Series: Victorious!
“Await Salvation Expectantly”
Revelation 15-20
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We continue on in our series of messages called Victorious! which takes us through the book of Revelation. I hope you’ve been following the reading guide and have come prepared today because we won’t have time to read every verse in all six chapters. So, go ahead and open your Bibles to Revelation 15-20. We’re going hear John’s plea for us to await salvation expectantly.
The wrath of God is not a popular topic these days. In the face of those critical of the idea of God’s wrath, we are hesitant to speak about it. In fact, in some quarters, we have become apologetic about it.
Let’s face it. We all like to hear about the love of God. We like it when someone preaches or teaches about those tender moments with God. Apparently, according to our culture, if you believe in God, he never gets angry.
Maybe it’s just a reaction against a judgmental past; a time when pulpits thundered in storms of righteous anger but never broke forth in the sunlight of God’s love. Maybe we see the Westboro Baptist Church picketing another funeral with hard, bitter faces and signs that exalt a God of hate and we don’t want anyone to think that we are like that. Maybe it’s because so many in our broken culture come from abusive homes and they desperately need a whole new concept for the word “father.”
Those are not bad reasons. But when we avoid the truth of God’s wrath, have we lost something?
There’s an image that’s been going around Facebook for quite awhile that shows Jesus in the temple with the moneychangers. The caption reads: If someone asks “What would Jesus do,” remind them that turning over tables and breaking out whips is a possibility.
If the book of Revelation has taught us anything thus far, it’s this: God’s wrath is nothing to scoff at. It is holy and terrible, full-blooded. It’s just and fair. It’s completely unstoppable.
And that’s a good thing. I want a God of wrath.
That may sound strange . . . until you watch the nightly news. I hear of the atrocities perpetrated around this sorry globe, and I shake my head in shock and disgust.
Stories of 10-year-old Cambodian girls sold into sexual slavery. Stories of 13-year-old boys in the Sudan taken as child soldiers and brainwashed to kill. Stories of mother and fathers working in offices on a September Tuesday morning when planes crash into their towers with fiery destruction. Christians in the Middle East being beheaded for their faith in Jesus.
Murder, rape, kidnapping, drug trafficking, genocide, malnourished and abused children left to fend for themselves because their parents are too selfish to take care of someone other than themselves.
So we ask: When will it end? Who will stop this madness? And the answer is: God will.
We have a God who is coming to save us. God has already saved us from our sins when we walk in faith with his Son. He is coming to save us from this sinful world to the place where there is no sin and therefore no death or sorrow.
Who really wants a God who sees his people being brutalized by Satan, the bully of this world, and does nothing? No. I want a God who wades into the middle of our enemies and whips the lot of them.
Revelation 15-20 shows us a God who is coming to judge with wrath. For those who commit atrocities on the nightly news or just jeers at the notion of a God and a Satan, a heaven and a hell – this is very bad news.
But if you’re a follower of Jesus, this is very good news. The persecuted believers in the Roman province of Asia in the first century are surrounded by tormenters. They’re outnumbered and afraid and they need someone to ride in to their rescue. This section of the book of Revelation shows us what salvation looks like.
Salvation is a Deliverance from Slavery
In Revelation 15-16, we come to the final series of seven judgments. Rev. 15:1 – I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed.
As we’ve seen, the seven seals, trumpets, and bowls all tell the same story – God’s judgment leading up to the end of time. Each retelling of the story carried a different emphasis. The suffering in the first cycle purified the saints. The second cycle called sinners to repentance. The final cycle simply unleashes full and final punishment on a rebellious world.
God has been releasing his wrath in increments. Rom. 1:18 – The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
In the seals, God set the dial on his wrath to 25%, affecting a fourth of the world, and in the trumpets, he turned the dial up to 33%. But with the seven bowls, his wrath is at a full 100% - the entire world experiences his judgment.
These judgments, poured out from seven bowls held by seven angels are called the “seven last plagues.” They echo the plagues visited on Egypt when they held Israel in captivity – painful sores, water to blood, darkness, frogs, hailstorms. This section of Revelation pictures the people of God as slaves again, oppressed and imprisoned in a pagan culture.
God loves his people. So what does he do? He unleashes his wrath in order to release his people.
Rev. 16:1-17 – Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.” 2 The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly, festering sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. 3 The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died. 4 The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. 5 Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: “You are just in these judgments, O Holy One, you who are and who were; 6 for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.” 7 And I heard the altar respond: “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.” 8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. 9 They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.
10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done. 12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. 13 Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.
15 “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.” 16 Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. 17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!”
These plagues on unrepentant mankind are devastating, and some contemporary readers find such a scene hard to stomach. They try to dismiss such portions of Scripture because they believe that God’s love is incompatible with his wrath.
Mark Moore: “It is hardly realistic to imagine a God of love who is not also a God of wrath. A mother whose child is in danger is more fearsome than a bear robbed of her cubs. A man whose lover is assaulted has a lethal zeal. It seems, therefore, that the greater the love, the greater the wrath. If that is true, then God’s punishment of the wicked can be expected to match his love for the saints . . . Some can’t believe in a God of love who punishes His enemies. The Bible can’t picture a God of love who doesn’t!”
