In the remaining verses of Revelation 21, what we have recorded is a walk-through of this new capital city that John sees coming down from above. The reason we’re getting a picture of it is because that’s where God is. And He’s what’s most important! But, I don’t think there’s any reason to assume this is His only city. It’s why the walls have gates. Because we’ll be going in and out.

Additionally, the text says we’ve got a wall, some 216 feet high, with 12 gates in the wall (3 on each side), and each gate is made of a single pearl. I think the pearl is meant to be a reminder. It’s a reminder because a pearl is formed by an injury. An irritant, like a grain of sand, or a parasite, makes its way into a mollusk. The oyster responds to the irritation by sending out a substance to cover the irritant. This protective coating is followed by another layer, followed by another layer and another layer and another layer. And eventually you have a pearl. So. A pearl is a stone birthed out of suffering. And God said, “Oh. I think every time my people come in and out of my city—every time they go through the gate of the New Jerusalem—they should see a pearl so that they can be reminded of the beauty of the cross.” Our proverbial parasite (sin) entered in to God’s allegorical mollusk (the earth). And God said, “I’ll just go ahead and cover that with my son’s blood.” And over and over and over Jesus’s forgiveness forms a perfect barrier creating a perfect pearl called your life.

Then, Chapter 22 continues with what John saw—this being a river and the tree of life. It should point us back to the Garden of Eden, as that’s what it’s mean to represent. Life with God in His perfect creation. But. 2 things stand out to me in this chapter. 1. We’re called to worship God (vs 9) and 2. We should desire to be with God (vs 17).

All that said, here’s my summation of the entire book: Revelation is an invitation to endure the difficultly of a broken world, and for those who do, they’re invited to come and enjoy the eternity of a perfect world. It’s not meant to decode anything. It’s meant to reveal the goodness of God who’s worthy to be praised.

With Gratitude,

pLJ

As we turn our attention to chapter 21, we transition from the lake of fire in chapter 20, to what most people call ‘heaven’. But. I think heaven is largely misunderstood. Because heaven isn’t the final destination. So. In the Bible, Heaven is looked at three different ways. Number one, there is the terrestrial heavens. That is: the atmosphere surrounding the Earth. The roughly 6,000 miles that exist before sky blends into space.

The second way heaven is used is the celestial heavens—the moon, stars, and sun. Maybe you’ve heard the Scripture, “The heavens declare the glory of God.” The third use of heaven is what we conveniently call the third Heaven. We call it that, because Paul called it that. He said, “I was caught up into the third Heaven.” What’s the third Heaven? It’s God’s Heaven. His dwelling place. And what do we read here? God’s dwelling place comes down to a New Earth.

Which. That word “new” is a very particular word, and it is very different from the typical word. The usual word in Greek for new means new chronologically. Like. It’s never been seen before. It’s the iPhone of 2008. This word means something new in quality. It’s a fresh design. It’s the PS5 versus the PS1. Entirely different. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell my wife. We need the PS5 because it’s entirely different.

But. This text gives us a little snippet of this ‘new in quality’ place. It says, there’s no tears. There’s no mourning. There’s no death. There’s no pain. You’ll never say, “Have a nice day.” in Heaven. That would be the dumbest thing you could say. Matter of fact if somebody did say that, you’d look around and be like, “Oh. It’s your first day, huh?”

But. As I was studying this I came to realize that most people aren’t excited about heaven because they largely misunderstand it. They’ve been told stupid stuff like, “When you die you become an angel.” What? Where did that come from? Not from this book. Best I can tell it came from that awful movie, where that girl says, “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings.”

So. I’ve been around long enough, to have heard people say when a child dies that God just needed another angel. That’s a horrible thing to say. God has enough angels. Furthermore, He doesn’t need anything. Now. I get it. We don’t know what to say—and honestly I do believe that when a child dies they go to this temporary heaven, until God creates the new one—but they’re not there as an angel. And if you’re wondering where I get that from Scripture, it would be 2 Samuel 12:23.

