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I’m gonna invite you to Revelation 19, where we’re going to be together today, revelation chapter 19. And we really started Revelation 19 last week. And I realized based on the content of this chapter, I wanted to slow it down just a little bit, because what’s happening here is significant for our lives in the Lord. And we looked at the first ten verses last week. We’re going to look at the first of the next ten verses this week to conclude this chapter. But the idea that we’re going to be looking at together is really more of a prayer, and it’s to ask the Lord to open our eyes, to see things as he sees them. And we’re going to talk about three motivations for this chapter as to why our eyes should be fixed on him, why our eyes should be open to him. Really, some inspiring thoughts as it relates to your own faith journey in the Lord. To encourage us to remain faithful in in Jesus and how we live our lives in pursuit of his glory to the benefit of others. So, so, Lord, open my eyes. And if you want to know why we titled it this. We’re going to spend most of our time looking at point number one out of all these points. But the reason it’s titled Lord, Open My Eyes is because of the way that John describes this chapter in verse 11, verse 17 and verse 19.
You’ll notice in each of those verses John starts with a phrase I saw, I saw, and then John goes on to describe the incredible things that he’s witnessing for the purpose of recognizing his own life and cursing the Lord in this, but also wants your life encouraged in the Lord in this. Because our tendency from a practical standpoint is, is that we can easily become distracted in our faith journey. And John knows a refresher, sort of a reset on the on the greatness of God in our life becomes critical for how we live our life. And it’s not to take away from the things that we do, especially routine. In your own spiritual journey. Routine is an important part of life in general, but especially in the in the practice of your faith, right? We look for routine as people. If you don’t have enough routine in your life, you can get exhausted and discouraged. So we establish routines and patterns because you can sort of do those things without even thinking they become second nature to you. And so you make thousands of decisions in a day. But the the more decisions you’re making without even realizing you’re making decisions, the more capacity you have to make decisions. When you’ve got to be a little bit more aware of what’s happening around you now, those are important even into your spiritual life. Having a routine in your spiritual life is is critical.
But but sometimes we in the midst of the routine, we forget why we do those things and the importance that they bring, the value they bring to our life. And so reminding ourselves of why we do what we do is, is significant to your faith journey, especially in terms of when you when you begin to realize you, maybe you have a pattern in how you meet with the Lord. But but God has challenged you to some other things in your life. And rather than step into those things to to do more or or to respond afresh and new ways. The Lord, we can sort of get in the routine and just call it good enough. And what I mean is like, you know, here we are on Sunday morning and I’m so happy you’re here. And that’s a wonderful thing to to practice in our life, to gather with God’s people, as he tells us in Hebrews chapter ten, to encourage one another in the faith. It’s an important component of the Christian journey. But sometimes we can just show up on a Sunday because, well, that’s what you do. You know, it’s it’s Sunday morning and this is what we do on Sunday morning. And it’s it’s a good pattern to have. But but let’s be honest, if this is the only part of your spiritual journey that you that you have in the week, you’re you’re your spiritual life and Jesus is going to be rather weak, meaning you should desire and want to seek after the Lord every day, right? And if this is the only time you’re spending in God’s Word there, there needs to be something in our life that challenges us to grow deeper in our walk with him.
We should want to seek Jesus every day in His Word, and we shouldn’t even have to say that to each other because we understand the significance of who he is. And so, so maybe learning to challenge myself and the idea of man, I’m so thankful to know God, but I really do in my in my walk with him, need to personally seek him each day. And so maybe where God’s challenging me is, is learn the discipline of knowing God intimately every day of my life. Or or maybe if that is a routine of your life that maybe we need challenge to learn how to to share that with others, beginning in our own home. What does it look like for my family, then, to experience this faith journey together? That if we just get into this, this spiritual rut of doing things for the sake of doing things, we we sort of lose perspective into the to the importance of what God not only wants to do in your life, but but through your life. There’s a lady by the name of Gladys Aylward, who she She was a missionary to China in the 1900s.
