THE GREATEST OF ALL RIGHTS

Rev. 22:7,14 ... “Behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book. ... Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.”

      The book of Revelation reaches its conclusion in this chapter. The long and universal war between good and evil is over, and the victory has gone entirely to the force of good. The age-long conflict between God and Satan is finished, and God stands unmoved in triumphant glory in heaven. His arch-antagonist, "the great dragon ... the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan," (Rev. 12:9), has been "thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone ... and will be tormented day and night forever and ever," (Rev. 20:10). With Satan and all the forces of evil confined forever in hell, those who devoted their lives to the service of God are eternally delivered from sin and the danger of being tempted to sin.

      The book of Revelation utters seven beatitudes (pronouncements of divine blessing) upon a people or group of people who have pleased God and gained His acceptance. The last two of these wonderful blessings are given here in this chapter. The first is, "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it," (1:3). Obedience to God is absolutely essential in man's relationship with Him. The life that is based upon it will succeed (Mt. 7:24-25), but the life that ignores or spurns it will fail miserably, (Mt. 7:26-27). Nothing can be substituted for obedience, although many think it possible. King Saul thought that worship could be exchanged for obedience, but Samuel corrected him with the declaration, "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams," (I Sam. 15:22). There are people today who have the idea that they can put money, self-styled righteousness, and benevolent service in the place of obedience to God's law, but it can't be done. This effort was the fallacy of Jews to whom Paul wrote, "Not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God," (Rom. 10:3). But those who deny their own will and submit their lives to the will of God shall receive His blessing that is pronounced here in Rev. 22:7. They shall live eternally with God in heaven, separated forever from sin and its fiendish promoter, Satan.

      The seventh beatitude of Revelation is, "Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city." The substance of this blessing is the same as the last. In other words, God's will offers a double reward to anyone who will obey it. Notice the clause, "so that they may have the right to ...". In contemporary America we have become a "rights" obsessed people. We demand the "right" to do whatever we want to do, go wherever we want to go, live in the place of our choice, gain membership in whatever organization we wish, etc. If the way seems blocked to gaining any "right," we protest, demonstrate, and initiate litigation aimed toward the Supreme Court. This activity has been prominent in our social, political, and economic life throughout the past century and promises to continue into the future. These "rights" may seem all-important here on earth. But their importance is nothing compared to the "right to the tree of life" in heaven. That right is gained through obedience to God's law in the spirit of peace, humility, and goodness in the present life. I fear that those who continually push for their "rights" in social, political, and economic spheres may lose sight of and then forfeit the greatest right ever to be, the "right to the tree of life." If one should gain every possible right in life on earth, but lose this supreme right beyond the grave, he has indeed lost everything!

THE ETERNAL ELIMINATION OF PAIN AND SORROW

Rev. 21:4 ... "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death;  there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

      "The first things have passed away!" What a statement this is! What it signifies is absolutely won-derful. In v.1 it says that "the first heaven and the first earth passed away." So the text is pointing to a time when the earth and life on it will be past history. Not to a "time," actually, for in reference to the same subject in Rev. 10:6 John heard a "strong angel” from heaven (who) “swore by Him who lives  forever and ever ... that there will be delay (time, KJV) no longer.” From the perspective of the text above Jesus has already returned to take His loyal subjects from earth, and the earth and universe have been destroyed by fire. Time has been swallowed up by the infinitude of eternity. In fact, the judgment has already occurred; the unfaithful have been consigned to eternal torment in hell; and the faithful in Christ have been ushered into the glorious beauty of heaven, which is described in this chapter in the imagery of an ideal city protected by massive walls.

      One can imagine the vivid scenes of the judgment. A faithful Christian wife is received into heaven, but her faithless and disobedient husband is cast into torment. God-fearing parents disappear into the beauties of heaven, but their rebellious and pleasure-seeking children descend into inextinguishable fire. Reverent people pass through glorious portals, but dear friends and neighbors who had no respect for the Lord are ordered through infernal doors to eternal doom. The faithful, humble, reverent souls who are saved would not deserve their glorious reward if they were not stricken with the worst kind of sorrow and anguish to witness the everlasting departure of their beloved family members, friends, and neighbors into what they know is a never-ending state of horrible punishment.

