Revelation: Lesson 6

Overview

Identifying the Antichrist

The word "antichrist" never actually appears in Revelation. It shows up instead in John's letters, where he defines it plainly: "Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son" 1 John 2:22. By that definition, there have been many antichrists throughout history—figures like Nero or Hitler, false teachers, and any persecuting movement opposed to Christ and His church. If we want to name the singular antichrist of Revelation, it is the dragon himself, Satan, the great deceiver who counterfeits Christianity well enough to fool even the elect if that were possible. The defense John urges is simple: stay in the Word. We come to know the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as He has revealed Himself in Scripture, and the better we know Him, the harder it is to be duped.

A New Heaven and a New Earth

After the dragon is defeated and the saints are gathered, John sees something we cannot yet imagine in the best possible way: "I saw a new heaven and a new earth... and the sea was no more" Revelation 21:1-4. The sea, often a picture of chaos and turmoil in Scripture, is gone. The new Jerusalem descends from God—because God is the architect, builder, and creator of all—and the loud voice from the throne announces that God will tabernacle with His people. In Exodus and in the temple, God dwelt with His people but with a separation; the holiness of God would consume the unholy. In the new Jerusalem, that separation is removed entirely. There is no temple, "for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb" Revelation 21:22-25, and no need of sun or lamp because His glory is the light. Hebrews echoes this hope: we have already come to "Mount Zion... the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem" Hebrews 12:22-24, and "here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come" Hebrews 13:14.

All Things New, Freely Given

From the throne comes the declaration, "Behold, I am making all things new... To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment" Revelation 21:5-7. The same God who spoke creation into being now speaks restoration—the perfect communion Adam and Eve forfeited is being remade. The water flows freely because the inheritance has already been purchased. Inheritances require a death, and Christ has died; baptism seals us into the will. We are heirs not by our striving but by His blood. The river of the water of life and the tree of life with leaves "for the healing of the nations" complete the picture: nothing accursed remains, His servants see His face, and they reign with Him forever Revelation 22:1-5.

Pastoral Application: "Come, Lord Jesus"

Revelation closes with Jesus' promise, "Surely I am coming soon," and the Spirit-given response of His people, "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus" Revelation 22:20-21. This prayer ought to live on the lips of every believer. Even our best days here are tainted by sin—our deepest loves, our most faithful relationships, even our walk with the Lord. In eternity, all of that is washed away, leaving only purity, holiness, and unbroken communion with God and with the saints. For those sealed in the Holy Spirit, Revelation is not a book of fear but a book of promise. And because Christ is coming, the church militant has its marching orders: proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins, that more would be cleansed by the blood of the Lamb and gathered into the city where God Himself wipes away every tear.

Transcript

To those of you who are joining in on YouTube, you missed a chunk because I didn't have my 4s

mic on and I appreciate your grace and your patience with me. 11s

We talked about the anti-Christ is not a term that's used in Revelation. 15s

It is in two of John's letters and that's where and we pray. 21s

God bless you too and I hope that he blesses you in this time of study. 26s

Okay, now we're going to dive back in. 32s

My gosh, cannot believe that. 35s

Okay, so where were we? 37s

Okay, oh, anti-Christ. 41s

So first John, chapter two, first John, chapter two. 43s

So if you go back, you're going to see the beginning of Revelation then Jude 47s

and then we're going to be in the third letter, second letter, first letter. 51s

So we want to be in the first letter of John chapter two, verse 22, 55s

which there's a whole warning against anti-Christ in this section. 62s

And it says, who is the liar, but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ. 68s

This is the anti-Christ, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 74s

The one who denies the Father and the Son. 82s

This is the anti-Christ. 87s

There are many anti-Christ, John talks about many anti-Christs. 91s

Okay, so there are anti-Christs and throughout history we can look and say, 98s

oh, well, Hitler would be an anti-Christ. 103s

Nero would be an anti-Christ, right? 106s

So there are many anti-Christs because anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an anti-Christ. 109s

If you want to define one specific anti-Christ in Revelation, it would be the dragon. 120s

And we're going to have to have another study on the dragon and the beasts and, oh, that one. 131s

So anyway, so. 138s

But the anti-Christ is the dragon. 140s

Satan is the devil. 143s

You can't get more anti-Christ than the devil, the liar himself, the deceiver. 146s

And Christ warns also about the false Christs that would arise, the false prophets that would arise. 155s

So there are many anti-Christs, but the devil himself, Satan is the great enemy of Christ and of the church on earth. 163s

And he's the one that really deceives the whole earth. 175s

It comes down to the devil. 180s

The devil is the deceiver, the great deceiver. 183s

Now false religions, like Islam, any persecuting religion of the Christian church, that would be anti-Christ. 187s

But remember, the anti-Christ is pointed out in Revelation or the liar is pointed out to be, 202s

to look, have the appearance of Christianity, to have the appearance of Christianity because the anti-Christ can fool even God's elect. 212s

So it has to have the appearance. 225s

The anti-Christ is able to perform and manipulate all kinds of counterfeit miracles. 228s

