Revelation Chapter 14:8-20 Lesson 21 Christ Independent Methodist Church 4078 Silver Lake Drive, Palatka, FL 32177 June 8, 2011 Michael K. Hudson Sr. Senior Pastor The ruins of Megiddo overlooking the Jezreel valley. With its commanding view of the entire Jezreel valley, the citizens of Megiddo could watch the unfolding of every battle fought in the plain below them. Revelation 14:8 20 KJV And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great
winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. Revelation fourteen is a refreshing chapter after the depressing events recording in chapter thirteen. It is refreshing to know that no matter what the devil tries to destroy, the Lord s work will continue and He will finish His plan of redemption. The Lord will sit on His throne forever and no one can usurp His place or authority. Chapter fourteen is a glimpse ahead beyond the Tribulation Period to what the Lord will accomplish in judging the wicked and upholding and blessing the righteous. I. The refreshing vision of Babylon s doom Revelation 14:8 KJV And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. Other than Jerusalem, Babylon is one of the most prominent cities mentioned in the Bible. It is the city that is seen as the seat of Satan s lies. It is the center of the world s system of the Beast. Many Bible scholars believe that Babylon will be rebuilt during the Tribulation Period. Babylon first became a city when Nimrod founded it after the flood. Genesis 10:8 10 KJV And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Babel or Babylon was the first great Gentile world power. It was the seat of idolatry. It was the seat of man s rebellion against God. It was the place when man tried to replace God with his own religion and strength. Genesis 11:1 9 KJV And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another s speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. Babylon was the place of the great deception of Satan that has continue to exist throughout the ages and will reach its final and highest peak under the Antichrist in the Tribulation Period. There are two Babylon s mentioned in Revelation. The first one is the religious Babylon where its destruction is seen in great detail in Revelation chapter seventeen. The second one is the commercial Babylon where its destruction is seen in Revelation chapter eighteen. These two chapters will go into greater detail in Babylon s destruction. However, this vision is to show John that the destruction of Babylon is imminent. God is going to destroy the work of Satan and his great deception. It will be removed from the face of the earth, to exist no more. 2
The ending phrase she made all nations drink of the wine of her fornication means that she deceived the nations into believing her lie of idolatry. The modern day Babylon is the religious world system, the world church that has removed Christ and brought in damnable heresies. The world church has denied Christ. When the church no longer believes that Christ is the Son of God, the blood of Christ, the Bible, or the need for salvation, then the church has become nothing more than a social organization with no power. It has become a false church, part of the Babylonian system of deception. Jeremiah 51:7 KJV Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad. The nations have been deceived into following her idolatry. They will follow after her and go down in destruction. Man has tried for centuries to replace the Lord in every aspect of life. Even in our nation today, man is trying to push God out of the public s life. They want to remove any mentioning of God in prayers, publications, and speeches. They do not want to retain God in their thoughts. They are even pushing God out of the church, making it nothing more than a place of philosophy and psychiatry. Finally, man will reach the pinnacle of pushing God out of society when the Antichrist gains control during the Tribulation Period but its attempt is short lived because the Lord is returning and will destroy Babylon. II. The refreshing vision of the judgment on the Beast worshippers Revelation 14:9 12 KJV And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. The next angel followed and issued a great proclamation that anyone who received the mark of the Beast is doom for eternity into hell s fire. This is a very simple interpretation. The ones who succumb to the lies and deception of the Antichrist and received the mark of the Beast in their foreheads or hands have sealed their eternity in damnation. They will probably realize to late what their decision to accept the mark meant in regard to eternity. Satan deceived them; he is the great liar and deceiver. They believed his lie. Rejecting the mark of the Beast will not be an easy thing to do during this time? Because rejecting the mark means that the person will not be able to buy food for his family or himself. Can one imagine the pressure on a man, whose family is hungry, having to choose whether to receive the mark of the Beast or let his family starve? The pressure will be intense. Many will bow under that pressure and receive the mark that will seal their eternal fate. The statement is simple: accept the Lord during the Tribulation Period and suffer great persecution and even death and receive eternal life or accept the mark of the Beast and get physical food, yet receive eternal damnation of one s soul. Heaven or hell that is the choice one has to make. Now, many today do not believe in a literal hell. Many preachers have denied the existence of a literal hell. They do not believe that a loving God would create such a place as hell. However, Christ spoke more about hell s fire than he did about heaven. He warned about the eternal torments of those who reject the Lord. Just as the Scriptures speak of heaven, it speaks of hell. 3
