back to indexWed Bible Study - Revelation Lesson 18
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Anybody want to take a guess why I chose Beauty and the Beast? 00:00:36.640 |
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the opportunity to continue to study through Revelation. 00:00:43.320 |
We pray that you would give us open ears and hearts, help us to understand and glean what 00:00:48.560 |
you desire for us and all its effects and all your desire, Father, for us to stay sober 00:00:55.720 |
and that the end times would not catch us off guard like a thief coming at night. 00:01:01.480 |
Help us to live in such a way, Father God, that all of these things are things that we 00:01:05.600 |
would eagerly anticipate and wait and to prepare for. 00:01:10.180 |
So we ask for your wisdom, we ask for your Holy Spirit's help. 00:01:15.920 |
Alright so the reasoning behind the Beauty and the Beast theme behind us is that in contrast 00:01:23.080 |
to last week's study and the previous week's study, this week and next week's study is 00:01:28.180 |
in reference, in contrast to the Beauty and the Beast, Beauty, not the Beauty, the Beast 00:01:33.380 |
last week and the previous week, remember the Beast going after the woman and the seed, 00:01:40.120 |
And so the last two weeks is kind of a set up for this conflict that we're going to see 00:01:52.080 |
And out of the three separate judgments that we've seen, the seal judgments, and then what's 00:02:00.760 |
Trumpet judgments, and then the seal judgments. 00:02:04.400 |
And which is the most intense out of the three? 00:02:09.200 |
So we've been seeing an increase of intensity of judgment for each one. 00:02:12.880 |
So the seal judgment starts, again, if you look at it, it's pretty intense too, but then 00:02:17.360 |
it kind of steps it up in the trumpet judgments, and then we haven't even seen the seal judgments, 00:02:22.640 |
but all of this is in preparation for us to get to the seal judgments, which is in chapter 00:02:29.480 |
And then what happens after chapter 16 is the end result of this conflict, and then they 00:02:33.440 |
get into, again, that Satan is bound, there's a thousand year reign of Christ, and then 00:02:38.600 |
there's description of the new heaven and new earth, and then there's, again, a description 00:02:43.040 |
of eternity at the very end in chapter, at the end of the book. 00:02:47.760 |
So chapter 14 and 15 is in reference to the Lamb of God, right, today's theme, and his 00:02:57.760 |
preparation and his angels and the worship of heaven, but the previous two chapters where 00:03:02.680 |
we're looking at the activity of the beast and the dragon, right? 00:03:06.040 |
So that's where the theme is from, the beauty and the beast, in contrast, right? 00:03:09.840 |
So today, we're going to be looking at what's going to lead up to chapter 16. 00:03:14.480 |
Remember we talked about that in the last chapter, what was it, what were we on, 14, 00:03:18.680 |
13, so starting from chapter 12 where we started the second session, all the way to chapter 00:03:22.560 |
15, all of it is kind of like the background behind what's going to bring chapter 16. 00:03:34.080 |
So it explains all the activity of Satan from the very beginning of its creation until the 00:03:42.240 |
And the same thing here, if we look at chapter 14 and 15, it's the description of the activity 00:03:47.420 |
of the Lamb of God all the way up to the end times, and then these things are going to 00:03:51.960 |
clash, and then when that clash happens, we see chapter 16, okay? 00:04:01.480 |
So the beginning, the contrast between chapter, I put chapter 13 and 14, but really it's chapter 00:04:09.860 |
So these two chapters are going to contrast with what was happening in the two chapters 00:04:18.240 |
So if you remember, the end of chapter 13 ends with the mark of the beast, 666. 00:04:23.720 |
Either it's going to be on the forearm or the forehead, and all the world is going to 00:04:32.160 |
And the consequence of this is that there's going to be economic consequences for those 00:04:40.960 |
And then chapter 14 begins with mark of the Father, right? 00:04:45.680 |
So we see a one who is like the Son of Man, and then 144,000 who is in its presence, and 00:04:53.040 |
they're going to be having the mark of the Father and the Son on them. 00:04:55.960 |
So again, there's a clear contrast between what's happening in chapter 13 and what's 00:05:05.080 |
Again, in chapter 13 is a description of satanic work all throughout redemptive history, and 00:05:14.040 |
that's what we've been studying in chapter 14. 00:05:15.880 |
So it wasn't just description of the end time. 00:05:18.440 |
Remember that three characters that are mentioned in chapter 13? 00:05:27.760 |
The red dragon, and then the first beast, and then second beast. 00:05:38.280 |
Yeah, after the first beast, there's second beast. 00:06:05.160 |
So the prophets glorify the Antichrist, the Antichrist glorifies Satan, right? 00:06:11.040 |
And then remember, when we looked at it last week, what are these three things mimicking? 00:06:19.000 |
