Book: Revelation

The New Creation
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Summary

We are reminded that this present world is not our home, and that God has prepared something far greater for those who trust in Christ. Revelation 21 unveils five new realities awaiting believers in the eternal kingdom: a new creation, a new city, a new presence, a new peace, and a new protection — all grounded in the faithful and true character of God.

Key Lessons:
1. True believers are pilgrims on this earth, and a growing discomfort with the world is a sign of spiritual maturity, not something to be ashamed of.
2. God’s eternal purpose — to dwell with his people in unhindered fellowship — runs from Genesis to Revelation and will finally be fully realized in the new heaven and new earth.
3. The new creation will bring the complete eradication of sin’s effects: no more death, mourning, crying, or pain, because God himself will wipe away every tear.
4. Entry into the eternal kingdom is not by human effort or philosophy, but only through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, the only gate into God’s kingdom.
Application: We are called to hold our tent pegs loosely in this earth, press forward in faith, cultivate a homesickness for heaven, and share the invitation for others to come to Christ before it is too late.

Discussion Questions:
1. In what ways do you feel like a stranger or pilgrim on this earth, and how does that feeling connect to your faith and hope in God’s promises?
2. Which of the five new realities — new creation, new city, new presence, new peace, or new protection — stirs your heart the most, and why?
3. How can meditating on the eternal kingdom practically change the way you live, work, and relate to others this week?
Scripture Focus: Revelation 21:1-8 is the central passage, revealing five new realities of the eternal kingdom. Supporting passages include Hebrews 11 (believers as strangers and exiles), John 14:1-3 (Jesus preparing a place), 2 Peter 3 (the destruction of the old creation), Isaiah 65 (the promise of new creation), Romans 8 (groaning for redemption), and Psalm 23 (God’s presence through the valley).

Outline
Introduction

Let me have a word of prayer and then we’ll begin. Let’s pray.

Father, this morning we do thank you again for bringing us together. I pray, little father, you’d be with those who are on vacation this week. I pray that you would give them rest as they start thinking about September and all the activities that go on then.

And I pray, Lord, you’d bring us back again to worship and to praise you, to learn your word, and to become servants in Christ’s church that are humble and that could be used by the Holy Spirit of God at any time. I just thank you, Lord, for your kindness and blessing to us, especially, Lord, in you giving us new things.

Things that, Lord, even our mind can’t fully comprehend, but you, because of your word, you tell us these things will take place. And I pray, Lord, as we think of them, I pray it would bolster our faith. It would cause us to go the next step, the next mile, and to endure this race that we’re in as a Christian and finish well at the end.

And I pray this in Christ’s name. Amen.

I think everybody likes new things.

I remember I was 17 years old and I went and bought a brand new car. You say, “How did that happen?” My parents didn’t help me. I would get up at five o’clock in the morning since I was 12 or 13 years old and deliver papers. I had a paper route, and then I had to go collect the money from the people. That was harder than the paper route—collecting the money.

But anyway, I did save up enough to buy a brand new car, and it was a Chevy Vega and it was $2,400, brand spanking new. That’s a thing in the past and that does age me a bit. But the thing is that new things—when you get in a new car or you get new clothes or you have a new house—new things are kind of exciting and we look forward to it.

But what about a new creation? What about that?

Homesick for Heaven

This Lord’s day, we’re going to look at what the Bible says about the new creation. It’s my hope that these scriptures will stir your heart so that you would be a little bit more homesick for heaven and a little bit more dissatisfied with your present existence on the earth.

Now that may sound strange, but if you even become a little bit more dissatisfied, then you’ll be in a long line of godly men and women who have gone ahead of you. It is not unusual at all for a spiritual pilgrim while on this earth to arrive at a place where they genuinely feel that they don’t fit and they’re not home yet.

Do you feel like that? Have you ever felt like that since you’ve come to Christ? Do you really feel comfortable on this earth? For some reason, you never really feel quite at home.

Well, listen to what it says in Hebrews 11. It says, “All these died in faith without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.”

After traveling over the Middle East and Palestine, these godly men and women never felt quite at home. That’s because for them this present earth could not satisfy them. The reason why is because they caught a glimpse by the eye of faith of the beauties of the promised city of God.

So those who believe in God’s promises by faith had a desire for a dwelling place that was eternal. Again, the book of Hebrews tells us this: “But as it is, they desired a better country, that is a heavenly one. And therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God because he has prepared a city for them.” So by faith, they were eager for something beyond this earth.

While this is an unnatural way to think, this is the very thing that God begins to work in our hearts—a feeling that we shouldn’t put our tent pegs too firmly in the ground on this earth because we’re just not home yet.

“God begins to work in our hearts a feeling that we shouldn’t put our tent pegs too firmly in the ground on this earth because we’re just not home yet.”

We’re just not home yet. You and I are just pilgrims passing through. God has a work for each and every one of us to do until that time. While we’re doing that, we’re looking ahead because God’s prepared a home for us—much different than right here. Just like the bluegrass singers write, this is a mighty world we live in, but the truth is we’re only passing through.

So when you get home, you can do all the resting you want.

The Promise of a Prepared Place

We’ll all have a Sabbath rest as the Bible calls it. And when we’re there, we’ll be with the Lord forever. And remember from the scriptures that the kingdom of God is a real place for real true worshippers to enter into it. And Jesus reminded his disciples of this when he was leaving this earth.

He said, “Don’t be sorrowful. I go and prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, and where I am, there you may be also.”

See, that’s a promise that God gives us. Not only his immediate disciples, but us today receive the same promise. Jesus informs his disciples that they would come where he was going, not at that moment, but at some time in the future. He’s preparing a place for them, a place where they can enter into and dwell with him forever.

“Jesus informs his disciples: I go and prepare a place for you, and I will come again and receive you to myself.”

That was always the promise in the word of God for his people. According to God’s word, the eternal kingdom, the kingdom of heaven is not a delusion. It is not a fantasy. It’s not an illusion. It’s a very real place in scripture.

God dwells in heaven. The Savior ascended into heaven and is preparing a place for all those who will follow him. All who will proclaim him. All who will persevere in him until the day they go and be with him.

He is preparing a place for us. Now in the last chapter of Revelation, chapter 20, we saw the destiny of the doomed and the lost—the lake of fire. In this chapter, we begin to see and probe the destiny of the final home of the redeemed, and that is the eternal kingdom of God. This is the end of God’s program.

The Desire for the Eternal Kingdom

And it’s been my observation that not everyone is eager to go to the kingdom of God. Not everyone is eager to go to heaven. Perhaps they fear the unknown, or perhaps they didn’t receive much teaching on it or really never thought much about it.

They don’t know what is beyond the grave, and they’re all right with that, but they try not to think about it. It could be that they’re having so much fun on earth that they don’t want to leave it. They’re putting all their marbles in this basket, the earth, and they don’t desire to see Jesus. They don’t have any desire for the Father’s kingdom.

These scriptures this morning should cause you to re-examine that kind of thinking. Revelation tells us in chapter 22 that there’s a Christian hope and desire that God starts implanting in our hearts. What is it? It’s this: they will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads.

The point is, Christians want to see the Lord. Now we see him by faith, but we want to see him in reality. That’s where scripture is going to bring us. But if you’re not in scripture and you’re not under the word of God and you’re not thinking about these things, you don’t think like that.

“Christians want to see the Lord. Now we see him by faith, but we want to see him in reality.”

God wants to transform our minds so we would know the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. The Bible gives us enough information to deepen our desire for such a tangible place—a place that is secure, stable, permanent, and eternal.

It is a great, immeasurable city, the Bible tells us, and has been prepared for God’s children. It’s our very own residence. The final chapters of the Bible ought to really stir every blood-bought believer, every saint, to become a little more homesick for the kingdom of God. Homesick for the end of the story. Homesick to see Christ face to face.

This desire will make us grow more in Christ-likeness. The more we grow in Christ-likeness, the more we will grow to see Christ and be ready for that time. Even Romans 8 tells us, “And not only this, but we also ourselves, having the first fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves grown within ourselves, waiting eagerly for the adoption as sons and the redemption of our bodies.”

What a natural thing for a believer to think that we’re not to feel comfortable on the earth. Paul says, “For me to live is Christ and to what? To die is gain.” We kind of grow in our spirit to want to go away from here to be with Christ in the eternal kingdom of God. This is really quite natural for growing in Christ-likeness.

Don’t ever think it’s strange that you feel strange on the earth. Don’t think it strange that you feel sometimes alone on the earth. Don’t think it’s strange that you feel like you never really are comfortable on the earth, because that’s exactly the way you ought to be feeling as you grow in Christ and as you understand more of the word of God and our relationship to him.

The more you see what’s going on in the world, the more you say there’s something drastically wrong and I’m not too comfortable anymore to even view those things or hear those things. You turn the news on for a half hour and you’re totally discouraged, right? All the stuff going on and all of the quick information that we have at our fingertips. Three earthquakes just happened this past week. Tsunamis coming, wars all over the place. This is crazy stuff, and we have too much information.

If we don’t have biblical information on our mind, we can quickly get depressed. In Revelation 21, John describes our house as a city. He describes it as a place of corporate living—a city with walls and gates and streets and a river with buildings and people.

It will be a perfect place. It will be a place without flaw. It will be a very different place than we’re used to here. It will be a brand new place unlike what we’re used to today on this earth.

In fact, if you look at Revelation 21:5, it says this: “He who sits on the throne says, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ And he said, ‘Write, for these words are faithful and true.’”

The whole scripture has been pointing to this very moment so that God’s original purpose can come to pass. Now, as sin and its effects are totally eradicated, totally gone, totally in the past. Everything will be new for all those who know Christ.

I really want you to look this morning at five new realities regarding the state of believers. Here’s the first one: a new creation.

Revelation 21:5: “He who sits on the throne says, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’”

New Reality #1: A New Creation

Here’s the first reality: there will be a new creation, and this creation will be prepared for us. Look at Revelation 21:1. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.”

From this passage, there will be an amazing transition that’s going to take place. The term “passing away” actually means to go away, and the Lord will get rid of the old and make it all new. The old heavens will be completely destroyed, and in their place God will make a new heaven and a new earth.

Just as it says in 2 Peter, “But according to his promise we are looking for a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” Could you imagine that? To be in a new heaven and new earth where there’s nothing but righteousness, there’s no unrighteousness.

God has promised something. But that’s a real old promise. In fact, Isaiah in the Old Testament told us about this promise. He writes, “For behold, I create a new heaven and a new earth. And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.” That was in Isaiah 65:17.

We’re talking about 700 years before Christ. That was already in the mind of God and ready to be embedded in the mind of the people of God. God always wants his people to know that these new things are coming.

So according to Isaiah, the things that have gone before us are not even going to be remembered.

The Destruction of the Old Order

Second Peter also says this: “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat and the earth and its works will be burned up.”

So the heaven and the earth will pass away. They will disappear and it will happen in a roar with the whizzing sound of the rapid destruction of something where everything is dissolved.

In fact, the Greek word in Peter for “pass away” means to loosen up—that God loosens up what keeps everything together. Some said that this maybe is the nuclear glue that keeps atoms together without them breaking apart. But here they come loose.

And the passage really specifically says that the elements will come loose. The word “elements” comes from the Greek word that means to stand in a row. The elements include the earth, the air, the fire, the water, the sun, the moon, the stars, the atomic particles.

They’re all destructive of nature and they will simply disintegrate. They will burn up. They will break loose from each other. God’s keeping it together.

And when God says you’re done, it all falls apart.

So consequently from the passage of scripture in Peter and in Revelation, heaven and earth will be completely destroyed. Heaven and earth will now have a new heaven and a new earth. There will be a totally new creation.

“God’s keeping it together. And when God says you’re done, it all falls apart.”

No More Sea: No More Separation

Now look again at Revelation 21:1. At the end of the verse, it says, “And there will no longer be any sea.” You ask what’s that? What does that indicate? Well, there have been many, many interpretations to this, but I think that it goes along with the creation.

Just remember, let’s think about the sea for a minute. The sea naturally divides great continents. They divide the earth into sections. All the nations right now are separated from each other.

The Bible is saying here that in the new heaven and the new earth there will be no natural boundaries that will divide mankind from each other. Also, the hydrological system will not be needed anymore according to the word of God because the ocean will no longer be needed to supply evaporation through the clouds and rain and rivers and springs.

The point is that people and animals, whatever they need—be it water or anything else—they will eventually get it from the throne of God.

If you look at Revelation 22:1, it says this: “Then he showed me a river of the water of life clear as crystal coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb.”

So here there are no seas. There’s no need for the separation of the nations or of peoples. Instead, there’s a coming together.

We get the sense from the scripture that this place will be nothing like what we have known here on the earth. Everything will be new. There will be a new heaven, a new earth, a new city, the holy city Jerusalem.

“There will be a new heaven, a new earth, a new city, the holy city Jerusalem. Everything will be entirely new.”

New Reality #2: A New City

There’ll be a new creation. We’ll look more about that in the next chapter. But the next thing, the second thing that we will look forward to as believers in Revelation 21:2 is a new city.

And look what it says in verse two. “And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.” So the city of the bride, the city that comes down from God’s heaven, made ready and put in order, is a holy city. It is a prepared city. It is an adorned city. It’s a beautiful city that the holy city is a bride who has been brought back to her husband’s love and rebuilt with precious stones.

The new Jerusalem will be the heavenly home of Christ’s bride, which is not only the church, but all the people of God. The people of God will be there. And it will be the home of the glorified saints. And the Lord Jesus Christ has been preparing this place for a long time. He’s been looking forward to this time. He’s been looking forward to this event.

So God’s heaven, a new heaven and earth are joined together and made one. That heaven and earth are finally united again. No separations. And God sovereignly now reigns in that place.

No separation between God and people. No separation between people and nations with big water masses in between. And just like a faithful husband dwells with his wife and prepares for her, God now dwells with his people. And so he creates the new Jerusalem.

It is a much better way to live life than looking backward or dragging your past into everything you do. Even Paul says, “I press on leaving those things behind. I press forward.” See, that’s a biblical way of thinking. And that’s the goal. That’s what we ought to be doing as believers, to be pressing forward.

If there’s too much living in the past, it will not be healthy for you physically, spiritually, emotionally, or any other way.

“The whole word of God has been looking forward to what will be, and that’s what we ought to be doing.”

New Reality #3: A New Presence

See, we ought to go forward. We ought to look ahead of ourselves, for the whole word of God has been looking forward to what will be, and that’s what we ought to be doing. There is definitely a new city. But thirdly, I want you to notice there’s a new presence.

This next verse right here perhaps is the most significant passage in all the word of God. The reason why is because it makes the most fascinating pronouncement. The pronouncement tells us that God will dwell with his people and the saints will dwell with their God.

The saints will enjoy unbroken fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ forever. We will become really homesick when we grasp the reality that there will be these new conditions prepared for us in that place.

Look at this third condition that we will enjoy: a new presence in verse three. Note this in your Bibles: “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be among them.’”

This passage really says the same thing in several different ways. John was rattled by this loud voice that comes from the throne of God from heaven. He heard probably the most important announcement ever proclaimed from heaven. It says this in verse three: “Behold the tabernacle of God is among men.”

Now the tabernacle is really simply a word that means to pitch a tent. We first heard this particular word in John 1:14 where it says, “And the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father full of grace and full of truth.”

So the word “dwelt” really means that Jesus came to the earth. He pitched his tent here for a short period of time. He tabernacled amongst his people. This means that God comes to his people. He walks with his people. He is present with his people in the person of Jesus Christ.

But that doesn’t mean that the whole program is done when those things took place. Obviously, we know it wasn’t finished yet.

Here in the passage, God comes to dwell with us, but pitching a tent is a bit misleading because it seems to suggest a temporary thought. This is more than just pitching a tent. This is a permanent dwelling. This is God coming to earth.

This new earth is the kingdom of God, with the earth coming together with no separation and God tabernacling amongst people. He comes to the earth with them, and it says in the second part of the verse that God will be a personal companion to his people.

Notice what it says in verse three: “They shall be his people.” People used in a plural sense means in eternity all ethnic and racial distinctions will disappear and we will be one people. There will be no boundaries, and God will be among those people. God is there, and that is going to be the joy of our hearts.

Really, the great thing about the new heaven and the new earth is Christ is there. God is there in his fullness. We’re there in resurrected bodies that can be in the glory of God without being destroyed. That is the great thing about it.

“The great thing about the new heaven and new earth is Christ is there — and we’re there in resurrected bodies that can be in the glory of God.”

God’s Plan to Dwell with His People

Matthew told us the name Emmanuel means God with us. It’s always been in the mind of God for these things to take place. And we will enjoy a new intimate personal union and communion with our God. That’s what we’re going to be doing.

Here’s the full and final working out of what God intended from the beginning: that he would dwell with us with no hindrances, with no obstacles, with no fences, and nothing that is going to stop us from worshiping him, from dwelling with him. It has always been God’s intention to dwell with human beings, who are the highest creation from the hand of God. It’s always been his intention to walk with his people, and we see that from Genesis to Revelation—he has been desiring to do that.

We see that in the garden. God walks with Adam and Eve until sin came in and separated them from God.

Then we see Israel set up camp. Later on, God dwelt with Israel in the tabernacle in the wilderness. The tabernacle was in the middle of the camp. All the tents around that camp could go out their front door and see the glory of God, the Shekinah glory of God. They knew God was present with them. That didn’t last long either because of the people’s disobedient sin.

Then the Bible tells us that God dwells in the body of his people, the church, by his spirit. It says, “I will be with you.” That was the beginning of it. And then in the millennial kingdom, God dwells in the New Jerusalem on the new earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That also ended.

It’s always been God’s plan to dwell with his people and have us dwell with him in unhindered fellowship and worship. All believers will ultimately dwell in God’s presence and enjoy him forever. That’s why we ought to start right now enjoying the Lord and worshiping him. Even with all the obstacles we have, even dealing with remaining sin and the sin that’s in the world, we still always have to pursue this and look forward because God’s presence is the focus in this passage of scripture.

It will immediately affect our condition and also the reward that we will receive now and in all eternity.

“It’s always been God’s plan to dwell with his people and have us dwell with him in unhindered fellowship and worship.”

The Bible is telling us we will dwell in a city that looks like a charming virtuous bride. We will dwell in a city in which God tabernacles amongst his people. We will dwell in a city of grace and glory. We will dwell in a city and also enjoy lasting peace.

New Reality #4: A New Peace

And that brings me to the fourth condition to look forward to in verses 4-7.

A new peace will encompass his people. And what’s that going to be? Well, because we are in the presence of the prince of peace, there will be an absence of the usual unpleasant things that we experience every day on this earth. Look at verse 4 of Revelation 21.

It says, “And he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will no longer be any death. There will no longer be any mourning or crying or pain. The first things have passed away.”

Is that not an encouragement that God will wipe away the tears of suffering and sacrifice, that the destructive effects of sins will be removed completely? Just think for a moment about all the illnesses and the sufferings and the sorrow and the loss you and I go through in these bodies and on this sin-cursed, sick world. Earthquakes, hurricanes, natural disasters are all a result of the creation groaning because of sin. Even creation itself wants to be set free.

But it’s not going to happen yet. Not until there’s a new heaven and new earth. There will be earthquakes. The Lord Jesus told us in the gospels there will be wars. There will be death until God completes his program.

That sin came into the world and with it, it brought death. These things have wreaked havoc in every nook and cranny of this particular universe. Every day of our lives, we feel the effects of living in a fallen, sinful world.

That’s why we don’t feel at home because sin robs us of what we gain every single day. It happens to us. But think about your life. I think about my life.

We’re on the mountaintops very few times in our lives. We spend a lot of time in the valley.

Even King David wrote, “I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” So he knew what it meant to walk in the valley. He also knew that God was with him. And he knew that at the end God would give him what he desired—that he would dwell in the house of the Lord forever. That’s Psalm 23, the most famous psalm in the world.

But if you look at the details of it, you say, “Wow, he understood something. He knew something.” And that’s something we all need to know.

Psalm 23: “He knew that at the end God would give him what he desired — that he would dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

The Effects of Sin’s Curse Removed

Well, all this happens because men disobey God and we’re cast out of his presence.

Why do we have all the problems that we have? Because we don’t obey and follow what God says. See, that’s actually what sin is.

We reap the results of what we sow.

But it won’t be so in the eternal kingdom.

And that’s the hope we have.

He’s going to wipe away every tear.

And if you look back at verse 4, it says, “These first things have passed away. They’re gone. They’re done.” Even Isaiah again tells us, “And sorrow and sighing will flee away.” If we want to conclude what it says there in Isaiah and in Revelation, it means that we’re going to be happy and joyful all the time.

Now, that’s hard to understand right now. We can’t even say amen to that. Instead, we have to say, “Oh, me.” Because we’re not happy all the time.

But one day we will be happy always and we’ll never have to attend another funeral or visit someone in the hospital or the nursing home or sit by the bed of someone dying of cancer or some disease or getting a phone call at night about some tragedy that happened to one of your loved ones.

In fact, we won’t even get a common cold.

The heavenly place will be absent from everything that could possibly bring a tinge of sorrow or pain to the heart, to the mind, to the body, to the soul. No war, no poverty, no injustice, no hunger, no starvation. That’s what God promises.

That’s what we’re to look forward to.

That’s the hope that we have.

“One day we will be happy always and never attend another funeral or sit by the bed of someone dying — that’s what God promises.”

That’s what he’s preparing for us. We have to conclude what a great God we serve. What a good God we serve to even tell us this. He gives us this in the word of God. So we’re not ignorant of the truth of what will be.

Three Declarations and Two Promises

Now, how do we know that we’ll even have these new conditions or experience these new conditions? Well, the Bible answers that there are three declarations coupled with two promises in verses 5 and 6. Notice what it says. Look at your Bibles. It says in verse 5, “And he who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ And he said, ‘Write, for these words are faithful and true.’”

See, the sovereign God and ruler of the universe declares three final things. Here’s the first declaration. Notice what it says: “I am making all things new.” In other words, nothing of the old sinful world will remain to remind us of the former pain and suffering and the things that sin has caused.

These declarations are all based on something. They’re based on the true and faithful character of God. You can’t base anything better than on that.

The sure, reliable word of God that the writing here is intended to increase the longing of our hope. Because of the divine certainty of God’s reliable words, he reveals his character. Not only that, but we also know of his historical actions from the past, the present, and the future. In other words, everything—all things that God said would come true has come true and will come true.

That should encourage us on our earthly journey to endure and do the work of God.

There’s a second declaration in verse 6, and it says this: “He said to me, ‘It is done.’ It is done.”

That’s the declaration. He says, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.” So God’s revelation from the first to the last letter, all history from start to finish—the Lord is over both ends of history. He started it, he will finish it. And everything in between, he’s involved with. See, that’s what God’s done. He doesn’t leave anything undone.

There are also three other times in Scripture that this term “it is done” has been used. It’s been used at the cross. What did Jesus say?

Jesus had received the wine and he says, “It is finished.” And he bowed his head and gave his spirit. In other words, he finished the job of redemption in his first coming. Nothing else has to be done anymore. It was complete.

“He finished the job of redemption in his first coming. When you receive Christ, you get a full package of redemption — a complete salvation.”

Christ had come to bring salvation. And when you receive Christ, you get a full package of redemption. It’s a complete salvation.

A second time it’s used in Revelation about the wrath of God being finished. Another time in Revelation it talks about the wrath of God being finished. It’s over.

The Gift of Salvation: Come and Drink

So all those things in this declaration means that it’s over. It’s done. The finality of God’s proclamation is actually a very sweet one that God has brought us to the dawn of a new age, the eternal kingdom of God.

There’s a third declaration in verse six. Notice what it says, and this one is connected with two promises. It says, “I will give to the one who thirsts of the spring of the water of life without cost.” You notice the declaration is “I will give.” What is he talking about here? He’s talking about the gift of salvation.

If you notice, the gift of salvation is given to those who thirst. This is the picture of faith. I want for God to be my God. And the invitation is given to those who are thirsty: come and be satisfied. It will cost you nothing.

Get your thirst satisfied by Christ who paid the full price for you to be saved from God’s wrath and have your sins wiped away forever through repentance and faith. Anybody who gets saved has a thirst for truth. You may not know what you’re looking for at that point, but the Spirit of God knows what you’re looking for.

He brings you and the word together where you realize this is what is true. Not everybody’s looking for it, but I tell you what, the Spirit of God creates a thirst in your heart to want a relationship with the God who created the heaven and the earth, with the God who created you, with the God who can send you to hell.

The Lord does this. He gives to those who repent of their sin—repentance toward God the Father and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ—because Jesus Christ is the solution to our sin. He is the one who wiped it away. He is the one who gives us the victory, who washes that sin away so it never can condemn us again in the presence of God.

“He gives to those who repent — repentance toward God the Father and faith in Jesus Christ, who washes sin away so it can never condemn us again.”

He is the one who does that. But there’s a second promise in our text in verse seven. He says, “And he who overcomes will inherit these things. I will be his God and he will be my son.”

There’s a difference here in this passage. This gift of salvation is that I want to be a child of God. I don’t want to follow anything else. I don’t want to follow my own philosophy of life. I don’t want to be caught in some religious system that says I have to do this to be saved and I got to make myself saved. No, I want to be a child of God.

This gift of salvation he gives to those who overcome and persevere to the end—not because of their perseverance, but because of what Christ had done for them. That is your gift. And what is the gift? “I will be your God and you will be my child.”

What does that mean? We were all illegitimate children because of sin. But when we became a Christian, we were adopted into God’s family. When he adopts us, we reap the full benefit of adoption.

What is the full benefit of adoption? Everything Christ owns, we now own. We are guaranteed to be in the family of God. When you’re in the family of God, nobody can touch you because you’re God’s kid. You got royal blood running through your veins.

“When God adopts us, everything Christ owns we now own. We are guaranteed to be in the family of God.”

The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. But those who do not fear God, those who are unbelievers, those who still lust for sin, those who reject Christ have no place and no part where God dwells amongst his people.

New Reality #5: A New Protection

And that’s what the next section of scripture says. The next passage in verse eight, and this is the last thing, we have a new protection.

A new protection.

Now, not only will there be a new presence and a new peace for us, there will also be a new protection. Look at verse eight. And I just look at what it says in verse eight.

Here’s the sad inheritance of unbelief.

Unbelief is the deadly sin.

Who Will Be Excluded

It is the deadly sin because if one does not believe in Christ, they are doomed to the lake of fire. So, who’s going to be excluded from all these promises, all these declarations? Who are going to be excluded?

Notice in verse eight, and I’ll take each one of them: the cowardly. Who are those? Those are those who give up in the fight and do not conquer. They become afraid. They’re not going to be there.

And then the next one, the unbeliever. The unbelieving are not going to be there. Who are they? Well, they’re the unbelievers who are also afraid. And these are the doubters, the deniers, the defiers, the hesitant, the ones who straddle the fence. I don’t know if I really want Christ. Maybe someday.

Those are the hesitant. But what? If you hesitate too long, it may be your doom. If the Lord is calling you, you’re being convicted of your sin, the spirit of God is giving you the taste and you develop a thirst, you got to come. Don’t put it off.

Also, it’s those people who think they’re so intelligent they know better than God. And there’s a lot of people like that. Oh, I thought about that and I don’t really think the Bible’s true. It’s a bunch of fairy tales. I don’t think God is real. God is whoever you want God to be.

There’s a lot of that out there. But when you come to scripture, you have to give that up real quick because the Bible lays it out for us to know that there is a real God. And he’s really serious about things. But he’s a God of mercy. He’s a God of grace. He’s a God of love. But he will not allow the guilty to go unpunished.

“He’s a God of mercy, a God of grace, a God of love — but he will not allow the guilty to go unpunished.”

That’s who he is. That’s from the beginning of the Bible to the end of the Bible. He is the same.

But notice the next person who won’t be there: the abominable. Who’s that? That’s the person whose very nature has been polluted by the lifestyle of monstrous and non-natural sinful practices and vices. They won’t be there.

And then the next one: murderers. Who are they? Those are people who have made their souls harbingers of hate and destroy the life and reputations of other people created in the image of God. Murderers will not be there.

Also, next one: immoral persons won’t be there. Those who lived sexually perverted lifestyles contrary to God’s plan and purpose, they won’t be there.

Next one: sorcerers. Who are they? These are people who practice spirit worship, witchcraft, magic, fortune-telling. And all those are usually mixed with some kind of drug use and practices. There’s other things that go on there too. But even now when I was a kid, there was never an advertisement about fortune tellers on radio or TV. Today, they’re prominent—fortune tellers and people involved with that kind of thing. And people think that, oh, that’s not a big deal if you want to do that. No, that—all that stuff is demonic. Demons are behind all of it.

And if they can confuse you, if they can create more doubt in your heart, if they can keep you right where you’re at, well then he won. But God doesn’t want you to stay there. He wants you to break loose from that.

And then the next one is idolaters. Those who are worshippers of idols and images who commit spiritual adultery. This will be prevalent in the world, for the world bowing to antichrist’s image—it’s going to be prevalent then. And those who break the first and second commandment won’t be there.

And then notice the next one: all liars. Well, that includes everybody. But it’s really those who habitually deceive others, that this is their mode of operation. The person who slanders people, who gossips about people, who twists the truth, who loves to promote falsehoods to people.

These people are emissaries of their father, Satan, who’s been a liar from the beginning. John 8.

So within the kingdom of God, none of these—and this is not an exhaustive list—but we get the idea from scripture that if you’re doing your own thing, you won’t make it to the kingdom of God. If you got your own philosophy of salvation, if you’re trying to save yourself, you’re not going to be there.

You got to give it all up. That’s the whole point. You give it all up. You come to Christ and what you gave up is nothing to compare to what you receive when you become a believer. And everybody who grows in the Lord and knows the word of God understands that.

“What you gave up is nothing compared to what you receive when you become a believer.”

So if I were to put a gun to your head and I say denounce Christ, I pray God would give us the grace to be able to say no, I can’t because this is the truth. Where am I going to go? You have the words of eternal life. I can’t go anywhere else. Matter of fact, if you take my life, to die is gain. I’m with the Lord.

Look over to Revelation 21:27. I’m not going to look at that verse today, but look at what it says there. It says, “And nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

So the Lord has a registry. I don’t see your name there. Or come on in. Your name’s there. You came to Christ. It’s there.

So these all will be shut out of the holy city and have their portion in the lake of fire. And this is the final windup of the old systems and the destiny of proud, presumptuous man without God.

That’s what the thinking is. And man left to himself will destroy himself. You got that right? We’re in this advanced world. We have more information, more technology, more ways to do things. And is it better morally, spiritually, ethically? No. It’s worse. People have gone from bad to worse.

And it’s not going to get better because men cannot create a utopia. Men cannot create what God can do. They cannot do it. They will destroy themselves. And it will be just a mission of pride. Who’s better than the next person? And if you don’t cooperate with me, I kill you. I move you out of the way. That’s what I do.

The Only Way In

So, here’s the promise. Here’s the protection that is given to us. The saved, the blood-bought, born-again believer will spend eternity on the new earth in the new Jerusalem.

The lost, the unbeliever, all the ones that are mentioned here in verse 8, will spend their eternity in a place where it burns with fire and brimstone, or fire and sulfur.

Isn’t this enough to make you yearn to go there?

When you get to the place where you close your eyes in death, do you know where you’re going? You’re confident in that. It’s not because of anything you’ve done. You may have regrets even then, but because of what Christ has done.

Christ, the one who rose from the grave, is the first fruits of the resurrection. He will give you that same life and that same hope, and he will keep his promises. God does not break promises.

He cannot break promises because of who he is.

So isn’t it enough to make you yearn to go there? Who wants to pass this up?

But I say this: you can’t get in by your own way. You can’t get through the back door. You can’t climb over the wall with your own philosophy of doing things.

You got to go through the shepherd’s gate. The one who stands in front of the shepherd’s gate—and there’s only one entrance—is a person called Jesus Christ. He is the shepherd of the sheep.

There’s no way to enter into such a place as this and to hold on by faith to these promises unless you come through Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. You called on him. You asked him to save you. You asked him to forgive you of your sin.

You asked him to give you eternal life in his spirit. You asked him to be your Lord.

The Bible tells us that such a place is only given to those who are true believers in Jesus Christ and those who have believed in his sacrificial death and his glorious resurrection.

“There’s no way to enter such a place unless you come through Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, believing in his sacrificial death and glorious resurrection.”

He’s gone to prepare a place for us, and he’s going to come back and take us there.

It’s our job now to get ready to go. Do you have your bags packed? I pray you do, because that’s where we’re going to look at as we approach the end of Revelation.

Those who are true believers in Christ Jesus have a lot to look forward to, which should bolster their faith. While your faith is being bolstered, you have your tent pegs in this earth a little bit loose.

Why? Because you’re preparing to go home. You’re not just camping. You’re camping here, but you’re going to your permanent dwelling.

Those who have not yet become true believers, may these scriptures make you thirsty for Christ. May you come in humble repentance and faith and trust him as your Lord and Savior. If you do that, the Bible says he will in no wise cast you out.

He didn’t come to save the righteous. No, he came to save the ungodly, the unholy, the wicked person, the rebel, the disobedient one. He came to save you and me. In other words, that’s who we were.

But in Christ Jesus, we’ve been forgiven. Amen.

Let’s pray.

Lord, this morning there are many sobering things in scripture and many encouraging things. I thank you, Lord, for the word of God. I thank you for the book of Revelation.

I thank you, Lord, for the truths that you give us so that we can be prepared, we can be ready, our faith can grow, and we can know that you are a God of truth. You are not a God of unrighteousness and untruth.

We can trust what you say and know that everything you say will happen exactly the way you say it.

Thank you, Lord. I pray that you’d bless each and every one of us here, wherever we may stand. For those of us who are true believers, confident in these truths and promises, and for someone who stands uncertain—I don’t know where I stand with Christ—I pray, Lord, you remove them from that thinking and move them to the place where they come and receive you as Lord and Savior.

For all of us, Lord, while we’re pilgrims and strangers on this earth, give us that encouragement. Help us to keep our eyes in heaven on you and in your word so our minds are transformed in a way that we would seek out every day your good and acceptable and perfect will.

Lord, may you use us in the church to be servants and to use our gifts to build it up. May we wait for you as we are working for you. Whether you take us in death or you take us at the second coming, whatever it may be, Lord, we know to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for these great, eternal, precious promises you give us in the word of God.
August 16, 2026
The Great Judgment Before the Eternal Kingdom
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Note: This transcript and summary was autogenerated. It has not yet been proofread or edited by a human.

Summary

We are called to reckon seriously with the reality of final judgment as described in Revelation 20:11-15. This passage teaches us that judgment is not a matter of *if* but *when*, and that every person’s eternal destiny is determined by whether their name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Key Lessons:
1. God’s judgment is certain, personal, and final — Scripture consistently warns that every hidden act, word, and motive will be brought before the righteous Judge.
2. Believers will face the Judgment Seat of Christ (not condemnation), where their works after conversion will be evaluated for reward or loss of reward — we are called to build on the foundation of Christ with gold, silver, and precious stone, not wood, hay, and straw.
3. The Great White Throne Judgment is a sentencing, not a trial — the unsaved are judged by their deeds recorded in God’s perfect books, and no human status, argument, or self-righteousness can protect them.
4. The only escape from God’s wrath is trusting in Jesus Christ alone, whose death on the cross absorbed the full penalty of sin so that our names may be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Application: We are called to examine ourselves honestly before God, ensure our trust is fully in Christ and not in our own goodness, and then boldly share the gospel with others — letting the weight of God’s Word do its work in their hearts.

Discussion Questions:
1. How does the certainty of God’s final judgment change the way you think about sin in your daily life?
2. As a believer, how does the reality of the Judgment Seat of Christ motivate you to invest your gifts, time, and resources in kingdom work rather than living for yourself?
3. Is there someone in your life who needs to hear the warning and hope of Revelation 20? What is holding you back from sharing it with them?
Scripture Focus: Revelation 20:11-15 reveals the Great White Throne Judgment and the Book of Life. 2 Corinthians 5:10 and 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 describe the Judgment Seat of Christ for believers. John 8:24 warns that dying in sin leads to condemnation, while Romans 5:8 and 6:23 declare the gift of eternal life through Christ’s substitutionary death.

Outline
Introduction

Morning everyone. Let’s take our Bibles this morning and turn to Revelation 20.

You may also want to bring 2 Corinthians. I’m going to be looking at that. 2 Corinthians 5. So you may want to find that also.

All right. Let me have a word of prayer and then we’ll look at Revelation this morning. Let’s pray.

Lord, thank you again for bringing us together. Thank you for the joyous events that you give us in our life to celebrate—things like marriage and children being born. Lord, even celebrating people coming to Christ, growing in the Lord, children coming to Christ, and Lord, people growing and maturing and becoming people of God and becoming light and salt in the world.

I pray you would continue to do that right before our eyes and never forget that you are still working. Even though the world is getting more corrupt, you are still working. Your light is still working through the gospel. People are still getting saved.

People are still walking in the waters of baptism, giving testimony to the great things you’ve done. Your people are still praising your name and singing from their hearts of the great things you’ve done and how great you are as our God and our Lord and our Savior.

Thank you, Lord, for all that you give to us. Thank you for the word of God that we’re able to read and get the sense of your mind on what you’re doing and how your plans are working out. You’re not done with them yet, but you will be someday, Lord.

Thank you, Lord, we’re part of that. It’s an exciting time to live. I pray, Lord, that you continue to grow us in our knowledge and wisdom of Christ so we become strong soldiers in this world where we’re not tossed to and fro by every wind of teaching. I pray this in Christ’s name. Amen.

Revelation 20, the last passage of scripture from verse 11 through verse 15. But before I go there, this passage of scripture is very sobering because it is talking about judgment.

In the gospel of John we learn that the Father does not judge anyone. He has given all judgment to the Son.

The Certainty of Judgment

And this section of scripture right here in Revelation speaks of judgment that is personal and judgment that is final.

You’re going to see that it’s not a trial going on in these passages to discover whether a person is guilty or not. It is actually a sentencing, a pronouncement of judgment by the Lord God Almighty upon the ungodly and their doom.

There’s an attitude though today in the world that they think that there will be no judgment, that God is just going to overlook things, that there won’t be any requirements or accounting of one’s life before a sovereign judge. People actually live in that sphere. A lot of people live in that sphere.

No matter what people think, they don’t have the final word on things. The scriptures have really given us a sufficient amount of warning that there will be a judgment someday.

In that judgment, the distinction between what is hidden and what is public and private collapses when everything is made open and bare before the one in whom we have to do.

Scripture is clear that judgment is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when. I’m talking about the final judgment. That’s what we see in Revelation—a final judgment.

Jesus taught of a future judgment. Even in Matthew 7, he said, “Many will say to me, on that day, that’s the day of judgment. Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name cast out demons and in your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.”

The Apostle Paul also taught future judgment. He says in Romans 2, “On that day when according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.”

Luke, who wrote the book of Acts, taught of a future judgment when he said in chapter 17, “Because God has fixed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom he has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising him from the dead.”

Even the writer of Hebrews in Hebrews 9:27 says, “Inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and then what? After this comes judgment.”

The book of Ecclesiastes even tells us that God will bring every act to judgment—everything that is hidden, whether it’s good or evil.

Scripture presents judgment as a very old, very consistent, very sobering truth.

“Scripture presents judgment as a very old, very consistent, very sobering truth.”

There will be no event like it. It will take place and there is no one, no event, nothing to stop it. It is unavoidable. It’s an unavoidable truth in scripture.

In other words, we all have to put ourselves in the equation and ask ourselves, where do we stand with God today? Where do we stand with Jesus Christ today?

Death is really not the great leveler. Judgment is the great leveler because judgment is the one that actually sends a person either into glory to be with Christ forever or sends them away from a loving God forever.

“Judgment is the great leveler — it sends a person either into glory with Christ forever or away from a loving God forever.”

God has given his son to execute judgment. Why? Because he is the son of man.

