Hope When God Arrives

Turn with me in the scriptures to Revelation chapter 16. You follow as I read this chapter. Our text for today is verses 17 through 21, but you hear the whole chapter of God's word from the book of Revelation this morning. Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.

So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful source came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshipped its image. The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea. The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood.

And I heard the angel in charge of the water say, Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments for they have shed the blood of saints and prophets and you have given them blood to drink it is what they deserve. And I heard the altar saying yes Lord God Almighty true and just are your judgments. The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun and it was allowed to scorch people with fire.

They were scorched by the fierce heat and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory. The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the east. And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. For they are demonic spirits performing signs who go abroad to the kings of the whole world to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.

Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays away, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed. And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne saying it is done and there were flashes of lightning rumblings peals of thunder and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth So great was that earthquake.

The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And God remembered Babylon the Great to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. and every island fled away and no mountains were to be found. And great hailstones, about 100 pounds each, fell from heaven on people and they cursed God for the plague of the hail because the plague was so severe.

O God, you have promised that those who read this book will be blessed. Bless us now in its reading and in its exposition. bless it for your glory bless it so that we will have hope in this age as we look to the coming of Jesus grant that we pray for the glory of Christ our Lord as we live in the promise of the triumph of the Lamb Amen Are you optimists? Can people say you have hope? if that's true let me ask you how is that possible how is that possible how in the world could you possibly have hope the dragon is at work in this world and he has the upper hand he works powerfully through the governmental agents of the beast governments that threaten persecute pressure and kill the people of god who say serve the king abandon your jesus and you'll have jobs.

Give up your loyalty to Jesus and you'll get an education. Don't serve Jesus and we won't take your children away. In fact, if you deny Jesus, you can keep your life. As if that weren't enough, the dragon employs a false prophet with his religious envoys. These come to you gently and persuasively seeking to convince you to abandon your beliefs. Why must you hang on to such narrow, outdated beliefs?

If only you embrace these more enlightened views, you would find greater recognition and have far greater influence in your culture On top of all that you live in that great city the prosperous sensuous comfortable culture of Babylon And she seduces you with promises of pleasure and comfort, ease and success and acceptance, if only you would live by her agenda and abandon the commands of Jesus. Day after day, she says to you, why do you live lives of self-denial and sacrifice? I mean, come on, that produces nothing but an austere life and hardship and rejection and even death.

I can give you success, acceptance, comfort, and pleasure. Why must you continue in your stubborn refusal to enjoy life? Do you want to be a loser? so there's this relentless pressure every day from all sides to compromise and surrender and to find comfort and ease and acceptance and everything else that she offers and that the dragon puts before you so let me ask you how can you possibly have hope you are you are either blind or stupid.

That is, of course, unless you have a different perspective. That is, of course, unless you live in the age in which the dragon rules and Babylon seduces with a different perspective of what's going on. You know something that unbelievers don't know. And in our text this morning, verses 17 through 21, you have a perspective that gives you hope in the midst of unrelenting persecution and what seems like irresistible seduction.

Let's look at it again. The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. And a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne saying, It is done. And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth. So great was that earthquake. their great city was split into three parts and the cities of the nations fell and God remembered Babylon the great to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath and every island fled away and no mountains were to be found and great hailstones about 100 pounds each fell from heaven on people and they cursed God for the plague of the hail because the plague was so severe You know how you have hope?

You know that God arrives on the scene. And that's what these verses are about. Now the seventh angel steps up and drains his bowl, the last bowl of the judgments of God. The bowl is emptied on the air, which means that everything on life perishes. When the air is cursed, everything on all the life on earth perishes. Just like Moses stretched out his hand towards heaven in order to bring the hail down, the hail of God's judgment, so the angel pours out his bowl on the air.

Now with the bowl empty in the angel's hand, you hear a voice from the throne within, from the very temple of God, the voice of God declaring, it is done. Now Moses records for us in the book of Genesis, on the seventh day, God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. God declared that his work of creation was done.

After the creation and the fall, God engaged in another kind of work. And that was the redeeming of a people. And when Jesus cried out on the cross, it is finished, he declared that God's work of redemption was done. And now, as the angel pours out this final and seventh bowl, this last plague, the voice of God once more is heard and he says it is done.

