Final Preparations

Sunday, August 23, 2020 “Final Preparations” Revelation 15 Idea: In anticipation of the end, the seven angels and the victorious believers ready themselves to participate in and celebrate the justice of God. Intro: Much planning and strategy are required to pull off and make significant events successful. Many couples these days hire a wedding planner to aid in the planning and coordination of their wedding. They pay big bucks to ensure their special day is flawless. Birthday parties and family celebrations are similar. Families might not hire a coordinator, but they will go to great lengths to plan out and organize their event, working with vendors, entertainers, and host sites. We do the same thing when hosting events here at the church. No matter what the event is or how much preparation has been made, there is always a day of final preparations. The chapel is decorated. The bride and groom get dressed and prepare themselves for the occasion. Before the birthday party, mom goes through her list of things to make sure everything is ready for her guests. Here at Red Lane there is a list final preparations we work through every Sunday and for special events. We make sure the rooms and restrooms are clean. We station our hospitality team outside and at the doors to greet and welcome our people. We prepare to be ready for guests. The Lord also makes final preparations for His special events. In Revelation 15 we discover this sort of preparatory action on the eve of the seven bowls of wrath. This chapter serves to introduce seven angels who in the following chapter will pour out on the entire pagan world the seven bowls of divine wrath. The seven bowls are the third series of seven in the interrelated sequence of seals, trumpets, and bowls. The divine retribution revealed by the seals and announced by the trumpets will now be fully executed by the bowls. Just before they are poured out, we see the final preparations that are made. Read Revelation 15. Inquiry: Revelation 12-14 have constituted an interlude between the sounding of the seven trumpets and the outpouring of the seven bowls. The time of the seventh trumpet announced the period of the end (10:7), but when the trumpet was sounded, which was to be the third woe (11:14), no woe or plague occurred. Instead we have an anticipatory announcement of the coming of God’s Kingdom. Since the seventh trumpet has no plague of its own, even though it is the third woe, we must conclude that the seven bowls constitute the third woe, with which “the wrath of God is finished” (15:1). As George Eldon Ladd correctly reminds us, these plagues are poured out only on those “who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image” (16:2). They will not be unleashed on believers present during the Great Tribulation. These bowls of wrath, like the trumpets, serve the purpose of bringing sinful men and women to their knees before God in a final opportunity for repentance (15:8). In anticipation of the end, the seven angels and the victorious believers ready themselves to participate in and celebrate the justice of God. The Revelation is given so that we too might anticipate and prepare ourselves for the justice of God and the finality of the end. There are three realities I want you to see in regards to final preparations. As we prepare for the end: 1. Believers rest in the eternality and certainty of God’s justice. John sees a great sign in heaven (vs. 1). This is the third great sign in the Revelation. The first great sign appeared in 12:1, “a woman clothed with the sun.” The second such sign was “a great red dragon” (12:3). Signs point beyond themselves and disclose the theological meaning of history. This third great sign is “seven angels with seven plagues.” That there are seven angels having seven plagues speaks of the certainty and completeness of divine wrath against all unrighteousness. Verse 1 serves as a summary for the whole of chapters 15 and 16. In actuality these angels do not appear on the scene until 15:8, but they are presented here as those who carry out God’s final outpouring of wrath. These judgments are not just the last of the series of wrath but also the last judgments of history. They possess covenant implications as God breaks out against those who disobey His commands and war against His people. The war against God and His people has not ceased, and it will not cease until the end when the wrath of God is finished. Today, the people of God are mocked. The Church is maligned. The Bible is marginalized, and the gospel is marooned. There is an open and all-out war on God and His people taking place. We have seen elements of this during the COVID shutdown in certain states like California and Nevada. In these places local churches have not been allowed to reopen for worship but other establishments like casinos have been able to reopen. You might argue the shutdown is necessary for now so that a full reopening can happen soon. I would point out the unfairness and unconstitutional aspect of these closings. I would also ask, “Could there be something more at play here? Is there someone behind the scenes orchestrating these events?” The churches in Uganda have been shut down for months. They have been ordered not to meet even though there is relatively little outbreak in that beautiful country. As of yesterday, there has only been 1,848 cases reported with 19 deaths in a population of nearly 43 million people. Despite the low case numbers, the churches have been locked down. A few churches who dared defy the government’s order were not just locked up and closed, they were demolished. I have seen pictures from pastor friends of mine in Uganda showing how government ordered bulldozers to plow over church facilities. We know the church is not a building. Thankfully, the church will continue because it is a people not a place. The people, however, are also under attack. Christians are constantly under attack around the world. They are being persecuted and killed for the faith. Their rights are being stripped from them. We watch as our culture here in America becomes increasingly antagonistic toward anything and everything Christian. We witness people reject God and His Word. We see the devil continue to gain ground and influence in our culture. Our response, however, is not a taking up of arms against those who persecute us. Our response is a calm rest in the eternality and certainty of God’s justice. A day will soon come when the wrath of God will be finished. It is certain. The justice He will fully and finally bring against evil will not be temporary. It will last forever and ever just as He exists forever and ever (vs. 7). There will be no parole for the Enemy, the demons of hell, or rebellious man. Believers rejoice in the certainty of God’s justice, which leads to a second reality. 