99. Hallelujah (Revelation 19:1-20:15)!

By Steve Butera

The book of Revelation almost always evokes a reaction from people.  Some see it akin to fortune telling and others find it difficult to understand and would rather avoid it.  For sure, it is filled with symbols and realities that require us to pay attention and ask for God’s help in understanding it.  One thing I do feel sure about is that there isn’t any part of the Bible that we can ignore, overlook, or pass by.  Every word, from the very first to the very last is necessary and has the power to transform us.  Each word is intentional by God and is life for us.  So, I pray that I don’t ignore any of it…not the lineage of Jesus in Matthew, the complex descriptions in Numbers, or the vision of Revelation.

Revelation was written by the apostle John to Christians in the first century.  Christians who were facing great persecution, fears, and even death.   Rome, being the epitome of Godlessness and opposition to the Gospel made it very difficult for them.  So, Revelation was written for these Christians to help them in their challenges, suffering and fears.  But like the entire Bible, it is written for us now as well.  The Bible is timeless in that way.   Revelation is also about the final destruction of Godlessness and the final destiny of the Church of Jesus Christ.  Both of these are associated with the return of Jesus Christ.  Chapter 19 is approaching that final moment in all of history when Jesus is returning in Glory.  So when you think about it this way, it’s a part of God’s word we as Christians want and need to know about.

If you back up to chapter 18, you see in verses 21-23 that there is an intense, almost haunting finality to God’s judgments.  We read, ²¹ Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a huge millstone. He threw it into the ocean and shouted, “Just like this, the great city Babylon will be thrown down with violence and will never be found again. ²² The sound of harps, singers, flutes, and trumpets will never be heard in you again. No craftsmen and no trades will ever be found in you again. The sound of the mill will never be heard in you again. ²³ The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The happy voices of brides and grooms will never be heard in you again. For your merchants were the greatest in the world, and you deceived the nations with your sorceries."  How wonderful that evil is finally being destroyed.  Yet, think about this more deeply, and you realize that this also means there is no more possibility ever of any repentance…how terribly unsettling this is.


So in chapter 19 John’s attention is turned from earth to heaven, and there are some really interesting observations I make in this chapter.  First I notice the reaction of heaven to the fierceness that is going on down on the earth.  They are not ignoring the unfolding judgments.  No, they are singing a chorus about them.  They are rejoicing about them.  So we see that heaven is not uncomfortable with the judgment of God.  If you ponder that, you realize that God’s judgment actually lies at the heart of heaven’s glorying in who God is.


One other thing that’s interesting is that it appears that Heaven is not always a place of undisturbed tranquility.  John says “I heard what sounded like a vast crowd in Heaven shouting.”  Think about a huge stadium filled to capacity and everyone roaring with shouts.  Then multiply that 1000 fold.  Can you imagine?  Later he says “then I heard again what sounded like a vast crowd or the roar of a mighty ocean.”  Notice how he describes it by saying “what sounded like.” It is as if it’s indescribable to him.  God and heaven are so beyond our human understanding; John can only give us a sense of what he is seeing and hearing.  The reason heaven has this reaction is that God has vindicated His own honor.  He has displayed his power. 

I see this is getting long, and I try not to do that, but what God is revealing to us through Revelation is so amazing, that it is hard for me to encapsulate it succinctly.  So, I will try to wrap this up.

Going back to the persecuted Christians I mentioned initially, you know how it is when you face persecution and great fears?  You begin to wonder “how is God going to deal with this?”  “Is He aware of what I’m going through?”  You ask yourself “Is God involved, does he really care, is evil going to win in my situation?”  I think we can see Revelation as being about hope.  You may ask “what are you talking about?”  Revelation is filled with judgments, horror and destruction.  Hope?  Yes, hope!  For the simple reason that God is showing us in Revelation how things are going to end.  We get to see that God is the one who has the final word, that evil does not triumph, but God does.  Think about it, all the questions we have about God’s justice, his faithfulness, and whether evil or God will win in the end are answered.  We are assured that God has the last word.  This is what the chorus in heaven is all about, that God has demonstrated His salvation in His judgment. 