God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 00:06:20.600 |
And each one of them, if you look at their activity, the activity of the dragon, the 00:06:24.640 |
activity of Antichrist, the activity of the false prophets. 00:06:28.200 |
Remember the prophets, remember some of the things that he says? 00:06:31.720 |
It gives breath, it glorifies the Antichrist, it deceives, it makes the Antichrist look 00:06:39.200 |
What is something specific that happens to Antichrist that mimics Christ? 00:06:44.760 |
It seems to have a fatal wound, and then he gets miraculously healed, and people are 00:06:48.960 |
in awe, and then they end up worshiping the Antichrist, right? 00:06:53.640 |
And then the Antichrist deceives the world, and then he gives glory to Satan. 00:06:58.120 |
So ultimately, it's to bring glory and worship to Satan, right? 00:07:03.920 |
So all of the activity of chapter 13 is mimicking the work of God the Father, the Son, and the 00:07:10.200 |
Holy Spirit, in order to bring attention and glory to Satan himself. 00:07:14.840 |
So chapter 14 begins by telling us that there's a, again, there's a greater force in the kingdom 00:07:22.240 |
that is, again, is not going to allow that to happen. 00:07:27.320 |
That's where the Christian persecution comes in. 00:07:32.000 |
So chapter 14 is the introduction of the opposing forces of God that will do battle with Satan 00:07:42.840 |
So that kind of gives you the outline, the setup for this chapter. 00:07:52.200 |
It begins with a vision of the Lamb of God being worshipped by the 144,000, right? 00:07:58.920 |
So where do we see the 144,000 before in Revelation? 00:08:09.440 |
So after chapter 7, it doesn't describe in detail who the 144,000 are, other than that 00:08:14.680 |
they are redeemed, and then it gives the number, the 12 different tribes, right? 00:08:19.640 |
And so we, again, my opinion is it is in reference to the redeemed among the Israelites, right? 00:08:28.640 |
That doesn't mean that there's exactly 144,000. 00:08:31.560 |
It just, it could be symbolic of a number, and it doesn't mean that the Jews are saved 00:08:38.720 |
So they're in the kingdom, but they're distinct from the Gentiles, right? 00:08:45.160 |
Because after the 144,000, remember, in the throne, who is behind them worshipping? 00:08:54.240 |
So the scripture distinguishes in chapter 7 between the 144,000 and the nations that 00:08:59.960 |
So that's about all the description that we have of the 144,000, chapter 7, and then we 00:09:07.280 |
get to chapter 14, and the description is a little bit more detailed, right? 00:09:12.600 |
So the first scene is that the vision of John, it goes back and forth between the tribulation 00:09:20.360 |
of intense judgment and interruption, and just kind of projecting worship of God in 00:09:28.660 |
So if you remember, these are the passages that I've noted, Revelation chapter 1, 9 through 00:09:35.360 |
What is John seeing in Revelation chapter 1, before he gets into all the different things 00:09:45.880 |
He sees the vision of Christ on his throne, right? 00:09:49.920 |
That's how the book begins, description of Christ. 00:09:52.840 |
Chapter 4, after the visions, chapter 4 begins with the vision of God, and Him on His throne, 00:10:01.420 |
And then so chapter 5, 7, 11, it goes on where in between all these intense judgments, John 00:10:07.260 |
all of a sudden, it almost seems like it's random, right? 00:10:11.700 |
Because it doesn't seem connected, but all of a sudden, in the context of this intense 00:10:16.340 |
judgment, John would be taken back, and then he would be shown this awesome vision of God 00:10:29.360 |
So if you read it without really asking, "Why is this here?" 00:10:33.120 |
You may just say, "Well, it's kind of random," right? 00:10:36.020 |
So some of it seems to fit, some of it doesn't seem to fit, but it almost seems like God 00:10:40.860 |
is trying to remind John that in the midst of all of this chaos, the heaven is not in 00:10:49.740 |
There's a third of the world being wiped out, a fourth of mankind, the rivers are turning 00:10:53.780 |
to blood, there's all kinds of plagues and famines and disasters and wars, and in the 00:10:58.500 |
midst of all of this, he sees a vision of heaven, God is on His throne being worshipped, 00:11:04.020 |
And it is in perfect peace, and everything is functioning exactly the way it should be 00:11:09.100 |
There is no panic in the kingdom of God, right? 00:11:14.060 |
Same thing that you see in chapter 1, you will see in chapter 4, chapter 5, chapter 00:11:21.660 |
And the same thing is, God is on His throne, and He is absolutely sovereign, and everything 00:11:27.100 |
that is happening on earth has been ordained by God, right? 00:11:32.340 |
So again, we've seen the intense activity, Satan is released, the Antichrist is coming, 00:11:38.460 |
The false prophets have come and is trying to deceive the world, and then the first thing 00:11:43.220 |
that we see in the next scene is 144,000 worshipping the Lamb of God, right? 00:11:48.260 |
And before we enter into the Armageddon, the big fight in chapter 16. 00:11:58.820 |
