The Final Conflict Previewed

Transcript

GR 1552
01/17/10
The Final Conflict Previewed
Revelation 14:14-20
Gil Rugh

We're in Revelation 14. We get just a little glimpse of the impact of catastrophe again in our world with the earthquake and tremendous devastation that occurred in Haiti. Can you imagine from the judgments we've looked at in the tribulation what the world will be like when multiplied-around-the-world overwhelming catastrophes of one kind and another occur? Soon the world is overwhelmed with the disasters, the death and so on. And that will be the situation in the coming seven-year period leading up to the return of Jesus Christ to the earth.

Back in chapter 11 as we have reminded ourselves, verse 15, the seventh angel sounded. There were the seven seals, out of the seventh seal came the seven trumpets, each of these being successive judgments that God poured out on the earth. It is of tremendous significance when the seventh trumpet sounds. And we noted in chapter 11 there are loud voices in heaven, verse 15, the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. And He will reign forever and ever. Because the sounding of that seventh trumpet prepares the way, and out of the seventh trumpet will come the seven bowl judgments which are the last in the series of judgments in the book of Revelation. And that will bring us to the return of Jesus Christ to the earth, the establishing of His kingdom. And that's what the book of Revelation has been moving toward—the culmination of all that God has promised through the prophets throughout Old Testament history, the kingdom established on this earth for His people Israel and ruled by His Messiah.

What we have then is a break. Before the events that come out of that seventh trumpet take place, beginning in chapter 16, we have unfolded for us some of the events that will take place over the last 3½ years. That's where we are, remember, in our time as we move through the book of Revelation. So we are concerned to learn more of what will take place over these last 3½ years of the seven-year period that will culminate in the return of Christ.

And so we had chapters 12-13, chapter 12 about Israel's persecution, chapter 13 about the political and religious leaders during this period of time. Then chapter 14 gives us a glimpse of the end, climactic events. So we saw in chapters 12-13 matters that will relate to events going over the last 3½ years. Chapter 14 really carries us to events at the end of the seven years. And we noted the chapter opened up with Christ standing on Mt. Zion with the 144,000. He has been victorious, He has returned to establish His kingdom for and with His people. We also saw in verses 6-7 that the eternal gospel will have been proclaimed throughout the whole world. We had been told in Matthew 24 that this gospel must be proclaimed throughout the whole world before Christ comes. So that's an event that will bring us to the end. Verse 8 announced the fall of Babylon. That will be recorded for us in detail in chapters 17-18. So again this brings us to the climax with the destruction of this world system. Verses 9-11, solemn event that carries us to the last judgment, the Great White Throne, the final destiny of the wicked—eternal torment in hell. In verses 12-13, which we looked at in our previous study, there is a word of encouragement to the saints who are enduring through this period of time. Remember at the Rapture all true believers are removed from the earth, but then during this seven-year tribulation there will be many people saved, many Jews, but other people as well. And there is a word of encouragement to them. Even though they may have to give their lives as martyrs, God has prepared for them all that He has promised. They are blessed, those who die, verse 13 says, in the Lord from now on so that they may rest from their labors. The suffering, the pain, the trials are over. Now they enter into the reward that God has promised them.

We come to verse 14 and down through verse 20, we get the preview of the end of the battle of this world, the final harvesting of the world in judgment—what we call Armageddon—in preview here. And again this is a preview, the actual event will take place in chapter 19 with the return of Christ and the destruction. Remember chapter 14 is giving us a preview, just like it opened up with Christ on Mt. Zion with the 144,000 Jews that had been sealed in chapter 7. Well, that's in anticipation of His return and the establishing of His kingdom. That won't be recorded until chapter 19 and part of chapter 20. So what happens here is a preview of the end with Christ returning, the judgment that will be brought, the destruction of the wicked at the final conflict and preparation for the kingdom.

Let's pick up with verse 14. Then I looked and behold a white cloud. And sitting on the cloud was one like a Son of Man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. Now I take it what we have here is a picture of Christ as He will return in judgment on the earth. It's taken from Daniel 7. Many times we have had to go to Daniel 7. This picture of coming in the cloud, of Christ being called the Son of Man, we have found and referred to a number of times. That name for Christ, Son of Man, is drawn from the Messianic passage of Daniel 7. You have that unfolding of the empires of the world culminating in verse 8 with the little horn. And that would be the man, the first beast in Revelation 13. Then we are given a heavenly scene with God the Father on the throne in verses 9-10. Look at Daniel 7:13, I kept looking in the night visions, and behold with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming. You'll note that-- with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man coming. That's what we have in Revelation 14:14, the white cloud and the Son of Man. Picking up what was prophesied in the Old Testament. He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him; to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away, His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. You see that anticipation of His return and the establishing of His eternal kingdom.

