A Tale of Two Cities

"The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: ‘Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes, and of earth’s abominations.' " Revelation 17:4-5

On Sunday, David unpacked Revelation 17’s description of the great prostitute, who we found, in her association with the ancient city of Babylon, represents the deadly allure of the city. She is attractive and enticing, decked out in purple, scarlet, and jewels, signifying wealth and worldly beauty, and promising sensual pleasures; her golden cup overflows, she is drunk and satisfied, she is seated on a magnificent scarlet beast whom she appears to have dominion over.

Yet, all is not as it first seems. Revelation is nothing if not, well, revealing. A closer look at the contents of her cup reveals abominations and impurities. She is destined for destruction, and will eventually be laid desolate and naked by the very beast she now rides, her once well-adorned flesh burnt up by fire (Revelation 17:16).

In this powerful vision, God reveals the mystery of the cities that you and I live in. Like Babylon, they provide so much promise. The promise of wealth and luxury through commerce. The promise of sensual and sexual pleasure through the relative anonymity the big city offers. The promise of power through status, knowledge, and domination. And yet, these things ultimately lead to death. They rely on something that is in direct conflict with God’s kingdom and so cannot last. At the root of these promises, we see how the city relies on the principle of using others to get what we want. The prostitute uses the beast, and the beast turns on and then destroys the prostitute. This is such a fundamental principle of how cities operate that we have developed our own terms and expressions for it. The rat race. Dog eat dog. Etc.

This Revelation series has afforded us a lot of opportunity to examine our hearts, and certainly this passage is no exception. Poythress in his guide to Revelation writes how every day advertisements tell us, ‘If you only have enough money and toys and sensual pleasures, you will be fulfilled.’ And that little Babylons grow in our hearts as we compromise with sin to pursue our own desires, whether it be for sex, fame, power, health, or beauty (p.161,2).

What then are we to do? Renounce the city’s evil ways and turn our backs on it, lest it contaminate us with its abominations and impurities? Flee the city, lest it becomes drunk on our own blood?

Interestingly, in Jeremiah 29:7 we are told instead to ‘seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.’ You see, as we draw further towards the end of Revelation, we will find out that God is building a new city, a place where people will not be used by one another for selfish gains. And as future citizens of that new city, we have a role to play in ushering in the kingdom living that God intends. I believe this means not only examining our own hearts- though it’s a good place to start- but also standing up and taking action on behalf of those who become victims of the city’s oppressive forces.

One of the ways the city's oppression happens, which David used as an example on Sunday, is trafficking. Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery where people profit from the control and exploitation of others. As defined under U.S. federal law, victims of human trafficking include children involved in the sex trade, adults age 18 or over who are coerced or deceived into commercial sex acts, and anyone forced into different forms of “labor or services,” such as  domestic workers held in a home, or farm workers forced to labor against their will. As such, it’s a good example of the kind of devastation wrought by the city’s promotion of sex, wealth, and power. It makes people slaves to the gratification of others' desires.

Here are the facts. Human trafficking is the third largest crime industry in today’s world (there are more slaves today than ever before in history), and you’ll find it in Africa, in Europe, in America, and in Massachusetts – right here in our backyard. To give you a further idea of the scale of this issue, a study in 2001 showed that at least 100,000 to 300,000 youth are at risk of commercial sexual exploitation annually in the U.S., and that number is likely to have grown since then.

If you’re anything like me, when you’re confronted by issues like this you are shocked, saddened, but perhaps most of all, overwhelmed. How can we have a real impact on issues of this magnitude? Yet, there are people working tirelessly, who are not afraid to speak up on behalf of people in situations like these. And as Christians who believe in the unique value of all human beings, created in the image of the Almighty, we should be at the forefront. So, I asked a friend who has spent a lot more time researching these issues than me what I as an individual can do, and I was surprised by the everyday choices that I make that can help turn the tide against trafficking both here and abroad.

First, we can pray.

Second, we have choices we can make as consumers that have an impact on trafficking, like committing to buying fair trade. My friend writes, “This is because there is slavery throughout supply chains, especially in the fashion, cocoa, and coffee/tea industry.  Two useful tools are: fairtradeusa.org and free2work.org who rate companies according to how ethical they are. There are a number of shops I refuse to buy clothes from and some favorite chocolate that I no longer eat - yes, this means that the clothes I buy are slightly more expensive, so I have less clothes, but I think this is a small sacrifice. The most common objections I hear from my friends are: it isn't as convenient, I don't have enough money to buy fair trade, and it won't make a difference. But it definitely will - consumers have power.” We can also sign petitions online calling for changes in those industries. Or write to our favorite shops asking them about their ethical policies or telling them that we will not buy their products until they commit to eradicating slavery from their supply chain.

