The Drama of Revelation ‐ Session 903‐21‐17
WELCOME TO THE DRAMA OF REVELATION
A Study of The Book of REVELATION SESSION IX – 03/14/17
THIS WEEK’S CLASS REVELATION 14 - 18 • Session 1 – Introduction and • Session 5 – The Process: Seven Background to Revelation Seals and Seven Trumpets (Ch. 9 – 11) • Session 2 – The Prologue • Session 6 & 7 – Seven Key Figures (Chapter 1): Vision of the Coming in the End-Times Drama King • Session 8 – Plagues: Seven Bowls • Session 3 – The Proclamation of Final Judgements (Chapters 14 (Chapters 2 & 3): Letters to the – 16) Seven Churches • Session 9 – Plagues: Seven Bowls of Final Judgements • Session 4 – The Problem (Chapters 17 – 20) (Chapters 4 & 5): Seven-Sealed • Session 10 – Seven New Things Scroll (Chapters 21-22)
1 The Drama of Revelation ‐ Session 903‐21‐17
WINE PRESS OF THE WRATH OF GOD CHAPTERS 14
Having identified the key players in the eschatological end game, John now reintroduces the drama itself. The everlasting gospel is proclaimed and the fall of “Babylon” is announced. The Son of man appears to judge the world and to tread the wine press of the wrath of God.
THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES CHAPTERS 15
The final expression of the wrath of God is contained in the bowl judgments. The are called the “seven last plagues.” Before they are poured out upon the earth, the saved martyrs of the Great Tribulation appear singing the songs of deliverance and redemption. Then seven angels proceed out of the heavenly temple with seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God.
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BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON CHAPTERS 16
The seven angels are sent forth to pour out their goblets (bowls) of judgment from the cup of God’s wrath. The earth is shaken by a series of devastating catastrophes culminating in the Battle of Armageddon. After the seventh bowl, God Himself speaks from the temple of heaven and announces, “It’s done.”
BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON
• Revelation 16:14-16 tells us that the ultimate conflict of human history will take place at Armageddon in the Valley of Jezreel. It is the place where the kings of the earth will assemble for battle on the “great day of God, the Almighty.”
• There in the broad valley that separates Galilee from the hills of Samaria, the greatest war of all time will be fought.
• Israel, not the Church, is the target of these attacks. In this battle, Christ will return with His Church saints, His bride, to deliver Israel and complete the unity of God’s people.
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BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON IS CALLED…
• Wrath of the Lord (Is. 26:20) • Harvest of judgment (Mic. 4:11-12; Rev. 14:14-20) • Fury of the Lord (Ezek. 38:18) • Grapes of wrath (Is. 63:1-6; Rev. 19:15) • Terror of the Lord (Is. 2:10)
• Vengeance of God (Is. 35:4) • Great supper of God (Ezek. 39:17-20; Rev. 19:17-18)
BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON
The final devastation will be the self-destructive acts of a world gone mad without God. The Bible says:
• Darkness will reign (Is. 5:30; • Huge hailstones will fall Zech. 14:7) from heaven (Rev. 16:21).
• The heavens shall be shaken • The invading host will (Is. 34:4) destroy itself (Zech. 14:13).
• Vivid description in • The earth will quake (Is. Zechariah 14:12-13. 29:6; Zech. 14:4-5)
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BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON
The battle is inspired by the false trinity wanting to overthrow the true Trinity. Armageddon is the climax of the angelic conflict that began in heaven, was transferred to earth, and now has come full circle as Satan tries to defeat God by force. Armageddon is also the world’s final response to God’s call for repentance. Throughout the tribulation, God called mankind to repent. But most will refuse (16:9, 11) and align themselves with the Antichrist. The result is that God will allow Satan to gather together the world’s armies for God’s swift judgment.
SEVEN BOWLS OF WRATH
• The “loud voice” (16:1) that speaks from within the heavenly temple is the voice of God. He entered into the temple in Chapter 15 when it was filled with His glory.
• During the meantime, no one else enters the temple until the seven plagues, which contains the wrath of God, are disbursed.
5 The Drama of Revelation ‐ Session 903‐21‐17
SEVEN LAST PLAGUES: BOWLS OF JUDGMENTS
• While there are obvious parallels between the trumpets and the bowls, the bowl judgments are specifically called the “seven last plagues” (15:1).
