Two Crowns; Isaiah 28:1-8

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The Gathering of the Saints--God's Fruitful Vineyard; Isaiah 5:1-7, 27:2-13, John 15:1-11

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The Devil is Defeated!; Isaiah 27:1, Rev. 20:1-10

 

On Reformation, it is customary to sing Martin Luther’s most famous hymn, “A Mighty Fortress” as we have done.  The second half of verses 3 and 4 go with our texts today, “The prince of darkness grim—we tremble not for him.  His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure.  One little word shall fell him.”  That one word Is Jesus, whose kingdom is forever.  Today we hear that the devil is defeated, and is defeated soundly by Jesus Christ. 

            The opening of our Isaiah texts talks about the defeat of leviathan.  Leviathan is described as a fleeing and twisted serpent and a dragon.  In Canaanite mythology, leviathan was a sea serpent.  Leviathan represents the enemies of God, but leviathan also represents Satan.  This we see in our Revelation passage.  In verse 2, we learn that the dragon, the serpent of old IS the devil and Satan.  The abyss was believed in Jewish mythology to be at the bottom of the sea.  In Rev. 20, we see an angel coming out of heaven with the key to the abyss and a great chain who binds Satan and throws him into the abyss for 1000 years.  This angel is either Jesus Himself or it is an angel who has received the key from Jesus, whom we know holds the keys.  During this time, Satan is unable to deceive the nations.  Historic amillennialism, the majority view of the Church around the world and the view held by most of the early church fathers, teaches that this has already occurred and occurred at the cross.  There’s a wonderful scene in the Passion of the Christ movie that shows Satan gloating as Jesus is being crucified, but the moment Jesus says, “It is finished,” and dies, the temple veil is torn and it cuts to Satan in chains screaming angrily at the bottom of the abyss.  Scripture that speaks to the devil being defeated already include Hebrews 2:14-15, which says, “Sine then the children [that is God’s children] share in the blood and flesh, He Himself [that is Jesus] likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of the death, that is the devil, and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.  Just before His death, Jesus said in John 12:31, “Now judgement is upon the world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.” And in John 16:11, Jesus says, “…the ruler of this world has been judged.”  In Colossians 2:15, Paul talks about the evil spiritual forces being conquered in the past tense and from verse 14, we know this happened at the cross.  “having cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us which was hostile to us and he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.  When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through it.” 

            Satan being in the abyss though does not mean Satan is without influence in the world.  We are told to resist the devil and flee from him.  We are supposed to be on guard against the devil.  But Satan cannot act without permission from God. Still if Satan is bound why do we so much evil in the world?  Our Revelation text says that at the end of the 1000 years, Satan will be released to gather the nations against Christ.  He will accomplish that, but they will be unsuccessful and will be destroyed with Satan being cast into the lake of fire.  Then the “rest of the dead” will be raised and judged.  Is it possible the 1000 years has ended and we are in the last days when Satan has been freed to gather people against Christ?  Possibly.  Could it be the fault of the Church—that we have been lazy with Christ’s mandate to expand the kingdom?  Is it our fault for not living and proclaiming the gospel, for failing to love our neighbors?  For not believing in the power of God at work within us? 

            There is a day when Satan is destroyed.  Isaiah 27:1 says the Lord will kill the dragon.  Rev. 20:10 says, “the devil who deceived the nations was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and false prophet are also, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”  This is the end of Satan.  When will it be?  Our Isaiah text says, “In that day.”  “That day” is the day of Christ’s return.  It is the same as the Day of the Lord.  We know this is so because of the end of chapter 26.  26:21 says “Yahweh is about to come out from His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.”  The Lord is coming to earth to judge the living and the dead, as we confess in the creeds.

The other historic view, called historic premillennialism, is that Satan will be thrown into the abyss when Christ returns.  Rev. 20 is the only passage that talks about a 1000 year reign of Christ with Satan being in the abyss on one side of it and being cast into the lake of fire on the other side of it.  It also has 2 resurrections, the dead in Christ being raised at the beginning the 1000 year and the rest of the dead being raised at the end of it.  Again, the 1000 years is not necessarily meant to be taken literally.  This view says that when Christ returns, the dead in Christ rise first and reign with living believers for a time.  This view takes into account verses like I Corinthians 15:51-52, “Behold, I tell you a mystery, we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”  And I Thessalonians 4:16-17, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to mee the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.”   After that time Satan will be released to see if he can deceive the nations and rally them against the saints on earth, and the “beloved city”—Jerusalem, which represents the people of God, but they will be consumed with fire from heaven before being able to do anything.  The part of Revelation 20 that we didn’t read talks about the resurrection of everyone who are judged according to their deeds, with anyone whose name not being written in the Lamb’s Book of Life also being cast into the lake of fire. 

