To all members of PaRD.
Grace and peace to you from CPK001. Tonight is the eighth of the ten series of the book of Revelation that we are studying at Church. I have been taking notes and I am going to try and portray what I heard at Church onto here.
Here is a link to the previous topic
http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=71665468&f=119Last week was all about preparing for the Armageddon. This week we ask, how good are you at replying to RSVPs?
Revelation 17:1 - 19:21 NIV
Babylon, the Prostitute on the Beast
17 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. 2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”
3 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. 4 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. 5 The name written on her forehead was a mystery:
babylon the great
the mother of prostitutes
and of the abominations of the earth.
6 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. 7 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. 8 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.
9 “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10 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. 11 The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.
12 “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. 13 They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 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.”
15 Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. 16 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. 17 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. 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”
Lament Over Fallen Babylon
18 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. 2 With a mighty voice he shouted:
“‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’
She has become a dwelling for demons
and a haunt for every impure spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.
3 For all the nations have drunk
the maddening wine of her adulteries.
The kings of the earth committed adultery with her,
and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”
Warning to Escape Babylon’s Judgment
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say:
“‘Come out of her, my people,’
so that you will not share in her sins,
so that you will not receive any of her plagues;
5 for her sins are piled up to heaven,
and God has remembered her crimes.
6 Give back to her as she has given;
pay her back double for what she has done.
Pour her a double portion from her own cup.
7 Give her as much torment and grief
as the glory and luxury she gave herself.
In her heart she boasts,
‘I sit enthroned as queen.
I am not a widow;
I will never mourn.’
8 Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her:
death, mourning and famine.
She will be consumed by fire,
for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.
Threefold Woe Over Babylon’s Fall
9 “When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. 10 Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry:
“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,
you mighty city of Babylon!
In one hour your doom has come!’
11 “The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore— 12 cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; 13 cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human beings sold as slaves.
14 “They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.’ 15 The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn 16 and cry out:
“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,
dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet,
and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!
17 In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’
“Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off. 18 When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’ 19 They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out:
“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,
where all who had ships on the sea
became rich through her wealth!
In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’
20 “Rejoice over her, you heavens!
Rejoice, you people of God!
Rejoice, apostles and prophets!
For God has judged her
with the judgment she imposed on you.”
The Finality of Babylon’s Doom
21 Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said:
“With such violence
the great city of Babylon will be thrown down,
never to be found again.
22 The music of harpists and musicians, pipers and trumpeters,
will never be heard in you again.
No worker of any trade
will ever be found in you again.
The sound of a millstone
will never be heard in you again.
23 The light of a lamp
will never shine in you again.
The voice of bridegroom and bride
will never be heard in you again.
Your merchants were the world’s important people.
By your magic spell all the nations were led astray.
24 In her was found the blood of prophets and of God’s holy people,
of all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”
Threefold Hallelujah Over Babylon’s Fall
19 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting:
“Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
2 for true and just are his judgments.
He has condemned the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth by her adulteries.
He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
3 And again they shouted:
“Hallelujah!
The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”
4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried:
“Amen, Hallelujah!”
5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying:
“Praise our God,
all you his servants,
you who fear him,
both great and small!”
6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
“Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
8 Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.”
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)
9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”
The Heavenly Warrior Defeats the Beast
11 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. 12 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. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 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. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
king of kings and lord of lords.
17 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, 18 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.”
19 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. 20 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. 21 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.
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We start off with a personal question. What are you like responding to invitations? Do you RSVP successfully with your intention of going or not going? Do you do not reply and you get chased up, do you ask to be put down as a 'maybe'?
You might go unless something better comes up, ask me the night before. The Urban Dictionary has a term for this which is known as STABO - Subject to a better offer.
Here is what the Urban Dictionaries definition is of STABO: Subject-To-A-Better-Offer. A non-committal, pragmatic approach to one’s social-life, work-life and life in general with the often-unfortunate consequence of belittling the party with the inferior offer.
Yet there is one invitation that you are a part of where you do NOT want to play the game of STABO with. The most dangerous person to play STABO with is Jesus. Do not think that there is a better offer than eternal life with Jesus. In Revelation 2:4 Jesus holds this against the Church, You have forsaken the love you had at first.
