Sunday
Morning Bible Study
April
1, 2012
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk
– Meat – Manna Preach for a decision
The apostle
John found himself caught up into heaven before the throne of God.
He saw Jesus
take a scroll from the hand of God that had been sealed with seven seals.
As Jesus broke each seal and unrolled the scroll a little further, events begin to take place
on the earth and the time that we call the Tribulation begins to unfold.
The Tribulation is a time when God’s wrath is poured out on an unbelieving
world and God begins to make right all the things that have been so wrong.
We are somewhere
in the middle of the Tribulation period, when the antichrist is unmasked as pure evil and turns to
kill the Jews, specifically those who have come to believe in Jesus as their
Messiah.
14:6-13 Three
Angels
:6 Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the
everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth to every nation,
tribe, tongue, and people—
:6 another – allos –
another, other; another of the same kind
:6 angel – aggelos –
a messenger, envoy, one who is sent; an angel
:6 flying – petomai –
to fly
:6 in the midst of
heaven – mesouranema (“middle”
+ “heaven”) – mid-heaven; the highest point in the heavens, which the sun
occupies at noon
We saw this word used to describe another angel:
(Re 8:13 NKJV) —13 And I looked, and I heard an angel
flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to
the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of
the three angels who are about to sound!”
There is a
sense in which there are “three heavens”.
The first
heaven is the atmosphere, where the birds fly.
The second
heaven is where the stars are – space.
The third
heaven is where God dwells.
The “middle heaven”
could refer to space.
Some suggest
this might be a satellite broadcasting a message.
It could refer to
an actual angelic being flying up in the air where everyone can see it.
:6 gospel – euaggelion
(“good” + “message”) – good tidings ; gospel; the good news about salvation
through Christ.
:6 everlasting – aionios
– without beginning and end, that which always has been and always will be
:6 to preach – euaggelizo
(“good” + “messaging”) – to bring good news, to announce glad
tidings; to proclaim the gospel
:6 to those who dwell on the earth
The gospel isn’t for those in heaven, it’s for those who are on earth.
:6 nation, tribe,
tongue, and people
This message is going to go throughout the whole world.
This is not just a localized thing
happening in Israel.
Every once in a while you will hear missionary organizations pull out this
verse:
(Mt 24:14 NKJV) And this
gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the
nations, and then the end will come.
Some will even say that Jesus won’t come back until we preach the gospel to
every nation.
Don’t get me wrong – we need to send the message into all the world, but it’s
possible that this will be fulfilled by this angel proclaiming the gospel.
I love how the
church has taken advantage of technology over the years.
It used to be that the folks at TBN saw their satellite as a
fulfillment of this passage.
In 1995, Billy
Graham’s organization pulled off a huge global outreach using satellites.
They transmitted a crusade that was going on in Puerto Rico to 185 countries
and territories. The messages were
translated into 48 languages.
Settings ranged from theaters and
sports palaces in the former Soviet Union to the refugee camps of Rwanda and
the rain forests of French Guiana.
An estimated 1 million attended the meetings in
South Africa, with 50,000 commitment cards returned afterward.
This year, the
Harvest Crusade is going to be doing something similar, but on a national
scale, broadcasting the Sunday Night event at Angel Stadium to venues around
our country.
With the internet,
even little churches like ours can have people from all over watching their
webcast through a simple internet connection.
:7 saying with
a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has
come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”
:7 loud voice
This phrase sure has popped up a lot in Revelation.
Twenty one times it is used.
I guess in heaven they like to play it “LOUD”.
:7 saying with a
loud voice
Lesson
The Message
We tend to think of the Gospel message as being about Jesus’ death on the
cross to pay for our sins.
For the world in the Tribulation, the message will be slightly different.
It is interesting to note that the content of the “gospel” message
isn’t always the same from instance to instance in the New Testament.
1. Fear God
It’s good that we talk about how much God loves us, but it is also
important that we learn to give God the respect He deserves.
:7 fear – phobeo – to fear, be afraid; to reverence
This is more than just being afraid of displeasing Him.
In our passage it says to “fear God” because of judgment
We need to fear because God is a righteous judge. He will punish unrighteousness.
It’s not just the fear that a child has of not pleasing his father, but
a fear of the paddle his father has sitting on the refrigerator.
