Sexual Morality
Sexual morality isn’t, as it is so often portrayed, a matter of a
few ancient rules clung to by some rather conservative persons when the
rest of society has moved on. It is, rather, a matter of the call of the
creator God to faithful man-plus-woman marriage, reflecting the
complementarity of heaven and earth themselves. That is the theme which
finally emerges in the great scene at the end of the present book.
Married love is a signpost to the faithfulness of the creator to his
creation. The reason sexual immorality is so often coupled with
idolatry, as here, is because such behaviour points to different gods –
the gods of blood and soil, of race and power.
The Lion and the Lamb
What John has heard is the announcement of the lion. What he then sees is the lamb. The two seem radically different. The lion is the symbol both of
ultimate power and of supreme royalty, while the lamb symbolizes both
gentle vulnerability and, through its sacrifice, the ultimate weakness
of death. But the two are now to be fused together, completely and for
ever.
Gut-wrenching Repentance
Repentance is more than just expressing regret for a few
peccadilloes. It is a radical, heartfelt, gut-wrenching turning away
from the idols which promise delight but provide death. God longs for
that kind of repentance. He will do anything, it seems, to coax it out
of his rebellious but still image-bearing creatures
Corruption Conquered
Imagine a village in the outlying countryside of Judea. It’s a
long way from the city, and even traders don’t come there that often,
far less government officials. A circuit judge comes to the neighbouring
small town once every few months if they’re lucky. But that doesn’t
mean that nothing needs doing. A builder is cheated by a customer, who
refuses to admit his fault. A widow has her small purse stolen, and
since she has nobody to plead for her she can do nothing. A family is
evicted from their home by a landlord who thinks he can get more rent
from someone else. And a fraudster with his eye on the main chance has
accused a work colleague of cheating him, and though nothing has been
done about it the other colleagues seem inclined to believe the charge.
And so on. Nobody can do anything about any of these – until the judge
comes. When he comes, expectations will be massive. Months of pent-up
frustrations will boil over. The judge will have to keep order, to calm
down accusation and defence alike. He will have to hear each case
properly and fairly, taking especial care for those with nobody to speak
up for them. He will steadfastly refuse all bribes. And then he will
decide. Judgment will be done. Chaos will be averted and order will be
restored. The cheats will be put in their place, the thief punished and
made to restore the purse. The grasping landlord will have to give way,
and the false accuser will suffer the punishment he hoped to inflict.
And the village as a whole will heave a sigh of relief. Justice has been
done. The world has returned into balance. A grateful community will
thank the judge from the bottom of its collective heart. Now magnify the
village concerns up to the global level. The wicked empire, and its
local henchmen, have become more and more powerful, taking money, lives
and pleasure as and when they please. It’s no use appealing to the
authorities, because it’s the authorities who are doing the wrong. So
the cry goes up to God, as it did to the God of Israel when the
Egyptians were making their lives more and more miserable. And God’s
action on behalf of Israel is therefore a great act of liberating,
healing, sigh-of-relief judgment. Things are put right at last.
God's Wrath
The ‘wrath’ of the creator God consists of two things,
principally. First, he allows human wickedness to work itself out, to
reap its own destruction. Second, he steps in more directly to stop it,
to call ‘time’ on it, when it’s got out of hand. If we knew our
business, we would thank God for both of these, even though both can
appear harsh. They need to be. If they were any less than harsh, the
wickedness in question would merely pause, furrow its brow for a moment,
and then carry on as before.
God's Choice
It is God who chooses, and the God who chooses is the triune God
who works as father, son and spirit, not as a blind watchmaker or a
celestial bureaucrat. When God chooses, he also redeems; when God
chooses and redeems, he also works in people’s lives; and the miracle of
the divine–human relationship, from the very beginning, has always been
that human thought, will and action is somehow enhanced, rather than
being cancelled out, by the divine initiative and power.
The Goodness of Creation
The whole of Christian theology is based on the goodness of
creation, yet the goodness of creation consists partly in this, that it
points beyond itself to the new creation.
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And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
(Revelation 21:2-3)
What's the best thing about our eternal life? The book of revelation is clear, the best thing about the new heavens and new earth is that we will be with God.
There's no temple, because the Lord is the temple and we'll be with him. (21:22)
We have no need of the sun because the glory of God is our light and we'll be with him. (21:23)
The gates of the city are never shut (21:24), because God is our security and we'll be with him.
We'll eat from the tree of life, worship Him, see His face, have his name on our foreheads (22:1-4)
He will be our God and we will be His people, that's what the future has in store for us!
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
(Revelation 20:12 ESV)
And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
(Revelation 20:15 ESV)
The idea of being judged based on what is in these books will either sound terrifying (if you're aware of the many ways you've failed to live up to your own standards, never mind God's standards) or encouraging (if you think that you've been a good person, or at least good in comparison to others).
