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
Golden “bowls” or “vials” (see 5:8 where the bowls are full of incense and prayers)
- The blood of the lamb would go into a vial, and blood would be sprayed at the sanctuary
- These bowls represent holding the lambs blood
Who carries the bowls of blood? Jesus himself is the bowl of blood, he himself carries his blood into the sanctuary. - HOWEVER these bowls are carried by angels, and they are poured out on the wicked people.
Bowls filled with Wrath (15:7)
No more second chances
Given to the angels by the four living creatures
The presence of God (15:8) - Smoke from the presence of God
Just review the chapter dude I spaced out on this point
Babylon in chapter 16: Should this be taken literally?
- For one, Revelation should be taken symbolically
Secondly, Babylon is already fallen and so this must be a symbolic town - 1st bowl is a sore → those who receive an outward mark of the beast also receive this sore
Seven Bowl-Plagues - 1st Bowl (16:2)
- “Wicked” and “Evil” sore
- those who receive an outward mark of the beast also receive this sore
2nd Bowl (16:3)
- Sea of blood
- God gave them blood because they shed saint’s blood
3rd Bowl (16:4-7)
- Springs of Water turned into blood
- Rationale for the Plagues
- Gave them what they wanted, but bad
- God’s Judgments are Just and True
4th Bowl (16:8-9)
- Sun Scorching
- Worship of the sun God → single most worshiped God of the world
- Blasphemed God
- You wanna worship the sun? Oh I’ll give you the sun
5th Bowl (16:10, 11)
- Darkness on the throne and Kingdom of the Beast
You wanna keep people in darkness? This darkness will consume you. - Darkness may represent lack of knowledge or ignorance
- They did not repent still!
6th Bowl (16:12-16)
Armageddon and a great battle
Futurists… (6th bowl)
Will say that armageddon is a last time real battle in middle east
Euphrates (6th bowl)
- An allusion to Babylon being overthrown by the Medes and Persians
- Taking that story in Daniel, and applying it to an abstract Babylon and about how you will be delivered from it.
- Babylon will lose its support → the beast loses their support
Kings of the East
Cyrus symbol → Babylon loses support
Spirits like Frogs
- 10 total plagues fell in Egypt. 1st three fell on everybody. The last 7 only fell on egyptians.
- This 7 plagues suggest it only falls on everyone other than God’s people
- The frogs are the final deception
Perform signs
Signs of demonic spirits
gathering for the final war Armageddon…Preterist believes:
A battle that God’s people would be a raid against the forces of Rome. But a battle like this never happened …..
final war Armageddon…Futurist believes
At the end of the 7 years of tribulation. A modern battle that is intense.
final war Armageddon…Idealist believes:
Battles throughout the world are always being fought. Or even personal battles.
Hebrew: Armageddon
- Armageddon = Har meaning mountain & Meggido = Mountain of Megiddo.
- Major cities built in the day of solomon. Stones cut out are beautiful. More like a hill.
- Or it may be referring to Mt. Carmel. Where Elijah had his showdown.
- Mt. Carmel = where the final showdown will take place
7th Bowl (16:17-21)
120 lb hailstones
It is done (ch 16 after the bowls)
- Heard when jesus died
- First act of atonement = jesus’ death
- Final wrath and intercession is done and now God’s people can be redeemed.
Fall of Babylon (ch 16)
Splits into 3 parts
The great prostitute (17:1-2)
Sexually explicit language with “kings of the earth”
John is carried to a “wilderness” (17:3)
- WIlderness is where the woman fled to
- Reminiscent of Ch. 12
Woman riding a beast (17:3-6)
- Looks like the worst kind of sexual abomination
Description of the woman (ch 17)
- The woman has become Babylon
- The mother of prostitutes → her and her kids are harlots
- She has become corrupted
- She represents the people of God = being corrupted
Description of the woman (ch 17) - Clothing
- “I am not a widow, and I will never die”
- Like the woman in ch 12 but now its of a worldly queen
The woman’s name in chapter 17
- Babylon the great
- A new Babylon
Scarlet Beast (17:3) and Description - relationship to ch. 12 - 13
- Woman, dragon, offspring, wilderness
- 7 head and 10 horns
- Maybe this couplet represents an alliance between a protestant church and the Roman church
Angelic Interpretation (17:7 - 18)
- “Why are you marveling John”
- The beast was and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit
The beast (17:7-8)
Rome = city on seven hills
The seven heads/hills (17:9 - 11)
7 heads
The seven horns (17:12-14)
7 kings
The waters (17:15-17)
Peoples, multitudes, nations, tongues. All people will get dried up in river euphrates to prepare the way for the kings of the east.
The woman (17:18)
- The city that rules over the kings of the earth.
- Brant argues that some protestants will fight for America to turn back to God
Parallel found in the gospels
- Several sects of judaism: Pharisees, sadducees, Eseens, Zealots.
- Herod and pilate ruled
- End of Gospels = sadducees and pharisees hate the Romans, yet the Jewish leaders and Romans came together to kill Jesus.
- Revelation is saying that this will happen to God’s people in end times
- When a daughter of a priest turns to prostitution, she would be burned (in old testament)
The fall of and Lament over Babylon (Ch. 18)
Many call this the lamenting chapter
Angel coming down from Heaven (18:1-3) and relationship to (14:8)
Now we actually see Babylon fall
Dwelling of Birds (See Isa 34) (ch 18)
- Animals such as birds would be seen in abandoned cities
- So this is calling to the idea of an abandoned place
- Relationship to 17.2 (see Jer 51:7-8) …?
“She” receives Plagues (18:4-8) - “Come out of her, my people” (see Ezra, Nehemiah)
- Be aware of what you are apart of
- God’s people are in places they shouldn’t be sometimes
- Ask what is biblical?
Plagues - justified?
sure
Mourning of Kings of the Earth (18:9-10)
I don’t think he had time to get to this
Why the weeping? (see 17:16)
I don’t think he had time to get to this
Luxury and sensuality lost
I don’t think he had time to get to this
Description of the Trade Goods (18:11-14)
I don’t think he had time to get to this
Why so specific?
I don’t think he had time to get to this
Literal?
I don’t think he had time to get to this
Lament and Rejoicing (15:17-20)
I don’t think he had time to get to this
Who laments?
I don’t think he had time to get to this
Who rejoices?
I don’t think he had time to get to this
Is it ethical to rejoice over suffering and destruction?
I don’t think he had time to get to this
End of Babylon (18:21-24)
I don’t think he had time to get to this
Milestone (see Matt 18:6)
I don’t think he had time to get to this
Nothing more heard of her, again, ever
I don’t think he had time to get to this
