Revelation assures local churches that God the Father is still on the throne, Jesus Christ is still walking among His churches, and the Holy Spirit is still communicating the trustworthy Word of God to those churches. This fundamental reality has sustained Anchor Bible Church in its past challenges, sustains it in the present challenging season, and will sustain it in future challenges until the Lord returns!

In this passage, three final witnesses speak, so that believers and unbelievers may respond rightly to the quick return of Jesus.

The new heaven and new earth will reflect the glory of God in fullness as the city He has made, the temple He reflects and the throne He rules from, bringing provision and healing to His slaves who serve and rule with Him for eternity as our true and eternal purpose is finally realized in our full communion with our Triune God.

God gave Christians through John visions of our eternal sinless worldly existence so that we would reject the contemporary seductions of “Babylon” and conquer through Christ as we live in our present sinful worldly existence (Review Revelation 2:1-3:22).

In this passage, three movements of final judgement are revealed, so that we would see our desperate need for the Savior who reigns and also redeems.

John gave a clear description of the powerful triumph of the heavenly warrior over his assembled adversaries so that his hearers would have hope during their earthly trials. Christians will be delivered from a gloom and doom attitude when they reflect upon the coming triumph of their King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

John recorded these four heavenly hallelujahs so that the seven churches and all the church-age saints would worship God alone as they heard of the future praise of God for His judgment and punishment of the earth’s evil-doers and the future praise of God for the establishment of Christ’s Kingdom. May reflecting on God’s justice and salvation provoke us to praise of our God and to the worship of Him alone.

God’s judgement of the future “great” city of Babylon reminds us that our worldly societies are destined for ultimate destruction, so that we might not be deceived into buying their false version of purpose and happiness leading to our own destruction with them.

In this passage, we learn 3 truths about the coming judgement of the ultimate expression of worldly influence in future Babylon, so that we might be sober in our following of Jesus, the Servant-King, rather than being enticed by the world to follow our own pleasures.

In this passage, we see three phases to religious Babylon’s destruction, so that we would be warned against our own attempts to dethrone Christ through false personal religions.

We are called to meditate on the character and plan of God in and for our trials with Jesus as our model, so that we might be encouraged to trust and obey Him rather than lose heart.