Luxury Goods No More

Posted on by korgrocker

“The merchants of the world will weep and mourn for her, for there is no one left to buy their goods. 
And they will weep and throw dust on their heads to show their grief. And they will cry out, “How terrible, how terrible for that great city! The shipowners became wealthy by transporting her great wealth on the seas. In a single moment it is all gone.” Rejoice over her fate, O heaven and people of God and apostles and prophets! For at last God has judged her for your sakes.”
Revelation‬ ‭18:11, 19-20‬ ‭NLT

The precarious nature of the world economic system has been exposed. We have received hints of what this might look like in this century. The financial meltdown around 2008. The impact of the war in Ukraine. The Covid pandemic. It doesn’t take much to shock the world economy into recession or worse. Babylon is a picture for a global social-religious-economic hybrid that has its foundations on nothing more substantial than thin air.

The impact of the destruction of “Babylon” is described in great detail in Revelation 18 – a sobering read at the best of times. But Jesus taught us about the folly of hanging our coats on the Babylonian peg. He taught constantly about a new Kingdom. God’s Kingdom. The true and lasting Kingdom. But making the transition from the kingdom of the world, “Babylon”, to God’s Kingdom was a step too far for some. We read about the “Rich Young Ruler” in Matthew 19:21-22, “Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.” However, Zacchaeus managed it. In Luke 19:8-9 we read, “Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!” Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham.”

God brought an end to “Babylon” for the sake of His people. Only lasting fruit in His Kingdom will survive the transition into our Heavenly home.

Dear Jesus. Only You have the words to eternal life. Only You can show us the way to the father, because only You are the way, the truth and the life. we praise and worship You today. Amen.

Consuming Fire

Posted on by korgrocker

“She glorified herself and lived in luxury, so match it now with torment and sorrow. She boasted in her heart, ‘I am queen on my throne. I am no helpless widow, and I have no reason to mourn.’ Therefore, these plagues will overtake her in a single day— death and mourning and famine. She will be completely consumed by fire, for the Lord God who judges her is mighty.”
Revelation‬ ‭18:7-8‬ ‭NLT

It looks as though the vision portrays an immediate, plague-induced collapse of the world system called Babylon. Judgement and fire follow. The world system and religion glorified itself. Pride and boasting prevailed. The throne of individual lives became the focus. Self satisfaction was the norm. But our mighty God was having none of this behaviour, and His fire, following the plagues, instantly burns it all up. The fire followed God’s righteous judgements. 

The world system is dominated by “Me! Me! Me!”. People stay awake at night thinking of ways to improve their lot in life, even if it means trampling on someone else in the process. We boast about what we have achieved. We take pride in our conquests. Selfishness rules the lives of those in the world. But 1 Corinthians 3:13 reads, “But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.” Obviously, the world system has, ultimately, no value at all. The world system called Babylon disappeared in a puff of smoke. Gone forever without trace.

There is a cost in following God’s ways. And one thing for sure, glorifying self will not be a part of it. Jesus taught about the cost of following Him. In Matthew 10:38-39, he said, “If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.” There is no room in a pilgrim’s life for selfish living. It’s Jesus’ way, His way alone. So we pilgrims ask ourselves the question – who is on the throne of our lives? In response, we live out our lives, always at the foot of the Cross. Always conscious of what He has done for us. When we come to God in repentance, accepting His death for our sins, we die to our selfish nature, and instead put God fairly and squarely on the throne of our lives.

We do not need to fear the fires of Judgement Day. We are not Babylon followers. Instead, we follow God’s ways, storing treasure in Heaven, safe from the fires of judgement.

Dear Father God. Please forgive us for our selfish ways. It’s Your way, or no way. For ever and ever. Amen.

Sins Piled High

Posted on by korgrocker

“Then I heard another voice calling from heaven, “Come away from her, my people. Do not take part in her sins, or you will be punished with her. For her sins are piled as high as heaven, and God remembers her evil deeds. Do to her as she has done to others. Double her penalty for all her evil deeds. She brewed a cup of terror for others, so brew twice as much for her.”
Revelation‬ ‭18:4-6‬ ‭NLT

In John’s vision, the frantic outpouring of plagues has been replaced by what is more like an overview. We’ve been through the trees, looking at the detail, but now we’re getting a drone shot, as it were, of the wood, providing a summary of the impact of what has happened. God’s people are warned to keep away from the world system. It is so corrupted by wickedness, that the sins are piled up to the point that they reach Heaven. This is a time of retribution for the disgraceful way God’s people have been treated, with the “voice calling from Heaven” proposing that the punishment should be double that committed by the world and its “evil deeds”. 

