THE TEXT:

 

Revelation 22:6-21 KJV

(6)  And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
(7)  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
(8)  And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
(9)  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.
(10)  And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
(11)  He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
(12)  And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
(13)  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
(14)  Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
(15)  For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
(16)  I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
(17)  And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
(18)  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
(19)  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
(20)  He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
(21)  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

 

THE INTRODUCTION:

In Revelation 20: John’s attention was placed upon the first phase of the Christian’s eternity with Christ on the New Earth… the period of one thousand years, which has been set aside by the Lord for the judgment and reward of His people.  This was then followed by the event that closes the 1000 year time period, the judgment of Satan and his kingdom (including lost mankind) for their sins and their consignment to the Lake of Fire.

Now, in Revelation 21:-22:, John begins to share with us a wonderful description of new Jerusalem, the eternal dwelling place of the people of God….

1. Rev 21:1-11 – New Jerusalem on the New Heavens and Earth
2. Rev 21:12-21 – The Walls and Gates of New Jerusalem
3. Rev 21:22-22:5 – New Jerusalem, the Glory of Eden restored
4. Rev 22:6-20 – The Conclusion to the Book of Revelation

 

 

THE EXPOSITORY STUDY:

 

The conclusion to the book of Revelation is also the conclusion to the entire Bible.  Please keep in mind, it is believed by most that the book of Revelation is the last book inspired by God and is also placed as the last book in the Biblical text.  Because of this, the conclusion found in the book of Revelation concludes not only the book itself, but also the entire body of inspired writings that God gave to mankind.

 

Revelation 22:6-21 KJV

(6)  And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.

To conclude His message to John, the angel reminds John of the truthfulness of this revelation:

These sayings are….

1. faithful – trustworthy, not deceptive – These things have, are and will come to pass. John could count on it!
2. true – actual to fact – These things are based upon facts, not speculation nor lies.

The Master and Worshipped One of the prophets sent his angel to give this message of Revelation to His servants. Although it was given to John it was meant for all of God’s servants to read this message and learn and be encouraged from it.

One aspect of this message of Revelation was to reveal to God’s people “the things which must shortly come to pass”.  This message has revealed events that would take place from John’s day into eternity.

 

In this verse we find a very quick summary of the book that we have been looking at:

 

Revelation Principle	Quote From Text
The Origin Of Revelation	“Lord God of the Holy Prophets”
The Authority Behind Revelation	“Lord God of the Holy Prophets Sent”
The Messenger Of The Revelation	“His Angel”
The Commission Of The Revelation	“To Show”
The Beneficiary Of The Revelation	“His Servants”
The Message Of The Revelation	“The Things Which Must Shortly Come To Pass”

 

 

 

(7)  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

The angel now quotes Christ reminding John that His coming will be without delay.  As each of these events take place around us, they are meant to remind us that His coming draws nearer every day.  The swiftness of His coming is emphasized throughout the Bible:

1. Mark 13:36 – “suddenly”
2. Rom 13:12, Phil 4:5, 1 Pet 4:7 – “at hand’
3. Matt 24:27 – “as lightning”
4. Luke 18:8 – “speedily”
5. Rom 16:20, 1 Cor 7:29-31 – “shortly”
6. James 5:8 – “draweth nigh”

 

We are to look at each day as if He could come back at any moment and live our lives according to this belief…

Luke 12:42-43 KJV – “And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?  Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.”

 

By “keeping” the sayings of Revelation, we are keeping our eyes on these truths, guarding them against loss.  This will cause us to remember His coming is close at hand and our need to serve Him NOW while the opportunity remains to do His will on earth.

How can the Lord say His coming is swift when it has been more than 2000 years since John received this vision?

1. 2 Ptr 3:8-10 – The Lord does not recognize time, nor live according to it as we do.
2. Hebrews 1:2 – We are living in the last days (anytime following Christ’s coming is the last day). The next great event will be His second coming… in that since it is very near us and can take place at any time.  Compared to the times of the Old Testament, truly He will come quickly … this is the next event to take place.

 

(8)  And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.   (9)  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. 

When John receives this vision, and is reminded of these truths, he is caught up in awe and reverence, and then, falls at the feet of the angel that is delivering this message to him.  The angel then replies to John “see thy do it not”.  The angel instructs John that he does not deserve John’s worship…. Why is this?

1. I am thy fellowservant – I am nothing greater than you are, we are both simply servants of the most high God.

2. I am of thy brethren the prophets – this angel was simply performing the same ministry as the spiritual brethren of John who had prophesied throughout the OT and NT (prior to the completion of the Bible). He was a brethren of the prophets as being another created being that had Jehovah as his Creator (Mal 2:10).  In that sense, the angel was a member of the same family as the prophets of old.

3. I am of those which keep the sayings of the book – This angel is simply another one who serves the Lord, learns from the Lord and remembers this message that God has given to His servants.

Therefore, worship God.  He alone is worthy of your reverence, praise and worship.  One of Satan’s greatest desires is to have anyone other than Jehovah receive the praise and worship of men.  In doing so, men are in actuality worshipping false gods, and in effect Satan, himself (Matt 4:9).   Angel worship was a problem in John’s day (Col 2:8), these were all issues that necessitated the angel to emphasize the need to worship Jehovah alone.  

 

(10)  And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

John was not to seal up the prophecies of this book and share them with no one.  Now is the time to open up these prophesies and proclaim them for they were needed in John’s day until eternity.  The time of their fulfillment was in John’s day.  The time of these things coming to pass was at hand.

The book of Daniel and Revelation go hand in hand.  Daniel was to seal up His prophecies until “the time was the end”.  that time has now come with this vision being given to John (Dan 8:26, 12:4).  This is the time to open these prophecies and reveal their contents. 

 

(11)  He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.      

The end of this revelation has come.  It is now time to either reject its message or believe it and prepare for the second coming of Christ.

The phrase “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.”  is not saying that it is too late to be saved.

(We can clearly see in verse 17 that the time of salvation was still open to any that will come to Christ).  What it is saying is make up your mind now… do not put it off.  There is nothing more that will be said (the book of Revelation was the last book of the Bible that was given to man).  Man now has all the information from God that he is going to receive.  Now is the time to choose to remain in their lost condition or choose to be saved:

1. he that is “unjust” – wrong doers, sinful lifestyle and works
2. he that is “filthy” – dirty, unclean, sinful condition
3. he that is “righteous” – innocent, lawful, Godly works
4. he that is “holy” – separated from dirt, clean, righteous condition

“still” – to continue on, hereafter – if after hearing these words and a man chooses to remain in a sinful condition… nothing more can be said, nothing more will be revealed that will change his mind.  If the completion of God’s Word, at the completion of Revelation, isn’t enough to show him his need, nothing will.

Likewise with those who are saved, if he chooses righteousness based upon the completed Word, let him continue on in righteousness with righteous living.  Why nothing new will be revealed from God.  He can fully commit to Christ’s righteousness and righteous living because he now knows that Revelation brings all of God’s Word to completion nothing more will be said that would change his mind or reveal he has made a mistake in choosing Christ.

Ezekiel 3:27 KJV – “But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.”

Daniel 12:10 KJV – “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” 

 

(12)  And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.  (13)  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

One last reminder to come to a decision quickly…. “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”

What are lost men waiting for?  There will be no further revelation from the Lord and He will come at any time.  When He comes every man must stand before Him and answer for the decisions they have made and works that they have performed.

Christ is the “Alpha” and the “Omega”, He is the “beginning” and the “ending” of all things, He is the “first” and the “last”.  He made us all and He will exercise His authority over us to the very end.  He created all things perfectly and can renovate them making them into a sinless creation once again.

He can do what He says in His completed Word… no need to doubt these things or think they will not come to pass.  Now is the time to decide what we will do.  No need to wait and see if these things take place in the future.

 

(14)  Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.  (15)  For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. 

Why is it so important for mankind to come to a decision about these things?  Their eternal destiny is at stake…  For those who see their need to turn to Christ for salvation… they are blessed and made happy.

Why are they blessed and happy?

1. They are given a right to the tree of life (they will obtain eternal life)
2. They are given the right to enter the eternal city glorious city (they will enjoy the presence of Christ and eradication of sin and its results throughout eternity.

 

However, for those who choose to reject this message that has been given to them, they have only pain and sorrow awaiting them…

1. They are “without” (excluded from entrance to this city)
2. They are “without” (excluded from access to the tree of life).
3. They are looked upon as sinners by God, those who love deceit and creators of deceitful words and actions.

 

Sinful Condition	Rev 22:15	Prov 6:16-19
Morally Impure	Dogs	Wicked Imaginations
Spell Maker, Drugs	Sorcerers	Pride, Selfishness
Prostitution	Whoremongers	Evilness, Mischief
Murder	Murderers	Murderers
Worship of False Gods	Idolaters	False Witnesses
Lover of Untrue, Deceit	Loveth A Lie	Discord, Lying
Maker of Untruths and Deceptive	Maketh A Lie	Discord, Lying

 

(16)  I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

Jesus, Himself, now affirms the origin and authority that lies behind the Revelation and the other parts of His Word:

1. The angel that delivered the message to John was sent by Christ – “I Jesus have sent mine angel”
2. The message was meant to be distributed among the churches – “to testify unto you these things in the churches”
3. The Originator of this message (Christ) is the descendent (Messiah born into the earth) and ancestor (Creator) of David. – “I am the root and the offspring of David,”
4. The Originator of this message is the One who is coming again (as the sun rising in the east). – “the bright and morning star” 

We are to take the message of God’s Word, which was completed with the Revelation, because of its authorship, method of revelation, and the purpose of the book.

 

(17)  And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

The offer of the gospel message is now given as the book of Revelation is brought to a close.  Notice these basic truths about presenting the gospel message:

1. Who is active in offering the gospel?

The Holy Spirit of God (the Spirit) and the saved (the Bride).  The saved audibly present the gospel message while the Holy Spirit convicts of sin and softens the sin-hardened heart of the hearer, preparing it to be received.

 

2. What is their message?

“Come” – come to Christ. Those presenting the gospel are to offer for the lost to come.  The lost are to enter into agreement and respond as they see their need to come to Christ.

 

3. To whom is the message applicable?

Those who agree with the message – “let him that heareth say, Come.”  Their agreement is shown by them verbally consenting to the invitation to come.

Those who see their need and desire for living waters – “let him that is athirst come.”  If a person does not recognize their need of Christ or see their desperate condition cannot take advantage of this message.  Until a man sees his lost condition he will always reject this message and cannot be saved.

Those who choose to partake of the waters – “whosoever will”.  There are no good works needed to receive this great gift, the only prerequisite is to see their need and choose to receive this wondrous gift from God.

 

4. How much does this good news and eternal life cost?

It is absolutely free – “let him take of the water of life freely”.  This great gift from God is of immeasurable value.  It cost Christ, the perfect Son of God His physical life. The recipient of this great gift cannot even begin to pay for it.  A sinful man cannot begin to pay the price that the sinless Christ paid.  He doesn’t even have to try to pay for it.  It is meant to be absolutely free of charge, no strings attached.

This is the final offer of salvation recorded in God’s Word.  It is not only given at the end of the Book of Revelation, but it is given at the end of the entire Word of God.  This emphasizes the importance of this offer and the need for mankind to act upon it.

 

(18)  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

(19)  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Why is this Book of Revelation (and the entire Bible by implication) so important for all mankind to retain and keep pure from error?  It holds the key to escape from eternal separation from God and the eternal punishment of sin, while gaining eternal life in the very presence of God.

 

It is so important to keep the integrity of the Word, that we are warned of changing it in any way:

 

1. “If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book”.

If anyone adds their own thoughts to the inspired Word, the plagues found in Revelation (which are also revealed throughout the Bible) will be placed upon him.

 

2. “if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

If anyone removes content from God’s Word will be consigning himself to separation from God and eternal torment.

 

This tells us that anyone who, knowingly, adds to or takes from God’s Word is a lost individual who faces the eternal wrath of God.  No one who is truly saved would ever consider changing the message that has brought eternal life to His soul.  It is not an issue of losing salvation, it is an issue of never being saved.  Their corrupt desires to change God’s Word are signs that they are yet under the bondage of sin.

What awaits those who take away from God’s Word?

“God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”  – the word “part” simply refers to “the share or allotment”.  Here, the Lord tells us that anyone who takes away from God’s Word has clearly declared themselves as lost.  Although they may have believed they were saved, and others also believe they are saved… now it has been made clear they are lost.   In all three cases, the person has not shared in the blessing…. their name was never in the book, they had never set foot in the holy city and they never had received the blessings reserved for the saints… and, if they continue on in their current rebellious condition, they never will.  In that sense, their allotment has been taken away.  They should not fool themselves into thinking that by changing God’s Word it will somehow allow them to receive a portion of that which they do not currently possess.

By removing parts of God’s Word they have shown themselves to be lost.  There is no reason for them to believe they own a future share of the book of life, the holy city, and the blessings of eternity with Christ.   They should not fool themselves into believing that they are or are or will be saved and eternally secure.  They have lost that which they never really possessed. The Lord addressed this same principle in Luke 8:18…

“Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.”

 

Please keep in mind:

The meaning of the word “prophecy” in this passage is not limited to revealing an event that will take place in the future.   In these verses, the word “prophecy” simply means “to speak the mind of God”.  The principle is this… anytime that God reveals His mind to man, man has no right to change what God has revealed.  In doing so, it is an act of arrogance and idolatry.  The one who changing God’s Word is revealing that he believes he is smarter than God and is replacing God with himself.

Both the book of Revelation, and the entire Bible, is made up of God’s mind revealed to mankind.    This warning is placed at the end of both the entire Bible and the book of Revelation.  It is a fitting warning summary that applies to the entire inspired Word, not simply the book of Revelation.

 

(20)  He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Once again, as a final reminder, the Lord reminds us that He is coming quickly and we all must be prepared.  Our time to receive salvation and our opportunities for service are limited… Certainly, He is coming quickly.

John is in submission to the Lord’s timing for His soon return, “Amen”, in other words “so be it”, “may it be done”…

“Even so come Lord Jesus”. 

 

(21)  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. 

John’s final wish for his readers is for the grace of Christ to be shown to each of them.  Stop and think about it… for the Word to have its intended effect upon both lost and saved, God’s grace is an absolute necessity.

God’s grace must be active in the life of the lost bringing them to Christ… revealing God’s Word, convicting of sin, softening a sin hardened heart, and  granting repentance and faith to name a few.

In the life of the saved, God’s grace is necessary to apply God’s Word to the life of the saint, recognizing opportunities of service, equipping the saint for service, and bringing forth fruits of that service.

John 15:5 KJV – “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” 

John 9:33 KJV – “If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.”

 

May we all recognize our great need of God’s grace, our inability to receive it of human merit, and the wonderful blessing we have for those of us to whom it has been given.

 

 

CHRIST REVEALED:

In this conclusion to the book of Revelation, we see Christ presented as a compassionate, patient Savior who uses this opportunity to persuade men to come to salvation.

Think about it… Christ could have simply glorified Himself by revealing His greatness and reviewing the perfection of the Revelation that was just revealed to John.  But He doesn’t.  He could have glorified His Father in heaven by speaking of His great knowledge and wisdom in revealing these prophecies to us.  But He chooses to not do so.

He chooses to bring honor and glory to His Father and Himself by using this last communication to offer the gift of living water to any who would simply receive Him as Lord and Savior through faith.

Matthew 11:28-30 KJV – “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.   Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.   For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

 

THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION (SUMMARY)

May we all recognize the importance of this wondrous invitation to eternal life, apply it to our lives, and live our lives to share this message with others.  This is the greatest way we can honor our Lord and share His greatness with others.

 

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THE TEXT:

 

 

Revelation 21:12-21

 

(12)  And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
(13)  On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
(14)  And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
(15)  And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
(16)  And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
(17)  And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
(18)  And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
(19)  And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
(20)  The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
(21)  And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

 

 

THE INTRODUCTION:

In Revelation 20: John’s attention was placed upon the first phase of the Christian’s eternity with Christ on the New Earth… the period of one thousand years, which has been set aside by the Lord for the judgment and reward of His people.  This was then followed by the event that closes the 1000 year time period, the judgment of Satan and his kingdom (including lost mankind) for their sins and their consignment to the Lake of Fire.

Now, in Revelation 21:-22:, John begins to share with us a wonderful description of new Jerusalem, the eternal dwelling place of the people of God….

1. Rev 21:1-11 – New Jerusalem on the New Heavens and Earth
2. Rev 21:12-21 – The Walls and Gates of New Jerusalem
3. Rev 21:22-22:5 – New Jerusalem, the Glory of Eden restored
4. Rev 22:6-20 – The Conclusion to the Book of Revelation

 

 

THE EXPOSITORY STUDY:

 

Revelation 21:12-21 

John now begins to share with us a description of the gates and the walls of New Jerusalem… 

(12)  And had a wall great and high, 

John sees a wall large, strong and tall.  They are not used to keep men inside but they are used to control who is given access to the city (Rev 21:27).   These walls separate God’s people from those who are yet in their sins and condemned for an eternity.   They symbolize the security, and sanctity that the Lord’s people will enjoy throughout eternity.

