Revelation chapter 14 this morning and, and moving forward,
we won't have the scripture verses on the projector so that
you can be opening and reading your own Bible, whether it be
the paper version, analogue, or if you've got a digital Bible
and you can open up and see the translations there.
You need to be a student of your word coming, bringing your Bible
with you to church, opening up your Bible, reading that,
knowing that, look around at your neighbour, say, have you
got your Bible today? No, well, you can borrow one out
of the pulpit. You can use that.
And if you need a Bible, you can take that.
It'll be a different translation.
I'm reading out of the new King James Version this morning, but
you'll still be able to follow along and get the idea.
Revelation 14, the title of the message this morning is Safe in
the Lamb. I'm going to open in prayer.
I need to pray specifically for a young Eli who had just
fainted. I believe out in the foyer area
and is receiving some first aid care at the moment.
So we want to pray God's hand upon him and that he's all OK.
And then we'll pray God's blessing on our study through
His word. Let's bow our heads.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for Your word.
Now we do pray specifically right now for young Eli, touch
him, heal him, restore him. May this episode be something
one off nothing sinister and and may your just hand of healing be
upon him. Now we pray God, we do ask that
as we open your word that as we're taught through it by Holy
Spirit, you guiding and directing us.
Help us to have ears ready to hear lives that are willing to
obey and to put into action your truth.
We need your help. We need your assistance, Jesus,
and it's in your name we pray. Amen.
It's difficult, isn't it? It's difficult to be around evil
for any length of time. I don't know if there's certain
situations, certain times, certain experiences in your
life. We have just gone enough's
enough. I just, I almost feel toxic
within myself just being around this.
You know, you put the news on, you put the radio on and, and
all that you hear is 1 evil story after the other and and it
blotches the way that you think. It certainly impacts the way
that you feel at times. CS Lewis, famous author, knew
something about this when he wrote a book of he's called the
Screw Tape Letters. He wrote from the perspective of
a senior demon, Screw Tape, who was teaching his nephew Demon
how to ruin people's lives. And in the preface, Lewis admits
in his words, he says, I never wrote with less enjoyment.
Though it was easy to twist one's mind into a diabolical
attitude. It was not fun, not for long.
The strain produced a sort of spiritual cramp, he goes on.
Every trace of beauty, freshness and geniality had to be
excluded. It almost smothered me before I
was done. That's how we feel, Lewis said.
It almost smothered me. That's how we feel so often,
living in this fallen world in which we find ourselves.
If Lewis felt that, and that's just writing fiction, imagine
John the Apostle. As we've been going through the
Book of Revelation, the visions, the sights, the sounds of
Revelation, especially in the last few chapters.
We looked at on Wednesday, chapter 13, and we see Satan in
chapter 12 like a great dragon described.
And then the beast out of the sea comes up in chapter 13 and
it's got 7 heads and 10 horns. And then there's this beast from
the earth, the false prophet, that comes out looking like a
lamb but speaking like a dragon. You encounter all of this and
you think of John as he's writing this and as he's seeing
this and all that. We've encountered so much
wickedness, so much hatred towards God, all of the
destruction that we've been reading of as the the seven
seals and the seven trumpets and the judgement of God has poured
out. Don't you think it must have
worn on? John is receiving this and
writing this down. And unlike you or I, John
couldn't change the channel. Now I don't like this.
I'll turn it over. Couldn't scroll past on his app
or scroll through and you know, unlike or unfollow everything
that he's receiving. God has John's eyes fixed on
this vision. He must be faithful to Pennant
and so that's why chapter 14 as we're about to read it functions
almost like a breath of fresh air for us and maybe like John
you found as we've been going through Revelation, you've come
out of the sermon going. That was another heavy one.
It's pretty impacting in some of the things that are described in
the devastation that's written and recorded for us.
And yes, chapter 14 is a breath of fresh air because it provides
a preview to the end. The answers in the back of the
book here, Revelation of the time just before the Millennium
where we see the Lamb, capital L Jesus Christ, who is also the
shepherd standing on Mount Zion with his people, the 144,000
remnant that we read of in Chapter 7, safe and secure in
the Lamb. And the Lamb is victorious.
