Unpacking...

Revelation, The Rapture & Hell

By Remy Diederich Cedarbrook Church

1

This document contains four message: Part One: How to Read Revelation Part Two: We Were Made to Worship Part Three: Judgment is a Good Thing Part Four: The Rapture & Hell Bonus: The End of the Story

Part One: How to Read Revelation

This series will tackle the most difficult book in the Bible. The book of Revelation. Its a book that is full of bizarre visions some of them about the end of the age. A lot of people dont even bother reading the book because they just assume they wont understand it. But I want to get you to read the book. Its a fascinating and encouraging book. Do you realize that Revelation is the only book of the Bible that promises a blessing to those who read it? (see Revelation 1:3) Now, heres the first thing you need to know about the book of Revelation; its not all about the future. It was written for a very practical reason. It was written to encourage people who were being persecuted and even killed for their faith. God wanted to keep people from giving up during hard times. Now, my guess is that there are at least a few of us here who feel like giving up. You might feel like giving up on your faith. You might feel like giving up on your marriage. You might feel like giving up on your job. You might even feel like giving up on your life. When life is difficultwhen the pain is too great its tempting to give up. In fact, someone just wrote me yesterday frustrated at all the evil they see at their job. They said it gets discouraging. They work in social services where they see a lot of people. Most of the people they deal with are great but the bad ones get them discouraged. They try to be a good influence but some days its feels like a drop in the bucket compared to all the evil they face and they wondered what good they are really doing. They wanted to give up. Well, this book was written for people like that, to give them perspective. So, dont ignore this book and think that its just about the future...or too complicated to understand. God gave this book to the church to encourage us. Okay, so, let me give you a number of things to keep in mind while reading this book. First, keep in mind what Ive already been sayingthat Revelation was written to encourage Christians facing persecution and the temptation to give up. Let me give you a little bit of the background history so you can appreciate what was going on at the time. Once you understand the historical context this book makes a lot more sense.
2

Now most scholars think that Revelation was written at the end of the first century during the reign of the Roman Emperor, Domitian. (A.D. 81-96). Throughout the ages emperors liked to be thought of as gods. It always helps to push your political agenda through if you have some divinity in your blood! But Domitian took emperor worship to a new level. He was obsessed with people worshipping him. One history website said this about Domitian... Demanding that people worship him as a god, Domitian insisted on being called Lord and God by everyone, including his wife. FollowtheRabbi.com And a historian of the time said this... For he [Domitian] ... insisted upon being regarded as a god and took vast pride in being called master and god. These titles were used not merely in speech but also in written documents. (Cary 1995: 349). Dio Cassius, in his Roman History Domitian had temples built throughout the Roman Empire to worship him. He set it up as a competition. Whichever city had the most temples got the title neokoros or keeper of worship. And with that title came all kinds of tax dollars and benefits for the city. He was a smart guy. He used the economy to get people to worship him. The city of Ephesus won the contest. They were designated the neokoros of the Roman Empire. Lets take a look at a couple maps. Note map of Asia. Ephesus. Domitian Temple. Look at the columns. Each column has a god carved into it and signified that Domitian was greater than all the gods combined. On the top was a twenty-seven-foot-tall statue of Domitian. (Show Statue) Let me read from followtherabbi.com again... Anyone approaching the city by sea or by land could see the temple and its statue and know that the Ephesians as a whole believed Domitian to be king of the gods. Along the city streets, altars reminded the people of Domitians lordship and their allegiance to him. Once a year, the people had to say publicly in front of the altar, Caesar is Lord. Anyone who didnt recognize Domitians lordship, including no doubt the early Christians who acknowledged the lordship of God alone, was subject to death. FollowtheRabbi.com This is how one man described Domitian at the time... He [Domitian] was a madman, blind to the true meaning of his position, who used the arena for collecting charges of high treason, who felt himself slighted and scorned if we failed to pay homage to his gladiators, taking any criticism of them to himself and seeing insults to his own godhead and divinity; who deemed himself the equal of the gods ... In Panegyricus (33.4), Pliny the Younger (ca. AD 61113) Some have said that in order to be able to either buy or sell food or goods that a person was first required to offer incense to Domitian and then they got a mark on their hand allowing them to buy and sell. And there was a large water fountain in Ephesus dedicated to Domitian. Anyone who drank from the fountain was acknowledging that Domitian was the source of life.

As you can imagine, there was tremendous pressure to comply both politically and socially. If Domitian wasnt happy, no one was happy. Tax dollars wouldnt come your way. Businesses wouldnt prosper. And people were killed. So it didnt matter if you believed that Domitian was god or not. If you were smart, you said Caesar is Lord and burned incense whenever you were asked. If you didnt you were considered an atheist and a traitor and subject to death. But even though people worshipped Domitian they hated him. The minute he died everyone celebrated, including his wife. And they went about removing his name from every statue and temple in the kingdom or just tore them down altogether. Because of the hatred felt for Domitian, his images, many of which were of silver and many of gold, were melted down: and from this source large amounts of money were obtained. The arches, too, of which a very great number were being erected to this one man, were torn down (Dio Cassius, Cary 1995: 361). It was recorded that the Roman Senate, at his death, was: overjoyed . . . and [assailed] the dead emperor with the most insulting and stinging kind of outcries . . . Finally they passed a decree that his inscriptions should everywhere be erased, and all record of him obliterated (Rolfe 1992: 385). So, I hope you get my point. This guy was not a nice man. He made life miserable for thousands of people, especially Christians. One in particular was the pastor of the Ephesian church by the name of John. Its thought that Domitian exiled John to the island of Patmos, just off the coast of Ephesus. And it was from that island that John received a message from Jesus that he wrote down and sent to the mainland. (see map) So, that is the context into which this book was written. Christians were being killed. They were prevented from buying and selling. They were discriminated against. And many of them were on the verge of giving up their faith or at least altering their faith to somehow justify worshipping the emperor. John says this in the opening lines of his letter... I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. Revelation 1:9 Do you see what he says here? John considers himself a companion in three things; suffering, the kingdom of God and patient endurance. To early believers...the kingdom of God not only meant knowing God it meant knowing suffering. You see, following Jesus wasnt the quick road to an easy life and happiness. It wasnt a ticket to the good life. So often today the pitch to follow Jesus is that becoming a Christian will help your marriage and your finances but thats not what the early church preached. Following Jesus meant suffering. It meant endurance and sometimes death. So, number one...keep in mind that Revelation was written to a persecuted people on the verge of giving up. Second, keep in mind that the revelation is given by Jesus through John. The revelation isnt something that John cooked up on his own. Its not like a letter that the apostle Paul wrote to

different churches. This was something that came straight from Jesus. Lets look at the opening line... The revelation (apocalypse) of JESUS CHRIST, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,... Revelation 1:1 The Greek word for revelation is apocalypse. Now, when we hear the word apocalypse we think of a major calamity, especially related to the end of time. But thats not what it means. The word means an unveiling of something hidden. A revealing or revelation. The word apocalypse took on the meaning of end time calamity because it was associate with the book about end time calamity. But remember that John is just a mediator passing the message on to Gods people. This is a message straight from Jesus. The next thing to keep in mind is that the revelation was written in "code" for those who knew the code. And that only makes sense. If Domitian was killing people who spoke against him you had to be really careful about what you said and what you put in print. People got very good at speaking in coded messages... messages that THEY would understand perfectly in the first century but are lost to us today. So dont expect to understand everything that you read in the book. Sometimes the code is obvious. But others times its not. Be careful of people that act like they have the book of Revelation all figured out. There are all kinds of crazy things written about the book of Revelation. A lot of it is pure speculation and I personally think you are wasting your time trying to figure it out because some of the code wasnt ever meant for us. If people still disagree after 2000 years about what the book means its pretty safe to say that we were never meant to have all the answers. Fourth, keep in mind that Jesus is being contrasted to Domitian. Jesus is revealing that HE is God, not Domitian. For example, John opens the book by saying John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Revelation 1:4,5 Or, in chapter five it says that every angel and person in heaven surround Jesus and say "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" Revelation 5:12,13 Jesus deserves all the worship! And notice where it comes from; heaven, earth, below the earth and the sea. John includes every level. ALL worship is his!