That is to say, the work of judgment is now completed. His work of creation, his work of redemption are both done. His work of judgment is not yet done. But when that seventh bowl is poured out, the judgment of God will be done. It will be finished. this is the end this is the final expression of God's wrath and judgment now do you see all that accompanies that look at what he says in verse 18 you find there these things flashes of lightning rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake, an earthquake greater than that's ever been seen.

This conjures up, this is supposed to conjure up in your mind, Sinai. This is supposed to bring to mind Sinai. Turn back to Exodus 19. Exodus 19. In Exodus 19, and we could read the whole chapter, but because of time, we'll limit our verses here to verses 16 through 19. On the morning of the third day, there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast that all the people in the camp trembled.

When Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took, then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.

And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. So you have thunder, you have lightning, you have peals of thunder, you even have an earthquake. The mountain is trembling, okay? This is supposed to tell you, this conjures up pictures of God at Sinai. God arrives. That's the point.

That's the point of this imagery. It symbolizes the fact that God will arrive. God arrives. And we have seen these pictures before. If you remember, we've seen these exact same manifestations before. For example, turn back to chapter 6.

Revelation chapter 6. You remember these are the seal judgments? And when we come to the sixth seal, it's the picture of the end again. Remember, remember that Revelation uses recapitulation. It's telling us the same story over and over from different angles. And so we come here to the first description of the end in chapter 6, verse 12.

Then he opened the sixth seal. I looked and behold, there was what? A great earthquake and the sun became black as sackcloth. The full moon became like blood and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll is being rolled up and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

You see that? We see this in Revelation. Look at chapter 8 Chapter 8 verse 5 Then the angel remember the one who was serving at the altar of incense and the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth and there was peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. Again, chapter 11, verse 19, then the 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. All of these are to tell you that God is arriving to judge. And so the book of Revelation and John have taken this image of God arriving on Mount Sinai and now have said this symbolizes then God arriving again. And he arrives to judge this time. He arrives to bring his judgment.

Now, all of these are symbols of God's judgment, but especially this cataclysmic earthquake. An earthquake, he says, was greater than anything ever seen in the history of the whole world. That, again, is another symbol. A symbol of the end. You find it first in Haggai. Turn back to the prophet Haggai.

I'll give you a little bit of time. Haggai chapter 2. Haggai chapter 2. We'll read verses 4 through 7. You remember the book of Haggai's about the people rebuilding their temple? And they are despairing because their little temple that they've rebuilt is nothing like the glorious temple that Solomon once had.

And they're losing heart. And God responds to them with a prophetic word in chapter 2 beginning in verse 4. Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. be strong oh Joshua son of Jehoshadak the high priest be strong all you people of the land declares the Lord work for I am with you declares the Lord of hosts according to the covenant I made with you when you came up out of Egypt my spirit remains in your midst fear not for thus says the Lord of hosts yet once more in a little while I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land okay there's this earthquake that's going to shake not just the earth but the sea and the heavens this cataclysmic earthquake well you know what's interesting is that the writer to the Hebrews quotes Haggai chapter 2 verse 6 turn there to Hebrews 12 Yance read it this morning to us Turn back then to Hebrews chapter 12 and note what the writer to the Hebrews says We'll pick it up at verse 25.

See that you do not... By the way, do you remember, he has already talked about Mount Sinai and God revealing himself there with all the things, and he's referenced to Exodus 19. Then he comes and says in verse 25, See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.

At that time, at the time of Sinai, his voice shook the earth. Okay? Right? We saw that. At that time, referring to Sinai, his voice shook the earth. But now he has promised, quote from Haggai, Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens.

This phrase yet once more indicates the removal of things that are shaken, that is, things that have been made, in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. There is this, first he talks about this first great earthquake, now he quotes Haggai, and he says there's going to be this eschatological final cosmic earthquake, and that's what's mentioned here in Revelation, in all these references throughout Revelation. The final and complete exposure of God's wrath, so long restrained has come, symbolized by all these manifestations, in particular this cosmic earthquake.

And what he says to you is you have hope in the midst of the dragon's oppression and Babylon's seduction. You have hope because God arrives to judge. All right? This is where you pin your hope. You pin your hope not on what's going on now, not on how good you are and how you can withstand everything. One of the places you pin your hope is this, God will arrive to judge.

