Revelation – Page 3 – Be Still…

Revelation 19:11-21 – Jesus the Warrior

Jesus comes forth today not as the Lamb, as he has been portrayed up to now, but as a warrior. But not a warrior in the sense of the word as we would imagine. What images come to your mind when you think of a warrior going to battle? Jesus is not covered in armor. There are not tanks or weapons, fighter jets, or any such military might standing by. Jesus is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, with crowns adorning his head. His only “weapon” was the sword coming from his mouth.

He is clearly identified to us in terms we associate with Jesus. “Faithful and True,” the “Word of God,” “King of all kings and Lord of all lords.” We are bombarded with visions, each beginning with John’s words, “I saw.” By now, we know John isn’t describing real events or occurrences but helping us understand using symbols of real occurrences. The victory is sure, but we don’t necessarily need to be expecting a white horse and rider!

Revelation 19:1-10 – An Invite to the Wedding Banquet

Read Revelation 19:1-10

Our text today stands in stark contrast to the doom and gloom of our last reading about the fall of Babylon. It’s not the first time we’ve had an abrupt scene change, so to speak, as we’ve been reading through Revelation. Part of this book’s beauty is it’s unpredictability. What we do see as a constant theme is God’s unfailing love and patience with his fallen world. He wants the banquet table to be full.

We see a passage that ties together several main points from the New Testament. Included are praise, celebration, equality, blessedness, rejoicing, righteousness, and purity of the bride. It doesn’t matter how unworthy we may sometimes feel. “Praise our God, all his servants, all who fear him, from the least to the greatest.”

Revelation 18:1-24 – You Can’t Take It With You

Read Revelation 18:1-24

“Babylon is fallen,” the angel proclaims. For John’s contemporaries, they would see this referring to Rome. This vision would surely give them hope. At the time John writes this, Rome is alive and well, carrying out atrocities on God’s people. What was the motivation? Power. The sensuality of wealth. Dominion over all.

Rome did fall. Does this mean the message of Revelation is not for us? On the contrary. The book of Revelation concerns the character and timeliness of God’s judgment not only of persons who are “of the world,” but also nations and authority figures, companies, groups, etc., all who have chosen evil over grace.

Revelation 17:1-18 – Evil Will Fall

Read Revelation 17:1-18

What do you think of the great prostitute, or harlot as she is referred to in many translations. One of the reference books I’ve been reading talks of how satire could really make this passage come to life. If you picture a caricature of the harlot and the beast, you could come up with all sorts of poses and such to tell the story.

Here, the prostitute is called out as being “Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World.” The people of John’s day, those first receiving these visions, would know that Babylon had already fallen, and it was more likely a reference to Rome. Many Christians were persecuted and savagely killed under Roman rule. That speaks to her being “drunk with the blood of God’s holy people who were witnesses for Jesus.”

Revelation 16:1-21 – Bowls of Wrath

Read Revelation 16:1-21

We have been watching the pattern of 7’s. We have also seen how God set limits. Complete destruction was not allowed. With this vision, however, there is no holding back. This was the complete unleashing of God’s wrath on those following evil. We even see that they cursed God for bringing these plagues upon them, rather than repent and seek salvation.

The function of these visions is not necessarily to give us an exact picture of what is going to happen in the final days. Instead, we are given a sneak peek into God’s intentions, and we can either be stubborn like those being afflicted or be true followers of Christ ready to receive the life God intends for us.