Next, keep in mind that Jesus communicated to John with symbols and symbols are never meant to be taken literally. For example, in chapter five Jesus is revealed as a lamb with seven horns and seven eyes. Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Revelation 5:6 Now, does that mean that when we get to heaven, thats what Jesus will look like? Of course not. The lamb reminds us that Jesus conquered through weakness not power. The seven horns represent perfect power, as in, the Almighty God. And the seven eyes mean that he is all knowing. First century believers knew this without having it spelled out. Sixth, keep in mind that Revelation is not written in chronological order but is a collection of images written from differing perspectives. They dont happen one after another. Its more like a burst of images that create a collage of thought and feeling but not a detailed linear account of the end times. Its more like John is given a number of visions of things that have happened, that are happening and will happen and you are never quite sure what hes seeing or in what order. But overall the images communicate a message that God has a plan and he knows what he is doing. Hes in control and everything will work out. Finally, keep in mind that the goal of Revelation is to encourage people, not scare or confuse them. If you are a sincere follower of Jesus then this letter should encourage you in your faith. It should help you keep Jesus first in your life and continue to endure the hard times because you see that everything is going to turn out. You understand that you will come out on top in the end. The book of Revelation was written so no one would be a victim of their circumstances but rather overcome their circumstances. So let me present the same challenge to you today. Who is on the throne of your life? What is dictating to your emotions? If Jesus is on the throne then you can have peace and joy even in the midst of a crisis. But if your circumstances are on the throne then you will eventually feel like giving up. You dont want to go there. Whatever you are facing today Jesus wants you to hang in there. You can do this. You can make it if you keep him on the throne of your life. Now, heres your assignment for the next two weeks. Read the first twelve chapters of Revelation. And see if God doesnt speak to you through this book. My guess is that if you read these chapters you will find a number of things that relate to your life right now...things that will encourage you and challenge you in your faith. Prayer; Jesus, thank you for giving us this revelation through John. Forgive us for ignoring it and letting people rob the book from us by wild speculation and even scare tactics. Use this book to comfort us and challenge us in our faith. And I pray especially for people here today who are on the verge of giving up; giving up on their faith, giving up on their marriage. Maybe even giving up on life. Might you show up strong in their life right now, even today, and show them the value
6

in persevering and trusting you for one more day, one more week and one more month. Help them to see that you are with them and will help them to overcome whatever they are facing today. Amen. (FEEDBACK)

Going Deeper: Use the following questions for personal reflection or to discuss with family, friends or small group. 1. Discuss a time when you were prevented from achieving something because some person or group stood in your way. How did that feel? What were the temptations that you dealt with? 2. Read the following passages in Revelation: 1:9, 2:8-10,13, 3:8-10, 17:6 to see the persecution that was going on at the time. 3. Read chapter one. The book is said to be the revelation of Jesus Christ. Primarily it means that Jesus is revealing something hidden. But it is also a revelation of the person, Jesus Christ. What do you learn about Jesus in chapter one? 4. Read Revelation 5:4-14. Emperor Domitian tried to rule with power, might, intimidation, and threats of violence and death. How is Jesus pictured in contrast to this? 5. The book of Revelation is full of symbols. They were meant to evoke an idea and/or a feeling, not necessarily carry a literal meaning. a. In the image above, Jesus is symbolized as being a lamb with seven horns and seven eyes. This sounds grotesque. But what do the horns and eyes symbolize? b. Read Revelation 21:10-27 as it describes the New Jerusalem. Is it really a cube? If we arent to take this literally, then what does this image represent? What does Jesus want to reveal to us? 6. What other things strike you about Revelation? What questions do you want answered? Be sure to email Remy any stumpers!

Part Two: We Were Made to Worship

Notes: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Revelation was given to encourage believers to not give up. The central visions are of the Father and Son on the throne. Beyond all else, Revelation is a book of worship. You were made to worship. We dont worship because everything is right. We worship because God is the ONLY thing that is right in our lives. Three things that will help us worship; Be thankful Be generous Be respectful

A couple weeks ago I started a brief three week overview of the book of Revelation. Its the most difficult book in the Bible to understand but also the most fascinating book. But whats made it even more fascinating, if not more confusing, is a series of books that was written a few years ago called Left Behind. How many of you have read at least one of them? They were all the rage not too long ago. They made a few of them into movies. But to be honest with you, Im not a big fan of the books or movies. My concern with that whole series is that it is hard for people to distinguish between which part of the story is in the Bible and what part is made up. Its easy for people to take the whole story as true...as in...this is what WILL happen in the end but its very questionable. For example, a main tenet of the Left Behind story hinges on the rapture...that is...Gods people being taken away to heaven before the judgment of God. But did you know that the word rapture isnt even in the book of Revelation? And its only mentioned in one place in the New Testament. In fact, the idea of the church being raptured prior to Gods judgment of the earth wasnt a teaching in the church before the 1800s. A couple pastors created the idea and then in 1920 the idea was adopted by the Schofield Study Bible. As people read the notes in their Bible they assumed it must be true! Then Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye built the Left Behind series around the idea of the rapture. So, the theory is questionable at best. And yet many people accept it as fact. I mention this just to caution us about what we read or who we might listen to concerning the end times and specifically the book of Revelation. Much of it is speculation. You see, as I said a couple weeks ago, Revelation wasnt written to give people a detailed map of how the end of time will play out. It was written to encourage Christians who were being persecuted for their faith. Christians were suffering so much that they were giving up on God or at least altering their faith to accommodate emperor worship. So Jesus gave John a revelation...a series of visions to encourage Christians to not give up.
8

And so, when we come to this book we have to always keep that in mind; Revelation was written to encourage people to not give up. And thats what I want you to walk out of here with today. I dont want you to leave with facts about how the world will end. I want you leave here confident that following Jesus is the best thing for your life. You see, what makes this book relevant to us today is that its so encouraging. You may not be concerned about the end of time but some of us here might be on the verge of giving up. For whatever reason your faith isnt working for you. You wanted God to miraculously save your marriage, but he didnt. You wanted God to heal a loved one. But he didnt. You wanted him to give you a better job. But he didnt. And that confuses you. You thought God was going to make everything bad in your life good. So you feel let down. Abandoned. Rejected. You arent facing persecution for your faith or death but you still feel like giving up. Revelation was written to encourage people like you. And so I dont want you missing the message of Revelation just because someone made up some farfetched end-time theory. That might sell books but thats not going to help you through your faith crisis right now. So what is it that Jesus wants John to tell the church? What is it that Jesus shows John that gives him perspective in the midst of his suffering? Well, there are all kinds of dramatic visions that John sees; visions of judgment and wrath. Visions of beasts and demons and dragons. Visions of scrolls and horses and angels. But two visions stand out above everything else. I want to read them to you. The first one is in chapter four. Ill start in verse two... At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. Revelation 4:2 Now notice that John is careful to never describe human features of who is on the throne. This is in contrast to the human portrayal of gods like Zeus. Notice how Zeus was shown to be like a super macho/buffed out man. Great abs! But Christians and Jews were careful not to reduce God to merely a better version of us. As the song says, God is uncontainable. So it is blasphemous to tried to envision him as a better version of ourselves. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. Revelation 4:3,4 Now, inquiring minds want to know who is seated on these thrones. But heres a key to understanding and interpreting Revelation; it doesnt really matter. John would have told us if it mattered. What matters is what is implied...that every power submits to the God of heaven. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Revelation 4:4,5
9

If you know your Bible what do you associate with thunder and lightning? Mt. Sinai where God gave the Ten Commandments. Before the throne...was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. Revelation 4:5,6 There was water but it was perfectly calm...not a ripple of disturbance. Thats a picture of what happens to everything before God...perfect peace. Thats what happens to us when we put ourselves before God. Then John sees a vision of angels worshipping God... In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures... Each of the ... creatures had six wings ... Day and night they never stop saying: "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS THE Lord GOD ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS, AND IS, AND IS TO COME." Revelation 4:6-8 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." Revelation 4:9-11 So Johns vision is a vision of worship. Isnt that interesting? Why do you think Jesus gave John a glimpse of worship to the persecuted church? If Im suffering I dont know if thats what I want to see. I think Id like to have a vision of angels coming to my rescue and solving my problems. But thats not what John got. He got a vision of the eternal God on his throne being worshipped by elders and angels...seemingly unrelated and indifferent to their pain and suffering. Well, God isnt the only one being worshipped. Chapter five introduces another vision... Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. ... [they] fell down before the Lamb. ... And they sang a new song: "You are worthy ..., because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." Revelation 5:7-10 So, clearly, this lamb represents Jesus and Jesus, like God, is being worshipped. This is important to note because sometimes people think that Jesus was just a prophet or a good person or somehow less than God. But these visions show God, the Father, and Jesus, being worshipped equally. Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. Revelation 5:11 Ten thousand times ten thousand...that is Johns way of saying that every angel in heaven was there and what did they do? They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" Revelation 5:11,12

