Celebration In Heaven

Transcript

GR 1562
03/28/10
Celebration in Heaven
Revelation 19:1-6
Gil Rugh

We're in Revelation 19. How exciting it is to be remembering the first coming of Jesus Christ to earth, His suffering and death. And what a contrast. We're told in the book of Hebrews that when Jesus Christ comes the second time it won't be to be the sacrifice for sin. When He comes the second time it will be with power and great glory to totally crush His enemies and establish His kingdom on the earth.

Revelation 17-18 have recorded the destruction of Babylon. As we move toward the end of the 70th week of Daniel the city of Babylon has been rebuilt, even as the temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem. Babylon has become the center of the satanic empire over which the Antichrist has ruled in conjunction with ten kings who formed the revived Roman Empire during the first 3½ years of the tribulation, and then for the last 3½ years he has ruled as world dictator. Babylon the satanic system that goes all the way back to Genesis 10-11 is part of Satan's attempt as the god of this world, small “g,” to have the worship of the world and to create his own kingdom that would be a replacement of the kingdom that God has promised that will be ruled by His Son.

The fall of Babylon in chapters 17-18, both in its religious aspect and its commercial and political aspects, Satan's empire is coming to a crashing end. Chapter 19 records the return of Jesus Christ to earth.

The destruction of Babylon is met by horror with the people of the world. They have a combination of fear, of tremendous loss, and they are in mourning. In chapter 18 verse 18, they were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, Babylon. What city is like the great city? They threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning. Woe, woe, the great city in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth. In one hour she has been laid waste. The world is in mourning, but the people of God are rejoicing. So verse 20 of chapter 18, rejoice over her oh heaven, and you saints, apostles and prophets because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.

Back in Revelation 13 we were given insight into the extent of this kingdom, both in its religious aspect and its commercial aspect. Verse 4, they, the people of the earth, worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast saying, who is like the beast? Who is able to wage war with him? In verse 15, it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast so the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all the small, the great, the rich, the poor, the free, the slaves to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead. Provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell except the one who has the mark. So you see both the religious aspect and the commercial aspect here. And of course the political aspect because the beast is ruling as king, if you will.
Turn back to Matthew 4. We've made reference to this situation, the temptation of Christ as He begins His public ministry, having been baptized by John the Baptist at the end of chapter 3, which marks the beginning of His public ministry, and His offering the kingdom to the nation Israel as their Messiah. In chapter 4 He is led away into the wilderness by the Spirit of God and there the devil comes to tempt Him. And a series of temptations, but look at verse 8. The devil took him up to a very high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. You see the supernatural power of the devil. He is able to lay before Christ all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, all these things I will give you if you will fall down and worship me. You see the desire of Satan to usurp the place of God. The audacity, the demons knew who Christ was, remember in the gospels like Mark, we know who you are, the Holy One of God. And here Satan has the audacity to try to tempt Christ to fall down and worship Him. And if you will, I will give you authority over all the kingdoms of the world. We can go straight to the kingdom, no cross, no suffering, no problem. But you rule under me, you fall down and worship me. Jesus said to him, Go, Satan, for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.

Come to I Corinthians 10. You know all religions of all stripes, all branches, all kinds except biblical Christianity are worshiping the devil. We ought to be clear on this. We sometimes get the idea, at least they are religious, at least they go to church, at least they have some moral standards, at least they worship the devil. Does that make any sense? Look in I Corinthians 10. Paul is talking about idolatry. Verse 14, therefore my beloved, flee from idolatry. Don't have any association, any involvement in any way with idolatry. Verse 19, what do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything or that an idol is anything? No. An idol is nothing.

Back in I Corinthians 8:4 Paul had said, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world and that there is no God but one. So an idol is nothing, they are pieces of wood, pieces of stone. They are nothing. But the warning back in I Corinthians 10:20, know what I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. And I do not want you to become sharers in demons. You see the warning there. When he said flee from idolatry, verse 14, the Corinthians thought I'm free, I know the idols are nothing so I can go and participate in false pagan worship because they knew an idol was nothing. That idol is nothing but a piece of wood, but you understand in the worshiping going on there, the worship is of spirit beings behind those pieces of wood. That's the significant thing. False worship is the worship of demons. That's true of every kind of worship except biblical Christianity, the worship offered to God on the basis of and through the finished work of His Son, Jesus Christ. Having Him as our high priest as the book of Hebrews talks about.

