The End Times Will Reveal the Hearts of Men. Revelation 14:14-16.

In the book of Revelation Jesus reveals the future (the noun form of ‘reveal’ is ‘revelation’). But the End Times will also reveal the hearts of man. Those who love God will grow to love Him more, and those who hate God will hate Him even more, as they “fill up the full measure of their sin” Matthew 23:32.

Let’s begin with those who hate God:

Nothing can make some people repent. God pours out His judgment, crushing the grapes in His wrath until blood flows as deep as the horses’ bridles for 180 miles(!) Revelation 14:20. But the people who survive do not repent. Then sores break out on people, and the sea is turned to blood and all sea life dies, then people are burned with fire, Revelation 16:2-8.

What would you do? Beg God for mercy? Confess your sins? Not these people. “So they blasphemed the name of God, and they did not repent and give Him glory.” Revelation 16:9. (Again, the End Times will be characterized by hearts grown cold and unrepentant.)

Then God plunged the world into darkness, people gnawed their tongues because of the pain and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pain and their sores, yet they did NOT repent of their actions, Revelation 16:10-11.

Then God sends the worst earthquake in history (scary). The cities fell. Islands and mountains disappeared. Then (get this!) God sent “enormous hailstones, each weighing about 100 pounds,” and they fell from the sky on the people…”

And what did they do? Did they apologize to God? Beg for mercy? Repent?

“…[A]nd they blasphemed God for the plague of hail, because that plague was extremely severe” Revelation 16:21.

How deeply do you have to hate God to stay angry and defiant through all of these judgments? The End Times reveals the contrast: sinners grow more sinful, “filling up the full measure of their sin” so that God will be glorified and revealed as holy when He judges them. Meanwhile, His saints will grow to love Him more and more (as in the passage below), giving God glory when He blesses them.

“I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had won the victory over the beast, his image, and the number of his name, were standing on the sea of glass with harps from God. They sang the song of God’s servant Moses and the song of the Lamb:

‘Great and awe-inspiring are Your works, Lord God the Almighty; righteous and true are Your ways, King of the Nations. Lord, who will not fear and glorify Your name? Because You alone are holy, for all the nations will come and worship before You because Your righteous acts have been revealed'” Revelation 15:2-4.

Check your heart. Do you blame God for problems? Do you feel angry with God? Do you think He is unfair? Or do you worship Him and trust Him no matter what?

Dear God, make us humble before you. Make us think right and love you and trust you no matter what. Fill us with love and reverence for you, no matter our circumstances. Thank you that whether we struggle with little things like bills and home repairs, or big things, like earthquakes and deaths, YOU are in control. You are our Shepherd. You love us and forgive us and redeem us and take care of us. Fill us with a genuine and honest repentance. May our hearts be totally open to you and anything you may wish to do in us. We are yours, God. May we please you in all that we do and feel and think. Transform our lives and our hearts every day. Make us godly and humble servants—for you and for others. We love you.

ΑΩ

God Does Not Judge the Repentant. God Judges Those Who Refuse to Repent. 2 Peter 3:9.

Many struggle to understand the judgment of God. Some look at Noah’s flood and feel sorry for those who drowned. Or they read about Sodom and Gomorrah and feel sympathetic toward the people of these two cities who were slain. Others look at the battles David fought and wonder how God could ask Israel to wipe out entire nations. Finally, those who read Revelation may find themselves feeling sorry for those who will die in the various judgments of God, including the final Battle of Armageddon.

There are two things we must consider when we are tempted to judge God for exercising His Divine Judgment:

First, we should focus on the holiness of God.

If you find yourself feeling compassion toward those who endure God’s judgment, you are focusing on the suffering of the Creation rather than the suffering of the Creator. That is, God is holy and these people have deeply and repeatedly blasphemed His holiness. Scoffers will angrily argue that if God is so big and so powerful, how can anything people do really matter to Him? The answer is that God loves every person He has made. He cares and He has made Himself vulnerable to their behavior. Not only that, but God cares about the way these people have hurt and persecuted God’s children. Look at the evil around you that God sees every day. God is incredibly patient. But one day His patience will run out.

