Visions of Judgment and Victory

Nine Studies on Major Themes in Revelation

by David Gooding

With its depictions of God’s judgment, Revelation is indeed a solemn book—but within its pages are also visions of victory, justice and peace. David Gooding discusses John’s visions and how God will extinguish all that is false and claim victory over sin and unbelief. He reminds us that the Lord will come and put things right, casting Satan into the lake of fire and judging the dead. As the heavenly bridegroom he will reign eternally with the church as his bride. This study, with its repeated challenge to make a choice to be on the Lord’s side, will help us to appreciate the equity of his judgments and the glory of his final victory.

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1: Introduction

Reading: Revelation 1:1–3

It gives me great pleasure to be with you here again in Seaham Harbour and I thank you warmly for your invitation. I trust, as we read God’s word together and study it this week, that the Lord himself will draw near to us, speak to our hearts and make himself known. So, pray for these meetings; come if you can and bring others with you, so that we might together experience the presence of the Lord and learn some of these important things from his word that will show us where our world is pointed, and where it is fast going.

As you have heard, this week we are to study together the book of the Revelation, the last book in the New Testament. Let us begin, therefore, by reading the first three verses of chapter 1.

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. (Rev 1:1–3)

These introductory verses to the book of Revelation are exceedingly interesting. They remind us that in the early Christian churches there were always many in the congregation who could not read, and therefore, when a book or letter written by an inspired apostle came to the church, the majority of the congregation would not have been able to read it for themselves. So, one man would stand up in the assembled congregation and read it in loud and resonant terms.

Blessings from reading the book

It tells us here that the Lord’s special blessing would fall upon the one who read the words of this wonderful prophecy in public: ‘Blessed is the one who reads,’ meaning here the public reading of God’s holy word. I have begun to do that this week, and God will fulfil his promise and bless me.

But then it says, ‘Blessed are those who hear,’ and that of course is you. As you hear the words of this prophecy tonight and in ensuing nights, there is a blessing upon your head for actually hearing it being read. And there would be little use in reading it, or even in hearing it, if we did not fulfil the third thing, ‘and who keep what is written in it’. I trust we shall find that the details of this wonderful book are exceedingly absorbing, and our minds will be interested and informed.

God’s word is meant to do more than that. It is a book that is practical. Here we shall learn things that are meant to be kept, to observe them and to do them. So we shall have to be careful not just to get absorbed in the colourful detail, but always to ask ourselves, ‘Now, what was there in that for me? What was God saying to me? What, according to this passage, am I meant to be doing, and have I done it? Shall I remember it in the coming days and keep it in my heart?’ Thus shall we reap the blessing intended.

Blessings that are promised in the book

Supreme among the blessings of this book, may I remind you at the outset, is that it tells us not only of the great and eternal city of God, to which all of us hope one day to come, where there is no more crying, nor curse, nor pain, nor sorrow, and all those things are done away for ever; but, more marvellous still, it tells us what we must do to enter that city. ‘Blessed are those who wash their robes [in the blood of the Lamb], so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates’ (Rev 22:14; [7:14]).

We shall be asking ourselves, ‘If that is the way into that eternal city, then have we kept this word and have we done what it says?’ I trust before this week of studies is over that all of us shall be able to say, without any uncertainty or hesitation, ‘Yes, whatever else I have or have not understood, I know what that means: “Blessed are those who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb”. Thank God I have done so, and should tomorrow summon me from this temporary world into the eternal, by God’s grace I am ready and prepared to go.’

Solemn warnings of God’s coming judgment on the world

That said, I should have to admit to you that the book of the Revelation is an exceedingly solemn book. I think there is no denying it, for in these pages we shall read of the judgments of God that must eventually fall on this ungodly world; and who knows how soon they shall begin to fall. As we read the verses and visualize the scenes that John depicts, we shall see the Lamb of God—the Lion of the tribe of Judah, Son of God, the Son of the Father—approach the throne and receive from the divine hand the mandate to free this world of sin and iniquity, of lawlessness and of sinners. As he proceeds in his awesome task we shall see and hear of the judgments of God that must inevitably follow. It is, then, a very solemn book, which tells of coming judgment. Some people react to that by leaving it closed and saying to themselves, ‘If that is what it is about, I prefer not to hear.’ We’re more adult than that. If the judgments of God must come, it would be foolish of us to put our heads in the sand and pretend it is not so.

The prospect of God’s righteous judgment

But even as I say that, I should not forget that to some people in the course of history, the prospect that God will one day judge this world has not been a gloomy thing at all. It has filled their hearts with joy and gladness, and their mouths with hallelujahs of divine praise. Read the Psalms and hear the psalmist bursting his lungs: ‘Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns! . . . he will judge the peoples with equity.” . . . He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness’ (Ps 96:10, 13). Yes, to many a generation this has not been gloomy, but a glorious and joyful message.

I think it might even be to us, if we thought about it for a moment, for who hasn’t from time to time experienced the injustices of this world? It doesn’t matter all that much, I suppose, whether it’s the grocer who cheated you and gave you less weight for your money; or the stock exchange making their millions by corrupt practice and robbing widows of the value of their shares; or rape and child abuse; or theft and burglary and violence; or the unfairness that hoards resources in one part of our globe and leaves other parts to starve. Or, on a colossal scale, the gassing of six million Jews. Who of us hasn’t felt the injustice of this world, and the sense of right and wrong buried in our hearts that has risen up and protested, ‘Something ought to be done’?

One day, friend, it shall be done. Listen to your conscience that protests against injustice; it is God’s outpost in your heart. He put it there, and one day he shall honour it. Something will be done about this world’s injustice.

God himself shall deal with evil

Living in this advanced age, we know enough history to see quite clearly that the hopes men and women had in generations past, to put this world right by their own effort, have proved elusive and disappointing. In my youth I used to hear the social reformers declare that if enough education were spread abroad in the country it would end all our wrongs.

It was a little bit late to have that idea. The Greek philosopher Socrates, living four hundred years before Christ, had the idea that if only you could show people something was evil they would stop doing it. He said, ‘No one willingly does wrong. People do wrong because they think it’s right, and if you could show them that it is wrong they would stop doing it.’ I think I see you smile, if not smirk. ‘Socrates didn’t know much about the human heart, nor my heart either,’ you say.

Ah yes, respectable citizens that we are, how many times have we known a thing to be wrong and gone on doing it? The man with cancer, who is smoking his lungs away, knows it’s wrong, but he still does it. Why is there that kind of thing? God’s word will tell us that we come of a fallen race, the whole bunch of us; and not by our own efforts, nor by the efforts of all mankind combined, shall the evil in our world be put right.

Then how shall it be put right? This very book that we are about to study will show us what a glorious prospect it is, for the Lord himself shall come and put it right. And all of us have the common sense to see that unless it is put right there will never be a paradise of bliss in this world. Contrive how you will, how would you build a paradise on greed and selfishness, cruelty and iniquity, lies and aggressiveness? It cannot be done. As we read the lovely visions of the Old Testament prophets—‘and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; . . . neither shall they learn war any more’ (Isa 2:4)—we say, ‘Yes, that’s the only sensible way to live’. But it doesn’t look like it just now, and unless it is done we have no hope of paradise on this earth.

So it is with a sense of joy and expectation in our hearts that we shall hear the sure and certain promises of this holy book. God himself is speaking and assuring our hearts that he has not forgotten this planet. He shall put down evil, and there shall come the glorious reign of Christ.

God’s will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven

I suspect most of you would confess that at one time or another you have prayed in the words that our Lord first prayed, and some of you regularly, ‘Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven’ (Matt 6:10). Friend, you have not prayed in vain—it shall come, and God’s will shall be done. Then, of course, one half of us responds with joy and gladness to the message, but many people find that the other half of them is rather more slow in warming to the prospect, and that for one simple reason. We say to ourselves, ‘If God were to rise up tonight and bring his judgments on the wicked, where would he stop? At my next door neighbour, or would he reach even me?’ Conscience tells us its true witness, that it is not merely my next door neighbour who has sinned; I too have sinned. As the Bible says, ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ (Rom 3:23).

Major topics in Revelation

Let me remind you that in this wonderful book, not only are we told of the judgments of God that must fall upon this earth, and who knows how soon, but we are told very delightful and encouraging things. And I would like now to point them out to you briefly.

In the notes you’ll find a skeleton outline of some of the major topics of this book—very much the bare bones, I confess at once¹. Many people find the book of Revelation so detailed that it is difficult at any one time to know exactly where they are. Treat this outline, then, as a kind of map of the contents of the book, and we shall be able to find our way more easily.

You’ll see that I suggest to you that this book, like a great work of music, falls into six major movements of thought. In a way, each of them is self-contained; and yet of course they are related together to form the whole symphony of the work.

The movements of thought

Movement one (Rev 1:1–3:22)

We have the initial vision of the Son of Man surrounded by seven golden lampstands that represent seven of the early Christian churches. He dictates a letter to each of those churches, and the record of them fills the first three chapters of the book. It is easy to see how that forms one major movement of thought, and we shall return to it later.

Look now at the other columns, and you’ll notice first that they are all marked at the beginning of each movement by a singular and interesting fact. Heaven is opened, or something is opened in heaven.

Movement two (Rev 4:1–7:17)

A door is opened in heaven.

Movement three (Rev 8:1–11:18)

John tells us that, after some interval, the seventh seal is opened, and there follows a silence in heaven.

Movement four (Rev 11:19–15:4)

He says that at a certain stage the temple of God in heaven is opened.

Movement five (Rev 15:5–19:10)

The temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven is opened.

Movement six (Rev 19:11–22:21)

John sees the stupendous sight as the heaven is opened, and there comes out a rider on a white horse, symbolizing our coming Lord.

Six movements, and five of them concerned with the opening of God’s heaven. Let us notice another interesting thing, particularly in movements two to five. When heaven is opened we are told that John sees various pieces of heavenly ‘furniture’.

In Movement two, John sees the throne of the Creator. In Movement three, it is the big altar; and then, in turn, the altar of incense in the divine presence. In Movement four, it is the ark of the covenant that he beholds; whereas in Movement five he sees seven angels with seven golden bowls, ‘and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God’ (Rev 15:8).

Why is he shown these things? Let us relax for a moment and think. We’ve been talking of the fact that, inevitably, God’s judgments must one day fall on this world. Before they do, God in his superlative grace—and, if I may say so, reasonableness—allows us through the apostle to glimpse into his very heaven to see things from God’s point of view as he looks down upon our world. As we do so, God will take us by the hand, so to speak, and say to us, ‘May I tell you why my judgments must fall?’.

I’m told that wise parents, when they have to discipline their children, might well think it advisable to explain that they aren’t acting as some giant who has lost his temper, but because it must be done. And here in this amazing book, before the judgments of God fall upon this world, through the eyes of the apostle God will show us his own very heaven and the sacred vessels in that heaven, and explain to us why it is inevitable that his judgments must come. God is no tyrant you know; he doesn’t lose his temper. When his judgments fall, it will not be a question of God lashing out in blind almighty fury. His judgments are the other side of his character of eternal love; but he condescends to our moral judgment to explain to us why those judgments must fall.

Comments and responses

The principles of God’s salvation

Even so, it might still be gloomy were it not for another thing in the same book. Please look at the bottom of the columns in the notes. Once more we shall leave column 1, but will you notice that all the other movements of thought are ended by some comment or other.

The comment at the end of Movement two (Rev 7:13–17) is made by one of the elders occupying one of the twenty-four thrones in the throne room of God, and we shall discover that he is pointing out the wonderful salvation of God and the principles on which it works. It is so in all the paragraphs that follow. Whether it is the comment in Movement three (Rev 11:16–18), or the song of praise that ends Movement four (Rev 15:2–4), or the great response of hallelujahs in Movement five (Rev 19:1–10), or the final comment by the angel and by our Lord Jesus himself in Movement six (Rev 22:16–20)—all of them together have this task: they will outline for us the principles of God’s great salvation. Let me briefly say what I mean by that.

The claims of the throne

This world was made by the Creator to do his will

As we come to Movement two, we shall be surveying the throne of the almighty Creator in heaven. We shall hear the massed choirs constantly day and night praising him, saying, ‘Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created’ (Rev 4:11).

As we listen we shall discover why in the end judgments must come. This world was made by the Creator to do his will.

We have gone our own rebellious way

The chaos has arisen from the fact that we, his creatures, instead of serving his will, have taken our own way. We have not necessarily engaged in unnatural vice, but ‘All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way’ (Isa 53:6). Forgetting and sometimes defying the will of our almighty Creator, we have gone our own foolish, selfish way.

God must reclaim his world

God cannot wait for ever. One day he shall rise up and claim that this world must be brought back to do the purpose for which he made it. If not by desire, then by force. When the Lamb of God sets loose the judgments of God and people see the throne of God in heaven, and the heavens begin to depart, they shall call out, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne’ (Rev 6:16). Men and women who have lived out their lives in indifference to God and gone their own way, are found utterly unprepared when the judgments of the Creator fall.

God shall recompense his redeemed

If that were the only prospect, it would be gloomy indeed; but even as John looks at it, we shall find that one of the elders comes to John and says, ‘John, do you see that great host over there, clothed in white robes?’

‘Yes,’ says John.

‘Who are they, and where have they come from?’ says the elder.

Says John, ‘To be sure, I wouldn’t know. You tell me.’

The reply comes, ‘These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God’ (see Rev 7:13–15).

In other words, they have found forgiveness ‘through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus’ (see Rom 3:24)—the only ground on which a creature can stand if he or she is to be accepted before God. Whatever age in the history of this earth we live in, there is but one basis of salvation: the rock of redemption by the blood of the Lamb.

As it is in Movement two, so it shall prove through all the other movements. Against the background of God’s coming judgments, God in his mercy outlines for us the principles of his great salvation. And we can all see why he does it, for he wants us too in our day and generation to find that salvation for ourselves.

¹ See Appendix 1. Editor’s note: These are not the original notes that Dr Gooding had for this series.

2: The Risen Lord Judges His Churches

Reading: Revelation 1:10-20

Movement one: Revelation 1:1–3:22

With these words we are introduced to the first major vision of this lovely book of the Revelation. And if we ask what is its main theme, the answer is a simple one. Here we are to see the risen Lord Jesus Christ, in all his holy purity and power, drawing near to churches of his believing people. In part, as always, it is to comfort their hearts. But now, as we learn, both from his attire and from the words he speaks, it is a question of him drawing near to judge.

You see, there is a logic about this book, and there is a logic about the ways of God. The book in its many movements is going to talk to us about the time yet future when the judgments of God shall fall upon this earth. But Peter the apostle reminds us of the basic principle upon which the judgment of God works: ‘For it is time for judgement to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?’ (1 Pet 4:17).

If you and I are members of one of Christ’s churches today, we have a prior pressing matter to attend to. Yes, one day the Lord shall come; yes, one day the judgments of God will fall upon this earth; but before they fall the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. How shall God show his righteousness and judge this world, if first of all he does not judge his own people?

We shall not have time to listen to all his statements to his churches, but by the close of our study we shall hear enough to catch the general theme that is occupying our Lord. We may be sure of this, that that holy person whom John saw in his vision on the Isle of Patmos, walking in his glorious holiness among the Christian churches of Asia Minor in that early century of the past—that holy Lord still walks among his people. As he draws near to us, my good friend, are you a real and genuine member of one of his churches that his eye now rests on?

We shall hear him reiterate time and time again, ‘I know you; I know your works’. For, while our lives have been busy in the world, and in the church at our worship, he has seen, and he now draws near to judge his people.

The glory of the judge himself

It is a spectacular and awesome vision of the Lord Jesus that John now gives us, and we should remember who saw this vision. In that Upper Room where our Lord Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper and said farewell to his people before he suffered, we are told that, at the dinner table, John leaned back against our Lord. During supper our holy Lord laid aside his outer garments, tied a towel round his waist, poured water into a basin, knelt down and washed his disciples’ feet (see John 13).

But the years have passed. The Lord has suffered and died; he has been buried and has risen again. Now glorified, he comes to visit John. Not this time as ‘the meek and lowly Jesus’. When John was able to look upon the risen Lord, in that split second he saw a glory far exceeding the glory of the noonday sun, and being overwhelmed he fell at the feet of the Saviour. In the few moments that he was able to contemplate him, John tells us that he saw two things.

The evidence of infinite purity

Using symbols from the universe and its materials to convey to us what he saw, he records his vision.

I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash round his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace . . . (Rev 1:12–15)

He was wearing a long judicial robe, with a golden sash round his chest (Rev 1:13). The Greek word that John uses is a tender word, indicating affection and love for his people, feminine in its tenderness. Yes, this is still our lovely Lord Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave himself for us; but his holy affections are ‘girt about’ (kjv): not dissipated and uncontrolled, but completely contained. Do notice that the girdle is of fine gold. You see, divine love is no mere sentiment. He loves us and for him there is no love so deep. But, however deep it is, he cannot endure to see us defiled in our sin.

We go to his head: the hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow (Rev 1:14). We think, therefore, of his wisdom. Says James, ‘The wisdom of this world can be devilish, but the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable’ (see Jas 3:13–18). And here, incarnate before John, is divine wisdom, absolutely spotless in its purity. No compromise with sin; no ambiguous schemes, doubtful in their morality. It is a wisdom that is uncompromisingly pure.

Says John, ‘his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace’ (Rev 1:15). Well might he see those holy feet like that, because in a sense they had trodden a furnace, hadn’t they? Oh, my Christian brothers and sisters, here were feet that so recently had trodden the very fires of the wrath of God at Calvary, when he ‘bore our sins in his body on the tree’ (1 Pet 2:24).

As our blessed Lord comes near to you now, and to me, those holy feet are glowing. They intend to stamp out all impurity from our lives. Do not dread them coming, for isn’t there in your heart the desire to be pure and to be like the Saviour? Forgiveness of sin is not enough for you, is it? Glorious as it is, you want to be holy and free from sin. So, welcome the holy feet of the Saviour as they come walking where you are.

The evidence of almighty power

and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. (Rev 1:15–16)

As well as holiness, our Lord was marked also by power. The booming of Niagara Falls can be heard over wide distances all around the Falls, and as John heard the voice of the Son of Man, the judge of his people, he said, his voice was like the roar of many waters (Rev 1:15).

Some people who are unused to the seaside find it difficult to sleep. The constant booming of the waves disturbs them. What do you think it would have sounded like when the holy Son of God drew near, and, in a voice like the roar of many waters, said to his church in Ephesus, ‘You have things among you that I hate’ (see Rev 2:4)?

May God give us the grace to hear the booming of that voice! This is a wicked world, and not only the world but Christian churches are in sore need of a greater concept of the holiness of God. We trifle with worldliness and with sinful ways. We bicker amongst ourselves, we tell untruths, we do unclean things and we think it is all right because the world does them. Oh, friend, in this day we need the help and the authority of the holy Son of Man coming amongst us again, declaring with all his divine power and authority, ‘There are things among you that I hate’. May he open our eyes in realism. Sure, he is meek and lowly, and his yoke is easy to bear; but let us not forget that he is the holy and all powerful Son of God.

In his right hand he held seven stars (Rev 1:16). When earthly emperors wish to impress us with their power, they will hold a sceptre in their hands. It’s only a symbol, but they use it to proclaim their power. If you go to Russia on May Day, Mr Gorbachev will want to impress you with all his mighty tanks and rockets.

Come and see the man in whose hand are not merely sceptres or rockets—‘In his right hand he held seven stars,’ says John. This is the firstborn of all creation, the one who made the galaxies; he is the firstborn in redemption; he is the head of the church (see Col 1:15–20). And he holds his churches in his hand.

From his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword (Rev 1:16). That is interesting. Notice the verb, ‘came’: this was a sword that was active, no longer sheathed. When he came to be our Saviour there were moments when they accused him of being a sinner, and invited him to defend himself. They nailed him to a cross and said it was proof that he was a sinner. He could have cleared himself by telling the world whose sins had nailed him there. What should we have said, if he had opened his mouth and talked of our sins? But, ‘like a lamb he was led to the slaughter, and he opened not his mouth’ (see Isa 53:7). He suffered for our sins, bled and died, and by his grace we have forgiveness. But now his mouth is open and he is no longer silent. The sword proceeds with its sharp double edge, and he will cut out his people’s sins to deliver them from sinning.

Finally, said John, ‘his face was like the sun shining in full strength’ (Rev 1:16). Oh, what a vision! At his own express command, we remember him each Lord’s Day. As Lord’s Day follows Lord’s Day, we often think of the face that for our sake was marred beyond human appearance. Perhaps we think less often of him and his face as it now is; for if we did think of it more, should we not sin less? It is like the sun shining in full strength. Be careful, my brothers and sisters, that we do not lapse into irreverence and lightly call him simply, ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!’ Let us open our eyes to see that he is the one whose face is shining as the noonday sun, almost too bright to contemplate.

John’s reaction to the vision

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.’ (Rev 1:17–18)

The judge in his full length robe draws near to judge his people. The time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God.

You say, ‘How could I ever face his criticism?’

John, that holy apostle, tells us that when he saw him, he fell at his feet as though dead (Rev 1:17). Overcome by his majesty and the glory of the Saviour, how will John hear his criticism if he can scarcely breathe or hear or speak? He must be made to stand up like a man and listen to the Saviour. And so must we. How can we stand and face the criticisms of the Lord? Ah, here is a lovely thing. Says John, ‘But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades”’ (Rev 1:17–18).

What are those keys for? Under that weight of glory, John lay there almost dead and breathing his last. I imagine that, as he heard the jingling of the keys, and the voice saying, ‘I have the keys of hell and of death’ (kjv), he might have thought that the judge had come to open the door of Death and Hades and send John into perdition.

Thank God, it was not so. ‘Fear not, John!’ he said, ‘I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore.’ Oh, what a wonderful Saviour. Call him ‘judge’ if we must—and we must, for the Lord shall judge his people. But first he was our Saviour, and the living one who became dead. We know all too well why it was: ‘He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification’ (Rom 4:25 niv).

And now he’s risen, proclaim the joyful story, The Lord’s on high; And we in Him are raised to endless glory, And ne’er can die. ²

What John was asked to do

‘Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this’ (Rev 1:19). John then learned the secret of standing in the presence of Christ, in that sense, unafraid, because he knew there was no longer any penalty for sin: ‘There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’ (Rom 8:1). If you have learned that secret, then you too, with all God’s people, can stand before the Saviour and dare to hear the voice of his praise and the voice of his criticism.

What shall he say? I do not know what he’ll say to you in your heart or in your assembly, and we haven’t time to consider all that he said to these ancient churches. Before we leave our study, just let me take three of them to sow a seed in your minds. As you will see, the selection of these churches is not haphazard.

Ephesus

In the first church, the Lord praised them for their hatred of evil, but he said that they had lost their love: ‘you have abandoned the love you had at first’ (Rev 2:4). When it came to Thyatira, he praised them for their love, but chided them for allowing grievous evil in their midst.

We so easily become unbalanced, don’t we? One man is so hateful of evil, and rightly so; consuming his energies on rooting out evil from the church of God. God be praised for all such, for the Lord also hates evil. On the other hand, how easily we can become unbalanced and hate evil so much that we are unaware we have lost our first love for the Lord.

If he should be talking to me now, what about this central matter of my love for the Lord? What would all else matter, if at heart I have grown cold to the Saviour?

Thyatira

Then he says to the middle church, ‘Yes, you are to be commended for your love’—the only church that is. A warm hearted people they were, but now unbalanced in the opposite direction. So loving that they let any old evil into their church; even Christ-dishonouring, fearful heresies against the Son of God.

Listen Christendom! Hear the word of your sovereign Lord, and let it be proclaimed in all the county of Durham in particular. ³ It is not true love to the Lord Jesus to allow flagrant denials of his virgin birth, his resurrection and his personal glory to go uncensored in the church. We need love for the Lord and for his people; and we need hatred of anything that derogates from his glory.

Laodicea

The first church hated but didn’t love; the middle church loved but didn’t hate; and the last church didn’t do either of those. It was neither hot nor cold, and it imagined that it was doing well.

‘We’re not against these spiritual things, you know. We do believe in them, but we’re not like some who take them to extremes.’

‘I see. So you wouldn’t call yourselves cold?’

‘No, no!’

‘On the other hand, when it comes to zeal for the Lord and zeal for his word, you wouldn’t call yourselves hot either?’

‘We are very balanced.’

‘I wish you were either cold or hot!’ says Christ. ‘But if lukewarm is all you are, then one day I’ll spit you out of my mouth’ (see Rev 3:15–16).

If there is one insult above all others to offer our glorious Saviour, whose zeal for our salvation took him to the cross, it is the insult that patronizes him with a little, and supposes that it will be enough. It’s better to be cold, frigid cold, than attempt to be half-hearted and lukewarm.

May the Lord therefore give us grace to heed his comments, think further about these things and ask for his help, so that in all these matters we may discern our faults and by his grace overcome to the glory of God. We have his divine promise, that everyone who is genuinely born again overcomes the world (see 1 John 5:4).

Let me be sure that, taken as a whole, there is evidence in my life that I am overcoming the world. If the world is overcoming me and continues to do so, and I grow careless of the fact, shall I not remember that everyone who has truly been born of God does overcome? It would be a sorry and serious matter if I myself failed to overcome.

²Margaret L. Carson, ‘My chains are snapt, the bonds of sin are broken.’

³ Editor’s note: This is a reference to statements made by David Edward Jenkins, who was Bishop of Durham from 1984 until 1994.

3: The Throne of the Lord in Heaven

Reading: Revelation 4:1–11

Movement two: Revelation 4:1–7:17 (Part 1)

We come now to the second major vision, and the second movement of thought in this fascinating book of the Revelation. To introduce it, Revelation 4 points out beyond all doubt that the theme is going to be the throne of the Creator. But let me spend just a moment demonstrating to you that as this movement begins so it continues. For it is likewise true that, running through the whole of this great movement of thought, there is this constantly repeated idea of the throne of the Lord.

