The Return of the King
Revelation 11:15-19
The Return of the king
Revelation 11:15-19
Main Idea: We can have an enduring hope because of the coming and forever kingdom of Christ
I. God’s Forever Kingdom (11:15-17)
As the seventh trumpet is blown, the “third woe” occurs (11:14) marking the end of history. The New Testament often associates the return of Christ with a trumpet blast (1 Thess. 4:16a, 1 Cor. 15:51-52)
Two things to note about this coming reality:
1. The Kingdom of God will overcome the ‘kingdom’ of this world (cf. Ps. 2:2, Isa. 11:9, Hab. 2:14, Rev. 21:1-2)
“Rather than saying that Christ has returned to defeat all the different kingdoms on earth, the voices speak of a single earthly kingdom that is opposed to Christ. Daniel’s prophecy foretold the rising of different kingdoms in succession, each symbolized by its particular beast (Dan. 7:1–8), but in Revelation there is one beast that is a composite of them all (Rev. 13:1–2). All the secular empires are actually one earthly kingdom under the reign of Satan… When Christ returns, the “kingdom of the world” will yield to “the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ” (Rev. 11:15).” ~ Richard Phillips, Revelation
2. Christ will reign as King forever and ever (cf. 2 Sam. 7:16, Dan. 7:13-14, Lk. 1:33, Phil. 2:9-11)
The 24 elders worship God by bowing down in worship and giving thanks. Every time we worship and “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thess. 5:18), we are a preview of life everlasting and we experience a foretaste of glory.
II. God’s Final Judgment (11:18)
This particular vantage point of the return of Christ and the end of history zooms in on the righteous and final judgements of God. This is the overwhelming emphasis of the Creeds:
Apostles’ Creed: “The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.”
Nicene Creed: “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end”
This divine verdict will have two different outcomes:
The wicked who “raged” will be judged and condemned (cf. Ps. 2, Isa. 40:10, Rev. 20:12)
The righteous (servants, prophets, saints) who “fear your name” will be rewarded (cf. Mt. 5:11-12, 6:19-20, 25:14-30, 2. Cor. 4:16-18, Heb. 11:16)
“‘Rejoice and be glad.’ Why? ‘For great is your reward in heaven.’ Here is one of these great central principles you will find running all the way through the Bible. It is this consideration of the end, our final destiny… According to this argument, my whole outlook upon everything that happens to me should be governed by these three things: my realization of who I am, my consciousness of where I am going, and my knowledge of what awaits me when I get there… But someone may ask: ‘How is this reward possible? I thought that man was saved by grace; why speak of reward?’ The answer of Scripture seems to be that even the reward itself is of grace. It does not mean we merit or deserve salvation. It just means God treats us as a Father… It is not that the child merits a reward. It is given of grace, and it is the expression of the Father’s love.”
~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
III. God’s Faithful Presence (11:19)
Verse 19 recalls the fall of Jericho in Josh. 6 as well as the Lord’s theophanic presence at Mt. Sinai in Ex. 19. In both of these stories of God’s redemption, there is a “collapse” of the old order and an inauguration of a new era. The same will happen at the end of history, as life everlasting is ushered in.
The ‘ark of the covenant’ that dwells in the heavenly ‘temple’ signifies two realities:
God’s Covenant Promises: the ark contained the Word of God as a reminder of God’s covenant commitments to his people
God’s Constant Presence: the ark resided in the “holy of holies” where the presence and glory of God dwelt in the midst of the camp of his people
Revelation 21:3, 22–23: And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God… And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.
The Faithful Witnesses
Revelation 11:1-14
The Faithful Witnesses
Revelation 11:1-14
Main Idea: The perpetual presence of God protects and empowers his people to bear faithful witness in the midst of persecution.
I. The Temple Protected and Preserved (11:1-2)
Revelation 11:1-2: Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.