So you see what is going on in the world and what happens as we come to that 70th week of Daniel and then move toward the end of it, Satan centralizes what he has desired down through history. And that is that the world worships him and be assembled under the authority of the man who worships him. Jesus Christ would not do it, but the Antichrist will and he will be endued with great power to lure the world in false worship.

Come back to Revelation 19. With the destruction of Babylon in chapters 17-18, we are ready for the return of Christ from heaven to earth to establish His kingdom. We are at the end of the 70th week of Daniel, we are ready for the king from heaven. So we have in chapter 18 verse 20, rejoice over her. While the world is in mourning over the destruction of Babylon, all of heaven, the saints of God, they rejoice because God has brought judgment on this satanic system. So what we have in the first 10 verses of chapter 19 is the rejoicing of heaven over the destruction of Babylon because all realize now, this is it, we are ready for the reign of Christ, we are ready for the unveiling of the bride of Christ, we are ready for the fulfillment of all the prophecies regarding a coming kingdom, the kingdom of Jesus Christ on the earth.

Note how chapter 19 begins, after these things. We've noted Revelation unfolds sequentially, it's a progression moving through that 70th week of Daniel, that seven-year period. Now after the destruction of Babylon I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven saying. So a great multitude in heaven and it's like one loud voice saying. And these first six verses are the hallelujah section of the New Testament. The word hallelujah is used four times here, the only time it's used in the New Testament. Word picked up from the Old Testament, particularly the book of Psalms where I believe it is used 24 times. Hallelujah is a Hebrew word, it's transliterated over. We're familiar with it with our songs, at least we have one song that goes, hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, then hallelujah. We pick up there because hallelu means praise, jah is Yahweh, in our Bibles often as Jehovah. But it's called the tetragramaton, the four letters, YHWH. Yah the shortened form of YHWH. So hallelujah is praise the Lord, and here we have it four times—verse 1, hallelujah; down in verse 3, a second time they said, hallelujah; down at the end of verse 4, they were saying amen, hallelujah; and down at the end of verse 6, hallelujah. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord. Babylon is destroyed, God's judgment is poured out. Now we are ready for the final act, Armageddon and the presence of Christ once again, bodily on the earth in final judgment and the establishing of the kingdom.

Go back to Psalm 104. This word hallelujah, we're not going to look at all of its uses in the Psalms, but this gives you an idea of the context you often find it. It's in the context of the destruction of the enemies of God, just as we have in the book of Revelation. Verse 35, the psalm concludes and a number of psalms conclude with the hallelujah. Let sinners be consumed from the earth and let the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord oh my soul. Hallelujah, praise the Lord. The context in verse 31, let the glory of the Lord endure forever, let the Lord be glad in His works and our praise for the Lord. In that context, and let sinners be consumed, let the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, oh my soul. Because of the destruction of the wicked, the fullness of the glory belongs to God alone is manifested. So we have hallelujah.

Go to Psalm 105 and note how that psalm ends. Verse 45, so that they might keep His statutes and observe His laws. Hallelujah, praise the Lord. How does Psalm 106 open up? Oh praise the Lord, hallelujah. Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His lovingkindness is everlasting. And Psalm 106 ends, blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, amen, hallelujah. And most of you have that in your margins, praise the Lord. We come to the book of Revelation, they've just translated it over into Greek. Hallelujah, hallelujah. We have it in English, just transliterated over. Praise the Lord.

Come back to Revelation 19. This great multitude with one voice in heaven crying out, hallelujah. Salvation and glory and power belong to our God. Salvation, that's the declaration of God's victory over all evil. Babylon is defeated, Satan's kingdom is being destroyed, the end is here. Salvation. Back up to Revelation 7:9, after these I looked and behold a great multitude which no one could count from every nation, tribe, peoples, tongues standing before the throne, before the Lamb, clothed in white robes. Palm branches were in their hands. They cry out with a loud voice saying, salvation to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. His ultimate salvation, His ultimate victory over all sin, over all opposition. Revelation 12:10, with the casting of Satan out of heaven in the middle of that 70th week of Daniel. That recognition, I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, notice the emphasis on this loud voice, this great voice that we continually hear. What is said here is important, it is to be heard. Now the salvation , the power and the kingdom of our God, the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down. He accuses them before our God day and night. You see we've been moving toward, with the casting of Satan out of heaven, all heaven realizes we've moved along, we're getting close. We're only 3½ years from where we are at the start of chapter 19, when we're in chapter 12 here. So they proclaim the salvation of God.

