The Book of Revelation - Lesson 3: The King and His Kingdom

[Music] [Applause] [Music] after Jesus was arrested he was brought before Pontius Pilate and Pilate asked him if he was the King of the Jews Jesus did Maine serve a question directly instead he said my kingdom is not of this world my kingdom is not from this place now Pilate miu Caesar and he had seen his palace he had a very definite idea of what a king should look like and this this man's standing before him looked nothing like a king imagine how unbelievable Jesus words must have seemed to him perhaps even believers today may be tempted to question whether or not Jesus is actually king after all if we look around it's easy to see opposition to God's reign throughout this world but jesus answered two pilots question is actually one of the most prominent themes in the book of Revelation Jesus does reign as king but his kingdom is not from this world and the book of Revelation gives us hope that his kingdom is coming we can experience it now in part but we will experience it fully when Christ returns and because final victory in this world belongs to Christ John calls us to love him and to remain loyal to him until he returns this is the third lesson in our series on the book of Revelation we have entitled it the king and his kingdom this lesson will explore how the central theme of the kingdom of God runs through the entire book of Revelation and unites all its various teachings in an earlier lesson we said that God rules his kingdom in ways that resemble ancient international treaties especially those between great emperors or Susie wins and the vassal kingdoms that served them we also highlighted three features of these treaties or covenants that are shared in common with God's relationship with his people the suzerainty benevolence toward his vassal is paralleled by God's benevolence to his people the loyalty or obedience the suzerainty promised vassal is paralleled by the loyalty God requires of his people and the consequences for the vassal that would result from the vassals loyalty or disloyalty are paralleled by the blessings God grants to those who are faithful to him and the curses he brings against those who were unfaithful to him all three of these covenant features are prominent throughout the book of Revelation our lesson on the king and his kingdom will divided into four parts that roughly follow the basic contours of these ancient covenants first we'll consider the kingship that God holds as the divine suzerain or Emperor as well as the kingship that Jesus holds as God's vassal King second we'll explore the way revelation highlights God's benevolence toward his covenant people third we'll look at the requirement of loyalty that God demands from his people and fourth we'll turn to the consequences that result from loyalty and disloyalty to God let's start with the kingship of God as the divine suzerain and Jesus as his vassal our discussion of the kingship of God in Jesus will focus on two matters first will serve a God's kingship as the suzuran over all creation and second will describe Christ's kingship as God's vassal or servant king let's begin by looking at God's kingship many parts of scriptures such as Psalm 103 verse 19 describe God as the omnipotent king and ruler over all creation he has complete power and authority over everything he's created and he exercises that power and authority by governing the universe and all its creatures God has the right to rule over all creation because he is the creator he made it it belongs to him and he has the right to rule over it and there's a passage in the psalm Psalm 24 verses 1 & 2 that makes it very clear that this is true the Lord owns the earth and all it contains the world and all who live in it for or because he set its foundation upon the Seas and established it upon the ocean currents so he owns it he rules over it because he made it it belongs to him doesn't derive his authority from outside of himself he is his own authority his attributes all of them are authoritative but of course it's not the kind of authority we're used to as human beings which can be tyrannical or capricious or arbitrary its authority that is good because God is good but we can trust his authority because he has an amazing track record the greatest proof of his authority is of course sending his son to die for our sins and to be raised up for our justification no other philosophy no other God remotely comes to this kind of answer so God's authority is in itself but it's proven over and over again in Jesus Christ the book of Revelation frequently speaks of God as the great king over all creation and emphasizes his active powerful reign over the universe we see this in John's greeting to his readers in Revelation chapter one verses four through six we see it in the description of the heavenly throne room throughout Revelation chapters four and five we see it also in the fact that a multitude from every nation gathers before God's heavenly throne and praises him in Revelation chapter 7 verses 9 and 10 we can even see it in the fact that the Angels do the same thing in verses 11 and 12 and we see it in the constant references to God on his throne throughout the rest of the book as just one example listen to how John greeted the churches of Asia Minor in Revelation chapter 1 verses 4 through 6 John to the seven churches in the province of Asia grace and peace to you from him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven spirits before his throne and from Jesus Christ who was the faithful witness firstborn from the dead the ruler of the kings of the earth to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father to him be glory and power forever and ever amen notice how many references there are to God's kingdom in these few short verses God is on his throne Jesus rules over the kings of the earth and the church is the kingdom that serves God the topic of the kingdom of God is a massive topic in Scripture and everyone pretty much agrees that it was the central message of Jesus's teaching so what what does the kingdom of God mean ultimately it means that God is king that God is sovereign that God is Lord that he is the sovereign Lord of the universe in terms of its statement or its references in Scripture it really has two main focuses or foci in Scripture one is that God is the sovereign Lord of all things from beginning to end throughout history and every time in every place God is king the other is the manifestation of that kingship in terms of his lordship over human history and over human beings the kingdom of God is the rightful true reign of God in willing people who rightly recognize God's rightful claim on their lives who lovingly trustingly fully and willingly surrender to the sovereign lordship of God now that means that the church is in some way the visible manifestation of the kingdom of God the church is the way that God's kingdom is made visible in creation in history right now but that surrender that we experience now is only a precursor ultimately God will renew all things God will destroy every enemy God will remove every impediment from our perfectly knowing him and are completely obeying him he will remove those impediments that's the ultimate promise of God but right now we participate in an anticipatory way willingly lovingly freely by acknowledging in Jesus Christ God's salvation and God's lordship over our lives and through that the church bears witness to the ultimate gift of the kingdom that is promised in the eschaton just like ancient Near Eastern emperors God appointed servants to carry out his commands vassals who would rule over and administer his kingdom on his behalf in general terms God assigned this role to the human race under the headship of a succession of covenant administrators as we saw on a prior lesson the Covenant administration's developed in six major covenants that God made with his people the covenants with Adam Noah Abraham Moses David and the first two covenants those made with Adam and Noah identified God as the suzerainty over the entire earth and marked the human race as the vassal nation that carried out his will on earth under the terms of these covenants God's sovereignty still extends to all the nations of the earth every single person is accountable to him after his covenants with Adam and Noah God made covenants with Abraham Moses and David that extended his kingship in a special way over the nation of ancient Israel as just one example listen to what God said to the nation of ancient Israel in Exodus chapter 19 verses 4 through 6 you yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant and out of all nations you will be my treasured possession although the whole earth is mine you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation in this passage God reminded the Israelites of the benevolence he had shown them when he redeemed them from slavery in Egypt he mentioned the Israelites responsibility to demonstrate their loyalty through obedience to the Covenant he was making with them and he indicated the consequences of blessings they would receive they were obedient to the Covenant in the Covenant with David in particular God established David's dynasty as the conduit of God's blessing and judgments for his people this covenant is mentioned in passages like 2nd Samuel chapter 7 verses 1 through 17 Psalm 89 and Psalm 132 it states that David's sons were God's vassal Kings they represented the entire kingdom of Israel before God as in all other covenants God showed benevolence expected loyalty and reminded the house of David of the consequences of his blessings and curses later in Israel's history David's descendants failed so badly that the entire nation of Israel was cursed and exiled by God but even in exile the prophets of Israel predicted that in the last days God would renew his covenant through a righteous son of David in Jeremiah chapter 31 verse 31 the Prophet Jeremiah referred to this renewal as a new covenant this new covenant would be God's ultimate display of benevolence he would transform the hearts of his people so that they would be loyal to him they would enjoy his unending covenant blessings and would never be cursed again at the same time God would render eternal judgment on all those who opposed him his vassal King and the people of his kingdom God's covenants with David and ancient Israel were always intended to extend their blessings beyond David and Israel God's reign over David's house was supposed to benefit the entire nation of Israel and Israel's blessings were supposed to benefit the entire world we can see this in Psalms 2 and 67 Isaiah chapter 2 verses 2 through 4 and Amos chapter 9 verses 11 through 15 God would send a redeemer through David's house and that Redeemer would save Israel and through Israel he would rescue the entire creation right now God is redeeming the church through Christ and incorporating us into his holy Covenant people and as a result the church is now one Kingdom with the Old Testament nation of Israel listen to how this covenant 'el relationship is expressed in Revelation chapter one verses five and six Jesus Christ loves us and his freed us from our sins by his blood and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his god and father these verses indicate that because Jesus died to free us from our sins we are now God's special possession and nation we even bear the same title God gave to Israel in the Old Testament a kingdom and priests God gave this title to ancient Israel in Exodus chapter 19 verse 6 or one of the Covenant blessings was that Israel would be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation many people through the centuries have argued about the nature of the kingdom of God it's a clear description that we find in the Bible and yet just exactly what it means has been a source of a lot of controversy I think we can say though that in its essence at the bottom the kingdom of God describes God's rule in the world in the church and in the individual human heart so that if you and I are living God's life according to the scriptures we can say that we are participating in the kingdom of God what is the kingdom of God well certainly we could describe that a number of ways but I think a very helpful way is by saying it is where God's kingdom is established as a realm in which God's kingdom is established through his King which leads to the