Attwood, Michael: Studies In The Revelation-20 ~ Revelation 14

To be with you again. I'd like you, please, if you would, to turn with me to the book of Revelation and the fourteenth chapter, Revelation chapter fourteen, and I'd like to read from verse six down to the end of the chapter. We're looking at this. We began looking at last Lord's Day evening, this, uh, very interesting section, uh, from verse six down through twenty. It begins this way. And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation and kindred and tongue and people, saying with a loud voice, fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come, and worship him that made heaven and earth and the sea and the fountains of waters. And there followed another angel saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, if any man worship the beast in his image and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation, and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever, and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints, here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, right blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth, yet, yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors and their works do follow them. And I looked and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of Man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, thrust in thy sickle and reap, for the time is come for thee to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar which had power over fire, and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, thrust in the sh- thy sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress even to the horses' bridles by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. And again, we believe God will add a blessing to the reading of his precious word. If you remember, we're in a section in the book of Revelation that is a parenthesis. That is that it's not part of the main chronological sequence of the book of Revelation. And it's as if the Spirit of God wants us to hone in and look at a little bit more details than we would get in just following the chronological overview. And, uh, we saw that in chapter twelve, um, where we, we have a description of Satan's purposes disclosed. And that's the picture, remember, of the dragon being cast out of heaven, and he knows that his time is short. In fact, it's three and a half years, it tells us that, and he comes filled with wrath and venom, uh, seeking to persecute the nation of Israel and the believers in the Lord Jesus during the tribulation period, and, uh, we see his purpose is really disclosed, it's laid bare. Uh, he's malicious, he wants to hurt and do harm, and we saw that in chapter twelve. And then chapter thirteen, we saw Satan's puppets described. We saw that in the end times, and particularly the, what we call the tribulation period, that there's going to be an end time ruler, the Antichrist, and that's the first beast that we saw in chapter thirteen. And, uh, then we saw also that there is going to be a false prophet who will do signs and wonders and, and will cause the world to worship the beast and the image that will be made of the beast, and they will show their allegiance to the beast and to his image by receiving a mark on their foreheads or on the back of their hands. And so we saw Satan's puppets described in chapter thirteen. And it's almost as if the Spirit of God wants to say, now this looks depressing, doesn't it? And it really did. Uh, Satan cast down, he's mad, he's angry, uh, his puppet seemingly, uh, in unassailable authority over the earth. The Antichrist given power, the world running after him and and and you couldn't almost have a bleaker scene for the human race. But chapter fourteen, he don't want us to be overwhelmed. He doesn't want us to be overwhelmed and discouraged, and so he gives us seven little pictures that are described in chapter fourteen that reveal to us Satan's power defeated. And that although it may seem bleak, he's not gonna win. And we saw, uh, we looked at last time the fact that the one hundred and forty four thousand that were sealed prior to the tribulation period will be stood on Mount Zion with the Lamb. And we said, what a beautiful picture. What it's saying is, despite all of the hostility of Satan and Antichrist, when God set his seal on this one hundred and forty four thousand, there was nothing that the enemies of God could do to them. That they survived the tribulation, and they're there on Mount Zion. We also saw that the Lamb was on Mount Zion. Despite the fact that Antichrist was trying to set up his worldwide kingdom, ultimately it will be short-lived, and the Lamb will reign from Mount Zion, and we saw a glimpse of that. In other words, it's almost like he showed us the end of the story, and that was very encouraging for us, I hope, as we looked at that last Lord's Day evening. And now we want to look at these following six uh, pictures. And in these six pictures, one thing that I just want to point out, just, uh, a little structural thing that is very interesting to me. If you were following carefully as I read from verse six to twenty, you will have noticed that I