Should we pilgrims separate ourselves from the world system around us, as the voice from Heaven implied? Should we all join a monastery or convent? Swapping our everyday clothes for those worn by monks or nuns? Spending our lives without TV, cars, and shops, instead growing our own food and spending our spare time in prayer within the monastery grounds? Although there is some merit in such a life style, I don’t believe it is for everyone, by a huge margin. In His wonderful prayer in John 17, Jesus prayed, “I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do.” (John‬ ‭17:14-16‬). The Apostle James, Jesus’ half-brother, expressed very strongly the dichotomy between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world. He said, “You adulterers! Don’t you realise that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.” (James‬ ‭4:4).

But coming back to our verse today, where the voice from Heaven entreated God’s people not to get caught up in the world system and its sins. Jesus taught that there is a way to live in the world but not be a part of it. We can do so by putting our service to God at the highest priority. We extend God’s love and grace to the sinful world around us, sharing the Gospel through our acts of service, selflessly expending our lives and resources on those most in need. But in the process we make sure that we don’t become corrupted by those we serve. We must objectively discern where the dangers lie and keep well away.

Practically, we avoid anything that would corrupt our Godly way of life. So instead of walking through a red light district, we take the long way round. Instead of channel hopping the TV, we selectively choose the channels that will not offend. Instead of getting caught up in the office gossip we walk away. We stay away from all sorts of temptation. As someone once said, we cannot stop birds from flying over our heads, but we can stop them from nesting in our hair. We discern the dangers of temptation and act accordingly.

James didn’t imply that we should cut ourselves off from the world around us. He exhorted us not to become friends of the world, being sucked into the world systems and cultures, to the extent that we start to become absorbed into everything the world gets involved in, and particularly its sin. By taking a step back and discerning what the world systems are about, we will be able to keep ourselves in the sweet spot of a relationship with God.

The old Apostle John wrote in his first epistle, “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.” (1 John‬ ‭2:15-17‬). Wise words indeed.

As we are seeing in this chapter in Revelation, the world system will not end well. Let’s diligently ensure that we don’t go down with it.

Dear Father. Please help us to be strong, with a resolve to stand against all the temptations that come our way in the worldly system around us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Babylon is Fallen

Posted on by korgrocker

“He gave a mighty shout: “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen! She has become a home for demons. She is a hideout for every foul spirit, a hideout for every foul vulture and every foul and dreadful animal. For all the nations have fallen because of the wine of her passionate immorality. The kings of the world have committed adultery with her. Because of her desires for extravagant luxury, the merchants of the world have grown rich.””
Revelation‬ ‭18:2-3‬ ‭NLT

The bright angel had a declaration to make. He spoke out, shouted even, the final condemnation of the world religious system, which had finally collapsed, taking with it everything that is foul and corrupt. In his vision, John saw a literal city called Babylon. There is of course a possibility that this was the case, but the result will ultimately be the same. In John’s vision, Babylon imploded and ended up as a smouldering pile of ruins, spiritually, religiously, morally, economically, nationally, and even globally. Babylon is fallen.

The language John used to described the fall of Babylon in his vision is graphic. You can almost see the horror and disgust dripping from his pen, or feel the shivers of dread running up the spines of the observers. The words he used, such as “foul”, “dreadful”, “immorality”, “adultery” – they all capture the event. But he also observes something we might see little harm in – words such as “luxury” and “rich“.

The bright angel, with his shouts, exposed all that is wrong with the world religious system. I use the word “religious” because that is what our world culture has become. The religion of secularism, materialism, and godlessness, and including a spiritual system conforming to what Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:5, They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. …..”. And, ominously, a component part of “Babylon” is those things that make our life comfortable – luxury and wealth.

Jesus taught about the power of money in His parable taught in Matthew 6:21, “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” and in Matthew 6:24, He said, “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money“. 