In Revelation 4 a door opens in heaven and John sees the great vision of the throne of God and its all-majestic occupant. He hears the choir of heaven constantly worshipping him who sits upon the throne, who lives for ever and ever.

Revelation 5 opens without a break in the proceedings, and we see the Lamb approach that august throne. From the hand of his Divine Majesty, who sits upon that throne, the Lamb of God receives a book, a scroll written on the inside and on the back, full of the counsels and plans of God. The scroll is tightly sealed with seven seals, and the question is asked throughout the courts of heaven and earth and hell, ‘Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?’ No one was found worthy. Indeed, no one was able even to look at the book (see Rev 5:2–4). Then one of the elders said to John, ‘Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals. . . . And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne’ (Rev 5:5, 7).

In Revelation 6, one by one he unlooses six of those seals (leaving the seventh to the beginning of the third movement). As he does so, judgments begin to fall from the throne of God on this unhappy and sinful world. They come to a crescendo at the end of the chapter, when all of a sudden the veil that hides the unseen world from our world is pulled aside. Mortal men in their terror call on the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?’ (Rev 6:16–17).

In Revelation 7 there are two distinct companies of people. First, we see 144,000: 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. We watch as they are sealed on their foreheads so that no drop of the wrath of God shall ever descend upon them.

Second, we see and hear a vast, innumerable multitude. They are clothed in white robes, waving palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ (Rev 7:10). One of the twenty-four elders of the heavenly court approaches John, and asks him, ‘Who are these?’ John confesses his ignorance, and asks the elder to explain who they are, which brings us to the final comment of this great sequence of thought:

These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, . . . and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. (Rev 7:14–15)

You will see, then, that we have been talking of this throne all the way through. In stark contrast to those people who call to the rocks to fall on them and hide them from the face of him who is seated on the throne, this latter company has found the grounds for standing before that throne—‘They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’

Notice his phraseology in Revelation 7:15. He does not say God shall spread his tabernacle over them; though it is true that it is God who ‘will shelter them with his presence’. Choosing his words exceedingly carefully, through divine inspiration he says, ‘he who sits on the throne’. Then he adds, ‘For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water’ (Rev 7:17). Notice that he does not say, the Lord Jesus shall be their shepherd; though to be sure he shall. Nor does he say, the Redeemer; nor yet, the Son of God.

I think we have seen enough to show us that here, in Revelation 4–7, we do not simply have some miscellaneous visions that happened to have been put together in our Bible, cheek by jowl. Like a masterpiece of music, we have a movement of thought that is concerned with the glorious throne that is established in heaven.

A look into heaven

Now, if you look back to your sheet of notes, you will find a key to the understanding of this very detailed book.

Movements 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 begin by heaven being opened, or something being opened in heaven. And then, in movements 2–5, we are shown some significant piece of furniture of the heavenly temple. In Movement two it is the throne; Movement three, the altar of incense; Movement four, the ark of the covenant; Movement five, the vessels of the ministry (see Heb 9:21 kjv).

These things were not shown to John haphazardly, for each time the heaven opens our vision is caught by one outstanding object of heavenly furniture, which sets the key for the drama that is to follow. In this current study, everything comes from this central throne.

‘What comes from it?’ you say.

We have noticed that the book of the Revelation is a solemn book, because it tells of judgments that will and must fall on our world in days to come, and who knows how soon they shall fall. Even though it is a solemn book, it is not altogether a sad book, is it? Perhaps of all the books in the New Testament, there is more praise and music to be heard in Revelation than in any other. And when it comes to the worship of God by his people, then surely it will outdo even Matthew’s Gospel in its frequency of use of the very word ‘worship’. So much so that, if God’s Holy Spirit gives us any insight into the meaning of this book and it begins to grip our hearts, fuel our minds and capture our imagination, we shall find ourselves moved to worship our blessed Saviour for his salvation. And yes, for his true and righteous judgment also.

The reasons why judgment must come

So then, what is happening in movements 2, 3, 4 and 5 is this. Before the judgments fall in these various series, God invites us to enter the throne room of heaven to see through the eyes of John the reasons why they must come. God is no arbitrary dictator, lashing out in wild, irrational and uncontrolled fury; even though our world does enough to provoke him, would you not agree? ‘The Lord . . . is patient towards you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance’ (2 Pet 3:9). But when at long last he gives the word and those judgments begin to fall, there will be reasons behind them. And he invites us now, before they come, to have counsel and conversation with him, so that he may explain the reasons.

Reason 1: It is the Creator’s throne

It is only right that the first of all the reasons why those judgments must come is because of the throne that is in the heavens. Let us therefore immediately observe whose throne it is. We saw it in our reading. Not only did we hear the elders, but the four living creatures that are seen supporting the throne of God, in their constant and glorious praise to the Creator (see Rev 4:9–11). They are living creatures, and the sheer instinct of created life in all its colourful fullness and irresistible energies cries out to him who gave it—to ‘him who lives for ever and ever’.

I trust that, from time to time, you too have been moved in your praise. Perhaps a little bit more in your youth than now. Weren’t there mornings when the spring was sunny and the daffodils bloomed, and the blood coursed in your young veins? You thought nobody was looking, and you were hopping over Warden Law ⁴ for the sheer joy of living! Whether consciously as a Christian, or with the dim perception of an unbeliever, what person hasn’t felt life within them surging up to praise the source of life? Life is one of those things that longs to go on for ever and ever.

This is the Creator’s throne, and as the living creatures worship their creator they are heard to be saying, ‘Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created’ (Rev 4:11). They observe that it was his will, his plan and purpose as the sovereign Creator; and because he made it he has the right to receive honour and glory from his creation. It should serve his will. We don’t need to be informed that the creation as we know it now, and particularly human beings have not normally, generally, and in all things, served the Creator’s will. But how serious is it?

I remember years ago, when rationing was still in force, I was travelling on a train from the south of England to the north. Opposite me was a young gentleman. I had sandwiches, he had tea, and we came to a bargain that I should share my sandwiches with him and he shared his tea with me. We got talking and presently things came round to the topic of spiritual matters, and the word ‘sin’ was mentioned. He informed me that he didn’t take any notice of sin; he didn’t even believe in the concept. Who would worry about sin?

I said, ‘Suppose you could make a motor car and, when you got behind the wheel, five times out of ten it went where you wanted it to go. But the other five, when you started it up and put it into gear, no matter how you tugged on the wheel, it took no notice and went where it wanted to go itself. What would you do with it?’

‘I’d scrap it!’, came the reply.

I said, ‘I thought so. But suppose nine times out of ten it went where you wanted it to go, and only one in ten it persisted in going its own way, what would you do with it then?’

‘Scrap it, of course,’ he said. ‘If I made a motor car, I should want it to go every time where I wanted it to go.’

I said, ‘God, your creator, has made you to go ten times out of ten where he wants you to go, and if you persist in going your own way, let me tell you bluntly, he will put you on the scrap heap of eternity.’

Oh, let our generation hear it again. We didn’t make ourselves. We’d better give up living a lie: living as though we had made ourselves and can set our own rules.

God created us to do his will

I was listening recently to a discussion, as we all have been, about the problem and plague of AIDS, and had it not been so serious I would have been amused at the nonsense spoken by one member of the panel.

Said she, ‘Let’s be careful. We mustn’t make it a moral problem.’

‘Is that so?’ said I to myself.

‘But we have a duty to help each other,’ she said.

I wondered to myself, ‘How could that be, if it isn’t a moral problem?’.

A duty to help each other; but don’t interpret duty as a moral problem, because that might imply a Creator. Men and women can’t forever abuse God’s laws, and the way and purpose for which the Creator made us. If we do, we shall find that creation itself shall rise up in rebellion against us.

We live in a created world, made by a Creator to do his glorious will, and we have gone astray. At this moment creation does not conform to the Creator’s desire, so one day judgment must come. Not to blot out creation, but to bring it at last where it will exist and perform to the will and glory of him who made it. Anybody who values life will therefore praise God for the glorious hope that this vista opens up before us. Creation will not groan for ever, for the Creator himself will move in to deliver her. So then, the judgments come because of the Creator’s throne.

Reason 2: the type of throne it is

Let us look in a little more detail at that throne, to see what kind of throne it is and some of the major details of the vision that John saw. We shall notice in geometrical terms how carefully John describes the central throne and the things related to it. Some of them come in pairs.

round the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Round the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders . . . (Rev 4:3–4)

In the first pair there was a rainbow like an emerald—therefore, green—running in full circle round the throne. Presumably, it was going vertically. Then there were twenty-four thrones, again in full circle round the throne, but presumably going horizontally.

Let us pause with those two important details. If there are two circles round the throne— the one going vertically and the other horizontally, and the throne is in the middle of those two circles—then, in the symbolism of it, anything that comes out of that throne must pass through those two circles. That is true physically, and it’s true now at the metaphorical and spiritual level. What word shall I use to describe those two circles? You would object if I were to say that they limit this throne: it is the throne of almighty God, and God would never limit his own power. We shall look at that in a minute.

At any rate, they go round and border the throne in the two dimensions. Anything that goes out from the throne—the decisions, the actions, the judgments—must pass the realm of those two circles. Let us think, therefore, of their significance.

The circle of the emerald rainbow

With your knowledge of the Old Testament, you will remember where first we read of the rainbow in holy Scripture. It was after the flood. When Noah and his family walked again on terra firma in a cleansed earth, God said, ‘I make my covenant with you, Noah. I will put my bow in the clouds, so that when the clouds begin to roll up, you may look upon the rainbow and be assured of my promise that I will never destroy the earth by water again’ (see Gen 9). Isn’t that marvellous? God is almighty; but here he is himself, ‘limiting his judgment’, if you’ll excuse the term. God may do what he pleases, but what a heart there is that beats on the Creator’s throne.

Judgment is his strange work (Isa 28:21). Once he had to judge this world, destroy it by a flood of water and allow chaos to reign again. When it had been restored he pledged himself, and with his own hand put the encircling rainbow round his throne. It was a promise to all mankind that for ever and ever on this earth God’s judgment is limited. In this at least: he will never judge it again by water. That tells me immediately something about the heart of God.

As a Christian, when I read this Old Testament story, first of all I let my heart imagine what Noah felt like. If you had been through a flood, had seen the vast powers of heaven and earth seeming to return to terror-stricken chaos, and now standing on dry land you see the black clouds begin to come up, would your heart not miss a beat and your knees begin to knock? What if it were all coming again? But God was assuring Noah that it would not happen again.

Then I forget all about Noah and his family, and think of my little self and the judgment clouds that are rolling up and shall one day burst upon our planet. Where shall I stand? Thank God, we have met the very Son of God, the agent of creation. Once he walked upon our world, and he told us a marvellous thing.

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgement, but has passed from death to life. (John 5:24)

Shout your praises to God our redeemer. In mercy to all who trust the Saviour, he has put the rainbow of his limit around his judgment, and no drop of the wrath of God shall ever fall on a genuine believer. What a God he is! His offer of mercy is still open to all who come with repentance, in their spiritual bankruptcy and waywardness, to bow at his footstool in the name of Christ. This is a throne surrounded by the emerald rainbow of a God who is prepared to limit his judgment.

The circle of the twenty-four thrones

That is wonderful in itself, but let us look at the other circle that goes horizontally around that throne. Make sure your translation here is modern enough to let you see the point. It is not twenty-four seats, but twenty-four thrones; and on each throne an elder is sitting, clothed in white, with a golden crown on his head (Rev 4:4).

I think I know what some of you are thinking. ‘What’s he going to say now? Who are those elders? Let him hurry up and say, and we shall know whether he’s right or wrong.’ To your frustration, ladies and gentlemen, I’m not going to say who they are. Isn’t that perverse of me! While you argue about who they are, however, I ask permission to tell you what they are, and start with the simple things. You may add the more complicated details later.

God’s delegation of power

First, let us start with the astounding revelation that the almighty transcendent Lord Creator not only has a throne himself, but has delegated power to persons who, on any explanation, must be his creatures. Leaving aside who they are, the impressive fact is what they are. By definition they are creatures. Consider what that tells us about God. Almighty though he is, he has delegated power to his creatures. He is no divine dictator, arbitrary and sharing his government with none. He delights to share it with creatures.

You say, ‘Tell me about those thrones and who sits on them. What is their status? Are they real thrones, or just a little bit of decoration hung round the central throne? Do they have real power?’

That’s a big question, so we’d better enquire further. Whoever they are, would you imagine they have free will, or are they a lot of mechanical toys that say yes to every proposition put to them? You know, like programmed computers or something?

‘Oh no,’ says John. ‘They are dressed in white—like the quality of their government, and they have golden crowns.’

You may be sure that these are not yes men. And you’re not either, are you? The wonder of God the creator is that, whereas he made bumblebees who couldn’t sin if they tried, because they haven’t got free will, when he came to make his lowly human creatures, he gave us free will.

As for delegating governmental power in creation, haven’t those of you who are parents, for instance, already had experience of it? God didn’t come down from heaven to bring up your children for you. He entrusted the responsibility for that bit of the government of the universe to you. You have to control your children and train them.

Some people might say, ‘Wasn’t it a little bit risky, giving so much power to parents? Not all parents are excellent parents, and children could sometimes get a wrong idea of the Creator through the false way their parents governed them.’

Well, they could, yet God chose to do it. He’s no dictator, my friend; and not only at the level of creation that has gone wrong. Let me briefly remind you what is involved in the great plan of redemption. When God restores all things, it is written of the Lord’s people that, ‘if we endure [suffer kjv], we will also reign with him’ (2 Tim 2:12). Oh, catch your breath for sheer excitement at the stupendous revelation. Having made us as his humble creatures, when we rebelled and went our own way the transcendent Lord not only provided the Lamb to redeem us, and forgave our sins, but he proposes to share the government of eternity with us. What a magnificent God he is.

And now I ask you to see the point, that whatever comes from the central throne must pass by that rainbow and this other circle of thrones, meaning that no judgment will come out of that throne that does not respect that limitation. No judgment shall come out of that throne, but what these twenty-four elders shall approve of. They are not yes men; they are creatures of perfect personal righteousness and perfect government. Their crowns are gold, and they shall approve of the judgments that the Creator lets past.

I’ll tell you something else. When at last the final judgment comes, the Father who occupies his throne shall not do the judging. Our blessed Lord tells us, ‘The Father judges no one, but has given all judgement to the Son’ (John 5:22).

Why is that?

‘And he has given him authority to execute judgement, because he is the Son of Man’ (John 5:27). Man shall be judged by that perfect man.

⁴A village in the county of Tyne and Wear four miles from Seaham.

4: The Power of the Throne

Movement two: Revelation 4:1–7:17 (Part 2)

As we resume our study of Revelation 4 and its description of the throne of the Creator, we shall notice how we are first treated to a pair of things round the throne: the rainbow (Rev 4:3), and the twenty-four thrones (Rev 4:4). We are told that the throne is now active: ‘From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings [or voices] and peals of thunder’ (Rev 4:5). The throne has been strangely silent for centuries; so much so that it becomes a problem to many thinking minds. If there is a throne in heaven at all, why is it so silent when horrific crimes are perpetrated, both individual and international? In the vision we are now reaching the time when the throne shall no longer be silent, but shall begin to communicate its solemn warnings.

And then we have the description of a pair of things before the throne: the seven burning torches of fire (Rev 4:5), and a sea of glass, like crystal (Rev 4:6). So, just as there were two things round the throne, now there are two things before the throne. Since the geometrical expression was so important the first time, presumably it is again here. What is the significance of these two objects being before the throne?

1. The torches of fire

The power of the Spirit

We may help ourselves by Old Testament analogies. When Solomon, the great king of Israel, built himself a palace, the throne was magnificent, as befitted a sovereign of such tremendous power and wisdom (1 Kgs 10:18–20). Not content with that, we are told that he had lions built on the steps of his throne. It would have been quite an experience to approach Solomon as he sat in all his glory upon the throne. When you came in, you would not only see His Majesty, but the first impression you would have as you looked up the steps from your lowly level was of these great lions, and I don’t think they had their mouths shut. The Assyrians also had a thing about lions, and depicted them all round their palaces as roaring jungle lions with open mouths, ready to spring. Many an emperor has been pleased to advertise his power by having lions on the steps of his throne.

I don’t suppose Mr Gorbachev sits on a throne, but if you went to see him he would have his little techniques for impressing you with his power. He’d invite you on May Day, and bid you stand by his side, in expectation of lunch, as he paraded those colossal rockets past you. At the push of a button they could devastate the world. He doesn’t trundle them out for nothing: it’s a reminder of the power of Soviet Russia.

As we approach the throne of the Almighty in John’s vision, what will there be before this throne with which to impress us by its power? John tells us: ‘From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God’ (Rev 4:5)

When we read of the seven spirits of God, it refers to the Holy Spirit. In symbolic language it’s telling us of the plenitude and efficiency of his universal power.

We shall begin to perceive what power resides in God’s Holy Spirit when we remember the story of the creation: ‘and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters’ (Gen 1:2). The scientists tell us that there are so many basic powers in our universe; and just recently they thought they had discovered another one, a force of antigravity, to put alongside the strong atomic power and the weak atomic power and gravity and electromagnetism.

The power of light

What interests us here is the symbolism under which they are represented: seven burning torches of fire. No rockets or tempests, but torches for illuminating people in the night. That was what torches were for in the ancient world: for light, for illumination. I am happy therefore to introduce you to this throne, and to him who sits on it. In contrast to the power of darkness, this is the kingdom of light.

Ponder it for a moment. We are not talking now merely of physical things, though light in our universe is such a basic and important thing in more ways than one. By the humble metaphors of the physical world, we are rising now to the basic principles of the throne of heaven. How does God govern his creatures? Well, he governs some by sheer instinct, but with humans and upwards God is not a god who governs by keeping them in the dark. He governs by giving us light. This is the kingdom of light, which is more significant than you might think.

Alas for governments that govern by secrecy. You mustn’t photograph this; you mustn’t report that; it’s an offence to be found with certain information. They govern by keeping people in the dark. As for medieval Christendom, their great ecclesiastical structures used the same technique and ruled people by denying them the ability and permission to read God’s holy word, and kept them in the dark. That is the power of darkness belonging to his satanic majesty.

But this is the power of light. It tells you a lovely thing about God. If you are a scientist, you’ll be looking down your microscope and working at your computer. Tell me, did you ever come across a notice in the nuclear complex that says trespassers will be prosecuted? If you work in biology, have you come across a notice that says go no further? God is a God of light; he wants you to have all the information you can get hold of. He does not govern by keeping people in the dark. ‘The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world’ (John 1:9). Men and women will be lost only because, being shown God’s light, they deliberately shut their eyes to it.

It’s a slander against God’s holy word to give our young folks the impression that it’s too difficult for them, and they’re not expected to read it. It was given to us by the one who is the light of the world and inspired by his Spirit. God gives us freedom by bringing us through his word into his marvellous light.

2. The sea of glass

The power of nature

How shall we interpret the other object before the throne? ‘And before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal’ (Rev 4:6).

Various suggestions have been made about its symbolism. Some people have seen it to be connected with the great oceans of earth that never rest. In the Psalms and the poetry of the Old Testament, therefore, the sea becomes a simile and a metaphor for the wicked: ‘But the wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt’ (Isa 57:20).

Yet, when the psalmist wishes to impress us with the power of God, he says ‘the waters stood above the mountains. . . . You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth’ (Ps 104:6, 9). In the ancient world, not knowing about cosmology as we now know, if someone had been sitting on a beach and the waves had come in unusually high, they might have been afraid that one day the oceans would again flood the earth. So they were impressed by the power of a creator who could control the raging of the sea and set its limits. If that is the way we are to think about it, the sea becomes a symbol for the great surging powers, not only of our earth, but of our universe and all its galaxies.

Let me introduce you to the man of Nazareth, who stood one day with his disciples in an open boat, as the wind and the waves raged in a storm before them. He showed himself as Creator incarnate, when he ‘rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm’ (Mark 4:39).

On the other hand, some people have said, ‘No, it’s not using the seas of the world as a symbol; it’s based on Solomon’s Temple.’ In the forecourt there was a laver filled with water for the purifying of the priests to prepare them for their ministry. It was so big it was called a sea (1 Kgs 7:23–26). ‘Therefore, here,’ they say, ‘before the throne of God and all the other tabernacle furniture, is the golden sea, like the sea in Solomon’s temple.’ If that is the background to the imagery, again it is interesting, for that sea, that laver, was for the cleansing away of the defilement of sin—not its guilt, its defilement. What shall that tell us?

As so often in the Revelation, here is a case where the background of the symbols begins to come together in a sophisticated pattern. If the wicked are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest—the literal sea whose waters churn up filth—what about our hearts? What a lot of dirt they churn up from time to time, don’t they? Is there a power in this universe that can control not only the vast oceans of the world, but the milling metaphorical seas of the nations, and the wickedness and filth that they churn up? Is there a power in the world that can bring peace and cleansing to my heart and my will, and make me an obedient subject of that throne?

Surely there is. Later in this book we shall see a vast multitude coming, having conquered the beast. As they stand by ‘what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire’ (Rev 15:2), we shall hear them sing the song of Moses, and remember the triumph of the Israelites as they came through the Red sea and out the other side to escape the power of Pharaoh. They learned two things. 1. The power of the Creator to control the waters of a literal sea. 2. The lesson of a Redeemer who taught them, and us, that the way to deliverance from disobedience and uncleanness was by being baptized in the cloud and in the sea (see 1 Cor 10:1–2)—the great ‘washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit’ (Titus 3:5), that will make us obedient subjects of the throne.

The four living creatures

‘And round the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind’ (Rev 4:6). That is to say, their backs were in and under the throne and their heads looked out. It was supported on the four living creatures, like Ezekiel’s vision of the throne (Ezek 1:26). Not beasts, as in the old translations, but living creatures.

We’ve already thought about their enjoyment of life; now let’s observe two other features about them.

They share the life and nature of their creator

There was a lion, an ox, a man and an eagle; different forms of life—life in all its fullness. I’ve often wished I was a bird, so that, when I’m tired of my books, tired of myself and other people as well, it would be nice to hop off the roof and go flying for a while. But that’s a thing I don’t possess, except in my dreams. And when I feel my weakness, I think I’d like to be a lion, or an ox maybe. People think I’m more like a donkey, but never mind!

Here is life. What’s it doing under the throne of God? Once more, in its symbolism it’s telling us a secret about the throne. How does that throne govern?

You say, ‘It governs by setting laws.’

Yes, it does: gravity, electromagnetics, instinct in the animals. But instinct has not been enough for you and me, has it? How does the throne govern? Well, it’s interesting when you come to agriculture. Take the apple trees. God wants them to bear apples, but he doesn’t send a government white paper down from heaven and say, ‘Now you shall start growing apples,’ does he? No. He gets them to grow apples by giving them apple life, and they grow apples because they’ve got that life in them.

When human life went wrong because we have free will and perverted ourselves, the throne didn’t give up in despair. God has a scheme in hand yet. He proposes to govern at the highest level in his universe not merely by giving out laws, rules and regulations. He governs by putting the very life of God into the hearts of creatures who will trust him.

Are you a believer? How does he govern you? Do you merely follow the rules in the Bible? If I’m not mistaken, you have been born of God’s Holy Spirit and have received the divine nature. By how you lead your life you already begin to give evidence that inside your human body, which is still fallen and sinful, you share the very life and nature of God. That’s the secret of God’s government at the highest level. Need I say it again? This is not the throne of a tyrant. Who would not want to worship him for the fact that he does have a throne, and for the kind of government it represents?

The Lamb is worthy to set loose the judgments

The rest of our story can be told fairly briefly. In Revelation 4 we have been looking at the beginning of Movement two, when heaven is opened and John is given to see the throne of the Creator. The judgments must come because the created world, and man in particular, has gone far in his rebellion against the purposes, will and counsels of the throne. One day, God will rise up; the Lamb shall be commissioned to begin those ‘softening up’ judgments that shall rise in a crescendo in preparation for the coming again of the Lord, our redeemer and our judge. He will bring back creation to serve the purpose of the Creator.

In Revelation 5, therefore, John sees the vision of the one who sits on the throne: ‘Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals’ (Rev 5:1). Here are the claims of God over earth, the counsels of God for his creation, and they must be put into action now. It will involve judgment, and the cry goes out, ‘Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?’ (Rev 5:2).

Who is able, first of all, even to look upon the book (Rev 5:3)? Could you face it? What will be involved in bringing this Godless world back to serve its Creator? When the accounts are tallied, when the judgment is faced, what will be involved in dealing with human sin? Could you even face it? But if no one can face it, how do you suppose there’s ever going to be a paradise? It is folly to suppose you can turn your back, forget sin and go on, and somehow you’ll still contrive to come to a paradise. That’s nonsense. Not until the question of human rebellion and sin has been faced and dealt with, is there any hope of an age of peace. Who can look upon the book, therefore, and who is worthy to open the seals and set loose the judgments?

Here, we notice the phraseology once more. Not, ‘Who is able to open the scroll?’ but, ‘Who is worthy?’ In the world, any fool could press the button of our atomic warheads and destroy it. The question is no longer who can do it, but who is worthy to do it? Here before us is heralded the worthiness of the Lamb to let loose the judgments of God, and his worthiness consists in two things (Rev 5:9–10).

1. Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain . . .

No one who perishes under the judgments shall be able to point a finger at Christ. He was slain by men (Acts 7:52); and then he was slain as the Lamb of God under the judgments of God, so that we, sinners though we are, might be redeemed. His blood covers every repentant and believing soul from the very beginning of earth to the end of time (Heb 10:12). That one great sacrifice for sin avails for all who in true repentance have put their faith in God, as Abraham did of old.

2. and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.

Not only was he slain to make forgiveness possible, but what has he made this great throng? He has made them a kingdom: people who will obey the throne. Priests: men and women who will live in priestly fashion, worshipping at the throne until all of life becomes sacred, and all activity, however humble, is a priestly service to the Creator. See the genius of Christ and the wonder of his salvation. Before he deluges earth with judgment he has first saved a multitude of men and women from out of that guilty world and made them to the creator’s desire and pleasure, so that God himself is vindicated.