These walls are taken from several passages in the OT, one of which is Isaiah 60:18-21…

Isaiah 60:18-20 – “Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.  The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.  Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.” 

In this passage, we see the walls given the name of “salvation” (or deliverance) and their gates given the name “praise” (or to give tribute, to honor).  Why is this?

For the Christian these walls represent the ultimate deliverance that the Lord will grant His people throughout eternity.  it will be not only deliverance from the penalty of sin, but also deliverance from the results and presence of sin.  This wonderful eternal dwelling for God’s people is the place of ultimate security, peace and holiness for the people of God prepared and kept by the power of God.

For the Christian the gates represent the Christian’s praise and tribute of the Lord.  The Christians understand that by His workings and grace alone they are given entrance to their wonderful, eternal home, He is the One that receives all the credit for their entrance into this city…. He alone deserves all their praise.

 

 

and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 

John now begins to describe these gates named “praise”.  In this section of John’s description the number twelve is very prevalent.  The number 12 is the number of eternal perfection. And is representative of God’s people set apart for His use and will share eternity with Him (12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles).   In this vision, 12 helps us to understand that these gates are reserved for the use of the people of God, the complete number of them, that will make up the citizenship of this eternal city (John 6:39):

1. There are 12 gates which give God’s people access to the city. These gates give access to all of the people of God.

2. At each gate an angel is present, guarding the door from intruders… much like the cherubim placed at the entrance to Eden to keep it (Gen 3:24).

3. Each of the 12 gates had one of the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. God’s spiritual nation of Israel, the Israel of God, (those who have believed in Christ) is represented in its entirety by these twelve names…. This shows us that the citizenship of spiritual Israel is given access to this city.  No one who is a spiritual descendant of Abraham (Gals 3:29) will be left out, nor excluded from entrance into these gates.

 

(13)  On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. 

The twelve gates are evenly distributed… 3 gates on each of the 4 sides of the walls (N,S,E,W).   This helps us to understand that the Lord saves and gives access to this eternal city to people from all parts of the globe.  No nation, race, language or family is excluded.   There can be found saved individuals from every division of mankind.

Keep in mind, Revelation 5:9-10 described the redeemed as being “out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”

 

(14)  And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 

The wall had 12 foundations, each one having the names of one the twelve apostles.  The complete number of New Testament saints is represented by the names of the twelve apostles.

Remember each gate had the name of one of the 12 tribes.  When we see this together, we can see that the inhabitants of this city will include all the saints from both the times of the Old Testament and the times of the New Testament.  Also we can see that the ministry of the OT prophets and NT apostles formed the foundation of the gospel message and opened salvation to all of God’s people…

Through the teachings of the apostles, we find the foundation of the new covenant and the gospel message through which all of God’s people gain access to this city.   Through the ministry of the OT saints, we have the many promises of Christ, the OT symbols of Christ recorded and handed down through the generations.  They both worked in harmony to bring God’s people into His spiritual nation of Israel.

This same principle is brought out in Ephesians 2:19-22…

“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;  In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:  In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” 

 

(15)  And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.

The angel possesses a “golden reed”.  The gold is symbolic of divinity and royalty.  This reed is owned by, and proceeds from our Lord, the King of Kings.

In Rev 11:1, we saw that measuring things represents ownership and control.  As the angel measures this city with the reed of God, he is symbolizing that this great heavenly city is owned by God and controlled by God.  All those who are citizens are a part of His spiritual nation, purchased by His blood and under the control of the King of Kings.

 

(16)  And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

John now tells us the measurements of this city.  It is a perfect cube with its length, width and height all the same length, twelve thousand furlongs (which equals 1380 miles).

The measurement of 12,000 (12 x1000) show us that this city is perfect, holy, sinless (12), and complete (1000). It will be sinless, the perfect size for its inhabitants, needing nothing, going far beyond all of our expectations in every direction, in every nook and cranny of it.

 

(17)  And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. 

The walls of the city were 144 (12 x 12) cubits thick.  Although these walls were measured by the angel, the measurement was performed using the measuring system of man (cubits, furlongs etc.).

 

(18)  And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. 

The wall was made of “jasper” (symbolic of preciousness and purity).  The city was made of “pure gold” (symbolizing that it was the city of our God and our King).   The gold was so “pure” it was clear like glass emphasizing its sinlessness and holiness)

The walls existed to keep, unite  and protect the saved (21:24-26) while it kept out the lost and sin (21:27). 

 

(19)  And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

(20)  The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

 

The foundations of the wall were decorated with various precious stones, all of which are found on the breastplate of the priests:

 

Stone	Color	Symbolism	References
Jasper	Clear, Brown, Red	Purity, Communion	Ex 28:20
Sapphire	Blue	StrengthPurity, Communion	Song Of Sol  5:14Ex 28 :18
Chalcedony	Green, Red, Blue	Purity, Communion	Ex 28:17
Emerald	Light Green	Purity, CommunionValue	Ex 28:18Ezek 27:16
Sardonyx	White, Blue, Red, Brown	Purity, CommunionIsraelWorship	Ex 28:26Ex 28:91 Chron 29:2
Sardius	Yellow, Brown, Red	Purity, CommunionGod’s Glory	Ex 28:17Rev 4:3
Chrysolite	Gold, Copper	Purity, CommunionValue	Ex 28:19Job 28:19
Beryl	Sea Green	Purity, CommunionWork of ChristBody of God	Ex 28:20Song of Sol 5:14Dan 10:6
Topaz	Yellow	Purity, CommunionValue	Exo 28:17Job 28:19
Chrysoprasus	Light Gold, Light Green	Purity, CommunionEternal, Permanence	Exo 28:18Jer 17:1
Jacinth	Blue, Yellow, Red	Purity, Communion	Exo 28:19
Amethyst	Dark Red, Purple	Purity, Communion	Exo 28:19

 

This helps us to see many different attributes to this Godly city.  Especially, when we realize all of these stones were found on the breastplate of the OT priest (Exo 28: – mostly listed in reverse order?), we can see this great city of God will provide a place of communion, worship, and purity.    It also helps us to see that the intercessory work of Christ is the foundation of our eternity with Him.  Apart from His constant intervention for us, we would be forever condemned.

Also note the variety of colors.  Almost every major color is represented in this combination of stones.  This reminds us of the rainbow which signifies the Lord’s faithfulness to His promises (Gen 9:10-20).  Our hope of dwelling in this wonderful city, and our entire experience of eternity with Christ, is founded upon His promises to us.  His faithfulness to those promises will be declared as we experience our eternal abode with Him.   

 

(21)  And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. 

Each of the twelve gates were made of one pearl.

A pearl is representative of:

1. wisdom – Job 28:18
2. Truth of Word – Mat 7:6
3. Good News of Christ – Matt 13:45-46

The way of access to Christ and this eternal abode is found through the gospel of Christ, the truth of the Word, the wisdom of God.

The street of the city (the path of salvation) is made up of pure gold.  Again, we can see the way of salvation is found in the truths of God, His gospel message.  It is sinless, without deception, without corruption and never changes.  This is why the gospel message is perfectly reliable,  pure, and of immense value to mankind.

 

CHRIST REVEALED:

In this section of John’s vision we come face to face with the absolute need of Christ for our future security and peace.  The walls, gates, and foundation of this wonderful dwelling place for the people of God pointed our attention solely to Christ, His work, His truth and His faithfulness.    Because of Christ’s work and His continuing intercession on behalf of His people, He will keep us secure to, and throughout, eternity….

Hebrews 7:24-25 – “But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.  Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”

 

THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION (SUMMARY)

This vision not only gives us many principles concerning the wondrous eternity we possess through His work and faithfulness to us.  It also gives us many foundational truths about salvation from sins and the way to that leads to salvation.

Please note a quick basic summary of these teachings:

1. The City pictures our salvation and the resultant eternal security
2. The Gates picture the gospel message which gives access to that salvation
3. The Angels guarding the gates are God’s messengers that possess and proclaim gospel
4. The Foundation represent the Apostles, OT Prophets and Christ, their teachings which make up God’s Word

Folks, as we are reminded of the wonderful eternity that awaits the people of God, let us also be reminded of the importance of the gospel message and its role in securing the salvation of God’s people.  It is only through this salvation that the eternal blessings of the Lord can be received.

May we all seek to live in such a way that Christ, and His glorious gospel message be revealed in each of our lives.  In doing so, we will be sharing with others around us the only way of salvation and entrance into this wonderful eternity!

1 Timothy 6:11-12 – “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.  Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.”

 

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THE TEXT:

 

Revelation 21:1-11

(1)  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
(2)  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
(3)  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
(4)  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
(5)  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
(6)  And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
(7)  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
(8)  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
(9)  And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
(10)  And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
(11)  Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

 

THE INTRODUCTION:

In Revelation 20: John’s attention was placed upon the first phase of the Christian’s eternity with Christ on the New Earth… the period of one thousand years, which has been set aside by the Lord for the judgment and reward of His people.  This was then followed by the event that closes the 1000 year time period, the judgment of Satan and his kingdom (including lost mankind) for their sins and their consignment to the Lake of Fire.

Now, in Revelation 21:-22:, John begins to share with us a wonderful description of new Jerusalem, the eternal dwelling place of the people of God….

1. Rev 21:1-11 – New Jerusalem on the New Heavens and Earth
2. Rev 21:12-21 – The Walls and Gates of New Jerusalem
3. Rev 21:22-22:5 – New Jerusalem, the Glory of Eden restored
4. Rev 22:6-20 – The Conclusion to the Book of Revelation

THE EXPOSITORY STUDY:

Revelation 21:1-11

 

 (1)  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

John now turns our attention towards the New Heavens and New Earth.

There are two Greek words that is translated “new” in the Bible:

1. kainos – to be “new” in the sense of nature – different or changed from what previously existed, to supercede the first
2. neos – to be “new” in the sense of time – existing only short period of time, recent or young

 

The word translated “new” in the terms “New Heavens” and  “New Earth” is the word kainos.  The term new is simply saying that these heavens and earth are changed from the fallen heavens and earth.  They are different, they are the replacement for the fallen heavens and earth.  It in no way implies a new creation of God, neos would have been used to imply this.  They are simply a renovated version of the Old.

John also emphasizes a very obvious change between the old and the new… no sea existed on the new heavens and earth.  Keep in mind the “sea” is symbolic of unrest and wicked mankind (Isaiah 57:20-21, Rev 20:13).  Also, it was the source of the religious kingdoms of Satan (Rev 13:1).   John is not, necessarily, saying that there will be no bodies of water on the New Heavens and Earth, he is saying that no longer will there be unrest, confusion, wickedness, nor any result of sin on this renovated earth. (Rev 21:4-8).

Compared to the previous heavens and earth, the New (“kainos’) Heavens and Earth will be a radically changed. See Isaiah 65:-66: for another look at this radically changed New Earth.

 

Remember, this New Heavens and New Earth had been renovated from the old heavens and earth at the second coming of Christ…

2 Peter 3:10-13 –

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.    Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,   Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?   Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”

In verses 10 & 12, we can see that at the second coming of Christ (“the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night” and “The coming of the day of God”) the heavens and earth will go away (“pass away”)  and be dissolved (“melt” and “dissolved”).

In verse 13 we are told that, although we are told the old heavens and old earth will go away, according to His promises to us, we look for a renovated, changed, replacement (“new”)  heavens and earth.

In other words, the actual renovation of the heavens and earth into the New Heavens and new Earth took place as the wrath of God was falling upon mankind (see Rev 19:).   The same Lord that came with His saints, sending wrath against the lost, and renovating the earth, is the same Lord that sat judging lost mankind for their sins (Revelation 20:11).

 

Beginning in Revelation 21:, John now gives us a detailed description of this New Heavens and Earth, that came into existence previously (at His second coming in Rev 19:).

(2)  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 

 

John now sees the dwelling place of God descend from heaven to the New Earth.  This heavenly city will become the dwelling place of Christ and His saints on the renovated earth.

This is the ‘better country” and the “heavenly city” spoken of in Hebs 11:13-16…  “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.  For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.  And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.  But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.”

 

This is the ‘Heavenly Jerusalem” spoken of in Hebrews 12:22-24…“But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.”

 

This is the continuing city spoken of in Hebrews 13:14…“For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.”

 

And the place prepared for us by Christ in John 14:1-3 … “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

 

John describes this city as being “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”    In other words, she is prepared and made very beautiful for her husband, Christ (Rev 21:9). They will be joined together and share each other’s presence throughout eternity.  The city is prepared for Christ and His people with the beauty of Christ’s righteousness (Isa 61:10-11).

 

The relationship between the bride and groom is the most intimate of all earthly relationships… this is a wonderful picture of the Lord’s intimate relationship with His people…

(3)  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

 

John then hears a voice speaking to him saying… 

1. “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men” – New Jerusalem, the dwelling and worship place of God will be accessible to His people.  He will live in NJ and will be worshipped in NJ.

2. “he will dwell with them” – The God will permanently inhabit this place with His people

3. “they shall be his people” – God has purchased His people with His blood. He owns them, they joyfully follow Him, worship Him, and obey Him.

4. “God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” – God will personally be with His people and be worshipped by them.

 Please note: Ezekiel 40:-on – The temple (dwelling and worship place of God) is a picture of our glorious eternity with God.

 

(4)  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

In the New Jerusalem, on the New Earth, there will be no effects of sin’s curse:

1. “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes” – No more crying due to pain, sorrow, frustrations or loss. All exist because of sin.

2. “and there shall be no more death” – There will be no physical or spiritual death. God’s people will eternally possess glorified bodies in the presence of Christ.

3. “neither sorrow, nor crying” – No more mourning due to loss, or outward displays of grief

4. “neither shall there be any more pain” – No more physical, mental, emotional pain will be felt.

“for the former things are passed away.”  – None of these will exist because the previous effects of sin and the curse upon mankind has been sent away and replaced with a sinless existence in the presence of God Himself.

 

 (5)  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

Following the description of some of the great changes that will take place in New Jerusalem on the New Earth, God, in the person of Christ, speaks from His throne.  He reminds John how these changes have taken place.  It is through His renovation of the old earth. “I make all things new” ie “I change all of these things”.

Then He reemphasizes the truthfulness of this  great change that will take place by telling John to be sure to write these things down to share them with others.   God emphasizes that these things are “true” (actual to fact) and “faithful” (trustworthy, can be relied upon). 

 

(6)  And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

The Lord continues to speak to John:

1. “It is done” – These things are certain to take place in the future. They have been made a part of God’s sovereign plans for his people. They are as good as done.  (Dan 4:35, Job 25:13, Psa 33:9-11, 115:3)

2. “I am the Alpha and Omega” – This is the title given to Jesus (Rev 1:8, 22:13).   The beginning and the ending letters of the Greek alphabet, in other words….

3. “I am … the beginning and the end” – The One who existed in eternity past, beginning cause and Creator of all. the One who will bring all these to a close and exist throughout eternity future.

4. “I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.” – Christ is offering salvation and spiritual life as a free gift to sinners. (Isa 55:1-4, John 4:10-14, 7:37-38)    The fountain of the water of life is a symbolic representation of the source of spiritual, eternal life.  In comparison, drinking of the wine of fornication results in the receipt of God’s wrath upon mankind (Rev 17:2)

 

(7)  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

Those who are victors in Christ, through the indwelling spirit: (John 16:33, 1 John 2:13-14, 4:4, 5:4-5)

1. shall be heirs with Christ of all these shared future blessings. – (Roms 8:17,32, Prov 3:35)
2. will have Christ as their God. – We will worship and serve Him (1 Cor 3:21-23)
3. will be an adopted member of God’s family – We will have a close, personal relationship based upon love and appreciation. (Roms 8:14-18)

Remember, being victors over sin, death, and this world is a mark of a true believer.  If we are true believers then we will also be heirs with Christ as our God and ourselves as His son (or daughter).

 

(8)  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Just as being victorious over sin, death, the powers of darkness and the fallen world is a mark of a true believer, John is now given a list of marks of those who are unbelievers and will partake of the second death… banished from Christ’s presence throughout eternity in the Lake of Fire.