Third, we can educate ourselves, so we can better tell others. My friend says, “Learn about what trafficking is (and what it's not!) and how to spot the signs of trafficking (try the information here). Keep your eye open for trafficking in your community and be ready to report it if you think you see it (even if you aren't sure). Talk to friends and work colleagues about trafficking to raise awareness that slavery still exists. I started talking about slavery at work, and as a result my colleague organized for the CEO of an anti-trafficking charity to come and give a lecture to nearly a hundred students. As a result some of the students decided to make this particular charity their chosen charity for the semester and raised a large donation to give them- amazing and a completely unexpected result of me talking to my friends. One thing I have learned is that people can't care about it if they don't know about it.”

Fourth, we can join organizations that already exist who are working to eradicate trafficking, or some of its causes like poverty, or lack of education. This could be as simple as liking or following these organizations and sharing/retweeting their posts on twitter or facebook (a list of suggestions is at the bottom of this post). It could be as quick as making a donation to a grassroots organization to keep girls in school or assist women with setting up their own business which will help prevent the most vulnerable from being targeted by traffickers (consider signing up for Pure Charity who partner with companies that will donate a percentage of your spending to the cause of your choice). Or choosing to buy gifts from 'companies with a conscience' (there is a list in this blog).

A lot of these things do not actually take that much of our time or resources, but if you have more time on your hands you could even join an organization to take part in a march or walk on Anti-Slavery day, fundraise on their behalf or help to lobby for changes to law.

And should we need further encouragement, Jesus himself said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Instead of using others for our own ends, may we seek to replicate the love that God has for us, a love that is lavished on others as we seek not to be served, but to serve.

1. What other issues today, like trafficking, do you see arising from the nature of the great prostitute, the city?
2. Spend some time praying for these issues.
3. Take half an hour to research an organization that is tackling these issues and choose at least one action you will take to bring God’s light into the darkness of these situations, such as those highlighted in the post above. Below are some suggested anti-trafficking organizations you could take a look at:

Massachusetts Coalition to End Human Trafficking

Polaris Project

End It Movement (organize a march or walk on anti-slavery day)

The A21 Campaign

Not for Sale

Stop The Traffik

International Justice Mission

The Justice of Hell

Revelation 20:10

"and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever."

This week David talked about the reality of Hell. Capitalized, proper noun, place- Hell. It doesn't get much discussion these days. It gets mentioned and hurriedly ignored as a negative we don't like to dwell on. In reality, we really shouldn't dwell on it, since scripture tells us to focus on things above, noble things, things that uplift. And so almost every time it is brought up in a sermon or blog this fact “that it is not discussed much” is highlighted.  My point being, it is rarely a thing we think about.

All that being said, Hell is extremely important. It is a place we don't want to go, obviously, but it is also a place we don't have the capacity to comprehend (eternal suffering doesn’t make sense). I particularly hate the idea of anyone going there but that doesn't mean no one does. People go there every day, and because billions are probably there already, Hell is a reality some are right now living. It's not a place they hear about occasionally in a sermon- it's a place they see, smell, taste and touch at all times.

You can think about Hell in the mild sense as "the place God allows people to go because they don't want to be with Him." This is the version that some have given to diminish the severity of its horror. When God is shown this way, as giving people what they want, it somehow makes Hell less of a problem. It’s a state of mind that you might get stuck in, but it’s almost no big deal; you’ll be fine since that’s what you wanted anyway. This is the vanilla Hell.

Hell is most popularly portrayed as “where you’ll party with all the fun people.” This brings to mind the line in Billy Joel’s song, “I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints, ‘cause sinners are much more fun”. Somewhere along the line, people got the idea that Hell would be an endlessly fun time where no one has to deal with that pesky “God” guy who spoils all the fun. This is the party Hell.

Then there’s the Hell of the Bible, which you would think would be the most believable! Jesus mentions Hell 46 times throughout the New Testament (some are repeats from different accounts of the same speech). He calls it a “lake of fire” (Revelation 21:7-8), “outer darkness” (Matthew 8:12), a “furnace of fire” (Matthew 13:42), and a place where there’s “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12).  All of these descriptions are of a place unlike the popular notion of Hell. This is the Biblical Hell.