And here's the main thing that John wants for you and I to see
this morning, that even in the darkest days of evil, the
ultimate victor is not the dragon is not Satan is not the
enemy, though it might look like it to all our eyes as we're
seeing the news, as we're hearing the news with our ears,
as we're reading the stories for us in the Book of Revelation.
And Satan doesn't win the first beast.
Antichrist doesn't win the second beast.
The false prophet doesn't win. It's the Lamb, Jesus Christ, who
is victorious, God's Son. Now, the past couple of weeks,
as I say, the messages have been covering over what we call the
great Tribulation period, and it's almost been like a
different angle. Think of chapters 10 through to
15 as parenthetical chapters. It's not chronological in its
writing and its record for us, but it's a a deep dive in to
what we've encountered beforehand in some of the
previous chapters. They're almost functioning like
footnotes for us. As you're reading through a
text, sometimes there's greater explanation and detail.
That's what we're going into in these chapters. 10:11 12/13/14
this morning 15 as we go into it.
Or maybe by way of analogy, you're more familiar with this
experience. Perhaps you visited a theme park
and often in different parts of the world, they might have a, a
mono rail or some kind of a, a train or tram ride.
That gives you a little bit of an overview of the attractions
available, but then you, you go on the ground and you go and
immerse yourself in those different worlds, those
different, you know, adventures on the rides and so on and so
forth. That's what chapters
101112131415 are. A greater immersion, greater
detail into the events of the Great Tribulation that we've
received some of an overview of already, but specifically this
morning in chapter 14. If you're the note taking type,
if you've got your book handy, or if you're putting it in some
digital form, then here are three points that will guide us
through these verses. As we read.
We're going to see firstly in verses one to five that the
Lambs people are protected. And secondly, the Lambs Gospel
is proclaimed. And then thirdly, for us this
morning, the Lambs Saints are promised.
Let's look at the first the lambs people are protected, as I
say they'll be for us in verses 1:00 to 5:00, but we're just
going to consider verse one at the moment.
Then I looked and behold, a lamb standing on Mount Zion and with
him 144,000 having his father's name written on their foreheads.
And some translations have having his name and his father's
name written on their foreheads. I like that as well.
So what we're introduced to here is, is the people of God, this
specific group 144,000 who are sealed by God.
It tells us back in chapter 13. We left off with it and it seems
that the whole world at that point in time is worshipping the
beast Antichrist. They bear his mark 666 it
mentions in the last verse of chapter 13.
But not everyone bounce like a virtual futuristic Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego. These 144,000 refuse to bend
their knee, refuse to bow their hearts to Antichrist.
We met them in Chapter 7. These 144,000 sealed by God,
they bare his mark in some way, and we're told specifically that
they're 12,000 of the 12 tribes of Israel.
Likely many attribute their task and their function during this
time to be like evangelists during the Tribulation period,
ultimately fulfilling that which God had called the people of
Israel originally too, That they were to be lights and beacons to
the world around of what it was like loving God and living for
him. They fulfil that call, but they
have God's seal, we're told, not the beast seal, not the the mark
of the beast. 666 but they bear the name of Jesus.
They bear the name of the Father.
It tells us, and I want to highlight that because I find it
to be a comfort for us this morning.
How is it a comfort? Because sometimes I don't know
about you as, as I commence this sermon with mention of the evil
that resides in the world, there's a a feeling that can
come upon us, kind of like Elijah in the book of first
Kings, chapter 19, where he cried out in desperation saying,
am I the only one left? Lord that serves you, loves you,
that honours you. Elijah felt like that in the
time of King Ahab and Jezebel, the evil queen in Israel.
And, and maybe that's you this morning sitting here.
You're the only believer in your family and it wears heavy upon
you and and you often find yourself praying and crying,
God, am I, am I ever going to be the only one?
Maybe certainly in your workplace.
You're the only Christian and it's toxic and it's an
environment that just at the end of the day, if you could purge
yourself and wash yourself clean with, with chemicals that would
dilute every ounce of evil that you've encountered, you would
and you cry out, God, am I the only one maybe in your friend
group, you're you're feeling outnumbered, overpowered.
