Vision of Cosmic Reality

This Wednesday, just gone, we celebrated and remembered Remembrance Day.

We spent time remembering that there was thousands of young men who saw the evil carried out in the name of conquest and signed up.

Signed up to go to war and to give their bodies and lives to see people and nations saved.

In 2017, a young man by the name of Emmanuel Mensah repeatedly ran into a burning building to save people's lives before ultimately losing his own life.

In 1665, when the bubonic plague was spreading across the world, one town chose suffering to see lives saved.

The town is called Iam, I think that's how you pronounce it, E-Y-A-M in England, a town of about 800 people.

They chose to quarantine themselves off from the important trade routes around them when the plague came.

And so over 14 months, they lost 260 of 800 of their residents.

But their self-sacrifice resulted in victory.

Nobody outside the village contracted the disease.

They doomed themselves to pestilential death to save the surrounding country.

Victory came through suffering.

And there is a pattern here that extends throughout life and life beyond death.

Victory comes when I put to death my own pride and arrogance.

When I choose to love other people.

I win as a friend when I'm really busy.

But I choose to give up my time to help someone else.

I win as a dad when I put to death my annoyance with my kids.

And choose to sit and engage with them.

Today, as we continue to look through the book of Revelation,

John sees a vision of the future of the church.

A future of victory through suffering.

The same victory that Jesus won in his sacrificial death and resurrection,

the church would also be part of.

And a challenge for us today would be to see that that is the ultimate victory.

Victory through suffering.

And then continue to put to death the things that hold us back.

Our personal preferences, our pride and our sin.

And to have life in Christ.

Because that is the victorious Christian life.

We're looking at a really strange and detailed part of Revelation.

All of it's fairly detailed and, you know, it's got some strange things going on.

But today we're going to work our way slowly through Revelation 11,

looking at the various images to understand what this meant in its context

and what it means for us as well.

We're going to see three things as we go through this this morning.

We're going to see that God has protected his church.

He's protected his church because the church is also persecuted.

But God will ultimately vindicate them.

I couldn't think of a third P.

So it's God protects his church because it's persecuted.

And then finally the church is vindicated.

So let me pray for us as we get into Revelation 11.

Heavenly Father, I thank you for your word to us today.

I thank you that we can read your word without fear of persecution in this country.

But Lord, as we look through the detail, help it not bog us down,

but to see the amazing victory that you have for us through the suffering of Christ

and how we too can have life because of Jesus.

Amen.

Please have your Bibles open.

It's wonderful to see some people with their Bibles open on their laps,

on your phone.

Make sure it's the app and the Bible.

If you get distracted, you know, turn your notifications off.

We're in Revelation chapter 11 and we'll start in verse 1

Revelation 11 · chapter mention

where we see John is shown a vision of the temple.

Have a look with me.

I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told,

go and measure the temple of God and the altar with its worshippers.

But exclude the outer court.

Do not measure it because it is being given to the Gentiles.

They will trample on the holy city for 42 months.

In the Old Testament, the temple is the place where God met with his people.

It was where sacrifices were made.

It was where the high priest went once a year to make sacrifice

and it was built to the exact measurements that God said.

But the image here is not of the Old Testament temple.

Rather, it is of the church.

1 Corinthians chapter 3 tells us that now,

1 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention

after Jesus' death and resurrection,

the church is the temple.

It is not the building.

We are the people of God.

This building is wonderful that it allows us to meet,

but God has made us his temple.

We are the place where God meets.

He sends his spirit and he dwells in us.

The outer court is left to be trampled by the Gentiles.

Now, again, with this language of Gentiles,

we know that God has broken down the wall of hostility

between God's people, the Jews,

and has now brought the Gentiles in.

We are united together as a church.

That is the amazing news of the gospel,

that those, the Gentiles, me,

those who are far away from God, his enemy,

have now been brought into his family.

But the outer court here is a picture of those who are God's enemies now.

Those kingdoms, those armies arrayed against God,

those who are against God.

And they will attack God's people for 42 months.

This points back to a prophecy from Daniel.

Without getting too much into the specifics,

42 months is three and a half years.

And in the book of Daniel,

there's a prophecy that at the end of a time,

times, and half a time, the end would come.

So a time is a reference to a year.

And so a year and two years and another half a year is 42 months.

