Higher Aim With Dr. Curt Dodd

As we continue to look at the Book of Revelation, we are coming to the end. This is the next to the last sermon on the Book of Revelation series, and today we’re going to keep going in our conversation about heaven and all of the things we have to look forward to in eternity. May this message and this portion of Scripture we’re studying give you hope as you think about what comes after our time on earth is over.

As we start to finish up our study of the book of Revelation, I want us to take a close look at the words in chapter 21. Our key passages in this message tell us about everything that will be made new. We’ve already covered the tribulation, the death, the hardship, and the turmoil that will take place in the last days. But now we get to switch over to talking about heaven, about the new things we will get to experience and enjoy as followers of Jesus as we enter into eternity. Let’s dive in.

Heaven will be an awesome place! As we look at this, it gives us hope. The next thing we should be looking for is what God will do. I really believe it will be the Rapture of the Church. I think we will have another great awakening where God will move across this country and across this globe, maybe one last movement before Jesus comes again. But if He chooses not to do it, (because of the evil that is so prevalent in our culture), God will finally say, “My children, that's enough, come on home.” He will bring us to heaven. We can learn so much about heaven from the last couple of chapters of Revelation. Specifically, there are three glimpses of heaven that John gives us in this book. Let’s look at the first one today.

At this moment in time as we read today’s Scripture passage, all sinful men, the devil, the antichrist, and the beast are all in the lake of fire. The only ones left are the angels of God, the Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit), and all true believers in Christ. These are the only ones left, and there is a New Heaven and a New Earth. He chose our planet to show His great love with His Son. Now it is all gone. For us, He creates a New Heaven and a New Earth. We don't fully know what it will look like, but we will get a glimpse of the New Heaven in the days to come. That’s what we’re going to look at throughout today’s message.

Today, we are in Chapter 20 of the Book of Revelation, where we will start with verse 7. This is the end of the judgment of God. We have been spending time with the Great Tribulation, seven years after the rapture of the Church. During this period, the wrath of God is poured out on the planet. So in this message, we are going to look at the different aspects of the last judgment and see what Scripture has to say about this crucial time period.

As we continue in our study of Revelation, we are going to begin to break down the 20th chapter of this final book of the Bible. There are several images that are presented in this group of verses, and each one is important for us to take note of and learn about if we want to gain a better understanding of the end times. There’s a lot to unpack in this short passage of Scripture, so let’s dive in.

For the past few weeks, we have been focusing on Revelation chapter 5 because we need to be reminded that the King is coming back for you and me. With that knowledge, we need to be ready, waiting with hope and anticipation of His coming. That also means we need to have the right posture where we are right now. We can learn about what kind of posture we need by reading Revelation chapter 5. So as we close out this mini-series this week, may we take special note of what we can learn from what John describes seeing in heaven so that we may emulate the posture of those worshiping Jesus there while we are still on earth waiting for His return.

Many of us have tried to align God with where we want to go. Nothing will put you upside down in your life more than when you try to squeeze God into where you want to go. On the other hand, nothing is more powerful in your life than when you allow your life to be aligned with the Throne Room of God. That's why this chapter in Revelation is so critical. We have been spending much time in chapter five so that you can align with what is happening in heaven right now. We can experience God's will in our lives by lining up with what is happening in heaven right now. When we align with heaven, God will give us unbelievable peace in the midst of whatever storms we are going through. So let’s continue our study of Revelation chapter 5 and see what we need to do to align ourselves with the Throne Room of God.

We have been taking our time walking step-by-step through John chapter five, to see where John is focused. Today, we are going to talk specifically about how John is in the presence of the Father in the throne room of heaven and how he focused on a sacred sermon. Through this study of Scripture, we are going learn that we should never discount how God can use each of us personally to impact someone else’s life. You might have a sacred sermon God wants you to share, so why not share it and see how God works? Our job is solely to be the messenger, delivering the good news of Jesus Christ. We can trust God to take care of everything else.

What’s so cool about Revelation 5 is that it’s a picture of what is happening in heaven. If we could join heaven right now, we would probably be living different lives and have a different attitude and focus. But even though that’s true, we also need to focus right now on the fact that the King is coming! He is coming back for His people, and the reason He is coming is because He owns it all. He is coming for you who know Him, and that means He will not leave you in the situation where you are forever. God has a plan, not just for eternity, but for right now as well. So as you strive to live out that plan you need to realize that His timing is perfect. And although we might not understand it, we can trust it.

