The Drama of Revelation ‐ Session 9
03‐21‐17
WELCOME TO
THE DRAMA OF
REVELATION
A Study of The Book of REVELATION
SESSION IX – 03/14/17
THIS WEEK’S CLASS
REVELATION 14 - 18
• Session 1 – Introduction and
Background to Revelation
• Session 2 – The Prologue
(Chapter 1): Vision of the Coming
King
• Session 3 – The Proclamation
(Chapters 2 & 3): Letters to the
Seven Churches
• Session 4 – The Problem
(Chapters 4 & 5): Seven-Sealed
Scroll
• Session 5 – The Process: Seven
Seals and Seven Trumpets (Ch. 9
– 11)
• Session 6 & 7 – Seven Key Figures
in the End-Times Drama
• Session 8 – Plagues: Seven Bowls
of Final Judgements (Chapters 14
– 16)
• Session 9 – Plagues: Seven
Bowls of Final Judgements
(Chapters 17 – 20)
• Session 10 – Seven New Things
(Chapters 21-22)
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The Drama of Revelation ‐ Session 9
03‐21‐17
WINE PRESS OF THE WRATH OF GOD
CHAPTERS 14
Having identified the key players in the eschatological end
game, John now reintroduces the drama itself. The
everlasting gospel is proclaimed and the fall of “Babylon” is
announced. The Son of man appears to judge the world and
to tread the wine press of the wrath of God.
THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES
CHAPTERS 15
The final expression of the wrath of God is contained in the
bowl judgments. The are called the “seven last plagues.”
Before they are poured out upon the earth, the saved
martyrs of the Great Tribulation appear singing the songs of
deliverance and redemption. Then seven angels proceed
out of the heavenly temple with seven golden bowls full of
the wrath of God.
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The Drama of Revelation ‐ Session 9
03‐21‐17
BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON
CHAPTERS 16
The seven angels are sent forth to pour out their goblets
(bowls) of judgment from the cup of God’s wrath. The earth
is shaken by a series of devastating catastrophes
culminating in the Battle of Armageddon. After the seventh
bowl, God Himself speaks from the temple of heaven and
announces, “It’s done.”
BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON
• Revelation 16:14-16 tells us that the ultimate conflict of human
history will take place at Armageddon in the Valley of Jezreel. It is
the place where the kings of the earth will assemble for battle on
the “great day of God, the Almighty.”
• There in the broad valley that separates Galilee from the hills of
Samaria, the greatest war of all time will be fought.
• Israel, not the Church, is the target of these attacks. In this battle,
Christ will return with His Church saints, His bride, to deliver
Israel and complete the unity of God’s people.
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The Drama of Revelation ‐ Session 9
03‐21‐17
BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON IS CALLED…
• Wrath of the Lord (Is. 26:20)
• Fury of the Lord (Ezek.
38:18)
• Terror of the Lord (Is. 2:10)
• Vengeance of God (Is. 35:4)
• Harvest of judgment (Mic.
4:11-12; Rev. 14:14-20)
• Grapes of wrath (Is. 63:1-6;
Rev. 19:15)
• Great supper of God (Ezek.
39:17-20; Rev. 19:17-18)
BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON
The final devastation will be the self-destructive acts of a world
gone mad without God. The Bible says:
• Darkness will reign (Is. 5:30;
Zech. 14:7)
• Huge hailstones will fall
from heaven (Rev. 16:21).
• The heavens shall be shaken
(Is. 34:4)
• The invading host will
destroy itself (Zech. 14:13).
• The earth will quake (Is.
29:6; Zech. 14:4-5)
• Vivid description in
Zechariah 14:12-13.
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The Drama of Revelation ‐ Session 9
03‐21‐17
BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON
The battle is inspired by the false trinity wanting to overthrow
the true Trinity. Armageddon is the climax of the angelic
conflict that began in heaven, was transferred to earth, and
now has come full circle as Satan tries to defeat God by force.
Armageddon is also the world’s final response to God’s call for
repentance. Throughout the tribulation, God called mankind
to repent. But most will refuse (16:9, 11) and align themselves
with the Antichrist. The result is that God will allow Satan to
gather together the world’s armies for God’s swift judgment.
SEVEN BOWLS OF WRATH
• The “loud voice” (16:1) that speaks from within the heavenly
temple is the voice of God. He entered into the temple in
Chapter 15 when it was filled with His glory.
• During the meantime, no one else enters the temple until the
seven plagues, which contains the wrath of God, are
disbursed.