Come back to Revelation 19. Salvation, glory, God's majesty, God's greatness. It all belongs to Him alone, the glory is His. In preparation for the pouring out of the last judgments of the tribulation, the seven bowls, the glory of God so filled the temple in heaven that no one was able to enter. You remember back in chapter 15 verse 8, and the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power. And no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished. The overwhelming glory of God manifested in His fullness. His majesty, His greatness, the awesomeness of His person. Now those who would attempt to usurp His glory come under His judgment.

Back up to Isaiah 42:5, thus says the Lord God who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it. Look at verse 8, I am the Lord, that is My name. I will not give My glory to another nor My praise to graven images. There will be no sharing of God's glory with other little gods. The glory is His. Now He bestows glory on us who belong to Him and enter into the glory of His salvation, but there is no competing glory. I don't give out My glory to others so that they can rule as though they had their own glory. It is My glory, I'm the creator, everything is mine. I created the heavens, everything, the people. I give them life. I don't give My glory to others. I am God, there is only Me, there is no other.

Turn over to Isaiah 48. In this context of God testing Israel and refining them, delaying His wrath as He says in verse 9. Verse 11, for My own sake, for My own sake I will act. For how can My name be profaned and My glory I will not give to another. God's word is at stake in the fulfillment of what He has promised and His glory is His and no one can take that, no one can share that in that sense. He bestows on us glory but it is His glory that we share in. We're going to the glory of God and will ultimately be glorified in His presence, but the glory is His and in that sense He has bestowed glory on us. In this context look at the next verse. Listen to Me oh Jacob, even Israel whom I have called. I am He, I am the first, I am also the last. Surely my hand founded the earth, My right hand spread out the heavens. When I call to them they stand together. The awesomeness of God, it's Me, all the glory is Mine. That's the context.

So when you come back to Revelation 19 we get to the climax of this satanic system that has functioned in opposition to God and has come to its fullest manifestation through that 70th week of Daniel. Now it comes under judgment and the acclamation of the great multitude in heaven is salvation, glory, power belong to our God. His power. Babylon the great was unable to stand before God. With the destruction and collapse of Babylon as the manifestation of the impending destruction of Satan with the return of Christ to earth, the realization the satanic system has come under the judgment of God finally and its destruction is settled. I John 5:19 says all the world lies in the evil one, Satan, the one who is referred to as the god, small “g,” of this world, has all the world in his power under the power of our God. That power is restrained, but when we get to this point the power has been poured out, Babylon is destroyed and now Christ is going to, verse 11 of chapter 19, heaven will open and Christ will appear and we have the final destruction as the armies of the earth and the casting into hell of the beast and the false prophet and the binding of Satan for one thousand years.

Revelation 19:2, hallelujah, salvation and glory belong to our God because His judgments are true and righteous. For He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality. He has avenged the blood of His bond servants on her. Why are they praising God? It's a response to what He told them to do, verse 20 of chapter 18, rejoice over her oh heaven, you saints, apostles and prophets. God has pronounced judgment for you. So they are singing hallelujah, salvation, glory and power belong to our God. Why? His judgments are true and righteous. God must be worshiped and honored and exalted because He always acts truly, righteously. He is the God who is truth. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. And His judgments are always true and righteous. That's the problem as we study the book of Romans, this is the problem we have. We are ungodly, we are sinners, we are God's enemies and His judgments are true and righteous and we're helpless. That's why Christ came. So here there is celebration in heaven over the destruction of the wicked and the destruction of this satanic system. He always acts justly.

Go back to Deuteronomy 32. This is the song of Moses as Moses is preparing for his departure from the earth and the children of Israel are being prepared to go into the land that God has promised them. But note what Moses said. Verse 3, for I proclaim the name of the Lord, ascribe greatness to our God, the rock. His work is perfect, all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He. That's the God we serve and in Christ the fact that He is true, He is righteous, He is holy, but praise the Lord we have a Savior who has been our propitiation to turn away the wrath of God from us. So we praise the Lord that He is a God who is true and righteous and His judgments are accordingly carried out. Psalm 111 talks about God acting in these ways, the whole psalm.