It describes in the beginning, it says that 144,000 are the only ones who are able to 00:12:07.060 |
This elaborate song of worship is taking place, but it said they're the only ones who are 00:12:10.820 |
able to learn this song, and to sing this song. 00:12:18.500 |
It just says that they're the only ones that are able to do this, right? 00:12:31.780 |
One of the key qualities of if you want to do, you want to be a good Bible student, you 00:12:38.940 |
So why are they not, why are other people not able to learn? 00:12:42.620 |
We don't know because it doesn't spell it out for us, but it gives us a more detailed 00:12:46.940 |
description of what is happening and who they are. 00:12:51.800 |
So the first thing that we are told in description of who they are, they are sexually pure. 00:13:08.000 |
It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. 00:13:14.200 |
So this is not to say that anyone who is married has defiled themselves, because that was contradicting 00:13:22.240 |
Most commentators believe that this is in reference symbolically of sexual purity. 00:13:27.800 |
They're not virgins because they aren't married and they're single people. 00:13:32.040 |
They're pure because they didn't defile themselves with sexual immorality, and that's probably 00:13:37.040 |
a better fit or better understanding of this, right? 00:13:53.800 |
Another angel, a second followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she 00:13:57.040 |
who made all nations drink the wine of passion of her sexual immorality." 00:14:00.760 |
So again, when the description of satanic kingdom, one of the top qualities of the satanic 00:14:14.440 |
Paul says, "For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual 00:14:19.280 |
So you'll see on the list of sins that are listed, remember in the Bible, I've said it 00:14:25.720 |
many times before, that it is never written randomly, that whatever is on the top one 00:14:34.640 |
So whenever you see a list of sins describing a rebellious world, what is one of the top 00:14:42.280 |
sins that's always mentioned, always almost on the top? 00:14:47.960 |
So sexual immorality is almost one of the top sins. 00:14:50.200 |
So in 2 Timothy 2, 22, it doesn't tell us to fight the sin, it says, "Flee from sexual 00:14:58.080 |
Flee youthful passions and pursue righteous faith, love, and peace, along with those who 00:15:06.600 |
So most commentators believe that what's happening here is that the 144,000 hasn't been tainted 00:15:16.920 |
First Corinthians 6, 18, it says, "Flee from sexual immorality. 00:15:20.460 |
Every other sin a person commits outside the body, but the sexual immoral person sins against 00:15:26.200 |
So again, the sexual immorality is singled out above other sins, right? 00:15:32.960 |
Sexual sin says, you know, all the sins, not that they're not sinful, not that God doesn't 00:15:38.040 |
hate it, not that there isn't consequence for it, but it says among all the sins, the 00:15:43.000 |
sexual immoral sin is actually even more harmful, right? 00:15:48.600 |
So there's a warning to not participate in it, there's a warning to flee from it, because 00:15:53.360 |
it could easily be the downfall of our faith. 00:15:56.200 |
And so the first description of the 144,000 is that they're sexually pure, okay? 00:16:02.500 |
Secondly, it says they follow the Lamb wherever He goes, right? 00:16:07.700 |
And this may be in reference to their obedience. 00:16:10.340 |
Remember, Jesus constantly said, "He who comes after me first must deny himself, pick up 00:16:21.700 |
To follow the Lamb wherever He goes isn't just because the Lamb, you know, happens to 00:16:26.600 |
be, you know, He's going left, so we're going left. 00:16:29.320 |
This is a description of discipleship, of obedience, right? 00:16:36.200 |
So not only are they sexually pure, they're obedient, right? 00:16:47.800 |
It describes it as being the first fruits for God and the Lamb. 00:16:55.260 |
The idea of the first fruit has two significance. 00:16:57.900 |
One, it signifies that they symbolically represent the whole of God's redeemed. 00:17:03.900 |
We talked about, we happened to talk about that this Sunday, right? 00:17:07.220 |
If the first fruits are holy, the whole dough is holy, meaning that it was symbolic of everything 00:17:15.420 |
So the fact that they're called first fruits, meaning that they're symbolic of all of God's 00:17:21.600 |
But secondly, it also signifies a dedication to be used for God's purpose. 00:17:26.600 |
So the initial, the 10%, the tithing, it signifies setting it apart. 00:17:32.480 |
So in the larger context, it means that it's symbolic of all of it being dedicated to God, 00:17:37.800 |
but that 10% specifically was to be used for God's purpose, right? 00:17:42.280 |
It was used for temple, it was used for supporting the priest, for whatever God needed to do 00:17:47.080 |
to support the temple worship and the priesthood and the Levites, it came from that 10%. 00:17:52.120 |
So to say that 144,000 were the first fruits of God and of the Son is one, they're symbolic 00:17:59.020 |
of all the redeemed, and secondly, they have specific use for God in His kingdom. 00:18:03.600 |