The vanilla Hell is appealing because it tones down the punishment aspect of Hell. The party Hell is easy to popularize because who doesn’t like a party? The biblical Hell, however, couldn’t be further from these descriptions. Yes, you are separate from God, and yes, you are there because you chose to be away from Him. But you are certainly not enjoying your time, and if you do see others, it’s not a time of social bliss.

The reality of Hell is hard for us to justify, simply because our view of God is too small and because our focus is on ourselves.

First, think about creation from God’s perspective. He made creatures who started off perfect. They were given the option to disobey and did. He then covered that disobedience the only way He could, by punishing his son Jesus. Now people have the option, again, to disobey or reject that sacrifice. From that point on, what other option would you have God give? When we see this from God’s perspective, it’s easy to understand why God cannot be with those who have rejected His every advance.

Second, think about who God is and what it means to reject someone like Him. Think about it in terms of physics and Newton’s third law: “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” If you run into a brick wall and don’t hit it with much force, it won’t budge and all of that force will be pushed back on you. How much more if you run into a God-wall? The reaction to your rejection is equivalent to the object you’re rejecting. Since God is infinite, the rejection will be infinite. For mortal humanity that punishment seems severe, but we are not slighting a human here, this is the God who created all!

You may already believe that Hell is real, that the Hell described in the Bible is a real place. You may believe it is justified because God is infinite and this creation is about Him. But have you ever thought about it as not just a necessary and just thing, but actually as a good thing? I would posit that not only is it a good thing, but it makes Jesus’ death even more amazing.

Let me explain. Think about the worst humans in history. Now think about how you would feel if when they died, they simply ceased to exist, crossing into oblivion. Think about that and try to feel good about it. All the pain and suffering they caused others. All the atrocities they wrought, and when they met their end? Nothing. Not even a tiny slap on the wrist. They are let off scot-free. Without Hell, Justice is left unbalanced.  

Now, think about the pain and suffering that you might incur. The awful punishment that God might bring upon you if you die in your sins. Then remember that Jesus not only saved you from an eternity without God, but the punishment you would have endured while you were in Hell. He took away your sins and the ultimate effect of those sins. Though you may still experience the temporary consequences of your actions, He saved you from the end result of your sins- Hell. This thought also brings us even more joy when we realize that not only did He save us and bring us out of Hell, but He drops the awesomeness of HEAVEN on top of His mercy.

Our God is righteous, just, merciful, and good. He will punish injustice and reward those who choose to follow Him. He will give those who reject Him an equal punishment to what they’ve rejected and an amazingly unequal blessing for those who believe in Him.

1.     Why is it hard to believe Hell is justified (Romans 2:6-8)?

2.     When was the last time you talked about Hell? (Philippians 4:8 think about this verse in light of Jesus' death and how it saved you from Hell)

3.     How can we see God’s goodness in light of Hell? Can we see how it is ultimately good that those who reject God are sent away? (Revelation 21:8)

The Winepress of God's Wrath

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.” (Leviticus 17:11)

"So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God." (Revelation 14:19)

            In Matthew 13:24-30, Jesus tells a parable about how the kingdom of heaven is like a field of grain. When an enemy comes and plants weeds amongst the good seeds, the owner does not allow his servants to pull the weeds out just yet, or they might “uproot the wheat with them.” Instead, he instructs his servants to let the weeds and grain grow together “until the harvest,” at which point the weeds will be burned, and the wheat will be gathered in. In John 4:31-38, Jesus, again, talks about a harvest, where “the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper may rejoice together.” And in both Matthew 9:35-38 and Luke 10:2, Jesus tells his disciples that “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”        

            We often refer to this last verse when we talk about evangelism, the sharing of the good news of Christ’s death and resurrection. There are so many people out there that are willing and ready to hear more about God’s truth and God’s love, and have no one to tell them about it. But in this day and age, we often prefer NOT to think about the final harvest, the time of Jesus’ return when, as Revelation 14:19 tells us, the harvest of the grapes of the earth will be thrown into the great winepress of God’s wrath. There is something in this modern day and age that tells us that the God of love and mercy, the Jesus who forgives and heals the sinful and broken, can’t be a God of wrath- it just doesn’t compute for us. 