That brings us to the second thing we must take into consideration before judging God for exercising His judgment:

God is incredibly patient and will not judge until people “fill up the full measure of their sins” Matthew 23:32.

That is, God watches the sin of a city, nation, or culture, and does not send judgment until the sin has ripened into its worst state. The people God judges are BEYOND THE POINT OF REPENTANCE, BEYOND THE HOPE OF FORGIVENESS.

In Genesis 15:16, God explained that although He promised the Promised Land to Abraham’s descendants, the pagan nations currently living there had not yet “filled up the full measure of their sins.” Consequently, Israel would live in Egypt for 400 years. Only then, after the Amorites and others had reached their fully sinful state, would God judge those evil nations, wiping them off the map and giving the land to Israel.

Let’s sum it up:

When the men of Noah’s day went beyond the point of repentance, God judged the whole earth with a flood, Genesis 6:5-8.

When Sodom and Gomorrah went beyond the point of repentance, the cities were judged with fire, Genesis 18:20.

When Egypt went beyond the point of repentance, the nation was judged, Genesis 15:14.

And when the nations living in the Promised Land went beyond the point of repentance, those nations were judged, Genesis 15:16.

The same will be true in the End Times. In our day and age, God displays tremendous mercy. Consider a short list of global sins: sex trafficking, pedophilia, child pornography, slavery, torture, genocide, robbery, rape, and murder, school shootings and other mass shootings. This list could go on and on, could it not? Everyone knows about the horrible things people do to each other every day. Right now, God is exercising patience. One day, His patience will run out. The world will “fill up the full measure of its sins” and God will judge.

Rather than scoff at God for His judgment, we should fall down in gratitude and worship, thanking Him for His incredible mercy and patience.

“The Lord is not slow about His promise, but is patient, not willing that ANY should perish, but that ALL should come to the knowledge of repentance” 2 Peter 3:9.

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Drunk on Blood. Revelation 17:6.

Yesterday I ran across a video compilation of people who were drunk. They fell down stairs. They tried to fight, but their efforts were ridiculous. A man fell out of a moving boat. A woman in a dress climbed up on the hood of a car and sat there even after the driver began to move forward. Another woman stumbled backwards into bushes and could not extricate herself. All of these people looked silly and sad and pathetic.

The Bible uses drunkenness as a metaphor. In the Book of Revelation, John sees a woman dressed in beautiful clothes and jewelry and sitting on a scarlet beast. This woman has a name tattooed on her forehead and she is drunk. Wait till you hear what she has been drinking …

“The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls. She had a gold cup in her hand filled with everything vile and with the impurities of her prostitution. On her forehead a cryptic name was written: BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF ALL PROSTITUTES AND OF THE VILE THINGS OF THE EARTH. Then I saw that the woman was drunk on the blood of the saints and on the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I was astonished” Revelation 17:4-6.

Why is John astonished? If an enemy of Christ were drunk on blood, he would not be surprised. John is astonished because he understands that this woman who has played the harlot, who is drunk on the blood of the saints, is part of the church.

Numerous Biblical commentaries agree that this passage references the harlot Judah in Jeremiah 2:20 – Jeremiah 3:8.  That is, this one who is drunk on the blood of saints and martyrs—who has been drinking the blood of God’s heroes—has been hiding among the saints all along. How? Consider the Inquisition: thousands were tortured, burned at the stake, and otherwise martyred for holding views the Catholic Church considered heretical. Others were executed for translating the Bible into languages other than Latin. Puritans executed women suspected of being witches.

Pagans, atheists, Nazis, and Communists have killed untold Christians. But a terrible number of godly men and women have also been put to death by those who claim to follow Christ, “but are actually a synagogue of Satan.”