I rejoice as I think about it. God could have smudged out our little planet, like you smudge out a mosquito on a summer evening. He has plenty more galaxies and suns, let alone little planets. But for God Almighty just to have smudged out our planet, wouldn’t that in a sense have been defeat? He made a planet; he made a human race and it went wrong. He couldn’t do anything about it, so he scrapped it. We serve a God who is never going to be defeated. Before the judgments fall, our blessed Lord will have redeemed a great host and made them a kingdom of obedient servants; a race of men and women who live like priests to the satisfaction of God. Happy are you and I, if tonight we are among that throng who know ourselves redeemed, a member of the kingdom of priests. May God help us to live like it even now.

The opening of the six seals

When the Lamb begins to unloose the seals, at first sight you might think what follows could be accounted for by human greed; such things as famines and wars (ch. 6). I suppose in a sense that could be true, and God’s judgment is that he just unleashes it and lets it go. God has restrained mankind’s wilder excesses and disobedience, but there comes a point when he lets them have their own way. He withdraws the restraints and they go on in their folly with a twisted and reprobate mind to do things that are horribly and hideously sinful. They bring indescribable plagues on themselves, and can’t even see it’s a result of their sin.

That’s God’s judgment already. It’s not the plague that follows the evil distortions of immorality that is the judgment. It’s the divine judgment in the minds of men and women that takes away the restraints, until their minds become perverted and they destroy themselves, crying at last to be hidden from the face of him who sits upon the throne (Rev 6:16–17).

The power of salvation

So now, as we bring our study to an end, let us think of the final chapter in Movement two—Revelation 7. If you want to have a proper understanding of the book of Revelation and to know who these companies are, you must get yourselves to the commentaries. I do not propose to answer the question as to who the 144,000 of Israel are, nor this innumerable host of the saved. I haven’t the time available now and I simply wish to follow through the major theme of the section.

Against the judgments of God now see two companies: the first are sealed (Rev 7:3); the second are said to be saved (see Rev 7:14). Whoever they are, they illustrate two basic principles of salvation common to all mankind of every age.

What does salvation mean?

1. Sealed

No drop of God’s wrath will ever fall on anybody of whatever age or time or dispensation or period who is sheltered under the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. Abraham never has and never will suffer the wrath of God. Why? Not because he lived in a past dispensation, but because he trusted God and was covered by the blood of Christ. Generations, however remote in the future and whatever age they belong to, if they likewise have trusted God, are covered by the blood of Christ. No drop of God’s wrath will ever fall upon them. Do not say that some believers will be saved from wrath because of the blood of the Lamb, but other believers of another age won’t be saved by the blood of Christ, even though they’ve trusted him. That wouldn’t do, would it?

2. Saved

What does it mean by ‘saved’? Here we are indebted to the elder who came and nudged John as he was looking on.

‘John, who are these?’ he asked. And then, to make sure that John had noticed how these people were clothed, he added, ‘clothed in white robes’ (Rev 7:13). ‘Surely, John, you have noticed that their robes are white? And do you know where they have come from?’

Says John, ‘Sir, you know.’

Tonight we shall leave the question unanswered as to who they are. For our purpose it matters more how their robes were made white. ‘They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God’ (Rev 7:14–15). We may belong to a different age, but does it matter? We join them tonight, don’t we? Oh, my brother, my sister, I try to live as a Christian should live, but every day finds me still coming short. On what other ground can I stand to be sure of acceptance before that throne?

What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. ⁵

Eternal satisfaction

We’re talking of the Creator’s throne and of creation. Sometimes the creation has hurt people, hasn’t it? Has the sun ever hurt you? You say, ‘I was on holiday in Rimini and I got sunburn.’ Some people have got sunstroke, and missionaries in the middle of hot countries have died as a result.

Creation sometimes hurts people. Earthquake, volcano, pestilence, virus, nature out of gear—all can hurt. As we lay our loved ones to rest and think of the hideous disfigurement of their bodies through disease and death, we are reminded that we live in a creation that can hurt. But what a prospect there is for those who are redeemed and their robes are washed in the blood of the Lamb.

he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. (Rev 7:15–16)

One day there shall come a time when the Creator himself shall spread his tabernacle over them and protect them, and creation will never hurt or harm them again. Isn’t it delightful? He is the Lamb in the midst the throne. At the very heart of the throne of the universe at the moment is no naked power, and certainly no impersonal force. At the heart of the universe is the Lamb of God, the redeemer, who will guide his people to springs of living water (Rev 7:17).

How often creation has failed to satisfy you. It has shown you possibilities, if only you hadn’t been born with a disability; if only you weren’t plagued by illness; if only circumstances were better. It’s tantalizing to see what creation could be, but you’ve been frustrated and unsatisfied, having to put up with second best. It shall not always be so. For every believer in Christ, the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall lead them to the fountain of life, and creation will satisfy them eternally.

⁵Robert Lowry (1826-1899), ‘Nothing but the blood of Jesus’ (1876).

5: Why There Must Be Judgment

Reading: Psalm 94:1–7; Psalm 96:10–13; Luke 18:1–8; Revelation 8:1–5

Session one

Those of you who have been able to be present on previous evenings in our studies of the Revelation will have perceived one thing at least by now, and that is that your lecturer is not a systematic theologian. It is not because he despises systematic theologians, he would be one if he could; but the eminent heights of the systematic theologians constantly defeat all his efforts to climb.

If he were a systematic theologian, what he would do is this: He would read the individual passages in Revelation; but then he would take them from their various contexts and join them up with Scriptures from other prophetic parts of God’s holy word. He would quarry his stones of theology and build them together in one tremendous system, thereby helping us to understand the whole scheme of God’s prophetic programme. He would begin to chart the course of the ages, and, as it gets towards the days that are yet to come, he would identify each period in the calendar of God’s future programme. He would very clearly distinguish between the different companies of people on earth and in heaven in those final years before the Lord Jesus comes in power and great glory to set up his kingdom. The result of the systematic theologian’s studies would be very necessary, very helpful and very illuminating.

But, as you will perceive, I am not a systematic theologian. Even if I were, our few studies would be altogether insufficient for even attempting such a penetratingly detailed study of the book of the Revelation. What we are attempting to do this week is simply to take the book as God wrote it—and it will not have escaped you that God did not write the book of the Revelation as a systematic theology. He wrote it as a drama, a vision, and he asks us to watch as his appointed apostle and seer, John, is taken up to perceive the great drama of the future days as it is put before his eyes.

You will have seen in our notes that the drama itself is divided into six major movements of thought and activity. Beginning in Movement two and going through all the movements to Movement six, each movement begins by something being opened in heaven, or heaven itself being open. In our previous study we noticed that, once the theme of a movement is set, it is carried through the whole movement, right to the final comment. If we do nothing else, we have to ascertain the leading idea in each particular movement of thought. If we can do that, we shall have gone a considerable way towards understanding this book.

The opening of the seventh seal

Tonight, therefore, we come to the third movement. You will see that it begins when the Lamb opens the seventh seal in the series of seals that bound the book that he received from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. Between the opening of the sixth seal (Rev 6:12), and the opening of the seventh (Rev 8:1), there has been a considerable interval of time.

At the beginning of Movement two we saw a door opened in heaven and John being summoned to come up and see things as heaven sees them (Rev 4:1). We observed that John was shown the throne of the Creator, and that major theme filled all the succeeding sections of Movement two. When we come to Movement three and the opening of the seventh seal, John is not now shown the throne of God but the altar of incense, and presently the large altar outside in the court (Rev 8:3, 5). Let’s fasten on that for a moment, because it will prove to be a clue to what the major theme of this movement shall turn out to be.

The background to the imagery John is using

1. The ark and the mercy seat

The tabernacle building was in two parts. ⁶ First there was the Holy Place, then the veil, and then the holiest of all, or the Most Holy Place. Preeminent among the items of furniture was the ark in the Most Holy Place. On top of it was the mercy seat; called in English, the propitiatory covering. At the two ends of the mercy seat were the golden cherubim, one at each end. That ark was the very throne of God. It contained his holy law, the testimony as to his requirements and his covenant with Israel. When eventually it was moved into Jerusalem city, we are told that the Lord God, the transcendent Lord of the earth, sat enthroned on the cherubim of that ark (2 Sam 6:2). So in Israel’s ancient tabernacle the ark formed the throne of the living God.

2. The golden altar of incense

Just outside the veil there was another piece of furniture. In fact, there were three pieces of furniture in the Holy Place, but tonight we are interested in the golden altar, or the altar of incense that stood near the veil just outside the Most Holy Place. At the time of morning and evening prayer Israel’s priests came to that altar, and on special occasions it was the high priest who came and offered prayers to God in the name of Israel. They burned incense on the altar so that their prayers might rise up to the throne of God enshrouded in the sweet smelling incense.

When John the Baptist’s father entered the temple, his role that day was to burn incense (Luke 1:9). It was one of the chief privileges of the priesthood to be allowed to enter into the Holy Place and burn incense on the golden altar. As the people’s representatives they pleaded before the throne of almighty God that God would bless the people who were waiting outside. It was as he engaged in his prayers that the angel came and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard’ (Luke 1:13).

So then, as the priest came to minister at that altar, you can see by its very position that he was addressing the God whom he believed dwelt on the ark. There had to be a veil between—an intermediary, a mediator—because in those days their sacrifices were not sufficient to allow them to enter the Most Holy Place. But though the veil was there, you can see from the diagram that he was facing the throne of God, and addressing himself and his prayers to the God who dwelt enthroned above the cherubim. So those two pieces of furniture stand functionally together.

As we return to our study in the book of the Revelation, it is no accident that Movement two is about the throne of God, followed by Movement three, which is about the altar of incense. The book of Revelation is ordered in an exceedingly logical way and put together so that its major movements fit and make sense.

Why must there be judgment?

Because of rebellion against God

At the beginning of Revelation 4 we saw that not only is John shown the throne of God the creator, but God is beginning to explain to him why the judgments must fall on this world at the end of this age. The reason for this is simple. This world is not a mindless accident; it did not make itself, nor did we human beings make it. It is the handiwork of a personal creator. He didn’t make it merely for our enjoyment and good; ultimately he made it to serve his will and pleasure. That is its logical purpose, and until that happens there will never come an age of lasting peace and prosperity.

At this present moment the world as a whole goes on in unbelief and rebellion against its creator. ‘All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way’ (Isa 53:6). Therefore, God the creator will presently have to take steps to deal with this earth and bring back this rebellious planet to serve the will of him who made it. Hence the judgment that must fall at the end of this age.

Because of the prayers of God’s saints

But now we notice that Movement three is headed, not by the throne, but by the altar of incense where the prayers of the saints are offered (Rev 8:3). We are not being shown this piece of heavenly furniture merely for sheer entertainment’s sake, but God is now going to tell us another reason why his judgments shall eventually fall on this wicked world of ours, before the Lord Jesus comes.

We have read together from both the Old Testament and the New, how all down the long, long centuries the people of God were maltreated, persecuted, oppressed, cheated. They silently or audibly raised their hearts and prayers to the throne of the universe and cried, ‘How long, O Lord, before you rise up and take vengeance on your enemies? Can you not see how the wicked oppress us, how evil men oppress the widow and crush the orphan, how they cheat? They torture your faithful people; our shoulders are to the wall. Will you not rise up and avenge your people? Can you not hear what the wicked are saying as they trample the poor under their feet and push them out of the way? They say, “The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive.” Some of them are saying that there are no almighty eyes watching anyway.’

The problem of God’s silence and delay

Now we begin to perceive again the reasons why these two movements stand side by side. The third movement introduces us to a very big human problem, a problem that has exercised the hearts of many believers and a lot of unbelievers. The problem is this. We say we believe there is a throne in heaven that one day will judge this earth—Movement two asserted it to us last night. But the question comes: if there’s a throne in heaven, why is it taking so long about it?

During the last world war, while Hitler was gassing six million Jews and stamping out millions of lives, people were constantly asking Christians, ‘Why does God allow it? If there’s a God, why doesn’t he stop Hitler?’ Have you never been asked the question? I’m sure you have.

I have a Jewish friend in Belfast. He was born in Vienna, managed to escape Hitler and came and settled in Belfast. Now very elderly, he does me the favour of coming to have dinner with me from time to time, and attending some of my lectures. Just when I think he is beginning to see that Jesus might after all be the Messiah, he says he to me, ‘David, how can your Jesus be the Messiah? Where was he when Hitler was gassing six million of my fellow Jews? Had he gone on holiday or something?’ You may be shocked at his unbelief, but consider his pain and the pain of his nation.

You can multiply that millions and millions and millions of times, right from the remote age when Cain killed his brother. Multitudes of millions of lives have perished, and other multitudes have been made to suffer torturous agony by wicked men. The question arises, if there’s a God, if there is a throne, why doesn’t God deal with evil? God knows how you feel, and has begun to answer the problem in his word. This question didn’t first surface when atheists began to read the Bible; the Bible itself has seen the problem. It does not just relate to the future, though of course in future times it will reach unprecedented heights and there will come a period in world history when the problem of the silence of God becomes almost insupportable.

We are prepared for it at the very opening of this third movement: ‘When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour’ (Rev 8:1). I don’t know if you’ve attended the Armistice Day ceremonies, but when we are asked to stand still and say nothing for a whole two minutes, some of us find it very difficult. To get a vast concourse of people absolutely silent for two minutes, it seems an eternity, doesn’t it? You just imagine what it felt like for John, standing with the whole of heaven and its myriads upon myriads of super intelligentsia, and God himself absolutely silent for thirty whole minutes.

It does reflect not merely a problem that shall rise to its highest height in the future, but a problem that has haunted God’s people all down the ages. We have heard the psalmist asking, ‘Why, God, are you silent? Why don’t you rise up and see that justice is done?’ Then we come to our blessed Lord and the parable he told in Luke 18—which follows Luke 17, of course. There our Lord outlined to his apostles the signs of his coming kingdom, which would prepare the way for the coming of our Lord in power and great glory to take the reins of government of this earth, and to destroy them as he did with the flood and in Sodom.

The parable of the unjust judge

It was in the context of prophecy of his second coming that he told this parable in Luke 18. ‘In a certain city there was a judge . . . And there was widow in that city’ (Luke 17:2–3). The widow kept coming to him, asking for justice. It wasn’t that she wanted her oppressor to be horse whipped or anything like that; she simply wanted fair play, and what was hers to be given to her.

‘But,’ said our Lord in his parable, ‘the judge neither feared God nor respected man’ and he refused to listen to her cry. Had she been a lesser mortal perhaps she would have given up, but, being a woman and a widow, she had no other recourse. If the judge didn’t help her she was lost indeed, and ruined. So she kept coming to the judge and talking to him, pleading with him and knocking on his door, be it breakfast, dinner or supper time, until he decided to give her justice, ‘so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming’ (Luke 17:5). He couldn’t stick it any more, and with a tremendous sigh he said, ‘If I don’t do something for this woman, she’ll absolutely bash me to pulp.’ So, although he didn’t care about God or man, nor the woman, it was simply for his own convenience in the end that he gave her deliverance and justice.

Then our Lord applied the parable. He said, ‘Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night?’ (Luke 17:6–7). This unjust judge, who cared neither for God nor man, was in the end moved by the cries of this widow. Shall not God, the perfection of all justice and love, hear the prayers of his elect? Our Lord’s answer is not in doubt, is it? Yes, indeed he will hear their cry. Yes, indeed he will rise up and avenge them and see that justice is done. But then he added, ‘Will he keep putting them off?’ (Luke 17:7 niv). Even though he is longsuffering over them, it seems to be a long, long while before he eventually rises up and puts things straight.

In the parable, Jesus was telling his disciples that they ought always to pray and not lose heart (Luke 17:1). In the context it means that, faced with the evil and injustice of our sorry world, they must always pray, and at all levels. At the level of the individual, of the city, the business, the school and industry. Faced with questions of international tension between nations, colossal crimes of mankind, injustices large and small, men ought always to pray. Why must they pray? Well, because not to do so would have very serious implications.

The judge in the parable was a scoundrel, but as the widow kept on coming, even he could be moved to rise up and execute justice. Do you think it worth your while, then, to pray to God? I know you prayed once or twice when you were in a fix and smarting from some personal injustice. Why didn’t God deal with it? So, like the author of Psalm 73, you have been obliged to confess, ‘I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked’ (Ps 73:3). You’ve tried to serve the Lord, but it’s the ungodly that prosper in the world. Hasn’t God got eyes to see it?

So you prayed, but then you lost heart and gave up. If you were to do that, it would imply that God is more hard-hearted and unprincipled than that old judge, wouldn’t it?

You say, ‘Yes, but he hasn’t answered my prayer yet, and the world’s evil still goes on.’

I know. But if you were to give up praying, my friend, you are saying, ‘It isn’t worth praying; God cares so little for justice that it’s not worth my breath and time asking him to intervene.’ That would be a very serious slander on the name of God.

God’s justice will come

Now we begin to see what this problem is doing. The fact that God hasn’t immediately intervened all down the centuries, whatever the age, it has been a means in God’s hand of testing and trying his people’s faith. Indeed, of testing and trying his people’s faith in himself and in the very character of God. So much so that our Lord says that God most certainly will avenge his elect; he is long-suffering over them. ‘I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily.’ Then he adds, ‘Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’ (Luke 18:8). Will people still be believing: 1. that there is a God, and 2. that the God of heaven is concerned about justice and injustice?

Tonight we shall not take much time defining the various distinct companies of believers that we shall see in these prophetic Scriptures. What we shall be doing is aiming at this basic theme that has been a problem since the world began. In Psalm 94 we heard the psalmist complaining that God wasn’t dealing with evil, then we heard the answer to that charge in Psalms 96, 97 and 99. And the answer is that one day he will. Take courage, therefore, the Lord is coming. And he is coming to judge, ‘because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed’ (Acts 17:31).

Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness. (Ps 96:12–13)

Looking forward, inspired by the spirit of prophecy the psalmist cries, ‘The Lord reigns!’ (Ps 96:10). That is, he has begun to reign; he has taken up his great power and established his kingdom on this earth and it shall never be moved. The problem is that it seems to be taking a long while for the prophecy to get fulfilled.

The question of time

So let us notice another major theme in this part of Revelation. Not only the question of the prayers of the saints, but also now this emphasis on the matter of time. ⁷ At the beginning of the vision there was silence for about half an hour (Rev 8:1).

When we come to the great vision of the mighty angel in Revelation 10, as he raises his right hand to heaven and swears by him that lives for ever and ever, he promises ‘that there would be no more delay, but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets’ (Rev 10:5–7). God’s great purposes for earth shall be brought to their consummation.

Or take the vision of the two witnesses in Revelation 11. They will witness for God in Jerusalem at the end of this age, and the effect of their witness will be worldwide. We are told that, far from being delivered, the holy city shall be trodden underfoot by the Gentiles for forty-two months and the witnesses shall prophesy for 1,260 days. And then there shall come that supreme and fearful test, when God’s special witnesses are killed by the man of sin—the beast from the bottomless pit. Their dead bodies shall lie in the street for three and a half days and heaven will be silent. The world will go mad with delight. They have proved at last that there is no God and no such thing as supernatural power.

The final comment at the end of Movement three is made by the elders (Rev 11:16–18). Now, at last, they are full of jubilation. They give thanks to the Lord God Almighty because he has taken his great power and begun to reign. He has set up his kingdom to deal with the nations.

The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth. (Rev 11:18)

It follows from your belief that there is a throne in heaven; and if there’s a throne why doesn’t it deal with evil and put it down? God promises that one day it shall be put down, but in the meantime what does he offer his people when they suffer? That question will fill our minds in the second part of our study this evening. ⁸

Movement three: Revelation 8:1–11:18

Session two

When there’s a delay

In our first session we tried to sketch in the major movement of thought in this particular passage of the Revelation that begins in chapter 8. In this session we shall look at three of the major visions that were given to John to encourage and prepare the hearts of God’s people (Rev 8:1–5; 10:1–7; 11:1–14).

Just let me say a word or two before we begin. Sometimes it is suggested that the prayers of the saints that arise before God here in Revelation 8 are in some sense not Christian prayers, because they are prayers for God’s vengeance to descend upon this world. Some commentators suggest that these prayers are simply of Jewish people, not members of the church; for they would say that members of the Christian church must pray for their enemies and not against them. Of course, the intention of theologians who say this is correct. In his Sermon on the Mount our blessed Lord told us that, when Christian people are persecuted, they are to ‘love [their] enemies and pray for those who persecute [them]’ (Matt 5:44).

But then, of course, we must not so emphasize that side of what he taught, as to suggest that other things he taught were not quite Christian. Wasn’t it our Lord who taught the parable of the widow and the unjust judge? We don’t say it’s un-Christian, do we? Christ our Lord taught it, so it can’t be un-Christian.

He taught that his people were to have faith in God and he would one day intervene in this world and insist on justice being done. Not only did our Lord teach it, but the Apostle Peter tells us that, when our Lord Jesus went to the cross, in his heart he had absolute confidence in God the judge: ‘[He] committed himself to Him who judges righteously’ (1 Pet 2:23 nkjv). From this we learn something of the strength of our Lord Jesus’ heart and character. How did he do it, when they spat upon him, cursed him, beat him, when they crowned him with thorns? ‘When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten.’

Oh friend, how terrible that solemn moment would have been if the man of Nazareth, for all his thorn-crowned brow, had threatened with his divine power the enemies who were crucifying him. Planet earth would have been shaken to its foundations. The fact is, ‘like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth’ (Isa 53:7). Why? Was he saying that it is wrong ever to punish evil, and that God will never punish it? No, indeed he wasn’t. He committed himself to him that judges righteously, knowing that justice shall be done universally one day; earth’s wrongs shall be made right and the wicked punished. In that confidence, our blessed Lord went to the cross.

The inspired Apostle Paul tells Christians to do likewise. He says, ‘Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord”’ (Rom 12:19). It is no part of our Christian attitude to say that God will never take vengeance. One day, this planet is going to be run justly in all its ways. Financially, economically, ecclesiastically, religiously and every other way, justice will be done. In the meantime, God asks his people to dare to trust him and commit ourselves to him who judges righteously, leaving to him the avenging of our wrongs.

We are to do like our Lord did, and pray for our enemies that they might be saved. It’s a hard thing, isn’t it? At least, I find it a hard thing. When I feel I’ve been unjustly treated I want to get my own back, to be honest. It’s hard to trust and leave it to God. What comfort may I have, then? What consolation? What will fortify my faith in the justice of God, in the coming of the Lord, and in the day of judgment? Here, in Revelation, we have pictures that will be of special help and comfort to the people of God living in that future day, and surely we may borrow comfort from them for ourselves.

1. The incense altar

Comfort: God answers prayer

Your prayers, my brother, my sister, your sobs and your tears are heard in heaven (Rev 8:3–4). Not one of them has been lost. You have kneeled at your bedside and prayed to the living God about what folks have done. Your heart smarts, wounded by the injustice as you see it. You feel that nothing has happened and the wicked prosper. Your prayers haven’t been lost. As this vision opens, there comes this terrible silence. Will God never answer? Will he never rise up? But at last, after thirty minutes of complete silence throughout the whole of heaven, the silence is broken. What a dramatic moment.

You say, ‘What breaks the silence? What has started the movement?’

And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne. (Rev 8:3)

In that moment, those prayers began to be effective. What a comfort that is to our hearts. Our prayers and our tears are not lost. God has your tears in his bottle (see Ps 56:8). One day he shall answer your prayers, and ensure that justice shall be done.

Says somebody, ‘Who is that angel who takes the prayers of the saints along with the incense, and offers them?’

Some say, ‘I have no doubt it is the Lord Jesus.’

Others say, ‘I have no doubt who it is either; and it isn’t the Lord Jesus.’

So what shall we do when the theologians disagree? We know what the incense is, so we can start there. In ancient Israel they used literal incense when they prayed. They weren’t being childish; it was God in the infancy of the race illustrating things to an Israelite. When an Israelite came to pray, he didn’t stand in the presence of God and say, ‘I am such a perfect character, I’ve never done anything wrong. Please, God, look how good a man I am, and avenge me of all my enemies.’ No, indeed not. Who could pray like that? Israel had to be taught that no prayer was answered because of their own personal righteousness or merit. So, in symbol, when they prayed they added incense, and the prayer went up to God, so to speak, in the cloud of that fragrant incense. God smelled the incense, and for the favour and fragrance of the incense he granted them their prayers.

The merits of the Saviour

Well, ladies and gentlemen, you mustn’t think the Israelites were unintelligent babes. When they thought about it, even they perceived that God didn’t grant their prayers because he likes the nice smell of burning incense. God didn’t say, ‘I like that. Yes, I think I will answer their prayers.’ Of course not; it was only a symbol, wasn’t it? But a symbol of what? What is the reality that moves God to answer our prayers, whether now or in a coming day?

We have no need to quarrel about it. Our prayers are not answered on the basis of our personal merit. As our blessed Lord taught us, we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus and for his sake. What a tremendous message that is. Justice will be done on this earth; and for God’s people, not simply for their sakes, but for the sake of the merit of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Do remember that. Shudder with the shame of it, if you can still do it. This planet has witnessed an ugly gibbet erected in its soil, and God’s fair son spiked to the wood. The only man who lived a perfect life is done to death in indescribable injustice. You don’t suppose that our planet is going to get away with it for ever, do you? The merits of Christ shall come up before God, and for his sake, if there were no other in the universe, justice will be done here on earth. In that moment the prayers of all God’s saints down the ages that have been stored up in the memory of God shall be included in the merits of the Saviour, and they shall at last be answered. Thank God for the merits of Christ. Pray on: you have a faithful God, and you have a wonderful meritorious Saviour.

And as we Christians think of these things, we can’t help adding other things. We think of our Lord’s challenge, ‘when the Son of Man comes, will he [still] find faith on earth?’ (Luke 18:8). We’re far off those final times, but you haven’t come to a position where you say, ‘I can’t believe that God really cares any more’, have you? It would be a bad thing if you gave up believing, wouldn’t it?