            This wasn’t always the case. Just take the Battle Hymn of the Republic, written at the beginning of the American Civil War, which in one verse talks of Christ dying to make men holy (grace and mercy) while in another it speaks of the “grapes of wrath” and the “fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword.” And God says of Himself that He is “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by NO MEANS clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:6-7)

            David spoke about this question at length in his message on Sunday: “Is that kind of a God bipolar in some way?” I think that, in this generation, we have lost a lot of understanding of God’s character as a true and just God, and so, yes, we struggle to explain to others the seemingly bipolar nature of God. How is the law of the Old Testament compatible with the grace of the New Testament? How is the Jesus of the Gospels compatible with the Jesus who is going to release plagues and destruction at His second coming? And, more importantly, as David asked us: “Is this the kind of God you would want to worship and serve?” 

            Revelation is often, as David told us, seen as a book of doom and destruction. In this series, however, we have looked at it as a revelation of Jesus, of who God is. Revelation 15:3-4 declares that God’s ways are “just and true,” that He alone is holy, and that His acts are righteous. So if someone asks us, “Is the God you’re serving just and good in destroying the life of the wicked or the sinner?”, then our answer, according to Revelation, is yes. 

But it is a yes with the understanding that God’s wrath has already been poured out once before- onto His own son. Onto Jesus. His blood ran like wine, his body was broken like bread, and for what reason? That God’s wrath would be taken on His own shoulders, that the judgment of death for our evil deeds would be borne by Him, and not by us. 

This is the truth, then, that we so desperately need to understand: there is no mercy without wrath. There is no grace without judgment. There is no Jesus, the savior, without Jesus, the judge.

Because if we were not guilty, why would we need mercy?

Because if we were not condemned, why would we need a savior?

Because if we were not drowning and lost in darkness, if we were not weighted down with the lies and thefts and hateful things we have done to ourselves and one another, then why would we need a God of love and mercy in the first place?

“Is this the kind of God you would want to worship and serve?”

A God who sees my worst thoughts, my worst deeds, my anger and rage, my bitterness, my ugliness, knowing what I deserve for the hateful and spiteful ways I have acted towards others, and yet chooses to take that punishment for me, chooses to show me mercy when I have been merciless, chooses to show me kindness when I have been ruthless, chooses to be broken that I would be made whole- is that the kind of God I would want to worship and serve?

Yes.

That is the kind of God I would want everyone to worship and serve. And one day, every knee will bow to Him.

At the beginning, I mentioned a parable Jesus told of weeds and wheat growing together until the harvest. This speaks to the other hard part of believing that God is just and true. If He is just and true, then why doesn’t He just come now? Why does He continue to allow sin and sadness, disease and destruction? Jesus Himself tells us why: Because the harvest isn’t ready yet. Because there are still hearts that He is planting seeds of faith in. Because He is slow to anger, and a merciful and forgiving God.

 
He is the just and true God who saw our sin, knew that it deserved death, and yet, in His love, took that death upon Himself. May we have the strength to understand how wide and high and deep is the grace and love of Christ (Ephesians 3:14-19).

 ---Reflection Points---

1. In Revelation 15:2-4, John sees a vision of singers with harps next to the sea of glass (probably where we get our images of harp-playing angels in heaven), singing “the song of Moses.” Take a couple of hours to either read the story of Moses, as told via the Book of Exodus or to watch the film “The Prince of Egypt” (on Netflix.com or Amazon instant video), and reflect on how the story of Moses and Israel reveals both the justice and mercy of God. 
2. David, towards the conclusion of his message, stated this: “I personally have come to the resolution that there is too much joy, too much love, too much work, and too much glory in partnering with Jesus to heal and redeem this world…to stop ministering over the partial answer we are given about the justice and trueness of God’s character.” Pray about where in the harvest YOU are needed to bring love and joy, and about whom God wants you to be ministering to.
3. Beth Moore, in the introduction to her book Praying God’s Word, says this: “I’ve come to believe that God generally prioritizes one of two objectives: showing us His supremacy or teaching us His sufficiency.” I believe that this can be related to Revelation, in this way- until the day when God reigns in supremacy, we must live in the sufficiency of His grace. Read 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 and consider the ways that God has shown His sufficiency in your life, and the ways that He has shown His supremacy.

A Soundtrack for Revelation

 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped. Revelation 5:13-14

Guest Post by: Abigail McFarthing

If the person at the center of Revelation is Jesus, then the activity at the center is worship. Scenes of worship burst through the clouds of Revelation like sunset rays, illuminating and transforming even the ominous thunderheads of judgment and the hazy fog of "the end times" into things of beauty. What's more, this central activity of worship is something we get to be involved in. We may be waiting for many of the events of Revelation to be ultimately realized in the future, but the worshiping we'll be doing around God's throne has started now!