praise of God the glory of God and has ramifications for all in all sorts of ways for life on Earth and so we see the kingdom of God very prominently in the teaching of Jesus and what we find in the New Testament is if Jesus is that king who is powerfully bringing the kingdom of God into our world there's a the technical term is eruption there's an unbreaking there's a very powerful entrance of God into our world by means of his messianic King a great way to say what the kingdom is comes from gerhart as boss he says the kingdom comes where the gospel is spread hearts are changed sin and error overcome righteousness cultivated and the living communion with God established God's goal has always been to extend his heavenly kingdom to earth and to populate earth with faithful people in heaven God's will has already done perfectly but on earth his creatures often refused to do his will it refused to acknowledge God his king and the kingdoms of this world often oppose God's reign so when Jesus prayed the Lord's Prayer his petition was that one day all of these opposing kingdoms would be defeated so that only God's kingdom would remain listen to Revelation chapter 11 verse 15 talks about that future day the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his christ and he will reign forever and ever God's special kingdom will endure until it conquers and fills the whole world this is the final destination of Biblical prophecy when Jesus returns in glory God's special reign were encompassed every Kingdom on earth the same hope is taught in Jeremiah chapter 31 verses 31 through 34 Zechariah chapter 14 verse 9 and many other passages of Scripture God's kingship far surpasses the analogies found in the ancient Near East in the ancient world human suzer endeavor fully lived up to the benevolence they promised in their covenants they never perfectly evaluated the loyalty of their subjects and they never perfectly dispensed covenant consequences but in God's covenant our divine suzerainty lives up to his benevolent promises he perfectly evaluates our loyalty and he dispenses perfect discipline and judgment in the form of consequences of covenant blessings and curses and as we're about to see he sent Jesus Christ as his royal son to be perfectly loyal to God on our behalf and to bear the consequences of our disloyalty so we can have salvation in him with this understanding of God's Universal kingship in mind we're ready to turn to the related theme of Christ's kingship as God's servant or vassal King Jesus's kingship needs to be understood in light of the ancient Davidic King chip because Jesus is the ideal David he is HaMashiach the Messiah and of course in the Old Testament the Davidic King chip is patterned after something that we see in the ancient Near Eastern world so-called Susur and vassal relationship where the suzer and the King rules over his subjects usually by treaty and David is God's chosen ruler over the world and so there's a sense in which God God chose David to be his vice regent to rule on his behalf and of course Jesus is the one who ultimately fulfilled love it might sound strange to think about Jesus as a vassal or servant king rather than as the suzerainty the universe after all Jesus is God and God is the creator and ruler of everything that exists we affirm very strongly that Jesus is fully divine but it's important to remember that Jesus isn't only God he's also fully human and as a human being he sits on the very human throne of his father David who held the human office of King / gods vassal nation ancient Israel in this sense Jesus kingship is a human office and therefore Jesus is God's vassal just as David was in the Old Testament the coven ental structure of the Bible was really rooted in the treaty agreements between ancient Near Eastern Kings and oftentimes the suzerain would be the Great King and there'd be a vassal king related in this covenant with the Great King the book of Revelation talks about Jesus as the Lion of the tribe of Judah as as the king the Davidic King and so that language reveals a couple of things one of the things is it shows that Jesus not only reveals who God is but he also reveals through humanists the full nature of what it means to be a human being and so in his role in the New Testament as the son of David the son of God language actually oftentimes most often refers to his role as the Davidic King the Messiah and in that sense he represents a historic people in the case of the book of Revelation it's the people of God spread throughout all the nations and he is our king our representative to the Father or the suzerain so he is our king in history in time a full human being who represents his people to the Father of course also he represents God to us but that doesn't diminish the fact that he's fully human as well and represents us to God the name Christ is a title that directly refers to the office of Davidic King the word Christ simply means Anointed One it's an Old Testament term that was frequently applied to Davidic Kings because they were anointed when they took office we see this in places like 2nd chronicles chapter 6 verse 42 Psalm 2 verses 2 & 6 Psalm 18 verse 50 Psalm 20 verses 6 & 9 and Psalm 45 verses 1 & 2 this is also why Jesus is called God's Christ in places like Revelation chapter 11 verse 15 and chapter 12 verse 10 he's God's anointed one his vassal King as the great son of David Jesus fulfills all the aspects of the New Covenant that were anticipated in the Old Testament in him God's greatest benevolence is displayed Christ himself kept all the requirements of loyalty on our behalf he suffered the consequences of Covenant curses when he died in our place and he received the consequences of Covenant blessings when he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven Jesus secured his place as God's human vassal king by dying on the cross and rising from the dead his death took away any power that sin had to condemn and ruin God's people [Music] as we read in Revelation chapter 12 verses 10 and 11 now have come to salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ for the accuser of our brothers who accuses them before our God day and night has been hurled down they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross Satan has been defeated in Christ now has Authority in God's kingdom so that his salvation can come to his people and Jesus obedience earned him the reward of resurrection from the dead the seat of authority far above any creative authority with a human angelic or demonic as he said after his resurrection in Matthew chapter 28 verses 18 and 19 all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me therefore go and make disciples of all nations of course in His divine nature Jesus never received Authority he always had it but when he rose from the dead jesus said that God the Father gave him kingly authority over the nation's meaning that he had become the father's human vassal king over the entire heavens and earth after his resurrection when Jesus ascended into heaven he was enthroned as King the New Testament makes this clear in passages like Hebrews chapter 1 verse 3 chapter 10 verse 12 in chapter 12 verse 2 when it says that Jesus sat down at the right hand of God the Father this imagery indicates that the father is the great high king or suzerain and that Jesus his son is the human vassal that serves and represents him Jesus is the final king over David's house and over all other human kingdoms on earth and through him the entire world will be renewed since his enthronement Jesus has reigned as king over the church and he's been expanding his kingdom by bringing salvation to the ends of the earth in stark contrast to human kings God has sent his son as the perfect vassal king to purchase our Redemption at the cost of the cross he demonstrated his loyalty in his earthly life and suffered the consequences of our disloyalty and he did it on the cross he gave us his life to purchase our forgiveness and loyalty and he continues to defend and protect us we should respond to his gracious rule with loving reverence expressed in royal obedience to our benevolent God and king now that we've explored the suzerainty ship of God the Father in the vassal kingship of Jesus let's consider the way the book of Revelation describes God's benevolence in terms of the kingdom of God God's benevolence that the suin of the Covenant can be seen in many ways throughout the book of Revelation that a doubt is greatest benevolence with sending his son to die for our sins this theme is mentioned in places like Revelation chapter 1 verse 5 chapter 5 verses 9 and 10 chapter 7 verse 14 in chapter 14 verses 3 and 4 what we also see God's royal benevolence for his people and the way he calls us to himself and makes us part of his kingdom as in Revelation chapter 1 verse 6 chapter 11 verse 15 and chapter 17 verse 14 and his kindness he exempted his people from many of the judgments that were threatened against unbelievers in the book as in Revelation chapter 7 verses 3 & 4 and chapter 9 verse 4 even the prophetic warnings to the churches in Revelation are benevolent opportunities for us to repent God restrained his judgment so that people would have the opportunity to escape condemnation John recorded this type of benevolence in Revelation chapter 2 verses 5 16 and 21 and chapter 3 verses 3 and 19 but probably the most frequent way God's grace and kindness are seen in Revelation is through his defense of his people in the midst of spiritual war so in this lesson we'll focus our discussion of God's King Lee benevolence specifically on the way he protects his people from being destroyed by these conflicts [Music] what spiritual warfare is a reality of any serious Christian in my estimation it's it's understanding that there is a spirit world that there is a Satan and that those spirits that Satan doesn't like us if Satan attacked Jesus then you can rather imagine the Satan's going to attack the life of the believer today and we've got to be ready for it if the first thing that happened when Jesus goes the complices he sees a spirit-filled person a demon-possessed person you can imagine there's such things demon possession today we've got to take it very seriously and we've got to make sure that we're holy as he is holy in order to take it seriously in the New Testament spiritual warfare isn't primarily our own internal struggles against sin but an ongoing war between God and the evil spiritual powers at work in this world and one way God engages in this conflict is by defending his kingdom against these evil forces as we mentioned in an earlier lesson the book of Revelation often discloses the workings of the supernatural realm of God and the preternatural realm of angels and demons and talks about their influence in the natural realm where we live and the essence of all spiritual warfare in the lives of Christians is that these preternatural forces are in combat with each other that the influence our world that demons try to harm our lives and to make us disloyal to God and that God employees angels to protect us from demonic influence and activities [Music] yamada-kun divinely the topic of spiritual warfare is very complicated for Christians because it manifests differently for each person and one result of this is that when Christians discuss the topic they often go to extremes one extreme is that people try to explain everything that happens in terms of nature or science and they ignore the reality of spiritual warfare but not everything that happens can be easily explained by science another extreme is that people look for demons behind every bush and see spiritual confrontation in everything I think the truth is somewhere in between when we get ready for worship services or actively participate in spiritual evangelistic projects or help other people spiritually we often encounter spiritual opposition it might manifest as an illness or an official's unwillingness to help you it might be obstacles appearing from nowhere that you can't explain in ordinary ways in fact our material world is thoroughly permeated by the spiritual world and that's why many physical processes that take place in our lives may be echoes of events in the spiritual world but the cause of these events isn't the main point they may have spiritual causes or even be the result of our sin but wherever we are and whatever happens to us we have to understand