Celebrating God's Judgment

This morning, as we just read, we're going to be in Revelation 15.

So would you turn there in your Bibles?

Revelation 15, 1 through 8, it's a short chapter, only eight verses, but it's an important one,

a pivotal one in this part of the book.

Today is April 7th, and if I have this right, we're only a couple of weeks away from the KUSD spring break.

And then, only, I think, six weeks after that, it will be time for summer vacation.

Even if it's been a long time since you've been a student in school, I'm sure you remember the glory, the joy of those breaks,

and what it's like on that last day of school when you know that you have all this freedom stretched out in front of you.

That joy of spring break or summer vacation when you sleep in and eat snacks or whatever you do, I don't know.

I'm a teacher, so I live by this academic calendar, and I know this rhythm of the hardship of the semester

and the joy of these breaks that come up.

I teach at Trinity, and one of my friends and colleagues there who teaches theology, his name is David Louis.

Louis, and he has a theory that I call the Louis Doctrine.

The Louis Doctrine says that the joy we experience when we are released for spring break or summer vacation,

the joy that we experience is directly proportionate to the pain that we experience during the semester.

So in other words, the worse my semester, the longer the projects take, the sleepless nights, the hardship of the work,

the worse it is, the sweeter that break will be when I'm finally released from it.

We're staying up late, we're tired, and our eyes are bloodshot, and we're thinking to ourselves,

how long, how long are we going to have to keep this up before we have that sweet break that lies ahead?

We just can't wait to celebrate that.

Well, school is hard, but it is nothing compared to the difficulty that we experience in life.

From the moment we're born, we are wicked toward other people, and we are victims of their wickedness.

And often the greatest hurts that we experience in life are the ways that we mistreat each other.

Children are neglected and abused and mistreated by the same adults that are supposed to care for them and protect them.

Teenagers go to school and are bullied and tormented by the cool kids.

And then when we grow into adulthood, that's when the trouble really begins.

We disrespect and hate each other.

We treat each other with racism.

We mock each other.

Those of us who have influence and connections and money

take advantage of people who are in vulnerable situations and make it worse.

Poor women are trafficked and abused.

People steal what they don't have and murder people that get in their way.

They lie and they cheat each other, and our government officials are corrupt and make backroom deals.

People kill their unborn babies to try and cover up bad decisions.

Nations go to war against each other to try and claim influence or land,

and they leave battlefields strewn with dead bodies and leave orphans and widows behind at home.

Governments oppress their people and enslave and imprison them.

And all of this suffering, it only takes a couple of days of reading the news to just get depressed,

because all of this suffering that takes place in the world comes from the sin that we carry in our hearts like a disease.

It just keeps manifesting itself in this wickedness that we do against each other.

And even though all of us have unfortunately some kind of experience with these things,

the hardships of daily life, those are common to all of humanity,

there is a particular animosity that the people of the world have historically brought forth against the church.

Followers of Jesus Christ have always been the target of outrage and rejection

from the time that they were thrown to the lions in the Roman period,

thrown in prison, churches burned.

Even in our contemporary world, I mean, even in our country,

lawyers are now taking Christians to church for what they believe,

and I'm sorry, taking them to court for what they believe,

and trying to put them out of business.

In North Africa, militia groups burn villages and kidnap women and take them off who knows where.

In North Korea, the government throws Christians into these terrible concentration camps

where they just languish for years.

And not long ago in the Middle East, radicals took Christians down to the beach

and in front of video cameras, they cut off their heads.

So we live in a world that is in rebellion against God,

and often it just seems like the wicked are just getting away with it, doesn't it?

Sometimes it just seems like there is just no recourse

for the evil that people mete out against each other.

The psalmist knew about this.

Billy already read part of Psalm 73.

Let's look at a few verses at the beginning.

You can just listen.

Psalm 73.

Listen to what the psalmist says here.

He says,

In other words,

What is the point of trying to faithfully follow God

when these arrogant, wicked people just prosper and flourish in their lives

and they seem to just get away with it year after year?

What is the point of that?

For all the day long, I have been stricken and rebuked every morning.

And when I thought how to understand this,

it seemed to me a wearisome task.

It is hard to live among the wicked.

How are we supposed to think about that?

How are we supposed to live our lives in this world

when people are so evil against each other?

We may wonder,

When is God finally going to do something about this?

