Holy War Pt. 2

Intro

It is interesting to hear about what parts of school my boys enjoy… and which parts they think are boring

*Talk about vocal warm-ups for Eli and colouring at the end of the day for Malachi*

For me, there were always parts of English class that made me bored out of my mind

Foreshadowing, dramatic irony, symbolism… some of this stuff was certainly made up!

*Make fun of my presentation for A Doll’s House*

Which is why I am preparing myself for your eyes to glaze over as we start our sermon by talking about… literary structure

There it is! I just lost half the people in this room! Stick with me

We have already made reference to the fact that Revelation has 3 repeated patterns of judgement (seals, trumpets and bowls)

Now we are going to look at how the book employs a chiastic structure

Chiasm = inverted parallelism… now you guys are truly gone

A -> B -> C -> B -> A

C is highlighted as the focal point

A and B sections are related to one another

Here is how it looks in our passage of Rev. 14 - 15:5.

Redeemed singing -> 3 angels announcing -> The Son of Man -> 3 angels reaping -> Redeemed singing

Hopefully it will be clear by the end how this structure aids our understanding as we let Revelation speak for itself

But we are jumping into the middle of an idea (started last week)

Holy war!

*Recap the woman, the child, the dragon and the beasts*

*Refer to conversation with Sawyer… reading the opponents’ playbook*

Opponents playbook = counterfeit power and counterfeit worship

We ended last week with the name, number and mark of the beast (a matter of allegiance)

The Redeemed Singing (Rev. 14:1 - 5)

Reminder of the 144,000

Those who are sealed (marked) on their foreheads with the name of the Lamb and of God

Directly contrasted with those with the mark of the beast

Represent the entire people of God

Sealed (by the Holy Spirit)

Redeemed (by the blood of the Lamb)

Followers (of the Lamb)

Firstfruits (of the resurrection)

144,000 = 12 X 12 X 10^3 = Tribes, apostles and exponentially more

In Rev. 7 John hears the number 144,000 but turns and sees a numberless multitude from every nation

They are also… virgins? (v. 4)

Sexual faithfulness used to depict faithfulness to God and the covenant in OT

Revelation goes on to describe Babylon as a harlot (prostitute); the people of God remain pure from her temptations

In this glimpse of the end, the redeemed people of God are playing on harps and signing a new song to God in His presence (v. 2 - 3)

The only thing missing is Philadelphia cream cheese!

We have seen similar previews of the end in Rev. 5, 7, 15 and 19.

Not chronological; meant to bring hope (the dragon and beasts don’t win)

Three Angels Announcing (Rev. 14:6 - 13)

The first angel proclaims the eternal gospel to all people

“Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water” (v. 7)

The Creator God holds true power and is deserving of true worship (unlike the counterfeit beasts)

Cf. Romans 1:18 - 20.

Not just Creation; God is using all sorts of ways to share the Good News with the world

Partial judgements and call to repentance in Revelation

Truth about His nature and the Gospel revealed through His Word

Sends the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin and lead to repentance (Cf. John 16:8-11)

Through the church, tasked with bringing the gospel to all ends of the earth (2 witnesses in Rev. 11)

Ultimately, God proclaims the eternal gospel through His Son Jesus

God Himself came down to earth, died for our sins, conquered death and rose again.

This IS the eternal gospel; it matters for eternity

The second angel warns of the fall of Babylon

Foreshadowing (I did the literary device thing again!) of Rev. 17 - 18.

Babylon = Rome; leading many people to oppose God; her fall is inevitable (even though it doesn’t appear that way)

The third angel warns of the dangers of following the beast (and not the Lamb) (v. 9 - 11)

To worship and follow the beast is to “drink the wine of God’s wrath” (v. 10)

Picture is given of complete and final judgement to all who oppose God and worship the enemy

Torment; goes on forever; no rest

Opposed to the fate of those who die “in the Lord” (v. 13)

They find rest (R.I.P.)

Also sing songs and exeprience God’s presence forever and ever

The Son of Man (Rev. 14:14)

The fulcrum of the chiasm reveals the focal point: Jesus

“One like a son of man” (v. 14) same as the description of Jesus in Rev. 1:13.

“Seated on a cloud” brings an even stronger connection to the vision in Daniel 7:13-14.

This is Jesus on the day of His return; we are reading about the end

Cf. Luke 21:25 - 28

The redemption Jesus speaks of in Luke is represented by the sickle in His hands

Jesus is going to gather the harvest

Three Angels Reaping (Rev. 14:15 - 20)

The first angel calls on Jesus to reap the earth because the harvest is ripe

Both “reapings” are clearly related to Joel 3:13.

Here we find the importance of the chiastic structure of Rev. 14 - 15:4. The first reaping is parallel to the first announcement:

Gospel proclaimed -> Jesus gathering His people to Himself

Cf. Luke 10:2.

*Refer to Dad’s reminder during drive to airport*

The second angel picks up another sickle

Announcement: Babylon is about to fall -> The second angel is preparing to reap

Not a lot of action here

The third angel calls on the second to reap the grapes that are ripe

Both the parallel with Joel 3:13 and the chiastic structure make it quite obvious that this reaping deals with God’s wrath on those who oppose Him

Announcement of danger of following the beast -> destruction of the wicked

Where is Jesus in this picture? Why is an angel reaping?

Because Jesus is the one treading on the winepress of the wrath of God (cf. Rev. 19:15)

How can this be? How can a loving God do this?

First, this is the fate we all deserve

Our sin declares us guilty

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

But God is patient, constantly calling out His warnings and seeking for people to repent

We can’t divorce the image of judgment from the many warnings that precede it (partial judgements, witness of the church)

In fact, God did not wait for us before He offered us a way out

Romans 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

He loved us FIRST

This way out of the wrath we deserve and into the forgiving arms of Jesus is available to everyone

Romans 10:13 “For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.””

In Revelation, that is salvation being offered to “every nation and tribe and language and people”

Lastly, the gruesome picture of judgment in our passage is God legitamizing human choice

If people choose to oppose God; if they choose to worship the beast; if they choose to ignore God’s warnings and refuse His gift of forgiveness… God honours that choice

I still don’t like it; this makes me uncomfortable

Good! No one should enjoy passages about hell and judgement

How should we respond instead?

Call on the name of the Lord and be saved

The people of God have NOTHING to fear from God

Proclaim the eternal Gospel of Jesus Christ to all who will listen

Because it has eternal consequences

The Redeemed Singing (Rev. 15:1 - 4)

In this glimpse of the end, the redeemed people of God are standing by the sea, singing the song of Moses after God delivered them from their enemies

This should sound familiar… it is the new exodus

With this praise, the holy war is over; once and for all:

Read Rev. 15:3-4 and pray