Emmanuel Lutheran Church

Sermon for Midweek of Trinity 13

Revelation 17:1-18

There are too many details in Revelation 17 for us to talk about in a short sermon. And, in all honesty, it may not be possible or even wise to try to explain away every detail in this chapter. Because the overarching message is clear enough, and important enough for us to focus on: The kingdoms of the world will always be the devil’s instruments to attack the true Church of Christ, and the apostate Church, led by the Antichrist within the visible assembly of the Church, will work together with the kingdoms of the world to snuff out the true religion. But they will ultimately fail.

John sees a vision of the great harlot, the great prostitute. She’s identified as “Babylon the Great” and as “that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.” As we talked about last week, Babylon was the great city in the Old Testament that threatened God’s people of Israel and held them captive for a time. In the New Testament era, the great city that threatened God’s people, both physically and spiritually, both from a secular government angle and from a Church angle, is the city of Rome.

There’s no doubt that Rome is being talked about here. The angel says that the woman sits on “seven mountains.” John’s readers would have had no trouble identifying that as Rome, the famous “city of the seven hills.”  And for centuries, Rome was indeed the city which reigns over the kings of the earth, again, both on the secular side in the Roman Empire and the later Holy Roman Empire, and on the spiritual side, as it eventually became (and still is!) the seat of the man who claimed to reign over all Christians everywhere, the seat of the Papacy.

So the woman in this vision, the great harlot, represents the Roman Papacy, the true Antichrist, and the beast on which the woman sits represents the secular beast, the Roman Empire itself, which evolved into the so-called Holy Roman Empire. The woman is described as THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. The “harlotry” here is spiritual harlotry or unfaithfulness, also known as idolatry. It includes every form of supposedly Christian teaching that leads people to trust in man instead of in God: to trust in man’s leadership, in man’s intercessions, in man’s works, in man’s protection, in man’s teachings and traditions. It’s every form of supposedly Christian teaching that causes people to focus on human desires, human likes, human beliefs. And so, with that understanding, it certainly includes much of what’s taught under the Roman Papacy.

But it isn’t restricted to the Roman Catholic Church. I remember when we lived in Puerto Rico, where Roman Catholicism was still very popular, there were some Evangelical churches who would print flyers and plaster them all over the cars in a parking lot—flyers with the title, Rome is the great harlot! Another popular version of that is the idea that, if it’s Roman Catholic, it’s bad! Well, the Papacy may be the great harlot, but the woman is called here the “mother of harlots.” Every false version of Christianity can be traced back to Rome, because it was Rome who taught everyone to trust, not in the Scriptures, but in man, and that’s what all false doctrine does, at the end of the day. It causes people to trust, not in the actual teaching of Holy Scripture, but in made-up human doctrines. It causes people to focus on what they do for God instead of on what He has done for us in Christ. It causes people to focus on how they like to worship God instead of on how God desires to be worshiped. Such harlotry is found, not only in the Roman Church, but throughout so-called Protestantism as well.

We see the woman dressed in scarlet, just like the beast on which she sits. We see the apostate Church dressed like the world, becoming more and more like the world, in her teachings as well as in her practices. Oh, the world thinks women should be in charge of everything? Look at the church over the past many decades ordaining women as pastorettes. Oh, the world thinks homosexuality is great? Look at the church now endorsing such practices. Divorce? Fine! Sex outside of marriage? Fine! God’s Word is fallible? Agreed! And so on.

But the woman is also dressed in purple and wears fine pearls and holds out a golden cup to the world. She is a glorious Church, a big Church, as the woman sits on many waters, that is, on many nations. She appears elegant, attractive, and beautiful on the outside. Again, that applies as much to the Roman Catholic Church as it does to the Evangelical megachurch (or megasynod). But in truth, she’s a harlot. She is not faithful to God and His Word and His teaching, and she teaches the nations that her fake version of Christianity is the truth!

For a while, the unbelievers love her and join in with her! The kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication. But eventually they grow of tired of her and the nations will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire as part of God’s judgment against her. And maybe we can see signs of that in our time. The nations of the world largely followed Christianity, usually in its idolatrous form—the nations have never embraced genuine Christian doctrine as a whole. There’s still a thin veneer of loyalty to the apostate Church among the rulers of the world. But in our day, it seems that most of the nations of the world, most of the rulers of the world, are beginning to reject every form of Christianity, even the antichristian forms of it.