10

But Jesus worship wasnt limited to the angels. Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped. Revelation 5:13,14 Do you see how Johns words are trying to communicate the all-inclusive worship of Jesus? The point is...everything that has breath, in heaven, on earth or even under the earth, praises Jesus. Now why would these visions be so meaningful to a persecuted church? If you are suffering here on earth, who really cares about whats going on in heaven? Well, think about it. The church was under attack. People were dying. The emperor, Domitian, claimed he was god and that he ruled the world. He demanded every citizen to worship him. But these visions show that thats not true. Domitian was a liar. The Father and the Son are the ones on the throne. THEY are in control. And they are the only ones worthy of praise. You see, one brief vision put everything in perspective. It probably didnt feel like God was on the throne. My guess is that John and the churches felt like they were on the verge of extinction. They were about to be snuffed out. But this vision helped people see things as they really were. We need that because our faith is often week. But the vision of the lamb reminded people of something else. It reminded them that Jesus, just like many of them, died...yet he lived. His suffering didnt extinguish his life. His suffering is what led to his exaltation. The people needed to know that. They needed to be reminded of that because they too would be given new life. You see, the kingdom of God operates on different principles than the kingdom of this world. In this world suffering is meaningless, even evil. But in Gods world suffering has a purpose. Revelation tells us that God, in his wisdom and goodness, is able to take terrible things...even evil and demonic things...and use them for good. I was talking to someone the other day about why they didnt believe in God. They said that as long as suffering exists they cant believe in God because in their mind God would never allow suffering. I wasnt in a context where I could talk about Jesus, otherwise I would have. So I said, what if suffering was a part of who God was? What if suffering, rather than being a strange aberration, was somehow a part of the wisdom of God...that suffering is a path to something greater? The person looked at me like I was from Mars...like I was speaking another language. Suffering made no sense to them...especially as it related to God. But read anything by the martyrs in church history, the people that have suffered for their faith, and they will tell you how their suffering drew them into a relationship with God that they never had outside of their suffering. So a vision of a lamb that was slain wasnt irrelevant to the persecuted church. It was very relevant. And maybe, if you are suffering through something right now, it has meaning for you too. Maybe if you can see that suffering is a part of God himself you can find some meaning in it or at the very least, trust that God will use it for good.

11

Well, in my opinion, these two visions define the book of Revelation. Everything else hinges on these pictures of the throne. Rather than being a book of end time calculations the book of Revelation is primarily a book of worship. The book of Revelation reminds us to put God first in our lives no matter what we are going through. Now, you might disagree with this. In fact, when things go bad...worship might be the last thing on your mind. When things are bad maybe your only thought about God is ... Why me, God? Why are you letting this happen to me? And thats when people often give up on God. But Revelation tells us to do just the opposite. When things go bad thats when you should worship. Worship is what grounds you. Its what gives you perspective. Worship gives you a point of reference to judge everything else in your life. So when your life gets turned upside down the first thing you want to do is worship. You were made for worship. So, we dont just worship God when things go right for us. We worship God when everything goes wrong for us too. We turn to God and say... God, everything is wrong right now. My relationships are wrong. My finances are wrong. My health is wrong. My behavior is wrong but I thank you that YOU are right. In fact, YOU are the only thing right in my life. YOU are the only thing that makes sense. Thank you that you are in control even though Im out of control. Thank you that you have a plan even when all my plans have gone wrong. Thank you that you have a plan for evil even though right now evil seems to have the upper hand. I think we have a tendency to only worship God when everything in our life is going well. When everything is fixed. As long as something is broken or not working in our lives we are ill-atease. If our marriage isnt right we want to fix our spouse. If our kids have a learning disability we cant rest until we take them to every doctor and/or educator. If our church is lacking we insist on things being the way we want them to be. Everything needs to be fixed for us to be at peace and happy in life. Now, its only normal to fix what is broken. But sometimes we take it too far. We need to be able to find peace and worship God even when everything is going wrong for us and cant be fixed. Do you see that? Now, practically, what does worship look like? I think people hear the word worship and it seems so irrelevant. They think of standing around singing songs or sitting in church. They say, Ive got big problems. What good is singing songs to Jesus? Ive got more important things to do. But worship is ANYTHING that acknowledges God. The Bible says... Trust in the LORD with all your heart...in all your ways acknowledge him. Proverbs 3:6 Acknowledging God in all your ways...thats worship.

12

I put three things down in your notes to consider. Be thankful. Be generous and be respectful. I could spend a lot of time on these three words but for now simply consider these things. When you go through hard times its easy to turn inward, isnt it? Instead of being thankful - you feel entitled and complain that you dont have enough. Instead of being generous - you start to live in fear that the pie is getting smaller and you need to get your slice before it runs out and so you become greedy and possessive. Instead of being respectful you start seeing the bad in everybody and criticize them. But worshippers are convinced that Jesus is on the throne and so they refuse to live in fear and reduce themselves to just a shadow of who God created them to be. Instead, they acknowledge God through thanksgiving, generosity and respect. They dont act like victims...powerless over their circumstances. They live like overcomers...giving things away when others are running for cover. And with the apostle Paul they make this declaration... Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39 You see, thats the message of Revelation...God is for you so dont give up! Its not trying to tell us who the Beast is or when the rapture will happen or how we will get the number 666 stamped on our forehead. Revelation is meant to help us stand strong in the face of the worst trials by worshipping the One who sits on the throne in front of a sea of glass. And thats what I want for all of us here. I want worshippers who overcome every trial that we encounter. Prayer: Father, our faith is often so weak and we so easily give up. Thank you for this revelation that shows us who is on the throne. Help us to live our lives based on this reality rather than the fears that face us every day. Infuse us today with the faith we need to overcome and might our first response to hardship be worship and not fear. Amen.

Going Deeper Use the following questions for reflection or to discuss with your family, friends and small group. 1. Reflect on a time when you gave up on God, faith and church. What made you do that? If youve never done that, think of someone youve observed who did. Did it have anything to do with their personal suffering and feeling abandoned by God? 2. Read Revelation 1:4-8. John barely starts his letter and quickly falls into worship of the Father and the Son. List each thing he mentions. Why does he mention what he does? Which aspects come directly from his vision in chapters four and five?
13

3. How might the things that John lists encourage someone who is enduring a time of suffering? 4. Read Revelation 1:12-18. What is it about this vision that would encourage a person who is suffering? 5. How can worship help bring perspective to you when you are going through a hard time? 6. Have you ever worshipped anything besides God...that is...has your life ever revolved around something other than God? What was that like? 7. Read Colossians 3:12-22. What do thankfulness, generosity and respect have to do with worship? 8. What can you start doing to make yourself more of a true worshipper?

14

Part Three: Judgment

Notes: Judgement... 1. often evokes fear and anger. 2. is a major theme of Revelation and the entire Bible. 3. is seen as a good thing. 4. brings closure to a story gone wrong. 5. leads to us to the glory that we all long for.