Stop at Matthew 24. Again this great prophetic chapter where Christ tells His disciples about what it will be like as you come to the 70th week of Daniel and the judgments of the tribulation, culminating with His return. Verse 30--then the sign of the Son will appear in the sky and all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. Again, the Son of Man coming in the clouds with power and great glory. In Matthew 26:64, this is the trial of Christ in anticipation of His crucifixion. Verse 63, the high priest said to Him, I adjure you by the living God that you tell us whether you are the Christ the Son of God. Jesus said to him, you have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven. Again Daniel 7 becomes such a crucial passage. It will actually happen. That's what we're seeing in Revelation.

In Acts 1 when Jesus ascends to the Father where He will be seated at His right hand until He returns to this earth, we're told in verse 9--after He had said these things He was lifted up while they were looking on and a cloud received Him out of their sight. Verse 11--the angel said to His disciples, this Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven. How did He go into heaven? A cloud received Him out of their sight. He will return associated with a cloud, the glory and splendor that will be His when He comes.

Stop in Revelation 1:7, this verse is really the theme of Revelation, what it's about. Behold He is coming with the clouds and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be, amen. He is coming with the clouds.

Now you come to Revelation 14:14--then I looked and behold a white cloud and sitting on the cloud was One like a Son of Man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. The golden crown here, there are two basic crowns in Greek—the stephanos crown which is the crown of the victor, and the diadem, which is the crown of the ruler. The crown here is the stephanos crown. He has a golden crown, a stephanos kind of crown. Pictures Him as the Son of Man coming in victory to prevail and destroy all His enemies, to be the victor and have victory over all. He has both crowns, the stephanos and the diadem, because He is the ultimate victor, and He is the sovereign ruler. Here the golden crown He has on His head is the stephanos crown because He is coming with final victory to destroy His enemies.

And that's pictured with the sharp sickle in His hand. It is time for harvest and the harvest here, and the analogy of a harvest is used in two ways—harvest for believers and the harvest of the wicked in judgment. And in this context it is the harvest of the wicked in judgment because those harvested down at the end of verse 19 will be thrown into the great winepress of the wrath of God. So a picture here that it's time to reap the harvest of the wicked, gather them in for their destruction. So that sharp sickle will quickly and completely carry out the work of judgment.

With that as the background then, another angel appears on the scene. And this chapter has a series of angels in it. You'll note in verse 15, another angel came out of the temple. So out of the temple in heaven, the throne of God, an angel comes. He is sent from the Father and comes out with the message from the Father. He's crying out with a loud voice, to Him who sat on the cloud, put in your sickle and reap for the hour to reap has come because the harvest of the earth is ripe. Crying with a loud voice, he tells the Son of Man, Christ, that it is time to harvest the earth. Now because of that some people think that the person in verse 14 is just another angel. But I think the connection is too clear to the passages we've looked at with Him being on a cloud, identified as the Son of Man and so on. He is the one ultimately to do the harvest. And this angel isn't commanding Christ, telling Him what to do. You'll note the connection, He comes out from the temple, from the presence of the Father, to tell the Son, now is the time. The earth is fully ripe for judgment.

Come back to Matthew 24:36. A good reminder, verse 35--heaven and earth will pass away, my words will not pass away. The prophetic words of God and Christ will be fulfilled just like that which is already past has been fulfilled. Look at verse 36--but of that day and hour (what he has been talking about which we read in verse 30) but of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven nor the Son, but the Father alone. So significant. The angel comes out from the temple, from the presence of the Father; and the message from the angel is basically, the Father says this is the time.

Look at Acts 1:6, the disciples ask Christ--Lord is it at this time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, it is not for you to know times or epochs, now note this--which the Father has fixed by His own authority. So the order within the Godhead, that the Father makes that determination. And in effect the Son carries it out.

So back in Revelation 14, this angel came out of the temple from the very presence of God to in effect cry out with a loud voice, it's time. Put in your sickle and reap for the hour to reap has come because the harvest of the earth is ripe. You know statements like this are very solemn and serious and significant, because the harvest of the earth is ripe. You know sometimes it seems like God is indifferent; He lets wickedness go on and on and on. And He lets wicked people thrive and prosper and so on. But you know everything is under control. It would be like me coming from the city and looking at the farm and saying, why don't they get out there and harvest it. Because it is not ready. Well, I'd get it done now when the weather is good. Well you can't harvest it until it is ready. The picture here, the harvest of the grapes. There is a right time. The world is ripe for judgment. It's just not time.