And that's exactly what we're going to see, right? 00:18:07.160 |
And then fourthly, it said, "They do not lie and they are blameless." 00:18:13.080 |
Scripture clearly says it's what comes out of the person's mouth reveals what's in them, 00:18:21.180 |
In Luke chapter 645, "The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces 00:18:26.920 |
good, but the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance 00:18:34.240 |
So, the fact that they're described as people who do not lie and are blameless, they're 00:18:40.960 |
saying that they are pure inside and out, right? 00:18:44.560 |
They not only have a reputation of being pure, but they're actually pure inside and out. 00:18:49.080 |
And again, Matthew 5-7, this is in the Beatitude where it says, "Blessed are the merciful, 00:19:13.520 |
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." 00:19:18.360 |
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." 00:19:21.480 |
So, the original question I asked was, how come other people were not able to learn this 00:19:28.480 |
It doesn't describe for us why that was the case, but then when you see the description 00:19:33.200 |
of the 144,000, how they were blameless, they did not lie, they didn't give in to the sexual 00:19:42.680 |
They were the first fruits dedicated for God's use. 00:19:45.720 |
When you look at all of it, it really is describing one of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5-8. 00:19:52.520 |
Because they are pure in heart, they are able to see God, right? 00:19:56.040 |
Again, in a lesser way, the Scripture clearly says that spiritual things are discerned spiritually, 00:20:06.800 |
Discerning right and wrong in the Kingdom of God is directly linked to your spiritual 00:20:12.280 |
God didn't make it so that you can approach God with your logic and intellect. 00:20:17.360 |
God made it so that we are able to discern what is from God, what is not from God, to 00:20:21.840 |
be able to see his glory is not from much study and intelligence, right? 00:20:27.840 |
The Scripture spells out, so if you're not walking right with God, it's hard for us to 00:20:35.280 |
So this 144,000, again, it doesn't say that this is the reason why they were the only 00:20:39.880 |
ones to see or able to understand, but because of their dedication and purity to God, one 00:20:45.520 |
of the benefits of their obedience and purity was that they're able to see this, sing this 00:20:50.440 |
new song and sing it where other people could not understand, okay? 00:20:58.760 |
The second portion of that in Revelation chapter 14 are the three angels and their work. 00:21:06.580 |
And I want you to notice as we are looking at these three angels, the progression. 00:21:13.560 |
There's something distinct going on, but you'll notice that all three, there's some kind of 00:21:19.480 |
There seems to be some kind of progression in their message and what they're doing, okay? 00:21:24.560 |
The first angel is given the gospel to proclaim to those on earth, right? 00:21:48.880 |
And again, this is one of those words that you can just kind of skim through and the 00:21:51.800 |
gospel is described in many different ways, but here it's described as being eternal, 00:21:56.600 |
that it is not just a gospel until we get to heaven, right? 00:22:00.200 |
It is not just a good news for redemption until we're saved from hell and we're in heaven 00:22:06.040 |
He said this is going to be good news for eternity. 00:22:08.640 |
So I think one of the questions that I get asked every once in a while is if Adam and 00:22:14.200 |
Eve was able to fall before they had sinful nature at the Garden of Eden, what's going 00:22:32.000 |
The distinction between the fall in the Garden of Eden and our eternal state is that the 00:22:46.280 |
So this gospel that saves us doesn't save us and put us back into the Garden of Eden. 00:22:52.880 |
It elevates us beyond the Garden of Eden, right? 00:22:57.800 |
So when he describes the gospel, he doesn't say this gospel saves us, but this gospel 00:23:02.620 |
So our redemption is going to be permanent and eternal, right? 00:23:07.460 |
Our union with Christ is not temporary until we get to heaven and then we get to start 00:23:17.720 |
So if you notice, he says that he went out to proclaim the gospel and then after he says 00:23:30.760 |
Oh yeah, in verse 7, he went out to proclaim the eternal gospel, to proclaim to those who 00:23:35.160 |
dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 00:23:37.760 |
And he said with a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory because the hour of his judgment 00:23:43.240 |
has come and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water." 00:23:48.480 |
Typically when we think about the gospel, we think about how God loves us and he redeems 00:23:55.220 |
But the end goal of the gospel ultimately is to bring us back into a proper relationship 00:24:03.200 |
Because that's what was lost at the Garden of Eden. 00:24:06.560 |
We were made in the image of God and then when we sinned against God, that image was 00:24:11.860 |
So salvation ultimately is to bring us back to the Father. 00:24:16.180 |
