In this chapter we find a great celebration of the marriage supper with the Lamb. After the promised judgment of Babylon, it can seem like a long time until God takes care of wickedness and avenges the suffering. Yet here we thank God that a great Hallelujah of praise happens in heaven and Jesus Christ becomes our great champion.

We are living in Babylon - a world that is against God and his ways. We see so many evils in the world that we live in. But in Revelation 18, God calls us to come out of Babylon. What does it look like for a Christian to live in this world but not of it? That can be a challenge, but God calls us to flee from sin and embrace the salvation that we find in Christ.

Faith in the Son of God is all about believing in Jesus. It’s a faith that is given to us by God. It’s a faith that results in the life lived for the Lord.

What we explore today is that the reality that we find on earth often has its opposite in heaven. When believers suffer on earth - they are rewarded in heaven. And when the wicked enjoy a comfortable life here on earth - they will one day be judged. Today we see a beautiful picture of the redeemed standing in victory and singing the song of the Lamb.

In life we belong to the Lord or we belong to the devil. We bear the mark of the one we belong to. Jesus will gather all people - some to eternal life, and some to eternal wrath. Let us repent and come into the kingdom of God.

Persecution still exists against the church today. The forces of evil attack Christ’s church and kill the saints. Yet Christ chose us in him before the foundation of the world. Though suffering is real and the body they may kill, our souls belong to Christ forever. We are called to rejoice in suffering and trust in Christ who died to save his saints.

The church of Jesus Christ often seems small and weak, especially in a time of suffering. Revelation 12 is a picture of the battle that’s been going on since creation between the offspring of the devil and the offspring of the woman. What we find is that the accuser can no longer be present in the heavenly council but is sent to the earth. Though he may cause suffering, he cannot take away the eternal salvation and security that believers have in Christ. Today let us thank God that we have a heavenly advocate in Jesus Christ, the righteous one.

Today we are reminded that Christ’s church is both attacked on the outside and at the same time is eternally secure. John is told to measure the temple in a similar manner as we see in the book of Ezekiel. What is measured is under the divine protection of the Lord.

In this closing chapter of Mark, the gospel writer specifically draws attention to the fact that a group of women who followed Jesus were witnesses to everything that had happened. They had witnessed Jesus’ death on the cross. They had witnessed his body being placed in the tomb. And when they came to the tomb on that Sunday morning, they had been witness this his body was not there. They were witnesses in two senses to his resurrection. Not only did they personally witness that Jesus was no longer dead, but they also had the task to witness - to go and tell others about what Jesus had done.

Psalm 31 is a prayer asking for a king to rescue and save. David prays for God to be a rock of refuge, a strong fortress to deliver him. On Palm Sunday, Jesus entered into Jerusalem humble and riding on a donkey. But Jesus truly was the rescuing king who was an answer to the prayer that David had prayed so many years before. Even in all our distress, we need to pray for this same rescuing king.