No one can argue at all that an appointment with death is going to be escaped. Someday your name and my name will appear as deceased in an obituary section of a newspaper or on a media site.

What will be the verdict? Will your eternal destiny be in the last judgment?

Sin’s Tipping Point

So on our way to understand what it is saying here, let me just kind of illustrate it in this way. There’s such a thing as a tipping point.

There are many areas of science that teach about tipping points. For example, a tipping point in physics is when adding a small amount of weight to a balanced object causes the object to suddenly topple out of control.

There is a tipping point in the field of thermodynamics. The tipping point is known as the phase transition.

It’s a formation of the thermodynamic system from one phase to another where the physical properties may undergo an abrupt change. For example, when water turns to vapor at a boiling point, there’s a specific time when it switches from not boiling to boiling.

Even in calculus, the tipping point is known as the inflection point. The point of inflection is a point on a curve at which the curvature changes from concave upwards or downward, or vice versa.

And even in theology, there is also a tipping point. This comes when the holiness of God says it’s enough.

In this case, the tipping which tips the scale is sin.

So we call it sin’s tipping point.

It is the point of God’s judgment in which a long-suffering God, a patient God as portrayed in scripture, says it’s enough. In other words, it is the point determined by God alone in which he, because of his holy character, must finally judge sin.

“The tipping point is the point determined by God alone in which he, because of his holy character, must finally judge sin.”

And there are many examples in scripture of a particular turning point or a tipping point.

One familiar one is when Abraham in the Old Testament was visited by the angel of the Lord.

The angel of the Lord said to Abraham, “We’re coming because there’s an outcry indeed in Sodom and Gomorrah.” Scripture says, “Their sin is exceedingly great in that city.” Remember what Abraham said to the Lord. He said, “If there are 50 righteous people, will you hold judgment?” The Lord says, “Not for 50.” He said, “For 45, not for 45. For 40, not for 40. For 30, not for 30. For 20, not for 20.” And Abraham says, “Lord, this last time, can I ask you this last time?

What if 10 righteous people are in the city? Will you hold judgment?” God says, “For 10, I will not.” When Abraham woke up the next morning, all he saw in the direction of Sodom and Gomorrah was smoke.

In fact, there were only four people delivered from Sodom and Gomorrah: Lot, his two daughters, and his wife.

The angel said to them as they left Sodom and Gomorrah, “Don’t look back. Escape for your life and don’t look behind you and do not stay anywhere in the valley. Escape to the mountains or you’ll be swept away.”

Remember what happens. Lot’s wife looks back and she’s immediately turned into a pillar of salt.

See, that’s an example of the tipping point of sin.

Sin reached heaven from Sodom and Gomorrah and God held judgment on it.

Why did he do that? He had to do it because he is holy and he has a system of justice and holiness. That system of justice and holiness must be satisfied.

“God’s justice must be satisfied.”

God’s justice must be satisfied.

The Judgment Seat of Christ for Believers

Now, what about Christians? What about them?

Now, just very quickly, I want you to turn over to 2 Corinthians 5:10 because there are some examples for the position that future judgment is in a number of phases with the great white throne judgment being the last of them.

But one of the ones I want to look at is where Christian judgment will happen.

And this takes place in heaven as it now exists.

And it says in 2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in his body according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

So I do want you to see that while no Christian will endure the wrath of God, our works after we become believers will be tested by God.

With all the groaning and burdens of life, our lives must be lived before the eyes of the one who matters the most, and that’s the Lord Jesus Christ.

In fact, the phrase “the judgment seat of Christ” comes from the Greek term we get the word bema, or the bema seat. It’s the seat of judgment. It’s a judicial bench.

The whole picture of the judgment seat of Christ really comes straight out of the athletic games in the New Testament world. After the races and the games concluded, a dignitary or even the emperor himself would get up from his throne and evaluate the winners. They would be given a reward, and those who didn’t do well would not be given a reward.

So all believers will face an evaluation before Jesus.

All the church age believers and those true believers who died before Jesus’ death and resurrection will face this judgment.

There are several facts about this judgment. Jesus’ evaluation of our lives is not to determine whether we enter heaven or not. The issue of our eternal destiny was settled when we repented of our sins and believed in Jesus and received eternal life by faith alone and through grace alone.

Also, we Christians will not face condemnation or punishment for our sins when we stand before Jesus.

“We Christians will not face condemnation or punishment for our sins when we stand before Jesus.”

God has promised that no condemnation will ever fall on those who are in Christ by faith.

Also, the evaluation will focus on what we did in life.

What did we do with our gifts? What did we do with our resources? Did we give them to the Lord or did we just live for ourselves?

Also, the outcome of the evaluation will be either reward or loss of reward, above and beyond eternal life.

Building on the Right Foundation

Now, just look at 1 Corinthians 3:10-15.

I want you to see in this passage of scripture because I want to give you some background to let you know why believers in Christ Jesus will not be at the great white throne judgment, which I’m going to look at in a second.

It says in verse 10 of 1 Corinthians 3. According to the grace of God which was given to me as a wise master builder, I laid the foundation and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which was laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Verse 12. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stone, wood, hay or straw, each man’s work will become evident for that day or the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. In verse 14, if any man’s work which he has built on remains, it will receive a reward. And if any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss. But if you notice the last part of verse 15, he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

So the believer is not going to lose their eternal salvation, but he is going to lose some type of reward that God wants to give us. And reward is a motivator.

The Lord doesn’t want us sitting on our hands. He wants us to be out there working for him. He wants us to be engaged in what? In the study of God’s word, in witnessing to other people, in growing ourselves to maturity, in contributing and using our gifts in the church to build it up. All those things are going to be evaluated so nobody gets away with anything.

You and I are building on God’s construction project.

The foundation of the building was laid when Jesus died on the cross. Each one of us is building upon it either with gold, silver, or costly stone. That means these are precious things. That’s God-honoring motives, walking in the spirit, personal integrity and holiness, joyful obedience to the Lord and other things that would go with that.

Or you’re building with wood, hay, and straw. These are things that are not permanent. They’re perishable things. They’re going to get burned up quickly by God’s judgment. And those are sinful pursuits, selfish motives, pride-filled actions, underhanded manipulation, laziness, worldliness, not listening and obeying the word of God, grieving God’s spirit, quenching God’s spirit.

All those things are a posture that goes on too much. We may have to even question whether the person is really a believer.

If today you are seeking to serve God with commitment and in obedience, you are building with the right stuff.

“If today you are seeking to serve God with commitment and in obedience, you are building with the right stuff.”

If you are coasting along with no desire for spiritual growth or any demonstration of sacrificial ministry to others, you’re building God’s house with the wrong stuff.

The fact remains that you’ll give an account as a believer. I will give an account as a believer as to how I and you lived our lives. What we did for Christ after conversion.

Now that becomes very serious if we’re going to stand and be evaluated before the Lord and we his children are going to come before him and we are going to be called to account for what we did with our knowledge of the word of God.

The Great White Throne: The Judge

We have to examine ourselves as Christians. Christians are going to be examined before the Lord, but that’s before the judgment that I’m going to speak of now. That was kind of an introduction to where I’m heading.

Let’s look back at Revelation 20:11. The first thing we see in verse 11 is the description of the one who actually judges. We’re talking about the judge.

If you notice in verse 11 of Revelation 20, it says, “Then I saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it from whose presence earth and heaven fled away and no place was found for them.”

The one who sits on the throne is God, and Revelation already pictured Christ as the one who stands in the center of the throne. In other words, the Father, the Son, and even in Revelation 6, the Spirit are all present. The trinity of God is present in this judgment.

Revelation 22:1 tells us, “Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb.” The Lamb, Jesus Christ, is pictured here as the one who was slain before the foundation of the world and the one who is also given the authority to judge those before him.

This throne seems to be a very special place where the judgment of unbelievers is to take place because it tells us several things about the throne.

Number one, it’s a great throne. That means it pictures the immensity and the majesty of the throne by extension and the one who sits upon it.

Perhaps it includes the dignity of the judge, the greatness of the occasion in which the judge will judge, and the vastness of the audience, especially the eternal consequences that are involved when the judge pronounces judgment. It is a very weighty scene, and it’s meant to be that way. When we read scripture, it’s meant to lay heavy on your heart.

For what reason? Make sure you’re not there. That’s the reason. Make sure you’re not there at this judgment.

It is God who will have the last word according to this passage of scripture.

“It is God who will have the last word.”

The Throne Described

Another thing it says about this throne is that it’s white.

That’s the picture of purity. It’s the picture of holiness.

It’s the picture of the righteousness of God. It’s also the picture of triumph.

Someone who sits on the throne has ruling authority, and it also may denote a justice without mercy.

There will be no altar or sacrifice or blood that will protect the guilty or satisfy the wrath of God against sin.

“There will be no altar or sacrifice or blood that will protect the guilty or satisfy the wrath of God against sin.”

Everything of all of that is done. It’s in the past.

Also, the presence of God is there. The judge has an awesome presence, and what happens in his presence is that the heaven and the earth flee away.

The Old Heaven and Earth Pass Away

So this old earth that we are all occupying right now at this judgment will pass away.

See, what happens is the judge is so awesome that at his presence the heavens and the earth flee away. The old heavens and the old earth that we know of are gone, and that is really pointing to the end of the age and the beginning of a new age.

The environmentalists need to get this. I mean, we need to take care of our earth, but global warming, global cooling, climate change—all those things. What it says in the word of God is true. Isaiah says the earth will wear out like an old garment.

Psalms tells us it will wear out like a garment.

The book of Romans says, “The creation groans for redemption.” And the passage of scripture we read in our morning scripture reading says, “But by his word, the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and the destruction of ungodly men.”

So this heaven and earth that we know of will flee away, and there will be no place found for the old heaven and the old earth anymore. In other words, this heaven and the earth that we see every day and we’re on is disposable.

God is just going to get rid of it and all the corruption that goes with it. And this is the point: God is going to get rid of all evil, all corruption, everything is going to go.

“God is going to get rid of all evil, all corruption — everything is going to go.”

In fact, Revelation 21:1 says, “Then I saw a new heaven, a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.” So yes, brethren, there is a new age dawning after this great white throne judgment.

In fact, the great white throne judgment is located somewhere in limitless space outside of human history.

So every sinner will be brought before the judgment seat.

And Jesus Christ, who before came as a savior offering salvation from the condemnation of sin, will be the judge.

And the word of God says every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. So if God cannot be glorified in salvation, if he cannot be glorified in the salvation of sinners by their surrender to him and to the gospel, then he will be glorified by their damnation.

The Judged: Who Stands Before the Throne

So that is the judge. Now let’s look at the judged.

In verses 12 and 13, at least the first part of these two verses, it says in verse 12, “And I saw the dead, the great and small, standing before the throne.” And then in verse 13, “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it.”

Now keep in mind that there is a different destiny for the saved and the unsaved. Physical death is the separation of the soul from the body until the future resurrection summons that body out of the grave.

Here we see the second resurrection, and it includes all unrighteous dead from all ages. Those include those who join forces with the devil and perished in the final rebellion after the millennium, and the rest of the dead who had no part in the first resurrection before the millennium.

If you’re part of the first resurrection, then you were part of God’s people. That comes before the great white throne. If a person is part of the second resurrection, then they are part of this judgment that we’re looking at.

In other words, the resurrection of believers occurs before the millennium while the resurrection of unbelievers occurs after the thousand years. That’s implied in the second resurrection.

There are two things about the dead who are resurrected for their judgment. Number one, if you notice in verse 12, “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne,” their position in life is no consideration during the day of judgment.

The great are the people who had it great in this world—people who had authority and influence and wealth. And there are the small too who stand before him. Their position doesn’t come into play in the judgment.

These dead come from all classes and conditions of humanity. But just to make a note, they are all standing before God here, which indicates that they’re all going to be sentenced.

“They are all standing before God — which indicates that they are all going to be sentenced.”

The picture is that of a judge. Even our own court system tells us that a person being judged or sentenced is asked to do one thing before the judge: stand up. And that’s what we have here—them standing before this judge with sentence about to be pronounced on them.

There’s another thing about verse 13. The method of burial or death has nothing to do with God’s power to raise them for judgment day. It says, “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it.” And then it goes on to say, “And death and hell gave up the dead which were in them.”

It doesn’t really matter how a person dies. It doesn’t matter when they die. It doesn’t matter if they were chopped to pieces or eaten by sharks or died a natural death. God is going to be able to raise all people up and bring all the molecules together and have them stand right in front of him.

That’s the power of God. How a person dies and what condition they die in have no bearing at all on God bringing their body and soul together and raising them from the dead.

Now they have resurrected bodies standing before him. They can no longer die anymore.

Although the great white throne is not a trial—which I’ve been saying, there are no lawyers, there are no witnesses—God has made provision for the records to be kept, which will be presented as evidence in this judgment.

How the Dead Are Judged

So that brings me to the third thing.

How are the dead actually judged? Now here’s the picture.

We have everyone being resurrected who died who didn’t believe in Jesus Christ in the first resurrection. Now this is the second resurrection. God brings them to life, stands them before him.

Now they have a new body, a body that cannot die anymore.

And notice what it says in verse 12, the second part of the verse.

This is how the dead are judged. It says, “And books were open, and another book was open, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds.”

Now here we see that the wicked will be judged by their works. By their deeds, their works are evaluated and judgment is given according to their works.

Meaning this: that God is a fair judge.

He’s a fair judge. And even after their life is ended, there will be degrees of judgment for unbelievers from the judge who has perfect records of your life.

“God is a fair judge — there will be degrees of judgment for unbelievers from the judge who has perfect records of your life.”

In verse 13 it says, “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave the dead which were in them, and they were judged, every one of them, according to their deeds.” So anybody who was cast into hell, which is a temporary place, after they died, their soul was kept there. Those who died in the Lord, their soul was kept with the Lord.

But now they’re resurrected. Their body and soul come together and they stand before the judge.

And the thing about this is the judge has perfect record books.

See the divine records of people’s life history will be available for inspection.

And the Bible actually says here that there are two books that come out. The record books, the divine books of people’s life history will be inspected.

And that means that the record of each human being has been kept in God’s books.

And God is an accurate bookkeeper.

The Book of Deeds

Let’s just look at the first book for a minute, the book of deeds.

And the books were open.

The record book of the deeds of people are those who have died in their sins. This is really in line with what Jesus told the people who claim to be the children of Abraham in John 8. The final spiritual state in which a person dies will determine who stands before Jesus at the great white throne judgment.

What did he say there? This is what he said to the people who were children of Abraham. They thought they were in because they were connected to Abraham. And Jesus says, “Oh, no, you’re not.”

He says, “I go away and you will seek me and die in your sin.” And then he says this in John 8:24: “Therefore, I said to you that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”

In other words, there’s only two ways to die. You either die in your sin and you pay for them, or you die in the Lord and he’s paid for your sin. There’s no in between.

You must really evaluate yourself to see what group am I in and be honest enough to know that the Lord knows everything going on in our life. So there’s only two conditions a person can die: you die in your sins or you die in the Lord.

You are not forgiven and still condemned in your sins at your death. So you are not free to go into the holy presence of God because you remain in your sins at death.

You must pay the penalty for your sins.

The unsaved are judged for their own righteousness. However, their own righteousness can’t save them.

When you talk to people about the Lord and ask if they were to die today, do you go to heaven and stand before God, and God would say, “Why should I let you in?” They say, “Well, I’m a good person.”

It’s good to be good, but being a good person will not save you. It will not wash away your sin. It will not make you right with God. That’s not what makes you right with God.

If you die in the Lord, he took your payment. Jesus died in your place for your sins and paid the full price and the just penalty for each one of them.

So you’re forgiven. You’re uncondemned in your death. And so free to go into the presence of God in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, not in your own righteousness, in his righteousness, because Jesus paid the penalty for your sin.

Even Revelation tells us in chapter 14: blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.

This first book of the two books is the book of man’s works. The record book of the deeds of the people who died in their sins. A record of the people’s deeds are kept by God.

It contains things like memories that you forgot about but the Lord didn’t. Things happening in your conscience, sinful acts, motives, your character, words spoken and thoughts thought.

Scripture makes consistent reference to the register of human actions all throughout scriptures. Even what it says in Matthew is a kind of shocking thing where Jesus says, “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Could you imagine the words that we speak? How many words we speak? Some people speak a lot more than others, and we’re going to be judged by what we say and how we say it and the attitude in which we present it to other people.

The times we cursed God under our breath, those things are not forgotten by the Lord. All everything is being recorded.

If that’s not a sobering thought, nothing is.

So the books were opened. And they were judged out of those things according to what they did. They were judged, every one of them, according to their deeds.

“They were judged, every one of them, according to their deeds.”

Secret Sins and God’s Perfect Records

And that God is able to reach back into a person’s life and to retrieve buried memories, half-hearted desires, and will bring every single one of them to an accurate and utterly faithful assessment at this divine justice, judgment seat.

See, the people’s deeds are all written down very carefully by God. Did you ever think of that? Did you ever think how serious sin is?

If sin is this serious to God, how do we take sin and just blow things off? Oh, that’s no big deal. To God, it’s a very big deal.

See, secret sins will be brought to judgment. God knows your secret sins.

“Secret sins will be brought to judgment. God knows your secret sins.”

God’s not blind to them. All of them are recorded and one day will be read openly. Your skeletons will come out of the closets. The torment of secret sins will be felt.

And any time we think of such weighty scenes like these must bring some trembling, some anxiety, some torment to the soul that would take place in our hearts and our minds as we hear and as we ponder our own sinfulness.

But there’s another thing in this judgment. Nobody’s talking. The people standing before God say nothing. They have no defense because this is not a trial.

These are people who will be judged rightly and justly by God because of his perfect righteousness and justice. The judgment will take place according to written evidence, and the sentence for each rests upon written evidence.

In fact, uncommitted sins will be judged. Unintentional sins will be judged. See, God knows what is perfectly going on in each person’s heart.

They are judged according to written evidence, and therefore their sentence rests upon what is written. Accurate wages.

The Wages of Sin

And it has been said that every person who goes to the lake of fire makes his own way and pays their own ticket. That they are only receiving their proper wages and getting what is their due.

Romans 6 says the wages of sin is death. And that’s not just physical death. That’s spiritual death, and the worst of it is eternal death. And that’s what will happen here: eternal death.

But on the other hand, those who trust in Christ alone for eternal salvation escape the wages and instead get the rest of the verse. The gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

“Those who trust in Christ alone for eternal salvation escape the wages and instead receive the gift of God — eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.”

See, this is the age that we’re living in now of open mercy, open grace. Anywhere, anyone—whoever you are—can come and believe in Christ. They could be saved and forgiven. They could be reconciled to God right now. They can escape this judgment.

And you who already know him can tell others who come into your life, who don’t know him yet, because you can tell them there’s coming a day of this kind of judgment. And I pray that it would produce fear in their heart and ask the right questions.

The Book of Life

Well, beside that record book, the record book of deeds, there’s another record book that will be open at the judgment. And it is the book of life.

This could be the final humiliation, the final condemnation, the final blow to every sinner at the terrible judgment before Jesus in the great white throne. What’s the purpose of this book? It’s God’s final answer to every plea of a sinner.

When the book of life is closed, the mercy is gone forever. Notice in verse 12, it says, “And another book was opened which is the book of life.” But this book is not a book of deeds or works. This is a book of names. This is the record book of names, not deeds.

See, the book of life comes into the discussion only to show that the names of these dead are not written there.

“The book of life comes into the discussion only to show that the names of these dead are not written there — it contains the names of all who have true spiritual life.”

It contains names of all who have true spiritual life. And if you take your Bibles for a minute, I hope you look using your Bibles so you can see for yourself. If you look back to Revelation 3:5, notice what it says there.

In verse 5 of chapter 3, it says, “He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments and I will not erase his name from the book of life. And I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.” Then look over to Revelation 13:8 because this book uniquely belongs to the Lamb of God and it’s related to his death. Notice what it says in verse 8 of chapter 13: “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.”

So this book of life is connected to Jesus Christ. Those who believe in Jesus Christ have their names written in this book. Don’t you want your name written in that book? I hope you do.

And then look at Revelation 21:27 because your name must be written in this book in order for you to enter the heavenly city. Revelation 21:27 says, “And nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying shall ever come into it. That’s the eternal city. But only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

You want to come into my city? Let me see if your name is here. I don’t seem to find it. Or, oh, I see it right here. Come on in.

See, the picture in the mind of the writer was in the ancient city. When a city was built, there was a roll of citizens’ names that belonged to that city. Those written on the rolls had free passes into and out of the city. They could come and go as they wanted.

It’s the same with the people of God.

Is Your Name Written There?

Those who are in Jesus Christ, their names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. That means they’re on the membership roll, and it’s like the old hymn that says, “When the roll is called up yonder.” When the roll of those who are in the book is called up yonder, what does it say? “I’ll be there, I’ll be there.”

It’s a sobering thought to know that your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

The only way you can be confident of that is if you yourself know that there came a day when you repented of your sin and your philosophy of life. You repented of anything you were trusting in to save your soul, and you turned and trusted in Jesus Christ alone. That’s the only way your name’s going to get there.

So if when you enter the kingdom of God your name’s going to be there, then what you have to do is rejoice.

Don’t rejoice if it’s not there. And don’t rejoice if you’re not sure it’s there. Rejoice because it’s there.

That’s what it says in the Gospel of Luke when Jesus says, “Nonetheless, do not rejoice in this that the spirits were subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.” That’s where you need to rejoice.

That’s what causes rejoicing today: sins forgiven, your name’s written down in heaven.

“That’s what causes rejoicing today — sins forgiven, your name written down in heaven.”

You’re the possessor of eternal life. You’re a partaker of the divine nature. You’re born of God. You’ve passed out of condemnation into everlasting life. That is a blessed state to be in, and it’s a state that causes you to rejoice all your life because you could never have saved yourself. You’re delivered from the wrath of God that we see here in this passage of scripture.

I pray today that your salvation would never be commonplace. Every time you think of how God saved you, may you experience fullness of joy and express your joy in verbal praise.

Some may ask the question: what are you getting saved from?

You’re getting saved from God’s standard of justice. You’re getting saved from the tipping point which God must judge all sin.

The reason why you are saved is because Christ took the righteousness of God and paid the full payment of your condemnation. He paid for the wrath of God that should have been poured out on you, but was poured out on Christ so you can have eternal life. Your names can be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life so that you can have hope and experience fullness of joy.

I remember witnessing to this woman. We had an appointment with her in her living room, but I ended up at her kitchen table. She was armed for us. She knew we were coming, and she had a stack of tracks and information that she was going to refute everything we said.

We sat there and laid out the gospel of Jesus Christ to her. I thought to myself, what if I just open up Revelation 20 and read it to her?

Me and another man were there at her table. All I did was open up Revelation 20 and read it to her, and those words hit her like a ton of bricks.

She just bowed her head and trusted Christ that day at her table. She knew she was guilty. There were no arguments. She never opened up her literature. She never refuted us.

I just let the tiger out of the cage and the tiger did its job. That was 35 years ago, and she’s still walking with the Lord today.

The power of God’s word to move somebody, to convince somebody, to bring somebody to the place where they know for sure they have eternal life is not based on anything they could have ever done. It’s based solely on Jesus Christ and his finished work on the cross of Calvary where he shed his blood.

When you trusted in him, your sins are washed away forever. They will never come up against you and condemn you ever.

The Second Death: Final Destiny of the Unsaved

There’s one last thing in our passage and I’m closing. Notice in verses 14 and 15 of Revelation 20.

It says in verse 14, here’s the destiny of those who are judged. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

Now verse 15 says, “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

Don’t think that the second death is in some sense annihilation, which is being taught today. You’re not going to be annihilated. It’s also not talking about ceasing to exist.

You’re created in the image of God. The day you were created in the image of God, you were created for eternity. That’s why hell and the lake of fire are eternal. Heaven’s eternal because we are eternal beings.

They can kill our body, but they can’t kill our soul. God brings soul and body back together and resurrects them for eternal life. He resurrects them for eternal damnation.

Don’t ever think that it’s talking about annihilation. The second death is a separation from the love of God forever. It’s conscious torment in a resurrected body that cannot die, that also allows you to remember everything in your life. The second death is conscious torment for all eternity.

“The second death is a separation from the love of God forever — conscious torment for all eternity.”

Death and Hades join the false trinity. That’s the antichrist and the false prophet and Satan himself. They are thrown into the lake of fire because God is going to eradicate all evil for all eternity.

These people’s names are not written in the book of life because they rejected God’s call of repentance. Both the saved and the unsaved have responded to the call of God and the sacrifice of the lamb. The response has determined their destinies.

Where are they going to end up? The saved escape the second death and have eternal life with Christ forever in his kingdom. They enjoy eternal bliss.

But the unsaved, on the basis of their rejection, on the basis of their choices, on the basis of their deeds, their sin, and their judgment under a sovereign God, are heading for eternal torment where there is no mercy, there is no love of God, there is no grace. There is only the wrath of God.

No Middle Ground

There’s no middle ground in scripture. There’s no purgatory. There’s no limbo. There’s no dying and no second chance. There’s none of that in scripture.

This is all you got. You got one chance. I have one chance.

When we hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, we believe it or we don’t.

“We have one chance — when we hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, we believe it or we don’t.”

Right now the grace of God is flourishing throughout the world. It’s being preached all over the world.

Really, people have no excuse not to come to Christ.

But don’t do it because I said anything. Do it because the word of God says that God says what’s going to happen.

I pray you avoid that place by trusting fully in Christ today.

The Cross: The Only Way of Escape

Where do you stand before his holy justice? Really, honestly, where do you stand? The God who demonstrated great love showed that the only way to escape this judgment, his own wrath, is by the cross of Jesus Christ. That’s what makes the cross so special and so central to our faith.

On that cross, as Romans 5:8 says, God demonstrated his love toward us. While we were yet sinners, what happened? He died for us—the perfect God-man, sinless, died the just for the unjust. He died for us so we can be with him.

See that? That is amazing. He died for the ungodly. He died for the unrighteous. He died for the sinner. He did not die for the righteous man, the one who thinks he can get to God on his own.

There are no righteous men before God. He died for the ones who needed his death. He died for us who were helpless to save ourselves.

He died for us to rescue us so we would never have to endure his wrath because he took it for us. That’s the only way to escape.

“He died for us to rescue us so we would never have to endure his wrath, because he took it for us.”

So where do you stand today? Heavy message, sober message, but a needed one.

This all puts us in a place to know God is serious about sin. He’s serious about where you end up, and he doesn’t want you to end up in hell. But the only way you can avoid that is by running to Christ today.

Run to Christ with all your sin. Run to Christ with all your baggage. Run to him because he says, “If you do that, I will in no wise cast you out. You come and you’ll find rest for your souls because you’ll find that I’m gentle and I have meekness of heart. I’m the one who died in your place to save you and make you right with God.”

That’s the only way to live. Then what? You can truly rejoice from your heart, knowing that you never deserved salvation, but by the love of God he gave it to you. Amen.

Let’s pray.

Lord, thank you again for the weightiness of the word of God. Lord, we live in a day where there’s a lot of foolishness, a lot of silliness, a lot of conjecture, very little fact. A lot of things that are said today are not backed up by truth.

Yet, Lord, we come to your word and we get a passage like this and we realize that you are the judge. If we are going to be made right with you, we must come to Christ. He is the answer.

There is no other way to be saved. There is no other way to be forgiven. There’s no other way to come in your presence someday so that our destiny would be that our names are written in the book of life because of what Christ has done for us.

Oh Lord, please save those whose names are not there. I pray their names would end up there by their trust and faith in Christ, by their repentance of their sin, by their leaving what they’re trusting in to save their soul, by their wrong thinking about the way they die or where they go when they die.

Change all that, Lord, and help them to look to Christ and call upon you as their Lord and Savior. I pray this today in the precious and holy name of Jesus Christ.
July 26, 2026
The Reigning King and the Final Defeat of Satan and Sinners
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Note: This transcript and summary was autogenerated. It has not yet been proofread or edited by a human.

Summary

We are reminded that history is moving toward a decisive victory in Jesus Christ, as revealed in Revelation 20 and Romans 9–11. This passage teaches us that God’s sovereign plan encompasses the conversion of Israel, the literal reign of Christ, and the final defeat of Satan—all pointing to one word: victory.

Key Lessons:
1. God’s promises to Israel are irrevocable—the nation will be nationally converted in their land during the millennium, fulfilling the Abrahamic, Davidic, and New Covenants.
2. The millennial reign of Christ will be unlike anything in human history: no poverty, no curse, no wars, universal knowledge of God, and Christ ruling from David’s throne with perfect justice.
3. Satan’s release after the thousand years exposes the utter depravity of the human heart—even under a perfect environment, unregenerate people will follow Satan rather than Christ, proving that salvation is entirely dependent on God’s grace.
4. The final defeat of Satan is total and effortless for God—fire descends from heaven, and Satan is cast forever into the lake of fire, where all who followed him will also suffer eternally.
Application: We are called to repent and trust Christ alone for forgiveness before it is too late, and to live for him daily with seriousness and urgency—laboring diligently while watching and waiting for his return.

Discussion Questions:
1. What does the national conversion of Israel teach us about God’s faithfulness to his promises, even when people are disobedient for generations?
2. If a perfect environment during the millennium still cannot change the unregenerate heart, what does that reveal about our own need for God’s grace in everyday life?
3. How does knowing the end of the story—Satan’s final defeat and Christ’s eternal victory—change the way you live and share your faith right now?
Scripture Focus: Revelation 20:1–10 (the millennium, Satan’s release, and final defeat); Romans 9–11 (God’s sovereign dealings with Israel and the promise that ‘all Israel will be saved’); Isaiah 11 (the curse lifted from nature during Christ’s reign); Daniel 2 (the stone kingdom that crushes all others).

Outline
Introduction

Okay, this morning we’re back in Revelation this week and next week. Let’s take our Bibles and turn to Revelation 20. You may want to put your hand also in Romans 9 through 11 this morning.

Romans 9:9, 11, and 12. But Revelation 20 is what we’re looking at this morning. Let me have a word of prayer before I continue.

Father, we thank you today for bringing us together. Pray, Lord, as we bow before you in worship that our minds would be attentive to receive your word.

The word of God transforms our mind in a way that it moves our will to do what you say you want us to do. We would obey your spirit, and Lord, each day of our life we would desire to give you praise from our lips, from our heart. We want to glorify your name wherever we go, to be usable vessels in this world with the time you give us so that we can shine the light and be the salt of the earth.

Lord, this morning as we approach your word, there are things in it we really don’t know, but we want to know more. Holy Spirit, please illuminate our understanding so we understand your plan more fully and realize that we are just passing through this earth. We’re sojourners in a foreign land, and we’re heading home.

Lord, that’s what Revelation is really about. We’re heading home, and we’re trusting in the God who brings us there. We pray this morning that we would give the honor to the Lord Jesus Christ for taking care of our salvation, for the Holy Spirit bringing us to repentance and faith to trust in Christ as the only way to be saved. We pray that the word of God would transform us to be more like Christ every day. I pray this in your name.

Amen.

When I was over in England with my wife, just a couple months ago, I got to go to the Winston Churchill War Museum, which I thought was an awesome place. If you ever go there, you have to go there. There’s a lot of stuff to read, so if you have little kids, forget it. It’s not going to go over well.

Winston Churchill was an interesting figure in history because he was called the wartime prime minister of England during the Second World War. While he was there, Germany under Hitler was bombing London and dropping bombs. It was burning, and Winston Churchill got on the airways and gave many famous speeches.

On one particular occasion when things were really tough and looking very bleak, he got on the airways and said in his English accent, “We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France. We shall fight on the seas and oceans. We shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be.

And they ask me what is my aim? And I say I can answer it in one word. Victory. That is my answer.”

Of course, they won. The odds against them were tremendous, and they won.

Victory: The Theme of Revelation’s Final Chapters

We know there was divine intervention going on there too. They couldn’t have won without the Lord. When we come to Revelation, as I said last week, there is a victory in the air.

Everywhere you look, especially these last chapters—19, 20, 21, and 22—there’s a victory in the air.

In conjunction with the second coming of Christ and his literal reign on the earth, they point to one thing: victory.

“In conjunction with the second coming of Christ and his literal reign on the earth, they point to one thing: victory.”

The First Three Points Reviewed: Binding, Blessing, and Resurrection

Today, as we continue in Revelation 20, we’ll see the next three things to look for when we think about the literal reign of Christ on the earth. We’ve already covered the first three, and I’ll say them rapidly. The first one was the binding of Satan.

The second one was the blessing of the saints. The third one was the saints resurrected. Now if you look in Revelation 20:4, it says, “I saw thrones and they sat on them and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who have been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God.

And those who had not worshiped the beast or his image or had not received the mark on their forehead or on their hand and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”

Right there we see that the saints are resurrected. Now there’s something very interesting in that last verse and the next one: the first resurrection includes all saints of all ages. That means in Corinthians Christ is the first fruits, and then the rapture of the church is taken up and resurrected, and then the tribulation saints would be all part of that resurrection and reigning with Christ.

The first resurrection will happen before the thousand-year literal reign of Christ, and the second death will have no power over those who are raised in the first resurrection. You want to make sure that you’re part of the first resurrection because there’s only two resurrections.

“You want to make sure that you’re part of the first resurrection because there’s only two resurrections.”

There’s one before the thousand-year reign of Christ, and then right after that, there’s one after that thousand-year reign of Christ. That will be a resurrection to judgment, and that is a resurrection you don’t want to be part of.

The Two Resurrections

The second resurrection will be the resurrection of unbelievers, or as the Bible describes them, the wicked. The second resurrection will happen after the thousand-year reign of Christ.

Here’s the picture: there are two resurrections separated by a thousand years.

In Revelation 20:5, notice that “the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed.” During that thousand-year reign, Satan is bound and held in the abyss for a thousand years.

During that time, the saints are blessed because God gives them the authority to judge and to rule with him in the thousand years. The church will be with him. If you’re a believer, you’re going to be with the Lord at this time.

“There’s two resurrections separated by a thousand years.”

It’s a very exciting time to think about.

The Fourth Purpose: Israel Will Be Converted

And when we think about those things, we know that this second resurrection of believers who will stand before God at the great white throne judgment—which we’ll look at next week—God will judge them accurately from the records of works that he has been keeping. God keeps accurate records and he’s going to be fair and righteous in his judgments. He will leave no sin unpunished, and those who have not been found written in the Lamb’s book of life will be cast into the lake of fire.

Now we’ll look at that next week. The fourth thing which today I want you to look at and consider—some theology I’ll be giving you this morning—is that during this time Israel will be converted. The nation of Israel will be converted.

Now, if you think about it, isn’t Israel in the news all the time? Why is this nation given so much trouble? Well, according to Revelation, it’s because Satan is against that nation and he moves the nations of the world against them. He’s behind it. He’s the one pulling the strings.

So Israel is always going to have trouble until Christ comes, right? But we see in this time in the tribulation, the Lord calls them back to himself. All right? We’ll see some things, but in Romans 9, 10, 11, some interesting things are communicated that I think I want you to see this morning.

Let’s look at Romans 11:26 first. This is the verse that I think the Apostle Paul was completely stunned by. It says this in verse 26 of Romans 11: “And all Israel will be saved just as it is written, the deliverer will come from Zion. He will remove unrighteousness and ungodliness from Jacob.”

Just that verse alone is a verse that I believe threw the Apostle Paul off completely. That’s why he ends that whole section of scriptures giving glory to God, because God’s ways are unsearchable. Unless God tells us what he’s doing, you don’t figure it out.

I think Paul thought he figured it out when he came to that verse. The Spirit of God was writing through him, and he says, “Wow, something amazing is going on here.” So the testimony of the Apostle Paul is very significant when we think about what’s going to happen to Israel.

I think that kind of statement really did shock him, but he was talking about the national conversion of Israel in their own land. They would turn from sin and they would believe in Jesus as their Messiah.

Now, today there are individual Jews getting saved, but they’re not getting saved in their land nationally. They’re dead in their land. They’re secular in their land right now.

In every Israelite’s mind who believed in the scriptures and who believes in Messiah, the question would come up in their minds: Does not the fact of the choice and unique position of Israel mean that Israel as a nation is done? They’re done because they’ve rejected Jesus Christ the Messiah when he came.

In other words, an Israelite would be thinking either God must have broken his promises to Israel, or that Jesus of Nazareth is not the promised Messiah.

Romans 9: God’s Sovereign Freedom in History

These are the issues that the Apostle Paul deals with in Romans 9 and 10. Let me give you an overview of these chapters. While you’re there, you may want to look up some verses that are mentioned.

The first thing is this. In chapter 9, he’s saying this about God: God’s free. God is not bound by anybody’s counsel.

In other words, God on the scene of human history moves people as he wills. He chooses certain individuals to be special examples of his power to judge either unbelievers or believers.

If you notice in Romans 9:15, it says, “And he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” In other words, I’m free to do these things because I’m God.

Then he says in verse 18 of chapter 9, “So then he has mercy on whom he desires and he hardens whom he desires.”

Chapter 9 is really not talking about the call of salvation, but it’s talking about the history of salvation. God is the general director of history dealing with certain purposes of salvation. Even if people may not understand God’s dealings, it is for them to be silent and to simply acknowledge God’s freedom as the freedom of the potter over the clay.

Romans 9:21 says, “Does not the potter have right over the clay to make from the same lump vessels of honor and another of common use?” Then he goes on to say in verse 24, “Even us whom he has called not among the Jews only but among the Gentiles.”

So he’s saying: listen, God is ever free to do as he chooses, but no one could say God is not righteous in his actions and in his dealings with people.

“God is the general director of history. Even if people may not understand God’s dealings, it is for them to acknowledge God’s freedom.”

Romans 10: Salvation by Faith, Not Works

That’s why he writes Romans 10, and look to the next chapter. This chapter is about God’s action being ever righteous.

When God makes decisions, he is making decisions based on his own character and his own righteousness. In other words, God’s freedom is not random.

It has just ground for treating Israel as he has done throughout history.

Israel has a will to be saved by keeping the law. Yet God says to them, “I’ve appointed justification by faith before the law when Abraham believed me and it was counted to him for righteousness.” So you’re trying to work your way to get saved and be right with me, and the law will condemn you in your sin and not save you. I say, “Come by faith in believing my plan.” And that plan would be Jesus Christ, and I will forgive your sins. I will make you right with me, and I will bring you to heaven.

Aren’t those two things still going on?

Because people, when you ask them, “Are you going to go to heaven?” they say, “Oh, I’m a good person.” I’m glad you’re a good person, but that’s not going to save you.

That cannot save you. You need someone else’s righteousness to save you. And that’s the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Now, God has commanded that way to be saved. It’s possible to do it. Romans 10 says if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you’ll be saved. He’s made it that way.

“You need someone else’s righteousness to save you—and that’s the righteousness of Jesus Christ.”

Jews and Gentiles can get saved that way today. If I confess the Lord Jesus Christ, then I repent of my sin and I trust him and I live for him. That’s all part of the package of salvation.

But Israel has refused that message.

They were disobedient and they were guilty and they deserve punishment to overtake them. That’s why in Romans 10:21, look at what it says about Israel.

Romans 10:21: “But as for Israel, he says, ‘All day long I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.’” If the scripture left it right here, then we may be able to conclude that Israel is done with as a nation.

But see, here’s an amazing thing. That’s not where it stops.

Romans 11: God Has Not Cast Off Israel

Paul continues to deal with God’s dealings with Israel in Romans 11.

Let’s move over to that one. God’s action is ever a blessing to other people in Romans 11. In other words, God has not cast off his people but only set them aside for a time. Look what it says in verse 1 of chapter 11: “I say then, has God rejected his people?”

May it never be is the answer.

“For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.” Paul is talking about himself. So God’s dealings with Israel brings blessing to all people. To the remnant who will get saved and believe in Jesus, they will attain pardon before God. To the rest of the worldwide world, they will have a chance to receive the gospel.