Now, as for the heads, and the horns, and the kings that are mentioned in this vision, some have tried to connect them to specific rulers or kingdoms in history, and maybe there’s something to that, but we don’t have time to get into it here, and it’s really an insignificant thing to match up this horn to that king. It’s the overarching message that needs to get through: that the false-teaching, man-centered, man-idolizing Church is actually the greatest enemy of mankind. Because when people are introduced to a false version of who Jesus is and what it means to follow Him, it’s the worst kind of delusion. Because when the true version of Jesus is preached, people don’t bother even listening. They think they already know what Christianity is all about. Either they hate it and want nothing to do with it, or they fall in love with the false Christ they’ve been introduced to and want nothing to do with the real one.

That’s why the alliance between Christianity and the governments of the world has never been a healthy a thing, because whole societies are led away from the true Christ to a false version of Him, to a generic God who looks something like the Christian God but isn’t.

So, again, the overarching theme of this vision is that the false-teaching, man-centered, man-idolizing Church is actually the greatest enemy of mankind, and, that the false-teaching Church which has done so much damage to the true Church over the centuries, will eventually fall. The churches that have falsely represented Christ to the world and that have gloated over and persecuted the followers of the true Christ will be put to shame.

So we should be careful, shouldn’t we? We should be on guard against the false but attractive version of Christianity. We should know the Scriptures well enough that the false but attractive version of Christianity can’t move us from the truth of God’s Word. And we should take heart, because it’s not the size of the Church or the outward glory of the Church that identifies it as the true Church. It’s the church’s faithfulness to God’s Word and Sacraments, the presence of faith in Christ alone among her members, the love her members show to one another, and the Christ-like behavior of her members in the world. Let us be about those things! Amen.

Sermon for Midweek of Trinity 12

Revelation 16:12-21

John’s visions are taking us closer and closer to the end of the world. His vision of the sixth and seventh bowls filled with the wrath of God show us the “last battle” at the place called Armageddon. Except, as we’ll see, it isn’t much of a battle. In fact, there’s no battle at all. It’s the battle that never was.

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.

This is the second time we’ve come across the river Euphrates in John’s visions. It was the great river on whose banks the city of Babylon was built. It ran down from the north and then split around Babylon, so that part of the river flowed to the west of Babylon, while the other part flowed to the east. You have to remember your history here. Babylon was the capital city of the Babylonians, who, led by King Nebuchadnezzar, destroyed Jerusalem and took the Jews captive in Babylon for 70 years in the sixth century BC. He was a wicked king, but God used him to punish the Jews for their idolatry. Eventually, his successors became even more wicked than he was. So God sent the Mede and Persian armies to conquer the Babylonians. The Medes and Persians came from the east, and each had its own king: Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Persian. So here, in John’s vision, the sixth angel’s bowl dries up the Euphrates so that the “kings from the east” might have easy access to Babylon, to destroy it, because its days are numbered. The prophet Jeremiah had much to say about Babylon’s impending fall in chapter 51 of his book.

Here in Revelation, Babylon symbolizes the world powers that stand against God and His Church. So the message here is that, although God has allowed the world powers to threaten and mistreat His Church for a time, just as He allowed the Babylonians to hold the people of Jerusalem captive for a time, now it’s time for the hostile forces of the world to pay, just as Babylon paid at the hands of the Medes and Persians for their mistreatment of God’s people.

And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth, indeed, of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.

You recall that the dragon stands for the devil, the beast stands for world government, and the false prophet stands for the Antichrist. From the mouth of these three, John sees unclean spirits going out like frogs, croaking their lies and their deceptions to all the kings of the earth, so that all the world rulers are allied against the true Church. Now, remember, this doesn’t only mean openly anti-Christian hostility. The false prophet is involved, too, who speaks his lies from within the outward Christian Church. That means that the persecution against the Church may well have a veneer of godliness, of being pro-religion, and yet it will be hostile to the true religion taught in Holy Scripture.

