"He Shall Reign Forever and Ever" Sermon: Revelation 11:14-19 (video) (youtube.com)
Friday, June 14, 2024
"He Shall Reign Forever and Ever" Sermon: Revelation 11:14-19 (manuscript)
“He
Shall Reign Forever and Forever”
Revelation
11:14-19
June
9, 2024 YouTube
We have reached the end of chapter eleven of
Revelation. It is the end of another
cycle of the telling of the history of sin and its consummation, and the Incarnation
of the Son Who pays the debt of believers and credits us with His Righteousness
culminating in the full coming of the Kingdom – this history is told seven
times with increasing intensity. The reason God revealed these things to John
and sent them out to the Christians suffering great persecution is that they
would be comforted and have hope knowing that their suffering has purpose, and
Jesus is coming in Glory to bring them into the fulness of His Kingdom
forever. These things are true for all
Christians throughout time and space.
Our reading last time ended with verse fourteen: “The
second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.”
Take note for now that the second woe ends at the end of
verse fourteen of Revelation 11, but the third woe does not come next. Next, we have the joyous promise of the
punishment of all evil eternally and the eternal Reign of God, Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit manifest in bringing all who believe in Jesus savingly into the
Kingdom God prepared for them from before the foundation of the world. The third woe will be revealed later – after
this joyous good news about the end of these corrupt people and the restoration
of the world.
The seventh trumpet is blown by the seventh angel. Paul tells us what the seventh trumpet is in
I Thessalonians: “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of
command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of
God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are
left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in
the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one
another with these words” (I Thessalonians 4:16-18, ESV).
In Jesus’ time, when a General brought his army back victorious
from a battle, the army would gather behind him, and then the people would
gather behind them as they proceeded into the town. We see this as Jesus enters Jerusalen with
the crowds following after Him.
Paul uses this imagery telling us that at the blowing of
the seventh trumpet, Jesus will descend through the clouds – just as He
ascended – to eternally put down evil and bring His people eternally into His
Kingdom on earth. Jesus – as the
victorious General – goes forth, and all of the believes who died will be
resurrected in their bodies and join Jesus, and then those believers who are
still living will be brought to the clouds behind the dead, and they will all
descend as His victorious entourage.
` Paul says that these words should encourage believers because
it tells us that suffering has purpose, there is hope, and we should find hope
in remembering that Jesus will descend through the clouds, and He will raise
the dead in their bodies to descend with Him, and He will bring the living up
with Him that they too would be part of those who descend with Him in victory.
The
seventh and final trumpet in blown by the seventh angel, loud voices cry out in
heaven – the angels, the creatures, the saints waiting for the last day, and
they say, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of
his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
The
cries in heaven become louder as we go through the book, “building a sense of
excitement” (Beeke, Revelation, 330).
And
they proclaim that the kingdom of Satan and his demons and all those who never
believe in Jesus savingly will become the kingdom of our Lord and of his
Christ. Based on Jesus’ victorious work on earth to save His people, all that
are evil will be cast into the lake of fire to be tormented forever and
ever. However, Jesus will bring all of
His people, resurrected in their bodies, to the restored earth, which is the
Kingdom, and Jesus shall reign forever and ever over His Kingdom, and He lives
among His people.
Paul
tells us, “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall
all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.
For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we
shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and
this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the
imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the
saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is
your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the
power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 15:52-57, ESV).
“And
the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces
and worshiped God,”
We
will remember that the twenty-four elders represent the tribes and the apostles
– as well as all of the elect. They get down from their thrones, which is only
right, and they fall on their faces as though dead and worship God. Is there
anything more appropriate to do in the presence of God?
And
notice that we must use our minds in worship – it is not all emotion – there
must reasons behind our praising God. We
don’t just say praise God with no substance behind it (Beeke, Revelation,
335-336). Listen to the song of the
elders:
“saying,
’We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have
taken your great power and begun to reign. The nations raged, but your wrath
came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants,
the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and
for destroying the destroyers of the earth.’”
“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who
was,” We give thanks to the Immortal God – why?
Because You have taken Your Great Power and begun to
reign. At the blowing of the seventh
trumpet, the fullness of the Kingdom is no longer future – it is now.
Because the nations raged, but Your Wrath came, and the
time for the dead to be judged has come. All will rise from the dead in their
bodies and the wicked will receive the Wrath of God.
