Revealing Revelation - Part 10

We have come to the end of our study. There is always more to learn, more to grow and go with the Gospel. I hope that in some small way you were able to take something from these lessons and make it personal. Now . . .

Very quickly, we will summarize the remaining chapters. In chapter 17 we have the first of two Babylons. In chapter 17 we have Mystery Babylon, and in chapter 18 we have Babylon the Great. We are dealing with two different situations in these two chapters. In verse 1 we meet the great whore. This is the church of the unsaved headed by Rome. She is said to be sitting upon many waters that according to verse 15 are multitudes of people from the world.

v. 2—We see her committing fornication with the kings of the earth. This is an unholy alliance of church and state, the ecumenical movement at its fullest all headed under Rome. Please stay away from groups like the World Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches. Jesus Christ is the Head of His church, not the world, not the nation.

v. 3—We meet the beast again. The antichrist and his kingdom rule. Again you can compare chapter 13 with Daniel 7. Verse 18 tells us that the woman is a city that reigns over the kings of the earth. Verse 9 mentions the seven heads are mountains upon which the woman sits. That seven-hill city is Rome leading the way of the revived Roman Empire.

v. 4—to further indicate Rome, the woman is dressed in purple (the color of Roman Imperialism), and scarlet (the color of Roman Catholicism). She is decked with gold, but is full of dead bones. She is decked with precious stones, but yet she holds the cup of her abominations and filthiness of her fornication.

v. 5—She is a mystery because she is just now being revealed just like the mystery of the New Testament church. She is called the mother of harlots because she has birthed many offshoot religions (harlot religions).

v. 6—She is drunk with the blood of martyrs and for the first time, John seems to be truly amazed.

v. 7—But the angel will explain John’s amazement.

v. 8—Here we are dealing with the Roman Empire more than the Beast himself. “Was” refers to the past Roman Empire of history. “Is not” refers to our present day “fragmented Roman Empire”. “And yet is” refers to the coming revived Roman Empire. Charlemagne tried to put the empire together. Napoleon tried. Moussolini tried. Hitler tried. The United Nations tried. But the beast will succeed.

v. 10—Just something to think about. There were seven Roman kings or emperors. Julius Caesar was assassinated. Tiberius was poisoned or smothered. Caligula was assassinated. Claudius was poisoned. Nero committed suicide. Domitian would be the “one is” during John’s day. The antichrist would be “the yet to come.” This could also represent seven forms of Roman government, but either way the fact is the antichrist will rule over a reactivated Roman Empire.

v.16-18—We see the 10 kings (verse 12) who will share their power with the beast ruling over different divisions of the Roman Empire. Actually, they will give their kingdoms to the beast and just be puppet figures. The destruction of the woman (ecumenical religious system) “which thou sawest” (past tense) will usher in the darkest spiritual times in earthly history as the antichrist is worshipped.

Chapter 18 deals with a commercial system that has failed and faces judgment. I know not everyone will agree with me, but I believe that Revelation 18 can be tied in with Jeremiah 50, and 51. A close study of these chapters seems to point to the destruction of America. We will not go into that at this point, and again, many good men would disagree, but I see it no other way. See the four part hub The Death of America for more information on the destruction of America.

Moving on to chapter 19 we see an angel coming down from Heaven and lighting the earth.

v. 1--In chapters 5-7 we saw the elders, the church, uncounted angels, and now the addition of tribulation saints. The word “Alleluia” means “praise the Lord”. In sharp contrast to chapter 18 we have light rather than extreme darkness. The Great Tribulation and the marriage supper are over and Christ is getting ready to return.

v. 2—God judged the whore “true and righteously” (His judgments always are) with the antichrist and kings of the earth. You see, they are really nothing more than pawns in the Messiah’s hands.

v. 5, 6—There is a voice from of the very throne room of God. King Jesus is getting ready to take control of this world (He's always been in control of it). This is the true Hallelujah Chorus.

v. 7-9--This becomes the fulfillment of II Samuel 7:16, “And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee: thy throne shall be established forever.” But first there is a wedding to attend. All believers from Pentecost to the rapture are invited as they are the Bride of Christ. The wedding takes place in Heaven, actually throughout Heaven. For the first time, we will be able to experience pure, Spirit-filled love (see Ephesians 5:25-27).