Today is part three in my series on the book of Revelation and today might be the toughest message of the three. There is a great big elephant in the book of Revelation that you have to deal with and that is Gods judgment or what is often referred to as Gods wrath. You get about a third of the way into the book and it becomes clear that God will judge the earth. And the imagery that is used to convey judgment is nothing short of terrifying. This angel called to the angel with the sharp sickle, saying, "Take your sharp sickle and gather the bunches of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe." The Angel swung his sickle, harvested earth's vintage, and heaved it into the winepress, the giant winepress of God's wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the winepress as high as horses' bridles for a distance of about one hundred eighty miles. Revelation 14:18-20 Then the evil spirits gathered the kings together to the place that is called Armageddon in the Hebrew language. The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. Then a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, "It is finished!" followed by lightning flashes and shouts, thunder crashes and a colossal earthquake - a huge and devastating earthquake, never an earthquake like it since time began. Revelation 16:1618 The Great City split three ways, the cities of the nations toppled to ruin. Great Babylon had to drink the wine of God's raging anger - God remembered to give her the cup! Then every island ran away, and mountains disappeared. Giant hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, fell from the sky upon people. People cursed God for the disaster of the hail, because this disaster was so terrible. Revelation 16:16-21 But, you know, the idea of judgment isnt unique to the book of Revelation. All through the Bible God spoke about a coming day of judgment. It was called The Day of the LORD. The prophet Isaiah said... See, the day of the LORD is coming --a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger-- to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. Isaiah 13:9

15

The prophet Ezekiel said this... Their silver and gold will not be able to save them in the day of the LORD's wrath. They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be an unclean thing. Ezekiel 7:19 In the last book of the Old Testament Malachi said... "Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them. Malachi 4:1 Jesus put it in terms of a shepherd... When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Matthew 25:31-32 The apostle Paul put it this way... For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:10 And finally, Peter said... But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. 2 Peter 3:10 So...we cant escape this idea of judgment. Throw out the idea of judgment and you might as well throw out the whole Bible. Actually, thats what many people have chosen to do. They cant believe in a God who would judge people. But short of throwing out the Bible and giving up on God, what do we do with what it says? These images clash with our idea of a loving God, dont they? So what do we do? Well, one thing that helps right away is to remember what I told you three weeks ago and that is that Revelation is symbolic. So you cant read it literally. It describes judgment in dramatic ways to get your attention and to make a point. But dont expect to literally see a winepress on the Day of Judgment or an angel with a big sickle or a city splitting into three parts. Thats all symbolic. But even though THOSE things wont literally happen - judgment will. We cant be sure what it will look like but we can be sure that its coming. Let me ask you this...What comes to mind as I talk about Gods judgment? When I sent out our newsletter this week through email the subject line read, Revelation 3: Judgment and someone wrote back, Sounds Scary. And I thought...isnt it interesting how the word judgment evokes fear in most people. Or it might evoke anger. Why do you think that is?
16

I think its because most of us have been exposed to unjust judgment at some point in our lives. Either the person judging was wrong which caused a lot of hurt...or, their judgment was right but it was without mercy. And because of that...the word judgment became a bad word. We assume the worst. We dont think of judgment in positive ways. And so we naturally project that negative view of judgment on God, right? We read about Gods judgment and we assume it cant be a good thing. We assume that theres nothing good about judgment.1 But I want to challenge our thinking on that this morning. I want to show us that in contrast to our initial knee-jerk reaction against the idea of judgment Gods judgment is actually a good thing. In fact, Gods people throughout the ages have looked forward to it. Gods judgment was the day that God would rid the earth of evil and free his people from oppression. Thats why in Revelation 6 the martyrs ask God... How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood? Revelation 6:10 You see, there is something wired into us that demands justice. We want bad guys punished and good guys rewarded. My guess is that most of the top selling movies in Hollywood have something to do with bad guys losing and good guys winning. We dont pay money to see the bad guys win, do we? Why is that? Because we are wired for justice. N. T. Wright is a theologian who has written on this idea of judgment. He said... Gods coming judgment is a good thing, something to be celebrated, longed for, yearned for. It causes people to shout for joy and the trees of the field to clap their hands. In a world of systematic injustice, bullying, violence, arrogance, and oppression the thought that there might come a day when the wicked are firmly put in their place and the poor and weak are given their due is the best news there can be. Faced with a world in rebellion, a world full of exploitation and wickedness, a good God must be a God of judgment. P. 137, Surprised by Hope2 Let me bring this discussion of judgment down to our level so we can get a better grip on it. How many of you work at a place where management is slow to judge and the company is suffering? You know that certain people need to be fired. Certain products need to be improved or dropped. Certain policies and procedures need to be changed for the company to achieve greatness but no one is willing to make the tough call. The reason everyone complains to each other in the breakroom is because you all long for judgment. You want things to be put right so your company can succeed and you can succeed as well. You see, judgment is a good thing. A little judgment would turn things around for your company. But when management refuses to judge they are actually condemning your company to chaos and failure. Judgement is a good thing.

To be fair, the Bible brings some of this on itself with its over-the-top judgment imagery. Its unfortunate that the apocalyptic language used in biblical times that was accepted and understood today strikes many as offensive and leads people to draw conclusions that were never meant in the original text. 2 For more from Wright on judgment go to the end of this document

17

Whether we realize it or not, we judge things all day long. We constantly analyze what we like and dont like. What will help us and what will harm us. And then we make choices based on our analysis. Judgment is a process we use to eliminate the inferior and harmful things from our lives in an effort to achieve what is good and right and best for us. Let me give you a few simple examples. When you go to make dinner and you rummage through the refrigerator you are judging. You choose the freshest ingredients and throw out the vegetables and leftovers that have been in there for a few weeks and have turned brown and mushy, right? Your judgment eliminates the rotten food allowing you to make something excellent with the good food. For you sports fan, judgment is what training camp is all about. NFL football teams start with 100 players or so every summer. Every day players are evaluated for who will help the team and then each week the coaches cut a few more players, eventually cutting their team in half to make sure that they only have the best. Or think about a broken relationship. If two people want to restore their relationship they need to first judge it. The couple needs to judge harmful behavior as wrong and then eliminate that behavior in hopes of saving the relationship. You see, my point here is that judgment doesnt destroy things. Judgment actually enables something good to be released. Judgment isnt de-structive. It is con-structive. Given my examples, judgment gives us a good meal, a good team and a good relationship. But, on the other hand, when you fail to judge THATs when you can have problems. You make a meal with rotten food. You launch a team with mediocre players and you have a relationship that is doomed to fail. Let me give you a very current example of what happens when you fail to judge. Some of you tracked with me on Facebook a couple days ago on a little adventure Lisa and I had in Minneapolis. About four times a year Lisa and I take a 24 hour vacation in Minneapolis. We go for a play or a concert and then spend the evening in a hotel. Its a nice little get away for us. So Thursday night we drive in and park just down the street from our hotel. I never park in the hotel parking lots because they are a total rip off. They charge you like $25 when I can park on the street for free. So Lisa and I get this primo spot just a block away from the hotel. And Im feeling pretty smart. Free parking instead of paying $25. But Lisa and I failed to judge. We were in a hurry. We wanted to check in and get dinner. We werent careful to read the sign. And I think we just really wanted free parking. Now, we were partially right. It said, NO PARKING 9AM 6PM. So we thought we were good until 9AM. But it also said NO STOPPING 7-9AM. So, the next morning I wake up at 7am and I read a little. We exercise a little. We shower. Its all very relaxing...meanwhile, the City of Minneapolis is towing our car across town.

18

Now you can imagine how I felt when I went down to our primo parking spot and found our car gone. Have you ever had that happen? Its kind of eerie. Its like the Twilight Zone because I knew that I parked it there. It was like the opposite of the rapture; my car was gone and I was left behind! Well, we finally got our car back. But it cost us. We had to pay $138 for the tow. $32 for the parking ticket. And $10 for the cab ride over to the impound lot. Plus we missed breakfast and just had time for a cup of coffee before our concert. Not a big deal really, but my point is that it was our FAILURE to judge that caused the problem. Do you see that? It was our failure to reject that parking spot that got us into trouble. Judging didnt cause the problem. NOT judging was the problem. If we had done a good job of judging our morning would have gone off without a hitch. And thats what judgment does. Judgment eliminates what is bad so you can experience what is good. And thats why God must ultimately judge all things. God must eliminate everything that is harmful and evil and undermines his kingdom so that we can experience everything that is good and right and just and beautiful and full of glory. In Revelation, once judgment has been delivered...thats when it says... I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Andy why is that? Because judgment came and made this possible! He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Revelation 21:3-5 One of the seven angels ... carried me away ... and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. Revelation 21:10,11 This is beautiful but...in order for all of this goodness to be revealed, judgment had to come first. Judgment is what releases beauty from the grip of evil. Its what leads us to the glory that we all long for. So judgment isnt a bad thing. Its a good thing. Now Ive described judgment as the elimination of what is inferior and harmful. And thats a scary thought if you dont trust the person judging you. But thankfully judgment isnt being handled by some egotistical human ruler. Judgment will be done by Jesus himself. Jesus said that the father gave him authority to judge... ...the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. John 5:22,23 I like what N.T. Wright says about Jesus judging the earth...
19