We pilgrims have to be discerning when it comes to having comfortable lives. If we are fortunate enough to enjoy luxury and wealth, we must hold what we have with open hands. Always aware that our riches, no matter how modest, must be under our control, not controlling us. One day, the world system, of which luxury and wealth is a part, will collapse. As Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-20, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal”. Eternal Heavenly treasure will be the only commodity of value when we pass from this life.

Dear Father. We know that You wish to richly bless Your children. Please help us to be good stewards of what You have entrusted to us in this life, and help us discern and seek out those things of Heavenly value. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Bright Angel

Posted on by korgrocker

“After all this I saw another angel come down from heaven with great authority, and the earth grew bright with his splendour.”
Revelation‬ ‭18:1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In John’s vision, an angel appears from Heaven. John was told that he had “great authority” and every where he went the earth lit up, brightened by “his splendour“. Why would that be significant? We will see in the next few verses the important message he had to declare, but initially this bright being illuminated an earth darkened by the wickedness of the beast and his followers.

Perhaps one reason he was so lit up, was because he had just come straight from the presence of God. Remember the Old Testament story where something similar happened with Moses? We read in Exodus 34:29-30, “When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the Lord. So when Aaron and the people of Israel saw the radiance of Moses’ face, they were afraid to come near him.” The people were not comfortable with his bright face, so Moses had to wear a veil, as described in Exodus 34:33, “When Moses finished speaking with them, he covered his face with a veil.” But no veil was necessary to cover our angel, newly arrived on Planet Earth.

There is one thing we Christians have to be careful of. That is, how do we appear to other people? Is our visage bright and cheerful, or do we look as though we have just taken a sip of vinegar? Are we smiling or miserable? You see, it is no good us pilgrims trying to share the Gospel with others with a miserable face. If our body language is at variance to our message. If we are excited about our relationship with God, as we should be, then others around us should be able to pick up our excitement. Anecdotally, Francis of Assisi has been credited with the saying, “Preach the Gospel, and if necessary use words”. Whether true or not, the point is that the delivery of what we say, and our body language when we speak, must be in step.

I’m personally excited about God, about the wonders of His creation, about His transforming power, about His accessibility, and I’m excited about Jesus, His Son, who gave up His life, taking on board the punishment for all mankind’s sin, and giving us instead His righteousness. And we can now enter into God’s presence, intimately empowered to call Him “Daddy”. In my opinion it is impossible to have a miserable face when we consider all of that!

Father God. How can we express our love and gratitude enough. With faces shining with our love for You, we worship You today. Amen.

John’s Amazement

Posted on by korgrocker

““Why are you so amazed?” the angel asked. “I will tell you the mystery of this woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns on which she sits. This calls for a mind with understanding: The seven heads of the beast represent the seven hills where the woman rules. They also represent seven kings. Five kings have already fallen, the sixth now reigns, and the seventh is yet to come, but his reign will be brief. The scarlet beast that was, but is no longer, is the eighth king. He is like the other seven, and he, too, is headed for destruction.””
Revelation‬ ‭17:7, 9-11‬ ‭NLT

The angel confesses to John that there is a mystery involved in the vision of heads and horns, the woman, beasts and kings. The angel, as he tried to explain what was going to happen, said “a mind with understanding” would be required. But his explanation was quite detailed. Many theologians and others have claimed to have the understanding the angel said would be required and have worked out the meaning of when these events will take place, at least to them. But in all of that, how much fruit has been produced for the Kingdom?

Although I say there is only limited value in trying to work out what it all means, from the perspective of 21st Century Planet Earth, the reality is that there is still a mystery here. Why wasn’t John given a clearer vision? Why wasn’t he told specifically who the main players were, and when the events described would happen? However, Jesus said that only God knows the exact time. So all those claiming to “understand” when it will happen are encroaching on God’s domain.

About the clarity of prophecy, what about some of the Old Testament prophesies about the first coming of Jesus? We see, with the benefit of hindsight, how spectacularly accurate they were. For example, Isaiah prophesied, as recorded in Isaiah 7:14, “All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).” Imagine how the people of Isaiah’s day would respond to the reality of a child being borne to a virgin? Laughable to them? But with the benefit of hindsight we marvel at its accuracy. Or consider Jesus’ death. We read the graphic description of the crucifixion experience in Psalm 22:14-15, “My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melting within me. My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead.” So one day I’m sure that we will look back at John’s prophetic vision and finally understand how accurate it was.