John, in his letters, he warns. 237s

He says, beware of anti-Christ, beware. 241s

He's giving a warning. 245s

And remember, John is writing, when there are a lot of heresies, there are a lot of untruths being told, and the believers are falling into it. 246s

And I don't say that judging them, because how many of us have been taken before. 258s

We've all been duped. 266s

And so he's saying, beware, don't be duped by the anti-Christ. 271s

Now, little aside, again, for us, how do we keep from falling under the spell entrapped by the deceiver, by an anti-Christ? 277s

Yes, by being in the Word, by knowing Christ, by knowing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit through the Word, how He wants us to know Him, who He tells us He is through Scripture. 296s

And we know through the myriad of studies that we have, the lessons that we do all throughout this year, when Pastor Eibel is teaching from Genesis, it's still pointing us to the truth of Jesus, the truth of God. 315s

And so when we are in the Word, and we're looking at it both, you know, verse by verse, and in the meta, in the big picture of it, we just know Him better and better. 334s

And we get the idea or the relationship of who He is and who we are in respect to Him. 349s

So, okay, I don't want to talk about the anti-Christ anymore or the mark of the beast. 363s

I want to talk about what we have no idea what's coming in a good way. 369s

We have no idea what's coming in a good way. I want to turn to chapter 21. 375s

This is after the battle. Satan is defeated. The saints are gathered. 382s

We are in the presence and John says that he saw this chapter 21 of Revelation, verse 1, then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. 393s

And the sea was no more. Remember, what does the sea often represent in Scripture? It represents the turmoil, the trials, the chaos of life. 409s

And he's saying that he doesn't see that anymore. And then he focuses in. So he sees the new heaven, the new earth, and now he focuses in, verse 2, and I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a broadening, 421s

and he's been a guide adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, see, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God. That word dwell is tabernacle. We'll come to back to that in a moment. 439s

But they will be his peoples. And God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more. Morning and crying and pain will be no more for the first things have passed away. 455s

So he is drawn to see this new city, this new Jerusalem coming down. And it comes from God because God is the architect of all. God is the builder of all. God is the creator of all. 472s

And so this is the city where God dwells with his people. Let's go to Hebrews. So keep your hand here at Revelation 21. We're going to go back to Hebrews. If you get to the Paul books, you're too far, the Paul letters you're too far. 495s

So it's just you'll see the Peter's, you'll see James, and then you'll find Hebrews. Hebrews 12, Hebrews 12 verse 22. 514s

Okay. You have come to Mount Zion into the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the first born who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous, made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of all. 535s

And to the creator of the new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of able. So God is, stay in Hebrews. God is with his people. He is saying, you are all coming to this. Let's go to Hebrews 13 verse 14. 557s

For here we have no lasting city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. So this side of heaven, nothing is set. Nothing is permanent, other than the word of the Lord. Nothing is permanent. 578s

But we look to the city that is coming. It's this new Jerusalem that is to come where God will be with his people, dwelling with his people forever. 596s

The tabernacle here, it's a vision of God with his people. Remember in Exodus, the tabernacle. 607s

So I just didn't want anyone like wondering, is that shantai? Hey! So God is, he gives the set rules for how to build the tabernacle, the tabernacle, and then the temple. 627s

There is that space that separates God from the people. That separation is very important. It not only is there because the people are not worthy or able to be in the presence of God, but it also protects the people. 645s

Because if they are in the presence of the holy and almighty God, they will not continue to exist. He is too holy to be in the presence of the unholy. And in our sin, we are unholy. 662s

So here God dwells with his people in Exodus. He dwells with the people in the temple, but there is still a separation. In this new Jerusalem, he is dwelling with the people. There is absolutely no separation. 675s

So when we enter into eternity in the fullness of time, when the new Jerusalem comes down or comes to be, we won't have any separation. There won't be any separate tabernacle, any separate holy of holies or space that we can't be with the Father. 693s

We can't be with God. So he is with his people. No visual tabernacle is present. It's not necessary. And it's beautiful to see even though this is written in negative terms that he will wipe every tear from the eyes. 717s

So it's not necessary to see that death will be no more. That death will be no more crying, no more mourning, death, crying, mourning, tears. That's all in the negative here. That is our suffering. Whether it is suffering because of something that we have happening in our lives, this side of heaven, or suffering because in our repentance, we are made aware. 742s

Or in through the law, we are made aware of our sin and that's the cry, the tear of repentance, there is no need. There is no need for tears. There is no need for mourning. There is no need for crying because we are in the full relationship, the full presence with the Lord. 766s

And so the state of being in the eternal presence of God, it's something that we can't imagine yet. That we have nothing to relate it to because even the most unconditional love that we experience this side of heaven. 787s

And so if you have children or a spouse or a friend or a parent, someone, we all have someone that we can love or do love unconditionally. And even that is tainted by sin because everything this side of heaven is tainted by sin. 810s

And so we have never experienced the purity of love that we will have in eternity with God. When we are dwelling eternally with Him. So it's something that is beyond our comprehension, but we know it's something to look forward to. 831s

We know that it is something good. The absence of mourning, the absence of sorrow, the absence of tears, the absence of repentance or the need to repent. 855s

