chapters that those who overcome, are those who remain faithful to the end, despite the persecution of the beast. They not only inherit the glories of the New Jerusalem, but God's covenant promise is reaffirmed through means of a sovereign oath. "I will be his God and he will be my son." But to those who have stood before God in the judgment and sought entrance into the heavenly city based upon their own good works, or through the means of their own righteousness, they will not be granted entrance into the New Jerusalem. There are covenant blessings secured by Christ for those who overcome, and there are covenant curses which fall upon all those who reject the savior. Thus in verse 8 we hear the frightening declaration: "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
With the covenant curses pronounced, once again, John witnesses the glories of the heavenly city. "One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, `Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.' And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God." This stands in sharp contrast to the earlier vision in Revelation 17-18 of Babylon the Great, whose beauty was utterly superficial. Babylon was a whore and an idolater. But the New Jerusalem is radiant and pure, possessing a true and eternal beauty which human eyes have not yet seen. Says John of the heavenly city: "It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel." The high wall is symbolic of the safety enjoyed by all those dwelling within. The reference to twelve gates, guarded by twelve angels with the name of the twelve tribes of Israel, recalls Ezekiel's vision of the heavenly city in Ezekiel 48:31-34, and points to the fact that the heavenly city is the true Israel, her splendor far exceeding that which the prophets had seen.
The true Israel is also the church. This explains why in verse 13, John sees the following: "There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." The fact that there are gates at each of the four points of the compass reminds us of the universal nature of the kingdom of God. The New Jerusalem includes people from every race and tribe and tongue under heaven. There are so many saints that they cannot be counted. In addition to twelve gates (probably representing the Old Testament people of God), the heavenly city has twelve foundations, symbolic of the apostles who bore witness to the saving work of Jesus Christ, who is the chief cornerstone in the temple of God, where all of God's people now dwell in perfect peace and safety.
The focus of John's vision now turns to the measurements of the city, and to the fact that God is forever present with his people. Thus we read in verse 15, "the angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia [1500 miles] in length, and as wide and high as it is long." The language John uses is not to be taken literally, but is symbolic of perfection. The city is 1500 miles high, long and wide. John has just described a giant cube, making a literal interpretation a bit problematic! But the angel is not finished. "He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man's measurement, which the angel was using." The walls of the earthly Jerusalem were repeatedly breeched by her enemies. But the heavenly city is protected by walls which are impossible to breech. John's point is that once we are within her walls, we are forever safe from our two great enemies, sin and Satan. Once inside nothing can harm us because we now dwell in God's presence.
Indeed, the beauty of the bride of the Lamb transcends human imagination. "The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass." The city is not only beautiful beyond description, but the full range of precious gems tell us that it is perfect, not because of the great worth of the gold and the gemstones-glorious as they are-but because God dwells here with his people. It is God's presence which gives the city its splendor, not the gems embedded in its walls, nor the gold which makes up its streets.
But the full measure of God's covenant blessings can now be seen in verses 22-26. "I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple." That to which the earthly temple (the building and its priests and altar) had pointed has now become a reality. The Lord Almighty and the Lamb now dwell together with the people of God. No longer is there need of a building which foreshadows the reality depicted here. That to which the temple had pointed has now come! Furthermore, we read in verse 23, that "the city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it."
Indeed, the city radiates because of God's glory, not because light of sun, moon, or stars, reflects from the precious gems. There will be no more night and its gates will always be open. This is an echo from Isaiah 60, which speaks of the nations of the earth coming to Jerusalem to pay homage to Israel's God. As explained by John in the light of the coming of Jesus Christ, the imagery here is not that of material wealth, but of God's people, who come from every nation so as to worship him upon his throne. So safe and secure is the heavenly city that "nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life." The heavenly city is the eternal home of God's elect. And this is what should think of when we speak of heaven.
Before we conclude, however, notice that in chapter 22:1-5, the scene described by John calls to mind to essential features of the Garden of Eden: the Tree of Life (the sacrament of the covenant of works) and the River of Life, which, according to Genesis 2:10, flowed out of Eden. Says John in Revelation 22:1, "then an angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever."
That which we lost in Eden is regained in the heavenly city because of the saving work of the Lamb, who has triumphed over all of his enemies. And this is where the story of redemption inevitably leads, to a New Eden, an Eden which far surpasses the glories of the garden of Genesis 2-3. In the New Eden, we will not only drink freely from the River of Life, but we will eat from the same Tree of Life, the sacrament of the covenant of works, from which Adam was barred after the Fall. We read that its leaves are for the healing of the nations, which simply reminds us that all the nations have been healed once the curse has been removed. In the New Eden, all the nations are now joined together as one people in the heavenly city. We will no longer be divided by race, language, culture or social status. We will all be one, dwelling together in the presence of God.
Beloved, the glorious scene described here will one day become a reality for all of the people of God. We will be raised from the dead in imperishable bodies. There will be no more pain, no more tears, no more death, no more sadness. The curse will be gone and we will fulfill that end for which we have been created. In the New Jerusalem, we will see God in our flesh (as Job once prophesied and which John now confirms). We will drink freely from the River of Life. We will eat our fill from the Tree of Life. We will behold the glories of God described here, completely safe and in perfect peace.