Come back to Revelation 19. His judgments are true and righteous. The demonstration that His judgments are true and righteous is He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality. Godless Babylon has come under judgment. What else would a true and righteous God do but judge the godlessness of the satanic system manifested in its fullness in Babylon? This displays the fact that His judgments are true and righteous, He has judged Babylon, the godless city, the great harlot, the whore who was corrupting the earth with her immorality. And we noted down through time in the practice of the satanic system, to lure the worship of the world away from the true and living God, to corrupt the world in all areas—religiously, spiritually, commercially, politically. It's a corrupt system. Don't act like you're surprised. We watch the news and say, what is happening to our country, what is happening to the world? Where have you been? What does the word of God say? It's a satanic system, it's a satanically controlled and dominated world. This is nothing new. And we are moving toward the fullest and clearest manifestation of that satanic activity as we move toward the 70th week of Daniel. So praise the Lord by the end of that 70th week the satanic system will come under judgment and Babylon the whore that has corrupted the world will experience the destroying judgment of God.

The end of verse 2, and He avenged the blood of his bond servants on her. He has avenged the blood. Come back to Deuteronomy 32, still in the song of Moses. You'll note verse 35, God says, vengeance is Mine and retribution. In due time their foot will slip. The day of their calamity is near and the impending things are hastening upon them. Verse 39, see now that I am He and there is no god besides Me. It is I who put to death and give life, I have wounded, it is I who heal. And there is no one who can deliver from My hand. There is no escape from the living God. Verse 41, I will render vengeance on My adversaries, I will repay those who hate Me. Verse 43, and this is the verse that you see the connection to Revelation 19, rejoice oh nations with His people, for He will avenge the blood of His servants and will render vengeance on His adversaries and will atone for His land and for His people. The persecution of His people, Israel in particular down through history to the present day. Why does everyone think Israel ought to give in? Why does no one see Israel's side, by and large? Why does Israel suffer? And when you get to the tribulation it will be worse than it has ever been. The holocaust is nothing compared to what lies ahead and Israel's future for suffering and so on. But God says I will ultimately intervene on behalf of My people and I will punish the Babylonian system and all that it represents in the world. The blood of My bond servants, His faithful servants—the prophets, those who testified for Him.

Come back to Revelation 19. Verse 24 of chapter 18 reminded us in her, in Babylon, was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth. So you see that this goes back and this Babylonian system has come down through time as we saw going back to Genesis and on down. This at the end of time is just a culmination because the Babylonian system has been the satanic system that has been consistent in its opposition to God and to God's people at all times. Remember in John 15 as Jesus prepared for His crucifixion He told His disciples, if they have hated Me, they will hate you. That is the connection and it has been an ongoing connection. We are always trying to juggle things so that the world will like us. If we aren't so hard on sin, if we don't talk so much about hell, if we do nice things to them, somehow what? The wicked can change? Only the power of the gospel can change us, right? We so easily get confused because we forget it's a spiritual war. Satan makes no compromises. When he appealed to Christ in Matthew 4 what did he say? Here is the choice, fall down and worship me. That's it, that's always the division—you either worship Satan or you worship the living God. We think, some give and take here along the way, Christians are so hard-nosed, there is no compromise. Well you understand there is no compromise on Satan's part, either. This is a fixed line, no gray. That's why Jesus said, you are either with Me or you are against Me. So here, He has avenged the blood of His bond servants on her.

Verse 3, and a second time they said, hallelujah, praise the Lord. Her smoke rises up forever and ever. The judgment on Babylon is permanent and all part of the Babylonian system are doomed. Remember Revelation 14? Back up there. We anticipate the judgment we will see at the end of Revelation 20 when men and women are sentenced to hell. Verse 11, and the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. And they have no rest day and night. So the destruction of Babylon and the smoke of their torment going up just reflects the fact that this destruction is permanent and the people part of this city and this system are going to be enduring torment in hell forever and ever. That statement at the end of verse 3, her smoke rises up forever and ever.

