”A Preview of How It Ends” | Wed PM | Pastor John Tilley Jr. | Revelation 14

Take your Bibles out and uh let's go to

the book of Revelation tonight.

Isn't it good to be in church on a

Wednesday night? Amen.

I love Wednesday night church.

Revelation chapter 14.

Revelation 14 · chapter mention

I want to preach teach tonight this

passage from this title. A preview of

how it ends.

Revelation chapter 14 I believe is a

Revelation 14 · chapter mention

preview, a divine preview of how

everything ends. Revelation 12, 13, and

14. We've stated this before, but just

for review, they they are a

parenthetical in the narrative of the

book of Revelation. So, we have been

following since chapter 4, we've been

following this narrative that's taking

us through the tribulation period, the

7-year tribulation. We got to the midway

point in the tribulation. And there are

these now these three chapters that

serve as kind of a parenthetical in the

narrative. Meaning the narrative is not

progressing in these chapters.

The content in these three chapters I is

is going to happen but it's revealed out

of chronological order. So these three

chapters stand as a parenthetical. The

narrative is not progressing. And the

events in these chapters are not

necessarily, though some of them are,

they're not necessarily given in

chronological order. So just think about

these chapters as if they have

parentheses around them, as if as as God

is giving John the revelation, he he's

kind of going to stop and and give him a

couple chapters as an aside. The content

is still good. The it's still prophetic.

It's still going to happen but we have

to if we want to understand how to

interpret it we need to put some

parentheses around it and realize the

narrative is not progressing so much. So

in chapter 12 uh we saw an overview this

panorama shot of the of the tribulation

period. In chapter 13 we the uh we

looked at it describes the characters

these evil characters and their plan

during the tribulation. And you remember

we looked at chapter 13 several weeks

ago now and and we saw the the beast

that will come out of the sea and we saw

the beast that will come out of the

earth. And we labeled them the

antichrist and the false prophet. Both

of them worship and serve the beast, the

beast. And and what Satan is doing is he

is setting up uh a system. He's setting

up a a religious system. He's setting up

an economic system. He's setting up a

political system. and he is trying to

rule the world as he wants to rule it.

And you remember the end of chapter 13

there's the the in chapter 13 there's

the mark of the beast and then there's

the number of the man that that 666

number. What does this mean? And we

talked about these things some there's

the mark of the beast and if you don't

get the mark of the beast then you won't

be able to buy or sell or or anything

during this time. Now this is halfway

through the tribulation when all this

kind of comes about. So, there's a a

nugget of really good news in here for

you and I because in Revelation chapter

Revelation 4 · chapter mention

4, it seems very clear, and we've talked

about this much, that the church goes

up. We're out of here in chapter 4. So,

the things that take place in the

tribulation period are not they're not

going to affect us. Now, there are

believers in the tribulation period.

People can get saved. And so when you

see the word when you see a reference to

believers or saints, it's the

tribulation saints, it's those who have

received the gospel or it could be those

144,000 Jews which will they'll be

around for the entire 7-year

tribulation. So So we get chapter 12,

this overview. Chapter 13 then describes

Satan's government, Satan's system that

he's going to try and set up at that

midpoint of the tribulation. And then

chapter 14, also parenthetical, is going

to show us a preview of how the

tribulation ends.

It is a preview of the prophecy that

will come in chapter 19. And so, we're

going to get just a snapshot, a sneak

peek of what is to come later in the

book in chapter 14.

God is going to reveal to John and by

extension you and I a preview of how

he's going to bring all of these things

to an end. And by the way, not to be a

spoiler, but Jesus wins in the end. All

right? Uh Jesus is going to be the one

who wins. He's going to judge. He's

going to rule. He's going to reign. And

uh so that's going to be given to us in

chapter 14. I've broken chapter 14. And

I've divided it into two sections that I

think are fitting to the two themes, the

two major themes that we find in the

chapter. Verse number 1 through13

is the joy of the Lord and verse number

14 through 20 is the judgment of the

Lord.

So the first part, it's not really in

half, but the first part is the joy of

the Lord. And then the second part will

be the judgment of the Lord. Now, as I

begin, I wanted to do this chapter in

one sermon, but I cannot. So, we're just

going to do one part, one section at a

time. So, we're going to look at the

first 13 verses tonight. We're going to

consider the joy of the Lord. How does

it end? Well, it's going to end with

God's people being very joyous. It's

going to end with the joy of the Lord on

God's people. And then it's also going

to end, and we'll look at this next

week, the second section, it's going to

end with great judgment of the Lord. And

that will be the last part of chapter

14. We'll consider that next week, Lord

willing. So, your Bibles are open.