Or. Maybe you were taught about a place called Purgatory. How. You’ll eventually get to Heaven, but you got to go somewhere first to burn your sins off. Again. Anti-biblical. Nothing in the text to suggest that. So. We can put those things aside. Which. If you want a helpful resource to get excited again about heaven, read Randy Alcorn’s book titled, Heaven. Here’s a small excerpt: “Satan labors to give people an inaccurate view of Heaven. He slanders three things—God’s person, God’s people, and God’s place.”

Nonetheless. The whole point of Revelation 21 is for us to look forward to heaven. I mean. Imagine what God’s dwelling place looks like, if this is what our dwelling place looks like. And it’s been corrupted by sin! So. Be excited, friends—God’s got something AMAZING in store!

With Gratitude,

pLJ

As you’re reading this, don’t think of the throne being “great” because of it’s immensity. The throne is great because of its occupancy. That is: the One who is sitting there is great. More specifically. He is holy. You’ll do well to notice that in Scripture God is never called loving, loving, loving. He is never called merciful, merciful, merciful. He is never called gracious, gracious, gracious. He’s never called patient, patient, patient. He is called all those things singularly, but He is described as holy, holy, holy. Like. That is His flagship attribute. And if the sky and the earth in all of their beauty and in all of their finely tuned grandeur—if they who make life possible can’t stand before the holiness of God—how do you think you’re going to fair?

But. For those who haven’t accepted Jesus, whose names aren’t in the book, they get what they always wanted: to be in charge of their destiny. And by making that decision they have opened before them, the books of their deeds. Everything they ever said. Everything they ever did. Every evil they ever thought. Every fantasy. Every lust. Every moment of anger. Every moment of laziness. EVERY. THING.

Here’s an even more terrifying thought. Maybe one of those many books is a record of all the times that a person had an opportunity to give their life to Christ, every time they heard the gospel but refused. One thing’s for sure: there’s no happy endings in any of those books. It’s why you need to let God write your story. Because this is what your authorship gets you: judgment.

On a practical level, this text tells us that people only get the afterlife they wanted most in their actual life. They either want to have God as their Savior and Master, or they want to be their own Savior and Master. There are those who say to Jesus, “Thy will be done.” And there are those to whom Jesus says, “Thy will be done.” In other words, hell is simply one’s freely chosen path going on forever. We wanted to get away from God, and God, in his infinite justice, sends us where we wanted to go. That is: God’s not forcing anyone in to heaven.

Secondly, this tells us that not everyone has the same judgement experience. I believe there will be varying degrees of punishment in Hell because we are told quite clearly here (and in other places) that these people, these unbelievers—the dead, are judged according to their works. So. You’ve maybe heard the phrase, “sin is sin”. Well. Not exactly. Again. There are many Scriptures on this. One being when Jesus is standing before Pilate, and He says to him, “The one who handed me over has the greater sin.”

The other thing I want you feeling the weight of is the fact that hell is not a static experience. It’s not like you’re there and you quit sinning. Here’s what I mean: in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16) Jesus tells us of a rich man who goes to hell and who is now in torment and horrible thirst because of the fire. This man urges father Abraham to send a messenger to go and warn his still-living brothers about the reality of hell. Commentators have pointed out that this is not a gesture of compassion, but rather an effort at blame-shifting. He is saying that he did not have a chance, he did not have adequate information to avoid hell. So. Even knowing he is in hell, and knowing God has sent him there, he is deeply in denial, angry at God, unable to admit that it was a just decision, wishing he could be less miserable but in no way willing to repent or seek the presence of God. So. I’ll write this as plainly as I can—the reason hell is eternal is because the rebellion is eternal.

Now. I get it. We all know someone who likely hasn’t accepted Jesus, and we want to know what happens to them. Which. I offer this thought. “In a sense, none of our loved ones will be in Hell—only some whom we once loved. Our love for our companions in Heaven will be directly linked to God, the central object of our love. We will see Him in them. We will not love those in Hell because when we see Jesus as He is, we will love only whoever and whatever pleases and glorifies and reflects Him. What we loved in those who died without Christ was God’s beauty we once saw in them. When God forever withdraws from them, I think they’ll no longer bear His image and no longer reflect His beauty. Although they will be the same people, without God they’ll be stripped of all the qualities we loved. Therefore, paradoxically, in a sense they will not be the people we loved at all.”

