Written by: Alison Booker - Church Army
Revelation 21 v 9-12
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last
troubles came to me, saying, “Come with me, and I will show you the bride, the
wife of the Lamb.” And the angel carried me away by the Spirit to a very large
and high mountain. He showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God. It was shining with the glory of God and was bright like a very
expensive jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. The city had a great high wall
with twelve gates with twelve angels at the gates, and on each gate was written
the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Notes
Revelation is one of those really strange books that takes a bit of getting
into. I once heard somebody describe it as ‘underground writing’ you know
like in a war or if a group is being persecuted, they write in their own special
code that only they understand. I guess that explains why we find it a bit
difficult sometimes.
This week though we’re looking at the good bits! Today doesn’t start off
well, seven angels with seven bowls full of the seven last troubles, isn’t a
very positive start but lets look where it goes next.
The Angels with all that trouble show John (who wrote Revelation) Jerusalem, the
holy city. It’s not Jerusalem being destroyed by all this trouble but looking
like a ‘very expensive jewel’. This is just typical of God. All the way
through the Bible, with every story of God’s dealings with his people there
are records of disasters, of troubles and upsets but in the middle of those
there are also stories of God’s glory.
This is the same at the end of time there will be loads of trouble and mess but
despite all that there will also be God’s glory. That’s not just for the end
of the world it is true for us today, whatever mess and trouble you face today
God is there.
Think about this today, will you concentrate on the mess or will you look for
God’s glory? Both will be there.
Revelation 22 v 1-2
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life. It was shining like
crystal and was flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle
of the street of the city. The tree of life was on each side of the river. It
produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month. The leaves of the tree are
for the healing of all the nations.
Notes
This is one of my favourite Bible passages, it’s one of the first I read when
I became a Christian and despite only being a child and not really understanding
it there was something about it that I loved.
Reading it again now I think it’s the excitement of reading about God’s
beautiful heaven. When we read these descriptions we get a little glimpse of who
God is.
Here we read that the water of life flows from the throne of God and of the
Lamb. Life comes from God, Jesus (who is called the ‘Lamb’ in these
writings) when he was on earth said that he had come so we might have life at
its best.
We also see God’s heart not just for Israel or for those who are Christians
but for all people, for all nations. The tree of life is on either side of the
river of life and the leaves of this tree are for the healing of the nations.
This is a fantastic promise of what is to come in heaven, but it is more than
that. Jesus talked a lot about the kingdom of God which will come in fullness in
heaven, but it is also ‘at hand’.
Christians as well as enjoying a relationship with God also have a
responsibility to work and pray for God’s kingdom to be close. We should be
working and praying for healing and for the life of God to be real in the lives
of our friends, families and those around us.
Revelation 22 v 3-5
Nothing that God judges guilty will be in that city. The throne of God and of
the Lamb will be there, and God’s servants will worship him. They will see his
face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. There will never be night
again. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because
the Lord God will give them light. And they will rule as kings forever and ever.
Notes
There is a real promise in this reading; the first sentence tells us that
nothing judged guilty by God will be in heaven. Then it goes on to say that
God’s servants will be there to worship him. I believe that if you are a
Christian that is a clear promise, Christians are God’s servants and they will
be in heaven to worship him, the Bible is very clear about that.
The other promise that is not quite so explicit here is that we can have our
guilt taken away. Think about it, if nothing God judges guilty is in heaven and
yet Christians are going to be there that must mean that God doesn’t judge us
as guilty. How, when we all get things wrong all the time?
This promise is what Jesus did when he died on the cross and came back to life
is enough. If we are willing to believe in Jesus, to put our full trust in him
and to walk in his ways then our guilt is removed. God promises that when we try
to walk Jesus way, when we say sorry for the times we get it wrong, we are
forgiven, we are not guilty.
This frees us to worship God and be in relationship properly with God. This
promise however isn’t only for heaven, God promises here on earth to forgive
us and free us from guilt so we can live lives that worship God.
This promise is true for you, are you living as though it is or do you keep on
going back to the things you’ve done wrong and let them get in the way of
worshipping and living for God? If you do, take it to God – AND LEAVE IT
THERE, BE FREE TO WORSHIP!!
Revelation 22 v 6-9
The angel said to me, “These words can be trusted and are true.” The Lord,
the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the
things that must happen soon.
“Listen! I am coming soon! Happy is the one who obeys the words of prophecy in
this book.”
I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw them, I
bowed down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed these things to me.
But the angel said to me, “Do not worship me! I am a servant like you, your
brothers the prophets, and all those who obey the words in this book. Worship
God!”
Notes
Poor old John, the angel certainly gives him a telling off in this reading, you
can almost hear the raised voice. It’s understandable though, John saw this
amazing angel, powerfully speaking great words, clearly of God so he bows down
to worship. Why is this so wrong? Well the angel clearly tells John why.
The angel says that angels are servants like John, the disciples, other
followers, the prophets and us. The angel does mention 21st Century Christians
directly – well Christians of all centuries actually who follow and obey the
words of the Bible, God’s book!
I don’t know about you but personally I have never seen an angel to be able to
make this mistake. However I know I’ve been tempted slightly when I’ve seen
really ‘holy’ people, those who are following Jesus and seem to be getting
it right! Don’t get me wrong I’ve never bowed and worshipped anyone else,
but I have looked at other people and thought I’d like to be like them.