It's easy to assume that the outcome of the books is good for some and bad for others but when we get to v15 we see that it's not the book of our lives that determines our fate, but whether our name is in the book of life. The books of our lives are not irrelevant, but when we are judged on them, everyone is heading to the lake of fire. Everyone's book will lead to just punishment. Our hope is not in trying to add more good things to that book to counteract the bad things already written. Our hope is that our name is in the book of life. It was written there by Jesus, permanently (Rev 3:5), before the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8).
After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,
“Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
for his judgments are true and just;”
(Revelation 19:1-2a ESV)
In the previous chapter we've read about the collapse of a city built around the pursuit of wealth. Then God is praised, and the attributes of God that are mentioned here remind us of all the things that wealth offers but can't supply.
- Salvation - Wealth promises to save you from whatever your problem is. The only problem is that you always think you need little bit more to achieve that salvation.Whatever your situation, the only lasting solution is God. Our greatest need is reconciliation with Him, and that is what Jesus brings.
- Glory - Wealth seems glorious, but it's flimsy. It can disappear in a moment. The glory that it offers today is faded tomorrow as you chase bigger, better and newer things. God's glory is different. It is everlasting, it never fades. And it gives, rather than taking.
- Power - Money talks. Wealth brings power. But it's power built on a weak foundation. That power is a shadow compared to the one who spoke the world into existence, upholds it by his world, and is coming back to rule.
- Justice - Wealth corrupts justice. God is just. Everything he does is right. He can be trusted. He doesn't change his mind
Wealth offers a lot of things that it can't provide. How can created things function like their creator? Look to God, he supplies our every need.
“Alas, alas, for the great city
that was clothed in fine linen,
in purple and scarlet,
adorned with gold,
with jewels, and with pearls!
For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste.”
(Revelation 18:16-17 ESV)
Reading through Revelation, the description to Bablyon looks a lot like our own world - devoted to power and wealth.
Luxurious living was the goal that some attained and all strive for. It looks so good, so attractive, that's why our society still craves after it today. But when God's judgement comes, in this case in the form of giving them over to their own desires and letting the natural consequences take place, everything collapses. The veneer of luxury covered a rotten core and in a single hour all the wealth was laid waste. In what seemed like no time, it all collapsed.
We need this reminder. Everything we have can be taken in a moment. Everything we put our trust in can collapse. We need to lift our eyes beyond this world and put our trust in our eternal life with Jesus.
And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
(Luke 12:16-21 ESV)
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(Matthew 6:19-21 ESV)
Deep into the weird bits of Revelation, in chapter 17 we read graphic imagery of Rome's power. To the Christian living in that empire, which was so big and so powerful, it would be almost impossible to imagine things ever being any different. But then we read this:
They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”
(Revelation 17:14 ESV)
All the kings, emperors and powers of the world make war on a lamb! A ridiculous image that seems like a forgone conclusion. And it is.
Because the Lamb is Jesus, nothing else stands a chance. The early church, trusting in a king who died, seems so weak in comparison to the great empire but now, thousands of years later, the roman empire is a history lesson while Jesus is worshiped around the world.
It's the same for us, every power structure, government, king, dictator and system is no match for Jesus. He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings and He is coming back.
Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
(Revelation 14:6-7 ESV)
When we hear that angels are announcing good news - an "eternal gospel" - we probably don't expect what's coming next - God's judgement. As Christians we tend to either dismiss God's wrath or begrudgingly put up with the concept but we don't often think of it as good news. Maybe we think of it as the bad news that makes the good new of God's love taste sweeter, but not good news in itself.
Tom Wright paints a picture to help us understand
"Imagine a village in the outlying countryside of Judaea. It’s a long way from the city, and even traders don’t come there that often, far less government officials. A circuit judge comes to the neighbouring small town once every few months if they’re lucky. But that doesn’t mean that nothing needs doing. A builder is cheated by a customer, who refuses to admit his fault. A widow has her small purse stolen, and since she has nobody to plead for her she can do nothing. A family is evicted from their home by a landlord who thinks he can get more rent from someone else. And a fraudster with his eye on the main chance has accused a work colleague of cheating him, and though nothing has been done about it the other colleagues seem inclined to believe the charge. And so on. Nobody can do anything about any of these – until the judge comes. When he comes, expectations will be massive. Months of pent-up frustrations will boil over. The judge will have to keep order, to calm down accusation and defence alike. He will have to hear each case properly and fairly, taking especial care for those with nobody to speak up for them. He will steadfastly refuse all bribes. And then he will decide. Judgment will be done. Chaos will be averted and order will be restored. The cheats will be put in their place, the thief punished and made to restore the purse. The grasping landlord will have to give way, and the false accuser will suffer the punishment he hoped to inflict. And the village as a whole will heave a sigh of relief. Justice has been done. The world has returned into balance. A grateful community will thank the judge from the bottom of its collective heart."
Tom Wright, Revelation for Everyone
