The Kingdom of Our Lord and His Christ

Good morning, everyone.

It's always such a joy to be able to worship with you guys on Sundays like this.

Yeah, I'm always just so blessed by the loud voices that we sing our worship in.

Yeah, truly just an honor to be with you.

Please turn with me to Revelation chapter 11, verse 14 to 19.

Revelation 11:14–19

Since the fall, our church has been going through a series in Revelation.

And this week we have reached, finally, the midpoint of the book.

And so we find ourselves, once again, Revelation chapter 11, verse 14 to 19.

Revelation 11:14–19

Please, I want you to pray with me for the reading and the preaching of God's word.

Heavenly Father, we just thank you so much for your word,

which is breathed out by you, which seeks to instruct us, to guide us,

to rebuke us and encourage us, and to fill us with hope of your coming kingdom.

Lord, we thank you so much for your Holy Spirit, which illuminates scripture in our lives,

that guides us in how to live out the gospel faithfully, even unto death.

And Lord, we thank you for your Son, Jesus, whose name is above all names,

whose name is sweeter than honey on our lips,

whose name is like refreshing waters to our soul.

Lord, we ask that your word speak to us this morning and remind us of your coming kingdom

and all the implications behind that, both on this physical world

and in terms of the eternal consequences, Lord.

Be with us.

I want your Spirit to speak to our hearts.

We thank you.

We love you.

And we pray all of us in Jesus' name.

Amen.

If you are willing and able, please stand for the reading of God's word.

Revelation chapter 11, verse 14 to 19.

Revelation 11:14–19

The second woe has passed.

Behold, the third woe is soon to come.

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,

The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ,

and he shall reign forever and ever.

And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God

fell on their faces and worshipped God, saying,

We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was,

for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.

The nations raged when your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged,

and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name,

both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.

Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple.

There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

You may be seated.

When I first read this Revelation passage,

a certain scene came to my mind from the movie Avengers Endgame.

I thought of, specifically, the final battle,

with that epic scene where all of the Marvel superheroes,

they gather together to fight against the evil villain, Thanos.

Captain America, he holds his hand down,

Thor's hair comes rushing into his hand,

and he calls out,

Avengers!

Assemble!

I remember watching this movie at the theater,

and as Captain America cried out this battle cry,

chills went down my spine.

And I wasn't alone.

The entire theater was clapping and whistling and whooping,

like, yeah!

The Avengers are here!

They're gonna win!

And how can they not lose when they have all the heroes gathered together in one battlefield?

But even with such an epic scene,

there still is no guarantee that the Avengers would win.

For another 30 minutes in the movie,

the Avengers continue to struggle against Thanos,

and we're still left in unsureness of the Avengers victory,

until finally,

Iron Man takes possession of the Infinity Stones

and snaps his fingers to defeat Thanos

and restore the world from the destroyer.

This movie is five years old.

If I'm spoiling anything,

I'm not sorry.

Going back to our Revelation passage,

in John's vision here,

God's triumphant kingdom and reign has come to the world.

And without delay,

the destroyers of the earth are destroyed,

and those who have been faithful to the Lord are rewarded.

And God's temple and His ark of His covenant,

His presence is revealed for all to see.

Unlike in Avengers Endgame,

we have absolute confidence in the end of our story.

That God will rule over the world.

That He will avenge those who have been persecuted and killed in His name.

And that He will judge with absolute justice

those who deserve eternal life

and those who deserve eternal death.

There's no unsureness or insecurity about this.

When the Lord's kingdom comes to earth,

His victory and His reign is guaranteed.

And so with this in mind,

our main point of this passage is this.

We should join in the worship of the Lord,

knowing that He will destroy our destroyers

and reward the faithful,

and that His kingdom will come with His very presence.

I'll be covering four points in this sermon.

First, the third woe.

Second, the worship of God and His Christ reign.

Third, the wrath and reward of God.