God will arrive to judge. But he doesn't stop there. He goes on in verses 19 and 20 and says you have hope because God arrives to judge Babylon. when God arrives in Jesus Babylon is the bullseye and the target of this world shattering strike when Jesus returns Babylon is in God crosshairs that what he wants you to see In the midst of this seductive comfortable ease success culture he wants you to understand that Babylon is in God's crosshairs.

You've got to see that. Now, we've already caught a glimpse of Babylon's destruction in chapter 14, verse 8. He just mentions it. Babylon is going to drink the wine of God's wrath. Now he comes back to that picture again in 16. And by the way, in 17 and 18, he's going to take those references and open them up and describe for us in vivid detail how God is going to destroy Babylon.

But right now, he says to us that God will arrive to judge Babylon. And he says, the great city was split into three parts and the cities of the nations fell. And God remembered Babylon the Great to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. The city is split into three parts. Now, this is not literal. Okay, remember.

Remember last week? Can you say it with me? Symbols, not photographs. these are not photographs of a city suddenly dividing into thirds because for one thing Babylon will never exist again the literal city of Babylon if you read the curses of God in the old testament prophets he says Babylon will never exist again it becomes a haunt of jackals it will never it will never be inhabited Babylon will never come into existence and so this earth Earthquake splitting into three parts is a symbol signifying that Babylon is destroyed.

And remember that Babylon in this book is a symbol. Babylon represents the place of exile for God's people, right? We are in a place of exile. We are not in the new earth yet. We are not in the promise yet. We are in exile.

We are in Babylon. and while we are in exile, it's the place where idolatry seduces you to abandon your God. And so Babylon symbolizes the world system with its seductive powers of comfort and pleasure and prosperity. The idolatry of all those... things that would drag you away from your allegiance to God. That's what Babylon is. And notice that he says the cities of the nations, the devotees of this whore, will also be destroyed.

Now, the original recipients of this letter, remember, they're living in what? You remember? Can you remember this whole book? We've been in it for a couple of years now. Let's go back to the very beginning. This was written to seven churches that were in seven cities of Asia Minor.

And as they would read this, they would think of their cities. All of them, each one of them imbibing the violence and the immorality of Rome. All of them seeking to find a secure place in the prosperity and the sensuousness of that culture. And as they read this, they're saying, don't put your hope in what's going on here now. It's going to be destroyed.

These cities are going to be destroyed. Recall the temptations they faced, you remember? The idolatry of declaring Caesar is Lord and thus saving your life. Getting involved in the immorality of the guild feasts and just saving your job, economic security, and your life if you only compromise. You see, the book of Revelation was written for them too, right?

But Babylon is more than a single city. It's more than a single civilization. And I can't take credit for this little phrase, but I love it. Here it is. You ready? Babylon is the power grid of fallen humanity.

Babylon is the power grid of fallen humanity. that is to say all the political all the economic all the military all the religious all the social centers are used to serve fallen depraved human nature all of those things the political the economic the military the religious the social all those things of our society and our culture are all agents used to produce the prosperity and the pleasure that humanity craves and that draws you away from devotion to God. They all serve the purpose of fallen depraved humanity that Babylon the power grid the thing that gets it done the thing that serves our sensuous lusts that what it about And those agents produce the entertainment of our day. Can I tell you something?

I'm going to confess to you right now. the book of revelation has been slammed dunk in me on babylon's entertainment i am too easily entertained i am too easily entertained i like it too much i'll tell you that right now and i guess i'm not the only one who's struggling with that i'll guess i'm not the only one struggling i mean you know one time my son said dad if there were two stick figures on the television playing ping pong, you'd watch it. You know, that was an indictment. Let me tell you.

But Babylon produces entertainment, doesn't it? And that entertainment has a tendency to give you a false glory so that you are captivated by the glory of. Listen to me, you're captivated by the glory of Disney World more than the glory of God. You're captivated by the glory of March Madness more than the glory of God. Now, does that mean don't ever go to Disney World and don't ever watch the tournament?

I mean, come on, Ohio State won last night against the number one seed, right? Surely God can't blame us for that, can he? No, it's not wrong to watch those things necessarily, but look at yourself and say, how much of the entertainment of Babylon has enticed me? And the prosperity and the comfortable lifestyle that has caused me to forget that there are people who are starving.