Perhaps another reason for prophecies not being as accurate as we would like is the limitations of trying to articulate events that are to take place in the future with a limited vocabulary. For example, imagine a “prophecy” given in the nineteenth century about the coming of mobile phones. How would our Victorian forbears describe it, in the language, and with the vocabulary, of the times? Silly example I know, but hopefully it illustrates the point I am trying to make. 

But I’m sure the real reason for prophecies not being as clear as they could be is that God wants us to be dependent on Him. Through faith we trust Him with our future. Through faith we are assured that, even though He has given a glimpse, or hint, of what is to come, He wants us to embrace His love and provision for the situation and times in which we live. That’s good enough for me! And we pilgrims respond with our praise, worship and gratitude.

Dear Father God. You are our loving Heavenly Father. You are always available for us to come and worship at Your throne, accepted and loved. How grateful we are. Amen.

Ten Kings

Posted on by korgrocker

“The beast you saw was once alive but isn’t now. And yet he will soon come up out of the bottomless pit and go to eternal destruction. And the people who belong to this world, whose names were not written in the Book of Life before the world was made, will be amazed at the reappearance of this beast who had died.”
“The ten horns of the beast are ten kings who have not yet risen to power. They will be appointed to their kingdoms for one brief moment to reign with the beast. They will all agree to give him their power and authority. Together they will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because he is Lord of all Lords and King of all kings. And his called and chosen and faithful ones will be with him.
Revelation‬ ‭17:8, 12-14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It appears that, in John’s vision, the beast wearing the scarlet cloak somehow died and was cast into the “bottomless pit”. But the angel informed John that this beast would soon be resurrected, and, although his time would be short and he would soon end up in “eternal destruction”, he would dazzle the followers of the “great prostitute” when he reappeared. There’s nothing like a supernatural experience to rally the followers of a religion – perhaps membership of the devil’s worship cult, the “great prostitute”, was cooling off a bit. But note that it was only those who were not God’s people, those whose names could not be found in the Book of Life, who were taken in by this evil deception. The resurrection of Jesus was, and is, pivotal to our faith. But it is just like the devil to counterfeit the ways and works of God, to try to fool his followers into believing that he could be resurrected as well. But thankfully not for long.

The beast had ten horns, representing ten kings, who had yet to reign on earth. Some scholars have tried to relate these kings to the rulers of kingdoms or nations already passed, but John’s narrative seems to suggest that they will be reigning with the beast and will make war against the Lamb, Jesus Himself. And on the victory side, will be Jesus’ “called and chosen and faithful ones”. So there is another battle coming, and we, or our Christian descendants, may be numbered with the forces of the Lamb. As I have said before, it is only of limited value to try to work out, with the insufficient information we have available, who the ten kings were, or will be. Instead, we pilgrims are encouraged to be ready for Jesus’ return. In Matthew 24:42-44 Jesus said, “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.” So we can be tempted to try and relate episodes in John’s vision to world events and draw conclusions, but Jesus was quite specific. The danger is that if we find a relationship between what is happening around us in the world and what John saw in his vision, we could become complacent and assume that Jesus’ second coming wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.  But that isn’t what Jesus taught. Because He could come at any time means we must be in a constant state of readiness. 

What does “being ready” mean? We must maintain our relationship with God through prayer, reading His Word, keeping short accounts with God through repentance, sharing our faith – the Bible is full of suitable and appropriate instructions to encourage us pilgrims in our walk towards our Promised Land, Heaven itself. Whether or not the End Times finally conclude before we die is of secondary importance. What matters is ultimately being with Jesus. Forever and ever, amen.

Dear Father God. We thank You for this glimpse of the devil’s tricks, preparing us for what is to come. We praise and worship You, the One who was, and is, and is to come. Amen.

