In Revelation 1 through 3, and in Revelation 2 and 3 in particular, we have Jesus appear to John on the Isle of Patmos, and he's going to tell him of things which must soon take place. And what he does is deliver letters to seven churches. Yes, there were seven specific churches, but seven is also, as we know, a number of completion. And these letters are specific messages to each of those seven churches, but the whole of Revelation, the whole book of Revelation is being sent. It isn't just each individual letter. The entire revelation of Christ to John is being given to these seven churches, and to the church throughout all of time. So we have letters in chapters 2 and 3 from Jesus to his church, all congregations throughout the history of the church. And there's a specific message for each of those seven. And we see those difficulties and problems in churches today. Remember, at the end of each letter to the seven churches, he speaks of understanding what the Spirit says to the churches, plural. He's speaking to all of them as He addresses specific issues. And that letter would have been read out loud when people gathered in the first and second century. They didn't have a printing press. They didn't have copies for everybody to take home of everything. And that letter to John would have been read out loud as we gather. And that's what they would do. Revelation 4 and 5 assures us that God is on the throne in heaven and that Christ has reigned since the time of his ascension and being seated at the right hand of the Father. That's what Revelation 4 and 5 show us, that Jesus is speaking to his church, he's in the midst of his churches, but he's on the throne. In Revelation 6, we see the fall of man and the damage that has come to mankind and to the world because of sin. And for the first time, we have in Revelation 6, verses 12 through 17, the first account in Revelation of the great day of judgment. We will see this great day of judgment repeated throughout the book of Revelation. In Revelation 7, we are again reminded of God's protection of his people still on the earth. We have 144,000, and I've not claimed to know precisely who the 144,000 are, but we know that God is sealing them on the earth. We can see that, and we are reminded of God's protection of his people on the earth, his people, his church. We're also reminded in that same chapter 7 of His glorious reign in the eternal state after judgment. You can see no more pain, no more mourning. He who hungers and thirsts come to Christ and He will fulfill all hunger and thirst. Revelation 8 and 9 speak of trumpets of judgment on the ungodly during the course of human history. These judgments are final as to those they have come upon. If someone's received a judgment, that's a final judgment for them, but these are also judgments of warning to the unrepentant. Now, I should tell you, if you have a Bible that has little headings in it throughout, these headings may not be accurate. These trumpets, though, are judgment, but they're also warnings of future judgment. And so Revelation 10, then, depicts the commissioning of John. He's being given the little scroll, which contains most probably the gospel, which tastes good in the mouth, but it's bitter in the stomach. It's good to those who receive it. And John, perhaps here, is a representative of all those who receive the call to proclaim the gospel. He's sent out at the end of chapter 10, though, to prophesy, to proclaim Christ, to go into the world, and to preach salvation through faith in Christ. Some will receive it with joy, for others it will be the bitter taste of judgment. Revelation 11 presents a picture of the church throughout its history, from the time of Christ until His return. It's represented as by the symbol of 1260 days, or 42 months, or of three and a half years. But we see there in chapter 11, the power of the gospel in the first six verses. And we see the opposition to Christ and his church. Now where's that opposition coming from? It's coming from the city of man. It's coming from Babylon. It's coming from the beast, the evil rulers of this world. And then if you look at 11, seven through 10, we see depicted a very trying time for the church. and in the city of man we see celebration as the church appears to be in decline or perhaps even to have fallen. See, we begin with the fall of man and Revelation will end with the fall of Babylon and the fall of the ungodly world. But this here in chapter 11 appears to speak of a time very near the return of Christ And then in 11, 11 through 19, we see the church again in victory with Christ. We see the judgment of the wicked and the establishment by Christ of His eternal kingdom. Revelation 12 takes us back to the time of the birth of Christ. So you notice this is clearly not a chronology throughout history, or certainly not a chronology of future history. It is snapshots and pictures of first the fall of man, then of God's judgment on the wicked throughout time, the church and its growth and its persecution by Satan, which we see really emphasized in Revelation 12. And we see at the end of the seals, at the end of the trumpets, and at the end of the bowls of wrath each time, Christ in victory. But Revelation 12 recites the history of Satan's, symbolized by a red dragon, of Satan's opposition