Revelation 14–16

We are going through the book of Revelation here on Wednesday night. If you have not been able to join us for any of our previous Revelation studies, it's very easy. Just go to our website, ccontario.com/revelation. Don't put an s on the end. It won't go anywhere. You will get one of those 404, can't find the page remarks. But, yeah. Forward slash revelation. And we're in the 14th chapter, so open your Bible there. In fact, we're almost done with the wrath part. And wrath is always a challenging subject, something to kind of go through and talk about. And yet it's an important part of what this book is all about. Not all about, but it's an important part. So, we're going to see how far we get tonight. I'm hoping we might be able to actually get through more than one chapter, but we will see. So, let's pray. Father, prepare our hearts to hear your word. Lord, this is one of the, I think this is the only book in the Bible that speaks of a special blessing for having gone through it and read it. And, Lord, these are important things for us to learn about, particularly in the day and age in which we live, when, I believe, Lord, these things are so close. And we pray that you'd help us to lay hold of them tonight, to hear what you want us to hear, that you would speak to us with words of grace and insight, but Lord, also words of hope. Even in the midst of this, words of hope. Be with us, we pray, Father. Jesus’ name. Amen. Amen. Revelation chapter 14. We are going to be dealing here in these, what I hope are the next couple of chapters, actually three chapters. We'll see how we do. Revelation 15 is really short. It's only like eight verses, so I think we might be able to scoot through it. We'll see. But, we're going to be dealing with the seven final outpourings of God's wrath. But, in chapter 14, it says that, John says,

So, you'll remember that we talked about, saw and talked about, the 144,000 back in Revelation chapter 7, and we identified these people with Jews who were faithful to God, raised up especially during the period of the great tribulation, to stand against the beast and all he stood for (the anti-Christ), and also to bring to faith others during the tribulation. And we've made the point several times that people will be getting saved during the great tribulation. As odd as that may sound for a lot of people. I've mentioned before, that's a real revelation. But the image that John is beholding here, of Jesus standing on Mount Zion with the 144,000, is an image that is meant to convey to you their victory. The fact that they are standing on Mountain Zion with their Lord and Savior. This is a picture that they have overcome the power and (I'm going through my mental thesaurus) just the ability of the anti-Christ to rule. He did not rule them. They stood their ground against him, and so forth. And that's what this picture is meant to convey. And John says,