While it’s hard to make sense sometimes of the amillennial view, it’s also hard to make sense of this view of 2 separate physical resurrections of the dead.  In the part of Rev. 20 which we didn’t read.  We read of 1 resurrection where believers and unbelievers are separated. These verse sounds a lot like what Jesus Himself talks about in Matthew 25, when He will return with His angels at the end of the age to separate the sheep from the goats.  Amillenialism teaches that the first resurrection of the believers happens when we are baptized, and there are many Scriptures to support this.    Ephesians 2:5-7 READ. Colossians 2:12, “Having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised u with Him through faith in the working of God who raised Him from the dead.”  Colossians 3:1-2, “If then you have been raised up with Christ, see those things which are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Be intent on things above, not on things that are on the earth.”  Romans 6:4, “therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”  And there are other verses.  We are those who are blessed for we have participated in the first resurrection.  There is a resurrection to come, when we will receive our glorified, imperishable bodies.  But even now, we have new and eternal life in Christ. 

We know that Christ is reigning now and has been since His ascension into heaven.  I Corinthians 15 talks about the reign of Christ. READ I Corinthians 15:25-28.  And the saints will reign with Christ.  This role is especially given to the disciples and patriarchs and to those who endure persecution, the martyrs.  But also for all who persevere in the faith to the end of their lives.  In Rev. 3:21, Jesus gives this promise to the believers in Laodicea:  “The one who overcomes, I will grant to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”  Paul quotes from a piece of church liturgy in II Timothy 2:11-12, “For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him.  If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.”  This promise of reigning with Christ is found in the Old Testament as well.  Daniel 7:27 says, “Then the kingdom, (sovereignty), the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One.  His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.”  I Corinthians 6:2-3 says, “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?  And if the world is judged by you, are you not competent to try the trivial cases?  Do you not know that we shall judge angels?” 

            It’s easy to get discouraged.  We see the Church in decline in the western world.  We see our society becoming more and more corrupt.  We see human life denigrated.  We see evil called good and good called evil.  It looks like Satan is gaining ground, but it’s a lie.  It’s a lie that he wants us to believe.  We are not defeated!  We are raised with Christ.  We are more than conquerors.  Just before Jesus died, in John 14:30, He said the ruler of this world, (the devil) has nothing in Him.  That is, had no power over Him.  The devil was already powerless against Jesus.  Jesus wasn’t going to give the devil the attention he desired.  We have Christ in us and we don’t have to give the devil a foothold in our lives either.  He can be powerless against us.  We can resist the devil, and he will flee from us. 

Every time someone comes to Christ, the Church is advancing.  The Church IS advancing.  Funny enough, it’s advancing most clearly and stridently in some of the places where it’s hardest to even be a Christian.  It’s advancing where it is illegal to own a Bible. Maybe it’s going to take some persecution for us to realize that Jesus was serious about the Great Commission. The Church is advancing where people lose their lives for declaring Jesus is Lord!  And despite what it looks like, the church is growing here in our community.  There are people being delivered from addiction.  The hungry are being fed.  People are coming to Christ.  Baptisms are happening.  Disciples are being raised up.  There is a new small church movement, called dinner church, in the US where the church is advancing.  People are coming to Christ, being delivered from bondage, and being discipled.  If each of us just leads 2 people to Christ and helps them to grow as disciples, the Kingdom of God will grow exponentially.  Many of you have done this through the raising of your children.  It doesn’t mean we have to stop with 2!  Don’t be deceived—Satan is on a tight leash.  He cannot act without seeking permission.  One day, he will be cast into the lake of fire.  We are commanded not to give the devil a stronghold.  Jesus has not abandoned us and has given us all the tools we need to push back the darkness.  God’s promise to bring all of His people into His kingdom is one that cannot and will not fail. 