The King has prepared a wedding for his son and the invitations has gone out. What are the responses? I bought a field, I'm investing in a business. Come Judgement Day what good is that field or business going to be? In this day and age we live in the here and now and worry about the future events and deal with them later.
More like buy now but pay later. I'll hold this invitation but I'll worry about it later because I have a lot of things I have to worry about right now.
You do not want to do that with this invitation. Let's think about this invitation now. Will you accept or reject this invitation to the wedding? What is this wedding? In 19:7 it says it is the wedding of the Lamb has come and the Bride has made herself ready. Who is the bride of the Lamb? You are the bride! The big twist
in this invitation is that you are not invited to the wedding as a guest but as the bride! This invitation is a proposal to have a forever loving relationship with Jesus. It is a relationship covered with love, faithful love and devoted love. If you reject this invitation you aren't like a guest who didn't show up, you are the image of the runaway bride.
Imagine how broke your heart would be if you saw the bride run away from the wedding.
Now in chapter 17 we are given the image of a prostitute. Saying no to Jesus is like hopping in bed with a prostitute. Cheating on him with another idol. We do see what happens to the prostitute in the end. Come to supper or be supper. In this we see the Judging God and we do not see the Loving God, or do we? The reason God judges is because he loves.
We are given examples of this throughout the Old Testament. In his particular service we are drawn to Ezekiel 16. Here is some of it: Ezekiel 16: 4 - 8 NIV - 4 On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. 5 No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised.
6 “‘Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!” 7 I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew and developed and entered puberty. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, yet you were stark naked.
8 “‘Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.
Then their response in Ezekiel 16: 15-17 NIV - 15 “‘But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favors on anyone who passed by and your beauty became his. 16 You took some of your garments to make gaudy high places, where you carried on your prostitution. You went to him, and he possessed your beauty. 17 You also took the fine jewelry I gave you, the jewelry made of my gold and silver, and you made for yourself male idols and engaged in prostitution with them.
You may read the whole thing if you want. Essentially when God's people reject God they not only broke the Law but they also broke his heart. What is the name of the prostitute? Her name is Babylon. What does Babylon mean? It means two things, worshiping the wrong things and the punishment for worshiping the wrong things.
The Great Prostitute tries to lure us away from God. There are many prostitutes not only in this day and age but also in the first Century. The Roman Empire with the Emperor Domitian. We usually always come back to Emperor Domitian. He wanted to be called Lord and God.
Have you ever wondered why everything is so cryptic? Why doesn't John just say things straight and forward? Remember that John wrote from prison. The guards may have read the letters. Besides Revelation is littered with clues as to whom he is referring to. As you read on the clues get bigger and bigger. Jesus has 7's all over him.
Someone tries to take the place of Jesus but he falls short. Any guesses? 13:18 - This calls for Wisdom! That number is 666. That is a really big clue.
Who else tries to take the place of Jesus? 17:9 This calls for a mind with wisdom! The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. Here is a picture. It is the seven hills of Rome!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/Seven_Hills_of_Rome.svg/2000px-Seven_Hills_of_Rome.svg.png 17:1 the punishment of the great prostitute who sits by many waters. What is the many waters? Verse 4 - The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. These are Rome's colours! That is a very quick Google search away and you will see what I am talking about.
John provides many big clues as to who he is referring to, even though he doesn't actually say the name. We are envisioning the image of judges. 6:10 - They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?"
If right now at that point in time Domitian looked unstoppable and all the waiting is futile so you might as well join him right? Wrong! 19:2 He has condemned the great prostitute, who corrupted the earth by her adulteries.
He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.here we see judgement has come.
Next we move onto the Meal of Judgement, all that remains after judgement is done. What happens in 19:17-18 NIV? 17 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, 18 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.” The birds of prey feast on the remains. There is also a build up to some battle but it is over before it even began. 20-21 the beast was captured, and with is the false prophet. They are both thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest are killed and the birds gorged on their flesh.
So what must we know? 19:9 NIV - 9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
19:7-8 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.”
Jesus helps us get ready with the linen, bright and clean. he helps us prepare for the final day when we face God.
19:10 John seems to have a brain lapse and starts to worship the angel. The angel says "Don't do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus."
Worship God alone.
So in closing, have you RSVP'd with Jesus or are you still going to choose to play STABO with him? The choice is yours.