Isn't this weird? I mean, think about how John is describing this voice. He says, first of all, it sounds like this has the sound of many waters. So, I'm assuming this is like waters crashing upon one and upon another, and so forth. And then he talks about how it sounds like thunder. Did you guys hear the thunder yesterday? There was, I think we had like one crack of thunder. Yeah. But imagine lots of thunder and this voice sounds like thunder. And then he says, it sounds like harpists. I don't know how those even fit together, the sound of rushing, crashing waters and thunder and harpists. So, it's just very, very strange as he's describing these things. And he says, "3 and they were singing a new song before the throne” (this is the 144,000) “and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins.”(ESV) And this is just, this is simply a way of saying that the 144,000 were victorious over the rampant sexual immorality, and the idolatry related to that, that will be going on during the tribulation period. And here we are in the middle of verse 4, it says, “It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, 5 and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.”(ESV) Now, there's some interesting descriptive words that are given here of the 144,000 that might be confusing, and one of them is the fact that John is told that they are firstfruits for God and the Lamb. Well, you think, well, how are they firstfruits from the standpoint? I mean, they're certainly not the first people ever redeemed. That goes way back, you know, to the beginning, and so how are they firstfruits? Well, I believe that what he's saying is they are the first of the harvest of the tribulation period that now enters into the millennial kingdom. And you'll notice he also goes on to say that they are blameless. Now, remember people, in the Bible, the word blameless doesn't mean perfect. It just means not subject to blame. In other words, when something goes wrong, nobody can point the finger at a blameless person because they have nothing to do with it. And, well, I mean, it would be a false accusation. So, blameless is, that's what that means. These are not perfect people from that standpoint. But he goes on now and he says, “6 Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7 And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water”(ESV) So, in these verses, John sees an angel. He describes this angel as flying overhead and proclaiming good news, and yet at the same time, announcing judgment. By the way, this is the first of three angelic messengers that appear at this time. But this first angel is given one final appeal that he gives to the people of the earth that they would fear God. Repent and turn to the Lord and acknowledge Him as God overall, I find it interesting that there are several groups throughout the years that have attempted to claim to be the fulfillment of this type in the Bible. Actually, as early as the late 17th century, people were attributing the writings of John Wycliffe to this angel. They were spiritualizing this and saying, oh, this has to be John Wycliffe. And then there've been others, and others throughout the years, and so forth, to the point where in our lifetime, I think there was even one Christian satellite broadcasting company that decided that they thought that maybe they might just be the fulfillment of this angel that flies overhead and shares the gospel. Other missionary organizations have claimed the same thing. But, ultimately, all that kind of speculation, and that's all it is, just detracts us from what the passage is really trying to say. And what the passage is trying to say is that even at this late stage in the great tribulation period, before these final seven bowls or plagues are poured out upon the earth, God is still appealing to sinful man to turn from his ways. And whatever, however, this good news (and that's what gospel means), is declared to the people of the earth, however that happens, it happens. And that's the point, is that it happens. And that is certainly not unimportant to this whole situation. How He appeals or gives this appeal that's unimportant. But the fact that He is still appealing, God is still speaking to people before these final outpourings of judgment. And I believe we're going to see a harvest here in just a bit. In fact, we're going to see two harvests. I believe we're going to see a final harvest, here in these verses, of the final people who are going to come to the Lord, finally. And then we're going to see a harvest unto judgment, and we'll see that in just a moment. Verse 8. John then says, 8 Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”(ESV) Now John is going to go back. Well, for us, he's going to go back. When we get to the 17th chapter of Revelation, which I trust will probably be next week, John is going to talk more about Babylon and the things that he has shown. And we're going to see how Babylon is often used to express a picture of the depth of man's sin because Babylon is that original picture of God’s, excuse me, of man's rebellion against God. You remember the Tower of Babel? The Tower of Babel? Well, that was Babylon. That was the area of Babylon where that first took place. Do you remember what that tower was all about? God spoke to the people of the earth and He said, I want you to spread out and fill the earth and be fruitful, and they said, no. We're going to stay right here. They even said, lest we be scattered upon the face of the earth. No. And they were defiant against the Lord. And they said, in fact, we're going to build a tower as a monument to ourselves. And this was that initial expression that we see of collective mankind standing rigidly opposed to the will of God. And digging in his heels and saying, it's going to be my way and you, God, will not rule over me. And so, Babylon becomes this eternal picture of man's rebellion and his defiance against the will of God. And so, when it says Babylon has fallen or when the angel is declaring, he's talking about all that mankind has established in his defiance and in his rebellion, it has collapsed. And John is going to be more specific about that as we get into chapter 17. And he's going to talk about how man's religious Babylon and how man's political Babylon, which are two other categories of his rebelliousness and his defiance against God, specifically fall. But we'll get into that when we get to that chapter. Verse 9. And here we have the third angel.

And this is what you're being given here is a characteristic of the great tribulation that accomplishes this work of separating those who are finally going to come to the Lord and those who will ultimately and forever refuse to come to the Lord. The ultimate expression of their loyalties is going to be now seen and is going to be seen in one particular thing, and that is whether or not they take the mark of the beast, okay? Because the mark, although we know that the mark is going to be used by the anti-Christ to give people the freedom to buy and sell and be able to, you know, make a living and that sort of thing, there's more to it than that. It is an expression of worship. Because our expression of worship to God is our expression of our dependence upon God, our surrender to Him. The Bible says that as we offer ourselves as living sacrifices, that is our spiritual act of worship. That is an attitude or an expression of dependence and an attitude of surrender. We do this to God, that is our form of worship. During the great tribulation, there will be people upon the earth who, as an expression of worship, in other words, an attitude of dependence. In other words, to say to the beast, well, you know, you made the rules. We can't buy ourselves without the mark of the beast. I'll take the mark of the beast. I'll surrender to that. And that is worship. That is an act of worship, ultimately. Okay? And they will pay for that, as the passage speaks here, and they will be made to drink the full cup of God's wrath. And then John adds in verse 12,