Therefore, as we sweat and suffer, struggle and grieve in this life, let us never loose sight of what awaits us in the next. Through the testimony of John, this morning we too have seen the new heaven and earth. Its glories are beyond description. It is that place where God Almighty and the Lamb dwell. It will be our eternal home. For the Lord Almighty and the Lamb are our God and we are his people. And this is our glorious inheritance which God has promised to all those in Jesus Christ. With this scene before our eyes, let us not become weary of believing what is true, and doing what is right. For a new heaven and a new earth await us where we will dwell in blessed peace and safety in the presence of God, forever, and ever and ever and ever . . . Amen!
1. Beale, Revelation, p. 1039.
2. Beale, Revelation, 1040.
3. Chilton, Paradise Restored, pp.
203-04.
4. Beale, Revelation, p. 1055.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:35:06 CST
"Behold, I Am Coming Soon"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 31
Texts: Revelation 22:6-21 Isaiah 55:1-13
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I. Having given us a glimpse of the back of the book, so to speak, John now wraps up his panoramic vision of the course of redemptive history in the twenty-second chapter of the Book of Revelation. In the epilogue of his apocalyptic vision, John reminds the church of Jesus Christ that the things recorded in this book are soon to take place. But it is with great urgency that John also makes the point that all of human history is racing toward that glorious day when Jesus Christ returns in unspeakable glory, to judge the world, raise the dead and make all things new.
As we now complete our survey of the Book of Revelation, Lord willing, next time we will spend our time together reflecting upon some of many points of application that we should take with us from our studies in this amazing book. During this series, we have been emphasizing the fact that as the various visions in this book are set forth, John is giving us a running commentary on the progress of redemptive history-giving us the big picture and telling us the story behind the story. In effect, John picks up where the Old Testament writers left off. Beginning with the expectation of the dawn of the Messianic era, John takes us from the birth of the Messiah all the way to his second coming at the end of the age. In the last few chapters of this book, John gives us a glimpse of the final chapters of the redemptive story even before they play out on the stage of human history. Therefore, in the midst of our struggles in this present evil age, we have seen that glorious goal to which God will graciously bring us. And with this glorious vision now before our eyes, we should not grow weary or despair as we make our way to the heavenly city, even though the journey is difficult.
In the opening chapters of Revelation, John describes the persecution faced by those in his original audience at the hands of the Roman Empire. Using apocalyptic symbols, John has shown how the Roman empire and its supremely evil emperor, Nero, is, in turn, a type of all those evil empires and their leaders yet to arise throughout the course of this present evil age. In fact, John foretells of the rise of a whole series of world empires and dictators all waging war against the people of God. But this series of empires will finally culminate in one last evil empire which will arise in those days immediately before the return of Jesus Christ and which is crushed by our Lord as his coming. Knowing how the redemptive drama will turn out in the end, John comforts his readers with the prophecy of the total defeat of this Satanic world empire and all those who ally themselves with it (the harlot, the Beast and False Prophet). By looking at the back of the book, we know who wins in the end. Thus the Book of Revelation is not a book of esoteric information to give the curious something to do, it is a book filled with pastoral comfort.
The on-going struggle between Christ and the Devil, began way back in Eden with the Fall of Adam and God's promise of a redeemer. This struggle continues throughout the course of the Old Testament until the birth of the Messiah, before it enters that phase described by John in the first 20 chapters of Revelation. But one day that struggle will come to an end. Although Jesus has utterly defeated Satan when he died upon the cross, nevertheless, Satan wages a last-ditch war against the church throughout the course of the present evil age, a struggle which will not end until Jesus Christ returns to cast Satan and all of his agents into the Lake of Fire. While the struggle John depicts throughout Revelation is fierce, the final outcome is never in doubt. And this is why the Devil rages against the church-he too has read the back of the book. He knows what the future holds for him.
Recall that in our text last week (Revelation 22:1-22:5), John describes the glories of the new heaven and a new earth, which is also called the New Jerusalem and which even now, John says, is coming down out of heaven. This is the new creation, and is what we commonly refer to as "heaven." This new heaven and earth will replace the present heaven and earth, because the present heaven and earth are said by John to pass away at the time of the final judgment.
Unlike the city of man (Babylon the Great-depicted in Revelation 17-18 as the bride of the harlot), the bride of the Lamb, which is the church, is radiant in her beauty. She has been purified and perfected for the day of her wedding. Because God dwells in the midst of the New Jerusalem, there is no need for a temple-the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. There is no longer any need for sun, moon and stars-the glory of God provides all the illumination necessary for the heavenly city. In fact, in the New Jerusalem there is no longer any night. Furthermore, the New Jerusalem radiates with the beauty of countless precious gems and the radiance of its streets, which are said to be made of pure gold. But it is not the countless gems nor the streets of gold which give the city its undescribable beauty. It is the presence of God which gives the city is splendor. For in this city God dwells in the midst of his people and all of his covenant promises are now completely and totally fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. In that place we will all see God face to face in resurrected bodies and live in his presence forever and ever.