...the one through whom Gods justice will finally sweep the world is not a hard-hearted, arrogant, or vengeful tyrant but rather the Man of Sorrows, who was acquainted with grief; the Jesus who loved sinners and died for them; the Messiah who took the worlds judgment upon himself on the cross. N.T. Wright, Surprised by Joy, p. 141.3 Imagine a world where there was no judgment. Your first thought might be that that would be a great place to live. A place of love and hugs and peace. But not so fast. A world without judgment would actually be cruel and chaotic, wouldnt it? We see countries like that today. We see families like that today. We see churches and businesses like that. No one judges. No one confronts wrong. And as a result you are left with chaos, corruption and sometimes outright evil. If you think about it, religions that deny a day of judgment relegate humanity to an unending cycle of futility and despair where life just goes on and on without ever getting any better. But the Bible presents a story that has a beginning (where everything is good), a middle (where something goes wrong) and an end (where everything is put right again). The injustices that we see in this world will not go on forever. Again, N.T. Wright says that the Bible brings closure to a story gone wrong. It brings closure to the problem of sin and evil with the idea of judgment. Not to have closure at the end of the story to be left with a potentially endless cycle, round and round with either the same things happening again and again or simply perhaps the long outworking of kharma would be the very antithesis of the story told by the apostle. P. 143. Surprised by Joy So, I hope this makes you feel better about the idea of judgment in the Bible. Judgment is a good thing. But dont miss the application to your life today. Im not just talking theology today. What I mean is that for some of us, the reason your life isnt what you want it to be is because you havent judged it. You are afraid to make hard decisions. You are afraid to eliminate what you know is hurting you; things that you are doing and things that people are doing to you. You think that somehow, in some magical way, everything is going to work out for you without any hard decisions on your part. You think thats how God works. You think God is nice and he never makes anyone uncomfortable. But the Bible tells a different story. Judgment is very uncomfortable. There is a separation. A tearing. And its painful. You might even describe it like a winepress crushing grapes or a sickle cutting wheat. But its the only thing that will bring you into the place that God wants you to be. So I want to leave you with a very practical and personal question. What is it that is hurting you today that you need to first judge and then eliminate so you can become the person God has called you to be? You see, if judgment is a good thing and we know that God will ultimately judge all things then it only makes sense that we are people of judgment now.

Far be it from you to do such a thing--to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right? Genesis 18:25

20

Prayer: Father thank you for judgment. Thank you that evil will not go on and on but a Day will come when you will cleanse this world from evil and reveal your glory...the glory that we all long for. Thank you that we can trust your judgment. Now, help us to judge ourselves well and model kingdom values for this world. Amen.

Going Deeper Use the following questions for personal reflection or to discuss with your family, friends or small group. 1. What is your personal response to the word judgment? How does it make you feel? What images does it bring to mind? 2. Read Daniel 7 and Revelation 1:12-16, 4:2, 5:11, 13:1-10, 20:11-5. How do they compare? How do they differ? 3. Daniel 7 is a condensed version of the book of Revelation. What is the big picture message of Daniel 7? (Hint: see 7:26,27) 4. The entire Bible looks forward to The Day of the Lord, the day of Gods judgment. Why was this seen as a good thing? 5. Give examples of judgment being good in everyday life. 6. Why has judgment gotten a bad name...both with God and humans? 7. Read Genesis 18:25 and reflect on it. 8. Read Revelation 21 and 22. Judgment allows for the new heaven and earth to be revealed. What is it about this picture that strikes you the most?

More from N.T. Wright on judgment... God is utterly committed to set the world right in the end. This is doctrine, like that of resurrectioin itself, is held firmly in place by the belief In God as creator, on the one side, and the belief in his goodness, on the other. And that setting right must necessarily involve the elimination of all that distorts Gods good and lovely creation and in partifular of all that defaces his image-bearing human creatures. ...there will be no barbed wire in the kingdom of God. And those whose whole being has become dependent upon babed wire will have no place there either. Faced with the Balkans, Rwanda, the Middle East, Darfur, and all kinds of other horrors that enlightened Western thought can neither explain nor alleviate, opinion in many quarters has, rightly in my view, come to see that there must be such a thing as judgment. Judgment the sovereign declaration that this is good and to be upheld and vindicated, and that is evil and to be condemned is the only alternative to chaos. There are some things, quite a lot of them in fact, that one must not tolerate lest one merely collude with wickedness. We all know this perfectly well, yet we conveniently forget it whenever squeamisheness or the demands of current opinion make it easier to go with the flow of social convention. N. T. Wright, Surprised by Hope

21

Part Four: The Rapture & Hell

In July I did a three week series on the book of Revelation. But before I move on from that series I want to look at two words that everyone thinks are in the book of Revelation but arent and those words are rapture and hell. Im not going to spend a lot of time on either word. I just want to bring what might be new thinking to some of us. There is strong teaching on both these words in the church at large and I want to bring some balance to the discussion. Hopefully it will help you as you consider these two topics. Lets start with the word rapture. I talked about this briefly a few weeks back. The word rapture is often used to refer to the idea that Jesus will come and pull believers off the earth and then send judgment on the people that remain. Its an interesting theory but youd be amazed at how that idea is based on such little biblical data. You wont actually find the word rapture in the Bible. It comes from a Latin word that is in the Latin translation of the Bible in 1 Thessalonians. Let me show you For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up (Latin: raptus) together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 So, there it is. Thats the one verse that talks about the rapture. Now notice, it doesnt say anything about being caught up to save us from judgment. The point here is not that we will be caught up in the air and taken to heaven. Paul was talking to Christians who were afraid that the people who had already died would miss out on the Lords return. Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. This is interesting. People often ask me what happens when you die. Where do you go? What does it just say? That people who have died will come WITH Jesus. So that tells me that they are with Jesus now. According to the Lord's word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15

22

So Paul isnt talking about escaping judgment. Thats not the point here. His point is that when Jesus comes back to earth he will come back with all the believers who have previously died. Jesus is not coming back to take us away to heaven. He is coming back to earth. Hes coming back to rule and reign the earth. It says the exact opposite of what the rapture theory teaches! So then, whats Paul saying about being caught up in the air? Good question. The reason we will be caught up in the air to meet Jesus is because thats what you did when a king came into your town. You went out to meet him. You didnt wait for him to enter the city. You went out of the city to welcome him and then returned with him to the city. If you know the story of Jesus entering Jerusalem youll remember that the crowds went out to meet him and walked with him back into the city... The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest heaven!" When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?" Matthew 21:9,10 You can see the same thing in the story of the Prodigal Son. The father went out to meet his son and walked with him back into the city. So...believers are welcoming Jesus to earth NOT being taken away to heaven. Im sorry to burst the rapture bubble...but someone in the 1800s misread 1 Thessalonians, created a whole theology around their idea and then the Left Behind series took the idea and ran with it- it went viral - and now millions of people have the wrong idea of the end times! Okay...that was all I have on the rapture. Now lets turn to the word hell. The word hell isnt found in Revelation either but something like hell is referred to. The devil and his angels are thrown into whats called the Abyss. So that might be the same thing. But the word hell isnt used. I dont know what youve heard about hell or what you expect me to say. Someone told me once that the only thing they were ever taught about hell is that they were going there if they didnt straighten up! But lets start with a video that has gotten a lot of church people riled up over the last few months. The video features Rob Bell. Rob is a pastor in Grand Rapids, Michigan and this video is promoting a new book of his that talks about hell. Video. Go to www.robbell.com/lovewins Pretty provocative. Youd be amazed at how much flack Bell has gotten for that video and his book. Some people think he is a heretic. They want to burn him at the stake! But I appreciate what Rob had to say. People say that Rob doesnt believe in hell. Thats not true. If you read his book he believes in hell, he just believes that we shouldnt talk about it with such certainty; what it is or whos going there. He says that is arrogant and toxic and keeps people from the faith and I agree. I highly recommend that you get his book. It raises a lot of good questions.