A lost person lives a lifestyle practicing these sins, without regret nor desire to change (1 John 3:9-10) :

1. fearful – timid, no confidence, full of dread
2. unbelieving – faithless,
3. abominable – to be disgusting, abhorred by God
4. murderers – to take life intentionally, unlawfully
5. whoremongers – sexually or morally unrestrained
6. sorcerers – to make drugs, poisons
7. idolaters – serve & worship images, serve and worship false gods
8. liars – untruthful, deceptive, concealing

 

Proverbs 6:16-19 gives us another listing of marks of the lost which encompass all other Biblical references on this subject…

		PRIDE	DECEPTION	MURDER	WICKED THOUGHTS	EVIL MISCHIEF	FALSE WITNESSES	DISCORD
	Proverbs 6:16-19	Proud Look	Lying Tongue	Hands shed innocent blood	Heart deviseth wicked imaginations	Feet that be swift in running to mischief	False witness that speaketh lies	Soweth discord among brethren
	1 Corinthians  6:9-10				Idolaters, Covetous,	Fornicators,Adulterers,Effeminate,Abusers of Self With Mankind,Drunkards,		Thieves, Revilers,Extortioners
	Galatians 5:19-21			Murderers,	LasciviousnessIdolaters,Hatred,Emulations,Wrath,Envyings,	Adulterers,Fornication,Uncleaness,Witchcraft,Drunkeness,	Heresies,	Variance,Strife,Seditions,Revelings.
	Ephesians 5:5				Covetous, Idolaters	Whoremonger,Unclean Persons,
	Revelation 21:8	Unbelieving	Liars,	Murders	Fearful,Idolaters,	Abominable, Whoremongers,Sorcerers,

 

Proverbs 6:16-19 – “These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:  A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,  An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,  A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.”

 

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 – “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,  Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”

 

Galatians 5:19-21 – “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

 

Ephesians 5:5 – “For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”

 

Revelation 21:8 – “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

 

(9)  And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.

One of the angels which delivered the seven vials of wrath (Rev 16:), now offers to show to John the details of the city of New Jerusalem, referred here as the Bride of the Lamb.

Why would one of these angels be given the responsibility and privilege to deliver this vision to John?  Perhaps it is because it was through their work (the purifying of the world during the last portions of God’s wrath) that this New Jerusalem on this sinless world was brought into existence.

This refers back to verse 2 where we are told that the city is adorned like a bride for her wedding.

  

(10)  And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, John then is taken away “in the spirit” in other words, he was physically unmoved while being overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit and given the ability to see this great vision “in his mind’s eye”.  John sees himself taking a place on a great, high mountain.

Keep in mind, many times God revealed Himself, and His truths to man (Exo 19:20, Neh 9:13).   Also, based on Isa 2:2 and Ezek 40:1-2, it is possible that this city will be literally located upon a mountain.

 

And shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,   (11)  Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

New Jerusalem, heaven come down to earth, is now described as:

1. that great city – big, large, exceeding
2. holy Jerusalem – sacred, blameless, separated for God’s use… Jerusalem means “founded in peace” or “city of peace”
3. descending out of heaven (the third heaven) from God. – God’s dwelling place come down to earth.
4. having the glory of God – the very presence of God dwells there, just like the OT tabernacle and temple (Ex 40:34, 2 Chr 5:13-14, 1 King 8:11)
5. her light was like a jasper stone, clear as crystal – His glory shown within the city like light reflecting from a precious clear gemstone.  Jasper is symbolic of holiness (Ex 28:20, 39:13).  Also Jasper is a stone of great value (Job 28:17), its clarity represents sinlessness.

The Lord is symbolized by the Jasper stone… He is holy, of overwhelming value, and sinless and transparent. 

 

CHRIST REVEALED:

As we see the great symbolic beauty of the bride of Christ, the heavenly city of New Jerusalem, we are reminded of Christ’s prominence and grace that he has shown to His people.

Stop and think about it… the reason why New Jerusalem is such a beautiful city is because it was prepared by Christ Himself.  This city is a direct reflection of the beauty, greatness and wisdom of its Creator, Jesus Christ.

John 14:2-3 – “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

 

THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION (SUMMARY)

As we consider the wonders of the eternity that awaits us, may we all with grateful hearts honor and glorify our Lord.  He is the One that saved us, He is the One that has given us a share of His inheritance, He is the One that created this wonderful abode for us.

Oh what worship and dedication we owe Him.  He truly is our all… throughout eternity.

 

Homepage:               http://www.settledinheaven.org

Text Blog:                http://www.settledinheaven.wordpress.com

Video Blog:               http://www.youtube.com/settledinheaven

Email Contact:           settledinheaven@gmail.com

 

 

THE TEXT:

Revelation 20:1-6

(1)  And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
(2)  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
(3)  And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
(4)  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
(5)  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
(6)  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

 

THE INTRODUCTION:

A very basic outline of the final division of Revelation includes:

1. Rev 19 – What immediately precedes eternity with the Lord?
2. Rev 20 – The opening stage of eternity with the Lord (1000 year reign – a time of judgment)
3. Rev 21 – The subsequent stage of eternity with the Lord pictured as a great city
4. Rev 22 – The subsequent stage of eternity with the Lord pictured as Eden restored

We have already looked at Revelation 19: where we saw the Lord being praised for defeating the powers of darkness under the control of Satan (Rev 19:1-6).  We then saw the Lord uniting eternally with the saints in preparation for living eternity with them (Rev 19:7-10).  Likewise, we saw the powers of darkness, including all of lost mankind, consigned to the Lake of Fire eternally separated from Christ following their defeat (Rev 19:11-21).

In chapter 20:, we pick up with the narrative that we left in chapter 19.  Immediately following the defeat of the powers of darkness, we find the Lord disposing of Satan in the Lake of Fire just prior to the first phase of eternity, which is called the one thousand years.

In the chapter before us (Revelation 20:), we use a very simple outline:

1.  Binding Of Satan (20:1-3)
2.  The Thousand Years – The first phase of eternity with Christ (20:4-6)
3.  Satan and the Lost Loosed For Judgement  (20:7-10)
4.  Great White Throne (20:11-15)

 

 

THE EXPOSITORY STUDY:

 

Revelation 20:1-6

Following Christ’s defeat of the kingdoms of Satan (19:11-21), we now see Christ imprisoning Satan immediately prior to the beginning of eternity…

 

(1)  And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

Following Christ’s defeat of the powers of darkness, John now sees an angel.  The several truths about this angel can be identified using his three-fold description:

1. come down from heaven – this angel finds his origin in heaven. He is authorized by God to do God’s bidding.
2. having the key to the bottomless pit – he possesses the control over the inhabitants of the bottomless pit (Rev 9:1)
3. a great chain in his hand – he is capable of binding Satan rendering him impotent (2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6)

It is interesting to notice that all three of these descriptions previously pointed to Christ and the authority He holds over the powers of darkness. (Rev 1:18, 9:11, 10:1, 18:1).  Once again, it is possible that this angel is the symbolic representation of Christ Himself imprisoning Satan for 1000 years.

The term “bottomless pit” is translated from a word that means “deep place”.  It is simply another term that is used to describe the Lake of Fire.   The Lake of Fire is given this title to emphasize the inability of its inhabitants to affect the events taking place on earth (see Luke 8:31, Jude 6, Rev 9:1,2,11, 11:7, 17:8, 20:1,3).

 

(2)  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

John, then sees this angel seizing Satan and rendering Him helpless during the first segment of eternity (1000 yrs). In this passage, we can learn a lot about Satan based upon the titles he is given by John:

1. dragon – from word meaning “to fascinate”. Satan’s ability to mislead and keep men’s attention from Christ
2. old serpent – from words meaning “the ancient, sharp sighted one”. Satan discerns man’s desires and weak areas.
3. Devil – from a word meaning “slanderer or accuser”. Satan falsely accuses the people of God in the presence of Christ
4. Satan – from a word meaning “opponent or enemy”. Satan is the enemy of the Lord, constantly opposing Him.

Satan is rendered impotent for a period described as “1000 years”, the initial period of eternity on the New Heavens and New Earth in the presence of Christ.

 

(3)  And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

Now that Satan has been bound, John sees him being thrown into the bottomless pit and shut up so that he cannot escape.

Upon Satan is placed a “seal”, a mark, placed upon him showing everyone that he has been placed in this prison under the authority of Christ.    This seal is much like the seal placed upon the lion’s den in the days of Daniel (Dan 6:7) and the seal placed upon the tomb of Christ (Matt 27:66).  Both of these seals declare that they have been placed there under the authority of the ruling government of their day.

Satan’s imprisonment keeps him separated from the events taking place during the 1000 year reign.  He can no longer intervene among men, nor can he attempt to oppose the workings of Christ.   He will not be released from this prison until the very end of the 1000 yr reign.  At that point in time, he will be loosed to stand before God to be judged for his rebellious, wicked deeds.

 

Satan’s imprisonment is the final event that must take place prior to the saints enjoying eternity with Christ on the New Heavens and Earth.  John’s attention is now turned to the events of the first phase of eternity with Christ… the 1000 year reign.

Please keep in mind, during Christ’s second coming , not only are the lost defeated, but in the process the fiery wrath of God falling upon them also renovated the earth and heavens, making them sinless and prepared for eternity.  This great event is described in 2 Peter 3:7-13…

But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.  But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.    But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.   Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,    Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?   Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”  

The current heavens and earth are remaining to exist, awaiting the day when Christ will come and remake them as He destroys the powers of darkness and lost mankind at His second coming.  When Christ comes again, it will be unexpected by the lost.  The fire that Christ sends to destroy the powers of darkness, including lost mankind, will also renovate the sinful heavens and earth remaking and purifying them them to be inhabited for an eternity by Christ and His people.    John will symbolically describe this New Heavens and New Earth in great detail in Rev 21: and 22:.

 

It is upon this New Heavens and New Earth the 1000 years takes place…

(4)  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands;

John’s vision now progresses into eternity on the New Heavens and New Earth, specifically, THE FIRST PHASE of the Christian’s eternity in the presence of Christ.

What will take place during this time?

“Judgment was given unto them” – Judgment of the believer’s works is rendered resulting in rewards given based upon their faithfulness.   (Luke 14:13-14; Romans 14:10-12; 1 Corinthians 3:12-15; 4:4-5; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 2 Tim 4:8; 1 Ptr 5:4; 2 John 8;)   One of the types of rewards that they receive is authority to rule during this “1000 year” period.  (Matt 25:20-23, 28-29; Luke 19:16-19, 24-26,).  This is the purpose for the thrones.  They are places of authority held by believers after their works have been judged and rewarded.

John then describes those who will stand before the Lord:  “The souls of them that were”…

1. beheaded for the witness of Jesus, – Those killed due to their testimony (in word and deed) for Christ
2. beheaded … for the word of God, – Those killed due to proclaiming God’s Word to others
3. which had not worshipped the beast, – Those who did not submit to the wishes of Satan’s political powers
4. which had not worshipped… neither his image, – Those who did not submit to the wishes of Satan’s religious powers
5. neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, – Those who did not submit to Satan in their thoughts and desires
6. neither had received his mark upon … or in their hands; – Those who did not submit to Satan in their actions

Any one description, or a combination of descriptions, refers to all the different types of genuine believers in Christ.  Whether martyrs, teachers, those who place Christ as their first authority in life, those who guard their minds and actions.  In this vision John is seeing all Christians being judged and rewarded for their various acts of faithfulness and self-sacrifice.    These are the saints that had died on earth and were now reaping the rewards for their faithfulness to Christ.

This is the same group of “souls” are also found in Rev 6:9 where John describes them as Revelation 6:9…  “I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:”. 

 

This reminds us of the great sacrifice each and every Christian makes for the cause of Christ.  They are sacrifices given to God for His glory.  In some cases, they are physically sacrificed (martyrs) or they become living sacrifices to God dedicated to serve Him throughout their lives (Romans 12:1).  This is why John describes this group as “souls”, emphasizing the physical life within them.  They have dedicated their entire life (or “soul”) to Christ and this aspect of their earthly life is what is being judged.  These Christians, who are in their glorified bodies are standing before Christ awaiting His judgment.

 

and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.  (5)  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.

These are the ones who are now enjoying eternity with Christ.  Although they once were dead, now their bodies have been glorified and they are living with their Lord in this first stage of eternity on the New Heavens and New Earth.  The lost, who have been defeated and consigned to the Lake of Fire, are not enjoying presence with the Lord. They are spiritually dead, separated from the Lord and from this wonderful eternity.

Why is the period that God judges the saved described as “a thousand years ?”, perhaps, it is speaking of a literal 100 year time period, but keeping with the symbolic nature of the book of Revelation,  it probably is symbolic of other truths about this time period.

In the Bible, one of the most common usages of the number 1000 is to represent a complete group (“all” of something):

1. Deut 7:9 – God merciful in all generations
2. Job 9:3 – Man could not give God an answer in all divisions of time
3. Job 33:23 – One among all men
4. Psa 50:10 – God owns all the cattle on every hill
5. Psa 84:10 – A day in God’s court better than all other days
6. Psa 105:8 – God faithful to all generations
7. Eccl 6:6 – If he lives throughout all the years twice over
8. Isa 60:22 – If a little one spawns all the men in the world

Please notice especially, the Lord uses 1000 to describe ONE COMPLETE TIME PERIOD in His sight…

Psalms 90:4 – “For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.”

2 Peter 3:8 –  “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

 

The 1000 years symbolizes for us that this is one distinct time period recognized by God to judge and reward His saints for their faithful service to Him.  Although it is a part of a far greater eternity, it is one complete segment with a beginning and an ending.  In other words, the Lord will not be judging His people throughout all of eternity, but this segment will come to a definite end.

Also, the rewards for faithfulness will be enjoyed during this time period, not necessarily throughout all eternity.  It is very possible that when the second stage of eternity begins, all rewards will have been placed at the feet of Christ and all the saints will then be on equal footing one with another.  All of whom will be sharing dominion over the New Heavens and the New Earth much like was first given to Adam in the garden prior to the fall.

 

This is the first resurrection.   (6)  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

We are now told that participation in the 1000 years is a characteristic of “the first resurrection”.

To help us to understand the meaning of “the first resurrection”, we are then given four characteristics concerning those who take part in this first resurrection:

1. Blessed and holy – They have received the blessings of God. They have been separated from the enslavement of sin to willing service to Christ.
2. the second death hath no power – They will not feel the effects of the second death (eternal separation from God, facing God’s eternal against sin)
3. they shall be priests of God and of Christ – They have direct access to God and Christ.
4. and shall reign with him a thousand years. – They will participate in the rewards of authority and rulership during the 1000 years.

This helps us to see that clearly “the first resurrection” is speaking about an event that takes place in the lives of genuine believers only.   This makes perfect sense, because we know that these are the only ones that participate in the events of the thousand year reign are all the saints of God who are receiving the judgement of their works and the receipt of rewards based upon that judgment.

 

 

To better understand what is meant by “the first resurrection”, we need to notice the teachings found in John 5:24-27:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.  Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.”

 

“but is passed from death unto life”

The first resurrection of the believer is a resurrection of His soul. This resurrection gives to the one who is dead in trespasses and sins spiritual life.   Note that Christ tells us that this resurrection takes place as the result of our hearing His word and then placing our trust in the Lord.

Eph 2:1-7  “And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins;… Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)  And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus:”

 

“the hour is coming and now is… and they that hear shall live”

The Lord now helps us to understand that the resurrection for the believer has a present age and future age aspect to it…

1. In this present age (“the hour now is” ) the spiritually dead individual will hear the voice of the Son of God (His call to salvation) and shall live (receive spiritual life). (Eph 5:14, Ro 6:4, Col 2:13, Rev 20:3-6).

This is the first resurrection that the believer experiences, it is A SPIRITUAL RESURRECTION.

2. At the very end of this age (“the hour is coming”) the dead body of the saint that is in the grave will hear the voice of the Son of God (at His second coming). At that time, the body will be resurrected from the grave, glorified, and meet the spirit of the believer which has been abiding with Christ in heaven. (1 Cor 15:42-54, 1 Thess 4:14-17, Phil 3:21).

This PHYSICAL, BODILY RESURRECTION is the second resurrection that is experienced by the saints of God.

 

CHRIST REVEALED:

In this set of Scriptures, we have seen Christ revealed as the Victor over Satan Himself and the gracious, kind, faithful Lord who will usher His people into eternity.

When we look at these two ideas as a whole, we can see an amazing truth about Christ.  Stop and think about it.  If we were talking about a human being who has just totally dominated and clearly defeated his lifelong foe, leaving him without opposition, we would also see a spirit of arrogance, and a tendency to begin abusing those who are beneath him, knowing that no one can stop him.  This great victory would “go to his head” and “puff up his chest”, as he began to think about the great, permanent victory he had just won.  He would forget about “the little guy” and begin to see how he could best enrich himself through them and their labors.   Not so with Christ.

Even though Christ clearly demonstrated absolute control and supremacy over all His enemies, ridding the New Heavens and Earth of them all, He still remains kind and faithful to those He loves, entering into eternity with them… just as He had promised.