And there are orphans who have nobody. while I just sit in my comfort and my ease and forget that there are people who desperately need to hear about Jesus. Not just in other countries Around us And the easy access that Babylon gives us to all things sexual Right? And sensuous. Not just sexual. When I use the word sensuous, I'm using it in terms of senses.

You know, you want to see Babylon? I'll tell you where you see Babylon. Just go down Polaris. Let's go down Polaris. How many eating places can you put in one little area? Right?

We don't go to Olive Garden? Or do we want to go to Stewart's? Or do we want to go to Steak and Lube? I mean, it's amazing, isn't it? And Babylon just entices us all the time. So that our allegiance to God dissipates. and so all these this power grid of Babylon quietly seductively captures your heart so that you live for Babylon they are the agents as well not just of these seductive things but of violence and injustice against the saints you remember as we saw in chapter 14 that Babylon has gotten drunk on the blood of the saints so when God arrives to judge he shatters the heart of the system and the whole edifice crumbles God, he says, God remembers Babylon he's not forgotten her violence against the saints he sees and he remembers he's not forgotten her seductive ways he sees and he remembers and because he remembers he forces her to drink the wine of his wrath.

She has been drinking from her own cup for centuries, a cup that is brimming with the blood of the saints and all her immoralities. And God is going to arrive. He's going to take that whore and he's going to make her drink every drop of his fierce anger. this ultimate judgment not only signals the end of Babylon, but the world as we know it That what going on in verse 20 The islands right The islands flee the mountains disappear It pictures for you the breakup of the cosmos around you The flight of the islands and the disappearance of the mountains epitomizes the flight of the first earth and the first heaven, which when Jesus returns is going to be transformed.

This first earth and first heaven, stained by human sin and its toxic waste, is going to disappear. is going to be renewed, tainted by Babylon and all that she represents. Are you losing hope in the midst of Babylon's relentless violence and seduction? You can have hope because God arrives to judge Babylon. And then in verse 21, he says, you have hope because God arrives to judge Babylon's adherence.

Look at verse 21. And great hailstones, about 100 pounds each, fell from heaven on people, and they cursed God for the plague of the hail because the plague was so severe. Now we read about the hailstorm that beats all hailstorms, right? Have you imagined 100-pound hailstones? Can you imagine being in the insurance company if that happens? We don't have to worry about that because it's not literal.

This is not a photograph. It is a symbol. It is a symbol. It is a symbol that gathers up the pictures from the Old Testament and says this is a symbol of the terrible, awful, horrendous judgment of God. Hail symbolizes the judgment of God against his enemies. Recall Exodus 9, which we heard this morning.

I'll read part of it for you. It says this, you still, this is Moses or the Lord talking through Moses to Pharaoh. You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go. Therefore, at this time tomorrow, I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt from the day it was founded till now. Does that language sound familiar? This is the worst since.

You see that all the way through. Revelation. It's because that's the language of God's judgment. It's the hyperbole that says God's going to do something extraordinary here. And so we see it even in the original plague. Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field and they will die.

So the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. Hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. Hear those words again. Throughout Egypt, hail struck everything in the fields. Both people and animals had beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree.

The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen where the Israelites were. God, what? Rains down his judgment and destroys people and their things. But his people he does not. Right? That's the first hailstorm.

And then in Joshua 10, we hear the story of the five Amorite kings who, hearing of the Israelites coming into the land, form an alliance to come and fight against them. And this extraordinary battle takes place. But it's not so extraordinary because, and this is the day the sun stood still, it's not extraordinary because the sun stood still. It's extraordinary because of something else.

Listen, as they fled, that is, as these five kings and their forces fled before Israel on the road from Beth-Horon to Ezekiel, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them, and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites. See, another picture of the horrible judgment of God against his enemies. And then in Ezekiel 38, if you want to look there in verse 19 through 23, this apocalyptic symbol-laden book of Ezekiel, it's kind of like the revelation of the Old Testament.

Here's what you read. In my zeal and fiery wrath, I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake, there it is again, in the land of Israel. The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble, and every wall will fall to the ground.

Again there that apocalyptic horrible this is the end kind of language I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains declares the Sovereign Lord Every man sword will be against his brother I will execute judgment on him with plague and bloodshed I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones, and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. And so I will show my greatness and my holiness. I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. then they will know that I am the Lord.