In Revelation 6, 9 and 10, it says,

I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain

for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.

They have already been killed because they were following Jesus.

And they cried out with a loud voice,

O sovereign Lord, holy and true,

how long before you will judge and avenge our blood

on those who dwell on the earth?

Well, our passage this morning in Revelation 15 is an answer to that.

It's a celebration of God's victory over the wicked.

Revelation 15, 1 through 8 introduces chapter 16,

which we'll actually focus on next week,

in which God pours out his ultimate anger and judgment on the earth.

In our passage, Revelation 15,

is a prospective celebration of that judgment.

It's a victory song

that God will judge and destroy evil once and for all.

If a difficult semester brings all kinds of joy and happiness

when the summer finally arrives,

then can you imagine the celebration

when God finally puts down all evil?

Can you imagine the joy and the praise

when God brings justice and destroys all wickedness

and sets the world right?

That's the topic of our passage this morning.

Now, if you look at Revelation 15,

you'll see that it is structured

with three occurrences of the phrase,

I looked or I saw.

Look at 15, 1.

He says, and I saw.

And then if you look at 15, 2,

he says, and I saw.

And then in 15, 5, he says,

after this, I looked.

See that?

So these phrases divide the passage into three parts.

The beginning in verse 1

and the end in verses 5 through 8

are an introduction to the bowl judgments

which are coming in chapter 16.

So the beginning and the end of our passage

is looking forward

and the middle of our passage

in verses 2 through 4

are the celebration of what is coming.

The celebration of the judgment.

So this is how we're going to proceed.

We're going to go a little bit out of order here.

First, we're going to look at

what God's people are celebrating

in verse 1 and 5 through 8.

And then we're going to look at

why God's people are celebrating

in the middle in verses 2 through 4.

First, let's look at

what God's people are celebrating.

In verse 1, John sees a sign in heaven.

There are seven angels with seven plagues.

Previously, we read about seven angels

with the seven churches in chapter 1

and the seven angels with seven trumpets

in chapter 8.

But these are different

because these are the last, it says.

John has seen the seal judgments

in chapters 6 through 8

and he's seen the trumpet judges

in chapters 8 through 11

and now this is the end.

With these seven, it says,

the wrath of God is finished.

It is completed.

These aren't just the last judgments

in the sequence

and they're not just the last judgments

in the book.

These are the last judgments ever.

This is the end.

The word finished here means completed.

It means God is going to have finished the job.

It means his wrath,

his righteous anger

will be completely expressed.

Now, if we skip to verse 5,

John says that he looked

and heaven was opened.

This is what happens

in the book of Revelation

before each new phase.

Before the seal judgments,

heaven was opened.

Before the trumpet judgments,

it opened.

Before the woman and the dragon.

And now heaven is opened again

and John can see in this vision

into heaven

and he sees a vision

of the tent of witness there,

the tabernacle.

In the Old Testament,

when God saved his people

from slavery in Egypt,

he established this tent,

this tent of witness

or tent of meeting,

a tabernacle

that represented his dwelling

on the earth

with his people.

He made a covenant with them

and he said,

if you obey me,

then I will bless you

and I will live with you

and we will be in relationship together.

But if you disobey me

and you break this covenant,

there are going to be

terrible consequences.

So this tent of witness

is a symbol

that the nations

have broken the covenant of God

and now those consequences

have arrived.

And the point of this,

the point of John looking into heaven

and seeing the tent

is that these judgments

that are being introduced

are from God.

It's not just that the earth

is getting old and tired.

It's not just that

they're having a bad year

or that the sun

is just about to burn out

or something like that.

The terrible things

that John is about to describe

are coming from heaven.

And actually,

John is more specific than that

because if you look at verse 6,

he says that the terrible plagues

aren't just coming from heaven,

they're coming from Jesus.

How do we know that?

It's because the seven angels

are clothed in pure bright linen

with golden sashes

around their chests.

In chapter 1, verse 13,

that is exactly what Jesus is wearing.

So in other words,

these angels represent Christ.

They're in the same uniform as Christ

and they are carrying out his work.

And then in verse 7,

it says,

four living creatures

give seven golden bowls

to the seven angels.

Now that idea of four living creatures

reminds us of some things

in the earlier part of the book,

in chapter 4,

when four living creatures

are standing around the throne of God

and they're saying,

holy, holy, holy

is the Lord God Almighty

who was and is and is to come.