Spoiled Dinner; Luke 22:14-24

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What are some of your favorite memories around food?.....Do you have bad memories around food?....Today on this World Communion Sunday, we read the story of the Last Supper from Luke’s gospel.  This is the most important meal for Christians—more important than the feedings of the 5000+ and the 4000+, more important than the meal where the sinful woman washed Jesus’s feet, more important than His meals with the tax collectors and sinners, more important His meals with Pharisees, or at Zaccheaus’s house.  It is more important, because Jesus told us to continue celebrating it in remembrance of Him.  But this Last Supper is more than just a memorial service.  Christ gives Himself to us and unites us with all other believers, which is why it is the most important supper. 

            The Last Supper was a celebration of the Passover.  It would have been a big deal for any Jewish family.  Jesus was joyfully anticipating this dinner.  Our passage begins with Jesus telling the disciples how much he has been looking forward and longing to share this Passover meal with them.  It should have been the perfect dinner, but it wasn’t.  What was supposed to be a joyful celebration had some moments that could have spoiled it.

            First is the fact that Jesus clearly says, it’s His last Passover meal for a while.  He says, “until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.”  Now that’s not bad news!  We don’t know when that will be, and neither did the disciples.  It could be very soon!  And it is definitely something worth anticipating!  But He also says that before that happens, He is going to suffer.  This shouldn’t have been a surprise to the disciples.  Jesus had been talking about it constantly on His way to Jerusalem.  We heard Him mention it many times last spring.  There is sadness even knowing that it was going to happen, and yet, we know how necessary it was for Christ to suffer, so that all people might be forgiven of their sin and have eternal life.  Still even Jesus’s impending death didn’t have to spoil the dinner.  Like having a last celebration with someone you know is terminally ill, it’s bittersweet, but you strive to make it be a great memory for all involved.  And Jesus Himself made it special by giving new meaning to the afikomen and the cup of redemption and the cup of joy.  It’s certainly something neither they nor we can forget.  Jesus is the fulfillment of Passover being broken for us, spilling His blood for our salvation, that we might have eternal joy. 

            But then Jesus says the one sitting next to Him will betray Him.  There is someone at the dinner table who plans to spoil the evening.  This starts a conversation among the disciples.  They start wondering which of them will do it, even though Jesus made it pretty clear—the one whose hand is with Mine on the table.  The one who dips with Me, in the other gospels.  The others are clueless and start speculating about each other.  This speculating turns into a full-blown argument. Like children, they start arguing over who is the best.  Anybody in here have to deal with family fighting at the dinner table?  It can certainly ruin a meal!  Jesus uses it as a teaching moment.  He points out that He is the greatest, and yet, He comes to them as a servant, not as patronizing.  He encourages them to be like Him, servants to one another.  And yet, He also tells them that they are all going to be great.  He commends them for standing by Him in His trials, thus far, even though they were all going to run away, except John, and tells them that they would inherit the Kingdom of God and inherit thrones in that Kingdom, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. Those who are spoiling what should have been the perfect dinner, will in the end be rewarded, not for what they did here, but because they have been chosen by Christ to take the gospel to the world.  Jesus turns the conversation back to the kingdom redeeming the spoiled dinner.

            But the dinner isn’t over yet.  There’s one more spoiler.  Jesus looks across to Simon Peter that Satan has asked permission to sift him like wheat.  Peter is incredulous saying he vows to follow Jesus to prison and death. Jesus tells Peter that Peter is doing to deny Him that very night, not once, but 3 times. Yet even as Jesus gives this disturbing news, He tells Peter that He has prayed for Peter that his faith will not fail.  We can trust that when our faith is weak, Jesus has prayed for us.  When we know others who are struggling with their faith, tempted to deny the Lord, we should pray for them, trusting that God, will in God’s perfect timing, restore them as well.  Jesus promises despite all that Peter will do, that he will have a job to do once he repents, which is to strengthen his brother disciples.  Peter will in the end, be the strong one.  It’s often those who have reached rock bottom and come out of it who are best suited to help others, whether it be those who are recovered and recovering addicts to help other addicts, the formerly incarcerated who make the best mentors for those headed down into a life of crime.  Peter understood after denying Jesus 3 times how much he had received forgiveness, and so he boldly proclaimed forgiveness in Christ to anyone he could. 