So God unleashes his fury to save his people. The only thing is that his people must be ready to be saved. Before the last plague struck Egypt, Moses told the people to be ready to leave in the middle of the night – with staff in hand, sandals on their feet, and cloaks tucked into their bels ready to walk.
Likewise before the last plague in Rev. 16, John tells his readers that their moment of salvation will come suddenly and unexpectedly, so they must “stay awake” and “keep their clothes with them.
There is a condition called the Stockholm syndrome. A person is taken hostage and begins to see their kidnappers as friends and their rescuers as enemies.
The phrase was coined when a man walked into bank in Stockholm, Sweden He held four people hostage – three women, one man. They were held for 131 hours. He terrorized them – fired his gun at them, put a noose around necks. When everything was finished, they held no animosity towards their captor. In fact, they defended him. They refused to testify against him in court. One of the ladies even became engaged to him.
John warns us that we must not be lulled into complacency and compromise with our captor culture. We must stay holy, prepared, and constantly expectant.
After the saints are delivered from captivity, John pictures them standing by a sea (the one by God’s throne) and singing “the song of Moses” – a victory ode like the one Israel sang after Pharaoh’s army perished in the Red Sea.
In many ways, the story of Exodus is the story of the whole Bible. Right before the nation of Israel is established, God liberates his people from the bondage of Egypt. 1500 years later, right before the church is established, Jesus liberates his people from the bondage of sin through his death on the cross. Here in Revelation, right before the eternal kingdom of God is established, God liberates his people from the bondage of this world. Our final salvation will be the ultimate exodus.
Salvation is a Banquet at a Wedding
Revelation 17-19 gives us a choice between two women: the Whore of Babylon or the Bride of Christ. We were introduced to this great prostitute back in 14:8 – A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, ‘which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.” We learned that this prostitute represents the moral corruption of godless culture.
In Revelation 17-18, we read about her extravagant excesses, her voluptuous materialism, her seductive idolatries, and the wild orgies of her persecution. This great prostitute (who represents hedonistic culture) is a real looker but she’s got a heart of ice.
Rev. 17:1-6 – One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. 2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.” 3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.
5 The name written on her forehead was a mystery: babylon the great the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth. 6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished.
With his prophet’s eye, John looks ahead to the day of her destruction. Rev. 18:1-8 – After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. 2 With a mighty voice he shouted: “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’ She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal. 3 For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.” 4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “‘Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; 5 for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. 6 Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion from her own cup. 7 Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow; I will never mourn.’ 8 Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.
To the culture of the day, this idea seemed ludicrous. She was proud and confident. Rome called herself the “Eternal City.” A saying of the time was: “As long as the Coliseum stands, Rome shall stand. When the Coliseum falls, Rome will fall. When Rome falls, the world will fall.” Rome saw herself to be the very center of the world and could never conceive of a day when she would be destroyed.
No one saw the day when the Empire would be only a memory – its buildings nothing but rubble. No one that is except for John. He describes Rome in ruin. It may be in the future but John is shown her fate.
John warns the believers: don’t be seduced by this woman. Don’t fellowship with the Whore of Babylon. Rev. 18:4 – Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues.
The best way to resist temptation is to replace it with something better. So God shows us a more beautiful woman and a more glorious future. The woman is the Bride of Christ. The future is the marriage supper of the Lamb.
If we choose to be the faithful Bride of Christ, what awaits us? We will be given “fine linen, bright and clean.” Instead of doom and destruction, we are invited to a grand meal – the grand wedding banquet of the Lamb.
Rev. 19:7 –7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.
Weddings are among the most joyful days for us as humans – love, beauty, laughter, celebration, food, and family. But this wedding surpasses them all. The greatest groom ever – Jesus – is there. We will eat and rejoice and be glad forever.
Rev. 19:8-9 – 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.) 9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
And we will sing! Oh, how we will sing! We go back to first past of Chapter 19. Rev. 19:1-6 – After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting:
“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, 2 for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries.
He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.” 3 And again they shouted: “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.” 4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried:
“Amen, Hallelujah!”
5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both great and small!” 6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
The only four uses of “Hallelujah” in the whole New Testament occur at the wedding supper of the Lamb. The greatest songs we’ve ever sung or even heard on earth will be nothing like our songs of praise on that day.
Salvation is a Victory in Battle
Immediately after the banquet announcement, John says, “Behold, I saw heaven standing open.” We expect to see a groom step through heaven’s door ready for a wedding. But what we see is a warrior ready for battle.
He is fierce and awesome astride his white charger – a horse of war. Angel armies are amassed at his back and there’s a sharp sword coming from his mouth. He has a scepter of iron and his eyes are like fire. This is our Champion.
I’ve mentioned it before but I love action movies – especially the ones where there is a small embattled squadron of brave souls. They face a powerful and evil enemy bent on their destruction. The warriors then find a noble captain worthy to lead them into battle. Their cause is righteous, but the odds are against them. Outnumbered and running out of time, how can they possibly win?
