Week 9: Revelation 14 - 18 Flashcards
144,000 (14:1-5)
- A picture of the faithful
- They have come through a time of tribulation
Compare these descriptions to those in Ch. 7 (and with the great multitude) –> Similarities
- To great multitude
- Around the throne
- Sing songs of victory
- Have the seal of God
Compare these descriptions to those in Ch. 7 (and with the great multitude) –> Differences
- Different picture
- Sing a new song that no one can learn, except the 144,000 → you can’t sing it truly unless you’ve gone through similar experience
Story of Moses and parting the red sea
- The Jewish people sang with tambourines after crossing the red sea
- Israel wrote songs for every occasion
- Each new experience needs a song
Literary context - after what command in ch. 13?
he literally didn’t answer this i think lmao. But ch 14 has 3 angels. and smoke rising forever and uuuu wine of the wrath of God.
First Angel (14:6-7) –> Mid-heaven
- Mid-heaven
- Ancient cosmology perspectives that there are three heavens
- 1 → atmosphere
- 2 → space
- 3 → where God lives
- So its space. Not really.
- It just means that everyone can see the angel
Everlasting Gospel to those “dwelling on the earth”
- Meaning: The absolute truth → or a good report
- The good news = God sent his son to die for us
- Revelation’s context of “the good news” → a story that God wins, and evil is defeated.
First Angel (14:6-7) - Fear
God and be aware of his power
Glory
Praise him
Judgment (is God judged or doing the Judging?)
- Ark of the covenant = a judgment scene
- “The hour of his judgment has finally come”
- God is being the one judged, and he is also judging
- God judges evil and wickedness and sin → but is he doing it right? This theme is seen throughout second half of revelation
Theodicy
- If God is love, and he is powerful, and if he is knowledgeable, why does he not put an end to sin and evil?
- Brant brings up the idea of free will and choices to choose God
- To some extent, God didn’t start evil, but he created a playing ground for it to come about
Worship as Creator/Re-Creator
- Few places in revelation where its near to a quote in the O.T.
- This time it adds on “fountains of water” = the God who created and rested, AND the God who flooded the earth
- Seas and springs of water = Recalls the 4th commandment
- “Keep the sabbath, for in it he made the seas and springs etc”
- The idea of worshiping and sabbath rest are tied to the beast and the worship of his image
Second Angel (14:8)
Those who dwell on the earth = always refer to those who follow the beast (bad people)
Babylon “fell”
- Its already fallen despite it being mentioned for the first time in Revelation
- Babylon was also a tower built to shake a fist in the face of God
- So this is an end time Babylon that metaphorically disrespects God
- So this is already saying that God will prevail
Language of fornication
- John’s perspective on porneia = anything outside of marriage is immoral
- Porneia in revelation’s context = church and state power having a relationship
Third angel - Warning those worshiping the beast
- A warning not to worship the beast
- The commandments of God form an issue between these two parties (God’s people vs Beast’s people)
Worship (3rd angel)
- Service and obedience
- You worship not by all the worship services in the world, but by daily action
- Doing what God’s asks
They will drink the wine of the wrath of God
Anyone who worships the beast, will have wine from God’s cup (and its concentrated and nasty)
Smoke rises forever
- Verse 11: Everlasting fire? This symbol does not fit with love very well
- Example: Pharisees were so angry with Jesus that they were tormented by his existence
Smoke rises forever cont
- Fire and brimstone in the presence of the lamb = used by apostle paul. Respond to evil with love and kindness. By doing so you will heap flaming stones of coals and brimstones on their head.
- Torment them with kindness
Smoke rising forever pt 3
- Analogy: ch 8 the angel stood before the altar of incense, mixed it with the prayers of the saints, smoke went up to God, then he gave judgments (trumpets) to angels. The prayers were cries for revenge.
- Smoke of the wicked = goes up forever. God doesn’t receive it because they are cries to stop his goodness and love.
Description of the righteous (compare with remnant in 12:17)
- Those who keep the commandments of God
- Those who have the testimony of Jesus
(Two Harvests from ch. 14 discussed next class hour) →
- 3 angels
- One like the son of man
- 3 angels
Two Harvests (14:13 - 20)
- He is wearing a diadem = he is coming as a king
- “One like a son of Man” = Jesus christ
Hearing: “Blessed are the dead” (14:13)
- The righteous will have rest
- Rest in God!
ch 14 Matthew
- Harvest of wheat = represents the word in people
- A good harvest! :3
- But grape harvest is bad >:(
Seeing - two harvests:
- A picture of judgment
- These two harvests represent people’s response to the three angels messages
- You will drink wrath wine, and you will become pressed grapes
- Or you will become ripened wheat (one good response)
Angel harvests the earth (14:14 - 16) and Angel harvests the grapes (14:17 - 20)
Another sign (15:1) –> Ties to Ch. 12 and the war in Heaven
- Another sign seen in heaven
- 7 angels are the sign
Seven
- 7 angels with 7 plague bowls
- This is the last cycle of 7 specified in Revelation
Conclusion of God’s wrath
The end of God’s wrath = end of God’s anger, no more sin
The victorious saints (15:2-4) - Is this the same group as the 144,000?
- It may be? But they sing a song of Moses and of the Lamb
- Song of Moses? In deuteronomy Moses sings about Israel’s victory after going through the wilderness and finding the promised land.
- Song of Lamb = sealing his saints so they can come to the promised land
Juxtaposition with the plagues
God’s sealed saints vs beast’s people
Summary so far →
7 Churches
- Candlesticks
- Throne → table of show bread
7 Trumpets
- Altar of incense
7 angels
- Ark of the covenant
- Intersession ends
7 Last plagues
Tabernacle opened (15:5)
- God’s judgment is always based on the ark, which is based on the 10 commandments
- The “testimony”
Bowl Angels (15:6) - Similarity in appearance to the priestly figure in Ch. 1
- They are dressed like priests
- They are doing priestly work