The True Words Of God Series

“The Great Unveiling: The True Words of God”

Revelation 19:1-21

Many of us in the older generations of life remember the original television series Dragnet. One of the classic lines of most every show came from Jack Webb who, as the detective, would question suspects. Whenever one of them would be evasive or verbose in an answer, Jack would predictably say, “Just the facts, ma’am; just the facts.” All he was looking for was the truth relevant to the case. The 19th chapter of Revelation serves much the same purpose. With a pause in the action of the unfolding judgment John leads us in a time of reflection, to take stock of the situation before proceeding to portray the ultimate end of the world in more detail. Verse 9: “And he added, ‘These are the true words of God.’” What words are true? Why is it important to know these truths? Because it will be even more difficult in the coming days to be faithful. And WE CAN LIVE FAITHFUL LIVES ONLY WHEN WE BELIEVE THE TRUTHS OF GOD’S WORD. So what are the important truths already established in Revelation?

The first of the great truths of Revelation concerns THE EXISTENCE OF SIN. In Revelation we repeatedly encounter sin. We didn’t need Revelation to teach that sin exists, so what is so new and important? In Revelation we get a closer look at ITS NATURE. Throughout we see that sin and evil are deceptive, destructive, and devastating. We learn that SIN IS MORE BITTER AND EVIL THAN WE THINK. IT causes nothing but damage and heartbreak, both for those for those who commit sin and for those around them. Revelation is the great object lesson demonstrating the Scriptural truth that sin and evil impact future generations, that people reap what they sow even into the 3rd and 4th generations. As long as sin exists there will be sickness, sorrow, disappointment, failure, guilt, mistrust, broken relationships, immorality and misery.

With John, we need to pause and do some self-examination. Ask yourself: what have I ever gained through sinning? What good have I ever done through sinning? Have I ever known sin or evil that did not hurt someone? Is there really a private kind of sinning that goes totally unnoticed? In Revelation, to sin – to be against God in any portion of our lives, to ignore His will at any time, to give Him lesser loyalty – is to join forces with Babylon and the Beast. And we all too easily do so. “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.” (Is. 53:6)

But the deep joy of Revelation is that every time we think about the existence of sin and its evil, bitter nature, we also look up and see the Lamb upon His throne. We are confronted with the reality that SIN HAS BEEN OVERCOME THROUGH CHRIST’S BLOOD. The blood Jesus shed on Calvary wiped away the guilty verdict. As Paul wrote (Rom. 5:1), “Being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” And there is no other peace like God’s peace – it is a peace that passes all understanding. The world cannot give it and the world cannot take it away! As one of the great hymn writers put it: “CALVARY COVERS IT ALL, my past with its sin and stain; my guilt and despair Jesus took on him there, and Calvary covers it all.” Whatever your sin, whatever the evil in which you’ve been involved, no matter the extent of your guilt – the Lamb, Jesus Christ, is seated on the throne and you are forgiven! Sin does exist – evil powers are at work – we sin way too often. But – but – the Lamb is on the throne! “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!” (6-7)

Next, in addition to the existence of sin, we need to recall the truth of THE EVENTUAL RETURN OF CHRIST. All we know for certain is that Jesus will return, at the blast of the trumpets, in great splendor. We do not know when it will be, but we do know what it means: as verses 11-16 clearly state, EVERYONE WILL FACE THE FAITHFUL AND TRUE JUDGE, Him who is called the Word of God, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. And when we do two things will happen.

First, SOME WILL BE CONSIGNED TO HELL. The harlot, and all those who were seduced by her, will be sent to hell. Those who have participated in what we call gross evil, those who have been in outright opposition to God, those who have refused to turn away from sin, those who failed to ‘come out of Babylon’, those who have sought to follow their own ways and whims will all swim and burn in the lake of fire forever. The Bible will be proven true. The sheep and goats will be separated, the wheat and chaff will be sifted.