that our Lord protect us we can rely on his power his strength we can draw support from him and this gives us confidence no matter what spiritual manifestations we encounter the reality is that we belong to our Lord body and soul and apart from our Heavenly Father's will not a hair can fall from our head that's why in any spiritual confrontation we can become ensure that the victory will be the Lord's and with him ours as well Christians are assured victory in spiritual war there's nothing that demons can do to destroy our salvation or to shake our inheritance in God's kingdom spiritual war can be disheartening and trying and even frightening but because of God's benevolence it can never succeed against us in the long run we'll divide our discussion of God's covenant benevolence into three parts first well look at the way God defended his kingdom in the Old Testament second we'll see how he defended his kingdom in the New Testament outside the book of Revelation and third we'll focus on his benevolent protection in the book of Revelation itself let's begin with God's benevolence in the Old Testament the Old Testament is filled with accounts of battles Israel was frequently at war with neighboring nations and the Israelites even fought among themselves at various times but even though most descriptions of wars in the Old Testament highlight human beings that fought with physical weapons scripture occasionally pulls back the veil to show us that invisible spiritual battles were also taking place and in fact these invisible battles greatly influenced the success or failure of the human armies these invisible battles were always fought between God and his holy angels on the one side and Satan and his demonic armies on the other side although most of the human armies that opposed Israel believed that they were following other gods verses like Deuteronomy chapter 32 verse 17 made it clear that the false gods of the nations were actually demons the Old Testament angels and demons are portrayed sometimes as being a part of or standing behind geopolitical conflict it seems as if the angels in the demons had a hand and how these events and how these conflicts would play out for instance we see in Daniel 10 an instance where Gabriel an angel comes to Daniel and says I heard your prayer I left awhile ago to come find you but I was held up with a conflict including the Angel Michael involving the kings of Persia now to a certain extent these are mysterious texts it's hard for us to understand exactly what that means and how these events would have played out and what the process would have been of this conflict but we see that angels and demons are in some way standing behind or acting geopolitical conflict for the Old Testament audience these conflicts between nations were not strictly human or natural events but they all had a supernatural backdrop angels were in conflict with demons supernatural hosts were battling in the same way that the earthly hosts were battling they understood this backdrop to everything that occurred around him and so Daniel would not have been surprised to find that Gabriel might have been withheld or might have been hindered and his coming to him because of something that was going on with the princess of Persia one set of examples that highlights the invisible battles fought between angels and demons can be found in Exodus chapter 7 through 15 in the days of Moses God's people were enslaved by the Egyptians but God led his angelic armies into battle against Egypt and their pagan gods in order to rescue his people from their tyranny he began by sending ten plagues against the Egyptians including his Angel of Death that killed the firstborn in every Egyptian household then in a climactic display of his power he delivered his people by drowning the Egyptian army in the red sea throughout the entire Bible one of the main ways that God is revealed both Old Testament and New Testament one of the main ways he is revealed is that he is a warrior one of the most famous passages of course is Exodus chapter 15 verse 3 where Moses is singing at the Red Sea after the defeat of the Egyptians and he says Yahweh the Lord is a warrior Yahweh is his name Yahweh is short for a longer expression for God Yahweh Sebo which means Yahweh of the armies and so even there what's being said by Moses in Exodus chapter 15 verse 3 is that at the very heart of who God is at the the essence of who God is is this idea of warrior God is a warrior then in Exodus chapter 15 verse 11 Moses sang who among the gods is like you O Lord who is like you majestic and holiness awesome and glory working wonders Moses and his readers knew the answer to this question no God is like the Lord after all the Egyptian gods were completely incapable of stopping the true God from destroying the entire Egyptian army the Old Testament is full of examples like these God frequently identified himself as Israel's warrior king that led them into battle but these battles weren't just against human enemies they always involved God going to war against the false gods of the nations for instance in 2nd Kings chapter 19 Sennacherib the king of Assyria taunted Hezekiah king of Judah because he believed the Assyrian gods were stronger than Israel's God so in 2nd Kings chapter 19 verses 17 through 19 Hezekiah offered this prayer to God it is true O Lord that the Assyrian Kings have laid waste these nations and their lands they have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them for they were not gods but only wood and stone fashioned by men's hands now O Lord our God deliver us from his hand so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone O Lord our God Hezekiah understood that a battle with the Assyrians wasn't just against Sennacherib and his armies it was a spiritual battle between the Lord and the gods of Assyria that's why he prayed not just for victory in battle but for the Lord to be exalted over their gods and God answered his prayer that night an angel put to death 185 thousand men in the Assyrian armies and Sennacherib returned home in defeat as a kaya's army didn't even have to face the Assyrians in battle God's spiritual power completely destroyed the human army one of the most significant depictions of the Lord in the Old Testament is God's role as king and as a king he would have multiple duties just like any other ancient Near Eastern king multiple new duties and functions that give light to his office as king one of those functions would have been a warrior function seeing the ancient Near East the king was considered the leader of the hosts the leader of the armies of his nation and as such he was also the greatest warrior so god or the Lord being a warrior throughout the Old Testament depicts God as a king who was a warrior king he goes out and he defends he fights for he delivers and he protects his own people God's role as a warrior king as a cost for consolation and comfort but also a cost for confidence as we go out into the world around us God's people can be sure that his gut that their God is a warrior and that he goes out and fights for them and he protects them and he defends them and the victory will be his Old Testament stories of war aren't always explicit about the spiritual conflicts between the true God of Israel and the false gods of the nations but even so the Old Testament consistently demonstrates that physical battles are greatly influenced by spiritual battles now that we've seen how God demonstrated his benevolence by defending his kingdom in the Old Testament let's turn our attention to his benevolence in the spiritual warfare of the New Testament in the New Testament spiritual warfare doesn't involve earthly military forces so it's descriptions of God's benevolence and spiritual war primarily address invisible conflicts in the preternatural realm and how these spiritual conflicts influence the natural realm now just like in the Old Testament God the angels and demons are still involved in human wars and international politics but the focus of God's benevolent protection in the New Testament is how he keeps his faithful people safe from demonic powers like the Old Testament the New Testament mentions many different ways that God benevolently protects his people so for the sake of time we'll limit our discussion to just two first God's benevolent protection and spiritual ward is expressed in Christ's victory the New Testament presents Jesus life death resurrection and ascension as a victory not only over sin in its consequences but also over God's spiritual enemies Jesus life conquered the demons in many ways especially is demonstrated through exorcisms we see this in passages like Matthew chapter 12 verses 25 through 28 where Jesus taught that he was able to drive out demons with great power and force because the kingdom of God had come and regarding Christ's death listen to what Paul wrote in Colossians chapter 2 verse 15 having disarmed the powers and authorities he made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them by the cross in this verse the powers and authorities are demonic powers and they have been disarmed and defeated because of what Christ did on the cross we see the same idea in Hebrews chapter 2 verse 14 Christ's resurrection and ascension into heaven also extended God's benevolent protection to his people for example they resulted in Jesus receiving authority over all his spiritual enemies so that he could protect and bless the church this idea is clearly taught in Matthew chapter 28 verses 18 through 20 Ephesians chapter 1 verses 19 through 23 on 1st Peter chapter 3 verse 22 a second way the New Testament talks about God's royal benevolence in spiritual war is by describing the Holy Spirit's power that enables us to resist the devil and his schemes Jesus gained power over all his and our spiritual enemies when he lived in obedience to God died on the cross rose from the dead and ascended into heaven but at the present time he hasn't used that power to destroy our enemies completely in fact God still allows the demons to influence the world in various ways but he's also empowered us by His Holy Spirit so that we can resist them we see this in Galatians chapter 3 verses 2 & 3 Ephesians chapter 3 verse 16 Colossians chapter 1 verses 9 through 11 and many other places as just one example listen to James chapter 4 verses 5 through 7 the spirit he caused to live in us gives us more grace submit yourselves then to God resist the devil and he will flee from you here James taught that the grace we received from the Holy Spirit empowers us for spiritual war in this case by keeping us loyal to God and helping us resist demonic temptations and influences I think the first thing the Holy Spirit does to empowers for spiritual warfare is to make us aware of the spiritual realm we tend to gravitate toward this we get what we can see and feel but to become aware that there is a spiritual realm that we engage in and have a battle within is so important so he makes us aware of the spiritual realm in the first place he gives us conviction of sin as we overcome sin in our lives the first thing is to be aware of that sin and then he empowers us to overcome sin also to lead us to prayer and engage the battle at that front is vital in his role in our lives Ephesians chapter 6 Paul used the metaphor of a soldier's armor and weapons to describe the ways God protect us in spiritual war specifically he talked about Christians putting on the full armor of God listen to his words in Ephesians chapter 6 verses 12 and 13 our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers against the authorities against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms therefore put on the full armor of God so that when a day of evil comes you may be able to stand your ground and after you have done everything to stand then in verses 17 and 18 Paul went on to say that the Holy Spirit plays a critical role in forming this armor and as our motivation and power in battle listen to what he said take the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God and pray in the spirit on all occasions until Jesus returns to finish what he started the New Testament calls us to engage in spiritual warfare against the preternatural forces that are still at work in this world and it promises that the Holy Spirit will give us the tools and the strength to do it as Paul said in second Corinthians chapter 10 