She was born in the early 1900s, died in 1970. She. I think she was 68 years old when she passed away. But Gladys Aylward, when she she was growing in her walk with the Lord, she felt the Lord pressing her to do more in life. And so she tried to join a missions organization to go serve the Lord overseas. Now, I’m not telling you when you know when you want to follow Jesus. That means all of us need to join missions organizations and go overseas. Utah’s plenty strange enough of a land, right? So? So you can do that faithfully here, right? But but what I am saying is it’s critical. If Jesus is who he says he is to, to truly believe what he says and challenge our own faith journey in that right. God, how how then, in light of the greatness of who you are, do I? Do I let this be made known in my life? How do I reorient my life around this? And for for Gladys Aylward? She she was told no by a missions organization. She she was her occupation was a housemaid in Great Britain. And even though they told her no, she bought a plane ticket to China anyway and went and served as a missionary. And, you know, one of the things I really love about Gladys is she would tell you like she she was not the person that walked in the room and really surprised you with her presence.
She was not necessarily this charismatic leader. Right. And for all of us, that’s significant for us to think about in our relationship with the Lord. Because, you know, if you feel like you’re the you’re the all to end all, and anything you do for Jesus is because you’re the most qualified. I would say humility might be the next best step for you, right? Like anything you do for Jesus, you should feel underqualified to do. I can tell you, as a pastor, I’ve never woken up in my life and said, Thank God I’m here for today. You know, they they really need me. You know, let’s all thank the Lord for my presence, right? Like, that’s never that’s never been a step of mine. Right? I’ve always I’ve always been very aware of of my own fallen nature and weaknesses as a human being. But I don’t do what I do because I’m great. I do what I do because he’s great. And every day is an opportunity to take a step in him, to see him be faithful to what he’s promised. Now, I’m not telling you I do that perfectly, but learning to challenge myself becomes a great place to stretch my own faith journey in the Lord. And it’s the same for for you. You know, learning to experientially understand what God says and the promises of his pages.
Because this God that’s communicating in the first century that we’re reading in Revelation is the same God who meets us today. And this is what John wants us to know. And this is what Gladys said about that. She said, you know, I wasn’t God’s first choice for what I’ve done for China. I don’t know who it was. It must have been a man, a well-educated man. You know, here’s a lady in the early 1900s doing this. And she said, I don’t know what happened. Perhaps he died. Perhaps he wasn’t willing. So God looked down and said, There’s Gladys Aylward, right? And really, that’s the beautiful thing of following the Lord is when we take steps for him, and the goodness of God is made known. We don’t then get to point back and say, it’s because I’m amazing, right? We get to point to him and say it’s because he’s amazing, and learning to open our eyes to the greatness of who God is becomes critical to our faith journey. Lord, help me to see things as you see them so so that as I take these steps, I do it in, in the in the glory of who you are. And this is what John is teaching us. Lord, open my eyes so that let me give you a point. Number one, open my eyes. To see life with you is victory.
God, open my eyes to see that life with you is victory. And really, that victory is all because of who God is. This becomes critical for our own faith journey, right? Like, if I’m going to do anything bold in this world to make a difference, I want to have some sort of confidence that the steps I’m going to take are going to work out. And when it comes to to my my steps in the Lord, I really need to know the greatness of who this God is. Because if he’s just a nice sentiment, there’s not a lot of confidence that he’s going to be able to execute with any authority. He’s just a nice I love you, God, but I need to know there’s some fortitude to this God. Right. And and then as I begin to discover this God, what I learn is who he is, determines who I am. And therefore, that foundation gives me the basis to recognize if I truly do have victory. But, but in terms of the Lord, my my prayer would be for God to open my eyes so that I could see the true victory for which I’m established in you. Yeah. Understanding the nature of God is critical to your faith journey. In fact, A.W. Tozer in his book The Knowledge of the Holy the very beginning, really, of this book, he he gives this, I’ll say this thesis statement that then undergirds what the rest of the book supports.