The gospel goes out to both Jew and Gentile, everybody. And then Israel, when at last, will be spiritually renewed in their land.

The hardening which has come upon Israel has befallen them only in part and only until the full number of the nations will come in. Look at Romans 11:25. It says, “For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery.”

God is unveiling something that was hidden so that you will not be wise in your own estimation. A partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. Who’s hardening Israel? God is hardening Israel because it’s part of their plan. They get saved, but it’s also part of their plan that they’re not cut off as a nation and they’ll be saved in their land.

Notice in verses 23 and 24 of chapter 11. He talks about the original olive tree, which would be the roots that would be Israel. He says, “And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. And if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree and were grafted contrary to nature into the cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?”

In other words, this is where Paul says in verse 26, “And all Israel will be saved.” So it’s God’s plan that right now Israel is partially hardened.

“A partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in—then all Israel will be saved.”

They’re in unbelief. But what God is going to do is he’s going to bring them to a place where he’s going to bring them back to their land. They’re in their land right now, 1948, right? But in their land, they’re still in unbelief. So where are all these things going to happen? They haven’t happened yet. They’re going to happen, though.

The Apostle Paul is confessing his belief in the full conversion of Israel and explains that from it the greatest and most blessed effects will flow to the rest of mankind. Where he says in verse 12 of chapter 11, “Now if their transgression is the riches of the world and their failure is the riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be?”

And then to verse 15: “For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?” In other words, God’s going to raise Israel to life spiritually. And he’s going to raise them to life to give testimony to the great things God has done.

In fact, when Jesus was teaching his disciples, he said something very significant that I already mentioned. I don’t have time to mention it right now, but I’ll read the passage. Jesus said this: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather you together as children the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings and you were unwilling.

Behold, your house is being left to you desolate, which it is right now.

Then he says this: ‘For I say to you, from now on you will not see me.’ And then he says this: ‘Until you say, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”‘”

In other words, when they get in the land, they’re going to realize the Antichrist is not the real Christ. He’s an impostor. He’s false. So they turn and they start believing in Jesus. They start believing in the real Messiah and they call him back. That’s all part of God’s plan.

The Lord Jesus Christ is really saying that the house of Israel shall not always remain a desert. Not forever shall it remain under the judgment with withering soul and languishing heart. But a time shall come when Israel shall recognize its Messiah, receive him with joyful song and glad acclaim.

Being therefore converted, they will devote themselves to the Messiah with a whole heart and greet him as their divine king. That’s what they will do.

Remember, even the disciples after Jesus rose from the grave thought to themselves in Acts 1: “Well, Jesus rose from the grave. I guess the kingdom is coming, right?” And so they asked Jesus this specific question: “Lord, is it at this time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”

Jesus didn’t say no. He didn’t say yes. This is what he said to them: “It’s not for you to know times and epochs which the Father has fixed in your own authority. But go into all the world and preach the gospel.”

That’s our job now—to preach the gospel. But he didn’t say the kingdom wasn’t coming. He didn’t say that. And where did the disciples even get that idea from to even ask Jesus that question? May I suggest to you that they grasped it from the message of the prophets?

Their question was: “When will you restore the kingdom to Israel?” That’s what we’ve been waiting for all this time. Did it happen after the Assyrian invasion and then the Assyrian crisis? No. Did it have to happen after the Babylonian crisis? No.

Did it happen here when they asked this question of the Lord? No. When will it be restored? There is coming a day in the future when the Lord Jesus Christ will return in power and glory and restore the great theocracy that was lost and reign on the throne of David.

The Prophets’ Hope: Israel Restored to the Land

See, in other words, the prophets are dealing with what went wrong with the nation and the people are thinking we are so miserable, full of people. It’s over for us.

But the prophets say, “No, it’s not over. There’s something that’s going to happen over here.” The prophets speak to the need of the people. And what’s the need of the people back then? When you read the prophets, it’s hope.

There’s something going to happen over here. That’s what prophecy is about.

It’s not only telling an immediate context of something, but something future. Something’s going to happen over there. The prophets are meeting your greatest need—to realize that there is coming a day when the people will be restored to the land, the theocratic government will be restored again, God will be blessing you anew, and the kingdom will be restored to Israel.

See, we have to understand that’s the framework in which the prophets actually operate.

If you ever read the prophets, if you’re reading through the Bible, you’ll see that in the beginning of the prophecies, man, this is like judgment and thought. Then you get to the end and God is saying, “No, I’m going to bless you. I’m going to give you hope. I’m going to give you a future.” That’s the message of almost all the prophets.

“In the beginning of the prophecies it’s judgment—then God says, ‘I’m going to bless you. I’m going to give you hope. I’m going to give you a future.’”

You can’t get away from that message.

Even Ezekiel describes the final gathering of the Jews from the nations of the earth, restored to the land, all 12 tribes united under David the king.

Well, if the purpose of the tribulation is to call Israel back to God, then the millennium period, the thousand-year reign, will be the time when Israel will be restored to the land. In other words, Israel’s rebellion and dispersion throughout the world did not disqualify the nation from the covenant promises of the Abrahamic covenant, the Davidic covenant, and the new covenant that I will give you a new heart and take away your stony heart and give you a heart of flesh.

See, God doesn’t hold back on his promises.

“God doesn’t hold back on his promises. Israel’s unfaithfulness would not cause the Lord to be unfaithful to his own promise.”

Israel’s unfaithfulness would not cause the Lord to be unfaithful to his own promise that he gave to the nation throughout the scriptures. When Israel is restored to the land in the millennium and brought back to her land, this geographical nation of Israel will be cleansed of her sins. She will be granted a new heart of worship and obedience and she will enjoy living in peace and prosperity under the rule of the Davidic king.

And who is the Davidic king? Jesus Christ is the king. Do they have that now? Have they ever really had that? No.

So either this doesn’t mean anything or something’s going to happen in the future.

That’s the first purpose of the millennium: Israel being restored back to their land and God fulfilling his promises to her. All right, saying all that, let’s go back to Revelation.

The Fifth Purpose: The Reign of Christ

Revelation 19:16. The second purpose of the millennium is the reign of Christ.

The reign of Christ speaks of victory. It will be victory for Israel and the whole world. When Christ reigns, it will be victory for everyone.

Brethren, I want to mention something: there is coming a day in the future when the Lord Jesus Christ will return in power and glory and restore this great theocracy. He will reign on the throne of David.

He will restore Jerusalem. Then Christ will rule and reign like no other earthly Lord or King before him.

“There is coming a day when the Lord Jesus Christ will return in power and glory, reign on the throne of David, and restore Jerusalem.”

He’s never done that before. He’s never reigned on the earth from the throne of Jerusalem as promised in the Old Testament.

He will reign in perfect wisdom. He will execute justice and righteousness upon the earth like no other Lord or King has ever done, including King David and King Solomon.

He will be unlike any other king anyone has ever known. He will be the king that the world has been looking for since the beginning of time.

Ten Characteristics of Christ’s Millennial Reign

He will be that king like no other king before. And if you notice in Revelation 19:16 where the translators made sure that they put this in bold print, it says, “And on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”

See, that’s important for us to realize that our Lord Jesus Christ will be in a very unusual time, a time that really no one could actually wrap their mind around, but this is what will happen. And there are really several things that will take place when Christ comes to reign on the earth. Let me just give you 10 of them quickly because it’s going to be an incredible time.

The first thing is this: the curse that has been on the earth because of sin will be removed. I’m not going to look up all the scriptures on these. It’ll be removed. Also, the curse will be lifted from nature, from animals.

In fact, Isaiah 11 says this. Listen to what it says: “And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with a young goat. And the calf and the young lion and fatling together, and a little boy will lead them, and the cow and the bear will graze. Their young will lie down together. The lion will eat straw like an ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of cobras and the weaned child will put his hands on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in my holy mountain.”

That’s something different and that’s something that’s never happened before. So it’ll happen in this period where Satan’s bound and Christ is reigning.

Now, the third thing is during Christ’s reign, the Bible says the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the water covers the sea. It’s going to be a different day in the whole world. Well, if you want to know the knowledge of God, you’ll get it.

And then a fourth thing is the curse will be lifted from human bodies. In fact, without reading a passage, Isaiah 65 says if you’re 100 years old, you’re considered young.

“During Christ’s reign, the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the water covers the sea.”

So people are going to be living for hundreds of years, thousands of years. They’re going to be living in the millennium, the thousand years, and then it’ll be the eternal state where you live forever with a resurrected body. But could you imagine that 100 years and you’re just a kid, you’re just young? I’m 900 years old, but that’s what’s going to happen.

See, everything is going to be different because Christ is reigning there. There’s no curse.

Number five: during the millennium reign of Christ, there will be no more poverty. I have verses for all this but no time to give them right now.

Six: Satan will be chained and bound during the reign of Christ. Already mentioned that.

Seven: Jerusalem will be the center of worship and knowledge for the whole earth. They will come to Jerusalem to worship. All the nations will come. And the reason why there will be a millennial temple is because some of those nations that are going to come and worship God are not believers. So they have to be ritually cleansed to come and visit with the Messiah. That’s why there are sacrifices in the millennial kingdom. That’s one of the reasons.

Also, number nine: all Israel will know the Lord. They’ll be saved.

And then number 10 is Christ will reign on David’s throne and Christians, the saints will reign with him.

So you see that the millennial period is for the purpose of showing that Christ can reign, that he can subdue his enemies and bind his great enemies like Satan. He can rule as it says in Revelation 2:9. He will rule with a rod of iron.

And the reason why he rules with a rod of iron is because in the millennial period, not everybody will be saved. Not everybody will be saved.

The Sixth Purpose: The Final Defeat of Satan

That’s something that is astonishing, but it is true. So that brings me to my sixth reason for the millennium, and it’s this one: Revelation 20:7-10. What is this one? It’s not the defeat. It’s the final defeat of Satan.

It is the final defeat of Satan. Now if you look at verse seven of chapter 20, it says this: “When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison.”

So he’s bound there. He’s kept there. He can’t tempt anybody. He can’t deceive the nations anymore. He couldn’t do any of those things for a thousand years. He’s out of the picture.

So when the thousand years are over, Satan will be released. And according to scripture, he is not allowed to be released until God says so.

The Lord is in control of all things. In fact, Christ is still reigning on the throne at this time. He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings forever. And in Satan’s fifth abode, which is the abyss, the temporary place for demons, God will loose him from his imprisonment, and Christ will release Satan, give him freedom again.

And look what it says in Revelation 20:3. Just go back to verse three: “And he threw him into the abyss and shut it and sealed it over so that he would not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were completed. And after these things, he must be released for a short time.”

The question would come to our minds: why must he be released?

“Satan is not allowed to be released until God says so. The Lord is in control of all things.”

Can’t we just say it’s over, it’s done? No, you can’t.

See, there must be a must about Satan’s release. And what is it that Satan’s released? What’s the necessity?

Why Satan Must Be Released

Why not just end it? Well, here’s the first reason. The first reason is sorting out the millennial believers from the unbelievers.

Satan will be used by God to accomplish a final sorting out of the millennial believers from the unbelievers, the sheep from the goats, right? It will be a test of the heart.

During the millennial period, not all people will be saved. Some people have given lip service to Christ and obeyed him because he was the king in a kingly office, but in their heart they never believed.

“Satan will be used by God to accomplish a final sorting out of the millennial believers from the unbelievers—a test of the heart.”

And so they will not be saved.

It will be a test of the heart. Satan will come and what will he do? He will do the same thing he’s always done.

He’ll tempt these people to believe what his plan is all about.

The Utter Depravity of the Human Heart

And he will deceive them again and he will get people to worship him and follow him. We’re going to see that in a minute. But could you imagine that he’s released to do that? But here’s the second reason why he’s released: to reveal the utter depravity of man’s heart.

This second reason would reveal how wicked man is in his heart.

Now, let me remind you that during the millennium, under the reign of the Lord Jesus, there will be perfect peace. There will be universal prosperity. There’ll be plenty of food. There’ll be absolute justice for everyone and no wars.

See, the kingdom of Christ will include everything that is good for humanity. Everything. So in other words, there’s not much to complain about. Things are good. Things are better than ever in human history.

But even in that, here’s the thought: a perfect environment does not produce perfect people.

“A perfect environment does not produce perfect people. If people are not connected to Christ, they still have wickedness in their heart.”

If these people are not connected to the one reigning on the throne—that’s Jesus Christ—they still have wickedness in their heart.

So the horror of that thought is that people will still want to follow the devil and not repent and refuse to trust and follow Christ.

In fact, the Bible says this happens after God’s done a great thing. In Revelation 9:21, it says this is when the Lord was pouring out judgment but giving them time to repent. And in chapter 9, verse 21, it says: “And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.”

Now, if you think of that, how hard it is for someone to be saved. They did not turn because their heart was depraved and dark.

How radically depraved are we as people? Utterly incapable of choosing and doing that which is acceptable to God apart from divine grace.

We were all born spiritually dead. The Bible tells us we can’t respond to God unless divine grace moves us to respond to him. We’re dead.

And in the millennium, in that thousand-year reign, Satan is bound and man’s heart is still dead. It’s not easy to wrap your mind around, but mankind is really hopelessly lost.

Man’s salvation is always and wholly dependent on the grace of God and Christ’s redemptive work on the cross.

“Man’s salvation is always and wholly dependent on the grace of God and Christ’s redemptive work on the cross.”

Apart from that, no one can be saved. No one could be made right with God. So Satan’s release will make plain the fact that neither the design of Satan nor the waywardness of the human heart will be altered or changed by the mere passing of time. In other words, if God gave humanity another million years, they would still remain depraved and corrupt in their own heart and would not follow God. But in fact, they would follow Satan.

See, human depravity on its own will never choose Christ, but actually will flock to Satan.

That’s hard to believe. I know it. But it’s the truth. God doesn’t hold back the truth.

Satan Gathers the Nations for the Last Battle

Now look at Revelation 20:8 because Satan is now released. And what does he do? Look what it says in verse 8. “And will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for war.”

And the number of them was like the sand of the seashore. Could you imagine that?

I say to myself, “Wait a minute. Christ just got done reigning for a thousand years and Satan is able to gather a multitude that can’t even be numbered. War was still in their heart.”

Satan gathers the nations by deception for the final battle against the saints and Christ in Jerusalem. In fact, he brings up Gog and Magog here, and those were the kings of the northern lands which Ezekiel mentions. Back in Ezekiel, the prophet saw what happened there—God intervened on their behalf and delivered them.

Scripture brings this up because God intervenes again. He comes and destroys the coalition of nations so that all will recognize that he is God and that he has the authority over all nations, over all peoples, over all spirits, and there is none like him. There never was and there never will be the Lord Jesus Christ.

Look at the last part of verse 8. It says, “And the number of them is like the sand of the seashore.” Look at verse 9. “And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city.” Here it is again—his hatred towards the camp of the saints and the beloved city.

So here they are. They’re saved in the land. The Lord just got done reigning and now Satan is able to gather the nations against God and his people. How wicked is that?

Here’s the picture: Satan gets all the nations of the world to come against Israel. We are there with Christ after the millennial reign.

Satan gathers the nations who didn’t believe in the Messiah, who didn’t trust in Christ even during the great perfect reign that he had on the earth. They rebelled against Christ. They followed Satan anyway. And that just proves apart from God’s grace and mercy, we are without help and without hope.

“Apart from God’s grace and mercy, we are without help and without hope.”

In other words, the fact that you’re saved is not a mere decision you made to come to Christ because you felt good that day or because you were just moved emotionally.

You came to Christ because God has been working on your stony heart and chipping away at it, bringing you to a place where you actually see what’s really going on. He opens your eyes. He gives you a heart of flesh to believe.

Then you turn from your wickedness and your sin and your rebellion that you now realize you’ve committed against God. It’s not that you do it for just sin itself, but because of your rebellion against a holy and just God where you say, “I’m guilty. I deserve your wrath. I deserve your punishment.”

And then you cry out, “Lord, save me. Lord, save me. Woe is me. I’m undone. I cannot help myself. I know you’re the answer. I know you died in my place. I know you took my wrath for me. I know that you rose again to give me eternal life. I know that you’re the only way, truth, and the life. I trust you as my Lord and Savior.”

And Jesus says, if you do that, I will in no wise cast you out. That’s exactly what God came to do. He came to save us. And that’s the only way you can get saved.

You repent. You turn to the Lord for forgiveness of sins because he paid the price for you and he removes your sin from you forever. So it never can come up against you and condemn you. See, that’s victory in Jesus. That’s victory in Jesus.

So what happens in Revelation 20 verse 9? Satan will make a mad attempt to capture the camp of the saints.

The term camp in Revelation 20 refers to a place where the people of God found protection and blessing with their God. In the Old Testament, when God’s glory was there and the tabernacle was there, it was called the encampment of God. God was in the midst of them. So that means they were protected.

We have the same thing going on here—God is in their presence. Christ is reigning on the throne. And look at Revelation 20:9.

God’s Effortless Victory: Fire from Heaven

It says, “And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints, the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and what? Devoured them.” Isn’t that amazing?

Is there really a battle? No, not really. In verse nine, God blasts fire to devour the nations.

Fire came down from heaven and devoured them.

So Jesus by his word consumes them completely.

“Is there really a battle? No. God blasts fire to devour the nations. Jesus by his word consumes them completely.”

In fact, when Paul was writing about this same instance in 2 Thessalonians 2, he used the word—at least the old King James used the word, and then the NIV picked it up and the NLT picked it up: “Destroyed.”

Destroyed is a good word because it means to make of no effect. To render utterly helpless, to bring to an end, to annihilate, to bring to nothing.

It also included something else in my study. This word in Thessalonians—destroyed—the Greek word includes something else. It means destruction by replacement.

And this is what the rest of the passage says: “Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will slay with the breath of his mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of his coming.”

In other words, he’s going to come and replace the kingdoms of the world with his kingdom.

And that is it. In fact, the prophet Daniel has been saying this the whole time. Daniel records, “In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed.”

When this kingdom comes, it says it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but itself will endure forever. It will crush the iron and the bronze and the clay and the silver and the gold. That means all the kingdoms of the world are represented by those metals.

“And the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future.”

Daniel already said that this stone, cut not by human hands, comes and crushes all the other kingdoms of the world and the kingdom of God takes over.

Just imagine: for King Jesus, no carnal weapon is required. No military power is necessary to affect the overthrow and doom of Satan and his enemies.

Satan’s savage and pitiless and cruel reign will be met with a crushing doom at the coming of the real Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ. So, brethren, it’s done.

It’s over.

The rebellion will end and God will destroy the unbelievers. There’s no battle. Only fire descends from heaven as described in this passage. And also, this is not new to the prophets.

Ezekiel tells us, “And I will send fire on Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands in safety, and they will know that I am the Lord.” The reason why God does it like this is so the people of the earth will know that he is the Lord. He is God. There is no one like him.

He has the last word.

He has the power to devour and put an end to all battles without lifting a sword.

He has the power to defeat his greatest enemies, both spiritual and human.

“He has the power to defeat his greatest enemies, both spiritual and human, without lifting a sword.”

Did you catch this when we were reading? Brother Bruce was reading the passage of scripture in Ezekiel this morning. In this battle, it will take seven months to bury the dead.

That’s all the nations of the world involved. It will take seven years to dismantle all the weapons of war. You think about what’s going on today with Iran and stuff like that. They have an endless supply of weapons. These things are not easy to store. We destroy all this stuff and then they’re still blowing things up. Like, what’s going on? We have so much weaponry in this world. Every nation does.

It’s going to take seven years to dismantle the weapons of war.

That’s an amazing thought.

The Lake of Fire: Satan’s Eternal Doom

All the other enemies of God are devoured by fire and God turns his sight on Satan and ends his fling with a fiery conclusion. Satan’s leash is further shortened and restricted to a place prepared a long time ago in eternity.

As it says in Revelation 20:10, “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet also are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” I believe that we should really understand not only the bliss and joy of heaven but the torment of hell because it is a real place. The torment of the lake of fire is the final place.

But sometimes I think people think about hell as some kind of imaginary place. It’s not really there. People have their own opinions on whether they believe it or don’t believe, but it doesn’t matter whether you believe it or don’t believe. It is there. It’s a real place.

These things are real. The devil is real. The things that I explained to you and we see in this graph, they’re real things. These are going to happen today. There seems to be no line of separation between truth and error.

Separating what is true from what is not true in our minds is getting very difficult to do. We conclude sometimes this sounds like a fairy tale, but this is real and this is going to take place. It should frighten us like nothing else can because I think if there’s one subject in scripture that you can’t go to sleep once you think about it, it is hell and the lake of fire.

People next week I’ll be looking at the great white throne judgment. People will end up there too. They will end up there.

The confinement of Satan will be forever in the lake of fire. Christ’s victory over Satan will only be finalized when Satan is thrown into this last abode.

“Christ’s victory over Satan will only be finalized when Satan is thrown into this last abode—the lake of fire—forever.”

But here’s the thing, and I’ll mention that next week: everyone who followed Satan in any age in history will end up there also.

Because if you look at verse 14 of chapter 20, it says, “And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

Now it should bring all of us to think: if this is the demise of unbelievers, of those who have not followed Christ, and if all unbelievers and demonic forces are cast into this place, then all unbelievers must suffer the same eternal penalty with the one they actually worshiped.

In John 8, he said to the nation of Israel, “You worship your father, the devil.” I’m sure that was a shock to them.

The Call to Repent and Live for Christ

So then, what’s the only solution for those who don’t know Christ? Repent and turn and trust Christ alone for forgiveness of your sins and eternal life. Come to Christ today before it’s too late.

That’s the first step in being ready to meet the Lord. Only those who follow Christ will be ready.

Nobody’s getting ready except believers are getting ready. God is bringing people to him, making clear in their minds where do they stand with God. If you were to die today, where would you go?

That’s something we must answer, not put it off. Are you living for Christ or are you living for yourself or for somebody else? Who are you living for?

Live for Christ so that you may meet him confidently and unashamed. Live that way.

I pray that this teaching from the word of God will make you watchful, that it will make you prayerful, that it will make you ready to meet the Lord at any time. That it will also, while you’re waiting for the Lord, cause you to labor diligently for Christ and not be lazy while you wait for his return because he is coming.

There’s one word: if you trust in Christ, victory.

“If you trust in Christ: victory. If you follow Satan: defeat.”

If you follow Satan, defeat.

Let’s pray.

Lord, thank you again for the word of God because it makes us sober. It makes us see your plan more clearly. It exposes our foolishness and our sinfulness. It exposes how unserious we’ve been about living for you.

I pray, Lord, you would change that today. Change that in the people’s hearts and all of us, Lord. Would we be people that wake up every day and want to live for you with all our heart and all our mind and with all our soul and all our strength.

Lord, we want to strive for that. I pray that the scriptures would so transform us that each day we would experience the peace of God that passes understanding, that you can only give us and no one could take away. And that the joy of the Lord would give us strength to know we know the end of the story.

We know the one who actually saves us and forgives us and makes us right with God. That should always bring joy to our heart. I pray for that for us, that we would live for you much more seriously than we have before and that we would do it with gusto.

Lord, thank you for the victories that you give us. I pray that we’d not take them for granted. I ask it all in Christ’s name. Amen.
July 19, 2026
The Second Coming of Jesus the Conqueror and Reigning King
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Note: This transcript and summary was autogenerated. It has not yet been proofread or edited by a human.

Summary

We are called to stand firm in the conviction that Christ is victorious and his return is certain. Drawing from Revelation 19–20, we are reminded that King Jesus will return not as a humble servant but as a conquering King, and because of his victory, we have already won.

Key Lessons:
1. Christ’s judgment on those who reject him will be inescapable and indiscriminate — no one can evade his righteous wrath at his return.
2. Satan’s power is being incrementally restricted and will one day be completely bound during the thousand-year reign of Christ, proving that his defeat is certain and God’s plan is unfolding on schedule.
3. The saints will reign with Christ during the millennium — resurrected, glorified, and given roles of judgment and priesthood — which should transform how we live today.
4. We are called to watchfulness and purity now, living as if Christ could return today, refusing to be deceived by the spirit of antichrist that is active in the world.
Application: We are called to put on the whole armor of God, limit the influence of distracting media and deceptive voices, pursue personal purity, and keep the gospel going to those still outside of Christ — because we are on the winning side and others need to know it.

Discussion Questions:
1. How does the certainty of Christ’s return and ultimate victory practically change the way you make decisions this week?
2. In what ways has Satan used fear, deception, or distraction to keep you from the word of God, and what steps can you take to resist that?
3. What does it mean to you personally that you will reign with Christ — and does that truth affect how you view your current suffering or faithfulness?
Scripture Focus: Revelation 19:17–21 teaches that Christ’s judgment on his enemies is inescapable, indiscriminate, and results in ultimate damnation. Revelation 20:1–6 reveals Satan’s binding and the millennial reign of Christ with his saints, culminating in the first resurrection and the blessing that the second death has no power over believers.

Outline
Introduction

Let’s take our Bibles and turn to Revelation 19.

Hopefully you use a paper Bible. If you don’t, you should start. If you use your phone, there are too many distractions. The algorithms want to sell you something, or you get a popup. Leave it home. Shut it off on Sunday morning. Leave it in your car and use a paper Bible. Amen.

Not too many amens on that one. How come?

All right, I think we need to pray.

Father, we thank you this morning that you brought us here on this summer day. We thank you, Lord, that we do have the word of God in our hands. I pray, Lord, that we would always be ready to receive it and read it and study it and meditate upon it so that Lord, it transforms our mind. We would definitely know what your good will is, your acceptable will is, your perfect will is.

Lord, I pray that we would have a good view of ourselves too. We would never want to be transformed or pushed into the mold of the world. The world wants to push us into its mold. That’s for sure. Lord, I pray that your word would so capture our mind and the truth would so wash our mind and soul that we would know when we are being duped. We would know when we are being deceived, that we are being led down a path that is not helpful for the Christian life. It may not be sinful, but it’s not helpful. It’s not profitable.

Help us, Lord, to lay those things aside as well as our sin. Lord, as we approach the word of God this morning, please make us ready to receive it. Continue to build our knowledge and understanding of the last days and the end times so that Lord, it would bolster our faith. We would never give up and we would know that we were always on the winning side with Christ.

I pray this in your name. Amen.

This morning as we’re looking at the word of God, I wanted to start out with just thinking about opera. I’m not a fan of opera. I don’t know if you are, but it’s really because I don’t understand some of the things they’re saying most of the time because it’s in Italian or French or something else.

But there is one kind of famous opera today that everybody knows about. It’s “Turandot.” “Nessun Dorma” is that famous one, which Nessun Dorma does mean “none shall sleep.” The backdrop of that particular opera is that someone who wanted to seek the beautiful yet coldhearted princess Turandot’s hand in marriage.

Any suitor would have to solve three riddles. Of course, not too many people would step up to the plate because if you didn’t solve it, you would be beheaded. Failure meant death by beheading. But this one person stands up named Calaf in this opera and succeeds in answering all three riddles.

However, Turandot is horrified and begs her father to save her from marrying a stranger. But Calaf, the prince—she doesn’t know who he is—then offers her a deal. He says if she can discover his name before dawn, he would willingly be executed.

The entire city is drawn into this drama and no one is allowed to sleep. Of course, Nessun Dorma means “none shall sleep” so they can find out the suitor’s name. Then of course he would be revealed and everyone is in panic and fear because they want to find out who it is. If they don’t, they could be tortured for it. The setting of this particular opera is in ancient China.

The prince Calaf sings alone through the night and he is sure that in the morning at dawn, it will not be his death, but it will be something different, a better outcome. For the prince, fear doesn’t have the final word. Instead, he believes beforehand that for him, it will be his victory. So he sings “Vincerò”—that famous opera—and what does that mean? It means “I will win.” A voice of carrying one’s convictions into determination through uncertainty and struggle of life, that in the end he would win.

Now when you come to Revelation chapter 19, all the way to the end of the book, especially the one who has heeded the admonition of Revelation 1:3—and let me remind you it says, “Blessed is the one who reads and those who hear the word of the prophecy and those who heed the things that are written in it because the time is short.”

The person who does this develops a deep conviction. Even though life is filled with uncertainty and struggle, because of the word of God, because of his faith and trust in Jesus Christ, he is certain that in the end he will win. He is certain that it is not a matter of if Jesus is coming again. The Lord Jesus is coming the second time, but he is not coming as a lowly servant as the first time. He is coming to earth as a king with his people to conquer his enemies and establish his kingdom.

Jesus Christ is a Lord and King like no other that has ever ruled the earth. Now it is his turn. This is the day of the Lord. King Jesus will reign with glory and power. Because of his victory, we win. We know we win. You’re confident that you are on the winning side. In fact, you already won.

“He is coming to earth as a king with his people to conquer his enemies and establish his kingdom.”

We’re just waiting out the time.

There are four things King Jesus will immediately fulfill when he returns to the earth because this is in the backdrop of Revelation chapter 19, which has to do with the fulfilling of prophecy. The first one I already covered is that Jesus will come to conquer as king, but that is developed further in Revelation. I want you to notice this morning beginning in Revelation 19:1-17.

The Great Supper of God: Inescapable Judgment

The second one that Jesus will immediately fulfill in this prophecy is that Jesus will judge all who reject him. Notice in verse 17 that his execution of judgment is first of all inescapable.

Notice how it is written in Revelation 19:17: “Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, ‘Come and assemble for the great supper of God.’”

What we have here is that this angel with the radiance of the sun extends an invitation to the ravens and to the buzzards and to the flesh-eating fowl of the mid heavens. Why does he do that? Because this is the messianic banquet.

It is a feast on the sinners. The carrion birds—the sinners will be the great banquet. These carrion birds are the ones that eat decaying flesh of dead bodies.

And so we see that it’s set up like that. His judgment will be inescapable.

“His judgment will be inescapable. There’s nowhere to run.”

Indiscriminate Judgment on All Classes

There’s nowhere to run. Secondly, in verse 18, his judgment will be indiscriminate.

Now, the reason for the invitation is that God’s birds will strip the bodies of his enemies, and the bodies of a multitude will cover the land. And to the victor, to the one who wins the battle, goes not only the spoils of war, but the grim task of removing the dead corpses.

The enemies of Christ will become food for the birds.

When the nations of the earth challenge the Son of God and he treads the wine press of his wrath, every soldier, every king, every captain, every general, along with all classes of people will die.

Now, if you notice, there will be a deadly silence that reigns over the hills and valleys that surround Megiddo during this battle. In verse 18, notice how specific it is. It says, “So that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and those who sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free men, slaves, small and great.”

So no one will elude God’s inescapable and indiscriminate judgment.

“No one will elude God’s inescapable and indiscriminate judgment.”

Nobody can get away.

Christ Defeats His Formative Enemies

That’s the first thing the Lord will do immediately. A second thing is that Jesus will defeat and doom all his formative enemies.

There’s a little bit of difference between enemies and formative enemies. These are the enemies behind the enemies. These are the puppet masters that are pulling the strings.

Notice that when we see this in scripture, the warrior Jesus will seize and condemn his enemies.

Notice in Revelation 19:19: “And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against him who sat on the horse and against his army.” We have to ask the question: who’s the one sitting on the horse? If you go back to Revelation 19:11, in the middle of the verse, there’s a white horse, and he who has sat on it is called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judged and wages war. So we know that immediately it’s talking about Jesus Christ.

In this particular passage of scripture, Jesus will seize these enemies and he will condemn them. Also, this warrior Jesus Christ will slay all supporters of his enemy.

“The warrior Jesus will seize and condemn his enemies. There’s no match for his strength.”

Remember that Satan had a particular goal in mind to reach his goal. He must deceive the whole world and get the whole world to worship him. Now that he has successfully accomplished that, his final goal is to get the kings of the earth and the nations of the world to come together to battle.

We saw this earlier in Revelation 16 where it says there to gather them for the war of the great day of God the Almighty.

The persuasive power of the demonic trinity—Satan, the antichrist, and the false prophet—works together. Satan is the one who’s energizing those two on the earth.

This demonic trinity convinces the world leaders and their armies to the greatest military campaign of all time. That campaign is the battle of Armageddon.

Consequently, the valley of Armageddon is actually the valley of Jezrael in scripture. There, nations led by Antichrist and their God-hating forces will gather against Jerusalem and the Jewish people and God’s people to destroy them.

What’s the outcome of that war?

In verse 20, we see the outcome of the war. But before I look at that, the outcome of the battle is quite different than Christ’s enemies were led to believe.

The language of chapter 19 describing the outcome makes use of a verb that linguists call a divine passive with the implicit subject being Christ. In other words, Christ is the one acting here.

The tables are turned against Christ’s formative enemies.

What does Christ do?

The Capture of the Beast and False Prophet

The capture of Christ’s enemies will be an ultimate capture.

In verse 20, notice that the beast is captured. It’s an ultimate detention. It says, “And the beast was seized.” Let me just stop there. The beast is the antichrist.

The beast is a human being that is energized by Satan, and so he is captured.

Now if you notice also in verse 20, the word there means to hold firmly or to hold with considerable measure of force. This shows that the conquering Christ has the extreme advantage over his enemies.

There’s no match for his strength. His enemies can’t even elude capture.

Second, the one who’s captured is in verse 20. With him, the false prophet is captured. Who is this false prophet? Remember, he’s the one who performed the signs in his presence by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who had worshiped his image.

So we see the beast, the antichrist, and now the false prophet are captured. This is before the war that the Lord is eliminating the ones who are the puppets of the real enemy behind these two. The real enemy behind these two is Satan himself. These are two human beings that have been energized by Satan to do all this dastardly work in the world.

Remember, the mystery of iniquity has been working, is working today, and will definitely be working in the end time.

Now notice in verse 20 that their army will be destroyed. It says in verse 21, “And the rest were killed with the sword which came from his mouth, the mouth of him who sat on the horse.” We see the powerful Lord Jesus Christ who by a word called existence into view, called the earth by his word and it was created. Now by a word he eliminates these two and their armies.

“By a word he called existence into view — and now by a word he eliminates these two and their armies.”

Here’s a picture of the coming Christ coming with power, coming with might. The beast and the false prophet make war with him and Christ seizes them and casts them into the lake of fire.

There is so much carnage in the war. The vultures come and have a feast on the bodies of those who were killed in the battle. So there’s not only ultimate detention, there’s ultimate disgrace.

In verse 21, notice it says, “And all the birds were filled with their flesh. They were gorged with the dead bodies that were strewn from the word that came out of the mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ.” It just took a word. There’s really no battle.

For the human being to be eaten by animals is a worse curse on the human being because it degrades humanity. On top of that, to remain unburied was the ultimate humiliation.

Ultimate Damnation: The Lake of Fire

The Lord is humiliating his enemies and destroying them completely. But notice also that there will be ultimate damnation.

This military imagery here goes beyond the sentence of death to the very execution of that sentence, which includes a present demise and a future eternal demise.

Now look at verse 20.

It says, “And the beast was seized and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in the presence by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.”

So this lake—they’re thrown alive. They don’t die, these two. They’re thrown alive and they’re thrown right in. They bypass the great white throne judgment and they go right into the lake of fire, which is the final hell. The temporary place is hell, and the lake of fire is the permanent place. The lake of fire is the eternal abode of all lost ones, both angels and men.

The state of unbelievers in the lake of fire is not a good one. There are no parties there. There are no buddies there. They don’t have any control there.

It is a place where there is the smoke of torment, a fire that is not quenchable. It is a state of weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The weeping is that of mourning. The gnashing of teeth is that of being angry at God for eternity.

So it’s a place of unholy associations. It’s a state of suffering—the wrath of God eternally. All unbelievers and demonic forces will be cast into it.

“It is a place where there is the smoke of torment, a fire that is not quenchable — the wrath of God eternally.”

It’s a place you don’t want to be. It’s a place you do not want to end up in.

The Millennial Kingdom of Christ

But that brings me to the fourth thing that Jesus will immediately do: he will return to the earth and bring with him the long-awaited earthly kingdom.

So that begins chapter 20.

But we see next when the Lord comes. I have to say a few words about this. When we have the millennial kingdom of Christ mentioned here, the fact of the coming visible kingdom of God on this old earth—though it will be refurbished at that time—was originally common knowledge of all Christians.

Back in the third century, actually, Christians were called chilists from the Greek word “chiloy,” which meant a thousand. Chillism is another form of the word referring to Christians that you will find in ancient texts.

What it means is that they believe in a literal thousand-year reign of Christ. I submit to you that the Bible does teach that there will be a visible kingdom of Christ in which he will reign on the earth for a thousand years after he returns, referred to as the millennial kingdom. During this period, he will reign over the earth in a physical sense.

The millennium really comes from two Latin words: “millie,” meaning thousand, and “annum,” meaning year. It takes from that expression that appears actually six times in just Revelation 20.

Now some people have believed that the millennium is somehow a symbolic term referring only to a long period of time. I do not believe that.

I believe what we are talking about here in scripture is a literal period of time.

I’ll not go into all the back and forth arguments. I don’t have time to do that. But here I just want you to see the text for itself.

The placement of the apostle John in this section of scripture is significant.

It comes after the account of the appearing of Christ and the overthrow of antichrist.

This means that the thousand years is to be calculated beginning from the return of Christ and will lie between the first resurrection of believers and the great white throne judgment in Revelation 20:11-15 and the second resurrection of unbelievers.

Those who interpret this passage of scripture in this way are called premillennialists.

I am a premillennialist.

I believe that’s what the Bible teaches.

Even the prophets point in that direction, meaning that Christ will come before the thousand-year reign of Christ. He comes and then he sets up his kingdom. An easy way to think about it is that Jesus will bring the kingdom with him when he comes to the earth. In other words, the kingdom cannot be ushered in until Christ himself comes and establishes it.

Jesus will return visibly. He left visibly. He will return visibly.

He will come suddenly and powerfully to destroy his enemies, which you have been seeing already in chapter 19. The kingdom of God will be on this earth for a thousand years. At that time, Jesus will reign on the earth in Jerusalem, which will be his earthly headquarters.

“Jesus will bring the kingdom with him when he comes. The kingdom cannot be ushered in until Christ himself comes and establishes it.”

That was also the central headquarters of antichrist.

That becomes important because after Jesus wins the battle, Satan will be removed from the earth for a period of a thousand years. The effects of sin’s curse will be lifted during that thousand years.

Both believers from the Old Testament and Christians from the present age will be resurrected and will reign with Jesus over the earth during that particular time.

Now in Revelation 20, there are going to be around six things to think about when you think about the literal reign of Christ. But today, I just want to look at two of them if I have time.

Notice the first one: Remember, the Lord eliminates the antichrist. He eliminates the false prophet. And who’s behind those two? Satan.

The Binding of Satan

So we have the binding of Satan in verse number 1 through three of Revelation 20.

Satan’s Abodes and Increasing Restriction

The first thing is that Satan has to finally be bound before Christ can reign on his throne. This is the plan of God, and that’s what we really see in Revelation 20. Look at verses one and two of this passage.

“Then I saw the angel coming down from heaven holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand, and he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil, and Satan bound him for a thousand years.”

Don’t forget as we read a passage like this that we cannot make a mistake of who they’re talking about here. The Bible gives every word possible that describes him from the beginning till now. Lucifer was the highest created being in the sphere of angelic beings in heaven.

But then Lucifer had a moral fall from heaven. Theologians really consider that there are six different abodes that Satan has been occupying since that time. The first one is at the throne of God. We see that in Ezekiel.

Once Lucifer fell, his name was changed to Satan. The second abode was the garden of Eden where he tempted Eve and the whole human race falls into the curse of sin, which the Lord Jesus Christ has to redeem us from.

Then there’s a third abode, and that’s the present abode right now: the abode of Satan in the atmospheric heavens. Scripture mentions in Ephesians 2 that he is the prince and power of the air. It also mentions elsewhere that Satan is in the heavenly places, that he is restricted to those realms by God.

In other words, he’s on a long chain and God is continually restricting his activity until he gets thrown into the abyss first. In fact, the Bible often tells us that Satan is the prince of this world, that he is the god of this age. Peter describes him as a roaring lion, an angel of light.