Why is John saying this? Because this is the final separation before these last seven bowls of wrath poured out. This is the final separation between those who make a decision for Jesus and those who will utterly and forever refuse to bow the knee. And because of that separation, because of that distinction between those who have taken the mark of the beast and those who, as it says here, keep the commandments of God and put their faith in Jesus, they will pay with their lives. And that's why John says this is a call for endurance. These people must endure to the end. They must endure all of the persecutions, all of the torments, all of the threats against their life. They must endure. They must hold fast to the end, the promise that is theirs, you know. And you might say, well, what's the promise? Well, John writes about it in verse 13 because he hears a voice from heaven speaking it.

What is their greatest deed? Well, it's martyrdom, It’s martyrdom.

So, you might look at this statement that is being said here, that John hears, and you might say, well, isn't it a blessed thing for everybody who dies in Christ? Isn't it a blessed condition for anybody who passes away in this life with faith in Jesus Christ? Yes, it is. But he says there is a special blessing upon those who die, those saints who literally lay down their lives and are martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ because there is going to be a special blessing because of their martyrdom. Paul talked about this. He talked about gaining a better resurrection. You ever remember that? And he was referring to martyrdom. So, God wants these saints to know that their patient endurance during this terrible, terrible time will not be forgotten and most certainly will be rewarded in a very special way. John says in verse 14,

Now, this is where we come to the place of the harvest. Because that's what a sickle was used for. And they would use a sickle to cut the grain when they were bringing it in. But I want you to notice who this is. Because most people, and I am among them, believe that this is the Lord Jesus because of the description. One like a son of man, golden crown on his head, given a sickle.

All right. Now you're not really told what's really going on there. But when you compare it with what you read in the next few verses, you can see what these different reapings are all about. It says,

God. 20 And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse's bridle, for 1,600 stadia.” We'll talk about that in just a moment. Two reapings. Remember I said this is the last, this is the final harvest from the earth. Two harvests. This last chance. Remember, we hear about the angel that comes, declares over the earth the good news. Fear God. Repent. Turn to the Lord. Acknowledge the Lord God. And then the Lord Jesus hears from this angel, now's the time, reap. And He swings his sickle across the earth. And, I believe these last believers (talk about getting in by the hair of your chinny, chin, chin), but these last believers are brought in, right? And then right after that, this other angel is given this sickle, and He uses, He sweeps the earth, but He brings this reaping into the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God, and out from the wine press flows blood. Notice, for as high as the horse’s bridal for 1600 stadia. That's 184 miles. Wow. Then, right after that we see an angel come forth, with this second thing, with the wrath of God. So, here we are with the Battle of Armageddon. And I believe that's what's being referenced here. The blood flow and so forth. This final reaping is going to take place with the Battle of Armageddon. And we can talk more about that later. But, you know, if we compare some of these passages with some things that we read in the gospel, particularly of Matthew, they begin to make sense. We begin to see that there's a connection between them, these last harvests of the earth, for the final people that come in as believers during the great tribulation, and then the harvest of the lost. I'm going to show you a passage on the screen from Matthew chapter 13. It says, (Slide) Matthew 13:38-43 (ESV)

So, there you have it. And that’s what Jesus is talking about, these harvests at the end of the tribulation period. And we come to the end of this chapter, and it kind of sounds like everything's all over. It's done. The final righteous have been brought in. Those who are wicked, you know, have been reaped, if you will. And there's the final punishment that's poured out and so forth. But now what we're going to see as we get into the next chapters is that John is going to go back and he's going to give us some more detail on the outpouring of the final judgments that have all been given to us here in this chapter in a condensed, kind of Reader's Digest sort of a form. But now, he's going to go back and he's going to give us detail. And this is a reminder, people, that the Book of Revelation is not always in chronological order. And this is very common among biblical writers, to talk about something and then go back and give you the detail. We've got that in the Book of Genesis. Genesis chapter 1 covers all of creation, including the creation of the man and the woman. Chapter 2 goes back and focuses on the creation of the man and the woman and all that goes along with it. So, this is not an uncommon biblical concept. But chapter 15 is interesting, very short chapter. Kind of a preamble, if you will, to the detail of these final judgments. John says, “15 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.” (ESV) And we're not going to even see these poured out till the next chapter. But, I want you to know something here. You'll notice that John says this great sign was shown him of these seven angels with these final seven plagues. And we know they're final because John says, which are the last. And then he says, for with them, the wrath of God is finished.