But he says this what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us, because who he is determines who you are and how you perceive yourself. Your importance in this world. God made you for a reason. I don’t want to overcomplicate the Christian life. It is as simple as this. God calls you to abide in him. God has created you for relationship in him. To really exercise those spiritual muscles, to learn what it means to be strong in the Lord, in relationship. And as God works in you, he works through through you. Meaning, as you learn about the greatness of God, your affections for him grow, your love for him grows. And here’s what we know about people. We naturally share what we love. And so you don’t have to fabricate to others what your relationship with Jesus is doing for you, and the impact it’s making in your life. Because when you’re walking in him and you’re growing in him, you’re naturally going to pour out of you what is within you because God put it there. And so as your affections for God grow, it becomes critical understanding who he is and therefore understanding who you are. Another A.W. pink said it like this the glory of the excuse me, the God of this century no more resembles the supreme sovereign of holy writ than does the flickering of a candle.
The glory of the midday sun. What? A.w. pink is saying this as he’s looking at his century. He’s seeing the way people were talking about God, and then he actually sees who God is, and he realizes the way people talk about God today is far short of the greatness of the supreme ruler of all things. And then he compares it to the idea of the candle and the sun. And guys, we all have this tendency of of overvaluing, overestimating ourselves and diminishing the greatness of who God is. We tend to tear God down and elevate ourselves. And the problem with that is you really only find your your true value as a human being not looking deeper within. You are not trying to just simply puff yourself up, but rather in coming to the end of yourself and surrendering to the greatness of who God is, because God is the one who created you. And it’s not until you find the glory of this God that you begin to see the true value that you have as a human being, and the foundation for which you should move in this world on the basis of who he is. And when you come to Revelation 19, this is this is certainly that declaration to us. And I want you to see how how John lays this out, these verse 11 to 16.
The things that he initially sees, and he wants us to gravitate to these ideas because he understands. Not only is this inspiring his own faith in the way he lives for the Lord, but it should challenge us too. And John here, he’s talking in terms of a battle. He says, then I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse. And the one sitting on it is called Faithful and True. And in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems. And he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is the Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. It goes on. Verse 15 says, and from his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. And he will rule them with an iron rod. And he will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This is a God of incredible authority and power, and no doubt. And here in Revelation, we’re seeing this final battle unfold where the King of all kings is, is taking jurisdiction over all things.
Right. And he’s he’s warring against the fallen Babylon, and he’s bringing, executing his judgment to show he is the final victor. Now, this. This final battle is important to know who gets final say and who wins. This is critical. But it’s also important to recognize that he has been as he’s victorious in this battle. We in our own faith journey today, we face multiple battles. So who is ultimately sovereignly in charge of that and having confidence in how the the story ends gives us confidence in our own faith journey today that this this same God is walking with us. Now, in looking at a passage like this, I got to tell you, I a piece of me really appreciates where we are today in light of where we’ve been last week. Because remember last week we talked about the bride. And while I love the pictures in Scripture of the bride, I don’t want to be someone’s bride, right? So so that the imagery is significant to understand our walk with the Lord. But but now in this passage, we’re we’re guys last week, If you read about being a bride, I just encourage you. You may sound a little emasculating to talk about being a bride, but this week now you get to look at warrior God. And. And this is why I think this is important, is sometimes in life we get this imbalanced view of who God is.
And we really want to emphasize one side of God apart from the other. And everything about him is is important to know, right? It’s not that God is just one attribute. At some times God is all of his attributes all the time. Now, it is important to see God as a gracious, compassionate God that that has great merit in our life and understanding that we can be delivered and set free because of his love, his compassion, his grace towards us, but at the same time, to also recognize those aren’t just nice sentiments. God wants to say to you, to pat you on the head and make you feel a little better. But but to realize he can also execute in everything he’s promised because of the authority of who he is, his sovereign. And just wrathful nature allows him to protect you and provide for you. And so both of these things are critical to know, and even in a very practical way, one of one of the reasons I, I gravitate towards this is because, to be honest, sometimes I see Jesus images of Jesus drawn in our culture that causes me to recoil a little bit on the inside. And that type of Jesus is kind of a pansy Jesus. You ever see pictures of pansy Jesus ever drawn? And let me just tell you what pansy Jesus looks like for a minute. He’s got a perfect white robe that’s never had a stain in its life, and he’s never woken up with a case of bedhead, ever.