Turn back to Genesis 15, God speaking to Abraham here in the context of the Abrahamic Covenant. And we break in verse 15--as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace, you will be buried at a good old age. Then in the fourth generation they will return here. Now note this, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete. So it's not time for the Amorites to be destroyed, to be harvested in judgment. Their iniquity has not ripened yet; it's not complete. So God's timing is perfect. And so while it seems judgment is delayed, not in God's standpoint. The harvest of the wicked takes place when their wickedness has reached its full ripeness. That is what is going on.

Come to Jeremiah 51. This picture of the harvest used for judgment is drawn out of the Old Testament. In Jeremiah 51 it is used of Babylon and we'll have things to say about Babylon in Jeremiah 51 when we get to the judgment on Babylon laid out in Revelation 17-18. Look at verse 33--for thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel. The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time it is stamped firm, treaded out. Yet in a little while the time of harvest will come for her and then God's judgment will fall on Babylon. That's the picture. So you see it's like the time for Babylon to be harvested in judgment. It's just not yet.

This passage in Revelation really has a direct connection to Joel 3. Pick up with verse 9--proclaim this among the nations. Prepare war, rouse the mighty men. Let all the soldiers draw near, let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. People like to refer to Isaiah 2:4. And Isaiah 2:4 is in the context of the kingdom that the Messiah will establish on the earth, and they are told to beat their swords into plowshares. People like to quote that like we ought to be working on peace and bringing peace into the world. But that's in the context in Isaiah 2 that the Messiah has established His kingdom. Before that you see what the instruction is, beat your plowshares into swords. I hear that quoted a lot less, they don't put that on buildings because we ought to be for peace. And Isaiah 2 says we are about peace. But Joel 3 comes before Isaiah 2, and this is the context in Revelation 14--Let the weak say, I am a mighty man. Hasten and come all you surrounding nations and gather yourselves there, bring down, oh Lord, your mighty ones. Let the nations be aroused and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Now note verse 13--put in the sickle for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the winepress is full, the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great. You see that picture. They are ripe now for judgment. Put in the sickle, their vats overflow, their wickedness is great. This picture of harvesting, this is directly the background for what we have in Revelation 14:15--The time has come to reap. Put in the sickle, reap the earth. And we'll see more of this when we do the details in chapter 19 of events with the return of Christ and Armageddon.

Come back to Revelation 14. So the end of verse 15--put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come because the harvest of the earth is ripe. Now it is time. We think God is indifferent, He has become somewhat less concerned about sin. No, He's just waiting until it ripens. Now that would indicate that things won't get better, that the corruption gets worse. But at the right time, then, God will intervene in judgment.

Verse 16--then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth and the earth was reaped. In John 5:27 Jesus said that the Father has given all authority for judgment into the hands of the Son. Now that's not only the final judgment, the Great White Throne, but that's all the judgments. So here when it comes time to harvest the wicked of the earth and destroy them, it is the Son who carries out the judgment because the Father has committed all judgment, including this judgment on the wicked here at the end of the 70th week of Daniel, into the hands of the Son.

Verse 17--and another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven and He also had a sharp sickle. You see these angels are coming out of the very presence of the Father in heaven, the temple in heaven, where God dwells. And coming out to act on His behalf. Another angel, this is the fifth angel in chapter 14, verse 6--I saw another angel; verse 8, and another angel, a second one; verse 9, then another angel, a third one; verse 15, and another angel came out of the temple. Now here we are verse 17, and another angel; then in verse 18, and another angel. We have this unfolding of events as the end is presented to us.

He had a sharp sickle. Verse 14, the Son of Man had a sharp sickle, and what is going to happen is the angels are involved, and this particular angel is involved in the harvest of the earth. So the Son of Man swings His sickle over the earth for its harvest and the angel is sent out from the presence of God to further complete the harvest, like the grapes have been cut down and now they are to be cut from the vine and put into the vat. And the crushing takes place.