            The Last Supper should have been the perfect dinner with everyone getting along and celebrating, but it had many spoilers.  And yet, it was the perfect supper.  Nothing was a surprise to Jesus.  Not even Satan could ruin this meal.  Jesus used every potential spoiled moment to teach something about Himself, about the Kingdom of God, and about the disciples.  We can remember this when our dinners don’t go so well, to give and receive grace to ourselves and to those around our table, to teach and to learn.  The disciples continued the practice of table fellowship among believers and promoted in all the churches as Christ instituted, and so we do today.  We remember Jesus in this meal.  We remember what that Jesus died for us, that He is the Passover lamb, slain from the foundation of the world, who death sets us free from the law of sin and death.  We remember that He is our salvation.  We remember that we are inheritors of the Kingdom of God.  We remember that Christ has taken people who were not family and made them into God’s family with God as our Father and Christ as our Brother.  We are brothers and sisters, called to serve one another in love.  Under Christ’s new covenant we are called to bless the world, just as God promised Abraham that He would bless all the peoples through Abraham. 

            The table is still a sacred space, not just the Communion Table, but whenever believers are gathered, when believers are gathered with unbelievers.  Whenever we gather for a meal—in our homes, in restaurants, at church, on a picnic we can remember Christ and invite Him to our tables as He invites us to His.  Even when things don’t go perfectly, Christ is in our midst and can do His holy work. 

The Earth is Judged; Isaiah24-25:5, Revelation 6-7

 

We have come to the end of a judgement cycle in Isaiah.  We have heard lots of judgements over the summer, but remember that every single one has also come with hope and a promise of restoration and salvation after the time of judgment and even during the time of judgment in some cases.  This final judgement is the judgement of the whole earth. 

            A couple of weeks ago, we heard about the church in Philadelphia whom Jesus promised to spare from an even greater “hour of testing” that was to come upon the whole earth, because they had already faithfully endured much persecution in which many members had lost their lives.  We hear in the text that there will be those who are unaffected by the coming judgment, but it’s going to be overall devastating for the world.  It doesn’t matter what one’s social status or class is.  Isaiah tells us that the Lord has said that the earth will be completely laid waste and completely despoiled. 

            Why is God going to judge the earth?  For many of the same reasons God said that He would judge certain nations, but moreso because the evil is so widespread.  In Isaiah 24:5, God gives the reason, people have “transgressed laws, violated statutes, and broke the everlasting covenant.” 

            What will happen when God judges the earth?  Both Isaiah and Revelation talk about earthquakes.  Both talk about the heavens being shaken and the sun and moon being darkened.  Isaiah says that the host of heaven will be punished along with the earthly rulers.  These are the spiritual forces whom Isaiah says will be confined.  We also see this in the book of Revelation, though not in our passages today.  Alcohol will not bring pleasure but will be sought as a way to escape, but it will not work.  Partying will stop.  People will hide and try to escape suffering.  Our Revelation passage speaks of war, pestilence, famine, and attacks by wild animals.  It also talks about food being incredibly expensive.   Death and Hades are given the authority to take 25% of the human population. 

            Isaiah mentions a city that will be destroyed in this prophecy.  The word used to describe is “wasted, confused, chaos.”  It is the exact Hebrew word used to describe the earth in Genesis 1:2. It is disordered.  When we refuse God’s order, the result is disorder and chaos.  The city is not named as cities in the other judgements were.  What is this city?  Is it a city that was unknown at the time, like Beirut, Moscow, or Washington, DC?  Is it Jerusalem?  It is a city that represents the whole world.  Whatever this city is, it will be destroyed never to be rebuilt.  So yes, Jerusalem in a sense spiritually, even if not literally.  We have seen Paul in Galatians b4 talk about the Jerusalem that now is and the Jerusalem that is above, the heavenly city.  He tells us that the earthly Jerusalem is like Hagar, a city that is in slavery, but that the heavenly Jerusalem is free like Sarah.  St. Augustine in his great book, The City of God, describes the same thing.  He says that there exists the City of God and the City of Man.  Both Paul and Augustine say that these cities exist in the present tense.  They are systems.  God’s people belong to the City of God, and if they aren’t living like it, they are called to come out of the City of Man, the earthly Jerusalem.  Whatever our feelings about even the physically real city of Jerusalem, it is not meant to stand forever.  We hate to think of our heritage being destroyed, but in the end, it will be completely unnecessary when the New Jerusalem descends from heaven and replaces it.  Until it does, it already exists, and we are called to live like it exists and that we are its citizens, for indeed we are!

