Things Which Shall Be Part III

By Pastor Tim Hitchcock

 

Introduction:

--The outline for the book of Revelation is found in Revelation 1: 19.  We have begun the final point, which begins in chapter four.  Last week we looked at the seven trumpet judgments and the week before the seven seal judgments.

--These terrible judgments grow increasingly worse.  After the first four trumpet ones an angel announces that the last three of these will be far worse than anything yet.  Everything about these judgments is intensifying, and we are only half way through the seven-year tribulation.

 

I.) Chapter Twelve:

--In chapter twelve, the scene switches from earth back to heaven (vs. 1-2).  Here is a great wonder!  The Kaiser said to his Prime Minister, "Give me one proof for the existence of God."  The Prime Minister responded, "The Jew."  The Jewish people stand alone in the history of mankind chosen of God to bear the Christ child.

--But they have a great enemy (vs. 3-4).  The red dragon is the devil.  The ten horns represent ten kingdoms--a revived Roman empire (Daniel 7: 19-27).  According to Daniel, a little horn (the antichrist) will arise to overcome three, leaving seven crowns in league with the devil.

--In verse four, the devil took one third of the angels in heaven with him in his rebellion against God and sought to devour the Christ child as soon as He was born (See Matthew 2: 16-18).

--Christ is the man-child, who was purposed from before the foundation of the earth to rule all nations with a rod of iron (vs. 5).  He was crucified, buried, raised the third day, and ascended into heaven.  He now sits on His throne in heaven.

--Verse six brings us back to the tribulation time.

--Half way through the tribulation, the antichrist will break his peace treaty with Israel.  She will flee into the wilderness to a place prepared by God (Some have suggested Petra).

--To this time, the devil has had access to heaven.  In the book of Job, he came to report along with the angels of God, but now war breaks out in heaven (vs. 7-9).  Michael and his angels prevail and the dragon is cast out.  This is bad news for earth, because they are cast out to earth.  The Holy Spirit was removed with the rapture and now demons are turned loose.  Evil is magnified.

--There is rejoicing in heaven because the accuser of our brethren is cast down (vs. 10-12).  By the same token, there is woe to earth because the devil knows his time is short.

--This wrath of the dragon is first vented toward Israel (vs.13-17).  God enables Israel to flee to the wilderness where God will nourish her for the last half of the tribulation.  The serpent will attempt to destroy her with a flood, but God will intervene.  This will only serve to make the dragon angrier and he will demonstrate it by warring against any Jew that he can find.

 

II.) Chapter Thirteen:

--John next sees a beast rising out of the sea (vs. 1-4).  The beast rising out of the sea of humanity is the antichrist.  For the first three and a half years he will grow stronger on the world scene.  Then halfway through there will be an assassination attempt, and he will be killed.  Through the power of the devil, he will come back to life.

--This will cause the people of earth to worship him and the dragon.  The antichrist will now masquerade as the Christ.

--This satanic worship will blaspheme God and bring persecution to those who follow God (vs.5-8).  He will make war with the saints of God alive on earth at that time.  These are people saved during the Great Tribulation.

--God has a word of encouragement to those faithful ones (vs. 9-10).  In effect, God says, "What goes around, comes around."

--Then John saw a second beast.  The first comes from the sea.  This one comes from the earth (vs. 11-18).  Here is one of the more famous passages in the book.  Everyone seems to know about the mark of the beast.

--First, this beast is the false prophet.  Instead of coming from the sea of humanity, he arises from the earthy religions of the world and completes the unholy triumvirate: Satan, antichrist, and false prophet.  He uses miraculous events to compel worship.  One of those miracles involves the image of the antichrist, which he will bring to life.

--Anyone who will not worship the image will be put to death.  Worshippers will be identified by a mark either in the forehead or on the back of the hand.  There is a lot of speculation about this mark.  Everyone should know that every bar code used includes a marking system that has the numbers 666.

 

III.) Chapter Fourteen:

--John then looked and saw Christ with the 144,000 witnesses on Mt. Zion (vs. 1-5).  Previously, we found that the 144,000 consisted of 12,000 men each from the 12 tribes of Israel. God sealed them in their foreheads.  The false prophet introduces the counterfeit mark and God brings us back to the true.

--Now we learn that these men are all virgins.  That is one more nail in the coffin of Jehovah Witnesses.  They are devoted exclusively to Christ and sing a new song that is known only to them.  No one else is even able to learn it.

--Then John saw another angel fly in heaven (vs. 6-7).  This angel has the everlasting gospel.  There is only one gospel, and it is everlasting.  Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation (Acts 4: 12).  This angel will proclaim the gospel to the world.  Some say that if an angel would come they would believe.  This one will prove that thought wrong.  This is like the final call.  The hour of judgment is come.

--A second angel follows the first (vs.8).  Babylon is fallen!

--This reference is not to Babylon in Iraq.  It is not a city that Saddam planned to restore.  It goes all the way back to the tower of Babel.  There is a rebellion set in motion there that seeks to exalt man to heavens--to be like God.  This philosophy has continued to this day.  The names and places have changed, but the apostasy has survived.  God will put down this spiritual harlot.  This religious effort will be made to cease.

--A third angel follows (vs. 9-11).  He announces that God will judge anyone who receives the mark of the beast.  The choice is plain: Receive the mark of the beast and be judged with eternal damnation by God or refuse the mark and be slain by the antichrist.  Many people think that they will wait until this time to repent and turn to Christ.  They do not know what they say.  If we cannot turn to Christ when there is no persecution, we certainly will not when it means facing death by starvation or beheading.

--Some will receive Christ (vs. 12-13).  They are challenged to wait patiently.  The suffering will soon be over and the rejoicing will begin.  We are commanded to work and to labor now (I Corinthians 15: 58).  We will have plenty of time to rest then.

 

Conclusion:

--We reap what we sow (Galatians 6: 7).  If we sow seed of the gospel, we will reap souls and rejoice.  If we sow to the devil, we will reap the Grim Reaper (vs. 14-20).  At the battle of Armageddon, the blood will flow as deep as the horses bridles and for a hundred and eighty-one miles. That begs the question:

Friend,

What seed are you sowing?