Revelation #4

Chapters 13-16

Chapters 1-3 • Revelation of Jesus

• Revelation of us and the church

• Jesus speaks to the churches

• Learn lessons from the churches

Chapters 4-7• Throne room of God

• The scroll with 7 seals – the judgment

• 4 seals – 4 horsemen

• 5th seal – martyrs ask for vengeance/justice

• 6th seal – start of destruction

• The rapture – before judgement falls

Daniel’s 70th week• A bad prince/ruler will come

• In the middle of the 7 years he will– Stop the temple sacrifices– Set up the abomination of desolation

• At the end of the 7 years the end will come

Chapters 8-12• The breaking of the first seal indicates the

start of Daniel’s 70th week (probably)

• 4 trumpets herald destruction from heaven

• 5th trumpet is release of demonic army

• 6th trumpet causes 4 demons to gather huge army (possibly human), ⅓ of world killed

• John eats the little book

• The gentiles (the huge army?) capture Jerusalem and take control of the temple

Chapters 8-12 contd• For 3½ years (first half of Daniel’s 70th week)

– Jews are allowed to visit temple and continue sacrifice

– 2 witnesses prophesy and more Jews (and others) get saved

• After the 3½ years (middle of Daniel’s week)– The beast kills the 2 witnesses– Jews flee to a wilderness– 2 witnesses resurrected– 144,000 called up to heaven

Daniel chapter 7• A vision of 4 beasts

• Explained in v17-27

– Four beasts are kingdoms (v17,23)

– Fourth one is different (v19)

– 10 horns are kings (v24) – one geopolitical organisation with 10 heads of state

– Extra horn is another ruler, different to the rest (v24)

– Subdues 3 of the other rulers (v24)

• Speaks against the most high (v20,25)

• Persecutes the saints (v21,25)

• Overcomes the saints for a time, times and half a time - 3½ years (v25)

• Then God’s kingdom will come and take dominion over everything (v27)

Daniel chapter 7

Revelation 13 – 2 beastsFirst beast

• Arises from the sea (not the pit) – from mankind (Rev 17:15)

• Got authority from Satan (v2)

• Experiences miraculous healing (v3)

• Speaks blasphemies (v5)

• Had authority and overcame saints for 42 months - 3½ years (v5,7)

• He is the extra horn of Daniel 7 – a ruler

Revelation 13 – 2 beastsFirst beast = the antichrist in the flesh

Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come (1 John 2:18)

But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.(1 John 4:3)

Revelation 13 – 2 beastsFirst beast = the antichrist in the flesh

• The beast from the bottomless pit kills the 2 witnesses (Rev 11:7)

• Is this the same beast? - probably

• We can speculate that the human form of the antichrist is born normally. The spirit of The Antichrist rises from the bottomless pit and possesses the human form

• The spirit could be Abaddon/Apollyon

Revelation 13 – 2 beastsSecond beast = false prophet (Rev 19:20)

• Causes people to worship the beast (v12)

• Performs wonders (v13)

• Sets up a statue of the beast (antichrist)

• Brings ‘breath’ to the statue (animates it in some way) v15

• Causes ‘all’ to receive the mark of the beast

The unholy trinity

• Dragon/ Satan – a spiritual being like the Father

• 1st Beast/Antichrist – a physical embodiment of Satan (like Jesus came as a physical embodiment of the Father)

• 2nd Beast/false prophet – does wonders and points people towards the Antichrist (like the Holy Spirit draws people to Christ)

Revelation 13 – 2 beasts

The image of the beast• Is the abomination of desolation• Detestable to God• Makes desolate – kills (v15)• Is built 3½ years before the end (Rev

13:5,14; Dan 12:11)• Is set up in the temple (Matt 24:15)Other interpretations• Syrian attack of Antiochus (190 BC)• Roman destruction of temple (70 AD)

Revelation 13 – 2 beasts

The mark/number of the beast

• A tattoo?

• A barcode?

• A computer chip?

• The number may represent the antichrists name in simple code (a=1, b=2 etc)

Revelation 13 – 2 beasts

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• A political leader will rise to power over a group of 10 nations (the G10?)

• 3 of their leaders will oppose him but he will subdue them

• When he ‘confirms a covenant’ it marks the start of Daniel’s 70th week

• At some point he will experience a miraculous healing of a deadly head wound

• At some point he will be possessed by the spirit of antichrist (5th trumpet?)

• He will oppose the 2 witnesses and eventually kill them

Revelation 13 – summary

• He will have a deputy who does signs and wonders

• A number of key signs identify the middle of Daniel’s 70th week– The temple is occupied, the sacrifice stopped

and a statue of the antichrist is set up

– The statue gains the power to talk and to kill

– A new economic system is enforced

• People idolise the charismatic new leader who seems to bring sense and order in a time of chaos

Revelation 13 – summary

• 144,000 in heaven (singing before the throne v3) – God’s name on their forehead

• Angel carries the gospel (v6) – it’s not too late to get saved

• Angel announces the fall of Babylon (more in chapters 17-18)

• Angel warns not to accept the mark of the beast

Revelation 14 – 2 harvests

Harvest of the Son of Man (v14-16)

• Represents all those saved between now and the end. The ones who refused to worship the beast (and will therefore die)

• Some (or all?) of them seen in Rev 15:2

Harvest for the winepress (v17-20)

• Represents all those will die in the judgements to come

Revelation 14 – 2 harvests

River of blood

• 180 miles long, depth to a horses bridle

• Represents the blood of all the deaths to come

• The blood of 6 billion people could form a river 180 miles long, 5 feet deep and 200 feet wide.

Revelation 14 – 2 harvests

• Those who have refused the mark of the beast are seen in heaven

• Seven angels prepare 7 bowls full of God’s wrath

Revelation 15 – 7 angels prepare

1. Sores appear on those with the mark of the beast

2. Sea becomes ‘blood’ – all living things in it die

3. Freshwater becomes ‘blood’ – no deaths4. Sun gives more heat5. Darkness and pain on the kingdom of the

beast6. The river Euphrates dries up, 3 demons

gather an army at Armageddon7. “It is done” , earthquake, lightning, great hail

Revelation 16 – 7 bowls of wrath

Are the 7 bowls the same as the trumpets but seen from heaven?

• Similar in some ways but NO

• 1st trumpet – trees, 1st bowl – sores

• 2nd trumpet – kills ⅓, 2nd bowl – kills all

• 3rd trumpet- many deaths, 3rd bowl – no deaths

• 4th trumpet – less sun, 4th bowl – sun scorches

• 1st four trumpets happen before the pit is open, no beast, no mark, no image

Revelation 16 – 7 bowls of wrath

Armageddon (v16)

• The hill at Megiddo

• The army gathers but the battle is not fought here

Revelation 16 – 7 bowls of wrath

Summary• The antichrist rises to power and gets 3½

years in charge

• There is still opportunity to get saved but not if you worship the beast

• Judgement continues to fall and an army gathers at Megiddo

Final week

Chapters 17-22