He humbly worked on behalf of His people, prior to this great display of victory…

2 Corinthians 8:9 – “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”

 

Even after His wonderful defeat of all the powers of darkness, He continues to humbly work on behalf of His people, finishing the job by bringing them into eternity with Him.   He did not forget His own, nor did His attitude change towards them in any way.   Those upon whom He has placed His redemptive love, He will bring into eternity with Him  …

Romans 8:29-31 – “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.   Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.   What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”

Philippians 1:6 – “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”

John 6:38-40 – “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.   And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.   And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

 

THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION (SUMMARY)

May we all love others as our Lord loved us… with a love that will always keep us humble and working for their good no matter what events may transpire in our lives.

Likewise, may we all follow Christ’s example in being on guard against the Satanic attacks following great victories in our lives.  Many times, immediately after a victory, we have a tendency to become self-reliant, no longer looking to Christ as the great Lord of our life.  In doing so, we become spiritually weak and susceptible to Satanic attack.

 

 

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THE TEXT:

Rev 18:11-24

(11)  And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
(12)  The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
(13)  And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
(14)  And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.
(15)  The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
(16)  And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
(17)  For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
(18)  And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
(19)  And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
(20)  Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
(21)  And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
(22)  And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;
(23)  And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
(24)  And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

THE INTRODUCTION:

In chapter 17: we took a step back and reviewed the identity and characteristics of Satan’s kingdom.  In this text, we have the two aspects of Satan’s kingdom symbolized by the two main characters being presented to us… “the Great Whore” (the religious aspects of Satan’s kingdom) and “the Scarlet Colored Beast” (the political aspects of Satan’s kingdom).

[Please note Revelation 13: where the “Great Whore” in this passage symbolized as the “Beast from the Earth”, while the “Scarlet Beast”  is symbolized as the “Beast from the Sea”.  This description also links these to a description of Satan as the scarlet dragon with 7 heads and 10 horns in Rev 12:]

In chapter 18: we will see warnings that are given to mankind to depart from these kingdoms that are destined to fall under the hand of Almighty God.

A brief outline of chapter 18:

Chapter 18:  The Warnings To Depart From Satan’s Kingdom
18:1-3 – Announcement Of Babylon’s Fall
18:4-8 – Warning To God’s People
18:9-10 – Warning To Kings
18:11-17a – Warning To Merchants
18:17b-20 – Warning To Mariners
18:21-24 – Angel With The Millstone

The background for these warnings comes from Ezekiel 26-28

THE EXPOSITORY STUDY:

Rev 18:11-24

(11)  And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:

John’s attention is now turned to the merchants of the earth and their relationship with Mystery Babylon, the false religions of the world.  Keep in mind, all of this is being said to warn the merchants living on earth during John’s day, and forward, to not unite with Satan’s religious kingdom.

This beneficial relationship between the religious kingdom of Satan and the merchants are shown in these verses:

1. vs 3 – Much of Mystery Babylon’s luxury was created through the purchase of the goods of merchants.
2. vs 11 – The merchants received monetary gain from these religions.
3. vs 15 – The merchants were made rich by her.
4. vs 23 – The merchants were greatly respected due to their wealth given to them through Mystery Babylon

Many to the false religions fill their buildings and the pockets of their leaders with great riches producing a great marketplace for merchants.  Also, many times, merchants who are members of a false religion will be favored by other members of their religion.

The loss of all these business opportunities is the cause of their great grief.  It is a selfish mourning due to the great loss of wealth and social standing now that Mystery Babylon is defeated.  They are said to “weep” showing an outward display of sorrow, while also mourning feeling a great inward sorrow at their losses.

Please note: the fall of Mystery Babylon is pictured by the fall of Tyre in the OT prophets (Ezek 27:26-36).  In these verses, the fall of Tyre results in great economic loss for the merchants of the earth.

(12)  The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,  (13)  And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

All the merchandise of the merchants that is listed in these verses are used by false religions in the performance of their ceremonies…

Role In Worship	Merchandise of Merchants	Verse
Idols, Chalices, Building Decorations	Gold, Silver, Precious Stones, Pearls	12
Clothing, Building Decorations	Fine Linen, Purple (Material Dyed Purple), Silk, Scarlet (Material Dyed Scarlet)	12
Furnishings, Idols, Utensils, Candle Sticks	Thyine Wood, Ivory, Precious Wood, Marble, Brass, Iron	12
Incense, Potions	Cinnamon, Odours, Ointments, Frankincense	13
Ordinances,  Celebrations	Wine, Oil, Fine Flour, Wheat	13
Sacrifices,  Manual Labor, Ceremonies	Beasts, Sheep, Horses, Chariots, Slaves	13
Worshippers, Contributions, Spiritual Servitude	Souls of Men (Trading men’s spiritual welfare for worldly riches)	13

Folks, we can see EVERY area of merchandise sold by these merchants can play a role in the false religion’s worship and their continuance.  Based upon the individual needs and desires of each false religion, the merchants would profit through the selling of their goods to these religions and the members of these religions.

(14)  And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.

The fruits (merchandise) of the merchants was lusted after by Mystery Babylon.  At her defeat, Mystery Babylon will have these fruits taken from her.  All that she desired will be lost, never to be regained.  This is describing the great scope and permanence of her fall as the Lord brings her to an end at His second coming.

 

(15)  The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,  (16)  And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!  (17)  For in one hour so great riches is come to nought.

The merchants will separate themselves (much like the kings – vs 10) fearful that they will be judged along with her.  Their fear of judgment is also causing them to “weep” (crying in sorrow) and “wail” (crying in pain).     They both feel sorrow due to their loss and they are pained due to their fear of coming judgment falling upon them.

These merchants cry out “Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! For in one hour so great riches is come to nought.”

“alas, alas” – they give an emphasized, outward, sound of grief

“that great city… precious stones and pearls” – they remember her times of greatness (and their great transactions with her)

“For in one hour so great riches is come to nought.” – they realize the Lord’s greatness as He quickly brought her greatness to rubble.

 

 And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,

John’s attention now turns to a warning given to the mariners who supplies these goods to the merchants.  John now sees them standing in separation from Mystery Babylon as well.   Although most, but not all of their profiting came indirectly from Mystery Babylon, by way of the merchant’s sales, they still understood that they were in great danger of being judged for their uniting with Mystery Babylon.

This is a very important point that we should not miss.  They understood that not only those who were directly connected to Mystery Babylon would be judged, but also those who were indirectly related to them.  For many of the mariners, they did no business with Mystery Babylon, they simply sold their goods to the merchants who then entered into financial transactions with Mystery Babylon.

Why are these mariners in jeopardy of judgment also?  Perhaps, the solution to this question should be sought based upon this principle…

We must take into account not simply our personal relationships with others, but also what types of relationships they form with third parties.  By doing this, we learn much about the character and lifestyles of our relationship candidates.   These mariners knew that the merchants were selfishly, greedily, selling the goods they supplied to Mystery Babylon.  Therefore, by extension, they were guilty of forming alliances with those who are known to be corrupt and, based upon their knowledge of the merchant’s activities, were guilty of dealing with Mystery Babylon as well.

(18)  And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!

They were amazed at seeing her great fall… she had been so great and had come to such a total ruin.

 

(19)  And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

Again, we see signs of selfish mourning… “cast dust on their heads” (done during times of mourning and remorse) and  “weeping and wailing” (outward displays of sorrow and pain).

Again, just like the merchants, they have in mind the great financial loss that they will bear and the great fear at seeing her sudden total defeat at the hands of Almighty God.

(20)  Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.

God’s people who are in heaven, both OT saints (“prophets”) and NT saints (“apostles”), eagerly awaiting His second coming, are being addressed.   They are told to “rejoice” at Mystery Babylon’s defeat.  Why rejoice?

Because God hath found her guilty of sins and punished (“avenged”) her.  All of her sins against the people of God are now being punished.  He is keeping His word to avenge His saints.

 

(21)  And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

Following the warnings given to the different groups of mankind to separate themselves from the religious aspect of Satan’s kingdom, we now see the overthrow and total defeat of the false religions of the world illustrated.   John sees a “mighty angel”, perhaps the same angel described as “another angel) in 18:1.

To illustrate Babylon’s great defeat, this angel takes a huge stone, (much like a grinding wheel) and through it into the sea.  As it sinks to the bottom of the sea, no proof of its prior existence can be seen… this pictures the complete, total destruction of Mystery Babylon which leaves no evidence of its previous power, wealth or presence.

See Jeremiah 51:63-64

 

(22)  And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;  (23)  And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee:

The destruction of the religious kingdom of Satan is symbolized by a city which becomes deserted due to a great catastrophe:    

Verse	Desertion In Text	Effects of the Desertion
22	the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee;	No longer will songs of worship be sung or played on instruments
22	no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee	No longer will buildings, idols, or utensils of sacrifice be made.
22	the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;	No longer will food be prepared for celebratory feasts, and worship observances
23	And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee;	No night-time activities, no candle-lit  ceremonies
23	The voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee:	No more marriages, or joyful, celebrations

This symbolism paints the picture of total, complete destruction of Mystery Babylon.  See Jeremiah 25:10

Why did such devastation take place?

for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.  (24)  And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

Three basic reasons are given:

1. for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; – She enriched and empowered others through her sinful deeds
2. for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. – She deceived all lost mankind through her potions, enchantments, false doctrines and rituals
3. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. – She opposed God’s people, abusing and martyring them.

The Lord, justly, rewarded Mystery Babylon with absolute destruction and total cessation of her activities due to the great evil and harm that her actions brought about.  This is an act of a just Lord who will give back what is deserved to those who oppose His people and commit great atrocities to mankind.

CHRIST REVEALED:

Once again, we see Christ as the One who is Holy, Just and Almighty One that will punish the Kingdoms of Satan with a perfect, complete judgment.    How wonderful it is to see Christ as the perfectly Sovereign, All-powerful One that will someday bring utter defeat to Satan and his kingdoms!

1Jn 3:8 – “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”

THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION (SUMMARY)

Here, we see the inevitable, total, destruction wrought during the wrath of Christ against the kingdoms of Satan.  Keep in mind, the longsuffering of Christ has led Him to give all who are in Satan’s kingdom more than an ample opportunity to depart from Mystery Babylon and turn to Him in saving faith.   However, when the time of His judgment comes to pass, there will be no mercy shown to those who have chosen to be a part of Satan’s kingdoms.

There is a time for repentance and there is coming a time of wrath and punishment against sin.  There is a time for God’s mercy and grace to take the forefront in God’s dealings with mankind on earth and there is coming a time when God’s holiness and justice will be placed on display.

May we all be ready for the day of justice and holiness by turning to Christ in saving faith while His mercy is still being shown to lost mankind.

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SYMBOLS EMPLOYED IN THIS TEXT:

1. the merchants
2. that great city
3. every shipmaster
4. cast dust on their heads
5. cried,
6. weeping and wailing
7. mighty angel
8. stone like a great millstone,
9. cast it into the sea
10. Babylon

THE RELATED SCRIPTURES:

SUPPLEMENTAL STUDIES/NOTES:

THE TEXT:

Rev 18:1-10

(1)  And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
(2)  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
(3)  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
(4)  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
(5)  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
(6)  Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
(7)  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
(8)  Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
(9)  And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
(10)  Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

 

THE INTRODUCTION:

In chapter 17: we took a step back and reviewed the identity and characteristics of Satan’s kingdom.  In this text, we have the two aspects of Satan’s kingdom symbolized by the two main characters being presented to us… “the Great Whore” (the religious aspects of Satan’s kingdom) and “the Scarlet Colored Beast” (the political aspects of Satan’s kingdom).

[Please note Revelation 13: where the “Great Whore” in this passage symbolized as the “Beast from the Earth”, while the “Scarlet Beast”  is symbolized as the “Beast from the Sea”.  This description also links these to a description of Satan as the scarlet dragon with 7 heads and 10 horns in Rev 12:]

In chapter 18: we will see warnings that are given to mankind to depart from these kingdoms that are destined to fall under the hand of Almighty God.

A brief outline of chapter 18:

Chapter 18:  The Warnings To Depart From Satan’s Kingdom

18:1-3 – Announcement Of Babylon’s Fall
18:4-8 – Warning To God’s People
18:9-10 – Warning To Kings
18:11-17a – Warning To Merchants
18:17b-20 – Warning To Mariners
18:21-24 – Angel With The Millstone

 

 

 

THE EXPOSITORY STUDY:

Rev 18:1-10

(1)  And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.   (2)  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying,

Perhaps this is the same angel that we saw in 5:2 and 18:21.  In both of these texts we find an angel that makes very important announcements, and it is said to be done with “a strong voice”.

He is described as:

1. come down from heaven – he is working on behalf of God Himself, proclaiming the Lord’s great victory
2. having great power (authority) – he possessed the very authority from God to make this important announcement
3. the earth was lightened with his glory – being God’s representative, his message and work is to be honored. His announcement brought the words of God into the world resulting in the enlightenment of this world.

(Either this angel is symbolically teaching us this message of victory comes from God Himself, or perhaps, this angel is symbolic of Christ Jesus declaring His victory over the powers of darkness.  Please note all three descriptive phrases concerning this angel could easily be referring to Christ (Ezek 43:2).  In any case, the most important point is that the message being delivered has a divine sinless origin that is the complete absolute truth.)

 

The angel now forcefully screams out with a large, loud voice, commanding everyone’s attention…

Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 

In this text, the beast from the earth, the false religions of this world are described as “Babylon” which means “confusion” or “the seat of confusion”.  This is because, joining with the beast from the sea (the political kingdoms of this world) they wreak havoc through the attempted confusion to all mankind.

Just as Satan confused Eve in the garden, so too, Satan’s kingdoms seek to confuse all mankind.

The mighty Babylon (the seat of confusion) has been brought down.  It has become desolate of anything good and profitable for mankind.  She has fallen to the wrath of God and her teachings and works have been made desolate and vain.

It is now become:

1. “the habitation of devils” – the dwelling place of demons and the powers of darkness
2. “the hold of every foul spirit” – the burrow of every dirty, sinful spirit
3. “a cage of every unclean and hateful bird” – the prison holding every impure and opposing bird (Note in Matt 13:4 – birds are symbols of powers of darkness.)

 

Babylon’s defeat pictured as desolation (Isa 13:19-22, 34:11; Jer 50:39)

 

Why did God’s wrath fall against Babylon bringing her to defeat?

(3)  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

“Fornication” comes from the Greek word for “uncleanness”.  In the Bible, it is used to describe a variety of sinful actions and desires.  Here, we can see that the sinful union between the false religions and the nations of the world are placed into view.

The religious powers have deceived lost mankind and lost mankind has willingly joined with them to further their cause.    They are described as:

1. “becoming drunken” – no self-control, no shame, destructive
2. “committed fornication”- union that is sinful by nature, against the will and purposes of the Lord
3. “waxed rich” – prosperous, successful, wealthy

 

Based upon Babylon’s defeat, sinful nature, and unclean fruits, the Lord now graciously gives warning to any who might be misled to join up with her.  There will be a total of 4 warnings given to four different groups:

18:4-8 – Warning To God’s People;        18:9-10 – Warning To Kings;      18:11-17a – Warning To Merchants;

18:17b-20 – Warning To Mariners

(Note that much of the content of these warnings come from Ezek 26-28.)

 

(4)  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.  (5)  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

Warning to God’s people…

Please notice “MY people” implies God is speaking.  He commands for them to “come out of her”, in other words… separate yourselves from her.  In doing so, they will avoid having part in her sins and then, not receiving her punishments.   God knows her sins and will not forget her acts of disobedience.

This message of separation from the sinful people and groups in the world is taught throughout the Bible.  In the Old Testament, it was symbolized by the Jews separating themselves from the idolatrous Gentile nations around her.  In the New Testament, we find many instructions to Christians to remain separated and live lives of holiness for Christ…

2Co 6:14-18 – “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?   And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?   And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,  And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.“ 

1Pe 2:9 – “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:” 

 

(6)  Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.

Since God knows her sinful deeds and motives, He is capable of giving back in return her deeds upon her head.  In 17:4 we saw her deeds were described as “abominations” and “fornications”.

These two-fold sins, will deserve a two-fold judgment…

Jer 16:18 – “And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.”

Keep in mind that “to fill her double” refers to bringing to total defeat, destruction…

Jer 17:18 – “Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.”

 

(7)  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

The sins of the false religions of the world include a glorification of herself and abuse of her followers.  She does both of these to receive the fulfillment of her sinful desires and sinful pleasures. She is prideful, thinks she is above judgment, and lacks of concern for her future welfare and the welfare of her followers.

Because of her sinful acts, attitudes and motivations, the Lord promises to place upon her torment (rubs her against touchstone) and sorrow (mourning).   In other words, the Lord will rub her raw and cause her to mourn greatly for all the harm she has done.  This takes place at her defeat at the Battle of Armageddon (Rev 19:11-20a) and throughout eternity in the Lake of Fire (Rev 19:20b-21).