Because You will reward Your servants, the prophets and
saints, and for the rewarding of those who fear Your Name, both small and great. They also will be raised in their physical
bodies.
Because You destroy the destroyers of the earth.
Because the seventh trumpet is sounded and Jesus returns
with His entourage of the angels, the resurrected dead, and all those who
believe but have not died, and He will judge all who bear the Image of God
throughout time and space. Because He is Holy and cannot allow sin and evil to remain
in His presence.
Consider another song, “I love Him, oh how I love Him, sun
and moon and stars, you know I love Him.” What does that tell us about God? Is there a reason for why the singer loves
Him?
We worship for a reason – for many reasons – there must be
a reason behind why we thank God, why we love God, why we worship God, and so forth.
When the seventh trumpet sounds, God will display all that
He has been doing.
“Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his
covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes
of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.”
God’s temple will be opened to all people throughout time
and space. All will know that the
physical Temple is gone, and the Heavenly Temple is revealed to all.
Paul
tells us, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit
dwells in you?” (I Corinthians 3:16, ESV).
And
Peter tells us, “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the
sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being
built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (I Peter 2:4-5, ESV).
Of
course, we are not turned into real stones, and neither is Jesus. We are like the house build on the rock that
Jesus talked about in the parable.
Both
believers and unbelievers will see the revealing of the heavenly temple, and
all will see the Ark of the Covenant that we remember from the Old Testament. A piece of Holy furniture in the Holy of
Holies containing the two tablets of the Law.
The
Ark of the Covenant is a sign of God’s presence with us.
It
is the sign of God’s grace. Inside are the two tablets of the Law – those
things that must be kept to be righteous before God.
Consider
the Ark of the Covenant itself. The lid
of the Ark was the Mercy Seat, and it is where the priest would sprinkle blood
for the forgiveness of the sin of the people – God’s pardon for their sin. The Ark symbolized Jesus: the Ark was gold covered wood. The gold symbolizes the deity of Christ, and
the wood symbolizes the humanity of Jesus. Jesus takes the place of the Ark of
the Covenant on our behalf. His blood –
the blood of the God—man is poured out, so we are forgiven and pardoned.
(Beeke, Revelation, 328-329).
For
all we who believe, the blowing of the seventh trumpet will be a glorious day when
God reveals how God’s plan has worked out through history since the Creation
until that day.
It
will not be so for the unbelievers: “There were flashes of lightning,
rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.” For the unbelievers,
the seventh Trumpet, the coming of Jesus, and the opening of the Temple will be
a day of great horror as they see the eternal plan of God for them and even
nature attacks them in preparation for God’s judgement of them.
In
the end of chapter eleven of Revelation, we see the joyous news that Jesus is
the Victor over evil and sin, and He will gather all His people to descend with
Him to earth where He shall reign forever and forever.
We
see that worship is the right response to coming into the presence of God and
seeing all that God has done. The elders
fell on their faces as they understood that Jesus will return and resurrect
every person who has ever lived to face God’s Wrath for the evil or God’s
blessing on believers. And we see that
worship has a purpose – everything that we lift before God has a “because”
attached to it. True worship is not a simple
mouthing of words.
And
we see that at the seventh trumpet, Heaven will be open, and all will see Jesus
and all believers who make up the temple. Everyone will see the work Jesus did
symbolized by the Ark of the Covenant, and the believers from all time and
space will rejoice beyond all joy, and then those who never believe, Satan and
his demons, will suffer and be thrown into the lake of fire.
And
we have comfort and hope because our God and Savior is carrying out His Plan as
He intended from before the foundation of the world. Know what happens to the Christians
of the first century – and all Christians throughout time and space, don’t lose
heart, our God reigns forever and ever.
Let
us pray:
Almighty
God, give us hope and comfort as we suffer for being Christians. Keep our eyes on Jesus, and His eternal reign.
Keep us focused on His promises and not the threats of the world. Let us praise Jesus because He reigns forever
and ever. Rejoice! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Sunday, May 26, 2024
"The Two Witnesses" Sermon: Revelation 11:1-14 (manuscript)
“The
Two Witnesses”
Revelation
11:1-14
May
19, 2024 YouTube
As we begin chapter eleven of Revelation, let’s remember
that the book of Revelation is a book of comfort and hope to the Christians
suffering persecution at that time and for all Christians throughout time and
space. Let’s remember that the book of Revelation is written in symbols that
the first century Christians would have understood. And let us remember that
Jesus didn’t say anything about rebuilding the Temple after its destruction in
70 A.D. The Temple was for the offering
up of animal sacrifices for sin. Now,
the blood of Jesus covers the sin of believers.