In the new heavens and earth there is no longer any sea, because there will no longer be an abode for the dead. There will be no place for the Dragon to hide! Our enemy is defeated. In addition, the walls of the heavenly city are said to be 144 cubits thick, demonstrating that the heavenly city is unassailable by any foe. Nothing can harm those who dwell within her walls. Furthermore, the city has twelve gates (which are always open), three on the north, south, east and west. The city is said to be built upon twelve foundations. These references are symbolic of the fact that the New Jerusalem is the culmination of all those glorious promises to which twelve tribes of Israel had pointed and is founded upon the testimony of the twelve apostles who bore witness to Jesus Christ. The twelve gates are set at the four points of the compass because the kingdom of God is composed of a multitude of people so vast that no one can count them, and who come from every race, tribe and tongue under heaven.
In Revelation 22:1-5, John depicts the new heavens and earth in terms of a restored and glorified Eden. There are a number of symbols here taken directly from Genesis 2-3. The water of life now flows out from throne of God, watering the new city, just as Eden had been watered by a great river. The tree of Life (which was the sacrament of the covenant of works) is also here, only no longer do cherubim with flaming swords prevent us from having access to it. Its leaves have brought healing to the nations by removing all racial, cultural, and political divisions from the people of God. Thus we will all be one, and we will never again thirst, nor will we ever go hungry. God will give us all good things without cost or limit. And in this glorious paradise, we will reign with God forever and ever. Therefore, heaven is not an eternal disembodied existence, but eternal life in a resurrected body in the new heaven and earth.
II. In Revelation 22:6-9, John wraps up his vision of the New Jerusalem, while at the same time completing what amounts to the epilogue to all the earlier visions. Throughout this final section (which includes verses 11-21), John will reiterate a number things which he has already affirmed in the book's prologue. (1) Therefore Revelation ends much like it begins, with those wonderful words of encouragement from our Lord himself, "behold, I am coming quickly."
Having described the glories of the New Jerusalem and the renewed heaven and earth, the angel now speaks to John beginning in verse 6. "The angel said to me, `These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place." With the broad panorama of the redemptive drama now set out before the apostle, the angel reminds John that since these words come from God, they are utterly trustworthy and true. In fact, these words come from the same God who spoke through Israel's prophets. That which Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and Zechariah saw in the dim light of pre-messianic revelation is now made plain with the greater light associated with coming of Jesus Christ. Notice, too, that the angel reiterates to John that which was stated in the opening verse of Revelation, the things John has seen, "must soon take place."
Therefore, the various visions contained within Revelation describe the entire inter-advental period, not just the time immediately before the return of Christ, although certain events associated with the time of the end have become the main focus of Revelation beginning in chapter 16, with John's discussion of the bowl judgments, which are the third and final cycle of judgment and which are focused upon the end.
Not only does the angel remind John of the trustworthiness of God in keeping his covenant promises and not only does the angel remind John that these things are soon to come to pass, but John also hears the glorious testimony of Jesus Christ himself to the same effect in verse 7: "Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book." This glorious promise of our Lord's second advent will be reaffirmed two more times in the epilogue. But announcement of the imminence of our Lord's return should not come as a surprise to the reader of this epistle. This same affirmation was made by Jesus in the prologue. Recall that in Revelation 1:7, Jesus promised his people that "he was coming with the clouds," a reference to the divine glory which will accompany his return, and that this coming must soon take place.
In Revelation 22:7, we also find the sixth of the seven benedictions in Revelation, when Jesus reminds John of the covenantal blessing associated with keeping the words of this prophecy. This, too, is a reiteration of an earlier benediction (the first benediction) found back in verse 3 of the opening chapter when John tells his reader: "Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near." As one commentator points out, there is an important reason why both the beginning and at the end of Revelation we are summoned to keep the words of this prophecy. (2) The reason for this repeated benediction is so that we will not be deceived by the lies and deception of Satan. Because the words of this prophecy are the words of God, these words will keep us from losing hope in the midst of our struggles with our three great enemies, the world, the flesh and the Devil. The Book of Revelation is nothing less than the testimony of Jesus himself about the course of human history between Christ's ascension into heaven and his return on the last day.
Therefore, these words must be heeded. They warn us of what to expect from our enemy, the Devil, and they also set forth in general terms the future course of redemptive history so that we will not be caught unawares when chaos comes. These words must be kept, because they give us a glimpse at the final chapter of this great story. They give us the true picture of the nature of things in a world that is filled with Satan's lies. John, likewise, bears witness to the truth of his testimony and once again is overcome by the awe and the glories of what he has just seen. "I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, `Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!" We are reminded yet again that we must not worship the messenger, but the one to whom the messenger bears witness.
In Revelation 22:10 and following John wraps up with the final testimony of Jesus Christ to his church now that the vision of the new heavens and earth has been completed. But the angel gives to John very different instructions from those he had given to Daniel some seven centuries earlier as recorded in Daniel 12:4, a passage which we have read several times as our Old Testament lesson during our study of Revelation. (3) In Daniel 12:4 the angel tells Daniel: "But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge." But to John, the angel now says "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near."
The difference in the angel's instructions is because when Daniel was given his vision, the coming of the Messiah was centuries away and the vision was therefore sealed until his coming. Now at the end of the 1260 days, the three and a half years, the time, times and half a times, that is, after the remaining portion of Daniel's prophecy of the Seventy Weeks has run its course, all is now revealed. Unlike Daniel who looked ahead to what God will do, John now looks back to what God has done in Jesus Christ. John understands things Daniel could not-that the Son of Man, who possessed an everlasting kingdom, and who was lead into the presence of the Ancient of Days is none other than Jesus Christ.