It says that the demons will influence the kings of the earth by performing signs. St. Paul said that the coming of the Antichrist would be similar to this: false miracles designed to lead astray all those who refused to be led by the Scriptures themselves. So these demons will perform signs. Now, here are some things I would include in those signs that serve to confirm the rulers of the world in their rejection of Christianity: UFO sightings. The fact is, if there were actually aliens out there, then the message of Scripture really falls apart. So the claimed UFO sightings end up turning people away from trusting in Scripture, which is exactly what the goal of the demons has always been, to make people doubt God’s Word. Another demonic sign would be all the supposed “evidence” that’s asserted to “prove” that the earth is millions of years old. Now, there’s no actual evidence to support that, and yet the teaching of evolution undergirds practically all the sciences in the modern world. We might even include the climate change religion among these demonic delusions that permeate the nations of the world and end up turning the rulers of the world against the Christian religion, which teaches an entirely different cosmology and purpose for mankind and for the world. Add to that the demonic delusion of the “Pride” flag and the “Trans” flag, and most of the “isms” that have filled the world, which target both Christian doctrine and Christian history.

Yes, the powers of the world are being gathered together for a final battle against God’s people who hold to the pure doctrine of Christ. The place where they’re gathered is said to be called in Hebrew “Armageddon,” which only shows up here in the Bible. Armageddon isn’t a single Hebrew word at all. People have debated its meaning over the centuries. But it seems to be a combination of the word “Har,” which means “mountain of,” and “Megiddo,” a place in the land of Israel. Now, what is Megiddo known for? Well, King Josiah of Judah was killed there by Pharaoh Necho of Egypt. But that was in the Valley of Megiddo. What is the mountain of Megiddo? Well, the most famous one is Mount Carmel. Do you remember what happened there? There was a “battle,” of sorts, but a battle with swords. The prophet Elijah faced off against wicked King Ahab and 450 prophets of Baal. It looked like the end for Elijah. But the Lord gave him the victory that day with fire from heaven, and all the prophets Baal were put to death.

So Armageddon isn’t a scary thing at all for the people of God. It’s a symbol of God’s victory over the idolaters who threaten His people. That goes along perfectly with what John says here, that the kings of the earth are being gathered to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. What the world powers imagine will be a decisive defeat of the Christian Church is actually the “great day of God Almighty,” the day that belongs to God, not to His enemies, the great day of judgment.

And that’s exactly what we see revealed in the seventh plague.

Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”

It is done!, says the Lord. It’s just one word in Greek. So much for a battle! There wasn’t even a fight. The world powers gather together against the Church of God, and God turns the tables on them and defeats them with a word.

And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth…Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.

Again, this is a picture of the final destruction of the earth that will take place on the last day.

Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.

The “great city” here is Babylon. The world powers can’t stand in the presence of God. They’re broken apart, and all the cities fall—the cities which already today are becoming lost causes for every form of wickedness and violence and destruction. And God will remember all the ways in which men have threatened or harmed His people. And justice will finally be served.

“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”

There’s an interjection from Jesus Himself in the midst of this vision, a warning and an encouragement, not for the unbeliever, but for the believer who listens to the reading of this book of Revelation. I am coming as a thief! He’s said that before. In other words, you won’t be able to predict the day or the timing of His coming. It won’t be that obvious. Things will be going on in the world more or less as they have been. So He urges His people to watch, to notice the signs, and to expect Him at any moment. Then He urges His people to “keep their garments,” to hold onto faith and to the righteousness that covers us through faith. Only faith in Christ will make us worthy to stand before God on His great day. Only faith in Christ will keep us safe at the battle of Armageddon, which won’t really be a battle at all. Amen.

Sermon for Midweek of Trinity 11

Revelation 16:1-11

The vision of the seven bowls filled with the seven plagues of God’s wrath is actually very similar to the vision of the seven trumpets that we reviewed several weeks ago. We would need a whiteboard or something to place the comparisons side by side. If you’re interested, you can take your Bible and compare the two visions at home.

Tonight we heard about the first five bowls and the plagues that were poured out from them. But just as we did with the vision of the seven trumpets, so we’ll do here: we’ll recognize that the plagues poured out upon the earth, upon the sea, upon the rivers and streams of water, and upon the sun, are not to be taken literally. In other words, in the last days before Christ’s return, we don’t expect to see all unbelievers walking around with sores all over their bodies, nor do we expect all the waters of the world to be turned into human blood, or for all the sea creatures to die off, nor do we expect the sun to start setting people on fire, literally. That would all make for a thrilling sci-fi movie, but it isn’t what the Bible is talking about. In fact, I wonder if, the more they make movies to portray the events described in Revelation as literal, the less people will take to heart the true, spiritual meaning behind those pictures, which are meant to serve as warnings to unbelievers and as a great comfort to Christians.