Now, this is pointing to the fact that there will be persecution

come against the church from those who are against God,

but it is for a season.

It doesn't go on forever.

This season is controlled by God.

And whatever people do against God's people,

God will protect them.

Even though there is persecution,

God will protect his people.

And John sees God appoint two particular people to be witnesses.

They're referred to also as lampstands.

So John is describing the church who are going to be persecuted,

and they have a job to witness to the world what God has done.

He's described as two witnesses because in Deuteronomy,

we see that in court,

you need to have two witnesses to be reliable.

So these two witnesses are a reliable witness to what God has done,

and the church are lampstands to shine God's light into a chaotic and dark world.

We are to witness to what God has done in history,

through Jesus,

and in our lives.

And we've been seeing over the last five weeks what God has been doing in people's lives.

It's been wonderful to see, even today,

what God has been doing in people's lives,

and to witness to what God has done.

The church is to witness,

to preach,

to share what God has been doing for 1,260 days.

That's the same reference as the 42 months.

Clothed in sackcloth,

as a sign of grieving,

to call people to repent.

This time will be over.

Your time for repentance will be over.

Repent now.

Follow the Lord now.

But this church also has been given great power to protect itself.

There's this wonderful imagery.

Verse 5.

Have a look with me.

If anyone tries to harm them,

fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies.

This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die.

They have power to shut up the heavens,

so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying.

And they have power to turn the waters into blood,

to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.

Power to cause plagues.

Power to shut up the sky.

These are pictures of Moses and Elijah,

the two great heroes of the Old Testament.

We are now engaged in a very different kind of ministry.

I've never seen anybody have fire come from their mouth.

But what this point is,

it's saying that the work we are now involved in,

being part of God's mission,

is every part as powerful as the great heroes of old.

They brought plagues.

They brought locusts.

They brought fire.

They stopped rain.

They turned rivers into blood.

But with the preaching of the good news of Jesus,

we bring either eternal life or eternal death.

That's what I'm doing standing right here now,

proclaiming the gospel,

preaching the good news.

That's what you do when you read the Bible with a friend.

When you read it with your children,

you are preaching and witnessing to what God has done

to bring eternal life or eternal death.

Seeing God's mighty power work through his word.

God has sent us to be on about his mission

with the very words of life.

God is working to protect us now

so that we can continue to be his witnesses.

The vision given to John summarizes the glory of following God,

that mighty and wonderful things happen,

that people's lives are saved,

but it also paints a picture of the pain of existence

in this present evil world.

For we are in this 42 months.

We are still in this time between Jesus' resurrection and his return,

the time that we have to witness,

to continue to proclaim the good news.

And this time we are protected by God

because nothing can separate us from his love in Christ Jesus.

And yet those who are in the family of God

are protected because we need protected.

Very much like a soldier goes into war wearing armor

because of the need to be defended from attack,

we need to be protected from attack too.

Life in this tension is not easy,

and yet God is with us,

guarding us, guiding us,

nourishing and strengthening us

until the very end.

We need protection because John is going to paint a picture

of persecution coming for the church.

Second point today, persecution.

Have a look with me in verse 7.

Now, when they had finished their testimony,

the beast that comes up from the abyss

will attack them and overpower and kill them.

Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city,

which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt,

where also their Lord was crucified.

The witnesses who were protected

are now killed by a satanic power.

It takes place in Sodom and Egypt

and also where the Lord was crucified.

And it says it's figuratively.

So we get this picture that the church is suffering

against those who have arrayed themselves against God.

Historically, Sodom was against God.

Egypt was against God's people

and the place where Jesus was crucified

was against God and his people.

The world who is opposed to God

wants to shame Christians.

It was a picture of these two witnesses killed

and then their bodies are left in the public square.

They are left for days

and they're not buried,

which in the ancient world would have brought great shame

to their families and those associated with them.

The church is attacked,

maligned,

scorned,

dishonored by those who oppose God.

The very ones that we are called to witness to.

Verse 9.

For three and a half days,

some from every people, tribe, language and nation

will gaze on their bodies

and refuse them burial.

That phrase,

every people, tribe, language and nation,

we saw that in Revelation 7 last week

when we saw that

there would be a multitude of people

from every tribe, nation and tongue

praising God

and now those people

that Christians are called to witness to,

to the whole world,

some of those people

are gazing on the bodies of those two who have died

and refusing burial.

