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Revelation 11:15-19 Jesus Redeemer of the Universe

Revelation 11:15-19 Jesus Redeemer of the Universe

Last updated on: June 7, 2018 at 9:58 pm by Jim Erwin

Revelation 11:15-19 Jesus Redeemer of the Universe 2018-06-07T21:58:22-05:00 Jim Erwin

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Revelation 11:15-19 Jesus Redeemer of the Universe

Last week was Easter. We talked about Jesus on Easter. Many only this Jesus. They see the Jesus who came to save. The Jesus who showed His loved. But there is more to Jesus than the fact that He came to die for sin. He came to restore us to God. This process of payment for sin and restoring us to God is called redemption. This redemption is like a two-step transaction.

TWO-STEP TRANSACTION OF REDEMPTION

1. Purchase of the land

Jesus purchased the land when He gave up His life.
Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” (Revelation 11:15 NKJV)

Jesus purchased the land with His work on the cross. When Jesus died, He bought the entire land. In Revelation, the purchase of the land is very important. Whoever owns the land can rule the kingdom – or the land over which the kings’ reign. Revelation shows us that the land will be given to Jesus. He will rule the world.

That is now possible because Jesus purchased the land with His blood. His blood paid not only for our sin, it paid for the rights to rule the world.

2. Possession of the land

The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth.” (Revelation 11:18 NKJV)

Jesus will come again to take possession of the land He has bought with His life.

He will kick out the people that He doesn’t want on His land. He will resettle the land with people who are loyal to Him.

Illustration: Jesus is the ultimate Immigration Director

There are three different types of people who inhabit this piece of land that Jesus now owns.

THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PEOPLE WHO INHABIT JESUS’S LAND

1. Citizens

These are immigrants who have come to the land of Jesus – this Earth and have become citizens with Him in Heaven.

that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:12-13 NKJV)

And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great,
(Revelation 11:18 NKJV)

These citizens have the rights and privileges of citizenship. They have accepted Jesus as their Leader and they will follow Him.

2. Legal Immigrants

These are people who are here on the land, but they have not yet become citizens. They follow the rules of the land, but they cannot have the privileges that come with citizenship. They have not yet accepted Jesus, even though they may want to follow Him. They know that if they follow Jesus, they will have to accept a new citizenship. This will change their life completely.
And you will destroy all who have caused destruction on the earth.” (Revelation 11:18 NLT)

3. Illegal Immigrants

And you will destroy all who have caused destruction on the earth.” (Revelation 11:18 NLT)

These are people who are here on the land, but they have no intention of becoming citizens. They don’t follow the rules of the land. They know the rules, but they have not changed their ways. They refuse to make the change that is necessary. They have no rights and no privileges to live on this land.

When Jesus returns, He won’t allow any illegal immigrants. He won’t even allow legal immigrants. The day of judgment is for the immigrants. Whether you have lived by the rules of this world or not, a new government is coming. A government that will last for eternity. With this new government led by Jesus, you will have to make a choice to be under His rule or not. There is no dual citizenship with Jesus. You will either accept His ways or you won’t. If you don’t, the government of Jesus kicks you out of His land – for eternity.

Both sets of immigrants will be judged. Because Jesus wants citizens in His kingdom, on His land – not immigrants.

Now until this time, there is a grace period. You and are living under this grace period. The law condemns people who are living on God’s earth illegally. But either at death or when Jesus returns, God’s kingdom will be enforced. If you die tonight without accepting Jesus Christ and His ways for your life, God will enforce His law. You will be kicked off of His land. God’s land includes the entire universe. God will send you to eternal prison. This eternal prison is Hell – literally. It won’t be like the prisons here on earth. No matter how bad some prisons might be, it will not be humane in hell.

If however, you accept God’s rule in your life, if you accept Jesus Christ as the ultimate authority in your life, you get the benefits of citizenship. You won’t get treated like an immigrant or an alien as the Old Testament puts it. You get to live a privileged life with Jesus in a place called Heaven.

What should the citizens be doing before Jesus comes back to possess His land? We should be helping both the legal and illegal immigrants become full citizens and we should them understand the importance of citizenship. The decision for citizenship is an individual choice. We cannot make that choice for these immigrants. But we can encourage them to become citizens. Some will listen to your story. Some will listen to why you are a citizen of Jesus Christ and His government. When they also become citizens, they will need help adjusting and integrating themselves into their new home country. You can help them in their integration.

But what do we normally do? We try to kick them out. We have no interest as citizens to help the immigrants. Yet, Jesus says that He has paid the land with His blood so that everyone can live here as a full citizen.

How can I help people to become a citizen of God’s kingdom?

3 WAYS TO HELP SPIRITUAL IMMIGRANTS TO BECOME CITIZENS OF GOD’S KINGDOM

1. Let God do the judging (11:18)

The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, (Revelation 11:18 NKJV)

We are to plead with others. We are to testify. We are to encourage the immigrants to become citizens. But we are not to judge those who are not citizens. God will do that for us.

2. Don’t be choosy with whom God puts in your path (11:18)

And those who fear Your name, small and great, (Revelation 11:18 NKJV)

God will bring people to you. Some will learn to fear God – recognize that He is the one who rules the world. They will eventually come to a decision. But they will come from many walks of life. There will be famous people, rich people, influential people. There will also be poor people, not so famous, not so influential, not so like you. Just as there are many people here who are not German, that doesn’t mean you despise them for not being German. They are different, but God has brought them along your path for a reason. He wants you to help them learn about citizenship – your citizenship. You can simply share how you came to be a citizen of your spiritual home.

It is like this: When people ask me about the US, I consider it my patriotic duty to share with others about our history and culture. Why do we elect the way we do? Why is the US so different from others sometimes. I am teaching about the US to those who are not US citizens. Will they become US citizens? Probably not. But I will never know. All the same, I explain how it is for me. I witness about my citizenship. In the same way – you and I can witness about our citizenship in heaven.

3. Celebrate your citizenship so that others will want to join (11:17)

“We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was and who is to come, Because You have taken Your great power and reigned. (Revelation 11:17 NKJV)

We don’t celebrate because of the benefits we get. We celebrate because of Whom we belong. We worship the Leader of the Universe. In politics, that is very dangerous. We shouldn’t celebrate King George Bush, or Chancellor Angela Merkel. But in the church, it is valid and appropriate. Because God is God. He is eternal. and He is going to let us join Him. We are fulfilling our patriotic duty to God as citizens of His kingdom when we worship Him. When we share about our heavenly citizenship in here, or out there, we are letting others know about God.

In Revelation 11:18, the Bible shows that Jesus will return. When He comes back, He will possess the land, accept the citizens, and kick out the illegal immigrants. These legal immigrants and illegal immigrants have to make the choice of citizenship before they can stay on the land. Spiritual immigrant, do you want to stay on the land, then start filling out your prayer paperwork to become a heavenly citizen. God is waiting for you. There is no time limit like some other countries. The time is now. There is no financial obligation like some other countries. The cost of citizenship is paid for. But the window of opportunity is short. You don’t have long to consider the choice of citizenship. God is waiting for you to join His kingdom. You should make a call to the Ultimate Immigration Director – Jesus Christ today.

Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash

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