2. Give Him glory
:7 glory – doxa – a good opinion
concerning one, resulting in praise, honor, and glory
The angel is exhorting the people of the earth to put God in a place of honor
in their heart.
In our society
today, we like to glorify people in the media, whether movie stars or sports
figures. In the Tribulation, it will be the antichrist.
God is the one
who deserves glory. He deserves the spotlight.
3. Judgment has come
There is a sense in which we all can face the judgment of God at any time:
(Lk 12:16–21 NKJV) —16 Then He spoke
a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded
plentifully. 17 And he thought
within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my
crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I
will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will
store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you
have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and
be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to
him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those
things be which you have provided?’ 21 “So is he who lays up treasure for
himself, and is not rich toward God.”
The foolish person ignores the fact that they could die at
any moment, and that they will be brought before God when they die.
We all as individuals ought to be ready to meet God. Now.
But there will be a time when there is not just the concern over our individual
deaths, there will be
an ultimate time when the whole world will stand in judgment before God.
That time of judgment has come.
4. Worship Him
:7 worship – proskuneo – to kiss the hand towards one, to fall upon the knees and touch
the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence
Here’s what balances the fear. Not
only should we have a healthy, respectful fear of God, but also to bow in love and adoration to
Him.
Some think that Psalm 2
describes things parallel to the Tribulation:
(Ps
2:10–12 NKJV) —10 Now therefore, be wise,
O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear, And rejoice
with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And
you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are
all those who put their trust in Him.
Can you love and fear someone at the same time? It’s a sincere deep love, but one that
remembers who you are loving – Almighty God.
5. Creator God
The whole world may not know the name of Jesus Christ (not yet), but they
do recognize there is a Creator.
David wrote:
(Ps 19:1–4 NLT) —1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his
craftsmanship. 2 Day
after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. 3 They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never
heard. 4 Yet their message
has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world…
Paul wrote,
(Ro
1:18–20 NLT) —18
But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked
people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19 They know the truth about God because
he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created,
people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible
qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
There is no excuse for claiming that there is no God.
All you have to do is open your eyes to the world around
you to realize that there is incredible design in the world around us. There is a Creator.
:8 And another angel
followed, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she
has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”
:8 Babylon
– Babulon – “confusion”
There was a
famous ancient city by this name (in modern Iraq).
We’ll see in chapters 17 & 18 that the name will be applied to both a worldwide religious
system and a worldwide economic system.
Remember that
the “False Prophet” will require everyone to take a “mark”, connected to both
buying and selling (economic) and worship of the antichrist (religious)
:8 fallen
– pipto – to descend from a higher
place to a lower; to fall
Aorist tense – a statement of fact,
something that has happened in the past at a specific point in time.
The actual fall of “Babylon” happens at the end of the Tribulation (Rev. 18), yet here it is being proclaimed as if it
has already happened.
The angel is warning the people on earth that this world system is about to
collapse.
:8 made … drink – potizo
– to give to drink, to furnish drink
:8 wine – oinos –
wine
:8 wrath – thumos –
passion, angry, heat; glow, the wine of passion, inflaming wine (which either
drives the drinker mad or kills him with its strength)
:8 fornication – porneia
– illicit sexual intercourse; metaph. the worship of idols
:8 the wine of the wrath of her fornication
Perhaps the word “wrath” isn’t a good translation here. A better translation might be:
(Re 14:8 NASB95) …she who has made all
the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality.”
The idea is that “Babylon” has gotten the whole world drunk on her
“wine” that leads toward her brand of immorality.
It might be a reference to sexual immorality, but following after other
“gods” is also called “immorality”.
Babylon is in trouble because she has led the world astray from
following after the One True God.
And she’s going down. She’s
“fallen”. She’s been “judged”.
:8 Babylon is fallen
Lesson
Tied to a loser?
Stock analysts are always looking for a good stock to make money on.
They don't like to invest in something that's going down the tubes.
The “world” system around us is a “loser”.
(1 Jn 2:15–17 The Message)
—15 Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love
the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. 16 Practically everything that goes on in
the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to
appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from
him. 17 The world and all its
wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is
set for eternity.
No matter how good the things of the world look, there will be a day
when the world will pass away.
If you live your life based on how much pleasure you can find – whether
through sex, drugs, or rock and roll – you will be disappointed.