Once Jesus Christ has been revealed, the message contained in the mysterious scroll that Daniel was ordered to seal until the time of the end, has now been brought out in the open for all to see. No longer will those things written on the scroll be hidden from God's people. In John's apocalyptic vision of the final testimony of Jesus Christ, we have been given a glimpse of the end and those things Daniel was forbidden from publishing. This is why John is now commanded to take the scroll, and instead of sealing it, John is to publish it for the people of God so that they might read it and understand the testimony of Jesus which it contains. Therefore, everything we need to know about the course of future history has now been to us revealed in Jesus Christ. And in that testimony he tells us that he is coming soon!
While God directs all of human history towards its appointed and final goal, life will go on until the Lord returns just as it did in the days of Noah. God's people will hear the word of this prophecy, believe the promises they set forth, and endeavor to obey the imperatives they contain. But those who have taken the Mark of the Beast and who have worshiped his image will neither believe God's promises nor obey his commandments. Throughout the course of this present evil age believers will differentiate themselves from those who are not Christ's, even if they are professing members of the covenant community. (4) Thus John can say in this regard, "Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy." What will become clear at time of the end, then, is that those are Christ's will demonstrate themselves to be such. Those who are not, will likewise demonstrate their allegiance to the Dragon. At the end of the age, all of God's judgments will be seen to be what exactly they are: holy, righteous, good and just.
Notice that in verse 12, another voice begins to speak, but the voice is not that of an angel. It is Jesus Christ himself who now addresses John. "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." Not only does Jesus comfort John one more time with the promise that his coming is soon, but Jesus re-affirms a major point from the previous section (Revelation 20:11-15). Jesus himself will judge all men according to their deeds, that is, according to the terms of the covenant of works, first established back in Eden with Adam on behalf of the human race. Jesus will indeed reward all those who are justified, that is, who have his righteousness imputed to them. That Jesus is God Almighty is also clear from these words. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, and the beginning and the end. Therefore, Jesus is the Lord over all created things which lie between the beginning and the end of time. When Jesus promises to return soon, he is now directing all of human history toward that end.
In verse 14, we come to the seventh and final benediction recorded in the Book of Revelation. And it fits perfectly with the theme of the last several chapters. Says Jesus, "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city." Recall from Revelation 19:8, the Lamb is said to give these white robes to all the citizens of the New Jerusalem. The saints have already been washed by the blood of the Lamb, and they are spotless, without stain or blemish. But here, they are described as "washing these robes," which is probably a reference to the fact that all those who have been washed (justified) will be characterized by new obedience (sanctification). This is depicted through the imagery of the saints washing those white robes already given them by Christ. (5) With this seventh and final benediction, which is to be realized in the eternal state, our inheritance is now complete (seven being the number of perfection or completion). What this means is that all those who dwell in the New Jerusalem will receive all of those things promised to them by God. We will freely enter the holy city. We will freely eat from the tree of life.
But even as God's elect receive their eternal inheritance in Jesus Christ, those whose names are not written in the Book of Life now face the ultimate covenant curse-eternal punishment. Jesus now speaks directly to the fate of those who freely and willfully reject the salvation he has offered to all. "Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood." Those who do not believe the gospel remain forever outside the heavenly city, suffering the wrath of God. They are confined to the lake of fire.
The balance of the epilogue returns to the central theme of this letter. The Book of Revelation contains the testimony of Jesus on behalf of his people so as to encourage them in the midst of the persecution he knows that his people will face. (6) Once again, Jesus reminds John of the purpose of this series of visions he has been asked to record: "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star." Not only is this the Revelation of Jesus Christ to John, Jesus now bears witness to his church of which he is Lord, about those things which are soon to come to pass. Jesus alone possesses the authority to bear such witness for he alone is that one of whom the prophets of Israel had foretold. He is that one to whom David's royal kingship had pointed. Jesus is also the morningstar foreseen by Balaam (cf. Numbers 24:17). Jesus is that one who will arise and conquer all of God's enemies at the time of the end. (7) Because Jesus is all of these things, his testimony is true, and it is given to the churches so as to comfort us while we await his second advent.
In Isaiah 55, our Old Testament lesson this morning, Isaiah speaks of a glorious age in which the nations are invited to share in all the blessings God has for his people, Israel. But the language Isaiah uses is overtly evangelistic. God's people are invited to the messianic feast depicted here, but the invitation is also extended to the Gentiles. Thus we read in Isaiah55, what amounts to an Old Testament evangelistic invitation to an unbeliever. "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander of the peoples. Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations that do not know you will hasten to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor. Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon."
Likewise, the final words of Revelation not only resound with echoes from Isaiah 55, these words reiterate the same gracious invitation to all who hear these words. "The Spirit and the bride say, `Come!' And let him who hears say, `Come!' Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life." All those who hear these words are invited to receive the blessings which they promise. Notice too that the Holy Spirit and the church are the one who do the witness-bearing to the reader/hearer of John's vision. This is because Jesus has spoken to his people in this vision. His messianic credentials are impeccable. His words are the words of God. He has purchased his people through the shedding of his blood. Because he has risen from the dead, he holds the keys of death and Hades in his hands. And now his people, in the power of the Holy Spirit, are to invite all who hear these words to likewise believe Jesus' words and come to the savior who freely offers them the water of life.