Go back to Isaiah 34, it's just awesome, all the connections to the Old Testament the book of Revelation has. By one commentator's count over 500 references to the Old Testament in the book of Revelation. That's why people have a hard time, they don't see the connection and don't take it literally and so they are adrift. In Isaiah 34 here we'll talk a little bit about this when we get further into Revelation 19 and Armageddon and the return of Christ to earth because verse 6, this is in the context here of God's destruction. Verse 2, the Lord's indignation is against all the nations. Verse 4, all the host of heaven will wear away, the sky will be rolled up like a scroll. We've seen that already in Revelation in earlier judgments. Come on down to verse 6, the sword of the Lord is filled with blood. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in the land of Edom. We'll talk about Bozrah and the place it has with the return of Christ to earth, and Edom, parts where God's people, Israel, have fled to avoid the persecution. Look down to verse 10, with the destruction that will be meted out here. Verse 8, the Lord has a day of recompense for the cause of Zion and with the destruction Babylon and the people associated with it in connection with the Second Coming of Christ is the deliverance of Zion and the bringing to fulfillment of His purposes for Israel. Verse 10, the destruction of the city. The fire there will not be quenched night or day, its smoke will go up forever. From generation to generation will be desolate, none will pass through it forever. See when God brings judgment on this world's system, it is permanent.

So come back to Revelation 19:4, the twenty-four elders, the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, amen, hallelujah. You know we talked about the twenty-four elders back in chapter 4 and some other references along the way and noted that they represent the church. So we are there and we join in. Amen, hallelujah. And you go home tonight, go into a room, close the door and practice shouting out, loud voices remember, amen, hallelujah. Just so you're getting ready. I don't think you'll need to practice, but it won't hurt. Because we're reminded we're going to be celebrating this victory as residents of heaven. The salvation, the glory and the power of our God. Babylon is destroyed, Satan is defeated. Hallelujah. The twenty-four elders, the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne. You see the destruction of the wicked. It's a cause of celebration for the godly, for the courts of heaven. Wickedness, it's an affront against a holy God. Sin is an eternal offense against Him. Outside the salvation He has provided in His Son there is no hope. Heaven won't be mourning over the destruction of the wicked, heaven will be celebrating the destruction of the wicked. No sentimentalism here. The wicked deserve to be destroyed, the enemies of God deserve to be punished. And so we'll join and His judgment on Babylon will be cause for us to fall down and worship Him.

We won't go through the worship of the twenty-four elders and the living creatures, starting in chapter 4 verses 8-11, followed out there. Mentioned again in chapter 5 several times, chapter 7, chapter 11. Here we come to chapter 19, the twenty-four elders, the four living creatures fell down, worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, amen. And for the third time we have hallelujah. We agree, we agree with what has been declared and the previous hallelujahs over the judgment of Babylon.

And a voice came from the throne saying. This isn't God speaking because of what is said, but it comes from the presence of the throne, the vicinity of the throne. Give praise to our God all you His bond servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great. A command given in the present tense. People are giving praise to our God. It's not the same word as we have in hallelujah here, it's a Greek word for praise. Give praise, keep on giving praise to our God, keep on praising Him. Psalm 113:1, praise the Lord, praise oh servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth forevermore, from the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised. The Lord is high above all the nations, His glory above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God who is enthroned on high? And on it goes. Praise the Lord. So keep on giving Him praise, adoration, honor. It is His.

Who does this in Revelation 19? Give praise to our God all you His bond servants, the dulos, the slaves, the duloi, the slaves, His slaves. Those who obeyed Him, those who had responded to the command of God who commands all everywhere to repent. And by His grace we obeyed that command and believed in His Son. And a good thing, because He has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness to a man that He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead. You His slaves.

You who fear Him, the small and the great. The slaves are those who have a godly fear, a reverence of God. We have people paddling around claiming to have become Christians, claiming to be believers. Those who truly belong to God are His slaves, they live lives of obedience to Him, they have a reverence, a fear of Him, a fear of displeasing Him, dishonoring Him because the desire of our heart as the redeemed who are His slaves is to serve Him in a way that is pleasing to Him. Reminder, not everybody who makes a profession, many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord. He'll say, I never knew you. We're talking about those who are the slaves of the living God, who fear Him.

The small and the great. What is significant is not our position, what is significant is our relation to the living God. The small and the great. Doesn't matter, we're slaves of the living God, we fear Him whatever position, the small and the great. No matter what our intellect, no matter what our social standing, no matter what our position. That's not what is ........... What is our identification? I am slave of the living God. I fear Him, I reverence Him, my life is committed to honoring Him with obedience. That's the ones here. Give praise to our God all who profess to know Him. No, you who are His slaves, you who fear Him, small and great.