And in the book of Ezekiel,

in the Old Testament,

the four living creatures

move with God's throne.

They move with God's glory

and they represent him.

In Isaiah chapter 6,

Isaiah 6 · chapter mention

there are these heavenly creatures

standing around God's throne

and they're saying,

holy, holy, holy.

So what we have here

is a tying together of these images,

of these four living creatures

who are in the inner sanctuary

by God's throne.

They stand around the throne

praising him

and calling him holy,

holy, holy.

And the point is

that these plagues

are coming from God.

So John sees the tabernacle

and he sees the angels

dressed in the same apparel

as Jesus Christ

and he sees the four living creatures

which are in the inner sanctuary

of God's throne room.

And then, in verse 8,

he concludes,

And the sanctuary

was filled with smoke

from the glory of God

and from his power

and no one could enter

the sanctuary

until the seven plagues

of the seven angels

were finished.

Again, this is imagery

that's coming from

the Old Testament.

In the Old Testament,

when the people

finally finished

building the tabernacle,

setting up that tent,

then God's glory

moved into it

and it was filled with smoke.

And then later,

when Solomon finally finished

building the temple,

God's glory moved into it

and it filled with smoke.

In Isaiah chapter 6,

Isaiah 6 · chapter mention

when the train of God's robe

came down,

it filled the temple.

And in Ezekiel,

when Ezekiel was describing

God's glory in the temple,

he says there was a cloud

that filled the temple.

So in other words,

God is there.

He's there.

And until his seven plagues

are finished,

no one can even go in.

The plagues are coming

from God.

He's not sitting by thinking,

oh boy, I hope I could do

something about that.

I wish I could stop that

in some way.

They're coming from him.

They're not coming

from the creatures.

They're not coming

from the seven angels.

They're just his messengers.

The plagues are coming from God

and no one can stop him.

No one can hold back his hand.

This is God's wrath.

It's his incredible power

and even his own angelic servants

who stand around his throne

in normal times

can't be in his presence

because his wrath is too great.

And all of this

is just the introduction.

Because as we get into chapter 16

in the next chapter,

then the seven angels

begin to pour out

their golden bowls

of God's wrath.

When the first angel

pours out bowl number one,

then painful sores break out

and boils break out

on those people

who worship the beast.

Then the second angel comes

and pours out bowl number two

and all the sea turns to blood

and it kills all the creatures

in the sea.

God is destroying

his own creation.

Then the third angel

pours out bowl number three

and all the rivers

and the springs,

all the places

where you might hope

to find drinking water

turn to blood.

And the angel of God

who is in charge

stands there and says,

these people

on the earth

have shed the blood

of the saints

and prophets.

Now you, God,

have given them blood

to drink.

Yikes.

And then the fourth angel

pours out bowl number four

and the sun

heats up

and burns people

with fire

and scorches them

with its heat.

But the people

don't repent.

They curse God.

Then the fifth angel

pours out bowl number five

and the earth

is covered

in total darkness

and the people

have these

unbelievable burns

from the sun

and boils

and they're thirsty

and the sea

stinks like blood

and now they're

in total darkness

and it says,

they gnaw

at their tongues

in anguish

and they curse God

for their pain.

Then the sixth angel

pours out bowl number six

and the Euphrates River

dries up

so that all the nations

of the whole earth

can gather together

to attack God's people.

But what they don't know

is that they've just

made themselves

a really good target

and God wipes them out.

They have only gathered

for their own destruction.

And finally,

the seventh angel

pours out bowl number seven

and there's a great earthquake.

It says,

greater than any earthquake

in history

and the cities

of the world

are split apart

and gigantic hailstones

fall from heaven

and the people

underneath

are cursing God

because the plague

is so severe.

So God is pouring out

his wrath on the earth

and he inflicts people

with painful boils

and takes away

their drinking water

and burns them

and keeps them

in total darkness

and then gathers them

together

and rips apart

the earth

and hurls giant

hailstones down on them.

This is the God

who created the world.

He has created people

in his own image

and now he is

destroying them.

It sounds terrible.

It really does

but the wrath of God

is not the problem.

The wrath of God

is the cure.