Revelation 14. We kind of have the

backdrop. We kind of see the context.

All right, let's look at verse number

one. I'll read these first 13 verses.

And then I've only got eight points for

us tonight. An eight-point outline, so

this should go wonderfully well. All

right, here we go. Verse number one of

chapter 14. And I looked, John looked,

he said, "And lo, a lamb stood on the

mount Zion. And with him 140, and 4,000,

having his father's name written in

their foreheads. And I heard a voice

from heaven as the voice of many waters,

and as the voice of great thunder. And I

heard the voice of harpers harping with

their harps.

And they sung as it were a new song

before the throne, before the four

beasts, and the elders. And no man could

learn that song, but the 140 and 4,000

which were redeemed from the earth.

And we'll talk more about those here in

just a moment. Verse four, these are

they which were not defiled with women,

for they are virgins. These are they

which follow the Lamb whethersoever he

goeth. These were redeemed from among

men, being the first fruits unto God and

to the Lamb. And in their mouth was

found no guile, for they are without

fault before the throne of God. 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." Notice the

contrast between what Babylon did in

verse 8 and now what is going to happen

to those who take the mark of the beast

in verse 10. They'll drink not of the

wine of Babylon, but 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 a holy angels and in the presence of

the lamb. And the smoke of their torment

asend ascendeth up forever and ever.

By the way, there has been some I don't

know if you've kept up online, there

have been some recent debates revolving

around how long uh punishment lasts for

the wicked. Is it for eternity or is it

for a limited amount of time? I think

the Bible answers pretty clearly, it is

eternal. forever and ever eternal. Their

punishment will never end.

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, "Write, blessed are the dead

which die in the Lord from henceforth.

Yay, said the spirit, that they may rest

from their labors and their works do

follow them. All right, let's walk

through these. This John sees this

vision.

In this vision, there is a day of great

joy. And then we'll get to the last

part, the day of great judgment next

week.

In heaven and on earth, there is great

joy as we worship King Jesus. How is

everything going to end? What is this

world coming to? Have you ever heard

someone say that or ask that? What is

this world coming to? It's really coming

to the feet of Jesus. That's where it's

going. That's where the end will be.

Jesus will win when it's all said and

done. Let me show you eight aspects from

these verses that when we consider them

as God's people, I think they ought to

bring great joy to our hearts from these

first 13 verses. And I'll do my very

best to keep this in context. I'm going

to try and bounce between two context.

One is the immediate context of

scripture because we're in heaven here.

You'll see this in just a moment that

verse three, the church is in heaven.

The elders are in heaven. Uh, however,

these things that are happening on earth

have application for you and I right now

even though we're not in the tribulation

period. So, I'm going to I'll try not to

be confusing. I'm going to try and show

you what the Bible says and then apply

it to where we live today. Okay? You

think we can keep up with this? All

right. Number one, the joy uh of the

Lord, this day of great joy.

Number one, why do we have joy? Well, we

see the person of joy. First of all,

notice it says in verse number one, John

says, "I looked and lo, a lamb." Several

weeks ago, we preached just this first

verse of this chapter just as an

introduction. And we talked much about

this. John said, "I looked." It's

fascinating to me how the Holy Spirit

inspires scripture to be written because

you go through chapter 13 and in chapter

13, it's bad, bad, bad, bad, bad. the

Antichrist, the false prophet, the

beast. There's a new government.

Everyone has to take the mark of the

beast. You have to get the number. If

you don't get the number, you can't eat

anything. You can't buy anything. You

can't sell anything. If you're a

Christian, you're going to be killed. It

looks really hopeless at the end of

chapter 13. And then God gets John's

attention and and John looks and what

does he see as you turn the page from

chapter 13 and go to chapter 14? And

what looked hopeless at the end of

chapter 13 now has great hope in chapter

14 because John says, "I see the lamb. I

I see the perfect spotless son of God."