If you are basing your life on the adage, “He who dies with the most
toys wins” – you’re going to be greatly disappointed in the end.
:9 Then a third
angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast
and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand,
:9 beast – therion
– a wild animal, wild beast, beast; a brutal, bestial man, savage,
ferocious
:9 worships – proskuneo
– to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence; among the
Orientals, esp. the Persians, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with
the forehead as an expression of profound reverence
:9 image – eikon
– an image, figure, likeness
:9 mark – charagma
– a stamp, an imprinted mark
:10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is
poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented
with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence
of the Lamb.
:9 receives his mark
We talked about
the mark and the number “666” back in Rev. 13.
Again, the mark
isn’t just about the economy, but will be connected to the worship of the
antichrist.
A person gets the “mark” because of a choice to worship of the antichrist,
not because they got tricked into taking some evil credit card.
:10 shall … drink – pino
– to drink
:10 wrath – thumos –
passion, angry, heat; glow, the wine of passion, inflaming wine (which either
drives the drinker mad or kills him with its strength)
:10 poured out – kerannumi
– to mix, mingle; to mix wine, water; to pour out for drinking.
:10 full strength – akratos
– unmixed, pure
In ancient days, wine was often diluted by mixing it with water.
This “wine” isn’t going to be diluted, but will be full strength.
:10 cup – poterion –
a cup, a drinking vessel
:10 indignation – orge
– anger, wrath, indignation; anger exhibited in punishment, hence used for
punishment itself
:10 tormented – basanizo
– to test (metals) by the touchstone, to question by applying torture; to
torture
:10 brimstone – theion
– brimstone
:10 tormented with fire and brimstone
This is what is up ahead for the person who will follow after the
seduction of the antichrist and the world.
:10 in the presence
of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb
Why is this “torment” done in the presence of Jesus and the angels?
The holy angels
are witnesses to the justice of the punishment.
Jesus the Lamb
is the one who died to pay for the sins of these people.
Yet they have rejected His offer of forgiveness.
:11 And the smoke
of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night,
who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his
name.”
:11 torment – basanismos
– to torture, a testing by the touchstone;
torment
:11 rest – anapausis
– intermission, cessation of any motion, business or labor; rest,
recreation
I think the older we get, the more we long for “rest”.
That’s why people “retire” – to find a time to rest.
Heaven is a place of “rest”
(Heb 4:11 NKJV) Let us therefore be
diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of
disobedience.
Heaven is the ultimate “rest” that we should be heading towards.
Those who will not follow after God will not have any “rest”.
:11 the smoke of
their torment ascends forever
While the false prophet will be “marketing” his “mark” and encouraging
people on the benefits of taking the mark of the beast, there will be another
message out there.
This “angel”
will be warning people not to take the mark.
The world will have no excuse for taking the mark.
Lesson
Hell
Some of you might need to be concerned about what I’m going to say next.
Hell is a real
place.
Hell is a place
of torment
Hell is a place
without rest – there is no break time in hell.
Hell is forever
Some of you might not like what I’m saying, but if I give you driving directions that
led you over a cliff, would you be upset that I didn’t steer you away from the
cliff? Which is worse? Offending you by telling you about the cliff,
or letting you go over the edge?
Some people have this concept that after awhile, those in hell will just
“burn up” and no longer exist. Not true. Some think they’ll actually party in
hell. Not so.
Last year a fellow named Rob Bell
released a book called “Love Wins”, and his idea is that God will eventually
empty out hell because of His love. Again, not true.
The torment of hell lasts forever.
How do you get to
hell?
We get there
because we deserve it.
Our sins have cut us off from God.
Our sins are a terrible offense to God.
Our sins carry a huge penalty.
We get there
because we reject God’s escape plan.
God doesn’t want us to go to hell – did you know that?
Hell was created for the devil and his demons, not for us.
God
loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die and pay the
penalty for our sins.
If you refuse God’s way of escape, then you will one day find yourself in
hell.
And it will be forever.
There will be no “early release for good behavior”.
There will be no “early release due to overcrowding”. (Prov. 27:20)
(Pr 27:20 NKJV) Hell and
Destruction are never full; So the eyes of man are never satisfied.
Jesus died to keep you from going to hell.
Will you take God’s way of escape?