mentioned six angels. It keeps saying things like this, uh, for instance, verse six, it says, and I saw another angel, and then verse eight, and there followed another angel, and then verse nine, the third angel. And, uh, altogether there were six angels mentioned. And there are three angels, and then there's the revelation of the Son of Man on the cloud, the white cloud, and then there are three more angels. And it's just interesting, isn't it? Just a, it's just a, uh, suppose you could say it, it's just a structural thing, but it just seems that even in structural matters, God always wants his son to be in center stage. Isn't that interesting? And we see that, we've kind of pointed that out as we've gone through the book of Revelation, that it's always the Lamb in the midst, isn't it? Because God will have him in no other place. He wants him to be center, and and he wants him to be center of your life and center of this assembly, and he will have him to be center in heaven. He's always intended to be center, center place. In the midst, that's God's plan for his son, even in crucifixion. It wasn't the cross on the left side or the right side, was it? He was crucified in the midst of the two thieves. Uh, he- he'll always be there. That's God's plan, that in all things his son would have the preeminence, and so even in this, this little series of pictures, the son of man takes the central place. Now, I want you to notice a contrast here. I want you to go back to the last angel that we heard mentioned, uh, in, uh, this particular book, and that's chapter eight, verse thirteen. And, and notice what it says, uh, I beheld and heard an angel flying, uh, this is, uh, Revelation eight thirteen— through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound. And so before the end of the trumpet judgments, the last three judgments, he says they were trumpet judgments, but there also would be woes. And so this angel flying in the midst of heaven cries out, woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth. What a contrast now. Verse six of chapter fourteen, I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, and what's his message? He has the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth. And, uh, everlasting gospel, I want us to get that. This gospel that is preached from this pulpit in this church is not a new idea. It's not some new craze that's just come on the scene. It is the everlasting gospel. It's everlasting in its relevance. It was relevant to people in the days of the Lord Jesus. It was relevant to people before that. They they looked forward to the coming of Christ and his crucifixion. They looked forward to that, didn't they? Prophets spoke of these things, and angels desired to look into them. It's always been the relevant gospel. And in our high-tech age, with cell phones and satellite TV and computers and all the rest of it, this message is still relevant to men. It's the everlasting gospel. And, uh, what is interesting, one thing that we know here is that this is a different era to what we're living in today. Because today, it's not given to angels to preach the gospel, is it? But here's an angel proclaiming the gospel. In fact, just turn back with me to Acts chapter ten. I want us to see this, that that in this age in which we live, the gospel message has been given to us to proclaim. Acts chapter te- uh, ten, verse three. Notice, uh, this is Peter and, uh, Cornelius, this incident of Peter bringing the gospel to this Gentile soldier called Cornelius. And notice what it says in verse three: he saw in a vision, this is Cornelius, evidently about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of God coming to him and saying to him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was afraid and said, what is it, Lord? And he said to him, the prayer, thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and call for one Simon whose surname is Peter. He lodgeth with one Simon at Tanna, whose house is by the seaside. He shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do. And when Peter comes, what does he do? He tells Cornelius about the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and Cornelius believes it, and he's saved. Now, why don't the angel just tell him? I mean, wouldn't that save a lot of effort? He's got to go and get Peter, and and he's got to go through this, this net, uh, thing coming down from, and all these things just to get Peter to go there. Wouldn't it been easier just for the angel to give the gospel to this man called Cornelius? But no, that's not God's order right now. God's order right now is, uh, you shall receive power after the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses. It is for men. We have the privilege. It's not being given to angels right now. It's our delight and our privilege to spread the glad tidings. I wonder if we're enjoying that privilege. I wonder if we're availing of that privilege. It's given to us to, to proclaim the everlasting gospel to our generation. But after the church has been raptured, there's going to be one hundred and forty four thousand Jews that will be preaching the gospel. And now we r- read of this angel flying in the