Discernment and Faithfulness in Revelation's Cosmic Conflict
Summary
### Summary
Today, we delved into the book of Revelation, drawing parallels between its vivid imagery and the modern world. Much like the show "The Masked Singer," Revelation is filled with symbolic characters and hidden meanings that require discernment to understand. The purpose of John's revelation is not to predict the future but to guide us in living faithfully in the present. We explored the cosmic conflict between God and His opponents, represented by two teams: Team Lamb and Team Dragon.
Team Lamb includes the throne God, the Lion/Lamb/Logos, and the allegiant witnesses—faithful followers of Jesus. These characters symbolize God's sovereignty, sacrificial love, and the community of believers who remain loyal to Him. On the other hand, Team Dragon comprises the dragon (Satan), Wild Thing #1 (the beast of power), Wild Thing #2 (the beast of deception), and Babylon (the oppressive empire). These characters represent the forces of chaos, deceit, and exploitation that oppose God's good creation.
John's revelation calls us to "learn to discern" the true nature of these characters and their influence in our lives. By understanding who is behind the masks, we can avoid being deceived and live faithfully for the Lamb. The ultimate victory belongs to God, who will establish a new Jerusalem characterized by justice, peace, and divine presence. This vision encourages us to resist the ways of Babylon and live as faithful witnesses in our current world.
### Key Takeaways
1. Discernment Over Prediction: John's revelation is not a tool for predicting the future but a guide for living faithfully in the present. Understanding this shifts our focus from trying to decode future events to discerning how to live as followers of Jesus today. This discernment helps us navigate the complexities of life with wisdom and faithfulness. [37:18]
2. Cosmic Conflict: The characters in Revelation represent a cosmic conflict between God's purposes and the forces opposing Him. Team Lamb symbolizes God's sovereignty and sacrificial love, while Team Dragon represents chaos, deceit, and exploitation. Recognizing these forces helps us align our lives with God's purposes. [38:09]
3. The Power of Imagination: John's use of imaginative language invites us to see beyond the literal and understand deeper spiritual truths. This imaginative approach helps us grasp the complexities of good and evil, encouraging us to use our creativity to discern God's work in the world. [39:42]
4. Characteristics of Babylon: Babylon symbolizes any oppressive, exploitative empire that stands against God's purposes. Its characteristics include arrogance, violence, economic exploitation, and deceit. Recognizing these traits in our world helps us resist their influence and live as faithful witnesses. [01:00:32]
5. The New Jerusalem: The vision of the new Jerusalem represents God's ultimate plan for creation—a reality characterized by justice, peace, and divine presence. This vision encourages us to live in a way that reflects God's kingdom, resisting the ways of Babylon and embodying sacrificial love. [01:05:26]
### YouTube Chapters
[0:00] - Welcome
[35:10] - Introduction to The Masked Singer and Revelation
[36:16] - Purpose of John's Revelation
[37:18] - Living Faithfully in the Present
[38:09] - Cosmic Conflict: Team Lamb vs. Team Dragon
[39:00] - Importance of Discernment
[39:42] - Imaginative Language in Revelation
[40:23] - Introduction to Key Characters
[41:42] - Throne God and Roman Court Imagery
[42:35] - Lion/Lamb/Logos
[45:22] - Allegiant Witnesses
[47:24] - The Woman and the Dragon
[50:16] - Wild Thing #1: The Beast of Power
[52:55] - Wild Thing #2: The Beast of Deception
[58:33] - Babylon: The Oppressive Empire
[01:03:42] - The New Jerusalem
[01:06:39] - Living for the Lamb
[01:09:37] - Closing Prayer and Announcements
[01:14:12] - Farewell and Gratitude
Study Guide
### Bible Reading
1. Revelation 4:2-4: "At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads."
2. Revelation 5:5-6: "Then one of the elders said to me, 'Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.' Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth."
3. Revelation 21:1-4: "Then I saw 'a new heaven and a new earth,' for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.'"
### Observation Questions
1. What are the key characteristics of the throne God as described in Revelation 4:2-4?
2. How is the Lion of the tribe of Judah described in Revelation 5:5-6, and what is its significance?
3. What does the new Jerusalem represent in Revelation 21:1-4, and how is it described?
4. According to the sermon, what are the two teams in the cosmic conflict described in Revelation, and who are their key members? [38:09]
