I read the story recently of a butler who served for a number of years in the grand 17th century
Belton House in Lincolnshire in England. As part of his duties, he regularly dusted, in fact I think
he dusted daily and he polished pretty regularly, a World War II bomb that had been dropped on the
grounds of Belton House by German bombers. One day, while polishing this thing, he actually
managed to even knock it over and it fell on his foot while he was cleaning, so it caused him a
great deal of damage. Anyway, one Easter weekend, something like 24 years after it was put on display
at the house, an army officer was visiting Belton House and this officer noticed to his horror that
this bomb was in fact still life and was capable of levelling the entire estate. The place was
evacuated, as you can imagine, and the Royal Air Force, the bomb disposal unit was called in and
the bomb was disposed of. But imagine discovering that you've been cleaning this thing with chemicals
for 24 years, polishing a live bomb that, and you've even dropped this thing on your foot, and at any
point this thing could have exploded. It's possible to live with danger and to be totally unaware of it.
In fact, we can even convince ourselves that we are indestructible, that things will go on as they are
forever. The number of people that I've dealt with as a pastor over the years, who even in their senior
years, still assume that they are indestructible. And it takes an expert analysis, a medical specialist,
or an apocalypse to persuade us of an alternative view. Apocalypse is a Greek word,
which means revelation. It means unveiling of things that were not previously known and which cannot be
known unless they are unveiled to us. And that's what the book of Revelation is. This book is not given
to us to satisfy our curiosity about events in the future. It is given to open our eyes.
to prod us to come awake to reality and to stimulate reforming actions in our lives.
What the book of Revelation does for us and what it's been doing for us in these past weeks is opening
our eyes to the Christian worldview. And that worldview, very simply, is that the crucified,
resurrected Jesus of Nazareth, who was in history, died in history, rose in history, is the one who now
has ascended and reigns over all history and time in eternity. His people suffer on earth with joy while
being threatened and seduced by the powers and the cultures of their day, whatever it is and wherever
they are in the world. And yet what we also discover is that this God is in control at every point
throughout the chaos of history. And he has declared that he will come again and he will judge all
humanity and wind up history as we know it. And the call of Revelation is for Christians to remain faithful to
the good news. And the good news about Jesus and the good news about him as we wait for his return to wind up history
and bring us into his perfect presence forever. And so the challenge of Revelation all the way through,
on every occasion, as it is again today, live for the lamb, not for the beast. That's the challenge.
Live for the bride, groom, not the prostitute. Eternal things, not temporal, to please God rather than
anger him for his eternal city rather than the lake of fire. That's the call right through Revelation
as we have had right from the beginning. And so now as we come to the end, we get to the final
destination. That's where we're up to, the final destination. So I've got an outline for today's talk
on the St. Paul's app. It'd be good if you could go there. Also get your Bibles open. We're looking
sort of across Revelation 17 to 19. You'll notice three points in the app. The prostitute and our
problem, the lamb and our solution, and the bride and living for future hope. So first of all, and most
of the time is on the prostitute and our problem. Chapters 17 and 18, we're introduced to a new figure
in the storyline. It's a woman. She's mysterious, but her title captures for us who she is. 17 verse 5,
Babylon the Great, the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth.
Now, it is possible for us to plunge into the extravagant imagery of these chapters to try and
come up with an impressive display of convincing explanation of exactly who in history this woman
is astride and who the scarlet beast is, as well as the seven heads, the seven hills, the seven kings,
Babylon, and all the rest. What we need to do with the book of Revelation, I said right from the
beginning, is to step back. Just step back and have a look. Notice, as you read through the text,
the seven of the book of Revelation, the seven kings, the seven kings, the seven kings, and the seven kings,
the seven kings, and the seven kings, and the seven kings. The seven kings, the seven kings, and the seven kings.
This woman represents the problem with the world. Twice in chapter 17, verse 8, we're told that the beast
once was, now is, and yet will come. In other words, this beast manifests itself in one form,
then it passes away, and then it will come back in other forms. That is, this is just simply another
one of the parodies of God that we've had right through, as we read in chapters 1, 4, and 11.
In chapter 17, verses 10 and 12, the angel speaks of coming kings and transfers of power.
In Daniel 7, in the Old Testament, the same language is used to describe successive kingdoms and empires.