But since these words are the words of God, Jesus also issues a solemn warning to anyone who regards them lightly. "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book." While some extend these words to cover the entire canon of Scripture, this warning much more likely extends specifically to the witness of Jesus Christ found in this prophecy, in other words, to the Book of Revelation. No one should dare remove the words of Jesus from this book. To do so is to come under God's covenant curse.
As the book concludes, one last time, John hears the voice of the Savior: "He who testifies to these things says, `Yes, I am coming soon.'" John's only response is to say, "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus." And having heard these words of Jesus, added his "Amen," to them, John now extends an apostolic blessing to his reader as he closes out this letter, "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen."
Thus we have come to the end of the Book of Revelation. But let us not overlook the fact that this book ends with a promise and an invitation. Three times in the final verses, Jesus reiterates that he is returning for his people at any moment. "Behold, I am coming quickly," he repeats. In fact, our Lord may return before this sermon is over. And then again, he may not return in our life times. But make no mistake about it, he is coming soon. And at his coming he will judge the world, raise the dead and make all things new. He also extends to everyone who hears his words a wonderful invitation: Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life."
If you are thirsty and hungry then this is
your moment. For Jesus Christ is coming soon and all of these promises will be
yours if only you acknowledge your sins, renounce your own righteousness and
trust in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation! The Holy Spirit and all of
God's people who are gathered here this morning testify to you
"Come!" and drink from the water of life. Amen.
1. See Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 324.
2. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 325.
3. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 325.
4. See the discussion in Beale, Revelation,
p. 1133.
5. Poythress, The Returning King,
p.196; and Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb, pp. 326-327.
6. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 327.
7. Johnson, The Triumph of the Lamb,
p. 328.
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:34:48 CST
"To Him Who Loves Us"
Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 32
Texts: Revelation 1:4-8; Daniel 7:13-18
____________________________________
I. In many ways, the Book of Revelation is the most practical book in the New Testament. Hopefully, these words don't come as much of a surprise now at the end of our series as they might have at the beginning. Because Revelation is filled with apocalyptic symbolism and is difficult to interpret, we easily loose sight of the fact that this is the last book in the Canon of the New Testament and that it is given to Christ's church for a very practical reason-through the testimony of Jesus Christ to his church we will be prepared to face those things which are yet to come.
We complete our series on the Book of Revelation and do something a bit different from our ususal practice. Although we have touched upon a number of important points of application throughout this series, now that we have completed our survey of the entire book, we are a much better place to go back and summarize several of the main points of application given us by John. Since Revelation contains the testimony of the Risen and Ascended Jesus Christ to his church, we are, in effect, given our instructions about what to do until the Lord returns. And so now that we have seen the whole panorama of redemptive history from the vantage point of the end, we are much better equipped to apply Jesus' testimony to our own situation. At the end of the day, what does the Book of Revelation say to us?
Throughout this series many of you have told me that the Reformed (amillennial) interpretation of Revelation has removed the "scary" character of this book, while at the same time preserving the mystery which is truly here. Many of you have told me that this was a difficult series because it is very hard to "unlearn" the dispensational way of reading this book that so many of us grew up with. Now that we have seen that the Book of Revelation is a divinely-given commentary upon all those redemptive historical themes which are left open-ended in the Old Testament, it should be clear that Revelation is not given to us to speculate about end times, or so we can connect the things it contains to current events.
Rather, Revelation is given to us to show us the big picture of redemptive history. In other words, Revelation is like the box-top to a puzzle. Having seen the whole picture, it is certainly much easier to understand how the individual pieces fit together. And the big picture is simply this: Jesus Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, he is the Lord of history, as well as Lord of his church, he is directing all things toward the goal he has foreordained, which is his second coming, the defeat of all of enemies, including Satan, and to establish the new heaven and earth as our eternal home. Studying the Book of Revelation is like reading the last chapter of a good mystery novel first. Having read the last chapter, we know what will happen to all of the characters. We know that the story has a happy ending and that the bad guys will get their just desserts in the end.
II. The first point of application is one that I just mentioned-the Book of Revelation gives us the big picture of redemptive history. The visions contained here demonstrate that God is directing all of human history toward its appointed goal, which is the second coming of Jesus Christ.
In the opening chapters of the Book of Genesis, we read of a Garden of Eden, a covenant of works, a tree of life, and that God dwells with Adam and Eve in the temple-garden. But we also read of Adam's act of rebellion against God which plunges the entire human race into sin and death and not only brings the first family under the curse, but also subjects all of creation to futility. From this point on, the rest of the biblical narrative presupposes the fall of man and our banishment from God's presence as the struggle between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent unfolds throughout the balance of the Old and New Testaments. And yet, many of the images from Genesis 1-3, re-appear in the closing chapters of Revelation. The new heaven and earth is depicted as Eden glorified. Jesus Christ has fulfilled the covenant of works for his people, reckoning them as righteous, and symbolized in the gift to his bride of white robes, without stain or blemish. But those who are not Christ's are judged according to their works and are banished eternally. In the new creation, God's people may eat from the tree of life without limit. God will dwell with his people forever and ever. Therefore the redemptive story comes a definite end. Human history will not go on forever and ever. In fact, throughout the Book of Revelation, we are told that human history is rapidly racing toward the day of Christ's return. And that day is coming soon!