to Christ and his church. That's what Satan is doing. He's opposing the people of God. He's persecuting them, and he is lying to them. If you ever start to have doubts, don't ever doubt where the doubts are coming from. They're coming from a liar. But also in chapter 12, we see the church in the wilderness, symbolized by this woman, and we see God's protection and nourishing of his church in the fallen world, which is called a wilderness. God's protection and nourishment doesn't go away. Revelation 13 shows us Satan working in the fallen world through what? Through influencing world governments and false religions. And think about it, they've got a lot of power and they mislead the lost. 14 verses 1 through 5 provides another picture, another reminder of the ultimate victory of Christ. Here it is again. You see these things repeating themselves throughout this book. We see the ultimate victory of Christ and His people, who we see in worship again in the eternal state. Revelation again shoots us into the eternal state, as we saw back in chapter 7 and as we saw in chapter 11, beginning in verse 15. And then in 14, 6 through 20, we have this very vivid picture of grapes being harvested, gathered, and thrown into this winepress of the wrath of God, warning of the judgment to come to the ungodly. It isn't as though God has not made himself known and made clear what is to come. It's just the people disregarded. In chapter 15, Verses one through five give us yet another picture of the final victory of Christ and his church. You see this theme over and over again. He is telling the churches, look, whatever this looks like now, whatever this harlot looks like that he's about to really focus on here in 17 and 18, that's all going to come to nothing. You must remain and persevere in the faith. That's what he's telling us. That's the point of this book. That's the point of the visions given to John. 1-5 announces again the final judgment to come, which we've already seen in chapter 11, and which we've seen in chapter 6, verses 12-17. Here it is again, though. And Revelation 16 is a picture of that final judgment. It's described in terms of seven bowls of wrath, God pouring out His wrath on the ungodly. But this isn't the first time we've seen this. We've already seen it, as I say, back in 6 and 11, And we saw it in chapter 14. The sixth bowl, though, again speaks of the opposition of the people of the city of man to God and His people. And in chapter 16, verses 17 through 21, we see the final outpouring of God's wrath on the wicked in this seventh bowl of wrath. You see it. The judgment of the 6th and 7th bowls of wrath is further seen in chapters 17 and 18. Chapters 17 and 18 give us a close-up of what's happening in the 6th and 7th bowls. In other words, the mystery is now more fully revealed. This is what was so exciting to me about chapters 17 and 18. God begins to unravel the mystery for us of what is going on. And he does it with the symbol of a harlot. And a harlot is one who is unfaithful. Harlot is what God called Israel, a harlot in the Old Testament God called Babylon, a harlot he called Tyre. What this means is those who have turned away from God, who've worshiped somebody else or something else. He uses the symbol of a harlot to show God's judgment on the world that has turned from him. The harlot or woman, she's pictured as a woman on a beast and is called by the name Babylon. It's all the same thing, harlot, woman on the beast, Babylon. And it represents the wickedness and immorality of the world that men have built without God's influence. Men reject God and say, we're going to build our own city, just like the Tower of Babel, and just like Cain, when he built a city and named it after his son, instead of with a name that gave glory to God. And so this harlot is in concert throughout human history. with Satan, and with the kingdoms of the world, and with the idolatrous false religions of men. It isn't just today that we can look and say, well, look at all the false preachers out there. Look at all the false religions. Look at all the wicked kingdoms. And it isn't just the Mideast, by the way. The European kingdoms are all opposed to God. They've got their own morality. This has always been the case. There's always just been a remnant, a people of God. And God is judging all of that. All of that will come to an end. And in Revelation 18, that's what we see. In Revelation 18, we see that the entire world, everything, people, things, thoughts, kingdoms, whatever it is, everything other than the church of Jesus Christ has partaken in this idolatry and immorality. and we see that it will all be destroyed when Christ returns, and it will be destroyed in an instant. It's not going to take seven years. So, Revelation 18, last week, we saw that Babylon is not confined to some city on the banks of the Euphrates. It's not just Rome. It's not just the capital of the Roman Empire. Babylon is the capital of the entire world that's opposed to God. That's what Babylon means in Scripture, certainly in the New Testament. It is the center of the universal kingdom of darkness. It's the symbol of the whole world that is hostile to God and to Christ. And this world, which has taken on God as its enemy, now faces a penalty in chapter 18 of economic collapse. See, those who