This is significant. There are different words in the Greek for wrath. This is a fairly unique one. It is used only 11 times in the whole of the New Testament. But get this, 10 of the 11 are here in the Book of Revelation. And this is a word that specifically speaks of a passionate anger, if you will, a flashpoint of anger. This is God's final express of wrath. And so, the Bible uses a unique word to describe it. In verse two,

(ESV) These are the tribulation saints who loved not their lives unto death, and they are being seen here as victors. Even though they were put to death by the anti-Christ, they're now victors before the Lord. And they are singing. And it says, “3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb,” (by the way, that's not two songs, that's one song, two titles) “saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! 4 Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” 5 After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent[b] of witness in heaven was opened,”(ESV) We've seen all kinds of tents and tabernacles. Your Bible in fact may say the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony if you have a New King James Bible. We've seen all these, you know, in the Old Testament, but they were all pictures of what was in heaven. John is seeing the temple of heaven,

(ESV) And it is believed that statement there is a picture of the fact that nobody can, the reason nobody can enter the sanctuary is that nothing can happen until these are done, and there's no stopping them. This is simply going to be played out.

Chapter 16. Here we go.

By the way, these are, this is now what we had heard earlier, back in chapter 14 (Correction chapter 8:13 NKJV). Remember, there was an angel flying over the earth saying, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth,” speaking of the three woes that are to come. And this is the last, this is the third, woe, if you will, that we read about. And these all happened in very rapid fashion.

Can we stop there for a second? This is an important distinction between the perspective of heaven and what is often the perspective of earth. We struggle, we hear about, we read about these judgments that God pours upon the earth. And we as human beings, we question this and we say, is all this really necessary? Is all this even really deserved? And, of course, if a person isn't a believer, they're going to be even more skeptical about it. They're going to say, aren't people naturally good? So why all this wrath? Why all this judgment?

We lack so much insight about these things. But the attitude of heaven, and this even comes from, first of all, an angel in charge of the waters. Isn't it interesting that God has angels in charge of things. We don't see them, but He has angels who are in charge of the various aspects of his creation. And even this angel who has, probably since all of creation, been in charge of the waters, in charge, sees the ruination of what he has been in charge with since the birth of creation. And he says, you know what? This is just. This is just. It pains my heart, but this is just. It is deserved. There's no question. There's no complaint. There's no argument. This is just. And even this voice in the altar, and I don't even know where this voice comes from, that says, “Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!” “8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. 9 They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory. 10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish 11 and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.” (these people are past being saved) 12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east.” (ESV) And this is speaking of this final amassing of nations to come against Israel in what we call the Battle of Armageddon. And ultimately, this is a battle against the Lord. But I want you to see what it says in verse 13:

(ESV) I knew there was a reason I hated frogs. I just knew it. I have always been disgusted by frogs. Getting through seventh-grade science biology class was a toughie for me when we had to dissect frogs. I got to tell you, that was no fun. I made it through, didn't faint, like one of the girls in the class did. But I just hated these things. It's like, yuck. Frogs are the worst. And here we are, I've been justified, so.