The knowledge of how things will finally turn out in the end is very important. This knowledge gives us hope in the face of suffering. One day every tear will be wiped from our eyes. One day there will be no more pain, no more suffering, and no more death. But this knowledge should also give us courage in the face of persecution. We know what will happen to all of God's enemies and to those who seek to do us harm. Yes, we may lose our lives. But should we die, we come to life and reign with Christ. Therefore, even though God's people will suffer and will face persecution and death, it is never in vain. We win in the end, because Christ wins in the end. We are his people, redeemed by his blood and sealed with his secret name. It has been said that Calvinists do not fear men, because we fear God! Would that be said of us in the perilous days which are certain to come. May God give to us such hope and courage!
This knowledge of how the story ends, not only gives the entire drama of redemptive history a profound sense of purpose-things do not just happen randomly without reason-but this reminds us that God is directing all things toward their appointed ends. At the end of the age, all of the horrible effects of the fall of the human race will be undone. All injustices will be made right! The righteous who have suffered will be rewarded, the wicked who have flourished will be punished. In terms of application, this simply means that everything which happens, happens for a reason, even if that reason is known only to God. God is working all things according to the counsel of his will. From world-changing events like the Second World War, to the fall of the Soviet empire, to events which befall our nation like 911, all of these things are part of God's eternal plan, working itself out in human history.
The Book of Revelation clearly reminds us that God is sovereign over all of human history, and that he will do as he said he will do-turn human sin and suffering into good. Thus the redemptive story takes us from creation, to the fall, to redemption, to a new creation. God not only will save his people, he will save all of creation.
We have also seen that throughout the course of this present evil age, God's judgements repeatedly come against the earth and its sinful inhabitants. These judgments intensify like birth pains throughout the course of this age, until the time of the end when they culminate with our Lord's return to judge the world, raise the dead and make all things new. So while John does not predict specific earthquakes, famines or wars, he does tell us why such things come to pass. They come about because they are part of three cycles of judgment which God will bring against the earth and which point forward to the final judgment. But do the earth's inhabitants heed these warnings? No, we read in Revelation 9 that despite the preaching of the gospel, unbelievers continue to worship demons, and idols, neither will they repent of their sins (Revelation 9:20-22). In Revelation 16:9, we read that unbelievers will curse God at the time of the end rather than repent of their sins. We should never underestimate the hostility that people have for Jesus Christ, for the gospel and for his church. But for those whose names have been written in the Book of Life from before the creation of the world, and who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, the story is different. We will be spared from God's wrath. We need never fear hell, or the day of judgment.
III. A second thing we should take with us from our study of the Book of Revelation is that in these visions we are given the explanation as to why Satan hates the church and rages against it. We are also told about Satan's various methods of attack upon the people of God.
Recall that throughout the Old Testament, Satan repeatedly tried to kill the seed of the woman to prevent the Messiah from ever being born. Once Jesus is born, Satan attempts to stop him by arranging for Herod to slaughter all of the male infants in Bethlehem. And after Jesus grows to manhood, but before his messianic ministry begins, Satan leads our Lord into the wilderness to tempt him with the kingdoms of the world. But Jesus is not interested in these kingdoms and he completes his mission on Calvary's cross. Indeed, after Jesus Christ dies upon the cross and rises again from the dead, Satan is a thoroughly defeated foe. The Devil rages like a wounded animal, and is more dangerous now, than before.
In Revelation 12 John describes Christ's messianic ministry in terms of a war in heaven, in which Satan loses and is cast down to earth. And having been cast down to earth, the devil, who knows his time is short is enraged and wages war upon the woman (symbolic of believing Israel and the church). But Satan is prevented from successfully attacking. Then, in Revelation 20 we read of Satan being bound to the abyss (the abode of the dead) through the preaching of the gospel during the inter-advental age, before he is released before the end of the age so that he might organize the nations of the earth to make one final assault upon the church of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, while Satan attacks the people of God, he is prevented from achieving victory over them. At the time of the end a great apostasy will come and Satan will unleash everything he has against the church. But he will not prevail.
Throughout the Book of Revelation there are three ways in which Satan carries out his war upon the people of God. The first method is very direct and frightening-through the point of the sword, as in those cases where Satan uses civil governments to attack the church directly, through the arrest and persecution of the members of Christ's church. The second method is much more subtle, and probably more effective and dangerous-the introduction of false doctrine and heresy into the churches so as to deceive people, divide the body of Christ, and then to draw as many people as is possible away from the Savior. After all, Satan is the father of lies, hence he is the author of all false doctrine. The third way in which Satan works is through the seductive efforts of the harlot (Babylon the Great, the city of man) which lures professing church members away from Christ through the promise of economic prosperity, and through the bright lights, the buzz, fame and celebrity, all of which the great city offers to those who seek the fleeting pleasures of the flesh, rather than the things of God.
When John writes this letter, this Satanic assault is already underway as seen in the letters to the seven churches. A number of the churches (Smyrna, Pergamum and Philadelphia) to whom John is writing were already facing persecution from the Roman empire. A number of people in Smyrna had already put to death and Antipas was a well-known martyr in Pergamum. Christians who refused to acknowledge that Caesar was "lord," were arrested or put to death because of their allegiance to Jesus Christ. They suffered horrible economic hardship because by refusing to acknowledge that "Caesar is Lord," they were prevented from buying and selling. They refused to worship the beast or his image. And they suffered.