verse 4 the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world on the contrary they have divine power to demolish strongholds our weapons have divine power because they come from the Holy Spirit and they are effective against every spiritual danger from false teachings to the devil himself what spaceship the evil one is going to give us grief on earth when that happens the question is is there any hope am i all by myself is God aware of this and doing something about it and the resounding answer is yes he is and he has offered us abundant power to overcome any attack of evil one now one of my favorite passages along that line I'd like to read is now first John chapter 4 verses 3 & 4 John says but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God this is the spirit of the Antichrist which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world you dear children are forgotten I've overcome them because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world God promises we have greater power and it is a power struggle the evil one has a lot of power more than we get except for the fact that we have got now that we've seen how God demonstrated his benevolence in the spiritual warfare of the Old Testament and the New Testament let's turn our attention to the way he protects his people and fights against our enemies in the book of Revelation and I think what the book of Revelation teaches us particularly in a chapter like chapter 12 is that what's going on on the earth is related to what's going on in heavenlies and that spiritual warfare really has to do with what's really going on in history and what's really going on in our lives and that spiritual forces are engaged in history that the great dragon Satan is at work and behind the beast and that these are related and and that the protection that Christians need is in actual churches and communities that are that existing layout of Seija emphasis but their protection is also in the lamb in the risen lamb so the interconnection between what's going on in the heavenlies with Satan and with Jesus and the battle that's going on there is manifest in history not only in the first century but now and we see those things going on in the world now where Christians are suffering for their faith it's not just political forces that are at work it's demonic forces that are at work throughout the book of Revelation John alerted Christians to the spiritual conflict that has been going on since humanity's fall into sin and that will continue until Christ comes again John symbolically described this spiritual conflict as warfare between the Beast and the woman in Revelation chapter 12 and is the warfare of the beasts of the sea and the beasts of the earth in Revelation chapter 13 John wanted his readers to know that the persecution they were experiencing and the temptations they were facing resulted directly from the spiritual conflict between Christ and his enemies like the Old Testament John pointed out that spiritual battles between angels and demons affect human politics we see this for example in the way the kings of the earth gathered to battle against God in Revelation chapter 16 verses 14 through 16 another clear example is the explanation that the heads of the Beast in Revelation chapter 17 as well as its horns our earthly kings and of course John's original audience was itself suffering persecution from earthly governments that were moved at least in part by demonic forces but like the New Testament John also explained that the spiritual battles fought by his original audience took place primarily in the preternatural realm they were personal struggles to remain loyal to Christ to resist sin and to advance God's kingdom through the gospel they were not calls to take up arms against other human beings but in every case whether he was speaking about cosmic struggles or human politics or personal struggles John assured his audience that God was their benevolent protector he would guard them against overwhelming attacks strengthen them to remain faithful and eventually grant them unchallenged peace the book of Revelation focuses a lot on spiritual warfare it pictures a radical dichotomy between God and Christ and his servants on one side and Satan and his servants on the other side that's to help us to understand that it's a question of Allegiance are you following God or are you following self and in the process really belonging to the kingdom of Satan seeing that radical dichotomy is important for us the second thing I would draw attention to is that it is asking about our commitments it's asking about where our minds are going where our hearts are going not simply our external behavior the third thing I think that's involved is that Satan is a counterfeiter that he has things that are close enough to the truth to suck people in but they're fake and identifying that fake character which can they'll be attractive is one of the challenges for us today in response to the stresses and problems caused by spiritual war the book of Revelation offers its readers at least three different ways to think about God's benevolent protection first it emphasizes that Christ has already secured victory for all his faithful people revelation emphasizes that Christ's life death burial resurrection and ascension secured our ultimate victory in spiritual war Revelation chapters four and five present this victory clearly with Jesus pictured as the slain lamb of God that is found worthy to open the scroll of judgment against God's enemies Christ's victory over his enemies didn't put an end to the fighting but it did ensure that eventually his enemies will be utterly destroyed and his faithful people will be perfectly blessed in this sense God's benevolence and protection take the form of sealing us in victory there's no way we can fail to conquer because the victory already belongs to Christ we simply have to persevere until he brings it to pass a second way Revelation calls attention to God's benevolent protection and spiritual war it's by reminding us that the Holy Spirit is presently applying Christ's victory to the lives of believers when Christ secured our victory in spiritual war he won the right to share the blessings from that victory with his faithful people and in his benevolence he appointed the Holy Spirit to apply those blessings to our lives or as we might say to distribute those blessings to us many of these benevolent blessings relate to things we see in the book of Revelation for instance the Roman Empire has fallen in fact all the powers throughout history that have tried to extinguish the church have failed far from being defeated God's kingdom is advancing to every nation tribe people and language and according to Revelation chapter 7 it will eventually complete that task a third way that revelation highlights God's benevolent protection and spiritual war is by reminding us that when Christ returns God will end this battle by finalizing his victory over our spiritual enemies and by uh Turley destroying them revelation gives us confidence that when Christ returns Satan and his followers will be ultimately destroyed they will be rendered entirely powerless to tempt and trouble us their punishment will limit them so greatly that it will be impossible for them to fight any longer Revelation chapter 17 and 18 described the punishment of the great prostitute Babylon and the punishment of all the kings and inhabitants of the earth that followed her revelation chapter 20 recounts the final defeat of the dragon and his armies in Revelation chapters 21 and 22 teach that the new heaven and new earth will be completely free from the presence of evil when all God's enemies have been rendered powerless the great spiritual war will end and God's faithful people will live in uninterrupted peace this will be the ultimate expression of God's benevolence and protection we will be completely safe forever throughout the book of Revelation we can see God's benevolence and providing for and protecting his people Jesus purchased victory for God's people on the cross and rose again so that his victory could be applied to all God's faithful people at the present time the church experiences that victory in part we have God's sure promise that when Christ returns will fully enjoy that victory all Christ's enemies will be judged and will receive our glorious inheritance in the new heavens and the new earth so far in our lesson we've examined the covenant kingship of God and Christ as suzerain and vassal Kings and explored how revelation highlights God's benevolence toward his covenant people so at this point were ready to turn to our third major topic the loyalty God requires us to demonstrate as citizens of his kingdom as we've seen at least three features of our relationship with God parallel ancient suzerain Bassel treaties or covenants God's benevolence toward us as his people the loyalty or obedience God requires from us as his vassal kingdom and the consequences of blessings in response to obedience and curses in response to disobedience at this point we want to focus on the loyal service God expects from the people he saves by His grace when he wrote the book of Revelation the Apostle John was conscious of the church's covenant relationship to God and one of the reasons he wrote was to encourage the churches in Asia Minor to remain loyal to God throughout the challenges they faced he wanted them to remember all the kindness God did Shulman as well as the blessings God offered so that they would live in faithful obedience to the Lord you'll recall from a previous lesson that the churches addressed in Revelation faced many temptations to compromise their loyalty to God John's original audience based at least four different types of temptation to be disloyal to God first the trade guilds had their own patron deities and they required their members to worship these false gods this tempted believers to engage in idolatry in order to gain the opportunity to work and conduct business second the Roman Empire required its subjects to worship its gods and at Emperor this tempted Christians to worship pagan gods in order to avoid punishment from the government third Judaism put pressure on Christians to abandon Christ Judaism was given a special exemption from pagan worship and Christianity was originally covered by this exemption but as Judaism distanced itself from Christianity this exemption ceased to apply to the church this tempted many Jewish Christians to abandon Christ and return to traditional Judaism in order to avoid Roman persecution forth wayward Christians throughout the Roman Empire compromised their faith by engaging in taken practices and sexual immorality and they encouraged others to follow them in their sin these temptations post significant challenges to the loyalty of the churches in Asia Minor in this context one important reason that John wrote was to undercut their loyalty to these rival groups and to strengthen their loyalty to God our examination of the theme of loyalty will focus on two primary expressions of loyalty found throughout the book of Revelation perseverance and worship let's look first at revelations called - perseverance perseverance can be defined as remaining faithful to God in belief and actions despite temptation opposition or discouragement to persevere is to overcome any and all forces that would inclined us to abandon our faith in God or to rebel against him in a total and final way in response to the many temptations believers in Asia Minor faced John repeatedly called his readers to persevere or overcome these exhortations can be found in every letter to the churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 and throughout the rest of the book - in the letters we see them in Revelation chapter 2 verses 7 11 17 and 26 and chapter 3 verses 5 12 and 21 we also see them in places like Revelation chapter 14 verse 12 chapter 16 verse 15 chapter 18 verse 4 chapter 20 verse 4 chapter 21 verse 7 in chapter 22 verses 7 11 and 14 it's no exaggeration to say that perseverance is one of the most prominent themes in the entire book of Revelation in the central part of Revelation we see the language of overcoming a lot just like we see it with the letters to the seven churches in in chapter 11 in verse 7 chapter 13 in verse 7 we see the beast or evil one overcoming the Saints or overcoming God's spokespersons the witnesses for God killing