So Christ's crucifixion on the cross, redeeming us, saving us, making us his children, these 00:24:26.120 |
The end isn't ultimately so that we don't go to hell or to get us to get to heaven. 00:24:32.440 |
Ultimately we're in heaven because we are restored back to the Father, right? 00:24:37.260 |
So the way he describes, he goes out to proclaim the gospel and the first thing that comes 00:24:41.400 |
out of his mouth is, "Fear God and give him the glory." 00:24:44.720 |
So I don't know if any of you came from a Presbyterian background or you were part of 00:24:50.960 |
KCM, you know, if some of you guys were, this is one of the things that are emphasized, 00:25:00.280 |
And this is the first question of all the doctrines that they learn is, "What is the 00:25:08.600 |
And the answer is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. 00:25:16.480 |
That God is restoring sinful men so that we would be restored back to glorifying God, 00:25:22.760 |
to live out our purpose, which is to glorify God. 00:25:26.320 |
And so the gospel that is being proclaimed by the first messenger is to restore that, 00:25:32.560 |
So again, I want you to notice the progression. 00:25:36.320 |
The second angel, the second angel starting from verse 8, "So another angel, a second, 00:25:42.560 |
followed, saying, 'Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink 00:25:47.000 |
the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.'" 00:25:50.640 |
And that's basically the whole description in verse 8 of the second angel. 00:25:55.320 |
So it's basically declaring the spiritual state of Babylon and how judgment is going 00:26:04.280 |
Babylon in the scripture is used to symbolize the fallen world that's in rebellion against 00:26:09.360 |
So who is the god of this fallen world, Babylon? 00:26:18.200 |
God of this age has blinded the mind of the unbeliever. 00:26:32.120 |
So in the Greek or in the Hebrew, when that word is used, sometimes it's called Babel, 00:26:39.240 |
And the word Babel basically means confusion. 00:26:43.360 |
Remember what happens in Genesis chapter 11, right? 00:26:46.740 |
The sin increase, the wickedness increases in mankind and they gather together and they 00:26:55.940 |
And so God is stirred up in anger and He destroys the tower and then He separates them and brings 00:27:04.300 |
So, that's where we first hear the word Tower of Babel. 00:27:12.900 |
The Babylonians were known for not their cruelty, but their beauty and comfort. 00:27:19.740 |
So you guys remember when we were studying Isaiah, right? 00:27:24.420 |
And there's a description of Assyria's oppression against Israel. 00:27:28.100 |
You know how they use fear and how they're cruel and they're, you know, going after children. 00:27:34.720 |
And so God was using the nation of Assyria to bring judgment upon Israel. 00:27:42.480 |
So how was the judgment of the Babylonians described? 00:27:55.140 |
The distinction between the Assyrians and the Babylonians? 00:28:02.980 |
The Babylonians were tempting them with goodness. 00:28:07.580 |
So the Babylonians, when they took Judah into captivity, the Babylonians actually gave them 00:28:17.940 |
So remember when the Israelites were given permission by the Persians to send them back, 00:28:24.000 |
very few of them returned because they enjoyed their life in Babylon. 00:28:30.000 |
So Babylon, at least the city, was known for temptation, sexual immorality. 00:28:38.680 |
So why would they want to leave all that behind and come back to Jerusalem? 00:28:44.040 |
So when the Bible describes Babylon, it's describing a rebellious world that God judges, 00:28:50.500 |
that is under control of Satan, and its primary temptation is not fear. 00:28:58.000 |
And one of the top lure that we've already looked at is sexual immorality. 00:29:06.440 |
And so the second angel is bringing judgment and saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the 00:29:13.000 |
great, she who made nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality." 00:29:17.960 |
So the progression that we see from the first angel to the second angel is the first angel 00:29:26.720 |
The second angel comes out and he's saying condemnation upon mankind. 00:29:31.720 |
So it almost seems like the first angel is rejected by the world. 00:29:36.880 |
And as a result, the second angel comes and he declares condemnation. 00:29:40.600 |
And then the third angel summarizes all of this. 00:29:44.840 |
And he brings a clear message of judgment that's coming. 00:29:49.920 |
He says, "Those who have given allegiance to the beast will experience the wrath of 00:30:01.860 |
And that's the distinction between the wrath of God and the discipline of God. 00:30:07.000 |
Even as he is bringing the trumpet judgments, do you remember? 00:30:11.340 |
Even as he is bringing the trumpet judgments, he is pleading with the world to repent. 00:30:23.840 |
And even in the midst of all of this, God is opening his arms saying, "Even if now you 00:30:30.440 |
As we wrap up the trumpet judgments, he said that he's not going to delay, meaning the 00:30:38.980 |