In
the nineth chapter of Revelation, we are told that in the first woe Satan and
his angels are released from the bottomless pit for five months, and the four
demons bound at the Euphrates River are freed and given permission to kill one
third of the unbelieving mankind.
In
this morning’s reading, we are told about the second woe.
And
we see, first, the new temple is made up of all the believers in which God
dwells.
“Then
I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, ‘Rise and measure the
temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the
court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.
And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for
1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.’”
John
is told to measure the temple of God – remember the physical Temple was
destroyed in 70 A.D. – there is no physical temple at the time John is writing. Yet, there is a distinction: John is told not to measure the outer court,
but only the temple and the altar and those who worship there. Who are those
who worship only in the temple and the altar?
Who are the temple who worship their God and Savior?
Paul
tells us, “For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So
then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with
the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the
whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the
Spirit” (Ephesians 2:18-22, ESV).
Peter,
likewise, reminds us, “you yourselves like living stones are being built up as
a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (I Peter 2:5, ESV).
True
believers are in the inner court – in the temple – worshipping Jesus, the
Savior, offering up spiritual sacrifices.
Those
left in the outer court are nominal Christian and blatant unbelievers. Jesus says of these, “Not everyone who says
to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the
will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord,
Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and
do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never
knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:21-23, ESV).
Jesus
distinguishes between those who believe in the true Jesus and a fake Jesus.
There are churches – which are not churches – who have all the trappings of a
church, but the Jesus they preach, and worship is not the real Jesus.
At
this time, there is violent persecution against believing Jews and Gentiles –
Christians. (Throughout all of history, there has been violent persecution
against Christians somewhere.) John is told that the temple – now – is built by
Jesus of true believers, and all Christians find their security in the temple
where Jesus is the Corner Stone.
Paul
writes of the persecution of Christian even to death, “Do you not know that you
are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s
temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple”
(I Corinthians 3:16-17, ESV).
Again,
“What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the
living God;” (II Corinthians 6:16a, ESV).
We
are told that those of the outer court – those who have not been marked on
their heads with the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit – will engage in violent
persecution of believers and trample the Holy City, Jerusalem – those of the
inner court – all believers.
Then
we read, “and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. And I will
grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days,
clothed in sackcloth.’
The
unbelievers will trample the Holy City – the Church – for forty-two
months. Jesus will give the two witnesses
the authority to prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth – symbolic of
repentance and mourning.
How
do we understand these numbers?
They
tell us that the period of what is going to happen is specific and limited. It
is the period from Jesus’ Ascension to His Second Coming. It is the time of the tribulation.
We
will see in our text this morning that the two witnesses have remained dead for
three and a half days.
All
of these numbers can be stated in approximate factors of forty-two. We also
read that Israel was in the desert for forty-two years. There were forty-two camps, forty-two months
with no rain, forty-two months from when Antiochus Epiphanes set the
abomination of desolation in the Temple to the Second Coming, and there are
more (Philips, Revelation, 313).
These
are all times of intense persecution, but Christians understand that no matter
what happens to us at the hands of the wicked, as we go through this
tribulation, we are to have hope and be comforted in knowing that we have been
marked by God, we are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, we are the temple of God,
build on the Word of God with Jesus as our Cornerstone.
In
the new temple, all we who believe throughout time and space are secure in our
salvation and off up spiritual sacrifices.
Second,
God sends two witnesses with the authority to prophesy for 1,260 days (42), and
they are dressed in sackcloth to indicate that their prophecies are not of good
news, but of bad news.
“These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that
stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone would harm them, fire pours
from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is
how he is doomed to be killed. They have the power to shut the sky, that no
rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over
the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of
plague, as often as they desire.”
Who are the two olive trees?
Zechariah records: “Then I said to him, ‘What are these two
olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?’ And a second time I
answered and said to him, ‘What are these two branches of the olive trees,
which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out?’
He said to me, ’Do you not know what these are?’ I said, ‘No, my lord.’ Then he
said, ‘These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”
(Zechariah 4:11-14, ESV).
The two olive trees are the two witnesses. There are two
witnesses because God requires at least two witnesses to confirm a statement in
court.