• “Seven” is the predominant numeral of the Apocalypse. The seven bowls are poured out in rapid succession. It is too late to repent or to stop the hand of God. The world is nearly wiped out before it knows what hit it!
SEVEN LAST PLAGUES: BOWLS OF JUDGMENTS
1. Into the earth Malignant sores (16:2) 2. Into the sea Oceans polluted (16:3) 3. Into the rivers Fresh waters polluted (16:4) 4. Upon the sun Scorching heat (16:8-9) 5. Upon the throne of beast Darkness and pain (16:10-11) 6. Upon river Euphrates Dried up; kings from the east (16:12-16) 7. Into the air “It is done”; earthquake and hail (16:17-21)
6 The Drama of Revelation ‐ Session 903‐21‐17
SEVEN LAST PLAGUES: BOWLS OF JUDGMENTS
• When the battle is over, God speaks from the heavenly temple and announces, “It is done” (v. 17).
• That which has been in the process of developing is now complete. It summarizes the finality of all that has happened in the bowl judgments, and it anticipates all that will still be explained in detail in Chapters 17 – 19.
THE GREAT HARLOT AND THE SCARLET BEAST CHAPTER 17
The great harlot who rides a scarlet beast appears. She is called “Babylon the great.” But the details of her description clearly indicate she represents the city on “seven mountains” – that great city that “reigns over the kings of the earth.”
Together, Revelation 17 – 18 describe the fall of “Babylon” in detail.
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THE GREAT HARLOT AND THE SCARLET BEAST
• The fall of Babylon has already been announced in Revelation 14:8. It’s doom has already been certified.
• Now John fills in the details, taking all of Chapters 17 – 18 to do so.
• Both ecclesiastical and political Babylon come into view in the things that follow. The city itself is pictured as a drunken harlot who is about to fall into judgment.
• She drains the cup of God’s wrath (16:19) only to be deceived by the very beast that carries her.
THE GREAT HARLOT AND THE SCARLET BEAST
• John is summoned by one of the angels to view the judgment of the great harlot. By contrast, later he will be summoned to view the Bride of the Lamb.
• The correlation is deliberate in that it sets for the contrast between the kingdom of the Antichrist, the city of the great harlot, and the city of the Bride of Christ, the New Jerusalem.
• The great harlot is portrayed in direct opposition to the Bride of Christ.
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WHO IS THIS GREAT MYSTERY
• John’s imagery is drawn from Jeremiah 51:7-8, where Babylon is referred to as a “golden cup” that made the nations drunk with intoxicating desire for power.
• John takes the name of Israel’s ancient enemy, Babylon, and uses it for Rome.
• The harlot is Rome. Adorned in luxury and intoxicated with the blood of the saints, she stands for a dominant world system based on seduction for personal gain over and against the righteous demands of a persecuted minority.
WHO IS THIS GREAT MYSTERY
• The “great harlot is represented as the “mother of harlots” (17:5). She not only seduces men, but she also seductively recruits other “women” to join in her evil enterprise.
• The “mystery” of Babylon the Great is not a reference to ancient Babylon. The false religion symbolized by her has permeated all history from the time of Babylon until the present day.
• Satan’s counterfeits have appeared in many countries and cultures, and they will reach their climax of sinister methods, evil practices and deceptive teachings during the Tribulation period.
9 The Drama of Revelation ‐ Session 903‐21‐17
A WOMAN RIDES THE BEAST
• She is depicted as a great “harlot” involved in fornication, which is equivalent to spiritual adultery.
• In the symbolism John uses in the Revelation, the great harlot represents apostate religion and its interdependence on and with political power. She represents false religion in the Last Days.
• The great harlot is not only depicted as riding the scarlet beast, but also riding upon “many waters,” which 17:15 describes as “peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.” She is seen as perpetuating and promoting a world religion that engulfs the world political system.
THE BEAST AND THE BOTTOMLESS PIT
• The beast is described as having seven heads and ten horns. • The seven heads are “seven mountains on which the woman sits” (17:9). This refers to Rome, the city on seven hills. • The ten horns may be the kings of the East in 16:12. They are symbolic of human completeness, all the kings of the world.