Right. He’s perfect amount of conditioner. Always use that beautiful 1970s feathered cut with his hair. That’s the kind of Jesus where it’s like, man, I don’t know if I want to be following that Jesus into battle because he’s going to spend more time looking in the mirror than he is concerned with what’s in front of us. That’s and, you know, have you seen anything to that? Jesus. It sounds like the type of worship that might be included here is more like a a love song to a boyfriend than warrior king Jesus. You know, I just, I sometimes as a guy, I’m just I look at that and I think, no, not for me right there. I read passages like this and I think, yes, this this Jesus, this is, this is also an important Jesus to understand that he’s capable and he he executes and he and he fulfills. And, you know, to follow this kind of Jesus, too, one must recognize that one that follows the Lord, I think, requires a definitely humility, but also courage. And some people may look at Jesus and especially emasculated Jesus and think, well, you know, it’s just cowards that follow Christians or follow Christ just giving their lives away. And I would argue the exact opposite, that it takes a strong man or woman to follow Jesus and that strength isn’t in you, but rather in him.
But because you have to be willing to die to yourself every day, to truly follow after Jesus, to surrender the throne of your life, to pursue him. It takes incredible fortitude and integrity to submit yourself to that. The easy road in life is is a road that lives for personal gratification, for just self made pleasure to the temporal things of this world that live kind of spinelessly passively to the to the true brokenness of life and and makes life focused around them rather than something beyond them, something greater than them. But the only way we’re ever going to truly live this out is, is to understand that God is capable to fulfill what he’s promised us. How secure am I under him? Right. And what will he do? And John is he’s peppered this section of Revelation with these ideas. And and if I just highlighted some of these for us, and in verse 11, he refers to God as faithful and true meaning. Not only does he declare to us the truth which is important to know, but but, but he is the truth. And so anything that he says is critical for our lives is again, why we should not, as Christians, have to tell each other, you should probably read the Bible. We should just instinctively want to read the Bible, because no time in God’s Word is is wasted time in God’s Word.
Because if anything’s going to be fulfilled in life, if you can put your hope in anything, it’s what God says to us. Because not only is he true, but he’s also faithful. It tells us to fulfill what he told us he would fulfill. And he’s he’s capable. And he goes on in verse 12 and he says, his eyes are of flame. And the idea of the eyes being of flame is, is recognizing that there’s nothing hidden from him. He everything he sees purely as it is. So there’s no corner of the earth that’s kept from the Lord. And then he has many diadems. And and this is really describing this, this idea of a fabric band that during this time period, some kings would often wear a fabric band that went around their head and, and it was like a crown. And in the midst of that crown there would be a diadem. And that diadem represented a place that was ruled. And Jesus having many bands and these diadems, is recognizing that there is there is no place that’s not under his authority. He rules it all. And then he goes on further and says he has a name that no one knows. Which is interesting because I thought we did know his name. Right? It’s Jesus, isn’t it? Like, how do we know your name but not know your name all of a sudden? And and here’s he’s helping us realize that while God is imminent, personal, he’s also transcendent, greater than our minds could even begin to fathom.
