Revelation: Witness is War (Part 2)

In this class Dr. Matt gives an overview of Revelation 4-11 showing the way that the church wins is by following the way and witness of the Lamb!Revelation 4:1-11Who is God?V8• Holy, holy holy- the set apart one• Lord, God Almighty- the sovereign one• Who was and is and is to come- the eternal oneV11• Creator• Sustainer“Flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder.”1. Seals = Revelation 8:52. Trumpets = Revelation 11:193. Bowls = Revelation 16:18Even when the world seems like it is spinning out of control, God is in control.Revelation 5• Lion of Judah- Gen 49:9-10• Root of David- Isaiah 11:1• Revelation uses “hearing” and “seeing” to interpret images and flip their meanings.• Jesus rules as a lamb (Rev 5:6)- Power under vs. Power over (Babylon)God’s wrath• God’s character: Exodus 34:6-7• God’s anger in the Bible is His removal of protection and handing people over to naturalconsequences of their choices.• Romans 1:18-32The “Judgements”Seals (Revelation 6:1-17, 8:1-2)Come = reveal yourselfSeals 1 and 2: The Pax Romana (false peace through violence/strength)Seal 3: Economic injustice of Rome.Seal 4: conquest → war → famine → death (Zech 1:8-17; 6:1-8; 2:6)Seal 5: KEY QUESTION: What happens to Christians in the middle of this Roman conquest?ANSWER: Christians die—and that’s how we win (witness). And the prayers of God’s peopleimpact heaven.Seal 6: Lights out for Empire (Isaiah 13:9-10; Ezek 32:7-8; Isaiah 34:4-5; Amos 8:9; Psalm 18)Seal 7: Eschatological peace (and the 7 trumpets)Trumpets (Rev 8:2-9:21, 11:15-19)The judgement is 1/3- still partial (Rev 12:12)Trumpets were used to warn and to worship in the OTThe Trumpets echo the 10 plagues of the ExodusThe purpose of the Exodus:1. Expose – to expose the gods and judge them2. Unveil – to unveil God’s glory and grace3. Repent – to lead God’s enemies to repentance (Rev 9:21)• The goal of the trumpets is to unveil evil, empire, and satan’s kingdom for what it is.• In the trumpets hell imploding on itself, this is not God being vindictive. Hell attacks its own here, itknows no loyalty or fidelity. You get the consequences of what you attach yourself to.• God is different, even when they refuse to repent from allegiance with Kingdom of Satan, God stillpursues His creation.Bowls (Rev 16:1-21)If the seals expose empire’s logic and the trumpets warn of its consequences, the bowls show evil collapsing under its own weight.Key Point: The bowls show the inevitable end of Empire and Evil—it destroys itself.The InterludesBetween the 6th and 7th in each of the 3 cycles there is an interlude which explains what God’s peopleare called to know and do.Seals Interlude (Rev 7:1-17)The message of the Seals= You are spiritually secure!• John hears 144,000 but sees every tribe, tongue, and nation worshipping the Lamb= the church• The Q: Who can stand? The Answer: God’s people can!Trumpets Interlude (Rev 10:1-11:14)The message of the Trumpets= Go witness! (like the faithful witness Rev 1:5)• 2 witnesses- killed in Jerusalem, dead for 3 days, came back to life, ascended to heaven = Jesus,but it is also the church (his body).• Olive tree and Lamp stand (Zech 4:14): This was the priest and king (Jesus) but in Revelation thechurch is a kingdom and priests to God (Ex 19:6; Rev 1:5-6; Rev 5:9-10; Rev 20:6) and the churchesare called lamp stands- we hold the light (Jesus- Rev 1:12-13. 20; Rev 2:1,5; Rev 21:23; Matt 5:16;John 8:12, 9:5, 12:46)Bowls Interlude (Rev 16:15)The message of the Bowls= Witness by what you do (deeds matter)!• White Clothes = deeds and purity (Rev 19:8; 2:4; 3:2; 14:13; 22:12)• To 5 of 7 church Jesus says “I know your deeds”• What we do (and don’t do) matters!We do not own the rights to the Revelation 1-11 video by Bible project and are using is with permission.