The Kingdom

Text: Revelation 10:1-11:19

Thesis: God will preserve His Word, His People, and His Temple

Application: Daily trust that everything which belongs to God will never be taken away.

Recap

Where were we?

The Lamb of God unseals the seven seals which reveal His control over the chaos of this world

The seventh seal leads to a series of seven trumpets which reveal God’s judgment against the evil of this world.

Between trumpets #6 and #7 we find a brief narrative reminding the Church that God will preserve His Word, His People, and His Presence

Reading of the Word

Revelation 10:1-11

Intro

We’re at the Midpoint of Revelation

In a standard 3 Act story, the “midpoint “ of the story is a moment where the protagonist fully commits to the quest.

This commitment then leads to the protagonist suffering a major defeat, where it looks like all hope is lost.

Think about:

In the Empire Strikes Back, when Luke Skywalker commits to his Jedi training, only to lose to Darth Vader and hear “I am your father!”

In the Two Towers, when the soldiers of Helm’s Deep commit to fight the Uruk-hai, but the enemies surround them and breach the walls

In Casablanca, when Rick commits to help Ilsa and Victor escape, only for Victor to be arrested

In Beauty and the Beast, when Belle and the Beast begin to fall in love, only for Gaston and the villagers to storm the castle to kill the Beast

In Dune, when Paul commits to leading the people, but is stabbed by his rival in a challenge to the death

Every commitment leads to a moment of great defeat. And if you know stories well, you know that the defeat is not a final defeat. There is victory on the other side.

Luke defeats the Empire, the Uruk-hai are defeated, Ilsa and Victor escape, Belle and the Beast break the curse, and Paul wins the challenge to lead his people to victory.

This pattern of commitment-defeat-victory is in practically every story we read, see, and tell. Across time, across culture, these stories surround us. When the pattern is broken we sense that there is something wrong with the story.

Victory without defeat feels hollow and unearned.

A story without commitment feels random and senseless.

And if there is defeat and no victory, we experience a tragedy which leaves us hopeless.

There’s a reason why this storytelling pattern is baked into our DNA as human beings. Christian theologians and artists recognize that this pattern is not random, but a reflection of the truest story, the ultimate story, the Christ story.

So as we hit the midpoint of Revelation, we are going to spend the next half of the book looking at these three movements: Commitment, Defeat, and Victory.

In chapters 10 and 11 we see a moment where God commits. This moment between the great judgment seen in the sixth trumpet and the final judgment coming with the seventh trumpet is a moment in which God commits to preserver His Word, His People, and His Presence.

In chapter 10, we see the first commitment, that God’s Word will be preserved.

In chapter 11, we will see the second and third commitments, that God’s people and His presence will be preserved.

The Little Scroll - God’s Word Preserved

Rev. 10:1-11

How do we see God’s commitment to preserve His Word? Well let’s look at what is going on in Rev. 10:

A mighty angel resembling the glories of heaven (remember the descriptions given in ch. 1 and ch. 4!) descends and stands on the earth and sea while holding a scroll.

This is a picture of heaven coming to earth, and the language of the angel standing on both the land and sea is important for two reasons:

First, we should think of the angel standing before the whole earth. Remember the creation language of the earth being formed to contain and order the sea.

Second, just like the mark of the Lamb is introduced well before the mark of the beast, this angel’s presence on land and sea is presented as a parallel to the coming beasts.

The great dragon Satan will rise up two beasts, one from the sea and one from the land. (ch. 13)

What does this picture communicate?

Heaven has come to give a message to all the earth (remember the scroll).

Despite the coming chaos, we must remember that the ultimate ruler over the land and sea is God, whose heavenly powers arrived first, not the beasts who come later.

So how does this scene communicate God’s commitment to preserve His Word?

First, the angel swears an oath in the name of God that the Word of God will not fail, but will come to fruition, and soon. This is a serious matter, far greater than our strongest oaths of our day like the pinky promise.

Second, John is fed the scroll which the angel brought from heaven to earth.

This is not a word that is simply meant to be heard, but this divine word is something to be ingested and embodied.

The Word of God is unlike every other word, for this word is meant to dwell inside of us.

We must be doers of the Word, not hearers only. - James 1:22

The one who only hears the Word of God ends up deceiving themselves. They don’t actually receive it.

But the one who hears it and ingests it, the one who embodies it, the one who is transformed by it, the one who preaches the Word of God through every moment of their life, the one who lives as if the Scriptures live inside of them, as if they are tattooed all over their body, to the one who lives in such a way that the world around them can see the Scriptures in them, that is the one who truly receives the Word of the Lord.

Remember the hardness of the king of Egypt’s heart? Israel experienced the same thing over and over and over again. Isaiah 43:8 - “They have eyes, but they do not see. They have ears, but they do not hear.”

