Gospel Dynamite with J. Allen Mashburn

A Marriage Made in Heaven | Revelation 19:1-9 | J. Allen Mashburn

We all know that weddings can be spectacular. Thousands of dollars are spent trying to produce a perfect moment in time that will join a couple together in marital bliss. Typically, the church is decorated to the hilt; the bride is resplendent in her pure white wedding dress; and the groom stands nervously at the front of the church. It is a special moment in the lives of those two individuals and for the people who know and love them. Weddings, here on earth, are a special thing!
Sometimes, weddings can simply be a spectacle! I could tell you some horror stories about some of the weddings I have seen. And, who can forget the twisted tale of Jennifer Wilbanks, the runaway bride from Duluth, GA. She faked a kidnapping and was found in Albuquerque, NM. Thankfully, most weddings turn out better than that!
Everyone who has a wedding is looking for one thing: a marriage made in heaven! I just want you to know that while some marriages may have been made in heaven, they still have to be lived out here on earth. That tends to make most of them less than perfect. (Ill. Not ours dear!)
We have arrived at an exciting portion of the Bible. After the dark, dreary passages we have been enduring these verses gleam with the glory of Heaven. We are going to talk about a wedding today. Not just any wedding, but the marriage super of the Lamb. This wedding will be a time of great joy for all the redeemed people of God!
You see, for the church, the end times shape up like this: In the Rapture, we will be Caught Up; at the Judgment Seat of Christ, we will be Cleaned Up; and at the marriage supper of the Lamb, we will be Cheered Up! It is this event that we want to park on for a while today. I want to preach about A Marriage Made In Heaven.
If you are saved I want you to know that there are some blessed days ahead for you. If you are lost, I want you to know that you need to get ready to meet the Lord. He is coming and He is coming for His people. The rest will be left behind to endure the Tribulation and face the fires of Hell.
Let’s take a journey to glory today and look in on our future. I want to point out the blessings contained in this passage as I try to preach on A Marriage Made In Heaven.

The Destruction of Economic Babylon | Revelation 18:1-24 | J. Allen Mashburn

In our last study, we considered the destruction of religious Babylon. The Bible paints a horrific picture of the end of all false religion. One day, every belief system in the world that bypasses the Lord Jesus Christ will be utterly destroyed and will cease to exist. That will be a devastating day for the devil and his followers, but it will be a glorious day for the God of Heaven and for His Son Jesus.
While chapter 17 reveals the demise of ecumenical Babylon, this chapter reveals the doom of economic Babylon. In verses 1-2a, a mighty angel, shining with the glory of Heaven, appears on the scene. This angel comes to announce the condition and the condemnation of this world’s economic system. Mankind will not only be deprived of the religion he created; he will also suffer the loss of the wealth he craves.
Nothing seems to devastate people more than destitution. Take away a man’s money and often you have taken away his reason for living. This was the case in 1929 when the stock market crashes. October 29, 1929 became known as “Black Tuesday”. When the stock market crashed, the world was plunged into “The Great Depression”. Over the next few years the economic structure of the U.S. economy was nearly destroyed. Over 9,000 banks closed their doors between 1930 and 1933. Production in U.S. manufacturing plants ground to a halt, leaving millions unemployed. Many thousands lost their homes to foreclosure; many others lost their health to malnutrition. All across this nation, people waited in soup lines for their meals. All across this nation, “hobo jungles” and “Hoovervilles” sprang up. The “hobo jungles” were places near train yards where the hobos who travelled the country on freight cars set up camp. “Hoovervilles” were shanty towns filled with shacks made from crates and other cheap materials. They were named after President Hoover, who received much of the blame for the economic conditions of the times. People who lived through those dark and difficult days were changed forever by the hardships they suffered.
These verses tell us of an economic collapse that will make the stock market crash of 1929 seem like nothing! This economic disaster will be worldwide in its scope and it will take away mankind’s favorite god: money! Our money has the words “In God We Trust” printed or stamped on every piece. For far too many, the “god” they trust is that piece of money they hold in their hands. We have already considered the destruction of the one world religious system that will dominate the end times. In this study, we will consider the demise of the one world economic system that will dominate the world in those days. By the way, whether we realize it or not, the world’s economy is already headed toward being one vast system. Just a few weeks ago, a sharp decline in China’s stock market impacted stock markets all around the world. It even caused a 400 point drop in our own stock market. People lost billions of dollars in an instant. These verses talk about a time when the entire economic structure of the world will come crashing down in a moment of time.
Let’s consider the facts in this chapter that are revealed as God judges the economic system of this world. 