A pastor named Skip Heitzig wrote this: “For those who have already lost a loved one who seemingly never accepted Christ: what might help on this—and I have reassured myself about this many times—is to realize that we do not know what happens inside a person before they die. We don’t know whether the Holy Spirit of God has done a work of grace in someone’s heart and life at the last moment. They may have been aware of the hours, minutes, and even just seconds leading up to their death and cried out to God for deliverance. The thief on the cross proves that ‘deathbed conversion’ is certainly possible. And if someone is unable to speak, or too weak to respond, those around them would not know of that conversion. We may be surprised and delighted to one day see them in the presence of Jesus.”

With Gratitude,

pLJ

Alright. We have reached the point in the book that many of you have been wondering about. This is the section where we read about the “millennial reign of Christ”. What is that? I’m going to take my best guess, but to be clear, nobody truly knows. Now. We’ve invented words to be able to label people and what they believe about it. There’s the premillennialist, and postmillennialist, and amillenialist. Additionally. When you combine these viewpoints with another made up word (that being “rapture”) you get all kinds of differing opinions. I heard one pastor say, with regards to all this, “The millennium is the thousand years of peace that Christians like to fight about.”

Ok. So. Regardless of where you land on the 1000 years, here’s what we can all agree on: Jesus wins. Like. God’s plan cannot be thwarted. So (to me) for people to divide over this doctrine—it’s silly. Now. Are there doctrines we should divide over? Absolutely. Things like the inerrancy of Scripture. Or. Salvation through Christ alone. Or. The Trinity. Those cannot be compromised on. But the millennium isn’t that big of a deal. That said, here’s why I want you trying to understand it. Because if you don’t, you’ll allow yourself to live differently than you should.

Now. This thousand years (vs 2) and the binding of Satan can actually best be understood in light of three teachings of Jesus. First, in Matthew 12 there’s this crazy story of some folks bringing a demon-possessed man to Jesus, and Jesus heals him, gives him is sight back, and the Pharisees are like, “It’s by the power of demons that this man casts out demons.” And Jesus says that popular sentence, that politicians have used, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” But then. Jesus continues, “Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?”

Who’s Jesus talking about? Satan. Satan is the strong man that must be bound up, so that Jesus can plunder his goods. Ok. Remember what we learned in Revelation 12. Satan, the great dragon, is thrown down to the earth, and a third of his angels with him. What’s Jesus say in Luke 10? “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” (Lk. 10:18). Our boy John in John chapter 12, writes “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world the strong man will be cast out.” (12:31).

Here’s what I’m trying to help you see—here’s the arc of Revelation—here’s the story of the human race: God creates the world perfectly. Satan, and his minions are cast to earth. Revelation 12. God plants a garden where he dwells with humanity. Satan the deceiver, does his namesake and deceives humanity. He does it for thousands of years. Which. Why does God allow it? No idea. I’m not God. But probably because God wanted human beings (who are made in His image) to have free will. Plus, if you study this idea of the Nephilim and nations being founded, you’ll discover that the sons of God—who I would say are cast out of heaven—help create nations like Babylon, and ancient Egypt. It’s why God creates a covenant with His nation, Israel, and why He commands them to destroy those other people.

But. For a period of time, Satan was free to deceive. Then. Christ comes. He pays the penalty for man’s disobedience. His blood. And the enemy is no longer free to bring accusation against the saints. Furthermore, Christ has taken his place of rulership in heaven, and sent his Spirit to empower His people. As a result, the work of Satan is now greatly hindered, and the good news of the gospel will be preached to every nation. See. The binding took place two thousand years ago, and will be in effect for a symbolic period of one thousand years.

Now. People say, if it’s symbolic why does it say thousand years, then? Well. Here’s a better question: Why are there any numbers? Because this was written to Jewish people and they largely had a different understanding of numerology. We’ve talked about this. How seven, is the number of God and of completion. A week is 7 days. It’s complete. Thus the “seven spirits” of chapter 1 actually refer to the totality of the Spirit. And the sets of seven judgments (seals, trumpets, bowls) express the completeness of God’s judgment. Or. Four is the number of the earth (the four rivers of Genesis). Thus the four winds and the earth’s four corners of chapter 7 refer to something with worldwide impact. And the four sets of seven judgments express God’s complete judgment on the earth.