Imagine that someone

who,

someone visits you

who grew up

on a deserted island

somewhere

completely cut off

from civilization

and for some reason

I don't know,

I don't know why

we take them

on a tour

of a cancer unit

in a hospital.

We show them

rooms with needles

and claustrophobic

MRI machines

that no one wants

to get into

and we show them

the surgery area

where people are cut open

and we show them

chemotherapy

that makes people

nauseous

and weak

and miserable

and they just

shake their head

and they say

this is terrible.

This is terrible.

Why would you do

these things to someone?

And we would say

I know it's harsh

and we're not

always successful

but the thing

that we're attacking

is worse

because we're

killing cancer

and cancer

is a terrible

disease.

See in some ways

our extreme attempts

at a cure

for cancer

only make sense

if you know

how terrible

the disease is.

Even though

the cure seems harsh

the disease

is worse

and we are trying

to kill

the cancer.

God's judgment

looks harsh

at first glance

if you think

that sin

is not a very big deal.

If you think

that sin

is just a little

lie

or a little

unkind thought

then we might

look at the cure

and say

how can God

be so ferocious?

I don't know

if I want to serve

a God

of wrath

like that

but we may not

understand the full

weight of the problem

because sin

is a cancer

that infects

the heart

and God

offers to kill it.

God offers

to kill it

in our hearts

by the power

of Jesus Christ's

death and resurrection.

He wants to kill it

but if we say no

then it starts

to grow

and it metastasizes

until there is

nothing left to do

but kill the entire person.

Sin is rebellion

against God

the creator

of heaven and earth

and these are

unrepentant people

who persist

in evil

and violence

and systematic

injustice

and persecution

of God's people

and God is not

going to allow

that to continue.

He is going

to put a stop

to it

and notice

that even now

even now

in the midst

of judgment

look at how

these people

are responding

they're not

responding by

begging God

for mercy

they are responding

with curses

they are cursing

God

and rebelling

against him

to the very end.

They would not

let him kill

the sin

in their hearts

and so he has

no choice

but to kill them.

this is what

God's people

are celebrating

in verses 1

and 5 through 8.

Now let's go back

and look at the middle

section of our passage

in verses 2 through 4

and think about

why they're celebrating.

In verse 2

John looks

into heaven

and it says

These are God's people

who have given

their lives

in faithfulness

to him.

The reason they're

in heaven

is because they have

already been killed

for their faith.

We have seen

this group before

in Revelation

in Revelation 11

it says

when they finish

their testimony

the beast

that rises

from the bottomless pit

will make war

on them

and conquer them

and kill them.

So from an earthly

perspective

it looks like

the beast

has already won

that it has conquered

them.

But then we learn

in chapter 12

in the next chapter

that they have

conquered the beast

that all is not

as it seems

they have conquered

by the blood

of the lamb

and the word

of their testimony.

They persevered

in their faith.

even though

they were persecuted

and killed

and when they died

they were victorious

because the blood

of Jesus

saved them.

Notice in this passage

here in verse 2

notice that it tells us

two times

that they are standing

on the sea of glass.

That tells us

two important things.

First of all

we saw back

in Revelation 4

that the sea of glass

is before God's throne.

So it tells us

that these saints

these martyrs

who have died

for their faith

are in the presence

of God.

The second thing

it tells us

is that everything

is peaceful there.

In the Old Testament

the sea

is considered

to be frightening

and unpredictable

and dangerous.

Think about the little boats

that the people

rode around on.

I mean it's a dangerous thing.

It's unpredictable.

But this sea

is not like that.

This sea

is a sea of glass.

It is completely still.

There is no turbulence

or trouble at all.

Here we are

at the end of all things.

He's already

brought the seals.

He's already brought

the trumpets.

He's about to pour out

the bowls.

It's a time of judgment

and God's wrath

and smoke

is filling the temple

on the one hand

but on the other hand

everything

is completely peaceful.

There is no stress.

There is no anxiety

at all.

God has everything

under control.

There is total safety

and total peace.

God never sits

in heaven

no matter what

the circumstances

he never sits in heaven

chewing on his fingernails

or wondering

what he's going to do next.

Actually that's worth

remembering.

Think about that

in your own life.

When you

are going through

incredible hardship

no matter how stressed

you are

in heaven

there is total peace

with God.

He has complete

control of the situation.