      Our text, however, proclaims that one of God's first acts in welcoming the saved into His celestial court is to remove this awful pain and anguish they will doubtless be experiencing. With the power of His infinite kindness He will "wipe away every tear from their eyes." He will separate from their minds the memory of their lost and doomed loved ones so that their spirits will be free to enjoy heaven.

      Another cause of perpetual sorrow and tears on earth is the death of those with whom we have close attachments. Death is never far from anyone, and when it confronts us, we are powerless to escape it. The grave yawns before us as an insatiable monster to whom we yield the still, silent bodies of our families and friends. But it is never filled. "Sheol (the nether world) and Abaddon (the place of perish-ing, i.e., the grave) are never satisfied," (Pro. 27:20). One of the sublime comforts and securities of heaven is that "there will no longer be any death." The bonds that unite souls in heaven will never be sundered by death the tyrant, and this persistent source of grief on earth will never be known in heaven.

      During this life we must cope with pain from birth until death. We are confronted by countless diseases and by injuries from which there are no complete recoveries. Surgery and drugs can mask or diminish some of this pain, but ere long it returns in full force. One of the great benefits of heaven is that "there will no longer be any ... pain." Pain will be only a dim earthly memory, but even that faint trace shall quickly fade into extinction. When this earth is wrecked and annihilated, and when the judgment is past, I want to be found in the blessed group of redeemed souls who are emptied of all pain and sorrow forever, and who never again have to contend with the threat that death incessantly imposes upon us now. Don't you, too, my dear reader?

THE FINAL JUDGMENT

Rev. 20:12 ... :I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.”

      The prevailing view of history among educated people in ancient times was what is called the circu-lar view. It was believed that all events have their place on a gigantic chronological circle, or wheel, which irresistibly turns on an axis. One complete revolution is an eon. On the next turn all the events of the previous one are duplicated, so that history literally repeats itself. Biblical thought differs radically from this view, for it presents what is called the linear view of history. According to it, history has a distinct beginning point: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," (Gen. 1:1). Then time follows a forward course to another distinct point where it shall end. This terminal point is the subject of the text above.

      When Paul visited Athens, he spoke on Mars Hill to an assembly of intelligent Grecians, most of whom probably held the circular view of history.  After speaking about the deception of worshipping idols, he then proclaimed, "God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead,“ (Acts 17:30-31). The apostle was informing these intellectuals that history is irresistibly moving toward a grand conclusion. He emphasized that the authentic God is in control of the process, having Himself appointed "the day" when The End shall come. On that day, says Paul, God will judge the world by the "Man whom He has appointed," meaning Jesus Christ. The canon of judgment will be "righteousness," which has been perfectly demonstrated in the human sphere in Jesus' life.

      During His earthly sojourn Jesus often spoke of the end of time and the great judgment. After Paul, other New Testament writers emphasized this same event. The description by John in Revelation 20 is the last reference to it in the Bible. It was revealed to John in a vision, a sort of preview of that tremen-dous scene. He first saw "a great white throne" occupied by God, and before His glorious face "earth and heaven" (the universe) receded into extinction. Then every person who ever lived, "the great and the small," were assembled to stand before God. This presumes, of course, the resurrection of all the dead. (The Athenian philosophers mocked the resurrection when Paul spoke of it. See Acts 17:32 and above.)

      Then John saw two "books" opened. One contains God's record of the life of everyone who lived on earth, including a perfect account of every thought, word, and deed. It once seemed incredulous that a single mind, even the mind of God, could have the capacity to store and recall such a vast amount of information. The development of computers to the capacity where they are able to store and retrieve huge quantities of detailed data should diminish our incredulity. The skeptic needs only to think of God's mind as the ultimate computer with infinite storage capacity and perfect retrieval ability. The traditional word to cover this idea is omniscience.