And fourth, God with us.

Before I get into these four points,

I wanted to do a recap of where we are in the book of Revelation.

And so we're at the end of the seven trumpet judgments,

which are a series of end-time judgments from God

onto our wicked and idolatrous world.

The fifth, sixth, and seventh trumpet blasts

have been called the three woe judgments,

as we see proclaimed by the eagle

in Revelation 8, verse 13.

Revelation 8:13

It says,

Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth

at the blast of the other trumpets

that the three angels are about to blow.

Woe, woe, woe.

Doom, doom, doom.

These three final woes accentuate

the increased intensity and severity of the judgments,

leading to the climactic final judgment

of God at the seventh trumpet.

At the first woe, the fifth trumpet,

a fallen star, presumably an evil angel or Satan,

was given a key to the bottomless pit,

from which demonic locusts flew out

and tormented mankind for five months,

to the point that men desired to die.

But death continued to evade them.

And then we see something even more intense.

At the second woe, the sixth trumpet,

four angels and their armies killed

one-third of mankind,

while the rest of mankind

continued to be unrepentant of their sins.

For 42 months, the wicked nations

trampled over the courts outside of the city temple,

and the two witnesses were killed

for proclaiming the gospel,

only to be resurrected by God

three and a half days later.

Then a great earthquake shook the city,

killing 7,000 wicked people,

and while the remaining survivors

could do nothing but acknowledge God's power

and be in awe of his judgment.

All these events of the fifth and sixth trumpets

lead to the blowing of the seventh and final trumpet,

the third and final woe.

If we look at the outline of Revelation

that John had shared with us before,

our passage of the seventh trumpet

is right at the center of Revelation.

We've reached the midpoint.

John's vision in this passage

will represent, as I said before,

the climactic conclusion of God's judgment,

in which God's kingdom comes down to earth

and overtakes the kingdom of the world.

And this leads to my first point,

the third woe.

Verse 14,

The second woe has passed.

Behold, the third woe is soon to come.

While the fifth and sixth trumpet judgments

had verses that signaled the first two woes

in Revelation 9 and Revelation 11,

there is no explicit mention in Scripture

of the seventh trumpet being the third woe.

Still, I think that there's strong evidence in the text

that Revelation 11, chapter 14,

I've heard verse 14 to 19,

is indeed the third woe.

For one thing, we have in verse 14,

Behold, the third woe is soon to come.

It's soon to come.

Revelation 8 and Revelation 10

also say that the woe judgments

would occur at the final three blasts

of the angels' trumpets,

and that in the days of the trumpet call

to be sounded by the seventh angel,

the mystery of God would be fulfilled.

The mystery of God from Revelation 10

is God's kingdom being fully established on earth.

The short and brief description

of the seventh trumpet and the third woe

compared to the other two woes

should not undermine the ultimate severity

of this passage.

The seventh trumpet,

which is supposed to be the most intense judgment

that we have seen so far in Revelation,

signifies the end of the end,

the eschaton.

This is the final judgment

where the Lord brings his kingdom onto earth

and immediately the living and the dead

are judged for eternal reward

or eternal death.

This is final.

And so what John sees

in this vision of the seventh trumpet

and the third woe judgment

must have been both so glorious

but also so terrifying

that John cannot even describe in words

what happens at the final judgment.

This vision of judgment

is far more intense

than that of demonic locusts

or the death of our two witnesses

or the earthquake that killed 7,000 people.

It's unspeakable.

Church,

the third woe

is a reminder

that we need to be considering

the eternal consequences

of how we live here in the present.

There will come a day

where we face

either eternal joy

and life

that is beyond

our ability to explain in words

or eternal death

and suffering

that will render us speechless.

But God is so gracious to us

that he shows us

through scripture

how to follow

the way to eternal joy

and life in him.

And that is through believing

in Jesus Christ

as our Lord

and Savior.

until the day

that we are left

awestruck

and without words

by God's glorious presence

among us.