We can't comprehend that, but we get the idea that none of that will be in our existence. And that, that's very, very good because this side of heaven there's plenty of weeping. 874s

So let's keep going. So verse five, and the one who has seated on the throne said, see, I am making all things new. Now, when God first created, He spoke. Here, He is speaking again. He's saying, I'm making all things new. 894s

And there's this restoration, and we're going to see this with the river of life in just a moment here. But there's this restoration that we're getting to perfection and to that perfect relationship because Adam and Eve had it and then they lost it or gave it up. 916s

So, so He says, he says, write this for these words are trustworthy and true. Then He said to me, it is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end to the thirsty. I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. 941s

Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God, and they will be my children. To the one who is thirsty, I myself will give from the spring of the water of life freely. 960s

Think about with the prophet Isaiah, the Lord says, come, all who are thirsty. Jesus in the gospel of John, He says, if anyone is thirsty, come to me. This is a water of life, a life giving water that comes only from Him. 976s

And the one that conquers in Christ, the one that has the victory through Christ will inherit these things, will inherit these blessings, and I will be His God, and He will be my Son. 997s

When we are an error, not error, but error, we receive all the blessings, we receive all the blessings. God does not hold anything back. We are all His favorite children. 1014s

We all receive blessings in abundance, in Galatians, Paul writes about Jesus winning this inheritance for us through His suffering and His death. 1035s

We know that if there is an inheritance to be had, there has to be a death. And when there is a death and there is an inheritance, it is given freely, it is given, and the recipient just receives. 1053s

And so as His errors, we are just receiving, blessing upon blessing. We couldn't put ourselves in the will, but God wrote us in through His blood, and He secured that in our baptisms. 1073s

And He gives us that promise over and over that we will receive that. 1094s

So we will be recipients in heritance of those blessings. 1102s

I want to jump down to verse 22 in chapter 21. And this is just again going back to the Tabernacle and Temple, where it says, 1110s

Because I saw no temple in the city. For its temple is the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 1122s

Do you remember how in that throne room, how it says that the ones seated on the throne, we don't get characteristics, but we get the brilliance of the glory shining forth, and that is the light source. 1136s

God is the light source for all eternity. There is no need for light, because He is in our midst. We continue in verse 24. 1150s

The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day, and there will be no night there. 1163s

People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations, but nothing unclean will enter it. 1172s

Pure good, pure love, pure holiness, and by the blood of Jesus, and by His victory, we are counted to be amongst the dwellers there for all of eternity. 1182s

We continue with chapter 22. 1202s

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God, and the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. 1207s

On either side of the river is the tree of life, with its twelve kinds of fruit producing its fruit each month, and the leaves of the trees are the healing, are for the healing of the nations. 1216s

Nothing accursed will be found there any more, but the throne of God and the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will worship Him. 1226s

They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads, and there will be no more night. They need no light of lamp or sun for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. 1234s

And He said to me, these words are trustworthy and true, for the Lord the God of the spirits of the prophets has sent His angel to show His servants what must soon take place. 1246s

See, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book. 1258s

Jesus is coming. We don't know when He is coming, and we take comfort in that, for the unbeliever, for the followers of the antichrist, that is not good news. 1267s

But I think that that speaks to who we are as a people of God, as the church militant. 1290s

We hear this, and we know that nothing accursed will enter in. Anything unholy will not enter in, and those who are not cleansed through the blood of Jesus are not entering into this eternity. 1300s

And so as the church militant, what are our orders, but to go forth and proclaim the forgiveness so that there will be repentance of sin, that there will be the assurance of forgiveness, because Jesus is coming. 1316s

And we know that when He comes for those who believe, it's good. 1334s

At the end of Revelation, in verses 20 and 21, the one who testifies to these things says, surely I am coming soon. 1341s

So again, Jesus says, I'm coming soon. I'm coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus, the grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen. 1354s

It's this definitive prayer that every individual Christian really should have upon their lips, because the best we know, this side of heaven is still tainted by sin. 1366s

We may have the best day to day, and tomorrow be riddled with trial and tribulation. We don't know what's coming. We don't even know what's coming in the next 20 minutes. 1382s

Now, if you're staying for service, we know that we will have wonderful worship together as his saints, but in all seriousness, the prayer that we should have upon our lips as his people is come. 1396s

Because we know that there's no trial, there's no tribulation, there is nothing but the pure goodness and glory of the presence and being in the presence, not only of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but in perfect communion with all the saints. 1411s

Our best relationship, this side of heaven is still tainted by sin. Our strongest love, this side of heaven, even the relationship that we have with the Lord Himself is tainted by sin, our sin. 1432s

In eternity, all of that is gone. All of that is gone. And there is nothing but love and purity and goodness and holiness with God and with one another. 1452s

Okay. This really, revelation seems scary. It shouldn't be scary for any of you because you have the promise. You have been sealed in the Holy Spirit. You have the promise of eternity with the Lord. 1471s

The Lord, for all time, all eternity. And with that, we say the grace of the Lord Jesus, be with all of you, Saint, Amen. 1489s