John also lists a number of churches which were struggling against false doctrine. The church of Pergamum was plagued by the teaching of the Nicolations, in which Christians were enticed into engaging in sexual immorality. Christians were also tempted to participate in pagan feasts, which were dedicated to idols and involved pagan religious practices. Christians in Thyatria were struggling with the teaching of a certain Jezebel, who regarded herself as a prophetess and who was encouraging Christians to follow Jesus, while at the same time teaching them that it was perfectly acceptable to participate in pagan rituals. The church in Laodicea had become so complacent in dealing with these matters that Jesus calls them "lukewarm." They are about to be spit from his mouth. Unless the members of this church repent, Jesus will come to rebuke them. In all of these instances we see how deceptive Satan can be.
Only the churches in Ephesus and Philadelphia are commended for holding fast to sound doctrine. But in Ephesus, while the church held tenaciously to sound doctrine, it had lost its first love. Because the hearts of its members became hardened towards each other, Jesus warns them that they face the removal of his candlestick, that is, the symbol of Christ's presence and blessing toward a particular congregation. Jesus exhorts the Ephesian church to continue defending the truth, while at the same to go back and do those things which they did at the beginning, that is, to minster to the poor and needy, as well as to take care of the widows and orphans. Likewise, the church of Philadephia is commended for holding fast to the gospel in the face of persecution from the Jews. Their reward will be that they will be kept from the hour of trial which, Jesus says, is coming upon the whole world.
The application for us is clear. Statistics tell us that 45 million people, or two-thirds of all Christian martyrs, have died in the twentieth century. According to so some estimates, an average of 160,000 Christians have been killed every year since 1990. Although it is unlikely that in our own lifetimes we will see Satan attack us directly through the sword of our own government, nevertheless, our children may live to see exactly that. This is why we must never underestimate the dangers of the continual increase in power of federal, state and local governments and their increasing intrusions into the business of the church. As Christians we must always be on guard to preserve our civil liberties, especially our freedom to assemble and to worship.
Remember that in Germany, the land of the Reformation, the people whole-heartedly rejected a parliamentarian democracy and embraced a madman named Adolph Hitler, because they wanted to restore a faltering economy and reverse the embarrassing defeat of the First World War. One of the first of those arrested after the Nazi nightmare began was Martin Neimoller, a Reformed pastor and the leader of the so-called confessing church. Neimoller refused to bow the knee to Der Fuhrer. The confessing church saw Hitler as a manifestation of the beast and spoke out against him, and for this Neimoller was arrested on the grounds of his lack of loyalty to the state church. Such things may never happen here. But they might. And we are very foolish if we don't think that Satan will certainly try.
Since we are free to worship as we wish, we of all people are morally bound to oppose all totalitarian governments which seek to persecute Christ's church, especially in Islamic nations which persecute Christians (Sudan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Malaya and Indonesia) and secular dictatorships such as Cuba, Vietnam, China and North Korea, to name a few. We are warned throughout the Book of Revelation that the Dragon (Satan) will empower a mysterious and frightening beast who rises from the sea. That beast was the Roman empire. But the Roman empire serves as an eerie foreshadowing all of those God-hating empires which have followed and which are yet to come. So while we may never face the point of a sword and a demand that we renounce Christ or die, some beloved soul for whom Christ has died is even now facing the full fury of the beast. Christ's church suffers before it triumphs, just like its Savior.
Furthermore, we must always be on guard for false teachers who will inevitably arise and attempt to secretly introduce destructive heresies in our midst. As we endeavor to oppose all such false teaching and remain a church which is faithful to that gospel which Jesus Christ has revealed to us in the Scriptures, we must be equally diligent not to become like the church in Ephesus, which had become so embittered while defending the truth, they lost their brotherly love for the other. No, we must preach the gospel, defend the faith, and at the same time make sure that no one in this church goes without the essentials of life. We must love each other, even as Christ has loved us. This is not only the sign of a faithful church, it is powerful witness to a watching world.
We must also be on guard for the seductive ways of the harlot, who will attempt to draw us away from Jesus Christ through fame and celebrity, money and power, and political influence. We cannot worship Christ and at the same time flirt with the harlot. Our young people must be continually on their guard for those who will attempt to steal your virginity, your virtue, and your souls, by offering you pleasure, fame, power, money and thrill, in exchange for your allegiance to Jesus Christ. Although there are many wonderful benefits from living in a prosperous and advanced technological age and there is certainly much in the world that is good and true and beautiful, the Book of Revelation reminds us all that we are but pilgrims in this world while we are on our way to the heavenly city. At many points in our journey, we will encounter thieves and robbers who desire nothing more than to do us harm. John warns us that the degree to which we are naive to the ways of the world is the degree to which we risk being seduced by the harlot! There are many times when the smile of the City of Man is really a disguise for something very sinister. If we think that we are immune to such seduction, we are setting ourselves up for a tragic fall. For the person who most often gives in to temptation is the person who says, "it can never happen to me!"
IV. A third point of application is that throughout the Book of Revelation, Jesus Christ speaks to us about his church's witness to the watching world.