In other words, he comes as a great counterfeit. Many times he tries to counterfeit God himself. He counterfeits God’s plan. He counterfeits God’s purpose. Often he takes the word of God and he just twists it a little bit, just a little bit in order to convincingly deceive people. And he does a good job at it.

When Jesus Christ was at the cross, Satan was judged and rendered disabled to deceive the nations as he once did. Jesus’ sacrifice of atonement on behalf of sinners was completely accepted by the Father. It was satisfying to the Father and it was effectual to take care of sin and to defeat Satan.

But that doesn’t mean the plan of God had finished yet because God will finally through incremental steps take care of this enemy forever. Jesus rising from the dead is the crowning point of victory for every one of us. Now Satan, being limited—not yet bound, but limited—he is just more limited than before in his power and his ability.

“Jesus’ sacrifice of atonement was completely accepted by the Father — effectual to take care of sin and to defeat Satan.”

The Gospel’s Power Over Satan

So now we can preach the gospel, but we know that the gospel light shines in the darkness of men’s hearts.

It enlightens them to the truth that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation. Even though there are millions of religions, he is the only way.

And that’s what we preach today. Even though he tries to keep people from hearing the message, that message is more powerful than him. It penetrates down to the dark recesses of the human heart.

And people actually get saved.

He actually saved us and we became born again into the kingdom of God.

And scripture tells us that now judgment is upon this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. What is the devil about? In Hebrews, it tells us that through death, he might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

That’s what Satan wants—to keep people afraid of everything. He binds them in that. He captures them in that sphere of fear. It’s a powerful tool in his box.

But the gospel of Jesus Christ can liberate anyone from the fear of death and free them to know that death has really no authority over a believer’s spirit.

“The gospel of Jesus Christ can liberate anyone from the fear of death. Eternal death has no authority over believers.”

Eternal death has no authority over believers anymore because they are in Christ.

So Satan has been cast down to the earth.

We see that God will limit Satan to this fourth abode. This confinement will bring two results: Satan’s access to heaven is removed completely and he no longer can stand before God and accuse the brethren. The second result of Satan being cast down to the earth is that he is now full of wrath.

The Bible keeps saying that he has a short time. He only has a short time to do things. And so that’s the tribulation that precedes the second coming and then the millennium of Jesus Christ.

Satan is going to be a very smooth deceiver. He’s going to get the whole world to follow him. He’s going to get all the nations of the world to follow him. He’s confined to the earth, and he unleashes his anger upon the earth.

Satan Confined to the Abyss

But his leash has been getting shorter and shorter and shorter. And his boundaries have become more and more restrictive. So what God is doing is hemming him in until we get to this place where it will be the fifth abode of Satan.

And notice in verse one of Revelation 20: “And I saw an angel coming down from heaven holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.”

Now, anybody who has the keys of anything has authority to open that or close that. Just like you have keys to your house or keys to your car, right? You can open and close it because you own it. It’s your property.

See, the Lord has authority to do this. But he uses an angel to do it. And he takes that key, he opens the abyss, and then a great chain to bind Satan himself.

And remember, the abyss is a temporary holding place for demons. That’s not a permanent place for demons. It is a temporary place that holds them until God is ready for final judgment.

Now notice in verse two of Revelation 20: “And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, the devil, and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him so that he would not deceive the nations any longer. Notice, until the thousand years were complete. So after these things, he must be released for a short time.”

So God is laying out for us, I believe, in sequential order what’s going to take place. The first thing is the binding and removal of Satan’s activity from the earth.

“The first thing is the binding and removal of Satan’s activity from the earth — and only God can do that.”

And he is confined to the abyss, a spiritual prison. And only God can do that.

And Satan will be confined to the abyss. And even for him it will only be temporary. And scripture tells us exactly how long it will be: a thousand years.

So we get this repetition of thousand years, that it’s not just a long period of time. It is a long period of time, but it is a thousand years. So we don’t make that mistake.

He prowls around like a roaring lion now, seeking someone to devour. He still deceives believers. That’s why we need to put on the whole armor of God to stand up against his wiles and deceptions.

He traps believers by deception. He doesn’t want you to know the word of God. He wants to keep it from you.

He also deceives those who dwell on the earth. He has a worldwide mission to deceive people and keep them from the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and from the word of God.

However, he will not succeed.

The devil is active and influential on the earth at the present time in this present age. That means though that the period where he is bound completely must be a future period.

And this means the millennium hasn’t happened yet. Some people believe it has or we’re in it now. So the binding of Satan didn’t happen yet. That’s something that is coming.

We’re looking forward to the second coming and then the millennium. The thousand-year reign of Christ will happen sometime in the future. It will happen. It seems like we’re awful close to it happening.

So Satan will be bound completely in this way and be held in the abyss for a thousand years. And then in Revelation 20:3, he’s released after that for a short period of time and that’s it for him. He doesn’t break out. He can’t break out.

“He can’t break out. He’s kept in there by God and released only at the proper time.”

He’s kept in there by God and released only at the proper time. See, that’s what happens.

Blessing for the Saints: Reigning with Christ

But there’s also blessing for the saints, even though the binding of Satan means something for the saints.

Now notice in verse four. If we ask the question, what’s in it for the saints? Well, in Revelation 20:4, there’s blessing in it for the saints. It says, “Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them.”

Just in that first part of the verse, we see that there are really two groups that are going to be represented. The first group is all the saints—the enthroned ones must be those who have already risen from the dead and been judged. Only those who fit the description would be the lamb’s bride, the church, and the warrior king’s army.

In other words, those who accompany Jesus at his return are going to be the Old Testament saints, the twelve apostles, the saints of the present age, and the redeemed ones of all ages. Not only will Christ reign, but his saints will reign with him. They will reign with him for a thousand years.

When the Son of Man receives the kingdom, he will share the kingdom with the saints. That’s already been spoken of in Daniel 7. The Bible is telling us that a dreadful kingdom, the kingdom of antichrist, will be superseded by a permanent kingdom led by the Son of God and populated with the people of God.

That becomes the hope of believers—that we are going to be on this earth with the Lord, reigning with him.

But there’s a second group also that’s with the Lord. Notice what it says in the middle of verse four. It says, “And I saw the souls.” Now, that’s interesting because the word “souls” is not the word for resurrection. This is one who is in the presence of God but doesn’t have a body yet.

Notice what it says: “And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand, and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”

These souls that were under the throne of God didn’t have bodies yet. Here they get a body. They’re the last group of people that are resurrected to go into the millennial kingdom. These are the enthroned martyr saints, the very privileged group of people in the millennial reign of Christ.

What are they privileged to do? Well, the blessing of the saints will be to reign with Christ. Notice in verse four: “And I saw thrones and they sat on them and judgment was given to them.” Could you imagine that?

“When the Son of Man receives the kingdom, he will share the kingdom with the saints. We are going to be on this earth with the Lord, reigning with him.”

That’s not a new thought in scripture. Didn’t the Apostle Paul tell the Corinthian church, “Hey, you guys, you need to take care of the matters of the church with church people and not take your matters to the world. Don’t drag your matters before a human court.” Amen.

In Corinthians it says, “Don’t the saints will judge the world?” So saints have a capacity to judge with discernment, especially when they have resurrected bodies—perfect bodies, perfect minds.

We can’t understand that now. I wish I had a perfect mind. We have leaky minds, and it seems like the older you get, the leakier they get.

But nonetheless, these are going to have perfect bodies and minds, and they’re going to be with Christ on the earth. They’re going to be given the opportunity during the millennium to judge others. That judgment will be the right kind of judgment. There’ll be no corruption there. There’ll be no sin in these people.

Another thing is that they have an opportunity in verse four to reign with Christ. It says, “And they will reign with Christ for a thousand years.” Jesus is going to be the king and he’s going to reign from Jerusalem, and we are going to have some part of that kingdom reign.

Do you believe that you’re going to reign with Christ someday on this earth? I don’t think we often think about or wrap our minds around that. It should transform your mind if you believe that. It should change the way you live if you believe that.

It also tells us there’s a privilege of them in verse six—that they will be priests of God, meaning intercessors or mediators for Christ while on the earth. They will join Christ in ruling over the earth at that time in history, and the saints will share his royal status as well as his priestly status.

I really think that’s exciting to even think about that.

The Martyr Saints and Their Reward

And these martyred ones, even the ones who were not killed but part of this group, they’re diehard loyalists.

They don’t receive the mark of the beast. They didn’t fall under his deception. And we’re talking about a deception that has never been in the world. This is like the extreme deception.

They didn’t fall under his economy or his government. They kept faithful to the Lord in the tribulation.

These are some staunch special force saints right here, willing to die even if they didn’t die.

Not all of them died.

But they all stood firm against the world’s philosophy and the trends that pounded them and pressed them upon them. And they did not give in. Why didn’t they give in? Because they knew they won.

That’s why they didn’t give in. They were convinced of that truth.

“They didn’t give in because they knew they won. They were convinced of that truth.”

So the promise of rule was given by Christ to the saints and those who remained faithful.

Amen. All saints—those who persevere during the Old Testament and the New Testament and the church age and the tribulation period—will be present during the final period of history.

So it becomes a blessing to you and me.

A blessing every day that I can think about and know that I’m going to be there because of what Christ has done, not because of what I’ve done, but because of what he’s done and how he keeps you.

He keeps you saved. He sanctifies you and makes you like Christ every day. He’s doing that.

And so that is a privilege to be a believer.

The First Resurrection

But there’s a second blessing that comes to the saints here in scripture in verse four and verse six. Notice what it says in verse four: “Then they came to life.”

The last part of the verse says, “and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” What does that mean? The blessing of saints resurrected.

That’s the blessing. They were raised from the dead. They came to life. That literally means they lived again.

It doesn’t assume a spiritual resurrection here. We’re looking at a physical bodily resurrection here.

Yes, we’re raised spiritually when we become born again, but this is a physical bodily resurrection that we can live with and reign with Christ on this earth.

What’s a resurrection anyway? You remember when you die, your body goes to the grave. Your soul, if you’re a believer, goes into the presence of God.

If you’re not a believer, it goes to hell, which is a temporary place.

Therefore, in the resurrection, the soul again comes together with a new body—a body that cannot die, a body that cannot sin, that doesn’t even know what sin is, a body that cannot be tempted. There is no temptation anymore for them.

That’s what takes place here. They come to life.

“A body that cannot die, cannot sin, cannot be tempted — there is no temptation anymore for them.”

The Bible refers to this as the first resurrection.

Now, if you’re a premillennial, and I hope you are, and if you’re not, I hope you’re coming this way, there are two separate bodily resurrections.

This is the first resurrection. Who’s part of the first resurrection?

Christ is the first fruits.

The church at the rapture.

And the tribulation saints.

The Second Death Has No Power

So another blessing that we see here in Revelation is that they are not subject to the wrath of God in the lake of fire.

Look at Revelation 20:6. It says, “Blessed and holy is the one who has part in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power.”

Now what’s the second death? The second death is eternal death. Remember, even those who didn’t believe in Christ will be raised from the grave and given bodies that can no longer die.

See, they will be separated from God in the lake of fire for eternity. That’s the second death. And believe me, the second death has everything to do with God not being there in his mercy and his grace. But he’s there in his wrath.

See, the second death is eternal separation from God forever.

And here’s the blessing for the saints: that the wrath of God doesn’t fall on them in the second death. And why is that? Because they were part of the first resurrection. They are reigning with Christ in the millennium.

They don’t have to fear the wrath of God upon unbelievers because they are believers.

And that is a blessing, is it not?

“The wrath of God doesn’t fall on the saints in the second death — because they were part of the first resurrection.”

So the encouragement and hope in difficult times is recognizing that God will give complete victory in the physical and spiritual realms and bring all people to their proper eternal abodes.

See, the question is, will you be part of the first resurrection?

Because if you’re not, there’s only two resurrections.

The next resurrection we’ll see in the latter part of chapter 20 is the great white throne judgment where a person is cast into the lake of fire in conscious torment with resurrection bodies that cannot die.

Watchfulness in the Last Days

Knowing these things should make you watchful. It should make you ready. Amen. That’s what it should do. That’s why Revelation is written to make us ready and watchful.

Since Satan’s strategy will be deception, we should be very watchful about whom we listen to and whom we give access to our minds. Such as the social media sites and the AI outlets and Grok and ChatGPT and all those other things, our own cell phones are getting to us. They’re controlling us slowly.

What I was thinking the other day? I think I’m going to start, hopefully you’re meeting together with your family and eating at least one meal a day. If you’re not, maybe you should start doing that too. During that time, no cell phones. Put it on airplane mode and leave it. Don’t let it control you because it is controlling you, whether you like it or not or believe it or not.

And it’s doing me too, not just you.

Not everybody who claims to be a person of truth can be trusted. Many talk about belief in God, but sometime promote principles contrary to the word of God and give liberty to sin and distort biblical truth and the character of God.

There are many evidential signs that actuate the fact that we are living in the end times. There are noticeable signs that people who we thought were believers have departed from the faith.

There is a Laodicean condition blatantly noticeable in the organized church. In other words, church becomes a circus atmosphere.

There is a spirit of lawlessness everywhere. There is the letdown and breakdown of the nuclear family and the general dismay for the marriage institution.

There’s a significant move of our nation away from the God of the Bible and truth, which manifests more in sexual perversion, deviant behavior, insane views and practices, and extreme unrighteousness. And even the world, who knows nothing about God and doesn’t believe in God, says that’s crazy.

There is an attack on children because Satan wants to get them early. There is a mindset in our country of a death cult: abortion, genocide, organ harvesting. This is craziness.

And who’s behind it all? Satan’s behind it all.

When we live in continual readiness for the Lord’s return, we will be more equipped to recognize the impostors and enemies of Christ. So we also need to be ready.

And what did the Lord say to his disciples? “You too be ready for the son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

That’s why we always believe in the imminent return of Christ. I don’t know when he’s coming, but he could come today. But I want to live as if he’s coming today, even if it takes a hundred years for him to come. That’s the point: I want to live holy and godly before him.

The person who wants to be ready for the Lord’s return will endeavor to live a pure life.

“I want to live as if he’s coming today — even if it takes a hundred years. I want to live holy and godly before him.”

They won’t want to do anything that would make them ashamed if Christ were to return today. Believers who are living a pure life and keeping in touch with God in prayer and fellowship and regular Bible study and hearing the word of God and wanting to put the word of God into practice really are in possession of the anointing of the spirit of God. They’re being sanctified by the spirit of God to keep them from being deceived by the spirit of antichrist, which is alive and well today.

And even it says in 1 John, we know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him just as he is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on him purifies himself. Why? Because just as he is pure. If we’re going to be like the Lord, there has to be a purity in our life that reflects that.

Stay Awake and Keep Your Clothes

And by way of admonition in my closing, back in Revelation 16, you don’t have to turn there. Just listen to what I’m saying. I’m going to read it to you. It says there, “Behold, I am coming like a thief.

Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.

And they gathered them together in a place which in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

So that while the world is assembling together for the campaign of Armageddon, the Lord challenges his own to press on to the end, to stay awake and keep your clothes.

Now the picture of a person who remains awake and fully clothed while in the heat of the battle—that person stays in a state of readiness before Christ. There has to be some background to understand that.

And the background is this. As a priest kept watch in the temple, an officer of the temple used to go around every watch with a lighted torch before him. If any of the watchmen did not stand up and say, “Oh officer of the Temple Mount, peace be to you,” and it was manifest that he was asleep, he would beat him with his staff and had the right to burn his clothes.

If his clothes got burned, he would be naked and everyone would know that he failed to watch.

It was very crucial that watchfulness would be taken seriously in light of impending doom and the second coming of Christ.

“Watchfulness must be taken seriously in light of impending doom and the second coming of Christ.”

Don’t Quit — You’ve Already Won

In short, the message to the faithful is don’t give up. Don’t quit when you’re so close because you’ve already won.

You’ve already won. Believers in Christ know they won. But those outside of Christ don’t know anything yet, but they need the gospel.

That’s the job of the church: to get the light of the gospel to them because Satan wants to deceive them.

“Don’t quit when you’re so close — because you’ve already won. That’s the job of the church: get the light of the gospel to them.”

Amen. Let’s pray.

Lord, thank you for the incredible word of God. I just ask you, Lord, today that as we think of the things taught in Revelation, it would surely put a fire underneath us.

It would change how we live. It would give us eyes that examine what’s really going on in our heart and life. And we would make those changes with the power of the Spirit of God and the word of God transforming us.

So Lord, as we look for your coming, we would want to live a pure life. Whether we’re in public or private, we would be the same.

And we would be servants on this earth and vessels that the Spirit of God can flow through because we don’t want to grieve him or quench him. We want to be usable as servants of God on this side of eternity.

So bless us in that way and keep us mindful of what’s really going on so we are watchful and careful. Amen.
July 12, 2026
The Prelude to the Second Coming of Jesus the Messiah
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Note: This transcript and summary was autogenerated. It has not yet been proofread or edited by a human.

Summary

This passage in Revelation 19 reveals Jesus Christ not as the humble servant of the Gospels, but as the conquering warrior King returning on a white horse to defeat His enemies and establish His kingdom on earth. The Jewish wedding model illuminates the relationship between Christ and His church—the bride price has been paid through Christ’s blood, and the remaining stages (the fetching, the ceremony, and the feast) await future fulfillment.

Key Lessons:
1. The final victory over evil will not come through human progress or religious effort, but through the sudden, glorious return of Jesus Christ as the conquering King.
2. The Jewish wedding customs provide a beautiful framework for understanding Christ’s relationship with the church—from the bride price paid at Calvary to the coming marriage feast that inaugurates the millennium.
3. Jesus returns with seven characteristics that reveal His unmatched authority: He is faithful and true, righteous in judgment, all-seeing, crowned with many diadems, bearing a hidden name, clothed in battle garments, and called the Word of God.
4. Christ’s authority is absolute—depicted through the sword of His mouth, the rod of iron, and the winepress of God’s wrath—showing that no earthly power can rival Him.
Application: We are called to make ourselves ready to meet the Lord and to stay ready every day. This means rethinking our lives, confessing sin, reordering priorities, and living each day in light of Christ’s imminent return with hearts of genuine worship.

Discussion Questions:
1. How does seeing Jesus as the conquering warrior King on a white horse change how you relate to Him compared to only seeing Him as the gentle Shepherd?
2. The Jewish wedding model shows four stages in Christ’s relationship with the church. How does understanding the bride price already paid at Calvary affect your assurance and daily walk?
3. What specific areas of your life need to be reordered so that you are not just ready but staying ready for the Lord’s return?
Scripture Focus: Revelation 19:7-16 reveals the marriage of the Lamb and Christ’s return as conquering King. Isaiah 63:1-3 provides the prophetic backdrop for His blood-dipped garments. Matthew 24-25, 1 Thessalonians, Jude 14-15, and Psalm 2 support the vision of Christ’s righteous judgment and universal authority.

Outline
Introduction

Amen.

Memorial Day Reflection

Let’s take our Bibles and turn to Revelation 19. While you’re turning there, I just want to remind you that today is Memorial Day, this weekend. You already know that, but they say that soldiers die twice.

Not only when they get killed in battle or some kind of training exercise, but they die when their name is last spoken at a funeral.

That’s why we have Memorial Day so we don’t forget those people. I think all of us know some soldier that has given their life for our country because remember, freedom is not free.

“Freedom is not free. It’s bought with the blood of our people.”

It’s bought with the blood of our people that went in and some of them went into battle. Some of them suffered after they came home from battle by all kinds of things that happened. Don’t forget that this is a great country and we want God to bless it.

Continue to pray for our country that it would be sustained in these days. Amen. When you travel around the world and you come back to the United States, this is an incredible place. We take it for granted sometimes.

Human Progress Cannot Bring Victory

All right. Saying that Revelation 19, some will tell you that triumph will come by the development of human beings, the gradual evolution of their potentialities. We should give them time. Wait, see everything will come up roses.

That’s what some people say. And then World War I came and dealt the theory a cutting blow. World War II broke the spirit of that mindset. Vietnam laid it in its grave.

The takeover of Afghanistan shoved the dirt of interment on it along with the Gulf War. Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran—Jesus says wars and rumors of wars.

Will human progress stop people and nations from sinning? Will human progress and achievement ever wipe away all the tears from our eyes and our broken hearts? To ask these questions is to actually answer them.

No, the final victory will not come through some natural process of human development, nor through the religious forces that operate in the world right now. The victory will come not by an improvement of the present order of things but by the complete overthrow of what’s taking place.

The high point of human history will be the sudden appearance on the field of battle of the captain of our salvation.

“The final victory will not come through some natural process of human development.”

And he will come in glory and it will be comparable to what John actually says in the book of Revelation 19.

The Rider on the White Horse

Look, he said, I see a great white horse and there is a rider on that horse whose name is faithful and true and there are many crowns upon his head. See, it will come in the final victory and that victory will be completed and finished by Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Revelation 19:11: “I see a great white horse and there is a rider whose name is faithful and true.”

And we come to this portion of Revelation and what we find is not the humble Jesus in the New Testament. We find someone on a white horse ready for battle.

This is in some ways we don’t always look at the Lord, but I believe scripture wants to remind us this is who he is. And he has the victory in his hands.

Let me pray before I go on. Lord, this morning just take the word of God, Lord, and bring it to our minds. Holy Spirit, illuminate our minds and our hearts. Lord, it would move our will to be ready for whatever is coming because we know you’re coming.

I pray, Lord, every day we would live in light of your coming. And it would change the way we live. It would change the way we think. It would change who we hang out with, what we listen to, what we read, where we go. It would change everything and we would always have our mind on the thought you may come today to get us.

I pray we’d be ready and our life would be ready. That we would offer up to you a life that is pleasing to you. And so, Lord, I pray the word of God is designed in Revelation to bring us to that place so we’re aware every day of your presence and of what you require of us.

I pray we would be faithful like you’re faithful. In Christ’s name I pray. Amen.

The Invitation to the Marriage Feast

So, saying that, I want to go back to Revelation 19. I was looking at the first element of the prelude—the four-fold alleluia we find in verses 1-6. This today brings me to the second element of the prelude, which is the invitation to the marriage feast.

Here is another reason for God’s people to make verbal celebration before him.

Notice what it says in verse 7 of Revelation 19: “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to him for what reason? For the marriage of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready.”

In verse 8, it says, “It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean. For the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”

In verse 9, then he said to me, “Write, blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.”

Now, it brings to our attention that we will be married to the Lord Jesus Christ, right? This is a highlight in scripture of this event.

But sometimes we don’t necessarily understand what the Jewish mindset of a wedding is.

Revelation 19:7: “The marriage of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready.”

Four Stages of a Jewish Wedding

There are actually four distinct stages of a Jewish wedding. The first stage is that the father of the groom made arrangements for the bride and paid the bride price. That’s the first stage.

“There are four distinct stages of a Jewish wedding.”

This stage usually takes place a year before the marriage ceremony, and sometimes it’s longer than that.

The second stage is the fetching of the bride. In other words, the groom would go to the home in order to fetch her and bring her to his home. Usually that was accompanied with a wedding procession, and the father would determine when the fetching would occur. The father would determine when the fetching would occur and then wait until the groom had prepared a place for her.

The third stage was the marriage ceremony, which was only occupied by a few people. They would be invited, and this would proceed with what they would call a marriage ritual immersion or a ritual cleansing. Then the fourth stage would be the marriage supper or the marriage feast, which would last about seven days. Many others not invited to the ceremony are now invited to the feast.

All four stages interestingly enough find their relationship between the church and the Messiah.

Stage One: The Bride Price

If I put that in just simple terms, the first stage would be that the father of the groom made the arrangement for the bride and paid the bride price. In this case, the bride price was the blood of Messiah, the blood of Jesus Christ as described in Ephesians 5:25-27.

“The bride price was the blood of Messiah, the blood of Jesus Christ.”

Stage Two: The Fetching of the Bride

The first stage has already been completed. The other three stages, as far as the church is concerned, are still future.

The second stage will take place when Jesus comes to fetch his bride home. The fetching of the bride is referred to as the rapture of the church.

Like it says in 1 Thessalonians, the rapture will occur sometime before the beginning of the seven-year tribulation period. The Father will determine the timing of the event.

“The fetching of the bride is referred to as the rapture of the church.”

Stage Three: The Marriage Ceremony

All right. That’s why it says in Matthew 24:36, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven nor the son, but the father alone knows it,” because the father sets the time. That’s why that passage is put there because it’s talking about the thinking of the marriage ceremony.

And so the third stage would lead to the marriage ceremony. It will take place in heaven just prior to the second coming of Christ at the end of the tribulation. The wedding announcement will be made in verse six of Revelation. We have the wedding announcement.

Then secondly, the bride will now be fully ready for the marriage ceremony because she will have the entire bridal gown on. And notice in Revelation 19:8, it says this: “It was given to her to be clothed in fine linen, bright and clean. For the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”

In other words, the bridal gown is said to be the righteous acts of the saints. That shows the process of sanctification is complete. All that will be showing at the ceremony would be her righteous acts, not the sin, but the righteous acts of God’s people.

So it shows that the marriage ceremony takes place after the judgment seat of the Messiah, when the wood, hay, and stubble has been burned away and all the gold and silver and precious stones have been purified.

“The bridal gown is the righteous acts of the saints—sanctification is complete.”

So this corresponds to the ritual cleansing of the Jewish wedding system.

The ones present at the marriage ceremony are few, and that’s only those who are in heaven at that time.

Stage Four: The Marriage Feast

And then we have the fourth stage, verse nine of chapter 19 of Revelation.

Then he said to me, “Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” The marriage supper will be in a different place than the marriage ceremony.

The Old Testament saints will be resurrected not with the church before the tribulation, but after the tribulation. While the marriage ceremony will take place in heaven just before the second coming of Jesus, the marriage feast will take place on earth after the second coming of Jesus.

“The marriage ceremony takes place in heaven; the marriage feast takes place on earth.”

That is what begins the millennium.

The Spirit of Prophecy

The millennium, the millennial kingdom and the church’s co-reigning with the Messiah will start with the tremendous marriage feast. That is really the thing that ushers us in. We sing that we read that at the Lord’s table. We’ll do this in the Father’s kingdom when he comes, right?

And so that is that next element we find in verse 10 and that would be the third element of the prelude is the declaration of the spirit of prophecy.

Now John the apostle is so astonished by what has been happening before him. He is so inspired by what he has seen. What does he do? He falls down on his knees before the angel and begins to worship.

But notice in verse 10 what happens because the angel quickly responds to John’s falling on his face and he says, “Listen, don’t do that.” Notice in verse 10, it says this: “Then I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus worship God.”

Just think for a moment. This heavenly angel who has been in heaven knows how it works. He knows who occupies heaven.

And he says to John, I stand beside you as a fellow servant who also holds to the testimony of Jesus. That means that created humans redeemed by the blood of Christ and elect angels will be standing side by side with one another, worshiping and serving God in eternity. That’s an incredible thought and that’s what it says here.

So John, he’s taken up by it, but quickly corrected by it. And then notice at the end of verse 10 what it says: For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

“Redeemed humans and elect angels will stand side by side, worshiping God in eternity.”

Prophecy Unfolds Christ’s Character and Program

Now there’s many interpretations of that, but I think the one that really qualifies what’s being said here is this: prophecy is designed to unfold something.

It’s designed to unfold Christ’s character, his glory, his purpose, and his program. That’s what it means. And that’s what we see unfolded not only in the whole New Testament and the word of God, but in the following passages in Revelation. We want to see Jesus like we never saw him before.

Jesus’s second coming is the crowning point of his program. That is the final victory. And it is not a matter of if Jesus is coming again.

“Prophecy unfolds Christ’s character, his glory, his purpose, and his program.”

The Lord Jesus is coming and he is coming a second time. But he is not coming in the air with his people to take his people home. He is coming to the earth with his people to conquer his enemies and establish his kingdom on earth.

Now, in Sunday school, we were looking at a passage of scripture that was dealing with how God is going to communicate, or is communicating, with the Jewish people at this generation that will be there at that time. It says in Matthew 24, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sign of the son of man will appear in the sky. Then the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the son of man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.”

In these passages Jesus taught that after the great tribulation he will come as the son of man in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory with his angels. Jesus declared that at that time the son of man will, in Matthew 25, sit on his glorious throne. That will be on this earth where Jesus will reign as king and will send his righteous people into the theocratic kingdom.

Then it says in Matthew, “The king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’” Here in Revelation, we see the culmination of the triumph of Jesus Christ.

There’s a very important admonition that we get from these passages of scripture when we’re reading eschatology, end times stuff: be ready. I pray that with the teaching of the word of God in this church that you will make yourself ready to meet the Lord.

And then to stay ready—not just to say, “I’m going to be ready today,” but to stay ready—which brings me to a fourth element of the prelude which points to the fulfillment of prophecy.

Jesus Will Return to Conquer as King

The Messiah returns to the earth as a conquering king. I would like you this morning to consider three facts about Jesus in order to aid your endeavor to stay ready every day of your life. Probably won’t get to all of them today, but the first fact about Jesus is this: Jesus will return to conquer as king.

He will return to conquer as king. Now let’s take a look at this Jesus who comes to conquer and notice in verse 11 because his appearance is imposing.

He has an imposing appearance. Before I read the passage, Jesus comes in an imposing manner with his imposing character and with his imposing purpose. Jesus came the first time in the appearance of humility and grace. The second time he will come in the appearance of power and glory.

He is coming with great brilliance and the whole heaven opens like a curtain to a stage performance. Only this is the real thing. This is the real thing. Look at verse 11. It says, “And I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and wages war.”

Now there is a progression taking place here. The heavens are open and someone seated on a white horse appears, and that is the warrior Messiah.

“The whole heaven opens like a curtain to a stage performance. Only this is the real thing.”

Conquerors come riding on a white horse as a sign of victory and as a sign of power. He is coming against the false Christ and his host that assault the Messiah and his people.

In fact, the Old Testament prophets foresaw the Lord coming in the last days as a man of war, dashing his enemies in pieces and establishing his kingdom over the nations.

Isaiah the prophet tells us in Isaiah 13, the Lord of hosts is mustering his army for battle.

Characteristic 1: Faithful and True

And then again in Isaiah 31, the Lord of hosts will come down to wage war on Mount Zion and on his hill. The character of the one coming is vital because he is none other than Jesus Christ seen in a way that we have not seen him in the New Testament up until this point.

John gives seven characteristics of this person, Jesus Christ. Notice the first one in verse 11: he who has sat on the white horse. His first characteristic is that he is faithful and true. He is not like the unfaithful persons of the antichrist, the false prophet, Satan, or so many who have gone before in any kind of kingly leadership.

Jesus is the truth and he leads us to God. Remember, a practical purpose for the book of Revelation is that it is given to us to bolster faltering faith, to strengthen weak courage, and to stir up the fires of loyalty to Christ. It is enough for us to even overcome torture or even death without denying the faith.

That’s what it will do for us. Suffering saints must be reminded that God is forever faithful and true. Accordingly, he will never deceive you and he will never desert you.

“Suffering saints must be reminded that God is forever faithful and true. He will never desert you.”

Never will he do that. Any time you’re tempted to think that’s not true or God’s not with you, it is a lie of the enemy. You don’t have to feel God’s with you. God is with you without your feelings.

Characteristic 2: Righteous Judge

If you are a believer, you’re one of his children. Sometimes we don’t feel it, but he’s there. You have to be reminded of that. That’s who Jesus is.

A second thing in verse 11, it says there in righteousness he judges and wages war. That means this: his judgment is righteous.

It is the frequent theme of the Old Testament that God judges righteously. Psalms tells us he will judge the world in righteousness.

And then a familiar passage of scripture in Acts 17:34. Remember when it said there, because he has fixed the day in which he will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom he has appointed, having furnished proof of that man by raising him from the dead. That’s Jesus Christ.

You cannot get away with knowing that’s who he’s talking about, even though Jesus’ name is not mentioned there. So what this means is that God dispenses justice on the basis of his own righteous standards and he always does what is right and will execute his penalty correctly and fairly.

The righteous judge sees all. He knows all and he judges all. That’s who Jesus Christ is.

“God dispenses justice on his own righteous standards and always does what is right.”

Further, this includes war. In righteousness, he judges and wages war. See, the world has known nothing but war after war after war. Yet, because of our Lord Jesus Christ, because he is the mighty warrior, he wages war in righteousness.

He’ll only need to fight one time this war. In fact, a better way to translate it may be he comes to do battle. There’s no real war. He does the battle.

He’s got the last word. He’s got the final say. And he does it righteously.

And remember, the Lord has been patient for thousands of years for this time to come. Remember, sin has reached heaven.

Characteristic 3: Eyes Like a Flame of Fire

It’s time for judgment. And that time will come. But some people just didn’t believe it would ever come. But it will come. It will come.

There’s a third thing that’s mentioned about his character in verse 12. Notice it says, “His eyes are like a flame of fire.” This is not the first time that we saw this designation of Jesus.

The first time it appears in Revelation 1:14, his eyes were like a flame of fire. Back there it was referring to Christ’s absolute omniscience, that he is using his eye as a symbol to show that he knows you. He knows his church and he knows what’s going on in the middle of his church. That’s what was happening back then.

But here in Revelation 19, it refers to at least two things. First, his penetrating vision by which God discerns all things. And secondly, his fiery judgment that will result in his all-seeing discernment.

In other words, I can say it like this: He sees all and will repay all.

“His penetrating vision discerns all things. He sees all and will repay all.”

And there is nothing that will slip by him. Nothing will slip by him.

His penetrating eyes. Can you imagine Jesus just looking right through you and knowing every single thing about you, every event in your life from the day you were born to the day you die? There’s no getting away from it.

Those who know Christ—he doesn’t see those things. He sees the righteousness of Christ on your account.

That’s why it’s so dangerous not to be a Christian because this penetrating eye of judgment comes upon you. The question in Sunday school and today is: Are you ready to meet such a person as the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you ready?

There’s no wiggle room there.

Characteristic 4: Many Diadems

Here’s the next thing in verse 12. His head covering is very unique.

Notice what it says in verse 12. And on his head are many diadems.

Now the Greek word used here for diadem really means crown, but the word means ruler—a crown for a ruler or a royal crown. It’s not the other Greek word used for crown, and that’s the stephanos crown of victory.

We’re beyond that. This is a crown of royalty and ruling authority, and the only one who has the right to be wearing this kind of crown is Jesus Christ.

Satan and Antichrist are again guilty of imitation, for they have been pretenders trying to claim a crown that was never theirs.

And the Lord Jesus Christ comes on the scene. Another interesting thing in verse 12 is that he has many crowns. It was not unusual in Bible times for a king to come on the scene with many crowns on his head. What that meant is that he could be a king of more than one kind of country or territory.

See, the many crowns on his head is appropriate because he is the king of kings. He is not just the ruler of one or two countries.

He has the right to rule the world. And that is what he’ll do. He will rule the world in the millennial reign with righteousness. That’s what Jesus is going to do. He will bring in the theocratic kingdom that will be established at his second coming.

And during that time, Jesus Christ will be the best lawgiver, the best judge, the best regent, the best world ruler that history has ever experienced. He will be the one who understands how to direct world affairs better than all the great and mighty ones who have come before him on this old earth.

He will reign with glory. He will reign with power. He will reign with righteousness.

“He will be the best lawgiver, the best judge, the best world ruler that history has ever experienced.”

So many crowns are the symbols of his ultimate dominion on this earth because Jesus is the ultimate king of all the kingdoms of the earth at that time.

So he’s coming and then I want you to notice another thing in verse 12.

Characteristic 5: The Unknown Name

A fifth thing of his character: he has a name written on him which no one knows except himself.

Now, it’s no use to guess what this name will be. It looks like it’s a title reserved for eternity.

Maybe because it is a name that will be revealed, it will reveal the true nature of the Godhead in a way that is far beyond what anyone can grasp. We’ll never be able to grasp it. It’s like when you’re reading some things in scripture—it’s very hard to grasp certain things.

One thing is sure though: no one knows it nor can know it except him.

It has been said, and I believe this is true. There is always a sense in the person of Christ and the Godhead that seems to be always beyond man’s understanding in some way. We’re not going to figure out God. We’re not going to nail down our understanding. Our understanding is not going to grasp fully who Jesus is. We’re just not going to do that because we’re finite. We’re human. We can’t go that far. He’s God.

“There is always something in the person of Christ that remains beyond man’s understanding.”

Characteristic 6: The Blood-Dipped Robe

So the rider on the white horse is further described in two more designations. Look at verse 13.

His clothing is expressive. It says he is clothed with a robe dipped in blood. But be careful here. Do not jump to any conclusions regarding the blood-dipped robe.

In fact, there have been three suggestions as to what the blood-dipped garment actually is. The first one is that this garment dipped in blood is his own blood shed at Calvary. A second suggestion is that this is the blood of the saints who died as martyrs.

A third suggestion is probably the most compelling and satisfies the demands of the context of scripture. The position is that the blood is that of Christ’s enemies.

The theme of the context is that Christ is a righteous judge. He is a warrior. The context is also void of Christ’s redemptive work. So that means the blood-dipped garment is not Christ’s own blood. It is not the blood of the saints, but it is the blood of his enemies.

“The blood-dipped garment is not Christ’s own blood but the blood of his enemies.”

Now this is not a foreign understanding when you come to the prophets because the prophets actually mention this. If you take your Bible quickly, look at Isaiah 63 because I want the imagery to come from that passage. Isaiah 63:1-3. Just get a look at your Bibles and get a glance at this passage.

And it says this in verse 1, Isaiah 63:1.

Who is this who comes from Edom with garments of glowing colors from Bozra? This one who is majestic in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength. Is it I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save?

Verse 2: Why is your apparel red and your garments like the one who treads the wine press?

Verse 3: I have trodden the wine trough alone, and from the peoples there was no man with me. I also trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath and their lifeblood is sprinkled on my garments and I stained all my raiment.

Isaiah 63:3: “Their lifeblood is sprinkled on my garments and I stained all my raiment.”

See, the imagery here is the prophecy of how Messiah will slaughter his enemies with their blood spattering on his clothing, just like the wine treader is treading down the grapes in the wine press and the grape juice splashes on the wine treader’s clothing. So Christ’s blood-dipped garments are the bloody battle garments of the almighty warrior conqueror fighting on behalf of his people and wreaking vengeance on the rebellious people of the earth. That’s what he does. That’s who he is.

See, his clothing is very expressive. And then I want you to notice in verse 13 back in Revelation 19.

Characteristic 7: The Word of God

Here’s a name we do know.

Verse 13, the middle of the passage says his name is called the word of God.

Do we know that phrase? But did you know this is the only place in the New Testament where Christ is actually called the word of God?

Oh yes, we know that John says that he is the word, but it doesn’t say it in this way.

Yes, Christ is called the word of God.

And it means that Jesus Christ speaks for God. He is the messenger from God.

Here Jesus proclaims the message of the judgment of God and commands his judgment to be carried out. The instrument of the sharp sword of his mouth becomes the very thing that carries it out. It will be the death blow upon God’s enemies. All God has to do is speak a word.

“Jesus speaks for God. All God has to do is speak a word.”

The word of God is the agent of creation.

The word of God is the agent of salvation.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. Right? You can’t get saved without the word of God.

God spoke the world into existence by a word.

That’s power.

We can’t understand that or wrap our mind around it, but that’s what happened. And that’s what will happen here. Because the word of God is the agent of judgment by the word of God.

The enemies of God will be righteously judged and destroyed.

His Identity Is Unmistakable

His character, his clothing, his name designation makes his identity unmistakable.

The character and mission of this victorious warrior is clear. It is none other than Jesus Christ. The lowly Messiah rode into Jerusalem upon a lowly donkey. He will return as a mighty deliverer on a white horse.

“The lowly Messiah rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. He will return as a mighty deliverer on a white horse.”