them and yet in Chapter 12 and verse 11 we get a heavenly perspective on the same conflict and that is that they overcame him in context he overcame the devil they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony and they did not love their lives even to the point of death and revelation goes on to speak of how these these overcomers are standing before God's throne because they've triumphed over the Beast like the Lamb who was slain he's the conquering lion but he's also portrayed as a lamb like the the lion who was the Lamb who overcame by martyrdom these God's people overcome not by fighting the world but they overcome through faith in God and through their testimony because even when the world does its worst to us we overcome because we belong to God himself the seven churches of Asia Minor each had different tests and at each were called to overcome we each have different tests we might be jealous of somebody else's tests or dreading somebody else's tests but we have our own and yet each of us is called to overcome whatever the test is the promise comes at the end of the book of Revelation in chapter 21 that those who overcome God says I will be their God and they will be my child we'll mention five types of perseverance that John highlighted in the book of Revelation beginning with perseverance in faith in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 1 scripture defines faith in this way faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we cannot see it can be hard to trust God when the circumstances of our lives don't reflect the types of protection provision and blessing we read about in Scripture and things are going badly for us it's easy to think that we've made a mistake that we've been deceived that the God of the Bible isn't real and that we don't owe him any loyalty and this was just as true in the first century as it is today so one of John's great concerns as he wrote the book of Revelation was to convince his readers that things were actually much different than they appeared on the surface the world was much worse than it looked and the kingdom of God was much better than anything they could imagine John's original audience faced many temptations to believe that things like pagan gods in the Roman Empire were a great source of blessing outwardly these were powerful forces that offered security pleasure and prosperity and by contrast the Christian life was hard believers had difficulty in business they were persecuted by the government and the church didn't offer them anything like the worldly pleasures they could get from the pagans these temptations made it easy for the churches in Asia Minor to abandon their faith in God and to exchange it for faith in the world in response to these circumstances John insisted that his readers be strong in faith he wanted them to be confident in their belief that the systems of the world weren't as good as they looked and that as hard as the Christian life might be it's the only road to true security pleasure and prosperity this is why the book of Revelation repeatedly describes worldly sinful powers and desires as monstrous ugly deceitful and corrupt yes the kingdom of Satan and his followers wears a beautiful costume but if we could see it as it really is we'd be repulsed by its hideousness and the same thing is still true today no matter how tempting sin is and no matter how difficult and discouraging life can be as a follower of Christ it's critical that we persevere in our belief that God is who he says he is that he will do what he says he will do and that he will bless us if we remain loyal to him although perseverance and faith is the most important type of perseverance the book of Revelation emphasizes that true faith manifests itself in other types of perseverance - for example a second type of perseverance mentioned in Revelation is steadfast love for God the book of Revelation calls all believers to keep their love for God alive and strong for instance in Revelation chapter 2 verse 19 the church in Thyatira was praised for expressing their perseverance in love and faith by contrast in Revelation chapter 2 verse 4 the church and Ephesus was rebuked for losing its first love this failure was so great that the Lord threatened to remove their lampstand that is he threatened to eliminate the church a third type of perseverance mentioned in Revelation relates to our Christian witness to others churches that were faithful to Christ in John's day in evitable East oould in stark contrast to the culture around them so John portrayed the seven churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 as lampstands shining in the darkness of the world as the letter to the church in Ephesus teaches us when Christians compromised with the world they lost their distinctive witness and this effectively extinguished their witness to the world we see something similar in Revelation chapter 7 verse 10 with a great multitude in white robes gathered around a throne to praise God by repeating the proclamation that had been their witness to the world salvation belongs to our God salvation couldn't be found in Caesar or in any other source but only through the work of Jesus Christ the Lamb of God and this single truth made the witness of believers critically important unbelievers needed to see that their own worship was false and misled and that only the church possessed the true message of life and hope a fourth way Revelation calls Christians to persevere is in moral purity exportations to moral purity are found frequently in the seven letters to the churches for example in Revelation chapter 2 verses 12 through 17 Jesus rebuked the church in Pergamum for accepting those who not only committed acts of sexual immorality but also encouraged others to join in their practices and in Revelation chapter 3 verses 14 through 22 Jesus reviewed the church in laodicea for worldliness because they valued wealth and comfort over their loyalty to Christ the fifth kind of perseverance will mentioned is standing firm in doctrine but there are plenty of people all over the place who believe that they love God but if their idea of God is completely wrong not the true God then the more they serve God the further they fall from God Joey's doctrine is the basis of service like a tree whose roots are underground and invisible many people see its branches and fruits but they don't see how the root influences that fruit many shallow Christians today don't focus on doctrinal issues but serious Christians know that doctrine is the basis of everything it's very important revelation consistently calls believers to maintain true doctrine and not to compromise with worldly ideas for instance in Revelation chapter 2 verses 1 through 7 Jesus praised the church in Ephesus for their fidelity to true Christian teaching and for having the discernment to distinguish between true and false apostles and in Revelation chapter 2 verses 20 through 23 the church at Thyatira was rebuked for its doctrinal compromises specifically tolerating the false prophet Jezebel the book of Revelation calls the church to persevere in a wide variety of ways but Christians that find themselves challenged in these areas don't always know what to do in order to overcome the trials temptations and suffering they face thankfully revelation doesn't just teach us that we need to persevere it also gives us practical instruction on how to persevere I think the practical steps that we can take to persevere in in the face of trials it's interesting in the book of Revelation which is full of all kinds of really chaotic historical or other kinds of situations for Christians that the practical steps are the same that they are in all the scripture that the people of God are called to faithfulness to obedience to what they know what has been revealed to them they're called in a community to stay together to believe together to worship together they are called to testify together whatever the context whatever the persecution our perseverance is focused on what God wants us to be all the time whether things are good or bad and that is to live holy lives and so I find the book of Revelation and other books like that very encouraging challenges to live holy lives but also encouraging to say this is not an impossible thing even in the most critical circumstances the people of God are to maintain the means of grace and to speak forth the name of Christ and to live in such a way where their their responses to evil are distinctly different from other responses where those who are without Christ the book of Revelation lifts the veil of deception promoted by sinful human governments that oppose God it discloses the beauty and wonder of God's kingdom and the power of Christ it shows us that God loves his people and promises to bless them in his glorious kingdom and it assures us of the future blessings will receive in the new heaven and new earth if we faithfully persevere until the end in short it gives us every reason to be faithful to God and to persevere and faithfulness throughout our entire lives and throughout history until Jesus returns to make all things new death couldn't hold Jesus after he was crucified and on the third day he rose from the dead something similar is true of the present circumstances of the world many earthly powers and groups oppose God and many of God's people suffer I can make life really discouraging but we need to remember that even when life looks the most discouraging God is still in control and he still has our best interests at heart and no matter what he'll make good on his promises present suffering isn't worthy of being compared with the glory will receive when Jesus returns and that should motivate us to stand firm in our faith and commitment be steadfast in love to maintain our witness to preserve the purity of our doctrine and of our lives because just as the darkness of Jesus death was followed by the light of his resurrection the darkness of our present difficulties will eventually be followed by the light of his return and the fullness of his kingdom now that we've seen how the book of Revelation exhorts perseverance in our loyalty to God let's look at the way it encourages us to express our loyalty in worship despite the fact that John's original audience was suffering great persecution the book of Revelation has a remarkable emphasis on worship Revelation chapters four and five describe an amazing scene of worship in the heavenly throne room with 24 elders seated on Thrones surrounding God's throne and four living creatures flying in the throne room and praising God similar scenes of worship occur in over half of Revelations 22 chapters while that might seem surprising at first revelation makes the connection between suffering and worship clearer regardless of our present circumstances even in times of distress God is still perfect holy and good and he's working all things together for our ultimate benefit so that in the age to come he will bless us with our full inheritance in Christ while the book of Revelation offers many reasons for us to worship God in this lesson we'll focus on three ideas that are summarized in the praise offered to God by the twenty-four elders in Revelation chapter 5 listen to what the elders proclaimed in Revelation chapter 5 verses 9 and 10 you were slain and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation you have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God and they will reign on the earth the elders mentioned at least three reasons to praise God first Christ purchased or redeemed people from every tribe and language and people and nation second Christ appointed these redeemed people to be a kingdom and priests and third he has ensured that in the future they will reign on the earth our exploration of loyalty expressed in worship will parallel this threefold emphasis of Revelation chapter 5 verses 9 and 10 first we'll see that Christ's work of redemption in the past makes God worthy of worship second we'll focus on worship in God because he has given us honor in the present by appointing us to be his kingdom of priests and third we'll see that he deserves our worship because of the blessings will receive in the future when we reign over the new heavens on earth let's look first Christ's work of redemption in the past revelation frequently demonstrates that God is worthy to be worshipped by all his creatures and it gives