What keeps us believing? We have a great angel (Rev 8:3). And now you can see how I interpret the passage! We have a great angel. Not only are his prayers granted for his merit, and our prayers granted for his merit, but the Bible says ‘[he] is interceding for us’ (Rom 8:34). When Peter was to be assailed by Satan, Christ prayed for him that his faith should not fail (see Luke 22:31–32). And we know that God is faithful, and he will not let us be tempted beyond our ability (see 1 Cor 10:13).

2. The angel with the book

Comfort: God keep his promises

You will notice that we have skipped over those other visions of the inrush of demonic forces upon earth; and what hideous days they shall be. We come swiftly to a vision that will comfort our hearts, the vision of the strong angel from heaven who sets his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land (Rev 10:1–3). Once more the theologians differ in their opinions as to who the angel is. You may regard the Lord Jesus as this angel of the Lord, or one of his chief ministers. Perhaps in the end it will not make much difference. But as we think of this vision we should remember its Old Testament counterpart.

Daniel’s vision

Daniel the prophet was given to see a similar vision (Daniel 10–12). As an elderly man, he was standing by the great River Tigris, one of the chief rivers of Babylon, the imperial power that in his youth had raided his kingdom, smashed it to smithereens and dragged him off into captivity. The great, vast armies of the ancient world had overflowed their banks and flooded Israel, with all the consequences of distress and disaster for his people. For years he had lived as an ex-patriot, employed in the civil service of these imperial powers, and now he was an elderly man. As he stood by the river in his advanced age, I think I stand with him watching it go by.

Have you ever stood by a river and watched it flowing past? The first time I stood by the River Rhine, I said to myself, ‘Is this the Rhine that was flowing when Hitler’s bombers came to bomb England?’

Daniel stood by the River Tigris, watching the waters until they disappeared over the horizon. What a lot of water had gone under the bridges during his long, long life. Where was it going? Now the water was disappearing over the horizon, but where shall life take it? What lies ahead in history for his beloved people, Israel? While he thought on these things, he lifted up his eyes and looked and saw a man clothed in linen (Dan 10:5). As the waters were going on the man stood above the river and began to talk to Daniel about the future and what should happen. He told Daniel of the terrible times of suffering that would come upon his people, and warned him that at the end of the time there would be a brief period of unparalleled pain and sorrow and affliction for the nation of Israel. It is yet to come, of course, but it shall come.

Later in the vision he sees two others standing, one on each bank of the river. So fearfully dark were the things that the man clothed in linen had told Daniel, that one of them asked him, ‘How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?’ That is, how long shall the end time be? How long, this period of unprecedented and terrible tribulation that shall afflict Israel?

Then Daniel saw the man, who was standing above the river, raise his right hand and his left hand to God, and swear by him who lives for ever and ever that it would be for a certain period. The time would be controlled: so much, and no more (Dan 12:6–7).

He had said some lovely things. As he stood above the river, he saw what Daniel couldn’t see. He could look beyond the period of trouble, and he told Daniel that all those whose names were written in the book should certainly be delivered; there would be a resurrection, ‘and those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever’ (see Dan 12:1–4). Finally, he said to Daniel, ‘But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your [lot] at the end of the days’ (Dan 12:13). The elderly Daniel died in faith, having seen the promises from a distance (see Heb 11:13).

It’s wonderful to see above the river of time that man who can see the end from the beginning. My brothers and sisters, however little or much tribulation you see, I can tell you this. There is one who stands above your river: he sees you not merely as you are now, but as you shall be at the resurrection. He sees you in your glorified state in your eternal inheritance. Are you not glad that, as a Christian, your name is written in the book, as Daniel’s was as a Jew?

That is the background of the vision that we find in Revelation 10. But notice the differences as this strong angel comes to encourage John in his final prophecies, and what he has to say about the fearful time of tribulation that shall fall upon Israel and upon this world.

John’s vision

All God’s promises to his saints down the ages shall come to their fulfilment, and the great purposes of God in redemption shall climax in the coming of the Son of Man. So, to comfort his people who shall be in that time of tribulation, the angel comes down from heaven and swears by almighty God that, in faithfulness to his people, the time of vindication shall be soon.

And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven and swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets. (Rev 10:5–7)

As he does so, he has a book in his hand (Rev 10:2). Its primary meaning, of course, is the message that John must preach; the message that will be preached in those final days just before the Lord comes.

How will he keep our faith?

Tonight our interests are more personal, aren’t they? Can you visualize the mighty angel with one hand holding a book, and the other hand raised to the very throne of God, swearing by the oath of God that the purposes of God would be fulfilled? Forgive me for saying it, but some of you will be gone to heaven pretty shortly, won’t you? The Lord is still working on your faith. In spite of life’s injustices, he’s got to bring you home to heaven with your faith refined but unbroken, and your confidence in the purposes of God untarnished and unshaken.

Oh, see your blessed Lord tonight. One hand is lifted up to the very throne of God, swearing by him who cannot lie; and in the other hand he’s offering you a book. Whatever temptation, oppression, persecution or injustice await us in our day, assailing our faith, we would be wise people to realize that we do need to know God’s book: ‘These are the true words of God’ (Rev 19:9).

It is a cruel thing in this ungodly world, where Satan will be out to destroy their faith, to send believers out in ignorance of God’s detailed word. Because you elders love their souls, do follow the Lord’s example and buttress their faith. They need to know not just one verse; they need to know God’s detailed word, so that, knowing his divine programme, they may not be surprised when things happen but trust the God who wrote it, assured that it will be fulfilled. We need to know it. Our Lord stands, grasping the very throne of God with one hand and offering the book in his other hand, guaranteeing by the divine oath that every promise in the book will be fulfilled.

3. The two witnesses

Comfort: God will eventually restore his people

And finally, there is the vision of the two witnesses (Rev 11:1–14). It tells of two witnesses, like two olive trees, who stand before the Lord of the whole earth to witness for God. This vision too has a background in the Old Testament.

Zechariah’s vision

In Israel’s history there were three major periods before the coming of Christ. From Abraham to David; from David to the exile; and a third, from the exile to the coming of the Lord Jesus, on which we shall now briefly concentrate our attention. It was the period of what we call the restoration, the period of the return (see Ezra 2). Israel had been taken into exile. Their city, Jerusalem, was destroyed; their temple destroyed; their king lost. But, as the prophets had promised, there came the day of restoration. Cyrus the king gave them permission to come back. Among them were Nehemiah, Ezra, Zerubbabel and Jeshua. They rebuilt the temple and the city wall. It was the day of restoration, a marvellous day, and at least some of Israel had returned from Babylon.

But when Israel got back into their own land, there were a lot of little nations that kept barking and biting at their heels. They wrote letters to the great imperial power, and demanded to have Israel stopped. So for a while the building of the temple was interrupted.

Then God sent Zechariah a vision. He sees a man with a measuring line in his hand, going to measure Jerusalem (Zech 2:1–2). Later he sees a great lampstand and two olive trees joined to it, one on the right and one on the left, miraculously pouring oil into the lamp to keep it burning. The message conveyed in the vision was: ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts’ (Zech 4:6).

A remnant of the little nation of Israel, a few thousand men and women, was trying to re-establish Israel’s testimony to the living God and rebuild the temple in their devastated country. They were harassed on all sides, but God came to their hearts with assurance. ‘I shall do it, Zerubbabel,’ he said, ‘not by human might, nor by power, but by my supernatural power—by my Spirit.’ In this ungodly, idolatrous world it was a demonstration that there is a living God in heaven, and Israel is still his chosen people.

Another relapse

So the temple was built and all went well. But as the years went by it became obvious that this restoration wasn’t the final restoration. Things began to go bad once again. There were priests in Israel who had gone modernist and liberal—we know the type. They wanted to turn Jerusalem into a hedonistic city, with a gymnasium and Greek education. They held that it was very narrow-minded to suppose that Jehovah was the only God. Surely the worship of the Syrians was just as valid? They used a different name for God, that’s all. But it was the same God: Jehovah, Baal-Shalim, or Zeus, it didn’t matter. All religions were the same, and all roads led to somewhere; so why couldn’t they drop their distinctiveness as Jews, and all this silly business about circumcision? Fancy believing that our Scripture is inspired in any special sense, or that Israel is a special nation. These false teachers were none other than the high priests of Israel. Alas, how history repeats itself, doesn’t it?

Then there came a notorious Gentile emperor, Antiochus Epiphanes (215–164 bc). For a whole set of complicated reasons he came to Jerusalem, and in collaboration with those modernist priests he defied the God of heaven. He erected heathen idols in the temple, took away the daily burnt sacrifice and sacrificed pigs upon Jehovah’s altar, which was an abomination. In the Greek and pagan manner, he filled the courts with temple prostitutes. If he caught Jewish mothers practising circumcision on their children, he had both mothers and children thrown from the mountain to the rocks below. He forbade possession of holy Scripture and set up altars in all the streets. He set out to prove, 1. that the Jewish nation is not a special nation; 2. that Jehovah is nobody special at all.

The sad and solemn story to relate is this. With the apostate liberal priests standing by, the people of God being persecuted, and the emperor setting up the abomination of desolation and defying God Almighty in his very temple, heaven was absolutely silent for three and a half years. How could you explain it? You can imagine them coming at the Maccabees—the faithful Jews of the time—saying, ‘Where’s your God now?’ Eventually, of course, God did intervene and the temple was vindicated.

That is the background to the vision in Revelation 11, and the Spirit now takes us in thought to Jerusalem city—not, please, to the church, but to Jerusalem city—the place ‘where their Lord was crucified’ (Rev 11:8), and to the temple in the city.

John’s vision

John is told not to measure the court outside the temple because Jerusalem city shall again be in the hands of the Gentiles for forty-two months, downtrodden by the atheistic imperialistic power.

Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.’ (Rev 11:1–2)

Once more, the question will be: Is Israel God’s people? Is there a God in heaven at all, so that Israel could be his people if they wanted to be? Apostate Jews shall agree with the atheist powers, like some of them do already. And I tell you what: by that time Christendom, having gone absolutely apostate, shall agree with them too. They are doing it already. There is one theologian in the University of Cambridge, and as a Cambridge man myself I say it to my sorrow. In the name of the church, he tells people that there is no God. Another cleric not far from here says that, while he believes in the resurrection, he doesn’t believe in the possibility of divine intervention. Not ten years ago a book appeared, written by some of the leading theologians in Britain. ⁹ They entitled it The Myth of God Incarnate. They said it was impossible to believe in the incarnation because it would imply divine intervention in our world. ‘We cannot believe in the possibility of divine intervention,’ they said. And this in the name of the Church! Apostate Christendom and apostate Judaism shall agree, and then there shall come a hectic time such as never was before.

In those days God will again raise up two witnesses, empowering them by visible supernatural power. They shall witness to that temple in its apostasy, like Moses and Elijah witnessed to the Israelites. Elijah called fire from heaven as he warned Israel from the folly of their idolatry to recognize and serve the true God of heaven, and Moses made the water into blood as he defied the pharaoh who would have kept Israel in bondage. So, if anyone harms these two witnesses, ‘fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes’, and they shall ‘have power over the waters to turn them into blood’ (Rev 11:5–6). They shall demonstrate to the world that there is a God in heaven.

The two witnesses are killed and then come back to life

Then there comes a terrible crisis. The beast that rises up from the abyss shall make war against them and overcome them and kill them, and their dead bodies shall lie for three and a half days in the street of Jerusalem city.

The world will say, Q.E.D., quod erat demonstrandum: ‘There’s the proof that there is no God. You thought it was supernatural power, and it seemed so at the time, but now our scientists can do the same thing in their laboratories, and even better. Our laser beams, and our mind manipulation have shown that what used to be superstitiously thought of as supernatural power, isn’t supernatural power. There is no God, and religion has finally been proved to be empty and a lie.’

The world will go mad with delight. There’s no divine punishment any more. Now the moral code has no absolute God behind it, our world is our own and we have no need to fear judgment.

How do you think the believers of that time will feel, when heaven is absolutely silent for three and a half days? Thank God, the silence doesn’t last forever. After three and a half days the witnesses shall stand up on their feet and a loud voice from heaven shall say to them, ‘Come up here!’ (Rev 11:12). They shall be caught up to heaven in a cloud and the end is coming soon.

Believing in God when you can’t see his plan

As you go home you’ll probably be asking yourself, ‘Why would God allow that to happen?’ It’s an interesting question. I don’t propose to answer it in those terms tonight, but simply to put another question to you. Why are there times when you cry to God against the injustice that you have suffered, and he seems silent to you? One answer surely is this. Faith in God does not mean that God featherbeds his people. If your faith in him is going to be real, it must be prepared to believe God, not only when the evidence is good, but when there seems to be no evidence. Indeed, when the evidence seems to be contrary.

Sitting in the ashes of the rubbish heaps, Job was driven to say, ‘If only I knew where I might find God. If only he would answer me, I could convince him’ (see Job 23:3–5). The trouble was, God remained silent. We know why, don’t we? The devil was attacking Job’s faith (Job 2). If the faith was genuine, God had to allow Job to be tried—but not for longer than Job could endure it. In the end, Job was vindicated and his faith was strengthened. God blessed Job more than ever (Job 42).

He will do the same with all who are believers before he takes us home to heaven, proving our faith to be much more precious than gold that perishes even though it’s refined by fire (see 1 Pet 1:7). We dare to believe our God even when he’s silent—even when he doesn’t appear to answer our prayers—so that our faith may result in praise, glory and honour at the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁶See Appendix 11.

⁷See Appendix 1.

⁸Editor’s note: There is a break in the recording at this point.

⁹Editor’s note: Ten essays in all, written by the editor, John Hick, and by Don Cupitt, Michael Goulder, Leslie Houlden, Dennis Nineham, Maurice Wiles and Frances Young.

6: Establishing the Kingdom

Reading: Genesis 1

Movement four: Revelation 11:19–15:4

Session one

A review of movements one to three

Movement one: Revelation 1–3

First of all, we saw the vision of our Lord Jesus walking amongst his churches, appraising their good deeds and criticizing their faults; calling on them to repent and to lay hold of the resources in the living Christ, so that they may prove themselves to be genuine believers, genuine members of his body. To use the technical term in the book of the Revelation: that they may prove themselves to be overcomers.

We reminded ourselves how appropriate it is in this book, which delineates the judgments of God as they shall fall upon the guilty and unrepentant world, that the first movement should deal with the time that has already come for judgment to begin at the house of God. Peter reminds us, ‘it is time for judgement to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?’ (1 Pet 4:17).

Movement two: Revelation 4:1–7:17

In Movement two God takes us behind the scenes and up into heaven to see things through the eyes of the Apostle. He begins to show him why the judgments must eventually fall on our guilty world. The first reason is because of the claims of the Creator’s throne. Heaven is opened and John is shown the Creator’s throne, and reminded that, because he is Creator, Christ has the right to demand that all creation should serve his will and purpose (Col 1:15–16).

We learn from Revelation 6 onwards that the world of men and women at this time does not uniformly serve the purpose of their Creator. They, like us, will have all gone astray and gone each one to their own way. Sooner or later the judgments of God must come, in order that the world might be brought back to serve the will of him who made it.

Movement three: Revelation 8:1–11:18

Then we were taken again behind the scenes into heaven and shown a number of other reasons why the judgments of God must fall on this world. Not now, so much, the claims of the throne of the Creator, but the prayers of the people of God, represented by the incense altar. All down the centuries the saints of God of every generation and tribe have suffered injustice and persecution. They have called upon God to witness their sufferings and do something about the evil that pervades the world. At the end of this age they shall suffer an unprecedentedly large persecution at the hands of the enemies of God.

We found, then, that one day the time will come when God shall no longer delay. There shall no longer be silence in heaven, but God shall rise up and take to himself his great power and establish his rule here on earth. His kingdom will come (Rev 11:15). Then the dead shall be judged; his servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear his name shall be rewarded; and those who destroy the earth shall be destroyed (Rev 11:18).

At that point we have reached the middle of the book of Revelation, and we now move on to its second half. At the end of Movement three we heard the prophetic promise that the time will come when God shall take to himself his great power and reign. He will deal with men, put down injustice and firmly suppress evil. Now, in movements four and five, we shall see two major perversions that God will have to deal with in order to establish his kingdom here on earth.

A preview of movements 4 and 5

Movement four: Revelation 11:19–15:4

The first perversion comes in Revelation 12, where we see the rise of two beasts. We shall notice that they stand not only for an empire but for its two heads of state, who shall supervise the biggest perversion this world has ever seen—a perversion of power.

Movement five: Revelation 15:5–19:10

In Revelation 17 we shall see another perversion, and God’s judgment on the great prostitute, Babylon (Rev 17:5). Then in Revelation 18 God’s judgment on the great city of Babylon (Rev 18:16). You will notice that the two beasts represent men, but the two aspects of the city are represented as women; so that in Movement four we have perversion of the male, and in Movement five perversion of the female—a perversion of beauty.

Just as movements two and three go together—the throne of God and the incense altar; the throne and the prayers addressed to that throne—we shall find that movements four and five go together. They tell us of the perversions of the human race: perversions of power and beauty that God will have to put down before he establishes his kingdom here on earth.

Movement four: Revelation 11:19–15:4

My aim is to put Movement four into its wider biblical context, so let’s read in Genesis 1.

The perversion of power

We come now to a very familiar and frequently quoted passage of Revelation. Anybody who knows anything at all about the book knows it, if not by heart, fairly well indeed. Its solemn central message is clear. At the end of this age, just before the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power and great glory, some form of international government will arise in the western world, perhaps also spreading its influence throughout the whole world.

In Revelation 13 it is pictured metaphorically as a wild animal, with horns representing individual kingdoms. The sovereign powers of those kingdoms eventually agree to cede their sovereignty to a central government headed up in the person of a supreme genius. When this happens there will be, in one sense, a time of peace and safety (see 1 Thess 5:3). Many of the pressing problems in economics and politics that make life difficult will appear to be resolved. That government will not only be anti-Christ but anti-God. That is to say, its basic religious philosophy will not only be to deny that Jesus is the Son of God, but to deny that there is a God at all. Its political and scientific propaganda will be that there is no God behind this creation, and in the end it will demand universal acceptance that man is God.

It would appear that this beast shall stage some form of pseudo resurrection, for we read: ‘One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed’ (Rev 13:3). In spite of having received a death stroke, it was apparently healed and revived. This shall make such a tremendous impression that the whole earth marvels and cries out, ‘Who is like the beast?’ What they are doing is not just saying that the head of government is a very clever fellow. They are expressing the philosophy of the imperialist power that will take to itself language used in Old Testament days when God and his people wished to express the uniqueness of the sovereign and transcendent Lord. ‘Who is like the Lord our God . . . ?’ (Ps 113:5), is the challenge as God through his word and his providence exposes the folly of an idolatrous interpretation of the universe, and announces and insists that there is but one true God who is unique and incomparable.

At the end of this age a government shall come into power. Represented by its head, it shall not only be anti-Christ and against the Christian gospel but shall go further, not only to deny the very existence of God but arrogantly claim for itself God’s own status and worship. ‘Who is like the beast?’ they shall say, deliberately using a claim made of Jehovah.

What is idolatry?

That is very interesting, for you will know that all through history to our present day there is a big argument about how we should look upon the world in which we live. By and large it is divided into two camps. One camp believes in God the creator, the unique, personal, transcendent Lord who made all things. The other camp has been marked by what we technically call idolatry. As you wander round museums from time to time, I suspect you’ve been horrified to see collections of idols, and wondered how on earth anybody could ever have worshipped such hideous looking objects: fetishes, or idols of stone or wood, painted and carved in hideous proportions. So that nowadays when we think of idolatry we are inclined to think of primitive savages in the jungle; but we must try and get a clearer notion of what idolatry is.

Idolatry in the ancient world was simply the deification of the forces of nature, and also of our own human psychological powers. God told his people that there was only one God; he was the creator and all the powers in the universe were made by him to serve mankind. Man himself was made in the image of God as his viceroy, to rule under him and to have dominion over God’s creation (Gen 1:26–28). He wasn’t to go bowing down to the forces of nature; he was to stand upright on his two feet, conscious of his dignity (see Exod 20:4–5). The Bible tells us that, after the fall, mankind very quickly and consistently abandoned the idea of a creator and worshipped the creature rather than the Creator.

You see, for various reasons men didn’t wish to retain the knowledge of God in their minds (Rom 1:28). Then, as they went about life, they had the common sense to see that the vast powers of the universe are bigger than they are. There is the storm, the wind, the sun, the moon, the stars, the planets—men cannot control them. Therefore, they made gods of them and bowed down to them. Because they couldn’t control them scientifically, they tried to control them by the mumbo jumbo of their sacrifices.

Not only so, but they had powerful urges, which very often they couldn’t control either. There were aggressive urges and sexual urges, and presently, losing sight of the creator and of their own dignity as creatures of God, they started to make gods of their own psychological urges and deified the goddess of love, the gods of war and of aggression, the gods of chance or fate. Very soon the ancient world came into a horrible bondage to the idolatry they had created.

That kind of thing goes on in our present day. We must disabuse our minds of the idea that nowadays men and women who are not believers in God are so scientific that they wouldn’t be idolatrous. I tell you straight, everyone who does not believe in the supreme God is a downright idolater.

‘How’s that?’ you say.

If there’s no God out there who made us, then we’ve got to ask ourselves what the ultimate powers in this universe are that control us. You don’t control the universe, do you? So what are the ultimate powers that control you? We no longer think in terms of idols. We think in terms of atoms, molecules, quarks, viruses, the great electromagnetic forces, the force of gravity, the weak force of the atom and the strong force, nuclear force—the great impersonal ultimate forces. And if you think at all, you’ll have to make up your mind on which side of this divide you stand.

How are you going to interpret life? I dare say there are many people who’ve given up on the idea of a God out there because they don’t want their lives to be controlled. They want to be free to do their own will, and resent the idea that there is a supreme Creator who stands behind the moral code. They want to strike a blow for freedom, so they choose to believe that there isn’t a God, imagining they’re going to be free.

We’re going to see what the end shall be of people like that. Instead of turning out to be freedom, it shall be the most horrible slavery that this world has ever envisaged.

The authority of the beast

How shall that come about? Well, to continue with our first observations on Revelation 13, at the end of this age there shall arise an international government headed by a genius. He shall be anti-Christ and anti-God, but you mustn’t think that means there won’t be any religion. There will be a religion headed up by a ministry of propaganda. I dare say it will call itself, Department of Truth, or Information, or something, and it will put across the idea that the time has come to deify the head of state.

‘You can’t mean that!’ someone says. ‘Would anybody ever consent to regard the head of state as God? Take our Prime Minister, or even Her Gracious Majesty; who would regard them as God?’

Wait a minute! Some fifteen or twenty years ago, the great and famous scientist, Sir Julian Huxley, gave us the benefit of his mature thought. He was a plain atheist and didn’t believe in a God out there. He said that, according to his understanding, the whole universe around us, and mankind on it, has evolved. There had been no plan, no purpose, no design. Through a whole chance array of mindless, unforeseen and unplanned accidents, evolution had brought this vast universe and mankind into being, including the human brain.

But then Sir Julian observed that, by some incredible stroke of fortune, evolution has created intelligence, and we humans have enough intelligence to see how to control evolution. We can harness it and make it do what we want. We can do a little bit of scientific engineering of the cell and bring our planet to the glorious age of world peace and plenty that all of us long for.

Then he added another thing. ‘The difficulty is that, now we’ve uncovered atomic power, one of these days someone will press the wrong button and blow the whole planet to pieces before we’ve had time to develop our world of peace and plenty.’

What shall we do to stop such fools?

Here is his answer: ‘What we need is a new religion.’

You see, the ordinary man in the street is not moved by test tubes—who would bow down and worship a test tube? Atomic formulae and so on doesn’t mean anything to him. We want something that could control people’s selfishness; get at their hearts and attract their loyalty, so that they would be willing to sacrifice their own personal and private interests for the good of the state. Rather than pressing the button of an atomic bomb and smashing up the planet, or starting a guerrilla warfare, they would agree on a vision of the future for the good of the whole. With such loyalty of heart to the human race, they would work together to build this fantastic new world.

‘Of course, when I speak of religion, I don’t mean the old religion,’ said he.

Well, how could he? According to Sir Julian there’s no God, so all religion that is based on a creator is hopeless. He didn’t tell us what he would put in its place. What do you suppose men will eventually put in its place? They won’t go back to worshipping centipedes, will they? They will start to worship the highest thing they know, and that will be man. Man with the intelligence to control evolution; man in government; man personified as the head of state. It will be done for the good reason of banishing war and building a utopia. Mankind will put their faith in themselves, and a man in particular.

I was talking to a Jewish scientist this last summer. He’s an observational astronomer, and he told me that he believed in God.

‘You know,’ he said, ‘my basic principle of life is that the just shall live by faith.’

I said, ‘That’s very good.’

‘Yes,’ he said, ‘the just shall live by faith—in yourself. As for you Christians with your belief in the Messiah, I don’t like that idea at all. I don’t need a Messiah. Messiah is your own potential: believe in yourself.’

The ghastly deception

As we move towards the end of the age we can begin to see where our world is going. Of course, it isn’t just the West that has taught these atheistic philosophies; many countries in the East have governments that are built on the atheistic principle.

We should listen, therefore, to what John, our blessed Lord, and the Apostle Paul in particular, have to say.

In Revelation 13 the Apostle John tells us that this great head of state, in his quest for divine honours and worship, will demand the ultimate loyalty of every human heart to himself and to his government. As the supreme power in the universe, he will be equipped with a propaganda machine, called here the second beast—a Ministry of Truth I dare say it will be called. The Bible warns us that ‘it performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people’ (Rev 13:13). These miracles shall be by the power of his satanic majesty himself.

They shall be so stupendous, says our Lord, ‘that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect’ (Matt 24:24 kjv). Couldn’t you cry for our world, in its imagined wisdom and intelligence, fighting against the idea of a personal God; not willing to bow the knee, and thinking that by ditching the idea of God they are striking a blow for freedom? You could cry for them, for the day will come when they shall be impressed by a tremendous show of apparently miraculous power authenticating this international ruler, and the whole thing shall be one ghastly deception.