In chapter 13 and verse number 8, we

actually see the lamb, the lamb of God,

it says, "Which was slain before the

foundations of the world." So in chapter

13:8, he is slain. Currently, right now,

current day, present day, the lamb is

seated. He is seated at right the right

hand of God the Father. But one day he

will come and stand on Mount Zion in

victory. So we see him in chapter 13.

He's slain. Right now he is seated. And

one day he's coming back and will stand

on Mount Zion. It's a beautiful picture

of victory. When you feel overwhelmed by

the activity of the evil one, look up to

the coming victory of Jesus Christ. It's

not all over. It's not all done. It's

not done until Jesus says it's done.

It's not over until Jesus wins the final

victory. So we can have joy. Number one,

the joy of the Lord because of the

person. But write down number two, the

place

it says, "And I looked and lo, a lamb

stood on the mount Zion." You see where

he's at? He's on Mount Zion. And Mount

Zion, regardless of where you put it,

and I'm going to talk about it in a

moment, regardless of where you put

Mount Zion, it is a picture of victory.

So the message of the text is not

compromised regardless of of what line

what what side you're going to fall on

in this debate I'm getting ready to give

you. Okay. So there are good people on

both sides. And I've read commentaries

that from good commentators on both

sides of where is Mount Zion. I'm going

to give you what I think at the end of

the day. It doesn't really matter

matter. Mount Zion means victory. Mount

Zion means Jesus won. Okay. So there is

a lot of debate. Is this Mount Zion? Is

it Mount Zion on earth or is it Mount

Zion in heaven? I I believe that it is

Mount Zion on earth. I am inclined to

think that Jesus is standing in

Jerusalem on Mount Zion. I'm going to

give you a couple reasons why I think

that. First of all, Mount Zion is

referenced over 160 times in the Bible.

Of those 160 times, only two occasions

does it not refer to literal Jerusalem.

So if we take a large context of

scripture and how it is used in the

Bible, overwhelmingly it is used of

literal Jerusalem, the literal Mount

Zion on earth. So this, if I can, if you

allow me to say it like this, thinking

that Mount Zion is on earth is really

the biblically safe option because it

fits with the rest of the context of the

Bible. Okay, so that's one reason I

think that this is uh Mount Zion. Jesus

is standing on earth. The other reason

that I think this is probably Mount

Zion, literal Jerusalem,

is because in verse number three, or

excuse me, in verse number two, John

says, "And I heard a voice from heaven."

So he is specifying that the voice is

not on earth. The voice was from heaven,

which makes me kind of believe that the

people standing are standing on earth.

Our attention is on earth. And so John

says, "And I also heard a voice. It

wasn't on earth. It was in heaven." So

those two reasons, those are the big

reasons why I am inclined to think Mount

Zion is on earth. If you feel

differently, let's just focus on the big

point and that is Jesus wins. Okay? It's

a picture of victory. Regardless of

where you put it, it's a picture of

Christ eternal victory. Jesus will stand

in victory uh on Mount Zion. And I'm

inclined to think that is in Jerusalem.

And he's going to stand there with write

down number three the people.

So he's going to stand. John said, "And

I looked and lo, a lamb stood on the

Mount Zion and with him 144,000

having his father's name written in

their foreheads." Again, we see a

contrast between God's plan and Satan's

counterfeit. Satan is going to have them

write uh uh the mark of the beast in

their forehead. But the 144,000, they

are redeemed and protected and they have

God's mark on them. And by the way,

though this is not not played out as

literally in our culture today, there

are and there should be differences

between those who are marked by Satan

and those who are marked by God. Today,

we don't take the mark of the beast. We

that's not around yet. It will be gone

before it comes around. And we don't

mark ourselves uh to to show, oh, you

don't write tattoo Jesus on your

forehead so that everybody knows, right?

We don't do those things. But there

should be visible evidence that contrast

the believer with the sinner. You

understand what I'm saying? Now, one day

that's going to become crystal clear

because you either have the mark of the

beast or you have the mark of the

father. But today, there should still be

signs and symbols that say, "Hey, I'm a

believer. I don't participate in those

things. I don't go there. I don't say

those things. I don't act like that. We

go to church. We prioritize these things

because we are marked by Jesus." So, the

people, who are they? They're the

144,000 Jews. They're from chapter 7.

Let me refresh your memory. We studied

them when we went through chapter 7. I

just want to give you some

some review. They're Jews. So, they are

from Israel.