us beautiful pictures of how the saints in heaven worship Him and one reason revelation gives us for worshipping God is the work of salvation that Christ has done for us Revelation chapter 14 verses 1 through 4 presents us with a beautiful picture of the redemption we have already received in Christ in verse 1 John described believers as having the name of the Lamb and the name of the Father written on their foreheads in verse 4 John wrote that believers were purchased from among men and that we are presented as an offering to God and to the lamb and in response to this great salvation the believers offered worship and praise to God expressing their thanks in a new song every believer should have the same response to the salvation we've received we've all been purchased by Christ we've all been presented as an offering to God unto the lamb and we should all respond in thankfulness and praise worshipping God and His Christ with joy and singing when we face hardships it can be easy for us to doubt God's goodness and to forget the good gifts he has given us in our salvation gifts like forgiveness a restored relationship with our Creator and Lord and eternal life we often need to be reminded that the redemption Christ is already accomplished for us and applied to us makes him worthy of our worship regardless of our circumstances God loved us enough to enter the sinful world to endure tremendous sufferings and persecution and to die on a cross for our sins no other suffering or hardship in this world is worthy to be compared with the suffering that Christ endured for us and that makes him worthy of all worship praise and thanks now that we've looked at how Christ's work of redemption in the past should inspire our loyal worship let's turn to the honor God has given us in the present by making us his kingdom of priests at the present time God reigns on his throne in his heavenly temple and he calls his people on earth to be his kingdom of priests in the Old Testament both kings and priests were highly honored because they had been chosen by God to represent him in his relationship with his covenant people but they were allowed to prosper in these honored offices only as long as they were loyal to God as the great suzuran we see this with regard to Old Testament Kings in passages like 1st Kings chapter 3 verses 13 and 14 Jeremiah chapter 34 verses 4 and 5 and Daniel chapter 4 verses 34 through 37 and we see the connection between priestly loyalty and honor in places like 2nd chronicles chapter 26 verse 18 and the lamentations chapter 4 verses 12 through 16 but even though only a select few in the Old Testament were chosen as kings and priests the Old Testament looks forward to a day when all of God's faithful people would be both kings and priests on the earth as God told Israel in Exodus chapter 19 verses 5 and 6 if you obey me fully and keeping my covenant and out of all nations you will be my treasured possession although the whole earth is mine you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation according to the book of Revelation the day that the Old Testament foresaw is already here the church is now a kingdom of priests that reigns over the earth we see this explicitly in Revelation chapter 5 verses 9 and 10 and chapter 20 verse 6 and it's implied in many other passages you know God told Israel in Exodus chapter 19 that God had chosen them to be a royal priesthood an imperial priesthood as it were and that language in Exodus chapter 19 is used by Peter in the New Testament to refer to the church and so this is the perspective that we're to have not only on ancient Israel as a whole but also on Christians as a whole that we are a royal priesthood a Chosen People a royal imperial priesthood now I know in many respects that sounds strange but because when we think of priests what we normally think of is a priest - just a very limited number of things they offer sacrifices they pray occasionally they sing maybe they blow trumpets and are in choirs and things like that but in reality what the Bible is saying is that every legitimate God ordained activity on the earth from the beginning to the end has been an act of royal priesthood for those who serve God it's not as if we have just some things that we do that our ministries to God service of worship to him and in other things that we do for ourselves or for no good reason at all rather every single thing that we do as Christians is to be done heartily as unto the Lord because it is unto the Lord whether it's your six days of work whether it's sleeping or there's raising your children whatever it is it is a activity of a royal priest because our job is to move the holiness of God throughout the world in anticipation of the new world to come when everyone who has left live in this wondrously cleaned holy sanctified earth and they will serve God forever as his royal priests of course there are many implications of this truth for example Christians are God's ambassadors on the earth we are called to minister to him and two others were obligated to govern the earth responsibly and so on but the implication will focus on in this section of our lesson is that this honor should inspire us to worship for instance in Revelation chapter 5 verses 8 through 14 there is a beautiful scene of worship in the heavenly courtroom as part of the scene the four living creatures and 24 elders all praise and worship Jesus the Lamb with harps singing and incense listen to what they sang about God's faithful people in Revelation chapter 5 verse 10 you have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God and they will reign on the earth an important reason that Jesus deserves worship is that he has honored his people in the present by appointing them to serve as his priests and his kings that will reign on the earth we see something similar in Revelation chapter 4 verses 10 and 11 and that passage the elders in heaven responded to the honor and royal authority they had been given by falling down in front of Jesus laying their crowns at his feet and praising him another example can be found in Revelation chapter 7 where innumerable believers have been sealed as God's servants their response to the Grace and honor they have been given is to praise the Lord for His goodness mercy and power and in Revelation chapter 1 verses 5 & 6 the Apostle John himself modeled this behavior for us listen to what he said there to him who has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father to him be glory and power forever and ever in these verses John demonstrated that the church in all ages should respond to the honor we've received by worshiping the Lord that has blessed us as his kingdom with priests it may seem strange to talk about ministering to God or blessing God when we realized that he's independent he has no unmet needs he's completely self-sufficient but in his relationship with us we can bring him joy in the way we obey Him or worship Him or live out our faithfulness and so daily faithfulness daily obedience and worship of God actually blesses God and brings delight to his heart and that's really the primary motivation for living as a Christian it's not so we don't have bad things happen to us or they've got to get mad at us but that we are able to bring delight to the heart of our Creator and the way we live we sometimes forget that is God's priests believers actually minister to the Lord in heaven that is we perform the services that maintain the heavenly temple and that please it's Lord for instance Revelation chapter 5 verse 8 shows us that the prayers of the saints are golden bowls full of incense in God's heavenly temple and in Revelation chapter 8 verses 3 through 5 these prayers go up before God and he responds by sending judgments upon the earth God's people today have the honor of being his kingdom of priests God has brought us into his kingdom and has appointed us the task of spreading his kingdom throughout the world and as his priests we even had the honor of ministering to him in his heavenly temple think of it we work directly or the creator and ruler of the entire universe he has given us authority over his creation and he listens attentively to us when we render him service and prayer even listens to our prayers and uses them as means through which he blesses his faithful people and judges those who oppose his reign and how should we respond to this great honor by giving him our thankful obedience and our sincere worship having looked at Christ's work of redemption in the past and our honor in the present we're ready to see that God deserves our loyal worship because of the blessings he's promised to give us in the future the book of Revelation calls the church to worship God because of the great blessings he'll grant us in the judgement when we begin our everlasting reign with Christ over the new heavens and earth one way it frequently encourages us to worship God is by providing examples for us to follow considered the example provided by the elders in heaven in Revelation chapter 11 verses 16 through 18 the twenty-four elders who were seated on their Thrones before God fell on their faces and worshipped God saying we give thanks to You Lord God Almighty the one who is and who was because you have taken your great power and it begun to rain the time has come for rewarding your servants the prophets and your Saints and those who reverence your name both small and great and for destroying those who destroy the earth in this vision john saw the future day of judgment on that day all god's faithful people will receive everlasting rewards and all God's enemies will be sent into everlasting destruction as part of this scene john observed the elders worshiping god because he had blessed them both with rewards and with the removal of their enemies by this example the churches in John's day would have understood that god also deserves our worship now in the present time because these same future blessings have been promised to us another example can be found in Revelation chapter 7 verses 9 and 10 where we read this account there was a great multitude that no one could count from every nation tribe people and language standing before the throne and in front of the lamb they were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands and they cried out in a loud voice salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the lamb in this passage the multitude John described was wearing white robes and carrying palm branches according to Revelation chapter 7 verses 14 through 17 the white robes symbolized the blessings they'd received they had been brought through the tribulation and the sins had been forgiven through Christ's blood moreover they had been admitted into God's everlasting kingdom and received their everlasting reward and how did they respond to God by worshipping Him and their example would have inspired John's original audience to do the same because the same blessings would be given to them - and the same has also been true for believers in every age and something similar is true of the palm branches the multitude carried according to Leviticus chapter 23 verse 40 palm branches were regularly used in the Feast of Tabernacles to point to the ultimate salvation that the Lord would bring and when Jesus entered Jerusalem during his triumphal entry in John chapter 12 but the details were told is that the crowd welcomed him with palm branches indicating their belief that he was bringing the Messianic kingdom of God so the palm branch is carried by the multitude and John's vision probably indicated that the people had received the future blessings of God's kingdom and of course they expressed their thanks for these blessings by worshiping the one that had blessed them Jesus is already victorious over God's enemies and every believer can look forward to the great blessings in the future both in heaven when we die and in the new heavens and new earth when Jesus returns and that gives all of us a reason to praise and to worship our victorious God when we think about what it means to worship God quite often we look at the created order we look at our understanding of the cross of Christ and the forgiveness of sins we have that we've been adopted as his children we look at all of these as as present possessions we can say with David in Psalm 19 the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows his handiwork we see beauty all around