23

I dont have the time for a full discussion of hell. That would take weeks. I simply want to give you the four ways that people have thought about hell through the years and Ill let you process it. But the thing I want to emphasize is that when we talk about hell it should be in humility and with compassion and not absolute certainty. FOUR VIEWS OF HELL First the Traditional View: the traditional view is that hell is an eternal place of torment for those who do not confess Jesus as their Savior. If you dont hear the message of Jesus and confess him as your Savior, you are doomed. Its very cut and dried. Black and white. Theres no wiggle room. Well, lets look at where they get this. The Bible uses the word hell 14 times. Of those times, Jesus mentions it 12 times. So Jesus talks about hell more than anyone. Matthew has Jesus talking about hell in four settings. Mark mentions one of the settings in Matthew. And Luke mentions one of those settings and includes another one too. John doesnt have Jesus using the word hell. So, in the gospels...there are five different settings where Jesus talks about hell and it is always in passing. In other words, Jesus never stops and gives a clear teaching on hell. He just assumes that everyone knows what he is talking about. For example If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. Matthew 5:29 Jesus does tell a story about a rich man and a beggar by the name of Lazarus.(Luke 16). The rich man goes to hell and the beggar goes to heaven. But you have to be careful about drawing conclusions from that story about hell. This story was primarily a wakeup call to rich people because at the time the thought was that people were rich because God loved them and people were poor because God didnt love them. So, Jesus is exploding that idea...that myth. Its not a teaching on hell. Its more of a teaching on the dangers of wealth. Now, some people try to minimize the doctrine of hell because its mentioned so little. They say, look, its only mentioned fourteen times in five settings. Thats not really enough to build a theology on. But to be fair...I think when you are studying hell you need to include other words that might be referencing hell, words like; Hades, the Abyss, judgment, condemnation, wrath, punishment, weeping and gnashing of teeth and destruction. So if you do a word study on hell be sure to include those words. For example, Jesus talked about his return and how he will judge all people. He never says the word hell but he says that the unjust... "they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." Matthew 25:46 I think its obvious that eternal punishment is term for hell.
24

If you study all the words that relate to the idea of hell you come up with closer to a hundred words instead of just fourteen. So, dont be too quick to dismiss the idea of hell. Its in the Bible. We have to own it and deal with it and not just explain it away. The second view of hell is that of Annihilation: a place where body and soul are destroyed. The word destroyed is too strong. Eliminated is better. Destroyed sounds too aggressive, like God is out to get somebody. But the idea is that hell, in reality, is that you simply cease to exist when you die. Thats your judgment. A number of well known theologians believe in this view. John Stott is one of them, if you know who he is. A lot of verses in the Bible talk about people being destroyed/eliminated in judgment. The word means to completely eliminate something. For example... Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. 2 Peter 3:7 Another reason for this idea is that Jesus often used the word Gehenna for hell. Gehenna was literally the local garbage pit where there was a fire that continually burned. The purpose of the fire wasnt to torment the garbage but to destroy it. Thats what fire does. So then maybe hell is a place of destruction more than torment. The third idea of hell is called Universalism: meaning that hell, if it exists, is only temporary and a cleansing process that leads to heaven. Everyone will eventually end up in heaven, even the devil. Its an attractive idea for people who cant live with the idea of God tormenting people for eternity. Its become very popular in the last decade. This is based on many verses that address Gods unconditional love. Theres nothing we can do to earn Gods love. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8 And their best proof text is probably in Colossians where it says... For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Colossians 1:19,20 They would say...there you have it in black and white...Jesus will reconcile ALL things to himself. The last view of hell is that hell is merely a Metaphor: Hell is only used to contrast with Gods kingdom and what life is like without God. For example, heres a verse that doesnt use the word hell but the concept...

25

There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. Luke 13:28 The person who believes that hell is a metaphor would say...Jesus isnt talking about a physical hell. Hes just talking about the pain of being separated from God. Its hyperbole. Its exaggeration. Its a warning. We do that all the time...we overstate things to make a point. Imagine that I write a letter to a friend and I mention that Im so stressed that Im tearing my hair out. Then imagine someone finds that letter five hundred years from now and assumes that I must have been bald because I tore my hair out. That seems silly but you can see how that might actually happen if people cant perceive my figurative language. So, those are the four views. Im not going to tell you what to believe. I really think there is room for different views of hell. One of us may be right or we may all be wrong. But lets talk about it. Lets dialogue and not polarize. I may not agree with every view but I think there is value in having each view represented in a discussion. For example, I want the Universalist to remind me of Gods unconditionial love. I want the Traditionalist telling me about the holiness of the sovereign God who has the right to do whatever he wishes without fear of his creation criticizing him. I appreciate the creativity of the Annihilist who is trying to find a solution that will solve a puzzle that seems to be missing a few pieces. And I want to be reminded that the Bible often uses metaphor so I am careful to not always take it literally. Instead of calling each other heretics I think we need to be listening to each other. Now, you might wonder what I believe. My general stance on scripture is to take the more conservative view but I really try to understand and appreciate alternate views. (Reality check. Most conservatives probably wouldnt embrace me as a fellow conservative. Im more of a modified conservative because I tweak most things a little bit.) So you never have to fear disagreeing with me. Im not going to label you a heretic and throw you out the door! I learn a lot from hearing what other people think. So I agree with the traditionalists in that there must be something to the idea of hell otherwise Jesus would have corrected the false idea. I think it would be reckless to use the image of hell if it didnt exist in some form or fashion. But, unlike the Traditionalist, I dont think God will just save a few people. I think we will be surprised at how many are saved. And so I appreciate what Universalists say although I cant fully agree with them. Like a said a couple weeks ago, if God is truly good he must judge evil and so it seems like there must be a consequence for that judgment. Whatever hell is...I think its where evil is sent after judgment. But the thing I really trip over with the traditional view...and I think its hard for most people...ist the idea of eternal torment. It just doesnt seem to jive with
26

everything else Jesus teaches. We seem to be missing something. And thats when I wonder if hell, at least the torment part of it, is a metaphor. As for annihilation; I wouldnt be surprised if hell is a state of destruction. That makes sense to me in some way. A lot of verses talk about destruction. But if hell is an actual place, it helps me to see hell as more of a choice than a place you are sent. What I mean is...if you dont want to worship God now, why on earth would you want to spend eternity in a place where worshipping God is the top priority? Talk about a fish out of water. So, it actually makes sense to me that there should be a place for people to go who dont love God. They wouldnt like heaven and heaven wouldnt want them there. So their godless life now is their way of choosing a godless eternity. It seems like the right thing to do. As far as hell being a metaphor... I think hell is often used as a metaphor... Im just not sure when it is being used that way and when its depicting a real place. I dont know what you do but when I read the Bible I have best case and worst case interpretations. So when I read about hell I think about it as if it were literally true and I think about it as just a metaphor. I keep it all in my mind and hold it loosely. Bottom line; I trust God to do the right thing. I dont think anyone will get to heaven and criticize God. I think we will be shocked to learn how it all fits together and makes sense. Well, even though the Bible isnt crystal clear on hell it is clear on what keeps us out of it. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. John 3:16-18 If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, "Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame." Romans 10:911 You see. Jesus came to save us from being separated from God. Thats the good news. We dont have to wonder whats going to happen to us. No one has to worry about hell. Im always surprised when Christians tell me that they worry about hell. Im like...if you are going to hell then why did Jesus die? The Bible tells us that by one sacrifice God has made us perfect in his eyes. We all stand perfect in Gods eyes because of what Jesus did for us. So dont lose one minute of sleep worrying about hell. But more than being saved from hell (I hate reducing our faith to simply being saved from hell!)...Jesus came to give us a new life. A new life NOW that continues on into the next life when we die.

27

My guess is that there are at least a few people here that would like to have this life. You want to know God but no ones every told you how that happens. So let me give you a prayer to pray right now that might help you make that connection. Its not a formula. Its not magic. It wont save you from hell or make you a Christian. Its just a guide to help you draw close to God. Jesus, thank you that you came to save me, not condemn me. I want this new life...not only when I die but today. Breathe your Spirit into me. Renew me. Restore me. Redirect me toward you. Might you be the new center to my life. Give me ears to hear your voice and eyes to see you. And send me people to encourage me along the way. Amen. Let me pray for you. Father, we dont understand hell. Its beyond us. Help us to talk about it with humility and compassion. And I hope we are all motivated by your great love more than a fear of hell. Amen.

28

Bonus Message: The End of The Story

This message capped off a 31 week study of the entire Bible and closed with an overview of the book of Revelation. The Story Chapter 31 - The End of The Story By Remy Diederich Cedarbrook Church 5.22.11

This document contains: Sermon notes Sermon text Chapter Summary Small group questions Journaling questions

Sermon Notes 1. a. b. 2. 3. How we distort the return of Jesus: focusing on the negative vs. the positive talking about going to heaven vs. heaven coming to us. A better picture of Jesus return is that of renewal and restoration. Isaiah 65 Revelation 21 Our role is to enter The Story and model renewal and restoration now.