There's 12,000 from each tribe.

They are all sealed in their foreheads

and are protected through the entirety

of the tribulation. So there are and and

we'll see this. There are martyrs in the

tribulation. The only way for there to

be martyrs in the tribulation is if

people get saved in the tribulation. The

144,000 are not the martyrs of the

tribulation. They are sealed and

protected. God protects them through the

through the tribulation.

So don't don't be confused. So we have

them. They're sealed in their foreheads.

They're protected. And it seems that God

commisss them to serve as evangelists.

So these 144,000 Jews are preaching the

gospel and they stand with Jesus as

victorious. Now, and remember, we're

looking at a preview of what is to come.

So what is to come is these 144,000 will

stand victorious with King Jesus on

Mount Zion. So they're going to make it

to the end. And now notice one other

group of people here, and that is the

elders. And I only want to draw your

attention to them because they're very

important to you and I. In verse number

three, it says, "And they sung as it

were a new song before the throne and

before the four beasts." Those are

angels and the elders. Now, if you

remember previously in our study of the

book of Revelation, the elders have been

identified consistently identified

through the book of Revelation as the

church of Jesus Christ, the New

Testament church. The elders are seen in

chapter 4 gathered around the throne,

the great throne room scene that is

there. And we have the church bowing

down and worshiping Christ. And now we

see them in heaven again. Here are these

elders. They're in heaven. They're

before the throne of God. They're up

there with the angels and we are

worshiping our savior. And we're getting

ready to hear what I believe will be one

of the most amazing choirs in the

history of the world. and they're

getting ready to sing a brand new song

for us as we sit there and worship King

Jesus. So, this is the view. This is the

picture. These are the people that are

involved and you and I will get to be a

part of this wonderful worship service.

And, uh, it's going to be amazing. I

can't wait. And so, uh, write down

number four. We've seen the person, the

place, the people. Number four. Now,

notice their praise. The praise.

Verse number two and verse number three.

And I heard, John says in verse two, a

voice from heaven, as the voice of many

waters, and as the voice of great

thunder. And I heard the voice of

harpers harping with their harps. And

they sung as it were a new song before

the throne, and before the four beasts,

and the elders. And no man could learn

that song, but the 144 and 4,000 which

were redeemed from the earth. What's

taking place here? the the 144,000 at

the end of the tribulation, they're

going to sing a new song of praise to

Almighty God. They're going to worship

him. They're going to testify. And this

scene uh is going, it's interesting for

you and I. I think it's important for

you and I because it gives us a glimpse

of what the worship is going to be like

in heaven,

which means that we have somewhat of a

template as to how our worship is to be

on earth. Right now, this is there's

many of these in Revelation. This is

just one of them. I just want to point

out a few things, a few details that we

see about their praise. First of all,

it's a great voice.

Do not be afraid to lift your voice and

sing.

Sing. You say, "Well, pastor, I can't

sing very well." That's why God put in

the Bible, make a joyful noise unto the

Lord. We may not ask you to sing a

special in church, but no one can stop

you from singing in the pew. and and and

you should you should desire to sing and

worship and praise and lift your voice.

The greatest instrument in the world is

a voice.

A voice and and the church should be a

place where man voices are heard,

singing is heard. So don't be afraid.

You you want to worship like you'll

worship in heaven, you better start

practicing with your instrument, with

your voice, and start singing. Sing out

loud.

Okay. And then notice there's also

instrumentation. Not only is there a

voice, but there is an instrument. I

believe that there's going to be

instruments in heaven. There's harpers

and they're harping. They're playing

their instruments. There's going to be

instruments as a part of our worship.

Nothing wrong with singing ac capella. I

enjoy some good ac capella music. And I

think we'll probably sing a capella some

in heaven. But I also think we're going

to have instruments in heaven. And we're

going to be able to play them perfectly

and flawlessly. And it's going to be

beautiful. and we're going to play

instruments for the glory of God. And

then notice there's a new song.

This song and other songs that will be

sung in heaven will be brand new music.

This Jewish choir is going to sing a

brand new song. A song that no one has

heard before. A song that no one else

can learn except them. It's a new song.