God will send punishers who will render Babylon the harlot “desolate and naked, devour her flesh, and burn her up with fire” (Revelation 17:16) and then an angel will announce “It has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen!” Revelation 18:2. Nearly the entire eighteenth chapter of Revelation discusses the punishment of this one who persecuted the church while posing as a member of the church.

Persecutors will be punished. Revelation 17 indicates God has a special punishment waiting for those who have killed in His name, particularly for those who have killed other believers.

Revelation is a book of justice. God’s wrath will be poured out—even on the so-called Christians who have killed in the Name of Christ, whether in ancient Rome, in the Crusades, or the Inquisition, or the Salem witch trials, or in any of a thousand other places.

The Bible ends with a story of God’s justice and mercy: His enemies will be punished and those who love Him will receive mercy and rewards.

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WHAT IS THE DEVIL SO MAD ABOUT? Revelation 12:2-17.

Revelation 12 chronicles the activities of the devil. Because it is prophecy, it is filled with symbolism and a sort of dream logic. Israel is pictured as a woman, and Satan is a dragon:

“She was pregnant and cried out in labor… And the dragon stood in front of the woman to devour the child. But she gave birth to a Son—a male who is going to shepherd the nations with an iron scepter—and her child was caught up to God and to His throne…. Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon…. and there was no place for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was … thrown to earth, and his angels with him.

“Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ‘The salvation and power and kingdom of our God and the authority of His Messiah have now come, because the ACCUSER OF THE BRETHREN HAS BEEN THROWN DOWN, the one who accuses them before God day and night…. Woe to the earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you with great fury because he knows his time is short….’

“The dragon was furious with the woman and left to wage war against her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and have the testimony of Jesus” Revelation 12:2-17.

Here is the devil’s origin story: he wanted to take God’s throne (Isaiah 14:12-15), and he tried to destroy Jesus, but lost, and was banished to earth. But he was “FURIOUS with the woman” and launched a war against her offspring, “those who keep the testimony of Jesus” Revelation 12:17.

What is he so mad about? The devil

1) hates God most—but can’t do much to Him, so he attacks those God loves. Thus, the devil–

2) hates Christians;

3) hates Jews; and

4) lastly, hates lost Gentiles.

He saves his best attacks for Jews and Christians.

But remember verse 10 and have HOPE! “The accuser of the brethren has been thrown down!” We win, and he knows it!

ΑΩ

The Christmas Story from a Parallel Universe. Revelation 12: 1-9

The twelfth chapter of Revelation tells a sort of Christmas story. The woman in this story is Israel. Israel (crowned by 12 stars symbolizing the 12 tribes) gives birth to Jesus, a child who will rule the nations. Notice the war coming from the devil, pictured as a dragon in John’s vision.

This is a part of the story they don’t sing carols about…

“A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.

“Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.

“And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

“And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” Revelation 12: 1-9.

God, thank you that we are protected from seeing so many of the terrifying attacks of the enemy. But remind us that we HAVE an enemy. Make us prayer warriors, faithfully battling even when the enemy is invisible. Never let us be lazy in prayer, knowing our prayers do make a difference! Use us!

ΑΩ

GLOAT. Revelation 11:10.

Do you ever gloat?

Merriam-Webster defines “gloat” as “to observe or think about something with triumphant or often malicious satisfaction, gratification, or delight. To gloat over an enemy’s misfortune.”

Gloating is a bit like winning a contest, then rubbing your opponent’s face in his loss. Batters sometimes gloat over a home run. Football players gloat when they trash talk after touchdowns.

In the book of Revelation, two witnesses are sent to preach God’s truth in the center of Jerusalem for 1,260 days (3.5 years). This follows the rapture of the church, so there are few believers in the audience. But the two men of God preach fearlessly, killing anyone who attacks them with fire that comes from their mouths.

“If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and consumes their enemies: if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. These men have the power to close up the sky so that it does not rain during the days of their prophecy. They also have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every plague whenever they want.