How about twelve? Twelve is the number of government expressed through God’s people. We’ve got the 12 tribes, and the 12 disciples. Then one thousand expresses an indefinitely large number. Thus the 144,000 of chapters 7 and 14 refer to the entire people of God throughout the ages (12 tribes x 12 apostles multiplied by 1000). Babylon, by contrast, appears six times, six being the number of man. Because man was created on the sixth day. So the number 666 alludes to this false trinity: the dragon, the beast and the false prophet. I told you before what God creates, Satan counterfeits.

But. When you look at it as a whole, the question is: why do people interpret all other numbers symbolically except this one?Additionally. One of the other issues people raise is: if Satan is bound—why are things getting worse? Well. The text never says, evil is gone. It never says sin is gone. It says he’s bound, and the binding has a very specific and particular application. Did you catch that? verse 3: so that he cannot deceive the nations.

Furthermore, it says there, verse 3, he’ll be released for a little while. So. If you get nothing else, please get this—here’s how I interpret this text: Jesus comes to earth, borne of a virgin—all that. Christmas. Yay! But. Satan is bound. Start the clock. 1,000 years. This is why the Gospel spreads so rapidly early on. Thousands of souls at a time. Satan can’t deceive. Again. Doesn’t mean evil is gone. Doesn’t mean sin is gone. It means the Gospel can spread unimpeded. People still get to decide whether or not they believe it. But then. Year, whatever, Satan is unbound. He’s deceiving the world again. Which is where we find ourselves. Which is why it’s so important that you spread the gospel and live righteously.

With Gratitude,

pLJ

Our text starts with: all of heaven being opened. Previously John’s only got a door open. Here at the end, he’s seeing the entire picture. He’s getting the forest and the trees. And the preeminent picture in all of heaven is that of a rider on a white horse. A rider who’s called Faithful and True. Capitalized. Proper nouns. For a proper King. So. One of the questions you must answer for yourself is: Is Jesus that? Faithful and True. Like. Did He do what He said He would do? No one can answer that for you, but I think there’s a lot of resources that can confirm the answer is (in fact) yes.

Now. All of this is trying to communicate Jesus’ authority. It’s why He can judge and wage war. Because He’s in charge. Also, verse 16 says, He has a tattoo on His thigh that says, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. See. Jesus is the Supreme Authority because only He has the Preeminence to name Himself. What’s kind of cool is He gave us this same authority—to name things. Way back in the beginning, God creates Man in His image, and as an image bearer Scripture says we have dominion over the earth. God even brings the animals to Adam. Why? For the purpose of naming them.

Same thing happens in your life. If you’re a parent, God gives you authority over your child, and that’s expressed by naming them. The reason I named Leyton after a tennis player and Launa after Superman’s high school girlfriend is because I’m in charge of them. The reason I named Lynnie after a Stevie Ray Vaughan song is because Laura couldn’t pronounce Lenny. See. The song is for Stevie’s wife Lenora. And it’s pronounced Lenny, but Laura kept saying Lynnie, so we compromised. And did what Laura could say.

But. Again. By creating us in His image, and giving us this authority, the tradeoff is: we have the potential to misuse it. And it’s been happening for thousands of years. Which. I’m sorry I can’t explain to you why God chose to do it that way. I can just point to the fact that I’m glad He did. Because here we are. Nonetheless. The reason Jesus can name Himself is because He’s God. And the reason no one can know the name that’s written on Him, is because of how Holy He is.

And what makes me so nervous for today’s culture is how trivially they treat Jesus. They like purple robed Jesus. With feathered hair. And European features. They like 8 pound 6 ounce Jesus and forget about blazing (fire-eyes) Jesus. And clothes covered in blood Jesus. They forget about judgment and waging war Jesus. It’s why they’re so comfortable with making Jesus fit their lifestyle.