And we know from the first chapter of Revelation that the
two candlesticks are churches. Why are
there only two churches? Again, two
churches confirm who the false churches are.
The two witnesses are all of the prophets and their message
of woe. Symbolically, we will remember that Moses and Elijah met with Jesus
during the transfiguration. So we can
say that the two witnesses are like Moses and Elijah or come in the power and
authority of Moses and Elijah.
They are given the authority and power to pour out fire on
those who try to harm them.
Notice the miracles that God has authorized them to do if someone
tries to harm them. They are allowed to
withhold rain, like Elijah did. They were allowed to turn water into blood and
to cause other plaques to occur, like Moses did. They come in the power of
Moses and Elijah.
God sends these two witnesses to proclaim a woe of disaster
on the wicked.
Third, the beast believes he has defeated the Church – the
believers who are the temple of God.
“And
when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the
bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their
dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is
called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. For three and a half
days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at
their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, and those who
dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents,
because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.”
After
the two witnesses have delivered their woe against the wicked, the beast from
the bottomless pit – remember we have already seen that this is Satan – he
conquers and kills the two witnesses and throws their bodies in the streets of
Sodom and Egypt – the place where the Lord was crucified – Jerusalem. Jerusalem
is called Sodom and Egypt and Jerusalem – and we will see later, Babylon – signifying
places where the true people of God suffered intense persecution.
For three and a half days (42) the wicked from all of the
earth – peoples, tribes, languages, and nations. And they will joyously come
together to celebrate and have a party.
They and the beast believe that they have conquered the Church. They leave the bodies out and refuse to let
them be buried signifying that they cannot be buried in consecrated ground
because they were perceived as tormentors rather than those calling the wicked
to repentance.
With the two witnesses dead, they rejoice, make merry, and
exchange presents in this abomination to the murder of the two witnesses.
Fourth, Satan and his demons cannot conquer the Church, no
matter the tribulation he is allow to bring on her.
“But after the three and a half days a breath of life from
God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those
who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ‘Come up
here!’ And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them.
And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell.
Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were
terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.”
Daniel writes, “As I looked, this horn made war with the
saints and prevailed over them, until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment
was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints
possessed the kingdom” (Daniel 7:21-22, ESV).
The Church cannot be defeated. She is the Bride of Christ, and through the
tribulation, she will come through triumphant.
God gave the beath of life to the two witnesses and they
stood up and terrified those who had been rejoicing. A great fear fell upon them, and they didn’t
know how to react.
The initial reaction of the disciples at Jesus’
resurrection was fear, “And he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus
of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place
where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going
before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’ And they
went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized
them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid” (Mark 16:6-8, ESV).
How much more the fear of the wicked at the resurrection of
these two – as well as the resurrection of Jesus – causes them to tremble and
fall down in fear.
Symbolic of the truth, we see that in the two witnesses and
in Jesus, the Church shares in the death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus
at His ascension, as we are united with Jesus.
As the wicked tremble before their resurrection, a voice
from heaven calls them, “Come up!” and they ascend, just as Jesus had ascended.
And as they went out of sight, God sent a massive earthquake which killed ten
percent of the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
7,000 people died.
And we are reminded of what happened at the last breath of
Jesus on the cross: “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up
his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to
bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were
opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and
coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and
appeared to many. When the centurion and
those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what
took place, they were filled with awe and said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!’”
(Matthew 27:50-54, ESV).
In the terror of the wicked who rejoiced in the death of
the two witnesses, “they gave glory to God.” This was a response out of fear,
not of faith, not of belief. We have
heard the expression, “There are no atheists in foxholes.” Likewise, they gave
God glory not because they believed He deserved glory, but in fear and in the
hopes that they would escape the Wrath of God by mouthing the words.
“The
second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.”
The
two witnesses have come among us in the whole Word of God. Hear the Good News and turn from sin. Know that whatever pain you suffer, and the
Church at large is attacked, the Church is victorious through Jesus.
Let
us remember that the Church is potent in the world not by money, political
influence, worldly gimmics, not worldly strategy but through the proclamation
of Jesus Christ Who lived, died, rose, and ascended to the Glory of the Father.
(Philips, Revelation).
