So...judgment is coming! Armageddon, bowls of wrath, and the great prostitute - woo hoo!
What will judgment look like? John seems to be saying two things. First, God is going to take away everything gained by the ways of the empire - gained by taking advantage of people and creation. What happens when your stuff gets taken away? Weeping and gnashing of teeth. Second, John seems to be saying that God will eventually contain evil and those who love evil in a place outside the new heaven and new earth. We just don't know when and John doesn't tell us when. There are no secret codes telling us when it's going to happen.
So, what do we do in the meantime? We look for signs of empire in our own lives. We name them. And turn around. What are the signs of the empire? Too many for us to talk about, so we'll take a few. Pride. Greed. Lies. Deception. Violence. Etc.
Lastly, do we want judgment? Sounds like it sucks. But we do. We long for it. We want justice. We cry out for things to be made right. God's not going to destroy the whole thing and start over - God is going to renew and renovate.
God isn't done with us yet.
Speaker: Aaron Vis
Scripture: Revelation 15:1-8; 16:1-21; 17:1-18; 18:1-24
http://bible.com/events/48935117