### Interpretation Questions
1. What does the imagery of the throne God in Revelation 4:2-4 suggest about God's sovereignty and authority?
2. How does the transformation from the Lion to the Lamb in Revelation 5:5-6 reflect the nature of Jesus' victory?
3. In what ways does the vision of the new Jerusalem in Revelation 21:1-4 provide hope and encouragement for believers?
4. How does understanding the characteristics of Babylon help believers resist its influence in their lives? [01:00:32]
### Application Questions
1. How can you practice discernment in your daily life to identify and resist the influences of "Team Dragon" as described in the sermon? [39:42]
2. Reflect on a time when you faced a situation that required you to choose between the ways of Babylon and living faithfully for the Lamb. How did you respond, and what did you learn from that experience? [01:06:39]
3. The sermon emphasized the importance of imagination in understanding deeper spiritual truths. How can you cultivate a more imaginative approach to your faith and Bible study? [39:42]
4. What are some modern-day examples of the characteristics of Babylon (arrogance, violence, economic exploitation, deceit) that you see in your community or society? How can you actively resist these influences? [01:00:32]
5. The vision of the new Jerusalem represents a reality characterized by justice, peace, and divine presence. What specific actions can you take to reflect these values in your personal life and community? [01:05:26]
6. How can you support and encourage fellow believers to remain faithful and allegiant witnesses in the face of modern-day challenges and temptations? [46:33]
7. In what ways can you use your creativity and imagination to discern God's work in the world and align your life with His purposes? [39:42]
Devotional
Day 1: Discernment Over Prediction
John's revelation is not a tool for predicting the future but a guide for living faithfully in the present. Understanding this shifts our focus from trying to decode future events to discerning how to live as followers of Jesus today. This discernment helps us navigate the complexities of life with wisdom and faithfulness. By focusing on the present, we can better align our actions and decisions with God's will, rather than being preoccupied with what might happen in the future. This approach encourages us to be vigilant and wise, recognizing the spiritual realities that influence our daily lives.
[37:18]
Isaiah 30:21 (ESV): "And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left."
Reflection: What is one decision you are facing today where you need God's discernment? How can you seek His guidance to make a faithful choice?
Day 2: Cosmic Conflict
The characters in Revelation represent a cosmic conflict between God's purposes and the forces opposing Him. Team Lamb symbolizes God's sovereignty and sacrificial love, while Team Dragon represents chaos, deceit, and exploitation. Recognizing these forces helps us align our lives with God's purposes. By understanding the nature of this cosmic battle, we can better identify the influences in our lives that either draw us closer to God or pull us away from Him. This awareness empowers us to make choices that reflect our allegiance to Team Lamb, living out God's love and truth in a world often marked by chaos and deceit.
[38:09]
Ephesians 6:12 (ESV): "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."
Reflection: Identify an area in your life where you feel a spiritual battle is taking place. How can you actively choose to align with God's purposes in this situation?
Day 3: The Power of Imagination
John's use of imaginative language invites us to see beyond the literal and understand deeper spiritual truths. This imaginative approach helps us grasp the complexities of good and evil, encouraging us to use our creativity to discern God's work in the world. By engaging our imagination, we can better appreciate the richness of God's revelation and the profound truths it conveys. This imaginative engagement also helps us to see the world through a spiritual lens, recognizing God's presence and activity in ways that might not be immediately obvious.
[39:42]
2 Corinthians 4:18 (ESV): "As we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."
Reflection: How can you use your imagination to see God's hand in your daily life? What are some "unseen" things you can focus on today to deepen your spiritual understanding?
Day 4: Characteristics of Babylon
Babylon symbolizes any oppressive, exploitative empire that stands against God's purposes. Its characteristics include arrogance, violence, economic exploitation, and deceit. Recognizing these traits in our world helps us resist their influence and live as faithful witnesses. By identifying the modern-day manifestations of Babylon, we can better understand the ways in which these forces seek to undermine God's kingdom. This awareness calls us to stand against such influences, embodying the values of justice, peace, and integrity in our own lives.
[01:00:32]
Jeremiah 51:7 (ESV): "Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord's hand, making all the earth drunken; the nations drank of her wine; therefore the nations went mad."
Reflection: Where do you see the characteristics of Babylon in today's society? How can you actively resist these influences and live out God's values in your community?
Day 5: The New Jerusalem
The vision of the new Jerusalem represents God's ultimate plan for creation—a reality characterized by justice, peace, and divine presence. This vision encourages us to live in a way that reflects God's kingdom, resisting the ways of Babylon and embodying sacrificial love. By keeping this vision in mind, we are inspired to live with hope and purpose, knowing that God's ultimate victory is assured. This future reality shapes our present actions, motivating us to be agents of God's justice and peace in the world today.
[01:05:26]
Revelation 21:2-4 (ESV): "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. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.'"
Reflection: How does the vision of the new Jerusalem inspire you to live differently today? What specific actions can you take to reflect God's kingdom in your daily life?