Those who receive the mark of the Beast have their fate sealed in the eternal torments of the Lake of Fire and Brimstone. Revelation 14:12 KJV Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. During the Tribulation Period, the Christians must endure the hardships and keep their faith in Christ and their obedience to the commandments of the Lord. The saved endure to the end, whether in martyrdom, death, or the return of Christ. III. The refreshing vision of those that die in the Lord Revelation 14:13 KJV And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. This is one of the most beautiful passages found in the book of Revelation. It is a promise and a blessing to those who live during the most difficult time in the history of mankind. Death for the Christian in the Tribulation period will be a relief instead of hesitancy. During our present time, Christians are looking to live as long as they possibly can on this earth. Even though they know that heaven waits, they still want to live as long as possible. I hope to live long enough to see my great grandchildren. I know that I am going to heaven; I just prefer to wait a little longer to get there. I still have a lot of things that I want to accomplish. However, during the intense persecution and devastating world condition during the Tribulation Period, death will be a sweet relief to these persecuted Christians. They will be free from the intense persecution and pain of this time. The word rest is the Greek word ajna pausiß anapausis which has the picture of a journeyer coming home to rest. The Christian is coming home, which is a beautiful picture of going to be with Christ. Paul suffered great persecution as an Apostle of Jesus Christ. He stated that he was in a dilemma between two positions: leave and go be with Christ which would be far better or stay here because others still needed him. Their works will follow them which means God will reward them for their faithfulness to the Lord. Because they suffered and died for Christ, He will reward them in heaven. Matthew 5:11 12 KJV Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. IV. The refreshing view of God s harvest of the world Revelation 14:14 16 KJV And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. Verse 14 is a picture of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a reference to the Second coming of Christ as seen in Acts 1:9-12. Acts 1:9 12 KJV And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, 4
which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day s journey. Christ is coming back to judge the world. He will judge between the true and false Christians. He will judge between the righteous and wicked. There will be a great harvest of the earth, the separation of the believers from the unbelievers and false believers. Matthew 13:24 30 KJV Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. The disciples wanted to know the meaning of this parable, which corresponds to the passage in Revelation chapter fourteen. Matthew 13:36 43 KJV Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. The Lord is going to return to the earth and when He does, he will separate the true from the false. He will harvest the world. The sickle is a sign of God s judgment. The tares, the false Christians, will be gathered together and burned in the furnace. The Christians will be brought until Him. The Christians today are not called to harvest but to sow. The Christians are called to sow the seed so souls might come to Christ. The harvest is up to the Lord. The question is, Are we busy sowing the Word of God? Even though one person cannot determine if another person is a true Christian or not, God knows His own because He has placed His seal on all those that know Him. He is the only One who will be able to separate the wheat from the tares. Remember the tares look just like the wheat until the time of the harvest. The Lord knows His own. V. The refreshing view of God s victory at Armageddon Revelation 14:17 20 KJV And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and 5
blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. Here is a picture of the battle of Armageddon. The true Christians have been taken out of the way and all that remains are the false, wicked, evil, and rebellions men. An angel comes forth from the temple in heaven having a sharp sickle that represents the judgment of God on the wicked. Another angel appears from under the altar and gives a command to the angel with the sharp sickle. This angel from under the altar is giving the command that the souls of those that were martyred in the Tribulation Period had been waiting for. In Revelation chapter and verse nine, the martyrs were crying out for justice and vengeance on those who persecuted and killed them. Revelation 6:9 11 KJV And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. The time is come when God will pour out His full vengeance on the ungodly. The angel will gather the vine of the earth and throw them into the winepress of God. God will destroy the ungodly. A more detailed picture is seen in Revelation chapter nineteen. Revelation 19:11 18 KJV And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. The phrase without the city refers to the fact that this will happen outside the city of Jerusalem. The battle will be so severe that the blood will run four feet deep and two hundred miles long. So many men will die that the blood will spread out over the length of Palestine. So severe that it will take seven years to clean up all the debris left on the battlefield. It will take seven months just to bury the dead. Ezekiel 39:9 KJV And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years: Ezekiel 39:12 KJV And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. God is going to bring the destruction on those
that rejected Him. He will protect Israel and bring His remnant through the Tribulation Period. How is this refreshing? Refreshing that God will judge the ungodly and preserve the righteous. VI. Lessons A. God will be victorious When one reads Revelation, he might wonder in certain parts if the Lord has lost control of the situation. But, God gives John a series of refreshing visions that God is still in control and on the throne of glory. He will be victorious and will accomplish His plan of redemption. B. Decision between what is true and what is false Chapter thirteen reveals the lies and deception of Satan, the Antichrist, and False prophet. It reveals the great deception that will deceive millions into receiving the mark of the Beast. Its deception will bring destruction upon these ungodly men. Chapter fourteen reveals the truth found in Jesus Christ. He is the true Lord of Lords and Kings of Kings. He will reign on the throne of David. He will gain the victory over these ungodly, wicked men. He will accomplish His will and destroy the work of Satan. Christ is the answer. Christ is the victor. Joshua said it right, Choose you this day who you will serve. Joshua 24:15 KJV And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. C. The Babylonian deception is active in the world today There are churches, schools, seminaries, and organizations that began with the purpose of bringing glory to Christ. They taught their congregation, students, and members that Jesus Christ is the way, truth, and life. But, unfortunately, many of these have departed from the faith and adhered themselves to the world s system of false religion. When one departs from Christ, he has left all. 1 Timothy 4:1 3 KJV Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. Christians must be like the ones in Berea where they studied the Word of God to make sure that what the teachers taught them was right. May each Christian dig deep into God s word so he will know the truth. Acts 17:10 12 KJV And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.