Let me tell you friend this morning, you are not alone.
You're not alone. God always has his faithful
remnant. Always.
You see it all through Scripture and specifically here this
morning, the 144,000 sealed by God, his faithful remnant.
Notice again the counterfeit God had sealed them in Chapter 7.
And so Satan, he never comes up with a good idea of his own.
He copies in chapter 13 and has people bare his mark. 666
Satan's the great imitator. And like that kind of cheap
knock off cereal in the supermarket that that presents
like the real deal, the product, but inside is not.
It's not the same thing. Satan's product is laced with
arsenic. There's something encouraging I
want to highlight in that those Satan counterfeits.
God had sealed the 144,000 Satan comes up with all right, well,
God sealing, I'll seal and they can bear my mark. 666 There's
something encouraging in the numbers here in this first
verse. 144 thousands mentioned in Chapter 7 and in chapter 14
we read and it says standing with him are 10,000.
No hang on sorry I misread that. Standing with him are 30,000.
See why you need your Bible? Standing with him are 100,000.
It says no, not even 143,999, but how many 144,000?
That's significant, why God's seal works.
Not a single one of the 144,000 from Chapter 7 now appearing in
chapter 14 are lost, are gone, are destroyed.
God's not wandering around going where's old so and so.
I thought there were 144,000, but I can't find him.
Have you seen him? There's none of that in this
chapter here. All 144,000 presented in Chapter
7 are here in chapter 14. Again, God's seal works and we
need to be reminded of that this morning because of this
Philippians chapter one verse 6 says he who began a good work in
you will be what faithful to complete it to the very end
because I don't know about you. Again, there's times where in my
life, in my experience that there's days that there's weeks
that there's months where you wonder God, am I ever going to
make it? God, will you get me through?
Will you get my family through? Will you see us to the end, the
pressures, the pain mount up the the persecution.
Maybe know this again. He who began a good work in you
will be faithful to complete it to the very end.
Jesus tells the story in Luke chapter 15, the parable of the
lost sheep, The shepherd who had 100 sheep and one had gone.
Wondering what did the shepherd do?
A picture of Jesus Christ said that he'd left the 99 and found
the one, restored him and returned him.
God's seal works, God's people here.
The 144,000 were sealed and safe in the land.
We need to remember that this morning.
But not only are they sealed, but in verses 2 to 3 we see that
they're singing a new song. Follow along.
Look with me. In your Bible it says, and I
heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters and
like the voice of loud Thunder. And I heard the sound of Harpers
playing their harps. They sang as it were a new song
before the throne, verse 3, before the four living creatures
and the elders. And no one could learn that song
except the 144,000 who were redeemed from the earth.
So John hears this voice, it's the voice of the Lord.
It sounds a lot like the description given for us in
Revelation chapter 1 of Jesus voice, a voice like rushing
waters as it was described. And then there's this mention of
a voice like Thunder and then joining in the chorus with this
voice, a harpist playing God's voice described.
It's wonderful. I particularly love in the
Psalms how God's voice is described for us and the imagery
that's utilised in that. Think of when you read it in the
description given of God's voice cracking the cedar trees, how
God's voice causes flames of fire to divide.
It says how God's voice causes deer to give birth of how it
says that the God of glory thunders.
You know, living where we do on the coast, we have some heavy
storms that roll through and when when the lightning cracks
through the sky and the Thunder rolls and reverberates through
your house and the voice of God. But here we have it described
like rushing waters. And then there's this singing
happening. And it says for us that they're
singing a new song and a song that only a specific type of
people are able to sing, says that the song of the redeemed
are the only ones that can give voice to this song.
I want you to think of this kind of like a, a spiritual
frequency. And maybe you can remember,
maybe you can relate. 1 Corinthians 2 verse 14 says the
person without the Spirit can't understand the things of God.