 

(8)  Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.

Her sins bring upon her sudden judgment (in one day) with no remedy.  Her judgments will bring upon her:

1. “death” – separation from riches, power, destruction,
2. “mourning” – sorrow due to her great loss of all she possesses
3. “famine” – great hunger to regain that which was lost
4. “utterly burned with fire” – God’s judgment at Armageddon and throughout eternity in Lake of Fire.

Her desolation and destruction will be complete and never remedied.

The Lord, by His grace, wants to stop these judgments from falling upon His people, that is why He has so graciously given them a warning to remain separated from her seductive influences in this world.

Note there is a similar picture given to us in the account of Sodom and Gomorrah:

Vs 4 – Saints removed – Gen 19:15-17
Vs 5-6 – Judgment falling based upon their sinful works – Gen 18:20-21
Vs 7 – Self-Righteous, Self-Reliance – Gen 19:4-11
Vs 8 – Judgment By Fire – Gen 19:23-28

 

(9)  And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,  (10)  Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

Warning  to the kings of the earth..

The Lord now warns the political authority holders of the world to stay away from her influences.  When joining with her they are said to be committing uncleanness (fornication) and living in luxury (deliciously) .    When she is judged, these political powers will cry out in sorrow and loss knowing that their sinful pleasures and indulgences will now come to an end and she is now answering to God for her sins.

It will be at that time that they will then hypocritically separate themselves from her in fear that they will receive the judgment that she is currently experiencing.    Stop and think about this.  As long as they received fulfillment of their fleshly desires and goals they stayed in a close relationship with her, but once they could no longer gain form their relationship with her, they selfishly deserted her.

 

CHRIST REVEALED:

Christ is revealed in this passage as the patient, merciful Lord that warns mankind of the powers of wickedness and the horrible eternal consequences of joining with them.  Think about it.  The Lord could easily step back and allow mankind to continue choosing to follow the powers that will lead to their ultimate destruction.  But He does not.  Instead, He mercifully gives all men a clear warning of the dangers of joining with these sinful world powers.

Truly our Lord is a longsuffering Lord who gives mankind ample warnings and opportunities to avoid His wrath that is to come.

Psa 86:15-16 – “But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.   O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid.”

 

THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION (SUMMARY)

May we all take the patient mercy of the Lord very seriously and not abuse His longsuffering towards us.  Although He patiently waits for men to come to Him, He will not always withhold His wrath…

Nah 1:3 – “The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.”

 

May we all very quickly take advantage of the Lord’s invitation to come to Him in repentance and faith, knowing that He is waiting to receive any that will come to Him in Godly sorrow, repentance and faith…

Joe 2:12-14 – “Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:   And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.   Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?”

 

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THE TEXT:

Rev 17:7-18 KJV

(7)  And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
(8)  The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
(9)  And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
(10)  And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
(11)  And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
(12)  And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
(13)  These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
(14)  These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
(15)  And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
(16)  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
(17)  For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
(18)  And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

 

 

THE INTRODUCTION:

In the previous chapter, we have seen the contents of trumpet 7, in other words bowls 1-7,  which spoke of God’s wrath being poured out upon Satan’s kingdoms at the second coming of Christ.   As bowl seven was poured out, we saw the wrath of God being brought to completion and the kingdoms of Satan totally destroyed.

Now, in chapters 17: and 18:, we see a detailed look at this kingdom that has just been destroyed…

1. In chapter 17: we take a step back and review the identity and characteristics of Satan’s kingdom. In this text, we have the two aspects of Satan’s kingdom symbolized by the two main characters being presented to us… “the Great Whore” (the religious aspects of Satan’s kingdom) and “the Scarlet Colored Beast” (the political aspects of Satan’s kingdom).

[Please note Revelation 13: where the “Great Whore” in this passage symbolized as the “Beast from the Earth”, while the “Scarlet Beast”  is symbolized as the “Beast from the Sea”.  This description also links these to a description of Satan as the scarlet dragon with 7 heads and 10 horns in Rev 12:]

2. In chapter 19: we will see warnings that are given to mankind living now to depart from these kingdoms that are destined to fall under the hand of Almighty God.

 

A brief outline of the coming chapters:

Chapter 17: The Identity and Characteristics of Satan’s Kingdom

17:1-6 – The Woman and The Scarlet Beast Introduced
17:7-17 – The Scarlet Beast In Detail
17:18 – The Woman In Detail

 

Chapter 18:  The Warnings To Depart From Satan’s Kingdom

18:1-3 – Announcement Of Babylon’s Fall
18:4-8 – Warning To God’s People
18:9-10 – Warning To Kings
18:11-17a – Warning To Merchants
18:17b-20 – Warning To Mariners
18:21-24 – Angel With The Millstone

 

THE EXPOSITORY STUDY:

Rev 17:7-18 KJV

(7)  And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

The angel now comforts John telling him that the two symbolic characters of this disturbing vision (the woman and the beast) will be explained in detail.

 

First, the angel explains the scarlet colored beast…. 

(8)  The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition:

Keep in mind the beast is a symbol of the earthly political kingdom of Satan.  It is symbolic of the seven great world empires:

1. Egypt;
2. Assyria;
3. 3.Babylon;
4. Medo-Persia;
5. Greece;
6. Rome;
7. The Variety of World Powers following Rome.

 

The angel begins to describe the beast with a three-fold description:

1. “thou sawest not and is not” ….

The kingdoms not in existence when Rome ruled the world in John’s day:

1. prior to John – Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece,
2. following John – Variety of World Powers following Rome.

These are the political kingdoms that John never “saw” (experienced) because they did not exist in John’s day.

The political kingdom of Satan is cyclical in nature.   One rises to power, falls and another one takes it place.  They are all a part of Satan’s political kingdom, which embodies all the nations of the world.  His kingdom simply takes different forms as each individual nation ascends to power.

 

2. “shall ascend out of the bottomless pit”….

The origin of this beast is Satanic, sinful and deserving of divine punishment.  Keep in mind, the first nations of the world came into existence at the Tower of Babel.  The nations were formed when mankind was divided into separate locations on earth as the Lord confused their languages.  This was done as a judgment against their pride, selfish and rebellion against the Lord. (Gen 11:1-9).  This is the very beginnings of Satan’s political kingdom of this world.

 

3. “and go into perdition”…

The beast’s destiny is destruction and absolute ruin (“perdition”).  Even though it is empowered by Satan and very dreadful in alliance with the false religions of the world, this beast was already defeated at the cross (Col 2:14-15). His final end will be eternal destruction from the face of the Lord (Rev 19:20).

 

and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

The lost of this world will find themselves gazing in amazement and admiration at the greatness and majesty of the political kingdoms of this world.

The lost are described as “whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world”.  This refers to the book of life that was written in eternity past through the divine counsels of Almighty God.  This book contains the names of those who were foreordained to come to faith in Christ.  This results in their justification before God; their life lived in holiness and service to Him; and their adoption into His family …

Eph 1:4 – “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,”

 

The beast is described as “the beast that was, and is not, and yet is”.  This refers to the many world empires this kingdom represents:

1. “was” – the world empires that had existed prior to John’s day (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece)
2. “is not” – the world empires that are yet to exist following John’s day (Variety of World Powers following Rome)
3. 3  “and yet is” – the world empires that existed in John’s day (Rome)

During all of these empires the beast existed because all of these kingdoms were a part of the beast.

 

(9)  And here is the mind which hath wisdom.

This is the thinking of those who possess Godly wisdom.  This is insight into the true character, identity and nature of this beast that comes from God Himself.  

The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

(Note: Please remember, prior to this, the woman was seen sitting upon the scarlet beast (Rev 17:3).  This helps us to understand that the mountains and the beast are two symbolic characters that speak of the same political kingdom of Satan.   The seven heads of the beast are representative of the same world empires as these seven mountains.)

The woman is seen setting upon seven mountains.  In John’s day the coins of the Roman government were embossed with the picture of a woman sitting upon seven mountains.  The seven mountains on the coin were representative of the seven mountains upon which Rome sat:

1. Palatine
2. Aventine
3. Caelian
4. Esquirine
5. Uiminal
6. Quirinal
7. Capitoline

This pointed John directly to the Roman Empire, the current reigning World Empire.  He had just pointed John’s sight to the political kingdoms of the world.  However, the angel then went further explaining the beast was not limited to this current world empire, but was representative of all the world empires of all time … 

 

(10)  And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

This beast, in its entirety, symbolized seven kings (or the kingdoms over which they ruled, the seven world empires):

1. “five are fallen” – the world empires existing prior to John’s day (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece)
2. “one is” – the world empire existing in John’s day (Rome)
3. “the other is not yet come” –– the world empires existing future to John’s day (Variety of World Powers after Rome)
4. “he must continue a short space” – this is speaking of the seventh king (the Variety of World Powers future to John). He explained to John that these future kingdoms will not exist into eternity.  Although it is described as coming last in time, with no other world kingdoms to replace it, that does not imply it will be eternal.

Each of the individual kingdoms will only have world dominance a short time and never able to completely rule the world.  As a whole, this aspect of Satan’s political kingdom would only last from the end of the kingdom in control at Christ’s first coming (Rome) to the second coming of Christ.  This very time period is described as a single period of time (Heb 1:1-2, Acts 2:16-17) throughout the Word of God.  This same time period is also described as being short, coming quickly (John 4:35, James 5:8, Rev 22:20 etc)

 

(11)  And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

The beast himself (a combination of all world nations):

1. “is the eighth” – this beast, the combination of all nations, will have a turn being a unified world empire. This takes place following the varied rule of the nations making up the seventh kingdom. This will take place at the Battle of Armageddon when all the nations of the world will unified as a singular world power under their own authority…

Rev 19:19 – “And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.”

(Notice how all the unitied kingdoms are described in this text… “the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies” … this is the eighth kingdom that the angel is speaking about.  It will come into existence as Christ comes in the clouds with His spiritual nation, spiritual Israel (all saved makind in glorified bodies).

(Also please note: there will still be “kings” and “armies”, they will simply be united in effort against Christ.  They will not be melded into just one nation with one ruler.  They will continue to possess their own national identity, but be united fighting as one world power.)

2. “And is of the seven” – this beast is made up of all the seven world empires throughout history.

3. “goeth into perdition” – this beast is headed for total destruction. 

 

(12)  And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

The ten horns represent the ten kings (kingdoms) that will come to power after John’s day.  This is the many varied nations that will become world powers.

These many, varied nations will take exist following the Roman empire and leading up to Christ’s second coming.  This is why it is believed these ten horns are located on the beast’s seventh head.  It is the seventh head only that is said to be coming into existence following the Roman empire of John’s day.

These many varied nations will hold individually the position of world powers for a short period of time.  They will aspire to achieve true World Empire status, ruling over all the known world, but will never fully achieve their aspirations.    

 

(13)  These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.  (14)  These shall make war with the Lamb,

Leading up to Christ’s second coming, all of these aspiring world kingdoms will become united in purpose and goal.  They will willingly join forces with all the other nations and put all of their efforts towards a unified goal.  This goal is to go to war against Christ and defeat Him at His second coming.

Please note the term “These”.  This helps us to understand that these nations are still identified as individual nations, but they are united in goals.  They still have individual kings, but these kings are leading them to join up with all the other nations. (see vs 11 and Rev 19:19)  In the future, the nations will always have individual identities.  They will be individual nations fighting as one.  Nowhere in the Bible do we read of the nations literally unifying to the point they will no longer have national identities, becoming one literal world nation.

 

and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings:

At His second coming Christ, the Lamb, will subdue and prevail over them.  He holds the dominating authority and strength over them.  His predominate strength and authority are revealed to us in the titles “Lord of lord and King of kings” 

and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

The army accompanying Him will be made up of His spiritual nation of Israel, the Israel of God, which is made up of all believers of all time.  More on this Battle of Armageddon in Rev 18: and 19:. 

 

(15)  And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

The waters that this woman sits on, spoken of in vs 1, symbolizes the multitudes of lost people on the earth.   This includes all the lost from each race, nationality, language and family. 

 

(16)  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

Although they work together for mutual benefit, the political kingdoms of the world are ultimately controlled by the false religions of the world.  This is shown by the woman riding the beast in vs 3.

People will rebel against or oppose political authorities at the request of their false religious authorities.  They would act thinking they are pleasing their god as opposed to pleasing the human authorities over them.  The reverse is not true.  This makes the false religions of this world a constant threat to the existence and well-being of the political kingdoms of this world.   This is why the political systems of the fallen world hate the religious systems of the fallen world.

This can be seen in the many differing types of persecution of opposing religious systems by the world’s nations.   These types of persecution include:

1. “make her desolate and naked” – economic and persecution of their members forcing them out of their religion.
2. “shall eat her flesh” – feeding their members to wild animals, a common practice in the times of John
3. “burn her with fire” – burning her members at the stake was also a common practice in the times of John.

This principle seems to be greatly magnified at the second coming of Christ.  The nations of the world will understand they have been misled by these false religions and now must go to war against God and receive His wrath due to the woman’s false teachings.  This will cause great hatred in their hearts and a desire to bring her to utter destruction.

Please note that the false religious systems are not listed as being a motivating, warring, nor important, character at the moment of the kingdoms unifying and soon defeat at the hand of the Lord…

Rev 19:19 –  “And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.”

However, she is mentioned in the very next verse as being present, in the symbolism of the false prophet, emphasizing her role in misleading the people to follow the political kingdoms to their defeat.  In this passage, she is sharing in defeat at the hands of our returning Lord…

Rev 19:20 – “And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.” 

 

(17)  For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

All of this “in-fighting” between the two kingdoms of Satan take place under the Sovereign hand of Almighty God.  He is the One that controls the nations allowing them to abuse, persecute and attempt to destroy themselves.

God has worked in their hearts and minds in three ways:

1. “to fulfil his will” – to do what God has decreed
2. “to agree” – to willfully perform the dictates of His sovereign will
3. “ to give their kingdom unto the beast” – to submit to the leadership of the unified nations of the world.

All of these work up to their utter defeat, which brings fulfillment to the end time prophecies of the Lord 

 

(18)  And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

As described before, the false religions of the world control the political kingdoms of the world.

This is symbolized in three ways in this chapter:

1. The whore riding the beast in vs 3
2. The woman sitting on the seven mountains in vs 9
3. The whore sitting on the waters in vs 15

All of these symbolize the same truth.  The false religions of the world, in many ways, rule over the political kingdoms of this world.

Note the woman is described as “that great city”.  This points us back to her title, “Babylon the Great” in vs 5.  Babylon, the symbolic capital of the evil religious kingdom, exercises authority over the political powers of the world and lost mankind in general. She is why the nations of the lost world submits to the political authorities of the world and, ultimately, unite to do battle against Christ.   See verses 3, 5, 9, 15, and 16 for much more detail.

 

CHRIST REVEALED:

Rev 17:14 – “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.”

In this verse, we can see Christ presented as the victorious Lamb , the Lord of lords and King of kings.

Normally, when we think of Christ as the Lamb, we think of Him as the suffering, humble, sinless, Savior who unjustly died on the cross bringing salvation to His people.   However, in this passage that same Lamb is shown as being victorious Lord and King gaining the ultimate victory over the powers of darkness at the Battle of Armageddon.

 

Why would Christ, as He leads His people to victory, be symbolized as a Lamb?

The key is to understand WHEN the victory over the powers of darkness was actually gained.  Christ had won the victory long before Armageddon… Armageddon was simply the outward display that proved the victory had been won.

 

So when was the victory actually won?

This is where Christ, as the Lamb, comes into our view.  Christ’s victory over the powers of darkness took place at the cross.  Our humble, sinless, suffering Savior won the victory at His death.   Because of this, it is only fitting that He be shown as a Lamb as the His victory over darkness is clearly shown to mankind.

 

This was a victory He had won as the Lamb of God hanging on a cross defeating the powers of darkness and bringing salvation to those He loved…

Heb 2:14-15 – “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”

 

THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION (SUMMARY)

May we all remember that Christ has already won for us the victory over the powers of Satan and his dark kingdoms of this world.  He overcame them so that we might be overcomers with Him….

1Jn 4:3-4 – “And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.   Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

 

Because we are overcomers in Christ, we can rejoice in the midst of trials, heartaches, times of loss and when face with seeming impossible situations.  How can this be?  We know we will ultimately be given the victory over this world and all the issues it may hold for us.

We are His redeemed… He has gained the victory over this world … and will deliver us from her grasp someday…

Psa 97:9-10 – “For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods.  Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.”

 

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THE TEXT:

Rev 17:1-6 KJV

(1)  And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
(2)  With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
(3)  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
(4)  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
(5)  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
(6)  And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

 

THE INTRODUCTION:

In the previous chapter, we have seen the contents of trumpet 7, in other words bowls 1-7,  which spoke of God’s wrath being poured out upon Satan’s kingdoms at the second coming of Christ.   As bowl seven was poured out, we saw the wrath of God being brought to completion and the kingdoms of Satan totally destroyed.