And it says here, verse 14:

In other words, these demonic spirits are going to go out, and through a spirit of deception and delusion, they are going to come against, they're going to all decide that the reason for all of this is the God of Israel, so we're going to eliminate Israel. We're going to come against Israel and all of the nations of the world, it says here. Well, or the kings, it says, of the whole world are going to do this. And John hears all this happening, sees this happening, and then hears something else in verse 15. He hears Jesus declaring,

(ESV) And that's just this little side point to kind of say, to kind of pull us out of the story for a minute and then just remind us; Hey, all these things are going to happen, so stay awake, be ready for my coming, and so forth. Now back to the story, verse 16:

And Armageddon comes from the name giddo. And it refers to a valley, which is obviously there today. You can go to the Valley of Megiddo. The Valley of Megiddo has been a popular battlefield. I've read somewhere that I think over 200 battles have taken place there. Very famous biblical battles took place there. The battle that Deborah oversaw during the time of judges happened in the Valley of Megiddo. Many other important battles. But this is going to be the site for the final conflict, which will mark the end of the great tribulation. And it says in verse 17:

(ESV)

And then John describes the results or the consequences of the earthquake. Look what he says. “19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations (of the world) fell, (they just collapsed) and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath.” (that means that Babylon was made to drink the cup of God's wrath). And then look at this. This statement is very interesting, “20 And every island fled away, (because of this earthquake) and no mountains were to be found.” Okay. This earthquake is going to shake the earth so violently that the mountains are going to crumble and the earth is going to be left with a flat surface because Isaiah, 700 years before the birth of Christ, prophesized the same thing. Let me show you this on the screen. (Slide) Isaiah 40:4-5 (ESV)

Isn't that crazy? I just think that’s just amazing. Now, it's possible that what God is doing, going into the millennial kingdom, is He's reversing the results of an earlier judgment. I believe, and I think most creation scientists are in agreement, that our mountain ranges now are there because of the great flood and the separation of continents. We believe that there was continental drift. Because the great waters of the deep burst forth, the Bible says in Genesis. I believe that caused the continents to literally break apart and shift. I mean, you look at the map and you can see that it's kind of like a puzzle. Things kind of fit together, you know. And all of these mountain ranges were built and all these things that happened. And this was the result of the judgment of the Lord. But now after this final judgment is over, there's this huge earthquake that puts things back, which is kind of crazy. But that's apparently the way it's going to be during the millennial kingdom. I mean, I appreciate the beauty of a mountain just like anybody, but that's not going to be the beauty of the millennial kingdom, apparently. The Lord himself is going to be the beauty of the millennial kingdom.

But anyway, we finish out the last verse of the chapter. It says, “21 And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God (and your Bible may say they blasphemed God) for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.” So, that's where we stop here tonight. Wow. We got through three chapters. Can you believe it? We'll get into 17, Lord willing, next time. We're going to deal more with those issues related to Babylon, as John backs up a little bit for us and gives us some more detail on the judgment upon man's established defiance over the years. So, here you go. It makes you tired, doesn't it? Just kind of going through all this stuff. Anyway, let's pray. Thank you, Father. Thank you for not just the time to go through this study, the place, thank you Lord for those who've been able to join us here tonight. Thank you, Father, for preserving this word. You gave it to one man on an island many years ago, and he wrote down this vision and it has been kept so that we could know some of the details of your redemptive plan. A plan that involves not just judgment but restoration. Judgment because you are just but restoration because you are merciful. And Lord, we are they who have fled under your mercy. We have come, we have bowed the knee. We have recognized that you are the eternal God, the Lord Almighty who was and is and is to come. And these things will take place as sure as we're sitting here, as sure as the prophecies of the Old Testament and many in the new have been fulfilled to the letter. So also, Lord, you will bring these things to pass and you will do it without delay. And we thank you for allowing us to have insight into these matters. But, Lord, the end is not yet. And until that end comes, you have commissioned us to occupy, to live our lives in such a way that we would be salt and light in this dark and very mixed up world. And I pray, my Father God, that you would give us opportunities every single day to shine that light and to be that salt in the world in which we live, and to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with as many people as possible. Thank you, Father God, for the good things that you're doing in our midst. Thank you for being the Lord of our lives.

Thank you for being a merciful and faithful God who hears our prayers. Thank you for being someone we can trust. We ask you to continue to fill our hearts with insight and understanding, and we ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. And all God's people said together. Amen.