Let
us pray:
Almighty
God, we believe that You are Absolutely Sovereign, and still we fear the
tribulation brought by the devil and his demons. Help us to trust that the
Church is victorious through You Son and let us look to Your Word to find hope
and comfort until the day of Christ Jesus.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Friday, May 10, 2024
Sunday, May 05, 2024
"What Does Baptism Do?" Sermon: Matthew 3:13-17 (manuscript)
“What
Does Baptism Do?”
[Matthew
3:13-17]
May
5, 2024, YouTube/ Second Reformed Church
This Sunday, we remember the
baptism of our Lord. Jesus is about
thirty years old when He goes to John the Baptist at the Jordan and asks John
to baptize Him.
Just prior to Jesus ascending back
to His throne at the Right Hand of the Father, we read, “Now the eleven
disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.
And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and
said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that
I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age’”
(Matthew 28:16-20, ESV).
Why did Jesus instruct them – and
all believers – to baptize and be baptized?
Does baptism do something?
I wonder what answers we would hear
if we went around the congregation.
People have said, “We baptize our
children because it’s kind of like we’re dedicating them to the Lord, like
Samuel, so He will care for them.”
“We baptize our children because it
is a way to get the church to see them and teach them how to be moral – how to
be good people – by the time we come back to church for them around their
thirteenth birthday.”
“We baptize our children because
that’s how God saves them.”
No.
Baptism does one thing relative to
the infant who never savingly believes in Jesus Alone, and it does two things
relative to the infant who does savingly believe in Jesus Alone.
In the past, we saw Paul comfort
the Thessalonians by saying if you believe the Gospel – Who Jesus is and what
He did to accomplish salvation – you are one of the people given to Jesus for
salvation, you are one of the elect, you are really and truly, forever the property
of Jesus.
So, what does baptism do?
Let’s begin by asking what John the
Baptist was doing.
John the Baptist was baptizing
repentant people for the forgiveness of their sins.
Matthew tells us in the text just
prior to the one we read this morning:
[John
the Baptist said,] “I baptize you with
water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose
sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor
and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with
unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:11-12, ESV).
John
says he baptizes those who come to him repenting of their sins. John explains that just as water washes away
dirt, the waters of baptism symbolize – they are a sign – that forgiveness –
salvation – is only found through confession and repentance of your sins to
God.
Baptism
is a sign of the Gospel. Baptism
symbolizes that all humans are sinners and in need of forgiveness – of being
made clean. It symbolizes that
forgiveness of our sins is not something we can do – we must go to Someone Else
Who is sinless to have our sins washed away.
We must go to the One Savior that God has provided to repent of our sins
– to ask for forgiveness and promise to turn around – to not commit those sins
again – and that Savior – Who we know is Jesus – and He Alone – grants us
forgiveness through His work, His Merit, His Authority, His death, and His
resurrection.
This
is what baptism does for every person who is baptized – even the person who
never savingly believes – baptism puts the sign on them and before all those
who witness it – that you cannot forgive your own sins – you cannot make
yourself clean. Someone Else has to
cleanse you of your sins. And no one who
has received this sign can remove it.
But,
you can bear the sign and not believe.
Being baptized does not cause you to believe in Jesus savingly.
Now,
we turn back to this morning’s Scripture, as we notice that John the Baptist
doesn’t think it is right for Jesus to be baptized by him:
“Then
Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John
would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you
come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting
for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he
went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw
the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold,
a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well
pleased’.”
John’s
baptism is a baptism for sinners who recognize that they are sinners and repent
of their sin and want to be forgiven and know they need to look outside of
themselves for forgiveness.
So,
Jesus comes to His cousin, John, and asks John to baptize Him. Jesus comes to John, who was filled with the
Holy Spirit in the womb and jumped up and down in the womb in pure joy at
recognizing Jesus, the Savior, in the womb of Mary.
This
is John who exclaims and explains:
“The
next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, “After me comes
a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.” I myself did not know
him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be
revealed to Israel.’ And John bore witness: ‘I saw the Spirit descend from
heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he
who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit
descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” And I have
seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God’” (John 1:29-34, ESV).
John
certainly understood more after Jesus’ baptism, but he understands enough that
when Jesus comes to him and asks him to baptize Him, John says, “You are the
only One Who doesn’t need to be baptized – You have no sins to forgive – I need
You to baptize me.”
How
does Jesus respond?
“Let
it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
What
does that mean?
What
is “righteousness”?
Righteousness
is being morally perfect, sinless, having kept all of God’s Law.