If you think of salvation as rescuing people from the bondage of Satan and the powers of darkness, we see that God has saved us; he has defeated our enemy, he has broken the power of satin and cast him down.  So it is like salvation and judgment go together in a sense.  We see that God is true to His word.  God has vindicated His name and glory is brought to Him.  We see GOD has control.  So Revelation is both a comfort to me and also helps me stay motivated to be set apart from the world.  As I think of all of these things, all I can really do is be in awe of God’s awesome, wonderful, and incredible plan that will unfold.  It makes me want to worship Him and give Him the Glory that is due Him!  Praise God!

98. The Throne of Heaven (Revelation 4:1-7:17).

by Wesley Blackburn

What was the most terrifying moment in your life?

I don't know that I can remember all of mine. I remember passing out on stage one time during a choir number at church growing up. That was kind of scary. I remember feeling really terrified when I was in Brazil on a bus that was going up steep mountain hills on the side of the mountain in the middle of a big storm, wondering if we were going to fall off. I remember the feeling of terror sitting in a hospital emergency room only a few months ago wondering if something serious was wrong with me and if I was perhaps enjoying some of the final moments of my life.

Heck, I actually got a chance to go out with a girl recently and that was pretty terrifying to me, too.

Whatever your terrifying moment is, I think we can all be confident that it will pale in comparison to the sheer terror we'd experience if we were in John's shoes before the throne of God in heaven.

There's a lot you can say about God. Here at Suncrest, I feel like we do a pretty good job talking about God as a healer, forgiver, lover, and friend. All of those things are true. All of them are great. God's identity as those things are some reasons why I worship and serve him each week. I'm glad we focus on those a lot.

But there's another side of God that I don't think we focus in on very much, and that's the scary side (yeah, you read that correctly). One of the most frequent commands in the Bible we are given is the command to fear God... that we would have a good idea of how vast and huge he is and how incredibly tiny and small we are. The Bible tells us in Proverbs that the beginning of wisdom is for us to fear God; to have a proper and reverent respect for who he is.

A few years ago I was reading some reflections from David Crowder, a popular worship leader who's written many songs to help the church worship (some of which we even use at Suncrest). He was writing on an experience he had in France one time where he got a chance to walk around in an old, Gothic cathedral in the city. Crowder noted the very ominous, imposing architecture (both on the inside and outside), but what was most interesting to me was his description that this cathedral "was build to resize you." In other words, that when you would walk into this church, you would be reminded of how teeny-tiny you are and how enormous, large, and powerful God is.

That's always stuck with me. It's great to have God as your friend. I think that's nice and comforting. I'd even say that through the sacrifice of Jesus, we can even argue that it's biblical. But let's not forget the grand, huge, enormous God we also worship. The very same God that is our friend is also the being we should fear the most. Maybe sometimes, it's good for us to get a view of God like the one David Crowder was reminded of. Or maybe the one John was reminded of here in Revelation.

God is great, and greatly to be praised. He is mighty and powerful and to be feared.

Maybe we need to remember sometimes to worship him solely for that.

97. Messages to the Churches (Revelation 2:1-3:22).

by Wesley Blackburn

So, after hearing about John's initial vision, we now hear some messages from God to several different church communities of the day. Some of these messages contained high praise. Some contained points of rebuke; places where God wanted to see these communities do better. Nevertheless, I think that would have to be a great thing to hear from God himself with some advice for the church you are a part of. Definitely scary and humbling, but cool nonetheless. Reading these writings to churches, it made me wonder what God might write to Suncrest. What would God say about the things we are doing well? Poorly?