Last Saturday Lisa and were waiting in the airport to come home from our family reunion in Florida and I picked up a USA Today newspaper. To my surprise I learned that the world was going to end on Saturday (yesterday). By now, its been all over the news but last Saturday was the first I heard of it. I showed Lisa the full page ad and I said Look, I dont have to preach next Sunday! Maybe I could even get in a game of golf. But Lisa thought I might want to prepare a message anyway just in case. I am so glad that I listened to her! In addition to the newspaper ads they had billboards all across the country. And they had teams of people in vans going from city to city. Its interesting that they predicted the end of the world the day before I close out our yearlong series on the Bible. Good timing for me. If you are joining us for the first time today ends a 31 week study of the entire Bible and so we are looking at how this story ends.
29

Let me read to you how this group I just mentioned thought the story was going to end. By Gods grace and tremendous mercy, He is giving us advanced warning as to what He is about to do. On Judgment Day, May 21st, 2011, this 5-month period of horrible torment will begin for all the inhabitants of the earth. Somehow horrible torment for everyone on earth doesnt sound very merciful to me. It will be on May 21st that God will raise up all the dead that have ever died from their graves. Earthquakes will ravage the whole world as the earth will no longer conceal its dead (Isaiah 26:21). People who died as saved individuals will experience the resurrection of their bodies and immediately leave this world to forever be with the Lord. Those who died unsaved will be raised up as well, but only to have their lifeless bodies scattered about the face of all the earth. Death will be everywhere. Ebiblefellowship.com This is so distorted. There are actually a couple ways that people distort the end time messageand this group did both. One is that they focus on the negative more than the positive. Whenever I hear about the end times its so often framed in such dark terms I saw one guy being interviewed this week and he was asked how many people would make it into heaven and the guy said only 1%...that 99% of humanity will be killed. How have we turned the second coming of Jesus into such a bad thing? A thing to dread? If you were Jesuswouldnt you hope that people were excited about your return and not dreading it? Im sure some of you parents here must travel for work. When you come home, do you want your kids hiding under their beds in fear of you or waiting in the driveway because they know you will bring them something? My guess is that Jesus wants the same thing. You see, the end times arent as much and end ad they are a new beginning. Its God hitting the reset button. Jesus is coming back to fix whats been broken so we can start over. And thats a good thing. Thats something to celebratesomething to look forward to. But we often focus on the judgment aspect of the story. Now, its important to understand why end time prophecy in the Bible often does focus on judgment. So, imagine that you lived in the first century as a Christian. All youve ever known for decades is persecution. Your dad couldnt get a decent job because of his faith and now you cant either. If it wasnt for the church helping out you wouldnt make it. Plus, your church meetings are in secret so as not to be discovered by the police. But all this isnt even the worst off it. In addition to all of this some of your closest friends and family members have been brutally tortured and killed for their faith. There is something in you that wants justice. Its like what we saw when we heard that Osama bin Laden had been killed. There was a variety of emotion but some people had
30

longed for that moment and it was highly satisfying to hear that news. And so, if you are persecuted you long for justice in the same way. You wonder if that justice will ever come. You see, end time prophecies of judgment were written to encourage people about two things: one, that God was in control and two; that the bad guys would get their just desserts. The book of Revelation is a vision that the apostle John had. This is what he saw I saw the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants and brothers and sisters were killed just as they had been. Revelation 6:9-11 You see, these people wanted to know if their tormentors would get away with this. So John says first, Dont worry. God is on the throne, not Caesar. At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Revelation 4:2,3,5 Its a vision of God. God is on the throne and hes in control. And the second thing John saw was that everyone was indeed judged. Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. and everyone was judged according to what they had done. Revelation 20:11-13 So, yesjudgment is a part of the end of time. But judgment isnt the only thing happening when Jesus comes back. There are a lot of good things that will happen that Ill talk about in a minute. So I think its a distortion to focus on the negative. The second thing we do to distort the end times is when we talk about how we will be taken off to heaven. Let me show you some of the words we sang this morning when we sang How Great Thou Art When Christ shall come, With shouts of acclamation, And take me home, What joy shall fill my heart! Have you ever thought about these words? Heres what I want to know. Where is home? Where is Jesus taking us? It implies that we are leaving this earth behind. I know thats what many people think. Theres another hymn that says, Ill fly away. Some glad morning when this life is over. Ill fly away.
31

To a home on Gods celestial shore. Ill fly away. Where are we flying to? Inquiring minds need to know. Its interesting how over time doctrines can develop that have no bearing in scripture. Lets take a look at what the Bible says. In the book of Isaiah God speaks about the end of time and he says Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. Isaiah 65:17 Now, this is very important. There are two words for new in the Bible and which one you pick will determine your theology of the end times. There is new in the sense of brand new, that is, you throw out your old tennis shoes and get a new pair. Thats not what its talking about here. The other kind of new is when you change something that already exists into something entirely different. Its so different from what it was that we say that its new. We call that a transformation or renewal. We call it restoration. And thats what God is talking about here in Isaiah. When Lisa and I bought our house it was one of the cheaper ones on the market. It was an old house that needed a lot of updating. So, over time we changed every room in the house. We ripped out walls. We put in new windows. We resided it and put in new flooring and sanded the wood floors. You might say its a new house. Its nicer now than it was when it was first built in 1939. We restored it beyond what it was. We transformed it. And thats what this word new means here. God isnt going to destroy the earth and create something brand new. Hes going to change our present earth, restore it, transform it. Isaiah continues on to describe what this new earth will look like. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. "Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; ... They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. Isaiah 65:17-21 Those of you that have moved a lot know what hes saying here. You will build a house and never have to move. You will plant grapes and apple trees and actually be there long enough to get a harvest. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. Isaiah 65:22

32

In essence, God is saying that a day will come when he will put everything back the way it was meant to be. Sin distorted and perverted the Garden of Eden. Its been crooked ever since. But when Jesus comes back hes going to make everything right again. And so, rather than focusing on judgmentI think a better picture for the end of time is to talk about renewal and restoration. We dont live in a time of persecution like the early church did at least here in the United States. But we do live in a time when everything is broken. Everything is falling apart. From the government to the economy to the family. We need restoration and thats the hope of Jesus second coming. Thats the message that we should be telling people. Now, Isaiah wrote his prophecy 700 years before Jesus lived. But the book of Revelation was written about 50 years after Jesus died/resurrected. He had a vision almost identical to Isaiahs in the closing chapters of the Bible. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, Revelation 21:1,2 Look at what it says here it doesnt say that we go to heaven but heaven comes down to us. And when heaven invades earth some amazing things happen. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Revelation 21 This sounds a lot like what the Bible tells us about what happens when we turn our lives over to Jesus. If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17 The same word is used here. New doesnt mean that God destroys you and creates a new person. It means he transforms you into something new. You see, Jesus started in us what hell eventually do for the world. Video: http://media.preachingtoday.com/mini-movies/22034/The-New-Has-Come Okay. Thats the Storyall 31 weeks of it! Now, every story teller puts their own spin on the story. You cant help it. Im sure that I put my own spin on it but I hope I did the Bible justice. From my perspective, the Bible tells a story about broken people in desperate need of a Savior. And thankfully in Jesus we find a god who is for us and not against usa god who wants to first wants to renew and restore us then use us to bring renewal and restoration while we wait for Jesus to return and bring renewal and restoration to the whole world. But this not a passive bedtime story. That means its not a story that we listen to and then go on our way. Its not a story we tell just to make people feel better. God wants to evoke
33