midst of heaven. And, and, and as he flies in the midst of heaven, in a very real sense, people have no excuse in that day, do they? There are hundred and forty four thousand Jewish evangelists, like Saul of Tarsus, with that same kind of zeal. And then on top of that, there'll be a great multitude saved that no one would be able to number them, and now there's an angel flying in the midst of heaven, and he is declaring this everlasting gospel, preaching it to those that dwell on the earth, and to every nation and kindred and tongue and people. And the Lord Jesus said that this gospel will be preached, didn't he, to the ends of the earth before the Lord Jesus comes again. And it will be. One way or another, it's going to be preached. And what is the, the essence of the message that the angel is declaring? Well, it's kind of an interesting message, isn't it? The first thing he says is fear God. Now, we don't like that today, do we? I mean, we, we just, we want everybody to have warm fuzzies and feel good about God. But one thing you need to realize is that God ought to be feared, because God ultimately will be the one who will determine your eternal destiny, and you ought to have reverence for God. Uh, he, he- he's the one that everybody's going to give an account to. Uh, in fact, we could be more specific than that because, uh, we believe that God eternally existed in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the person of the Godhead who you have to deal with, who the world will have to deal with, is the Lord Jesus. All judgments being given to the Son, and- and people ought to fear. Because the problem is today, and look at Romans chapter three, why is it that the world is in the mess it is in? Why is it that, that, um, we're in such a crisis in our world? Well, I think it's because the fear of God is gone. Roman, uh, Romans three eighteen, it says, it says there's no fear of God before their eyes. No fear of God before their eyes. People live their lives, and it's just as if, uh, they're not accountable to anybody. And, uh, it- the- the- the amazing, I- I'll never forget, uh, uh, talking to a man once, and he- he said to me, he said, if God is real, he said, I'm gonna curse him to your face. And he did. He shook his fist at God, and I trembled when I thought of what that man's gonna do one day when he stands before the Lord Jesus. But we're living in days where there's no fear of God. And you know, the sad thing is that w- what really holds people from accepting the gospel, you know what it is? It's fear of man, isn't it? Fear of man brings a snare. That's what scripture says. And and I know people, and they they they say, well, what will people think of me, uh, if I accept the Lord Jesus? They'll think I'm one of those fanatics and all the rest of it, and fear of man keeps them from accepting the gospel, whereas really fear of God ought to drive them to their knees and accept the Savior. But instead, it's fear of man. And in this day, won't it be fear of man that will be a snare? It'll be fear of the fact that if they don't take the mark of the beast, well, uh, they're they're gonna fall into the hands of man and may be executed. But if they really had fear of God, they'd realize that after that execution, if they received the Lord Jesus, they'd be in the presence of God. But, but because of fear of man, uh, we're going to read a little bit further down this passage, their end result, because they were driven by the fear of man, and it's not pretty. It really is not. So fear God, that's his message, and then give glory to him. You know that that's the reason that you were made? The purpose for your creation was to give glory to God. Uh, that's, that's your reason to exist, and we might ask ourselves, is my life bringing glory to him? That's why I was made. And the sad thing is, and what should bother us about unsaved people around us, is, is that they're not bringing glory to the God who made them. They're not. And he says, fear God and give glory to him. This is going to be a decisive hour when destinies are settled, and men need to fear God, and they need to give glory to him. That's the reason man was created, for that very purpose, and then to worship him that created the earth and all that dwells therein, to worship him. And it's interesting how, you see, in that day, uh, it- it's gonna be, there's not gonna be a lot of options. It's gonna be presented to the world through the message of this angel, worship God who created, and then there's gonna be another message which will be worship the beast and worship his image. And everybody's gonna have to make a decision, aren't they? There won't be any neutrality in this particular day. It'll be a day of decision. But I believe today's a day of decision too. Today's a decision. We're gonna ask the question, who am I gonna worship? Am I gonna worship the Creator, or am I gonna worship the created thing? You see, even to live for myself, in a sense, is worshiping the created thing, isn't it? If I'm the center of my universe, if if the reason that I exist is just to please me, I'm worshiping the created thing rather than the creator. And so today's a day of decision too. And