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HomeSermonsThe Revelation of Jesus Christ

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

The Last Chapter

We have to take God’s word for what it says, the things we like and the things we don’t like. Before we go deeper into these verses, let’s briefly challenge all of us who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ.
Why do we study the prophetic scripture? Why do we long to hear from Scripture what God has prepared for those whom he loves? Do we want knowledge to prepare, or do we want insight so we can impress others? Do we study the prophetic word because we want to be in the know, or do we study it because we don’t want to be caught off guard when the things start to unfold?

The Last Judgment

For 1000 years the Old and New Testament saints will rule and reign with Jesus Christ on this earth. During this time, Jerusalem will be the city of the King. Finally, world peace, which since the fall of man has been promised by many but delivered by no human being, has been implemented by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
The Roman Empire was alive and well during those days. It promised the world PAX ROMANA. They promised to eradicate thievery on the highways and piracy from the seas. Most people believed them and felt secure for a brief period of time. Centuries later, the Pax Britannica, the British peace, calmed the world for about a century. It also brought a level of economic prosperity to many nations.
What about today? For a brief period of time after the 2nd world war, the United States of America believed that she can bring calmness and economic prosperity to the entire world. It did not last long. According to the Bible, another world power will arise soon, also promising world peace and an economic prosperity that will last forever. The problem with all these human efforts is the fact that there is only ONE WORLD RULER WHO WILL ACCOMPLISH THIS PROMISED PEACE ON EARTH, and that is Jesus Christ, the creator and owner of the entire universe.
It will be PAX MESSIAH. For that to happen, Jesus will return to this earth, bind Satan and invite the saints to reign with him for 1000 years.
God gave men and women free choice. Such implies the opportunity to choose from at least two options. How can you say you have free choice if you don’t have more than one option? That would not be loving or just, and God Almighty is both and much more.
We all know the story. How the Lord allowed Satan to enter the garden and tempt Adam and Eve, to see if they would freely choose to obey Him. Thats exactly what the Lord will do one more time AT THE END OF THE MILLENNIUM REIGN.
The 1000 year reign on this earth will conclusively demonstrate that people reject Jesus Christ not so much because of their environment, but because OF THEIR DEPRAVED, FALLEN NATURE.
Listen, not even 1000 years of peace will cleanse humankind of its sinful nature. This final rebellion after 1000 years of peace on earth will tell all creation why Jesus Christ had to die on Calvary. All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 1000 years of righteous rule cannot eradicate the sin in people’s hearts. Only the crucified and risen Jesus Christ can perform that miracle, and it won’t happen unless WE CHOOSE TO SAY YES TO HIS CALL. That’s the only way we can obtain eternal life.
The Great White Throne judgment is reserved for all those who have chosen to reject God’s offer of salvation. They have refused the grace of God, now they will be judged by the things written in the books. This judgment is reserved for those who said: I do not need Jesus; I can manage just fine on my own. I am good enough. I will stand in my own works, on my own record.
The unbelieving dead will be raised at the end of the millennium to be judged in their resurrected bodies. They will already have died physically, now they will die spiritually.
Physical death means separation, your soul or spirit is temporarily separated from your body. But the second death involves a far worse separation; you will be ETERNALLY SEPARATED from the PRESENCE OF GOD.
Some of them will say: I DON’T BELIEVE IN HELL.
Let me tell you that the CHARACTERISTICS of God necessitate hell:
Justice, His love, and His sovereignty are just some of those.
So, all those who will stand before the final judgment, know exactly why they are there and that they are guilty before a holy God. While most of them have forgotten many of their sinful acts, God’s holy angels have not overlooked a single one of them. They are all written in the books and will be brought before them on that final judgment day.
Some people object to this Biblical truth, saying: If God is all merciful, why is He not giving the people one more chance to receive His mercy, even if they are in hell?
Answer: How can a place devoid of God’s mercy (hell) accomplish what no measure of His grace could accomplish on earth?
If hell could reform those who choose evil, then they could be saved without Christ, who is the sole means of God’s salvation.
Also, God cannot force free creatures to be reformed. Forced reformation is worse than punishment, for punishment honors the freedom and dignity with which God endowed His human creation. Humans are not objects to be manipulated; humans are subjects to be respected. God will respect their free choices.
Listen, the only alternative to eternal punishment is robbing persons of their freedom by forcing them into heaven. This would not be heavenly but instead would be “hell” for them, since they would be trapped in a place where everyone is loving and praising the Only they want most to avoid. Without an eternal separation of evil from good, there would be no heaven, an eternal preservation of good. As we all know, evil is contagious and must be quarantined, like a deadly plague. If God did not eventually separate the tares from the wheat, the tares would choke out the wheat; an eternal heaven necessitates an eternal hell.
And we should never forget, unbelievers prefer to be distanced from God in time. Why should we not expect this to be their chose state in eternity?