The movie builds. The hero gathers his forces to charge their merciless foe. During the climactic battle, the momentum swings back and forth until it seems that the enemy is destined to win. The enemy bears down on our champion. Victory seems certain for the bad guys.
But then suddenly, in a flash of time, an unexpected turn of events and our hero strikes the death blow to the enemy. Our company of soldiers is saved! The evil forces retreat in terror., the battle is won, and we are victorious!
That’s the kind of story you expect to hear at this juncture in Revelation. All of the book – yes, even all of history – has been leading to this point – the climactic battle of history. The forces of good and evil have finally gathered. In Revelation 19-20, Jesus faces off against all our greatest enemies.
But here’s the twist – there is no ebb and flow. There is no breathtaking last battle, no mortal struggle back and forth, no spectacle of warfare to keep us on the edge of our seats wondering who will prevail, no moment when we think our Champion might be overwhelmed. Yes, the enemies arrayed against our Hero are many. They are powerful. They are horribly wicked. But in an instant, Jesus destroys them. There’s no long, drawn-out Armageddon conflict. It’s the most lopsided battle in history.
Rev. 19:17-21 – And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small.” 19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. 20 But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 21 The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.
Jesus dispatches our enemies – one, two, three, done. First, he destroys the demonic allies. We’ve already seen the demise of the prostitute who represents hedonistic culture. Next we see the destruction of the first beast that represents godless government. That’s followed by the destruction of the second beast that represents false religion.
The armies gathered with them are annihilated. They become carrion for hordes of scavengers. Compare this meal with the marriage supper of the Lamb. The first is beautiful and joyous. This second one is grim and gruesome.
Second, Jesus destroys the devil. This happens after a “thousand years” during which Satan is bound and Jesus rules with the Christian faithful.
Rev. 19:1-10 – And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. 4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Some Christians believe that this “millennium” is a literal 365,000 days of Christ’s reign (inaugurated at his return) as a global king on earth, the Christian faithful physically resurrected at his side, all while Satan serves a literal 365,000 day sentence in the Abyss. At the end of this 1,000 year period, Satan will be released, rally his troops for the great battle, and then is defeated by Christ who at that time establishes the new heavens and the new earth.
Other Christians (including me) believe the thousand years like other numbers in Revelation is figurative, representing the long period of time between Christ’s ascension and his return. This is the church’s chapter in redemptive history.
During this time, Christ reigns from his throne in heaven (as we’ve already seen in Chapter 5) with the Christian faithful who’ve experienced spiritual resurrection in heaven but not the resurrection of their physical bodies on earth. Satan is bound spiritually during the church age by the preaching of the gospel, which hinders him from deceiving the nations. As the gospel flourishes, Satanic strongholds diminish and the dominion of darkness falters.
Right before Christ’s second coming, Satan will be unbound, succeed in greater deception among the nations, and gather them for battle. Then in an instant, he will see them destroyed by fire from heaven as Jesus returns to inaugurate the new heavens and new earth.
These two positions reflect what are called the premillennial view and the amillenial view. Far too often, they cause conflict between Christians so I urge us to practice humility regardless of our understanding of the millennium. As someone said about Jesus’ Second coming: “I’m on the welcoming committee, not the planning committee.”
Either way, the devil takes an eternal swim in the lake of fire. Either way, our enemy, Satan, is defeated. Either way, Jesus wins.
The third and final great enemy Jesus defeats is death itself. Rev. 20:11-15 – Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.12 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. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
Death is the universal enemy. No one escapes death. Throughout history, the statistics hold steady. 10 out of every 10 human beings die. But at the end of time, Jesus defeats our last enemy, throwing death into the lake of fire.
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I am thankful that we do not have a God who is content to sit idly by as we, his people, are savaged by our adversaries. We have a God who wades into the midst of our enemies and whips the lot of them. God is a God of love. But he is equally a God of righteous wrath.
I’m glad the he is a God of wrath. That is, until I stand before the great white throne of judgment.
It’s then that I’m thankful for a God of mercy. At that moment, no one will discount the judgment of God. There will be two ledgers opened at that time. The first is the accounting of all of our sins. The second is the Lamb’s book of life.
If we’re only in the first book, we are judged by what we have done. That’s not good news. Rom 3:10-18 – As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery mark their ways, 17 and the way of peace they do not know.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Those who have disregarded God will be thrown into the lake of fire. If we have steadfastly worn the name of the Lamb, then we’re in the Lamb’s book of life. God offers mercy. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Praise God! Christ has delivered us from slavery. He has taken us as his bride. He has defeated our every enemy.
(This series is developed from a variety of resources. The primary resource is “Victorious – A Devotional Study of Revelation” by Matt Proctor. Other resources include “Revelation for Everyone’ by N.T. Wright, “Breaking the Code” by Bruce Metzger, “The Book of Revelation – An Introduction and Commentary” by Homer Hailey, “Worthy is the lamb” by Ray Summers, and “Reversed Thunder” by Eugene Peterson.)