That’s who Jesus Christ is. His appearance is imposing, and it should be. That’s the way Scripture is written. It should be impressed upon us that this is an incredible person.

If he’s your Lord and Savior, it should be even more incredible. What should it cause you to do? It should cause you to worship.

His Army Is Holy

His appearance is imposing. But what about his army?

Look at verse 14. His army is holy. Verse 14 says, “And brethren, really, he’s not coming alone. The armies of heaven will follow the leader.” It says in verse 14, “And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following him also on white horses.”

So who will be with him in this passage of scripture? The heavenly army will consist of angels and saints.

“The heavenly army will consist of angels and saints.”

Zechariah tells us, “Then the Lord my God will come and all his holy ones with him.” And a familiar passage.

You probably should turn there in Jude if you just flip ahead, you’ll find that Jude is right in front of Revelation, not too far. In Jude 14-15, it says this incredible passage of scripture.

It says, “I was also verse 14 of Jude.” It’s only got one chapter.

I was also about these men from Enoch in the seventh generation from Adam prophesied saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of his holy ones. For what reason?” In verse 15, to execute judgment upon all, to convict all the ungodly of their ungodly deeds, which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

That’s what the Lord’s going to do. And that’s who are with them. And then the angels are with them. Matthew tells us that when the son of man comes in his glory, all his angels will be with him.

And then Thessalonians says the same thing when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire.

So the word when that you see in all these eschatological passages indicates more than a time of judgment but also the instrument of judgment that Christ in his coming will uncover what is hidden.

That day will be revealed in all his glory and it will be an open and unmistakable manifestation of the true glory of Jesus Christ in contrast to his present humility and the hiddenness of his greatness while he was on earth.

So his righteous judgment is final. His righteous judgment is final.

And there are really two aspects of the Lord’s coming. He is coming to gather his people. And secondly, he is coming for judgment. The supernatural invasion from outer space by the righteous judge.

The Saints Return with Christ

The saints will be with them. In verse 14 of our passage, it says, “And the armies which are in heaven clothed in fine linen, so these armies in heaven will come with Jesus.” Thessalonians again says, “When he comes to be glorified in his saints,” that’s a different way of saying it. He’s going to be glorified in his saints on that day. And the objects of the purpose and result of his coming are his saints.

The sphere in which Christ will find his glory and revelation is in his saints that we become the bright and shining testimony of who he is and what his grace has accomplished in our life.

“We become the bright and shining testimony of who he is and what his grace has accomplished.”

That’s going to be part of it. Complete glorification, instantaneous Christlikeness for all his saints.

And then the church will be there coming with Christ. The same who went up in the rapture comes back with him.

This host that has been removed in the rapture which is called the church will come back with him. The armies which are in heaven were in heaven with the Lord clothed in fine linen will come back with him and we’ll be riding on white horses.

Those coming with Jesus are dressed in fine white linen.

It’s highly unusual to be going into battle dressed in white, but that’s what it says. And probably it says that for this reason because scripture leaves us with the sense that there’s no actual fighting.

Either the white signifies triumph and glorification or it identifies them with the lamb’s bride. And I think that’s the sense here that the marriage ceremony is taking place in heaven.

But secondly, then comes the marriage feast that the Lord is going to have here on earth that the church is co-reigning with the Messiah and it will start there in the millennium. That’s going to be a grand time also.

So his army is with him. His angels, his saints, his church will be with him.

His Authority Is Unmatched

But there is another thing I want to mention, and that’s this: his authority is unmatched.

In Revelation 19:15, there are three images given that highlight or emphasize the authority that the Lord has. In verse 15, we get the first image. It says, “From his mouth comes a sharp sword.”

So that he might strike down the nations. The image of a sword comes out of Christ’s mouth, and the battle is over in an instant.

Even in verse 21, it says, “And the rest were killed with the sword which came out of his mouth, the one who sat on the horse.” So Christ speaks as one who has authority.

When he speaks, his word has force. It has finality. It has command about it. You just can’t get away from it.

“When he speaks, his word has force. It has finality. It has command about it.”

When the Lord speaks, people listen. Or you better listen.

When he speaks, that’s why every time the word of God is being preached, we’re preaching God’s word. We’re not preaching our own stuff. You should be ready to listen because it’s the command of the King of Kings having authority over our lives and teaching us who he is and what will be. We are ready for his coming.

The sword comes out of the mouth of the Lord, and it shows his absolute authority.

Earlier in the book of Revelation, it identified him in chapter one as the voice. His voice was like the sound of many waters, and then out of his mouth comes a two-edged sword. It cuts both ways on the top and the bottom.

The power that proceeds from the Lord is no match for the great nations gathered against him and their kings when it comes to the battle that we’ll see later on.

It says there that with it he may strike down the nations. All the nations who come against him in the battle have no chance. All that Jesus does is speak a word. Boom. And it’s done.

The Rod of Iron and the Winepress

And then there’s a second image in our passage and it’s this.

He will rule them with a rod of iron. It says that’s a shepherd’s club.

Actually from the Old Testament it could be a rod, a staff, a club, but it was used often for smiting, for beating.

The shepherd’s implement was that for mustering the sheep, tapping them to get them in place, for counting the sheep, but also for striking them, getting them in line.

It says in Psalm 2, he shall strike them with a rod of iron, you who shatter them like earthenware. The image here is that Christ shepherding these nations will be with an iron scepter. Remember, these nations aren’t going to be saved in the millennial kingdom.

So he has to rule them with a shepherd’s club. And if you’re out of line, we know that it will kill the enemy of the sheep. The shepherding is not the care of the sheep, but here the destruction of the predatory foes that come against God’s people.

“The shepherding here is not the care of the sheep but the destruction of the predatory foes.”

And then there’s a third image in verse 15 of chapter 19, and that’s of the wine press.

And he treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty.

So the picture is clear that the Messiah will slaughter his enemies with their blood spattering on his clothing just like the wine treader is trotting down the grapes in the wine press with the grape juice coming on the wine treader’s clothing and staining it. So Christ’s blood is that dipped garment, his battle garments, the battle garments of the Almighty.

And so what do we have in verse 15? Notice for his mouth comes a sharp sword so that with it he may strike down the nations and he will rule them with a rod of iron and he treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty.

Here it describes the furious wrath of God Almighty who overcomes his enemies and he does it with ease and then he will establish his government on earth and Messiah will destroy all the unlawful nations with the sword of his mouth. He will rule with absolute authority. No one can rival him. No one can rival him.

So the power that proceeds from the Lord Jesus is no match for the Antichrist and the false prophet and Satan himself.

I like what it says in Thessalonians.

Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of his mouth and bring to an end by the appearing of his coming.

So that passage really shows that the career of the lawless one will be overthrown.

The agent of the destruction is the Lord himself, the true God man which brings Satan to a swift end.

King of Kings and Lord of Lords

His authority is unequaled and visible through the representation of his name for all to see.

His name expresses that Jesus not only has unrivaled authority but he has unrivaled authority in judgment and in government.

Notice what it says in verse 16. It says, “And on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written.” And what is his name?

His name is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That’s who he is. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This name singles him out as the greatest of all rulers and the only true divine one and universal king.

His name was written on the part of the robe that covers his thigh—a conspicuous place for a mounted warrior.

“His name is King of Kings and Lord of Lords—the greatest of all rulers and the only true universal king.”

The point is it’s a name written in that place for all to see. No one will make a mistake of who he is. So he will overcome the powerful kingdoms of the world.

Jesus is Lord and King like no other has ever been and will be. He will rule the world at this time because now it’s his turn.

Are You Ready?

It’s his turn to be King Jesus that will reign with glory and power on this very earth. Are you ready? Are you ready to meet this stunning person?

Are you ready to bow down in true worship from your heart? Are you ready to move things around in your life so they are pleasing to the Lord? Can you sing alleluia from your heart because of these passages of scripture?

That should be our response. Our response should be outright worship or our response should be run to Jesus.

“Our response should be outright worship or to run to Jesus and find mercy and grace.”

Run to him right now and find mercy there and find grace there and he will save you and he will forgive you and he will make you right with God.

And then you’ll be one of the saints that comes with them. Don’t you want to come with them?

You don’t want to find yourself in the tribulation, do you? And you don’t want to find yourself in the end of what’s happening to be cast into the lake of fire forever. You don’t want that. And the only one who could rescue you is Jesus Christ.

If you have not come to Christ today, today’s the day to come. Don’t put it off one second. And if you are a Christian and the Lord Jesus Christ and somehow you have fallen in a bad place, today’s the day to change where you’re at and come and confess your sin to the Lord Jesus Christ and let him make you new.

Let him forgive you because if you confess your sin, what is he? Faithful and just to forgive you of your sin and all your unrighteousness.

I think that passage of scripture says that even the stuff you forgot, he’ll forgive that, too.

God doesn’t forget. Today is a good day to do that. But it should enhance our worship. Let’s pray this morning and I’ll pick it up next time.

Lord, thank you today again for this incredible passage of scripture that describes you in a way that really no other place describes you in scripture. You are going to be the world ruler on earth and we will be co-reigning with you on this earth for those who are your children. And we thank you for that promise.

It’s almost hard to wrap our mind around what will take place, but Lord, these are your promises and your word is true because you always tell us the truth. I pray Lord that today would be a day that we really would rethink our life and what we’re doing and where we’re going and what we’re planning and what our purpose and goal is for our life.

I pray it would always be that you would bring us to the place where we humbly come before you, wanting you, Lord, to by your spirit and your word to transform us so we would know the good and the acceptable and the perfect will of God.

We would desire not to be conformed to the world or the things that it wants to press us into. We would be far from those things. And Lord, we would just want to serve you with the time you’ve given us with simplicity and with humility and with consistency. I pray this in Christ’s name. Amen.

Let’s stand together.
May 24, 2026
The Prelude to the Second Coming of Jesus the Messiah
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Note: This transcript and summary was autogenerated. It has not yet been proofread or edited by a human.

Summary

This passage in Revelation 19:1-6 reveals the fourfold “Hallelujah” chorus of heaven — a prelude to the second coming of Jesus Christ. We are reminded that all of history is moving toward a climactic moment when God takes full control, judging wickedness and establishing His eternal reign. The four Hallelujahs celebrate God’s salvation, His righteous judgment upon Babylon, the worship around His throne, and the beginning of His earthly kingdom.

Key Lessons:
1. Genuine praise must be rooted in the reality of God’s salvation — that He alone saved us without our cooperation, and this should be our daily posture of gratitude.
2. God’s justice is perfect and incorruptible because it flows from His own righteous character — He alone can judge with equity, and no wickedness will ultimately go unpunished.
3. Our salvation is not yet complete — we await the redemption of our bodies and the full establishment of God’s kingdom, which gives us enduring hope in present trials.
4. The Hallelujah originates in heaven, not on earth, reminding us that our worship joins a cosmic chorus that celebrates God’s final and total victory over evil.
Application: We are called to wake up each day with thankfulness for God’s salvation, to trust His justice even when earthly justice fails, and to actively serve in His kingdom rather than sitting idle — living with the confident hope that Christ will complete what He started.

Discussion Questions:
1. How does understanding that God’s justice is based on His own perfect character change the way you respond to injustice in the world today?
2. If the Hallelujah chorus celebrates God’s completed salvation, what areas of your life still need to be surrendered to the truth that God saves you apart from your own effort?
3. In what practical ways can you live each day with the hope of Christ’s return and the redemption of all things?
Scripture Focus: Revelation 19:1-6 provides the fourfold Hallelujah of heaven. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 describes the perilous character of the last days. Romans 8:22-23 teaches that we groan awaiting the redemption of our bodies. Luke 1:32-33 promises Christ’s eternal reign on David’s throne. Psalm 75:2,7 and Psalm 89:14 affirm God’s perfect justice and righteousness.

Outline
Introduction

Okay, this morning, let’s take our Bibles and turn to Revelation, the last book of the Bible. We’ve been moving through Revelation 19.

And as you turn there, let me have a word of prayer.

Father, this morning we just repeat the words of the song. We thank you that you’re the way and the truth and the life and that you are a well that never runs dry. We can always come to you and in your word we find a wealth of knowledge about who you are, the work that you’ve done, and even the completion of your work, how it’s all going to end.

We thank you, Lord, that you give this knowledge to your children, not everybody, to your children. And your children take it to heart. When they take it to heart, it comforts them and it gives them hope.

It helps them to see that this world is not the end. There will be a new heaven and new earth where righteousness dwells. That is our hope where Christ will be with us.

He will be our God and we will be his people and we’ll be glad about it. This morning, Lord, teach us from your word about how the things we are concluding and when we begin to realize, Lord, that you are king of kings and lord of lords, not only in heaven but on earth. I pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

The Doomsday Clock and Perilous Times

Maybe some of you have heard of the doomsday clock. It’s actually an imaginary clock.

However, there is a small group of atomic scientists who actually set the time on this clock by monitoring events of the world at any given time. They do this in order to see how humanity is heading and how close humanity is getting to midnight.

Midnight is the apocalypse. Midnight represents total destruction and annihilation, while the minutes and seconds show how close humanity is to that doomsday.

This group originated in 1947 when the bulletin of atomic scientists science and security board set the doomsday clock at 7 minutes to midnight on January 2026. The doomsday clock is now set at 85 seconds to midnight—the closest that it’s ever been to signal global catastrophe. That’s 1 minute and 25 seconds to doomsday.

“The doomsday clock is now set at 85 seconds to midnight — the closest it’s ever been to signal global catastrophe.”

This is maintained by the bulletin of atomic scientists. It’s a symbolic clock that reflects at least three major threats.

In answering the question of why the clock has moved closer this year, the first factor they evaluated is nuclear risks. Increased tensions and the potential for nuclear warfare is a major factor for this group.

Paul’s Warning About the Last Days

Environmental crisis is a major factor. The disruptive technologies that we have today are another factor, which means the mismanagement of artificial intelligence and biological threats. We know those are real things like gain of function and what happened in COVID—things that can control a population.

All these things—these watchers of the doomsday clock—describe the current era as dangerously perilous, warning that global leaders are not doing enough to address existential threats. Well, what did the Apostle Paul warn the church about concerning the last days?

Paul’s reasons for these perilous times that will come reside in the coldness and wickedness of man’s heart, which is why there is an increase in aggression and tension amongst humankind, especially because of man’s rejection of the true and living God. Paul said this: “But realize this in Timothy that in the last days difficult times will come, or another word used in the King James, perilous times will come.”

And why does it come? Because men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, haters of that which is good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness.

Meaning this: there’s a shell, but nothing’s inside.

2 Timothy 3:1-5: “In the last days difficult times will come… men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant.”

He warns them that they deny the power. Avoid people like that.

The Prelude to Christ’s Second Coming

Revelation has been describing the doom that is going to come upon the world in graphic detail. But after chapter 18, we’re past that and into a different part of Revelation.

This part is going to give us this morning a prelude to the second coming of Jesus the Messiah. A prelude is a narrative that precedes the main event—the second coming of Christ. It sets the mood and tone of what will come.

The book of Revelation is actually talking about the final unveiling of the last days. In this section, this is the climax of judgment. It’s very comforting to know that as we look at this portion of scripture, everything will not end in doom.

Actually, everything will end in the hallelujah chorus. That’s how it’ll end—all believers will be part of the final amen chorus.

“Everything will not end in doom. Actually, everything will end in the hallelujah chorus.”

The godless harlot religious system will be destroyed by God, which we saw in the other chapters. The godless materialistic, economic, political system which led the whole world astray into deception is destroyed by God. Babylon by God’s power falls in complete destruction.

Why did it fall? The reason is number one: self-centered materialism. The very subtle and seductive power of a materialistic mindset brings comfort and causes greed. Actually, it will deceive the whole world.

Secondly, there’s sorcery. If you look at chapter 18, notice in verse 23 at the middle of the verse it says, “Because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.” Sorcery is a direct violation of the first commandment because it seeks knowledge apart from God in evil spirits, in divination, in mediums and astrology and all that stuff that psychic readers and all those things that are happening.

It’s all used by Satan to deceive people. In fact, Revelation 21:8 says, “The sorcerers and idolators and all liars will be part of the lake of fire that burns with fire and brimstone.” This is the second death.

Then there’s a third thing, and that’s outright murder. In Revelation 18:24 it says, “And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.” That means the world rejected the true message and those who brought that message.

In other words, if you don’t agree with the agenda, we’ll just eliminate you. We’ll just kill you. That is the mindset that’s going to be in the tribulation period.

This section of scripture this morning functions both to conclude the major section of the destruction of Babylon the great and introduces the section on Jesus’ return, which I’ll not get to today. We also can see a contrast between the mournful laments of three groups of people and the great joy from those most hurt by the policies of the evil empire of Satan.

When you read chapter 19 of Revelation, it immediately has a change of tone from a frightful, dreary day of judgment to a day of blessing.

The Fourfold Hallelujah

Prior to dealing with the manner of the second coming itself in this first half of Revelation 19, we have a prelude composed of three elements. This morning I want to start by looking at that first element from verses 1-6. I don’t know how far I’ll get after that, and we’ll have to pick it up next week wherever I cut it off like a link sausage when we’re done.

But here’s the first one. The first element of the prelude is the fourfold hallelujah.

So, Revelation 19, we’ll be looking at it in a minute. But let me just say that we see heaven.

“The first element of the prelude is the fourfold hallelujah.”

If you want to know what’s going on in heaven, well, this is it right now. All this that I’m going to mention this morning happens in heaven.

We see the reaction to this portion of human history and how heaven reacts to it. Here we see heaven and another angel with a loud voice and a great multitude. And you know what they’re saying? They’re saying hallelujah.

The First Hallelujah: Praise for God’s Victory

Now, Alleluia is a very common word today. It’s in songs. It’s in people’s language. It’s everywhere. What it means is praise the Lord, praise Yahweh, or simply just to praise God.

That’s how the scripture we read this morning in Psalm 106 ended. It ended in that way.

But Alleluia, if you didn’t probably know this—I didn’t know it at first either—is that only Revelation 19 uses the word. Nowhere in the New Testament is it found except right here in this chapter.

It is a fitting cry of the multitude of heaven to use maybe the most important word of all human history.

“Only Revelation chapter 19 uses the word hallelujah — a fitting cry using maybe the most important word of all human history.”

Now, if you go back to the Hebrew form of the word, which is “Hallel,” it’s found in Psalm 106 that we read this morning. It started out, “Praise the Lord,” and it ended with, “Amen. Praise the Lord.”

Yet all the stuff packed in the middle of that was all the things Israel was doing to provoke God, even to the point where they were giving their children up to the sacrifice of demons. That’s about as wicked as you get. That’s about as far away from God as you can get.

And yet it ends in praise the Lord, Amen. How did that happen? Because the people were praising God for God’s righteous judgment that would come upon the wicked people. That’s what they were praising the Lord for.

Salvation, Glory, and Power

And so the first hallelujah has two links to it. The first is linked to the great victory won by God who alone belongs to victory, and then secondly the execution of God’s judgment. Now look at verse one of Revelation 19:1. It says, “After these things, I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven saying, hallelujah, salvation and glory and power belong to our God.” Now, that’s an incredible statement there.

Revelation 19:1: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.”

If you notice in this part, it mentions really three attributes of God. First, it says hallelujah for salvation. Salvation is the deliverance that God brought about, and him alone, to save us.

Should we not sing hallelujah about that?

And then also it says the glory. This not only brings glory to God, but especially here that his plan of salvation is finished. Not only does he save people, but he saves them and redeems them and gives them resurrected bodies to dwell with him for all eternity. Something else to praise God for.

And then it says in the passage the power belongs to our God. No other power could have been brought about by anyone else except God himself. He can execute judgment, and him alone.

So the praise is of the true acknowledgment of who God is.

The crowd of worshippers in heaven included are the church triumphant and also the host of elect angels. They’re really the only group there at that particular time, and they are shouting loudly hallelujah because God has taken full control finally of everything.

What Real Praise Contains

Here we are given the components of what real praise contains.

If we want to know what real praise is, we find it right here in this passage.

Matter of fact, genuine praise, heartfelt praise that comes from God’s people has to start with his salvation.

“Genuine praise, heartfelt praise that comes from God’s people, has to start with his salvation.”

And that really should awaken our hearts to be thankful to our great God.

Salvation Awakens Thankfulness

Thank you, Lord, you saved me. Thank you, Lord. You forgave me of all my sin.

Thank you, Lord, that even your shed blood washed away my sin, it’ll never come up against me to condemn me. Thank you for so great a salvation. That’s something we ought to wake up every morning with that thought on our mind.

Though our minds and our hearts immediately when we open our eyes are thankful because we’re going to hedge against grumbling and complaining and the things that are going to get us knocked from pillar to post during that day, right? Being thankful and always coming back to that.

And then also glory should awaken our reverence towards God because his glory was driven by his love for humanity, his love for his children. He is a loving God. He demonstrates his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, he dies for us. At our worst moment, God is demonstrating his love toward us.

“He demonstrates his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, he dies for us. At our worst moment, God is demonstrating his love.”

And so we are thankful for that too. And then the power should awaken us to trust, awaken our trust towards God. He is faithful. God never in the end abandons his own people.

He will never leave us or forsake us. He is always with us. And so part of our day is realizing and sensing the presence of God in our life as he’s bringing to our minds the things that he’s taught us, how he’s brought us, how he’s rescued us, and all those things strengthen us.

The Great Multitude Praising God

This great multitude in heaven are saying praise the Lord. These most likely are the same group of saints in Revelation 7:9. Who were they who stood before the throne of God praising him for his salvation? They were people from every nation and all tribes and all peoples and all tongues.

It says in Revelation 7:9-10: “They cried out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.’” This second group are people from every tribe and nation who believed in the Messiah and are now in heaven crying out salvation to our God.

Revelation 7:10: “They cried out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.’”

In a sense, everything as we know it now is not finished.

God Takes Full Control

God has not yet taken full control of all things. But Revelation is telling us he will. As he’s been true to everything else, he will be true to this too. He will take everything under control. And this is it. This in some way is the reason for shouting in heaven.

God takes full control of his salvation and is seen as penetrating everything that takes place from now on.

When we get to Revelation 20 and 21, we’ll see that heaven is described with jewels and everything the glory of God is shining through everything. You can’t get wherever it is in the new heaven and new earth. You can’t get away from the glory of God. It’s everywhere and we’re glad it is.

God’s people are glad it is everywhere. Another place that we also see the celebration of God’s salvation is in Revelation 12:10 where the scripture describes Satan losing one battle after another. And it says there in Revelation 12:10, “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, ‘Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down. He who accuses them before the throne of God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the lamb and because of the word of their testimony.’”

Revelation 12:11: “They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony.”

And they did not love their lives even when faced with death. And then what does it say in verse 12? “For this reason, rejoice, oh heaven, and you who dwell in them.” So here is a celebration of the power of God over evil, putting down evil for good.

And yet the sense that God is taking full possession is really not in a full sense at least at this point.

But we do know that after the destruction of his world empire and his removal from the earth, heaven shouts hallelujah and praises the Lord and praises God as a celebration of the final complete triumph over the powers of evil. And then notice again back in Revelation 19:1 it says, “Salvation and glory and power belong to God.” That word belong means that it’s a possessive word that God has it and this full possession seems to be in reference to salvation that it’s all coming together.

The Lord Jesus reminds us the fullness of all things for the glory his glory and his power the more evident to us that the Lord completes the whole salvation process. He does it.

The Hope of Bodily Resurrection

All these passages show that God’s great victory was accomplished through the omnipotent power and resulted in his glory. In some sense this morning, we are not fully saved or fully delivered. Full salvation is not only God redeeming the soul but it’s also God redeeming our body.

We are delivered from the curse of sin, the penalty of sin, but we are not yet delivered from the presence and power of sin. Not yet, but we will be.

Just like Paul said in Romans, our salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. And then he says it again in Romans 8:22-23. He says, “We ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”

Romans 8:22-23: “We ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”

That is the great hope that we have. We await the resurrection of our bodies along with the Old Testament saints who await the resurrection of their bodies, even though the souls of all saints are with the Lord now.

That was the message of the last chapter of Daniel. Resurrection and justice all come together. Daniel mentions that there’s going to be a resurrection to everlasting life and there will be a resurrection to everlasting contempt.

Two hugely different eternal destinies are given to people, and there are only two. There are not three.

Salvation by God’s Power Alone

And the destiny of disgrace and everlasting contempt awaits those who were wicked. They received their judgment because of their unbelief and rejection of Messiah. But then there are those who will be destined to renewal and everlasting life. Those who were faithful but lost their lives awake to vindication.

The promise of Daniel 12 is the awakening of the people individually but also with a view to their sharing a corporate destiny. The encouragement and hope in difficult times is recognizing that God will give complete victory in the physical and the spiritual realms and bring all people to their proper eternal abodes.

That’s what God will do. Our salvation takes place for his glory and by his power. And we are to shout because of that: Alleluia. Praise the Lord. Praise God. Because Jesus completes our salvation, that should always be part of the vocabulary of God’s people.

That comes from the heart out through the mouth, that we rejoice because of what God’s done. It just flows out of you because you realize that you could never have accomplished what God accomplished for you. You realize that we don’t cooperate with God in our salvation. God saves us alone without our help.

He moves by his Spirit upon our soul to grant us faith and repentance, to see and bring us alive to know that we are on a way to destruction. Unless we believe in Jesus Christ, we could never be saved. We don’t wake up in the morning and say, “Well, I think I need to get saved today.” People don’t just do that.

God’s got to work on your heart. He’s got to move heaven and earth to save you. That’s what he has to do.

“We don’t cooperate with God in our salvation. God saves us alone without our help. He moves by his Spirit to grant us faith and repentance.”

The Fall of Ecclesiastical Babylon

See, that’s how great God is. And that should be on our mind and on our tongues all the time. We can say nothing else but alleluia and praise God.

Now, this brings me to the second part of the first alleluia. It’s the fall of the ecclesiastical Babylon. Look back at Revelation 19:2 and it says this: Because his judgments are true and righteous, for he has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality.

Actually, this word “corrupting” is in the imperfect tense, meaning she kept corrupting. It wasn’t going to stop unless somebody stopped it. It’s going on right now in the world. The world is being corrupted by Satan and by his demons.

Everything is being corrupted and it’s going to continue to get worse and worse until someone stops it. And the only one who’s going to stop it is God himself.

And it says there that they were corrupting the earth with her immorality. And he has avenged the blood of the bond servants on her. And a second time they say alleluia. Her smoke rises up forever and ever.

This political system that is working in the world is going to be working at fever pitch during the tribulation, and the display of God’s power is very clear in the tribulation period. The seven sealed judgments, the seven trumpet judgments, the seven bowl judgments all demonstrate God’s righteous judgments.

Revelation 19:2: “His judgments are true and righteous, for he has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth.”

God’s Righteousness and Perfect Justice

And so this English term righteousness and justice are different words, but in the Old Testament and in the Greek there is only one word, one word group behind the two English terms. They both speak of one attribute of God, and that’s God’s righteousness. God’s righteousness means that God always acts in accordance with what is right and is himself the final standard of what is right.

That means God alone is perfect in judgment for at least three reasons.

Number one, he alone can see the innermost thoughts and desires of any person. No one else could do that.

Secondly, he alone has the purity which can judge without prejudice.

Thirdly, he alone has the wisdom to find the right judgment and the power to apply it. That’s what we can never do. We can never apply exactly the right thing when something goes wrong or when someone commits a crime. Today there is no righteousness. A lot of crime is not even being addressed or brought into courts of law to be handled.

If I ask the question, what is right? I would have to say this: whatever conforms to God’s moral character is right.

But why is whatever conforms to God’s moral character right? It’s right because it conforms to God’s moral character. You can’t get away from that in scripture.

If indeed God is the final standard of righteousness and justice, then there can be no standard outside of God by which to measure righteousness and justice. He himself is the final standard.

When Christ died to pay the penalty for our sins, it showed that God was truly righteous because he did give appropriate punishment to sin. He poured the wrath of God upon his own son for sin. The righteous dying for the unrighteous—the righteous being Christ, the unrighteous being us.

“Whatever conforms to God’s moral character is right. There can be no standard outside of God by which to measure righteousness.”

When born again Christians hear of the justice of God, it causes thanksgiving and gratitude. When we realize that righteousness and God’s omnipotent power are both possessed by God—if not, if he didn’t do it, if he doesn’t take care of wickedness, then there will be no justice.

If there’s no justice, justice cannot be guaranteed. It will ultimately prevail in the universe, and it will get worse. It will be the most horrible place anyone could ever live.

God Alone Judges with Equity

But our God has unlimited power and a character in which he must do what is right and just. And he will do what is right and just because of who he is. If you read through scripture, you’ll find in the Old Testament, it says that a God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is he.

And then Isaiah tells us this: a righteous God and a savior, there is none except me.

So that God’s justice is declared to be incorruptible, impartial, without respect of persons. And in Psalm 89, righteousness and justice are the foundation of his very throne.

Psalm 89:14: “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his very throne.”

Because of God’s nature, these judgments in Revelation have to take place. God finally has to close the door on wickedness. He finally has to deal with it. And as long as we are in this world with devils filled and sin cursed, there is no real justice to be found.

There will never be any justice in this world because this world does not know God or follow his standard. And because of man’s rebellion against God, the whole human race was thrown into sin and death. And as long as man and demons rule, there is always going to be confusion and chaos.

Yet we are to sing alleluia when righteousness wins out, when the justice of God wins out because God has been faithful to keep his promise to judge fairly.

And God is the only one. There is a lot of cry today about judging fairly or judging with equity. Well, the only one who could judge with equity is God himself.

In fact, this is what it says in Psalm 75: “When I select an appointed time, it is I who will judge with equity.” And then it says, “But God is the judge.”

Psalm 75:2, 7: “When I select an appointed time, it is I who will judge with equity. God is the judge.”

He puts down one and he exalts one. Who could do that but God? So God’s justice is true because it is based on his own covenant faithfulness and just because it is based on his holy character.

The Second Hallelujah: Destruction of Babylon

There’s a second allelujah in our text.

Let’s turn there again to Revelation 19:3 and notice what it says there. It says, “And a second time they said allelujah, her smoke rises up forever and ever.” Now, this is talking about the second allelujah is for the destruction of the city of Babylon. This is the troubled city, the political capital of the world, the capital of the beast of his kingdom.

God will climax vengeful judgment on the harlot system and the whole deceptive system of anti-God activity will be turned into a burning heap and your smoke will rise forever and ever and never again will it rise from its ruins. This second allelujah celebrates the extent of punishment and that extent really is where the eternal smoke of torment that really accompanies the lake of fire.

This great Babylon pays the price for her folly and for the blood of the saints. Jesus will execute vengeance from the ones who spilt the blood of the saints by the people who engaged in evil and wicked deeds. So we ought to shout allelujah.

Praise God. Praise God. Because Jesus will complete and carry out fair and righteous judgment according to his standard. It also shows that no one will get away with anything when it comes to God’s justice.

“No one will get away with anything when it comes to God’s justice.”

No One Escapes God’s Justice

Nobody will get away with anything. Even if they got away with it here on earth, they will not get away with it before God because we’re getting to Revelation 20 when the books will be open. Out of those books, God’s going to judge people.

Those books are accurate books. God takes accurate records. He knows everything that has gone on in your life, in my life.

I mean, we would not want somebody put a screen up here and broadcast your life, all the intimate things going on in your life on the screen for everybody to see.

But God’s piercing judgment will penetrate through all that. But what? For believers, we don’t have to worry about that.

“For believers, we don’t have to worry — we’re not going to be at the great white throne judgment.”

Because we’re not going to be at the great white throne judgment.

Everything’s going to be taking place at the bema judgment. When the rapture of the church comes and we go to heaven with the Lord, we’re going to be judged not because of our sin, but because of our works after we became believers.

So it should cause great concern in our life, too. Like, what are we doing for the Lord? Hopefully, we’re not just sitting back and doing nothing and falling on our arms and letting everybody else do the work. No, God calls us to be servants in his kingdom.

The Third Hallelujah: Praise Around the Throne

But another thing is that this is also here at the end of the great tribulation.

Now, if the great tribulation is ended, what is the reaction of the people in heaven now? I want you to notice the third allelujah is a wonderful praise to God from around the throne of God. Look at verse four.

These groups have been witnesses to the events on earth which are now complete. The 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Allelujah.” And a voice came from the throne saying, “Give praise to our God, all of you, his bond servants who fear him, small and great.”

Now, if you notice, there’s a combination here in this passage between amen and allelujah. This is almost the last amen.

Finally, the end comes and heaven is really happy about it. Notice the posture—the serious posture of their prayer is that they fall down before God, which symbolizes total surrender before the God who sits on the throne.

“They fall down before God, which symbolizes total surrender before the God who sits on the throne.”

All of heaven erupts in praise. The 24 elders represent the church of Jesus Christ from Pentecost to the rapture. The four living creatures represent the elect angels who worship in heaven before God. The bond servants, small and great, would be the tribulation martyrs, the great multitude, the redeemed saints.

A single voice from heaven—a voice from the throne—calls out to the saints on earth to join in praise with God. This voice came from the throne saying, “Give praise to God, all of you, his bond servants who fear him, small and great.”

Heaven is bursting with allelujah. Remember, allelujah did not originate on earth. It originated in heaven and it comes from God himself and the people of God who are there now in heaven worshiping him.

But there’s a fourth allelujah. I want you to notice in Revelation 19:6, the fourth allelujah is for the eternal reign of God—that his reign has begun and for the marriage supper of the lamb.

The Fourth Hallelujah: God’s Eternal Reign

Notice in verse 6, then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of many peals of thunder saying, now let me just stop there for a moment.

What are they saying in verse 6? They’re saying Alleluia for the Lord our God Almighty reigns.

The reason for this joy is the eternal reign of God has begun. It doesn’t mean that God wasn’t reigning before. What it means though is everything comes together where now the reign of God will begin on earth, which the earth has not experienced. Jesus Christ will come and reign on the throne.

This God, it really means here that God became king in the fullness of power on the earth with the fall of all the other world powers. The eternal reign of God will begin. And this is what heaven is saying at this point. Finally, we waited this long for this to happen and now it’s here and they’re so ecstatic that they’re just bursting out in all these Alleluias.

Revelation 19:6: “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God Almighty reigns!”

The next reason for God’s people to make verbal celebration is found in our passage here: it is God’s earthly kingdom coming.

This is the greatest celebration of the saints because Christ their Lord and Savior will return and bring his kingdom with him. We will be with him when he comes to return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords on the earth. This exuberant, incredible, loud song of praise is also for the marriage to the Lamb. This is where everything comes together.

Now, if you remember very succinctly the Lord’s prayer that we’ve been praying all these years in Matthew 6:9-13, pray then in this way: “Our Father, who is in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” And then it ends with “for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”

So in a very real sense, Jesus is finally honored and this prayer is finally answered. Jesus reigns as king and rules in heaven above and will rule on earth below.

Now just think of this for a minute.

Christ’s Kingdom Promised in Scripture

This is not a new subject in scripture. This has been taught all along.

In fact, if you take your Bibles, quickly turn over to Luke 1:32-33.

Because here in Luke, he is teaching right in the first chapter of what will be. If you notice in Luke 1:32-33, it says in verse 32, “And he will be great and will be called the son of the most high and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.” Verse 33: “And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.”

Luke 1:33: “He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.”

So this is the literal physical political reign of Christ where Jesus will rule and reign on the throne of David and this earthly establishment of the rule of God will come with the return of Christ to this planet and God’s kingdom will be set up on the earth never to be removed again.

Now, although it will manifest itself for a thousand-year reign of peace and justice of which the world and its rulers could never have exemplified.

Conclusion: Our Final Triumph Is Guaranteed

So we ought to shout because of these four allelujah. We ought to shout ourselves, praise the Lord. Praise God.

Because we believe that our final triumph is guaranteed by him. That God Almighty will indeed bring it to pass.

And the only thing we can conclude with is, if you are a Christian today and if you are part of the people of God, the only thing you can possibly conclude with is thank you Lord. Hallelujah to your great name. And yes, there will be doom for those who did not believe and rejected Christ.

“Our final triumph is guaranteed by him. For the saints and all the people of God, there will be nothing but amen and hallelujah.”

But for the saints and all the people of God and his elect angels, there will be nothing but amen and allelujah.

Could you say amen today?

Amen.

Let’s pray. I’ll stop there today.

Lord, thank you this morning for this portion of scripture because, Lord, in it, it tells us things we could have never found anywhere else. Thank you, Lord, for the word of God. Thank you for the clarity of the word of God.

Thank you, Lord, for allowing us to read it, to hear it preached. Now Lord, as we have heard it preached, I pray Lord that if someone today doesn’t know Christ as their Lord and Savior, they’re still part of the wicked people. The only way they can have their sin forgiven and cleansed is by coming to Christ, asking him to save them.

I pray that you would grant them faith and repentance that they may turn from what they’re trusting in. If some religious system or some good works, that’s not going to save them. That’s just a pile of garbage. Only Christ can save. That’s your job. You came to save your people from their sin.

And that’s what keeps us from your heaven, our sin. We can’t take over our sin. We forgot the sins that we committed a month ago, a week ago, yesterday. But you haven’t forgotten. And all those are going to accumulate until there will be no response to when you judge your people.

But Lord, thank you in Christ Jesus. He’s taken care of all that. He’s paid for every single sin that we could ever commit or will commit tomorrow. So Lord, you change us. You give us your spirit. You give us your word. We’re different now because we came to Christ.

Our whole worldview is different. So Lord, today I pray Lord if we cannot genuinely based on knowledge from scripture sing allelujah, I pray tomorrow we can because we trusted Jesus today.

Lord, please those who are your children, those who already know the truth and are walking with you, encourage their heart, comfort them with these truths. Help them to wake up every day and be thankful. Help them to wake up every day and be able to shout with the saints and the angels in heaven, allelujah, because of the great things you have done.

And Lord, we want to praise you. We want to give you the honor and glory that is due only your name. And we want to be used by you with the time you give us on this earth to be able to proclaim your name, to live out and adorn the gospel, and just to be your servants.

Lord, whatever you want us to do, that’s what we want to do. And I pray that you would bless us in that way and encourage us. Keep us strong in the faith.

And Lord, when we are attacked by Satan, help us to put on the whole armor of God to be able to stand in your strength, not our own. And I pray, Lord Jesus, every day you would grow us more and more like Christ. And that Lord, you may use us more and more to share the truth with others who don’t know you.

And I pray this all today in the precious and the holy name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Let’s stand.
May 17, 2026
The Lamb Destroys the World’s Religious System, Part 1
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Note: This transcript and summary was autogenerated. It has not yet been proofread or edited by a human.

Summary

This passage from Revelation 17:1-6 reveals the mystery of Babylon the Great — the mother of all false religious systems. We are shown that organized false religion has existed since the Tower of Babel and will culminate in a one-world religious system during the tribulation. The great harlot represents a corrupt, apostate religious system that intoxicates the nations, rides on political power, and persecutes true believers.

Key Lessons:
1. Religion without salvation is Satan’s greatest deception — he makes people religious while keeping them lost, satisfied with their own works and righteousness.
2. False religion originated at the Tower of Babel with Nimrod’s organized rebellion against God, and this same system has continued through history to the present day.
3. The only true religion is a relationship with Jesus Christ through faith, not works — and this is the very group that every false system targets and persecutes.
4. There are only two gospels: the gospel of works (man’s way) and the gospel of faith (God’s way) — salvation is not doing, it is done through Christ.
Application: We are called to examine ourselves honestly — are we merely religious or truly saved? We must not rest in our own goodness or works but trust solely in the finished work of Christ on the cross, standing firm on that foundation amid deception.

Discussion Questions:
1. What is the difference between being religious and being saved, and how can we honestly evaluate which category we fall into?
2. How does understanding the ancient roots of false religion at Babel help us recognize counterfeit spiritual systems in our world today?
3. Why does every false religious and political system specifically target followers of Jesus, and how should that reality shape our faith and courage?
Scripture Focus: Revelation 17:1-6 describes the great harlot and the mystery of Babylon. Genesis 10-11 traces the origins of organized false religion to Nimrod and the Tower of Babel. Jeremiah 44:15-25 illustrates how false religion pulled Israel away from God. Colossians 2:23 exposes self-made religion as powerless against sin.