“When they finish their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, conquer them, and kill them. Their dead bodies will lie in the public square of the great city …. And representatives from the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will view their bodies for three and a half days and not permit their bodies to be put into a tomb. Those who live on the earth will GLOAT over them and celebrate and send gifts to one another because these two prophets brought judgment to those who live on the earth” Revelation 11:5-10.

Imagine it. Two men have preached God’s word for three years. When they die, people around the world are so excited, they give each other gifts to celebrate the death of God’s two witnesses. And they refuse to allow the bodies to be buried. How much do you have to hate your enemies to enjoy watching their bodies lie in the sun, covered in flies and beginning to decay—on television around the globe? That is some serious gloating.

There is a Biblical truth here about an unrepentant heart: The End Times will be characterized by hearts grown cold and unrepentant. 

God forbid that you or I be stiff-necked, stubborn, and unrepentant. “Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy” Proverbs 29:1. Instead, may God give us the humble faith of children: The kingdom of God belongs to those with the humble hearts of little children, Luke 18:16.

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JUSTICE. Revelation 8:3-6.

We crave justice. The gentlest among us is stirred to anger hearing about abuse of children and all the human monsters who torture the defenseless. Who has not heard a news story and hoped bad things would happen to the criminal?

Yet, we read Revelation and feel sorry for those who suffer. The book tells of God’s wrath and we shudder. Some Christians are so troubled they won’t read the book at all. They are mistaken.

Revelation is THE END. This is the final wrap, the conclusion to the story that begins in Genesis. Pay attention to the opportunities: God has given the lost chance after chance after chance. The Spirit practically begs them to repent but they refuse. (Think of it this way—by chapter 8 all the kind-hearted people you are worried about have already turned to Christ. Everyone left is the sworn enemy of both God and His children.)

This is the justice you have longed for all your life. In fact, you have PRAYED for it. Every time you have been wronged, treated unfairly, picked on, tormented, or persecuted. You crave justice and God hears your prayers.

Revelation is not the story of God unleashing justice on His enemies. Revelation is the story of God rescuing His children from captivity and answering their prayers for justice against the enemies who took them captive.

“Another angel… was given a large amount of incense to offer with THE PRAYERS OF ALL THE SAINTS on the gold altar…. The smoke of the incense, with the PRAYERS OF THE SAINTS, went up in front of the presence of God…. The angel took the incense burner, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to earth” thus beginning God’s judgments. Revelation 8:3-6.

God’s judgments begin with our prayers. If you doubt it, read Revelation 8:3-6. God is the hero of the Bible, and Revelation is the story of God rescuing His children and saying ‘YES’ to their prayers for justice.

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THE LAMB WHO IS A SHEPHERD. Revelation 7:15-17.

When I was a child our church published “THE ORBIT.” ‘The Orbit’ was a great name for a paper coming from a Houston church in the early 1970s—the space race was the biggest news of the ’60s and ’70s and our city was its home. One of the best features of the Orbit was a short letter from our pastor, Brother John. He always closed his column with the phrase “The Shepherd loves his sheep” and then his signature. It was a great line, a nice double meaning: Jesus loves us, but so does our pastor, the “under-shepherd.”

David had been a shepherd. He knew the way a shepherd loves sheep. And he knew God loved him: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in need.”

The 23rd Psalm is one of the most popular passages in world literature. Less well-known—obscure even—is a similar passage in Revelation, a sort of “New 23rd Psalm.” Look how similar this is to David’s Psalm:

“The One seated on the throne will shelter them;

They will no longer hunger, they will no longer thirst;

The sun will no longer strike them, nor will any heat.

For the Lamb who is at the center of the throne will shepherd them;

He will guide them to springs of living waters,

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” Revelation 7:15-17.