us we thankful for these things we look at the scripture language about the completed work of Christ and what our present privileges are as sons of God and is forgiving people and we are we praise God for that but one of the elements that we have in Scripture that we are to be just as secure in and just as sure about are all those blessings that we have yet future in fact I think the scripture indicates that the things that we have promised in the future are much more abundant and much more glorious than anything we even have now God deserves worship for things that haven't actually happened in our lives yet because we're so sure they will happen the Christian faith is one of hope and confidence in God's sovereign goodness and power and so when he promises something's going to happen we're able to give him praise and worship for the assurance that that's actually going to happen we can worship God for everything he has done is doing and will do the theme of loyalty to God is expressed in many ways in the book of Revelation but as we've seen the book of Revelation highlights worship and perseverance as two of the best ways we can express our loyalty to God in this present world now this isn't always easy in fact the more we suffer the harder it can be to persevere and the less motivated we can feel to worship but John made it clear that even in the worst of times God still gives his people the strength they need to remain faithful to him and John also pointed out that we have overwhelming reasons to worship God no matter what our present circumstances are and that because of the Salvation we've received in the past the honor we possess in the present and the glorious blessing will receive in the future now that we've explored God's kingship and benevolence and considered the loyalty he requires from us we're ready to see what revelation says about the consequences that result from loyalty and disloyalty to God in this section we'll focus on the consequences that humanity will receive when Christ returns to bring in the kingdom of God in all its fullness the book of Revelation mentions many rewards and blessings for obedience and many punishments and curses for disobedience and quite a number of these can be experienced in the present age but at this point in our lesson we're going to focus on the consequences that will come when Christ returns all evangelical Christians look forward to the time when Christ will return to render final judgment on both the just and the unjust in an earlier lesson we suggested that this final judgment is depicted in the cycles of judgment in the four visions John received while not everyone agrees with this view most Christians still affirm the general nature of the judgment that John described final judgment is a necessary consequence of the Covenant God made with Christ as his vassal king Christ is reigning as king to bring about the renewal of heaven and earth so that the creation will fully display the glory of God in order for that to happen goodness must be rewarded and blessed while wickedness and rebellion against God's reign have to be punished and eliminated we'll explore the consequences of loyalty and disloyalty to God in two parts first we'll look at the final curses that will fall on those who have been disloyal to God and second we'll consider the final blessings of the new heavens and new earth that will be given to those who've been loyal let's turn first to the final curses against God's enemies the book of Revelation lists at least three elements that will be included in the final curses against God's enemies the first one will mention is the destruction of the dragon the beast and the false prophet the dragon and his followers have opposed guard throughout human history Satan was there in the Garden of Eden tempting Eve eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and his forces tried to defeat God in his kingdom ever since but when Jesus returns Satan will finally be completely defeated Revelation chapter 19 verses 19 through 21 teaches that the beast and the false prophet will be captured and cast into the lake of fire in chapter 20 verses 9 and 10 says that the Dragon Himself will also be defeated and thrown into the lake of fire or he won't be able to harm any of God's faithful people ever again and all the demonic forces that have fought alongside him will share in that everlasting destruction a second final curse will be the defeat of enemy kings and nations in several places Revelation describes the destruction of the kings and nation's that are God's enemies for instance Revelation chapter 6 verses 15 through 17 explains that the kings of the earth as well as the generals the rich and the mighty will wish that the mountains would fall on them to save them from the wrath of the Lamb this appears to represent Christ's judgment against all human authorities that oppose his reign in Revelation chapter 19 verses 15 through 21 Jesus appears on his white horse leading the armies of heaven and strikes down the kings of the earth so that he can rule in their place and in Revelation chapter 16 verse 19 God makes Babylon drink from the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath as we saw in a prior lesson Babylon is symbolic of human and governmental forces that oppose Christ's reign and this first vividly portrays that all these nations and their rulers will be forced to suffer the full wrath of God because of their disobedience a third final curse will be the condemnation of unbelievers not only are the rival kings and nation's destroyed at Christ's return but every unbelieving inhabitants of these nations will receive God's final judgment as a direct consequence of his or her personal rebellion against God for instance in Revelation chapter 14 verses 17 through 22 Angels gather all the unbelievers from the earth and throw them like clusters of grapes into the great winepress of God's wrath and in Revelation chapter 20 all those whose names are not written in the book of life are tossed into the lake of fire listen to John's description of this in Revelation chapter 20 verses 12 through 15 and I saw the dead great and small standing before the throne and books were opened another book was opened which is the book of life the dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life he was thrown into the lake of fire here John described the future punishment of all unbelievers they will each be thrown into the lake of fire to suffer God's never-ending wrath because they have sinned against him we think about the world around us and people who are unbelievers what is it that we should think about them what attitude should we have towards them we can be tempted to have an attitude of superiority about ourselves and especially if they have mistreated us or if they mock us that kind of thing but I think that Jesus would want us to have the attitude of desiring to serve them have compassion to view them as the lost because we don't know who is going to turn and so we want to serve them over preaching the gospel to them and hope that they will respond when we think about on the other side of judgment what is our attitude to be then and there should be I think a sense of pity and sadness towards them and we would want to have at that point a clear conscience that we did love them while we had the opportunity to tell the gospel to them and that they won't be able to point the finger too so you knew why didn't you tell me about this Christ so we need to be living with them with a view to the future not condemning them in advance but serving them and helping them find rescue in Christ since the book of Revelation shows so clearly that all of God's enemies will be condemned and destroyed in the final judgment our attitude toward unbelievers today should be one of courage compassionate witness and humility courage because we know that ultimately the victory belongs to Christ we must not be intimidated by the threats that might be brought against us by unbelievers who hate our faith and hate our Lord at the same time we need to have compassion we recognize that the delay at least as we perceive it the delay of Christ's return as the book of Revelation shows us is for the sake of the gathering end of all of God's people even the providential judgments that are associated with the trumpets our warning signals warning sounds calling people to repentance of course they come to repentance through the gospel and so we need to bear witness we also need humility because the reminder that rebellion against God will in the end bring judgment reminds us of what we ourselves deserve we are not superior to those who are unbelievers today we were once enemies and God brought us by grace through faith into union with Jesus frightening as the curses of the Last Judgement sound we have to remember that those curses are absolutely just unbelievers will be judged because they deserve to be punished for their disobedience God is king over his creation and it's sinful and rebellious to disobey Him and is painful as it might be to acknowledge God's justice demands that sin and rebellion be punished in this sense punishing the wicked is a central aspect of God's righteous kingship now that we've seen how the consequences of sin and disloyalty are poured out in the final curses let's look at the consequences of final blessings that will be granted to God's faithful people in the new heavens and new earth in God's final judgment against sin all the spiritual and governmental forces that opposed his reign will be eradicated from this world and all unbelievers will be judged along with them and after creation has been purged of God's enemies the universe itself will be renewed resulting in a new heavens and new earth for God's faithful people to enjoy forever Revelation chapter 21 verses one through five describes the new creation this way I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away a loud voice from the throne said the old order of things has passed away he who was seated on the throne said I am making everything new we'll mention three final blessings of the new heavens and new earth that John said would come to those who had been loyal to God first there will be a complete renovation or renewal of creation Revelation chapter 21 verses 1 and 4 speaks of the first heaven and first earth passing away indicating that they will cease to exist in some sense we find similar ideas in places like 2nd Peter chapter 3 verses 10 and 11 which talks about the present world being destroyed in order to make way for the new one but Revelation chapter 21 verse 5 describes the new heaven and new earth in terms of renewal indicating that rather than completely vanishing the old creation will be renovated or renewed this same idea is also present in passages like Romans chapter 8 verses 19 through 22 these passages teach that there will be substantial continuity between the two creations and not just a resemblance Revelation chapter 21 verses 24 through 26 even states that the glory and splendor of the nation's will be brought into the New Jerusalem suggesting that redeemed aspects of our present lives will be carried into the new heaven and new earth as a result most theologians conclude that the present creation won't be completely taken away and replaced instead it will be radically transformed well we see in Revelation that there certainly are elements in the New Jerusalem that seemed to be very reflective of and in fact identical with images that we see in Genesis 2 and 3 with the beginning of creation things like the Tree of Life and so we have to ask ourselves what what does that represent well there are probably different ways to interpret that but I think the surface level reading of that is that there are going to be elements of the New Jerusalem that in fact will comport very nicely with creation as it was originally offered and put forward so in one sense there's going to be a change that's on the horizon with the new age but it's not going to be an altogether change there will be vestiges of that creation that God originally worked that are still very much a play and in place so we don't really see an exchange of one reality for another but rather we probably see a transformation of the current reality a makeover of sorts into this new reality and images and symbols like The Tree of Life help to highlight that cut that continuity between the two realities