Remember in your BC days before you were born again, before you
were saved, when you would maybe out of curiosity open up the
Bible and read the words of God, but they would blur into the
page and you had no understanding of what you were
reading. You might again, out of
curiosity, have come along to church and and heard a Christian
song being sung and you've got no connection with the lyrics
you don't understand. It sounds like static to you.
Doesn't make sense. Once the Spirit breathed new
life into you, you were born again, as the Bible says.
Now you can TuneIn to the frequency of God.
The lyrics start to resonate. God's word comes alive and
bounces out of the pages and speaks directly into your heart.
And you knew exactly what the singing was about, and you knew
exactly what the words were about.
Here only the redeemed can sing the new song because it's a song
of redemption. To have been lost but now saved,
to have been blind, but now I can see to be be made brand new.
It's the song of redemption. Let me ask you this morning,
there's a point of application in that.
Are you learning this song? Are you singing this song of
redemption? Is there joy within your heart
over the things of God or is your life still kind of tuned in
to the frequency, the soundtrack of the world and the things of
God coming through kind of like static?
Well, there's no, no voice to the words and you're unable to
sing these 144,000. They're able to sing.
And man, what a song it would be.
I imagine kind of King David in the background.
He's plugged his harp into the, you know, the celestial stage
amp that's up there in the heavenlies, and he's strumming
away as these 144,000 are singing this song of redemption.
Not only can they sing this new song, but it says for us that
they're separated in purity in verses 4 to 5.
These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are
virgins. These are the ones who follow
the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among
men, being first fruits to God and to the Lamb in verse 5.
And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without
fault before the throne of God. As we've been reading through
Revelation and we've been reading about this period known
as the Great Tribulation. At the time of Jacob's trouble,
there's been deep perversion that's been evident as no matter
what has has happened, people have sought not to abandon their
lifestyles and ways of living and and repent and turn to God,
but instead embrace what they've been doing all the more.
Think of all of the current places on the earth that are
filled with debauchery. Maybe you've visited Las Vegas,
maybe you've gone to New Orleans, maybe you've
encountered Haiti. Maybe you've gone to Perth.
Combine all of these things and multiply by 100.
Many commentators suggest that the time in which we're reading
these future years that there'll be this heightened sexual
immorality that will mark people kind of linked with idolatrous
worship of false gods, just like in the ancient Pagan temples of
the time of writing in the 1st century.
But again, the 144,000 sealed with God singing this new song,
they resist somehow they have in, in this heightened sense of
evil in which we're we're reading this, writing this,
taking place here. They have been able to maintain
a purity, A holiness, A devotion unto the Lamb, whether it's
literal purity as it describes for us, perhaps in sexual
abstinence or spiritual purity as we read through the
scriptures. Often the idea of of holiness
and purity before God is described in in language of you
know, like the people of Israel being like a virgin awaiting and
and we as the church are described as the virgin bride
awaiting Jesus Christ. It could be that point that is
made here in that but the overall point, no matter what
interpretation you take, whether literal or more metaphoric.
Is this their walk and their talk matched?
They were, despite what was going on around them, able to
live with a purity, A devotion, and a holiness unto God.
And because of that their witness is powerful.
In Chapter 7, it indicates that a great multitude of people are
actually saved come to a knowledge of who Jesus Christ is
through the ministry of these 144,000 Here in the verses that
we read in chapter 14, we indicated that they're called
the first fruits that their lives will be a much more gospel
fruit out of their ministry and, and and their life and living.
And so again, the application, the connection to you and I is
that do we not live in a sexually saturated world in day
and age? Do we not live in an idolatrous
age where people can worship anything and anyone but Jesus
Christ, it seems? And how much more than for you
and I, should we and ought we to guard both our physical purity
and our spiritual fidelity, letting no rival love take the
place of God in our lives again? For them, their lives, their
words had impact. How true for you and I.
We all know the impact that someone's words can have upon
us. Something favourable, something
encouraging that they've said in the past, or something more
detrimental and hurtful that has wounded us.
But all the more when they espouse some beliefs of theirs
and it's backed up by the life that they're living, right?
They've said one thing and their life matches up with it.
And we also know, know the truth, the Verity of the
opposite, that when somebody says something, but then their
life declares altogether the opposite, that their life is 1
of contradictions between speaking and actions.