Now, in chapters 17: and 18:, we see a detailed look at this kingdom that has just been destroyed…

1.   In chapter 17: we take a step back and review the identity and characteristics of Satan’s kingdom. In this text, we have the two aspects of Satan’s kingdom symbolized by the two main characters being presented to us… “the Great Whore” (the religious aspects of Satan’s kingdom) and “the Scarlet Colored Beast” (the political aspects of Satan’s kingdom).

[Please note Revelation 13: where the “Great Whore” in this passage symbolized as the “Beast from the Earth”, while the “Scarlet Beast”  is symbolized as the “Beast from the Sea”.  This description also links these to a description of Satan as the scarlet dragon with 7 heads and 10 horns in Rev 12:]

 

2.   In chapter 19: we will see warnings that are given to mankind living now to depart from these kingdoms that are destined to fall under the hand of Almighty God.

A brief outline of the coming chapters:

Chapter 17: The Identity and Characteristics of Satan’s Kingdom

17:1-6 – The Woman and The Scarlet Beast Introduced
17:7-17 – The Scarlet Beast In Detail
17:18 – The Woman In Detail

 

Chapter 18:  The Warnings To Depart From Satan’s Kingdom

18:1-3 – Announcement Of Babylon’s Fall
18:4-8 – Warning To God’s People
18:9-10 – Warning To Kings
18:11-17a – Warning To Merchants
18:17b-20 – Warning To Mariners
18:21-24 – Angel With The Millstone

 

 

THE EXPOSITORY STUDY: 

Rev 17:1-6 KJV

 

The Woman and the Beast Introduced: 

(1)  And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me,

One of the seven angels that had just delivered the seven vials of God’s wrath, comes to John and reveals details about the target of the vials of wrath, Satan’s kingdom… 

 

Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore

Remember, the judgment of the great whore, has just been fulfilled.  The angel now wants to review what John has just seen taking place.  He is doing this to clarify in John’s mind the wicked character of Satan’s kingdom (chapter 17) and the need for mankind to separate themselves from that kingdom before it is too late (chapter 18)

Who is this “great whore”?

We will see that she is a picture of the religious kingdoms of Satan…

1. She is unfaithful to the Lord,
2. she is guilty of seducing men away from the truth to error,
3. she is guilty of committing spiritual fornication (spiritual unclean unions with the world)
4. she is guilty of spiritual adultery (spiritual unfaithfulness to those she has been united)
5. she is shameless and publically seeking others to join her in sinfulness
6. etc etc etc

This is why she is symbolized as a “whore”. 

These descriptions will be taken from Isa 23:15-17, Jere 3:1-10, 4:30, 5:6-7, 51:6-8, Ezek 16:15-34,  Zechariah 5: etc. 

 

that sitteth upon many waters: 

Satan’s religious powers are said to be sitting on many waters which symbolizes her great influence and sway over masses of unsettled humanity.  The lost are her “throne”.  although rejected and opposed by God, in these vast numbers of lost humanity that she receives authority and strength.  She is both exalted over and in control of lost mankind.

Think of all the false religions of the world and the amount of lost humanity that are under their authority.  These lost people are like a sea tossed to and fro with untrue teachings , ungrounded,  and constantly wavering in error.     

(Please keep in mind that when the Bible pictures false religions these include not only those groups who lead men to worship a false god, but also humanism, atheism, mammonism, and other belief structures that lead to worship/submission of men or other idols found in this fallen world).

 

(2)  With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication,

The political authorities of the world create unlawful unions with the religious kingdoms of Satan.  We see this all the time with national religions.  They then work together hand in hand.  The national religion encourages its followers to submit to the laws of the land, while the political powers threaten punishment to those who teach in opposition to the national religion.

“fornication” comes from a Greek word for “uncleanness” and is the root of the title “whore” as well.  Both of these emphasize to us that these unions are sinful unions, not made under the Lord’s approval and authority, just as physical fornication is a sexual union that takes place without the Lord’s approval or authority.

 

and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

Because of this unlawful union between the political and religious kingdoms of Satan, we see all of lost mankind seduced to take part in this illicit union as well.  They come to these two great kingdoms and join with them, creating a union that displeases the Lord and commits heinous acts of uncleanness in the world. 

Here, the sinful condition of the kingdoms, and those who participate in them, is pictured by being drunken with wine…  uncontrolled behavior, the constant seeking to fulfill their fleshly lusts, being overcome with their own sins.  This is symbolism being given to us to show these kingdoms, and their members, slavery to their carnal lusts. 

These are the characters that the angel will now show John in greater detail… 

 

(3)  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness:

John is said to be “carried away” only twice in Revelation.  Here, he is taken away to see Satan’s kingdom, and also in Rev 21:10 when he is taken to see New Jerusalem, the eternal kingdom of God!

What does it mean that John was “in the Spirit”?  He was totally surrounded by the Holy Spirit’s power which allowed him to see these wonderful visions.

John is said to be taken “into the wilderness”.  The word translated “wilderness” means “desert” or “a place that is destitute of life”.  What a statement to make.   For John to be shown the kingdoms of Satan, he will have to be taken to the place where there is no life (spiritual life).    He will be looking at Satan, his kingdoms, and lost mankind…. no evidence of spiritual life exists within any of this group of sinful beings.

 

and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast,

John is now shown the two aspects of this kingdom.  The religious powers are symbolized by the woman, the political powers symbolized by the beast upon which she sits.

The woman sitting upon the beast symbolizes three things for us:

1. she is associated to the beast – the nations of the world and the beast work together (forming of national religions)
2. she is supported by the beast – citizens are forced to participate in the national religion
3. the beasts is controlled by the woman – the false religions keep the citizenry in submission to the beast and hold great influence in the policy making of the beast

The beast is said to be scarlet colored.  Compare the following description of the scarlet beast with the description of the beast from the sea in Rev 13: Clearly this is speaking of the same Satanic kingdom.

Scarlet symbolizes:

1. shed blood (of Christ – Exo 25:-29:, Josh 2:18-21) –
2. great authority (Gen 38:28-30, Dan 5:7,16,29)
3. sinfulness (Isa 1:18)

Satan’s political power is guilty of martyrdom (shedding the blood of Christ’s people);  holds great political authority over its citizens; and is characterized by sinful laws, deeds and motivations.

 

full of names of blasphemy,

Each of the nations of the world are overflowing with laws and works that speak evil of God, opposing His will and ways.  Even the most Godly of nations (USA for example) can be seen gradually falling away from the truths of God and accepting the sinful ways of the world (abortions, homosexuality, taking Lord out of schools, silencing truth through politically correct speech etc.) 

 

having seven heads and ten horns.

This beast is said to have seven heads, each of which symbolize one of the great world empires:

1.  Egypt;
2.  Assyria;
3.  Babylon;
4.  Medo-Persia;
5.  Greece;
6.  Rome;
7.  The various, diverse kingdoms who became world powers following the Roman Empires fall … (some of these include Russia, China, Japan, USA, Italy, etc etc )

This beast is said to have 10 horns. The horns represent the power and authority held by the kingdoms.   The number 10 symbolizes diverse, multiplicity, of these kingdoms.  These horns, if located on the seventh head,  reinforce the truth that the seventh head does not represent one world empire but many, various,  world powers that never gained control the known world (as did the previous 6 world empires).

These quickly summarize the world kingdoms of Satan and their influence in the world over the centuries.

 

John’s attention is now turned to the “Great Whore” (religious kingdoms of Satan) who is seen riding the beast, once again, if we compare this description with Rev 13 we quickly see this is the same Satanic Kingdom that is described as the “beast from the earth”… 

(4)  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour,  and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, 

The color of purple is the color reserved for those held in high honor (royalty, those of beauty or wealth).  The color scarlet pictures shed blood, martyrdom, authority, and sinfulness.  The gold, precious stones and pearls that adorn her emphasize her perceived great earthly value.  They beautify her clothing making her more desired by lost mankind.

Basically the clothing of this woman reveals her as being highly sought after.  Due to her seductive ways and teachings, lost mankind is deceived into thinking that she is valuable, beautiful, exalted, and they want to be united with her.  However, her clothing also reveals her true character one of abusive of God’s people, sinful and very deceptive and misleading.

This is the perfect representation of the religious kingdoms of Satan.   Although these religions are sinful, harmful to the cause of Christ, because they are masters of deception, lost mankind values the false religions of this world.  The lost see them as key to eternal happiness and self-fulfillment.  They desire to become a part of them seeking to follow their teachings and practices.  They are totally deceived and blinded to the true nature of these worldly religions.

 

having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

The woman is seen as holding a golden cup, picturing a cup of great value which is great desired by the lost.  This is a cup that is filled with her sins.  Once again we see that, although her actions and teachings are sinful and to be rejected, lost men under her influence are totally deceived into seeing her deeds and words as highly valuable.

Her sins are described as “abominations” (that which God greatly hates) and “fornication” (unclean, filthy).  Her actions and messages are sinful, dirty, and rebellious, causing the Lord to hate them.   Throughout the Bible, idolatry is one of the most commonly mentioned of all abominations.   Idolatry is one of the main goals that lie behind Satan’s use of false religions.  It is used to get lost mankind to worship any one,  or anything, other than the true God. 

 

(5)  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

The Lord reveals this woman though a series of titles:

1. Mystery – a secret that is known to the initiated, but unknown to the uninitiated – the true character of this woman is known to the saints of the Lord, but unknown to the lost who have been deceived

2. Babylon the Great – Babylon comes from a root meaning “confusion”, “clamor”, or “noise”.   The message of Satan’s false religions causes confusion.  Spiritually, their teachings are of no greater value than un-orchestrated noise that holds no meaning.

3. The Mother of Harlots – She produces great acts of sin by seducing lost men to join in her efforts joining into unlawful unions with her. They join up with her sharing in her sinful acts and teachings and actively seek her preservation.

4. The Mother of … Abominations of the Earth – She also produces great abominations in the same way she produces fornications and harlotry. As she seduces lost men, they, in turn, begin committing great acts that God hates.

 

(6)  And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus:

John’s reaction to this vision.  As a child of God, He sees her for who she is.  He is not deceived by her beauty and seduction…

He sees her great opposition to the Lord and His people “blood of the saints and the martyrs of Jesus”.

He sees her uncontrolled sinfulness “drunken”.

 

and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. 

It is important to note that the root word for “admiration” means “to examine closely” or “to have eyes affixed” on something.  It DOES NOT imply that John approved, respected, or in any way coveted her teachings, works, or being.

John is simply saying that after he had studied her, he was dumbfounded….  In other words, after seeing her for who she is, through an extremely careful examination, he then was amazed at how powerful, deceitful, and seductive she was.

 

CHRIST REVEALED:

In this passage of Scripture, we can see clearly what Christ IS NOT.  Please remember, we have been looking at the two kingdoms (religious and political) of Satan.  They stand in glaring contrast to the kingdoms of God.

What a wonderful comparison is set before us.  Note the comparisons:

Satan’s Kingdom (Both Aspects)      Rev 17:	The Kingdom Of God     Rev 21:-22:
Sinful	Sinless
Temporal	Eternal
Members are Lost Mankind	Members are Saved Mankind
Located on this Fallen Earth	Located on the New Earth
Satan Is King Over Them	God Is King Over Them
Headed For Destruction	Experiencing Eternal Glory
Deceitful and Seductive	Honest, Transparent, Truthful

 

Folks, after we look at this comparison, may we stop and honor Christ today:

We could be serving a deceitful, unreliable king who only seeks his own welfare at the expense of his citizens…. But we don’t!

We could have only eternal judgment and destruction to look forward to… But we don’t!

We could always doubt his truthfulness and sincerity… But we don’t!

 

We serve a sinless, wonderful, gracious, kind Lord that works for our good as well as His Father’s glory.  He keeps every promise, He never misleads us, He always is honest, transparent and speaks for our welfare!

As we think about Satan’s kingly rulership and work within his kingdoms, may we always have grateful hearts… we serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who wonderfully cares for His people and works according to His sinless, gracious will! 

 

THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION (SUMMARY)

Folks, may we use this lesson to be a constant reminder of our need to be on guard against the activities of these Satanic kingdoms and see them for what they really are:

1. 1  May we always recognize error when it is taught
2. May we recognize sinful laws that should not be followed
3. May we recognize temporal gain for what it is… short-lived and eternally vain.
4. May we recognize no matter how great the earthly authority or power, it cannot stand up to the Lord’s sovereign rule

And may we all learn to separate ourselves from these Satanic kingdoms and live lives of holiness as citizens of the kingdom and family of God!

 

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THE TEXT:

 

Rev 16:10-21 KJV

(10)  And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
(11)  And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
(12)  And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
(13)  And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
(14)  For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
(15)  Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
(16)  And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
(17)  And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
(18)  And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
(19)  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
(20)  And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
(21)  And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

 

THE INTRODUCTION:

In the previous chapter, we have been presented to us the truth that the Lord will deliver His people from this fallen earth just prior to the falling of His wrath upon sinful mankind. This was symbolized by two differing reapings of the earth.  Now we continue looking at God’s wrath that will fall at His second coming by looking at the final stages of His wrath.  The last part of His wrath is called the seventh trumpet.  The contents of this trumpet will be shown to us in seven symbols.  These symbols are vials (bowls) of wrath that are poured out upon the lost.

In chapter 16, we will see the contents of trumpet 7, in other words bowls 1-7, being poured out upon Satan’s kingdoms…

I.  Revelation 16:1-21

A.  Command To Pour Out Vials (16:1)

B.  Vial One (16:2)

C.  Vial Two (16:3)

D.  Vial Three (16:4-7)

E.  Vial Four (16:8-9)

F.  Vial Five (16:10-11)

G.  Vial Six (16:12-16)

H.  Vial Seven (16:17-21)

 

Please notice, there is a similarity (with clear differences) between these vial judgments and the 7 trumpet judgments that we have previously looked at:

 

#	Trumpets (Rev 8:, 9:, 10:)	Vials  (Rev 16:)	Exodus Plague
1	Hail, Fire , Blood	Sores On Men	9: – Boils
2	Burning Mountain, Sea To Blood	Sea To Blood	7: – Water To Blood
3	Star From Heaven , Rivers and Founts To Blood	Rivers and Founts To Blood	7: – Water To Blood
4	Darkness	Sun Scorching Men	10: – Darkness
5	Locusts Upon Men	Darkness and Pain	10: – Locusts
6	4 Angels / 200,000,000 Army	4 Kings / 3 Spirits	12: – Death Angel
7	The 7 Vials	Thunder, Lightning, Earhquake, Hail	9: – Hail

Please note that all the symbolic vials can find their source among the 10 Egyptian Plagues.

As we can see that are several similar judgments (2, 3, 6), one opposite judgment (4), and two totally different (1, 5,), and one trumpet is inclusive of all the vials (7).

From this we can see that the 7 trumpets are NOT the same judgments as the 7 vials (bowls).   However, the 7^th trumpet is made up of all seven of the vial judgments.

Also, please remember, the first 6 trumpet judgments affect lost mankind, while several of the 7 vials affect Satan and his kingdoms,  this is another very important difference that must be recognized.

One final difference between the trumpets and the vials is found in their severity.  While the trumpets affected large portions of the lost, the 7 vials seem to affect all of the members of the kingdom of Satan resulting their final physical destruction.

THE EXPOSITORY STUDY:

In the previous 4 vials we saw God’s wrath being poured out against individuals who are members of the kingdom of Satan.  Now, we will begin to see God’s wrath being poured out upon Satan’s kingdom itself.

Rev 16:10-21 KJV 

(10)  And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast;

This vial is sent out against the “throne” (political authority) of the kingdom of Satan.  This would be referring to the beast from the sea, the political aspect of Satan’s kingdom.  

The wrath that will fall at Christ’s second coming will punish, and bring an end to, the political powers of this world.

 

and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,  (11)  And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

 

One part of this wrath is darkness falling upon the kingdom.  This darkness symbolizes a void, emptiness, an absence, or a silence (1 Sam 2:9).   The kingdom is being brought down to desolation, its lights have been put out, symbolizing its final end.

Those in the kingdom chew their tongues do to the great pain involved with their defeat.  Once again, we see the great suffering and loss of this judgment does not bring men to Christ but hardens their hearts against the Lord, blaspheming Him and refusing to repent of their sins which would, by theory, alleviate their judgment.

The symbolism of this judgment comes from the plague of darkness that was placed upon Egypt (Exo 10:21-23) 

 

(12)  And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up,

The sixth angel pours his vial upon the river Euphrates.   The word “Euphrates”, although of foreign origin, is closely related to a Hebrew word that means “to break forth” (as the water breaking forth over a barrier, or seed ready to spring forth from the ground in the field.)   The river Euphrates is used in Revelation to picture the holding place for wicked powers and the beginning point of various judgments of God (Rev 9:14).