Let's proclaim the gospel

with our voices

and with our lives

to those around us

being cognizant

of the eternal consequences

of the coming Lord

and of his kingdom.

This leads to my second point,

the worship of God

and his Christ frame.

Verse 15,

Then the seventh angel

blew his trumpet

and there were loud voices

in heaven saying,

The kingdom of the world

has become the kingdom

of our Lord

and of his Christ

and he shall reign

forever and ever.

The loud voices in heaven

are most likely

the same voices

that cried out

in Revelation chapter 7.

Revelation 7 · chapter mention

Salvation belongs

to our God

who sits on the throne

and to the Lamb.

The heavenly voice

of the declaration,

it refers to

the prophet Daniel

vision in Daniel chapter 7.

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

Behold,

with the clouds of heaven

there came one

like a son of man

and he came

to the ancient of days

and was presented

before him.

And to him

was given dominion

and glory

and a kingdom

that all peoples,

nations,

and languages

should serve him.

His dominion

is an everlasting dominion

which will not pass away

and his kingdom

one that shall not

be destroyed.

this one

like a son of man

is Jesus Christ,

the son of God

and the promised king.

During his life

and ministry,

Jesus proclaimed

that the kingdom

of God

is near,

is at hand.

It was Jesus

who inaugurated

the kingdom of God

and invited us

into that kingdom

by dying for us

on the cross

and resurrecting

from the grave,

thereby defeating

Satan,

sin,

and death

and adopting us

into his kingdom.

Now in this

revelation vision,

Christ has returned

and the kingdom

of God

has been fully established

here on earth

just as Jesus

had prophesied.

The kingdom

of the world

which Satan

had authority

over for a time

is now fully

taken away

from him.

The kingdom

of the world

has become

the kingdom

of the Lord God

and his Christ.

While Satan's rule

was only temporary

for a time,

God and Christ's rule

will be forever

and ever,

marking the end

of the age.

Verse 16 and 17,

And the 24 elders

who sit on their thrones

before God

fell on their faces

and worshipped God,

saying,

We give thanks to you,

Lord God Almighty,

who is and who was,

for you have taken

your great power

and begun to reign.

The 24 elders,

as we see in Revelation

Revelation 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4,

could be referring

to the 12 tribes

of Israel

in the Old Testament

and the 12 apostles

in the New Testament.

Altogether,

all 24 elders

represent

the complete

people of God,

his community

of believers.

believers.

The elders,

having heard the proclamation

from the voices in heaven,

they fall from their thrones

onto their faces

and worship God,

thanking him

for consummating the kingdom,

taking his great power

and beginning to reign.

And the elders say,

We give thanks to you,

Lord God Almighty,

who is and who was.

For those of us

who may have grown up

reading scripture,

we're typically used

to hearing this phrase

in a threefold pattern,

that God is the one

who was,

who is,

and is to come.

The threefold pattern

describes God's sovereignty

over all history,

the past who was,

the present who is,

and the future

who is to come.

But in verse 17,

the elders worship

the Lord God Almighty,

who is and who was.

Where is who is to come?

Well, the phrase

who is to come

is replaced

with a different line.

For you have taken

your great power

and begun to reign.

If we put that entire sentence

back together,

the elders are thanking

the Lord God Almighty,

who is,

who was,

and has taken

his great power

and begun.

to reign.

The elders worship

is emphasizing

that the future,

the God who is to come,

is now here.

God's people's hope

of the future

has come true

because God

has come down

and he has begun

to reign

over the entire world.

And because God's reign

is eternal,

there is no more future

as we understand it

in our human concept

of time and history.

God will reign forevermore

and nothing will change

or can change

or alter that final reality.

The elders have realized

this amazing truth

and they step off

their thrones

to bow down

before God

and worship.

The first thing

the elders say

in their worship

is,

we give thanks

to you, God.

