Bent Oak Church

You wouldn't have predicted the Millennium or Satan's release. Having finally beaten the forces of evil at Armageddon, we expect the story to draw to a close, but it doesn't. In the full knowledge and experience of Christ's rule, humanity still believes the lie and turns away from God. The final moments of earth are not a vindictive God determined to crush those who oppose him, but instead, he is a patient God. He reveals more than we had expected. He waits longer than we could predict. We are left without excuse. We are given what we most desire.

The book of Revelation takes its time getting to chapter 19. The images of judgment and wrath have been long and difficult to work through. But what waits in chapter 19 is astonishing—salvation. A chorus of Hallelujahs breaks out culminating in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and the return of Christ on his white horse.For those who believe and endure, it is the final realized expectation of God’s promise to redeem and rescue his people.

John is a great pastor. He takes his time as he builds to the final moments of Revelation. He is in no rush. He wants to make sure we are well prepared for what is to come.His question is one of hope. What are we really hoping for? Where are we placing our trust? What kind of salvation are we looking for?

It is the end—the final moments of judgment. By the end of chapter 17 we read God's words, "It is done." The world experiences the final full trajectory of their sins, and still, they refuse to repent.In this sermon, we also look at common explanations for reconciling the book of Revelation with other end-times scriptures.

Revelation has been building to the moment of final judgment. The moment has almost arrived, but not without more warnings. Three angels take their place in the sky declaring the gospel, the deception, and the coming judgment.The image is of a God patient, long-suffering and not willing that any should perish.

Revelation describes Satan as a defeated enemy, thrashing around in desperation and bitterness. In chapter 13, Satan calls for his henchmen, two additional beasts—a kind of unholy trinity.These two beasts describe the typical tactics Satan uses to persecute and diminish the church. His tactics are force and fraud—power and propaganda.

Last week we were introduced to the beast. Chapter 12, gives us a bigger image. We are told that this dragon, with 7 heads and 10 horns, is the ancient serpent—satan. We have this image of the devil, covered in red scales, with his pitchfork and horns, standing on our shoulder opposite of the angel. It's a cartoon.Revelation gives us a better image. Satan is a defeated foe, thrashing around in his final moments. We soon discover that for all his power, he is beaten by the simple word of our testimony—the word of the slaughtered lamb.

As God begins to remove his hand in judgment, John is given a task: a book to eat and a message to speak. As the images of chapters 10-11 build, we are taken deeper into the church's call to witness.The experience of the church's witness, like the scroll is both sweet and bitter, but in the end, it is the hope of resurrection.

The Seven Trumpets are an image of God's judgment. Reading about wrath is a difficult topic. We prefer to talk about love and acceptance.But God's wrath and his love are not as opposed as we usually think about them. In fact, the very act of God's wrath is also an act of his love. Revelation helps us recognize it.

The lamb has the scroll and in it, the mysteries of God locked up by these seven seals. These seven seals are the history of suffering, war, and poverty—they are the human experience. The experience that for many has made faith a struggle.Like the martyrs who cry out from beneath the throne, "how much longer," how can God say he is in control when evil and suffering seem to be the real experience of history. The bible isn't naive or cliche about that struggle. It sets the human experience of suffering right down beside the image of the throne.