To help us meditate on the truths of Revelation and join in heaven's worship now, I've created a playlist (with some input from other worship leaders at City Church). Although worship is more than music, the worship of Revelation includes music. So I encourage you to use these songs to help you in your personal times of worship.

As I read Revelation and thought about these songs, several themes emerged which I hope can help guide our thinking as we worship:

• God is holy (He's completely pure, transcendent, and other than us). More than any other theme, this one shines through the songs on the playlist. "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty" sing the four living creatures (4:8), and we echo their song: see Agnus Dei plus any of the songs with "holy" in the title.
• God is on the throne (He's the sovereign, reigning Lord of history). God's defining title in Revelation is "Him who sits on the throne" (5:13): "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits upon the throne" (7:10). What a comforting truth for our chaotic lives! Songs that highlight this idea are Behold Our God, We Will Run/He Is Here, Our God Reigns, and Salvation Belongs to Our God, among others.  
• Jesus is the Lamb (He's the atoning sacrifice for our sins). Thousands upon thousands of angels proclaim, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain" (5:12). Again, this is a key image from Revelation that shows up in worship song after worship song, including See the Lamb of God, Wounded One, Revelation Song, and Overcome.
• Jesus is the Victorious Judge (He's the conquering ruler of the nations, to whom we'll give an account for our lives). This concept is a little more difficult for us to accept and rejoice in, but it's a major truth of Revelation. "Behold, I am coming soon," Jesus says, "bringing my recompense with me" (22:12). Jesus is not tame-- he's scary... yet he's good. Here are some songs that can help us internalize this aspect of Jesus (also known as "hardcore Jesus" songs... thank you, Val Tracy!*): See He Comes, Storm All Around You, Beautiful Rider, and The Eyes of the Lord.
• Our response. In light of these great truths about who God is and what he has done, the multitudes of angels and people (and even animals, it would seem) respond with exuberant praise and deep reverence. In the words of our very own Esther Brown: "He is, and so we worship." Here are some of the best "response songs" on the list: Jesus at the Center, Adoration, We Fall Down, and Our God Reigns.
• Heaven is going to be great! Just as Revelation paints a tantalizing picture of life in the New Heaven and the New Earth, I've added several songs (some of which aren't strictly worship songs) that engage our imaginations and whet our appetite for the worship of heaven: There Is a Day, Heaven Song, Endless Hallelujah, This Is Not the End, In Your City, I Will Rise, and Farther Along.

I encourage you to pick one or two of these themes to meditate on. You can use the Bible, journaling, and/or the songs I've highlighted as a jumping-off point to help you dig into, chew over, and rejoice in these truths about our glorious King.

*"By 'hardcore Jesus' I mean the Jesus that's coming on the fiery steed, and the Jesus who is the only one holy enough to open the seals, and the Jesus with the authority to Judge.  It's not that it's wrong to sing about the Jesus who loves us and forgives every mistake we make, and I'm glad we sing those songs early and often.  But for this series especially, and since we're trying to think of Jesus in a different way, I think it's good to worship the 'scary' Jesus who's coming to open a can of whoop-you-know-what alongside the loving and forgiving Jesus.

"I think there is something awe-inspiring and scary about the concept of 'Behold, the Lion of Judah!' and it's a slain lamb.  A sacrificial lamb is a bloody, violent image, and when I think of Jesus in that way it's weird and uncomfortable and pushes me out of my comfort zone.  But studying Revelation is about embracing the awkwardness of coming to face the Jesus you've built up in your mind and discovering that He's a lot more than you expected. Admitting that you don't quite understand and have zero control over the One who you love and who made you is discomfiting. It's not something that's easy to wrap your head around." - Val Tracy

Taking Back Our Rest

Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!” (Revelation 14:12-13)

This Sunday we were introduced to the second of two beasts described in Revelation 13 (Revelation 13:11). Together with the Dragon, who is identified as Satan in Revelation 12:9, and the first beast, these three gruesome beings form what Poythress in his guide The Returning King calls a ‘counterfeit’ or ‘unholy’ Trinity. They seek to be like Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but they consistently fall short. Nevertheless, their power is deceptive and enticing. The first beast alone is enough to make the whole world marvel (Revelation 13:3-4).