But through reading these letters, I noticed a couple of different things. First, I saw that a common theme was for many of these churches to just hold on. Several of these churches were undergoing some severe persecution from local Jewish groups that saw them as a threat, as well as some in the Roman government who saw Christian worship as strange, out of place, and a threat to the worship of their gods. And what does God say to these persecuted followers of him? Hold on. Keep at it. I think that today, in our moments of pain and difficulty, God is saying the same thing to us... hold on. Stay with it. Remain faithful.

I'm also just personally always haunted by God's words to the church in Laodecia in Revelation 3:14-19. God was hard on these people because they were so lukewarm in their response to him; they could simply care less. Based on the description, it seems like this church was filled with wealthy, well to do individuals who felt they didn't need anything from God. They felt pretty self-sufficient. And yet, they were the only church out of all the ones here in Revelation where God didn't say a single positive thing. God still loved and cared for them (see verse 19), but cared too much about them to let them continue in their ways.

I think that the church in Laodecia is scary to me because in a lot of ways I think a lot of American churches are in a similar situation. Has our excessive wealth (and believe me, compared to any other country on the planet, America's wealth is excessive no matter how little your assets are) made us complacent? Are we in danger of needing God's rebuke, just like the Laodecians? Definitely a question to keep thinking about as we continue on as part of God's church here in America.

96. A Voice and a Vision (Revelation 1:1-20).

by Wesley Blackburn

Revelation is an incredible book of the Bible, and without a doubt, one of the most hotly disputed. I'm really looking forward to you all getting to hear some of Steve and Beka's thoughts later on this week about it, but in kicking our brief jaunt through this book, I just wanted to note a couple of things in my reading of Revelation 1.

#1. Jesus comes on the clouds. At least, that's what it says in verse 7. Christ will come on the clouds. This is significant for a few reasons, probably the most important being that this is Messianic-type imagery. In other words, Jesus being this figure who comes on the clouds is something that is actually a fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy and actually makes a statement about his lordship.

But I also think that there's a real significance to the fact that Jesus is portrayed coming on clouds in a somewhat metaphorical sense as well. In a time in my life several years ago where God seemed really distant, my friend Brent shared with me Revelation 1:7 and shared that he felt there was symbolic truth there pointing to the simple fact that when the clouds and storms of life come, there we often find Jesus as well. In that point in my life, I was in great pain emotionally and spiritually, but it brought me comfort to think that in the midst of that "cloud" in my life, there was Jesus. He was coming right alongside. And he would use this situation for his glory and purposes.

#2. John was listening for the call of the Spirit. The book of Revelation was actually a letter written by the disciple John, explaining a vision that he had of the end days. This letter would then be sent to several different churches in order to offer some hope and encouragement that in the end, God wins. We have nothing to fear.

But what kind of struck me was the fact that John was truly listening for what God was seeking to do in his life. Could you imagine what would have happened if God gave John a vision, but he simply ignored it or chalked it up to just being some weird dream? John was sensitive to what God was wanting to say to him, and out of that sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, I believe we find the book of Revelation.

So many times, I think that we totally miss what God is trying to do in our lives. We don't find him, often because we aren't looking for him. Of course, you could take that too far, trying to find God giving you some special message in everything, which is probably just as dangerous a habit to get into. But I just wonder how many things I potentially miss, not because God isn't speaking, but because I'm not listening. I don't want to miss out on what God wants to say. And that means having a receptive and open heart that's looking and waiting for God to speak at any moment.

Beyond Sunday - People of the Second Chance: I'm running on empty

...by Beka Jackson

This week seemed familiar to me. Did it seem that way to you? Ecclesiastes reminded me so much of the book of Philippians. In the spring, we walked through that book and learned what Paul had to say about life. I think maybe he learned from the book of Ecclesiastes!

Greg talked about “nothing new under the sun...” When he began to explain earth as being the “under the sun” and heaven being outside or above that, I immediately thought of Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Solomon discovers after years of searching everywhere on the earth, that the earth doesn’t hold the key to life. It is above earthly things.