            This great judgment that is to come is referred to as the Tribulation, the great trouble.  We see this in our Revelation passage, that those around the throne of God dressed in white robes and singing praise to the Lord, a multitude that no one can count from every people group on the planet are those “who come out of the great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”  Popular Bible teaching says God’s people aren’t going to have to endure the tribulation, but that’s not what Revelation 7 says nor is it what any early church father taught.  Tribulation is to be endured and persevered through with God’s help, not escaped.  What the early church father did differ on is whether the 1000-year reign of Christ is metaphorical or whether there will be a post tribulation literal reign of Christ on earth between the resurrection of believers and the resurrection of the condemned.  I personally find myself waffling between those two positions.  God warns us about it, not so that we will be afraid, but so that we will be prepared. 

            There have been many great tribulations throughout history.  I think this is one of the reasons that the disciples expected Christ to return. They always spoke of Jesus’s return during times of intense persecution, but there is still a great tribulation to come.  Are we on the threshold of it?  Maybe.  There are many who think so with the collapse of western civilization, with WWIII about to start and the great threat of nuclear war and the escalation of violence in the Middle East.  We certainly see vast numbers of people breaking and disregarding God’s laws and even natural law.  We see people calling evil good and good evil.  Whether God is going to send a lesser or the final tribulation upon us soon, only God knows, but after the final tribulation, Christ will return and reign.  We see in Isaiah 24:23, “The Lord of hosts will reign on Mt. Zion and in Jerusalem and His glory will be before His elders.” 

As he has done in when pronouncing other judgements, Isaiah weeps over those that do evil.  The apostle Paul reminds us that “we wrestle not with flesh and blood, but with powers, and principalities, and spiritual wickedness in the high places.”  Do we care enough to mourn over those who do evil and desire to see them set free spiritually?  Do we care enough even about our neighbors to share the good news of Jesus with them? 

            Don’t forget that the ending to both of our passages this morning are positive!  They are full of praise for God’s goodness, power, and triumph and for the triumph of the people who are faithful to the Lord.  In Isaiah’s prophecy, the righteous in the west shout with joy over the majesty of the LORD.  Those in the East sing songs of God’s glory.  Those in the islands praise the name of the Lord!  In our Revelation passage, before any judgement can even start, the angels are commanded to first seal up the 144,000.  I don’t believe this is a literal number, but it is the number of completion of Jewish believers—those who actually come from the 12 tribes named as representatives of God’s historic people.  We should be praying for the conversion of the Jews.  It’s why the work of organizations like Jews for Jesus is so important.  God will fulfill God’s promises to them by bringing them into the New Jerusalem.  Notice there is no one from the tribe of Dan or Ephraim. Instead of Ephraim, Joseph is named, and instead of Dan, Manasseh is named.  And then we have the multitude that no one can count around God’s throne. This multitude will include us and all believers throughout time, and all who have come out of the Great Tribulation—that is they survived it, not necessarily by not dying, although therw will be many who will remain alive, but all who remained faithful to Christ, enduring to the end.  They cry out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and unto the Lamb.”  The angels join with them, along with God’s chosen 24 elders (the patriarchs and apostles), worshipping and saying, “Amen!  Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen!”  Once the great tribulation is passed, so comes the end of all hunger, thirst, weather disasters, sorrows and tears! 

            I’m not foolish enough to say these are the end times.  I don’t know if the hurricane that happened is God’s judgment, or simply something God allows via the natural processes God has ordained, or because of the general fallen state of humanity.  I’m not going to try to say why any particular thing is happening.  Nor will I try to predict what’s going to happen.  Only God the Father knows when the end will come.  Only God knows the particulars of why God does or allows anything.  I do think we should be prepared for hard and trying times, but we can live with hope because we know that God wins.  Even as God judges the earth, God does so out of love for people and a hatred for evil.  In his book City of God, St. Augustine wrote, “Do not refuse to regain your youth in Christ, who says to you, ‘The world is passing away.  The world is losing its grip.  The world is short of breath.’ Do not fear—your youth shall be renewed as an eagle.”

The Price of Seduction; Isaiah 23

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The Key of David; Isaiah 22:15-25, Revelation 3:7-13

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