So. Here’s what I need you to understand: the essence of sin is autonomy. The word is: auto, yourself, nomous law. So. You want to be a law unto yourself. Like. You’re the king of your kingdom. Except. That makes you God. And that’s a problem. Because you’re a crummy god. Which is why it’s good news that there’s a King of Kings. And He’s already won the war! However, your battles still must be fought. So fight the good fight! And Trust in Him!

With Gratitude,

pLJ

One of the central themes within all the bible is that God wants to relate to His people the way a husband relates to His wife—that is: via permanent, comprehensive, loving, and vulnerable friendship. So, yes God is King, but He doesn’t want to relate merely as a king relates to his subjects. And yes God is Shepherd, but he doesn’t just want to relate as a shepherd relates to sheep. He wants you to know each other to such a degree that’s impossible anywhere but marriage. Think about that. The kind of relationship (with God) that you were designed for is one of intimacy. Which. If you’re a skeptic, there is no other religion that dares talk about a relationship with God like that. Feel free to look, but I assure you, I already have.

So. Until you understand this aspect of God—that He doesn’t just want to be your God—He doesn’t just want to be your King—no. He wants to be your Covenant Devotion…if you don’t understand that, there are some things you’ll never understand about sin. See. Sin isn’t just all the negative things you see in the world. It’s not just darkness, evil, or debauchery. It is definitely those things. But. What we learn here is: sin is loving anything more than God. Sin is all the good things that catch your eye and cause you to move away from Him.

It’s why John was so captivated by the sight of the great prostitute in chapter 17. Because sin is alluring. It’s attractive, and looks right—but it’s also a trap. It’s why Proverbs records a couple different times, “There’s a way that seems right to man and in the end it leads to death.” Which. It’s hard because sin looks great, sounds great, feels great, and promises your greatness—except that’s also why it’s a fatal attraction. Because you’re not the point.

Nonetheless. The arc of the human story is: God creates human beings out of His good pleasure. He didn’t need to create us. Yet He created us in His image, so that we could experience what He’s always had. Relationship. Unity. And Love. Then He says, “Listen folks, I don’t want you to obey me like a king. I don’t want you to rely on me like I’m a shepherd. I want you to love me supremely as I have supremely loved you.” And when our ancestors failed in that, He demonstrated His love for us by allowing His Son Jesus to make a way for us to be redeemed back into His presence.

Now. Let me push you a little bit on this. Because, imagine you’re married and you find your spouse is spending every evening over at another person’s house. They’re not cheating on you in the “traditional sense” of the word, but they’re talking about life, and sharing their aspirations, and trying to problem solve with each other, and this is an every night—hours and hours type thing. Finally, you confront them, like, “Hey. What’s the deal? You’re gone every night.” And they go, “What are you so upset about? I’m legally married to you. You have what I have. I do my duty. What’s the problem?” You’d say, “The problem is I don’t have your heart. What kind of marriage is it when I don’t have the love of your heart?” That’s the illustration God gives.

God’s like, “I don’t need you to go to church. I don’t need you to be baptized. I don’t need you just to believe. I don’t even need you to pray. Or follow the 10 commandments. I want your love and devotion. I want you to know Me. To fall in love with me (to be clear when you love Him you’ll do those other things).” But. The story of sin is: God has given you everything—quite literally your very existence—however somebody (or something) else has your heart. You trust it, instead of Him. You give hours to it, instead of Him. Oh. Sure, you believe. You’re forgiven. You’re technically “married”, but you’re also never home.

You say, “Ok. How do I know if that’s me?” Well, there’s a couple of tests. First of all, are you living in outright rebellion? That’s pretty easy to diagnose. Are you participating in anything the bible calls wrong? Sexual immorality. Drunkenness. Deceit. Greed (this is Ephesians 5 by the way). But. Since you’re reading this, I’m guessing probably not. Plus, sin is so much more sinister than that. Sin actually likes to be something good in your life…that (again) takes the place of God.

Maybe this will help. There was an Anglican priest named William Temple who said, “If you want to know who your God is, look and see what you do with your solitude.” Like. When you don’t have to think about anything, where does your mind go? When nothing is forcing you to think about something, what do you think about?