The Apostle Paul tells us the same:

For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. (2 Thess 2:3–4)

Just before the appearing of Christ in power and great glory, the man of sin shall demand the supreme allegiance of everybody in his kingdom, under pain of death. Then holy Scripture adds this:

Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thess 2:11–12)

These are some of the sternest words in holy Scripture, are they not? Why will God ‘send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie’ (nkjv)? Well, ladies and gentlemen, solemn as it sounds, it is simply the law of nature, ‘whatever one sows, that will he also reap’ (Gal 6:7). It’s because they would not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved (see 2 Thess 2:10).

The choice is between the truth and the lie

Therein is the tragedy—they could have been saved. In spite of their sins, God, their maker, gave his Son to die for them to redeem them from slavery and set them free. He wants them to reign with Christ as God’s viceroy for all eternity, and they wouldn’t have it. They said that the whole thing was a lie, a fable and a legend. If they wouldn’t have God and his Saviour, what would they have? There’s only one other choice. If they will not have God’s truth, automatically they are choosing the lie. One day, God will fix them in their unhappy choice. To this John adds his own warning—in those days, multitudes will be deceived (Rev 13:14). They shall fall at last under God’s just judgment.

As we think of these things, and are about to pause in our study, will we not let them come home to our hearts? We may not know how near that time is, nor how far distant, but the same Satan, who shall be behind things and deceive multi millions of people then, is working even now.

I wonder if I’m speaking to somebody who knows the gospel, and so far has rejected it. Would you allow me to appeal to you? To know the gospel and go on rejecting God’s truth with your eyes open is to run that same risk, and one day God will give you what you yourself have chosen. You will believe the lie and find it impossible to alter your choice.

O do not let the word depart, And close your eyes against the light; Dear [neighbour], harden not your heart. You would be saved? Why not tonight? ¹⁰

Movement four: Revelation 11:19–15:4

Session two

Satan’s rebellion against God and mankind

Reading: Genesis 3; Revelation 12

¹¹ In the book of Genesis chapter 3, you hear echoes from your Sunday school days. ‘I’ve heard this before,’ you say. ‘I’ve heard of the woman and her seed, and I’ve heard of the serpent in the garden of Eden.’

Yes of course you have, because it goes back to one of the fundamental parts of God’s revelation to mankind.

What is man?

If you want to come to a just view of what man is, you mustn’t confine yourself to looking here on this earth. You must first lift your eyes to the very heavenlies and see what is going on in those higher realms. There is God, the supreme creator; and there is that vast personage—finite but vast—‘that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world’ (Rev 12:9 kjv). He is the prime mover in sin and rebellion against almighty God, and we know that mankind has been caught up in that rebellion. We can’t tell how long Adam had been created and put into the garden of Eden before he and Eve were assailed by the enemy of God, but we are explicitly told in Genesis 3 how it happened. Mankind was made to be a viceroy to rule earth for God; Satan was determined to smash them for his own particular reasons.

But it went further than that. When Satan had induced them to disobey God, and the man and woman fell, God in his mercy came to them in the garden. Instead of destroying Adam and Eve outright, and with them, therefore, the whole of the human race, God preached his glorious gospel to them. His disciplines were accompanied by his great mercy. At this moment we ought to shout for joy. I’ve often wondered why God didn’t smudge out the whole planet, mankind included. God had plenty of planets and galaxies. The mystery and wonder of his grace is that he didn’t.

He said to the serpent, ‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel’ (Gen 3:15). That is the first great promise of the gospel of redemption to fallen mankind; that God was going to bring into this world a Saviour, who would be the seed of the woman. Oh, what a marvellous story, God’s strategic answer to the great rebellion of the archfiend himself.

Men and women have temporarily been taken across into the power of darkness, but God in his mercy will not abandon them. The seed of the woman shall eventually bruise the serpent’s head and confine him for ever in the lake of fire.

The woman and child—Revelation 12

We know who the serpent is, but who is this woman, and who is her child? It’s easy to say who the child is because we are told in Revelation 12:5, ‘She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne.’

There are two of whom these words are stated in holy Scripture. The first is our Lord. ‘The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel”’ (Ps 2:7–9).

And again, we find that phrase in the letter to the church at Thyatira. All true believers in the Lord Jesus shall ultimately share his victory and reign with him: ‘The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron’ (Rev 2:26–27).

So, who is the woman? ‘And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days’ (Rev 12:6). Some people say it’s the virgin Mary. But this woman fled into the wilderness, where she was nourished by God for 1,260 days, and I don’t think the virgin Mary was ever nourished in the desert. Others have said that it’s the church. But it sounds to me that they’ve got things upside down, for how could the church give birth to Christ? If anything, it would be Christ giving birth to the church, wouldn’t it?

Now you must become aware of a bigger dimension. Just at the moment we’re not looking at earth; we’re looking at things as they appear in heaven, and thinking of the glorious purposes and strategies of God in the human race. The first woman to be opposed by the serpent was Eve in the garden, and to her was given the promise of the coming seed.

And who is that seed? For centuries, it was ‘the believing’ amongst mankind through the godly line of Seth, and eventually God chose Abraham and his seed. And so, the redemptive purposes of God went on and on through the nation of Israel until at last there came the seed, our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, born of the virgin Mary. All down the centuries, of course, Satan has attacked God’s purposed intention to bring in the glorious Saviour of the world.

The battle of the ages

And now I ask you to sit back just for a moment, and use not so much your reason as your imagination. Envisage the great battle of the ages, see the central occupation of the spiritual warfare as it encircles the heavenly places. It’s about mankind. God has committed himself to this human race, and Satan, his archenemy and fiend, has perverted it, and mankind has fallen.

Now look at this woman and see a divine wonder. She is pregnant and gives birth to a male child. Who is the child? Well, it was Abel in the first place, then presently Abraham and Moses and David. But finally it will be Jesus Christ our Lord, born of a woman according to the flesh (see Rom 1:3). ‘Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; | Hail the incarnate Deity.’ ¹² Praise him, my brothers and sisters, for this magnificent move in the tactics of God. He had made man to be a ruler; but when man fell to the enemy, God himself came into the human race in the form of Jesus Christ, his Son. It’s a marvellous story.

The choice is between the Christ and the antichrist

From then until now the battle proceeds. Mankind cannot remain neutral. We are caught up in this battle and shall have to choose between God and the devil; between the Christ and the antichrist; between the Spirit of God and the beast, the false prophet. There’s no neutral ground.

It is not our fault that we belong to a fallen race. We must blame that on Adam and Eve. You’ll never be lost because of what Adam and Eve did. Yes, by one man’s disobedience sin entered into the world, and death by sin (see Rom 5:12, 19), but you’ll never be lost because of that. The great story is that God has come into the enemy’s camp. He’s come into this world, born of a woman to be our Saviour, to give us the chance of hearing the gospel and being transferred from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of God’s beloved Son (see Col 1:13). And we must make the choice.

You say, ‘I prefer to be neutral’.

But you cannot be. You’re not neutral to start with, for the Bible informs us that since man fell he has been in the kingdom of darkness, and that’s where you are if you are not a believer. The world walks ‘according to the prince of the power of the air’; ‘the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not’ (Eph 2:2; 2 Cor 4:4 kjv). You are not neutral: you are already in the kingdom of the one who is God’s fatal foe. Either you remain there, or cross the line and come into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. That is the choice.

We are looking at a battle that shall come to its tremendous height at the end of the age; but a war has been going on ever since the garden of Eden, and we are involved. We may not be participants in the final battle, but the war is still the same war and the same questions are being asked of our ultimate allegiance. Are we for God and his Christ, or is it our choice to remain in the power of darkness?

Let me suppose that you’ve taken your decision, and you’ve said, ‘I don’t want to be a captive forever’. You have received the Son of God, you have redemption in his blood, and you’ve been translated out of the power of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. Now let me tell you some encouraging news. While we are to see the tremendous apparent victory of Satan and his hosts in this section, notice that, apart from the introduction and the comment at the end, there are three trilogies of paragraphs here, and the whole thing is introduced by this vision of heaven and the ark of the covenant (Rev 11:19).

Section IV

The coming of Christ in power and great glory to execute the wrath of God; the millennial reign of Christ with a rod of iron; the great white throne and the new heavens and the new earth; and all of this to prepare for the coming of the new Jerusalem, the tabernacle of God and the bride of the Lamb.

The Rider on the White Horse

First Trilogy (Rev 19:11–21)

1. In justice he judges and makes war: a sharp sword out of mouth.
2. Invitation to birds to the great supper.
3. The battle: beast and false prophet into lake of fire: the rest killed with the sharp sword: birds filled with flesh.

Second Trilogy (Rev 20:1–10)

1. Angel with keys of abyss: binds Satan and imprisons in abyss for one thousand years.
2. One thousand years’ reign of resurrected martyrs and those who refused mark of beast.
3. After the one thousand years: final rebellion: Satan into lake of fire.

The New Heaven and Earth

Third Trilogy (Rev 20:11–22:15)¹³

1. • The great white throne: heaven and earth flee: if any not found written, cast into lake of fire (Rev 20:11–15).
2. • New heaven and new earth: new Jerusalem corning down: tabernacle of God with men (Rev 21:1–4).
   • God’s pronouncement: he who overcomes shall inherit: but . . . all liars, their part in lake of fire (Rev 21:5–8).
3. • Angel shows John bride of Lamb: and there shall not enter . . . anyone who makes a lie: and he showed me (Rev 21:9–22:5).
   • Veracity of the prophecy (Rev 22:6–7).
   • Proper reaction to the prophecy (Rev 22:8–9).
   • Direction for publication of the prophecy: outside are dogs . . . and everyone who loves and makes a lie (Rev 22:10–15).

The Three-Fold Testifying of Jesus (Rev 22:16–20)

1. I, Jesus have sent my angel to testify; and the response of the Spirit, bride, hearers and thirsty ones (Rev 22:16–17).
2. I testify unto you . . . warning against altering the words of the book (Rev 22:18–19).
3. He who testifies says: surely I come quickly; and the response: Amen: come Lord Jesus (Rev 22:20).

The Grace of the Lord Jesus be with the Saints (Rev 22:21)

The first trilogy, Revelation 11:19–12:17¹⁴

Why now the ark of the covenant, and not the throne or the incense altar? Well, it’s easily told, for in that ark was the Law of God, and his very first commandment was ‘You shall have no other gods before me’ (Exod 20:3). God was calling upon us human beings for our ultimate loyalty to be given to none other but God, and God incarnate. And secondly, it’s called the ark of the covenant because God has made a covenant with all those who trust him, and in our day it’s a new covenant—the great new covenant of redemption.

How shall it proceed? Well, before we consider the great and terrible time at the end of the age when the devil mounts his masterpiece and the man of sin shall reign, and for a while he will seem utterly supreme, let’s look at certain things in the heavenlies. God takes us behind the scenes and says, ‘Don’t you worry. Let me show you that the man of sin’s vast empire will be built on rotten props. It is doomed to failure even before it begins.’

Three scenes here then, and three great things that anybody with pretensions to world rule must capture. When a General comes in with his army to conquer a foreign land, he will have the wisdom to see that certain places are strategic in the battle, and if he can’t win control of them he will never succeed. So, there are three difficulties that any aspirant to world government will have to control, if his empire is to remain and prosper.

1. The seed of the woman

Here is a woman and we are told that she’s pregnant. Her child is destined to rule all nations with a rod of iron (Rev 12:5). The great red dragon knows it, and in all his hideous appearance he stands before the woman, waiting for the infant to be born so that he might gobble him up. He sees clearly that they both can’t rule: either the child will rule, or the dragon will rule, and he must destroy the child if his empire is to succeed. All the odds look in his favour, don’t they? A little infant and a woman in her pain, how shall she resist the mighty treachery and power of the foe? But just in that minute, as the newborn appeared to be about to slip down the hideous jaws of that dragon, he’s called up to heaven and set upon the throne of God.

Expert theologians must enjoy their theories, but you’ll have to permit a simple man like myself to read this as a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. You see, ‘if only the princes of this world had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory’ (see 1 Cor 2:8). They seemed to be wise, but they were ignoramuses really, weren’t they? Satan and his hosts hounded the Virgin’s son, the seed of the woman, to Calvary. When he seemed to be in the very power and jaws of the devil, God raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand, far above all principalities and powers. The New Testament reminds us often that the Lord Jesus not only died for our sins, but that he is at the right hand of God (see Rom 8:34). God incarnate, the blessed man of Nazareth who was born of the Virgin, human like we are, is ‘far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come’ (Eph 1:21). The Lord is already enthroned; Satan’s hold on this planet is doomed and he shall never hold it permanently.

2. The saints shall reign with the Lord Jesus

But there’s another obstacle. It is the good purpose of God, so we are told, that not only shall the Lord Jesus rule, but his believing people shall reign with him (Rev 20:6). That is your expectation too, isn’t it? ‘If we suffer, we shall also reign with him’ (2 Tim 2:12 kjv). But just a moment! We read here, ‘And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him’ (Rev 12:9).

That’s not quite so simple as you think, because now there’s a moral question. If Satan is cast out of his eminent heavenly position because of his sin, do you suppose he’s going to stand by and say nothing when God takes a bunch of sinners like us and puts us on the throne of the universe? No, he’s not going to do that. Satan sees God’s intention to have us on the very throne of the universe, and he accuses us before God day and night (2 Tim 2:10).

‘Look at her in the grocery shop: she stole something. Look at that chap fiddling his income tax. God, you threw me out because of my sin, and you’re going to put them and these others on the throne of the universe, in spite of the fact that they’re sinners.’

How could God do it? If he had no answer, the whole scheme of our reigning with Christ would perish. But you see, we are told that they overcame him. How? ‘By the blood of the Lamb’ (2 Tim 2:11).

That’s God’s answer to the accuser of the brethren of whatever age, past, present, or future. Not only are they cleansed by his blood, ‘they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death’. They refused to be silent in their witness to the Lord Jesus, and when that threatened to cost them their lives, they were prepared to die for him.

3. The nation of Israel

Anybody who has pretensions for world government must face another strategic difficulty in earth’s affairs—they must destroy the nation of Israel. Why so? Because the Almighty has been pleased to choose them, and to announce that they are the vehicle to carry out his purposes in the earth; not only in old times but again in the future.

Why is that? Well, let Ezekiel explain it to us (see Ezek 36–37). God had chosen Israel, but they sinned against him. He sent them all to Babylon, and Jerusalem city was destroyed. God let the Gentiles triumph. Then through Ezekiel God says, ‘But I’m going to restore Israel.’

‘Why so?’

‘It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name’ (Ezek 36:22). ‘If I don’t restore them the Gentiles will say, “Those Israelites made great claims about being the people of God. They said that God was going to use them to bring in the Saviour of the world. Don’t you see that it’s all come to nothing? There was nothing in it anyway.”’

‘I’m not having that,’ says God. ‘Yes, they did go into exile; but it was because I was chastising them, and now the time of their restoration has come. I am going on with my purpose, and I shall restore them so that the whole world shall have to see that they are my people’ (see Ezek 36:36–38).

If you should have the chance to raise the matter of Israel with the President of Russia, what do you think he would say?

‘Do you understand, Mr Gorbachev, that Israel are God’s chosen people? They are the vehicles of God’s plan for the redemption of the whole world.’

‘Even if there were a God,’ he’d say, ‘Israel could not be his special people. Look at what Hitler did to six million of them. What did God do about that?’

What should your answer be to Gorbachev?

You’d say, ‘Mr Gorbachev, you will see that they are God’s people, because one day God Almighty is going to restore them.’

Hence the satanic determination to persecute the seed of the woman. In particular, the Jewish part of her seed, but in many ages the Christian part as well. Has he tried it in the lives of some of us here? The Albania of 1987 still tries to stamp out anybody who publicly professes the name of God, but they shall not win.

We are told in Revelation 12 that, when the dragon tried to destroy her, ‘the earth came to the help of the woman’ (Rev 12:16). In spite of King John of England, the Spanish Inquisition, the Russian pogroms, Hitler and the Russians of this present day, Israel is still there. And it shall remain there; Satan’s empire is doomed.

The second trilogy, Revelation 13:1–14:5

Here we have a description of the coming great kingdom of the beast, and gruesome reading it makes. To the beast the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority—it will be a very impressive throne.

‘Then I saw another beast . . . it deceives those who dwell on earth’ (Rev 13:11, 14). How will anybody know that it’s a deception? Well, listen to what the second beast proposes. He makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, and then he tells them to make an image of the first beast—now, that’s interesting. ‘Also it causes all . . . to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name’ (Rev 13:16–17). What is the name? We are told in simple terms that it’s the number of a man.

John tells us that the dragon stood on the sand of the sea (Rev 13:1 own trans). That was a silly place to stand, if you were thinking of forming a world empire.

The choice is between God’s man or Satan’s man

You have a choice, ladies and gentlemen. You bow to The Man, Christ Jesus, God incarnate; or you bow to another man. Man was made in the image of God, and faith in God makes man God’s viceroy again. The devil’s man will ask people to bow down to the image of a man, thus denying their own God-given image, and enslave them.

You say, ‘What’s the difference between bowing down to the man, Jesus, and this fearful perversion, the first beast—a mere man claiming to be God? What’s the difference between Jesus and him?’

The difference is this, that in our blessed Lord becoming truly human, God came down to be man. And with this beast, it’s man trying to rise up to be God. Choose which one you’ll have. Those who worship the beast shall know the biggest slavery this world has ever known.

After viewing the kingdom of the beast John says, ‘Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb’ (Rev 14:1). Of course, that’s where he was standing! ‘As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill’ (Ps 2:6). Our man is already in!

With him were 144,000. I’m not going to tell you who they are, even if I could. Not who they are but what they are, because that could even be more important, couldn’t it? Whoever they are, the principles of salvation through the death of Christ are always the same, so that we might take a lesson, even from them, to our own hearts here this evening. They are virgins, and they follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have utter, complete and absolute devotion to the Lord Jesus. You see, ultimately, salvation depends on that allegiance, doesn’t it? God will not put up with half-hearted allegiance for ever.

Who are they? ‘These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb’ (Rev 14:4). They were bought out of the earth. I like that very much, because in the reign of this beast the law is passed that, if you don’t take the mark of the beast, you will not be able to buy or sell (Rev 13:17).

‘Well, I’ll show you,’ says God. ‘You say that I can’t buy or sell in your world unless I take your mark? I’m just about to buy a vast company of people out of that planet, redeeming them, buying them, by the precious blood of Christ.’

God requires absolute devotion to him. If you don’t think it’s a good thing to buy people’s love, God does. Now hear how he buys it. He bought them by the blood of his own Son. How shall I resist his claim when I remember that ‘the Son of God loved me and gave himself for me’ (see Gal 2:20)? That’s how God buys the devotion of millions and millions of redeemed men and women from our rebellious planet.

The choice is between this world and God’s kingdom

And now we have another choice. They were singing a new song before the throne, and no one could learn it except the redeemed (Rev 14:3). Fair is fair, I suppose. In this world you can’t buy or sell except you have the mark of the beast; and you can’t understand the music of heaven unless you have been redeemed. If it’s a choice between a position in this world, and a position in Christ’s kingdom, which would you choose? If it’s a choice between the mere goods of earth and the music of heaven, who wouldn’t choose the music of heaven?

Finally, notice that this great crowd of the redeemed have ‘his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads’ (Rev 14:1). This is the ultimate. Either you take the mark of the beast and are conformed to his image, or you trust Christ and are conformed to his image. Is it to be the name of the beast, or the name of the Saviour written on your forehead?

Thank God for believers, redeemed by the blood of Christ and loyal to the Saviour, who are being prepared for the very music of heaven. Can’t you begin to see conformity to Christ being written on their foreheads?

As we close now, would you allow me to ask you a very pertinent and personal question? If I could see your forehead as God sees it, whose name would I see written there? The name of the Saviour and the name of God, or already are the letters beginning to form of the ugly name of the man of sin in his rebellion against God?

May the Lord use his word to exercise our hearts and bring us to the right decision in these tremendous things.

¹⁰Eliza H. Reed (1794-1867), ‘O, do not let the word depart’ (1842).

¹¹Editor’s note: The audio skips at this point.

¹²Charles Wesley (1707-1788), ‘Hark! the herald angels sing’ (1739).

¹³Editor’s note: Time seems to have defeated Dr Gooding in the third trilogy. There is a brief mention of this subject on page 78, ‘The harvest’.

¹⁴Some manuscripts connect 12:17 directly with 13:1.

7: Victory Over the Beast

Reading: Revelation 15:2–4; 17:9–14; 19:19–21; Daniel 7

Movement five: Revelation 15:5–19:10 (Part 1)

Session one

This afternoon and this evening we shall be studying two major topics in particular. Using the colourful language of this book, which I’ll explain later, we shall be thinking this afternoon about the beast and his two women—colourful women indeed. Some people think that he has but one woman, and that may be so. Whether one or two, their names are Babylon. The beast that we shall be considering is depicted in holy Scripture as having this colourful, unfaithful and evil woman riding on his back.

Then we shall be thinking about our Lord Jesus Christ, God’s true Son, depicted here as the Lamb of God in striking contrast to the devil’s wild beast. Then we shall be thinking of the Lamb’s wife—his woman, his bride and consort for all eternity. The beast and his woman, the Lamb and his wife.

This afternoon is liable to be a little bit gloomy, which will be in keeping with the weather. Let’s hope the weather dries up and we get some sunshine, for this evening it will be all weddings and brides and jewels: sapphires, diamonds, amethysts and all the rest of those delightful things with which God has illustrated the glories of those who belong to the Lord Jesus and shall for ever be playing the role of queen to his role of king, the bride and wife of the Lamb.

So, as we begin to think of the beast, and then of his two women, our predominant theme this afternoon will be victory over the beast.

The beast

When you were turning the pages of your Bible as we read those passages, I hope you noticed that these descriptions of the beast and of his end are given in three quite distinct parts of Revelation. As you may know, the beast is a picture that God gives us in his holy word so that we might visualize the coming great political power that one day shall rule in the West. Indeed, on the basis of holy Scripture, some think that it shall attain almost universal dominion in the earth. This wild beast represents that government, and one of his horns represents its head of state.

As we saw in an earlier study, the beast will be empowered by his satanic majesty himself and his ministry of propaganda, so that he will have more than human powers to convince mankind of his supreme authority. He shall deny that there is any God in heaven: ‘[He] opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God’ (2 Thess 2:4). He shall bring about what our Lord referred to as ‘the abomination of desolation’ (Matt 24:15). He shall demand not only obedience, but the heart loyalty of everyone within his geographical bounds. His ministry of information and truth will pass laws to the effect that, on pain of death, every citizen in the kingdom must worship the image of the beast, and if anyone refuses to take his mark on their right hand or their forehead they shall be prevented from buying or selling, and therefore in the end, from eating and living (see Rev 13:16–17).

So the Bible warns us that at the end of this age ten independent kingdoms shall choose to cede their sovereignty to an international government headed up by a ruler who shall deify the state and deify himself. He shall seek to bring about unity and world peace by getting everybody to own ultimate loyalty no longer to the God of heaven, but to the state in the person of the head of state.

Scripture tells us that it will be a fearful time. The reign of that beast shall be so cunning, so sophisticated, so pseudo-scientific, so devilish that our Lord warned us that, if possible, even the elect would be deceived (see Matt 24:24). Of course, it will not be possible. But here in the book of the Revelation, the Apostle John warns of the very same thing. It will look so true and so scientific that those who dwell on earth shall be deceived (Rev 13:14).

The Apostle Paul adds his comment when he tells us that, just before the appearance of our Lord Jesus in power and great glory, there shall arise this man of sin, the head of this great empire of which we have been speaking.

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thess 2:9–12)

Why does God do that? Because these people once had the opportunity of believing the truth. They heard the gospel of God, the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ, and deliberately, with their eyes open, they rejected God’s salvation. In his poetic justice, God in the end shall give them the choice that they themselves made, and fix them in it so that their choice can no longer be reversed. Because they wouldn’t receive the love of the truth, God shall send them a strong delusion and they shall believe the lie—‘in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness’.

I warned you that this session was going to be gloomy, but most of us are adults and we wouldn’t want to put our heads in the sand. We know right well that if we sow barley the harvest will be barley. Conscience and intelligence will tell us that if we choose to neglect or reject God’s truth, live like self-made men and women as though there is no God, then the seed of our untruth will eventually grow into an overwhelming harvest. We shall believe the lie and find that it leads to destruction.

However, for all the gloom, we are going to think about overcoming the beast, so let me pause to explain. In Revelation we are considering, first of all, this evil head of state who looms up in the fog of the future. He is the antichrist. Nevertheless, the Bible tells us that since the time of the Apostles there have been many antichrists.

Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. (1 John 2:18)

For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. (2 John 7)

You say, ‘But John, how do you know it’s the last hour?’

‘Well,’ says he, ‘because many antichrists have already gone out into the world, and the great antichrist will come at the end of the age.’

All down the centuries, according to holy Scripture, there have been many minor antichrists. Their intention is to soften people up and get them on the side of the antichrist when he comes. So in a sense, as we consider the coming of the beast, we are involved in the war ourselves. Our interest is, how do we overcome?

Before we continue, I want to say that, while some things are clear in the book of Revelation, sometimes it can be very difficult to make head or tail of it. One of the things we can do to help ourselves is to take the allusions it makes to the Old Testament and use the stories as models for thinking about the present and the future.

For those of you who wish to study further, I have listed the allusions to the Old Testament that we find in the letters to the seven churches. Placed side by side, you will find that they follow logically and in chronological order from the beginning in the garden of Eden right up to almost the end of the Old Testament, where Israel is spewed out of the land and banished to Babylon. From creation to the exile, what is the Holy Spirit saying in Revelation when he makes these Old Testament allusions? And then the rest of the book is taken up with the great prophecies and promises of the restoration of all things.

