He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
–Revelation 22:20

We’ve had quite the journey through the book of Revelation. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the Apostle John records “the things which [he has] seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this” (Revelation 1:19).

Because John was faithful to this task, we are blessed by reading and hearing and heeding this amazing book of prophecy (Revelation 1:3). We catch a glimpse of what John has seen—Christ, triumphant and glorified. The King of Kings, the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. 

We read about the things which are—the letters to the churches at that time. Through them, we see the heart of our Good Shepherd and His longing for His sheep to know His voice and follow Him.

And then, we see the things which will take place. We read of beasts and Babylon and battles. We read of the future—a time unlike any other in human history as the Lord makes one final plea to humanity to turn away from sin and death.

“Even so…” our desire is the same as John’s—come, Lord Jesus! Until then, we wait—but we do more than that. We work, we worship, we make the most of every opportunity He gives us to broadly cast the message of hope and life that is in Christ Jesus. We are His ambassadors—official representatives of our Heavenly home country in this foreign land. Will you ask the Lord this week where He is calling you to take this message, friend?

As ambassadors for Christ, let us point others to Jesus “as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20). If you are not yet reconciled to God, you can be! Simply confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead. The Bible says that if you do this, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). Ask God for forgiveness. Believe that Jesus died for your sin and that God raised Him to life. Trust Him as your Savior and follow Him as Lord.

Last Sunday, we talked about the new heaven and the new earth. We imagined what our resurrected bodies would be like as we walked through gates made of single pearls and walked on streets made of pure gold.

As awesome as all of that will be, what will we be doing for all of eternity? This Sunday, we continued the description that the Bible provides of what our resurrected lives will look like.

Watch a replay of our live stream or listen to our final study in the book of Revelation as we imagine just a bit of what we’ll be doing forever, knowing that it will be so much more than anything we could ever imagine.

There’s a lie that’s been circulating for quite some time. It’s a lie that hinders the gospel and makes God appear unjust. It’s a lie that seems innocent and many believe, but when held against the truth of God’s word, it quickly unravels.

This lie says that humankind is basically good.

But in His word, God makes it clear: all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). 

We all like to think that if we were Adam or Eve, we would make the right decision. But we have enough proof in our past that we really wouldn’t. And so, something has to be done with our sin, for God is a righteous judge. One day we will all stand alone before Him and give an account for every sinful thought, word, and deed—without any excuses.

That is where we found ourselves in our study this past Sunday. Watch the replay of our live stream or listen to our study of the first part of Revelation 21 as we begin our time together in front of the great white throne.

“Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
–Matthew 6:10

These were some of the things Jesus told His disciples to pray for when they asked Him how to pray. We experience a portion of that prayer on a daily basis, but there will come a day when that promise is fully realized. The kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven, and deliverance from evil.

As we continued our study of Revelation this past Sunday, we see that God will one day answer this prayer. In Revelation 20, we read about the future reign of Christ on earth and the imprisonment of the devil during the same time.

Watch the replay of our live stream or listen to our study of Revelation 20 with child-like faith and child-like awe and wonder as we consider what these fulfilled promises of God will one day look like.

“Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!”
–Revelation 19:6

The word “Alleluia” is used only four times in the New Testament—all in Revelation 19. It’s such a beautiful word that comes from Hebrew, meaning  “praise the Lord!” What a glorious exhortation to do what we have been created to do—praise the Lord!

Words are never wasted in the Bible. There is significance in this word being used only in this chapter. Something wonderful must happen that would prompt a great heavenly multitude to praise the Lord—four times! And there is—the proclamation that salvation belongs to the Lord; the destruction of Mystery Babylon; the invitation to unhindered worship of the Lord; and the announcement of the marriage of the Lamb—the coming of a King to receive His bride! And not just any king—the King of kings. And not just any bride—His Church, holy and unblemished. 

He will come—after years of anticipation and preparation, He will come. He is Faithful and True. He wears many crowns. He judges in righteousness. And He makes war. The description of the final battle to come is not a pretty picture. But the fact that God has restrained His wrath is a testimony to His amazing grace and patience. He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but desires all men and women and children to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

Turn from your sin today and turn towards the Lord to receive forgiveness and cleansing and healing and white robes of righteousness. You can do that right now! Ask God for forgiveness. Believe that Jesus died for your sin and that God raised Him to life. Trust Him as your Savior and follow Him as Lord.

Crown him with many crowns, the Lamb upon his throne.
Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing of him who died for thee,
​And hail him as thy matchless king through all eternity.

“Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
–Revelation 19:10

Our study of prophecy should always lead to a deeper walk with Jesus and help us grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus—for prophecy is all about Him! Since the goal of prophecy is to worship God, we must beware of turning prophecy into a search for special knowledge that no one else has or to find a demon behind every bush. If anything else becomes the focus of our study of prophecy, something’s wrong.

So as we continue our study this book of prophecy, our understanding of Jesus deepens as we receive the full counsel of God’s word concerning Christ’s character. Remember—Jesus is not only the Suffering Servant; He will return as the Avenger of Blood. His first coming was the Lamb slain; His second coming will be the Lion of the tribe of Judah. 

Watch the replay of our live stream or listen to our study from this past Sunday as we see even more of Jesus Christ revealed in Revelation 19.

Revelation 18 shows us what will become of Mystery Babylon—the mixture of every false religious system that has taken advantage of people for centuries. 

In his attempt to deceive, Satan will construct something that seems religious, but in reality is devilish and demonic. Wrapped up in religious robes and self-righteous pomp, it will hide an evil beyond human comprehension. 

But if you were to pull back the veil, you would see, “…a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!” (Revelation 18:2).

That’s what false religion is—a demonic prison that appears to be from God, but instead uses the guise of religion to profit off of the people it imprisons. For centuries, civil leaders have entered into a mixed marriage with false religion in an effort to rule over people. For centuries, merchants have seen false religion as a way to profit off of the religious fervor of the people. And Mystery Babylon includes all of these—government, economy, and false religion—mixed together to exploit people. 

God will only endure all of this for so long because He wants our total loyalty. He wants us to be wholly given to Him, not to any other leader or movement or organization. So when any of these demand loyalty that’s due only to Jesus, it’s not a time to stay the course and stick it out. It’s a time to leave! Just like the voice from heaven said in Revelation 18:4—“And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.”

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light—for the fruit of the light consists of all goodness, righteousness, and truth—testing what is pleasing to the Lord. Don’t participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what is done by them in secret. Everything exposed by the light is made visible, for what makes everything visible is light.”
–Ephesians 5:8-14

Think of the few times in the Gospels when Jesus was truly angry. You know, those times when He flipped over tables and swung a whip around. 

Jesus never got angry in response to a personal insult. No, His righteous anger was aroused when He saw corrupt religious leadership profiting from religious roadblocks that prevented people from worshipping God. Roadblocks that were never commanded by God, but enforced by the religious rulers to extort loyalty and money from people who just wanted to worship.

And Jesus hated this! He got angry—angry enough to call out the religious leadership of the day (see Matthew 23:15 and Luke 11:46). Angry enough to do something about it (see Mark 11:15-17). 

It still angers Jesus when religious corruption takes advantage of people and keeps them from worshipping God. And, as we read in Revelation 18, it will continue to anger Jesus in the future. He will someday flip over more than tables—He’ll flip over Mystery Babylon and put an end to this wicked religious system once and for all.

Listen to or watch the video replay of our study of Revelation 18 as we consider the future ultimate destruction of Mystery Babylon in vivid detail.

We might not be able to destroy false religious systems in spectacular fashion with fiery hail from heaven, but we can learn an important lesson from Revelation 17. As strange as it seems, there is a lesson we can live out in our lives today from this snapshot of things to come.

History, prophecy, and current events this morning show us that earthly empires use religion—not to worship, but to expand their rule and reign. Civic rulers will appear to submit to a religious system—not out of reverence, but to gain favor and power. 

As that happens, heed this word of warning: be careful. Be very careful with aligning yourself with a movement that uses religion as a means to their end. It might be exciting for religious leaders to influence powerful political leaders, who might give the impression that they are submitted to the same Jesus you serve. But power corrupts. Once religion has served its purpose, those in power will turn on it and tear it to pieces. 

So be careful! God cannot be confined to any political party or movement. He is not defined by the ever-increasing list of causes and chaos that cycle through the 24/7 news feed. His concern reaches beyond these moments and movements, beyond the heart of the issues to the issue of the heart—the Gospel.

The Gospel is central and must remain central. Politicians, political parties, and political movements will come and go, and one day be no more—but the Gospel, the everlasting Gospel, will always be God’s focus to fulfill the desperate need of sinners for the Savior. 

“If God had perceived that our greatest need was economic, he would have sent an economist. If he had perceived that our greatest need was entertainment, he would have sent us a comedian or an artist. If God had perceived that our greatest need was political stability, he would have sent us a politician. If he had perceived that our greatest need was health, he would have sent us a doctor. But he perceived that our greatest need involved our sin, our alienation from him, our profound rebellion, our death; and he sent us a Savior.” 
–D. A. Carson