A Timeline: Revelation 14-19

The 144,000

Revelation 14:1-5
"Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless."

• The 144,000 from chapter seven are now seen standing on Mount Zion (symbolizes heaven). They are described as having "been redeemed from Earth", likely indicating they died or were killed.

• If you remember, I believe the number 144,000 is understood to represent God's people (specifically during the tribulation), not a literal number.

• These individuals received protection from natural disasters, but they were not protected from the beast (which is likely why they are now in Heaven). They will receive a special rewards such as this new song only they know, and another reward we will see later in chapter 20.

• The phrase "did not defile themselves with women" may symbolize their spiritual purity, as idolatry is often called adultery by God. We will see a greater case for this in chapter 17.

  • Alternatively, it could suggest that believers in the tribulation saw no reason to marry.

If you wanted to take the approach that this is a literal group of 144,000 people who are set apart from the rest of believers, I can understand that view. However, for this series, I am going to present it as all believers in the tribulation.

Revelation 14:6-13 Synopsis

The Three Angels

1st Angel: An angel comes the Earth and tells everyone left the Gospel and calls for repentance.

• This announcement fulfills Matthew 24:14 where Jesus says the Gospel must first be preached to all the nations before the end comes.

2nd Angel: An angel comes and says “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.” 

• Not only is this a quote from Isaiah 21:9, we will see much more of who this is in chapter 17.

3rd Angel: An angel comes and says that anyone worships the beast or wears his mark will burn in the eternal fire.

The Two Reapings

Revelation 14:14-20

• There are two reapings described: the first is performed by "one like a son of man," and it represents the harvest of believers, similar to how the Gospels use "harvest" to symbolize gathering God's people (e.g., Matthew 9:35).

• The second reaping is done by an angel, gathering those destined for God's wrath, symbolized by grapes thrown into "the great winepress of God's wrath," with blood flowing like a river as high as a "horse's bridle".

• The two reapings represent the separation of believers and those deserving of God's judgment, with the believers taken to Heaven and the others facing destruction.

  • This is why we see the 144,000 in Heaven rather than on earth. They have been reaped.

This second reaping is a a battle to come that we will see later.

Revelation 15
For the sake of time, we are not going to cover Chapter 15. All you need to know is this Chapter is an introduction to the final judgements of God: the Seven Bowls.

Revelation 16 

The Seven Bowls

1. Ugly and painful sores will break out on the people who have the mark of the beast.

2. The will sea turn to blood and every living thing in the sea will die.

3. The rivers and springs of water will become blood, taking away all drinking water.

4. The sun become increasingly hot and will scorch people with fire.

5. The beast's kingdom will be plunged into darkness.

6. The Euphrates river will dry up and three demonic spirits will go out from the false Trinity and will convince the kings of the world to join them for battle. (This is the same battle the second reaping talks about.)

Then we have a short break...
15 “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.”

• This is Jesus speaking, this is a warning, "Hey I am coming very soon, that day of my coming is right around the corner, stay awake and be prepared! You will not expect it!"

The Seventh Bowl...
Revelation 16:18-21
"The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!” Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, fell on people. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible."

Where else have we seen a phrase like "It is done" before? Jesus says it just before He dies.

• All of God's wrath has now been poured out on Earth. The great city collapses and "Babylon the Great" meets God's wrath.

• However, there are still survivors left, don't worry their end will come.

Now who is "Babylon the Great"?

Well Revelation 17 explains it...
Revelation 17:1-5
“One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries. Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. The name written on her forehead was a mystery: babylon the great the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth. I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished.”

Let's unpack this:

1. The Great Prostitute (AKA Babylon the Great): Understand the Great Prostitute to be the personification of Idolatry.

   1. Idolatry is the worship of anything besides God which is at the root of all sin. This will give us perspective to all that is said about her going forward.

   2. This puts in context the kings of the world committing adultery with her and her being called the mother of all prostitutes. God sees idolatry as adultery.

2. The Scarlet Beast: We will see below that this scarlet beast refers to not the Red Dragon, but to the beast/anti-Christ/anti-Christ's nation. Notice we see those "seven heads and ten horns" again, those will be explained below.

3. "drunk with the blood of God’s holy people": Think of all the death of God's people that has occurred because of sin, especially at this point in the end times. Think of all the victories sin has seemed to win. How great will her end be!

Revelation 17:7-8
“Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.”

• "once was, now is not, and yet will come" is a complete inverse of "who was, and is, and is to come." This is a further emphasis of that false trinity we have talked about.

• The Earth will think the beast is God and will worship it (which we have already seen).

So what do the seven heads and ten horns mean?
Revelation 17:9-14
“This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction. “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”

Let's unpack this:

Revelation 17:15-18
“Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled. The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

Let's unpack this:
Why would the beast hate the woman if she stands for Idolatry?

• The beast (which is ultimately just Satan) wants direct worship.

• So all the kings will get rid of their gods and idolatry and worship the Beast only (which is still idolatry, but not the same as before).

• Ultimately, all adulterous worship is pointed to the great city, which is the anti-Christ's nation's capitol (hence the woman being the great city).

With this new understanding of Babylon the Great, Revelation 18-19:1-10, is an entire chapter of Heaven celebrating its fall in chapter 16 and coming punishment.

• Since it is mainly just celebration for the sake of time we are going to head to the last half of Chapter 19.

Revelation 19:10-21
“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords. And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small.” Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.”

We could spend an entire sermon breaking down just this passage.

• There is so much symbolism, so much to be excited about, and so much theological goodness that we do not have time for.

• But this is going to be such a wonderful day!

• While there will be much destruction, this is a day meant to be looked forward to, not a day to be afraid of.

Homework:
Read Revelation 20-22