The Judgment of the Babylonian Harlot | Revelation 17:1-18 | J. Allen Mashburn

In chapter 16 we witnessed the final judgment of God against this world. We saw God destroy this world through a series of powerful plagues. We also witnessed the defiance of fallen man. Even in the face of judgment, man refused to repent.
Of course, this shouldn’t surprise us; man refused to repent in the face of Law and man has refused to repent in this age of grace. Man is an incorrigible sinner, and apart, from the grace of God, mankind is hopelessly lost!
The last plague in Rev. 16:17-21 brought about a great earthquake that destroyed the cities of the world. This final, great quake devastated all the places that man had created. This earthquake destroyed everything that represented the greatest accomplishments of humanity. All of mankind’s centers of pleasure and profit are wiped out.
Since the dawn of time man has been in the business of trying to get by without God. Man rests on his power, his accomplishments, his ability to produce and his ability to enjoy pleasure. In that last great judgment, everything man trusts is taken away.
We are also told that “great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath,” Rev. 16:19. Babylon is a city, but it is also a system. Babylon represents everything mankind has accomplished apart from God. This system is judged in the seventh bowl judgment.
What we have in chapters 17 and 18 is another parenthetical passage. These two chapters give us the details of the destruction of the Babylonian system. In chapter 17 we will see the destruction of religious Babylon. In chapter 18 we will see the destruction of economic Babylon.

Final Judgment Concludes | Revelation 16:10-21 | J. Allen Mashburn

In Revelation chapter 5 the Lamb of God took a seven sealed book from the hand of His Father. This book represented the title deed to planet earth. Jesus owns this world because He created it out of nothing. He owns this world because He redeemed it when He died on the cross. When Jesus took that seven sealed book, He began to open the seals. When He did, the Tribulation Period began on the earth.
By the time we reach these verses, the world has been smiting under the wrath of a holy God for seven years. Now, the Tribulation is about to come to an end. 
As the final three seals are opened, God prepares to conclude His judgment of this world and its inhabitants.
When the events of these final three judgments are concluded, Jesus Christ, the King of Kings will return to the earth in glory and power. He will take possession of the throne of this world and He will rule in righteousness. These three last plagues set the stage and prepare the way for the coming of the Lord.
When Jesus returns, He will finally receive the glory and honor that He deserves. Here is what the Bible says about it, Phil. 2:5-11. Today, the Lord Jesus is rejected, maligned and hated by the world. That hatred is only going to intensify as the days go by and grow more and more evil.
In these verses the Lord God begins the process of final judgment upon the earth. In our last study we watched as Final Judgment Commenced. Today we will watch as Final Judgment Concludes.

The Final Judgments | Revelation 16:1-9 | J. Allen Mashburn

There is no denying the fact that the book of Revelation is a book of judgment. It was written to people in the first century who were smiting under the angry whip of Roman persecution. It was given to them to let them know that God has a plan for the judgment of all those who have rejected Him.
While there are passages that allow for rejoicing in the chapters of this book, it is, for the most part, a chronicle of God’s final judgment of sin, sinners and Satan. In Revelation there is a series of three judgments which are executed in seven stages each. There are the seven seal judgments, the seven trumpet judgments and finally the seven bowl judgments. 
As the judgments progress, the intensity and severity of the judgments increase.
We have arrived at the final set of judgments. In Rev. 15:7 shows one of the four beasts giving to seven angels seven bowls “full” of the wrath of God. Just as a reminder, the word “full” means “to swell”. It is the image of a dam, under pressure, nearing its bursting point. This is a good description of the wrath of God.
Ever since Adam sinned in Eden, the wrath of God against sin and sinners has been building. The grace and mercy of God have served as a powerful dam, which has held that wrath in check. In the judgments of the Revelation, the dam of God’s wrath bursts and a Christ rejecting world is swept away in the wave of judgment that issues forth.
Up to this point, God has always tempered His wrath. God has been faithful to honor the request of the prophet Habakkuk. In Hab. 3:2, the prophet prayed, “in wrath remember mercy.” But, now the time for judgment has come. There will be no mercy any longer. The wrath of God is about to be poured out. God is preparing to commence His final judgment of the earth.
In Rev. 14:10, John writes, “The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation.” In these verses, the world is about to experience the undiluted wrath of an offended God.
In verse 1 God issues the command for the angels to begin pouring out the bowls filled with His wrath upon the earth.