Old Testament Allusions

1.	Ephesus	‘I will remove your lampstand outof its place . . . To him who overcomes I will give to eat ofthe tree of life which is in the paradise of God’ (cf. Gen 3).
2.	Smyrna	‘Fear not what you are about to suffer. Behold the devil is about to throw some of you into prison that you may be tested, and you shall have affliction ten days’ (cf. the prophecy of Israel’s enslavement in Egypt: ‘Your seed will be strangers in a country not their own and been slaved; and they shall afflict them four hundred years’ (Gen 15:13)).
3.	Pergamum	‘You have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam who taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the children of Israel’ (cf. Num 22–24).
4.	Thyatira	‘You allow that woman Jezebel, who says that she is a prophetess, and teaches and seduces my servants’ (cf. 1 Kgs 16:29–31; 2 Kgs9).
5.	Sardis	‘I will not blot his name out of the book of life. cf. and the Lord had not said that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam’ (II) (2 Kgs 14:27).
6.	Philadelphia	‘He who has the key of David, who opens and none shall shut, and shuts and none shall open cf. a prophecy originally spoken of Eliakim, royal steward in the reign of Hezekiah’ (Isa 22:22).
7.	Laodicea	‘I will spew you out of my mouth cf. the prophecy of the exile. . . lest the land spew you out also. . . as it spewed out the nation that was before you’ (Lev 18:28).

However, I want to concentrate on just one thing this afternoon: the beast, and how to overcome him. As we look back into the Old Testament we find that that topic is already dealt with at great length and in detail.

Daniel’s vision of the beast

Daniel was given a vision of this same beast, and I remind you now of the details in chapter 7 of his prophecy. As he lay in his bed he saw in a vision four great beasts rise up out of the Mediterranean Sea, representing the four great Gentile imperialist powers: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. He describes these beasts in detail, and when he comes to the fourth (Dan 7:7), we shall recognize the same beast that we are now going to look at in Revelation. It was a tremendous, multi-formed beast, possessed of super power and exceedingly destructive. It was sophisticated, having the eyes and the mouth of a man (Dan 7:8).

As he stood there watching this beast and heard it blaspheme the God of heaven, Daniel tells us a lovely thing. Thrones were set up, and the supreme Lord of the universe came and took his place on the heavenly throne.

As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgement, and the books were opened. I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. (Dan 7:9–11)

At long last, divine rationality began to insist that reason should prevail and the beast in his destructiveness should be put to its end. The beast was killed, and its body burned with fire.

After this, Daniel tells us again, ‘I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him’ (Dan 7:13). Then we read how the government was taken from the beast and given to the Son of Man and to the saints; that is, those who believed and followed him (see Dan 7:13–27).

A comparison with John’s vision of the beast

When we listen to Daniel describing that great vision, we can see how very similar it is to visions in the book of Revelation. Consider, for instance, Revelation 4 and 5 that we studied on Tuesday evening. A door was opened in heaven and John saw a throne, and the Ancient of Days seated on it. He had a book in his hand. As the thousands and thousands ministered to him, John saw the Son of Man, depicted as the Lamb of God, taking the book from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. He has been given authority to execute the judgments of God and eventually to take over the government of our world.

John’s vision is very similar to the one that Daniel saw, but we notice a difference. In Revelation 4 and 5 John sees the vision of the throne, and the Son of Man coming to the Ancient of Days. But there’s no beast there; he’s not even mentioned. You’ll have to come many chapters along before you find the beast mentioned at all, and the first major reference is in Revelation 13. Here is the big beast now, rising out of the sea, as in Daniel. He’s blaspheming God and he’s persecuting the believers. He’s in league with Satan, he has universal dominion, and he is demanding divine worship.

And then we notice another interesting thing. Whereas Daniel saw the beast destroyed, John doesn’t see him destroyed. There’s a reference to those who had gained victory over him in 15:2, but no explicit mention of the destruction of the beast.

And then the chapters go by until we come to Revelation 17. Again there’s a detailed description of the beast and of the filthy, unfaithful, adulterous woman riding on his back trying to control him. And now there’s one little verse that gives us a prophecy (Rev 17:17). One day the Lord shall come with his saints, and the beast and all his attendant kings shall be destroyed, but it doesn’t actually take place in the course of that vision in Revelation 17.

At last we come to another vision in Revelation 19, when we see the Lord Jesus as the rider on a white horse. Finally, he comes down from heaven and destroys the beast and the false prophet, and delivers them into the lake of fire (Rev 19:19–20).

So much for the facts. Now we ought to ask about their significance, and my little question is very easy. Obviously John and Daniel were seeing very much the same thing: why did Daniel tell us the whole thing all at once? In one chapter he gave us the beast, the throne, the coming of the Son of Man, the destruction of the beast and the kingdom being given to the Lord. Whereas John is given no less than three separate, quite distinct, visions to tell the same story. Why is that?

When some students find this kind of thing in holy Scripture, what they do is simply this. Guided by Daniel, they’ve got the whole picture. It’s like the painted picture on the reverse of a jigsaw puzzle lid. There it is, all together. So, when they come to Revelation they pick something out of chapters 4 and 5, something out of Revelation 13, something out of 17, and then something out of Revelation 19. They put it all together and say, ‘here you have the full story of the beast’.

That can be helpful, but it sounds a tiny bit perverse to me. If God has deliberately divided the story into four separate parts and put it into different contexts, should we not respect what he’s done? There is a verse in another connection altogether that says, ‘What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate’ (Mark 10:9). I think when it comes to how the Bible is written, the reverse is true, ‘What God has separated, let not man join together’.

Well, I’ve given you some cold, difficult facts. Let’s give ourselves time to digest them, and then we shall think about their significance.

Movement five: Revelation 15:5–19:10 (Part 1)

Session two

I suspect that there is not a single man, woman or child, who doesn’t hope in their heart that one day the problems of our world will be solved. Through the ancient prophet Isaiah, God talks of a coming day when the nations ‘shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more’ (Isa 2:4). There shall come a glorious reign of peace and prosperity. As we read that kind of thing in our Old Testament, most of us immediately have a sense of sympathy with it. War is a stupid thing, isn’t it? Here we are, sophisticated modern men and women who can peer into the very secrets of nature, and yet facing us are endless possible terrors because of the human heart and because of the threat of war. In spite of all our sophistication, while half the world is fed the other half starves, and we say, ‘Oh that one day somebody might find the secret of putting things right, and the whole world could enter into a time of peace and of plenty.’

The world’s problem and God’s answer

The Bible assures us that a time of peace and plenty shall come. But then it also tells us quite bluntly how it will come. The Bible’s view of things is that our world is so deeply injured that there is no hope of that coming age of peace and plenty until the Lord Jesus comes and smashes every form of human government, and takes over the reins himself.

That is what the theologians call the apocalyptic view of the future. The institutions of this world—its governance, economics and commerce—are so fatally flawed that in the end God himself shall not be able to improve them. They will have to be destroyed by the coming of the Lord Jesus, when he shall set up his kingdom.

Now, I don’t know how you react to that promise of the Bible and to its diagnosis. I have plenty of friends who shake their heads in disgust, if not in despair, when they hear it. They say to me, ‘Yes, of course, we’re looking for a golden age of peace, but your view is so gloomy. It despises all the improvements and progress that mankind has made down the centuries. If your view is right, we might as well pack up trying, go and sit on a mountain like some extreme cults do, and hope for the coming of the Lord Jesus next Tuesday, or at least in a month’s time or something.’ Therefore, men and women are not inclined to believe it.

They say, ‘That’s too like Jeremiah. It’s too gloomy to say that the only hope for our world is the coming of Christ, the destruction of the world’s present institutions and their replacement by his government. We can’t have it.’

So they go on hoping, and hoping, and hoping that, given enough thousands of years, the great progress humankind has already made will sometime at last reach the glorious age of peace and plenty. But if that is our hope, God shows us through his prophets that we are mightily deceived.

Let’s look again at what the prophet Daniel has to say about the beast, and when we’ve heard his version then we shall listen to the Apostle John. As we saw earlier, his version won’t be the same, but it won’t contradict Daniel’s. The two of them together will form a very balanced view of things.

What Daniel has to say about the beast

When Daniel talks about the beast, it’s part of God’s critique of past, present and future governments of this world, and in particular imperialist government. In Daniel 7 God likens these empires to wild beasts—we’ll come to that in a minute. God is fair, you know, and in Daniel 2 he gives us another picture of those world empires. He doesn’t describe them there as beasts; he describes them as a beautiful, glorious image of a man. God has two pictures of Gentile government in the prophecy of Daniel: one in Daniel 2, and one in Daniel 7. You see, God is reasonable, isn’t he, and real?

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream

To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. . . . A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure. (Dan 2:29, 45)

Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, and in his dream he saw a tremendous image. ‘The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay’ (Dan 2:32–33). And as Nebuchadnezzar looked at it, what would have struck him first was that it was the image of a man, a colossal man. So big, it was frightening to look at. He was to learn that this is human government as God sees it, mighty and brilliant—head of gold, chest of silver, thighs of copper, legs of iron. In the Babylonia of the time they had all the technology to make beautiful things, and in the beauty of the image God was being fair.

I don’t know how you view human government, but I certainly would want to say that, thanks to all sorts of moves, particularly among the Greeks with their political theorizing, and the Babylonians, we’ve inherited an enormous achievement. Thank God for the development of government until, in this country at least, we think we’ve hit upon the best that’s possible before the Lord comes—a kind of democracy. Mankind has experimented, and it has been a tremendous feat of human progress.

And you say to me, ’Well, there you are. Now you’re admitting what my viewpoint is. We’ve progressed so far; there are still some difficult people around, but give us a few more hundred years and we shall at last come to a perfect world government and live in peace and prosperity.’

No, you won’t!

‘Why not?’

Daniel had to point out to Nebuchadnezzar that, marvellous as the image was, that stood for Gentile governments, man’s achievement was basically unstable. Its feet were iron and clay, which won’t mix. There was its weakness: it was liable to topple any minute.

As I read that vision, whatever else it means, I take it as a parable to myself. Mankind has achieved a tremendous amount, but I think we recognize that man has a hidden weakness, a fatal flaw. I know I have, I don’t know about you. I’m very good at governing and laying down the law. In the dim light of a Monday morning, I say to myself, ‘Gooding, you shall do this and that today, and you won’t be so stupid as you were last week. You will do God’s law, and you will keep it. You’ll behave very well to your aunts, and your brothers and sisters, and your students and all the rest. You’ll make society a very pleasant place.’ I’m jolly good at governing, but then I find I’ve got a fatal flaw. I’m very good at laying down the law; I am not so good at keeping it. I have to say with the Apostle Paul, ‘For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate . . . Wretched man that I am!’ (Rom 7:15, 24).

You say, ‘Why do you behave like that, Gooding?’

It’s because ultimately I am a fallen man; I come of a fallen race, born in rebellion to God. I find even my own body and mind are not perfectly obedient, even to me. I’m like a prisoner in my own castle.

And what is true of the individual is true of nations. The government might be quite right, but we don’t always obey—we mean to, but we don’t. International relationships too are plagued by this weakness that the Bible calls sin. Not until an answer is found to that weakness is there any real permanent hope of an age of peace. And the answer of course is found in the supernatural power of Jesus Christ our Lord. Today God waits because he is working on individuals. He comes to me and my problem over sin; the fact that I cannot keep his law and deserve eternal death for it. He offers me salvation and a new birth and the supernatural power of God. One day he shall come in power and great glory, and insist on putting the nations right. Only when the Son of Man sits on the throne of his glory shall there come political regeneration.

In Daniel 2 then, God shows us one aspect of Gentile power. He chooses to emphasize the glory of man and man’s achievement in government, but that glory is fatally flawed by his inherent weakness. In Daniel 7 God gives us another view.

Daniel’s dream

I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. (Dan 7:7)

So here comes our beast. He’s the last of four. They’re all wild beasts, but he’s the worst.

You say, ‘Is God being unfair and rude about human government? You’re not going to call our government a wild beast, are you?’

We must make an effort to understand the term. In some sense, governments are animals. Let me take an example. It’s not wise to take a lion as a pet, but I suppose you could keep one in your back yard. When he’s nicely fed and has had all he wants to drink, you could go along and talk to him and twizzle his tail, and he’ll be nice to you. He’ll smile at you in a way that lions smile sometimes. But don’t mistake it. If he seems to be friendly today, that’s because he doesn’t want anything. If tomorrow there was a shortage, and you had a little bit of meat and he had none, he wouldn’t say, ‘Please’. Because he’s an animal he’d grab your meat and you as well, and eat both. He wouldn’t apologize afterwards either. He’s an animal and he doesn’t proceed on any sense of morality.

I must tell you, ladies and gentleman, that if a country has enough oil to keep her constitution going today, she’ll be friendly. If by some mishap she were to run out of oil and her economy was threatened, and nobody wanted to sell her any, do you suppose she would sit down and die? No, I tell you straight, she’d come and take your oil, and not apologize either. Governments are like animals, says God. They are not immoral; they are amoral. Survival is the name of the game. They’ll survive by moral means if they can, but if they can’t, they’re going to survive and the biggest animal wins.

You say, ‘Surely that’s a gloomy view as well. Haven’t governments become more humane and tolerant in modern times?’

They have indeed, and God foresaw that they would. In Daniel 7 when he talks about the beasts, he pictures number one beast, for instance, the Babylonian beast. It was like a lion and had eagles’ wings on its back. Says Daniel, ‘Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it’ (Dan 7:4). In other words, it became humanized.

That has happened to many governments. It happened to the British government in my lifetime. In my youth you used to see children running about naked and half fed. There is a health service now and you don’t see that any more. In my county of Suffolk in the early eighteen hundreds, if you’d stolen a sheep or a horse you’d be hung for it. You won’t get hung for it now, not even if you were to steal the queen’s Rolls Royce! We’ve become more humane, haven’t we?

You say, ‘Give us time. Give us a chance and in the end we’ll bring in the age of peace.’

‘No you won’t,’ says God.

For a while governments have become more humane, consider that fourth beast—what about him? He’s got the eyes of a man, and the mouth of a man (Dan 7:8), but not the heart of a man. Just imagine if lions could unlock the secrets of nature and had such intelligence that they could discover the atom and the atom bomb, what should we do? And now we’re at a time when man has human insight into the very secrets of nature, and governments have it in their power to destroy the whole world.

When William the Conqueror invaded this country in 1066, we came out against him with bows and arrows. And if his soldiers got too near, we clubbed them with a cudgel. If someone attacked Britain now we wouldn’t fight with bows and arrows, we would irradiate them and eliminate them with laser beams and things, because we’re more civilized now. But we can see, as two generations before us did, this fearful combination of the morals of an animal coupled with human insight into nature and science.

The fourth beast was exceedingly destructive. It stamped and it bit until God himself had to intervene to destroy it, for the sake of the survival of the human race. We stand under the shadow of the atomic bomb, and what the nations will do. Hear the gospel, God has his answer. One day the court shall sit in judgment and the books shall be opened (Dan 7:10). The beast of Gentile imperialism will be burned, and the government shall be handed over to the perfect human, Jesus, the Son of Man, and to the saints. The Lord is coming. What a lovely thing, and what a hope.

What John has to say about the beast

When we come to Revelation 4 and 5 there is a picture of the throne of God, as you have in column two of your notes. The Ancient of Days is sitting (Rev 4:2; cf. Dan 7:9). The Lamb of God, the Son of Man, comes to him who sits on the throne (Rev 5:6–7), but for the moment there is no beast—it’s nice to look at something without a beast, isn’t it?

As we were considering the other evening, in Revelation 4 and 5 it’s not a question of politics, but of creation: the throne is the throne of the Creator. All heaven is calling upon him to claim his creatorial rights (Rev 4:11). He made the world, it was made for his pleasure, but it has gone astray and hence the chaos of bewildering wars and factions. One day our blessed Lord will be given the authority to bring creation back to serve the will of the Creator. So in that vision there’s no need to consider the beast.

When we come to Revelation 12–15, however, once more we begin to consider the beast. This time it’s about God’s victory over the beast, and how it shall be done.

So some of us were considering this in an earlier study. And first of all, to help us to understand it we were taken in thought way up into God’s heaven to look at things here on earth from heaven’s point of view. And we thought of how man himself was originally made in the image of God as his viceroy, to rule under him and to have dominion over God’s creation (Gen 1:26–28). That was God’s idea of humanity, that man might rule and develop the earth for God, so long as he remained dependent on God.

For his own reasons the devil caused man to disobey God and seize independence. He baited the hook with the promise that if they ate the fruit they would be as God, independent of him, knowing good and evil. That lie has nestled in the heart of human beings all down the centuries. Every now and again it breaks out and some world ruler believes that he is God. Darius, emperor of the Persians, some of the Roman rulers, and Alexander the Great all believed it. Hitler came very near to it. If he didn’t deify himself, he deified the state.

And the Bible says that at the end of this age an international government shall arise that will deify the head of state; they shall say that science has proved there’s no God out there. In order to get the obedience of the masses, people will be required to give one hundred percent allegiance to the state and worship its head. Anybody who refuses will be eliminated.

How to overcome the beast

How is it achieved? Well, first there has to be a victory over the devil that empowered the beast (Rev 12:8). The early visions of Revelation 12 represent the devil as the dragon, that old serpent, standing before the woman who was about to give birth to a male child. The woman represents humanity and the promise given to Eve that her seed should eventually bring redemption, and bruise the serpent’s head (Gen 3:15). Her seed eventually, of course, was Jesus Christ our Lord, our deliverer, born of the virgin Mary, ‘[God’s] Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh’ (Rom 1:3). Now it’s not a question of man trying to be God, but of God actually becoming man and entering humanity to win the battle for us. We see in the vision how Satan tried to get hold of that promised seed and destroy him, but he was caught up to God and his throne (Rev 12:5). Satan was defeated.

We thought of the Lord Jesus, as foul spirits surrounded his cross and tried to do him to death. He died and was buried. We rejoice that he’s risen again and gone to glory. He sits enthroned in the heavens, and Satan has lost.

How do we (the saints) get the victory over the beast?

If we’ve got the victory over Satan, how do we get victory over the beast?

You say, ‘I know how. Shoot him. Why doesn’t God destroy the beast and then we should win?’

Ladies and gentlemen, just suppose the ludicrous and impossible for a minute. Somehow or other, I am in the boxing ring with the great and famous Muhammad Ali, and my sixty year old knees are knocking.

You say, ‘However will he get the victory? I tell you what; station somebody underneath the floorboards, and at the right moment shoot Muhammad Ali. That will give Gooding the victory.’

Well, not really. That would deliver me, but I shouldn’t have conquered him, should I? That’s why in the vision of the beast in Revelation 12–15, God doesn’t destroy the beast. It’s because he wants us to get the victory over him.

How did Israel get victory over Pharaoh?

I must tell you the last of the story. We read that the victors over the beast stand at last beside the sea of glass and sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb (Rev 15:2–3). That takes us back to the Old Testament, when Israel were in Egypt. There was a tyrant named Pharaoh, who defied the living God. So God sent plagues upon Egypt and demonstrated that he was the true God, and the people got victory.

How did they get victory? First, by getting released from the wrath of God, which was about to come upon that guilty land and its tyrant. God told his people to shelter themselves under the blood of the Passover lamb, and they were delivered (Exod 12).

But that was only the first stage. Redeemed now from the wrath of God, how did they get free of Pharaoh? God led them out to the wilderness, didn’t he? And then they came to the Red Sea, flowing strongly in front of them. With Pharaoh coming up behind with all his chariots, they cried out to the Lord. ‘And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today”’ (Exod 14:13). Then God commanded Moses to lift up his staff over the sea, and the waters parted.

Israel were given a choice. ‘If you want to get free from Pharaoh, you must be baptized to Moses in this cloud and in the sea’ (see 1 Cor 10:1–2). ‘You must be prepared to commit yourselves one hundred percent to Moses.’ They made their choice. It looked like certain death, but it was their only hope. So they went through the sea, with the waters on both sides and the cloud over the top. They gave their complete and utter allegiance to Moses and were baptized to him in the cloud and in the sea. That’s how they got the victory over Pharaoh. When they had all passed through the sea, the waters came back and drowned the Egyptians, and that was the end of them.

The choice is between Satan and the Saviour

Sooner or later, ladies and gentlemen, all believers will get victory over the beast. The beast hasn’t yet come in that sense, but every man, woman, boy and girl is born in the kingdom of Satan. How do we get victory?

1. By being redeemed by the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God, we are set free from the wrath of God in this ungodly world.

2. We have to make up our minds. Are we going to stay in the kingdom of Satan and eventually face the rise of the beast? Or are we going to stake our allegiance one hundred percent to Jesus Christ?

You say, ‘If I were to do that—trust the Saviour, be baptized and follow him—it would cost me my friends.’

It will cost you everything! Already, it’s cost millions of people their lives to trust Christ and follow him. Some of my friends in eastern Europe are in prison now. That’s what it costs. But we have to decide, don’t we?

If you’re not prepared thus to follow Christ, Satan has won. He buys us with material benefits and with the fear of death. How shall I break that bondage? How shall I get victory over the beast?

You’ll say, ‘Cost what it will, even my very life, I shall trust Jesus Christ. If never before, I do it now. And I shall get myself baptized to him, give him the utter allegiance of my heart, and follow him all the way home to glory.’

If you do, you too will be among those who stand at last by the glassy sea, having gotten victory over the beast.

8: The Woman and the Beast

Reading: Revelation 17:1–7, 12–18; 19:1–10

Movement five: Revelation 15:5–19:10 (Part 2)

This afternoon, using the imagery and the metaphors of this wonderful New Testament book, we began to think together of the coming great empire that the West shall experience in the days just before our Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven.

Summary so far

We noticed first of all that it is represented in holy Scripture as a wild, destructive beast. We reminded ourselves, however, that we should not misapply or misunderstand the imagery. That empire will be marked by all the very latest technological, philosophical and scientific discoveries. It shall be headed up by a genius head of state, who, in addition to his own giant human intellect, shall be helped in no little way by the supernatural power of the greatest intelligence in the whole universe—God and Christ and the Holy Spirit excepted. The great head of state and his empire shall be the product of his satanic majesty.

We noticed, secondly, that in describing this empire as a beast, Revelation is not doing anything new. We found, indeed, that three or four of the visions that John saw were given in similar form to Daniel the prophet, recorded in chapter 7 of his prophecy. We saw that God presents there this final Gentile empire in visionary form, and gives his critique as to why it has to be destroyed and its place and power given to the glorious Son of Man, Jesus Christ our Lord, and his saints.

The beasts in Daniel 7

We noticed that, even though they are beasts, the beasts of Daniel 7 show a great deal of progress. The first of them had its wings plucked off and was made to stand on its feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. God is telling us that he recognizes that Gentile political power down the centuries has shown a tendency from time to time to become considerably more humane. That has been evident of many Western governments even in the course of my lifetime. In spite of that, it will not solve mankind’s problems, nor introduce the age of peace and glory that all of us seek. So, when God characterizes Gentile political governments as animals, he is not being rude but realistic.

As the great theologian Reinhold Niebuhr put in his 1932 book, Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics, governments cannot afford to be moral in the sense that individual men and women are moral. Individual members of individual governments can act like ordinary citizens and be very reasonable and self-sacrificing, and treat their neighbours with due consideration. But when they become heads of government, then the first thing that they feel charged to do is to guarantee that their country survives. And given that first responsibility, then they act like animals, for they have no choice. The allies in the Second World War said they wouldn’t bomb ordinary civilians. But when it was a case of Britain surviving against its terrible enemies, then Britain too fought for its life and bombed innocent civilians by the thousands. Governments are like animals: not immoral, but amoral.

So we noticed God telling us in this figure of a beast, that the time shall come in human civilization and political experience when the beast will get eyes like a man, and a mouth like a man (Dan 7:8). Governments make enough noise, but perhaps the more relevant point here is that it has eyes like a man, attaining to the perceptions and insights that are peculiar to mankind. We thought of the tremendous insights to which mankind has attained in these last fifty years, so that we now know the very secrets of nature. But it is chilling to think that human governments have it within their power to blast this world to smithereens and destroy it for the sake of their own survival.

In Daniel’s vision we are told that in the end God himself had to intervene, because of the hideous strength that the final empire had achieved. Lest it should go on breaking and stamping and biting and devouring at every level, God intervenes and destroys that last form of human government and replaces it with a glorious government of the Son of Man and his saints.

Thank God, logic prevails, and reason prevails, and divine wisdom prevails, and humanity prevails, and our world will yet be ruled by the ideal of humanity, Jesus Christ our blessed Lord, Son of God and Son of Man. In the day when he rules he will be joined by millions whom God describes as saints—whether of an age that’s now past, or current, or one that is yet to be; men and women who have been redeemed and conformed to the glorious humanity of Jesus Christ our Lord.

The beast in Revelation

Then we moved on to Revelation, and noticed that the vision of the beast is divided up into three or four distinct parts of this book. And we found particularly in Revelation 13 that it was not so much a critique of Gentile government that God was interested in, but putting it in the context of the rise of this magnificent but sinister power at the end of the age. So we were taken behind the scenes for a while, from earth to heaven, to see the cosmic significance of humanity on this earth. Man was made in the image of God; made to rule, to have dominion as the creature of God in fellowship with God, but of course in humble dependence on God.

We saw war break out in heaven (Rev 12:7), and reminded ourselves of the background. How the arch rebel, Satan himself, in his attempt to thwart and destroy the purposes of God, enticed our first parents to sin, to grasp at independence of God and take of the forbidden fruit so that they should be as God. They would no longer need to depend on God for his decisions, judgments and directions, but could carve out their own way in history. We observed how that idea has nestled in the heart of the human race over many centuries, to flower from time to time in different situations, when man has conceived in his heart again to act as God. Antiochus Epiphanes in the ancient world tried it; Nebuchadnezzar deified the state; some Roman emperors required that their subjects should offer them divine worship. What happened in the past, God warns us will happen again in the future. Inspired by the devil, it lies in the heart of man to try and usurp the place of God. He aims to get the ultimate loyalty of men and women—their worship indeed—harnessed to the state and to the head of state.