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The Drama of Revelation ‐ Session 9
03‐21‐17
SEVEN LAST PLAGUES: BOWLS OF JUDGMENTS
• While there are obvious parallels between the trumpets and
the bowls, the bowl judgments are specifically called the
“seven last plagues” (15:1).
• “Seven” is the predominant numeral of the Apocalypse. The
seven bowls are poured out in rapid succession. It is too late
to repent or to stop the hand of God. The world is nearly
wiped out before it knows what hit it!
SEVEN LAST PLAGUES: BOWLS OF JUDGMENTS
1. Into the earth
Malignant sores (16:2)
2. Into the sea
Oceans polluted (16:3)
3. Into the rivers
Fresh waters polluted (16:4)
4. Upon the sun
Scorching heat (16:8-9)
5. Upon the throne of beast
Darkness and pain (16:10-11)
6. Upon river Euphrates
Dried up; kings from the east
(16:12-16)
7. Into the air
“It is done”; earthquake and
hail (16:17-21)
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The Drama of Revelation ‐ Session 9
03‐21‐17
SEVEN LAST PLAGUES: BOWLS OF JUDGMENTS
• When the battle is over, God speaks from the heavenly
temple and announces, “It is done” (v. 17).
• That which has been in the process of developing is now
complete. It summarizes the finality of all that has happened
in the bowl judgments, and it anticipates all that will still be
explained in detail in Chapters 17 – 19.
THE GREAT HARLOT AND THE SCARLET BEAST
CHAPTER 17
The great harlot who rides a scarlet beast appears. She is
called “Babylon the great.” But the details of her description
clearly indicate she represents the city on “seven
mountains” – that great city that “reigns over the kings of the
earth.”
Together, Revelation 17 – 18 describe the fall of “Babylon” in
detail.
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The Drama of Revelation ‐ Session 9
03‐21‐17
THE GREAT HARLOT AND THE SCARLET BEAST
• The fall of Babylon has already been announced in Revelation 14:8.
It’s doom has already been certified.
• Now John fills in the details, taking all of Chapters 17 – 18 to do so.
• Both ecclesiastical and political Babylon come into view in the
things that follow. The city itself is pictured as a drunken harlot
who is about to fall into judgment.
• She drains the cup of God’s wrath (16:19) only to be deceived by
the very beast that carries her.
THE GREAT HARLOT AND THE SCARLET BEAST
• John is summoned by one of the angels to view the judgment of the
great harlot. By contrast, later he will be summoned to view the
Bride of the Lamb.
• The correlation is deliberate in that it sets for the contrast between
the kingdom of the Antichrist, the city of the great harlot, and the
city of the Bride of Christ, the New Jerusalem.
• The great harlot is portrayed in direct opposition to the Bride of
Christ.
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The Drama of Revelation ‐ Session 9
03‐21‐17
WHO IS THIS GREAT MYSTERY
• John’s imagery is drawn from Jeremiah 51:7-8, where Babylon is
referred to as a “golden cup” that made the nations drunk with
intoxicating desire for power.
• John takes the name of Israel’s ancient enemy, Babylon, and uses
it for Rome.
• The harlot is Rome. Adorned in luxury and intoxicated with the
blood of the saints, she stands for a dominant world system
based on seduction for personal gain over and against the
righteous demands of a persecuted minority.
WHO IS THIS GREAT MYSTERY
• The “great harlot is represented as the “mother of harlots” (17:5). She
not only seduces men, but she also seductively recruits other
“women” to join in her evil enterprise.
• The “mystery” of Babylon the Great is not a reference to ancient
Babylon. The false religion symbolized by her has permeated all
history from the time of Babylon until the present day.
• Satan’s counterfeits have appeared in many countries and cultures,
and they will reach their climax of sinister methods, evil practices and
deceptive teachings during the Tribulation period.
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The Drama of Revelation ‐ Session 9
03‐21‐17
A WOMAN RIDES THE BEAST
• She is depicted as a great “harlot” involved in fornication, which is
equivalent to spiritual adultery.
• In the symbolism John uses in the Revelation, the great harlot
represents apostate religion and its interdependence on and with
political power. She represents false religion in the Last Days.
• The great harlot is not only depicted as riding the scarlet beast, but
also riding upon “many waters,” which 17:15 describes as “peoples
and multitudes and nations and tongues.” She is seen as perpetuating
and promoting a world religion that engulfs the world political
system.
THE BEAST AND THE BOTTOMLESS PIT
• The beast is described as having seven heads and ten
horns.
• The seven heads are “seven mountains on which the woman
sits” (17:9). This refers to Rome, the city on seven hills.
• The ten horns may be the kings of the East in 16:12. They are
symbolic of human completeness, all the kings of the world.