They give thanks

for God's presence

in the past,

in the present,

and in the future.

Church,

do we worship God

in the same way?

Do we think of God

as being sovereign

over the past,

the present,

and the future?

Do we thank him

for his presence

in all three times?

I'm going to confess

this to you guys.

Lately,

I myself

haven't been doing well

in being thankful,

especially in my own

private,

individual time.

Outside of our

Saturday community group

or Wednesday night prayers,

where we intentionally

gathered to spend time

to thank God together,

I've been so lacking

in posturing myself

toward Thanksgiving.

I've taken God's

daily grace and mercy

for me,

for granted,

as if God owed this to me.

That's so far

from the case

because I'm a sinner

also,

who's indebted to God

for saving me

through Christ.

And so,

reading this passage

of the elders'

worship and thanksgiving

to God

makes me realize

that just like the elders,

I need to step off

of my throne

in humility

before God.

I want to bow down

and worship,

thanking God

because he saved me.

Back when I was

15 years old,

he helped a self-destructive

teenager like me

encounter the great

love of the Father.

I want to thank God

for how he continues

to sustain me,

and sanctify me today

that I don't go back

to my old ways of sin.

And I want to thank God

for how he will prevail

in the end

and bring his people

into his eternal kingdom

forevermore.

God's ultimate reign

has not yet come,

but it's already

been guaranteed

to us.

There are many of us here

who long

for this not-yet reality,

but we face struggle

in our lives

because of the evil

in our current world.

some of us here

may be feeling harassed

by evildoers around us.

Some of us

may be weary

from fighting

our own sinful flesh

and the devil.

And some of us

may be actively

persecuted

for our faith

within our family,

within our workplace,

for those of us

who may be overseas

by the government.

To those of you

who are struggling

in this way,

God sees,

hears,

and knows

of our hardships.

Living in this space

of not-yet

really is difficult.

But for this reason,

God promises

those who remain

steadfast in him

that there will be a day

when that waiting

is over

and the long-awaited

Christ is now here.

This will be the sign

and seal

that God's kingdom

has come

to full reign

and our trials

will be met

with great reward

from God.

So brothers and sisters,

let thanksgiving

be a daily discipline

of how we worship God.

Let's count it all joy

when we meet trials

of various kinds,

clinging to Christ

with thankful hearts

as we wait on him

to come.

Psalm 107 says

to give thanks

to the Lord

for he is good

for his steadfast love

endures forever.

God's love for us

has endured

since the very beginning

when he created

the universe

and his love

stretches forward

to all eternity

long after this world

has come to pass.

Let's give thanks

alongside all the saints

and elders

in worship

to the Lord God Almighty

who is

and who was

and who will

take his great power

and reign

for all eternity.

The 24 elders

thank God

and then

they proclaim

of the wrath

and reward

of God.

Verse 18

the nations

raged

but your wrath

came

and the time

for the dead

to be judged

and for rewarding

your servants

the prophets

and saints

and those

who fear your name

both small

and great

and for destroying

the destroyers

of the earth.

Verse 18

starts and ends

with the judgment

of God's enemies

as his wrath

came upon

the raging nations

and he destroyed

the destroyers

of the earth

and then in the middle

there is an emphasis

on the rewarding

of the faithful.

First I'll talk

about the wrath

and judgment

of God's enemies.

The image

of the nations

raging

should again

bring to mind

the prophetic vision

of Daniel chapter 7

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

in which the four

terrible beasts

each representing

a tyrannical nation

raged against Israel

and God's people.

And yet

just as these four beasts

were subdued

by the son of man

in Daniel 7

the elders

in Revelation 11

proclaiming

that God's wrath

came upon

these raging nations

and he destroyed

the destroyers

of the earth.

One of these

raging nations

in the Old Testament

was Babylon.

Jeremiah 51

Jeremiah 51:25

verse 25

proclaims a prophecy

against Babylon

similar to the

elders' proclamation

here in Revelation 11.