In addition to the instructions given to the seven churches in chapters 2-3, the church is also described in Revelation 7 and 14 as the 144,000 clothed in white who are sealed with the name of Christ. While subject to the wrath of men, they are protected from the wrath of God. John repeatedly speaks of those who are called overcomers. These are the people who resist the seductive ways of the harlot, or the sword of the Beast, and who persevere to the end in faith, even in the face of death. Then, in Revelation 11, we read of two witnesses, symbolic of the church, who preach the gospel to the nations throughout the entire interadvental period. God gives them the power of Elijah and Moses to confirm the truth of their message. But the Beast will kill them, only to find that God raises up new witnesses to take their place. But Jesus has promised us: The gates of hell will not prevail against his church.
That the preaching of the gospel and the missionary enterprise is a great success despite the Devil's efforts to stop it, is seen in Revelation 7:9, where John describes an amazing scene: "I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands." The multitude was praising God. These are the people whom John says in Revelation 7:14, "who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." While many of God's people suffer at the hands of the Beast, Christ's kingdom spreads throughout the world. In fact, during the course of this age, the gospel extends to every corner of the earth, and so many will come to faith in Christ that John cannot count them all.
Again, the application for us is very straightforward. Christ's church must make every effort to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. The missionary enterprise will be a great success, and we are called to support it. God will continue to bind the efforts of Satan to organize the nations against Christ through the preaching of the gospel. As a church, we should expect many non-Christians to come to faith in our midst, through the preaching of the gospel and through the equipping of the saints. We are to evangelize all those within our own sphere of influence. Each one of us should be very confident in terms of our own individual witness to unbelievers. When we share the gospel with those around us, the prospects of success are great, because all of those whose names are written in the Book of Life will come to faith, and as John has just told us, the number of the elect is not small! God has chosen to save a multitude so vast they cannot be counted.
V. A final point of application this morning is that the Book of Revelation is filled with comfort for God's suffering and persecuted people.
When Revelation was written at the end of the first century, Christ's church was already facing horrible persecution from both the Jews and the Romans. Christians who refused to take the Mark of the Beast and worship his image were frozen out of the local economy. Many suffered horrible economic hardship. Many Christians were arrested for refusing to worship Caesar or acknowledge him as Lord. We all know of the horrors which took place under Nero, and in the Roman Coliseum where Christians were killed for pure sport. And this has gone on in various times and places right up until the present age.
In the opening chapter of this book, John tells us that the Risen Christ holds in his hand the keys of death and of Hades. This means that Jesus is Lord over all things, including death. Because of sin, death is our greatest enemy but Jesus Christ has conquered it. Should the Satanically-empowered beast take the life of one of God's saints, John tells us that they come to life and reign with Christ for a thousand years. In Revelation 14:13, John speaks of blessedness of all those who die in the Lord, they will rest from their labors and their deeds will follow them. And what comfort this should give us should illness strike and our own death become inevitable. And what comfort this gives to those of us who have stood beside the grave of those we love most in life. All those who die are Christ are among those so blessed, and who now stand beside the crystal sea, worshiping and praising God and beholding with their eyes, those glories of God's throne that we can but imagine. And so while we all fear dying-the pain, the suffering-we need never fear death. For we have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Our names are written in the Book of Life. Our white robes and palm branches await us when we die.
Not only is there comfort in death, there is comfort in life. Indeed, we read in Revelation 8 that the prayers of the saints ascend before the throne of heaven where the Risen Christ hears them and answers them according to his will. In fact, the trumpet judgments are sounded against the earth, because God hears the prayers of his suffering people and answers them. This is related to the fact that Jesus himself instructs us to pray "thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Therefore, Christ's church must be a praying church, and we must be people devoted to the pattern of prayer Jesus has taught us and praying constantly with the expectation that God hears our prayers when we cry out to him, and that he acts to help us when we are in need.
V. And so as we conclude this series, let us reflect upon the fact that Revelation does indeed speak to the question of what the future holds, and for all of God's people that future is glorious!
We have seen that the Roman empire is a type of a Satanically-empowered world empire which will arise in those days immediately before the return of Jesus Christ, after the thousand years are over and Satan is released from the abyss. The Beast will rule the world on behalf of the Dragon, and the False Prophet will deceive the peoples of the earth into worshiping the Beast and his image. Babylon the Great will be in full-flower, deceiving the nations into committing spiritual idolatry. Therefore, world conditions might actually improve and the nations might live in peace. But all the while, Satan will be waging war upon the church, and for God's people this will be the darkest hour in all of redemptive history.
But as darkness always precedes the dawn, the rise of this final world empire signals that the end of the age is at hand. Just when all seems to be lost, Jesus Christ will return in unspeakable glory and deliver his people from their hour of trial. Satan, the Beast, the False Prophet, the harlot, and all those who serve them will be judged once and for all, and cast into the Lake of Fire. But all of God's people will be raised from the dead and in our resurrected bodies we will see God in our own flesh. Then, we will stand before him in the judgment, and because of Christ's redemptive work on our behalf, we will hear words of blessing, not words of condemnation. And when this heaven and earth pass away and are recreated with a glory beyond our imagination, then we will receive our inheritance and dwell in God's presence for ever and ever!
This beloved, is what awaits all those who are Jesus Christ's and who long for his appearing at the end of the age. This is what we see when we read the last chapter of the book!
And so I leave you with John's words of praise to Jesus Christ, our soon coming king. May they be our heart-felt words of praise as well: "To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father--to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen."
Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:34:40 CST
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Updated: Friday, 07-Feb-2003 01:36:53 CST