The seven bowls of God’s wrath are a depiction that God is going to pour out his wrath fully on the un-godly with no chance for repentance afterwards. The bowls are repeatedly poured out throughout the Church Age culminating in the return of Christ and the final destruction of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet.
It is good that we are reminded at this point in Revelation that there is an eternal gospel to be shared and to be believed in light of impending judgment. It is so tempting try to decode everything in order to make a prediction about when the judgment may come. That isn’t the purpose of the revelation. The purpose is that our endurance would be based on a vision of Christ that sustains all the way to the end.
The dragon has been thrown down and he is furious. He has turned his attention to make war on those who hold to the faith in Jesus. His antics are not new, but they are powerful. In a call for the Church to endure by faith we are given a vision to see things from a heavenly perspective.
A glorious vision of the Lord Jesus from the Lord Jesus.
A theme emerges in scripture around the idea of being envious of evildoers and sinners. Throughout the ages people have struggled with the reality that those who do evil seem to flourish and be successful. Scripture doesn’t shy away from the fact that good things don’t always happen to those who “do good” and that bad things don’t always happen to those who “do bad”. As believers, how are we supposed to walk faithfully in the midst of this reality?
The gospel is ultimately hoping in a person. Our hope is that by faith in Christ we are bestowed with His righteousness, sins forgiven, and relationship with God restored. As it turns out, scripture is a narrative that shows that we really have been hoping in “persons” since the beginning. We prove over and over again that we were made for this. The problem is that we reject the Lord by hoping in someone other than Him.
What makes this Psalm unique is that we find out that this one is written in his old age. Oh the perspective we gain about that which is most important when our strength has been poured out.
We come upon a very familiar Psalm. It’s familiar because we have read similar passages already. What makes this Psalm unique is that we find out that this one is written in his old age. Oh the perspective we gain about that which is most important when our strength has been poured out.
Silence and praise are worship when they are oriented “To You, O God.” All of His creation joins all of His people because of the redemption He is bringing to all things.
G.K. Chesterton once said: “The objection to fairy stories is that they tell children there are dragons. But children have always known there are dragons. Fairy stories tell children that dragons can be killed.” The reality is that there is a dragon, he’s furious, and he wants to destroy the Son by destroying the redeemed. Revelation is a playbook of sorts for how the dragon can be conquered. In the end, it is when we lose our life that we gain it and subsequently render the already defeated dra...
We were once enemies of God. The profound reality is that for those who crucified Jesus in the first century they would never have considered themselves as enemies of God. It would seem as though the two witnesses represent that which was necessary to prove this truth: While we were yet enemies, Christ died for us! We are a product not of our “goodness”, but of God’s covenant of grace.
Sometimes God reveals Himself in the glory of splendor and other times and seasons He allows creation to reveal itself. All of these seasons come together to reveal the mystery of the faith…Christ uniting all things in Himself!
How would God help His people be faithful to the end? Perhaps He would give them a vision of the truth about the enemy AS WELL AS the truth about Himself. No doubt, the enemy is scary, BUT God is scarier than the enemy. God isn’t JUST scarier…He’s true and trustworthy. He is the “I Am”. God never lied to us. The enemy did and our Good Father is exposing the enemy while strengthening us for the fight that will inevitably come our way.
John sees a vision of a representation for what is happening on behalf of God’s people. Not only are things around them ordained for their sake but they are ultimately sealed belonging forever to their God and King. We rejoice as we realize that the seal is none other than the blood of Christ by which we make our robes white and live a life of praise and joy and thanksgiving because of the past, present, and future Grace our Lord Jesus purchased for us on the cross.
Sometimes the question declares more than the answer itself. Some kind of war is being depicted in this chapter. The “day” of the Lord is coming and the most relevant thing to say when this is considered is, in fact, a question. Who can possibly stand on this day? As the gospel goes forth and judgment unfolds it will be the repentant who persevere to the end and are saved!
As John gets to observe heaven observing earth it becomes very clear who the Main Character is going to be. As John witnesses the astounding worship of the Lamb we can begin to, at least in part, comprehend what was given up by our Savior to come and be with us. We can echo the Psalmist who said, “what is man that You are mindful of him…?”
God gives John a vision of the glory of His throne. Through vivid imagery God may just be giving us clues as to how we can pursue glimpses of it here and now. If people would desire the courage to do great things for God whether in good deeds or in suffering here on earth they must learn see His glory as it truly is in heaven. When we pray that God’s will would be done on earth as it is in heaven may we already have a vision for what that would look like!
What if, in the story of the prodigal son, the older brother had gone out to rescue the younger brother and bring him back to the family? In essence, that is exactly what Jesus has done and now we get a sobering view of what it would be like to sit down with Big Brother, Jesus, Who gave His life to save us and bring us to the Father.
What if, in the story of the prodigal son, the older brother had gone out to rescue the younger brother and bring him back to the family? In essence, that is exactly what Jesus has done and now we get a sobering view of what it would be like to sit down with Big Brother, Jesus, Who gave His life to save us and bring us to the Father.
What if, in the story of the prodigal son, the older brother had gone out to rescue the younger brother and bring him back to the family? In essence, that is exactly what Jesus has done and now we get a sobering view of what it would be like to sit down with Big Brother, Jesus, Who gave His life to save us and bring us to the Father.
What if, in the story of the prodigal son, the older brother had gone out to rescue the younger brother and bring him back to the family? In essence, that is exactly what Jesus has done and now we get a sobering view of what it would be like to sit down with Big Brother, Jesus, Who gave His life to save us and bring us to the Father.