Every time the language of a temple appears in Revelation, it all points to the people of God. It will show up again in Revelation 21-22. All throughout the New Testament, the apostles teach the Church is the new temple, and this is how Revelation 11 was read by the early church fathers. Earlier John described the church on earth like an army of 144,000 and the church in heaven as a great multitude that can’t be counted. Here he describes the church again, this time in terms of the people of God as the Temple.
John says 42 months, or 1,260 days, or a time and times and a half time. This would be similar to someone saying four score and seven years ago or 9/11. Both of these numbers point our minds to events. John is telling us what this time will be like, not how long this time will last.
This period seems to be associated with a time of rebellion during which God’s faithful people are protected in the midst of trials.
We must be comforted before we’re commissioned.
II. The Witnesses Empowered and Deployed (11:3-6)
Revelation 11:3-6: And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire.
The “two witnesses” represent all of God’s people.
They’re described as “lampstands”, which in Revelation 1:20 are local churches (v 4).
John has already used the term “witness” to describe the martyr Antipas (2:13; 6:9).
John himself is in exile because of his “testimony” or “witness” to Jesus (1:9).
The job description Jesus himself gave to his followers before his ascension was to be his “witnesses” (Acts 1:8, Luke 24:47–49)
John has already affirmed that Jesus has made us “a kingdom and priests” (Revelation 1:6).
The victorious ones are pillars in God’s temple (3:12)—priestly language—and seated on Christ’s throne (3:21)—royal language.
We are redeemed to be a royal priesthood and bear faithful witness.
Romans 1:16: Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.
III. The Persecuted Victorious (11:7-14)
Revelation 11:7-12: And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them.
2 Corinthians 2:14-16: But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.
We should expect to suffer like Jesus.
"The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church." ~ Tertullian
Why must we be comforted before we’re commissioned? Because the mission always meets opposition.
Romans 8:35-37: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Matthew 28:18-20: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The Mighty Angel and the Little Scroll
Revelation 10
The Mighty Angel and the Little Scroll
Revelation 10
Main Idea: When things go sideways all around you, remember what is True and do not let your circumstances derail your obedience.
I. The Mighty Angel and his Muscular Roar (10:1-3a)
Revelation 10:1-3a: Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring.
The clear message: If this angel and the kingdom he represents is on your side, you have far less to worry about than you might think you do even in spite of your present circumstances.
The mighty angel teaches us that there is a King and Kingdom far superior to anything that can dominate us on earth that is over and involved in everything that happens here.
II. The Seven Thunders and Their Silenced Scribe (10:3b-4)
Revelation 10:3b-4: When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.”
Here is the key take away from sealed thunders: The visions that are sealed up, stay sealed up. When heaven goes quiet on a matter, no one ever figures it out. But heaven always wins.
The Seven Thunders and their Silenced Scribe teach us that there is more going on than we are being told and that Somebody does know it all!!
The seven thunders invite us to acknowledge by faith that though we do not, cannot, and will not know everything that can be known, Someone does.
III. The Loud Oath and the Little Scroll (10:5-10)
Revelation 10:5-10:And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets. Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. And I was told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”
John has been graphically reminded of two important Truths:
There is more going on than we can typically see. There is Someone greater in control even though things seem to be totally out of control.
There is more to be known than we are given to know. There is Someone who knows more than we are being told and He can be trusted.
Now we learn that there is an agenda in play that will not - indeed cannot - be resisted. We can only choose whether or not to participate in it.
When things go sideways all around you, remember what is True and do not let your circumstances derail your obedience.
God's Glory in Salvation through Judgment
Revelation 8:1-9:21
God's Glory in Salvation through Judgment
Revelation 8:1-9:21
“A man says to me, ‘Can you explain the seven trumpets of Revelation?’ No, but I can blow one in your ear, and warn you to escape the wrath to come. Another says, ‘Can you tell me when the end of the world will come?’ No, but I can tell you how to be so prepared for it that you need not be afraid if it were to come tonight. I can urge you to trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, so that you can await it with holy joy.”