The symbolic numbers 7 and 10 in Revelation 17 don't refer to specific kings.
Instead, John is highlighting the way that the beast manifests itself in power in reoccurring
political empires and systems and societies throughout history.
Even though the woman, even though the woman rides on the beast and rules over the kings in 17, verse 7,
and then again in verse 18, we see in verse 16 of chapter 17, that they turn on her and they destroy her.
Such as the city of Rome itself.
The all-powerful Rome, which is in the background here as John receives this revelation.
Rome itself will be destroyed by the very empire it built in AD 410.
What we see here is Babylon.
In chapters 17 and 18, it represents human society without God.
Human society with all its violence and oppression and corruption and injustice and rejection of God.
And it's saying here, societies come and go.
Kingdoms rise and they fall.
And it will go on and on and on.
And each one in its various forms will do exactly the same.
Stand against God as rule of all.
See, what happens here with the book of Revelation is that the major themes that are set up at the beginning of the Bible
sort of all get intertwined and come to their conclusion at the end of the Bible.
The threads all come together.
The theme of Babylon and society against God is drawn to a close here as well as they celebrate in chapter 19, the end of Babylon.
Babylon features in the Bible as early as Genesis chapter 10, verse 10.
And it is likely linked to the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11.
The symbol of the godless society, proud society in its attempt to storm the heavens, dethrone God and take glory for themselves and make a name for themselves.
Babel and Babylon are interchangeable.
Throughout the Bible, Babylon came to stand for all that oppose God, all the empires and societies and peoples that oppose God.
Daniel chapter 4, verse 30 is a great example where we have the egotistical Nebuchadnezzar declaring,
Is not this the great Babylon that I have built as my royal residence?
By my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty.
All this sin of human society, all of its rejection of God the creator is in chapter 19, verse 2, described as adultery.
Prostitution.
All human sin is described as adultery.
Prostitution against God.
And this too is one of the great themes of the Bible from beginning to end.
What we see in the Bible is that God doesn't relate to people primarily as a king to subjects or even as a shepherd to his sheep, but as a husband to a wife.
God's plan from the beginning of creation was to have a solemn and a binding relationship with his people as binding and as comprehensive and as intimate as marriage.
It's the kind of relationship with God that we were created for.
No other religion dares talk about a relationship with God like biblical Christianity.
Human sin, therefore, is depicted as adultery.
Sin is loving anything more than God.
Sin is giving the title of our hearts to anything more than God.
Sin is giving the center of our emotions and our imagination to anything apart from God.
God doesn't just want us to rely upon him like a shepherd.
He wants us to love him like a spouse.
And sin is where we love anything more than God.
Sin is where we love anything more than God.
Holidays, he takes long trips around the world with her.
And finally, his wife confronts him about this other relationship.
And he says,
I really don't understand why you're getting so upset, frankly.
You know, you've got my name, got my surname.
You've got my money.
I pay the bills.
I cut the grass.
I seriously do not understand what the problem is and why you're getting so worked up.
The wife says, but I don't have your heart.
Something else has your deepest affections of your heart.
Now, most of us are sitting there and going, what sort of an idiot would say that?
Well, who would ever say, what's the problem here?
So here we go.
Do you say you believe?
Are you baptised?
You go to church.
You pray the Lord's Prayer.
You work at obeying the Ten Commandments.
And yet something else actually has the affections of your heart.
There is something else that you are actually truly living for and has captured your imagination.
Could be a career.
Could be family.
Could, in fact, be religion.
It could be children, relationships.
It could be a political cause.
It could be your bank accounts.
It could be a social cause.
It is possible to give money to God our money.
It's possible to give God our money and to take his name for ourselves.
And yet something else has the title over our hearts.
For those who use social media, what do your posts and your likes reveal about what has captured your heart?
Now, surely, as mere creatures, we don't expect our creator to overlook this.
Sin is spiritual adultery, which means it's more than just breaking the rules.
Very important for us to grapple with that.
It is so much more than just breaking the rules.
It's walking all over the heart of our creator.
Sin breaks his heart.
It destroys his relationship with him.
And unless we see human sin as spiritual adultery, we will never grapple with the seriousness of it or the emotional devastation it actually is.
It is so much more than breaking a rule.
It is crushing a heart, the heart of the God who made us for himself.