That’s why you’ll spend all of eternity getting to know him. And so it’s it’s recognizing for us that the glory of God. And then it says in verse 13, he has a robe dipped in blood, which is quite, quite interesting in how it’s describing God here. Because when you when you look at the the picture that’s painted, not only does he have a rod dipped in blood, but he tells us he’s riding on a white horse. And then in verse 14 it describes the army, which would be his followers also riding a white horse and wearing pure, this pure and fine linen. You know, if you’re going to ride something white, you probably don’t want a robe dipped in blood. It’s going to ruin it. But. But this is a grand picture of the greatness of God here. When in Jesus’s day, by writing this, this white horse, he’s he’s giving us a thought towards this battle that’s important for us not to miss. In Jesus’s time period, when kings would go back to war or go to war if they were victorious, when they would come back to the people, there was often a parade to celebrate. And when when the general would return from battle and the people would celebrate that victory, the general would often ride through the streets on a white horse.
The white horse became symbolic of victory. And so here’s Jesus riding into battle. And as if he’s declaring that he’s victorious before the battle’s ever taken place. And I don’t know about you, but when when I go outside to do anything, if I know I’m going to be doing yard work or whatever, the article of clothing that I’m not going to be wearing is pure white. Anything, right? Because it’s going to soil the clothes. Right. And here, when the army of the Lord is described in this passage of wearing pure white linen, what’s critical to recognize is we’re not actually even fighting in the battle ourselves. We’re we’re joining the Lord in this battle. But we’re not fighting, but rather for you and for me, what’s represented here is the idea of priestly garments that you belong to him. And as Jesus is going to battle this robe that’s dipped in blood, one should ask, how in the world is blood on his robe when there’s no fight that’s been fought. How is that possible? And I think the answer to it is because the battle has already been won. And Jesus surrendering his life for you and for me. I believe that blood that Jesus is carrying on this horse and his robe is the blood that he shed for your life and for mine.
And so Jesus is declaring victory over our lives because of what he’s accomplished for us. The battle has already been won, and now Jesus triumphantly is riding in. And then it goes on. If I just gave a few more thoughts here, let me give you the last one. And last thing he says here is, is as he’s riding with this robe, he’s, he’s he’s got this tattoo. So have you ever thought about getting a tattoo? Jesus has a tattoo. Apparently. So there’s some inspiration for you. But he’s got verse 16 written down on his thigh. Unless that causes conflict with parents and kids. Don’t listen to your parents. Kids? He’s got he’s got this written down on his thigh, so there’s no mistake of who he is. I mean, you could just Imagine the authority, the power, the sovereignty of God and what’s carried in these verses, and then how critical it is to view yourself in light of this glorious king. You belong to him. And there are passages in the Bible that remind us of this right that just want us to to orient the the focus of our life from this position and therefore respond to it. Now, if I gave you another chapter of the Bible that sort of matches the idea of Revelation 19, it’s Colossians chapter one. I’m going to show you a few verses here from Colossians in just a minute. But if you ever read Colossians chapter one, verse 15 to 20, that’s one of those sections of the Bible that is critical for really any believer to be made aware of, because it tells you about the nature of who Jesus is.
When the apostle Paul wrote Colossians, especially verse 15 to 20. He’s writing to us an ancient creed. This isn’t something that Apostle Paul came up with. This is something the church was already reciting to one another. It’s this creed representing who God is. And in light of that, then on either side of verse 15 and verse 20 of Colossians one, it gives us then this reorientation of your life in light of who God is. And Paul says it like this give thanks to the father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. In this verse, God is reminding us that your life has has become plunder to him. I mean, you were a part of another kingdom, a broken, fallen kingdom that’s demise was going to be made known. But God plundered your soul from that kingdom, and now you’ve become a trophy of his victory. In fact, in Revelation 19, when we’re writing back with this king on this white horse knowing we’re not really engaging in the battle.
The the reminder for you is that you really are following after the Lord as a trophy and reminder of those that he has rescued from this broken kingdom. So, so finding your identity here in the precious that you are because of who God is, is important for us. In fact, if I gave you another passage of the Bible in Psalm 23, if you ever read that Psalm, this is a reminder again and again of God’s people. Though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, who you are because of who he is and the confidence that should give you as you live for him in on mission in this world. In fact, the way this Psalm is ends says this you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. I know who I am because I know whose I am, and the confidence that I have in who he is helps me to become confident in who I am and therefore determines how I live my life in light of it. And so God open my eyes to the victory that I truly have in you because of who you are. And make that new and fresh for me every day.