~ Charles Spurgeon, “Enquiring the Way to Zion”
Main Idea: God answers the prayers of his people through his righteous judgment on evil, inviting us to repentance.
I. Answered Prayer (8:1-5)
The silence in heaven at the opening of the 7th seal in heaven indicates two realities:
1. God listening to the prayers of the martyrs under the altar (5:8, 6:9-10, cf. Ps. 141:2) and “all the saints”
“We live in a noisy world. We are yelled at, promoted, called. Everyone has an urgent message for us. We are surrounded with noise. Messages are amplified deafeningly. The world is a mob in which everyone is talking at once and no one is willing or able to listen. But God listens. He not only speaks to us, he listens to us… everything we say, every groan, every murmur, every stammering attempt at prayer: all this listened to. All heaven quiets down.”
~ Eugene Peterson, Reversed Thunder: The Revelation of John and the Praying Imagination
2. God preparing to answer the prayers of his people through impending judgment from the heavenly throne (cf. Isa. 47:5, Zeph. 1:7, 2:13, Amos 8:2-3)
II. Righteous Judgment (8:6-9:19)
Trumpets throughout the Scriptures are meant to bring alertness to a significant action of God (Ex. 19:16). This included calls to war (Num. 10:9, Judg. 7:22) impending judgment (Josh. 6), a great victory, and the climactic “day of the Lord” with the return of Christ (Joel 2:1, Mt. 24:31, 1 Cor. 15:52, 1 Thess. 4:16)
The 7 “trumpets” retell from a different and intensifying perspective the 7 “seals” from Revelation 6. The “angle” or “viewpoint” of the trumpets show us the judgment of God specifically upon unbelievers who have not been ‘sealed’ by him (cf. Rev. 7, Rom. 1:18) in the time period between Christ’s resurrection and his promised return (occuring with the 7th trumpet in 11:15-19)
Trumpet #1: hail, fire, and blood on the earth (cf. Ex. 9:23-25)
Trumpet #2: burning mountain (or volcano) thrown into the sea (cf. Ex. 7:20-21)
Trumpet #3: a fallen star bitters the waters of the rivers and springs (cf. Ex. 7:19, Isa. 14:12-15, Jer. 9:15)
Trumpet #4: the sun, moon, and stars are darkened (cf. Ex. 10:21-23, Joel 2:31)
All the figurative language in the judgment of the trumpets is rooted in and animated by Scripture, primarily in the Exodus account, where the Lord hears the cries of his people (Ex. 2:23-25) and answers them through the judgment of the plagues on Egypt and Pharaoh (Ex. 7-12).
Trumpet #5 (Woe #1): demonic army released from ‘the abyss’ for a short period of time to cause torment under the rule of Satan (cf. Ex. 10:12-15, Joel 1-2)
Trumpet #6 (Woe #2): fallen angels are released to muster an innumerable army, waging war with what comes from their ‘mouths’ and their ‘tails’
“Notice that these horses don’t just kill; they wound… If you have ever known anyone who has embraced conspiracy theories, prosperity-gospel teaching, universalism, or the popular notion that heaven is for good people who do good things and avoid doing really bad things, then you get that false teaching wounds people. It damages them. It corrupts and contaminates the way that they think and feel, what they value, what they fear, what makes them angry, and what they anticipate in the future.”
~ Nancy Guthrie, Blessed: Experiencing the Promise of the Book of Revelation
III. Defiant Unrepentance (9:20-21)
How should we respond to the 6 trumpets of judgment?
Gratitude (Rom. 5:9, 1 Thess. 1:9-10)
Repentance
Just like Pharaoh in the Exodus account, those who dwell on the earth without the seal of God “did not repent” (2x) from their idolatry, wickedness, and evil (cf. Col. 3:5-6).
Luke 3:7-8a, 9: [John the Baptist] said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance… Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”