Revelation Study Michael Sculley

We come to Revelation chapter 22 and a look at the capital city of heaven. When Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, He included a marvelous promise to believers. He said to them, in Matthew 5:22, "Your reward in heaven is great". Jesus also included, tin the Sermon on the mOun, a command to lay up treasures in heaven. Later on , in the nineteenth chapter of Matthew, it is recorded that Jesus told the rich, young ruler theses words, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven, and come follow Me."
Heaven is our place. It's where our inheritance is. It's where our reward is. It's where our hope is. It's where our treasure is laid up. Heaven is our eternal home and the place of eternal glory. And so, we're looking at heaven, particularly in Revelation 22, we're looking at the capital city of the eternal state, none other than what is called the "New Jerusalem," the "holy city," our forever home. It's the place where we're going to spend eternity.

Revelation, chapter 21 is by all accounts, our widest and clearest view of Heaven found in all of scripture. It is an amazing panorama of what is waiting for those who put their hope and trust in Jesus Christ. It is truly our eternal hope. Seems like most christians sacrifice the eternal blessing of glory on the temporal altar of gratification. We don't talk about or sing about heaven much because we really aren't too interested.
So, let's consider heaven and what we have here... and compare it to there...
Our Father is there, our Savior is there, our comforter, the Holy Spirit will be there. Our fellow believers are there, our name is there if we are born again, our life is there, our inheritance is there, our home is there, our citizenship is there, our reward is there, our treasure is there, if our heart is there. Folks, the closer we are to heaven the more we should be rejoicing. And everyday, we are one day closer. Alleluia!

Chapter 20 is a climatic chapter, brining us to the reign of Jesus Christ on earth and His coming glory in His 1000 year kingdom. It's the culmination of redemptive history as it unfolds in the world. This is the day that was described by the prophet Jeremiah in chapter 23 and verses 5-6 "the days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch (Jesus). a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called:The Lord Our Righteous Savior. Behold, the days are coming. It is the 1000 year kingdom that is the theme of chapter 20. This reign of Jesus Christ is in the city of Jerusalem, on the throne of David over Israel as a nation and over the whole world.

We have been through the day of the Lord. The final explosion of judgement on sinners on earth and celebration with saints in Heaven. Now, Christ is ready to take sovereign possession of the universe and take the earth back and restore it to the glorious standard of His kingdom over which He will reign for 1000 years. All of this happens in chapter 19 verse 11 "Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war".
Before this happens, we are taken to Heaven for the first 10 verses. This is the last of the 7 visions of Heaven of Revelation. This is the rejoicing of the final destruction of the worlds evil and the glorious victory of the returning messiahs.

Nowhere in the bible, is it more clearly revealed that God is going to judge the world than in the book of Revelation. So, we come to chapter 18, just one chapter of 22 chapters, in the book of Revelation.
In our study, we are looking at just one emphasis on that judgement here in chapter 18, and that is God's judgement that will fall in the end, on the world economic system. The entire world economic system is going to be under the control of one man known as the antichrist and it will be a socioeconomic and capitalistic system. It will be a luxurious, materialistic and capitalistic economy when Jesus comes and sets up a true kingdom and changes everything.

Immediately after the fall in Genesis 3, God began to reveal a plan to redeem mankind from sin, death and false religion because man does not look for God. At the same time, Satan began to wage war against that divine enterprise in order to lure people to worship false gods and not the true God. This evening, we are going to see this come to its culmination in the last days with a worldwide false religion. All of the separated parts of false religions are going to come together into one great false world religion called the great harlot or Mystery Babylon.
Through the ages, Satan has spawned all of the false religions and they are all the same, attaching themselves to non-existent deities and teaching that man can save himself by his own works, his own achievements and self-righteousness and that the way to God is through ceremony, rite and ritual and it'll come together in one great world religion in the very end.
The final empire on earth of Satan ruled by antichrist and the false prophet is going be a militaristic, materialistic, economic and political kingdom and also a spiritual and religious one.
Chapter 18 will show the material side (economic and political) but tonite in chapter 17, we'll explore the spiritual side. Chapter 18 shows God’s judgement on the material aspect and chapter 17 shows God’s judgement on the spiritual aspect of that kingdom. In both cases, it is called Babylon. Satan’s world empire, with antichrist leading its material side and the false prophet leading its spiritual side.