Quotes
### Quotes for Outreach
1. "John's revelation was not actually given so that we could predict the future. Although sometimes it has been used in that way. John's revelation was not given so we could predict the future, but so that we could live faithfully in the present. And if we don't understand that, we could spend time or decide not to spend time trying to figure out how to predict the future, which was not really the point of John's revelation, but rather to help Jesus' followers know how to live as followers of Jesus in the present, whether that was 2,000 years ago or whether that's now in 2024." [37:18](Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "John's revelation for us is an invitation to learn to discern and then live for the Lamb. So if you don't get anything else out of today, get this. Learn to discern. Like, who's behind these masks so that I can learn how to live for Team Lamb? Fair enough? You with me? Anybody else? There's two people with me. All right. I can run with that. Small but mighty." [40:23](Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "Victory will be accomplished, John says, but not by the way of Babylon, not by the way of arrogance and oppression and exploitation, but by the way of the lamb of sacrificial self-giving love. That's why it's the lamb who was slain. When we're tempted to win through violence and vengeance and force, that's Babylon. That's Babylon. When we're tempted to exploit and manipulate others, that's dragon style. When we're tempted to seek absolute power for ourselves, that's wild thing number one. When we're tempted to believe the lies about reality, about ourselves, about our value, about the value of others who are created in the image of God, when we're tempted to believe those and other kinds of lies, that's Babylon." [01:07:46](Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "The challenge is to learn to discern, so that we can live for the lamb. Again, I know this is a lot of material. I encourage you, take some of this material. Look around at so unique experiences again. Go back, read the book of Revelation. It's 22 chapters. It's a fascinating story. You will be confused, but we're trying to help all of us learn, okay, this is not something meant to confuse me. This is something meant to help me learn how do I live as a follower of Jesus, as a dissident in this place called Babylon." [01:08:06](Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
### Quotes for Members
1. "The characters that we're going to meet today, because when you read, if you've ever read or heard someone preach or talk about the book of Revelation, you know there are some pretty extravagant characters and creatures there. So today what I want to do is do a quick survey of the main characters and help us understand who's behind those masks and why that matters. For us today. And here's why. Because these characters end up lining up as part of what John is describing as a cosmic conflict between God and his purposes and plans and the opponents of God." [38:09](Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "So the lion is this majestic, powerful figure, and the lamb also has huge significance for John and his culture, right? The sacrificial lamb in their sacrificial system for forgiveness, or whether it goes back to Passover, where the blood of the lamb was what gave them freedom and liberated them from bondage. So all of these things are coming together, and you're like, wait a minute. He starts out by talking about there's a lion, and then he turns it around, and now the lion has become a lamb. And what we discover is, like, John's descriptions kind of, they just morph, almost like the Transformers, right? So the character we're introduced to here is the lion, who becomes a lamb, and then later on, we won't have time for this today, becomes the logos, which is the Greek word for word, right? So because he'll talk about the lion slash lamb is victorious with the word." [45:22](Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "Babylon exists wherever sociopolitical power coalesces into an entity that stands against the worship of God. One writer says this. The moral pretenses of imperial Rome, the millennial claims of Nazism, the arrogance of Marxist dogma, and the anxious insistence that America be number one among the nations are all versions of Babylon's. It's still with us. John wants us to understand. We live in Babylon. And he wants us to know how to live. He wants us to live as faithful witnesses in that space. And we will get to that, not today, in one of the messages coming up here in the month of June." [01:00:32](Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "Babylon is recognizable. It is recognized by its characteristics. Characteristics like being anti-God. Characteristics like opulence. And John goes to great lengths to describe how the merchants have fattened themselves and economically exploited others, and how the rich have gotten richer and the poor have become poorer. And this, John says, is part of Babylon. How it is a militaristic, murderous kind of empire. That achieves its ends through violence and suppression. The characteristics of Babylon are incredibly focused on image and ego and status. Economic exploitation and the arrogance that is seen over and over and over. Babylon intoxicates humanity. And it does this while it's being energized by the dragon." [01:02:30](Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "And John introduces to us. At the very end of this revelation, the new Jerusalem. And it's clearly juxtaposed against Babylon. So don't think of Jerusalem, the new Jerusalem, as a city any more than we think of Babylon as a city to say, no, this is a different reality. And notice, it's not being whisked off of this planet to some other worldly place. It's the return of Eden. Of God's original design. It's the design for creation. It's the reuniting of heaven and earth together, right? Where he says the heavens come down, the dwelling place of God will be with man. It's God dwelling with people just as he did at the beginning. And it's a Jerusalem, a reality characterized by justice and peace. And John says, this is God's plan. This is how it will end. God will be victorious, not with military might, right? Because when the lion, lamb, logos wins, the sword is not in his fist, the sword is coming out of his mouth. It is the word of God, the truth of God." [01:05:26](Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
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