Verse 6, then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters, like the sound of mighty peals of thunder. This is a vast heavenly multitude, and when they all join with one voice, angels and men alike, the host of heaven, how do you count it. And they all thunder forth, hallelujah, for the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. That says it. Here's where we are. We're bringing to an end the kingdom of Satan. Now there will be the kingdom of our God on the earth. God has always reigned but now He will establish His reign and visible presence on the earth. Hallelujah, the fourth time here. The Messianic kingdom is about to begin.

Back in Revelation 11:15, when the seventh trumpet was sounded, out of which come the seven bowls, which are the final series of judgments, there were loud voices in heaven saying, the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. And He will reign forever and ever. That's the setting. Look at chapter 12 verse 10, a verse we've already read. The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ has come. They realize they have moved so close, we are now on the brink. When we get to chapter 19 we've moved 3½ years along from those previous verses we just read. Now we are ready, we are at the end of the 70th week. So all heaven is celebrating this event, the time has arrived for Christ to come and take possession to set up His kingdom, to rule and reign.

You'll note here, hallelujah, for the Lord our God the Almighty, the pontokritor, the Almighty, the all-powerful, the omnipotent God. It's used nine times in the book of Revelation, beginning in chapter 1 verse 8. Strong word declaring His absolute power. He is the Almighty, the all-powerful, the omnipotent God. He reigns. Satan's kingdom seems so powerful, so invincible, all the world bowed before His Christ. All the world worshiped, received his mark and then the world joined in the sorrow over the destruction of that kingdom of which they were a part and they felt they were the victors. But our God is the only one who is Almighty. Man's power comes and goes. Man struts around as though he has great power, great authority, the Antichrist will have the greatest that anyone has ever had. But it's nothing because when God decides He is done, He is done. Because God is the Almighty, the omnipotent God. His power is absolute and complete. We see this, we see this in heaven. How often do we get muddled down in our little world and think, what's going to happen? What's going to happen in this situation, that situation? Are you slave of the living God? Do you fear Him? Then don't fear man, he is nothing. The events of what is going on, I am about the service of my God and in fear of Him.

With this we'll come in verse 7 to the announcement of the marriage of the Lamb and the marriage supper of the Lamb and that will prepare us verse 11, heaven opens and Christ descends and we have the final conflict, Armageddon, the destruction of the beast and false prophet in hell. And we'll be ready for the kingdom as chapter 20 begins.

Our God is sovereign, He is sovereign today. We know that. He is the Almighty. Now we don't see His power displayed with His fullness, He restrains that power today. But you and I know Him, we are His slaves, we reverence Him. I don't think any little detail is out of control because my God is Almighty. Why did He allow this to happen? Why is this going on? I didn't say I have all the answers, I know the One who has all authority. And so I am His slave. He hasn't told me everything because this peanut of a brain couldn't grasp it anyway. I know enough to know my place, I am a slave, I am to live in reverence and honor of Him. That puts my life in perspective. I know where we're going, I know how it comes out. What do you think about this that happened recently and this political decision and this action? I don't know how everything fits together, I'm not the Almighty. I know what God has revealed, I know where we're going. And like we like to say, we've read the last chapter. Our God wins and we are His slaves, we share in the victory. That is already started in our salvation in Christ, we'll be brought along when we enter into glory and ultimately when heaven is opened in Revelation 11 you and I are there, just like we are in heaven celebrating the destruction of Babylon. When the gates of heaven open and Christ returns, here we come, returning to earth with our Lord and Savior. And when He establishes His kingdom we'll rule and reign with Him.

What a great salvation. You'd think we wouldn't be able to stop talking about it, right? Sometimes we talk about how frustrated we are about the latest political decision, or how excited we are about the latest sporting event. But when it comes time to talk about the wonder of our salvation, all of a sudden our tongue has turned to cotton, just can't get it out. What is more wonderful than this? We can tell people the truth of the wonder of God's salvation and it is available as a free gift to all who will place their faith in Him. What an awesome God.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for unfolding something of your plan for your creation. Lord, we are in awe at your greatness, your power, that the smallest details of what takes place in the most remotest part of your creation is all under ultimately your authority. The rebellion of sinful man, the rebellion of fallen angels does nothing to frustrate your plan. All things are moving toward the divinely appointed conclusion. Lord, that conclusion is a victory, the culmination of what you have promised us in salvation in Jesus Christ. Lord, may that salvation be the center of our attention. May we delight to serve you in these days and let the world know that we serve a God who has provided salvation for sinful men and women and He offers it as a gift to all who will place their faith in His Son, the One who someday will rule over all creation. We praise you in His name, amen.