The first [angel] went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.

Earlier, John saw a beast come up out of the earth. That was the Antichrist, the symbolic leader of the false Church. A plague is poured out on that Church in the last days. This first bowl is what gives it away that the plagues are spiritual, not physical. Because the only ones who receive these foul and loathsome sores are the ones who have the mark of the beast, who worship his image. That is, the unbelieving and idolaters, especially those who have attached themselves to the false Christian Church. True Christians, believers in Christ, are not plagued with these sores. So these must be sores on the conscience and on the rational part of the soul, punishments sent by God on those who disbelieve His Word and His Gospel, who are in love with the false teachings of the false-teaching Church that sits within the borders of the visible Christian Church. If the Gospel is twisted, then men no longer have the peace that comes from it, but their consciences are tormented, as by painful sores.

Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.

Earlier, John saw a beast come up out of the sea. The sea stood for the unbelieving nations of the world, out of which antichristian rulers arise. Now the sea is turned to disgusting blood. Unbelievers are already spiritually dead. But this plague seems to indicate the removal of everything that was good and wholesome among the societies of the world. Reason and rationality are gone. Good order is gone. Good will is gone. In the vision of the seven trumpets, something similar happened to the sea, except that only a third of the living creatures there died. Now in the very last days, it’s “every living creature.” The societies of the world, together with their governments, are utterly ruined. Does that sound like the world we live in?

Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.

There is nothing left to refresh and sustain the unbeliever when things come to this point. The Word of God, which is often compared to refreshing water in Scripture, no longer refreshes, because it has been so twisted and corrupted by men that the Christianity that’s preached in the world in the last days is no longer the Christianity of the Bible. The gospel that’s preached is no longer the true Gospel, but a false one that cannot save. As Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

And I heard the angel of the waters saying: “You are righteous, O Lord, The One who is and who was and who is to be, Because You have judged these things. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, And You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due.” And I heard another from the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”

These judgments of God are just. The world wasn’t willing to be instructed by God’s Word. As Paul writes to Timothy, the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. And so God said, “Fine. Have it your way. You didn’t want My Word? You didn’t want the preachers I sent to you? Then I’ll see to it that you only hear false doctrine and that you only have false teachers, so that you are deprived of the only thing that could bring you to repentance and faith. This is justice.”

Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to it to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.

The sun was given to give the earth heat and light, to be a blessing to man. This seems to be another picture of God’s Word, which is meant to be a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. But when God allows the light of His Word to be corrupted, when He allows false Christianity to fill the world with its false version of Christ and His Gospel, then it no longer serves to lead people to God. Men rejected the Gospel for centuries when it was purely preached. So now men don’t even have the wholesome witness of the Christian Church filling the world anymore, but only the false witness that doesn’t give true comfort or joy or peace but only a burning emptiness inside, because truth has been replaced with falsehood.

Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.

The throne of the beast represents the governments of the world that oppose Christ or twist His Word. Civil government was instituted by God to be a blessing, to promote a quiet and peaceful life. But when false and demonic delusions turn governments into promoters and defenders of “institutionalized robbery, militant atheism, atheistic evolution, murder of the unborn, pornography and countless other evils, what was intended to be a blessing becomes a curse and a source of pain and suffering,” as one commentator puts it, as people trip all over themselves and one another in the darkness of the reality they’ve created for themselves. And even though men have corrupted the Word of God and the Christian religion, the same men then turn around and curse the Word of God and Christianity as they’ve corrupted them.

But Christians are spared from all these plagues. Not that it’s comfortable living in a world that is living under the curse of God’s punishment, but the curse of false doctrine doesn’t touch those who hold to the truth of Christ. We don’t have to suffer any of the fear, or bitterness, or irrationality, or despair, or guilt, or ignorance, or confusion that the unbelieving world suffers. Because, by God’s grace, we still have the light of His Word. We still have the peace of His Gospel. We still have the guidance of His Holy Spirit. Where the truth of God’s Word is still proclaimed, there the plagues cannot fall.

So watch in society for the plagues John talks about here and how they’re manifested among those who reject the pure teaching of the Gospel. Take comfort in God’s protection, even as you witness that protection being removed from the unbelieving world. For the believer who clings to God’s Word and is watching out for false doctrine, the words of David in Psalm 18 ring true: The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies. Amen.