And uh you know in in our context today,

I think there's something to be said

about I don't have time. I I want to

preach a message on on music someday. I

don't have time to do it tonight. I've

got a great illustration for you. So,

you'll just have to hang in there and

wait because I don't have time to give

it to you tonight. But but it's

interesting that in heaven we're going

to sing new songs there. There's

something interesting and powerful, I

think, about sitting and allowing

someone to sing to Christ. And you get

to sit and observe their worship through

something that maybe you're not familiar

with, but you see them worshiping and

you allow those words to impact your

heart and your life. Sometimes when I'm

singing, I miss the message because I'm

focusing on the notes. But when I'm

sitting down there and someone else is

singing and I begin to see their

testimony and their praise and their

worship, it hits me a whole lot harder

than even if I was the one singing. Does

that make sense? So I think that's kind

of maybe what we're seeing here. This

choir is going to sing. They're going to

sing a new song and I think we're going

to be along be able to worship along

with them as as we listen to them lift

their praise. And then there's a

testimony in this song. So, it's a

there's a great voice, there's

instrumentation, it's a new song, and

then there's this testimony, and that is

that only these 144,000 can sing it. Why

do you think that is? I I think it's

because these 144,000 Jews, this Jewish

choir, is is going to experience things

in the tribulation that none of us can

comprehend or fathom. Their testimony is

different than our testimony.

They're singing about things that we're

never going to go through. They're

singing about ways that God protected

them that we're never going to go

through. And so, we can't sing the song.

We can't learn the song because we've

not experienced that testimony. But they

can sing it. And we can observe them

singing it. And we can worship with them

while they sing it. And we can celebrate

the goodness and the glory of God while

they sing their testimony. This is what

is so powerful, I think, about music in

the in the in the church, in the local

church, especially special music. You

have somebody who can sing a song that

has touched their life.

It's it's a song and testimony. You know

what kind of song I'm talking about.

It's a song that they sing. Whether it's

Esther or Joanie or or Mindy or or

whoever is up here singing, they're

singing a song, and that song has

touched their life and changed them in a

way. And you can see it on their face.

Tears begin to stream. And all of a

sudden, the Holy Spirit of God begins to

move through a song that you may not

even know the words to, but you see

somebody else testifying to God's

goodness, testifying to God's grace, and

it begins to impact your life. And you

say, "I can praise that God. I don't

even know the song they're singing, but

I can worship him. I can give him glory.

That's good. That's great." It it causes

our hearts and our minds to be pointed

to Jesus. So, their praise. Now, there's

other things we could talk about there,

but let's move along. That's number

four. We've got a few more that we got

to do, and it's already 8:00. I'm sorry.

I just saw the time. We'll go quickly.

Okay. Number five. Write this down. The

purity.

The purity. So, these 144,000, they're

called virgins.

And it's interesting that they're called

virgins.

Um, some argue, and I I might would lean

this way. I think it's a fair argument,

that often times Israel armies would

abstain from physical intimacy during

wartime.

Um, so when the Israelites would go to

war, they would abstain from physical

intimacy as long as the war was

happening. It's possible these 144,000

are in war. They're fighting a fight.

It's a spiritual fight. They're

preaching the gospel. That could be

what's being referenced here, that

perhaps they're abstaining from uh

intimacy for the period of the

tribulation so that they can be focused

on the fight at hand. We see this in the

Old Testament, a couple passages,

Deuteronomy 23, 1st Samuel 21. I I'm not

going to be dogmatic about that. That's

just an option. Okay? If you don't like

it, that's fine. Um but but we do know

that they're called virgins. We see that

they followed the Lamb. We see that they

are redeemed from among men. uh they had

the Bible says no guile in their mouth.

Uh they are without fault before the

throne of God. I don't believe that

these are perfect people

but I believe these are people who are

under the blood. And so when they stand

before the throne of God just as you and

I when we stand before the throne of God

though we may have sin in our life

though we are not perfect when we stand

before the throne of God all he sees is

the perfect sinless blood of Jesus

Christ. It covers us. We stand faultless

before the throne of God. not because of

us, but because of Jesus. And I think

that's probably what is being said here

about these 144,000. They're people.

They're Jewish people. They're men. Uh

they're human. So I I I would be very

careful to say that they are perfect

because there's only one perfect man.

But we do know they stand faultless

before the throne of God. And I would I

would be inclined to think that's

through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Okay. Number six,

we see the preaching.

Look at verse 6 and 7. And I saw another

angel fly in the midst of heaven, having

the everlasting gospel to preach unto

them that dwell on the earth. Now, where

else in the Bible do we find angels

preaching the gospel? Anybody know?