It was a nice reminder. I am continually looking for meaning and purpose in the things I do, the things I am known for here on this earth. I seek meaning and purpose in relationships. I seek approval like it is going out of style! And I am continually coming up empty. Still feeling the need to search.

The times in my life that I have felt like I have a meaning are the times that I am “think(ing) about such things.” Or like Solomon says it, “fear God and keep his commandments”. When I am searching for His truth, for His calling in my life, I find it. His truth has already been given to me; that’s easy to find. And even though His calling in my life is sometimes unclear, I still feel like I have a purpose even just in the search.

94. Faith and Works (James 1:1-2:26).

by Wesley Blackburn

If someone were to ask me my favorite passage of Scripture I would quickly say James 1:22 “do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves, do what it says.”  How wonderfully simple, to the point, and practical is that…like most of the book of James.

There are few other favorite convicting verses of mine from this section.  See if they convict you in the same way they do me:

-1:2  Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds…  If I want to be stronger and better, I have to go through trials.  I’ve noticed that often when people come from difficult backgrounds they often have a strength of character that others can only admire.  My mom is one of these people.  She has continually risen above tough circumstances to become one of the strongest people I know.  Consider the equation:  trial of faith = perseverance = maturity.

-1:19  everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.  If only I could get past the quick to listen, then I’ll start to work on slow to speak and slow to become angry.  I think I could spend my entire life on that one verse.  You know the people that don’t shoot off their mouth or say immature things, those are the people everyone else wants to listen to.

-1:22ff  That whole mirror imagery is cool to me.  Do I look into the Bible, the mirror, and see a reflection of myself?  I wish.

-2:1  don’t show favoritism.  How often I cling to that which is familiar, or like me, or safe and comfortable.  How much God calls us to love the outcast, the poor, the weak.

-2:13  mercy triumphs over judgment.  When it is all said and done, I am failing a lot.  Which is why I’m so thankful for verse like this that remind me that God is just as strong in His mercy as He is in His judgment of us.

One of the main points of this e100 HAS to be that we don’t merely listen to the Word, but that we do what it says.  How will you put into play something that you are reading/learning/experiencing about God this week?

92. A New Creation In Christ (2 Corinthians 4:1-6:2).

by Scott Skowronski

This world that we live in definitely brings one test after another, challenging us to become the amazing creation God had in mind when we were formed.  However, it is completely up to us to make the decision to pursue it.  Deep in my heart and soul, I feel that we have all been given everything we need to get where we were meant to be.  We must listen and obey in order to accomplish our purpose and carry forward the message that lives in the death of Jesus.

Sit and think about the following for a moment:

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

When we feel like quitting, when we get frustrated, when we get angry, when we question going forward, we place our faith ahead of our flesh remembering that "our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all."  We are living a temporary assignment away from home and work to please God so that when it is our time to be with him we can confidently await the promise of heaven.

We must recognize that our sins will not be held against us.  We become a new creation when we accept Christ as our Savior.  We become reconciled to God.  "I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation."

As I read these passages today, I could not help but to think about how God's mercy has allowed me to arrive exactly where I am.  It became clear to me that I must take the light shining in my heart and help others find it too.  I am fully able to "Let light shine out of darkness."  I was helped to find the glory of God through the face of Christ and am determined to help others also find this saving grace.

When I think back over the past two years of my life, I see a transformation that has reformed who I am and what I stand for on a daily basis.  It amazes me how a desperate honest conversation with God guided me to becoming a new creation in Christ forever changing the rest of my time spent in this world and therefore eternity.

The once dark, sick and isolated world of my life has become filled with hope relentlessly bright and shining with love from every angle.  I trust obediently and through that trust I am provided with all that I need to experience the joy I was meant to receive to bring glory to God.  I am so grateful and invite all of you to join me in pursuing God's will living with this dedication at the forefront of our actions.