Another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel, the one who has power over fire came out from the altar. And he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle saying, put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth because her grapes are ripe. Remember the end of verse 15--because the harvest of the earth is ripe; the end of verse 18, because her grapes are ripe. This is a reminder of the awesome, sovereign rule of God and His justice and His holiness. He will not over look sin. Men aren't getting by because He hasn't intervened. Remember Peter says in II Peter 3--people say, where is the promise of His coming? All things continue as they have been from the beginning. And how many generations have come and gone and say the Lord is coming again, and the Lord is going to judge the earth? And yes, every generation says that, every generation talks about it, but nothing happens. But you know the Lord is not slow about His promise. He hasn't forgotten. He's giving men and women time to repent and believe, but in all of this the harvest is ripening. The earth is ripening for judgment and for its destruction.

This angel in verse 18, he is the sixth in the series and the final, in this series in chapter 14. He is the one who has power over fire. He came out from the altar. And I take it coming out from the altar would take us back to Revelation 6. In Revelation 6 we are in the seal judgments that began the series of judgments. Now we are getting ready for the ending series. The seals are the beginning; the trumpets are in the middle; the bowls will be at the end. They come out of that seventh trumpet. In Revelation 6:9-- when the Lamb broke the fifth seal I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the Word of God and because of the testimony which they had maintained. And they cried out with a loud voice saying, how long oh Lord, holy and true, will you refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth? Now that prayer is going to be answered. You'll note they were under the altar in verse 9.

Now the picture as we come to chapter 14 verse 18--the angel comes out from the temple, from the altar, is a response finally to the prayers of why, Lord, have you not intervened? And in time God intervenes.

In chapter 8 verse 3, this is when the seventh seal was broken and that unfolds the seven trumpets. He saw, verse 2, seven angels who stand before God. And the seven trumpets were given them, and another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censor; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense and the prayers of the saints went up before God out of the angel's hand. And the angel took the censor and filled it with the fire of the altar and threw it to the earth.

So that's the picture we have here in chapter 14 verse 18 as we anticipate the end of these things and the judgment on the wicked, this angel who comes out from the altar and has power over fire. There is a connection with him we saw in chapter 8 verses 3-5. He comes out from the altar of incense and he fills it with fire. And he throws it to the earth. And here now we see a similar picture as wrath and judgment come on the earth in response to the prayers of the saints. Nothing wasted, nothing unanswered. Just in God's time. God then pours out the judgment.

You come back to chapter 14--He called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle saying, and that was in verse 17, the angel there who had the sickle because the Lord will use angels in the harvesting of the earth. We'll make note of that in a little bit. So even though it's the Son of Man who basically is carrying out the harvest, angels will be His emissaries in that judgment, which is consistent as we'll see in other passages in a moment. With a loud voice he said to him who had the sharp sickle saying, verse 18-- put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth because her grapes are ripe.

Verse 19--so the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth and threw them into the great winepress of the wrath of God. This is the destruction of the wicked at the Second Coming of Christ to earth. Turn over to Revelation 19:15--from His mouth comes a sharp sword. This is Christ coming to earth at the Second Coming. So with it He may strike down the nations. He will rule them with a rod of iron and He treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty. So you see what is happening in chapter 14, we are getting this preview of the end—the return of Christ, the destruction of the wicked, the establishing of the kingdom, the sentencing of the wicked to hell and the final deliverance of the righteous.

The harvesting of the earth. I mentioned the angels are used. Come back to Matthew 13, and here we have what are often referred to as the parables of the kingdom. We just want to look at some of the closing events in Matthew 13. Look at verse 40, in the explanation Christ gives of the parable of the tares. Remember they are in a field and the picture of the parable was told. Man sows his seed , then when it grows up there are tares among the wheat. And so we are told in verse 39--the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age. Note the end of verse 39--the reapers are the angels. So Christ is sovereign in the harvesting judgment of the earth, but angels are emissaries. And so just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, they will gather out of His kingdom all the stumbling blocks, those who commit lawlessness. He will throw them into the furnace of fire. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Same kind of picture in the parable of the dragnet, down in verse 49. So it will be at the end of the age, the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

So when we come to Revelation 14 we're looking again at the preview at the end of time, same time that Christ talked about in Matthew 13. The same thing happens, the angels are used in the actual reaping, gathering, of the wicked together for their destruction. And what happens to the wicked? They are thrown into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

And the winepress, verse 20, was trodden outside the city and blood came out from the winepress up to the horses' bridles for a distance of 200 miles. We read Joel 3:12 and we're told there they gathered in the valley of Jehoshaphat. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision. For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision, the next verse says. The battle of Armageddon is what is in view here, and the destruction of the wicked at this time.

