Introduction: This week Revelation turns to one of my favorite
topics: the everlasting gospel! While I’ve been warning you that I
might not be right in my understanding of some of our past studies in
Revelation, I feel confident about the gospel. Let’s dive into our
study of the Bible and learn more about end times and the everlasting
gospel of Jesus!
- Song of the Redeemed
- Read Revelation 14:1. Where are we now? (In heaven.)
- Notice that the 144,000 have God’s name “written on
their foreheads.” Why does it not mention their
hands? (God’s name on their forehead means that they
believe in God. They are not forced into doing His
will.) - Read Revelation 14:2-3. What is an important part of
heaven? (Music!) - Is this the soft singing of an old time hymn? (In the
“music wars,” those arguing against contemporary
praise songs find little support in the text of the
Bible. This song of praise is compared to the “roar
of rushing waters” and a “loud peal of thunder.”) - What instrument is specifically mentioned? (A
harp!) - How does that make sense? I think of harp
music as the kind that puts you to sleep? (This
is roaring, thundering harp music!) - Read Revelation 14:4-5. Is this talking about sex? If so,
how do you apply this if you are a women? (Read Revelation
17:1-3 and 2 Corinthians 11:2. John is not writing about
sex. This is about being the bride of Jesus as opposed to
“prostituting” yourself to the forces of evil.) - The Timing
- Read Revelation 14:6-7. Wait a minute! When does this
take place? After the righteous are in heaven? (Read
Revelation 14:13. This is before, not after, the Second
Coming of Jesus.) - Let’s go back and read Revelation 7:1-4. We have been
reading these verbal pictures in Revelation of what is
happening in heaven. In our past studies, I’ve sometimes
relied on these pictures of heaven to give us a sense of
the timing. Is that always reliable? (The first verses of
Revelation 14 show that it is not. It appears that God
gives John these periodic views of what is happening in
heaven, but not necessarily as part of the chronology of
what is being described elsewhere in the chapter.) - Three Angels Messages
- Read Revelation 14:6-7. What hour is this? (The hour of
judgment. This is a warning that the Second Coming is
soon.) - What are we called to do in light of the impending
judgment? (Fear, glorify and worship God.) - What kind of an attitude is described here? Is
it being afraid of God? (No. These are
Christians who take God seriously. They
recognize His great power and love. They are
grateful for what He has done to redeem them.
They worship Him because they cannot keep from
praising Him.) - What reason is given for worshiping God? (The
previously mentioned hour of judgment, and because
God is the Creator of everything.) - Read Revelation 14:8. Is this about drinking alcohol?
(This is no more about drinking then the prior references
to adultery and not defiling yourself with women is about
sex. This is about adopting the view of Babylon, the
opponent of God. You reject God and His law and you follow
God’s enemy.) - I like the term “maddening wine of her adulteries.”
Why is the view of Babylon like “wine” and why is it
a “maddening view?” (Drinking too much wine clouds
your thoughts. Being “mad” refers to having
ridiculous thoughts. A sane person would say, “You
are not thinking clearly, that is a crazy idea.”) - Are there things about Babylon that are just crazy?
If you moved the clock back to the time of your
grandparents, would they think the Babylon things of
today are crazy? (Yesterday, I read a news account
that they could not get enough Members of the United
States Senate to pass a bill that would require
medical care for babies who were born alive. People
are opposed to providing medical care for a new born
baby? What about the idea of two men getting married?
What about the idea that your child should decide its
own gender? What about the idea that a man can decide
“he” feels more like a woman, and can therefore can
compete against women in sports and use their
bathrooms? Had I mentioned any of these things to my
grandparents, they wouldn’t believe it.) - Read Revelation 14:9-10. What else do the worshipers of
Babylon drink? (“The wine of God’s fury.”) - We previously discussed the idea that a “mark” in the
“forehead or on the hand” represents someone who
believes in an idea or goes along with it. What does
it mean to “worship” the beast? (These are people who
embrace the beast and its ideas.) - Are both worship and the mark required? Must you
embrace the ideas of the beast? (Read Revelation
14:11. While verse 9 seems to require both, verse 11
says that either qualify you for punishment.) - What, exactly, are these people drinking? (God’s fury
at “full strength.” Their end is the torment of
burning sulfur!) - Who witnesses this torment? (“The holy angels and the
Lamb.”) - Let’s just pause a minute. Jesus loves us so
much that He was tortured and died so that we
can live eternally. Would someone who loves
that much watch the tortured death of the
wicked? (I trust God. I trust that these people
are so wicked, and their deeds so evil, that
this is just. What I would like to do is to
avoid being the victim of these evil people.) - Read Revelation 14:12 and compare Revelation 12:17. Are
these the same people, or at least the same kind of
people? - If so, what characterizes them? (These are both
descriptions of the saints. We spent time discussing
Revelation 12:17. This text once again tells us that
they are serious about obedience to God, and they
accept Jesus as their source of salvation.) - Why are they patient and what are they enduring?
(They are waiting for vindication. They are enduring
the wicked who deserve a tormented end.) - The Dead and the Reaping
- Read Revelation 14:13. What is the future of those who
“die in the Lord?” (Their blessed future is contrasted
with the future of the wicked.) - Read Revelation 14:14-16. Are these good or bad people who
are being harvested? (This harvest is connected with
Jesus. Thus, I think this symbolizes the saving of the
righteous. This is the salvation of the righteous at the
Second Coming.) - Read Revelation 14:17-20. Are these good or bad people
being harvested? (The angel in “charge of the fire” calls
for this harvest. The grapes are “from the earth’s vine.”
The flow of blood shows that these people are being
destroyed. Thus, they symbolize the fate of the wicked at
the Second Coming.) - Friend, will you join in sharing the messages of the three
angels? Will you bring the gospel to a fallen world so
that people will turn from evil and its terrible end? Why
not commit to doing that right now? - Next week: The Seven Last Plagues.