How
does being baptized by John help Jesus to be morally perfect, sinless, having
kept all of God’s Law – remembering that Jesus is sinless, and baptism is only
for sinners?
It
may help to remember that we read earlier that Jesus said that we are to go
out, preaching the Gospel, baptizing in the Name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.
John
Calvin explains that there are at least four things happening in Jesus’ baptism
– in His fulfilling all righteousness:
First,
in being baptized, Jesus fully obeys His Father.
We
remember from our study of the Gospel of John that Jesus did not come to do His
own will but the Will of the Father.
Jesus came to save the people the Father gave Him by obeying and
submitting to everything the Father commands.
Jesus
says, “but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that
I love the Father. …” (John 14:31a-b, ESV).
Even
to the end, Jesus prays, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from
me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39b, ESV).
Second,
in being baptized, Jesus submits to God’s Law.
As
we have already seen, Jesus says we are to be baptized. Since Jesus has to be like us in every way –
excepting sin – to be our Substitute, He also is baptized.
Third,
in being baptized, Jesus consecrates and institutes baptism as a sacrament.
This
we see in the Great Commission.
And
fourth, in being baptized, Jesus makes baptism a seal of the believer’s
salvation.
Paul
writes, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ
Jesus were baptized into his death? We
were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as
Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk
in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4, ESV).
And
now we understand the two things that baptism does for the believer: first, baptism is a sign on and to the
believer that Jesus lived a righteous life and died to pay for our sins, and
second, baptism is a seal of that salvation of and to the believer.
The
Heidelberg Catechism explains what the sacraments are:
66.
Q. What are the sacraments?
A.
The sacraments are holy, visible signs and seals.
They
were instituted by God
so
that by their use
he
might the more fully declare and seal to us
the
promise of the gospel.
And
this is the promise:
that
God graciously grants us
forgiveness
of sins and everlasting life
because
of the one sacrifice of Christ
accomplished
on the cross. (http://www.heidelberg-catechism.com/en/lords-days/25.html).
When
Martin Luther was feeling accosted by the devil with temptation, he would respond,
“I have been baptized. I am a
Christian.”
(https://yinkahdinay.wordpress.com/2017/01/26/luther-baptizatus-sum-i-am-baptized/)
In
other words, I have been baptized – I bear the sign of the work of Christ that
justifies and makes righteous all those who believe in Him. And I am a Christian – and that baptism is a
seal of my salvation because I am a believer in Jesus Christ Alone for
salvation.
What
does baptism do?
For
everyone who is baptized, it is a sign of what Jesus did – that He lived a
perfect life under God’s Law, died for the sins of everyone who would ever
believe, and physically rose from the dead, and ascended back to His throne.
And
for the believer, baptism is that sign as well, but it is also a seal – a
confirmation – an assurance – of that salvation. So we can look back on our baptism and
remember, as Paul says in Romans 6, that we who believe savingly in Jesus have
been buried with Him through baptism and have now been raised to new life,
which can never be lost or stolen away from us.
So
let us pray:
Almighty
God, we thank You for the sacrament of baptism that Your Son instituted while
He was on earth. We thank You that
baptism is a visual representation of the Gospel – it is a sign that says what
Jesus did to save His people. We thank
You that it is also a seal of the Gospel – that all we who have believed
savingly in Jesus can look back on our baptism and what it symbolizes and be
assured of our eternal salvation through the work of You Son. And we thank You for sending God the Holy
Spirit that He would cause us to believe in Jesus Alone for salvation. For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
Sunday, April 28, 2024
"The Little Scroll" Sermon: Revelation 10:1-11 (manuscript)
“The
Little Scroll”
Revelation
10:1-11
April
28, 2024 YouTube
In
chapter 9 of Revelation, we saw the sounding of the fifth and sixth trumpets.
We saw that God allows the devil and his demons to attack all those who do not
have the mark of God on their forehead – which is the indwelling of God the
Holy Spirit. We saw that the horrible
things prophesied in chapter 9 – the fifth and sixth trumpets with affect those
who never believe savingly in Jesus, but not those God has chosen to have His
mark on them. Be comforted and filled
with hope – you who believe in Jesus savingly and bear His mark on your
forehead – Gid will not allow these terrors to harm His people.