Times of Refreshing

Imagine a world were there is complete, total, enforced, and permanent peace, where joy abounds and good health prevails, so much so that people live for hundreds of years. A world where the curse is removed, where the environment is restored to the pristine purity of the Garden of Eden, where peace reigns even in the animal kingdom, so that “the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little boy will lead them.” (Isaiah 11:6)Our human mind can hardly comprehend such a world. Yet the Bible clearly states that when the King returns, such conditions will be the norm, because this world will be ruled by a perfect, glorious ruler, who instantly and firmly will deal with sin.
When Jesus Christ returns to this earth, He will rule for 1000 years from Jerusalem, on this earth, sitting on the throne of David as promised through God’s Word, the Bible throughout the Old and New Testament.
Today, there are 3 major views of eschatology regarding this 1000 years literal kingdom on earth.
It is imperative to understand all 3 of them clearly and biblically.
• Premillennialism
• Postmillennialism
• Amillennialism
The ammillenialists do reject the concept of an earthly millennium, and especially one that is actually 1000 years in duration. They believe that the Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah’s kingdom are being fulfilled right now. They say that this kingdom is now, because the saints reigning now with Christ in the heavenly realm and by the church on earth in the earthly realm. In other words, the church is ruling now in the spiritual realm as well as in the physical realm (meaning political).
What is Postmillennialist?
Postmillennialists believe that the current era is the millennium, though it is not necessarily to be regarded as a literal 1000 year period. After this period, Jesus Christ will return to accept the kingdom then already established by the church. Out of this believe system came the idea that producing a formal powerful church that would be the ultimate determining factor in spiritual and political matters would produce the final kingdom on earth.
This is the belief that the institutional church would bring the world into a kind of new golden age, through the teaching of Christ.
What is a Premmillennialist? A premillennialist is a person who believes:
• That Jesus Christ will return before the Millennium
• That the period immediately before Christ’s return will be the worst in human history
• That Jesus Christ will physically return to this earth, sit on the throne of David and rule from Jerusalem for 1000 years.
Before chapter 20 of Revelation, the Lord already has destroyed all human rebels. The ringleader of that rebellion (the Antichrist) and the False Prophet will have been thrown into the lake of fire (19:20)
And now the final step before the kingdom will be inaugurated will be the removal of Satan and his demons, Jesus Christ will reign without the spiritual opposition.
THE WORD TRANSLATED BOTTOMLESS PIT IS ABUSSOS, which always refers to a temporary place of incarceration for certain demons. This word is found 7 times in the book of Revelation.
The second death is defined in verse 14. It is hell, the lake of fire.
Those who have put their trust in Jesus Christ, those who believe what God has revealed to mankind, will never have to experience the second death. They will participate in the first resurrection and rule and reign with Him.

