What is God doing with the world? Have you ever questioned why we are even here at all? If so, the Bible speaks to that. There is a purpose for all God has called us to do, and it’s all for His name and renown. The book of Revelation is the last book of the Bible, and it’s where God’s endgame comes into view. For week four of our “In the End” sermon series, our big idea was: God will be worshiped in the end.
Sermon Recap: Heaven’s Response to Justice
Read Revelation 19:1-4:
“After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.’ Once more they cried out, ‘Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.’ And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, ‘Amen. Hallelujah!’”
In the book of Revelation, Babylon is a city emblematic of worldly rebellion against God. And in chapter 19, the attention shifts from earth to heaven. We see heaven’s reaction to the overthrow of Babylon, which is the overthrow of all the evil, brokenness, and sin in the world. Because of this, we see a great rejoicing! There are shouts of praise for final justice, and there are also shouts of praise because the smoke will forever rise (verse 3). When the smoke goes up from something forever, it never gets rebuilt, and this shows us that Babylon will be forever fallen.
In our cultural context, many modern minds struggle with the idea of an eternal fallen Babylon. This is hell we are talking about here, and many people struggle with the question of how a loving God could cast people away. But there’s a contradiction at play! The same modern person who doesn’t want to believe in hell also probably believes Hitler is there right now. Think about it. We understand justice; we just don’t think our sin deserves it! The problem isn’t the fire forever. The problem is that we don’t understand holiness! Let this be a wake up call for you. Stop judging your sin and the sin of the world against other people, and start measuring them up to a holy God!
Open your Bible again, and examine verses 5-9:
“And from the throne came a voice saying, ‘Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.’ Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure’—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the true words of God.’”
In this passage, we see two great motivations. The first is the fall of Babylon, and the second is the marriage supper of the Lamb. We must not miss here that the gospel is imaged in marriage. The Bible begins with a marriage and ends with a marriage, and in the Old Testament, the nation of Israel is alluded to as being a bride or betrothed to God through a covenant relationship. This covenant is expanded in the gospel when Jesus, through His life, death, and resurrection, throws the doors open for anyone to come into a covenant relationship with God. In the end, there will be a great marriage, and the gospel invites anyone into the marriage with God. If He is beckoning to you today, it’s as simple as admitting your sin, believing in what He has done for you, and confessing before Him.
Application: Worship the Worthy God
God has overthrown Babylon and brought His people into an eternal relationship with Himself. Would you praise Him today? It’s a simple call for us all. Believer, ask yourself just one question: will you worship the worthy God? If you’re not yet a believer, I pray that the Lord would break your addiction to the world and hook you on His kingdom. God will right every wrong and bring you into paradise forever if you will trust Him today!
-Andrew Hopper (Lead Pastor)
Watch the full sermon from week four below:
Additional Resources
This book helps believers not only know about God, but also know God through a close and personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
In his book, J.C. Ryle helps believers understand what it means to work toward holiness while stressing the importance of building a genuine relationship with Jesus.