They're giving themselves presents.

They are just so ecstatic

that these Christians have been killed.

The church had been tormented

because they had been tormenting others.

This is what happens when you preach the good news

to those who don't want to hear it.

People don't find it easy to just say,

oh, I'm not interested.

The Christian gospel can actually also torment people.

John the Baptist called Herod

to not marry his brother's wife

and he was beheaded.

Jesus himself called the Jews

not to have a legalistic,

half-hearted devotion to God

and they crucified him.

He had the words of life.

He was God

and they did not like to hear those things.

It tormented them

and so they killed him.

The world cannot bear

to have its evil condemned.

Have you ever seen a loved one

making bad choices

that won't end well?

Do you risk criticizing

what they're doing

out of care and love?

Even when that person

doesn't want to hear it,

it's much more comfortable

not to say anything.

But it is not comfortable

losing that person's life.

It is very comfortable

to not share the gospel.

To not share the gospel

on the front lines

with our friends,

with our family.

I see you making these choices

and chasing after these things.

You think these things

will satisfy you

but they won't.

but I don't want to say anything.

I see you chasing these things

but only Jesus will satisfy

and if I bring that up

it will make for an awkward

family dinner at Christmas.

It is much more comfortable

to not face the shame

from sharing the gospel

and being persecuted.

Can you imagine

being a Christian

and seeing people

do what happens in verse 10?

The inhabitants of the earth

will gloat over them

and celebrate

by sending gifts

to each other

because these two prophets

had tormented

those who live on the earth.

It looks like a painful future

to be a Christian.

But God doesn't leave

his people on the ground

beaten and defeated.

He vindicates them.

Our third point today,

vindication.

Verse 11

But after the three and a half days

but after three and a half days

the breath of life

from God entered them

and they stood up

on their feet

and terror

struck those who saw them.

Then they heard

a loud voice from heaven

saying to them

come up here

and they went up to heaven

in a cloud

while their enemies

looked on.

Those who had been

struck down

beaten,

mocked,

killed,

shamed in front of everybody

are brought to life

and lifted up

in front of everybody.

God's spirit

has brought them

back to life.

They have been vindicated

in the public square

shown

to have been

in the right

to follow God

and to proclaim

his good news.

Now,

this is one of the passages

in Revelation

that has a lot of detail

including specific

time references

that people can often

see this

as a literal

linear timeline.

There are going to be

two witnesses who come

and then it's going to go

for 42 months

and then people are going

to be lifted up

to heaven.

Now,

I don't believe

that this is

a literal timeline.

It's a symbolic way

for John to show

that God has vindicated

his people.

God protects those

who are persecuted

and vindicates.

He will vindicate.

God has shown

his people

to be innocent.

His people

in public

in plain view

of those who rejoiced

over his deaths.

And the amazing thing

is that in verse 13

it says that the people

who saw this

gave glory

to God.

God sent

an earthquake

a sign of judgment.

People died

but people also

gave glory

to God.

He saves people too.

I believe that this

is more of a pattern

of history

rather than

an exact timeline

for what will happen.

The church

is called

to witness

to the gospel.

The church

is persecuted,

martyred,

scorned,

mocked

and at times

it seems like

the church

is done.

The cause of Christ

is defeated.

God is dead

they cry.

Those who follow him,

those Christians,

well they're dying out.

but God's spirit

breathes life

into them.

Picking up imagery

from Ezekiel 37

where dry bones

are revived

and God makes

an army.

God is reviving

his church

to make us

his victorious army.

It happened

to Jesus himself.

He was persecuted,

killed

and yet raised

from the dead.

Stephen in Acts 7

he is persecuted

and killed

but God also

uses that moment

to send

his missionaries

out into the world

to witness

to what God

is doing.

Soviet communism

set out

to crush

the church

but the church

outlived it.

In Ethiopia

between 1975

and 78

President Mengistu

implemented

the Red Terror

where 1.5

million

died

and churches

were closed.

When Mengistu

fell

no one was sure

what had happened

to the Christians.

Were they still there?

They didn't know.

But Christians

had been meeting

in homes

and not only survived

but had grown.

In 1900

the Boxer Rebellion

in China

saw over 200

missionaries killed

and over 30,000

Chinese people killed

and yet

God breathed life

to what seemed dead.