So the description that we have of the third angel is the final judgment. 00:30:46.040 |
That the way he describes it, let me read it. 00:30:51.400 |
"Another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, 'If anyone worships the 00:30:53.840 |
beast and its image receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink 00:30:59.220 |
the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger.'" 00:31:05.840 |
I mean, just to think about the wrath of God is enough. 00:31:07.960 |
But he describes it saying this is going to be full strength. 00:31:14.100 |
And he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the 00:31:19.840 |
So again, the description of wine that's not diluted, meaning that God is not holding 00:31:25.720 |
At the very end, when the judgment comes, it's not for the purpose of discipline, but 00:31:36.140 |
As intense as judgment has been, all of it was in hopes that those who are remaining 00:31:43.360 |
But when the final judgment comes, it will be the end. 00:31:50.180 |
So the second part of it is it will not be diluted. 00:31:54.760 |
It will be complete, final, and eternal forever. 00:32:00.180 |
So this third angel is describing the very end, the white throne judgment. 00:32:09.940 |
So this section ends with an exhortation to persevere even unto death. 00:32:18.620 |
"Here is a call for the endurance of the saints that those who keep the commandments of God 00:32:33.560 |
"And I heard a voice from heaven saying, 'Write this, blessed are the dead who die in the 00:32:39.920 |
Blessed in these says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds 00:32:44.760 |
So, again, the angel is describing a scene where Christians are going to be intensely 00:32:49.740 |
persecuted and as a result of that, many of them are going to die. 00:32:53.540 |
And is reminding them that if you persevere, there's going to be great reward. 00:32:58.220 |
So in verse 13, he says, "From this point on, those who die are going to be blessed, 00:33:04.820 |
because those who die are going to find true rest." 00:33:08.500 |
So scripture often describes hell as a place of no rest. 00:33:14.820 |
"Smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest day or night, 00:33:19.700 |
for he is worshiper of the beast and its image, and the worshiper receives the mark of its 00:33:31.100 |
So if you look at the Garden of Eden, God enters into the Sabbath, Sabbath is broken. 00:33:38.380 |
And so the whole redemptive history is trying to restore this rest. 00:33:45.700 |
So I think it's a very vivid image of mankind. 00:33:51.540 |
Very vivid image, maybe I don't know the right words to describe it, but it gives an image 00:33:57.100 |
of whether you are living in peace or rich or poor or having a lot of friends or few, 00:34:12.700 |
When we talk about there's a void, there's a need to pursue something, to make meaning 00:34:16.420 |
of life and find purpose for existence, all of this is pointing to unrest. 00:34:25.020 |
And so the Bible describes salvation as restoring that Sabbath, restoring that rest. 00:34:30.700 |
And so in Hebrews 4, 1 through 11, I don't think I have that. 00:34:39.020 |
So let's turn our Bibles there to Hebrews chapter 4, just a few pages flipped. 00:34:48.620 |
I don't think I have that passage, but I want to read it. 00:35:01.420 |
I'm just going to read the whole thing, but I want you to pay attention to the word rest 00:35:07.420 |
"Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands," so again, in chapter 00:35:13.940 |
4, verse 1, when it says promise of entering this rest, what rest is he referring to? 00:35:20.980 |
"While the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should 00:35:28.380 |
For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit 00:35:32.460 |
them because they were not united by faith and with those who listened. 00:35:36.060 |
For we who have believed entered that rest as he has said, 'As I swore in my wrath, they 00:35:44.260 |
So again, repeatedly over again, the word rest is used interchangeably with salvation. 00:35:49.980 |
"Although his works were finished from the foundation of the world, for he has somewhere 00:35:54.380 |
spoken of the seventh day in this way, and God rested. 00:35:58.380 |
And on the seventh day from all his works," and again, in this passage, he said, "they 00:36:05.940 |
Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good 00:36:09.500 |
news failed to enter because of his disobedience." 00:36:12.620 |
Again, he appoints a certain day, "today saying through David so long afterward," in the words 00:36:19.220 |
already quoted, "Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. 00:36:23.740 |
For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 00:36:29.520 |
Then there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 00:36:31.940 |
For whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. 00:36:38.320 |
Let us therefore strive to enter that rest so that no one may fall by the same sort of 00:36:44.300 |
Now, there's more of this doctrine that's stated in the book of Hebrews and other passages, 00:36:50.460 |
but again, the Bible uses the term rest and Sabbath interchangeably with salvation. 00:37:01.620 |