One of the greatest gifts we can pull from the book of Revelation is the picture we get of heaven. I truly believe we would be so much better off if we wouldn’t get so bogged down with everything that’s happening in the present and instead fix our eyes on eternity. If we would get our focus right, and get aligned with heaven, the living here would be a lot easier. There will be more peace, confidence, and stability in your life when you are aligned with heaven. Regardless of what happens around you, you will not be shaken. And isn’t that what we all want? So this week, we’re going to continue looking at Revelation chapter 5 and see what we can learn about heaven from the Word of God.

The fourth and fifth chapters of Revelation are really one unit. And so over the new few weeks, we’re going to focus on their contents in hopes of gaining a clearer picture of what heaven is going to be like. It’s one thing to listen to what other people say about heaven and what they think it will entail, but it’s another to dive into the Word of God and look at what God reveals to us about where we will spend eternity as His children. Specifically this week, we are going to take a look at the scroll that John talks about in today’s key passages and what we can learn from reading about this scroll.

Today’s key passage speaks of the battle of Armageddon. Taking a step back, John sees it all happening before him. These are the verses he uses to describe where the forces of the Antichrist and the False Prophet bring the entire world together in battle. They meet Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who is coming to take back His throne. We’re going to continue studying what Scripture has to say about this battle in today’s message. We’ll review what we talked about last week, and we’ll cover some new topics as well.

It is important to understand a basic truth. Before the worst of the worst is poured out upon an unbelieving mankind, we should grasp the reason for God’s wrath, and that is this: God is just! Many of us struggle with questions like, “Is it fair? Does it make sense? Why should I have to go through this?” The answer is simply this, especially for those going through the Great Tribulation, God is just! That truth is what we’re going to unpack in this message.

We’ve spent a lot of time talking about the Great Tribulation and all of the horrible and devastating things that will happen in the end times. But today, I want us to look at what we have to look forward to in eternity and all the wonderful things we can praise the Lord for!

As we read today’s key passage and continue our study of the book of Revelation, it is very clear that God is describing the judgment, the ruin, and the smashing of the World System, Babylon. It will all come down in one hour. The judgment of God will finally fall. This will be happening at the end of the Great Tribulation. As believers, we will not be here. Accordingly, while you are here, you can make a difference for the Kingdom of God before the judgment of God falls on this planet. This passage exists to motivate you, to give you insight and a mental picture of what will happen to our world. You can either say, “I don't believe that,” and find yourself at odds with the Word of God, or you can take this and realize that God's Word is true. God has always kept His Word and His Word now tells us what will happen.

You and I are caught between this world and heaven right now, but one day we will finally be home. Remember, according to Scripture, if you are a follower of Jesus, you are a citizen of heaven. God already sees you seated in the heavenlies with Christ Jesus. With many of us, we wrestle with living for heaven and living in the world at the same time. This is exactly where we are going today. So let’s dive into what we need to remember as we wrestle with being in the in-between.

As we continue our study of the book of Revelation, we feel a sense of urgency to be prepared for Jesus’ second coming. The Lord could return at any moment; therefore we need to be living like we’re ready for Him to come very soon. With that in mind, we should be living as though this world is not our home, because it’s not. We are aliens here. We weren’t designed for this. We were made for something greater. We have so much to look forward to as followers of Christ. We have a better home to hope for, and that’s exactly what we’re going to dive into studying today and continually over the next few weeks.

As we continue our study of the book of Revelation, we are going to go further into the 17th chapter of the book and learn more about all that John saw when he was shown the end times. There are a lot of dark and heavy topics we need to discuss in the book of Revelation, but we’ll also see in today’s message that we can remain hopeful because Jesus is victorious in the end!

Not all churches are false or fake. Not all churches are decoy churches to lure people in and take them down spiritually. Not every church deceives them and sends them to hell rather than pointing them to heaven. However, we are living in a day when we are watching the unveiling of many decoys. Therefore, we need to have the wisdom and the discernment to be able to differentiate between false churches and churches that preach the Word of God. That’s exactly what we’re going to learn more about in today’s message.