Oh man, it tells a totally different story and bears an
altogether different witness. And you and I, we need the
Lord's help so much on this one that if we purport to be
followers of Jesus Christ in our words, that our lives must back
that up with our actions, our walk and our talk aligning.
So that's the the first point for us this morning.
Verses one through to five, the Lambs people are protected.
And then in verses 6 to 11, we're going to consider the
lambs Gospel is proclaimed and I'll have some of the imagery,
some of the thoughts that are wrapped up in these verses as we
get into them. Then I saw John says verse 6,
another Angel flying in the midst of heaven.
Now this language here in the midst of heaven, and maybe
another translation that you're reading or following along with
helps you understand this speaks not of heaven as being the
residence, the place of God, but as the heavens as our
atmosphere, right? So there's a visual aspect to
this that we need to understand having the everlasting gospel to
preach to those where who dwell on the earth at this time to
every nation, tribe, tongue and people saying with a loud voice
fear God and give glory to him for the hour of his judgement
has come and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea
and springs of water. So stop there.
The Lamb's gospel is proclaimed and creation is declared through
this Angel. John sees an Angel.
It indicates that this Angel is, is flying overhead in the
atmosphere for people on earth to see.
Whether it is that the Angel is kind of hovering and as the
earth is on rotation that people are able to see it, or that
literally the Angel is flying around and speaking.
It's, it's a, a wonderful thing to kind of imagine and consider
in this. I don't know what your overall
picture of the tribulation period is, you know, with the
apocalyptic images that we've encountered and so on.
But again, I want to remind you of this point of it, that the
great tribulation period will also be a time of revival, that
there will be people who come to a saving knowledge of Jesus
Christ as Lord and Saviour. Now it will cost them their
lives. We read that there is beheading
that takes place in this futuristic description given for
us. But here there is this Angel
that that flies around, or again, as I say, hovers and
preaches and declares the everlasting gospel message.
And this is the first time that this has ever happened in the
Bible. Angels have been involved in
some pretty cool stuff as you read through the Scriptures back
there, the Garden of Eden, delivering messages from God to
people on earth, the different battles that they're involved
in, the choirs that we read of them singing of them ministering
and helping the servants of God. But never do we read of in the
Bible of what we've just read here of an Angel sharing the
gospel message. It's interesting take you back
to a story in the book of Acts. In chapter 10, there's a fellow
called Cornelius who the Bible describes as being a devout man.
He was curious about the things of God and, and maybe he'd
started to begin the proselyte process, converting to Judaism.
He knew that that God was real in comparison to the gods of
Rome and and of Greece and so on.
And an Angel appears to him and tells him to go and seek out
Peter, who was down in Joppa. Now if I was Cornelius and an
Angel appeared before me, don't you think that you'd be saying
to the Angel, can't you just tell me the gospel?
Can't you just tell me what I need to hear?
But no, the Angel there, who probably wanted to tell the
gospel, told his message. Cornelius, you need to go and
get Peter. And Peter was sought after.
He travelled up from Joppa to Caesarea here by the sea, and
there's this wonderful conversion that takes place in
Cornelia's household. But my point is that the Angel
couldn't declare the message, then Peter had to do it.
Angels have never been able to share the gospel until now.
I think they would love to if they got the chance.
We're told in one Peter chapter one, verse 12, and the idea is
that when the gospel is presented and hearts are open
that the angels get excited and they long to look into it.
It says it was revealed to them that they were not serving
themselves but you when they spoke of the things that have
now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you,
by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
Even angels long to look into these things.
And so the idea is that the angels are actually blown away
by what the gospel means. It just astounds them and
amazing. Now think of it, if you're an
Angel, you've known God for thousands and thousands of
years, right? You've been with him for so
long, you've seen his might, you've seen his power, you've
seen his glory. And then you've seen humanity.
How small, how insignificant They're on this small planet, in
this small solar system, around this small sun, in this small
Galaxy as part of this great universe.
And you've seen how humanity has despised and rejected God
Almighty, that you've been in the very presence of that.