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THE BEAST AND THE BOTTOMLESS PIT
• There are seven kings, or kingdoms (17:10). They represent the seven Gentile kingdoms which have followed one another in succession.
• The beast, from the “bottomless pit” is the symbol of the Antichrist and of his kingdom, which is opposed to the true kingdom of God.
AT WAR WITH THE LAMB
• John points out that ten kings of the future will receive power with the beast for “one hour,” or a brief period of time.
• Thus, raw materialism and intoxication with power will drive the kingdom of the Antichrist to turn against its pseudo religious perpetrator. The result in the annihilation of the latter.
• In the end, the satanic trinity will no longer even pretend to represent anything that can be construed as Christian at all. The beast will demand worship for itself alone.
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AT WAR WITH THE LAMB
• All-out religious war will follow. Anyone claiming any faith in or allegiance to Jesus Christ will be executed for treason.
• The beast will declare war against the Lamb and His followers.
• At the very time of the Great Tribulation, when wars and calamities are at their worst, the beast will turn against the offspring of the woman.
THE FALL OF BABYLON CHAPTER 18
The final aspects of the fall of Babylon are given in detail. The great commercial center of the global economy is destroyed and burned up in “one hour.” Sailors and merchants mourn over the “smoke of her burning.” But the revelator announces: “Rejoice over her!” Babylon falls that the New Jerusalem may come.
12 The Drama of Revelation ‐ Session 903‐21‐17
THE FALL OF BABYLON
• As John the apostle stood on the precipice of eternity, he foresaw the final collapse of all that we call Western civilization.
• As apocalyptic “Babylon” burned beyond recognition, its commerce, business, merchandise, and entertainment industries went up in smoke.
• “Babylon” would again become a desolate and uninhabited place – a “dwelling place for demons” (18:2). And all of this would occur in “one hour” (18:10, 17, 19)!
THE GLOBAL ENTERPRISE
• John pictures the kingdom of the Antichrist as a place where the “merchants” of earth grow rich and where the people live in prosperity. Yet, they shall all weep one day because her merchandise will one day disappear (v. 12-14). • While sailors and merchants weep over Babylon’s destruction, heaven rejoices (v. 20). They are reluctant to land on her shores (v. 17). • The corporate centers of business and power will collapse. • Even the musicians and craftsmen will be silenced (v. 22).
• Death stalks the city! Life has been virtually exterminated.
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THE TWO COMMANDS
• Two commands are given to the true people of God in light of Babylon’s fall: “Come out of her” and “Rejoice over her.” • First, they are told not to partake of her sins lest they also partake in her plagues (v. 4). • Second, they are told to rejoice over her demise because “God has pronounced judgment for you against her” (v. 20)
• God has no mercy for this evil system that has always persecuted true believers. He shows no mercy and spares no unrepentant soul.
THE TWO COMMANDS
• Today, “Babylon” still tugs at the flesh of every human being. Satan’s lure of materialism, prosperity, human comforts, and the pursuit of pleasure are constant.
• God’s commands are clear. • “Come out of her” (v. 4). We must separate ourselves from the allurements of Satan and do not partake of her sins. • “Rejoice over her” (v. 20). Rejoice, not sorrow, over the judgments and destruction of the materialistic system. Its merchandise is that of fools. It cannot bring lasting joy or peace. It will sink to the ocean like a giant millstone and be forgotten (v. 21).
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NEXT WEEK’S CLASS REVELATION 17 - 20 • Session 1 – Introduction and • Session 5 – The Process: Seven Background to Revelation Seals and Seven Trumpets (Ch. 9 – 11) • Session 2 – The Prologue • Session 6 & 7 – Seven Key Figures (Chapter 1): Vision of the Coming in the End-Times Drama King • Session 8 – Plagues: Seven Bowls • Session 3 – The Proclamation of Final Judgements (Chapters 14 (Chapters 2 & 3): Letters to the – 16) Seven Churches • Session 9 – Plagues: Seven Bowls of Final Judgements • Session 4 – The Problem (Chapters 17 – 20) (Chapters 4 & 5): Seven-Sealed • Session 10 – Seven New Things Scroll (Chapters 21-22)
See you next week as we continue…
THE DRAMA OF REVELATION
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