Or. Here’s another test: where do you spend your money the most effortlessly? Is it on generosity? And expanding the kingdom? Or is it on enjoying the world? This is why Jesus says, where you treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Finally, pay attention to that word that’s repeated a couple times: ‘Hallelujah’. It means, “praise God” Hallel is to praise, and jah is a shortened version of Yahweh, in Hebrew. Which. Here’s something interesting. This chapter is the only time (in all of the New Testament) that the word Hallelujah is used. Let that sink in. Despite all the miracles, all the healings, all the teaching, nobody ever says, Hallelujah, praise God. It’s only here, at the very end. And what are they praising Him for? Salvation and glory and power. Verse 2. Point being, because He’s the never-failing spouse, He deserves our praise and devotion.

With Gratitude,

pLJ

The main point of this chapter is that Babylon (a symbol for ungodly culture) will fall, and you don’t want to be there when it does. Ultimately, it’s a call to escape and wage war against “the world” (verse 4). Now. I know it’s much easier to live life without confrontation, but one of the themes within all of Scripture is: the only way the world will not be at war with you, is if you look like it. The way Revelation describes it is: if you accept the mark of the beast. That is: if we, the bride of Christ, cheat on our proverbial Husband.

So. Make no mistake, the world doesn’t love you. Matter of fact, it’s promising you something it can’t deliver. It’s why over and over John is repeatedly calling for endurance. It’s why he’s giving you the end of the story—sure it looks like the government is strong. Yeah, it looks like culture is winning—but it’s an illusion. Which. Here’s my exhortation: the only way to not get distracted by the world, is to cling to the truth at all costs. This is not a game. This is not a trivial existence. This is a war (that Jesus wins) and it’s a battle for your future.

A pastor named Charles Spurgeon said it like this, “If the Lord does not speedily appear, there will come another generation and another and all these generations will be tainted and injured if we are not faithful to God and to His truth today. We have come to a turning point in the road. If we turn to the right, may half our children and children’s children will go that way. If we turn to the left, generations yet unborn will curse our names for having been unfaithful to God and to His Word. I charge you, not only by your ancestry but by your posterity that you seek to win the commendation of your Master. That though you dwell where Satan’s seat is, you yet hold fast His name and do not deny His faith. God grant us faithfulness for the sake of the souls around us. How is the world to be saved if the church is false to her Lord? Stand fast, my beloved, in the name of God.”

The question, then, is: how do we escape? How do we stand fast? Well. We must examine our heart. If you are trying to find love and joy and peace in anything but God, you’re looking in the wrong place. Additionally. If you think you’ve found it away from God, that’s actually God’s wrath. God’s wrath, according to Romans 1 is, when you say, “I want that. That will make me happy.” And God says, “Then there you go.” This is actually why I like the practice of fasting. Sometimes it’s worth giving something up just to realize it’s not where ultimate joy is found.

Now. The flip side of that is also true. You can enjoy all kinds of things as good gifts from God. Just look at all the stuff John describes: music, and clothes, and food, and work—like, you can have those things and still worship God. Because that’s really what all this is about. Satan wants your worship for something he never did.

The best way I’ve heard it described is: when trying to discern if we should participate in something from the world (or not)—we need to ask: is this something we REJECT? Is it outright sinful? Is this something we can REDEEM? Like—what you intended for evil, can I use this for good? Or is this something we RECEIVE? Is this a good gift from God? And sometimes what can be redeemed by us, might need to be rejected by others. That's what 1 Corinthians 8:9-13 is all about. 

So. How's your "war" working?

With Gratitude,

pLJ

You’ll recall that previously we were standing outside of God’s temple in Heaven. Seven angels were given 7 bowls of God’s wrath and no one was allowed in to the temple. It’s my belief that we are getting a picture of judgement at the end of time. God is going to judge the world, specifically the beast, and those who worship Him. You’ll also do well to remember that God’s wrath is not a result of God being angry, petty, or spiteful. All that He’s doing is out of love.

However. There’s about to be a pause in the narrative. We’re about to get a special sneak peek behind the curtain. John is carried away (by the Spirit) into a spiritual place, for the purpose of an angel explaining the judgments he’s previously witnessed. In other words, John is going back in time in this chapter.