Behold,

I am against you

O destroying mountain

declares the Lord

which destroys

the whole earth.

I will stretch

out my hand

against you

and roll you

down from the

crabs

and make you

a burnt mountain.

God will destroy

the destroying

mountain

that's destroyed

up to earth

Babylon

and all the

raging nations.

And that's because

God

is infinitely

fair

and just.

He will exact

his judgment

on the nations

and the destroyers

in an eye

for an eye

better.

In last week's

sermon,

right before

the seventh

trumpet,

a great

earthquake

killed 7,000

wicked people

who have killed

the two witnesses

of the gospel.

The 7,000

who were killed

by the earthquake

are equivalent

to the 7,000

faithful people

who God

had preserved

in 2 Kings

2 Kings 19 · chapter mention

chapter 19

in the days

of Elijah

when they refused

to bow down

to the Babylonian

idol.

Here in verse 18,

God's

lex talionis,

eye for an eye,

judgment is again

evident.

In the original

Greek,

the words for

rage and wrath

come from the

same root.

And so God

punished the raging

nations with his

own righteous

rage.

He punished the

wrathful nations

with his own

wrath.

The same goes

for the word

destroyers.

God dealt

with the

destroyers of

the earth

by destroying

them.

He gave them

a punishment

worthy of

their crimes.

In a way,

this is actually

a pretty funny

and ironic

way for God's

enemies to be

finished off.

The raging

nations are

ended by God's

rage.

The destroyers

of the earth

are destroyed.

They had one

job,

and they got

it back to

them.

They were

beaten at

their own

game.

It's like

watching a

pickpocket

thief get

pickpocketed

himself.

Or,

you guys know

of these

YouTube videos

where the

YouTuber

scam calls

the scam

callers?

The panic

and frustration

on the scam

callers' faces

as they realize,

oh my gosh,

I'm about to

lose $10,000

or whatever.

they've been

bamboozled

at their

own expertise,

and they've

received punishment

equal to their

crimes.

Psalm 2

asks,

why do the

nations rage

and the people

plot in vain?

The kings of the

earth set

themselves,

and the rulers

take counsel

together against

the Lord and

his anointed.

He who sits

in the heavens

laughs.

the Lord

holds them

in duration.

Then he will

speak to them

in his wrath

and terrify

them in his

fury.

It's like

watching a

colony of

ants trying

to topple

over the

empire state

building.

It's not

going to

happen.

The wicked

nations and

the destroyers

of the earth

are doomed

to fail.

God will

punish them

accordingly.

We too,

then,

can be

reassured and

endure

when we

are wronged,

when we

are defrauded,

when we

are unfairly

treated by

our destroyers

because we

know that

God's justice

will come.

Verse 18

also speaks

of the time

for the dead

to be judged,

which arrives

as God's

wrath comes.

Daniel 12

and Revelation

20 attest

to the final

judgment in

which the dead

are judged

according to

what they

have done

when they

were alive.

The destroyers

of God's

people and

the unbelievers

of Jesus

Christ will

be judged

in front

of the

great white

throne

where the

dead,

great and

small,

stood before

the throne

and books

were opened.

Then another

book was opened

which is the

book of life

and the dead

were judged

by what was

written in the

books according

to what they

had done.

If anyone's

name was not

found written

in the book

of life,

he was thrown

into the

lake of fire.

Revelation 20

anyone who

is not in

Christ,

who does

not believe

in Christ,

is an

enemy of

God and

will not

find their

name written

in the book

of life and

will be cast

into the

lake of fire.

This is the

eternal suffering

that God's

enemies will

experience because

they were

idolatrous against

God and

his people and

they did not

believe in

Christ according

to the books

that testified

of their

action.

On the

other hand,

Revelation 11

Revelation 11:18

verse 18 also

speaks of the

time in which

the faithful are

reborned,

servants,

prophets,

and saints,

and those who

fear God's

name, both

small and

brave.