this transformation will be a thorough renovation making the world even better than it was when it was first created the entire creation will be holy and pure perfectly fit for God to inhabit as the angel announced in Revelation chapter 21 verses 3 and 4 now the dwelling of God is with men and he will live with them they will be his people and God Himself will be with them and be their God it will wipe every tear from their eyes there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away another critically important aspect of the renewal of creation is mentioned in Revelation chapter 22 verse 3 where we're told no longer will there be any curse in the new heavens and new earth the curse that God placed on Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden will finally be lifted passages like Genesis chapter 3 verses 17 through 19 chapter 5 verse 29 and chapter 8 verse 21 make it clear that the present heavens and earth have been thoroughly cursed and corrupted by humanity's fall into sin the ground resists our attempts to grow food wild animals act violently against us natural disasters like floods earthquakes and hurricanes brings suffering to people all over the world and the microorganisms cause disease and even death but when Christ returns and liberate the world from every aspect of this curse John describes the blessings of the renovated creation in various ways including as a holy city the New Jerusalem dressed as Jesus bright and shining brilliantly with the glory of God and one of the richest symbols John used in his context was the picture of the River of Life that flows through the New Jerusalem and nourishes the Tree of Life listen to what he wrote in Revelation chapter 22 verses 1 and 2 then the angel showed me the river of the water of life as clear as crystal flowing from the throne of God and of the lamb down the middle of the great Street of the city on each side of the rivers to the Tree of Life and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nation's these beautiful verses picture a river coming from God's throne that nourishes the Tree of Life which in turn heals the nation's these themes go all the way back to the book of Genesis Genesis chapter 2 verse 10 speaks of a river that flowed from Eden and watered the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life this river is remembered as a river of delights in Psalm 36 verse 8 and as a river whose streams make glad the City of God in psalm 46 verse 4 and an extended discussion of this river is found in Ezekiel chapter 47 verses 1 through 12 in Ezekiel's vision a trickle of water flowed from the temple and grew into a river that was so large it couldn't be crossed the water brought life were ever afloat and even turned the salty Dead Sea into fresh water listen to what God said about this river in Joel chapter 3 verses 17 and 18 then you will know that I the Lord your God dwell in Zion my holy hill Jerusalem will be holy never again will foreigners invade her in that day the mountains will drip new wine and the hills will flow with milk all the ravines of Judah will run with water a fountain will flow out of the Lord's house and will water the valley of Acosta's in Revelation chapter 22 this river of life becomes even greater it flows from the throne of God in the lamb right down the middle of the New Jerusalem indicating that the ultimate source of all life and healing is God himself in John's vision is abundant source of life water is the Tree of Life that stands on each side of the river the tree produces an abundance of fruit is so effective that even its leaves can be used for the healing of the nation's as we read about the New Jerusalem at the end of the book of Revelation we see lots of elements that recall the Genesis account and the Garden of Eden and there's that there's a reason for that and that is that really the New Jerusalem is the restoration of d--ation as it was intended to be and so we see God creating human beings and placing them in a perfect place and it's true that in the garden they're meant to mature and and probably to reach a state of ultimate glorification which then of course went sideways when they rejected God's purpose and turn from him but really in Eden we see what God intends what he wants for human beings and so we would expect end in the New Jerusalem to see the restoration of that perfect relationship between human beings and God that we were created to have the book of Revelation we see depictions of the New Jerusalem we find that it contains elements from the Garden of Eden things like The Tree of Life why is this from the first book of the Bible to the last of the Bible I think that partly what it's showing is that there is a total reversal of the destruction that came through sin and that God has made everything right sin has not ruined what he intended and he has brought it not just back to where it was the beginning but he has brought it to perfection it's not a creation that can fall anymore but it's a creation that will endure forever when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden God cursed them and banished them from the garden especially so that they wouldn't eat from the tree of life and live forever but when Christ returns the River of Life will water the tree of life again and all the nations will have access to its fruit all of redeemed humanity will be healed there won't be any more sin sickness or disease natural disasters will never occur again all nations will govern themselves in righteousness and peace and all of God's creation will fully display his glory a second final blessing God's faithful people will receive in the new heavens and new earth is that the entire world will be a global temple for God's presence throughout the Old Testament God set aside holy spaces where he manifested his presence in a special way Genesis chapter 3 verse 8 indicates that he walked in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve and other passages in Scripture indicate that this was because the garden was his sanctuary or temple for instance Genesis chapter 2 verse 15 says that Adam was placed in the garden to work it and take care of it the Hebrew word for work in this verse is Avadh and the word for take care is Shamar this is significant because in numbers chapter 3 verse 8 Moses used these same words to describe the job of the priests that served in the temple in other words Adam and Eve did priestly work in the garden and this indicates that the garden was God's earthly sanctuary beyond this the river and trees in the eschatological temple of Ezekiel chapter 47 verse 7 strongly resemble the river from the Garden of Eden as well as the Tree of Life which are described in Genesis chapter 2 verses 9 and 10 and when Ezekiel chapter 28 verses 13 and 14 refers to Eden as the Mount of God it uses the same vocabulary that the ancient world used to refer to mountains that had temples built on top of them after the Garden of Eden served as his earthly sanctuary God also manifest that his special presence in the tabernacle we read about this in Exodus chapter 40 verses 34 through 38 and after the tabernacle God began to manifest his special presence in the temple as we read in passages like first Kings chapter 8 verses 10 and 11 and second chronicles chapter 7 verses 1 through 3 Hebrews chapter 8 verse 5 explains that these earthly sanctuaries were actually intended to be copies of God's heavenly throne room where his special presence is always clearly manifested but in the new heavens and earth God's presence won't be limited to a small space like a garden or a single building instead God will manifest his special presence throughout the entire world [Music] listen to how John described the city of the New Jerusalem in Revelation chapter 21 verses 22 and 23 I did not see a temple in the city because the Lord God Almighty and the lamb are its temple city does not need the Sun or the moon to shine on it for the glory of God gives it light and the lamb is its lamp revelation looks forward to the time when a temple won't be needed in the New Jerusalem instead God will manifest his special presence everywhere he'll bless his people by dwelling among them and the nations will walk in his light when that time comes God's glory will fill the world as completely as the Sun now lights the day as we read in Revelation chapter 21 verse 3 the dwelling of God will be with men and he will live with them they will be his people and God Himself will be with them and be their God in the new heavens and new earth God's special presence will be with all his people throughout the whole world the renewal of the world will create this global temple because of the work of Jesus Christ in Revelation chapter 1 Jesus walked among the seven lampstands in the heavenly throne room symbolizing God's presence among his churches but when Christ returns he'll establish a special reign throughout the entire creation so that the whole world will be God's temple and his special presence will be manifested everywhere a third final blessing John mentioned is that God will establish the neverending earthly reign of Jesus Christ as king revelation chapters 21 and 22 indicate that the center of the new earth will be its capital city the New Jerusalem and the center of the city will be God's throne God's throne symbolizes his rule as king and when Jesus returns he'll be enthroned in the New Jerusalem ruling over the entire world on behalf of his father 1st chronicles chapter 29 verse 23 indicates that all the Davidic kings had shared the honor of sitting on God's throne in Jerusalem but only the last Davidic King Jesus Christ will be enthroned in the New Jerusalem and only his reign will never end all those who were redeemed will live in the new creation with him acknowledging his authority and power bowing in obedience to his throne giving him honor and glory and as we read in Revelation chapter 22 verse 5 even sharing in his everlasting reign some people live to be 70 others 80 90 and 100 and then that's the end mate not on this new earth we lived on this earth eternally why because the Lord Jesus Christ will be with us all the time you say well he should be in heaven no he is Lord of Heaven and Earth he will be on this earth as the son of man eternally and now what else would you like to have living with Jesus eternally or without him and therefore I would say I'm looking forward to being with the Lord Jesus Christ on this renewed earth forever and ever Christ's reign in the new heavens and new earth will be absolutely perfect he'll provide everything his people need there won't be any sin any corruption any sickness or any debt nothing will detract from our joy every blessing of God's covenant will be ours forever as believers we should long for Christ to rule over us in the new heavens and new earth and we should live in faithful loyalty to him right now even when were tempted and persecuted knowing that after we persevere in faithfulness we'll share in the greatest blessings God has ever envisioned for his creation in this lesson we reviewed the book of Revelation by focusing on the themes of the king and his kingdom it examined the concept of kingship explored God's royal benevolence considered the importance of human loyalty to the king and described the consequences of blessings for loyalty and curses for disloyalty the hope of all Christians is that one day our king will return this hope motivates us to endure and to overcome every trial we experience in life no matter what hardships we face because of our faith we have every reason to demonstrate our loyalty to God and His Christ because we know that his word is true Jesus will return to reign over us and to reward us and until that happens we trust in the promise he gave us at the end of the book of Revelation yes I am coming soon and our response is the same as John's Amen come Lord Jesus [Music] [Music] [Music] you [Music]

Channel: Thirdmill

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Keywords: Study, Bible Study, God, Scripture, Ministry, Truth, Education, Bible, Free, Seminary, Theology, Reformed, Jesus, Revelation, Richard Pratt, For the World, Third Mill, Biblical Education, Mission, Theology Matters, Third Millennium Ministries, Book Of Revelation (Religious Text), end times, last days, king, kingdom

Id: 2xN0kMtpI8k

Length: 120min 10sec (7210 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 26 2017