The RETURN of THE KING

When Jesus Christ came the first time to this earth, abused by men, even to the point of permitting His creatures to spit upon Him and eventually crucify Him. The first time He came to fulfill the prophecies of a Savior. This time, the second time, He comes to fulfill the prophecies of a Warrior, Judge, and King of Kings. He will come in great power and glory.
The second coming of Jesus Christ is the culmination of redemptive history.
Listen, if Jesus Christ would not return to this earth as the promised King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit would be guilty of making false promises, which, of course, is impossible.
The Word of God promises that Jesus will return to judge all the nations.
The Word of God promises that Jesus will return to display His glory.
The Word of God promises that Jesus is the rightful Heir to earth’s throne.
The Lamb of God has become the conquering King. He will return as the king of kings and Lord of Lords.
As we studied the book of Revelation together for over a whole year, I have constantly reminded you that this last book is not primarily about predictions of the future, but the revelation of Jesus Christ. Any prophecy found in the Bible receives its value and meaning from its relation to Jesus Christ. The first prophetic utterance of God is found in Genesis 3:15. It points towards Jesus Christ. And ever since, the heart of prophecy has and always will be directed to the person of Jesus Christ. That’s the whole purpose of prophecy. What is prophecy? What is revelation? What is the spirit of prophecy?
It is a making known of the divine will, and the divine will is that men humble themselves and receive God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
Why do I want to remind you of this important truth? Because way too many Christians only want to study the sections of Scripture that speaks about love and grace and forgiveness.
When Jesus Christ returns to this earth, all people, great or small, will have to embrace the reality of God’s holiness, righteousness, and glory. He will come as the righteous judge, the mighty warrior, the creator and ruler of this universe. They will find out that the return of the King will mean all ends to wickedness, falsehood, deception and every other evil thing man invented during His absence from earth.
The return of the King will be the introduction to the grand climax of the ages.
Why do all the tribes, all the nations, mourn; because they have not prepared themselves for that day? The chance to repent is gone. The chance to accept Jesus as their Savior is gone. The chance to be saved from the judgment of God is gone. They heard the gospel preached to them. They watched as God destroyed religious Babylon, they witnessed how God destroyed the political and economic Babylon. Yet their hardened hearts did not repent. Now Christ comes to execute judgment on the entire world and everything that lives in it.
This world has known wars since it rejected God and His Son. All wars, no matter how we want to justify them, are unrighteous wars. When the King returns to this earth, He will fight the first righteous war.
“His eyes were like a flame of fire….”
This symbolizes that He will judge according to truth.
The best judge on earth cannot know all the facts of a given situation because he is limited by human frailty. Jesus knows the end from the beginning. He will judge with righteousness. His all seeing eye will reveal all truth about every individual and nation.
Notice that the armies of heaven have no weapons with them. Their robes are white and clean. The reason; no member of the armies of Christ that come with Him in His glorious appearing will do battle. Not one of us will lift a finger. This final battle will be consummated by the SPOKEN WORD OF OUR LORD HIMSELF.
The word of God comes from the GREEK word LOGOS. It means “THE EXPRESSION OF GOD”.
In other words, Jesus Christ, the eternal word of God, REVEALS GOD TO MEN. He is the expression of God. If you want to know God, the only thing you need to do is study everything about His Son, Jesus Christ, for He reveals God to you. He is the expression of God. He is also the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. When He returns to this earth, all creation will know the EXPRESSION OF GOD. Righteous, holy, glorious in power and majesty.