This is a love that the world knows nothing about. Finally purified from earth’s filth, we shall know Him as He is, clothed in His righteousness. “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith” (Philippians 3:9). “Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire” I Corinthians 3:12-15). Let me ask you, How are you adorning your wedding gown? After all, we will be on display for all eternity (see Ephesians 2:7).

v. 11, 12—If you remember, Heaven was opened in chapter 4 to let John see. Now Heaven is opened again to allow Christ to exit. The Faithful and True One is coming to execute the long time program of God.

v. 14—To me, this is a special verse. John looked down the corridors of time and saw the armies of Heaven coming with their Christ. The fact is, John saw you and me, and event yet future as we are all in the battle. Ephesians 6:12-18 tells us to put on the whole armor of God. There is coming a time when we need not fight. The Word from the mouth of King Jesus is all that is needed.

v. 17, 18—We have the conclusion of the Battle of Armageddon. Although we do not have the time to look at it closely, it does seem that the antichrist will end up in Israel with the armies of the earth descending upon him. The man of satan will be chased by satan in an attempt to bring all the armies of the world together to fight the God of Heaven as He returns to set foot on the Mount of Olives. The world has never seen destruction of this magnitude, nor will it again.

v. 19-21—In these verses the false prophet and the antichrist will be the first to visit the Lake of Fire. The devil will get his turn in Revelation 20:10. The “Sword” or the “Word” that created the world will be used to judge the world in absolute Truth (see Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:17; Isaiah 11:4).

Coming to chapter 20, we must remember that the Holy Spirit was removed from His normal method of ministering at the time of the rapture. When we are removed at the rapture, so is the Holy Spirit that lives in us. We have seen the good removed. In chapter 20 we see the evil removed.

v. 1-3—The devil is locked away in the bottomless pit. Realize that the bottomless pit is not the same as the lake of Fire in verse 10. He is locked away for 1,000 years. You may ask, why is he then released at the end of the thousand years? Or why was he even released in the first place at the beginning of time? Just realize that God is working out a tremendous plan. As for now, the secret things belong to the Lord. We may not always understand the ways of God, so just trust Him.

v. 4-6—The martyrs of the Tribulation will reign and rule with Christ. They will live again, and they will have authority. Know please, that we will have authority in Christ, too (Revelation 5:9, 10). Know please that we have it now (I Peter 2:9). Use it now!

v. 11-15—God paints the terrifying picture for and of all those who reject Christ. The Great White Throne Judgment is the Judgment of the Damned. Everyone who has ever spit in the face of God will be there. Every good, moral individual that did not accept Christ as their Savior will be there. We will be there, too.“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (I Thessalonians 4:17). We will not be there for judgment. Your sin has already been judged at the cross if you have accepted Christ. But from the time of the rapture for the rest of eternity we will not leave the Lord’s side.

Chapter 21 gives a glorious picture of the New Jerusalem coming down from Heaven. A new era begins as God tabernacles with man. He will wipe away all tears and in verse 6, He declares, “It is done.” The chapter goes on to describe the size of the city. A furlong is approximately .9 miles. 12,000 furlongs cubed equals 1,555,200,000,000 cubic miles. This is truly the largest city that ever existed.

Chapter 22 gives us the closing words. Quite often the final words are the most important. Three times, Jesus says, “I come quickly”. Verse 13 goes back to the Alpha and Omega. At the end of everything, He is still standing and will continue to stand. He is the root and offspring of David (verse 16) and the bright and morning star (II Peter 1:19).

This wonderful book has come to an end. Remember that God promises a blessing to anyone that studies this book. Remember that this book explains what we have to look forward to as Christians. It also explains what the lost have to look forward to. Let us do all we can now to take as many people with us as we can to that Heavenly city.