I believe that

all of these

categories, the

servants, prophets,

saints, and those

who fear God's

name, are

referring to the

entire church of

God, all

believers.

believers.

As Christians, we

are called to be

servants to God

and his will.

Just like the two

witnesses who are

killed, the whole

church is called to

bear prophetic

witness of the

gospel to the

world, even if the

world should kill

us for our

testimony.

And by God's

grace, we have

been counted as

saints or holy

ones through

Christ's death and

resurrection.

resurrection.

And as followers

of Christ, we

fear and worship

God's name and

his name only.

There is no

other name.

Jesus.

If we are

indeed a church

and community of

believers, of

servants, prophets,

saints, and those

who fear God's

name, we will be

rewarded with the

eternal rewards of

heaven and the

eternal fellowship

with the Lord God

Almighty.

And also, as we

see here in verse

18, surrounding the

promise of rewarding

the faithful, we'll

also receive and

witness great

vindication for the

tribulation and

persecution we

endured through our

witness of the

gospel.

In Revelation 6,

during the fifth

seal, the souls of

those who were

killed for their

witness of the

gospel cried out,

O sovereign Lord,

holy and true,

how long before you

will judge and

avenge our blood

on those who

dwell on the

earth.

And the Lord

responded by

clothing them in

white robes and

assuring them to

wait a little

longer.

God's final judgment

on the dead here is

the climactic answer

to these martyrs'

prayers.

We as Christians

won't simply be

taken away by God

from the evil

things of the

world, but we

will witness God

vanquishing evil

through his

judgment and

firmly establishing

his kingdom on

earth so that no

evil thing can or

may remain.

And this is my

favorite part over

here.

God will reward the

entire community of

God, those who

fear God's name,

both small and

great.

We have been

saved through

Jesus Christ,

who in obedience

to God, bore the

weight of our sins

on the cross,

died and was

resurrected from

the dead, freeing

us from our debt

to sin.

And whether king

or servant, anyone

who believes in

Jesus is in union

with him, and he

will receive every

spiritual blessing in

the heavenly places,

including the rewards

of eternity that

Jesus himself

merited.

The faithful will be

rewarded both small

and great.

faith.

We tend to be in

awe of the heroes

of the faith throughout

the history of the

church.

The twelve

apostles, Paul,

Martin Luther,

John Calvin,

Dietrich Bonhoeffer,

Billy Graham,

Tim Keller, and so

on.

And rightfully so,

all these people

deserve to be honored

to a degree because

they all played a

significant role in

faithfully bringing

the gospel to the

world.

But God rewards

even the least and

the smallest among us

for being faithful to

him.

Personally, I don't

think I've done

anything spectacular or

earth-shattering or

world-changing as a

Christian.

I'm part of the

small squad.

But even the

smallest of us will

be rewarded, and

not one of our

small acts of faith

will go unrewarded.

Jesus says in

Matthew 10,

Matthew 10:42

verse 42,

and whoever gives

one of these little

ones even a cup of

cold water because he

is a disciple.

Truly, I say to you,

he will by no means

lose his reward.

Whether it's Apostle

Paul, whether it's

Tim Keller, whether it's

Sean, Ed, Kathy, me,

or you guys, if we

believe in Jesus and

his death and

resurrection, God

has sealed the

promise that we

will prevail and

receive his reward at

the very end of the

age.

So let's continue to

cling to Christ in the

face of persecution and

temptation until that

time comes.

to those of us who are

joining this morning who

do not believe in

Jesus Christ and the

gospel, we as a

church really do

believe in all these

things that are said in

the book of Revelation

and in the Bible.

We believe that there

will be a final day of

judgment, whether we're

dead or alive, in which

the Lord God Almighty will

judge us because he's an

infinitely holy and

righteous God.