Preparing for the MARRIAGE SUPPER

The great composer Frederick Handel composed on of the most famous piece based upon this verse. The Hallelujah Chorus: Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. And He shall reign forever and ever. While this chorus is a masterpiece, it cannot even be slightly compared with the chorus these heavenly beings are singing.
Why are they singing?
• They witness the final triumph of good over evil
• They witness the final triumph of Christ over Antichrist
• They witness the final triumph of God over Satan
• They witness the final triumph of the Holy Spirit over the spirit of evil.
We must understand that since the fall of Adam, the faithful angelic beings around the throne of God have anticipated that ultimate day when God would finally judge Satan and those who follow him in his rebellion against God Almighty.
In verse 2 of this chapter we read that God’s judgment are true and righteous. The great harlot, religious, political and commercial Babylon has been judged. All that Babylon typifies since the days of Nimrod, when he inaugurated a system that led men away from God. In other words, all the iniquities of past ages will be justified in this ultimate destruction when God will judge Babylon. According to verse 3, God’s judgment upon this religious, political and commercial Babylon will be complete. Satan will never be permitted to rebuild that system ever again. No wonder those in heaven were singing for joy.
For almost 2000 years Christians around the world prayed: “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. When the heavenly beings sing the Hallelujah chorus, they do so in great anticipation of the promised return of the King of the universe, Jesus Christ, to set up His glorious Kingdom on this earth.
Paul is using a wedding to picture the Lord’s relationship with His church.
In Biblical times, a marriage was the single greatest celebration. Their wedding preparations were even more elaborate and lasted much longer than in modern times.
Such wedding preparations consisted of 3 different stages:
First was the engagement. It consisted of an arrangement by both sets of parents contracting the marriage of their children. Such an engagement was legally binding and could only be broken by a divorce. This engagement did not just include those two children, but it included the union of two families. There were years of preparation for the time of marriage, as the boy prepared for his bride.
Second step was the so called PRESENTATION. Here both families would celebrate with the entire town for up to a full week. This presentation was always just prior the actual wedding ceremony. When the celebration came to an end, the groom and his best men would go to the bride’s house and take her and her bridesmaids to the ceremony.
Third step was the most anticipated and significant one. During this ceremony the bride and the bridegroom finally exchanged the wedding vows. After this ceremony the families and their friends would have one more final meal before the newly weds would depart.
We as Christians are His workmanship, he made us new, a new creation. What’s the purpose? FOR GOOD WORKS, WHICH GOD PREPARED BEFOREHAND that we should walk in them. The purpose of every born again believer is to be available to the Lord for “good works”. We can be faithful or we can be unfaithful to walk in the things God prepared beforehand.
The Devil is a master deceiver and the father of lies. He tells those who are not yet in God’s kingdom, “WORK FOR SALVATION”. If they don’t listen to that lie, and eventually someone comes along to share the Good News with them and accept Jesus as their Savior, the Devil will change tactics: He will say: “Now that you are saved freely by grace, you don’t have to do anything.” That’s not Biblical. I think the Apostle Paul’s experience should teach all of us a vital lesson: Acts 9:1-16
We make ourselves ready by faithfully walking in the work God has prepared for us to do here on earth. Such work will be rewarded greatly by God Himself, and those rewards will reflect on our garments we will wear throughout the 1000 years here on earth as we rule and reign with him.
Are you ready?

Who Is MYSTERY BABYLON?