You've seen his might, His Majesty, his glory.
And then you've seen how in return, God crafts a plan of
redemption to make it possible for humanity to be restored to
relationship with a holy, righteous God.
And as an Angel, you've blown away, gone God.
Why? How?
How come they see God willing to do this?
They see Jesus die, they see Jesus being beaten, they see
mankind mistreat the Creator with total disregard and the
gospel astounds them. So now I wonder this of the many
times that I've been given opportunity to share the gospel
and there's an Angel that I can't see but is present that is
witnessing this. And he's just going give me the
chance. Hold me back, hold me back.
Let me preach. Let me say it, let me say it.
Do it, Israel. Do it, Israel.
And I don't. And the angels going or you when
that opportunity has presented and you know that burning within
your heart. Yeah, this is this is a time
where I need to declare the gospel, the good news of Jesus
Christ and that message and the angelic hosts are going to do
it, do it, do it, do it. Come on, I want to do it.
And we don't we don't follow through with that conviction
that's happening. Do you do you see the the
privilege that we have this morning that for whatever reason
God has chosen right now. Now we're reading of this in
future, but right now God has chosen you and me to be the
messengers of the everlasting gospel.
This Angel gets his chance in chapter 14 to preach and to
declare that we get our opportunity.
Now God invites us to be a part of that privilege and his
message in verse 7 is it's not too late.
Even in the midst of all that we've been reading of all of the
tribulation, all of the suffering, all of the
devastation and destruction, he says worship God, turn your life
in surrender over to him. And he argues from creation,
maybe referencing something like Psalm 19 in the first few verses
there, that the the heavens declare the glory of God.
He is the Creator, you know. And here I think we get an
insight into why it is that evolution is so appealing,
because people desire to write out of the equation the Creator,
to ignore, to disregard his existence so that what?
There's no accountability as a consequence.
But the Angel, his message here says otherwise.
There is a Creator, the heavens declare the glory of God, fear
him, give him the honour. Why?
Because his judgement is coming, and so corruption is doomed.
In verse 8, he goes on. Another Angel followed, saying
Babylon is fallen. Is fallen that great city
because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath
of her fornication as other Angel comes onto the scene.
The first message is one of good news is that Angel is declaring
and now the second Angel the message is that there is nothing
else no one else that can take the place of God.
Really preacher boy, where'd you get that out of Babylon is
falling down falling down. I don't get it.
I don't understand Babylon. There's more on this to come in
chapter 17 and 18, but in scripture, Babylon is a type of
this world's systems. Yes, it was a city, an empire
that we read of in the book of Daniel, but it also came to be a
representative indicative of political, economic and and
religious systems and aspects that are in opposition to God
Almighty. At the time of John's writing,
it refers to the government of Rome.
And here in this futurist futuristic application that
we're reading of it refers to the government of the Antichrist
set up as we read in chapter 13, the regime of Antichrist and his
false prophet that again is set up in imitation of in place of
God's Kingdom. And the point in, in alerting
you to this in the application I, I want to seek to make is
this in these angels, in these messages, in the declaration, we
talked about the privilege that we possess now of, of Speaking
of declaring the gospel message. But have you ever found that
difficult? It's like an good guilt trip.
I know I need to do it, but I don't know how to do it.
I don't, I don't know what to say.
Well, here in, in these angels, we have a wonderful point of
application for us in that regard.
If you've ever said I have difficulty in in thinking about
how do I share the gospel, what do I say?
When we present the gospel as the angels do here, here's what
we do. We start with the beginning,
God, who he is, what he has done.
We speak of creation, we speak of his goodness, we speak of His
Holiness. And then we turn to mankind,
humanity to the individual, to us, in comparison of our
rejection of God and our substitution of other things in
the place of worship that rightfully and only belongs to
God. Whether that be pleasure,
whether that be pursuits of power, whether that be all
manner of things that we've set up as functional gods that we've
worshipped. But what we discover is that
these, like Babylon, they fall and they fail and cannot in the
depths of despair in our lives, in the grief and tragedy of
life, living in this fallen world and in in the depravity of
our sin, offer the hope of salvation that only Jesus can
bring. And then you share of how Jesus
has saved you. Then you share and you speak of
the testimony of transformation in your life.