The Woman and the Beast

Posted on by korgrocker

“So the angel took me in the Spirit into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that had seven heads and ten horns, and blasphemies against God were written all over it. The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewellery made of gold and precious gems and pearls. In her hand she held a gold goblet full of obscenities and the impurities of her immorality. A mysterious name was written on her forehead: “Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World.” I could see that she was drunk—drunk with the blood of God’s holy people who were witnesses for Jesus. I stared at her in complete amazement.”
Revelation‬ ‭17:3-6‬ ‭NLT

The angel leading the Apostle John in his vision is filling in more details to explain what is meant by the “great prostitute”. We see a picture of a desert containing a multi-headed, multi-horned, beast clothed in scarlet and covered in blasphemous words. The prostitute was beautifully and expensively dressed and was carrying a goblet with horrible contents. A label naming what she represented was attached to her forehead. And she was drunk. Drunk, we are told, on the blood of the martyrs. John couldn’t believe what his eyes were seeing.

The angel took John to a place, in his vision, where he could get some hints about what was really behind what he was seeing. And many people since have tried to work out what was symbolically meant by what John recorded. But what do we pilgrims make of it? There is, in my opinion, only limited value in trying to interpret what the “seven heads and ten horns” represent. Suffice to say, that there is being portrayed here an alternative society, the antithesis of that followed by God’s people. It was a global cult that became fashionable to be a part of, but its roots were blasphemous and pure anti-God. A religion that would be expected to emerge from the devil himself.

We pilgrims must be discerning. Some denominations today have tried to absorb worldly philosophies into their Christian liturgies and cultures, and in the process abandoning the purity of God’s Word. Proverbs 30:5-6, “Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection. Do not add to his words, or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar“. So we have liberal theologians reinterpreting Scripture to suit their own world view. And if passages in the Bible, which are clear and non-negotiable, don’t fit in with their views, such people ignore them, or suggest they must have been there for a different culture or age. Someone with such a liberal mindset has taken a step on the slippery slope leading to apostasy and membership of the world religious cult epitomised by the “great prostitute”. 2 Timothy 3:5 reads, “They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!” The same chapter in 2 Timothy ends, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realise what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” (2 Timothy‬ ‭3:16-17‬). We pilgrims must be aware that there is a global religion working behind the scenes, one that is using all sorts of ploys to divert Christians away from the purity of their faith.

As an example of this, think about mindfulness, which is increasing in popularity these days. Here is a definition I found from Mr. Google, “Mindfulness is a practice involved in various religious and secular traditions—from Hinduism and Buddhism to yoga and, more recently, non-religious meditation“. I recently came across a very sincere Christian man who promotes “Christian Mindfulness”. But I haven’t discovered how he reconciles Hinduism and Buddhism with Christianity. An example of how the “great prostitute”  is infiltrating the church perhaps? Hmmm …

Father God, once again we pray for discernment in these dark and difficult days. Lead us by Your Spirit we pray, and grant us the wisdom we need to navigate the paths before us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Great Prostitute

Posted on by korgrocker

“One of the seven angels who had poured out the seven bowls came over and spoke to me. “Come with me,” he said, “and I will show you the judgment that is going to come on the great prostitute, who rules over many waters. The kings of the world have committed adultery with her, and the people who belong to this world have been made drunk by the wine of her immorality.””
Revelation‬ ‭17:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The seal and plague judgements are behind us and a separate scene is playing out in John’s vision. It is almost as though the main plot or narrative has been put on hold while a cameo appearance of the “great prostitute” takes place. Although we can read, and accept, what John saw literally, the only way we can make any sense of it is by interpreting it symbolically. The problem is that there can be several interpretations. 

So perhaps one interpretation is that the “great prostitute” is a form of religion. Not Godly in origin of course, but perhaps of a form based on a philosophy or with roots in a mystical or even Eastern religion. In recent times we have seen the emergence of spiritual disciplines such as Yoga or Mindfulness. In the 1960’s Transcendental Meditation was popularised by the Beatles. These are techniques or processes that many have claimed are beneficial for mental health, but they are all human based and exclude any involvement or recognition of God. They encourage us to look inward into ourselves, which may not be the most healthy practice for humans. There is, however, the possibility that John saw graphically, pictorially, a world religious philosophy or cult that had, at its roots, an anti-God, pro-self, pro-beast bias and perspective.

But why did John refer to it as the “great prostitute”? He described something that had become a global, God-substitute phenomenon, global because of the reference to “many waters”. And we see widespread acceptance of this beast-inspired religious cult by the world rulers, who apparently embraced it whole-heartedly. But there’s a problem for those who follow the “great prostitute” instead of God. We read the first commandment given by God to Moses, in Exodus 20:3-5, “You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.” The beast-inspired global cult collides with God’s laws, as we are seeing in this chapter in Revelation. The “great prostitute” epitomises the wickedness and evil involved in the worship of anything except God Himself, and provides a focus point with a parallel to sexual sins.