so this angel flies, uh, and and every nation and and kindred and and tongue and people have been given this message. Fear God, give glory to him. Why? Because the hour of his judgment is come. Billy Sunday had a sermon years ago, didn't he? Payday Sunday. Well, that's what this angel is saying. The hour of his judgment is come. The day of accountability is come. The day of reckoning has come, and we've got to face it, uh, ultimately every person on this earth will give an account. Even believers are going to give an account. We'll stand before the judgment seat of Christ, won't we, and give an account for our lives. And unbelievers will stand before the great white throne judgment, and they will give an account. And, and there's no question about it, you're an accountable person. That's the way it is. And so, in the light of the fact that his judgment has come, and what he's saying is that it's imminent, the judgment of God is about to occur, then it's time to make a decision. Which one will it be that you'll worship? Will it be the beast and his image, or will it be the God who created? The one who we read here, worship him that made heaven and earth and the sea and the fountains of waters. It's interesting that we've been hearing a lot in the trumpet judgments about these very things, a- a- about the heaven and the earth and the sea and the fountains of waters, because, because his judgment has already begun to affect those things. Remember the fountains of living waters turned to blood. Remember the seas turned to blood. Remember the heavens being put out of place, as it were, and the earth, remember the land scorched and, and, and trees being burnt up, the earth as they knew it. Everything was being touched, and what he wants them to know is the same God that is acting in judgment on the earth is the same one that created the earth, and it's the same one that they will have to give an account for. That's what the, the angel wants people to know. And so, we have this everlasting gospel being preached. And then this second little picture, and in verse eight it says, there followed another angel saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, uh, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornications. This is going to be the first of six times in Revelation that Babylon will be mentioned, and every time it will be negative. And Babylon, in a sense, is, well, it goes back a long way, doesn't it? It goes back to r- to Genesis chapter ten. Remember that? Remember Nimrod? Uh, I was joking with somebody the other day and said that he was the first redneck. That mighty hunter, remember that? But he was a rebel as well as a mighty hunter. And uh, in rebellion, instead of uh, being obedient to God and and, as it were, going forth and replenishing the earth, he said, no, I'm not going anywhere. And and instead of following God and worshiping God, he built a city and and devised a religion and stayed in Babel. And Babel, the place that was called the very gate of God, turned into Babel, or confusion, because that's when God confused the languages. But that was not the end of the Babylonian religion as such. This religion that's based on idolatry and rebellion against the true God of the Bible. It was the very beginning of it, and it has continued, and it's manifested itself in different places at different times, and it's fitting that here at the very end of the age, Babylon will come to the forefront yet again, this religion. There's a book written many years ago by, uh, Alexander Hislop called The Two Babylons, and it's tough going. It's a difficult book to read, but he traces the Babylonian religion throughout history and shows how it's manifested itself in different places, and he would say without hesitation that it's seen more clearly today in Roman Catholicism than in anything else. That mixture of paganism and Judaism with a, a thin veneer of Christianity over the top of it is really Babylonian religion. But that's not going to be its final. I believe that after the rapture of the true church, there will be a coming together, and there will be one world religion in the last days that will be Babylon in all of its ugliness and repulsiveness. And, and so we're going to find here that scripture says that Babylon is going to fall, that God is going to judge this religion, this system. In fact, he's going to, uh, this is, this is so important to the Spirit of God to tell us about Babylon that he's just going to mention it here, but he's going to devote two chapters, Revelation seventeen and eighteen, to the destruction of Babylon. And, and, and I've said this before, but I'm going to say it again because I want us to see this in our day of toleration, of, of kind of ecumenical niceness. We don't like this kind of message, but I want to tell you, the only time in the New Testament we have a hallelujah chorus is because of the fall of Babylon. Such is God's hatred of this system that, that is built on idolatry and rebellion against him, that when it's finally destroyed, there will be six hallelujahs that will issue from heaven. And we don't read of that in any other occasion. The incarnation, no, there wasn't one. Check it