These martyred saints

are holding harps

to sing the song

in verse 3.

It's called

the song of Moses

to connect it back

again to the Old Testament

when the Israelites

sang a song

of victory

after God

saved them

from the Egyptian army.

Remember

after they came

out of Egypt

Pharaoh and his army

were chasing them

through the desert

and they were cut off

because there was

a large body of water

in front of them.

At the last minute

God opened

the Red Sea

and the Israelites

hurried across

on dry ground

and then God waited

until the Pharaoh

and the Egyptian army

were in the middle

of the water

and then he let

the water close

and he drowned

them all.

He killed them.

And by killing

the Egyptian army

God saved his people.

And so the people

respond.

Moses and the people

sing a song

to the Lord.

They say

I will sing

to the Lord

for he

has triumphed

gloriously

the horse

and rider

he has thrown

into the sea.

And now we have

another song.

It's a song of Moses

because it's a victory song

but it's also a song

of the Lamb

because it's a song

of God's great

deliverance

in Christ.

In this victory song

the saints

are celebrating

three things

about God's

coming judgment

and they're also

giving three reasons

why.

So let's look

at those briefly.

First

in this song

they say

great and amazing

are your deeds

O Lord

God the Almighty.

God's acts

of judgment

are powerful

and incredible.

He is God

the Almighty.

He is a powerful God.

You know

in history

many times

God has not

intervened.

Maybe there have

been times

when we've wondered

why

why doesn't God

do something

about that evil.

Why doesn't

He stop

those people

from doing that?

Why

if He is

if He's in heaven

watching

why does He

let that go on

for so long?

Maybe we wonder

is it because

God really

can't do anything?

No.

That's not true.

He has

incredible power.

He has been

waiting

and now

He will bring

His powerful

anger on the earth

like no one

has ever seen.

No one

will question

His ability.

He is the King

the Almighty

the Lord

of armies.

Second

not only

is God

powerful

but at the end

of verse 3

they say

He is just

and true.

Just

and true

are your ways

O King

of the nations.

In other words

God is not

only powerful

He is also

good.

His great

and amazing

deeds

at the beginning

of verse 3

are not just

demonstrations

of power

to impress us

they are

expressions

of His character.

God doesn't

desire that

anyone

should perish.

He resists

judgment.

He waits.

He waits

for people

to respond

to Him

in faith

and repentance

sometimes

until the

very end

but when

He does

judge

it is

just

and right.

When

He pours

out His

wrath

on the earth

and burns

His enemies

and takes

away their

drinking water

and brings

total darkness

and hurls

hailstones

on them

He is being

just

and it's

because

He is

righteous.

Maybe

you've

wondered

why

doesn't

God

do

something

about

that

injustice

that I'm

reading about

on the news?

When

that person

was hurting

me

why

didn't

God

intervene

and stop

them?

Why

is He

letting

this go

on for

so long?

Maybe

we wonder

He might

be powerful

but maybe

He isn't

good.

Maybe

He sees

evil

and He

just

doesn't

think

it's

a very

big

deal.

That's

not

true.

He

sees

and He

cares

and He

has been

waiting

but now

He will

act.

He will

do what

is right

and true

by pouring

out His

judgment

on the

earth

and setting

everything

right.

The third

response to

God's judgment

comes at the

beginning of

verse 4.

The saints

say,

who will

not fear

O Lord

and glorify

your name?

This is a rhetorical

question with

an obvious

emphatic

answer.

Everyone

will fear

and glorify

God when

they see

His angels

pour out

the bowls

of wrath.

People

have not

always taken

Jesus very

seriously.

The Roman

soldiers

spat on

Him.

The Jewish

leaders

mocked

Him.

People

use His

name as a

swear word.

He sometimes

flips through

the channel

and you

see Jesus

there as a

ridiculous

cartoon on

some television

show.

But when

He pours out

His wrath

on the

earth,

everyone,

everyone

will know

who He

is.

Everyone

will give

Him the

honor that

He is due

because He

will show

Himself to

be the

mighty God

with unlimited

power and

unlimited

good.

God

will

give us

a victory

song,

a celebration,

and they

say,

God is

powerful,

God is

good and

just and

true,

and everyone

will give

Him the

glory that

He deserves.

And then

they give us

three further

reasons,

three more

reasons to

celebrate.

