Revelation 20 & Church Potluck

The twentieth chapter of Revelation is filled with contrasts. There is the amazing hope of the millennial reign of Christ; when all on earth will be in peace and harmony with God visibly in charge, reigning with the saints. And there is the detainment of the forces of evil, only to be released at the end, when more destruction and death result. There is the judgment of humanity, some to life and some to damnation. Depending on which side of Christ a person decides to be, the events in this chapter will either comfort or grate. 

Even as we celebrate the 150th year of Canada this weekend, may we look forward with expectant joy at the coming 1,000 years of Christ's dominion!

We will be sharing a potluck meal following the service, and everyone is encouraged to bring a food or dish from their country of origin or heritage. The creativity of God is expressed in all nations, and we have quite a sampling of world cultures in our fellowship, so come prepared to experience something new!

Revelation 19, part 2

This week we will be covering a portion of scripture which is fairly well-known. John records in the second half of chapter 19 the return of Christ! What a magnificent description this is of our Lord, and what a great hope that He will come to put things right! God has revealed these things to come that we can have comfort and hope.

Before Jesus went to the cross, He clearly told His disciples that He could be going to the Father and then come again to judge the world and set up His kingdom. Later John saw what Jesus had said, when He gave him this vision, our book of Revelation. We can have assurance in the return of our Lord, and praise Him for all His goodness and righteousness!

Revelation 19, part 1

This week we are covering the preparation in heaven for the marriage of the Lamb. There is so much in these 10 verses that we will only be covering this section and finish the chapter next Sunday. There is praise going up to God. And who is the Bride, who is invited to this marriage? What does it mean that Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy? All these issues will be discussed as we shift gears from the judgment of God to the times pertaining to the consummation of all things.

Revelation 18

The topic of this chapter is the fall of Babylon, and the righteous judgment of God upon Babylon, that is, the commercial or world system. In Scripture we see two different New Testament ideas of "world". The first is that of the people in the world, whom God loves with His redeeming love, and for whom He sent His Son. The second is the idea of the spirit of the age, or the goings-on on the planet that are influenced heavily by human ambition and prompted by the devil. It is this system that God is judging, and the people caught up in it. Though Christ died for all, they have clearly rejected Him in lieu of the things of this life.

Revelation 17

This Sunday we are covering a chapter fraught with symbolic language, and a myriad of interpretations down through the centuries. Generally speaking, it is about the religious and geopolitical system, "the world", as the New Testament refers to it. We live in the world now but are called to be separate from its ways.

This chapter reveals what is at work behind this world system, and none of it is pleasing to God in the least. We cannot be friends of the world and friends of God at the same time. This judgment of God is coming to the whole world system, and it is severe. He is going to judge it completely. It is His place to pour out that wrath; it is our place now to maintain lives of light and purity as we live in this world.