God’s Word will be preserved, because God’s Word is not just paper and ink. The Word of God is living and breathing and is embodied by the people of God. As long as there are people who need to receive the Word, the Word will be given to them to embody.

Quick Illustrations:

Farenheit 451 - Even under a dystopian government, the Word of God is preserved by being embodied by a person.

The Book of Eli - Even in a post apocalyptic world, the Word of God continues to be preserved.

As long as the people of God need to receive the Word of God, the Word of God will be given. And for thousands of years the people of God have been living out the Word. Men and women across the centuries have given their lives that we may receive the Word today. Those who were martyred for sharing the Word embodied the Word of Christ, that we too may embody the Word.

So now, let’s talk about the People of God.

The Two Witnesses - God’s People Preserved

Rev. 11:1-19

Chapter 11 describes the Temple, the place where God’s presence was, as being given over to the nations. The evil world defiles and destroys the temple (which happened in 70 A.D.). They desecrate it for 3 and a half years, which is a connection to the end of Daniel (go read Daniel chapter 12!).

During this desecration, God sends two prophets, two witnesses, to declare the truths of God to the evil world.

This picture of the two witnesses preaching during the desecration is not random, it is deeply Jewish.

First, these two witnesses are participating in God’s lawsuit against those who oppose His people, primarily the ethnic Jews who have rejected Christ, thus making them false Jews (remember Rev. 2:9, the message to the church of Smyrna - “I know your tribulation… the slander of those who say they are Jews but are not, for they are a synagogue of Satan.”).

Born into the family of God, these ethnic Jews have allied themselves with Rome in opposition against the true people of God - the Jews and Gentiles (who have been grafted into the family) whose allegiance is to the Lamb.

God is bringing a formal lawsuit against these false Jews, and this cannot happen without two or more witnesses (Deut. 19:15). These prophets are witnesses to the hardness of the Jews’ hearts, those born into the people of God but reject Him.

Secondly, these prophets continue to live in line with the many prophets who came before them.

The Old Testament prophets over and over again are witnesses to Israel’s rejection of God as they hardened their hearts against Him.

The prophet Moses witnessed the Jews reject God in the wilderness.

The prophet Deborah witnessed the Jews reject God in Canaan.

The prophet Samuel witnessed the priests become corrupt.

The prophet Elijah witnessed the kings become horrifically evil as they worshipped false gods and idols.

The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joel, Hosea, Micah and many others witnessed Israel leave their God and oppose Him.

Many of these OT prophets spoke against Israel through the language of a formal lawsuit.

God brought legal covenant charges against Israel through the prophets Micah and Hosea

Lastly, Jerusalem itself is being targeted by God’s critique.

Jerusalem is declared to be just like Sodom and Egypt, two cities known for their great evil against God.

These witnesses perform mighty miracles like many of the prophets before them (think of Moses and Elijah, the very witnesses who represent the Old Testament, the Law and the Prophets, and how they stood as witnesses to Jesus’ glory!), but these miracles do not soften the peoples’ hearts. Like many prophets before, these witnesses are murdered.

But they don’t stay dead! Using the Daniel language of “three and a half,” the witnesses are brought back to life.

Not only are these two witnesses resurrected, but we are then taken back into the throne room of heaven where the Kingdom, the faithful people of God who have been preserved from every nation, tongue, and tribe throughout the millennia, is declared to be forever.

And the 24 elders, representing the people of God, worship God for they know He is good and saves His people.

Despite hardness of hearts, despite persecution, evil, and violence, God will revive and preserve His people.

The Temple - God’s Presence Preserved

Rev. 11:19

The final picture we find in this chapter is that the Temple of God, the place where God’s presence is, was not truly defeated by the evil world. But the temple resides in heaven, where it will never be harmed or corrupted.

God will always be with His people; no enemy or power of Hell can take God away from His people.

And we see a beautiful picture of the Ark of the Covenant, the ark that was lost now resides in the heavenly temple.All that was lost has been restored and preserved.

And the Ark of the Covenant is striking in this moment, not simply because it has been returned, but because of what it represents: God’s covenant with His people.

Even though Israel broke their covenant with God over and over again, God’s covenant with His people is maintained. For those who cling to Christ, they receive the covenant made and fulfilled through Christ: that they will be made to be a Kingdom and priests to God forever and ever.

Outro

God’s Kingdom is Forever

God’s Kingdom is forever.

Everything in this life will fade. Our experiences, our accomplishments, our feelings, and even our lives here are temporary.

But the things of God, these things are preserved by God forever.

An no enemy can take anything from God. (“No one takes it from me…” - John 10:18)

So trust God, trust that He will preserve His Word, His People, and His Presence.

For His Kingdom is forever.