How many similarities can you find between the actions of this shepherd and the shepherd of Psalm 23? He provides shelter, food and water, guidance, and wipes away tears (similar to “He restores my soul”). But there is one key difference: the Revelation shepherd is in Heaven. So—even in Heaven God will wipe our tears, feed us, shelter us, and protect us. And our shepherd (because we remain sheep) will be the Lamb: “The Lamb who is at the center of the throne will shepherd them.”

Is that an oxymoron? Praise the Lamb who is our Shepherd. You are so loved!

ΑΩ

A Gift from the Ancient of Days. Revelation 6-7.

God often allows things we do not understand: poverty, illnesses, suffering, death. He welcomes your questions. Questions are allowed. But we are not called to ask questions. We are called to worship God, to fall on our faces in awe and reverence and fear. And such fear is not crippling, it is empowering.

The Fear of God is not a crippling fear, but an empowering fear.

Read Revelation chapters 6-7 (or chapters 6-12…).

When you see the throne of God, the Ancient of Days, surrounded by ten thousand angels and believers numbering ten thousand times ten thousand,

When you see His glory, the brilliant light brighter than a thousand suns,

When you see heavenly creatures who defy description with names no human can pronounce,

When you see the awesome and holy majesty of a God who is older than time itself, whose infinite mind of genius created everything that exists,

How can you not fall down and worship Him?

Even when you have questions He does not answer—He is worthy of your praise, your heart, your absolute reverence. And His Word, the Bible, deserves your obedience and respect.

Read the Bible. Study it, memorize it, submit your life to it. There is no other authority on which to base decisions. He is the Ancient of Days, the Great King over all the earth, and He gave you 66 books of wisdom and guidance for life. It is the greatest treasure you possess. Treat it like the treasure it is.

If (WHEN) the Bible bores you, ask God for help. Ask Him to guide you to read the right parts, to study the things that will be most relevant right now, and to fill you with an all-consuming love and hunger for the Word.

Ask Him to help you submit yourself to the authority of God’s Word.

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When Will You Repent? Revelation 8 and 9.

A woman once told me she had never been spanked, that she was so sensitive, a strong word from a parent was enough to change her behavior. I could not relate to that. As a child I heard strong words every day. I ignored them.

I was a strong-willed child. Nothing would deter me from doing what I wanted except the threat of physical pain. I needed a regular dose of corporal punishment to remind me of the rules. But I am not interested in discussing punishment. What I am interested in is that moment of repentance.

What does it take for you to repent? How greatly must you suffer before you change your ways?

In Revelation 9, God begins to pour out His wrath on the earth. As you read this list of judgments, try to predict at what point the people will repent of their sinful ways.

  1. “The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire, mixed with blood, were hurled to the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up” Revelation 8:7. (Did people repent? No.)
  2. “The second angel blew his trumpet… a third of the sea turned to blood, a third of the creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed” Revelation 8:8-9.
  3. “The third angel blew his trumpet … a third of the water became wormwood, so that many people died” Revelation 8:10-11.
  4. “The fourth angel blew his trumpet … a third of the day was without light” Revelation 8:12.
  5. “The fifth angel blew his trumpet” and released something like flying scorpions (Abaddon or Apollyon) to torment people for five months. “In those days people will seek death and will not find it” Revelation 9:1-6. (Is anyone repenting yet?)
  6. “The sixth angel blew his trumpet” and released an army of 200 million horsemen to kill a third of the human race. From the mouths of the horses came fire, smoke, and sulfur, and the tails of the horses resembled the mouths of venomous snakes and they inflicted injury, Revelation 9:13-19.

Would you be ready to repent? I would. But the End Times will be characterized by hearts grown cold and unrepentant:

“The rest of the people, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands to stop worshipping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood … And they did not repent of their murders, their sorceries, their sexual immorality, or their thefts” Revelation 9:20-21.

God, never let our hearts grow hard and calloused. May we have tender hearts before you, and humbly repent of every sin you bring to mind. Help us love you more every day.

ΑΩ