So, let’s make sure we have the proper spiritual foundation regarding this text.
Where is John the Apostle when God reveals those things to him?
REVELATION 4:1-2 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open IN HEAVEN. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying: “COME UP HERE, AND I WILL SHOW YOU THINGS WHICH MUST TAKE PLACE AFTER THIS.” Immediately I WAS IN THE SPIRIT; and behold, a throne SET IN HEAVEN, and One sat on the throne.
What John is describing from here on is all done IN THE SPIRIT, HIS WHEREABOUT WAS IN HEAVEN. He describes spiritual things.
Let’s go down the list of the characters we find in the 17th chapter and interpret them according to this truth.
1. Who is THE BEAST? Again, many commentators believe that this is the old Roman Empire and that the revived Roman Empire is the European Union. But the Bible says that the WHOLE WORLD IS FOLLOWING THE BEAST. Today, the European Union has about 700 million people. The world has about 7.5 billion people. What John describes impacts all the inhabitants of the earth.
2. Who are THE MOUNTAINS? Mountain symbolizes POWER. The seven heads, which represent seven mountains, or seven power structures. The work of God will be completed with the last bowl judgment. The Beast eventually will complete the evil power structure, because God has ordained it that way. Remember, it was on a hill, a mountain called Golgotha, where Jesus cried on from the cross: IT IS FINISHED. Sin has been dealt with once and for all. Satan has been judged. However, God allows him to build his final power structure, because the people want it that way.
3. Who are THESE KINGS? There are seven kings. Are they political, are they countries that rule in the end times? Are they political power structures like the UN? Or are they secret societies that worship Lucifer? Who are they? Before I explain the details about these 7 kings, let’s connect the dots. Inserted between verse 10 and 12 is found this statement: And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.
This beast is empowered by the beast of verse 8, which is Satan himself.
But on this earth, Satan, the spiritual beast, will enter a human being, which is described in verse 11 as the physically manifested beast, which the Bible declares to be the Antichrist. This human being has a short lived appearance on the world stage: 7 years to be exact.
4. Who are the TEN HORNS? These 10 horns represent 10 kings. Daniel 7:24
The 10 horns are 10 kings who shall arise from this kingdom, and another shall rise after them; he shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings. Again it begs the question: Are these kings of flesh and blood on earth;
very unlikely!! when we interpret them within its biblical context. Making war against the Lamb speaks of a spiritual battle, a battle that is fought in the invisible world. There are no geographical boundaries here.
5. What does THE WATER REPRESENT? Revelation 17:15 And he said to me: “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues.” It matters not what religion your follow, what philosophy you have adapted to, and how much you have studied the religions of the world; all have one goal, and that is self-redemption. Salvation without Jesus Christ. Just as during Nimrods time, man still wants to reach heaven on their own terms, even if they have to crawl themselves up one day at a time.
6. Who is ‘MYSTERY BABYLON’? Listen, there is no other city on planet Earth more important, more significant, and more decisive than Jerusalem, where the “Mystery Babylon” the religious and political power structure condemned Jesus to be crucified. The powers of darkness were right there shouting for joy.
And it is exactly in this city of Jerusalem where Satan and his cohorts made their fatal mistake; for the first time in all of human history, Satan caused the death of an innocent man, a man of flesh and blood – Jesus, the Son of God and the Son of man. With this sacrifice, the gates of faith were opened to follow the example of faith, Abraham. The power structures of Satan, the god of this world, the one who rules the world right now under God’s permission, has only a short time to go. One day in the not too distant future, he will meet the truth, the real truth.

A Look Behind The Curtain

Most commentators on this chapter focus on what they believe will be happening in the not too distant future for everyone to see. In other words, the curtain is lifted and the show begins for everyone to enjoy. I believe that there is much more to this 17th chapter than the eye meets. We need to take a look behind the curtain. It is there where the actors are very busy making themselves ready for the next set, but the audience cannot see them until the curtain is lifted.
You’ve already learned that “Babylon” means “confusion, rebellion, or “the gate of God”. When Nimrod, the mighty hunter, was building the tower of Babel, God eventually confused their language. That’s the background info for the meaning CONFUSION, REBELLION. The other meaning” the gate of God” suggests SELF-REDEMPTION. All these spiritual conditions are still with us: Confusion, rebellion and self-redemption. They will climax at the end of the age, just prior to Jesus return to this earth.
The Mystery Babylon in chapter 17 represents the spirit of Babylon, rebellion against God and His Word and replaced in the minds of the inhabitants of this world with Self Redemption. So, who is this drunken woman, this “Mystery Babylon” which drank the blood of the martyrs of Jesus and continues to commit spiritual fornication with the political power structure of the world?
I know, most commentators point towards the Roman Catholic Church because she is the only entity in the entire world that is simultaneously a religious and a spiritual power. However, such a conclusion has its own problems when we examine every word in this chapter carefully.
We must remember that we live in a world right now where a global financial system that ignores sovereign borders is already in place. We also watch right now how a one-world religion is in the formative stages. The stage is set, while the actors are still behind the curtain. The day will come when the curtain is being lifted and the whole world will be a part of the final show.
Mystery Babylon will simply finalize the work Nimrod and after him the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar have established.
The book of Daniel is read way too often in Sunday Schools only. The kids love the stories about the 3 Hebrew youth who refused to worship a false god and had to endure the fire. When Daniel refused to worship a false God, he was thrown into the lion’s den. The fire, which stands for judgment, could not consume them, and the Lion, which symbolizes our enemy, who like a lion is stalking us daily, seeking whom he may devour. GOD DELIVERED THEM ALL. And so will our Lord do again when the final stage is set, the command given, that all inhabitants of the earth must bow down and worship the false god. The Lord will deliver His people just as he did the 3 Hebrew youth and Daniel.
The king of this holy nation is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The inhabitants of this Holy Nation do not get drunk with the wine of her fornication, but ARE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT.
She made the inhabitants of the earth drunk with the wine of her fornication. Notice, this type of drunkenness is not due to wine but the due to the wine of her fornication. This is not too difficult to interpret. Fornication is translated from the Greek word “PORNEIA”. It means two people, or two entities get together to have sexual intercourse, or to become one. Within the context of the message here, it simply means that religion got involved with politics, and politics with religion. Notice that all the people for the earth, all governments of the earth, and rulers of this world have the same goal: they are all made drunk, they are all intoxicated with this fornication.
Being made drunk makes you incapable of good judgment. In other words, you cannot see the consequences coming your way until it is too late.
Mystery Babylon and those who are a part of it have their eyes fixes on their successes, so much so the Bible describes them as acting like drunkards.
The counterfeit spirits of Satan and the counterfeit power of Satan is carrying the women, the harlot, the world system of religion and politics.
WE need to have our spiritual eyes opened to the spiritual reality of this diabolic deception. While most people focus their eyes on the things of this earth, the born again believer should have his or her eyes on the spiritual truth revealed to us in the Bible by the Holy Spirit.