There was a time when

all of humanity, us

included, were doomed to

eternal death because no

one is perfect and no one

has been fully righteous in

the eyes of the holy God.

But just as God is holy

and righteous, he's also

gracious and merciful.

For God so loved the

world that he gave his only

son Jesus to die for our

sins, to give those who

believe in him another

chance to be redeemed and

share an eternal life with

him.

Those who believe in Jesus

will gain the eternal

rewards of heaven.

But those who do not will

suffer the eternal death

and the lake of fire.

I don't say all this to

condemn, but to plead with

you, to consider the

eternal consequences beyond

our physical life in the

now, to turn to Christ and

to accept him as your

Lord and Savior.

After our Sunday services,

we usually have people up

front praying for those who

want prayer.

For those of you who feel

convicted or even curious,

please feel free to come up

to talk with us or talk with

any of our church members if

you'd like to hear more about

Jesus or hear more about how

you can be saved and be in

right relationship with our God

because he's so worth living

for.

This leads to my final point,

God with us.

Once the elders finished their

worship, verse 19, God's

temple in heaven was opened

and the ark of his covenant was

seen within his temple.

There were flashes of lightning,

rumblings, peals of thunder,

an earthquake, and heavy hail.

After the judgment of the

wicked and the rewarding of the

faithful, John sees in his

vision, God's temple in heaven

opened and the ark of his

covenant was seen inside of

the temple.

In the Old Testament of the

Bible, the ark of the covenant

was a core part of the

Israelites' identity and

relationship with their God,

Yahweh.

The ark was a golden chest

located in the innermost room

of the great Jerusalem temple,

the holy of holies, and it was

only accessible to the high

priest of Israel.

And even the high priest of

Israel himself could only enter

the holy of holies once a year

to offer sacrifice in front of the

ark on behalf of the atonement

and forgiveness of Israel's sins.

In Exodus chapter 25, when God

Exodus 25 · chapter mention

instructs Moses to construct the

ark of the covenant, he says that he

will meet with Moses on the mercy

seat of the ark between the two

terebin constructed on the top.

This is where God promises his

presence will be, where he will

grant mercy over his people.

The ark, therefore, is a

representation of God's presence

with his people.

In the Old Testament, God's people

could only view a representation of

God, because as God explains later in

Exodus 33, you cannot see my face,

for man shall not see me and live.

God is an infinitely holy God, that

any sinful human in his direct

presence cannot be able to stand even

a second in front of him without being

wiped out by his holiness.

But here in Revelation, the ark of

God's covenant, and therefore God's

actual presence, is on full display.

The temple is opened, and the holy of

holies, and the ark, which no one could

enter into and stand before, is visible

for all to see.

Church, this is so significant, because

it symbolizes God's merciful and gracious

presence among his people.

The community of believers at the

Eschaton, its presence will be enjoyed

fully by all the believers for a time

infinitely greater than what was

possible in the Old Testament.

It's no longer that the priest will go

and stand before God once a year on

behalf of the entire congregation.

God has come down from heaven, from his

temple and the ark, to live among his

entire people as their God.

Once the temple is opened, the

preceding flashes of lightning, the

rumblings, the peals of thunder, the

earthquake, and the heavy hail further

highlight God's presence on earth.

Throughout the Old Testament, these

cosmic phenomena were seen as theophanies,

symbols of God's presence.

In Exodus 19, God's presence at

Mount Sinai was signaled by thunder and

lightning flashing.

In Psalm 18 and Isaiah 30, God is said to

bring his judgment with a great storm and

hailstones raining down.

In Revelation, these cosmic signs consistently

appear at the end of the seven seal judgments,

the seven trumpet judgments, and the seven

bowl judgments, each signifying the very end of the age.

While these signs themselves are part of the final judgments,

they also signify the presence of God.

God is here, and his kingdom is here on earth,

no longer hidden within the temple or the ark of the

covenant.