The pouring of the vial now dries up the Euphrates.  This allows the judgment of God to break forth and proceed.  This reminds us of the splitting of the Nile which allowed the Jews to proceed to the other side with the Egyptians in close pursuit.

The symbolism of this vial is rich indeed.  God’s sixth vial judgment now begins as it is poured out upon the Euphrates, which will cause the judgment to spring forth.  In this case, Euphrates is like a plowed field awaiting seed to be sown.  The pouring out of the vial is like the seed being sown in the field.  This is all done to bring forth the judgment that awaits the Satanic Kingdoms…

 

that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.

God’s judgment against the kingdom of Satan begins…

The literal translation of this phrase can also be “that the way of the authorities of the rising sun might be made ready” (see Youngs Literal Translation, Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible, and American Standard Version).  This is speaking of Christ and His people coming to fight the final battle against Satan’s kingdom… the Battle of Armageddon (this battle in great detail – Rev 19:11-21 and summarized in Rev 16:17-21).

(Please note: Both Christ and His people are described as kings (or “authorities”) because His people will reign with Christ during His kingdom – Rev 20:4.  Christ is the King that is described as “a rising sun” coming from the east in several places in the Bible: [Isa 41:2, Ezek 43:1-4, 44:1-4, Malachi 4:2 “Sun of Righteousness” , Matt 24:27, Luke 1:78 “Dayspring” – Rising Sun, Rev 7:2])

This part of John’s vision is teaching us that the judgment that falls at Christ’s second coming will prepare the way for Christ to enter the world, with His people, to personally fight at the Battle Of Armageddon. The fortresses and holding places of the wicked will be done away (Euphrates being dried up) in preparation for His coming and the battle to be fought.  The wicked in that battle, will have no place to flee, no place to run to, no place to find refuge from His wrath. 

This symbolism is found in Isaiah 11:15-16. 

This is the Lord’s preparation for the Battle of Armageddon…. In the next verse, we will see Satan and his kingdoms preparation for this Battle affecting the kingdoms of Satan

 

(13)  And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.  (14)  For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

John now sees three demonic spirits come from the mouth of Satan, His political kingdom, and His religious kingdom.  These three spirits appear like frogs to John.  Biblically, the number three is the number for the trinity but also for completeness of manifestation.  An example of this is found in 1 Tim 5:19 & Hebs 10:28.

Just as the trinity and their work completely reveals the person and work of God, so too, the three wicked spirits from their mouths symbolizes the complete message of the powers darkness of this world.  This tells us, as Armageddon approaches, the entire forces of evil alive on the earth will be joined together to deceive and mislead mankind to go to  war against the Lord.  Their “propaganda machine” will be running full force to gather mankind to battle.

These spirits appear as frogs.  They are considered to be unclean and to be refrained from by God’s people (Lev 11:10-41).   The message of the powers of darkness are unclean, to be rejected by God’s people.  Frogs in the Bible also represent the judgments of God upon wicked authorities (Psa 105:30).  These sinful messages will end up coming back upon Satan and his kingdoms as a part of the divine judgment of God.  All of their lies, all of their deceit, will only increase the judgment that comes upon them.

These misleading messages include:

1. “ the spirit of devils” – they are empowered and used to advance the agenda of demons and the other powers of darkness.
2. “working miracles” – a part of the message tools that Satan uses to deceive men into following him are false signs and wonders that deceive. (Matt 24:24)
3. “which go forth…world” – these messages and false miracles are pointed towards the authorities of the world kingdoms and all of lost mankind.

What is the ultimate purpose of these false, misleading messages?  “to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”  This is what this entire vial is all about.  It is the Lord and His people preparing for this battle to go against Satan and his kingdoms on earth.  That battle will be symbolized in summary fashion in the last vial.  It will be the final act of God’s wrath against lost mankind on earth, and will bring a complete end to the Great Tribulation which began in trumpet 1 and is now going to be brought to a close.

 

(15)  Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

Following symbolism in which we saw Christ and His people, as well as Satan and his kingdoms, preparing for Christ’s second coming and the Battle Of Armageddon, the Lord now reminds us truths about His coming:

1. “Behold, I come as a thief.” – The lost world will not expect His coming.  The result of His coming and the Battle will be loss and harm to those upon earth. (Luke 12:35-38, 1 Thess 5:1-2, 2 Pet 3:8-13, Matt 24:43, Luke 12:39-40)

2. “Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments,” – For those who are truly saved will be watching and keeping their garments pure (by remaining faithful in service to Christ), they will be blessed (Eph 4:24, Job 29:14). This will take place when the Lord takes them home to be with Him and they are rewarded for their faithful works.

No saint is perfectly watching nor keeping His garments… but every saint does these to a certain extent.  All who are truly saved will recognize He is coming again, just as everyone truly saved will serve Him in some ways.   No truly saved person totally forgets Christ is coming again, nor does He refrain from bearing any fruits of the spirit in his life.  These would be signs of a person’s lost condition.

3. “lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.” – For the lost who are watching or faithful to Him, they will be exposed for what they really are… rebellious rejecters of Christ and will be put to shame when Christ comes in victorious opposition to them.

In this verse, the Lord not only reminds us of His coming, but also of our need to be prepared for that coming through salvation, watchfulness and faithful service to Him (Luke 12:35-38, Mark 13:32-37).

 

(16)  And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

We pick up with the narrative in verse 14.  The lost on the world are now being assembled to do battle against the coming Christ.

Who is the “he” that is gathering the lost?   There is dispute about this by commentators on this verse.   This same Greek word is translated “they” in most of the other versions of the Bible.  This is because this verse uses a singular verb with a plural noun.  We cannot be certain which was John’s intent.  But really, in the big picture of things, it makes very little difference and no need for any dispute…

“They” would refer back to Satan, the Beast (political kingdoms of world), and the False Prophet (religious kingdoms of the world).

However, if the proper translation is “he”, then it could be referring back to Satan as the ruler of all the powers of darkness.

In either case, it is saying that the lost of this world will be gathered by the powers of darkness, who are under the leadership of Satan.

The place of this final battle is called Armageddon which means, the “mountain of Megiddo”, or “mountain of rendezvous, meeting, or congregation”.   This is the perfect name for it to possess, as all of lost mankind will “rendezvous” in an effort to oppose Christ and His people at their coming.

The area of Armageddon includes the valley where this battle is fought.  This valley is given several titles:

1. “the valley of Jehoshaphat”… “the valley where the Lord judges” (Joel 3:2, 12)
2. “the valley of Hinnon”… “the valley of sorrow and weeping” (Jer 19:1-15)
3. “the valley of Kidron”… “the valley full of blackness and confusion” (Zech 14:2-5)

 

All of these titles helps us to understand different truths about this great battle that will find Christ victorious over all.

 

(17)  And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air;

This seventh vial is speaking of the Battle of Armageddon in summary fashion.  With the completion of this vial we come to the completion of Christ’s wrath falling upon lost mankind and the kingdoms of Satan.    The vial is said to be poured out in the air, a symbolic picture of the wrath of God being spread by the winds throughout the earth.  All of the living lost, Satan and his kingdoms will be affected by this judgment.  There will be no place to find refuge, the wrath of God will miss none.

 

and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

Immediately, following the sending of the final portion of His wrath, John hears the voice of God stating “It is done”.  In other words, my wrath against Satan, his kingdoms, and the lost is now complete.

Just as when Christ stated “it is finished” on the cross, announcing His defeat of death, sin and Satan…. So too, now He is announcing the completion of the manifestation of that same victory that He has won for us on the cross.   What He accomplished on the cross is now being brought to full fruition at the completion of the Battle of Armageddon.

 

(18)  And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings;

At the announcement of His completed wrath John sees and hears a great display of God’s presence, power and anger on display.  Just as in prior portions of Revelation these displays reveal God’s greatness as Ultimate Victor and Judge over all.

This is what we have seen throughout the falling wrath of God.  We have seen His presence on display through His strength, authority, and dominating control over the powers of darkness and lost mankind. 

 

and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.  (19)  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell:  and great Babylon came in remembrance before God

Several times in the Bible, earthquakes are directly linked to the falling of God’s wrath and anger (Haggai 12:6-7, Ezek 38:19, Isa 2:19, Isa 29:6).     Never has there been a greater display of God’s wrath and overcoming Sovereignty on the earth as when the Battle of Armageddon takes place.

This great earthquake severs “the great city”, Babylon, into three distinct parts.  Babylon is a picture of the headquarters, or the capital city, of the powers of darkness.   Three is the number for complete manifestation (see vs 14).  When the Battle of Armageddon takes place and Babylon is destroyed, it will be a complete, clearly seen destruction that will bring the powers of darkness to an end.

Not only will the capital of Satan’s kingdom be destroyed, but also all the other cities are brought to defeat.  Once again, we can see the totality of the lost worlds defeat and their complete physical destruction.  No city is left standing, no area is left unaffected.  It is an absolute, total defeat of darkness at the hand of our Almighty Lord.

Remember, it was at the Tower of Babel that the first public display of lost mankind’s united rebellion against the Lord.  Now the Battle of Armageddon is bringing into completion the punishment that was sent upon the members of Satan’s kingdoms for their unified rebellion against Him.

 

to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

This battle is bringing to an end Satan’s kingdom and lost mankind’s “dose” of God’s wrath, by battling them at Armageddon.   It is as if He is giving her a cup of wine that is filled with the “fierceness”,  the most intense part of His wrath.  This will bring her “dose” to completion.  

 

(20)  And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

Even the most isolated spots on the globe, the islands, will be brought to destruction.  Likewise, the highest and most firm parts of the globe, the mountains, cannot give refuge or hiding to the lost.  They, too, will be touched by God’s wrath as it is brought to completion.

 

(21)  And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent:

The hail falling from heaven symbolizes the wrath that proceeds for God and falls upon the inhabitants of the earth.  The hail weighing “a talent” tells us it weighed approx. 114 pounds.   Once again, we have the horrid desolation of all the inhabitants of the earth being emphasized.  This is done with the symbolism of large hail that would cause total destruction as it falls.   

 

and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

Once again, we see the refusal of members of Satan’s kingdoms to repent.  Instead they speak evil of the Lord, falsely accusing Him of wrongdoing and demeaning Him.  They are doing this because of the greatness of His wrath that is bringing them to utter defeat.

It is interesting to note that God’s wrath is described as a “plague” in this verse.  The Greek word for “plague” means a wound, or a stripe.   In comparison, we are told that a part of Christ’s work on behalf of His people is to take “stripes” in their place which was the punishment for their sins.  (Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24)

This entire vial is based upon Joel 3:9-17.

 

CHRIST REVEALED:

In the account of vials 5-7, we see the completed work of Christ coming into view.  That which He has completed on the cross,  whether it be the salvation of His people (Phil 1:4-6) or the victory over the powers of darkness (Hebs 2:14) , we find that He will always bring to completion that which He has begun.

What a blessing for us to know…. Just as certain as His victory over sin is our redemption!  We can rest assured that if we have been saved, we will enter eternal glory with Him and escape His wrath that will fall at His second coming…

1Co 1:8 KJV – “Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION (SUMMARY)

May we all serve Him with assurance KNOWING without doubt that, if we are saved, we are secure in Him.   This assurance allows us to enter into His presence boldly as we serve Him and know with certainty He is with us, aidin us every step of the way ….

Heb 4:16 KJV – “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

Heb 13:6 KJV – “So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”

 

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THE TEXT:

Rev 16:1-9 KJV

(1)  And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
(2)  And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.
(3)  And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
(4)  And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
(5)  And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
(6)  For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
(7)  And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
(8)  And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
(9)  And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

 

THE INTRODUCTION:

In the previous chapter, we have been presented to us the truth that the Lord will deliver His people from this fallen earth just prior to the falling of His wrath upon sinful mankind. This was symbolized by two differing reapings of the earth.  Now we continue looking at God’s wrath that will fall at His second coming by looking at the final stages of His wrath.  The last part of His wrath is called the seventh trumpet.  The contents of this trumpet will be shown to us in seven symbols.  These symbols are vials (bowls) of wrath that are poured out upon the lost.

In chapter 16, we will see the contents of trumpet 7, in other words bowls 1-7, being poured out upon Satan’s kingdoms…

I.  Revelation 16:1-21
A.  Command To Pour Out Vials (16:1)
B.  Vial One (16:2)
C.  Vial Two (16:3)
D.  Vial Three (16:4-7)
E.  Vial Four (16:8-9)
F.  Vial Five (16:10-11)
G.  Vial Six (16:12-16)
H.  Vial Seven (16:17-21)

Please notice, there is a similarity (with clear differences) between these vial judgments and the 7 trumpet judgments that we have previously looked at:

 

#	Trumpets (Rev 8:, 9:, 10:)	Vials  (Rev 16:)	Exodus Plague
1	Hail, Fire , Blood	Sores On Men	9: – Boils
2	Burning Mountain, Sea To Blood	Sea To Blood	7: – Water To Blood
3	Star From Heaven , Rivers and Founts To Blood	Rivers and Founts To Blood	7: – Water To Blood
4	Darkness	Sun Scorching Men	10: – Darkness
5	Locusts Upon Men	Darkness and Pain	10: – Locusts
6	4 Angels / 200,000,000 Army	4 Kings / 3 Spirits	12: – Death Angel
7	The 7 Vials	Thunder, Lightning, Earhquake, Hail	9: – Hail

Please note that all the symbolic vials can find their source among the 10 Egyptian Plagues.

As we can see that are several similar judgments (2, 3, 6), one opposite judgment (4), and two totally different (1, 5,), and one trumpet is inclusive of all the vials (7).

From this we can see that the 7 trumpets are NOT the same judgments as the 7 vials (bowls).   However, the 7^th trumpet is made up of all seven of the vial judgments.

Also, please remember, the first 6 trumpet judgments affect lost mankind, while several of the 7 vials affect Satan and his kingdoms,  this is another very important difference that must be recognized.

One final difference between the trumpets and the vials is found in their severity.  While the trumpets affected large portions of the lost, the 7 vials seem to affect all of the members of the kingdom of Satan resulting their final physical destruction.

 

 

THE EXPOSITORY STUDY:

Rev 16:1-9 KJV

(1)  And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.

In the previous chapter, we saw that the seven angels had been sent out from the Lord’s presence with the authority to send God’s wrath upon the earth against Satan and his kingdoms.  Now John hears God’s voice commanding the angels to begin sending His wrath upon the earth.

There are seven angels that symbolize a complete sending of God’s wrath upon man.  At the completion of His wrath, Satan and his kingdoms will be totally defeated.  Whenever we see angels in Revelation they are symbolic of Godly origin, and authority at work.

Although the seven angels in this section of our study are symbolic, helping us to understand that the wrath that falls comes from the Lord under His authority, there are texts that tell us angels will be literally active in sending God’s judgment upon lost mankind (2 Thess 1:7-9).

This wrath is said to be contained in bowls which contain the hot wrath of God that will be poured out upon the earth (15:7)

 

(2)  And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

The first angel immediately follows the command of the Lord and pours out the first bowl upon the earth.   This is the role for the elect angels of God to minister on His behalf, swiftly following His commands (Psa 103:20).

This bowl causes an extremely harmful, painful, malicious ulcers fell upon men who had “the mark of the beast” (members of Satan’s political kingdom) and which “worshipped his image” (members of Satan’s religious kingdom).

Sores in the OT were used by the Lord for the direct punishment for sin.  During the ten plagues (Exo 9:9-11) and the warning of the Lord’s judgment against the sins of Israel (Deut 28:27, 35)  Sores are also representative of the DIRECT results of sin (Isa 1:6).  And finally, sores are used in connection with lowliness, poverty and humility (Job 2:7, 5:18, Lk 16:20-21)

When we see these sores falling upon the members of Satan’s kingdoms, they are teaching us that the final wrath of God that falls at the second coming of Christ is being sent as a direct punishment for the sins that they have committed.  This punishment, in turn , results in their loss of well-being, leaving them in great need and disgrace.

It is interesting to note that in the Exodus account (Exo 9:11), boils were sent upon the Egyptian magicians  bringing them to public shame causing them to no longer be able to deceive the Egyptian citizens.  This is much like these symbolic sores placed upon the members of Satan’s kingdoms, causing them to no longer be able to deceive lost mankind leading them to rebellion against the Lord.

 

(3)  And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.

The second angel now pours out his bowl upon the sea changing it to blood and bringing death upon all men and living creatures who were in the sea.  The Greek word for “soul” (refers to both human and animal life) (Rev 8:9).   We saw in Exo 7:19-25, the Nile was turned to blood resulting in all the fish in the Nile dying.