And then if I go back to Colossians just one more time, right after verse 20, Paul goes on and says this. And you who were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh. I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s affliction for the sake of his body that is the church. And Paul goes on from here in saying, in light of who God is, here’s what I’m doing. I’m living for the glory of God. I’ve become this minister of the great things that I’m experiencing in him, because God has given me this beautiful foundation for my own life. Because of him. Because Paul’s not saying this at the exclusivity of himself, as if he’s the exception, but rather he’s using his life as an example to say this should be the case for all of us. And when we we dip our toe in the richness of Christ to then respond out of that as the only natural progression of a true relationship with the Lord.
God, open my eyes to the victory I have in you. It’s not this ambiguous understanding of victory, but to realize when Jesus shows up for the final, final battle, the victory has already been won. And that’s where I find myself because of him. Point number two. Then, in light of that, God open my eyes to see life. Life without you is for the birds. You’ll. This will make sense in just a minute. But it’s a rather weird point. But God, open my eyes to see that life without you is for the birds. And you see this in verse 17. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of the kings, and the flesh of the captains, and the flesh of the mighty men, and the flesh of the horses and the riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great. Now, some of you might like birds until you read this verse. And these are not the birds you want to hang out with, right? So. But when he’s talking about birds here, there’s something critical to understand how the Bible communicates to us about birds. Now there are some nice birds. But in this passage, these these are not friendly birds.
These are these are terrorizing birds that are described here. And and when he’s when he’s telling us about this, I want you to see at the end of verse 17, he’s talking about a supper in Revelation. As we’ve looked at this chapter, specifically chapter 19, verse seven, verse nine. And then again here in verse 17, there are there are two suppers described, verse seven and nine talk about the marriage supper of the lamb. That is a supper you want to participate in. This supper is a supper you want to avoid with everything within you. Right. So and this is what’s important to to realize in how the birds relate to this. If you remember in Genesis chapter 40, there’s a story about a man named Joseph who’s in prison. And and God gave him the ability to interpret a couple dreams. And one of those dreams is a dream of a cupbearer. The other one is the the dream of the baker. And Joseph interprets those dreams, the cupbearer who’s in prison with him. He says the king is going to restore you to your position. You’ll be back with the king. It’ll be great. Don’t forget about me, okay? Just go. And then he goes to the baker and says, well, your predicament is worse and I’m giving you the Nathaniel version. This is not quoted directly, Okay, but he looks at the cupbearer or the baker and says, your life is over and they’re going to take your head.
And when they do, the birds are going to eat you. And during that time period in Egypt, that was a very significant judgment that was about to be passed. It was the worst kind of judgment, not that not that he was going to be executed. That was terrible enough. But the fact that no one was going to do anything with his body and the birds were going to pick him apart, because in, in Egypt during that time, you were to be if you wanted to go on to the afterlife, you would be mummified. And and what was believed is not only was it important for you to be mummified for the afterlife, but all your precious, precious possessions would be buried with you and you would take those with you. And so being mummified was critical. But if you were eaten by the birds, there was nothing there to mummify and therefore you had no hope of an afterlife. And so these birds became symbolic in what they what it represented for this individual who was about to die. Now, that doesn’t mean those things are true. That’s just what they believed by the time the first century is written. That belief isn’t necessarily held in the same way, but the birds to the Jewish people, these types of birds are unclean animals. And these unclean animals eating this flesh is defiling the flesh.