We warned ourselves how far advanced we are in our modern world toward that end. Vast millions in our world have already accepted materialistic evolutionary atheism. When it is found that science cannot cause the human race to cohere, then, for the survival of the human race, the government shall decree that there must be a new religion—the worship of the state. The head of state will be deified, and mankind will be required to give utter and absolute loyalty and allegiance to him. Instead of freedom for the human race, it will prove to be the biggest, saddest and most grinding slavery that humankind ever knew.

The beast’s minister of propaganda shall make an image and require that men and women bow down to it. And the irony of it all, says the inspired prophet, is this: ‘for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666’ (Rev 13:18). It is the name and number of a human being. Consider the degradation of mankind, made in the image of God, worshipping the image of a man. Made to have dominion, now kowtowing at the feet of a mere human being.

Be warned, my good young friend. It might sometimes appeal to you that getting rid of the idea of God would introduce you into a certain freedom of lifestyle. Satan tells you not to be bothered that the moral imperative is backed home by divine authority. You can more or less do as you please, and that would be freedom. Mark the loyalty of God to you. He warns you that, in the ultimate history of mankind, when men and women get rid of the idea of God and seek to go their own way, it shall lead to the most colossal slavery, as they are forced to bow down to a mere man, claiming deity.

Victory over the beast and not just deliverance

So, thinking along those lines in chapters 13 and 14 of the book of the Revelation, this afternoon we saw God describe the beast once more. But this time one of the major themes was victory over the beast. We noticed what that victory means, and how it is obtained. And therefore we were interested to find that, in Revelation 13 and 14 that talk about the beast, there is no explicit reference to the beast’s destruction, and yet there is talk of victory over the beast. We asked ourselves why that is.

You may remember I used the crude analogy of me in a boxing ring with Muhammed Ali. Here is this giant of a heavyweight world champion, and me with my buckling legs. How will I ever get victory over him? Not by getting somebody to shoot him. I could never claim that I had beaten him if somebody shot him for me.

The spirit of antichrist

How shall I overcome the beast (Rev 15:2)?

You say, ‘Mr preacher, I’ve been taught that I shan’t be there, so I shan’t need to overcome him.’

Well, okay, but the Apostle John warns us: ‘and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come’ (1 John 2:18). There have been many antichrists already: how shall we overcome them?

Writing to Christian folks, John says, ‘I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God [lives] in you, and you have overcome the evil one’ (1 John 2:14). Talking of ‘the spirit of the antichrist’, John says, ‘Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world’ (1 John 4:3–4). That’s how you overcome the spirit of the antichrist.

We may fight in different battles but it is the same war, and all of us shall have to learn how to overcome his satanic majesty. We reminded ourselves that every man and woman, boy and girl, is born under the power of the prince of the air in the kingdom of Satan and of darkness. How can we overcome him?

What does total commitment mean?

Then we thought of God’s secret. We borrowed the analogy, as the book of the Revelation does, from Old Testament history where Israel overcame Pharaoh and escaped from the grip of that tyrant of the ancient world. They were saved from the wrath of God through the blood of the Passover lamb. And again at the Red Sea, with Pharaoh coming up behind them to get them once more under his dominion, God opened up the sea and made a way of escape possible, and the way of victory. With the Red Sea in front promising a watery grave, he gave them the choice of Pharaoh and his tyranny, or Moses as the captain of their salvation. As the New Testament puts it, ‘our fathers . . . all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea’ (1 Cor 10:1–2).

With that ancient model in our minds, we thought of ourselves in our age. How would you overcome Satan and gain your freedom? The answer is: 1. by escaping the penalty of sin and the wrath of God through the redeeming blood of Christ; 2. by committing yourself one hundred percent to the Lord Jesus Christ as the captain of your salvation and getting yourself baptized. If some Christian here is not yet baptized, do let the world and God himself know on which side you stand. There is no neutral ground. Should it cost us all we have—friends and family, and physical life itself—we should be well advised nonetheless to trust and follow the Saviour.

The choice between the blood of the Lamb and the mark of the beast

What a victory God gains over the beast. I can’t resist the opportunity to tell you a little bit about it again, for it is in that context in Revelation 14 that God depicts the Lamb standing on Mount Zion—God’s king on his holy hill of Zion. With him are 144,000, and when enquiry is made as to who they are, we are told that they’ve been bought out of the earth.

You say, ‘Is that how God gets his followers: he buys them?’

Well, precisely so, ladies and gentlemen. He buys them. And might I remind you that he was in competition with the beast. The beast said, ‘If you don’t fall down and worship me, you shall neither buy nor sell.’ He bought their allegiance with material goods, with promotion at their work, with the promise that if they worshipped him he would see that their lives were preserved. But if they didn’t worship him they had to pay the supreme sacrifice (Rev 13:15). So the beast will buy men and women with material advantage.

God unashamedly says he’ll get the victory over the beast because he’ll buy them too, only he’ll offer a bigger price. I stand here in the name of God to put that price before you again. Satan wants to buy you with all this world can offer. God wants to buy you, and the price is the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son. What a price! Millions upon millions have let themselves be bought by that higher price offered by God, the great Redeemer. He doesn’t promise you physical life or physical security. Through the blood of Jesus Christ his Son he offers you release from the bondage of Satan, the penalty of sin and the eternal assurance of his love towards you.

You’ll be bought by one or the other. May I ask you as I pass on, who has bought you thus far?

The harvest ¹⁵

God will yet get the victory over the beast. Again in that same context we read of the great harvest of the earth, as the angel comes out on a white cloud with a sickle in his hand. ‘The harvest of the earth is fully ripe’, he says (Rev 14:15). The earth is reaped and harvested into the heavenly granaries. Following our Lord’s parable, I take it to be the harvest of the just (Matt 13:30).

Let me point out to you the wisdom of God’s strategy. The devil huffed, and puffed, and blew; and the beast will put on all his forms of rage and terror. Satan has done it in the past, and he’s doing it now to your brothers and sisters in many countries, some of which I visit.

You say, ‘Why doesn’t God stop him?’

My friend, God is outwitting Satan and he will outwit the beast. He’s using present persecution, the opposition of the devil and the heat of the day to ripen the harvest ready for its heavenly home. In all these things we are not just conquerors, ‘we are more than conquerors through him who loved us’ (Rom 8:37). God uses the very opposition of the enemy to refine his people and so prepare them for their responsibilities above.

The perversion of beauty

And now we must move on to another section in the book that talks to us about the beast. Here in Revelation 17 we notice how colourful it is, and once again how different from Daniel 7, where there were no riders on any of the four beasts. In Revelation 17, when the beast is introduced to us, it is being ridden by a woman. What a colourful woman she is: ‘The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls . . . And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations”’ (Rev 17:4–5).

You say, ‘She is a colourful and distinctly unpleasant woman—what does she represent?’

There is an easy answer to the question. We are in Movement five of the book of the Revelation. In the middle of the movement we read of this woman, Babylon, and all the impurities of her sexual immorality and disloyalty. By contrast, when Movement five comes to its climax we read of great universal celebrations.

Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure. (Rev 19:7–8)

Two women, then. One is disloyal, her honour compromised, her love and allegiance given to all kinds of people, and finally to the beast. The other is a delightful virgin in all her purity and beauty, the Bride of the Lamb, destined to be his wife for all eternity.

The choice between the Bride and Babylon

My good friend, without going any further, we have to ask ourselves again: if these two great movements have been going on in history and shall come to a head at the end of time, which one will we be in?

What does this woman of Babylon represent?

You say, ‘You haven’t told us yet what that unpleasant woman represents.’

The first answer would be that she represents false religion. The Bride of the Lamb represents those who are truly devoted to the Lord Jesus and faithful to God. They shall form God his eternal dwelling place amongst men: ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God’ (Rev 21:3).

So then, by definition, Babylon is the opposite of that. She is the false thing. Not the opposite simply in the sense that Babylon will attack the true believer; but the opposite because she’s the pseudo, the false, of which the Bride of the Lamb is the true thing.

Would you notice, please, that Movement four and Movement five together form a pair. In Movement four we have the antichrist: Satan’s perversion of the male of the human race. And in Movement five we have Babylon the great: Satan’s perversion of the female of the human race. The name Babylon will send our minds back to the Old Testament, so let me sketch in for you some of the background.

When God made man he made them in his image, male and female, and gave to them dominion over the earth. But as the second creation story distinctly tells us, the male was made first and the woman was made as a helper fit for him (Gen 2:18). That was no accident. The Apostle Paul recurs to it in 1 Corinthians 11 when he discusses the different roles of male and female in the church; the woman was made as a helper fit for man. As we have been watching the antichrist, the beast, the man of sin, we have seen Satan’s perversion of the male. Now in this woman we see Satan’s perversion of the female. In the picture that is presented to us, she’s sitting on his back, attempting to control the beast. Things have got topsy-turvy, as the female is trying to rule the male.

The origin of Babylon

Let’s transpose it from nature into the spiritual. In the book of Genesis we’re told how Babylon city came to be. God had told the early nations to spread abroad upon the earth, but there came a point when they decided to do so no longer. They said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth’ (Gen 11:4). So, united they built their city and their tower, independent of God. But God had told them to separate into their individual nations and each go their way, dependent on him. In defiance of God’s injunction, now we have a confederacy that is determined to be independent and to build a city and make themselves secure.

The origin of the Hebrews

Against that background we are told of the call of Abraham, the great Hebrew saint who left the eastern city of Haran¹⁶ in that far off day, and began his life’s pilgrimage. The New Testament tells us what Abraham was looking for as he left those ancient cities and their godlessness: ‘For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God’ (Heb 11:10). Having started to organize themselves independently of almighty God, it was Abraham’s considered opinion that those ancient cities were built on rotten foundations and in the end they were doomed to disaster. He set himself to be a pilgrim looking for the city whose builder and maker is God, built on the right foundation of justification by faith: ‘And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness’ (Gen 15:6; see also Rom 4:3, 22; Gal 3:6; Jas 2:23). That faith is justified by works, as the believer learns to live and work in a way which demonstrates that his faith in almighty God is genuine.

Babylon came to be the opposite of Jerusalem. The descendants of Abraham were led by God to choose Jerusalem, and God was pleased to dwell there for some centuries. Jerusalem stood for belief in the one true God and a worship altogether free of idolatry. Babylon in history became idolatrous, as men forsook the living God and went over to the worship of idols and false world views.

True and false religion

In the book of Revelation what is true of earthly Babylon and earthly Jerusalem is now raised to a higher level. They are two great competing systems. On the one side there is the Jerusalem that is above, the new Jerusalem that shall yet be. The Jerusalem above is the mother of all believers in the Lord Jesus (Gal 4:26). All those who have found their way to God and been justified by faith owe their salvation to their faith in God and to the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.

On the other side stands Babylon, the amalgam of all false religions. They all have this in common, that they offer salvation on the grounds of merit and work or spiritual discipline; as though men and women themselves could be independent of God and buy salvation from him by their own merit. Babylon is false religion, as against Jerusalem that is true.

You say, ‘Babylon is riding the beast; so how do you fit those things together?’

Well, in the course of history, political powers have at times found religion a very convenient thing and a help to their processes. Religion can reach people’s imagination and tap into the loyalties and devotion of the human heart. If religion is prepared to cooperate with politics, then it can get the people to bow to a political ruler. And of course, politics can be very attractive to false religion because it provides a sense of tremendous power, and for a time false religion thinks it is in control.

History has taught us a lot of lessons, has it not? Not merely in remote countries that were openly sacral, but even in medieval Europe a corrupt church allied itself with the political powers of the world, and thought that the church was ruling the politicians. They did it at the cost of loyalty to Christ, and loyalty to his word. Instead of taking her place with her absent and rejected Lord, and witnessing to his holy gospel, medieval Christendom became a cage of foul idolatry, with a salvation by works and merits. It came in consequence, like Babylon, to be the persecutor of true believers.

What happened in the past will happen again. Protestant expositors have sometimes told us that Babylon represents the Roman Catholic church. Of course, Protestants would say that; but Babylon was in existence long before Protestantism or Roman Catholicism. In her earlier forms, Babylon promoted the worship of all kinds of gods, Marduk, Bel, Baal, Osiris the Egyptian god, and all the rest. Protestant Europe developed that kind of idolatry in its Freemasonry, and it riddles not only the professing churches of this country, but is guilty of the most extreme pagan idolatry in Protestantism and Catholicism. In the end we shall see an amalgam of all world religions that will not be loyal to the Lord Jesus.

Some years ago, I was invited to a meeting of the World Congress of Faiths. That is, every religion under the face of the sun. In their letter they said they were inviting me on the assurance that I would have the courtesy not to say anything offensive to other people’s religion. I said I wasn’t in the habit of jumping down people’s throats, but I asked if in my lectures and conversations I would be allowed to make the Christian claim that the Bible makes of Jesus Christ: ‘There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved’ (Acts 4:12). I said that if I came I should want to be free to make that claim, undiminished. My invitation was withdrawn.

God warns us in his word where religion will go at the end of this age. With all her show it will be false to God, false to his Son, compromise with the world, and compromise with atheism and unbelief.

The challenge for us

At the end of this fifth great movement in the book, where do we stand? An alternative to Babylon is to be found in the true woman, the Bride and wife of the Lamb. The hallelujahs we hear are because, at last, ‘the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready’ (Rev 19:7). Shall I be among that body that is the Lamb’s wife? If not, how may I too make myself ready for the coming of the King of kings?

¹⁵This brief section refers to the Third Trilogy on page 56.

¹⁶Editor’s note: Present day south eastern Turkey.

9: The Lamb and His Bride

Reading: Revelation 19:11, 13, 15, 20; 20:1–3, 10; 21:1–2, 5; 22:1, 3–6

Movement six: Revelation 19:11–22:21

We have already observed that Movement five of the book of Revelation comes to its end by the announcement, ‘the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready’ (Rev 19:7). And those remarks contrast so vividly with the false women: ‘Babylon the great’ whose name is mystery (Rev 17:5); Babylon the meretricious economic society, ‘the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth’ (Rev 17:18). You will perceive the connection between the end of Movement five and the beginning of Movement six when we read that heaven is opened and the Son of God appears (Rev 19:11).

So, in our final study we shall be concentrating on that last movement in the book of Revelation. It is a description of what technically is called ‘the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ’. That is, his public coming in all the blaze of the glory of his Father and of his holy angels. He comes to set up his kingdom, put down evil, smash the power of the beast and the false prophet and deliver them summarily to the lake of fire for eternity. He shall bind the serpent and cast him into the abyss for a thousand years, ‘so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended’ (Rev 20:3). He shall rule the nations with a rod of iron, set up his kingdom upon earth and reign in righteousness and justice until the last enemy has been put down. When that is done, our little planet as we know it now will be transformed, if not destroyed, and its place taken by a new heaven and a new earth (Rev 21:1). Our blessed Lord shall deliver the kingdom to God the Father . . . that God may be all in all (see 1 Cor 15:24, 28).

There shall be days of unprecedented joy; sorrow and sin banned from God’s universe for ever. It is no wonder that when true Christians read of these things, and hear the affirmations of the Lord Jesus—‘Surely I am coming soon’ (Rev 3:11; 22:7, 12, 20)—they raise their hearts to him and cry unitedly, as the ancient church did, Marana tha, ‘our Lord, come’ (Rev 22:17, 20). Only in his coming can we have hope, not only for ourselves, but for our sorry world.

Getting ready for his appearing

Presently we are to think together of that majestic event—the appearing of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ—when the Son of God shall come in all his glory. How shall we, as members of his Bride, make ourselves ready for his public coming?

But first we shall stay a little while longer with these expressions:

the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. (Rev 19:7–8)

You say, ‘How would she make herself ready?’

We might be tempted to answer in the words with which Movement two comes to its climax. We saw people standing before the throne of God, having washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (Rev 7:14).

You say to me, ‘Mr Preacher, “This is all my hope and peace: Nothing but the blood of Jesus¹⁷. Whatever company of the redeemed I’m in, I shall stand before the throne on the same ground as that great multitude, my robes washed in the blood of the Lamb.’

I stand with you, friend. I, too, sing it with all my heart. But then, close attention to God’s holy word would show us that, when we come at the end of Movement five to the response of the great multitude, they do not say that the Bride has made herself ready by washing her robe in the blood of the Lamb, do they? Of course it is true; for the forgiveness of her sins, for redemption, for acceptance with God, she knows only the blood of the Lamb of God. But here is something more.

When brides go to their weddings, you can remark how beautiful they look. And they not only have their basic dress, but their veils and hats, or whatever. In the days and weeks before the wedding, they’ve been preparing a trousseau. You know, all the things they have in order not to appear just in a plain dress, but all beautiful and gloriously adorned, and richly decorated for the occasion. Of course, there’s a little bit of show for the photographs, but primarily on the day she wants to please the bridegroom.

So shall it be when the Lord comes. His people have made themselves ready. Accepted through the blood of Christ, yes; but they have toiled, according to this passage, to live a life of practical righteousness. With busy fingers they have done those ‘good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them’ (Eph 2:10). Saved by grace indeed, but saved to do those good works.

As she gets ready for the Lord to come, the Bride of the Lamb, with busy fingers and skilful art, has woven herself pure linen garments, so that when she meets him she may have a life of practical deeds to show him what she has done out of love and devotion to the one she loves best of all. ‘His Bride has made herself ready; and it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure’—for the white robes, this time, are the righteous deeds of the saints.

You and I too ought to be looking at our trousseaus, to see whether our acts as believers are righteous and true. As we do so, we cannot help thinking again of that woman, Babylon. We wouldn’t want to be like her, would we? Love compromised, beauty perverted. You see, in the antichrist you have the devil’s perversion of the male: the perversion of power. Men like to feel powerful, and Satan gets at men through their love of power. When it comes to Babylon, we have Satan’s perversion of the female: the perversion of beauty. Selling her favours, disloyal to God, disloyal to the Lord Jesus, seeking to control the atheistic, political system of the devil.

A question of loyalty

Does it have any voice for us? I speak first to the Christian businessmen present. We saw how Babylon of old became the cage of all kinds of idolatry. My dear good businessmen, let me talk to you straight. It was a difficulty that troubled the ancient Christian churches. Whether, for instance, if they were goldsmiths, they should attend the dinner parties in the goldsmiths’ union. Why shouldn’t they? Well, because if they went to the dinner parties in the union of goldsmiths, at the corner would stand an idol. The food on the dinner table would be offered to the idol in a religious ceremony, and then the people would eat it. A lot of women would be there, but they wouldn’t be the businessmen’s wives. They would be provided by the goldsmiths’ union for the entertainment of the gentlemen. And the question arose, should Christian businessmen go and be involved both in idolatry and in sexual immorality? If they didn’t go, they stood to suffer considerable financial loss.

In the church at Thyatira there was somebody who taught that it was perfectly all right for Christians to practise sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols (Rev 2:20). That false teacher brought on his or her head the solemn denunciation of the Son of God. You cannot play fast and loose with your affection and loyalty to the Lord Jesus. Business life makes a lot of demands on Christian men and women.

At one stage a Christian friend of mine came to me. ‘David,’ he said, ‘I’ve been having a lot of trouble. My bosses have been trying to force me to join the Freemasons.’ Why shouldn’t he? Because, as I’ve said, it may be very good for business, but their ceremonies are as idolatrous as could be: from start to finish all pagan idolatry. They said, ‘You must join them because you’re losing us customers.’ So he had to weigh his loyalty to the Lord Jesus against promotion in his work.

Hear what the Apostle Paul says to the Corinthians, ‘You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons’ (1 Cor 10:21). What do you think? Will you behave like Moab in the wilderness, and go off and be joined to Baal Peor and worship other gods? (See Num 25.) God won’t have it, for he is a jealous God. Like any lover, he is jealous for the affection of his bride and he will not put up with any true believer, a member of the Bride of Christ, playing fast and loose with her Lord and compromising with idolatry. ‘Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?’ (1 Cor 10:22).

In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul recurs to the theme, but with a variation upon it.

For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. (2 Cor 11:2–3)

Here it’s not a question so much of religious unfaithfulness as it is of intellectual unfaithfulness, ‘lest Satan corrupt your thoughts’ (own trans).

I talk to my younger brethren and sisters. I was young once and I know what it is to live in a world where intellectual battles are everything. It is a challenge to stand as a believer intellectually loyal to God and his holy word. I know the terrible temptation it is to sing hymns in praise of our Lord and of his deity in church, and then in academic circles to be tempted to be less than loyal to the inspiration of his word, to his deity, to his sinless manhood. But we cannot play fast and loose, because as the Bride of Christ we must make ourselves ready. Unlike that prostitute, Babylon, we must be religiously and intellectually loyal to the Saviour whom we love.

The temptation of beautiful things

Some theologians tell us that the Babylon depicted in Revelation 17 is the same as the Babylon in Revelation 18. I shall not argue it with you, except to say that I think they’re different. Never mind, each man is entitled to his opinion, isn’t he? But I notice that, when we come to the Babylon depicted in Revelation 18, she is described in very striking terms. If you were to say, ‘Where in the Old Testament would you find a prophecy like this?’, you would find it more in keeping with God’s description of the prince of Tyre than you would of the king of Babylon.

All those long lists of commercial activities, those beautiful products, those delightfully manufactured goods and artistic and aesthetic things that are attributed to Babylon in Revelation 18, are found in Ezekiel 28 in the prophecy against the king of Tyre. And that is no surprise because, as we know from our knowledge of history, the great empire that the Phoenicians founded in Tyre and Sidon was built not so much on politics as on trade. They were the great traders of the ancient world and went off in their ships with their beautifully painted amphoras and tea sets to the housewives in Greece and North Africa and even to Britain. Though there wasn’t much money in Britain in those days, they persuaded them that the old mugs they used were no good. ‘You must have some of the latest Phoenician slipware,’ they said.

You say, ‘What’s wrong with that?’

Nothing. It was a distinct improvement for Britain, I assure you.

‘Well, then,’ you say, ‘if they did the nation such a good service in those ancient days by raising the standard of living, what’s wrong with that? Any more than the merchants do today, when they raise the standard of living by giving us dishwashers, and washing machines, and microwaves, and electric shavers, and central heating, and all those other lovely things that they persuade us we need, though our grandfathers didn’t.’

I’m grateful for my Japanese hi-fi, and a car that goes, and everything else. Why not?

And yet, when you come to read the Old Testament description of Tyre, you discover that in God’s eyes there was something very seriously wrong with Tyre. Its king is described in such terms that many people might use of the devil himself. The very acme of beauty as the devil once was: the anointed guardian cherub in his consummate glory and beauty that attended the very throne of God. But beauty too can get perverted and misused, and that beautiful cherub, instead of serving God and letting its beauty charm the very heart of God, turned in upon itself and sought its own will to live for self. That’s beauty gone wrong.

There’s nothing wrong in modern civilization, but I do see a danger. That beautiful suite, that lovely car, they’re delightful, aren’t they? But in them there lurks that danger peculiar to beauty that will take your heart’s affection away from the Lord.

When people were poor up here in County Durham, so I’m told, they had time to think on spiritual things. Then came more goods and better prosperity. The people deserve it: why shouldn’t they have it? But not everybody resisted the danger, and for some the sheer beauty of the goods took their hearts from God and from spiritual things. Multitudes of us men and women today in our British Isles are so full of goods that we’ve no time for God. Let me remind you that more people will be in hell, seduced there by beautiful things, than brought there by vicious crimes.

How’s it going with us as believers? ‘His Bride has made herself ready.’ Have we? Are we thanking God for all the beautiful things that he has given us, and by his grace keeping them in their place, so that they lead our heart’s affections nearer to the Lord? Or is it true of us that sometimes they lead us away from him?

Once we had no car. What can you do when you haven’t got a Mini Minor? Well, you could come to the prayer meeting, couldn’t you? Then we got a Mini, and if you have a Mini you’ve got to use it. But Tuesday night is the only free night you’ve got, and that happens to be prayer meeting night. What do you do? Do you go out in the Mini and not come to the prayer meeting?

You say, ‘There’s nothing wrong with a Mini.’

One day, if you’re a believer, God will give you a whole galaxy or two to look after. But my dear friend, if a Mini would keep you from the prayer meeting down here, what would a galaxy do up there? You’d never turn up to the eternal praise sessions. We’ve got to get ready for handling immense glory: ‘a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory’ (2 Cor 4:17 kjv). The Father isn’t going to take us there until it’s safe, lest the very glory of heaven should take our hearts from the Saviour, like it did Satan’s.

Once we didn’t have much education, so we read the Bible. Then we got education and good jobs, but we were so busy in our jobs that we didn’t have much time to read the Bible. Something has gone wrong there, hasn’t it? I shall not need to develop that any further.

The Lord is coming and his Bride is to make herself ready. She will show by her behaviour now that she is religiously and intellectually loyal to Christ. In the commercial and material things of life she’ll be loyal to him, allowing nothing to come between her heart and its affections and the blessed Lord.

Jesus is coming! O sing the glad word!
Coming for those He redeemed by His blood,
Coming to reign as the glorified Lord!
Jesus is coming again! ¹⁸

The appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ

Truth will overcome the lie

We move on now to the sixth and final great movement of the book (Rev 19:11–22:21), as heaven opens and the Son of God comes out, riding a white horse. ‘The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True . . . and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. . . . From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations’ (Rev 19:11, 13, 15). As we think of his triumph over the beast; his imprisonment of the devil; his one thousand year reign; the judgment that he will conduct as the final judge—impressed on it all is the repeated remark, faithful and true. When he comes he shall put down all deceit and shall be the end of every lie. At last we’ll see the truth as the truth is, and face reality.

All the lies that will have been told by the beast and his government shall be nailed. The enormous lies perpetrated by theologians in the name of the church shall be exposed. They can neither believe in the incarnation of Christ nor in his second coming because, as they say, ‘You can’t believe in a God who would intervene in our world’. The simple fact is that the Son of God is coming again, and every eye shall see him (Rev 1:7). It shall be the end of the lie and the end of deceit.

You say, ‘If he’s going to do it one day, why doesn’t he hurry up and do it now?’