So now in Revelation, he gathers up these pictures, and we see these gigantic hailstones symbolizing the horrors of God's judgment against unbelievers. This represents the final and complete discharge of God's wrath. This is the end. This is the final expression of his wrath. And you see God's judgment on those who love Babylon, and those who remain unconverted serving their pleasures rather than serving the living God who reveals himself in Jesus.

I want you to see the horrors of this judgment in verse 21. Do you maybe, be honest now, do you maybe entertain the thought that maybe God in the final judgment is, shall we say it, a bit unfair? Do you harbor that thought? Do you visualize people standing before Jesus, now realizing that He indeed is Lord, and seeing hell opening up? Do you visualize that?

And do you visualize them crying out to God, Oh God! You were right! Jesus is Lord! Forgive me. Give me another chance. And do you visualize Jesus standing there like this and saying, Sorry, it's too late.

I gave you your chance. You blew it. It's too late. I'm not going to forgive you now. Is that how you see it? And so we say, Lord, isn't that unfair?

Do you see poor creatures screaming for mercy as they are cast into the lake of fire? Is that what you see? This verse tells us something different Do you see what it says As those condemned look into the jaws of hell they do not scream for mercy. What do they do? As they look into the jaws of hell, they scream accusations against God. and they blaspheme His name.

They are not crying for mercy. They are not saying, give us another chance. As they are cast into hell, they are shaking their fists at God and cursing Him. That's what verse 21 tells us. To me, that is the horror of this judgment. That people are still cursing God at the end.

Wow. Listen. Petrified hearts are incapable of repentance even when faced with eternal torment. They are still incapable of repentance. Do you see the power of sin in that? Can you see that?

Sin so hardens a heart that even in the face of final torment, people will still curse God. That is the power of sin. Only God's Spirit, only God's Spirit, working through the Gospel, will ever, ever turn a stony heart into responsive flesh. That's the only thing that will do it. Only the grace of God in the gospel can make someone alive so that they'll repent.

That's all. That's the only thing that will do it. But those in Christ have hope when God arrives to judge Babylon's adherence. Because as we have confessed already today, they're in Christ. And God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, that in him we might be the righteousness of God But that is our only hope We have hope because God arrives The seventh bowl shows us a moment of time.

The seventh bowl shows us a moment of time. A moment when the Spirit's irresistible wooing is complete. when the son's sheep have all been gathered, when the father's patience has waited too long, or has waited long enough. It's the moment when God arrives to judge. Christian, we live in the promise of that moment. It's a promise to us. in the midst of relentless pressure from the dragon and from Babylon we have hope we have the promise that God in Jesus will come and deliver us we have hope but those of you here today who have not embraced Jesus should live in fear of that moment you love security and you love the pleasure of Babylon you love the sensual pleasures you love the entertainment you love the ease you care nothing for justice and the oppression of God's people matters little to you in fact if it was in your power if you had the means you'd get rid of those noisy irritating Christians some of you may have been in this congregation for years you're growing up here you have grown up here you're here because you're made to be here you're here for some other reason but to you these people around you just tend to be noisemakers if you had your way you'd silence them you're secure you're comfortable and the way of discipleship to Jesus is repugnant to you you need to cry to God for mercy to deliver you because you're living in the city of destruction and you're and your comfort are a delusion.

Embrace Jesus by faith. Live for Him. And you will find mercy from God. Let's pray. Oh God, Oh God, the dragon and his envoys and this great city in which we live would be too much for us were it not for the hope held out for us in the gospel. The gospel of one who took upon himself the judgment that was due us.

The gospel of the one who will return to finally deliver us from all evil. Oh God, help us to be a people of hope Father we confess to you a sin that we live too much in the present and not enough in the promise so I would ask you I would beg you that you would help us to think of the promise and to live like it Father for those who are here today who are living comfortably and at ease in this great city of destruction I beg you to convert them Help them to see that the comfort and ease that Babylon offers will never give the joy that the narrow way of discipleship gives. Help them to see that Babylon will damn them, but Jesus will save them. help them Father to see that the sensuousness and the ease of this city will never compare to the eternal joy of heaven and a new earth with our Savior and our God Father do not let these words go out empty use them use them for your glory give us hope give us repentance Glorify Your name, we pray.

Amen.