got rich off of that world also go into judgment. Babylon is symbolized by a harlot. That is one who engages in spiritual adultery against God. That's what it is. And John, by the way, echoes all, one writer says, of the Old Testament oracles against Babylon entire. They're in Isaiah 13 and 14, if you ever want to look at them. Isaiah 21, Isaiah 23, Isaiah 47, Jeremiah 25, Jeremiah 50, and Jeremiah 51, and then in Ezekiel 26, 27, and 28. This desolate place, Babylon, is the home of unclean spirits and animals. That's what we read here. It's a picture of a world completely devoid of God and his word. When we gather with unbelievers, we can see we're living in different worlds. And our calling is to be ready to tell them about Christ, tell them about the world we're living in. The city of God's different. The Holy Spirit dwells in the hearts and lives of his people. There's light. It's the light of the gospel which shines in our lives. And again, when we encounter those who are opposed to Christ, look, whatever's coming at us that might even begin to form doubt in us is coming from the city of man. It's coming from the red dragon, it's coming from the false prophet. 1845 and said they were to break with the empire's idolatrous culture and lifestyle and avoid compromise. In 1811, John took language from Ezekiel 27 regarding Tyre and he applied it to Babylon. Babylon, one writer says, sells cheap perversions of God's free gifts. All right, so we're going to turn to 19 now, Revelation 19. As we turn, we now hear these hallelujahs of heaven. Christ has come in glory. He's judging Babylon, judging the harlot. And while he's judging the harlot, what else is he doing? He's taking a bride. Heaven celebrates God's victory over the harlot, the city of man. We have a host of angels ascribing salvation, glory, and power to God. And these angels are declaring that in judging the wicked, judging the great harlot, God has perfected the salvation of his people. This all happens at the same time, in the same day, in the same hour. God's power is revealed. That's what's coming here. So let's read. After these things, Revelation 19, when I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven saying, hallelujah, salvation and glory and power belong to our God. Why? Because his judgments are true and righteous. It is God's righteousness and justice and justness that have triumphed here. That's the governing attribute of this event. The harlot was corrupting the earth with her immorality. That's the city of man. That's Babylon. That's the home base of Satan. It's the capital of Satan's world. And look what it says, God has avenged the blood of his bondservants on her. Remember back in chapter 6 when the martyrs were praying, how long O Lord? Well, here it is. We don't know the date, but now there's a second time. And this is something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven. So we have the multitude is in heaven. We know we're in the eternal state at this point. At least everyone's been taken there who's going there. But a second time they say, hallelujah, her smoke rises up forever and ever. The people of God celebrate the destruction of ungodliness. Why? Because that's the victory of God's righteousness. We celebrate God's righteousness regardless of what comes to somebody else. That's a tough one sometimes. But look, we're going to know people who are cast into the lake of fire, and we will celebrate God's righteousness. We will celebrate that his righteousness has been upheld. Look, we're going to be different people. We're going to see things so much more clearly. Verse 4, the 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God. Now remember, we saw them all the way back in chapter 4 for the first time. They've been there all along. And they're falling down and worshiping God. And that seems to be about all they do. A voice comes from the throne. Give praise to our God, all you His bondservants, all you who fear Him, the small and the great. So this is clearly a major celebration. Then he says, I heard something like the voice of a great multitude, and like the sound of many waters indicating many people, and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder indicating coming from the throne, saying, Hallelujah for the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns. Now we saw this back in chapter 11. We saw it in chapter 7. And now we see it again. And we're going to see it again in chapter 21 and 22. The next thing we read here, Let us rejoice and be glad, and give glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready. Who's His bride? We are. Who did God refer to as His bride in the Old Testament? Israel. And what did Israel do? Rejected Him and committed harlotry, idolatry, It can't happen this time. It was given to her. It was given to her. Now, she's clothed in fine linen, bright and clean. The fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. It was given to her to do this. God remakes His people. He sanctifies. This is what sanctification is. She didn't do it on her own. She didn't learn it in the city of man. And then he said to me, this is this voice, right? Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb. This is what it's all about. Before we go any further, let me say the marriage supper of the lamb. How long would you say it lasts? Forever. It's not an event that's over in three hours. It's a symbol of eternity in fellowship with God. We're not going to eat nonstop. Sorry. You see what it's symbolizing here? Obviously, it lasts forever. It's not a one-time event. It's one time in the sense that it goes on forever. He says, write this. Those are the blessed, those who are with him. And he said to me, these are true words of God. Well, John fell at his feet to worship him. Thank you, thank you. And the angel says, no, no, no. I'm just a fellow servant. Don't do that. I'm a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus. That's who's invited, those who hold the testimony of Jesus. You can't hold the testimony of Mohammed, or of a pope, or of some Hindu situation, or of Joseph Smith. No. It's the testimony of Christ. That's why it's so important we stay close to the Word of God, to his Word. He is the Word of God, as we're going to see. again here, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Now, this wedding, in order to get this, it helps, I think, to understand the Hebrew marriage custom. We saw some of this back in Matthew with the marriage of Joseph and Mary, but the Jewish marriage is in stages. There's a betrothal, then there's an interval of six to 12 months that's a betrothal period, and then there's the wedding feast. Once you are betrothed, it's not just like our engaged, where you're engaged and then maybe you go through with it, maybe you don't. In order to call off a betrothal, there has to be divorce proceedings. So a betrothed couple, as we saw Joseph and Mary, are already considered husband and wife. So we have the betrothal, you have the commitment, and it's before God. It's a binding commitment. It's not, again, like our engagement. After the betrothal, the husband has to pay the dowry to the father of the bride. He can pay money, he has to present this fund. We don't use this anymore, but if we go in and look at the law books, I can show you the old laws on dowry. It's funny how, for a long time, man at least made a pretense of following what God had taught us in His Word. certainly all of the Ten Commandments at one time or another, including the Sabbath, to some degree, and our blue laws, made their way into our laws. And so did this idea of dowry. So during the betrothal period, you'd have to pay the dowry, or you could provide some service to the bride's father. And finally, there'd be a wedding feast, which included a seven-day celebration, and a marriage supper. Scripture often compares the love relationship between a bridegroom and his bride to God and his people, Jehovah and his people in the Old Testament, or Christ and the church in the New Testament. Hosea 2, 1623, talks about the Old Testament, Jehovah and Israel. Ephesians 5 speaks clearly about Christ and His church. Marriage is a symbol, while it's very real to us, it's a symbol of the relationship between God and His people. given that to us to understand that better. The church right now is in what stage with Christ? You say betrothed? The church is betrothed to Christ right now. What about the dowry? How did he do it? Christ paid the dowry on the cross, absolutely. And so what's left, we're in the interval, and what's left? The marriage supper, and the wedding feast, and it's eternal. And it's so worthwhile. So Christ has already bought his bride, the church, and now we're still in this interval. And it's the entire dispensation between Christ's ascension and when he returns. And that is what's going on in Revelation. It's a picture of this whole period. And it's becoming so clear to me, I hope it is to you, but this is what is pictured in this book, this interval period. During this period, what's the bride have to do? Remain pure and make herself ready. Look at verse 7. You know, we're not just out here and say, Well, all right, God's already arranged all this. He's chosen those who are going to be saved. He's done what he's going to do. We can just kind of do what we want. No. The bride is called upon to make herself ready. And to share this good news, of course. So we see here this reference, she's arrayed in fine linen, which symbolizes her righteous act, but it's given to her to clothe herself in fine linen. That's a gift from God as well. It doesn't mean we don't participate in it. It doesn't mean that we don't strive to be and live righteously. But righteousness itself is a righteousness of Christ that's imputed to us by his grace, and the righteousness that we will receive at the wedding feast is also going to be a gift. So, at the end of this, Christ comes to get his bride, and the wedding feast begins. This is the goal, and this is the purpose of everything. This is the whole point, is this wedding feast, and this union with Christ. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. The harlot, the city of man, has been disposed of. We saw that back in 1819. Now we're gonna see something about the beast and the false prophet. But this wedding is where we're headed. This wedding feast for all eternity. I saw heaven open, verse 11, and behold a white horse. He who sat on it is called faithful and true. In righteousness, he judges and wages war. See, in righteousness again. It is righteousness that's being upheld. And here's this description of Christ. His eyes are a flame of fire, which seem to indicate total vision and knowledge. On his head are many diadems. Diadems are a type of crown, but they might have the name of the place that you rule. And on his head is everything. All people, all places, all kings, all kingdoms. He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. Well, that speaks of His deity. And He's clothed with a robe dipped in blood. Now, some say that blood from Isaiah 63 is the blood of His enemies. Others say it's the blood from the cross. His name, though, is called the Word of God. That we do know. That we do understand. Now, the rider on the white horse in Revelation 6.2, and I want you to just take a look at it, now that you've seen this description, because this is not the same rider. Some think it is, but I don't see how that's even possible, given what happens as a result of what that rider does in chapter 6. This is the first seal. He says, "...I looked, and behold, a white horse, and the rider on this horse had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. That's it. Now we have a rider on a white horse who's faithful and true. In righteousness he judges and waits. His eyes are a flame of fire. On his head are many diadems. And you see what happens from the first rider back in 6.2, we end up with peace being taken from the earth, men slaying one another in 6.3 and 4. We see unrighteousness and we see death in 6.7 and 8, the fourth seal. All of that is what comes from that rider. The only thing these two have in common is a white horse. And Satan's on a white horse, because Satan is a counterfeiter. He comes as an angel of light. That's what this is back here. This is all about the fall, and you can see it when you look back here, and then look over and see what we have in Revelation 19. Many crowns, eyes which are flames of fire, and he's called faithful and true, and really what that true means is genuine, the real article, not the counterfeit. When you look up the word for true, it doesn't mean he just speaks truth, it means he is truth. I mean, where's Satan's big victory? In the Garden of Eden. There are a lot of people who think that because they're both on a white horse, they're both Jesus. I really don't think that's a close question. There are many things that are close questions. But what happens from that rider back in chapter six is devastation to the earth. And we see men killing each other in the very next chapter of Genesis, Genesis 4. But whatever the case for chapter 6, what we have in 19 is no misreading. This is Christ, and he's faithful and true. He's the genuine article, and his war is wage, his judgment is righteous. But he's the word of God, and the word of God becomes flesh in John's gospel. And in him, God fully expresses and reveals himself to humanity. All right, so we have verse 14, armies, hosts which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen. Here they are again, this fine linen, white and clean. following him on white horses. At his second coming, this is holy angels will accompany him, based on Matthew 25, 31, primarily, and the fact that hosts and heavenly hosts tend to refer to angels. People take liberties and try to turn it into a military thing. But clearly, Jesus doesn't need any guns. He doesn't need any weaponry to defeat his enemies. Now others say, though, that the hosts are all the believers, all the saints who've trusted in Christ. I don't know how they get up there and end up in this. I don't think, look, this idea of Jesus riding on an actual white horse from heaven and coming through Jerusalem and up through the mountains, to me, is really missing what's being said here. What's being said here is Jesus with the sword of his mouth, with his word, will judge. This is a picture of it. It's a picture of it to assure people who are under the persecution by these very people with swords. The sword. It says here, look at verse 15, "...from his mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it he may strike down the nations." Now let's think about this. Are we really saying he's going to take one sword and kill six billion people or whatever there are on the earth? No. So, no, the sword is His Word. "...so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with..." What? "...a rod of iron." Clear back from Psalm 2, we see this. "...He treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty." We saw that in chapter 14. "...And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords." Now, the sword is symbolic of destruction here. at his word. One of the things we lose sight of, we believe and we know God spoke the world into existence. And we believe that God can destroy the world at his word at the end and recreate a new world. For some reason, people want to stop and make him take some long period of time to deal with the wicked here. But it's the sword, it's one sword, and that, of course, is his word by which he destroys everything. But Christ comes to carry out the sentence of God Almighty. And now you can see, look, I didn't come to judge. And of course, what do the unbelievers do? Well, see, we shouldn't be judging. No, he's coming in judgment later. That's what's in the future. First time he came was during that interval to pay the dowry. There was already a betrothal in eternity