Rest is because we've been separated from the agent of rest, which is God. 00:37:07.420 |
God entered the rest, and our God the Father has been in the Sabbath where he originally 00:37:17.300 |
And that's why this doctrine of Sabbath is so important, central in the Old Testament. 00:37:23.700 |
And then it carries over to the New Testament to teach us about this rest. 00:37:27.700 |
So again, when this angel comes, he says those who have the mark of the beast, they will 00:37:34.740 |
They will not be able to find rest for eternity. 00:37:37.060 |
And those who enter into God's salvation will be at rest for eternity. 00:37:47.500 |
The last part, the final harvest and the sickle. 00:37:50.900 |
You know, typically when we think about the sickle, the angel of death, right? 00:37:57.840 |
We think of the angel of death with the long hood, and he usually shows up during Halloween 00:38:19.540 |
Jesus holds one of the sickle, and who else holds another sickle? 00:38:27.020 |
So in this text, the angel holding the sickle is God's angel. 00:38:33.340 |
It's God's agent bringing the harvest, meaning that he's going to bring final judgment. 00:38:38.940 |
When he says that, you know, before Christ comes, he will not divide between wheat and 00:38:44.180 |
tares, but at that time, when the harvest comes, he will divide, right? 00:38:52.220 |
So we see that Jesus initiates the final harvesting of the world, again, described in Daniel 7, 00:39:02.980 |
Daniel 7, 13, and 14, it says, "I saw in the night visions, and behold, the clouds of heaven. 00:39:10.900 |
So again, the description of the one like the Son of Man is a very specific description 00:39:20.060 |
And so the term that Jesus used of himself, more than any other term, is Son of Man. 00:39:27.480 |
Not the Messiah, but the term that he used most commonly in the context of the Jewish 00:39:34.800 |
He described himself Son of Man more than any other. 00:39:36.940 |
And that's a very specific description of the Messiah that is described in Daniel chapter 00:39:43.300 |
And Daniel chapter 7 describes a man who is eternal, who is from God, right? 00:39:48.860 |
And so what is being said here is an exact description, or almost verbatim, of what we 00:39:54.980 |
see in Daniel chapter 7 of this Messiah King that's coming, right? 00:39:59.100 |
"He's like the Son of Man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before 00:40:02.900 |
him and to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom that all people's nation languages 00:40:08.500 |
His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that 00:40:14.340 |
And again, in Acts chapter 1, 9, if you remember when Jesus is taken up, he says, "And a cloud 00:40:22.500 |
And then remember the angels say, "As he went, he will come," right? 00:40:27.460 |
As he went, and he went up in the clouds, and he will return in the clouds. 00:40:30.580 |
So that's the description that we see here, right, in Daniel chapter, or the text that 00:40:45.260 |
And so Jesus came at the fullness of time, right? 00:40:49.100 |
Again, I mentioned this a couple weeks ago, at the fullness of time when sin became utterly 00:40:53.980 |
sinful and Israel's sin has climaxed to its peak where they could not have possibly thought 00:41:01.580 |
that they can redeem themselves, and God allows that to happen, right? 00:41:06.620 |
God allows sin to run its full course before he comes. 00:41:10.820 |
And at the end times, he said, he is also waiting for the harvest to be full. 00:41:15.380 |
He's going to allow sin to become utterly sinful, but this time he does not come to 00:41:20.380 |
He will redeem his church, but he will also come to judge. 00:41:28.980 |
He's not disciplining the world, hoping that someone will return. 00:41:31.740 |
When the final judgment comes, it is a divide between the weak and the terrorists, right? 00:41:43.780 |
And all of that is to set up for the final seven judgments, seven bold judgments in chapter 00:41:48.900 |
So I don't know if you've read it yet, but if you've been following us, you're kind of 00:41:53.340 |
like, what is in these bold judgments that all of this is to set up for the six bowls, 00:42:00.580 |
So before the millennium comes, before the new heaven and new earth and eternity comes, 00:42:07.500 |
there's going to be an increase of turmoil, increase of sin, increase of persecution, 00:42:14.060 |
increase of wars and famine, and it's going to be intensified. 00:42:18.260 |
So if you're paying attention, you won't miss it, right? 00:42:27.480 |
It ends with something, and I was kind of debating whether I'm going to get into this 00:42:32.020 |
or not, but it ends by something strange when it says in verse 20, "And the winepress was 00:42:37.060 |
trodden outside the city, and the blood flowed from the winepress as high as horses' bridle 00:42:43.740 |
And I was debating whether I'm going to get into this. 00:42:46.860 |
And I'm just going to mention and move on because no one knows this for sure, but 1600 00:42:57.420 |
Again, this is one of those things that you can look at and take it for a grain of salt. 00:43:04.500 |