BABYLON – The Plans within Plans within Plans

The name Nimrod means: “rebellious, revolt, indignation or disgraceful”.
The word Babel or Babylon means: “confusion”.
Mystery Babylon shrouded her plans within plans within plans, while this intentional shrouding is a well-thought-out methodical art to lead people astray. In Ephesians, chapter six, the Apostle Paul is telling us that the “wiles of the devil” are carefully planned and implemented secrets, spiritual traps, that one day will entrap the entire world. Satan used Nimrod, the son of Cush and the grandson of Noah, to develop a system of religious practices that would replace man’s walk with God in every aspect of life. His goal was to entrap the people of Babylon by making them absolute dependent upon those religious systems. What Nimrod did was implementing a system of control where people replace RELATIONSHIP WITH A RELIGIOUS SYSTEM. In Revelation 17 we see how God Almighty will destroy that religious system. The people who relied on that system to sustain them will be left to themselves.
We rejected the offer to restore the RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD ALMIGHTY AND exchanged it with a religious system. THAT’S MYSTERY BABYLON. All man-made religious find their origin in MYSTERY BABYLON. There are many of them, plans within plans within plans. Nimrod was a genius. He was able to provide everything the people had need of, including their religious freedom: all roads lead to God. God is always the same for ALL religions in the world. He is just called by a different name. Right now, his name is NIMROD.
Remember, Abram had to leave behind the Nimrod System he was dependent on for all his life.
Abram was rich in earthly goods, but he had no relationship with God Almighty nor did he know HOW TO WALK WITH GOD LIKE ADAM DID IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN.
Now El Shaddai was the one who would multiply Abraham abundantly,
El Shaddai was to restore life to Abraham and Sarah who were as good as dead where offspring was concerned. Through El Shaddai would they have future offsprings as the dust, stars and sand in numbers. By God’s grace, Abraham would escape the religious trap Nimrod set for everyone. Listen, God called Abraham out of Babylon to WALK WITH HIM, much the same way that the Holy Spirit calls us to salvation through the preaching of the gospel. We must leave the religious system behind and learned to WALK WITH GOD ALMIGHTY.
The Apostle Paul reminds us about this truth regarding our relationship with God Almighty, El Shaddai.
Paul was writing to believers in Christ, and when he did so, he was not merely referring to marriage. This is a cry of the Holy Spirit to our generation as well. We need to learn to walk with El Shaddai, walk with God Almighty, the only source of our strength, the only source of our health, the only source of our supplies. We are talking here about spiritual survival.
Satan has done a great job with his earthly disciples to make sure that we cannot see what his plans within plans within plans are. But the Holy Spirit knows and reveals those truths to God’s children so they stop walking within the system but walking with God and Him alone.