Well, to my knowledge, nowhere. I don't

think there's any other place in the

Bible that you find angels preaching the

gospel. But God is in his mercy. so

determined to make sure every ear hears

the good news of Jesus Christ that just

before he wipes them out in judgment,

he's going to send an angel. And how

this looks, I have no idea. Does the

angel just fly through the sky around

the world with a megaphone preaching the

ultimate street preacher, right? I I

don't know how this is going to look,

but I know that there's going to be an

angel who is going to preach the gospel

and and the world is going to hear it.

Uh there's some things about this gospel

that I noted as I studied. First of all,

it's everlasting.

There's only one gospel that will last

forever. There are many false gospels,

but there's only one that will last for

eternity. That's this gospel, the true

gospel. It's for everyone. In the last

part of verse six, all nations, all

people, all tongues, it's for everybody.

God doesn't limit his salvation. It's

for everyone. And then number three,

it's evangelistic.

The angel speaks with a loud voice.

Everyone's going to hear. He's not

ashamed of his message. He's not ashamed

of preaching the gospel. He's not

ashamed of the good news. And he speaks

a very clear message. He communicates

clearly that mankind has sinned and now

that that they're right in the path of

God's rightful judgment. And in our

culture, I'll just make a a a quick side

note. In our culture today, uh we we

really like to focus on the love of God

and that God loves everyone and God does

love everyone. Uh God so loved the

world. He loves all people, but he also

must judge sin and all people have

fallen short of the glory of God. We

cannot we you cannot get to to the

propitiation and the payment of Jesus on

the cross and overlook and skip over the

fact that we needed pay our sin needed

paid for. You have to show them that

we're a sinner. That there when you give

the gospel to someone, don't skip over

the fact, well, I don't want to offend

them if I tell them they're a sinner.

Offend them. Better to offend them and

get them the truth than to skip over uh

a vital component of the gospel and them

go into eternity with false hope. Right?

Okay. And then number four, it's

exclusive. The angel says, "Fear God,

worship God." Uh the gospel is exclusive

in that we fear and we worship one God.

The God who made heavens and earth and

the seas and the fountain of waters. We

worship him and him alone. So that's the

preaching. You with me still? We good?

Number seven, write down the prophecy.

The prophecy

verse number eight down through verse

number 11. And there followed another

angel saying Babylon is fallen is fallen

the great city because she made all

nations drink of the wine of the wrath

of her fornication. So the first angel

is preaching the gospel. Now there's a

second angel who gives this interesting

message. Babylon is fallen is fallen.

That great city. The repetition there is

for emphasis.

The city of Babylon will be completely

and utterly destroyed. And this begs the

question because this is the first time

I believe this is the first time in

Revelation that we've seen Babylon.

We're going to see Babylon again.

Chapter 16, 17, 18. We're going to see

this idea of Babylon come back around.

But, but what is Babylon? We're going to

talk more about it when we get down the

road a little bit. But I want to give

you just the short version of what this

could be and what some of the debate is.

There's a lot of debate about who it is.

But in scripture, Babylon is sometimes a

reference to a sinful physical city.

There is a physical city called Babylon.

It's a picture of sin and wickedness.

That's what it means sometimes in the

Bible. Other times it's a reference to a

condemned spiritual state, a state of

wickedness. The that that Babylon, it

means that there is wickedness. It's a

wicked culture. And then at other times

it means a corrupt political system.

So let's put all those together.

Babylon here could mean a a corrupt,

sinful, wicked physical place, spiritual

system, and political system.

Now, now there's a lot of debate about

this and and where it is and what it

means. Some have argued that Babylon is

a reference to an apostate church that

will be destroyed.

Maybe. Others argue that this is a

reference to the city of Rome.

Maybe. Others argue that it's a literal

rebuilt city in at Babylon, the real

city. Maybe. Here's here's how I I'm I'm

gonna take it for now. Okay, I'll give

you this. I think that it seems likely

that the angel here is prophesying the

complete and total destruction of the

entire political, religious, and

economic system that has been put

together by the beast in chapter 13. I

think it fits with the context. It fits

with the biblical, the larger context,

the Bible usage of Babylon. I think that

the angel is prophesying that everything

Satan has built, God is going to destroy

and that's going to lead ultimately to

Satan himself being destroyed. So, we'll

talk about Babylon more when we get

further down the road, but that's that's

what we'll say for now. Okay? All right.