When we see this prostitute here, we see the fatal attraction of the human race.
You see, it's one thing to be friends with someone.
It's another thing to go to bed with them.
That changes everything.
And as James pointed out to us last week, Satan consistently parodies God.
Evil consistently parodies good.
The power and the affluence of society is seductive simply because it offers us what God offers us.
We love money because it offers us what God offers us.
You've got a guilty conscience.
You've got enough money to buy the right lawyers.
You can get yourself clean.
It offers us what God offers us.
Get really sick.
Get the right amount of money.
You can get the best doctors to heal you.
Even John, the apostle, the one who from the very beginning received the vivid vision of the glorified Lord Jesus standing amongst his church.
The one who is said in John's gospel, the disciple who Jesus specifically loved.
We are told here when he gets a vision of this prostitute riding the beast, he is mesmerized.
Verse 6, chapter 17.
When I saw her, I was greatly astonished.
Attracted.
And then the angel said to me, why are you astonished?
The power and the glory of the human society is seductive.
Even John needed the angel to grab him and slap him out of it.
And so that's why it's crucial that we see in chapters 18 and 19 the end of Babylon.
With all that it promises, it merely seduces you into destruction.
Reading from verse 21 of chapter 18.
Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone, threw it into the sea, and said,
With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.
Now this is not rising and falling.
This is never to be found again.
This is the end.
Of all the rises and fallings, this is the end.
The music of harpists and musicians, pipers and trumpeters will never be heard in you again.
No worker of any trade will ever be found in you again.
The sound of a millstone will never be heard in you again.
The light of a lamp will never shine in you again.
The voice of a bridegroom and a bride will never be heard in you again.
In other words, no continuing on in society, no joy, no celebration.
Your merchants were the world's important people.
The rich people were the important people.
But by your magic spell, all the nations were led astray.
The point is, it will come to naught.
It promises so much, and it delivers death and destruction.
Revelation, this book, wakes us up to the fact that we are living with danger every single day,
and we cannot see it, and the point of revelation is to help us see it.
We are polishing the bomb every day of our life.
And what this book tells us is the author of time itself had to be written into the very drama
to help us to see it.
And he's calling us to evacuate.
Evacuate, evacuate Babylon.
Do you see the seduction?
For instance, take...
Here's an exercise.
Just this next week.
In this coming week,
look at the advertising across various media platforms
and engage with the message.
Not just the pictures.
Engage with the message.
And notice the seduction.
They offer power, peace, status, paradise, performance, freedom,
spirituality, comfort, enlightenment, friendship, life, reconciliation,
identity, escape, balance, and future.
That's just one week.
And that's advertisements for coffee, cars, phones, holidays, cosmetics, and shoes.
It's appalling.
$10 billion a year is spent on advertising in this country alone
with quasi-religious promises of meaning and fulfillment and hope
in items that are created and can never produce it.
It's all about what we worship.
It's about what has captured our hearts.
American Pastor David Platt observes that North American Christians
give 2.5% of their income to the local church
and that local churches give 2% of their income to world mission.
Now, we've got to bear in mind here that Revelation chapter 5,
as we've already seen, is that mission to the nations
is part of what it means to grapple with the cross.
It's part of what it means to come to Christ.
And yet, every $100 that American Christians earn,
they give 5 cents to global mission.
5 cents.
Surely, that's got to be a good measure to the extent
by which we are seduced by Babylon
rather than being captured by a biblical worldview
of the end of Babylon.
Now, as you're aware, we've been heard about it this morning.
We're seeking to raise $10,000 to support the Klintos family,
our global mission partners in Africa,
doing a very strategic ministry.
And as of 7 a.m. this morning,
I note that we've raised $5,584.
Project finishes tomorrow.
I think we've got some work to do this afternoon.
Secondly, the lamb and our solution.
Now, this prostitute in chapter 17
represents our biggest problem,
that is, spiritual adultery.
We are given the solution to our biggest problem in the lamb.
The only thing that can turn us
from spiritual adulterers, prostitutes,
into a pure bride,
is the blood of Christ.
The one whom Revelation has already declared earlier on
as the lamb of God.
The lamb is the only one
who can cure us from our fatal attraction to Babylon.
Now, the John who wrote this vision,
this vision was given to,
also is the John who wrote the Gospel of John.
And so, as we come to chapter 19,
what is sitting in the background of Revelation 19
is John chapter 2
and the wedding at Cana in Galilee.
Now, this is the wedding
where they run out of wine
and Mary comes to Jesus and says,
you might want to do something about that.
Now, this is crucial.
You know, these are wedding feasts
that go on for days
and wine was essential,
part of that celebration,
the joy of the celebration.
And all of a sudden,
they've run out of wine.
It's a social crisis in the first century.
And Mary comes to Jesus and says,
verse 3, chapter 2,
they have no more wine.
Woman, Jesus says,
why do you involve me?
My hour has not yet come.
So, crisis time,
no wine at the wedding.
And Mary comes and says,
Jesus, no wine.
And Jesus' reply is,
I'm not ready to die.
That's what he says.
Because every time he refers
to this hour or his hour
in John's gospel
is a reference to the cross.
His death on the cross.
And so he says to Mary,
I'm not yet ready to die.
And Mary's like,
you know, what's that got to do with it?
You know, like, we just need wine.
You know, Jesus, go to your room.
I mean,
what is going on here
at the wedding of Cana?
Well, throughout the Old Testament,
especially in places like
Isaiah 62, Ezekiel 16, Jeremiah 2,
God reveals himself to be
the bridegroom of his people.
And then,
in Matthew chapter 9,
the Pharisees come along to Jesus
and they complain to him
about his disciples
because they're so loose
with the Jewish rituals and practices.
And in verse 15 of Matthew 9,
Jesus says this to them,
See what he's saying there?
He said,
I am the bridegroom.
I am God.
I'm the Lord of my people.
So in John chapter 2,
he's saying,
at the wedding of Canaan,
he's saying,
Mother, you are right.
There is no joy at a wedding
without the wine.
It's part of the celebration.
And if my people,
if my bride is going to fall
into my arms with joy,
then I'm going to have to die.
The bridegroom is going to have to die
for the bride.
And so on the night that he was betrayed,
he took the cup of wine
and he says,
this represents my blood.
This represents my blood.
We have no joy.
We have no hope
of a marriage feast with God
forever
unless his blood is shed
for the punishment of our sin.
He drinks the cup
of God's righteous anger
and justice
because we deserve
for our adultery.
That's the cup he had to drink for us.
And the only way
that we will ever participate
in a wedding feast of joy
forever with Jesus Christ,
the Lamb of God,
is that he has to go to the cross
in history
and to take up
the cup of justice
and anger from God.
He had to drink the cup
of God's wrath in history
so that we could drink
the cup of joy
for all eternity.
And that's why we have
the victory cry.
That's why we have
this roar of triumph
from heaven
in chapter 19,
verse 6.
Hallelujah!
For our Lord God,
Almighty,
reigns.
Let us rejoice
and be glad
and give him glory.
For the wedding
of the Lamb
has come
and his bride
has made herself ready.
Fine linen,
bright and clean,
was given
her to wear.
His blood
is shed
and our sins
are wiped clean,
pure,
as white as snow.
And his offer
of forgiveness
of sins
is simply that,
it is free.
we didn't achieve it.
We didn't launder
our own sins.
He did it all.
Our filthy rags
of sin and righteousness
have been swapped
by bright,
clean clothes
of linen
made clean
by Jesus.
The Lamb,
the Lamb
is our only solution.
And this brings me
to the final image
that we have here.
for all who put
their trust
in the Lamb
are the bride.
Now there might be
a few blokes here
who are struggling
with the idea
of being a bride
of Christ.
You know,
it's like it's
messing with your
masculinity
or something like that.
Then again,
Galatians chapter 4
says that all of us
are sons of God
and so,
you know,
in the end
we've all got
some adjustments to make.
So let's just bear
with it on this one.
It changes a lot
when you realise
that you're in a
marital union
with God
and not just simply
a king subject
or shepherd sheep
relationship.
Firstly,
it means that you
have a legal relationship.
In every culture
around the globe,
if you are poor
but you marry
someone rich,
you become rich.
although we are
all spiritual
adulterers,
when we come
to Jesus
by faith
and accept
his death
on our behalf,
his perfect
righteousness
becomes ours.
He doesn't just
cancel our debt
against God
and bring us
back up to square
zero.