In fact, in John's vision of New Jerusalem, the new city in

Revelation 21, there is no longer a great temple present in the

city.

New Jerusalem no longer has a temple, for its temple is the

Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb.

The temple is not needed anymore at the Eschaton, the end of the

age, because God has come down himself, and he himself is present with his

people.

God is with us.

God is with us.

God is with us.

God is with us.

Good point.

All these seemingly artificial and incomplete interactions while being masked

with friends and family, it was incredibly difficult and frustrating for me.

But I also remember when COVID started to be more under control, when masks

regulations were lifting and social gatherings were starting to be allowed

again.

This was right when I started to attend Trinity Cambridge Church.

To be able to take off the masks, to be able to see individual faces,

to be able to see unique smiles, and share in direct fellowship with one another in person,

even with a new church community for me, was so freeing, was so liberating, and was so joy-giving.

Church, the difficulties of seeing each other's face in the age of COVID lasted for a few years.

How much greater, how much more joy-giving, and how much more glorious will it be then

for us to finally see God face-to-face and dwell with Him forever at the end of the age?

1 John 3, verse 2 says this,

1 John 3:2

Beloved, we are God's children.

We are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared.

But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.

All our lives, we can't see God's face, and yet we pray to Him.

We sing songs of worship to Him.

We talk to Him, and we tell Him how much we love Him and trust Him.

And we share so many powerful testimonies of God at work in the Bible and in our own lives.

Many of us spend so much time, if not the majority of our lives,

committing ourselves to someone who we cannot see.

How amazing, then, is the glorious reward of meeting with God and finally taking the mask off

and seeing God face-to-face and being glorified with Him forever and ever.

That's an ending to a story far better than any Avengers movie,

far better than any fairy tale, far better than anything this life has to offer for us.

Seeing God's face and dwelling with Him forever

is the happily ever after worth living and dying for.

Church, the seventh trumpet as the third woe is the climax of God's salvation plan for us.

Once God's kingdom comes to earth, both great judgment and great vindication will be carried out.

As enemies of God are destroyed, evil is undone,

and those who are faithful to God are eternally rewarded.

And finally, the temple of heaven will be opened.

The ark of His covenant will be revealed,

and God will reveal His full presence to His people,

and He will dwell with them forever and ever.

We're not quite at that final day yet.

But as God's people, we're called to live,

we're called to prepare for His return,

and we're called to worship Him with thanksgiving and reality of this future.

So let's continue to live for the name of Jesus,

proclaiming the good news of the gospel,

and clinging to Christ in the midst of trials and tribulation,

knowing that when that final day comes,

God's kingdom will be established on earth.

His victory will be immediate and eternal,

and we will see Him face to face

and reign with Him in resurrection power

for all eternity.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father,

we worship You,

Lord God Almighty,

who was and is

and is to come

with Your kingdom on earth.

Lord,

we confess

that many of the visions that we see in Revelation

are terrifying and glorious at the same time.

Some of the judgments past

are beyond our imagination

and leave us

speechless

and awestruck at our power.

Lord,

amidst all these fearful visions,

amidst all these powerful judgments

that You pass over the earth,

we ask that You

give us hope,

that You fill our hearts with thanksgiving,

and we're able to come before You

and bow down in worship,

realizing

the great reward

and the eternal reward

that we have in You

on that final day.

Lord Jesus,

we wait Your coming in glory.

Lord,

we ask for You to

fill us with hope,

to help us to persevere,

to give us the Spirit,

the Holy Spirit,

that continues to sanctify us,

that continues to guide us,

that continues to illuminate Scripture

right in front of us.

that we're able to live

in this physical realm,

faithfully stewarding the Gospel

unto death.

Won't You continue to be with us, Lord?

Speak to us

and remind us

of Your great love for us

in the coming of Your Kingdom.

We thank You, Lord.

We love You.

And we pray all of us in Jesus' name.

Amen.