Turn over to Revelation 16:14--they are spirits of demons performing signs which go out to the kings of the whole world to gather them together for the war of the great day of God the Almighty. Then this parenthesis, behold I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame. Now back to what happens, you go from verse 14 to verse 16 in the connection—to gather them together for the war of the great day of God the Almighty. And they gathered them together, verse 16, to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Mageddon, or as we more familiarly know it—Armageddon. We'll talk about it when we get to chapter 16.

This is the place of the final conflict, its center. We're told back in chapter 14 verse 20--the winepress was trodden outside the city. Blood came out from the winepress to the horses' bridles for a distance of 200 miles. In the winepress of biblical times (some of you have traveled to Palestine or you've seen it in books if you have not actually been there, or in pictures on TV programs) they took a large stone and cut it out like a bowl. Then they ran a trough down to another bowl, stone cut out. Then they would dump the grapes into the upper bowl; and they would bind up their long garments, take off their shoes; and they would just get in there and trample all over the grapes. And then as the juice was squeezed from the grapes it would run down that little trough from the upper bowl and be caught in the lower bowl. And so you would have the juice of the grapes. And that's the picture here, that the winepress was trodden outside the city, outside of Jerusalem here. The Valley of Jehoshaphat or Armageddon where you have the picture of the enemies of the Lord that have been harvested, if you will, thrown into the winepress and they are being trampled. And the picture here is their blood is like the juice from the grapes and it is flowing so abundantly, it is said, that it flows up to the horses' bridles for a distance of 200 miles, which would really cover the whole extent of the land from the extreme north to the south. So the battle will have a focal point but it encompasses all of the land, basically.

Now there is some discussion here. What do we say about blood running to the horses' bridles. And I'm told that's 4 feet, if I remember right, at least it's high. The blood running to the horses' bridles. Several possibilities: 1. The Jordan valley. Some would project that the blood runs into the Jordan Valley and there is that much blood that runs there. So it could be literal blood. 2. Some would project it means the blood is splashed up and that would fit the analogy. When you trample on the grapes the juice of the grapes doesn't come all the way up on the person but it does splash up. And so the picture could be the blood, the gore is such that the horse is running over the bodies that are strewn everywhere and it's this kind of gory scene of blood splashing up on the horses. 3. Others take it that it is representative, and they quote from some extra-biblical literature that it's a picture like we would talk about—it's a blood bath. Like when you talk about a war, it was a blood bath, we all know what it means. Doesn't mean anybody took a bath in the blood; it just means there was blood everywhere. There were so many people killed and so on that we understand that could be.

I don't know. It's hard to understand that you could have enough people dying and the blood flowing that it would run to a literal 3-4 feet, maybe, of blood that deep down the Jordan Valley for 200 miles. I don't know about that. The point is clear, though, this is going to be a time of tremendous destruction and gore.

Come back to Isaiah 63. We looked at Joel 3. We've talked about this, we talked about it in our study in Romans; we've talked about it earlier in Revelation. God is serious about His Word. And He promises these great blessings and joy and so on for believers, He is serious. When He talks about judgment and destruction, I mean, we have to take Him just as seriously, just as literally. Isaiah 63--who is this who comes from Edom, with garments of glowing colors from Bozrah? It has caused some to think that the return of Christ when He comes back will be in Edom and Bozrah, then He will journey to Jerusalem for deliverance of His people. The one who is majestic in his apparel, marching in the greatness of His strength. It is I who speaks in righteousness, mighty to save. Why is your apparel red and your garments like the one who treads in the winepress? So you see that picture, you tell someone you have the garments on you wear to trample the grapes. How do you know? Well, it is splashed all over your garments. So He comes and He has red all over His garments. Why? Verse 3--I have trodden the wine trough alone and from the peoples there was no man with me. I also trod them in my anger; I trampled them in my wrath. Their lifeblood is sprinkled on my garments and I stained all my raiment. For the day of vengeance was in my heart; my year of redemption has come. Verse 6--I trod down the peoples in my anger, made them drunk in my wrath. I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.

So whichever way you go in Revelation 14:20 and the picture here in Isaiah 63, seems to be of the blood splashing up the garments. There will be literal bodily destruction of huge numbers of people at Armageddon. Not every person on the face of the earth, because there will be people alive after Armageddon, wicked, who have to come and be judged. And we'll talk about that later in Revelation. But the picture here is one of gore, one of the literal physical destruction of the enemies of Christ at Armageddon. Tremendous, awful destruction that will take place at that time.