out. At the crucifixion, when he says it's finished, we don't hear a single hallelujah, do we? The resurrection, you see if you can find one. There's no hallelujahs there. First time in the New Testament we read hallelujah is Revelation nineteen, and the cause of that, that re- that, that, that hallelujah, that outburst of praise to Jehovah is that the Babylonian system has been destroyed. And what's the cause of God's hatred of this system? It says there followed another angel saying, Babylon is fallen, it's fallen. Notice the repetition. It's fallen, it's fallen. I- it's repeated because it's so certain it's going to happen. He wants you to get that. It is fallen, it's fallen. That great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. Fornication, uh, whoredoms, other versions tell us. And I want to suggest that, that Babylon has specialized in trafficking in the things of God for money. That's one of the key things. Remember the, the Reformation? You know what it was that really got Martin Luther upset in the first place? It was money, wasn't it? It was the fact that, that this man Tetzel was going around and saying, you know, you've got, uh, relatives that have died and, and, uh, they're in purgatory right now, which again is just an absolute myth as far as the Bible is concerned, but they're in purgatory right now and they're, they're suffering in flames of purgatory. But if you help us build St. Peter's in Rome and put a donation in the box, as soon as the money hits the bottom of the box, the soul of your departed relative will fly out of purgatory into heaven. Well, which self-respecting son would not want to help his mother out of purgatory, you see? And what, what God's accusation is against this Babylonian system is that throughout the centuries you have trafficked in the souls of men for money. And isn't it interesting that they have claimed to represent Christ, the one that had no place to lay his head, the one that, that could say that, that foxes have holes and the birds in the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head. The one that, when it came to paying taxes, actually didn't have the coins in his pocket, but instead he, he said to Peter, throw in a line, and, uh, the first fish you catch, in that fish's mouth, there'll be enough to pay my tax and your tax. He didn't have the money. Uh, the, the one that, well, when he died, he was, he was buried in a borrowed tomb, wasn't he? And here they are, they're, they're claiming to represent the penniless, as it were, the the one who, in a sense, owns all the cattle on a thousand hills, but when he was here, lived a life of simplicity and without material gain. And yet, as he came to this world, there are now those that claim to represent him, and they will buy and sell your soul for dollar bills. And one day, this system is going to come upon the judgment of God. And he says here that when it falls, it's because they have been fornicators. They've been involved, as it were, in, in, in this whole whoredom business, trafficking the things of God for money. And we'll go into more detail when we get to Revelation seventeen and ver- and chapter eighteen. and it's going to be very gruesome when he goes into the details, but if you read any church history, you'll see all you need to see. And it's a gruesome history. Babylon is going to fall. And then look at verses nine through eleven. Now, you remember we said this everlasting gospel, it was, it was kind of presented this way that you need to fear God and not fear man. And, um, the problem with fearing man is that it brings a snare. Well, here's the snare that the fear of man would bring. Look at verse nine. The third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, if any man worship the beast in his image and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of indignation, and he'll be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the all holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever, and they rest, they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receiveth the mark of his name. There are several things that I want to draw to your attention in this little section. I want you to notice that he talks about the wrath of God without mixture. What that means is that, you see, usually scripture tells us that when God deals in wrath, he remembers mercy. I don't know if you've noticed that, but that's the principle. In, in judgment, and, and when God is dealing in wrath, he remembers mercy. But here there's not going to be any mixture. It's just pure, unadulterated wrath. And what he's saying is, if you take the mark of the beast on your forehead or your hand, all you have to face, and there's there's no dilution of this, you will face the wrath of God poured out without mixture, no mercy. I think there's only been one other time in scripture that I can think of where the wrath of God was poured out without mixture. That was at a place called Calvary, wasn't it? You see, when the Lord Jesus, the one that knew no sin, was made to be sin for us, there was no mercy then either, was there? God poured out all his holy hatred and indignation against sin and his own son on that tree. That