But some of the commentators, or a lot of the commentators who take these things literally, 00:43:08.820 |
say 184 miles is approximately the distance of Palestinian land. 00:43:15.140 |
And so some of them have interpreted this, that this intense judgment, at least this 00:43:20.060 |
final Armageddon battle and this intense scene where the blood is going to flow and all this 00:43:26.460 |
stuff that's described by the third angel, and it also describes that it's outside the 00:43:30.740 |
gate, so outside of Jerusalem would be Palestine. 00:43:34.580 |
And so how the judgment is going to be coming upon this particular area, okay? 00:43:42.860 |
Again, it's just one of those things that's interesting because the numbers happen to 00:43:47.980 |
But outside of that, again, it's just an educated guess, okay? 00:43:53.220 |
Let me go over the discussion questions real quick. 00:43:58.580 |
In light of the contrast between darkness and light in chapter 13 and 14, what is the 00:44:03.660 |
greatest contrast that you have seen in your life before you became a Christian and after? 00:44:07.300 |
I know some of you guys have been a Christian for a while, and some of you guys may not 00:44:12.180 |
remember that well what it was like before you committed your life to Christ, right? 00:44:19.260 |
But when you think about your walk with God, when you committed your life to Christ, what 00:44:23.740 |
was the most obvious difference that you saw in your life in darkness and your life in 00:44:30.660 |
Number two, what is something that you didn't understand about Christianity until after 00:44:36.180 |
This is related to the 144,000, and they were the only ones who were able to learn the song 00:44:41.300 |
and the description of their obedience and purity and all of that. 00:44:44.260 |
And so what are some things that you remember that before you became a Christian that you 00:44:49.020 |
didn't understand and then after you became a Christian? 00:44:51.900 |
The first thing that I thought about was prayer, you know, because I grew up in a Christian 00:44:59.180 |
What I didn't understand was people who really prayed. 00:45:02.260 |
I understood why people came to church, at least from a non-Christian point of view, 00:45:10.060 |
They come because they need friends, and they want to hang around with their friends and 00:45:14.060 |
their peers, so that's why they come to church, because I didn't understand the aspect about 00:45:18.780 |
So everything that the church did made some sense to me, because the worship, you know, 00:45:24.140 |
people worship because it's kind of like a security blanket. 00:45:26.700 |
They hold onto it because, you know, just in case God exists, and it makes you feel 00:45:32.260 |
So some people do it through Buddhism, some people do it through Hinduism or Muslim. 00:45:35.660 |
So Christians, this is just their way of holding onto, hoping for something better, right? 00:45:45.240 |
But the one thing that I didn't understand is their fervent prayer. 00:45:49.060 |
So, you know, like just going and burning incense and doing some ritual things, like 00:45:53.700 |
just for your comfort, I can get that, but really clinging, like God's going to answer 00:45:57.940 |
your prayers, like that didn't make sense to me until after I became a Christian, because 00:46:02.700 |
only if you really believe God would answer prayer would you pray like that, like praying 00:46:09.300 |
That didn't make any sense to me, because it didn't fit what I thought was happening 00:46:15.220 |
So do you remember anything before you were a Christian, certain things that didn't make 00:46:19.420 |
sense to you until you became a Christian, right? 00:46:23.140 |
Number three, read 1 John 2, 15-17, it states that if you love the world, the love of the 00:46:28.420 |
Father is not in him, why is it impossible to love both the world and God, right? 00:46:33.100 |
Again, this is not my statement, this is what it says in that passage. 00:46:36.620 |
How does love of God weed out the love for the world, and how does the love for the world 00:46:44.780 |
So let me pray for us, and I'll break you guys up into your small group. 00:46:47.780 |
Again, if you are new to the church and you don't have a small group to be plugged into, 00:46:53.060 |
Jeremy, if you turn your head to your left, he's going to plug you in. 00:46:57.740 |
So if you need to be plugged in somewhere, just go see him and he'll help you find a 00:47:06.380 |
Heavenly Father, we want to thank you for your living word. 00:47:12.900 |
We pray, Father God, as you promised, that your word would judge the thoughts and intentions 00:47:17.660 |
And we know all of these things, Lord God, and some of it is confusing, but we see who 00:47:23.580 |
you are, how you are a God deserving of worship, and how you are so patient with beings that 00:47:31.220 |
are rebellious, that you can so easily just squash. 00:47:35.900 |
We pray that you would allow us to see a greater picture of who you are, so that we may see 00:47:44.120 |
We pray, Father, that you would bless the time of our small group, and may it be sharpening