      The other book John saw opened was "the book of life," which evidently contains the names of all the redeemed. The first book, (literally "books," plural ), may very well indicate the Bible, the collect-ion of sixty-six books that is the only standard of righteousness by which men shall be judged. It is decreed that "the dead were judged from the things which are written in the books, according to their deeds." Then v.15 concludes, "And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. "

THE SUPREME MARRIAGE SUPPER

Rev. 19:9 ... "Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

      This text is the fourth of the seven beatitudes found in the Book of Revelation. A beatitude is the pronouncement of a blessing upon a person or group of people. God blesses someone when He bestows a favor upon him. In this case the favor, which is offered to everyone, is an invitation "to the marriage supper of the Lamb." But what does this mean?

      As usual in Revelation we are dealing with symbolism. The symbol here is the Jewish form of marriage, which was conducted in three stages. First, there was the betrothal, the pledge of the bride and groom to marry each other. This was a formal arrangement, even to the extent of being legally binding. To dissolve it was considered a divorce. The second stage was a period of waiting during which the couple made preparations. It was often prolonged, stretching out several years. Jacob served Laban seven years for Leah and seven more for Rachel. The third stage was the marriage supper, during which the couple were united as husband and wife. When the time for this event came, the groom went to the bride's home with a procession of friends and family. Singers and musicians were secured to enhance the festivities. The Parable of the Virgins in Matthew 25 features this third stage of the Jewish marriage, especially the groom's procession to claim his bride.

      This Jewish convention is used to show the relation of Jesus to His church. While He was on earth, Jesus selected the church to be His holy bride, (Eph. 5:22-23; Rev. 21:2). He was then betrothed to her. Consequently, the church is now the betrothed, beloved bride of Christ. When He returned to heaven, (Acts 1:9-11), the period of waiting began. We are assured that, even at present, Jesus is preparing in heaven a home for His bride, (Jno. 14:1-3), while His bride on earth is preparing herself to be taken up by her Lord and beloved Groom. When He returns from heaven, (I Ths. 4:16-17), Jesus will bring with Him a grand procession of angels (Jude 14) to claim His bride and enjoy the great marriage supper with her in the beautiful home He has prepared for her, (Rev. 22:5). Indeed, "blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." They will be those who constitute His bride, i.e., they will be Christians who are the members of His church. More specifically, they will be those who made themselves ready (v.7) by clothing their lives with righteousness (v.8) during their years of toil on earth.

      This passage, (Rev. 19:7-9), emphasizes the special importance and sanctity of the church. Every-one needs to become aware of this emphasis, because there is growing disrespect in society toward the church. In many instances this negative attitude advances into contempt and avowed hostility. There are those who want to be identified as Christians, but who want nothing to do with the church. Their cry is, "Jesus, yes! The church, no!"

      A true Christian cannot be alienated from the true church. It is not possible to be a Christian in the primitive sense without being a faithful, active member of the church. When a person is saved, the Lord Himself adds the person to the church (Acts 2:47), because that is where He wants him to be. To separ-ate yourself from the church is to forfeit your identity as a Christian and lose the blessing of Rev. 19:9. Those who show disrespect toward the church dishonor Christ's beloved bride. Those who hold the church in contempt offend Christ's bride, and we can be sure He will settle accounts with them. Those who attack the church make themselves enemies of Christ. Only those who honor the church, uphold her sanctity, and bravely defend her honor, will be "invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb."

THE FALL OF BABYLON

Rev. 18:20 ... "Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.”