Essentially, the second beast acts like the Holy Spirit- it speaks like the dragon and exercises all the authority of the first beast (Revelation 13:11-12). It seeks to make the whole earth worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed (sound familiar?), and it performs signs and wonders to deceive the dwellers of earth (Revelation 13:14). And just as the followers of God received the Father’s name on their foreheads, so too, the beast likes to mark his followers on the forehead or the right hand (Revelation13:16). Yet, in the end, we are told that those who have the beast's mark are destined for eternal torment (Revelation 14:11). This second beast, then, is little more than a propagandist, a false prophet, promoting the devil's lies, supporting him in his bid to take people captive and keep them from God.

It all sounds kind of abstract, doesn’t it?  Dragons and beasts, marks on people’s foreheads, eternal torment... Perhaps John’s vision would have made more sense to his contemporaries. The ancient Near East had long been familiar with myths of sea monster gods producing chaos, and in first-century Asia Minor, priests promoted the worship of the emperor of the day by performing signs or ‘counterfeit miracles’. Those who didn’t worship the emperor could be at put to death for their disloyalty. In this context, then, the message would be clear- pledging allegiance to the emperor might save you in the short term, but from an eternal perspective, only allegiance to God could save.

But we also know that Revelation’s message is universal- it describes the state of all humankind. History repeats itself. We might confine our understanding of these passages regarding the counterfeit trinity to those living in countries today where Christianity is forbidden, where oppressive governments require people’s full commitment to their laws and ideologies, and where allegiance to a heavenly king is viewed as a threat to the government’s power. Yes, these places do exist, and the beast's propaganda is often more obviously at work in these places. But I would argue that even in countries where we enjoy comparative religious freedom, the beast's work is just as pervasive. The hard part is to identify where in our own lives we are falling prey to the beast's propaganda. 

On Sunday, we heard how one characteristic of the beast's worshippers is that they will never rest; whereas God seeks to give his people rest (Revelation 14:13), the beast's followers will know none (Revelation 14:11). So looking for the things that do not bring God’s peace in our lives, where we never rest, seems like a good starting place for identifying where the beast is at work. For me, the most obvious place is perhaps in my relationship with media, which is supported by increasingly sophisticated technology. Don’t get me wrong- I’m not saying that technology is the work of the devil or that we should abandon all progress in this area, but as I began to reflect on the message I started to reexamine my use of things like smartphones, facebook, and the internet and how they steal my rest and leave me feeling exhausted. Let me explain.

In March 2011 I got my first smart phone- it was love at first sight. So many things I could now do wherever I was, whenever I wanted. Look at maps, search google, email, call, or text people, take photos, share my photos with over a 100 friends at the mere tap of a button, read the news, check the weather forecast, play games, find out when the next bus was due to arrive, and the list goes on. I MARVELLED at it. My smartphone addiction had begun. Without being careful I could spend every spare moment (and not just the moments I have spare) on my phone. I carry it around the house. I reach for it when I’m bored. But what I’ve let into my life is a constant bombardment from the world about its preferences, its priorities, and its opinions.

Facebook is just one of the apps I regularly use- every time I scroll through I get deluged by everything from articles like ‘what my favorite (insert something here be it color, store, food, Disney character) says about me’ to announcements of births, deaths and marriages. I learn everything from what my friends (and distant acquaintances) ate for breakfast to their sometimes informed, and sometimes not, political opinions. I read this stuff when I want to rest, but most often I feel anything but refreshed after reading it. It’s not only exhausting, it’s worse than that. A friend who was considering leaving facebook recently expressed my sentiments exactly. She described the majority of time spent on facebook as depressing, empty, and disconnecting, and speaking more widely of the internet she said it made her feel alienated, frazzled, and ill.

Now like I said, I’m not waging a war on facebook or smartphones, I’m just using it as an example of something I personally struggle with. It’s just one of the many false propaganda I listen to, the noise that fills my head, which often prevents me from enjoying God’s rest. For others it might be the TV- Americans spend an estimated 4 hours watching TV per day. Or perhaps for you it is something else, like food, money, or sex.

The reason these things are so hard to kick is that they are so deceptive. Like my smartphone, they promise so much – the solution to all of life’s questions, solutions to our problems that will finally enable us to rest easy. Satan has a lot of practice, and he knows what he’s doing. Ultimately, though, we can come to rely on them so much that they become addicting; they can consume us and become exhausting. No sooner have I used my phone to solve my latest burning quest I find another reason to reach for it.

As followers of Christ, we do well to remember that we are a desert people like those in Exodus and the woman described in Revelation 12: we have been liberated from slavery and the Dragon's clutches, and we have the Promised Land ahead of us. But in order to enter it, we must trust God to be our source of nourishment in the wilderness of this world, and we must resist the false calls of Satan’s propaganda.

