MISSION WOODS CHURCH
Sunday, Nvember 23, 2025
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  • Come, Ye Thankful People, Come
  • We Gather Together
  • Now Thank We All Our God
  • Surely The Presence Of The Lord (Hymn #219)
  • As I start this morning I want to give an overview and I’ve used the Bible Project videos in the past, and would like to do that this morning as well. Then we’ll do our reading and get to the sermon.
    VIDEO
    Reading
    When I was working on how to break up the book of Revelation for this series I got to these chapters and there just seems to be one throw down after another. We began chapter 8 last week with the angel taking a censer and filling it with fire from the altar wheich then was thrown down on the earth.
    This morning, I’m going to do a fly through of chapters 8-11, as we’ll see symbols repeated throughout.
    The book of Revelation is often looked upon as just the end of the world. We’ve talked about the meaning of the word Apocalypse as not referring to a mass catastrophe or the ultimate end of the world. Instead it means an unveiling or a revealing - probably why we call it Revelation as we see something revealed.
    What has been revealed to us so far? We’ve had 7 letters written to seven churches - the number seven is throughout this book of Revelation. In those letters we recognized that the church was to live in direct contrast to the world around it, shining the light of Christ no matter where we are.
    Perhaps the most prevalent theme we’ve seen thus far in the book is the image of worship. In chapter 4 John is called up to heaven to the throne room of heaven where worship is happening at all times as the 4 living creatures surrounding the throne constantly say, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, who was and is and is to come.” Day and night they’re saying this. And we’ve been told of 24 elders surrounding that throne on their own thrones. And every time they hear this they fall down in worship of the One who sits on the throne casting their crowns before God.
    And we saw the Lamb of God, Jesus, standing beside the throne, and he takes the scroll to unseal the seals, and again the 24 elders fall down in worship. As they worship various judgments are released upon the earth as each seal is opened. Perhaps the readers thought it would lead to an Israel or Jewish focused victory, but instead we see a multitude no one could number from every nation, tribe, people, and language standing before the throne and the Lamb, clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands worshiping God and the Lamb.
    So we’ve got worship of God and judgment of the earth happening at the same time.
    Then we get to seven trumpets - remember trumpets were used in worship. These trumpests are blown by seven angels. Again we go through various judgments upon the earth, almost as if we’d circled around again, whicvh we have.
    The images are terrifying, demonic locusts, squadrons of a demonic calvary annihilate a third of the human race - what do these images mean?
    That is the 10,000 dollar question, isn’t it. I believe one commentator put it best, Williamm Barclay wrote:
    The Revelation of John, Volume 2 The Horsemen of Vengeance (Revelation 9:13–21)

    This is a passage containing mysterious imagery and details that no one has ever been able to explain fully.

    Last week I spoke of how when we read the book of Revelation we need to remember it was written to the first century church. We know that pictures within this book are often coloured by actual historical circumstances. The most dreaded warriors in the world were the Parthian cavalry; and the Parthians lived beyond the Euphrates. It may well be that John was visualizing a terrible descent of the Parthian cavalry on all humanity.
    Today we might think of other threats around the world. It doesn’t matter what century you live in there are big bad powers that exist. It doesn’t matter what country you live in, there are threats you see - whether you think your country’s government is benevolent or tyrannical - you can see the contrast between the nation we are called to be and the nation we are. It’s true of the churches as well. There’s a difference between the church as God calls us to be and the church as it is now - taking us back to the letters to the seven churches.
    The book of Revelation has a message for all of us. It is a book that invites us to use our imaginations. Tim Mackie of the Bible Project has called it a sort of meditative liturgy. In other words, it gives us images to meditate on and to consider in our personal lives, our churches, and our nations.
    Of all the things I find fascinating about the book of Revelation, one of the most is the invitation. The invitation to come, the invitation to join in the worship. The invitation to experience Jesus as the risen Lamb to be worshipped along with the One who sits on the throne.

      • Revelation 11:15-16ESV

      • Revelation 11:17ESV

      • Revelation 11:18ESV

      • Revelation 11:19ESV

  • Thank You, Lord
  • Let All Things Now Living
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MISSION WOODS CHURCH
info@missionwoodschurch.org
(253) 922-5555
http://www.missionwoodschurch.org
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