After
John writes about the fifth and sixth trumpets, we have a break before the
seventh trumpet. Just as we saw a break in the revealing between the sixth and
seventh seals, now we have a break between the sixth and seventh trumpets. John
– and the readers and hearers of Revelation – are given a moment to catch their
breath and remember that the book of Revelation is a book of comfort and hope
for all those who believe savingly in Jesus.
It is a book that prepares us for what God will do and allow, and in our
thanks, we ought to be spurred on by this warning to proclaim the Gospel to
everyone we can – calling them to faith and repentance that they might avoid
the things we are being told.
In
our text this morning, we hear about the seven thunders and the little scroll.
“Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven,
wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the
sun, and his legs like pillars of fire.”
Who is this angel? We need to remember that the word that
is translated “angel” can also be translated “messenger” – which would include
a person or being that proclaims.
This mighty angel is said to come down from heaven wrapped
in a cloud.
We read at Jesus’ ascension: “And while they were gazing
into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said,
‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was
taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into
heaven’” (Acts 1:10-11, ESV).
The
mighty angel has a rainbow over His head.
After
the waters receded and Noah’s family came out of the Ark, Noah offered a
sacrifice, and God answers the sacrifice:
“’I
establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by
the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the
earth.’ And God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me
and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:
I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between
me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the
clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living
creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to
destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember
the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh
that is on the earth.’ God said to Noah, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that
I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth’” (Genesis, 9:11-17,
ESV).
And
the angel has a face like the sun and legs like pillars of fire.
And
we remember these words at the beginning of Revelation:
“Then
I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven
golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man,
clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of
his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of
fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice
was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from
his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining
in full strength” (Revelation 1:12-16, ESV).
We
have every good reason to understand the mighty angel to be Jesus.
“He
had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and
his left foot on the land, and called out with a loud voice, like a lion
roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded.”
Jesus
is holding a little scroll in His hand.
And He sets His right foot on the sea and His left foot on the land. The
word “foot” can mean “conquest” and “possession,” so, here we see that Jesus is
Sovereign over the land and over the sea, the movements and powers of humanity,
everything in all of Creation are under His authority and submit to His Will. Everything that is happening today is under
His Sovereign control. He is the roaring lion, the Lion of Judah.
Paul
writes:
“and
what is the immeasurable greatness of [God’s] power toward us who believe,
according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he
raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly
places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above
every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And
he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the
church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” (Ephesians
1:19-23, ESV).
Be
comforted, Church, no matter what happens and no matter how things might seem, Jesus
sovereignly rules over every molecule in all of existence.
“And
when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice
from heaven saying, ‘Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not
write it down.’”
There
are seven seals and seven trumpets, and seven bowls, and also seven thunders,
but God tells John not to write down what he heard in the seven thunders. God
forbids John to write down what he hears.
Why?
No
clear reason is given, but the commentators give some potential reasons. Derek Thomas says that first, there are some
things that God does not tell us so we will learn to be dependent on God.
Second, Deuteronomy 29:29 says the secret things belong to the Lord. Third, it may
be something the Church has no business knowing. And fourth, it may be that the thunders told
about a delay in God’s judgment (Let’s Study Revelation, 84-85). It may be one of these reasons, or perhaps
another.
We
turn back to the mighty angel.
“And
the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand
to heaven and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and
what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, but that in the days of
the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would
be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”
The
question is raised about how God (the mighty angel/Jesus) could swear by God
(the Father)?
There
are three things to remember:
First,
there is One God Who is Three Persons.
God is One in Being. There are
not three gods, but One God in Three Persons.
The Father is not the Son, nor the Holy Spirit. The Son is not the
Father, nor the Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit is not the Father, nor the Son. There is a distinction among the Three
Persons of the Trinity, yet each Person is the same One God. (We need to leave
further examination of the Trinity to another sermon. Just try to grasp what we have just
described.)
Second,
Jesus prayed to the Father. We remember
on Maundy Thursday:
“Then
Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his
disciples, ‘Sit here, while I go over there and pray.’ And taking with him
Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then
he said to them, ‘My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and
watch with me.’ And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed,
saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless,
not as I will, but as you will’” (Matthew 26:36-39, ESV).
Jesus,
Who is the same One God as the Father, prayed to the Father, Who is the same
One God as the Son, but they are different Persons.
And
third, we see elsewhere in the Bible where God swore by Godself, because there
is no one higher for God to swear by:
When God told Abraham that He would bless him and give
great blessings to his descendants, Abraham asked how he would be sure that
what God is saying to him will come to pass.
