Sermons from November 2019

The Grapes of Wrath (Rev. 14:12-20) In his novel The Grapes of Wrath Steinbeck brilliantly portrayed the consequences of the suffering people endured during the Dust Bowl migration. Their suffering was building in them a fury of wrath that would eventually explode. Essentially, he was suggesting that anger and hatred are the natural byproduct of oppressive experiences. He certainly has a point. However, one thing is clear, he was not using the metaphor in the same way that Scripture used…

The Terror and Comfort of the Gospel (Rev. 14:6-13) There is no denying the weightiness of the book of Revelation. Eternity hangs in the balance as John’s vision portrays the punishment of evil, and the victory of the Lamb. Symbolism increases the sense of mystery while highlighting the terrible and glorious realities they illustrate. Our passage this morning reveals how the gospel provokes both terror and comfort. Read Rev. 14:6-13 Pascal’s Wager essentially states that humans bet their lives on…

The Lamb and the 144,000 Revelation is a book of contrasts. The dark is stark, while the light is bright. And it frequently shifts between the two. This morning we come to another abrupt transition. After visions of a fierce dragon and beasts persecuting the church, we need to remember that victory belongs to the Lamb. This passage (14:1-5) stands in sharp contrast with the previous one (13:11-18). Last week we saw how the false prophet promotes the counterfeit worship…

The Mark of the Beast (Rev. 13:11-18) Predicting the identity of the beast whose mark is 666 has become a game. So let’s play “Pin the Tail on the Antichrist” for a minute.1 Some of the obvious candidates have been world leaders such as Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, and Anwer Sadat. Americans have been proposed too. In his book 666: The Final Warning!, Gary Blevins argues that the Antichrist is none other that our beloved 40th president, Ronald (6) Wilson…