was amazing event, wasn't it? But if people ultimately reject the Son of God, reject the one that loved them and gave himself for them, and say, we don't want him, instead we'd rather have the Antichrist, then what's left for that person is that ultimately they will take the wrath without mixture. Now, I have to say, I find it very hard to understand why anybody would not want to be a Christian this morning. I- I just, I just don't understand it. And- and I don't know where you stand, just because you're sat here doesn't mean to say you're a believer in the Lord Jesus. It really doesn't. I've preached in assemblies where the elders told me that they thought everybody was saved, and before I'd even finished the message, a lady was coming down saying she needed to get saved. You know, she knew all the language, she knew the hymns, but she didn't know the Savior. And so I'm asking you this morning, have you ever trusted the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior? Because if you've never done that, ultimately your rejection of him will mean that you will have to bear the wrath of God without mixture. And that's a shame because the Lord Jesus bore it for you. He, he didn't want you to suffer in e- eternal punishment, and he loved you enough that, as it were, he took it himself in his own body on that tree. But, but if you won't receive the grace, the mercy, the forgiveness that comes from him, then you have to suffer the consequences. And that's why I say it's really important to know where you stand this morning. It really is. And, and so we find here that th- that this judgment is without mixture. And then we want to notice too that this God's wrath will not be exhausted in an instant. In fact, it tells us here that these people are going to be tormented with fire and brimstone, and, and it says the smoke of their torment ascends up for how long? Forever and ever. You know, there are men today that claim to be believers in the Lord Jesus that say that, that there will be a punishment for a while, and then the person will be annihilated. If I told you some of their names, you'd be kind of shocked. But I'm telling you that that's not what the word of God says. It, it tells us that these people will be tormented with fire and brimstone, and it will be forever and ever. There will not be any remittance. They won't be any getting off for good behavior or any parole. This is eternal punishment. And the reason for eternal punishment is rejection of the eternal Son of God. There are eternal consequences for rejecting the eternal Son of God, aren't they? And this is what will be theirs. And notice it says they won't rest. I, I find that most disturbing, because I like my rest, don't you? And there's times after, uh, a busy day that I just can't wait. Maybe it's because I'm getting old, but I just can't wait to climb into bed and rest. But I want you to know these people won't experience rest day or night. And it's very interesting because we move to a tremendous contrast when we get to verse twelve, don't we? Here's the patience of the saints. Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Instead of receiving the mark of the beast, instead of being responding, as it were, to the fear of man, uh, they feared God, and and they they kept the commandments of Jesus. And and and this is the patience, the endurance of the saints. These that have done this, that they've kept the commandments of God, the faith of Jesus Christ. And he says, I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, write, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. Some of those won't make it through the tribulation period. Some of them are going to die, but he wants us to know something, that even in death for the believer, there's victory. Blessed are those. That's the beatitude. It's the second beatitude in the book, second of seven. How blessed, how incredibly happy are those that die in the Lord from now on. You know, we often weep at the grave of loved ones, and rightly so, because we're weeping not for them, but for ourselves, aren't we? We're weeping because we miss them. We're, we're weeping because there's a, there's a vacuum, there's a hole being left in our lives that they've left behind, but we're not weeping for them. Because if they're believers, they're with Christ, which is what? Far better. And in this tribulation period, he s- he wants us to know that there will be many that will perish. They've kept the commandments of Jesus, they they have the faith of Jesus Christ, and yet they perish, it seems, but he wants us to know that how incredibly happy will they be that die in the Lord. And then he says, yea, saith the Spirit that they they may rest from their labors and their works to follow them. Now, what a contrast. Rest. We talk about them entering into their rest. Well, how is it that they could enter into the rest when these other people will have no rest? Well, the reason is very simple, because there was one person in history that said this, come unto me, all you that labor and heavy laden. What did he say? And I will give you rest. And now they're entering into that, the rest that he provided, they're enjoying it now. But