Now. The reason this is such a confusing text is because of how many metaphors are bring presented. The woman is a great city. Verse 18. She’s seated on the beast, verse 3, but she’s also seated on many waters verse 2 and verse 15. Notice that she’s called a prostitute four times. How about the beast? He was, and is not, and is about to rise. The seven heads are seven mountains, but they’re also seven kings. Then we’ve got water which is multitudes and nations. So. It’s a lot.

But. Here’s what I think is going on: God’s judgement is a result of idolatry. We can infer that from the fact that, in the Bible, prostitution is a standing symbol for idolatry. So. Whenever God’s people turned away from Him it was seen (in Scripture) under the heading of: unfaithfulness. Or Adultery. Sometimes even Harlotry. Which. There are numerous Scriptures about this. Jeremiah chapter 3. Ezekiel 16. Ezekiel 23. The entire book of Hosea. I mean. Over and over and over God is calling His Bride (His people) back to Himself.

So. When John is standing outside the temple, observing God’s final judgment, and this angel walks up, carrying a bowl goes, “You want to see why all this is happening?” John is presented a picture of idolatry. And it’s offered first as a great prostitute. Meaning, you can’t have an affair with this world. You can’t, as the bride of Jesus Christ, go around His back and say, “Oh, here’s what’s actually going to make me happy.” We can also infer that God will judge governments for their idolatry. You see in verse 5 when it refers to Babylon the Great? That’s important because Babylon isn’t great. Matter of fact, it doesn’t even exist. Babylon was defeated hundreds of years before. So John is offering that as an example for the beast who was. However, John must also be talking about Rome, the city on 7 mountains—and how they would have 7 kings, that is: emperors, before their destruction. That would be the beast that is. But there’s also a beast who is yet to come. Which means there’s always going to be nations and authorities who blaspheme God.

So. The important takeaway for us is: don’t be seduced by the world into worshipping anyone (or anything) but God—because idolatry leads to judgement and death.

With Gratitude,

pLJ

As you’re aware by now, John is writing the book of Revelation to 7 actual churches in what is now modern day Turkey. However. We also believe God’s Word is timeless, so there must be an application for us too.

It’s my belief we can think of this text like a Venn Diagram. There’s the destruction of “old Jerusalem” in 70AD which was “for them”. And there’s the coming of the “new Jerusalem” when Jesus returns, which is “for us”. Lets start by talking about “their circle”.

There’s a Jewish historian you should be aware of. His Roman name was Flavius Josephus. However, he was born Yosef ben Mattityahu—a Jew who fought against the Romans. Once it looks like his army will be defeated, he defects to the Romans, and takes the emperor’s name, Flavius. He then serves as a translator for General Vespasian’s son, Titus. And writes much of the recorded Roman history of the day.

Before I show you some of what he writes, recall verse 3: The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea. Now. Look at this: “They were killed by the darts on the lake; and the Romans leaped out of their vessels, and destroyed a great many more upon the land; one might then see the lake all bloody, and full of dead bodies, for not one of them escaped.” (Josephus Wars, III.10.9) Notice any similarities?

Josephus will also write about an earthquake that divides the city, thereby allowing the Romans in—additionally he talks about catapults that hurl massive stones, weighing upwards of 100 pounds, and these stones are painted white. See also verses 18, 19, and 21.

Point being, I don’t think you can keep your intellectual integrity if you ignore these “coincidences” and say this is only about some future event.

Now. I do think it’s also talking about a future event. Because God’s wrath isn’t finished. I mean—it is for those who follow Jesus (there’s no wrath for those who are in Christ Jesus). But God’s justice has not dealt the final blow to evil yet. And one of the things John brings up is this battle at Armageddon. So. Look at the text. John tells us explicitly that Armageddon is a Hebrew term. He does that because the book of Revelation is written in Greek. So there’s something about the Greek word, translated Armageddon, that required, for the Greek readers, clarification that the term had been brought in to the verse from Hebrew.

So. The greek word is Harmagedon; har = mount—that is mount of magedon. Which means we must ask ourselves is there a mount Magedon? Answer: not that we can tell from antiquity.