I once was like this, but now here is what Christ has done and
is doing in my life. And you speak of that change and
of that transformation. And then you offer them the
opportunity to receive that gift of salvation that that Jesus
extends and of what that means of the hope for eternity that
they can possess of a life forever in the presence of God,
no longer separated because of the consequence of sin.
And you can speak of and you need to speak of the consequence
of rejecting this message of eternity in hell and of what
that means. For this is now what the third
Angel speaks. He indicates the consequence of
rejection, of refusing the gift offered by God Almighty.
And now we have the consequences described in verses 9 to 11.
A third Angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If
anyone worships the beast in his image and receives his mark on
his forehead or on his hand, he himself, verse 10, shall also
drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full
strength into the cup of his indignation.
Back then in the 1st century, often they would drink wine and
dilute it with water so that they're not, you know, walking
around as drunkards all of the time.
But here the, the imagery, the picture of that is that this cup
of wrath, there's no dilution to it.
It's poured out full strength as a consequence for sin and of
rejection. And it says he shall be
tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the
holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever, and
they have no rest, day or night. Who worship the beast and his
image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.
That's some heavy texts that we've just read through.
You see, the rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour
results in eternal judgement in hell.
The Bible is clear on that. God is real, the Bible is true.
Eternity is a long time and hell is hot.
In Luke 16 we're told the story of the rich man and Lazarus.
That helps to give us some understanding.
Jesus tells this story. And by the way, Jesus spoke a
lot about hell. He spoke more on hell than he
did about heaven. And through this we get insight
into what hell will be like, of the torment of the suffering, of
the awareness that people possess in that of their
opportunities to repent, and of their rejection of God and the
associated consequences now that they're experiencing because of
that. It's been said that one word
inhabitants of hell wish would not be in their vocabulary is
forever, because that is what the full cup of God's wrath
poured out undiluted will result in eternal torment forever
separated from God. But you know there's a wonderful
contrast. Jesus in the Garden of
Gethsemane, you picture him, he's in torment is weighted down
by what awaits the judgement upon the cross so much so that
that in he's praying and he's seeking of God.
If there be any other way that the Bible tells us that he sweat
droplets of blood. The pressure came upon him so
much. And what that picture is when
Jesus went to the cross, is that Jesus, when he died, He drank
the full wrath of God that should have been poured out upon
you and upon me when he suffered on that cross.
He experienced the, the shame, the torment, the indignation,
the suffering, all of that that should have come upon me, that
should have come upon you. He drank it to the full.
And so when we accept his sacrifice on on the cross as a
gift to us, the payment is in full.
He goes, I drank it, I dealt with it, that the wrath no
longer sits heavy upon you. But if we we refuse that gift,
then for eternity the drinking of the cup, full weight
undiluted in totality of strength of that judgement being
poured out is ongoing torment all of eternity in hell.
And if you choose hell virtually it's over.
Jesus dead body, Ezekiel 3311 tells us as surely as I live,
says the sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of
wicked people. I only want them to turn from
their wicked ways so they can live.
Turn. Turn from your wickedness.
O people of Israel, why should you die?
God's a sovereign God, and He affords us the dignity and the
freedom to choose. You'll never violate free will
here. He sends angels on top of the
prior opportunities of the 144,000 and their declaration of
the two witnesses that we read of, not to mention any of our
witness prior to our rapture being taken up to declare the
gospel. And yet still it seems people
will reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
See there's two cups in Scripture.
The cup of wrath that we've read of here in Revelation 14, verse
10, or the cup of salvation, Psalm 116, verse 13, Luke 22,
verse 20. Jesus drank the cup of wrath for
us on the cross. If you accept Him, you'll never
drink it yourself. If you reject Him, you will
drink it forever. Our last point, we move on the
Lamb Saints, a promise we've considered.
The Lamb's people are protected. The Lamb's gospel is proclaimed.
And now the Lamb Saints are promised.