1. What kind of things in your life, what activities and pursuits, currently keep you from enjoying God’s rest? In prayer, bring these things before God, asking Him to show you what you may need to lay down.
2. Spend some time reflecting on the following verses, considering what they tell you about how to find rest in God: Proverbs 3:21-26,Hebrews 4:1-11, Matthew 11:28-30, Psalm 121
3. Of Revelation 12:6, Poythress writes, ‘the woman [representative of the church] flies to the desert- an image that speaks of the powerful care exercised by God on behalf of his people. His people receive powerful protection, even in very difficult circumstances.’ Ask God to be your nourishment and a place of protection for the persecuted church.

The Great Battle and the Opiate of the Masses

The past two weeks we have looked at different parts of the war between Satan and God. Revelation 12:1-17 specifically talks about how God thwarted Satan's plans to harm his son Jesus, how Satan rose up and the angels fought him, and how he was cast to the earth, bringing 1/3 of the angels with him. Then in Revelation 13:1-10 we saw representations of an "unholy trinity" being introduced. The first beast representing a counterfeit Jesus, looking like he was slain but still being alive.

This war has been going on for all of history. Revelation gives us a glimpse into the spiritual realm, where the span of time is condensed into the major acts of aggression and God's success against them. When seen through this perspective, the events of earth are by-products of the events of Heaven and the war Satan is waging against it.

One of the by-products we see is Satan attacking God's people (Revelation 13:7). Paul McFarthing discussed some of the ways Satan goes about it. You can listen again here. The most obvious way being open opposition to the church and its people. Any time there is a world view bent on destroying the blessings and generosity of God's people, you can point the source back to Satan's desire to overthrow God's kingdom and rule.

Another way he fights is less obvious and that is through the comfortable life. I call it here the "opiate of the masses" as a play on Marx's dislike of religion. This is a powerful opiate. We can easily be lulled into seeking success, making plans, investing money, and putting all our focus on this. This is the great god of our age: a comfortable and well planned retirement! Now, I've harped on about this in two of my posts and I can hear in my head some people thinking "You're not practicing what you preach!" and it's true! This is why I know you have the same problem. If you don't, then you trust God a lot more than I do and I need to learn from you! I'm not saying that you have to dump your 401k and become a hermit, I'm saying that we need to contemplate why we need a lot of money to live in this world. We need to meditate on what we're really putting our trust in for our future. For me, this is the most difficult, because I would love to say I trust God completely in this area, but one of my goals is to retire comfortably.

The final way he makes war on the saints is through an even more subtle path. If we aren't to trust in our money then are we to trust in our poverty? If we aren't to trust in the plans of men are we to trust in ourselves? I ask these questions because there are a myriad of ways that seem right and noble, but none of them are the way God has set up. All other ways are the ways Satan has set up. The bible plainly states "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me." (John 14:6). This simple statement holds within it this startling implication: anything that isn't Jesus is a way that was set up long, long ago as a method to get God's people (and anyone else) to stray away.

We are easily duped because we are very simple. God knows just how simple we are and makes the right way very simple too.

Follow Jesus and you will win this ancient war, because we know how it all ends.

1. What small thing can you change today to follow Jesus more fully? Maybe ways you can simplify your life now so you don't need to retire with a large home? Meditate on how you can cut out what isn't honoring God, like do we need the latest smart-phone?
2. Do you feel particularly aware of any of these "ways" that Satan makes war on us? Meditate on Ephesians 6:10-18, considering how you can put on the full armor of God.
3. Pray that we all begin to trust more and more in Jesus.

He is Risen Indeed

“Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.’” (Revelation 11:15)

 

This past Sunday was Easter, the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection, and rightfully the most important holiday in Christian tradition. However, it’s not the most widely celebrated. That would be Christmas, because anybody and everybody tends to get behind the idea of having 'peace on earth' and exchanging gifts with loved ones. 

But Easter is more important, because Easter is the reason that Jesus was born into this world in the first place. Yes, he was a teacher, and taught us many good and wise things about how we are to relate to God, even modeling a perfect relationship with the Father. Yes, he was a healer, working many miracles in the lives of those who had given up hope of ever being whole again.

But, most important of all, Jesus came…to die.

He was arrested, beaten, and crucified, not because he did anything wrong, but because we did. All of the sins we have committed against each other, or will commit, the Father also keenly feels, because we are His children. Yet He laid the punishment for our sin upon His son, Jesus, rather than on us.  