We pilgrims have to be careful in this life. There is emerging from our academic institutions and politicians, amongst others, a philosophy that will not tolerate dissenters. Those who disagree with their points of view or ideologies are labelled as bigots or worse, and their alternative views, even if established on tradition, are closed down. That will be a sign of the global religion promoted by the followers of the “great prostitute”. And in these days the dissenters, perhaps us pilgrims included, will keep quiet rather than get involved in a public, social-media-fuelled, spat. So we pray. 

Dear God. Please grant us the wisdom to speak when there is value and keep quiet when there is not. Please help us to find the words that breathe life, Your life, into those we speak to, and we pray for Your Spirit to lead and guide us as You desire. Amen.

The Seventh Plague

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“Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. And a mighty shout came from the throne in the Temple, saying, “It is finished!” Then the thunder crashed and rolled, and lightning flashed. And a great earthquake struck—the worst since people were placed on the earth. The great city of Babylon split into three sections, and the cities of many nations fell into heaps of rubble. So God remembered all of Babylon’s sins, and he made her drink the cup that was filled with the wine of his fierce wrath. And every island disappeared, and all the mountains were levelled. There was a terrible hailstorm, and hailstones weighing as much as seventy-five pounds fell from the sky onto the people below. They cursed God because of the terrible plague of the hailstorm.”
Revelation‬ ‭16:17-21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

No details of the Armageddon war are included in Revelation 16. The narrative in John’s vision jumps to the seventh plague. But there are three words that have been heard before in another place, during another momentous event. “It is finished!” In our verses today, these words emanate from the very throne of God. In the form of a loud and triumphant shout. God has finally brought to an end worldly judgements.

We will remember the last time these words were uttered. Jesus died on the cross at Calvary after declaring probably what are the most profound words ever spoken. In John 19:30 we read, “When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit”. In the Matthew account of the moment of Jesus’ death we read, “At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart”. (Matthew 27:51). ‭But in the Revelation account the impact of “It is finished!” effectively preceded a reforming of the earth, in that there was a great earthquake of a severity never before seen. All the islands disappeared. Mountains were mountains no more. And hailstones weighing what the King James Version of the Bible calls a talent, a unit of weight equivalent to thirty two kilograms or thereabouts, fell from the sky. That is an extremely heavy lump of ice and it would do serious amounts of damage to property, crops, animals and, of course, people. No wonder God received some complaints in the form of curses levelled against Him! If only they had repented.

Babylon crops up again in these verses. It refers to the personification of all the wickedness and sins of the world’s population, past, present and future. John’s vision referred to Babylon as a place that included not just the “great city” but also “the cities of many nations“. And they were reduced to heaps of rubble. But there is more to come about Babylon in John’s vision, recorded in Revelation 17 and 18, which we have yet to consider.

To us pilgrims we can only breathe a collective sigh of relief after reading these verses. The difficulties facing human beings in those days doesn’t bear thinking about. What a narrow escape we have had from disaster. Imagine what would have happened if we had failed to accept God’s invitation of grace when we did? Of course, we might have passed on before all these plagues had finally been dispensed on earth and its population, but we would not have escaped the judgement to come. 

When I have shared these scenes from Revelation with people I meet, a common response is, “How do you know that there is a life after we die, after all, no-one has ever returned to tell us what will happen, if anything”? Many people believe that once death overtakes us, there will be just blackness. Nothing else. Some people suggest that the death experience is like falling asleep but never waking up. Eternal sleep. But we pilgrims, through our faith, believe differently. Hebrews 11:1 reads, “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see“. We hope for a future, eternal life, in God’s presence. And our faith assures us that that will be the case. Through our belief and faith in the rightness of God’s Word, we believe what He has promised. Hebrews 11:13 reads, “All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth“. As we plod along the paths of life, pilgrims together, we see in the distance our promised land. And one day we will get there and receive the fruit of that promise.

Dear Lord. Thank You for Your assurance that You are making a place in Heaven where we can join You. You said it. We believe it. We worship You today. Amen.