The Preparation for the Bowl Judgments | Revelation 15:1-8 | J. Allen Mashburn

As the book of the Revelation is a book of contrasts. As we move through the book, we are taken back and forth between Heaven and the earth. We are allowed to witness scenes of joy in the heavens and we are confronted with scenes of judgment on the earth. In the heavens you see scenes of worship. On the earth, you see scenes of wrath.
In this chapter we are once again taken into Heaven. In these eight verses, which comprise the shortest chapter in the Revelation, we are allowed to see a vision of Heaven as God prepares for His final judgment of the tribulation earth. There has already been great suffering as the judgment of God has been unleashed on the earth. When these judgments are poured out on the earth, they serve to increase the agony of the wicked.
We want to examine John’s vision today. We are given a glimpse of Heaven as it prepares for final judgment. Up to this point, God has mingled mercy and judgment. Up to this point God has been leaving the door to repentance ajar. Now humanity has made its final choice. The world has chosen Satan over God and judgment is coming. There will be no mercy. There will be no more opportunity. There will be no longsuffering or grace. There will only be judgment and the wrath of God for all those who have rejected Jesus Christ.
Let’s join John as he looks in on this scene of heavenly preparations.

When the Judge of the Universe Judges | Revelation 14:14-20 | J. Allen Mashburn

Now as we enter this study, I must remind everyone again that the Book of Revelation is not written in chronological order. The first three chapters tell of our Lord’s letters to seven actual churches that existed in John’s day. Those chapters also paint a clear portrait of the church all the way from Pentecost to the Rapture. Chapters 4-11 tell us about the chronology of the Tribulation Period. They take us all the way from the beginning to the end of that terrible seven year period of time. In chapters 12-14, we are taken back to the beginning. These chapters give us the same time period from a different perspective. 
We are no longer talking about the chronology of the book, now we are confronted with the characters of the book. 
Through a series of seven visions, John takes us once again through the days of the Tribulation.
In our study of this book, we have arrived at the seventh of these visions. These verses close out the pause in the action we have been in since chapter 12 verse 1. When this chapter ends, we are going to be thrown back into the heat and the horrors of the final days of the Tribulation. Before we deal with those things, John gives us a vision of our Lord when He comes again in power and glory.
When Jesus came the first time, He came as a Savior. He came to give His life on the cross so that sin might be paid for and sinners might be set free. 
When He comes the second time, He is coming as a Judge. He is coming to destroy sin, Satan and all those who stand in defiance to God. 
When Jesus returns, He will come in power, glory and judgment and none will be able to withstand Him! There will be no cross for Jesus the next time He comes. There will be a crown! There will be no tree for Him to hang upon; but there will be a throne for Him to sit upon.
Let’s move through these verses and catch the vision John shares of the Lord Jesus Christ and the coming days of His terrible judgment.

What the Future Holds for the Saint of God | Revelation 14:12-13 | J. Allen Mashburn

As we studied verses 6-11, we listened as angels announced the fact that God had pronounced a sentence of damnation on this world system and all those who refuse to believe the Gospel message. Those verses tell us about a horrible place called Hell where the lost will suffer in the flames of God’s wrath for all eternity. That is a sad, horrible picture of the future that awaits every person who lives and dies outside of a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. If you are not saved today, I challenge you to examine your life and where you are headed. Do you really want to go to Hell? Do you really want to spend eternity separated from God and from everything of beauty, purity and spirituality? You do not have to go to Hell! You can be saved if you will come to Jesus and call on Him by faith, Rom. 10:9, Acts 16:31.
What a contrast there is when we comes to verse 12! We leave the wrath and judgment of verses 6-11 and we are exposed to the sweet fragrance of God’s grace. Having declared His judgment against the wicked, God now demonstrates His grace toward the righteous. Having shown us the wicked, God now casts the spotlight on His faithful remnant. He says, “You have seen the wicked ones, now take a look at my children!”
These verses show us what will happen to the saints of God when they leave this world. We have seen the hellish side of death; now let’s examine the heavenly side of death. What waits on the sinner is ghoulish; what waits on the saint is glorious.