past. But here He fully reveals Himself. Now He says, this time, I'm King of kings and Lord of lords. Now it's clear. Now it's all made manifest. This is the unveiling of the mystery. The mystery regarding Babylon was that it is the city of man. Now Christ reveals Himself more fully than He ever has to the world. So certain is His victory that an angel is standing in the sun here, and all these birds are being gathered. Verse 17, I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying, To all the birds which fly in midheaven, come assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of the kings, of the flesh of commanders, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and those who sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, small and great. And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against him." Well, we already saw this back in 16. This is this so-called battle of Armageddon. But look what's happening. Look, we're not going to have the king of France, or the prince of France, or whoever they are, and the presidents of all these countries, laying on the ground being picked at by crows. That's not what he's talking about here. What he's saying is, while the people of God, the bride of Christ, will be celebrating and feasting with him, these people will be fodder for the predators and scavengers of the earth. It's a symbol. It's going to be very quick. But these birds, the angel's saying, okay, here's the judgment, gather them, they're going over here. And all of these things, from 15, we've got these things referred to, that the sharp sword, that he may strike down the nations, rule them with a rod of iron. Back in chapter 1, verse 16, in his right hand he held seven stars. Out of his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword." There it is. His face was like the sun shining in its strength. Chapter 2, verse 12. The one who has the sharp two-edged sword says this. He's identified that way. In verse 16, "'Repent, therefore, or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth.'" Now it's the sword of my mouth. Isaiah 11.4, also speak of these things. Isaiah 49.2, Isaiah 63.3, and then Psalm 2.9 is the one I will turn to, 2.8 and 9. Ask of me and I will surely give the nations as your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron. And so here he comes, Revelation 19.15, he will rule them with a rod of iron. There are many more of these. I'll read you Isaiah 11.4, part of it, he will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth. And here it is, with the breath of his lips, he will slay the wicked. That's what that sword that's in his mouth is referring to. That's Isaiah 11, 4. Maybe one more. Isaiah 49, 2. He has made my mouth like a sharp sword. In the shadow of His hand He has concealed me. He has also made me a select arrow. He has hidden me in His quiver. He said to me, You are my servant, Israel. This is to Christ, in whom I will show my glory. Back to Revelation 19, verse 20. The beast was seized. and with him the false prophet, who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast." This is the gathering of the people of wickedness. "...and those who had worshipped his image." He uses these two, power and deception. These two. earthly kingdoms and false religions were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. The rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of him who sat on the horse." So it appears that they're thrown alive in this image. The followers are killed on the earth, and the birds were filled with their flesh. Reference back to what we read earlier in verse 17. The point here is that the battle is over in an instant. There is no battle. There's no, you know, we're going to gain some ground today and then we have to retreat. No, the battle, and I put it in quotes, is over in an instant. In this vision, in the final eternal destiny, that set forth the final eternal destiny of the beast, the earthly kingdom of the city of man and of the false prophet." That's all false religion will be gone. All purveyors of false religions will be gone. All earthly kingdoms will be gone, thrown into what he calls a lake of fire, what is certainly eternal misery. And those who follow them will follow them into that lake of eternal misery. Now after this, only one remains, and it's the dragon. Say, in his doom, we will see next week in Revelation 20.10, when he is thrown into the lake of fire, where the beast and the false prophet are also. And it says, they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. And the people of God, and the angels in heaven, the four living creatures, the 24 elders, will all celebrate this, because God's righteousness and his name have been vindicated. Lord, thank you for impressing this truth of judgment, and glory, and a people who rejoice at the vindication of your name. and of your righteousness. Thank you for calling us into your church. Thank you for setting us on a narrow road to sanctification. Lord, bring the necessity of our own perseverance in our own sanctification to our minds repeatedly throughout each day. and bring us opportunities, we pray, to share this truth in the way that you would have us do it. And we pray you would equip us to do that as we seek to know you and your will. In Christ's glorious name, amen.