Because if he did it now, some people would be very embarrassed, to say the least, when they’re found to be on the wrong side. In warning his fellow believers to be faithful and to preach the word of God in all its truth, Paul reminds them of the day when ‘the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords’, God himself, shall stage the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ (see 1 Tim 6:15). When that happens, whose side shall we be on?

Solomon and Adonijah

Let me tell you a story, it’s a favourite of mine and it’s found in 1 Kings 1. It comes from the days when the great King David was now a feeble old man, approaching death. He had a number of sons, and had determined that Solomon should be king after him. But Adonijah, another son, decided that now was his opportunity to seize the government. So he got his cronies together and formed a political party. They all came to a convention on the far side of the brook Kidron, where they held a tremendous celebration proclaiming that Adonijah was king.

Solomon’s mother heard of it and went in to see King David.

‘Your Majesty, is it your will that Adonijah should be king?’

He sat up in bed. ‘Adonijah? Of course not. Solomon is to be king.’

She said, ‘I thought so. Well, Adonijah has gone and had himself proclaimed king.’

David said, ‘Call in Zadok and Nathan and Benaiah and I’ll tell you what you’ll do. Get out my royal mule and put Solomon on it, then make a procession down the street, blow the trumpet and say, “Long live King Solomon”.’

So, that’s what they did. You see, David was staging the appearance of the true king.

Adonijah was across the valley, with his cronies merrily drinking his health, when they heard the noise.

‘What’s that uproar in the city?’ said Joab.

When they heard that David had made Solomon king, they started to turn white and suddenly remembered they needed to be elsewhere, because it was embarrassing to be found on the wrong side when the true king came.

Choosing between the true and the false

The King is coming. If he came tonight, whose side would we be on? When the truth is revealed, what would you do if you’re found to be on the other side, obeying the lie?

I suspect all of us from time to time have suffered the distasteful shock of having gone to a shop and bought something thinking it was leather, and found out it was plastic. Or the piece of furniture that we thought was solid wood, wasn’t solid wood at all, but papier-mâché or something. One can learn to live with it. Sometimes, imitations that aren’t the genuine thing serve my purpose well, and my pocket even better.

Unfortunate are the people who find that what they think is love isn’t the genuine thing. And the people who go to religion thinking it’s the way to God and find in the end that it isn’t genuine. So that, when at last the Bride of the Lamb is manifest, it is not surprising to hear God’s Spirit repeat in his glorious descriptions of those magnificent wonders, ‘These are the true words of God’ (Rev 19:9).

When the Lord is depicted as coming, he is called the Faithful and True, and when God’s Holy Spirit begins to describe the wife of the Lamb, he says twice over, ‘These sayings are faithful and true’ (see Rev 21:5; 22:6 kjv).

Lovely things shall happen when the Lord comes. I wish I had time now to go through the programme that God has laid down in his word for the great events that will follow the appearing in power and great glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. I must, alas, skip over them all, and come to the great and final thing, the coming in glory of the Bride of the Lamb.

The appearing of the Bride of the Lamb

That great and glorious city, the Lamb’s wife, is said to come down from heaven, having the glory of God (Rev 21:9–11). Ah, what a day it shall be when God’s purposes of redemption are fulfilled and every believer finally is transformed into the very image of the Lord. The process is not yet complete, is it? ‘And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another’ (2 Cor 3:18). Courage, my brother, my sister. One day it shall be done and, when we see him, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is (see 1 John 3:2). That vision of the Saviour shall complete our transformation: we shall be eternally like him.

The gates of the city

Not only shall God’s people have to be gloriously like him, built on the foundation that will make eternal security possible; they must also reign with him. So we find that the gates are not only where people come in and out, but where the government and administration of the city are located. The names of the sons of Israel are inscribed on them (Rev 21:12). That is an interesting thing, for it takes us back to the Old Testament, to where the children of Jacob got their names from, that shall adorn that eternal city for ever.

The Bible tells us how they got their names. In the frustrations and joys of life, living with Jacob in his tents, looking after the concerns of the home and the births and upbringing of their children, their mothers took these matters to God in prayer. God heard their prayers, and these experiences of God in the day-to-day things of life were encapsulated in the names they gave their children. Those who shall reign with Christ in that city are being prepared, like Jacob’s wives, by the disciplines and experiences of God in the daily affairs of life.

‘The twelve gates were twelve pearls’ (Rev 21:21). Every pearl in that eternal city will be genuine, through and through. They will be the real thing.

The foundations of the city

That glorious purity will be guarded by a great, high wall, with effective gates and solid foundations. On the foundations are the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb (Rev 21:14), for the foundation of the city’s holiness and glory shall be the redemption that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

May I ask, are we all built on that foundation? Abraham was looking for the city that had the foundation. Do we have the redemption that is in Christ applied to our hearts; are we justified by faith in God as Abraham was, and are we built on that foundation?

Twice over the inspiring Spirit tells us that the city is pure gold, and clear, transparent glass (Rev 21:18, 21). There’s nothing substandard in the gold and no impurity in the glass. It is the real thing. Our faith—be it for salvation, or in daily living, or in effecting our responsibilities for the Lord—is like gold. As Peter put it, ‘so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ’ (1 Pet 1:7). Originally it was mixed up with a certain amount of dross, but in the course of life our faith has been refined again and again, so that when the Lord appears it shall be perfect.

Ah, what a city it shall be. The love of the Saviour for his people is the real thing. The love of his people for the Saviour is the real thing. The fellowship of the people of God for all eternity is the real thing.

Thank God, the Spirit adds, ‘nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life’ (Rev 21:27). Nothing that is not genuine.

Two final questions

1. Am I a genuine believer?

If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practise the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:6–8)

The one who says he knows God and walks in darkness is a liar. If we try to tell ourselves we have no sin, we are liars, says John. Therefore, let me ask myself, am I a genuine believer? Not sinless yet, but am I saved by grace and walking in the light of God’s word and presence, confessing my sin and claiming his promise to cleanse me from all unrighteousness? Or am I not a genuine believer, but simply religious? Nothing shall enter that city that isn’t one hundred percent genuine.

2. Am I purifying myself?

but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. (1 John 3:2–3)

The Bible says that if we have this hope of seeing the Lord when he comes—forming part of his Bride and being like him—then we should be trying to be like him now. We shall purify ourselves, even as he is pure. If we profess the Christian hope to be looking for the coming of the Lord and say we want to be like him, are we now by God’s grace seeking to be conformed to what Christ was when he came to live on our planet?

God help us to answer the questions satisfactorily, and to him be all the glory as now we go our ways.

¹⁷Robert Lowry (1826-1899), ‘Nothing but the blood of Jesus’ (1876).

¹⁸D. W. Whittle (1840-1901).

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Study Notes

These Study Notes can be downloaded in the PDF, eBook and Kindle formats listed in the ‘read’ section above.

Appendix 1: The Structure of Revelation

I. Rev 1:1–3:22	II. Rev 4:1–7:17	III. Rev 8:1–11:18	IV. Rev 11:19–15:4	V. Rev 15:5–19:10	VI. Rev 19:11–22:21
Statement of contents . . . the testimony of Jesus (Rev 1:1–3).	Opened: Door in heaven.	Opened: Seventh seal: Silence in heaven for half an hour.	Opened: Temple of God in heaven.	Opened: Temple of tabernacle of testimony in heaven.	Opened: Heaven.
John’s greeting: grace and peace from the Trinity (Rev 1:4–8).	The throne and the twenty-four thrones.	Big altar and golden altar of incense: smoke from the incense.	Ark of God’s covenant.	Temple filled with smoke from God’s glory and power.
	Pervading theme:	Pervading theme:	Pervading theme:	Pervading theme:
1. The Son of Man A sharp sword coming out of his mouth. Coming to address the seven churches (Rev 1:9–20).	The throne of God. Rev 4: throughout. Rev 5: throughout. Rev 6:16. Rev 7: 9–11, 15, 17.	Timing. Rev 8:1. Rev 9:5, 10, 15. Rev 10:6. Rev 11:2, 8–9, 11, 18.	Power and authority. Rev 12: Satan’s struggle for power: the man-child and God’s throne. Rev 13: the throne of the beast. Rev 13; 14:7, 9; 15:2: the beast’s blasphemous claim to divine honours and worship.	Beauty and clothing. Rev 15:6 of the seven angels. Rev 16:15: garments/naked.. Rev 17:4: of the Harlot. Rev 18:12, 16: of Babylon. Rev 19:7–8: of the Bride of the Lamb.	1. The warrior king and judge. – A sharp sword coming out of his mouth. – Coming to deal with the kings of the earth, the beast, the false prophet and Satan (Rev 19:11–20:10).
2. The Letters to the Seven Churches (Rev 2:1–3:22).	Other Tabernacle references: Rev 6:1–7: living creatures. Rev 6:9: altar. Rev 7:11: living creatures. Rev 7:15: tent.	Other Tabernacle references: Rev 9:13: golden altar. Rev 11:1, 4: temple, court, altar, lampstands.	Other Tabernacle references: Rev 13:6: tabernacle of God. Rev 14:18: altar of sacrifice. Rev 15:2: the sea of glass.	Other Tabernacle references: Rev 15:7: living creatures. Rev 16:7: altar of sacrifice.	2. New Jerusalem – Tabernacle of God with men. – Bride of the lamb (Rev 20:11–22:15).
	Comment: (Rev 7:13–17) by one of the elders.	Comment: (Rev 11:16–18) by the twenty-four elders.	Song: (Rev 15:2–4) by the victors over the beast.	Response: (Rev 19:1–10) by the great multitude.	1. Threefold testifying of Jesus (Rev 22:16–20). 2. The grace (Rev 22:21).

Appendix 2: Strategic Themes in Revelation

I. Rev 1:1–3:22	II. Rev 4:1–7:17	III. Rev 8:1–11:18	IV. Rev 11:19–15:4	V. Rev 15:5–19:10	VI. Rev 19:11–22:21
Son of Man.	Lion of Judah: lamb slain.	Strong angel.	Woman and male child.	False woman: Babylon.	Warrior king.
Clothed with a garment down to his feet, face as sun, eyes as fire, seven stars in right hand, feet as bronze, glowing in furnace.	Seven horns. Seven eyes.	– Rainbow on head. – Clothed with cloud. – Face like sun. – Feet like pillars of fire. – Roars like lion. – Foot on land and sea. – In his left hand a little scroll.	– Clothed with sun. – Crown of twelve stars. – Moon under feet.	– Clothed in purple and scarlet, gold, precious stones and pearls. – In her hand a golden cup.	– Clothed in a robe dipped in blood. – Eyes like blazing fire. – On head many crowns.
			She, her child and seed attacked by Satan.	– She rides the beast.	He overpowers beast, false prophet and Satan.
‘What you see, write in a scroll’ (Rev 1:11).	He takes the scroll, and opens its seals.	John takes the scroll and eats it.
and	and	and	and	and	and
Seven lampstands i.e. seven churches.	Sealing of one hundred and forty four thousand and salvation and triumph of uncountable throng.	Two lampstands i.e. two prophets before Lord of earth and the temple.	The dragon, the beast and their false prophet.	The scarlet beast and his seven heads and ten horns.	His bride, the lamb’s wife.
I will remove your lampstand out of its place.	The great tribulation.	‘The beast shall overcome them’ (Rev 11:7).	‘The beast overcomes the saints’ (Rev 13:7).	The beast and the ten kings destroy Babylon.	‘The kings of the earth bring their glory into it’ (Rev 21:24).
but	but	but	but	but	but
To him who overcomes.	They come out of it. ‘The sun shall not strike nor any heat’ (Rev 7:16).	‘They went up into heaven’ (Rev 11:12).	‘Those who were victorious over the beast’ (Rev 15:2).	‘The Lamb’s wife has made herself ready’ (Rev 19:7).	‘He who overcomes shall inherit these things’ (Rev 21:7).

Appendix 3: Strategic Themes in Revelation

Judgment begins at the house of God. Christ visits, praises, criticizes, admonishes and if need be chastises, rallies and encourages his churches.

The Nature and Contents of the Book (Rev 1:1–3)

1. A revelation of which Christ is both author and central theme, about things that must soon take place.
2. Conveyed by Christ’s angel to John who testifies to everything he saw, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
3. To reap its blessing the prophecy must not only be read and heard, but kept.

Greetings, and Grace from the Holy Trinity (Rev 1:4–8)

1. • From him who is and was and is to come.
   • From the seven Spirits before his throne.
   • From Jesus Christ (1) the faithful witness, (2) firstborn of the dead, (3) ruler of the kings of the earth.
2. Ascription of glory and dominion to Christ in light of
   • His love and redemption.
   • What he has made of us.
   • His coming manifestation.
3. Declaration by the Lord God:
   • The Alpha and the Omega.
   • Who is, and who was and who is to come.
   • The Almighty.

The Son of Man Amidst the Golden Lampstands (Rev 1:9–20)

1. Christ as judge: his official robe; the sword coming out of his mouth.
2. His purity and his power.
3. Christ strengthens John to write: ‘I am the living one, became dead, am alive, have the keys of Death and Hades’.
4. The scope of the writing: the things you saw, the things that are, the things that shall be after these.
5. The nature and significance of the lampstands and stars.

Christ’s Appraisal of His Churches (Rev 2:1–3:22)

1.	Ephesus	I know your works	but	overcome	Tree of life	cf.Rev 22:2
2.	Smyrna	I know your tribulation	fear not	overcome	Crown of life; not hurt by the second death.	cf. Rev 20:14
3.	Pergamum	I know your dwelling-place	but	overcome	Hidden manna; whitestone; secret name.
4.	Thyatira	I know your works	but	overcome	Authority overnations; rule with rod of iron.	cf. Rev 12:5; 19:15;20:6
5.	Sardis	I know your works	and	overcome	Will not blot name out of book of life.	cf. Rev 20:15; 21:27
6.	Philadelphia	I know your works	behold	overcome	Will write on him name of God, name of city, new Jerusalem.	cf. Rev 22:4
7.	Laodicea	I know your works	because	overcome	Sit down with me on my throne; my Father’s throne.	cf. Rev 22:1, 3

For the idea of ‘overcoming’ see Revelation 21:7.

Appendix 4: Old Testament Allusions in the Seven Churches

Old Testament Allusions

1.	Ephesus	‘I will remove your lampstand out of its place . . . To him who overcomes I will give to eat of the tree of life which is in the paradise of God’ (cf. Gen 3).
2.	Smyrna	‘Fear not what you are about to suffer. Behold the devil is about to throw some of you into prison that you may be tested, and you shall have affliction ten days’ (cf. the prophecy of Israel’s enslavement in Egypt: ‘Your seed will be strangers in a country not their own and be enslaved; and they shall afflict them four hundred years’ (Gen 15:13)).
3.	Pergamum	‘You have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam who taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the children of Israel’ (cf. Num 22–24).
4.	Thyatira	‘You allow that woman Jezebel, who says that she is a prophetess, and teaches and seduces my servants’ (cf. 1 Kgs 16:29–31; 2 Kgs 9).
5.	Sardis	‘I will not blot his name out of the book of life. cf. and the Lord had not said that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam’ (II) (2 Kgs 14:27).
6.	Philadelphia	‘He who has the key of David, who opens and none shall shut, and shuts and none shall open cf. a prophecy originally spoken of Eliakim, royal steward in the reign of Hezekiah’ (Isa 22:22).
7.	Laodicea	‘I will spew you out of my mouth cf. the prophecy of the exile. . . lest the land spew you out also. . . as it spewed out the nation that was before you’ (Lev 18:28).

Appendix 5: Features of the Seven Churches

1.	Ephesus	Commended for their hate: blamed for letting go (aphekes) of their first love.
2.	Smyrna	‘Them that say they are Jews and they are not but are a synagogue of Satan . . . behold the devil is about to cast some of you into prison . . .’ (Rev 2:9).
3.	Pergamum	‘You hold fast my name and did not deny my faith, even in the days of Antipas . . . who was killed among you. . .’ (Rev 2:13).
4.	Thyatira	Commended for their love: blamed for letting (apheis)‘the woman Jezebel teach and seduce my servants to commit fornication’ (Rev 2:20).
5.	Sardis	‘You have a name that you live, and you are dead’ (Rev 3:1).
6.	Philadelphia	‘I have set before you a door opened, which none can shut. . . Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and they are not . . . to come and fall before your feet . . .’ (Rev 3:8–9).
7.	Laodicea	Blamed for being neither hot nor cold, but lukewarm. ‘As many as I love I reprove and chasten’ (Rev 3:19).

Appendix 6: Section II

The throne of God and the worthiness of God and of the Lamb to receive the worship and service of God’s whole creation.

Description of the Throne (Rev 4:1–11)

1. Its occupant.
2. The rainbow round the throne: and round the throne twenty-four thrones: also occupied.
3. Out of the throne lightnings, voices, thunders.
4. Seven burning torches before the throne: and before the throne a sea of glass.
5. In the midst and round the throne four living creatures.
6. The grounds of God’s worthiness to be worshipped: he is the Creator: his creatorial purpose.

The Worthiness of the Lamb to Execute Judgment (Rev 5:1–14)

1. The lion has overcome: by being the slain lamb with seven horns and seven eyes.
2. The new song: the prayers of the saints offered by the elders: the Lamb is worthy because:
   • He has purchased men for God with his blood;
   • He has made them a kingdom and priests to God;
   • They shall reign over the earth.
3. The angels’ worship.
4. The whole universe’s acknowledgement of the Lamb’s worthiness.

The Opening of the Seals (Rev 6:1–17)

1. White horse: conquest.
2. Red horse: war.
3. Black horse: famine.
4. Pale horse: Death and Hades.
5. Martyred souls must wait to be avenged.
6. Climax: the great day of wrath
7. The half hour of silence (Rev 8:1)

Two Groups Saved (Rev 7:1–17)

1. One hundred and forty four thousand out of the tribes of Israel: sealed, so as to suffer no hurt.
2. An uncountable multitude: they come out of the great tribulation.
3. The grounds of their salvation: they have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb.
4. Their blessings and consolations.

Appendix 7: Section III

The problem of the silence of God in the face of evil and his apparent delay in avenging his saints, apostles and prophets.

The Blowing of the Seven Trumpets (Rev 8:1–9:21; 11:15)

1. Smoke from the incense and the prayers of the saints leads to the breaking of the half hour of silence: thunders, lightnings, earthquake, trumpets, as censer is emptied out on the earth.
2. The seven trumpets:
   • Hail and fire and blood: one-third earth burnt up.
   • One-third sea turned to blood: one-third sea-life and shipping destroyed.
   • One-third rivers, fountains, waters become bitter.
   • One-third sun, moon, stars smitten: one-third reduction of light.
   • Locusts from abyss torment men. Their king, Apollyon.
   • Angels at Euphrates loosed. Invasion by vast army of horses.

The Strong Angel Sets Right Foot on Sea and Left on Earth (Rev 10:1–11)

1. Clothed with a cloud: rainbow on head: face as sun.
2. In his hand a little book, sweet in mouth, bitter in belly.
3. Swears by Creator: delay no longer, but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel.
4. The mystery of God, according to the good news which he declared to his servants the prophets, shall be finished.

The Two Witnesses (Rev 11:1–14)

1. The holy city trodden underfoot by Gentiles forty-two months.
2. After one thousand two hundred and sixty days the two lampstands are extinguished by the beast. The dead bodies of the two prophets lie in city called Sodom and Egypt where the Lord was crucified. The world rejoices.
3. After three-and-a-half days the prophets are resurrected, taken to heaven, their testimony vindicated.

Thanksgiving That the Time for Judgment Has Come (Rev 11:15–18)

1. At the seventh trumpet mystery of God finished.
2. Great voices in heaven: kingdom of world has become God’s and Christ’s.
3. Twenty-four elders who sit on thrones: fall on faces: give thanks that
   • God has at last taken his great power and begun to reign.
   • In response to wrath of nations, God’s wrath has come.
   • The time has come for dead to be judged: to reward prophets and saints and those who fear God’s name: to destroy those who destroy the earth.

Appendix 8: Section IV

The throne of the beast and the grounds of his demand to receive universal worship. God’s answer to the beast and Satan.

First Trilogy: Signs in Heaven—Satan Frustrated (Rev 11:19–13:1)

1. A woman and child: the dragon stands before the woman to devour child: but the child is caught up to God’s throne.
2. War in heaven: accuser of brethren cast down: they overcome him: now has come salvation, power, Kingdom of God and authority of his Christ.
3. Satan persecutes woman: fails: stands on sea-shore.

Second Trilogy: Situation Resulting on Earth—Satan Apparently Victorious (Rev 13:1–14:5)

1. I saw—the beast’s throne: his ‘resurrection’ and irresistible power: his claim to divine worship: he overcomes the saints.
2. I saw—the second beast’s deceptive signs: image: no purchasing without the mark of the beast.
3. I saw—the Lamb standing on Mount Zion with one hundred and forty four thousand purchased (!) out of the earth: a new song. In their mouth no lie.

Third Trilogy: Warnings and Judgments—Earth’s Inhabitants Warned Against the Beast (Rev 14:6–15:1)

1. I saw—
   • First Angel: worship creator: hour of judgment come.
   • Second Angel: Babylon has fallen.
   • Third Angel: warning: mark of beast leads to eternal torment.
   • Voice from heaven: those who die in the Lord are blessed.
2. I saw—
   • Son of Man sitting on cloud: corn-harvest.
   • Another angel: grape-harvest: wrath of God.
3. I saw—
   • Seven Angels: announcement of seven plagues which will complete the wrath of god.

Victory Over the Beast (Rev 15:2–4)

1. I saw—the victors stand by the sea of glass and fire.
2. They sing the new song of Moses and the Lamb.
3. The grounds on which all nations will worship God and acknowledge his unique name and holiness: his righteous acts have been made manifest.

Appendix 9: Section V

God’s eventual and swift avenging of his saints, apostles and prophets on Babylon who compromised with the beast in order to gain power and wealth and murdered God’s true people and preachers.

The Pouring out of the Vials in Which God’s Wrath Is Finished (Rev 15:5–16:21)

1. Smoke from the glory and power of God fill the temple: None can enter till the seven plagues are finished.
2. The seven vials:
   • Ugly and painful sores on people who have mark of beast.
   • Sea turned to blood as of dead man: everything in it dies.
   • Rivers and fountains of waters become blood.
   • Sun scorches men with fire.
   • Throne and kingdom of beast darkened.
   • Euphrates dried up. Kings of earth deceived by demons to come to the war of the great day of God Almighty.
   • Great voice out of temple, from throne: it is done. Great earthquake. Great city divided. Cities of the nations fall. Babylon the great remembered and given cup of God’s wrath. Every island and mountain flees. Great hail.

Judgment of Babylon (A) (Rev 17:1–18)

She sits on many waters and on seven mountains:

1. Clothed in purple, scarlet: gold, jewels, pearls.
2. In her hand a golden cup of wine of unclean things.
3. The historical succession of empires: five fallen, one is, one is yet to come and must continue a little while: then the eighth . . . and he goes into perdition, overcome by the Lamb.
4. A mystery: Babylon . . . mother of harlots, drunk with blood of saints and martyrs of Jesus . . . she is herself destroyed by the beast and ten kings: ‘God put into their hearts to do his mind . . . until the words of God should be finished’.

Judgment of Babylon (B) (Rev 18:1–24)

1. The unholy city: ‘I sit as a queen’: In one day her plagues come.
2. In her was found the blood of prophets, saints and of all slain: ‘God has judged your judgment on her’.
3. The city never to rise again: no lamp to shine in her again.

Hallelujahs for God’s Judgment (Rev 19:1–10)

1. By a great voice of a great multitude in heaven: salvation, glory, power are God’s for he has judged the harlot and avenged his servants.
2. By the twenty-four elders.
3. By a voice from the throne.
4. By the voice of a great multitude: God reigns: Rejoice! Give him the glory: the marriage supper of Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready.
5. It was given her that she should clothe herself in fine linen.

Appendix 10: Section VI

The coming of Christ in power and great glory to execute the wrath of God; the millennial reign of Christ with a rod of iron; the great white throne and the new heavens and the new earth; and all of this to prepare for the coming of the new Jerusalem, the tabernacle of God and the bride of the Lamb.

The Rider on the White Horse

First Trilogy (Rev 19:11–21)

1. In justice he judges and makes war: a sharp sword out of mouth.
2. Invitation to birds to the great supper.
3. The battle: beast and false prophet into lake of fire: the rest killed with the sharp sword: birds filled with flesh.

Second Trilogy (Rev 20:1–10)

1. Angel with keys of abyss: binds Satan and imprisons in abyss for one thousand years.
2. One thousand years’ reign of resurrected martyrs and those who refused mark of beast.
3. After the one thousand years: final rebellion: Satan into lake of fire.

The New Heaven and Earth

Third Trilogy (Rev 20:11–22:15)

1. • The great white throne: heaven and earth flee: if any not found written, cast into lake of fire (Rev 20:11–15).
2. • New heaven and new earth: new Jerusalem corning down: tabernacle of God with men (Rev 21:1–4).
   • God’s pronouncement: he who overcomes shall inherit: but . . . all liars, their part in lake of fire (Rev 21:5–8).
3. • Angel shows John bride of Lamb: and there shall not enter . . . anyone who makes a lie: and he showed me (Rev 21:9–22:5).
   • Veracity of the prophecy (Rev 22:6–7).
   • Proper reaction to the prophecy (Rev 22:8–9).
   • Direction for publication of the prophecy: outside are dogs . . . and everyone who loves and makes a lie (Rev 22:10–15).

The Three-Fold Testifying of Jesus (Rev 22:16–20)

1. I, Jesus have sent my angel to testify; and the response of the Spirit, bride, hearers and thirsty ones (Rev 22:16–17).
2. I testify unto you . . . warning against altering the words of the book (Rev 22:18–19).
3. He who testifies says: surely I come quickly; and the response: Amen: come Lord Jesus (Rev 22:20).

The Grace of the Lord Jesus be with the Saints (Rev 22:21)

Appendix 11: The Layout of the Tabernacle

View here.

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