Revelation of God's Justice and Mercy - various passages.

In order to understand God's Judgments correctly, it is vital to have a Biblically rooted understanding of God's Justice and Mercy. Otherwise, any reader will see God's judgments are disconnected unfair, irrational acts of divine wrath and anger. God's condemnation of unmitigated, ballooning sin is based on mercy for all. The violence and evil we see in the world arise from mankind but also targets mankind with endless violence, pain, and ruin. Let's review a proper understanding of God's Justice which is rooted in His Mercy and Love.

Aim: God’s justice and mercy perfectly express His abiding love for a world that desperately needs Him.

Divisions:

I. God’s justice and mercy reflect His character (Exodus 34:6-7; Psalm 36:5-6; John 1:17; 2 Peter 2:4-9; 3:9).

Principles: God displays His justice by judging sin and His mercy by saving sinners.

II. God’s justice and mercy are revealed throughout Scripture (Genesis 6; 18:20–19:29; Exodus 32–34; Mark 3:1-6; Luke 18:9-14).

Principles: Jesus perfectly satisfied God’s justice and offers mercy to sinners who receive His gift of salvation.

Lesson 20: The Bowl Judgments, Revelation 15-16

Focus Verse

“Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” (Revelation 15:4)

Have you wondered why Judgment is so important in God's prophecy of the end-times? Imagine a world where justice is ignored? Does right and wrong matter in such a world? Does God's righteousness and goodness matter if evil and wickedness are not addressed in all seriousness? Judgment reveals the Justice and Righteousness of God. The world hungers for justice. But God's justice will only be fulfilled through and in the righteousness of Jesus.

I. Judgment reveals the Greatness of God (Rev. 15)

A. Joy in Heaven 15:1-4

B. Dread for Earth 15:5-8

Principle: All who worships God knows God’s judgments are righteous and just.

II. Judgment reveals the bankruptcy of Man (Rev. 16)

A. On the natural realm 16:1-9

B. On the ruler’s domain 16:10-16

C. On the entire world 16:17-21

Principle: Without God, the world and life is not livable.

Why does God view sin so seriously?

We tend to greatly undermine the things God considers with enormous seriousness. We see sin in small size snapshots related to our temporal existence. God sees it in view of sin's longterm, eternal view- when its pernicious size and impact grows and spills over in complex ways into all His good Creation. Sin defies God, and seeks to desecrate, destroy, and distort the image and beauty of God at every opportunity. It damages the humanity that God loves and seeks to rescue. God's love necessitates wrath against the pain, wounds, and violence of sin's pernicious dynamic. Revelation 14 describes the demonic empire of the beast which comes under the judgment of God and the testimony of special witnesses to God's saving grace.

I. Saved for Worship (14:1-5)

A. Worshipful Rejoicing marks our testimony (14:1-3)

B. Worshipful Sanctification marks our witness (14:4-5)

Principle: Following the Lamb of God means completely identifying and submitting our lives to the Gospel of the Lamb.

II. Saved from Judgment (14:6-20)

A. Eternal Future Judgment Proclaimed (14:6-13)

B. Eternal Future Judgment Mobilized (14:14-20)

Principle: Only those secured by the Lamb will escape the meltdown of the rebellious empire and God’s judgment

Revelation Lesson 18

Suffering is not only what humanity does, suffering has it's roots in God's love for us. He suffers our rejection and rebellion. He suffers by giving up His Son, the perfect Lamb of God, in order that by His love for lost humanity, we might be saved, redeemed, and receive eternal life through the Son.

We persevere in suffering because we experience God's sustaining power when times look their worst and most anxiously out of our control. And our future hope as described in Revelation is God's elimination sin's suffering through the victory and restoration of all Creation in His New Kingdom (Rev 21:4).

This is the BSF Global Lecture provided by HQ.

The San Francisco Regional Lecture is delayed and should be posted by Thursday morning. Thank you for your understanding.

BSF Lesson 16

Revelation 12 is a prophecy of hope and victory.

As you listen, reflect on what this mean for you and your participation in the Church and among God's people in these times.

Aim: In Christ, believers find refuge and victory over Satan.

I. Spiritual Conflict: Despite Enemy Schemes, God Protects: 1-9

A. in face of evil (vs1-5)

B. in Christ (vs5)

C. in wilderness and in the heavens (vs6-9)

Principle: In Christ, we find refuge from demonic persecution and schemes. (We cast them out.)

II. Spiritual Victory: Heaven’s Triumph (Revelation 12:7-12)

A. The Dragon’s Defeat (vs7-9)

B. Christ’s Victory (vs10-11)

C. Heaven Rejoices (v12)

Principle: In Christ, we share in His triumph over sin, death, and demonic forces.

III. Spiritual Protection: Heaven’s Protection (Revelation 12:13-17)

A. The Dragon’s Pursuit & God’s Care (vs13-14)

B. The Dragon’s Attack & God’s Protection (vs15-16)

C. The Dragon’s Rage & Warfare (v17)

Principle: In Christ, God’s power sustains and covers us through demonic attacks.