(Jn 3:16
NLT) “For God
loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who
believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
:12 Here is the
patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God
and the faith of Jesus.
:13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are
the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they
may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”
:13 rest – anapauo –
to cause or permit one to cease from any movement or labor in order to recover
and collect his strength; to give rest, refresh, to give one’s self rest, take
rest
This is just the opposite of what those in hell will experience. They will have no “rest”.
:13 labors – kopos –
a beating; labor; trouble; intense labor united with trouble and toil
:13 works – ergon –
business, employment, that which any one is occupied; an act, deed, thing done
:13 Blessed are
the dead who die in the Lord
At this point in history, believers will be telling each other that it’s a
good thing to die. Life will be getting
harder and harder for them. The
antichrist will be out to kill them.
But those who are killed will find rest.
Unlike those in hell.
:12 the patience of
the saints
:12 patience – hupomone – steadfastness,
constancy, endurance
It is the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate
purpose and his loyalty to God by even the greatest trials and sufferings
This word is found seven times in
the book of Revelation. Five times it’s
found before chapter six, and two times it’s found after chapter six.
We saw the same phrase “Here is the
patience of the saints” back in Rev. 13:10.
I think that John is telling us
that when the Tribulation is underway, the things in Rev. 13:10 and 14:12 are
the things that the persecuted saints are going to hold on to.
Back in Rev. 13:10,
we saw the “patience of the saints” focusing on God’s justice – that the
antichrist would be brought to justice.
(Re 13:10
NKJV) He who leads into captivity shall go into
captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is
the patience and the faith of the saints.
Those who are facing great persecution from the antichrist will hold on to
the fact that the antichrist will one day get what’s coming to him.
Here, the idea is a little different.
Lesson
Endurance: Remember the end
How will the saints in the Tribulation resist the temptation to take the
“mark”?
Taking the mark of the beast will seem like the “easy way out”
But the reason you won’t take the “mark” is because it leads to hell.
Those alive during the Tribulation will be facing economic
disaster and even death for not taking the “mark”.
Yet when faced with the reality that taking the “mark”
will result in eternal damnation, it’s a bit easier to “just say no”.
We face some of our own temptations in the world. How do we “endure” them?
(Col 3:5–6
NKJV) —5 Therefore
put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness,
passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things
the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience…
How big of a deal is it to you that you say “no” to sexual
immorality?
How big of a deal is it to you that you say “no” to having
a dirty mind?
How big of a deal is it to you that you say “no” to greed?
These are the things that will be causing the wrath of God
to come on the earth. These things can
cause people to end up in hell. Do you
really want to own part of that?
Sometimes it’s
the peer pressure that makes us do things we regret. It’s important to be
around people who will influence you the right way.
Sometimes you don’t
have anyone to lean on and you have to make decisions all on your own.
Pam’s Story
In a recent email, I read about a woman named Pam, who knows the pain of considering
abortion. More than 24 years ago, she and her husband Bob were serving as missionaries to the
Philippines and praying for a fifth child. Pam contracted amoebic dysentery, an
infection of the intestine caused by a parasite found in contaminated food or
drink. She went
into a coma and was treated with strong antibiotics before they discovered she
was pregnant.
Doctors urged her to abort the baby for her own safety and told her that
the medicines had caused irreversible damage to her baby. She refused the
abortion and cited her Christian faith as the reason for her hope that her son
would be born without the devastating disabilities physicians predicted. Pam
said the doctors didn't think of it as a life, they thought of it as a mass of
fetal tissue.
While pregnant,
Pam nearly lost their baby four times but refused to consider abortion. She
recalled making a pledge to God with her husband: If you will give us a son,
we’ll make him a preacher.
Pam ultimately spent the last two months of her pregnancy in bed and
eventually gave birth to a very healthy baby boy August 14, 1987. Pam’s
youngest son is indeed a preacher. He preaches in prisons, makes hospital
visits, and serves with his father’s ministry in the Philippines. He also plays football.
I’m not suggesting
that having an abortion will send you to hell.
I’m not saying that if you have premarital sex you will burn in the
flames.
God can forgive any sin if you are truly repentant.
But what if your sin causes someone else to do what you did and THEY end up
in hell? Is that a big deal?
Remember the end. Remember the
consequences.
Jesus
died to save us from our sin, not just give us a free pass
Jesus died so we could live for Him.