those that refuse to come to the one that said, I'll give you rest, well, they're not going to have a rest, are they? You'll have no rest day or night. You know, I ho- I hope you see that the choice is clear, isn't it? I mean, it's it's contrast. Everything's set in contrast so that you'll get the picture and you'll make the right decision. The beast worshippers will have no rest ever again, day or night. But those that have come to the one that promised to give rest, they now enter in to their rest. And then the sixth picture and the seventh picture, we want to take these together. Uh, in a sense, um, they they go very well together. Uh, one of them is a gathering of a harvest, the picture of the Son of Man. And the Son of Man in scripture is often connected with judgment. Uh, let me just read John five twenty seven just to show you this, uh, that it's the title of the Lord Jesus that often in the word of God is connected with judgment. John five twenty seven, and have given him authority to execute judgment also because he is the son of man. And, and part of that, I think, is a very simple reason that he's been given the, the, the position of judgment because he's the son of man. A- and it will be this, the very simple implication that, that human beings might point the finger at God and say, well, it was okay for you up there in heaven, but you don't know what it's been like to be a man down here. They won't be able to say that to the Lord Jesus, will they? Because the one who will execute judgment will be the Son of Man, Son of Adam. That's the picture. And, and he's gonna judge the nations. And so it's a picture of judgment, and it's a picture of, of a harvest, uh, of putting in the sickle and reaping the harvest. And, and he tells us that, look at with me verse, uh, fourteen, it says, I looked and, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud, uh, one sat like to the Son of Man, having on his head a golden crown and his hand a sharp sickle. Another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, thrust in thy sickle and reap, for the time has come for thee to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And the idea is that it's ripe for judge. It's ripe for judgment. One thing we can say is this, that, that, that the judgment that is coming on the world, many saints believed it would have been a lot sooner than this, didn't they? In fact, uh, you know, every generation, they've been looking for the coming of the Lord Jesus, and they've, and they've, uh, they they've longed for that, and they've they've they've kept saying, even so, come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. And and yet it seems like what's taking so long? Well, there's two things going on. One is that he's not willing that any should perish, and and his judgment and his coming to execute judgment is tempered by his long suffering with mankind. He wants people to be saved. He's leaving the door of opportunity open as long as possible. But on the other hand, there's another factor, and that is that the harvest of judgment is ripe. In fact, it's overripe, and there's coming a time when he's got to execute that judgment. And here we reach that moment when both will come together. The long suffering has has come to an end. The everlasting gospel is being preached. Everybody's heard. There's no one without excuse, and then all that's left to come now, now it's all being presented. If you don't receive the, the Savior at that time, what's going to happen? Judgment. The sickle will be brought in. It's interesting too that you've got, uh, in, in this first one, uh, you've got the picture of a field and, and the, the, the sickle about to come in and, and, and harvest the grain. And then the second, uh, judgment that you've got in, uh, verses seventeen through twenty is the wine of the wrath of God, and it's a, it's a picture of clusters of grapes that are being put in a wine press. And so it's interesting, isn't it, that you've got, really, you've got bread and wine. Isn't that interesting? Um, and yet it's, it's interesting that they're separate. When bread and wine are together, invariably it signals bre- blessing, doesn't it? Genesis fourteen, Melchizedek comes out bringing bread and wine. When we come and remember the Lord, there's bread and wine on the table. A- and yet it's interesting that when they're separate, they're usually linked with man's failure and judgment. Um, for instance, uh, when's the first mention of bread? Well, by the sweat of his brow, he ate bread. Remember that? It's connected with judgment, isn't it? A- and then, um, wine. Well, first mention is that fella drunk. Remember Noah? On its own, it's, it's negative, isn't it? Man's failure and judgment needed. But when they're together, blessing. Well, here, w- they're seen as separate pictures, and it, and, and it's man's judgment that's reached its full climax. And so we have the, the Son of Man about to enter into judgment. He- he's gonna put in the, the sickle. The, the harvest is overripe. It's, it's, it's gone past its best and needs to be judged. That's the picture. And the one who comes in judgment is on a white cloud, and each time the Lord is pictured in