Plagues and Praise Sermon

What we have seen so far

John was in prayer on the Lord’s day on the island of Patmos where he had been exiled for refusing to take part in emperor worship. He received a vision and was told to write it down.

The first part was a vision of Jesus and Jesus dictated letters to the 7 churches. Letters that contained both commendation and condemnation, ending with the phrase “he who has ears let him hear.”

The next part refers to 7 seals that can only be opened by the Lamb Of God, Jesus. this is where we have a difference of opinion. some believe that the church will be raptured or taken to heaven at this point before before the tribulation begins. I hope that this is the correct interpretation because it will allow those of us who believe in the Lord Jesus as the son of the living God who came to earth as a man , died on the cross, and rose again to go before the tribulation begins.

The seals are followed by the 7 trumpets . these will be terrible times for those who remain. 144,000 are mentioned who will be sealed for the Lord. Other believers are mentioned and admonished to stand firm in their faith. If the Christians are removed before this it would seem that others have accepted Jesus at this point.

Last week we were introduced to the great dragon, satan, and how he was thrown down from heaven along with angels who had joined in rebellion against God. He has given authority to a beast from the sea. to rule for 42 months. a second beast comes to preform signs and wonders. He is able to deceive people and cause them to worship the beast who is also called the anti-christ. People will be required to have the mark of the beast on their forehead or hand in order to buy or sell anything. Without the mark you will starve if not killed first. You might ask how can something like this happen? We have seen in recent years that it was easy to require people to wear masks and be vaccinated against COVID 19. People without masks could be refused service in restaurants. People who refused vaccinations were fired from their jobs. That could have been a test run for what is to come.

This brings us to chapter 14. the first thing we see is the reference to the 144,000. they have the name of the Father on their foreheads, It says that they are not defiled by women, that they are virgins. If we look back to the O.T. we find that men who had recently had sexual relations were not to go into battle. This is not to say that there is anything wrong with marriage or marital relations. We might think of it as the virgin would have no other conflicting thoughts preventing him from being totally committed to follow the Lord.

Another interpretation of this is that they represent the first fruits of the harvest which required the best to be offered to the Lord. These men would have been blameless in the sight of God.

The next part is the Angel messages which repeat the eternal gospel. 1. Fear God and give him glory. they hour has come. worship him who made heaven and earth. 2. Fallen is Babylon the great, who led people astray, with the wealth of the nation, sexual immorality posing as worship. 3. Anyone who worships the beast, who takes the mark of the beast. will take God’s full wrath.

The saints are called to endure, to keep God’s commandments, and to have faith in Jesus. There is the promise that blessed are the dead in who die in the Lord, they will rest from their labors.

The next section 14-20 refers to the harvest. One like a son of man is on a cloud wearing a golden crown. He has a sharp sickle in his hand. some commentators say that this represents Christ because of the term son of man. However the text says another angel came out of the temple and called to the first that the earth is ripe for harvest the hour has come, reap the crop.

Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, he too had a sharp sickle. another came out of the altar and he had authority over the fire. He called to the one with the sharp sickle to gather the clusters of grapes that they are ripe and are to be thrown into the winepress of the wrath of God. They are to be thrown outside the city where all defiled things belong. The area outside Jerusalem was called Gehenna. this was where all the trash was burned, where the offal from animals slaughter for sacrifice was taken. It was also were temples to false gods were located. the furnace for the god mo-lech where children were sacrificed in fire.

The reference to grapes that were ripe could also refer to the nations that were against Israel. This battle or slaughter is recorded as having blood flowing for a distance of 180 miles as high as the bridle on a horse.

People can’t believe that God would allow this destruction. This is where universalism is so popular. the idea that God is so loving that he would not condemn anyone to death.

H, Richard Niebuhr a noted theologian, the author of Christ and Culture writes on the subject of ultra-liberal Christianity that people want “A God without wrath, brought men without sin, into a kingdom without judgement through the ministration of a Christ without a cross.” Remember that everything that John has seen in his vision so far was a warning to people to repent.

The plagues were inflicted to heighten the glory of God’s eventual redeeming act.

We can compare this to the O.T. book of Isaiah 52. 7-10 You God reigns, Your God is coming back. God is doing a powerful and public work of rescue. Psalm 96 and 98 tell that God’s judgments are good news, there is a God in Israel.

Chapter 15