Come back to Revelation 19. You see when we get to the actual event, we read verse 15--he treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty. And we noted earlier in chapter 14 when the wrath of God is poured out on people and they are sentenced to hell and it is unmixed with mercy. How do you even describe the fierce wrath of God the Almighty. I mean, the wrath of man, what is that? You talk about the fierce wrath of God the Almighty and the destruction is awesome. Verse 16--on His robe, on His thigh, the name King of kings and Lord of lords. I saw an angel standing in the sun, he cried out with a loud voice; note this, saying to all the birds which fly in mid-heaven, come assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of commanders, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and those that sit on them, the flesh of all men, free men, slaves, small and great. I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Armageddon. You see the end result of it. We are looking forward to the marriage supper of the Lamb, but this is a different supper. This is a feast for the birds of the air to feed on the corpses of millions destroyed at Armageddon.

So that's the awesome scene. We get a preview in chapter 14. What a contrast, the chapter started out by speaking of Christ on Mt. Zion with 144,000 with Him; in the middle of it, verses 12-13, promises given to His people; but in that same chapter we have a reminder of hell, we have a reminder of Armageddon.

Let me just give you a few points I've noted out of this chapter, reminders.
1. Christ is coming again. I believe He is coming for the church before the tribulation, but He is coming to this earth again and we anticipate that because we will return with Him in Revelation 19, as we'll talk about when we get there. So Christ is coming again. We ought not to lose sight of that. I don't want to be any less focused on that now that I am old than I was when I was a young person and relatively new as a believer. 2. Secondly, the world is moving toward judgment. We're just waiting for God's time when He says the harvest is ripe. So we oughtn't to expect all these movements to try to clean up the world, to fix the world's problems, to stop unrighteousness are futile. The world is ripening for judgment. It's not going to get better; it's only going to get worse. That doesn't mean I am glad it is getting worse, but it's just the reality of it. The world is ripening for judgment. II Timothy 3:13 says evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. That's the pattern. Sometimes people accuse us who take the Bible literally of being pessimists. I'm not a pessimist; I'm an optimist; I've read Revelation 19-22, but it's going to take the return of Christ to bring that optimism. We're not going to change the course of the world. Evil men will go from bad to worse because the world is ripening for its judgment. 3. A third point, the prayers of the saints for justice will be answered. We looked at that back in chapter 6, chapter 8, and now again in chapter 14. God does respond to prayers. We say, I pray but nothing happens. I go and talk to my Father. Something will happen. I'm not sovereign but when my prayers are consistent with His will and His Word, they will be stored up to be answered at the appropriate time. 4. The carnage at Armageddon defies description. You know it doesn't surprise me that unbelievers and even some professing believers don't take it literally because that's too awful. Well, hell is awful. God is serious and He will pour out His fierce wrath coming from the Almighty, all powerful, omnipotent God. And when He destroys the wicked at Armageddon it will be carnage like the world has never seen. 5. And the last point is, God is serious about judgment.

Turn to II Peter, we'll read this verse that I referred to a little bit ago. II Peter 3:9-- the Lord is not slow about His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. The gracious kindness of God. We are not here to try to reform the world, we are here to reach out to a lost and dying world, a world moving toward destruction, to offer them the salvation that our God has offered. Why hasn't judgment come? Because God is giving you an opportunity to be saved. Isn't that kind of Him, that He didn't bring His judgment yesterday? I mean, we have time to present the gospel; we have time for people to hear.

There is a warning, and maybe I have to read to you Romans 2 where we were in our study. Do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

There are only two options—respond in faith and believe in the salvation God has provided and promised, or continue to think lightly of the riches of His grace. But you know what you are doing; you are storing up wrath and being ripened for judgment. And we who are God's people want to have a proper perspective. We know where the world is going; we have a salvation to offer. If we really believe what the Bible says is true, and we must, then our role in this sin-cursed world is clear. We are God's representatives and calling for all men to repent because a day of judgment is coming.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your grace, for your patience, for your kindness, for that time of salvation in which we have experienced your salvation through faith in your Son. Lord, we thank you for every day given us where we might share the gospel with family, friends, co-workers, strangers; and tell them of wrath to come, and tell them of your kindness, of your mercy, of your grace, that you desire them to come to the salvation that you have provided in the death and resurrection of your Son. Lord, may we not be disappointed in your seeming delay. May we not be discouraged as we see the world getting worse, sin becoming more abundant, because we believe your Word. The world is ripening for judgment and we are here as lights in the midst of darkness. May we be strong and clear in our testimonies for you in the days before us. We pray in Christ's name, amen.