The same thing

happened again

in China

after the Cultural Revolution.

In the face

of hostile powers

the story

of Jesus

repeats itself

in the church.

The church

witnesses to God.

There is persecution

death

and what looks like

defeat

but God

breathes life

and the church

grows.

Victory

comes

through suffering.

Victory

comes through suffering.

It is

God's chosen

weapon

against the forces

of evil.

Faithful people

are sustained

by the power

of the Spirit

of God.

Victory

came through suffering.

Life

comes

through death.

Last week

my family

watched the

1999

classic Disney

movie

Hercules

and I think

the church

is like

a mythical beast

that I saw

in that movie.

not the phoenix

that rises

from the ashes

although that might

be apt

but I think

the church

is really

like the

ancient

hydra.

The hydra

is a dragon

like beast

and what

would happen

is a head

would be cut

off

and two more

heads

would grow

back.

You should

go and watch

this scene

in the movie

Hercules

but I think

this is an apt

picture of the

church.

There is suffering

and persecution

but victory

comes through

suffering.

The church

grows

because suffering

and persecution

is God's

weapon against

the world

his tool

to see

the church

grow.

Our victory

comes through

Jesus' suffering

his death

and his

resurrection

and I think

it also works

in the church

broadly

as we've seen

the church

grows

but

also in our

death

and resurrection

with Christ

each day.

For us as a

church

and individuals

preaching Christ

in Chatswood

and on our

front lines

with our

family and

friends

we are not

yet at the

point of

shedding blood

not yet at the

point of shedding

blood here

but death

and resurrection

is the way

that we are

saved

and it is

also the

pattern of

our lives

and the

weapon to

see our

lives

shaped for

Christ

and to see

people

saved

Jesus

said that

whoever wishes

to save

his life

will lose

it

but whoever

loses

his life

for my

sake

will find

it

the pattern

of a

Christian

follows this

same pattern

of victory

through suffering

we die

we die to

ourself

and we

live

to Christ

Paul says

in 2

Corinthians 4

that he's

hard pressed

his body

is being

given over

to death

so that

life might

be revealed

the call

of Jesus

to us

to his

disciples

is to

die

die

to yourself

surrender

your career

and future

prospects

surrender

your status

and reputation

surrender

your desires

to have

everything

that society

tells you

you must

have

the newest

and the best

you see

those sins

of pride

and lust

and arrogance

put them

to death

so that

Jesus

is the

priority

and he

sets the

direction

for your

life

he gives

life

because the

idols we

chase

won't

embrace

the death

of chasing

career

put to

death

the chasing

after self

worth

on your

own

live to

the worth

of Christ

who died

for you

and valued

you above

his own

life

whenever

we

we give

money

to the

church

for the

sake of

the gospel

whenever we

give of our

time

our talents

our treasures

you are

dying to

yourself

and you

are dying

to building

your own

kingdom

and God

gives life

and he

and we

get to be

satisfied in

him

whenever we

choose to

witness to

a friend

we are

dying to

ourself

and our

own

comfort

to see

a loved

one

saved

and God

gives life

whenever you

pick up your

bible and

read it

choose

trying to

do

to read

your bible

four or

more times

to see

growth in

your life

in Christ

whenever you

pick up your

bible and

read it

you are

putting to

death

your own

control

of your

life

and saying

God

you are

the one

who

gives me

life

you are

the one

who leads

me

I will

obey you

and you

give me

life

whenever you

are faced

with sin

and choose

to obey

God

you put

to death

the idea

that you

know what's

best

you worship

Jesus

as the

king

every

moment

of dying

to self

and choosing

God

is a

moment

of life

by the

spirit

this is

God's

weapon

to build

his

kingdom

this is

God's

weapon

to build

himself

in us

and across

the world

let me pray

heavenly father

we thank you

for this

reminder from

revelation 11

that you

do protect

us

because we

will be

persecuted

but we

thank you

that you

will

indeed

vindicate

us

help us

not chase

that in

our own

time

but wait

patiently

for your

son to

return

heavenly father

we ask

that each

day we

live we

would live

for you

and we

would die

to ourselves

fill us

with your

spirit

help us

to do

that

so that

we would

have more

of you

so that

we would

love you

more

that we

would

treasure

you

more

and so

that we

would see

many

come to

know and

love you

we ask

this in

your son's

name and

all for

your glory

amen