Outline
Introduction

Okay, good morning. Let’s take our Bibles this morning and turn to Revelation 17.

This is the last book of the Bible if you’re new, handling God’s word, chapter 17.

Today we’re looking at the first part from verses 1-6. As you turn there, let me have a word of prayer.

Father, I thank you this morning for your kindness to us in bringing us together today. Be with those, Lord, who are under the weather today. I think of Sheranne and Arthur. I pray, Lord, you would comfort them this morning and be alongside them. I pray they would know your presence.

If there’s anyone else sick, I pray that you would also bring comfort to them and lift them up at the right time as only you can do, Lord. As we approach your word today, I pray that you would open our minds to understand it. Use me today as your servant to bring it forth so your name could be glorified and you can be honored in all respects.

Lord, you can be exalted as the only one who can save. I pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

Context of Revelation 17-18

In chapters 17 and 18, we bring you up to speed. There’s another pause in Revelation. Revelation is not necessarily consistent in its chronology; it has pauses in it, as you’ve already gathered. This occurs between the seventh bowl judgment and before the victory of the Lamb at his coming in Revelation 19.

This is the apostle John’s third vision out of the four visions he receives in Revelation.

All the visions are signified by a certain phrase. In chapter one, it was, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.” In chapter four, it was, “Immediately I was in the Spirit.” Today, in verse three of Revelation 17, it says, “He carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness.” This is the third vision.

This indicates that this is new revelation given to John. John is given this third vision as a description of spiritual Babylon and her judgment on spiritual harlotry.

The new revelation is about the first satanic mystery in Revelation, which is the mystery of Babylon. We’ll see that in a little bit. It deals with the religious system that occurs in the first part of the tribulation, which is the seven years, specifically the first three and a half years. Chapter 17 brings us back to the first three and a half years of Revelation and shows us things it hasn’t shown us before. It will bring that to our minds. In Revelation chapter 16, we saw the events through the end of the tribulation and all the way through the campaign of Armageddon and its consequences.

“John is given this third vision as a description of spiritual Babylon and her judgment on spiritual harlotry.”

In chapter 18 of Revelation, we are given more information about the events of the second half of the tribulation period. Remember, this period has not happened yet. It is going to happen in the future.

It can happen pretty much at any time the Lord decides for it to happen. But there are many religious systems in the world today.

The World’s Religions and the Deception of Sincerity

A recent study conducted in 2024 found that the number of religions in the world is about 10,000, with most falling under a 12-classical religious umbrella. These religions account for a significant portion of the global population, and each one attracts a number of people. Some religions have a certain appeal to them.

The Bahai religion in Persia focuses on the spiritual unity of all humanity.

Buddhism focuses on achieving enlightenment.

Confucianism has a strong emphasis on morality and proper social conduct.

Jainism, an ancient Indian religion, emphasizes nonviolence and self-control.

Taoism from China focuses on living in harmony with Tao, or the way. Of those 12, I didn’t mention all, but of that category, we have three major religions: Christianity, which has many denominations; Islam; and Judaism. The oldest religion claimed is Hinduism, which is 2,300 years old.

However, according to the scripture this morning, that’s incorrect because we will see the oldest religion ever mentioned.

People remain outside of Christ because they think that as long as they are sincere in their beliefs or are part of some religion, they are safe and will be accepted on the day of judgment.

“People remain outside of Christ because they think as long as they are sincere in their beliefs, they are safe.”

They have in their mindset that ultimately all religions lead to God.

Religion vs. Salvation in Scripture

Well, in scripture, the meaning of religion is actually used five times, and the word “religious” is used two times, making seven times in total. In each case, it is associated with works, ceremonialism, and ritualism, and not with faith.

As the apostle Paul recorded in Colossians 2:23, these are matters which have the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

Colossians 2:23: “These are matters which have the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion… but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”

Self at the Center of All Religion

It’s really self that is at the center of all religions.

Self-made religion, self-imposed worship, self-willed observances.

The term religion actually comes from a Greek word that means to frighten, to wall or wail, to have trouble.

Religion, then, is a ceremonial service caused by fear and trouble. If that meaning is contrasted with the gospel message of salvation, which brings peace, joy, happiness, assurance, and hope to the heart, just ask any person who has religion, “Are you saved?”

They will answer, “I hope so.”

Ask any person who has salvation in Jesus Christ the same question, and he or she will answer, “Yes, thank God.”

They will say, “For I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.”

“Ask any person who has salvation in Jesus Christ — they will answer yes, thank God.”

The certainty and confidence is not in self or in one’s righteousness, but in God alone, especially God our Savior.

There are two kinds of religion, if we want to call it that: a good one and a bad one.

Religion, which becomes fanaticism and bigotry, condemning and persecuting those who do not agree with it, is a bad religion.

The writer of the epistle of James mentions another religion, which is called pure and undefiled. This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God the Father: to visit the orphan and the widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

This good religion that James mentioned, and it’s the only time it’s mentioned in a good way, is associated with real salvation in Christ Jesus. The result of real faith is works.

It’s not works before salvation; it’s works after salvation. It’s the product of really being saved.

As I mentioned, it is the only place in Scripture spoken of in a good sense.

In all other places, religion is associated with hollow, empty formalism and ceremonialism.

Satan’s Strategy: Religious Without Salvation

And this is the big deception of Satan, who is the enemy of our souls.

His trick is to make people religious without salvation.

“Satan’s trick is to make people religious without salvation.”

He lures people to be satisfied with their own works and their own righteousness.

Then he blinds them to the truth of the real gospel, helping them to rest in their own goodness.

That means he aids people in rejecting the work of Christ because they see themselves as not as bad as others.

So they need no further help.

They never get to the point where they realize that the righteous judgment or standard is perfection.

If you measure yourself against God, we all fall short and we’re all under his condemnation.

The only thing that could rescue us from that is Jesus Christ and what he did on the cross.

“The only thing that could rescue us is Jesus Christ and what he did on the cross.”

Two Gospels: Works vs. Faith

There are also two kinds of gospel.

The two gospels in the world are the gospel of works and the gospel of faith.

God’s word says salvation is done. It has been completed by Christ. What we do is believe that, and then we are rescued by the Lord from his condemnation. Satan says salvation is not done; it’s doing.

“God’s word says salvation is done — it has been completed by Christ.”

Instead of people calling to God for mercy and grace in Jesus Christ, they seek salvation by the works of their own hands.

Humanity is incurably religious, blind, and dead in sin.

The Great Harlot Introduced

Now I say all that to come to Revelation 17 because if you notice in verse one what it says:

>Q Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters.”

This is what the vision is about. In other words, the end of the vision is that Jesus has victory over this system.

But I believe the Lord wants us to understand what this system is and realize this system has been in place since after the flood.

I will show you the judgment of the great harlot.

Already in Revelation 14:8, Babylon has been called the harlot, and its judgment has already been pronounced.

God remembers that Babylon caused the world to commit spiritual adultery.

“God remembers that Babylon caused the world to commit spiritual adultery.”

What is the reason for God’s judgment on this spiritual religious system?

The world is led astray by the immorality and idolatry of a revived Roman Empire.

That is the final unholy empire of the Antichrist.

The nations are drinking the wine of her immorality, and the Bible refers to this religious system as a her, as a harlot.

In other words, the people of the world are participating in a lifestyle that is anti-God.

It is against God. Everything is against God.

She Sits on Many Waters

And now the Bible gives us a description. The first thing is the description of this great harlot, which is really important to understand as we move on. It says in verse number one that she sits on many waters.

If you look in your Bibles over to Revelation 17:15, you’ll see what that means. It says, “And he said to me, the waters which you saw, where the woman sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.” In other words, this harlot has prominence over the world population. This is a global thing.

Revelation 17:15: “The waters where the harlot sits are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.”

The second thing it says about her in verse number one is that it is told to John, “Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot.” This indicates that she is great.

This most likely means that she spreads her harlotry far and wide across the world. She assimilates all the other religious systems and makes them one system.

And who makes this pronouncement? Notice in verse number one, one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls is the one announcing to John and introducing him to this great harlot.

Just for your information, in the Old Testament and prophetic language, prostitution or spiritual adultery was equal to idolatry and denoted spiritual apostasy.

The harlot denotes the corrupt apostate religious system headed by the false prophet during the first part of the tribulation.

The modern term for harlot is prostitute. As a verb, to prostitute means to take something that has proper use and use it in an improper way. Sex, for example, has a legitimate purpose within marriage.

But the prostitute takes that which is proper and makes it illegitimate. It uses it in an illegitimate way.

In this passage, the harlot does the same with religion. When religion is prostituted, it moves from a legitimate position of true worship of God and servanthood, as found in the Bible, to an illegitimate position of idolatry, false worship, and spiritual adultery.

She Intoxicates the Nations

She sits on many waters or has authority over the whole world. She is great, greater than any other religion that ever existed. In verse 2 of chapter 17, notice that she intoxicates the kings and peoples of the whole earth, with whom the kings of the earth commit acts of immorality. Those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality.

This religious system has an alluring, controlling effect on the people of the earth. In other words, how does the antichrist gain control in the first half of the tribulation? It’s not by war, even though there will be wars; it’s by religion. It’s by bringing people under one umbrella.

Religion, by its very nature, has a controlling and even a corrupting charm to it. It seduces the kings of the nations. It intoxicates the people of the earth, both under the influence of idolatry and ultimately committing spiritual adultery.

“Religion by its very nature has a controlling and even a corrupting charm to it.”

As we know from scripture, Satan loves to blind people to the truth of the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:4). Intoxicated people are very easily controlled.

Babylon is condemned by God for making the whole earth spiritually drunk. No longer is the earth able to see truth, beauty, and goodness found only in God and his salvation through the Lamb, Jesus Christ. They can’t see that anymore; they’re completely blinded by this system.

She Is Seated on a Scarlet Beast

But there’s another thing it says in the description about this great harlot in verse three. It says she is seated on a scarlet beast.

That means she’s being carried by and supported by a political system.

Notice in verse three, it says, “And he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness, and I saw the woman sitting on a scarlet beast full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and 10 horns.”

Now, this scarlet beast is the political ruler, and the woman sitting upon it represents the blasphemous religious system.

The blasphemous names mean that she is in opposition to the true God. There’s probably nothing more lethal than government and religion getting together.

“There’s probably nothing more lethal than government and religion getting together.”

And yet that’s what happens in the tribulation.

Again, the scarlet beast is the organized system of a dominant world empire.

The Seven Heads and Ten Horns

Now, notice in the passage it says that it has seven heads and ten horns.

That would be the ten kings and the ten kingdoms. Look over to chapter 17. Look at verses nine through thirteen because it mentions more, which I will not get to today. It says in verse nine, “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must remain a little while. The beast which was and is not is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction.” In verse twelve, it says, “And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they have received authority as kings with the beast for one hour. These have one purpose. They give their power and authority to the beast.”

In other words, the beast is the one who has authority over the political part of the tribulation. This religious part gives all its power to that beast.

Revelation 17:9: “The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings.”

So, saying that, we come to the history and the explanation in the history of the religious harlot or religious harlotry.

Decked with the Wealth of the World

If you notice in verse number four, there’s something else it starts explaining about her.

Number one, she is decked with the wealth of the world. In other words, she is royal and exceedingly wealthy. Verse number four says, “The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of the abominations and of the unclean things in her immorality.” Coupled with this political ruler and the blasphemous religious system is this economic system that draws the nations into earthly luxury.

It is very real that the world is going to increase in wealth. The opportunities to become wealthy are going to increase.

Religion, politics, and wealth are some of the deadly instruments in the hands of a purely wicked one like the Antichrist. You can see why his allure is so enticing to a world craving power, craving prominence, and desiring wealth above anything else. In the end, that would be their desire for hedonistic pleasure.

“Religion, politics, and wealth are deadly instruments in the hands of a purely wicked one like the Antichrist.”

They just want to heap things and get things for themselves. Part of her wealth, though, is the gifts of her admirers. In other words, the world political system is going to be giving gifts to the religious system to keep it upheld. That’s why she’s sitting on this beast. The beast is the dragon, who is the head of the political system, which is Satan himself.

This means the woman is the harlot religious system, which is moving behind the political and national scene in the tribulation period. That’s when the ten-nation federation unites together. They think that they’re doing their own will when they do that, but in reality, they are accomplishing her will, the will of the religious system.

It professes to be a religious system, but in reality, it is a political religious system. It is a counterfeit system, and Christ calls it a harlot because it commits spiritual prostitution. In other words, it has forsaken God’s way totally.

It’s rejected God outright.

Drenched with the Filth of Hell: The Mystery of Babylon

But then in verse number five, notice she is also drenched with the filth of hell. This is where the satanic mystery comes in.

Here we see her real identity, and that is the real identity of the harlot religious system.

Notice what it says in verse five: “And on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth.”

Now remember, a mother is somebody who begets things, who gives birth to things.

Here in this first satanic mystery, what is the mystery? The mystery is that Babylon will develop into a one-world united religion, and it will rule the world religiously for the first half of the tribulation.

“Babylon will develop into a one-world united religion and rule the world religiously for the first half of the tribulation.”

If you notice, it says the abominations of the earth is the apostate church. There will be a church in the tribulation, and it will be apostate.

False religion is always the worst enemy of true religion.

A counterfeit faith, no matter how much it may seem in harmony with the culture or even attractive in its manifestations, is an enemy of God.

Babylon reproduces harlotry. She reproduces harlotry in others.

This means that Babylon begat and initiated this false religious system. This system is still in existence.

It has always been in existence up to this very day. This Babylonian religious system is as old as the hills because it has its origins in the Tower of Babel.

In other words, Babel is Babylon. It’s a confusion of things.

The Roots of False Religion: Genesis 10-11

Now, to back that up, I want you to take your Bibles and go to the Old Testament because I want you to see this.

Track with me in Genesis 10. Let’s go back to Genesis 10 as we gather the roots and developments of the false religious system that I say is the oldest religion in the world. Let’s take a few minutes to go back to the Old Testament and get a sense of the roots of this development and of this apostate religious system.

In Genesis 10, notice in verse one, it says, “Now these are the records of the generations of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah. The sons were born to them after the flood.” Let me stop there. Go to verse six.

The sons of Ham were Kush, Misreum, Put, and Canaan.

This means that Ham, son of Noah, had a son named Kush. Kush was also the father of Nimrod.

Ham means “darkened one,” and Kush means “blackened one.” But this has nothing to do with skin color.

This has to do with heart condition.

Their names meant that they were departing further and further away from God’s way of access to him.

Their names revealed their spiritual condition.

God’s way of access is a blood sacrifice for the atonement of sin. In fact, once Noah got off the ark, what was the first act he did after the flood? He built an altar and sacrificed to God because that pleased God then. It was always a picture of the cross. It was always a picture of that ultimate sacrifice that would happen in Jesus Christ. In other words, no one could go into the presence of God without a sacrifice. No one.

“God’s way of access is a blood sacrifice for the atonement of sin — always a picture of the cross.”

Nimrod and the Tower of Babel

Now chapter 10, look at verse number nine. Here’s the beginning of a new religious system.

He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Therefore, it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.” Verse 10 states, “The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Eric, and Aad, and Kala in the land of Shinar.”

Babel originally meant the gate of God. Nimrod set up a new religious system that introduced a new access to God. He left God’s revelation and the place God gave that revelation, and he built a city.

Notice in chapter 11 of Genesis, verses three and four, we see the beginning of organized religion. It says in verse three of Genesis 11, “They said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.’ And they used bricks for stone and they used tar for mortar.” Verse four states, “And they said, ‘Come, let us build for ourselves a city and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name.’ Otherwise, we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

What is this? This is complete defiance of God’s command. This is in the beginning, right after the flood. Nimrod built a city that would unite all people. He built a tower as a system of a new way to access God, a way of human effort, a way of human works. It was designed to communicate with and worship, presuming that one could worship the host of heaven.

Approximately 101 years after the flood, we have a united religious system in opposition to God. Here is the theological significance of the Tower of Babel: it was there where organized religion began, awakening organized religion in rebellion against God.

“It was at Babel where organized religion began — mankind’s organized religion in rebellion against God.”

The notion in Babel was to build powerful organized groups of people and cities so man could display his self-sufficiency, his self-strength, his self-wisdom, ultimately pointing out that he has no need of the God of creation. He has no need to depend on God; he can do it all himself.

Nimrod led the people to rebel against God’s command. What was his command anyway? God blessed Noah and his sons and said to him, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” Nimrod said, “We don’t have to do that. We could just make a city right here, get a united people, worship God the way we ought to or the way we think we should, and we don’t need God in the equation.”

That’s what he ended up doing. Right here, this is the oldest religion.

God Confuses the Languages

And what did God say? Well, if you don’t do it, I’ll do it.

God came down, saw what was going on, and could not tolerate it. He confused the languages.

The city’s name then was called Babel, which really means confusion.

That’s what we read this morning in our scripture reading. It says, God says, “Come, let us go down there and confuse their language so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” The Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth, and they stopped building the city.

Therefore, its name was called Babel because the Lord confused the language of the whole earth. From there, the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth. If you don’t do it, I’ll do it.

Genesis 11:9: “The Lord confused the language of the whole earth and scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

Because of this rebellion, a united religious system formed. Before this time, there was always rebellion toward God, but it was not an organized rebellion.

This is an organized rebellion. Nimrod organized this religious system, and he had a son born to him named Tamas.

This organized religion ultimately settled in Babel.

The Mother-Child Cult and the Queen of Heaven

And the symbol of this religious system was a mother cradling a baby in her arms. This form of idolatry is older than any other, the mother-child cult. She has been given the name Queen of Heaven and is set up as a matrix between God and man. In fact, God was to be approached by this mother-child worship. She was the way to access God.

“She is given the name Queen of Heaven and set up as the way of access to God.”

In Ezekiel, the Bible tells us that God gave a revelation to Ezekiel and showed him the remnants of this particular religious system. He says to Ezekiel, “Then he brought me to the entrance of the gate of the Lord’s house, which was toward the north, and behold, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.” He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Yet you will see greater abominations than these.” This religious system became the religion of the world and replaced God’s way of salvation and worship with man’s way. That’s why we have so many religions. Men just kept making up new ones, and now we have 10,000. Research shows that under those 10,000 are thousands and thousands of others.

Religion became the religion of the world. It replaced God’s way of salvation and God’s way of worship, and now it was man’s way. That’s why, when we were back in Revelation 2, remember what happened there? A system of doctrine was introduced by Jezebel. Ahab permitted Jezebel, his wife, who was the daughter of a Phoenician king, to bring her gods down into Israel. Ahab set up groves and temples to serve the gods of Jezebel, which were Ashtaroth and Baal. That was the mother-child cult.

In fact, that’s why we read in Revelation 2, “But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. She teaches and leads my bondservants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.” That was Revelation 2. That religious system is still alive and well today.

Jeremiah’s Warning: Israel Corrupted by False Religion

This system eventually corrupted Israel and Judah’s life of true worship of the living God. The people said later on, when this system took root in Israel, that Jeremiah gives a prophecy about it. I would like you to take your Bibles and turn to Jeremiah to see what is going on.

In Jeremiah 44, notice verse 15.

What is happening here in Jeremiah is that the people said this. This is what happens when this religious system takes root in a community and in the minds of people.

The people ended up saying, “When we trusted God, nothing happened. But when we offered sacrifices to the mother of heaven, Ashtaroth, we were well supplied for.” Notice what it says in verse 15 of chapter 44 of Jeremiah. Then all the men who were aware that their wives were burning sacrifices to other gods, along with all the women who were standing by as a large assembly, including all the people who were living in Pathos in the land of Egypt, responded to Jeremiah, saying, “As for the message that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we are not going to listen to you. Rather, we will certainly carry out every word that proceeds from our mouths by burning sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as we ourselves, our forefathers, our kings, and our princes did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food and were well off and saw no misfortune.”

Verse 18: “But since we stopped burning sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have met our end by sword and by famine.”

Verse 19: The women said, “When we were burning sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven, we were pouring out drink offerings to her. Was it without our husbands that we made for her sacrificial cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”

Down to verse 25: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, as follows: As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled it with your own hands, saying, ‘We will certainly perform our vows that we have vowed to burn sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven and pour out drink offerings to her. Go ahead and confirm your vows and certainly perform your vows.’” In other words, if you want to worship like that, go ahead. But it comes with consequences.

That’s what happens with religious systems.

It actually pulls people away from the true and living God.

“That’s what happens with religious systems — they pull people away from the true and living God.”

This system will continue until there emerges one world church. Apostate Protestantism, Romanism, and most likely Islam will be united into one world church.

John calls Babylon the great mother of harlots because she begat this system after the flood. This system manifests itself in a large way at the end of the world.

All right, saying all that, let’s go back to Revelation 17. That background had to be told if you’re going to understand what the great mother of harlots actually means.

The End of the Religious System

There will be an end to this religious system, only used by Antichrist until he’s done with her.

In other words, who is going to put an end to this system? Antichrist himself.

Why? Because he sits on the throne in Jerusalem, proclaims himself to be God, and all other systems are debunked. Notice what it says in Revelation 17:16.

It says, “And the ten horns which you saw and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire.” In other words, the political system turns on the religious system and annihilates it, destroys it. Why?

Revelation 17:16: “The ten horns and the beast will hate the harlot and make her desolate and burn her up with fire.”

Because Satan is going to proclaim himself God of gods, King of kings. And that’s what he does in the middle of the tribulation.

In saying that, let’s go back to chapter 17 again and notice what it says in the last one. I already mentioned that in the explanation of the harlot, she was decked with the wealth of the world and drenched with the filth of hell, and that’s the religious system itself. But then notice the next thing in verse six of Revelation 17.

Drunk with the Blood of the Saints

She’s drunk with the blood of the saints.

What is her target persecution?

I say that for this reason.

This is how the one true religion that has ever been in the world is defined.

Notice what it says in verse number six.

And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus.

When I saw her, I wondered greatly.

Now, why is that so important here?

Because the world has always rejected the true message and those who bring it.

The woman, that is the Babylonian religious system, is not drunk with the blood of the thousands of religions and those who follow those religions who claim the right way. No, she is drunk with the blood of one group of people, and that group of people is the saints who follow Jesus Christ and who are witnesses for Jesus Christ.

“She is drunk with the blood of one group — the saints who follow Jesus Christ and are witnesses for him.”

That is the one and only true religion in the world, if we want to call it religion.

A relationship that we have with Jesus Christ. This group of believers will not submit to the religious authority of the religious political system led by the dragon, Satan, and the false prophet. No, they will not submit to that.

The true religion is those who worship and follow Jesus. It’s always been like that. Those who worship the true and living God, those who worship Jesus. If those are the ones in this great political and religious system, they are the only people that this system goes after. Then they’re the true people. They’re the true ones, right?

They’re going to come after us because we’re real believers, and they are going to try to destroy us because Babylon has always been a corrupting force that lures the nations into a kind of insane spiritual immorality. That’s what we have today.

Babylon’s Mission: Idolatry, Immorality, Luxury, Persecution

Everything is insane.

Babylon’s mission has always included four things: idolatry, which is the blasphemous religious system that is anti-good; immorality, with spiritual fornication and all other sins because there’s really no sin, so I can do what I want; luxury, which is excessive wealth; and, of course, persecution.

It’s always been that way. Even under Nero, when John was writing, he was the emperor. What did Nero do? Christians were covered with skins of beasts and fed to lions.

They were torn by dogs, usually in public festivals. They were nailed to crosses. They were doomed to the flames and burned to serve as night illumination in their paths as torches.

“Christians were covered with skins of beasts, nailed to crosses, and burned as torches — because they believed in Jesus.”

That’s what happens to Christians because they believe in Jesus. And who’s against Jesus? Satan.

Satan has always been behind it all.

Religion or Salvation: The Only Two Ways

And he will continue to be behind it all until he’s done. He will be done someday. We’re going to find that at the end of chapter 17, which I’m not going to get to today, but he’s done and they will be done ultimately. If we just think of all that, there’s religion and there’s salvation.

There are only two ways: the way of man and the way of God. Man’s way is religion. God’s way is through grace.

God’s way is one sacrifice and the blood of the Lamb. Man’s way is by works, and God’s way is by faith. We have to ask the question to people: Are you religious or are you saved?

Are you in Christ or are you still outside of Christ, depending on your own righteousness to save yourself with no hope at all?

If you merely have religion and have never come to God by way of the blood of Jesus Christ, you are still in your sins. Remember, there are only two ways to die. Either you die in your sin and have to pay for it yourself, or you die in the Lord because he paid for it, right?

“There’s only two ways to die: you die in your sin and pay for it yourself, or you die in the Lord because he paid for it.”

You have to ask yourself that. Are you just religious or are you really saved?

But here’s the good news: God sent his son Jesus into the world in the power of the Holy Spirit in order to live a perfect life, to die a substitutionary death, and to rise victorious from the grave. The gospel is now offered to everyone so that all who believe the message are saved from their sins.

Amen.

That was a tough one.

Closing Prayer

Let’s pray.

Lord, thank you so much.

Lord, your word is detailed. When broken down and explained, we get it. We see what’s happening.

We thank you, Lord, that for all those who have believed in you as Lord and Savior, we are on the victory side. Even though we may suffer persecution, we may even lose our faith or lose our life for our faith. But that’s all right, Lord, because you defeated Satan in death. You rose again to give eternal life to all who believe. Even right now, you are praying for us to keep us all the way to the end, to persevere. You are preparing a place for us, removing everything that would prevent us from being in your presence. We thank you for that. Someday, Lord, we’re going to be ruling and reigning on the earth with you. That is a day that Revelation will tell us about.

Until then, and every day, Lord, I pray that we would remain faithful, diligent, and watchful. I pray that we would remain discerning so we’re not duped by the lies that are flying around us all day. I pray, Lord, that we would stand on the rock, Jesus Christ, and not on the sand that sinks and destroys.

Bless us in this way, Lord. Make us a strong people of God in these days. I pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

Okay, let’s stand together.
December 7, 2025
The Terrors of God Come to Earth, Part 2
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Note: This transcript and summary was autogenerated. It has not yet been proofread or edited by a human.

Summary

This passage from Revelation 16:12-21 reveals the final bowl judgments poured out upon the earth, the staging of Armageddon, and the total devastation that brings the age of Gentile world power to an end. The connection to Daniel’s vision of four world kingdoms reminds us that God has always been sovereign over human history, and that a fifth, eternal kingdom — the kingdom of Jesus Christ — will crush all others and endure forever.

Key Lessons:
1. God maintains sovereign control over all earthly kingdoms, no matter how powerful or evil they appear, and history is moving toward His ordained conclusion.
2. Human enterprises and civilizations decline over time rather than improve — our hope must never rest in governments, leaders, or human institutions but in Christ alone.
3. The human heart apart from God’s grace is utterly depraved, and even under the most severe divine judgments, people will blaspheme God rather than repent.
4. Believers are called to remain watchful, spiritually alert, and ready for Christ’s return, not deceived by the world’s propaganda or false signs.
Application: We are called to examine ourselves to make sure we truly know Christ as Savior, to stay grounded in God’s Word so we can discern deception, and to prepare the next generation by passing on biblical truth and the gospel message.

Discussion Questions:
1. How does understanding Daniel’s vision of the four kingdoms and the coming fifth kingdom change how you view current world events and governments?
2. In what practical ways can we remain spiritually watchful and “fully clothed” in an age of increasing deception and cultural insanity?
3. If our hope is not to be placed in kings, presidents, or political systems, how should that reshape the way we engage with the world around us?
Scripture Focus: Revelation 16:12-21 details the sixth and seventh bowl judgments including the drying of the Euphrates, the gathering at Armageddon, and the catastrophic global earthquake and hailstones. Daniel 2 provides the foundation with its vision of four world kingdoms succeeded by God’s eternal fifth kingdom. Zechariah and Joel are referenced regarding the splitting of the Mount of Olives and cosmic trembling at God’s judgment.

Outline
Introduction

Okay, let’s take our Bibles and let’s turn to Revelation chapter 16 and we’ll be looking verse at verse 12 through 21 this morning. Revelation chapter 16.

The Danger of ‘Christianity Light’

And as you turn there, I want to say that some time ago I was there was a article in in the US USA Today and it described how parents today seek to initiate their children into a world of all faiths.

One woman who ran a ceremony service was asked by a couple to conduct a service for their baby.

Their baby was called Greer. The mother said, “We just want a large spirit to guide our daughter, but we didn’t want to get specific.

I want all her bases covered.” The couple said, “We we just do Christianity light.” And Greer, she believes angels and fairies and leprechauns and Santa.

So this kind of illustrates the low value placed on scriptural truth that is prevalent in our culture.

The Apostle Paul did warn Timothy that a time would come when people would prefer light light spiritual meeting meals and would not tolerate substantive substantive teaching where he did say the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.

“The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.”

See, Paul predicted that false teaching would increase and be embraced by many because it caters to the needs of the flesh.

He said they have a craving to be entertained and a desired for teaching that leaves them feeling good about themselves.

Standing on Sound Doctrine

Paul instructed Timothy to combat this by teaching doctrines from the word of God that were substantive.

And the purpose of the instruction would be to correct, to rebuke, to encourage others.

And as believers, we are all called to obey the word of God, to learn the word of God, and then to teach the word of God.

And we are not called to scratch the itches of our culture.

If we stand on the word of God, you won’t fall to error. At least you’ll be able to detect error when you hear it.

“If we stand on the word of God, you won’t fall to error.”

So Christians who hold to sound doctrine and live by it will increasingly become a target of those who do not believe in or have regard for God and his Bible.

They will regard the book of Revelation as some fanciful fiction.

They they will not be ready for what’s coming.

And they will hate the God of the Bible and his followers.

We’ve already seen that in Revelation.

Well, the terrors of the Lord will come to the earth and we must be ready because the time is near. We must make and help the next generation to be ready because the time is near.

Review of the Bowl Judgments

So, let me bring you up to speed of where we were and where we’re going. We have here in Revelation chapter 16, the seventh trumpet sounds.

The third woe judgment comes containing the bold judgments and declaring Messiah’s kingship over that which was claimed by the antichrist.

The first four bowls affect the whole earth.

There is a completeness that’s connected to these judgments.

They also magnify God’s sovereign and holiness.

Sovereignty and holiness and and really expose the darkness and the deprave privity of men’s hearts.

We’ve been looking at the pouring out of God’s wrath and now we look at the second part here.

We’ve already seen the first bowl. All the bowls are being poured out. The bowls of God’s wrath. We saw the gangranous torturous sores poured out on the world. We saw secondly the second bowl global red tie where the seas turned to blood. The third bowl was the gory red rivers. The fresh inland waters are also turned to blood. Then we see a kind of a doxology that is given in the text where it shows us the reason why God pours out his divine justice on the world. And the first one was that the Lord pours it out to satisfy his own holiness.

“We’ve been looking at the pouring out of God’s wrath and now we look at the second part.”

Secondly, the Lord pours it out to grant the plea of justice to those who’ve been killed by in in the tribulation and been abused by governments from the beginning of time. And then the Lord pours out his wrath to affirm that his judgments have always been righteous and true.

Revelation 16:E7 says, “Yes, O Lord God the Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments.” And then the fourth bowl was global warming that the sun scorches people. And how do the people respond to all these things that are coming upon the world? Well, in verse number nine of chapter 16, they blasphe the name of God and they do not repent or give him glory.

The Daniel Connection: Four World Kingdoms

And before I go on to the sixfold today, I would like to mention a connection that’s really important to understand what’s going on in this text and the scripture that we read from Daniel this morning is important to get what’s happening here.

So before I go to the sixth bowl, I would like to mention a Daniel connection from the bowl number five. And if you look at Revelation 16 verse number 10 and 11, it says this.

Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast and his kingdom became darkened and they gnawed their tongues because of pain. And they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains, their pains and their sores. And they did not repent of their deeds.

But in verse number 10, it does tell us that the beast does have a kingdom during this time. And that becomes important because you say, “Well, what kingdom is this?” Well, this is the fourth kingdom or the second part of the fourth kingdom that will be on the earth that God pours darkness right over the headquarters of Antichrist revealing the true nature of his evil diabolical kingdom.

And that is the only place really where the throne of Antichrist is mentioned in scripture at all. What does God do? He shuts off the lights. The scorching heat and the thick darkness darkness comes upon his kingdom and Antichrist evil religious system and economic system and government are brought to a halt.

So what does Daniel have to do with this? Because Daniel in his vision saw four world kingdoms.

The first kingdom was the head of gold where he’s and these kingdoms were described in a colossal statue. The head of gold was the Babylonian kingdom.

And then there was the arms and the chest of silver which was the Medo Persian kingdom. And then we saw the belly and thighs of bronze. That was the Greco or Greek kingdom. And then then we saw the legs of iron and feet and the iron and clay. That was the Roman kingdom.

And what it said in Daniel is that this Roman kingdom would be strong, but part of it would be brittle.

“Daniel in his vision saw four world kingdoms — and this Roman kingdom would be strong, but part of it would be brittle.”

That they’re that they will not adhere to one another or even even as iron does not combine with pottery. In other words, iron represents strength and clay represent weakness that the Roman Empire. Now, these are world governments that the Bible says have already taken place. These are world governments and Rome was strong in law. It was strong in organization. It was strong in military might, but the empire included so many different people groups that it created weakness.

And as it says in one translation, the people will be a mixture and will not remain united.

So Rome was in power during the time that John wrote Revelation.

But if anything about history, Rome was never taken over by an army. It fell apart by itself.

And so many theologians believe that there is going to be a revived Roman Empire that’s going to be headed and it’s the fourth empire mentioned in Daniel and it’s going to be headed by the antichrist.

The Times of the Gentiles

So this image depicts a period of time referred to by Jesus as the time of the Gentiles. If you ever read that in scripture, you may say, “I would wonder when that is.” And I wonder where it started and when it ended. Well, the period that that period of the timing of the Gentiles began in 605 BC when Jerusalem was taken by Nebuchadnezzar, the first kingdom, and continued through the 70th week of Daniel until Christ’s literal return to earth. So, we are now in revelation in the middle of the tribulation period, the 70th week of Daniel. So, now this becomes very important to understand that.

So this period will end when Christ returns to establish his kingdom which Daniel mentions as the fifth kingdom, the final kingdom, the last kingdom, the eternal kingdom. So during the time of the Gentiles, no son of David will prosper ruling over Israel at all.

In fact, this is what Jesus said in his in the Gospel of Luke. Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

Luke 21:24: “Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”

So, the time of the G Gentiles we’re going to see end in at least chapter 16 here, which gives us a picture of the rest of the book of Revelation. And there’s no doubt that the mystery from Daniel was about how God changes times and seasons and he removes kings and he sets up kings and he makes history serve his will and his glory and his love. So the time of the Gentiles was a total change in human history. And during the time of the Gentiles, there will be four successive kingdoms climaxed by a fifth kingdom that will destroy the other four and fill the earth.

In fact, that’s what it says in Daniel.

The Fifth Kingdom: Christ’s Eternal Kingdom

It tells us that God, the God of heaven, will set up a kingdom and which will never be destroyed. That kingdom will not be left to another people. It will crush and put an end to all the kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.

And then Daniel went on specifically to say, it will be like a stone cut out of the mountain without hands, and this stone will crush the iron and the bronze and the clay and the silver and the gold. And the great God has made known to the king that was Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the future. Well, we open up Revelation and we have it taking place.

It shows us where it happens. So the rock that was cut out by not by human hands was of course not a kingdom that would be done or created by human intention or power. The rock is identified as God’s kingdom which smashes the other human kingdoms and God’s kingdom will expand and take over the world just as the rock became a huge mountain that the final kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and that kingdom will be the kingdom of God.

Daniel 2:44: “The God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed… it will itself endure forever.”

So the stone is Christ’s kingdom and it was cut out of the mountain without hands and it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, the gold. The final representative kingdoms of gentile world powers will end and that will be the end of the times of the of the times of the gentiles.

Observations on God’s Sovereignty Over History

So this fifth kingdom is the kingdom of Jesus Christ, the king of kings and the lord of lords. Now from that from gleaning from that we get several observations that God maintains control of all earthly kingdoms no matter how evil they might seem to us. History is linear and not cyclical.

That means history is moving toward a final goal.

A goal that God ordained before the creation of the world. Secondly, human enterprises decline as time goes on. Things aren’t getting better. No matter how much we know, they’re getting worse. So the great image not only changed in value from head to foot, from gold to clay, but it also changed in strength from iron mixed with clay and it was weak. So while human beings operate on the idea that we get better and stronger with time, God’s vision undercuts that our understanding completely informing us that the opposite is true.

Therefore, it will be difficult for things to hold together at the end of the age. And that’s what we see in the world today. Things are falling apart.

Governments are falling apart. People groups are falling apart because we will never be able to hold together because human beings can’t hold it together. We will destroy what God has given us. But there’s a a third observation and that the kingdoms of the world are transient.

Only God’s kingdom will be eternal. That Jesus will return, destroy his enemies, establish his kingdom. And that also means our hope is not in kings or presidents or governments or laws or political alliances or global peacekeeping organiz organizations or moral and ethical crusaders. Our hope is in Jesus Christ. See, that where is where our hope must lie.

“Our hope is not in kings or presidents or governments. Our hope is in Jesus Christ.”

So with all that said, Antichrist’s kingdom will come swiftly to an end.

And with that in mind, we get the sense that these bold judgments in Revelation are quickly quickly bring once they start, they quickly bring the world and its empires to a swift termination.

The Sixth Bowl: The Euphrates Dried Up

Now that all said, let’s look at Revelation chapter 16 verse 12- 21. And let’s consider the sixth bold judgment.

This also starts the stage of the campaign of Armageddon. That’s the last battle that there will be. And we often hear of the battle of Armageddon as if it’s one battle. Actually, there’s more than one battle that will take place. In fact, if we really understand Armageddon, there’s really no actual fighting.

Armageddon will in truth be a staging area of all the armies of the world who are called together by the antichrist.

And that’s what we find in this section of scripture. Now, let’s see it. The sixth seal is global war.

The great river Euphrates is dried up.

Notice in verse number 12 of chapter 16, it says this, “The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river the Euphrates and its water was dried up so that the way the way to be pray so that the the way would be prepared for the kings of the east.” Now, the Euphrates River is a natural boundary between the east and the west.

Revelation 16:12: “The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river the Euphrates and its water was dried up.”

It’s a good barrier against armies that would attack and it’s about 180 miles in length. Now, I’ve read commentaries on this and people try to make this spiritual. I don’t know how you make it spiritual.

Doesn’t mean anything if you do. It’s got to be literal because of what it says here. It says that this river is dried up. Who’s it dried up by? By God himself and by the angel who pours out this bowl upon it. So the kings of the east may mean that the kings of the rising sun. Remember the sun rises in the east.

Now some people believe that this is the oral O oriental nations but it’s more likely it more likely refers to Mesopotamia not China.

Also the fact that Antichrist’s capital will be the city of Babylon and it will sit right on the banks of the Euphrates River and give credence to the kings of the east. That will be Mesopotamian kings.

And Mesopotamia actually means high place of two rivers. A land the land around and between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers. And of course that would be the the the the modern lands of eastern Turkey to the Persian Gulf.

And today most of Mesopotamia is Iraq and small parts of Syria and Turkey. But these nations there will do something a bidding for the antichrist.

But so God lays the path. He arranges the path on what’s going to happen. And then notice in verse 13 and 14, the people are actually assembled.

The Unholy Triumvirate and Demonic Deception

It says, “And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet three spirits like frogs.” Now, what what was the antichrist doing?

He was allying all the nations of the world with these frog demons.

And we see very clearly here the unholy triumphvirate.

We see the dragon himself is the counterfeit father.