Revelation 10 -11 - Am I measuring my life by the world or by God's measure?

When in doubt about a passage's meaning, one important beginning place to understanding is to look for Jesus in the text. Revelations is all about Jesus. Whether in the Temple, the Ark of the Covenant, the Throne, the Altar, and at the center of the praise and rejoicing of His People, Jesus is at the center. Chp 10-11 speaks are resistance against the Supremacy and Exaltation of Christ at the center of all things as was the Father's Plan from the beginning. In Him is all things and by Him all things subsist (Rom 11:36, Col 1:16)

I. A Confident Message (10:1-11)

A. Concealed: 1-7 (Despite uncertainties, we can trust God’s timing and prevailing victory.)

B. Consumed/Revealed: 8-11 (Sharing the Gospel is a prodigious responsibility.)

Principle: Consuming judgment awakens us to the vital importance of setting heart right with God

II. A Confident Witness (11:1-14)

A. God-empowered: 1-6 (God empowers His witnesses to complete their mission.)

B. Defying all enemies of God’s rescue: 7-14 (God holds our lives completely, nothing in our witness is wasted) 

Principle: God’s resurrection life empowers confident witness.

III. A Confident Outcome (11:15-19)

A. God’s Reign: 15-17 (Christ’s certain reign warrants worship.)

B. God’s Recompense: 18 (God’s reign brings judgment & justice.)

C. Glory Revealed: 19 (God’s plan reveals His glory.)

Principle: Confident witness of God’s message reveals God’s glory.

Revelation in these chapters shows us the telescopic work of judgment and redemption as God seeks to rescue those who will repent under His judgments against sin and humanit's alliance with wickedness.

Here are some thoughts for us to take away:

What’s your little scroll? What do you have to say? You are a constant witness of God’s redemptive, saving love. Even as you are facing your own life difficulties, you show the world through Hope, this brief life and temporal world is not everything, not the end. What does your “little scroll” of witness have to say to someone needing to hear words of hope and salvation?

What are you hanging on to? Where does your hope reside? When people lose their security, their whole belief about what reality and life means is shaken to the core. They ask a lot of questions about God, His purposes and plans, they never thought to ask before. How ready are you to speak the Truth about darkness and God’s Light and Truth into their broken visions?

What enslaves your priorities? What keeps you busy? The world has a way of entangling us deeper into the senseless, meaningless preoccupations. How can we live so we are not “majoring the in minors?”

What is your Love Song? What are you most passionate about? God cares about about our witness. Because all of life and eternity is about describing to others the goodness of God that we experience and see. If we cannot speak and witness of His glorious redemption, can we say we really understand it and that we really understand God? How can we grow and expand our communication about God’s yearning for humanity to repent and receive the Life He desires to give us.

This is a BSF Global Lecture provided by headquarters.

God's Call for Repentance in the Trumpet Judgments.

When in court, the evidence is presented by witnesses and testifiers, we anticipate just and faithful judgment and a righting of wrong by an impartial judge who gives a fair and right verdict. Human justice however is limited because it cannot undo all wrong and our discovery and due diligence is greatly limited and incomplete. That is not the case with God who know all and sees all and completely. His Justice is True and Faithful and He also knows the pain that sin causes because he's not only experienced that pain Himself, he knows the pain that each and every one of us experiences in this broken world. God is calling us apart - away from being a people of afflicting pain, violence, hurt, and damage, but to be His holy people of light, beauty, righteousness, and healing. He seeks to redeemed, restore, save, and love. His outpouring of goodness has spoiled us in this age. People become even more self-righteous and adverse to God when things are going well. So God unleashes judgments so that we might yearn for His deliverance and help in Revelation 8-9, we'll see God's constant grace as a wake-up call through the judgments as they crescendo in the face of humanity's defiance against God's Verdict and Truth.

Lesson 13: The Security of God's people, Revelation 7

The six seal is opened and the world's elements - mountains, islands, lands, sun, moon, and stars are dislodged, dislocated, untethered from their places. When we insist against God being at the center and put ourselves or "man made ideas or things" in God's place, can the center hold? No, Revelation continues to tell us that only God can be the rock of our certainty and assurance for not only this life but the life to come. There is not hope without Christ - people have tried and will continue to try, but in the midst of all humanity's defiance, God retains a sealed remnant of His people to testify to His Redemptive Plan in Jesus - even in tribulation so they can be rescued and healed.

“For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’” (Revelation 7:17)

Aim: CATL The Lamb secures the salvation of God's people.

I. Secured By God’s Seal (Rev. 7:1-8)

A. The Restraint of Judgment (v. 1)

B. The Mercy of Protection (2-3)

Doctrine: God knows and seals His people

C. The Number of the Redeemed (v. 4-8)

Principle: God knows and secures His own for eternity.

II. Sheltered In God’s Presence (Rev. 7:9-17)

A. The Great Multitudes Worship (v. 9-10)

B. The Heavenly Response (v.11-12)

C. The Promise of Eternal Security (v.13-17)

Doctrine: highlight God’s presence as an eternal refuge (“tent”)

Principle: God's presence is our eternal home and shelter.