If you

look at the

end of

verse 4,

there are

three occurrences

of the word

for here,

kind of the

word because,

and I think

probably only

two of them

are translated

in most of

the English

versions.

It says,

for you alone

are holy,

for all the

nations will

worship you,

and for your

righteous acts

have been

revealed.

Three reasons.

For you alone

are holy.

God is set

apart from

the world and

He stands

above it,

outside of it,

He cannot

look on

evil.

And so now

He is

destroying it.

For all

nations will

come and

worship you.

Remember in

verse 3,

they said,

He is the

King of

the nations.

This picks

up on an

important theme

in the Old

Testament

prophets,

that those

among the

nations who

submit to

God will

stream to

Jerusalem at

the end,

come to

the New

Jerusalem to

worship Him.

It says,

all nations,

because everyone

is invited,

all people

from every

land,

from every

language,

God has

always intended

for His

salvation to

go to the

ends of the

earth.

When you

know,

when you

see this,

when you

know that

God is

powerful and

good,

and He is

bringing justice

on the earth,

then you have

the opportunity

to submit to

Him and to

come and

join Him,

and that is

what He wants.

And then

finally,

they say,

for your

righteous acts

have been

revealed.

Some people

might say,

I don't know

if I want to

worship a God

who judges

like this,

but these

martyred saints

in heaven are

saying,

we worship

God because

He judges

like this.

He is

righteous,

and He does

what is good.

It is a good

thing for God

to judge evil.

It is right.

It is because

He is good

and loving

that He will

not let evil

prevail forever.

So I think

one way to

sum up this

passage is

to say that

God's ultimate

judgment is

something to

celebrate.

God's ultimate

judgment is

something to

celebrate.

Let's talk

briefly about

three points

of application

for this.

Number one,

celebrating God's

judgment increases

our loyalty to

Him.

It increases

our loyalty

to Him.

Is it wrong

to celebrate

the suffering

and destruction

of the world?

Aren't we

supposed to

love the

people of the

world just

like God

does?

Yes.

Yes.

But there's a

tension.

If you're feeling

that tension,

it's because

that tension

exists in the

Bible.

On the one

hand,

we know that

God loves

the world

and sent

His Son

to save

it as a

ransom.

It says in

John 3.16,

for God

so loved

the world.

And He

wants His

people to

live in this

world as

good citizens.

He says in

Jeremiah 29.7,

seek the

welfare of the

city where I

have sent you

into exile.

You're living

there temporarily.

Seek its

welfare.

That applies

to us as

well.

Paul says in

1 Timothy 2,

pray for

your civil

authorities.

Live peaceful

and quiet

lives.

But on the

other hand,

the world is

opposed to

God and

to His

people.

In John

15.19,

Jesus says,

if you were

of the

world,

the world

would love

you as

its own.

But because

you are not

of the world,

but I chose

you out of

the world,

therefore the

world hates

you.

And in

1 John 2.15,

He says,

do not love

the world or

the things in

the world.

If anyone

loves the

world, the

love of the

Father is not

in him.

If we love

our sin,

if we love

our sinful

world,

God,

if we

assimilate

and we

consider this

to be our

home,

if we adopt

the mindset

that this is

the good

life and

we're unclear

about who

it is that

we really

belong to,

and we

lose our

sense of

true citizenship,

then we

will find it

difficult to

celebrate the

destruction of

the world.

But when we

are properly

aligned with

God,

and we

love the

same things

that he

loves,

and we

hate the

same things

that he

hates,

then we

will love

people.

We will

love the

worst of

sinners,

because we

also were

the worst

of sinners.

We will

love them,

but we

will also

love God's

glory and

his victory.

We love

it when

God destroys

evil and

stops

evildoers

from what

they do.

Listen to

this quote

from Martin

Luther,

the

reformer.

He says,

we should

pray,

we should

pray that

our enemies

be converted

and become

our friends.

We should

pray for

them,

and if

not,

that their

doing and

designing be

bound to

fail and

have no

success,

and that

their persons

perish rather

than the

gospel and

the kingdom

of Christ.

God's

judgment

creates a

little bit

of a

hard edge,

doesn't

it?

It's a

little bit

of a

hard edge

there that

forces us

to choose

our side.

And when

we celebrate,

that helps

us to

choose a

side and

to grow

in our

loyalty to

God.