Verse 12 to 13. Here is the patience of the
Saints. Here are those who keep the
commandments of God in the faith of Jesus.
And then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, right,
blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.
Yes, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours and
their works follow them. There's a perseverance here in
the faith that God had promised that he would get them through,
and now that promise is being delivered.
It is a call for patient endurance in their lives.
They've been called by God to be faithful to his commands, to be
faithful to Jesus no matter what's going on around them all
the way through to the end. And it's not a a sense of
passive survival that's going on, but active obedience under
pressure and intensity of that. And they persevere to the very
end. But then we read this phrase
that it says blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.
Hang on a minute. How's that positive?
Blessed are the dead and blessed in the Scriptures, particularly
in the New Testament reads Oh, how happy.
Therefore, if we translate, oh, how happy are the dead.
Help me understand this, Israel, Our society doesn't know how to
handle death or getting old for that matter.
You know, we take potions, we put on lotions, we pop pills, we
have jabs, surgery, surgeries, even some being cryogenically
frozen, you know, hoping that technology will advance to the
point that they can be revived in some way.
But blessed are the dead. Many people can't wrap their
head around that. So how so?
You're only blessed as dead with the last part of that phrase.
Blessed are the dead. What did it say who die in the
Lord? And that's, that's the key,
That's the distinction, That's the difference.
Death holds no sting if you're a Christian, if you're a believer,
because it's it's not the end. It's a transfer of your spirit
out of the the body that has been your, your, your tent, and
a transformation into a a new dimension where you're forever
in the presence of the Lord God Almighty.
Now there'll be a resurrection, some sort of glorified body.
We read on through First Corinthians chapter 15.
But now blessed, happy are you? Not because death is pleasant,
but because of what comes after, just as what came after For
these people. It said that there was rest from
their labours and that there was reward for their works.
Death had no sting because the consequence of it had been dealt
with. Eternity had been taken care of
in hell and now eternity transferred into the Kingdom of
God because of Jesus finished work on the cross.
And so 2nd Corinthians 5 verse 8 holds true.
To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
And Philippians one verse 21 To live is Christ and to die is
gain. So think of believers, you know,
a mum, a dad, maybe a brother, sister, son or daughter who have
died in the Lord. Blessed are they, Oh how happy
are they? Our hearts break because we
can't see them, we can't interact with them, but we know
where they are. And then one day soon that we'll
be reunited for all of eternity with them and with the Lord.
And so their faithfulness, just as the faithfulness of those
recorded for us here, should spur you and I encourage us on
to endure to the end. Blessed, Oh, how happy are those
who die in the Lord. Now we'll stop there.
If you are in the Lamb, if you are born again, if Jesus Christ
is your Lord and Saviour, then this morning I hope that this
message has reminded you that you can rest in him.
You are safe, that you are secure, that you're sealed by
the Holy Spirit living within you.
And and that with full confidence you can know that no
matter how it might seem in the battle around you that Jesus
Christ wins, He has one. And we're functioning now in
that, that tension between the already, not yet, but the, the
victory will be actualized, realised in totality, in full
before our very eyes soon and very soon.
We can rest in that knowledge. You're safe in the lamp.
Secondly, remember his remnant. You might feel at times as if
you're the only one. It might certainly be true in
your family. It might be true amongst your
peers and your friends in your workplace that you're the only
one living for God, loving him, that you go to the Bible for
wisdom, that you attend church and that you're you're invested
in this. But know this too, that you're
not alone. There are other believers.
There are other followers of Jesus Christ.
Thirdly, rely on His seal. You are secure to the very end.
He again, who has begun a good work in you will be faithful to
complete it to the very end. You're not going to be that that
one random sheep that wanders off and never returns.
Jesus the Good Shepherd will find you.
You're safe, you're secure in him.
And then lastly, rejoice in your eternal future.
Blessed. Oh, how happy are you in the
Lord? Because rest and reward await.
Evil may seem overwhelming. It might grate on you, it might
be heavy, it might be smothering like CS Lewis described it.
But the lamb reigns. Nothing changes that fact.
And in him you may. We are safe.