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The Drama of Revelation ‐ Session 9
03‐21‐17
THE BEAST AND THE BOTTOMLESS PIT
• There are seven kings, or kingdoms (17:10). They represent
the seven Gentile kingdoms which have followed one
another in succession.
• The beast, from the “bottomless pit” is the symbol of the
Antichrist and of his kingdom, which is opposed to the true
kingdom of God.
AT WAR WITH THE LAMB
• John points out that ten kings of the future will receive power
with the beast for “one hour,” or a brief period of time.
• Thus, raw materialism and intoxication with power will drive
the kingdom of the Antichrist to turn against its pseudo
religious perpetrator. The result in the annihilation of the
latter.
• In the end, the satanic trinity will no longer even pretend to
represent anything that can be construed as Christian at all.
The beast will demand worship for itself alone.
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The Drama of Revelation ‐ Session 9
03‐21‐17
AT WAR WITH THE LAMB
• All-out religious war will follow. Anyone claiming any faith
in or allegiance to Jesus Christ will be executed for treason.
• The beast will declare war against the Lamb and His
followers.
• At the very time of the Great Tribulation, when wars and
calamities are at their worst, the beast will turn against the
offspring of the woman.
THE FALL OF BABYLON
CHAPTER 18
The final aspects of the fall of Babylon are given in detail.
The great commercial center of the global economy is
destroyed and burned up in “one hour.” Sailors and
merchants mourn over the “smoke of her burning.” But the
revelator announces: “Rejoice over her!” Babylon falls that
the New Jerusalem may come.
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The Drama of Revelation ‐ Session 9
03‐21‐17
THE FALL OF BABYLON
• As John the apostle stood on the precipice of eternity, he foresaw
the final collapse of all that we call Western civilization.
• As apocalyptic “Babylon” burned beyond recognition, its
commerce, business, merchandise, and entertainment industries
went up in smoke.
• “Babylon” would again become a desolate and uninhabited
place – a “dwelling place for demons” (18:2). And all of this
would occur in “one hour” (18:10, 17, 19)!
THE GLOBAL ENTERPRISE
• John pictures the kingdom of the Antichrist as a place where the
“merchants” of earth grow rich and where the people live in
prosperity. Yet, they shall all weep one day because her
merchandise will one day disappear (v. 12-14).
• While sailors and merchants weep over Babylon’s destruction,
heaven rejoices (v. 20). They are reluctant to land on her shores (v.
17).
• The corporate centers of business and power will collapse.
• Even the musicians and craftsmen will be silenced (v. 22).
• Death stalks the city! Life has been virtually exterminated.
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The Drama of Revelation ‐ Session 9
03‐21‐17
THE TWO COMMANDS
• Two commands are given to the true people of God in light of
Babylon’s fall: “Come out of her” and “Rejoice over her.”
• First, they are told not to partake of her sins lest they also partake
in her plagues (v. 4).
• Second, they are told to rejoice over her demise because “God has
pronounced judgment for you against her” (v. 20)
• God has no mercy for this evil system that has always
persecuted true believers. He shows no mercy and spares no
unrepentant soul.
THE TWO COMMANDS
• Today, “Babylon” still tugs at the flesh of every human being.
Satan’s lure of materialism, prosperity, human comforts, and the
pursuit of pleasure are constant.
• God’s commands are clear.
• “Come out of her” (v. 4). We must separate ourselves from the
allurements of Satan and do not partake of her sins.
• “Rejoice over her” (v. 20). Rejoice, not sorrow, over the judgments
and destruction of the materialistic system. Its merchandise is that
of fools. It cannot bring lasting joy or peace. It will sink to the
ocean like a giant millstone and be forgotten (v. 21).
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The Drama of Revelation ‐ Session 9
03‐21‐17
NEXT WEEK’S CLASS
REVELATION 17 - 20
• Session 1 – Introduction and
Background to Revelation
• Session 2 – The Prologue
(Chapter 1): Vision of the Coming
King
• Session 3 – The Proclamation
(Chapters 2 & 3): Letters to the
Seven Churches
• Session 4 – The Problem
(Chapters 4 & 5): Seven-Sealed
Scroll
• Session 5 – The Process: Seven
Seals and Seven Trumpets (Ch. 9
– 11)
• Session 6 & 7 – Seven Key Figures
in the End-Times Drama
• Session 8 – Plagues: Seven Bowls
of Final Judgements (Chapters 14
– 16)
• Session 9 – Plagues: Seven
Bowls of Final Judgements
(Chapters 17 – 20)
• Session 10 – Seven New Things
(Chapters 21-22)
See you next week as we continue…
THE DRAMA OF
REVELATION
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