However, in the Hebrew Bible, the word Harmagedon does occur in Isaiah 14:13. Here it is: You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly (the Hebrew is the Greek, Harmagedon) in the far reaches of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’

So. Armageddon (in Hebrew) is: the mount of assembly. What’s that? It’s the place where Yahweh holds council. You can read about it in Psalm 82 and Job 1. What’s also important for us to get, is how the unbelieving nations, empowered by the beast and the dragon, will make one last desperate effort to defeat Jesus at the place where Yahweh holds council. In other words, Armageddon is probably not some earthly battle we’re waiting on—it’s a spiritual battle for the deed to the earth. Remember our Scroll that the Lamb gets? The dragon wants that. He wants worship. He wants to be like God. Isaiah 14:14.

Now. I know some of you were taught that there is this great battle coming, and in fairness, there might be. But. What I’m seeing is that this is a spiritual conquest. Plus, when we get to Revelation 19, you’ll see Jesus come back, riding a white horse, He has his name tattooed on his thigh, and all He does is speak—and the beast is captured. So. It doesn’t seem like there’s much of a need for a battle sequence when all Jesus has to do is speak.

Therefore. I think the most likely scenario, is that this scene is playing out on mount magedon—God’s place of council—and it’s spiritual, not physical. You also do well to notice that all of the bowls of wrath are reserved for those who have the mark of the beast: verse 2. So as Christians, even if I’m wrong, we still don’t need to live in fear.

Now. All that said, the plain thing is the main thing—and what’s plain is: eventually, the Holiness of God leaves the temple, and incinerates everything that is not protected by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. And despite giving them multiple opportunities to receive the blood of the Lamb (there’s 7 bowls) some people won’t repent (verse 11) and they curse God (verse 21).

So. What John is asking us all to do is: not waste another moment. God’s time clock is ticking. Our job is to repent and expose darkness through Love.

With Gratitude,

pLJ

A few reminders are probably in order. First: the text cannot mean to us what it did not mean for them. Which. The application might be different—because the world looks a lot different than it did 2,000 years ago. However, the cool thing about an eternal God is the Truth He’s trying to convey transcends time. So: it might not have been addressed to us, but it is still for us.

The other helpful tip is that as we’re reading these passages we must also discern is this written about the destruction of the old Jerusalem (in 70AD), or the coming of the New Jerusalem (yet to happen), or both. Remember our Venn Diagram? Generally speaking, it’s both.

Additionally. It’s worth noting that this is a letter written to seven actual churches. These 1st century people were largely illiterate, so they weren’t studying the words, and writing in the margins; like we do. They were listening—and trying to discern, “What do we do?” So. Part of the reason John is using such graphic language is because he’s trying to illicit a response from his hearers. More often than not, it’s a call for endurance and faith. But. The same is true for you. What should you do because of this text? That’s of primary concern.

Finally. Remember signs point us to something. As best I can tell, in this text, they’re pointing us back to when we saw these creatures and bowls before. In chapter 5 we learned that these bowls were initially the prayers of the saints. And what were they praying for? Justice. “How long, O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” So. What we’re getting—through John’s vision—is the final answer to these prayers. Justice is about to begin, and the text says, “No more prayers will be heard.” Right? Smoke, that is: God’s presence (fire by day, smoke by night), fills the temple, and no one is getting in.

So. One of the things I want you feeling in your soul is that prayer matters. God listens. God hears. You might not be getting the answer you want, but that’s why it’s called faith. God is doing what’s best for eternity.

Which. 2 things about prayer: first of all, Jesus tells this wild story about a wicked judge and a persistent woman, in Luke 18, and it says, Jesus told them that story for the sole purpose that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. Ipso facto. We ought always to pray and not lose heart.

Secondly, according to Daniel chapter 10—when you pray, your prayers are heard in heaven. That’s a monumental deal. Sure, you probably aren’t going to get an angel sent down from heaven to talk to you, like Daniel did—but—then again, you might. I mean. Hebrews says you’ve entertained angels unaware. However. Again. The real consequential thing here is: there’s coming a day when God no longer answers.

In the meantime, keep praying!

With Gratitude,

pLJ