Hope in this world is a dream. Our hopes in things like ‘a better New Year’ are always dashed. The last Chapters of Revelation, however, give us a more accurate picture of the future. One which is not based on hope or luck but where God will be with His people forever in the new heaven and will wipe away every tear from their eyes , because it is based on a person, Jesus Christ.

In this passage, we find an invitation for the ‘thirsty’ to drink from the spring of the ‘water of life’ … the forgiveness which comes without cost through faith in Jesus. All this is to encourage His followers to persevere and not give up. Those who are caught up in sin and unbelief cannot enter the new heaven and a terrible future awaits them. We are further given a picture of the new heaven as a city, the church, which is the ‘bride’ of Christ, reflecting his glory.

God and the Lamb, Jesus Christ, will, in this place, be the temple. In the city we are told there is the tree of life. This is a connection with the tree of life in the garden of Eden and a reminder of the cross, that tree of wood, where Jesus suffered and died as a sacrifice and substitute. Through Jesus Christ, God has reversed the curse of Adam’s failure and brought his people to the place where they will finally fulfill his purposes.

 

 

Why doesn’t God do something about evil? What does society think is evil? These are questions which come to mind when the subject of evil arises. The Scriptures see it as the worldwide problem of anything which is opposed to the rule of God.

God dealt evil a blow at the cross of Jesus Christ and, in this passage, there will be one last battle. The rider on the white horse is Jesus who is accompanied by his followers … but he does not need the help of them. It is not a battle between equals. He wins the battle all by himself. Judgement is presented as terrible in order to warn people not to become part of this but to trust in what Jesus has done in his death and resurrection.

The period of 1000 years is taken as symbolic, representing the period of the church’s sufferings in which we now live … gospel times. Satan is bound through the victory of the cross. He is then released but defeated instantly by Jesus … the King of kings and Lord of lords. The work which people need to do is to believe in the one God has sent, Jesus Christ. It is only works which flow from this faith which will be accepted … all from Jesus’ death and resurrection which has cosmic implications.

 

 

For the first followers of Jesus his death seemed like a crushing defeat … how could the dream go so wrong? The Sunday, however, was very different. Their fear turned to bewilderment and then to joy as they realized that Jesus has risen. Jesus appeared to some who were walking on the road to Emmaus. They did not recognize him as he spoke to them about all the things in the Scriptures concerning the resurrection … but they realized it was him when he broke the bread.

The disciple Thomas wasn’t with the disciples at the first appearance of Jesus and so he doubted. Later Jesus appeared to all the disciples and told Thomas to put his fingers through the holes in his hands saying ‘stop doubting and believe’. Thomas replies ‘my Lord and my God’.

For some people the Easter story finishes with Jesus’ death. They see only a good example. This is not what the Gospel writers tell us. Who before or since could lay down his life and take it up again? The ‘good news’ of Good Friday is that Jesus took the punishment for our sins. The resurrection is proof of forgiveness for all who believe. Death is not the finality of our existence.

 

 

In the movie Beauty offers herself in the place of her father who had sinned. This is just one of a number of gospel themes in the story. In Revelation Chapter 17 we also see ‘beauty’ (Babylon) and the Beast but here Babylon is the seductive attraction of the world and the Beast’s purpose is the destruction of God’s people.

Babylon entices people with worldwide adulteries … sex, money and power. The price is the loss of the soul. The Scripture says that ‘friendship with the world is enmity towards God’. We next find, in the second part of the Chapter, that the Beast eats the ‘beauty’ (Babylon).  The Lamb then wins the battle. He is the King of kings.

Jesus is the one who transforms people into true beauty in God’s sight. He does this in ‘clothing’ us, thought faith, with the beautiful garments of his perfect right-ness. Through grace alone he saves us from both the ‘beauty’ of this world’s attractions and also the Beast. Flee to him and beware of the seductive ‘beauty’ of the world … it will never satisfy.

Suffering is something we experience in varying degrees and at different times in our lives. It also occurs for different reasons. In this passage we have a glimpse of followers of Jesus who were facing life threatening persecution under the rule of the Roman Emperor, Nero. The apostle Peter writes to them for their comfort and encouragement.

He explains that God is worthy to be praised even in their severe trial. Among the things he says are the following three. Firstly, they are to remember God’s mercy to them in the gospel. Through Jesus dying on the cross, their status has changed. They are no longer under God’s judgement but, instead, His mercy.

Secondly, through the gospel they have a glorious future awaiting them in heaven. There is a picture of God surrounding and protecting them even in the midst of suffering. Thirdly, God is using suffering for their good. This is because the trial they are about to go through is for the refining of their faith … the goal of their suffering is their salvation. Who else, other than Christians, can say that there is any good in suffering?