Write down number eight. We're almost

finished.

And I'll just say I don't want to leave

out verse 10 and 11. So, I'll just say

this. the the that about Babylon if you

take it that way it fits really well

with the third angel's announcement in

verse 10 and 11 of coming judgment they

fit together really well at that point

so then number eight and we'll be

finished

we see the promise

there is a great promise

verse 12 and verse 13 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 to me right blessed

are the dead which die in the Lord from

henceforth Yay, saith the spirit, that

they may rest from their labors and

their works do follow them. It's most

probable, and we said this at the

beginning, that these saints in these

verses are tribulation saints. The word

patience there in verse 12 means

endurance.

So th this is the endurance of the

saints. They have made it to the end.

They they have kept going. The idea here

is that it would literally be easier for

these Christians to die than to face the

persecution of Satan. It would be easier

for them to just commit suicide, kill

themselves, die

what, however it would happen. It would

just be easier for them to die and go on

to heaven than to actually endure what

what is transpiring on earth at this

time. But God's going to give them a

message of hope. In verse number 13,

this voice from heaven speaks and says,

"Write,

and this is the second, I believe this

is the second beatitude that we've come

to now in the book of Revelation." He

says, "Blessed are the dead which die in

the Lord from henceforth.

Yay sayith the spirit that they may rest

from their labors and their works do

follow them." Hey, if you can endure,

if these if these Christians endure and

and it seems outside of the 144,000, it

seems inevitable that if you are a

Christian and you have gotten saved in

the tribulation and you're alive at this

point, it seems inevitable that you will

be martyed, right? I mean, the the the

amount of Christians, it's easy pickings

for Satan at this point to just you

don't have the mark. You can't buy and

sell. you can't eat. I mean, he he knows

who you are. It it's easy. It seems, and

I won't be dogmatic here, but it seems

inevitable that if you are saved and not

part of the 144,000, you're going to be

a martyr. You're going to be martyed for

your faith. And so, Christ is going to

speak hope to those.

He said, "Hey, blessed,

blessed are the dead which die in the

Lord."

there's a blessing for them and that

they have been martyed. And then here is

I think the blessing and I think this

blessing extends not just to those who

are martyed in the tribulation. I think

this blessing extends to all Christians

that we'll get to rest from our labors.

That's what heaven is all about. Let me

give you this and we're done. The Old

Testament,

God instituted a Sabbath day. And on the

Sabbath day, they were instructed to

rest.

Jesus came on the scene and Jesus said,

"I am the Sabbath. I'm the fulfillment

of the Sabbath."

The Pharisees mocked him. They didn't

believe him. They didn't understand what

he was saying. You and I, we live in in

the church age and we understand that

our rest is not found in a day, but our

rest is found in a person, in the person

of Jesus Christ. But we know this

doctrally. Theologically, we know this.

We can argue.

But how often do we live our lives? And

we do not rest in the one who is our

rest. And we look for everything in the

world to try and take our mind off the

anxieties and the worries and the stress

of the world. And Jesus said, "I am your

Sabbath." Here's the good news. One day,

there is coming a day when the elders,

the church of Jesus Christ, will be

gathered around the throne room of God.

We'll be listening to a choir of 144,000

Jews sing their testimony, the top of

their lungs as they worship God. We'll

have thrown our crowns at his feet. And

we'll lift up our hands and we'll begin

to praise from our knees the Lord of

Lords and the King of Kings. And we will

completely understand and experience in

that moment what it means to let Jesus

be our Sabbath. We will have complete

rest as we sit, kneel, stand, worship in

the presence of King Jesus. Aren't you

looking forward to that day? We'll soon

be done with troubles and trials in that

home on the other side. Hey, there's

some people I'm going to shake hands

with, shake hands with the elders, but

then I'm going to sit down beside Jesus.

We're just going to sit there and I'm

going to rest for a little while. How

long? Eternity.

Millions and millions of years. Going to

get all the rest that I need. You ever

heard somebody say, "You can sleep when

you die." For the Christian, there's

actually a lot of truth in that because

we are. We're going to rest at Jesus'

feet. Let's pray. Let's thank the Lord

for these things. Father,