Lesson 13, March 23-29
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Revelation 19:6-9, John 14:1-3, Revelation 19:11-16, Revelation 20:1-3, Jeremiah 4:23-26, Revelation 20:4-6; Revelation 21:2-8.
Memory Text: “Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new’. And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful’” (Revelation 21:5, NKJV).
The destruction of end-time Babylon is bad news for those who collaborated with this apostate religious system. For God’s people, however, it is good news (Revelation 19:1-7). Babylon was responsible for inducing the secular political powers to persecute and harm them (Revelation 18:24). The destruction of this great adversary means deliverance and salvation for God’s faithful people.
With the destruction of Babylon, the prayer of God’s people in the scene of the fifth seal, is ultimately answered. Their cry: “How long, O Lord?” (Revelation 6:10) represents the cry of God’s oppressed and suffering people from Abel to the time when God will finally vindicate them (Psalms 79:5; Habakkuk 1:2; Daniel 12:6-7). The book of Revelation assures God’s people that evil, oppression, and suffering will come to an end.
It is now time for Christ to usher in His everlasting kingdom. The remaining chapters of Revelation describe not just the destruction of end-time Babylon but also the destruction of Satan and all evil. We get glimpses, too, of the establishment of God’s everlasting kingdom.