The reason we celebrate Easter, though, is because that isn’t the end of the story. Days later, God raised Jesus from the dead. And so, as David pointed out on Sunday, every Easter we are forced to ask ourselves this question: “Will we believe in Jesus and devote ourselves to Him? Or refuse to believe and reject the Son of God?”

When Mary Magdalene came to the tomb on that first Easter morning (John 20:1-18), I wonder what she was feeling. She had devoted her life, her time, her energy, her money, her very heart, to this man, this Rabboni (or teacher), as she called him, witnessing his miracles, experiencing his presence changing her from the inside out. Imagine seeing the darkness falling as Jesus died, seeing the stone rolled over the tomb that held his broken, lifeless body, unable to give her friend and teacher a proper burial as she was forced by religious tradition to take a day of rest for the Lord. Do you think that during that Sabbath she felt like celebrating her God?

Now imagine how she must have felt walking in the darkness of the early morning to the tomb, seeing the stone rolled back, no sign of Jesus anywhere. To have even that moment of closure, of washing and perfuming his body, seemingly taken from her by thieves that had stolen him and hidden his body. To run, desperate, back to the disciples, only to have them look for a moment, then desert her to go home again, leaving her behind to weep for the loss of her Jesus.

And then...imagine how she felt when she looked again into the tomb, and beheld angels where Jesus had been! Turning around, still weeping from confusion and sadness, she saw a man she didn’t know, her vision clouded by her tears. And then…he said her name, and she finally realized- it’s Jesus! He is alive!

In the face of this miracle, is it then too that she also began to realize that He was Jesus Christ, “the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth” (Revelation 1:5)?

When I think about this life, it seems to me that we are all waiting in the darkness around the tomb of the world. But, while Mary could not work out what had happened, we have a promise that Jesus is coming again. “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him” (Revelation 1:7). Indeed, the kingdom of this world is already becoming the kingdom of our Lord, wherever His Holy Spirit is present (Revelation 11:15).

So even though we are in the darkness, we can see the stone has been rolled back, and we know that soon we will be with the risen Lord. What will we ourselves feel in that moment, when we meet Jesus? When He comes again? When we see the “one like a son of man,” with eyes like “a flame of fire” and a voice “like the roar of many waters” (Revelation 1:13-15)? Will we weep with joy, our hearts bursting with the gladness of it, just as Mary did? Will we fall at His feet as though dead (Revelation 1:17)?

In the meantime, in this darkness, we must continue to put our hope in the heavenly realm, and build up our treasures there, for surely, this life will not last. We must preach the Gospel, live the Gospel, breathe and be the Resurrection people that God has called us to be. As David told us two weeks ago, the Gospel is both bitter and sweet, sweet for those who have accepted its truth, but bitter in that there are so many still who have not heard the truth and who desperately need to hear it (Revelation 10:8-11).

As a church, then, let us be witnesses to the people of this world and of the time we are in. Let us be the peace bearers and the truth bringers, the olive trees and the lampstands (Revelation 11:4), faithful witnesses walking with the power of the Spirit of God. Let us choose to love others, as He loved us, even to the point of death, knowing that, ultimately, even if we should die, our witness will one day be vindicated. Just as Mary’s was. Let us devote our time, our heart, our energy, our very lives, not to just a good teacher or to just a miraculous healer, but to the very Son of God, the one who knows us intimately and completely, and who loves us in a way that no one else can.

Oh, how He loves us.  

1. Mary knew it was Him by the way He said her name. Jesus said the sheep know their shepherd by His voice. When is the last time you heard God speak to you, in word or music or other means? If you feel so moved, try to take five minutes to sit silently, and ask Him to speak to you again or even for the first time.
2. The resurrection and the cross completed God’s act of salvation, but the final redemption of the world is still coming. Spend some time reflecting on your role as part of God’s “resurrection people”- who are the people at work, at school, at home, or elsewhere that you feel called to speak to about God? What is one step you can take to show them God’s love in the next week?
3. Pick a book or song from the following recommendations and just spend some time allowing  His Spirit to work through it to connect you to the heart of God.

• Recommended Reading: 
• John 20:1-18, Luke 15
• "Guess How Much I Love You?" by Sam McBratney
• "The Runaway Bunny" by Margaret Wise Brown
• "King's Cross" by Timothy Keller
• Recommended Music:
• "I Can Only Imagine" by MercyMe
• "How He Loves" by David Crowder Band
• "Savior King" by Hillsong United
• "God Speaking" or "He Will Come" by Mandisa