The phrase “the blood of a dead man” basically means “the blood of a corpse”.  This paints a vivid, ugly picture of this blood… it was like clotted blood, useless to support life, and actually caused death instead of sustaining life.

Bodies of water many times refer to teachings… the “water of life” and the “sea of glass” refers to the gospel message.  In this case, the sea located on the fallen earth is symbolic of all types of false teachings, false scientific theories, philosophies and worldly wisdom that proceeds from Satan.  This would include religious, moral, ethical, psychological and philosophical teachings.

The false teachings of Satan’s kingdom which promises to be healthy and life-giving, in actuality contains only the blood of the dead.

 

(4)  And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.

The third angel pours God’s wrath upon the fresh water sources (rivers and fountains).  The basic principle being taught is the judgment of the false gospel message in particular that promise life to the receiver, but only result in judgment and death.

Rivers picture cleansing (Exo 2:5) and fountains can symbolize purity (Song of Solomon 4:12).  These are both pictures of spiritual cleansing brought about by God’s Word (gospel message) (Eph 5:26).

The fresh water sources based on the fallen world are speaking of the false gospels found in Satan’s kingdom.    When men follow these false teachings, they will only lead these men to their eternal spiritual death.  This death and destruction that comes upon those who are followers of Satan’s religious kingdom is brought upon them as a part of God’s judgment against their sin.

The main difference between the 2^nd and 3^rd angel bowls:

1. 2^nd angel judgment affects all those who proclaim the false philosophies and worldly teachings and scientific theories opposed to the Scriptures found in Satan’s kingdom.
2. 3^rd angel judgment centers on those delivering the false gospel messages that are proclaimed by Satanic false religions. These pervert the need of salvation, the Savior, or the way of salvation.  These teachings stand in direct opposition to the message of truth authorized by God and proclaimed by His people.

 

(5)  And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.   (6)  For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.

The angel that judges the followers of the false gospels of this world now praises the Lord for His wrath.  It was these that opposed His gospel message and those who proclaimed it.

The angel reminds us that this wrath is deserved by the false teachers of Satan’s kingdom (the Lord is righteous in sending this wrath).  He also reminds us that the Lord sending this wrath is the true eternal Creator God over all.  He possesses the authority necessary to righteously judge the lost.

He is justified in His judgment of these men, because they have abused, mistreated and murdered His people and now He is simply shedding their blood as recompense to their shedding of His people’s blood. (Hosea 8:7, Exo 21:23-25, Matt 23:34-36)

 

 (7)  And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.

John then hears another voice coming from the brazen altar, symbolizing the death of the saints of God who were sacrificed in His name (Rev 6:9, 8:3-5 etc).   They are now seeing their prayers answered and are praising Him for keeping His promise of divine retribution.

They are in agreement with the angel who recognized His judgments are deserved by those who abused His people.  He is only giving to them what is their due.  His judgments are:

1. true – genuine, unconcealed, open for all to see
2. righteous – lawful, impartial, just

(see Deut 32:1-6 where the Lord is praised in a similar way)

 

(8)  And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.

The fourth angel is seen pouring out his vial of wrath.  It is poured upon the sun.  Throughout history the sun, due to its prominence in the heavens, has been the most common of all the false gods that have been worshipped in nature (Deut 4:19, 17:3, 2 Kings 23:5, Ezek 8:16, Acts 7:42-43).   Some of the most familiar false sun gods include: Egyptian god RA; Greek god Helios; Roman god Apollo, Hindu god Surya; Babylon god Baal etc etc.

God’s wrath being poured upon the sun symbolizes God’s judgment of idolatry and other types of false worship propagated by the religious kingdom of Satan.  Once again, the Lord is seen as turning wickedness back onto itself as a form of just retribution against sin.  Those who chose to worship the sun will now be burned by it.  This is reminiscent of the 10 plagues of Egypt, each of which was pointed at the very gods of nature that were being worshipped.  Examples of this include:

1. frogs… they worshipped frogs, so the Lord gave them more frogs then they could handle
2. sun… they worshipped the sun, so the Lord gave them total darkness etc etc.
3. bulls… they worshipped the bull so the Lord sent the plague of murrain directly upon the bulls

So it was with each of the ten plagues, and so it is in this judgment.

 

(9)  And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

The men reacted to this plague just as in prior plagues.  Instead of humbling them and bringing them to submission to Christ, they are hardened against the Lord and only seek to rebel against Him in greater ways. (Rev 9:20)

This helps us to understand the helplessness of sinful mankind.  After facing such horrible judgments, it is amazing to see they still are not humbled, turning to Christ for their salvation.  Apart from God’s gracious intervention, they cannot come to repentance nor belief in Him.  These punishments only drive them farther from coming to faith.  This type of attitude was perfectly displayed in the life of Pharoah, King of Egypt during the 10 plagues and also in the lives of the Israleites during their wilderness wanderings….

1Sa 6:6 KJV – “Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?”

Psa 95:8 KJV – “Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:”

 

May we all take Paul’s advice and use these things as an example for each one of us to avoid this ungodly attitude…

Rom 2:3-6 KJV – “And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?   Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?    But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;   Who will render to every man according to his deeds:”

 

CHRIST REVEALED:

In these first four vials of God’s wrath, we are reminded of Christ’s role as the Just Judge of all mankind.  In these vials we have seen Christ as the One that judges Satan and his kingdoms, simply giving to them what is rightfully deserved,    Based upon the actions of the lost, Christ’s judgments fall upon them in an righteous way giving to them their just deserts and bringing back upon thie heads that which they have previously chosen to give to the Lord and those who serve Him.

 

THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION (SUMMARY)

As fallen mankind, we should all recognize that the choices we make in this life will reap results in our future.   We are all faced with the decision to spend the time we have been given on earth either to live lives of selfishness, fulfilling the desires of our flesh, or living lives of service to Christ, willfully submitting to His desires for our lives.

May we all turn from our sins and turn to Christ, by faith, willfully submitting to His will for our lives.  In doing so, we will be making Him our Lord, Savior and eternal Friend.

“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.”
(Joshua 24:15)

 

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THE TEXT:

 

 

Rev 15:1-8 KJV

(1)  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.
(2)  And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
(3)  And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
(4)  Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.
(5)  And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:
(6)  And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.
(7)  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
(8)  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

 

THE INTRODUCTION:

In the previous chapter, we have been presented to us the truth that the Lord will deliver His people from this fallen earth just prior to the falling of His wrath upon sinful mankind. This was symbolized by two differing reapings of the earth.  Now we continue looking at God’s wrath that will fall at His second coming by looking at the final stages of His wrath.  The last part of His wrath is called the seventh trumpet.  The contents of this trumpet will be shown to us in seven symbols.  These symbols are vials (bowls) of wrath that are poured out upon the lost.

In chapter 15, we will see the contents of trumpet 7 being prepared to fall upon Satan’s kingdoms.  In chapter 16, we see the actual bowls described in detail as they are poured out…

I.   Revelation 15:1-8
A.  Preparation For Seven Last Plagues (15:1-4)
B.  The Seven Vials Of Wrath Revealed (15:5-8)

 

II.  Revelation 16:1-21
A.  Command To Pour Out Vials (16:1)
B.  Vial One (16:2)
C.  Vial Two (16:3)
D.  Vial Three (16:4-7)
E.  Vial Four (16:8-9)
F.  Vial Five (16:10-11)
G.  Vial Six (16:12-16)
H.  Vial Seven (16:17-21)

 

THE EXPOSITORY STUDY:

Rev 15:1-8 KJV

 

(1)  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous,

John now has a new subject beginning to be presented to him.  He sees “another sign”  ie a different series of symbols now to be presented to him.  He describes these signs as:

1. in heaven – helping us to understand that are originating from the Lord and affecting life here on earth.
2. great – large, attention grabbing, exceeding
3. marvelous – causes much wonder and amazement, beyond imagination

 

 

seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

John now sees angels appearing in this vision.  Angels throughout the Bible simply speak the message God gives them or does the wrok that God has commissioned them to do.  Being angels, helps us to understand that they are about to do God’s work on His behalf with His authority.  John describes them as:

1. seven in number – the complete, perfect number. They are going to bring to perfect completion the work that God has given them to do.
2. having the seven last plagues – these bowls will symbolize the wrath of God that will fall upon mankind. These bowls of wrath are the final stage of God’s wrath falling upon lost mankind.  It will bring His wrath to an end.  The lost of this world will be totally, physically destroyed by the end of this series of bowls.

(Note the angels will actually possess the plagues in verse 7.  John is describing them as holding the plagues now to differentiate them from other angels we have seen and will see in Revelation.)

These bowls are described as “in them is filled up the wrath of God” symbolizing that the bowls hold God’s wrath and, when tipped, will pour out God’s wrath upon lost mankind.

 

(2)  And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire:

This is the same “sea of glass” that we saw in the Rev 4:5-6 passage.  It is “mingled with fire” as it reflects the lamps of fire that are positioned near to it before the throne of God…

Rev 4:5-6 KJV – “And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.  And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.”

Prior we have seen that this sea of glass symbolized the way of salvation which gives access to God.  The lamps of fire symbolize the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit, and the reflective glass symbolizes the revealing of the lost person’s true condition and the true person of Christ, both of which are accomplished through the gospel message.

 

and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

Those standing on the sea are genuine believers in Christ who have accepted the gospel message.  In the original language they are said to be “caused to stand” on the sea of glass.  In other words, they did not stand upon the sea of simply their own ability but God, through His grace caused them to stand on the sea.  He called them and gave the mthe ability to repent and believe the gospel message (John 6:44, Roms 5:6, 7:18).

They are described as (presented to us as “overcomers” – 1 John 5:4):

1. them that had gotten the victory over the beast – They have prevailed over Satan’s kingdom
2. them that had gotten the victory over his image – They have prevailed over the false teachings of the kingdom
3. them that had gotten the victory over his mark and the number of his name – not selfish, humanistic, rebellious
4. them that have the harps of God – they are prepared to worship, praise and honor the Lord.

At the very beginning of the time of God’s wrath the saints are praising the Lord for His great works (Rev 7:9-17)… now, as the final stages of His wrath begin, they are continuing to praise Him.  Apparently throughout the time of God’s wrath falling upon the lost, the saints of God will be praising and honoring Him for His justice, grace, and faithfulness to His promises.

 

(3)  And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

A part of the praise that is given to Christ during the falling of His wrath is singing songs of praise to Him.  These songs are described in two ways… the song of Moses and the son of the Lamb.

Perhaps, this is the same song given two different names.  If that is so, it is probably taking about one of the two songs related to Moses found in the Bible:

1. Exodus 15:1-19 – the song that is sung at the deliverance of the Israelites deliverance from Egypt bondage
2. Deut 31:30-32:43 – the song sung at Moses’s death.

Why would both of these be called the song of the Lamb?  Both of these glorify Christ (Exodus 15:1 and Deut 32:3)

Or, perhaps “the song of the Lamb” is describing an entirely different song.  If this is the case, this may be referring to one of the two songs that has been sung previously in Revelation (Rev 5:6-10, Rev 14:3) ?

 

The contents of this song include 10 reasons to praise the Lord… 

Great and marvellous are thy works,

1. Praise for His great works among men (includes both works of salvation and works of wrath) (Psa 126:2, Psa 8:3-9)

 Lord God Almighty;

2. Praise for who He is, the Master, One who deserves all worship, and All powerful One (Rev 4:8, 11:17, 16:7, 21:22)

 just and true are thy ways,

3. Praise for His Justice and Truthfulness (Faithfulness) of His lifestyle and leadership (Psa 18:30, Psa 145:17, Isa 55:9)

 thou King of saints.

4. Praise for His Rulership in the lives of His people (Dan 7:14, Jer 10:7, I Cor 15:25)

 

(4)  Who shall not fear thee, O Lord,

5. Praise for His greatness and the need to reverence and fear His chastening and punishment of sin (Isa 8:13, Prov 1:7)

 and glorify thy name?

6. Praise for His deserving of the greatest honor and praise possible. (Psa 22:23, 1 Pet 4:11)

for thou only art holy:

7. Praise Him for He is sinless, totally separated from sin and separated to the use of God (Isa 6:3, Exo 15:11, Psa 99:9)

for all nations shall come and worship before thee;

8. Praise Him for He is Savior of All Mankind (Jew and Gentile alike) (John 3:16)
9. Praise Him for He is so great all men (both lost and saved) will come before Him and bow to Him (Psa 22:27-28, Isa 66:23)

for thy judgments are made manifest.

10. Praise Him because His decisions are fair and just. (Psa 103:6, Zeph 3:5, Rom 2:2)

In summary this song is sung to praise Him because of His works, His person and His authority that He possesses over all things.

 

(5)  And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:

John now sees the doors of the temple in heaven (a symbol of God’s presence and worship in the midst of heaven) to now open.

The title given to this symbolic temple is important.  John describes it as “the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven”.  In other words, it is the:

1. temple – dwelling/worship place of God
2. tabernacle – that was associated with the tent of worship in OT
3. testimony – that testified of the Lord to those who see it
4. in heaven – located in the eternal dwelling place of God.

This heavenly temple is being emphasized to be the revealer of the Lord.  By studying the symbolism of the temple of Revelation and those that entered and departed from it, we can learn MICH about the Lord and His workings among men on earth and throughout eternity.

 

(6)  And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.

John now sees seven angels departing out of the temple.  This tells us that these angels are about to do the bidding of God.  They are coming from His presence, indicating they have been sent on a mission.

These angels are described as:

1.  seven angels – their work is perfect and will complete the work that God has given to them.

2.  they possess the seven plagues of God – identifying them from all the other angels John has seen. Their role in completing God’s wrath upon the lost sets them apart from any other angels he has seen

3.  clothed in pure, white linen – they were sinless (not fallen angels). They are about to send God’s RIGHTEOUS wrath upon lost mankind.  It is deserved wrath, they will not be committing sin by sending it.

4.  they wear gold girdles (breastplates)– the priests wore gold breastplates symbolizing Christ’s ministry of mediation and intercession. How can the work of the OT priest help us to understand the work of these angels?…

5.  The work of these angels will be as the “go-between” between God and sinful man, sending His wrath upon them. In that sense, they are God’s intercessors standing between God and sinful mankind at His coming.

6.  Also… they are seen seeking God’s face then coming out of the temple prepared to obey His commands. This, too, is like the priests who would enter the temple seeking to know God’s will and then depart and fulfill His will among the Isrealites.

 

(7)  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.

John now sees one of the four living creatures giving these angels the bowls of the eternal God’s wrath.  Remember, the prayers of the saints play a very important role in initiating God’s wrath and final defeat of sinful mankind.  (Revelation 8:1-5)

These are said to be full of His wrath, symbolizing for us that His patience has come to an end and final defeat of the lost is at hand.  The holding back of any of His wrath has now come to an end and it is time for it to be poured forth fully.

 

(8)  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power;

The temple is now filled with smoke as His anger and wrath have reached its “boiling point”.  In this we can see His great glory and power as His wrath will be displayed to its fullest with these final bowls being poured forth.

 

and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

The smoke of His wrath is so great none can enter His presence until His wrath is now brought to completion.  It is not a time for grace or mercy (in allowing men to enter His presence) now is the time for His judgment against sin to commence, as His judgment against sin reveals His majesty.  Job 14:13, Psa 76:7, Nahum 1:6, Exo 40:36, Ezek 44:4, Isa 6:4, 1 Kings 8:10

 

 

CHRIST REVEALED:

In this section of Revelation we see Christ presented as both the Savior and the Holy Judge of all mankind…

1. As the Savior of His people we see Him receiving the praise, honor and worship of His people throughout eternity.

2. As Holy Judge, we see His wrath falling upon sinful mankind through His holy angels. This wrath is being sent to punish their rejection of Christ as their Creator, Lord, and Savior; and to recompense their abuse and opposition to His people.

 

THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION (SUMMARY)

The truth of Christ being both Savior and Judge goes hand in hand… each role enhances the other…

1. As He judges the lost, His people see the punishment they deserve and grow in appreciation for what He has done for them.

2. As Savior, His work on the cross was a clear display of God’s righteous anger against sin. This display of anger enhances our understanding of the greatness of His wrath that will fall at His second coming.

 

As we stop and dwell upon Christ as our Savior and the Judge of all mankind, may we see both His grace and just wrath with a new, greater understanding and appreciation for all He has done for us.

 

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SYMBOLS EMPLOYED IN THIS TEXT:

 

1. another sign in heaven
2. seven
3. angels
4. sea of glass
5. fire
6. the beast
7. his image
8. his mark
9. his name
10. harps of God
11. the Lamb
12. the temple
13. the tabernacle
14. heaven
15. was opened:
16. pure and white linen
17. breasts girded with golden girdles

18,  seven golden vials

19.. smoke

 

 

 

THE RELATED SCRIPTURES:

 

 

SUPPLEMENTAL STUDIES/NOTES: