Living With Justice (Revelation 19:1-20:15)

 Sermon for Milledgeville & Whitestown UMC...

Living With Justice (Revelation 19:1-20:15)

 

Justice is the establishment of right relationships

The supreme court changed dramatically after the death of Justice Ginsberg. Some say it’s become Ruth-less.

 

I gave up my seat on the bus to a blind person.

And I lost my job. I guess there’s no justice in this world for a kind-hearted bus driver.

 

Judgment and justice go hand in hand. Justice is the state of righteousness, behaving in the way acceptable to God. Justice is the establishment of right relationships. To judge is to select the right instead of the wrong. The Greeks thought of judgment as separation. Jesus taught his parable of the sheep and the goats.

 

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. (Matthew 25:31-32)

 

Goats eat just about anything. Sheep have a more refined diet. Goats are more individualistic and domineering. Sheep will not rest unless they feel safe. A goat in a sheep fold is not good for the sheep. For the sheep’s health and safety, the goats must be separated from among them.

 

That’s what is happening with John’s vision. God is separating evil forces and evil people from the earth, so that His flock might rest, never to fear again. Jesus spoke of separating wheat from weeds during the harvest as a metaphor to describe God’s action to remove evildoers and all causes of evil from His people. (Matthew 13:41-43)

 

How do we know what is evil? God has revealed what is right and wrong in the scriptures. Keep the law and you will be holy as God is holy. Sounds simple enough.

 

But, we don’t keep the law perfectly. We miss the mark. We sin. Therefore, God provided Israel a means of atonement, to cover over sin with the blood of sacrifice. With their sins covered, the redeemed may once again stand before God.

 

God gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, as the ultimate, once for all, sacrifice to atone for sin. No more sacrifice is needed. The blood of Jesus washes us clean of all our sinful actions for all time. And so, holiness is achieved, not by our perfect obedience to the Law of God, but by our trust in the love and mercy of God. It wasn’t “No harm, no foul.” Our sins cost Jesus his life. He paid the ransom price to free us from sin’s power and from death. The Holy Spirit gives us grace to become like Jesus in thought, word and deed.

 

It is appropriate that heaven breaks out in praise for God’s victory over the evil of Rome.

 

“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

because his judgments are true and just. (Revelation 19:1b-2)

 

Heaven celebrates God’s condemnation of the Whore of Babylon (Rome). Under Caesar Nero, many Christians suffered and died. They were imprisoned, tortured, and torn apart by dogs and lions in the arena for sport. They were burned alive and beheaded. Now God is giving Rome a double portion of punishment by handing Rome over to her enemies.

 

We’ve asked this question before. Is retribution truly justice? Does an eye for an eye, a life for a life kind of retribution truly build a just society? Consider the story of Noah.

 

 

 

 

After the fall of humanity, human sinfulness got so bad that God was sorry he ever made humans. God decided to wipe the earth clean of all life, except Noah and his family. God flooded the earth. Every human and every living creature, not sheltered upon the ark, died. When the rains stopped and the waters receded, Noah planted a vineyard and got drunk on wine. Passed out in his tent, some kind of sexual indiscretion occurred between his son, Ham, and Noah in his vulnerable condition. Noah cursed Ham’s lineage through Ham’s son Canaan. All of Israel’s future enemies are descended from Noah’s cursed grandson. The moral of the story is that sin is not eradicated by genocide. Sin persisted in Noah and his family, and sin continues to corrupt the earth to this very day.

 

I find it interesting that the New Testament, with all its talk of love, mercy and forgiveness, continues to present the wrath of God avenging sinners. Jesus warned unless you repent, you will perish like those slaughtered by Roman soldiers or those crushed by a collapsing tower. (Luke 13:1-5)

 

Paul warned the Church,

no person who is immoral, impure, or greedy (such a person is an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

⁶ Let nobody deceive you with empty words, for because of these things God’s wrath comes on the sons of disobedience. (Ephesians 5:5-6)

 

Here in Revelation, heaven celebrates God’s vengeance upon Rome, which is responsible for leading the world astray with sinful, idolatrous pursuits and the persecution of the Church. John views Rome as allied with Satan. Rome will share in Satan’s doom. All who worship the beast will be thrown into the lake of burning sulfur. The smoke of their torment will rise as an eternal memorial of God’s full triumph over evil. God will remove them from the chessboard.

 

 

 

Heaven celebrates God’s victory and looks forward, with rapturous joy, at the coming of Christ’s never-ending kingdom of peace.

 

Let us rejoice and exult

and give him glory,

because the wedding celebration of the Lamb has come,

and his bride has made herself ready.

 

Blessed are those who are invited to the banquet at the wedding celebration of the Lamb!” (Revelation 19:7, 9)

 

Jesus told a parable of a wedding banquet. (Matthew 22:1-14)

Soon, the parable will be reality. The union of Christ and His bride, the Church, will be consummated. All those who serve the beast and Satan will be cast out. Only the faithful will be permitted to the wedding feast.

 

God is true to His word. The prophets foretold the Day of the Lord, a Day of Wrath and a Day of Vengeance. In John’s visions, God is fulfilling scripture, keeping His promise to vindicate His suffering people, and to establish them in a kingdom of peace. For that kingdom to flourish, evil must be removed.

 

A great army is led by Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (a slap in the face of Caesar who went by the same titles). Christ comes to take the throne. Out of His mouth is a sharp sword which slays the nations. This is God’s truth silencing those who live in opposition to Christ. Divine truth crushes them in the winepress of God’s wrath.

 

A different kind of feast is proclaimed. Not the wedding feast of Christ and His Church, but a gorge fest for birds to feast upon the slain. Kings, military leaders, and the powerful of earth, all who stand against God’s truth and righteousness will be devoured like carrion. As nasty as this sounds, remember that this is symbolic language for God’s truth defeating those who live by Satan’s lies.

In utter defeat, the beast and the false prophet are thrown into the lake of burning sulfur. Satan is imprisoned in the abyss, the realm of death and destruction. There he remains for 1000 years.

 

The 1000 year reign of Christ is a point of theological disagreement. Premillennialists think the 1000 year reign is a literal 1000 years completely free of sin and evil. It will begin with the second coming of Jesus. Postmillennialists think the 1000 year reign is symbolic of a long period of peace that will come, only after every nation has embraced the gospel. Amillennialists believe the 1000 year reign is symbolic of Christendom. Since the first advent of Christ, it has been ongoing through the ministry of the Church. I think the way the 1000 year reign of Christ functions in John’s visions is to communicate a future when the world can experience what it’s like to exist when righteousness reigns.

 

Imagine living in such a time. This long reign of Christ gives the world a chance to see what it’s like to live without sin. The world will rest and renew, as devilish empires and corporations cease their corruption. It gives everyone a chance to see the wisdom of God’s right ways, and to choose to walk in them. Sadly, even after a long period of righteous government, some will still choose selfishness and greed.

 

Satan will re-emerge, for a time, and it will become clear who stands with Christ and who stands with the devil. Falling for Satan’s lies, nations gather to fight against God’s faithful. But the enemy is devoured by holy fire.

 

Then the dead are raised for the final judgment. The Book of Life is opened. Those whose names are not written in the Book of Life, because of their persistence in sinful deeds, and their refusal to repent, will be thrown into the lake of fire, along with Satan. Their doom is sealed. Evil and evildoers are taken off the chessboard once and for all.

 

And those whose names are written in the Book of Life will enter the New Jerusalem where God and His people live together forever in peace.

 

This is our story by which we live. We live with justice promised. Those saints who suffered for the gospel, or died for the truth, are vindicated with heavenly reward. Their faith in Christ purifies their souls and their good deeds follow them. We who love God and neighbor will receive the kingdom and live with God in glory forever.

 

Even Death and Hades, the realm of the dead, are cast into the lake of burning sulfur. Death is swallowed up by life! Thanks be to God for the victory in Jesus Christ.

 

How do we live with justice? We live that promised future by providing safe spaces where no one is afraid, where evil holds no power over us. We strive to provide for those in need. We live with justice by being just. We choose the right path, the path of faith, hope and love. We live justice here and now, through the Holy Spirit empowering our actions.

 

So, take a deep breath and meditate upon the presence of Christ. Welcome to the wedding feast!