Emptiness is a problem which people have experienced throughout the ages. The whole idea of employment is to fill the hole which emptiness creates … but what about the emptiness of the heart. In this passage we find that the thing which can fill this emptiness is not from ourselves but comes from the one who provides us with true worship.

Here Jesus and his followers were passing through Samaria even though Samaritans did not get along with Jews because they had different places of worship. Neither Samaritan nor Jew had realized the emptiness of what they were worshiping until a Samaritan woman, who was also suffering from the emptiness of numerous broken relationships, is asked by Jesus for a drink.

Jesus’ request touches a deep seated need in the woman’s heart … her need for ‘living water’. The woman was looking for physical answers to a spiritual problem. She finds the answer to her emptiness, not in multiple ‘husbands’ or false worship, but in the one, Jesus himself, who has provided eternal life, the forgiveness of sins and fulfilment in the true worship of God.

 

 

 

It is helpful to consider the context of something that is written when the things themselves are hard to understand. The context of this part of Revelation is, once again, the persecution of the suffering church in the hope of the gospel … the ‘good news’ of what Jesus has accomplished in his death and resurrection. The pictures are highly symbolic.

We see this hope of the gospel pictured as a harvest time with singing for those who have believed and had their sins forgiven. Sadly there is also a negative ‘harvest’ of judgement for those who have abandoned Jesus by making idols, false ‘gods’, out of the good gifts God has given them.

The 7 bowls of God’s wrath are symbolic of God’s righteous anger in response to the sin of this world and persecution of God’s people. These parallel the historical record of the 7 plagues of Egypt where Pharaoh was forced to let God’s people go. Today is the day of hope and mercy in the midst of God’s judgements. Everyone who trusts in Jesus will be saved.

 

Things said to children by parents and pictures which are shown can leave vivid reminders for life. In this passage angels paint a vivid picture to remind God’s people of the truth of the gospel message which they have heard and believed. This message has gone out to the whole world.  Here we see that Jesus’ return will be as judge. Those who have not believed will be without excuse.

The spiritual battle is over. Satan and his cohorts have been defeated by Christ. Also, so has everyone and everything opposed to God. The mark of the beast, which often causes confusion, is essentially on a person’s heart. Hard hearts are made soft through faith in Jesus Christ. All those who believe are safe from the final judgement.

The wine of God’s righteous anger lasts for eternity. Those who have not turned to Jesus will have no rest, day or night, and will experience eternal suffering. This message has been given to strengthen Christians in perseverance. The beginning of their new life is easier than it is toward the end. They are to remember how Jesus persevered by going to the cross and that his faithful followers are blessed in death.

The book of Revelation is, for most, very hard to understand. It is important to remember two things. Firstly, the sequence in the book is not chronological and it sometimes rewinds. Secondly, it is highly symbolic even though it represents real things which are unseen by eye.

In this passage there is a ‘trinity of evil’. The dragon, the first beast coming out of the sea, and the second beast coming out of the earth. These spiritual forces are the enemies of God and his people. They deceive the inhabitants of the earth and persecute those who love and follow Jesus. They do not, however, succeed. God’s people will always be kept safe and the persecution they suffer only serves to purify them.

There has been much confusion over what is called ‘the number of the beast’ which is 666. This number is not something that has to be decoded. It is the number for man and has reference to the beginning of the earth. The number 6 represents failure and is one short of the number 7 which is God’s number for perfection. The ‘trinity of evil’ can never prevail against God because in both the seen and unseen worlds his purposes are always accomplished. We see this in Jesus’ death on the cross and in Jesus’ resurrection.

 

 

When asked about matters of eternal importance many people base their hope of acceptance on being ‘basically a good person’.  We need to know where to look in order to find out whether this is really the case. In this passage Jesus tells three stories which shed light on our supposed ‘goodness’.

The first one is about two men who went to pray. One man, the Pharisee, sought acceptance on the basis of what he had done. The other, the Tax Collector, was ashamed of his sin but asked for mercy … it was he that went home justified. The second story is about little children coming to Jesus. The disciples tried to hinder them but Jesus told the disciples to let them come. He told them that ‘the kingdom of God is of such as these’… child-like trust in Jesus.

The third story concerns a rich young ruler who approached Jesus asking: ‘Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’  Jesus says that ‘there is no-one good except God alone’ and refers him to some of the Ten Commandments which he says he has kept. Jesus gently shows him his sin … he is trusting in his wealth. Jesus suggests he give it to the poor. He cannot and goes away sad. The final part of the passage reveals Jesus’ complete goodness. His death on the cross pays the penalty for sin for all who trust in Him.