Second,

celebrating

God's

judgment

in the

future

helps us

to persevere

now when

things get

hard.

God's

love.

The book

of Revelation

is written

to a

church that's

under attack.

For a long

time, in

this country,

we have had

a lot of

peace and

a lot of

freedom,

and so we

have to use

our imaginations

a little bit,

although things

are heating up

a bit now.

But like the

saints in

Revelation 6,

we also ask,

how long

until you

judge?

How long

will God

let the

church be

persecuted?

And right now

he's waiting,

and we have

to wait too.

But someday

he will pour

out his

wrath on

the earth

and bring

terrible

judgment,

and when

God's

enemies are

destroyed,

God's

people will

finally be

safe.

The people

in our

passage who

are celebrating

God's

judgment have

already

persevered.

They have

already clung

to their

faith and

clung to

their relationship

with Jesus

Christ,

even though it

has cost

them their

lives.

They have

already died

for him,

but it was

worth it.

Their

suffering was

worth it

because now

they stand

in God's

presence and

cheer him

on as he

puts down

evil and

destroys his

enemies,

and we also

must persevere.

We must hold

on to our

faith no matter

what.

We also have

to be willing

to suffer and

die for Jesus.

And you know

what?

This celebration

in Revelation 15

helps.

It helps.

Because it's like

we know that

there's a party

that has already

started,

and we

will be

there soon.

We know

how this

story turns

out.

Any discomfort

or suffering

that we

experience for

Jesus now

is going to

be worth it

because we

know that

someday there

will be a

great celebration

as God

puts everything

right.

Number three,

it is not too

late to join

the celebration.

God's people

say in verse

four,

for all nations

will come and

worship you.

It's interesting

that even here

in the midst

of judgment,

even here

when the people

being judged

are cursing

God,

not everyone

is being judged

and not everyone

is cursing him.

Some from the

nations are coming

to Jerusalem

to worship him

as he deserves.

And so there

is an implicit

call here

in the passage

to respond

to this future

knowledge

with repentance

and faith.

God kills

evildoers,

and when he

does that,

it is right

and good,

but he doesn't

want to do

that.

He wants

to take you

into surgery.

He wants

to kill

the sin

that lies

in your heart.

He wants

to kill it

by the power

of Jesus.

He knows

that if he

doesn't,

it will grow

and metastasize

and you will

be lost.

It has

to be killed,

but the only

cure

is the power

of Jesus'

death and

resurrection.

You might

think to

yourself,

it sounds

like you're

urging me

to accept

Jesus so

that I

escape his

anger.

Yeah,

that's right.

You might

say,

I don't know

if being

afraid of

God's judgment

is a good

reason to

follow Jesus.

That just

sounds inappropriate

for some

reason.

No,

it's not.

It's a

perfectly

good reason.

That's what

this passage

is saying.

God is

going to

pour out

his wrath

and he

is going

to inflict

terrible

suffering

and death

and he

will be

right to

do so

when he

does.

But he's

offering now

for you

to defect,

to join

him and

to submit

to him

and to

allow him

to perform

that surgery

and then

to live

with him

as his

child

in peace

and joy

forever

and ever.

It is a

gracious offer.

It is an

offer of

love.

But there

will come

a time

when it

is too

late for

that.

And so

this morning

if you

feel uneasy

about where

you stand

with God,

I urge you

come and

talk to me,

to Mike,

to one of

the other

pastors or

elders,

to the

person sitting

next to

you.

We would

love to

help you

know for

sure that

you can

have peace

with God.

So God's

judgment is

something to

celebrate.

It encourages

us to

reinforce our

loyalty with

God.

It helps us

to persevere

while we

wait,

and it urges

us to join

him while we

still can.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Father, as

we work

through this

passage, it

raises mixed

emotions in

us.

Because we

know that we

are the

rightful targets

of your

wrath, and

we grieve our

own sin that

causes us to

be enemies

with you.

So we

grieve that

sin that you

hate.

And we

also love

our family,

and our

friends, and

our neighbors.

On the one

hand, we

celebrate your

right judgment.

On the other

hand, we

love them.

And we

want you to

be victorious.

And so all

we can say

as we work

through these

conflicted

things is

that we

are dependent

on your

mercy.

We have

nothing to

boast about.

We have

nothing to

offer to

you.

There's no

reason for