something in us. God wants to awaken something in usso much that we are compelled to stop living for ourselves and start living for him. Jesus tells the story of a man who was out for a walk and came across a pearl. He realizes that its a pearl of great price and that finding the pearl is a defining moment for him. This is a day that will change him forever. So he goes home and sells everything he has so he can buy the pearl. Its that important to him. That pearl now defines his existence. And thats what I want so much for us. I dont want to just tell the story every week to make us feel good. I want to tell the story so we embrace it and then live it out. I want us to see that this story is worthy of giving up everything we have to embrace it and live it out. I want this story to so consume us that it impacts everything we do and everyone we encounter. I want it to so mark us that we become defined as people of transformation and renewal. Can you imagine that? Imagine that you are walking down the street with a friend and I stop you both and ask your friend to use a few words to define you. What would your friend say about you. Grumpy? Bad marriage? Is that what defines you? Crabby kids? Lousy job? Bad golf swing? What are the words that best describe you? What if your friend looked at you and said You know, it hasnt always been this way but I think a great word to description you is transformed. Ive seen you transformed and ever room you enter you leave transformed. Yes. Thats the word. Transformed. Wouldnt that be great? What if thats how every one of us was described? And what if thats how people described us as a church? I dont know what they are drinking down at Cedarbrook but whatever they touch seems to be renewed and transformed. Man, thats what I want people to say about me and us! But think of the time and energy we spend arguing with people when we could take that same time and energy and spend it on something positive. I meanits a choice how we spend that time and energy. We can use it to tear down our relationships or build them up. So what if we spent that time forgiving and encouraging and seeking to restore the broken relationships in our lives? Thats what the kingdom of God is all about. Or think of the time and money we spend entertaining ourselves. Im not talk about all entertainment. Im talking about when we take things too farwhen we do it too much, too often so we start to regret wasting time and money. What if we took that same time and money and invested it in helping people and changing lives? Heres a simple example. Im sure most of us go out at least once a month and spend $25 or so on a pizza and something to drink. We dont give it any thought. We just do it. We certainly dont pray about it. Its only natural. Now, think about someone coming up to you and asking if youll consider giving them $25 to go on a mission trip. But you say, Well, I gave last monthhmmmmIm not sure. Ill need to pray about that.
34

Think about that. It doesnt really make sense. What if we turned that around? What if we automatically gave when we have the chance to help people out and pray about whether or not to go for pizza? Do see what Im saying? Lisa and I dont pray about giving to missions trips any more. We just give to everyone. And if we have any money left over, we might go out for pizza! Its something to think about. Finally, think of the time we spend complaining about our job or our health or our relationships when we could take that same time to think of creative ways to fix whats broken and be a positive influence. You know, like people say, rather than be a part of the problem why not work at being a part of the solution. I get excited when I think of a community of people like this committed to living out the generosity of Gods story instead of our own selfish stories. This church has done a lot of great things through the years but really, weve just scratched the surface. We can do so much more if we start to live out this story that Ive been telling for the past year. Well, let me pray for us one last time Father, I want to thank you for the opportunity this year to learn The Story of the Bible. I know many people came to know the Bible better but they also came to know you better. But my prayer is that we will not only know the story but we will live it out. I pray that restoration and renewal will be the wake that follows us wherever we go and that breaks over people in our path. Might we be people of hope that always bring a blessing wherever we go. Chapter Summary (Have someone in your group read the summary section.) Yes, I am coming soon.Jesus. Of the original apostles, only John remained to hear these words. He had experienced the climax of salvation history, but God was not yet finished. He had one more message to share with John and the growing churches to show His servants what must soon take place. John was exiled on the island of Patmos for his faith in Jesus. It was here that the glorified Christ appeared to John with a message of His second coming. John saw someone like a son of man dressed in a priestly robe and ready to judge. He fell like a dead man at His feet. This John who had leaned against Jesus breast (Jn. 13:25) could not even stand before Christs unveiled glory. Jesus presented Himself as the resurrected One who has authority over life and death. He stood among seven golden lamp stands which represent the seven churches located in the province of Asia Minor on the mainland close to the island of Patmos. Jesus had messages for each of these seven churches. From the three churches addressed in this chapter, a pattern emerges. First, theres a unique description of Jesus that is related to the message. Then each message contains both a word of commendation and a rebuke for the congregation. He then gives an instruction or warning before an encouraging promise to
35

those who listen and overcome the problem. Jesus who stands among the lamp stands was carefully watching His churches. John then saw the throne room of heaven where he was shown visions of future events. God sat upon His throne in unimaginable splendor and beauty. He was surrounded by living creatures and elders who worshiped Him without ceasing. He held a scroll that no one was found worthy to open, causing John to weep. But Johns hope was restored when he saw the Lamb standing as if slain. For the Lamb was worthy to open the scroll and also to receive power and glory and honor and praise! Shortly thereafter, the bride who symbolizes all faithful believers was ready, wearing clean linen and prepared for the marriage supper of the Lamb. Then John saw heaven opened, and Jesus descended in full glory on a white horse ready to wage war and judge mankind. The King of Kings was ready to rule with blazing eyes and a blood drenched robe, a sharp sword and filled with the fury of Gods wrath. He was accompanied by the armies of heaven. His appearance is a dramatic reminder of the awfulness of Gods coming judgment upon those who reject the Lord. Gods final judgment from His great white throne is the final event of human history as we know it. The dead stand before Him in judgment. Those not found in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire. Then John saw the New Heaven and New Earth and the New Jerusalem. In this future recreation, God dwells among His people where He wipes away every tear. Many themes from His redemptive Story find their culmination in this place where all things are made new. The majestic and glorious New Jerusalem will be home to all the redeemed. Nothing impure will ever enter it. The water of life flows from the throne of God, the tree of life bears much fruit, and all are invited to partake. This place is the hope of every believer, for it is where Gods Upper Story and His Lower Story finally merge into one. It is here that the redeemed will enjoy the presence of God and of the Lamb forever. As Jesus concluded His message to John, three times He said, Look, I am coming soon! No wonder we are called blessed! Our King is coming! Come, Lord Jesus, come! Small Group Questions Icebreaker Question: Have you ever had a dream that seemed so real that went you awoke you had to convince yourself that it had not actually happened? What was the dream about? 1. Why might Christians resist studying this book? According to this chapter, what are the benefits connected to studying Revelation? (Hint: p. 379, 387; Rev. 1:3, 22:7) 2. Make a list of the various ways God the Father and God the Son are described throughout this chapter of The Story. For example, on page 379, the Father is him who is, and who was and who is to come; Jesus Christ is the faithful witness. After completing your list, discuss what one or two of these descriptions mean. 3. Jesus messages to the seven churches usually follow a general pattern: a description of Himself, a commendation, a rebuke, a warning or instruction, and a promise. Compose a letter to your church using this format.

36

4. Notice the description of the throne room of heaven (p. 382, Rev. 4:1-6). Look up Ezekiel 1:26-28, Exodus 19:16 and 20:18, Job 37:4 and John 12:27-28. What do these images communicate about God? 5. What four-fold reason makes the Lamb worthy to open the scroll and receive praise (p. 383)? 6. Read Matthew 24:29-44, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 and Titus 2:11-14. How should you live in anticipation of Christs return? 7. From what you have learned in this chapter about the great white throne judgment and the lake of fire, how might you respond to the person who does not believe that a loving God could ever sentence anyone to hell (p. 385-386, Rev. 20:11-15, 21:8)? See also Revelation 20:10 and Matthew 25:41 for further insight. 8. Find at least three similarities between the original creation (Genesis 1-2) and the new heaven and new earth (p. 385-387; Rev. 21-22). How do these sections of Scripture contribute to our understanding of Gods Upper Story and what would we be missing without them? 9. Share with your group how The Story experience has impacted how you live now. 10. In the time remaining ask your group members to share any of their personal reflection insights from their journal entries.

Journaling Questions Journal your answers to these questions as you read through the chapter this week. You may wish to read one day and journal the next, or spread the questions over the whole week. Day One 1. As you study this final chapter of The Story throughout your week, develop a comprehensive description in your journal of God the Father and of Jesus the Son. For example, on page 379, Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. How does this portrait of Christ in Revelation compare to the Christ of the Gospels? 2. Jesus had a message for each of the churches in Asia (p. 381). Identify the problem and the solution in each church. What was promised to the one who overcomes it? How could we apply the messages to these Asian churches to ourselves today? Day Two 1. Sketch or paint the throne room of God as it is described on pages 382-383. 2. How will Christs second coming (p. 384-385) differ from His first coming in purpose and in scope? (See Matthew 25:31-34, 41; Mark 10:45; John 3:16-17 and Acts 17:30-31 for further insight.) 3. Read Matthew 24:29-44, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 and Titus 2:11-14. How should Christs Second Coming apply to your life now? Day Three 1. Now that you have studied the New Heaven, New Earth and New Jerusalem, what do you look forward to the most (p. 385-387)?
37

2. What did this chapter of The Story contribute to your understanding of Gods Upper Story of redemption? How might you respond to a Christian friend who sees no value in or is confused by studying Revelation? 3. Spend a few minutes reflecting on your Story experience and then capture some of those thoughts in a paragraph below. Be sure to include how Gods upper story impacts how you live now.

38