      Chapter 18 describes the destruction of the primary enemies of God and His kingdom. The adver-sary, like most other things in this book, is presented in symbolic form. The symbol used is the great city of Babylon, the ancient capital of Mesopotamia, where Nebuchadnezzar and other famous kings had ruled. It was from this city and its empire that a powerful army had marched to destroy Jerusalem, and it was to this city and its environs that the Jews had been taken captive (586 BC). Several of the Old Testament prophets had spoken against Babylon because of its gross idolatry, extreme worldliness, and wicked political aggression. They foretold its eventual destruction and consequent perpetual desola-tion. These prophecies have all been fulfilled to the letter.

      In Revelation, Babylon is used as a symbol for the world as a place of godless materialism and determined opposition to the church as a body and Christians as individuals. In v.3 she is accused of immorality, political evil, and economic corruption. In v.7 she is charged with sinful pride over her successes in polluting human enterprises; and in vs. 14 and 16 her lust for wealth and pleasure are emphasized. Furthermore, v.24 points out her zeal in killing Christians in particular and causing death in general through widespread wars and destruction.

      As Christians suffer from the efforts of Babylon to turn men away from God to the worship of materialism, to the lust for pleasure, to pride in human ingenuity, and finally to avowed enmity to God, we must not be made to worry or driven to despair. Neither must we adopt the same tactics as Babylon and respond with aggressive force through political and economic channels. We must rather apply the Lord’s instruction in Rom. 12:19, “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’”

      This is not to say that Christians should stand silent and passive while Babylon permeates society, controlling politics, economics, and education. It simply means that it is not our place to wage war in the political arena with political weapons, or go to combat on economic fields with economic imple-ments of battle. If we do this, we shall lose. It is not given to Christians to fight evil with the weapons and tactics developed by evil. We are instructed in II Cor 10:3-5, “Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” Therefore, the correct response by Christians to Babylon is to live by faith in the Gospel way and to preach the truth from God boldly and without compromise.

      Revelation 18 assures us that God Himself will take vengeance upon Babylon. The cry of His mighty angel in v.2, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit ... and hateful bird.” God Himself will judge and punish terribly those in society who promote immorality, corrupt political processes, and manipulate economics to their own selfish ends. He will overthrow those who enter into every human activity to defile it, who worship wealth, and who spend their energy lusting for pleasure. With the prospect of His judgment of Babylon in view, God warns Christians in v.4 to “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues.” We must, therefore, draw a line between us and the worldly pollu-tion of Babylon.

FINAL VICTORY WITH CHRIST

Rev. 17:14 ... "These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”

      Although this statement occurs two-thirds of the way through the Book of Revelation, it is neverthe-less the one that states its central theme. Essentially it says that, though Christ has many opponents in the world, He shall in the end be victorious over them all. Furthermore, He will share His decisive victory with those who are His "called," His "chosen," and His "faithful."

       This final book of the Bible is universally declared to be the most difficult to interpret and under-stand. However, if all of the puzzling symbols and cryptic statements are studied in the light of the text above, their general sense can be deciphered even if their specific meaning remains obscure or even hidden. Whatever the grotesque beasts and fantastic beings pictured in the visions represent, it is clear they are enemies of Christ and devoted to the destruction of His church. But our featured text empha-sizes that none of them shall gain the victory. They shall all go down in utter defeat, because the Lamb is too powerful for them. They might gain control of the lords and kings among men and marshal their strength against Christ, but they shall altogether fail, since Christ is "Lord of lords and King of kings."

      This seventeenth chapter speaks of such enigmatic figures as the woman sitting on a scarlet beast, a beast which "was and is not," and the ten kings "who have not yet received a kingdom, but ... receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour." In an extended and intensive study of Revelation, I would labor to suggest specific interpretations of these figures and then defend my conclusions. But in this brief article that is an impossible task. It is nevertheless obvious that these beings signify dangerous enemies of Christ and His church. The woman was devoted to killing Christians, for v. 6 says she was "drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus." The beast was allied with this wicked woman in persecuting Christians, because in v.3 we see that it carried her upon its back. Its own wickedness is indicated by wearing "blasphemous names" to the extent that it was "full" of them. The ten kings were in perfect league with the beast since v.12 says they "receive authority ... with the beast for one hour." And v.13 adds, "These have one purpose and they give their power and authority to the beast."