“[And
God] said to him, ‘Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years
old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.’ And he brought
him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But
he did not cut the birds in half” (Genesis, 15:9-10, ESV).
God
tells Abraham that his descendants would not receive the land and other
blessings immediately due to their sin.
They would spend four hundred years in slavery, and then God would
deliver them and bring them to the land for their possession.
And
then God swore by Himself, since there was nothing and no one higher for Him to
swear by, that all these things that God promised will come to pass.
“When
the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming
torch passed between these pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with
Abram, saying, ‘To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to
the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites,
the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the
Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites” (Genesis 15:17-21, ESV).
Then
the angel says, “that there would be no more delay, but that in the days of the
trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel [that is, the final trumpet],
the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the
prophets.”
What
is the “mystery of God” that would be fulfilled?
To
understand this, we need to understand that the word “mystery” can mean more
than one thing. We normally think of a mystery
as something hidden or unknowable. Mystery
can also refer to something that has been revealed or used to mean something that
is known or revealed which had been kept secret.
“Then
the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, ‘Go, take the
scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on
the land.’ So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll.
And he said to me, ‘Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in
your mouth it will be sweet as honey.’”
What is the little scroll?
In ancient times, a scroll was a rolled-up text – think of
the scroll in the Jewish synagogue today.
The books of the Tanakh are written on a single piece of paper – or a
number of pages fashioned together into one.
The Tanakh is taken out and rolled open to the text in question. Think of Jesus at the beginning of His
ministry when He went into the Temple, and the scroll was opened to the book of
Isaiah, and Jesus spoke on the text.
John is given what is a small scroll compared with others.
` John is told to eat the scroll which will be sweet in his
mouth and bitter in his stomach. We may
remember that this is not unique – and John would have remembered this. As we read in Ezekiel:
“’But
you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious
house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.’ And when I looked, behold, a
hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. And he
spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there
were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe. And he said to
me, ‘Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to
the house of Israel.’ So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat.
And he said to me, ‘Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give
you and fill your stomach with it.’ Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as
sweet as honey” (Ezekiel 2:8-10; 3:1-3, ESV).
After
this, God tells Ezekial to prophesy warning and judgement against Israel.
So,
what is the little scroll?
Based
on what Ezekiel is told, and what John is told, we can understand the little
scroll to be the Whole Word of God – God’s Word telling all of what God
requires for life and salvation – and specifically the Gospel. Like the little
scroll, the Gospel received in the mouth and spoke forth is like honey – there
is nothing sweeter and more enjoyable than understanding Who Jesus is and what
He has done for His people. However,
when this sweet great and glorious news is rejected, it is bitter in our stomachs
– we are mournful and dismayed by their refusal of the Only Way to salvation.
“And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel
and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my
stomach was made bitter. And I was told, ‘You must again prophesy about many
peoples and nations and languages and kings.’”
John confirms, after eating the scroll, that this is the
Word of God – the Gospel – spoken of and now revealed to be Jesus, the Incarnate
God. This is a scroll that we must
digest into our innermost being. To be
obedient to God and His call on our life, we are to know all that God has said
about life and salvation for our sakes and for those we speak to – whether they
receive the Gospel or send us away.
And John is recommissioned – even on the Island of Patmos –
to proclaim the Word of God to peoples and nations and languages and kings. That is, everyone.
As so we are commissioned to proclaim the Word of God to
every type of people and every nation of the world, and in the language of
every people on earth, and to all people of every status.
We may better remember this commission as it came for the
mouth of Jesus to the eleven:
“Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain
to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but
some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with
you always, to the end of the age’” (Matthew 28:16-20, ESV).
Jesus, the Sovereign God, has revealed Himself and the
salvation He gives to all the people He died for. Still, Jesus has not revealed everything to
us yet.
Jesus has given us the Gospel that we would know it in our
innermost being in all its sweetness and proclaim it to every person,
understanding that there will be a bitterness in our gut when Jesus is
rejected.
Jesus and the Father have sent the Holy Spirit to indwell
us, and we have been commission to proclaim the words on the little scroll. Let
us go forth in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Let us pray:
Almighty God, You have given us the Truth of the Gospel and
told us to proclaim it to all. Keep us
from fear and keep the honey of Your Word in our mouths as we go forth. In
Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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