that way, connected with white, he'll be on a white horse, he'll be sat on a white throne. He's on a white cloud. It's his righteousness that is brought before us. And so judgment will come. And then the final one is this picture of what we call the Battle of Armageddon. And I want you just to see this, uh, uh, turn to chapter nineteen and verse fifteen, because this is again, remember, it's, it's the overall picture of the, the Satan doomed. And so we're, we're just getting the overall picture, if you like, a synopsis of it. And some of these things are going to be gone into in more detail, and the Battle of Armageddon, we'll go in, we'll go into more detail with that in chapter nineteen and verse fifteen. But I want you to see it here. It says, and out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations, and he'll rule them with a rod of iron, and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. It's that same picture, isn't it? Treading the winepress of the fear, and the idea is one, uh, treading on grapes and, and the, the, the juice spattering out all over the place. And we've got quite a description back here in chapter fourteen. It says, verse nineteen, the angel thrust in his sickle to the earth, gathered the vine of the earth, cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God, and the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress even to the horse bridles by the space of a thousand six hundred furlongs. And I want us to think about th- this description. This is quite a description. Up to the horse's bridles, the blood will spatter in the battle of Armageddon. W- w- the world will have never seen a scene quite like this. Up to the horse is brought. And how big a distance? Well, he tells us, doesn't he? Uh, One thousand six hundred furlongs, he says. Well, that's uh, in Greek it's a stabion, which is six hundred and seven feet, and so one thousand six hundred furlongs gives a distance of one hundred and eighty three point miles. And so this battle will cover a period of a, or, or a, an area of one hundred and eighty three point nine miles. That's almost two hundred miles. You know that Israel, from one end to the other, is two hundred miles long? The whole land. That's the picture. And, uh, the whole length of the ancient, uh, of the present land of Israel, that's the, that's the picture here, and blood sputtering and spurting and splattering as high as the horses' bridles. He's telling us that this day was going to come when God will enter into judgment with those that have been ready for judgment a long time, but his long suffering has, has kept it from happening. But now it's overripe, and he has to judge. And that day is coming. And so as we've looked at this section, what we've seen is, is very simple. God has given us a glimpse of the glory and victory of the Lamb and his followers. They're either on Mount Zion with the Lamb, en- enjoying that privilege of, of reigning with him, or those that don't make it through, well, what w- well, how blessed are those that have died in the Lord. They're entering into their rest. And then at the same time, he's given us a glimpse of the shame and depi- defeat of the beast and his followers. And so what he's telling us is that Satan's a loser, and that the lamb is victorious. It's just kind of a, a little encouragement, isn't it, in the midst of all of this seeming gloom. Before we get to the end, he wants us to know that we're on the winning side. But the question really this morning is, are you on the winning side? You're only on the winning side if you've come to him and found rest. And if you have, you ought to rejoice in that. If you have found Christ as your savior and you know that, that you don't have to worry about these things, you ought to rejoice, but you ought to also realize that you've got a tremendous privilege. And that is that in this age, the everlasting gospel needs to be com- proclaimed from your lips, doesn't it? There's coming a time when God will get angels to do it. Right now, he said, it's your job. Right now, he said, I'm going to give you the power to do it. The Holy Spirit's being given to empower you to do the job, but it's your job. And so do the job. Remember, it's glad tidings. It is. It's the best news there is, isn't it? Let's tell people about it. At the same time, this morning, if you're not sure where you stand, you need to be sure. You need to get these things settled so that you can have the rest, the assurance of knowing that you belong to him. Time is gone. Let's pray. Father, we're so thankful for the wonderful truth that thy lovely son, the Lord Jesus, ultimately is the victor. That there is a day coming when he indeed will be on Mount Zion. Yet have I set my king on my holy hill of Zion. And that all opposition to his rule will be defeated, and he shall reign. And we read these marvelous words that we will reign with him as kings and priests. We find that hard to ima- imagine, and yet we know it's true. Yet, Father, we would ask if there's one here that doesn't know the Lord Jesus, that they might settle the issue this morning, and we'll give thee the glory in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.