The antichrist, the lawless one is the political figure.

He would be the counterfeit son. And then the false prophet would be the counterfeit Holy Spirit. And he would be the minister of propaganda.

So this unholy triumvirate is clearly identified by the unclean spirits that proceed out of their mouth. Again trying to mimic Christ because Christ kept saying out of whose mouth comes a two-edged sword. So again they’re trying to counterfeit the real Christ.

“This unholy triumvirate is clearly identified by the unclean spirits that proceed out of their mouth.”

And so what do they do? They assemble all the armies of the world to this one place in the Middle East.

And how do they do that? Well, by their character, they end up deceiving people by working miracles for the purpose of persuading kings and nations and dis by deceptive propaganda. And keep in mind that the dragon, which is Satan himself, gives the antichrist the power, a throne, and great authority because he will be the ruler of the final world empire spoken of in Daniel.

Unclean Spirits Like Frogs

He has a method. How is he he’s going to gain a following? Antichrist, the the man of lawlessness, will truly be an amazing figure and will display a subtle magnetic draw upon the people of the world and the rulers of the world.

And it will be done by these unclean spirits like frogs. Now you say, well, why why do you think you mentioned that? Because I think this is an indication to the people on earth who are believers that these individuals that that are doing these great signs and wonders before the people of the earth are actually demons because frogs in the Old Testament are classified as unclean animals.

And and all of Israel was warned in Leviticus chapter 11, “Do not render yourselves detestable through the swarming things that swarm, and you shall not make yourselves unclean with them, so that you become unclean.” So this is a warning to believers not to be pulled in by all these incredible magnetic type of signs that is going to pull the world into one place to battle against Israel and the Messiah.

“This is a warning to believers not to be pulled in by all these incredible magnetic signs.”

Satan’s Mission: Gathering the World for War

And what is their mission?

Satan had a particular goal in mind.

To to reach his goal, he must deceive the whole world and get them to worship him. Now that he has successfully accomplished that, the next goal is to get the kings and dignitaries of the earth to come together to battle. Look at verse number 14 of Revelation 16. It says, “For they are spirits of demons performing signs which go out to the kings of the whole world. For what reason? To gather them together for war of the great day of God the Almighty.” So, Satan is getting all the armies of the world to come to the Middle East to fight against Israel and God’s people.

Revelation 16:14: “They are spirits of demons performing signs… to gather them together for war of the great day of God the Almighty.”

And the persuasive power of this demonic trilogy convinces these world leaders to actually come.

It will be the greatest military campaign of all time.

And this is the influence that carries these earth dwellers to this place. It will be earthly, sensual, devilish wisdom that gets them there.

It will lead away from the true God and it will inspire hope, but not in the God Almighty.

Actually the opposite of it. So these eastern kingdoms help to gather the rest of the armies to the world of the world to this particular place.

Now this is a an absolutely devastating time for the world and a very very difficult time to stand strong as a Christian as a believer in Christ Jesus.

A Word of Hope: ‘Behold, I Am Coming’

So what does what does the Lord do? He always gives an element of hope to those who are going through this or going through anything that is hard. So there’s a kind of pause in Revelation chapter 16.

And notice what he says to those believers in verse 15. He says, “Behold, I am coming like a thief.

Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame. So in other words, sandwiched in between these verses is this very important warning and admonition to the tribulation saints.

He wants them to be ready.

He wants them to press on to the end.

He says, “Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes.” That’s a picture of a person who remains awake and fully clothed while in the heat of battle in readiness for the return of Christ.

Revelation 16:15: “Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes — a picture of readiness for the return of Christ.”

The Call to Watchfulness

Now, there’s some background that goes to that.

As the priests kept watch in the temple, an officer of the temple would would go around and every watch with a lighted torch before him. And if any of the watchers did not stand up and say to him, “Oh, officer of the temple, peace be to you.” and it was manifest that they didn’t answer, they would be asleep.

So he had the authority to beat them with a staff and to the right to burn their clothes on the spot.

So if a person’s clothes was burned, he would be naked and everyone would know he failed to stay at his post and watch.

So it was very crucial that watchfulness would be taken seriously in light of the impending doom and the second coming of Christ.

In short, in short, the message to the faithful is this.

When you see the gathering armies of the world at Armageddon, then you can know that the second coming is just right around the corner. So, don’t give up.

“When you see the gathering armies at Armageddon, the second coming is right around the corner. Don’t give up.”

Don’t quit when you’re so close.

And people are going to need that then.

The Gathering at Armageddon

And then notice in verse number 16 it says, “And they gathered them together to a place which in Hebrew is called Haramageddon.

Megiddo Megiddo is the ancient city of northern Palestine on a strategic part of the plane of the valley of Jezrael in Israel.

And why that place? Not only that, it is a huge plane, but it is also called the place of battle because Pharaoh Tutmos the third fought a battle against the Canaanites there. Deborah and Barack fought a battle against also the Canaanites there. Gideon fought a battle against the Midianites there.

Ahaz by the arrows of Jahu died there. Saul against the Philippines fought there in that valley.

And the good king Josiah died in battle with Pharaoh Niko at that place. So that place was called the place of battle.

And the writer wanted us to see the Hebrew symbolism behind Armageddon.

And consequently, the valley of Armageddon is actually the biblical valley of Jezrael. It is here the nations led by the antichrist and their god-hating forces will gather against Jerusalem and the Jewish people and the believers with the purpose to destroy them. That’s the reason why all the armies of the world came there to destroy this one place. And Israel has always been the focus of battles.

“The valley of Armageddon is where the nations led by the antichrist will gather against Jerusalem and God’s people.”

Everybody’s trying to destroy them and they’re still there.

In fact, the Bible tells us that in Zechariah, I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle. God says that. See, God is in control of history and he’s sovereign over all of it.

The Seventh Bowl: ‘It Is Done’

But I want to mention that this brings me to the place in Revelation 16 verse1 17 and now this is the seventh bowl and this is global devastation.

This is where this is the destruction of the gentile world power and where the fifth kingdom crushes the final gentile kingdom.

This is where it happens.

And notice what it says. Then the seventh angel, verse number 17, poured out his bowl upon the air. Let me just stop there.

This is the last of the bold judgments.

The angel steps up, pours pours out his bowl upon the air.

That is the Ereal region above the earth. It’s space.

And not only does it point to the whole planet, but the whole realm of humanity.

And you get the sense of a final judgment, a a totality, not just in one in the parts, but in the whole.

And if you didn’t notice this completeness of judgment on the four elements of in the natural realm have already been brought up in chapter 16. It’s been upon the earth. It’s been upon the water.

It’s been the fire. And now it’s the air. That means the completeness of what God is doing. He’s bringing everything to an end. So at the end of the second vision of Revelation with the pouring out of the seventh bowl, the last bowl, we get the sense of an ultimate conclusion.

And it is ultimate.

The first thing that is ultimate in verse number 17 is the proclamation from heaven. Notice what it says in the middle of the verse. And a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne saying, “It is done.” It’s like a megaphone, a megaphone sounding voice that everyone hears and the voice comes right out of the temple of God. Remember the only one in the temple of God is God himself.

Revelation 16:17: “A loud voice came out of the temple from the throne saying, ‘It is done.’”

The c the temple is closed until God finishes the wrath of God.

So this means this is a supreme endtime pronouncement by God himself. For it is his voice who sounds out from the supreme place of control and authority.

And it points to God being in control and bring all things to a proper end.

And what’s the divine ultimate pronouncement?

It’s done.

It’s over.

The Divine Proclamation and the New Age

The finality of God’s proclamation.

He even uses the the the perfect tense here in scripture. The final judgment of God has already occurred and we are at the conclusion of the present age.

And to say it another way, history as we are familiar with it has ended.

Instead, God has has brought us a the dawn of a new age. And that new age will be the age of the kingdom of God where Jesus Christ himself will rule and reign in the millennium on the throne of David and he will sit there ruling the world. That will be the fifth world empire that the Bible describes.

If we know anywhere else in the Bible where we hear the similar pronouncement is when Jesus bowed his head and gave up his spirit and what did he say? It is finished. The same thing. That means you never have to go back and do that again.

This is over.

The finality of this vent event was put in motion by Christ’s cry on the cross. It is finished. And now we see in scripture it is done. The end of world history.

“The finality of this event was put in motion by Christ’s cry on the cross: ‘It is finished.’”

Now even though we have more seven more chapters in Revelation, we have here what they call in grammar and inclusio.

And what is that? Well, in this verse, verse 17, it says it is done. If you go over to chapter 21 of verse six of Revelation, you’ll find the saying again.

Revelation chapter 21 verse number six it says then he said to me it is done. I am the alpha and ome omega the beginning and the end and I will give to the one who thirst from the spring of the water of life without cost. That will be the end end before the eternal state before the great white throne judgment and all the things that takes place at the end.

So in other words, this the sandwich of an inclusio one verse and then another verse and everything in between.

We’re looking at everything in between in the next seven chapters.

So the samblas just plays out further in more detail the same judgments as those in the seal judgments, the trumpet judgments and the bold judgments. And the next point as the great tribulation comes to an end, a number of cataclysmic events will occur. And these cataclysmic events will be a result of the seventh bold judgment being poured out on the world. We’re talking about a global thing here. This is not just a localized thing.

The Ultimate Earthquake

And what is that?

Look at verse number let’s let’s see the the ultimate climactic event that the Bible describes in verse number 18.

It says, “And there there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peels of thunder, and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came upon the earth so great an earthquake was it and so mighty.” So what we have here that these events take place in the last stage of the tribulations just before the campaign of Armageddon and we see that the creation is trembling at the pronouncement of the end.

And the Bible says there’s going to be an earthquake like no other earthquake that ever was and ever will be.

It will be a worldwide earthquake.

“There’s going to be an earthquake like no other that ever was and ever will be — a worldwide earthquake.”

Even Mark, the gospel of Mark tells us in for those days will be a time of tribulation such has not occurred since the beginning of creation which God created until now and never will.

And what’s the severity of this event of this event? If you look what happens in verse number 18, in verse number 19 it says this that the earthquake was so severe the great city was split in three parts. Now I believe the great city is was already mentioned in revelation of being Jerusalem and the great city split into three divisions because the city and just because the city is split into three parts doesn’t mean it’s completely destroyed. It could be that God is making it ready for what will come next, his rule and reign on earth in Jerusalem. That’s just my observation.

Babylon Remembered and Cities Destroyed

And then also in verse number 19, and the cities of the nations fell.

Babylon the great was remembered before God to give her the cup of the wine of his fierce wrath.

See, the the sins of Babylon come to God’s attention.

And remember, God remembers how Babylon caused the world to commit spiritual adultery. That’ll be more in the later chapters about Babylon.

And the reason for her judgment, that the world is led astray by the immorality, the idolatry of the final unholy empire of Antichrist.

So the nations are drinking the wine of their own sin, the wrath of God.

“The world is led astray by the immorality and idolatry of the final unholy empire of Antichrist.”

And the people of the world are participating in a lifestyle and an ideology that is anti- good and God is judging that also.

And Babylon has been the worldwide corrupting force which had lured nations into a kind of insane spiritual immorality.

All the cities of the world will be destroyed. All the cities of the world.

This is global disaster.

People will be living in an a real insanity.

I think we’re living in that already.

I mean, the perversion of male and female roles, the travesty of abortion, offering up children on the altar of demons, sexual perversions are on the rise of all different kinds and types.

No common sense. What is what was right is wrong. What what was up is down. What was good is evil. What is evil is good.

That’s insanity.

Nobody could survive with that kind of ideology.

And the world won’t survive.

And according to Zechariah the prophet, not only will Jerusalem be split in three divisions, but the but the Mount of Olives will be split into two parts, creating a valley running from east to west. And the new valley will pro provide a way of escape for the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the earthquake that will destroy the city.

So the earthquake is also described in in the Joel, the prophet Joel where it says, “The Lord roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem and the heaven and the earth tremble.

Mountains and Islands Vanish

So there will be total devastation.” If we look back to Revelation chapter 16, look at verse 20.

How total is it? It says and every island fled away and the mountains were not found. So many geographical and seismological con convulsions will occur on the planet and many changes would take place.

All the mountains and islands flood away. It’s actually the word vanish.

Literally vanish.

All the mountains leveled.

Mountains that were created after the flood are all leveled.

Islands that were created by volcanoes all over the globe gone.

Isaiah 40:4 says, “Let every valley be lifted up and every mountain and hill be made low and let the rough ground become a plain and the rugged terrain a broad valley.” These prophets already had it there of what’s going to take place.

Isaiah 40:4: “Let every valley be lifted up and every mountain and hill be made low.”

Hundred-Pound Hailstones

But one of the final blows in the seventh trumpet is found in verse 21.

Notice what it says.

And huge hailstones about 100 pounds each came down from heaven upon them.

It’s hard to imagine the destruction and death caused by these huge blocks of ice which fall from the sky.

Buildings and human beings will be crushed by these gigantic hailstones.

Now, Grant Osborne searched, he was one of the commentators and he searched the book of the Guinness Book of World Records and he found that the largest hailstone in recorded history was 2.25 pounds.

It fell on Bangladesh in April 14th, 1986, killing 92 people.

Could you imagine what 100 pound hailstones will do to a world, to a population, to what it’s ever left, it will just destroy it.

“The largest hailstone in recorded history was 2.25 pounds. Imagine what 100-pound hailstones will do.”

So with these earthshadowing events in the campaign of Armageddon, the great tribulation will come to an end.

The Depravity of the Human Heart

The bowls of God’s wrath will not produce softened hearts, but hard and corgible hearts.

And how ugly is rebellion when you look at it from this vantage point. How righteous our God and worthy to be praised by his grace, his mercy, his goodness. Yet that is not what happens.

So what we see here is the ultimate display of the human heart of human depravity. And notice what it says in verse 21. It says, “And men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail because its plague was extremely severe.” They blasphemed God. The third commandment is in view here. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. For the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

That these wicked people have moved far past the boundaries of that command.

So these wicked people will not only profame but also blaspheme the very name of God because of the extreme severity of the plague of hell hail and God in whom they know they curse to his face.

And brethren, as I mentioned last time, how twisted and dark the human heart is.

And if it wasn’t for God’s grace toward us to give us his spirit and his word to transform our minds so we would know the good, the acceptable, and the will of God, we would be just like these people.

“If it wasn’t for God’s grace to give us his Spirit and his Word, we would be just like these people.”

Yes, the human heart is twisted and dark.

And it ends up cursing the God who created them and ultimately the God who will judge them.

They refuse to change their evil ways and give glory and honor to the God of heaven. And so the only thing that is left is the judgment of God.

And people still curse God.

And one thing that’s interesting about this passage is there’s no repentance mentioned at all now. It’s like repentance is off the table.

So their hearts were like stone to God and their consciences completely calloused with no regard or feeling toward a holy God of mercy, of grace, and of righteous judgment.

Be Ready: Application for Today

So just can imagine I know this message is a little message is a little different today but I thought I’d just lay it out for you as the scripture lays it out because this chapter alone should make you want to be ready and not be found naked. That means you’re watchful. You’re attentive. What’s going on.

You’re staying, you’re keeping one step ahead of everything else. You’re not deceived by the news or by all the new AI stuff that’s being put on the internet that looks real but is not.

You can’t be duped by those things. And we’re just in the beginning of that deception. How massive is that deception going to be as time goes on when they get way better at it and they take your words and use your words against you?

And convict you of crimes that you never committed, put you in places you never were, say things that you never spoke, and use it against you.

It’s already being done, but they’re getting good at it. See, so the deception is going to be it’s going to be incredible.

So, you have to be ready. You have to know the word of God. You have to know God’s plan. You have to know what’s going on. And not only that, we should know so we can m get the next generation when we’re gone ready if God carries because the end is at our doorsteps.

I mean, if you look through the Gospels, Jesus said in Luke 12:40, “You also must be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” See, God didn’t give us the timing. He didn’t give us the month and the day and the hour he’s coming. He just said, “Be ready.

Luke 12:40: “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

Be ready.” And I think if that’s one admonition we get from this chapter is that because these things are not fantasy.

These things will be reality.

And I don’t know, it may be people sitting in this room.

It may be people that we know that are going to end up in that generation.

So we have to be ready.

So the question is, are you ready?

Do the Lord as your savior? Are you sure of that?

If you died today where you’re going.

If you had to stand before the Lord today and give an account of your life, what would you tell him?

Because remember, if one does not have Christ as their Lord and Savior, the one who’s taken the wrath for sinners, they will receive the wrath of God for their sin.

That’s why hell is eternal. And that’s a real place, too.

So, brethren, where do you stand today with the Lord? I pray that you are ready to meet the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior, not as your judge. Amen. Let’s pray.

Closing Prayer

Lord, this morning as we consider these heavy passages of scripture, Lord, use them for our benefit, to increase our sobriety, to increase our spiritual maturity, to increase our holiness and godliness, to make us know that life is very very short but eternity is very very long.

And I pray Lord that we really would examine ourselves to know and make sure that we know that we are one of God’s children and that not that we know you but us.

And so Lord, make us soldiers in these days to stand strong and to pass on the truth to those who haven’t heard it yet, to get the gospel to those who haven’t heard the message yet. And I pray Lord that in these days you would save many and make them ready for what’s coming because we know Lord the kingdoms of the world will end and your kingdom will begin and it will be an eternal kingdom and an everlasting kingdom and we’ll be in that kingdom with you and that will be a time of great rejoicing great singing and great joy and I pray this in Christ name.
November 16, 2025
The Terrors of God Come to Earth, Part 1
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Note: This transcript and summary was autogenerated. It has not yet been proofread or edited by a human.

Summary

Revelation 16:1-11 reveals the pouring out of God’s final bowl judgments upon the earth. We are reminded that “right now counts forever” — our response to the gospel determines our eternal destiny. The passage walks through the first five bowls of God’s wrath: painful sores, seas turned to blood, rivers turned to blood, scorching heat, and darkness over the Antichrist’s kingdom.

Through it all, the earth dwellers refuse to repent, revealing the depth of human depravity. We are called to recognize that God’s judgments are holy, righteous, and true, and that understanding God’s law is essential to understanding the cross.

Key Lessons:
1. God’s final judgments are complete and holy — they satisfy his righteousness and vindicate his people who suffered at the hands of persecutors.
2. The earth dwellers’ refusal to repent even under devastating judgment reveals the total depravity and hardness of the human heart apart from God’s grace.
3. The cross of Christ means nothing apart from understanding God’s holy law — sinners must first understand their condemnation before they can grasp the significance of Christ’s sacrifice.
4. God sovereignly controls all of history and creation, and even the forces of nature testify that Yahweh — not any human system or antichrist — is the true ruler of the world.
Application: We are called to examine ourselves honestly to see whether we are truly in the faith, to teach God’s law faithfully (including to our children), and to live with sober urgency knowing that right now counts forever. Rather than settling in defiant unbelief, we should run to Christ in humble trust for mercy and grace.

Discussion Questions:
1. How does the phrase “right now counts forever” change the way you approach daily decisions and your relationship with God?
2. Why is it important to understand God’s law before presenting the gospel of grace, and how does this affect the way we share our faith?
3. What does the earth dwellers’ refusal to repent even under God’s most severe judgments teach us about the human heart and our desperate need for God’s grace?
Scripture Focus: Revelation 16:1-11 (the first five bowl judgments); Leviticus 26:18-28 (the sevenfold pattern of God’s judgment for disobedience); Romans 2:5-8 (storing up wrath through stubbornness); Romans 3:20 (through the law comes knowledge of sin); 1 John 3:4 (sin is lawlessness).

Outline
Introduction

Okay, let’s take our Bibles this morning and turn to Revelation chapter 16 as we continue in this great last book of the Bible.

Right Now Counts Forever

Revelation 16 RC Sproul would put out a little magazine called Table Talk and if you ever read that it’s quite encouraging actually and Dennis Johnson wrote in article once on the new heaven and new new earth and he said that Dr.

Sproul frequently reminded us that right now counts forever.

“Right now counts forever.”

Amen.

And this phrase concisely captured the relationship between the gospel and the new heaven and the new earth. Excuse me one second. This was Yeah.

Okay. Good. All right. So the so the good news of Jesus Christ sacrificial death and his glorious resurrection has eternal ramifications for the destiny of every human being.

Your response to the message and to the message of the gospel, whether in humble trust or in defiant unbelief, will be the tipping point between boundless bliss beyond your wildest dreams and unrelenting torment beyond your worst nightmares.

So the living God sovereign over over every atom of the universe and every nano second of history is directing the cosmos toward a consummation that will display the majesty of his wisdom, his power, his justice, his mercy forever.

“The living God sovereign over every atom of the universe is directing the cosmos toward a consummation displaying his majesty.”

That everywhere to behold we will see the manifestation of the glory of God. So the present heavens and earth stained by human sin and cursed it will wear out.

It will be changed.

It will be shaken and removed.

For the first heaven and earth, no place will be found.

But in thestead, the Bible says there will be a new heaven and new earth will appear.

The promise is as old as Isaiah Isaiah’s prophecy. I create a new heaven and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered nor come to your mind.

The Apostle Peter Peter reiterated those words where he said in his epistle, “There’ll be a new heaven and new earth where righteousness dwells.” We’re looking forward to that day because the more we live in this world, the less we see righteousness and the more we see unrighteousness and wickedness.

The Tension Between Old and New

See, Revelation is the last book of the Bible that keeps us in the tension between the old and the new heaven and earth.

That the living God is directing human history toward a consummation.

And now in chapter 16, the terrors of God come to earth and moves the eager reader and the attentive listener to stay awake and spiritually remain ready for the Lord’s return.

If you look at verse number 15 of chapter 16, notice what it says there.

It says, “Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.” The Bible is saying when we’re reading Revelation, it should cause that tension between the here and the future and cause us to really look at where do we stand with the Lord and how are we living our life until the Lord comes to end his program here on earth.

Revelation 16:15: “Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake.”

Review: The Preparation of God’s Final Wrath

So last time we saw the preparation of God’s final wrath from chapter 15 verse 1-8.

And we saw, look at chapter 15 verse one.

There was a sign in heaven. Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous.

Seven angels who had seven plagues which are the last because in them the wrath of God is finished.

So the sign in heaven given by this from this this angel produces great and marvelous things in John’s heart.

And these seven angels are to carry out the mission to pour out the seven plagues upon the earth.

And the plague is is like a word that means the blow of God, a whip, a whip type of treatment that God gives the world at that time. That God will smite the anti-Christian empire with seven fearful blows before he utterly crushes his empire with the last judgment. And then of course the seven bowls of God’s wrath are poured out and God is the agent who brings to a conclusion final judgment.

Heading on from chapter 15 to 16 and looking again at verse number one of chapter 15. It says, “Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues which are the last because the wrath of God is finished.” So this is not just the wrath of God, but it is the last of the wrath of God.

“This is not just the wrath of God, but it is the last of the wrath of God. It is the finish of it.”

It is the finish of it. The wrath of God will begin in a limited way and it will gradually get worse until it is finished.

So before the angels can pour out their bowls of the wrath of God on the earth, John hears the command out of heaven from God Almighty himself.

The loud voice comes from the temple in heaven which is filled now with the shikina glory of God. And remember from last time, no one could enter the temple.

And only God is now in the temple until the completion of God’s wrath.

Verse number eight of chapter 15, notice it says, “And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power. And no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

So now today we’re going to be looking at the pouring out of God’s final judgment in the first 11 verses will be the part one of of this message.

Let me pray before I go on. Lord, this morning as we look at your word today, I thank you so much that we’re able to hold it in our hands. We’re able to read it. And we know Lord there’s a blessing that comes with the reading of Revelation that those who take it seriously, who have ears to hear, who want to put it into practice, who know it is is it is the truth, who knows behind the one who is behind the truth and who holds Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will be blessed by this message and this word.

And Lord, we want your blessings. We need it. Your blessing so much. And Lord, we thank you when you give it. Help us to realize when it comes that we can give you the praise and the glory and the honor for all that you bestow upon us and the truths that you unveil to us from the word of God.

So help us now, Lord, to understand your truth in revelation for our benefit so we can know where we stand with you. And I pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

The Commanding Voice of God

So verse number one, we see the commanding voice of God. In verse one, it says, “Then I heard a loud voice,” meaning that this is the only voice that one hears. It is the loudest and it comes from the temple to the seven angels. And this voice, this heavenly voice comes with two commands. In verse number one, notice as this loud voice goes up out saying to the seven angels, the first command to the angel is go.

The second command God tells the angel is pour out, go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God. So God pours out escatological wrath. The wrath of God is filled up. So therefore, he must pour it out on an idolatrous and sin-cursed world which has fallen far away from God, the God of heaven.

“God pours out eschatological wrath on an idolatrous and sin-cursed world which has fallen far away from God.”

And the emphasis here is on the sovereignty of God even as he controls and overpowers this the forces the satanic forces that have taken place and is taking place on the earth at that time.

The Meaning of Seven: Completeness of Judgment

Now this whole reason of the seven bowls is because seven does have a specific meaning in scripture. It’s the meaning of completeness. It’s the meaning of finishing something. Now, quickly take your Bibles and turn to Leviticus because I want you to see that this is kind of reminiscent of what’s already in the word of God. Leviticus chapter 26 quickly. Genesis X is Leviticus. So, it’s right in the front of your Bibles.

And notice some of the verses. I’m not going to read the whole section, but a couple verses to get you give you a sense that this whole thing about completion, when something is complete, God acts.

And notice in Leviticus 26 in verse number 18, it says in verse 18, “If also after these things you do not obey me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.” Then in verse 21, if then you act in hostility against me and are unwilling to obey, obey me. I will increase the plague on you seven times according to your sins.

And then in verse 24, same chapter, it says, ‘ Then I will act with hostility against you and I, even I will strike you seven times for your sins.

Verse 28, same chapter.

Then I will act in wrathful hostility against you. I even I will punish you seven times for your sins. You can see that there’s a time when the grace of God ends. The mercy of God is finished and God must judge.

“There’s a time when the grace of God ends, the mercy of God is finished, and God must judge.”

But you notice all along the way, he’s been given an abundant of time to repent and to come to the Lord and to change.

But in this case, we see that God wanted to make it clear who was the person pouring out the wrath. It was he himself and why he was pouring it out because of the multitude of their sins.

So back back to Revelation.

So what we have here in Revelation is the seventh trumpet sounded and the third woe judgment containing the bold judgments are declaring Messiah’s kingship over that which was claimed by the antichrist.

The seven bowls will affect the whole earth and the first four BS parallel the first four trumpets but this time it affects the whole world the whole earth.

It’s God’s world and he must do what he he must do for his righteousness sake.

Revelation chapter 14 verse 7. No need to turn there. It says, “And he said with a loud voice, fear God and give him glory because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of water.” See, so there is a completeness connected to these judgments. There is a finality connected to these judgments and we see that they also magnify God as sovereign and holy and expose the darkness and depravity of men’s hearts.

The Condemning Vengeance: First Bowl — Gangrenous Sores

So that’s the commanding voice that comes from the temple. And then notice in verse number two, the condemning vengeance actually goes down all the way to verse 17.

And now we see the first bowl. And we’ll see these bowls being poured out rapidly. Unlike the trumpets and unlike the seals, now it’s rapid judgment.

Everything’s going to be finished. And remember, 16 is a preview, chapter 16, of what’s going to go on in the rest of the book of Revelation, but this is giving us the picture of what will come and what will finally happen. So there is the condemning vengeance of God in verse number two.

The first bull is the gangarous, torturous sores that come upon men. Verse number two. So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth and it became loathome and malignant sores on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image.

So the pain that will follow disobedience to God will be sores of torture poured out on those who receive the mark of the beast and worship the antichrist.

They are singled out alone to receive awful skin abscesses, ulcerous soores all over their body, often caused by infection.

And these sores, these ul ulcerous sores will de debilitate a population making it impossible to walk, to sit, to lie down without excruciating pain. So when this happens, people will be running to the store for medicine, but the medicine supply will run out very quickly. It will diminish in just a few days causing great strain on future supplies which would cause a universal disaster because remember this is a worldwide thing. This is not localized. This is not just on one nation. This is on all the nations of the world. This takes place.

“The pain that will follow disobedience to God will be sores of torture poured out on those who receive the mark of the beast.”

The Exodus Motif: God’s People Spared

There’s an Exodus motif in this passage of scripture that’s in play here, showing us that the same God who poured out his wrath and judgment on the Egyptians is the same God who’s pouring out deserved judgment in the end time on those unwilling to obey on those who are hostile towards God. These are not just anybody.

Remember, it doesn’t come upon his people. These bold judgments remind people who it is who is behind all these devastating plagues. The God of Israel, the God of creation, he is the jealous God who will have no other gods before him. He is the almighty God who has authority over all things. And it also shows that the people of God were spared from the outpouring of God’s wrath because there will be people still within the tribulation that know the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

“The same God who poured out his wrath on the Egyptians is the same God pouring out deserved judgment in the end time.”

Second Bowl — The Sea Turns to Blood

Some of them remain alive but free from these plagues. And remember back in Exodus the plague, the sixth plague boils came upon man, beast, magicians, and the Egyptians themselves. But not on the people of God.

So that is the first bowl. The second bowl back in Revelation 16 verse number three is the global red tide. In other words, the sea turns to blood. Notice what it says. The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea and it became blood like that of a dead man and every living thing in the sea died.

Now if you remember that onethird of the sea the salt water was turned to blood during the second trumpet judgment. In the second bold judgment the rest of the salt and brackish waters of the world of the world’s oceans will be turned into blood destroying the remainder of the sea life. And if you notice, it says that it became blood like that of a dead man.

When someone dies, their blood becomes very thick and syrupy. It doesn’t flow easily anymore. And so we say it, see if this happens, it’s not just the fish that die like in the first Egyptian plague. Here the emphasis is on everything in the sea dies.

If everything dies in the sea and floats to the top, it will affect everything. The shipping lanes, the stench from the dead things will permeate the air, turning it foul, which will eventually breed more disease. The food supply and other products taken from the sea will be finished and many people will lose their their their jobs and their livelihood because they got it from working on the sea.

Such disease had the potential of causing economic comp collapse and any one of these bowls if you look at them have the potential to destroy all of life. They are the end.

“Any one of these bowls has the potential to destroy all of life. They are the end.”

Third Bowl — Fresh Waters Turned to Blood

And just like the Exodus plague, the Nile was turned to blood and all the fish died. The Nile became foul. Egyptians had difficulty finding water to drink and the people of course of God while this is going on were spared those things. So that is the second bowl. The third bowl, notice what it says in verse number 4-7.

The gory red rivers.

That means the fresh inland waters turned also to blood. Verse number four, then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water and they became blood. So the thing that most people take for granted of and that is the access to clean drinkable water is gone. And if the fresh water that supplies most of the drinking water becomes blood and unable to drink, then many many will die because of that.

And just for your information, a human being could typically survive about three or four days without drinking water. In ideal situations, one may survive about a week, but that’s about it.

So our passage is clearly communicating to us that there is no ideal situation here but the opposite unsuitable conditions for survival.

“The thing most people take for granted — access to clean drinkable water — is gone.”

So many things in creation use water.

Even man and man-made energy sources use water like nuclear plants. Seems like we’re going to start building them again.

They need water to cool down the reactors. If fresh water is not available, then disaster follows.

And that’s just some of the things that are going to take place. So, even in these first bowls that are poured out, you can see the devastating effect it’s going to have on the whole planet. And it’s going to be very clear who’s doing it.

The planet will know who’s doing it.

The Angel’s Hymn: First Reason for God’s Wrath — His Holiness

And I believe that Revelation wants us to know that’s clear because especially of the pause that we we see in the next passages of scripture. And the pause is this. The angel who’s in charge of the water of the world now launches out in a doxological hymn of divine justice.

Notice he gives there’s several reasons why judgment comes.

And the first reason for God’s fierce wrath is found in verse number five.

Notice what it says there. It says, “And I heard the angel of the waters saying, “Righteous are you who are and who were the holy one because you judge these things.” So the first reason for this wrath of God is that the Lord pours out his wrath to satisfy his own holiness. And the angel of the angels of heaven recognize this.

In fact, the normal word for holy used in the in the Greek is haggias. But here that’s not the word here. The word for holy here is the word hus which is connected to the law of retribution.

That means the god supremely sanctions his law against his righteous law against the people on earth. It re refers to the fact that God is set apart and stands above the events of the world. That God’s sovereign over history and his great judgment is part of that history.

He is just, in other words, in bringing these judgments because he is the holy one.

“God is sovereign over history and his great judgment is part of that history. He is just in bringing these judgments.”

That’s something that the scriptures been teaching all along. Like Psalm says, God is a righteous judge. And then in Psalm 9 that we read this morning, he will judge the world in righteousness and execute judgment for the people with equity.

If one rejects God, if one rejects God of the living waters and the creator of the springs of water, well, it ends in inevitable judgment.

And that must happen because God’s now his justice is filled up. Now it’s flowing over and coming out. But I want you to notice something else in verse number five.

The Missing Phrase: ‘Who Is to Come’

The statement notice who are and who were is missing something.

It’s absent of the last phrase.

There’s no who is to come. If you look back over to chapter 4 in verse number eight of Revelation, you’ll find there where it says, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God the Almighty who was and who is and who is to come.” Well, what happened to who is to come? Well, the reason for this omission is because the end has arrived.

God has come in his righteous judgment.

“The reason ‘who is to come’ is missing is because the end has arrived. God has come in his righteous judgment.”

And if you remember back in chapter 4 verse 8, this is where we were introduced to the four living creatures.

And those creatures are the wise cre.

They’re the wise creatures who joyfully fulfill the tasks assigned to them by the Lord. And remember their main message in heaven was they were to proclaim the holiness of God.

And they were centered all around the throne of God.

And these four living creatures, the Bible says, has had eyes full of eyes in front and behind. Meaning that their eyes all around were that they had vigilance over all of God’s creation.

And these four living creatures functioned for which they were created.

Constantly engaging in praising God. And remember that God gave them the task.

Not the angels. Look at chapter 15:7. He gave them remember this task. But the one one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever. Those are the ones who proclaim the holiness of God. And so because holy calls attention to all God is, which means his final judgment upon humanity and creation will be a holy judgment.

And who best to initiate the task to give the final bowls of God’s holy wrath than a representative from the ones who proclaim his holiness in the heaven around the throne of God.

The Holiness of God

And just for reminder, what is it? What is the meaning of holiness? The title the holy one of God means that Jesus is infinitely and absolutely holy, fully and perfectly divine. That he came down from heaven to save sinners. And he is set apart from sinners. And he is completely sinless without moral blemish, perfect in all his ways. His being is holy. His character is holy. His mind is holy. His words are holy. His actions are holy.

His ways are holy. And yes, his judgments are holy. So the totality of the sum and the substance of the second person of the godhead is equally holy with the father. And that the holiness of God means there is a profound difference between him and us.

“The holiness of God means there is a profound difference between him and us.”

And there is definitely a profound difference between God and the dwellers on earth during this time in human history.

It means that God is morally flawless and blameless in all his ways. He is the one who sets the standard. He is the one who says what is right and what is wrong. Not us.

It was never us.

Second Reason for God’s Wrath — Justice for the Saints

See, that’s the first re reason to vindicate his holiness. But there’s a second reason back to Revelation 16:6 of God’s fierce wrath.

And remember, we’re in a we’re in a pause between the third bowl and then the fourth and fifth and the off to the seventh, which will not get that far today. But the second reason of God’s fierce wrath in verse number six of Revelation 16 is for they pour out the blood of the saints and prophets and you have given them blood to drink. They deserve it. See, the Lord pours out his wrath to grant the plea for justice.

The nations have murdered my people.

And and because I am fair and true and just, a just God, I will give them what they deserve.

The persecutor, the persecutors will have to drink the blood of the seas and rivers as repu, as rep retribution for the blood they shed.

If one rejects the offer of God’s mercy and grace over and over and over and over again, then look at the end of verse six. They deserve what they get.

“If one rejects the offer of God’s mercy and grace over and over again, they deserve what they get.”

They deserve what they get.

You see that it’s it’s quite final.

And that’s the sense we get here in the passage. It’s final. But there is there’s a principle here and it’s this.

One is punished by the very things by which one sins that no one will get away with not even one thing with the Lord.

And remember what Paul said when he was writing the epistle to the Romans. This is what he said. Listen. He says in in chapter 2 verse 5, “But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each person according to his deeds.

To those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality and eternal life. But for those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath, and indignation, that’s the only thing left. If you disobey God, and you want it your own way, there’s no other thing God can do except hold you under judgment because he’s a holy God and he must.

He’s not a a judge that can be corrupted or paid off.

He can’t be. That’s his nature.

Third Reason — God’s Judgments Are True and Righteous

So these things should frighten us to death, but at the same time, they’re quite encouraging and should cause us to run to him for his mercy and grace. But there’s another reason for God’s wrath.

In verse number seven of chapter 16, it says this. And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, O Lord God the Almighty.

True and righteous are your judgments.” Now, who are these that are speaking from the altar? These are the martyed saints. These are the saint the martyr saints who are being who are resting by the altar until all this stuff is done that God’s doing. So, in other words, God pours out his wrath to affirm that his righteous judgments have always been true and righteous. He’s not changed at all whatsoever. From the moment that he gave us Revelation in Genesis chapter 1 to the last verse of Revelation chapter 22, he is the same God.

“God pours out his wrath to affirm that his righteous judgments have always been true and righteous.”

So anybody who knows him already knows what he’s going to do.

And that’s what should cause us in a way not only to reverence God but to fear him because he will carry out these this judgment on the world. That as Isaiah told us that all flesh will know that I the Lord am your savior and your redeemer and the mighty one of Jacob. So all the earth at this time will know the true God and who’s doing these things.

Fourth Bowl — Global Scorching Heat

So I see that this next one and we’re going back and looking at the fourth bowl.

I see this next one is true after all.

But the source of why it happens is not the carelessness of God’s people or or people on the earth. It is the source.

The source is God’s righteous judgment.

And what is the fourth bowl? Global warming.

I guess it is going to happen.

Notice in verse number eight it says, “And the fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun and it was given to it to scorch men with fire. Men were scorched with fierce heat.” Verse number nine, the beginning of it. So these are the same men of verse two, of verse five, of verse six.

And yet the true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ will not suffer from this plague, but escape from it. Now just think for a moment. The sun is a great source of warmth and health benefits to all mankind and all life on the earth.

The normal lifegiving effect of the sun will be no more.

Even though onethird part of the sun was darkened in the trumpet judgments, that which is left will be powerful enough to scorch men with fierce heat.

The fierce intensity of the sun is to to really be turned up beyond what is normal and healthy. Burning people where their skin melts off.

“The normal life-giving effect of the sun will be no more — its fierce intensity will be turned up beyond what is normal.”

It is a horrifying picture.

All the waterways turn to blood.

Unbearable heat makes life absolutely hellish.

There is no time in all of human history that this has happened yet.

This will be the worst of the worst.

And this is the severe warning to those on the earth who defy God.

The Earth Dwellers’ Defiant Response

The holy and almighty God of heaven and slander his name. Actually persisting in their rejection only brings on the just judgment for their sin. So the question would be at this point how do the earth dwellers respond to God’s judgment at this time? Now you would think you would think that God’s design for judgment is to bring men to repentance.

Many times when God allows suffering to come into our life or that God is chastising us or disciplining us, he’s doing it to bring us to recognize certain behaviors and sins that are going on in our life that we’re not dealing with. And he does it to bring us to repentance.

So all these things that are happening in revelation is in God’s motive from from the beginning until this time is to bring men to jud to not only to judgment but to repentance.

And you would think by this time in these conditions these people would cry out for the mercy of God from the God of creation.

But that’s not the case. Look what happens in verse number nine. The middle of verse number nine. Instead, they know who God was and yet curse him. And look what it says. And they blaspheme the name of God who has the power over these plagues.

And then notice in verse number nine, instead of what they do, they they do not repent. They would not repent or give God glory. And they did not repent so as to give him glory.