His pure record
of righteousness
becomes ours.
All of it
is ours.
And if you
are a Christian,
that is you now.
That is your status
before God now.
Secondly,
being Jesus' bride
means that we're
in a comprehensive
relationship.
Marriage impacts
every area
of your life.
Everything.
There is no such
thing as his
and hers.
You cannot
compartmentalise it
in just a couple
of parts.
The marriage
refers just to
the bed,
but, you know,
not to my
hobbies,
for instance.
The vows
are very clear
in the marriage
ceremony.
With all
that I am
and all
that I
have,
I honour
you.
The word
all,
is comprehensive
as it always
is.
So,
relationship
with Jesus
touches every
aspect of
your life.
Thirdly,
it's an intimate
relationship.
Relationship
with Jesus
requires contact.
It's the love
of Christ
poured into
our hearts
and our hearts
being poured
out to him.
And so,
I want to keep
asking you this
as we've done
several times.
What is your
devotional life
like right now?
Does it exist?
Is it just a matter
of read the Bible,
keep the devil away
kind of thing?
A chapter a day
keeps the devil away?
Or is it,
you know,
what is it?
Is it,
you're pursuing
actual intimacy
with your lover?
Could your
devotional life
be described
as intimate
right now?
Fourthly,
our relationship
with Jesus
is to be fruitful.
When we put
our lives
in Jesus'
hands,
we bear fruit.
It's one of the
absolute
certainties.
When we put
our lives
in his hands,
we bear fruit.
And fruit
is the outward
working of an
inner life.
That is,
when Jesus'
love pours
into my
heart,
it transforms
who I am.
It transforms
my priorities,
my life,
my attitudes
from the
inside out.
So in such
a way
that I pursue
Jesus'
priorities
and I pursue
his character.
Lastly,
this relationship
with Jesus
is comforting.
At the
wedding feast
in Cana,
which is
obvious now
to us
in John
chapter 2,
Jesus sat
amongst the
joy of
this wedding
feast
and it was
pretty obvious
that he was
pondering
his coming
sorrow on
the cross.
That's
obvious.
But because
he went to
the cross,
we can now
sit amongst
all the sorrow
of this world
with all the
chaos and the
carnage and the
sin and the
injustice of this
world and we
can ponder
the coming
joy of the
wedding banquet
in his
presence.
It's
comforting.
So friends,
whether you've
got a good
marriage,
a bad
marriage,
you've got no
marriage but want
a marriage,
or you've had a
marriage but not
anymore,
whatever your
status, that
covers everyone
here basically,
whatever your
status,
there is only
one spouse
that can give
you the joy
and the
fulfillment that
you need.
Babylon cannot
provide it for
you,
only Jesus
Christ.
And this is
what awaits
all those who
accept the
invitation to
the feast.
And this
invitation is
your invitation,
every single
person who
hears these
words.
Chapter 19
verse 9,
then the
angel said to
me,
write this,
blessed are
those who
are invited
to the
wedding supper
of the
Lamb.
And that
is your
invitation right
there,
right now.
It's like
John getting
out and he's
writing the
wedding invitations
and dispersing
it to all of
humanity.
The invitation
is there,
come to
Jesus,
experience his
love, his
acceptance, his
relationship, and
his eternal
joy.
Believe in
Jesus, trust
in the work of
the cross that
he's done for
you.
Do it
today.
Get
connected with
us online,
send us an
email, speak
to one of the
staff or a
friend who's
brought you
here today.
In chapter
18, John
calls us to
leave Babylon.
It's not a
call to a
new geographical
location like,
hey, you
know, let's
leave Sydney
and move to
Orange.
He's not
talking about
that.
It's an
ideological
shift is
what he's
calling us
to.
He's calling
us to
adopt a
different set
of values,
a different
set of
priorities,
a different
allegiance,
a different
object of
worship.
He is calling
us to be
citizens of
the wedding
feast of the
Lamb.
the message
of Revelation
is that
that is the
only alternative
to the
fate of
Babylon,
the city
of God.
It is a
call here to
a new city,
a different
city, a
city where
there's no
pain, no
loss, where
there is just
gain and joy
increasing
forever.
Which is
what you
were made
for.
But I'm
getting ahead
of myself
because we're
going to talk
more about
that city
next week.