There’s nothing wrong with trying to imitate mature Christian people but we
must make sure that our eyes are fixed on Jesus first and other people as
examples second. Jesus calls us to be who we are so copying somebody else
exactly is never going to work. We must keep looking at Jesus and as the angel
said “Worship God!!”
Revelation 22 v 14-17
“Happy are those who wash their robes so that they will receive the right to
eat the fruit from the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.
Outside the city are the evil people, those who do evil magic, who sin sexually,
who murder, who worship idols, and who love lies and tell lies.
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to tell you these things for the churches. I am
the descendant from the family of David, and I am the bright morning star.”
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears this say,
“Come!” Let whoever is thirsty come; whoever wishes may have the water of
life as a free gift.
Notes
This is a real contrast - the people inside the city are so different from the
people outside the city. I guess most of us would like to be thought of as being
like those inside but the truth is we all get it wrong sometimes one way or
another so how can we be there.
Once more this book of revelation is good news. This passage talks about those
who wash their robes will be ok and can eat the fruit from the tree of life and
go into the city. Some people talk about being ‘washed in the blood of the
lamb’ it doesn’t sound very nice really but what it really means is that
Jesus washes us clean. Jesus because of who he is gets rid of all the mucky bits
and that means we can go into the city. It’s not about what we do to make
ourselves good, it is about letting Jesus do the hard work. All we need to do is
follow him and worship him.
The end of this reading is a wonderful promise, that the water or life is a free
gift, that is true and it is a free gift, which can only be received through
Jesus. When Jesus spoke to a woman by a well here on earth he said that he could
give water that would mean you were never thirsty again. This is true for us,
this water of life comes from Jesus and it is all we really need. Ask Jesus for
some of that water today and then get on with following him and praising him.
Mark 14 v 1-2
It was now only two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
The leading priests and teachers of the law were trying to find a trick to
arrest Jesus and kill him. But they said, “We must not do it during the feast,
because the people might cause a riot.”
Notes
Ever wondered why the priests and teachers were so scared that people would
riot? Jesus was quite popular but it’s not that. The priests were scared there
might be a riot because of the time in the Jewish calendar.
Passover is a huge festival for Jews, one of three ‘compulsory’ festivals,
all male Jews for 15 miles around Jerusalem had to travel to Jerusalem to
celebrate. So just how many people might that be? Josephus (a Jewish historian)
writes that about 65 years after Jesus died Cestius, governor of Palestine,
asked the high priest to take a census of the lambs killed at Passover.
According to Jesephus it was 256,000. As Jewish law states there must be at
least 10 people for each lamb therefore there must have been about 3 million
pilgrims in Jerusalem!
It was these kind of numbers that the priests were scared of. Think of this
though, that number of Jews didn’t stop them arresting and killing Jesus, but
it did mean that while that many people celebrated God delivering them from
Egypt, from slavery, he did it again. Not from Egypt and not just the Jews,
during this Passover that Mark writes about, Jesus was to die and return to life
which means that every person who is willing to follow Jesus can be free to be
in relationship with God. That means you and I are free to be with God and to
live our lives in the very best possible way.
Is that true for you? If it isn’t then it can be, you only have to ask God for
that freedom and it is yours. God will send his Holy Spirit to help you live
like that. It doesn’t mean it will always be easier but God will always be
there.
Mark 14 v 3-9
Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon, who had a skin disease. While Jesus
was eating there, a woman approached him with an alabaster jar filled with very
expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She opened the jar and poured the perfume
on Jesus’ head.
Some who were there became upset and said to each other, “Why waste that
perfume? It was worth a full year’s work. It could have been sold and the
money given to the poor.” And they got very angry with the woman.
Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you troubling her? She did an excellent
thing for me. You will always have the poor with you, and you can help them
anytime you want. But you will not always have me. This woman did the only thing
she could do for me; she poured perfume on my body to prepare me for burial. I
tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached in all the world, what
this woman has done will be told, and people will remember her.”
Notes
This is a story about love. This woman comes to Jesus and puts perfume on his
head, not just a few drops of perfume, which was customary but the whole jar!
Talk about over the top!
Those around argued that it could have been better used if she’d sold it, as
it was worth a full years wages, and given the money to the poor. I suspect they
thought Jesus would agree with them, no doubt they thought they were saying the
‘holy’ thing.
Jesus however doesn’t see it like that. Jesus says this woman has done an
excellent thing, he says it is like preparing his body before burial. I don’t
think the woman would have had that in mind and she may have been quite confused
when Jesus said that. Her motivation, I believe, was love.
I think Jesus saw that, he saw that she had given a very valuable thing, she
hadn’t just given a bit of it, she’d used it all. That’s what real love is
about, it doesn’t count the cost or do the minimum, it is extravagant and
gives everything! This woman puts Jesus first even before the ‘right’ works,
like looking after the poor and Jesus praises her for it.
How are you going to show your love for Jesus today? Jesus returned to heaven so
we cannot physically ‘do’ anything for him now but we can treat others in
the same way the woman treated Jesus. If we love God then we will love each
other, and our love should be like the woman’s love, extravagant, not counting
the cost. Will you love people today?
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the
Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word
Publishing Milton Keynes