      We can say that, in general, the great harlot, the scarlet beast, and the ten kings are symbols of the combined forces of the anti-Christian world that pervade the earth. They are the instruments through which Satan works to try to destroy Christ and annihilate His church. They include evil governments, false religions, gross immorality, and all people who support or participate in these things. When v.14 declares that "these will wage war against the Lamb,” the demonstrative pronoun “these” is referring directly to the evil forces being represented.

      The great consolation and joy of every Christian is that no matter how foreboding these powers might seem, they are doomed to certain destruction. In their wicked energy and malice they will indeed "wage war against the Lamb," but the Lamb (Jesus) "will overcome them." He will bring them down in utter defeat, for that is the meaning of the word "niksei" which is here translated as "will overcome." These enemies will be removed eternally from the presence of those who are the "called and chosen" of Christ. No more will they persecute those who are faithful to their Savior. This passage, therefore, is telling us where to turn to be on the winning side when the last scene of the last act of the great human drama is finally played out.

THE BLESSING FOR THOSE WATCH

Rev. 16:15 ... "Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.”

      Since Jesus first announced that He would come again, people have been anxious to pinpoint the time of His arrival. Many have combed the Bible in the effort to collect information about various numbers and numerical symbolism in order to determine the time of that great event. Publicizing their conclusions, they managed to stir up great excitement among certain groups of people. The failure of their determinations did not always lead to discouragement, for those who were involved in some cases formalized their movement into a new denomination.

      Jesus once made a statement about the time of His coming that ought to stop people from the fool-ishness of date-setting. In Mt. 24:36 He said, "Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone." It is presumptuous in the extreme for someone to deny what Jesus here said that "no one knows" and to claim the knowledge that the "Father alone" possesses, viz., the date of Jesus' return. The complete failure of all such predictions proves that truly no one but God knows when the appointed time is.

      Jesus' warning in our featured text serves to reinforce His declaration that no one but God knows the time of His coming. He says, "Behold, I am coming like a thief." A thief does not announce the time when he plans to come, nor would he come if he thought his planned arrival had become known. Jesus' coming will be unannounced and without warning.

      Actually, our major concern should not be the time of Jesus' return, but rather our own state of pre-paration to meet Him. It is not as important for us to know the year, month, day, and hour as it is to be ready to meet Christ when He "descend(s) from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God," (I Ths. 4:16). Jesus warns us (Mt. 24:44) to “be ready." The faithful and true disciple will not waste time trying to determine the exact month and day of Jesus' return, but will use every day the Lord gives him to the fullest advantage to be ready when He does finally appear.

      Our text is a beatitude pronounced upon those who prepare themselves for Jesus' return. It is the third of the seven beatitudes given in Revelation. Our Lord says, "Blessed is the one who stays awake." This does not refer strictly to watching the sky for the first glimpse of Christ. It refers far more to the disciple watching his own life to hold it to the Christian standard laid out in the New Testament. The spelling of the word W-A-T-C-H tells us what we are supposed to watch: W- watch your Way of liv-ing; A-watch your Actions; T-watch your Tongue; C-watch your Character; and H-watch your Heart. Those who watch their lives in these respects will be ready when Christ appears.

      The reference to garments in the text is symbolic. Many times in Scripture a person's spiritual condition is referred to as clothing. Clean and white garments indicate a life that is pure and righteous, while soiled garments signify a life that is polluted with sin. In Rev. 7:14 we are told that our clothing can be washed and made white only "in the blood of the Lamb." Obedience to the teaching of Jesus and conformity to the model of life which He lived is the only way. His blood alone is able to wash the sin stains from our souls and create righteousness within us. Nothing else can prepare us to meet Him when He returns and answer His call to join Him "in the air ... (and) always be with the Lord," (I Ths. 4:17).