And the fact that these these bodies are just laid about and no one’s there to care for them or to honor them, is recognizing what this end is truly like. Your life is not honored in the way that it was intended to be honored, because the only way that’s discovered is in the Lord. And so to realize that apart from God, anything else we might choose, it’s just not worth it. And these birds paint that image. Now, some might ask, well, is this going to happen? Are there literally going to be that many birds to take care of, that many bodies laying out? Or is this going to be a lot of bodies? Like, I don’t know that we have to say that this is going to happen all over the world and every body picked apart. But rather than understand the symbolism of what these birds represent as it relates to human life, The things that we choose and the path that it leads us. Contrary to the Lord, it’s just not worth following. But to understand who I am in light of who he is, it’s a victory for us. And therefore, point number three. Let me give you this last one to see the destination set before me, to see the destination set before me. In verse 19 to 21 it says, and I saw the beast and the kings of the earth, with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army.
And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet, who was who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast, and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur, and the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse. And the birds were gorged with their flesh. So here you see these, these leaders of fallen Babylon, and they’re being judged, and it’s an indication of the trajectory of what Babylon leads to, to help our lives be reflective of what kingdom am I living for and what am I making my life about? I don’t think it necessarily means you have to shake your fist at God and say, I hate you. You can still align your life with the broken things of this world rather than the Lord, without shaking your fist at God. But to realize there’s always a battle taking place for our souls, and to simply stop and ask the question, what is the trajectory of my life leading to? What am I about? Who’s governing me? And what have I built that foundation on? What am I looking to for ultimate longing and purpose in life? And John is saying, Lord, help us to open our eyes to realize the steps that we take matters.
And the only way to take those steps, the right way is to discover who you are and therefore who I am in light of that. That I may enjoy you all of my days. That my life would not be a waste for the birds, but rather for a greater king and kingdom. As I think about that, since we’re talking about the military, I’ll end with this. In Arlington, there’s the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In fact, there’s multiple soldiers in this tomb. There’s. There’s a soldier from World War One, a soldier from World War Two, a soldier from the Korean War. And there was a soldier from the Vietnam War. But. But because of DNA testing, they were able to discover who that was. And now that tomb is empty for the Vietnam War. But here at the the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, America is not the only country that does this. But one of the things that’s interesting, particularly about the tomb for America, is this tomb has never been abandoned since 1937, when it was established. Every day, there’s always a sentinel there guarding the tomb. And and they in the summertime, they changed the guard every 30 minutes. In the winter time every hour. And at night every two hours. There’s always someone there. And, you know, part of you can just look at that and appreciate the idea of leaving no one behind.
Value of human life. But, you know, I think it comes to us at a greater degree when we realize in a spiritual sense, this is God for all of us. Not not the sadness of the Unknown soldier is that he’s unknown. But for the Lord, everyone is known, and God promises his people that he’s with you wherever you go. Not only is there beauty in that idea, but then in addition to that, when you think about the soldiers that are there representing this tomb every day, this is a privilege because this is symbolic to our country. And to have the opportunity to to be that representative is is a privilege to do that. And, you know, in terms of just human life, you realize that these soldiers are fighting for freedom, and freedom is one of the greatest gifts that we have in life, if not the greatest gift we have in life. But if I just took that thought for a minute and applied some spiritual components to that in terms of your relationship with Jesus, how important is your freedom? So much so that God was willing to give his life for it. And now you have the opportunity to honor the Lord and the way that you live your life. And as important as I think it is to to serve others and to even be willing to give your life to help others, I think how much more important it becomes, in the sense of a spiritual life, that the King of Kings, the Lord of lords, would give his life, that we would have freedom, and now all of us have the gift of representing the Lord in life.
Now, I told you in the beginning the story of Gladys Aylward and her willingness to step out boldly, not because she felt like she was this qualified individual, but because she she wanted to see the faithfulness of God made known in her life the way she lived. After Gladys Aylward died, there was many monuments that were built in her name, and one particular monument wrote her name. The Chinese people that she served gave her their own name, and they wrote her name in China in a in a monument that was established for her. But what was amazing about Gladys was her Chinese name. It literally translate. And I know most of us can’t read Chinese, so I didn’t put the character up up here, but but her name literally translates as the victorious one. Well, I think what a beautiful picture of Revelation 19. She was victorious not because she was great, but because her king was great. And in so doing, she walked in that victory because she believed in the God she followed.