2. Believers worship God for His righteous deeds that have brought victory. John sees “a sea of glass mingled with fire” (vs. 2). The scene is reminiscent of 4:6. The saints are standing before the throne of God as the sea represents the majesty of God. Here the sea is mingled with fire, which is an image of judgment. Those standing before the sea of glass are the ones who conquered the beast, its image, and number even as they were conquered by the beast. They conquered by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony as they loved not their lives even unto death (12:11). They stand before the throne of God with harps and sing the song of Moses, that is the song of the Lamb (vs. 3). The song of Moses is a song of victory, praising God for His mighty works in the exodus (Ex 15:1-19). The song of the Lamb more fully expresses the victory won by the Lord in keeping with 12:11. Grammatically, John presents one song here, “the song of Moses, that is, the song about the Lamb. This song does not celebrate the judgment of God upon His enemies but the righteousness of His great redemptive acts. The people of God worship the Lord for He alone does great and amazing deeds in salvation, for He alone is God Almighty. They worship the Lord for His just and true activity in bringing the nations to Himself. They glorify His mighty name…the name above every name (Phil 2:9). They worship for His holy and righteous acts. As believers and followers of Jesus, we worship God for His redemptive activity in our lives, families, and community. We praise God for the grace that opened our eyes to our sin and rebellion. We praise God for His mercy that offered salvation when we deserved only wrath. Today and tomorrow, we worship God for the victory we have in the cross. The nations may rage and wage war against the Lamb, they may slaughter His sheep, but regardless, the victory is ours. This victory is assured as the seven angels come forth from the temple of heaven (vs. 7). The victorious worship of the believers leads to a third reality. 3. Nonbelievers must recognize they are undone before a holy, righteous, and just God. John sees the seven angels carrying seven plagues in seven bowls of wrath. They come from the temple of God, which inserts the idea of covenant with its attendant blessings and curses (vs. 6). The nations have broken covenant with God and must face the consequences. The angels are clothed with pure, bright linens, stressing their purity and glory. They bear golden sashes around their chests, symbolizing their elevated status as emissaries for Christ who carry out His judicial penalty on the evildoers. Their bowls are filled with the wrath of God. Like we saw in 14:10, the wrath will no longer be diluted. It will be poured out in full strength. The glory of God fills the temple while judgment is being levied. During this time no one is able to enter the temple until the wrath is complete. The final preparations being made for God’s full outpouring of judgment upon humanity ought to bring sinners to their knees in repentance and faith. They should see the danger that awaits them just ahead and turn back. Instead, like the driver who ignores the warning that the road is out up ahead, many will ignore and reject the gracious signs of judgment and plunge themselves into the wrath of God. In this final season of judgment, the Lord offers an opportunity one last time for sinners to repent of sin and come by saving faith to Jesus. Unfortunately, it does not seem that many will receive that offer. Today, the offer stands as we read and understand the condemnation that rests on our sin. We stand undone before a holy, righteous, and just God. The sin we bear will be dealt with at some point. The question revolves around who will bear our sin. Will we allow Jesus and His redeeming sacrifice on the cross bear the sin, or will we in pride carry it ourselves? One leads to life; the other leads to death. Conclusion: Final preparations remind us not just that the event is almost here but also that it is certain. The Lord Jesus offered a description of what to expect as history ramped up toward the end (Luke 21:10-28). It will be a season of increasing war, natural disasters, geo-political unrest, and intense persecution. In this dangerous world climate, Jesus told His followers that this would be their opportunity to bear witness of the gospel (Luke 21:13) even as they are handed over and put to death. In all of this, He offered assurance that justice will be served on the sinner and the sin. The Son of Man will come in a cloud with power and great glory (Luke 21:27). As we await that day, we rest in the eternality and certainty of God’s justice. We worship Him for His righteous acts that have brought us victory. And we pray that sinners will recognize their sin and the judgment they are under and turn in repentance and faith to Jesus. We pray they will believe on the gospel. What is the gospel? We talk about it in three parts. Good News – You were made by God and for God (Col 1:16). He loves you. He has a plan and purpose for your life. Bad News – Sin has broken God’s design. The sinful nature that overcame Adam and left God’s design in him broken has been passed on to us. It has separated us from God. Today, in our sin, we are on the wrong side of the great chasm. Our sin condemns us before God, so that we are deserving of His judgment. This brokenness should not surprise anyone; because if we are honest with ourselves, we recognize it. We feel it in our anxiety, fears, and broken relationships. We know there is a deep need that we cannot meet ourselves. Best News - The gospel declares that God the Son has paid the penalty for our sin so that we can be set free (Rev 1:5). He offered His life as a substitute for you and experienced the wrath of God the Father against your sin. So that now, you can experience forgiveness for sin by placing your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. You are given a choice to make? As a follower of Jesus, you have experienced His grace and forgiveness. And thankfully you can never exhaust His grace. Forgiveness is always available if you will turn to Him in faith and repentance of all sin. What prevents you from placing your faith in Jesus and turning from your sin today? As a Christian, you need to hold onto the gospel and share it with others.