They’re defiant against him when all these things are come upon them and all they have to do is turn to him.

“They are defiant against him when all they have to do is turn to him. But they don’t.”

But they don’t do that.

And we noticed back in chapter 14 verse number 7 to give God glory was signified or was equal to conversion.

So what is clear is that they know whom they are cursing.

The earth dwellers are acting like their father, the devil.

The antichrist was allowed to blaspheme God in the early parts of revelation and now his followers are doing the same.

And just like the Apostle Paul said in Romans chapter 1, for even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations and their foolish heart was what? Darkened.

It’s almost it almost seems ironic at this point that the next plague is darkness.

At the point at that point the people reject the God of light and they are left with the result of their own folly which is darkness. And if that is what men love, then let them have it because darkness will follow them into hell. Part of hell is darkness. Being separated from the God of mercy and grace and the God of goodness and left alone to yourself is a horrible thought.

It’s a horrible thought.

Fifth Bowl — Grave Darkness

So look at the fifth bowl.

The fifth bowl is grave darkness.

But notice where the darkness is going to be loc it’s going to be focused on. It says the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast and his kingdom became darkened and they gnawed their tongues because of pain.

See, God pours darkness right over the headquarters of Antichrist, revealing the true nature of his evil, diabolical kingdom.

“God pours darkness right over the headquarters of Antichrist, revealing the true nature of his evil kingdom.”

And this is the only place where the throne of Antichrist is even mentioned in scripture.

So what does God do? He shuts the lights off.

He pulls the power cord.

Darkness means many things in scripture and I think they mean all these things here. It means sin. It means ignorance.

It means danger. It means judgment. It means death. That darkness is spiritual as well as literal.

Ultimately the darkness is the suffering of the eternal punishment to come. And that is the eternal darkness of hell awaiting all those who reject God.

So from scorching heat to thick darkness, Antichrist evil religious system and economic system and government are brought to a screeching halt.

And again, how does the dwellers respond to God’s judgment?

Understanding Sin Through God’s Law

Notice in verse number 11, it’s recorded, “And they blasphemed the God of heaven because their pains and their swords, and they did not repent of their deeds.” Actually the word for deeds here generally is is a Greek word that means any anything done or to be done work some work some action some some deed but in our context their deeds could be translated evil deeds.

I don’t know if some translations translate it that way. Why? Because what does it say in Revelation? They worship demons and idols. They murder God’s messengers. They’re involved with sorcer sorcery, immorality, stealing, disobedience, rebellion, and the list goes on and on and on.

So, their deeds were evil.

And evil deeds is another way of describing the sinful heart.

But sometimes you ask somebody, “What is sin?” The Bible answers answers that question actually in 1 John chapter 3:4.

It says, “Everyone who practices sin also pract practices lawlessness.” And sin is what? Lawlessness.

And the word sin makes no sense apart from God’s righteous law.

“Sin is lawlessness. And the word sin makes no sense apart from God’s righteous law.”

How can today’s sinners who are totally ignorant of God’s holy law and its demands upon them look at themselves as condemned sinners?

The Law and the Cross

The idea of sin is strange because God’s law is foreign to their minds and normal evangelical practice is swiftly to run to the cross of Christ.

But the cross means nothing apart from the law.

On the cross, Jesus was satisfying the just demands of the law against sinners.

That’s what he was doing there. So until a sinner understands the law of God that they are guilty, the cross of Christ doesn’t mean much.

So that’s why giving them the cross of Christ first is the wrong thing to do.

That’s why I believe parents should always be teaching the Ten Commandments.

That’s the first thing you should teach your kids until they realize they sinned against God.

And they realize that their sin comes from their heart, not from anybody else.

So if sinners are unaware of the ten commandment and the requirements for themselves, then they will see no personal significance in Christ’s broken body and shed blood.

Without knowledge, without knowledge, the condemnation of God’s holy law, the cross will draw sympathy from people, but not saving faith.

“Without knowledge of God’s holy law, the cross will draw sympathy from people, but not saving faith.”

Because Paul again says in Romans, “Because by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight.

For through the law comes the knowledge of sin.” See, that’s when we’re in the right place to be saved. I know I’m a sinner, and I know I’m under God’s just condemnation for my sin.

And I can do either one or two things. I can stay in my sin and love it because we do love our sin.

Or I can say, Lord, you’re the only answer to taking away God’s wrath for my sin. So you run to Christ. You run to him for his mercy and for his grace. And what he says? Come unto me all you who are burdened and heavy laden and I will give you rest. I will save you.

And many of you here today have done that. And you have reached reap the benefits of God’s faithfulness and what he did on the cross that day. See, either wrath is going to come in this way and in hell or the wrath was poured out on Christ and was taken for you. So when people have been wounded by the law, then it is time for the bomb of the of gospel oil.

Well, William Tran Chantry said that he also said it is the sharp needle of the law that makes way for the scarlet thread of the gospel.

And that is true and that is the gospel.

So don’t tell people Jesus loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life until you give them the law first because it will make no sense. They will say, “Well, what’s the problem?” I don’t have no problem if you love me that way.

Conclusion: Running to Christ

All right, back to Revelation and let me conclude here that these plagues, they do indeed show the earth dwellers that they are not in control of the forces of nature.

Rather, it is Yahweh.

Also, the antichrist is not in control of the world, its nations, its systems.

No, it’s Jesus Christ who is the creator of the heaven and earth, who sustains his creation, who redeems his children, who vindicates his saints and his prophets, and he will judge the world in righteousness.

One commentator said this. He said, ‘Let it be understood that when men reject the Lord, it is not because of philosophical doubts or unexplained answers to unanswered questions, but the hardness of heart and love for sin.

And that is very true.

So, brethren, how twisted and dark the human heart is.

That after all that has gone on, the people curse God and refuse to change from their evil ways and give glory and honor to the God to whom it’s due.

Just showing the total depravity and stone cold hardness of the human heart.

“How twisted and dark the human heart is — showing the total depravity and stone cold hardness of the human heart.”

They willfully reject the good God of mercy and grace for their own pleasurable sin.

But that’s who you and I are. Can’t just blame these people, right? That’s who we are.

So, will your response be when confronted with the holy justice of God?

Will it be humble trust in God’s solution to your sin?

Receiving Jesus Christ who satisfied the law and the justice of God by absorbing the wrath for you, washing away your sin, putting his righteousness on your account, defeating Satan and death to give you eternal life. Are you going to humbly trust him or will you be settled in defiant unbelief?

Because some people are satisfied with that because they don’t think that there’s going to be a reckoning and that God will hold everybody responsible for every word, every thought, every deed that they committed.

See, how much we need Christ? We can’t get out of that one. Nobody can.

So that’s why we should love the Lord more than ever. We should give him glory and praise for all that he’s done because we could have never accomplished this salvation on our own. We wouldn’t even come up with it.

Closing Prayer

He’s done it all and I thank the Lord for it. Next time we’ll pick it up on the second part. Let’s pray. Lord, thank you again so much for such a book as this.

Lord, right here on the pages of scripture is what you’re going to do.

That’s amazing, Lord.

It’s amazing. It’s fearful, but Lord, it sure enlightens our mind.

And Lord, it puts us in a place where we realize the seriousness of life.

And I’d like to just reiterate what RC Sproul did say, right now counts forever. And I pray Lord we would take that to heart and we would be honest enough with oursel to examine oursel to say whether we are in the faith or are we just fooling oursel? And I pray Lord that our life from this day forward we would be more sober and serious than ever before because Lord life is so short and Lord we are not guaranteed tomorrow.

So we want to live for you today.

So allow these scriptures to transform our mind and make us ready for your return and be faithful to the end. And I pray this in Christ’s name. Amen.
November 9, 2025
Get Ready for Judgement Day on Earth
Auto Transcript

Note: This transcript and summary was autogenerated. It has not yet been proofread or edited by a human.

Summary

Revelation 15 reveals heaven preparing for the final outpouring of God’s wrath through the seven bowl judgments. This passage teaches us that God’s holiness demands that sin be judged, and that the faithful who endured tribulation now stand victorious, singing praise not for their own achievements but for God’s works, ways, holiness, and plan.

Key Lessons:
1. The victorious saints in heaven sing not about their own suffering or achievement, but solely about the greatness of God — reminding us that true worship is God-centered, not self-centered.
2. God’s holiness requires that all sin be judged; no one escapes accountability before a holy God, whether caught on earth or not.
3. Our redemption is entirely God’s work through the Lamb — we were dead in sin and could not save ourselves, and this truth should produce deep gratitude and praise.
4. A high view of God produces a high level of holy living, changing what we do, where we go, and how we think.
Application: We are called to examine our lives in light of these coming judgments, to cultivate a high view of God that transforms how we live daily, and to boldly share the gospel with those who do not yet know Christ.

Discussion Questions:
1. Why do you think the victorious saints in heaven mention nothing about their own suffering or martyrdom in their song? What does this teach us about the nature of worship?
2. How does having a “high view of God” practically change the way you make daily decisions about what you do, where you go, and who you spend time with?
3. What prevents you from boldly sharing the gospel, and how can the truths of Revelation 15 motivate you to overcome that hesitation?
Scripture Focus: Revelation 15:1-8 describes heaven’s preparation for the seven bowl judgments; Exodus 15:1-19 provides the Song of Moses celebrating God’s deliverance at the Red Sea; Revelation 5 highlights the worthiness of the Lamb; Philippians 2:10-11 declares that every knee will bow and every tongue confess Christ as Lord.

Outline
Introduction

Hey, good morning everyone. Let’s take our Bibles and turn to Revelation chapter 15.

Revelation chapter 15.

And as we go through Revelation, keep in mind that the book of Revelation is talking about God’s final unveiling of the last days.

And we have been considering the victorious Messiah in an interlude before the bold judgments are released. If anything about Revelation and you’ve been following, you’ll find out that we already had the seal judgments and the trumpet judgments. And the last judgments that are going to take place are the bold judgments. And the bowl is a good representation of just taking a bowl and pouring it out. And that’s how the judgment is pictured. So, judgment day is on our doorsteps here in this text.

And Revelation chapter 15 is a is really preliminary to the outpouring of the seven bowls of God’s wrath. Chapter 15 is a bridge between the trumpet judgments and the vile or the bold judgments. In chapter 14, we saw the warning of the word that if the anti-Christian empire during this time continues in the direction it is heading, hell is their faith. Now in chapter 15 we have the warning indeeds the seven bold judgments which are the advanced warnings of the final explosion of the very last judgment that will come.

And the world is getting worse and worse.

And because the world has been moving further away from God and his truth, it has become more lawless and insane and sexually perverted and deviant and idolatrous. And it will continue that way.

God Must Judge Sin

But remember, God will judge all sin.

God must judge sin because of who he is, because of his holiness.

“God must judge sin because of who he is, because of his holiness.”

It has always been like that. It will always be like that.

He cannot allow sin to take up permanent residence in his holy presence. It must be dealt with. Scripture has been given us this example from the beginning in the garden. God’s word was disobeyed by Adam and Eve and God held judgment on them and death came as he separated them from himself which had farreaching implications for all humanity. We suffer that consequence also. During Noah’s time, people were eating and drinking and being given in marriage with total disregard of God, their creator, without heeding the righteous preaching of Noah, who preached for 120 years.

Evil continued in their hearts. So God held judgment on them and sent the worldwide flood and destroyed all those who dwell on the earth except those he rescued within no Noah’s family.

Moses taught Israel God’s statutes and laws. And as long as they obeyed the Lord their God, he would bless them, protect them. But if they disregarded God and his word and broke his laws, God says then there will be cursing. And there definitely was cursing and that cursing is still taking place today.

But as we approach this t text, I I want to remind you that if I fail to to say that to mention it, it’s not the people in the title of my message getting ready for judgment day on earth. It’s not the people who are getting ready for the judgment day.

It is heaven that is getting ready for the judgment day. And so this morning, we are actually transported to heaven.

And we’re going to see what John saw in heaven. And some very striking things are taking place here. Some people have read this passage and said, “Well, there’s not really much there.” And and move on to chapter 16. But then once you start turning over all the stones and looking underneath them, you begin to say, “There’s a lot of things going on here.” and you want to look at the details of the text.

Preparation for God’s Final Wrath: The Sign in Heaven

So this morning we’re going to look at really point one which has three parts to it. Point one would be preparation for God’s final wrath all for all these verses verse 1 through8 and we’re going to see that there are three things going on. There’s going to be a sign in heaven.

There’s also going to be singing in heaven and then the final scene in heaven. So, heaven is preparing for judgment and we’ll see that in chapter 16. Not today, though. So, let’s look at the first thing in the preparation of God’s final wrath, the sign in heaven. And notice in verse number one of chapter 15, then I saw another sign in heaven. And John says it was great and marvelous.

“Heaven is preparing for judgment.”

See the warning given here isn’t of a an event so so ofmous significance that John says it’s great and marvelous.

See, John sees in this third third sign something that causes wonder which as we will see is of supreme significance for not only heaven but for all of mankind and all of us who read this text and study it and heed it and obey it.

Seven Angels and Seven Plagues

And now what does he see? Look at verse number one. Seven angels with sea seven plagues.

That’s what he sees in verse number one.

John sees these seven angels ready to carry out their mission to pour out the seven last plagues upon earth. And this term plague also had bears the meaning of blow. A blow or as laid on by a whip or an instrument that God will smite the anti-Christian empire and with seven fearful blows before he utterly crushes this empire in the last judgment.

“Seven angels ready to carry out their mission to pour out the seven last plagues upon earth.”

God’s Wrath Poured Out to Secure Victory

So that’s what he sees. Then John sees something else. He sees in verse number this seven bowls with wrath. So these seven bowls that are poured out will bring the anger of God to a finish. And notice what it says in verse 15.

It says seven angels who had seven plagues which are the last because in them the wrath of God is finished. So we see here something is happening. Something’s coming to a close. Revelation is coming to a close.

Human history is coming to a close. Life on this planet is coming to a close. And that’s what’s going on in heaven. They are getting ready to pour out those seven bowls. And you you’ll find out that those bowls are poured out very rapidly.

It’s not like the the trumpet judgments or the seal judgments which were more progressive. These are one after another after another after another and the devastation is going to be it’s going to be the worst time that anybody could ever lived on on this planet earth. So there are also three things that come out of this this text in these eight verses.

And there’s three reasons for God’s fierce and final wrath. And we really find the first one here that the first reason for God’s fierce wrath is that the Lord pours out his wrath to secure victory.

He’s going to secure the victory of the faithful, those who were martyed during the tribulation. And really, I think he go it goes back to anyone who ever lived and suffered for Christ. He’s taken care of right here. So the Lord pours out his wrath to secure victory of the faithful and then especially during this tribulation period. And what do they do at that point? What they do?

“The Lord pours out his wrath to secure victory of the faithful.”

They sing.

They sing in heaven. So they’re getting ready for this worst time of judgment and they’re singing. All right? It seems like it doesn’t make sense, but that’s exactly what makes sense because you’ll find out why they’re singing. And so, not only do they John sees the seven bowls with wrath, not only does he seen the sign in heaven, but he also now sees them singing in heaven. Verse 2-4. And we see the victorious saints are supported by God in heaven. And we see in verse number two, and I saw something like the sea of glass mixed with fire and those who had been victorious.

So in other words, let me just stop right there. The sea of glass is mingled with fire. Which means those standing on the sea of glass have gone through the fire and have now come forth as victorious and sup supremely triumphant because of what God has done. And so the question would be asked at this point, how could the saints obtain a victory over such a powerful demonic enemy during that time?

The Beast’s Deception and Control

Remember, we’re we’re dealing with a triunity of the beast and antichrist and the false prophet and of course Satan himself energizing them to do terrible, horrible things in the world. And not only that, but to take control of everything that’s going on. See, the false prophet’s function, if you remember back in chapter 13, the there function was to promote the beast.

And he did that by demanding the worship of the beast. Also, the pro the false prophet did did this also by deceiving people through demonic signs.

As it says in chapter 13:13, he performed great signs so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. So these are miraculous signs and of course these signs are designed to attribute what’s going on to the antichrist as being the Messiah.

See, that’s the big lie that’s going on here.

“These signs are designed to attribute what’s going on to the antichrist as being the Messiah.”

So these signs he tries to do like Jesus but his goal is very different. His goal is to make an impression on the earth dwellers to get them to worship the antichrist as their savior.

That is what they’re to do. To get the earth dwellers to believe the lie. See, the lie was the claim of the Antichrist to be a god greater than all other gods and then to subtly convince the earth dwellers to take the mark in order to identify as a worshipper of antichrist as a worshipper of the true Messiah.

Now you you have to ask the question too how how did they survive that?

Everything of worldly character is beating the track for the for partnership of the superhuman man and his unholy trinity.

The cry of the business world is for centralization.

The cry of the religious world is for unification regardless of faith and doctrine. The cry of the political world is for a league of nations to settle disputes.

How is that happening?

Not very well. The cry of the commercial world is for control and like-minded cooperation.

The cry of the financial world is for one central banking house like cryptocurrency today Bitcoin right digital money.

Signs of the Times: Digital Control

See the man who can affect this monetary control is the antichrist himself. Now we just learned just recently that gold is $4,000 an ounce. One Bitcoin is $127,99720 as of October 7th.

All right, that’s a lot of that means that the US dollar is being weakened every single day. Totally cashless world is right around the corner.

“A totally cashless world is right around the corner.”

So this man of sin, he will be a wizard of finance who through his 10 leagued kingdom will settle the debts of the overburdened world by repudiation and control of the wealth of the world. He will be a miracle working worker in industry who will control the world under one world government. And he will keep politics, economics, and religion under his sway.

With the assistance of the false prophet and the scarlet woman, which is the apostate church, he will pose as a god demanding the worship of his image. And if one does not bow down in worship, he will be ruined economically or be killed.

So the mystery of iniquity is very much alive in our present day and it has come to the forefront of almost every part of society. We see it today more clearly than any generation.

Did just for your information that when we talked about receiving the mark of the beast, right? Whatever that mark is, did that digital ID is already used in five countries? China, India, South Korea, Switzerland, Australia, and just recently, Prime Minister Stammer of England put forth before their parliament a bill to institute digital ID in their kingdom, the United Kingdom.

See, that’s that’s significant as what’s going on and where this is all heading because it doesn’t when it comes to the tribulation time, the these things are going to be in place already and we have these digital things we call iPhones. And right there, that’s how they track people. They track people.

They’re going to track people by surveillance. They’re going to track people by biometric things like fingerprinting, face recognition, all those kind of things. And so the government has an overreach already in our lives. And of course that means a loss of freedom. It also means a loss of animity.

That means digital ideas can make it harder to remain anonymous.

We want to try to make a remain anonymous, but it’s going to be impossible to do that. No matter what you do, no matter how much you try to live off the grid, you’re not going to be able to because they’re going to be able to track you in every single way.

States today, not only if you don’t have a driver’s license, they they are requiring that you have an ID now that you get through the government. That’s all in the process of them taking control of everything. So, I’m I’m asking the question, how in the world are the saints going to obtain victory over such a powerful demonic enemy with all this manipulation and control?

The Victorious Saints on the Sea of Glass

Well, if you go back and look at verse number two of chapter 15, how impossible it was to be victorious in such a tumultuous situation, yet they were. And if you look at verse number two, it says, “And those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name.” Isn’t that great?

You can’t miss this. The victorious ones are standing on the sea of glass and they’re holding harps of God.

“The victorious ones are standing on the sea of glass and they’re holding harps of God.”

They’re holding harps of God. Standing on the sea of glass is really a picture of God’s providence like standing on solid ground. It is for the faithful to show God’s support of them that they are on safe ground now.

Harps of God and the Posture of Victory

But God’s provision for the followers of the beast will be fire. It will be in order for God to scorch them with a severe blow. Now, there’s two things about the posture of the victorious ones is number one, they’re standing. That means it implies victory. It implies conquest over the enemy. They were killed for their faith, but now they stand victorious in heaven. And secondly, the victors are holding harps of God. In other words, these victorious saints are supported by God.

“Standing on the sea of glass is a picture of God’s providence like standing on solid ground.”

And because they are supported by God, there’s something happening that wasn’t happening before. Their harps are no longer hung on the willows because they’re in captivity. But now it meaning that the music was no longer being played. But now here the victorious followers of Christ are holding the harps ready to pluck the strings again to sing. The harps, remember, are usually connected with the joy, with the gentle, sweet melody of God because of how God worked in a particular person’s or nation’s life.

That the sign of victory is the sign of real heartfelt music. And these are the conquering ones who have come as victors out of the battle against the antichrist, his evil government, and the tyranny, the tyranny of being forced to worship the image. And even for some to take the mark on their hand and forehead, they did not do that.

They stood up against them. And so now it is a musical instrument of choice here chosen to employ in scripture the direct praise and worship of God. These victors play on their harps music to praise the God of all glory and not only that to praise also the God who is now going to hold judgment on the whole world.

So that’s what we see in verse three and four. We see the victorious saints singing. If you notice what it says there, what are they singing?

Why are they singing? First of all, it is not because of their strength. It is not because of their strong will. It is because of their obedience to the word of God.

It’s because of their faith in Jesus and them clinging to Jesus during that time.

The Song of Moses

And then what are they singing? Notice in verse number three, they are singing the song of Moses, the bondervant of God, and the song of the lamb.

That’s what we read this morning in Exodus 15 verse 1-19. But it’s also recorded in chapter 14 and Numbers 27 and Deuteronomy. So this is a very important historical event for Israel.

They sing the song of Moses, the bondervant of God. Remember, Moses praises God Almighty for deliverance from from the drowned Egyptians.

Moses, the slave of God, does the will of his God and leads his people to the edge of the Red Sea.

That’s an insane move with an with millions of people. How you going to cross? There’s no no way out. And there’s only way out is by God’s power to deliver his people. And that is the point. And that’s why they sing. They celebrate the deliverance that comes by God’s power as seen in the song of Moses. The song of Mo Moses com commemorated Israel’s physical deliverance from the forces of the Gentiles, from the force of the most powerful nation on earth at that time with the most advanced and skilled military.

“There’s only way out — by God’s power to deliver his people. And that is the point.”

And they were pinned between the desert and the Red Sea.

And God preserved his people through the Red Sea. Just to remind you from the reading this morning, these are some of the things that they were singing about in the song of Moses. They said, “And Moses, the the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord and says, I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted.

The horses and his riders have been hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song. I will extol him.” And then he says in verse number three of chapter 15, the Lord is a warrior.

The Lord fights the battles and wins the battles against the most formidable opposition and enemies that are against us. And then again in in chapter 15, it says this, “Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power. Your right hand, O Lord, scatters the enemy. And in the greatness of your excellence, you overthrow those who rise up against you.

And you send forth your burning anger, and it consumes them like chaff. That’s what they’re praising God for. And that’s is the same kind of song that the tribulations saints will sing. Moses goes on to say that the Lord shall reign forever and ever. That the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea on them. But the sons of Israel walked on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

That’s impossible. We’re talking about impossible things that are taking place by the power of our God. And so that is something that we really ought to sing about. But they also sang another song.

The Song of the Lamb

And it says here they sang the song of the lamb. Now what is so interesting about this?

The saints sing by what God has wrought through the lamb that the apostle John takes all kinds of passages and puts them into one thing. From the Psalms. He takes it from all over the Psalms. He takes bits and pieces and he puts it all together from Isaiah, from Jeremiah, from Exodus. He brings them all together into this one song that he calls the song of the lamb.

See, both the Old Testament and these New Testament saints sing because of God’s work of deliverance. That deliverance from the Egyptians foreshadows the deliverance from the beast and his image and his name, which leads to the praise of the greater deliverance, that deliverance by redemption.

The deliverance from sin and the slavery of sin and deliverance from God’s enemies, the enemies that are against us. Through who? Through the Passover lamb. Through Jesus Christ as seen in the song of the lamb. Now where where did we get that from? Where where does John also remember back in chapter five? He also gives us a sense of the the new song that they’re to sing because now they’re in Christ because they are saints and they’re filled with gratitude and praise because of Christ Jesus’ accomplishment on their behalf. And what do they sing in chapter 5? They sing this.

Because he’s the lamb who is worthy.

Because he is the lamb that is slain.

Because he is the one who paid the price by his blood to purchase the saints to redeem them to buy them back from the slave market of sin. See, that is the great redemption that we all receive as God’s people. We are redeemed not by any human wealth or human power, but we are saved by the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

That the New Testament consistently declares that it caused the death of Jesus Christ to rescue man from the de dilemma and the slavery into which sin has brought him and which he cannot escape from apart from God’s power and deliverance. That is the great deliverance that we have today in that we are purchased for God. It says in chapter five, with your blood, men from every tribe and tongue and people and nations.

“We are redeemed not by any human wealth or human power, but by the precious blood of Jesus Christ.”

See, Christ died so that there might be people from every people group on this earth. From the inner city people, neighborhoods to the suburbs to the country folk to mountain people to desert people to remote tribes of people everywhere. Christ has purchased specific people from every place on the planet so they would belong to him. And anyone who really is a believer, who really knows that they’ve been saved from their sin, cannot take credit that they have done anything to save themselves or even help God save them.

They were blind. They were dead. We were dead in our sin. Unless God granted us faith and repentance as a gift and opened our eyes to see, we would never ever be saved.

See, that is the song of the lamb.

That is the song of the martyrs.

And there’s something very striking of the triumphant martyrs. Two things that stand out about it.

And look at the first one. Let let me read it first. Look at what it says in verse three and four. Here’s the song of the lamb. It says, “Sing, great and marvelous are your works, O Lord God, the Almighty. Righteous and true are your ways, King of the nations. Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name?

For you alone are holy.

For all the nations will come and worship before you for your righteous acts have been revealed. That’s the song of the lamb that they are singing there.

Nothing About Their Own Achievement

But the something very interesting here is that this song is a mosaic of material from all over the Old Testament and the New Testament, Exodus, Psalms, many places, Isaiah, all of them are brought together in this one song of the land. John’s just taking passages and putting them in there and it’s it becomes something very significant. But a second thing that’s very interesting not only about the song of Moses but the song of the lamb. There’s not one single word about their own achievement. Not one. From the beginning to the end, the song is a lyric outburst of the greatness of God.

See, sometimes we, you and I may think when we get to heaven that we will be mauling over the trials and struggles that we went through while on earth.

However, these martyed saints mention nothing about their martyrdom, nothing about the pain or suffering they went through, which gives us the strong impression that heaven is a place people forget themselves and remember only God.

“Heaven is a place people forget themselves and remember only God.”

In the presence of God, the martyrs ignore themselves.

Their thoughts and attentions are absorbed by the new wonders that surround them as they see with unclouded vision the glory of God and his works and his ways.

Everything else is tiny.

Nothing else is significant.

This also brings us to a second reason for God’s fierce wrath that the Lord pours out on his his wrath to show the power and the works are what the faithful sing about.

In other words, the faithful sing that this victory is God’s victory alone and we participate in it because God brought us into to participate in it. So that’s the wrath comes for the saints and the saints see now what God has done in their behalf. It’s it’s clear now in heaven. There’s no doubt in heaven.

There’s no even there’s not even any more questions to ask in heaven. It’s crystal clear that God has done all this thing. God is the one who brought about this victory and it was through the lamb Jesus Christ who died in our place who took the wrath of God. So there’s no wrath to be taken by us and he paid the full penalty and satisfied the father’s justice forever.

Praising God for His Works

See, that’s what the Lord’s done. And so I can see why they sing. And they’re singing to get ready to what’s going to take place on earth. So, the song of the lamb really does give us some instruction on what we should praise God about.

Look at there’s about four things in verse number three and four that give us the sense on what should we be praising God about. Notice the first thing. Great and marvelous are your works. All right? So the first thing to praise and worship him is for God’s works.

The works of Almighty God praised here are the final judgments on the beast and the ungodly world. God’s judgments of the seven bowls are so great they will fill us and those who understand them with wonder. But it’s also the works of salvation. It’s the work of creation. Everything that comes in there, the work of creation.

“Great and marvelous are your works, O Lord God, the Almighty.”

Praising God for His Ways

A second thing we could praise God for is notice in verse three, righteous and true are your ways, king of the nations.

Praising God for His Holiness

See his ways praised here are his total reliability to keep his promises. That the king of all the ages has ruled his people so righteously that his people know without a doubt his truth points to his genuiness. That is his ways are never a sham or empty or deceptive.

They are always clearly true with no twist at all in them. They know that. See that’s God’s ways. That’s who they can praise the Lord for. And also in verse four, they praise we can praise and worship the Lord for his holiness.

And this becomes an important part of this portion of Revelation. It says, “Who will not fear, oh Lord, and glorify your name?” The question it says, “For you alone are holy.

“Righteous and true are your ways, King of the nations.”

No one else is holy but you. That his holiness is praised because he is separate and above all his creation. And that God should be re revered and glorified because of it. There’s no one like God.

There never was. There never will be anyone like God. Our God is an infinite cut above all the rest.

Revelation 15:4: “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy.”

Even Jeremiah tells us in Jeremiah 10:7 that God is not like anyone else.

And remember Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet because he preached and nobody listened.

And he says this, “Who would not fear you, oh king of the nations? Indeed, it is your due among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdom.

There is none, none like you. Jeremiah knew that. He wouldn’t have been able to preach if he didn’t really believe that.

It’s important for you and I to believe things so strongly that nobody can move us from our position. See, God is holy.

He is not like us. And sometimes when we think of things in scripture that oh I wouldn’t have thought about it like that. Well, that’s a good thought because that we don’t we’re not we’re not concerned about your thoughts. We’re concerned about God’s thoughts. Right?

So like what does the scripture say if you were never born? What does it mean if you you and I never existed?

So our opinions really don’t really matter much.

Praising God for His Plan

But I want you to know a last thing. He he we can praise and worship God. It it’s his plan. Notice what it says. The last part of verse number four in Revelation 15. For all the nations will come and worship before you for your righteous acts have been revealed.

This is almost like a Romans chapter 1, right? It’s clear what God has done.

That means his plan is to be praised because his goal was always to have all of creation and all the nations see clearly who he is and what he has done.

“His goal was always to have all of creation see clearly who he is and what he has done.”

So the saints and the heavenly hosts will sing about the sovereignty, the glory, the justice, the righteousness of God almighty because the saints and the heavenly host have a high view of God. They have a clear view of God.

A High View of God Changes Everything

And even as we teach in our membership class, if you have a high view of God, it will cause you to have a high level of living. All right? That means you will want to live a holy life. Why?

Because of how you see God and how the scriptures, you understand the scriptures bring God to the highest point that if he’s done these things for you and I, how can I live the old way?

How can I go back to my sin? How can I go back to the crutches that I had in the past? I can’t do it because my view of God has changed. I have a high view of God and I have a high view of his word. His word becomes paramount to me what he says there.

“If you have a high view of God, it will cause you to have a high level of living.”

And then if you look in verse number four, it says, “Your righteous acts have been revealed.” That means that God’s judgments again are clear. They are made visible to all the na. They will be made visible to all the nations of the world.

The nations of the world will have their view of God changed someday because they will see God’s righteous verdicts clearly and they shall acknowledge that his righteous acts are true and they are just and because of that he is worthy to be praised and worshiped. He’s worthy to be praised and worthy. And what what does Paul say in Philippians?

So that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow. Those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth.

Some are attribute that to hell.

And every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Everybody will proclaim Jesus as Lord someday, believers and unbelievers.

So if the Lord Jesus Christ today, you should be singing the song of the lamb and the song of Moses because of his deliverance in your life. And then having a high view of God, it change it should change everything you do in your life. It should change the way you think, what you do, where you go, who you hang out with, what you listen to, everything.

Because you want to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord. And you want to be a usable vessel, right, in this world. You want to be able to go place and and show the light of the gospel to show that you you are coming to a situation and you’re salt.

You’re preventing corruption, but you’re also giving flavor to things because you see things the way God sees them. And people want to hear that. They want to see that even though they may reject it time and time again, just like you and I, we came to a place we say what, that’s really interesting. I never heard that before.

And you start thinking about it. And that’s how God draws you in. And he he he opens your eyes to see and you becomes you become saved, born again, right? And so that’s what’s happened.

The Scene in Heaven: The Holy Tabernacle

But now I want you to see that we’ve seen the the sign in heaven. We’ve seen the singing in heaven. But now now let’s look at verse eight 5-8. The the scene in heaven and you you’re going to find that everything in this scene is holy.

The first thing is the holy tabernacle.

Verse number five. After these things I looked and the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was open.

Now just reading that something dramatic, something dramatically new is seen by the Apostle John in the holy place of the tabernacle in heaven that was opened in this instance. The references specifically to the tabernacle and the holy of holies which is the ark of the testimony.

“The temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened.”

That’s where it was kept. The ark where the tables of stone are kept.

Now the only one who can possibly fulfill the law is Jesus himself.

And so we see here and the point being that God always keeps his covenant with Israel and with all believers. He is completely trustworthy in doing that.

And that also brings me to a third reason for God’s fierce wrath. And that the Lord pours out his wrath to substantiate his promise through the word of God.

That what God promises will come to pass.

The Holy Angels

And then notice in verse 6 and seven, there’s holy angels.

It says, “And the seven angels who had the seven plagues come out of the temple.

And these angels, they can dwell with God in his presence because they have no sin. They were created for this very purpose. That the angels come out of a place where the law of God rests and come to show that no person or tribe or nation or people, group or demonic trinity can with impunity defy the law of God.

Nobody gets away with anything before God because God is holy and he’s just.

“No person or nation or demonic trinity can with impunity defy the law of God.”

The only thing between us and God is that he is pure. He is perfectly holy and just. He sees clearly everything.

And that that means he’ll administer judgment fairly.

We cannot do that.

We are we’re unable to do that. We try our best to do it, but we are unable to do it like he can do it. So the angels come out of the place where the law of God is. And these angels are dressed to represent the one for whom they do their bidding, the king of kings. And their uniform denotes the noble and sacred nature of their office, their mission, and are really symbolic of three things.

Their dress, notice what it says in verse six. It says, clothed in linen, clean and bright, and girded around their chest with golden sashes.

That means their dress is a priestly dress. First of all, the robe of white fine linen and the embroidered girdle about their breasts is really the dress of a high priest. They’re going to minister in behalf of God and behalf of his people.

But then notice also their dress is also a royal dress. It says clean clo and linen clear and bright girded around with their chest with golden sashes. That signifies a definitely a royal nature to it.

That the white linen and the high the high girdle are the garments worn by princes and by kings that these angels come forth with the royalty of the king of kings upon them.

And then of course their dress is also heavenly dress in verse number six. Clothed in linen clean and bright. So so the cloth in the the long white garments is clothing of the inhabitants of heaven. We’ve seen that over and over again that they come with an imposing imposing vestments to execute God’s decrees upon the earth. So no one at all will make a mistake as to who they represent.

So those are the angels.

And then at this point in heaven, another steps forward, but it’s not an angel.

Notice what it says in verse number seven.

The Four Living Creatures

It says, ‘ Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever. And I asked the question, why the four living creatures or one of the representatives of the four? Why them? Why just not another angel?

So I had to kind of hunt that down a bit.

Well, these this one representative of the four living creatures are going to give the four the the bowls to the angels.

And why the four living creatures are given this task? Well, their place in heaven back in chapter 4 when they were first mentioned is this.

They are centered around the throne of God. The four living creatures, these are creatures that have full of eyes in front and behind.

So having eyes all around means that they have vigilance over God’s whole creation.

Man, beast, bird is pictured as glorified with him as part of God’s sovereignty.

That these four living creatures, their function for which they were created is this.

They constantly are engaged in praising and worshiping God. This is what it says in chapter 4 verse number eight. Listen, it says, “For the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they do not cease to say, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” That is their task. That is their message.

Revelation 4:8: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.”

So, because holy calls attention to all that God is.

It reminds us that his love is holy.

His mercy is holy.

His knowledge is holy knowledge. His spirit is holy spirit. His justice is holy justice. Which means that his final judgment upon all humanity and creation will be holy judgment. So what who best to initiate that representative of the four living creatures to come and proclaim and give to these bowls to the angels that will finish the task. Than the ones who have been singing in heaven over and over and over again, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God. That’s why he gives them the task.

That’s why he gives them the task.

God’s Wrath to Satisfy His Holiness

So, that brings me to a fourth reason for God’s wrath. And it’s this. The Lord pours out his wrath to satisfy his holiness.

His holiness must be satisfied. I said that nobody will get away with from any with anything no matter whether they were caught here and convicted here or not or they got away with it while on earth. They won’t get away with it before God because God is holy and that his holiness must be satisfied.

“The Lord pours out his wrath to satisfy his holiness. His holiness must be satisfied.”

And no one could stand against God’s holiness and get away with anything.

The Temple Filled with Glory

So we saw the holy tabernacle of the holy angels and now we see the holy temple again. It says in verse number eight.

Now it says that the temple was filled with with smoke from the glory of God and from his power. Now all this is going on. Remember the tabernacle is open.

And now just as in Old Testament passages when the glory of the Lord fill the temple, what could people do?

Nothing. You can’t do anything. Nobody moves because God’s glory so fills everything. And his holiness so permeates everything that all that we the people can do is stop and watch.

That’s it. They can stop and watch because it says we look here that that no one can enter the temple in heaven until the task is complete. That the smoke of God’s glory make it impossible for anybody to enter in because of the glory of God and his power. If you notice again in verse number eight, it says the last part, and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

“God’s glory so fills everything that all the people can do is stop and watch.”

So God’s hot anger will be completely emptied upon the worshippers of the beast and his anti-Christian empire and all who belong to it from that then and before that that the sealed judgments struck a quarter part of the earth that the trumpet judgments took onethird part of the earth and the bold judgments will bring the very end that the all the seven bowls will be emptied and it will be finished and the wrath of God will be satisfied.

Call to Respond

So that’s what we have in this section of scripture and it is one that it has to humble us u and cause us to really want to worship God the way we ought to and it should adjust our lives to really want to live for the Lord. Knowing these days are coming and I don’t know about you, as I said, I’ve been saying that the more I try not to listen to the news too much, it gets me aggravated as it does you. But as I listen to the crazy stuff going on in the world, this is this is this cannot be this organized without demonic backing. It cannot. It’s happening in every country of the world.

So demons are working behind the scenes to bring together God’s allowing it to bring together where God’s plan is heading because judgment is coming.

So if Christ today, you don’t have to worry about these things, but you sure should examine your life to see how you’re living.

“If you know Christ today, you don’t have to worry, but you should examine your life.”

And if you don’t know Christ, today is the day. As I say and others who have preached here, Pastor Dave and myself, today is a day of salvation. You cannot wait any longer. You are not guaranteed tomorrow morning. No one is. No matter how old or young you are, you must know Christ. You must not doubt that. You must know that. And if you don’t know that, today is a good day to come talk to me or talk to talk to Pastor Dave or one of our elders, our deacons or people know the gospel in our church and ask them about how to be saved, how to be right with God.

See, that’s what we ought to do. Amen.

Let’s pray.

Lord, thank you again for the great truth of this book called Revelation.

Lord, in it is contained your mind and your will.

And Lord, I I must admit that when we read these things and hear these things, they are fear producing.

But Lord, we know that you are our deliverer. You’re the one who has taken the wrath of the father so we can be saved and be made right with you. And Lord, that gives us peace in our heart.

That gives us joy to sing. But Lord, it also brings us to mourn for those who don’t know you yet in our family, on our jobs, people we interact with all the time. We want to be able to share the gospel with them, Lord. So Lord, put on our hearts to pray for them and then give us an opportunity to speak in your behalf. And Lord, I know Lord, including myself, sometimes when that happens, I choke. I don’t say anything.

And Lord, usually the day goes pretty miserable when that happens. I pray, Lord, make us people who are bold. And I pray just like the the apostles, the disciples who were not really educated men when they spoke, people concluded that their boldness came from them hanging out with Jesus. And I pray our boldness would come from the same place.
October 19, 2025