REVELATION 14 THE GREAT TRIBULATION PLAYERS2010 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Revelation 14 The Great Tribulation Players

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2010. As we're here in chapter 14 this morning, I want to go back once again and remind you about where we are in the context of the book of Revelation. Jesus gave us an outline of the book of Revelation back in chapter 1, verse 19.

where he tells John to write down the things which he had already seen. And that's recorded for us in chapter 1 as John writes his vision of Jesus there on the island of Patmos. Then he tells John to write down the things which are, that is the things of the present.

And that's recorded for us in chapters 2 and 3. And those things were applicable at the time as John was writing these things. But it also extends to this very day.

And then on to the rapture of the church. And so chapters 2 and 3 deal with the present even for us today as Jesus is addressing the things in the church. And there's a lot of great things for us to be challenged by and encouraged with there in chapters 2 and 3.

And then Jesus tells John to write down the third section of the book of Revelation, which is the bulk of the book, and that is chapters 4 through 22, where he tells John to write the things which will take place after these things. That is, after the church age is complete, after the rapture of the church, then these are the things which are going to take place. And John is recording those things for us. What are those things that will take place?

Well, we've been going through them and reviewing them week by week. The first thing that you and I are looking for as believers, we talked about in Revelation chapter 4, and that is the rapture of the church, where you and I as believers will be caught up to be with the Lord. Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 that we will be forever with the Lord from that point on. And so we're looking forward to that time to be caught up and to meet the Lord in the air. Well,

Well, after the church is out of this world and out of the picture, the earth is going to go through seven years of tribulation. It's recorded for us in chapter 6 through 19 of the book of Revelation. These seven years of tribulation will be unlike any other period of the earth's history. It will be trouble and turmoil, death and destruction like never before. And during this time,

There's going to be a lot going on and we've been discussing that and going through that as we've been studying together the rise of the Antichrist and the work of the false prophet we studied for the past couple of weeks and there's still more to come in the coming chapters about the judgments that will be unleashed during this seven year tribulation period.

Well, this seven years comes to an end with the return of Jesus Christ. He comes back and He sets foot upon the earth on the Mount of Olives. And there He establishes His kingdom for 1,000 years. And for 1,000 years He rules and reigns upon the earth. There's peace, there's prosperity, the earth is renewed, the earth is full of righteousness.

And during that time, Satan is bound and so he's not allowed to lead people astray and in rebellion against God. But at the end of that thousand years, Satan will be released for a short time. And he will lead one final revolt, one final rebellion against God, which of course will fail very quickly. And that will bring in the judgment of Satan and his demons.

It's called the Great White Throne Judgment there in Revelation chapter 20. Satan and his demons will be cast into the lake of fire, that place of permanent eternal judgment. It also tells us in Revelation 20.15 that whoever's name is not written in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire at that time.

Then in chapters 21 and 22, we have the new heavens and the new earth, the new Jerusalem that descends out of heaven, and then the rest of eternity which spans before us. And so there's lots of things there that God has in store for us, things that we only get hints about, glimmers of, but He'll be showing us for the rest of eternity the wonderful nature of His grace and mercy towards us.

And so these are the things which must shortly take place. They're going to happen. There's nothing that mankind can do to keep these things from taking place and being fulfilled. It is going to happen just as God has described it to us.

Well, in chapter 14, we're still working our way, studying through the tribulation period. The tribulation began back in chapter 6, if you remember the scroll that had seven seals. And Jesus began opening the seals and that was the beginning of the tribulation period.

And as he opened each seal, there was judgment and events that were happening upon the earth. And so he opened the first seal and the Antichrist came forth conquering and to conquer. And then he opened the second seal and there was war across the face of the earth. Then he opened the third seal and there was famine, worldwide famine that broke out.

And then he opened the fourth seal and a quarter of the earth was killed. A quarter of the population of the earth was killed at that time. Then he opened the fifth seal and John sees the martyrs in heaven under the throne of God being comforted by God.

And then the sixth seal is opened and there's some catastrophic events that take place. Real chaos is happening. There's earthquakes, stars are falling from the sky, the moon's turning blood red. It's just incredible events that are happening there as the sixth seal is opened.

And then the seventh seal was opened and there was silence in heaven for 30 minutes and then in the silence seven angels come out, each one of them having a trumpet. And as they sound their trumpets, there's corresponding judgments and events that take place upon the earth. And we studied through those seven trumpet judgments. The

The first one sounded and a third of the trees were burned. The second one sounded and a third of the sea or the oceans were turned to blood. Then the third trumpet sounded and a third of the fresh water was made bitter. The fourth trumpet sounded and a third of the stars were darkened.

The fifth trumpet sounded and there was five months of torment for mankind by these demonic creatures that were released or unleashed upon the earth. Then the sixth trumpet sounded and there was four angels who were released and they lead an army that kills one third of mankind.

And then the seventh trumpet sounds and the temple in heaven is opened and seven more angels come out, each one of them having a vial or a bowl of judgment that they will pour out upon the earth. And that's what we're going to be studying the next two weeks in chapters 15 and 16, those seven bowl judgments that are yet to come. And so we've gone through the seven seals, the seven trumpets,

And here in chapter 14, we're finishing off a parenthetical thought. We describe chapters 10 through 14 as parenthetical because we've taken a break from the chronology and the sequence of events. We've been following, you know, point after point, chronologically, sequentially, this happens and that happens and this happens and that happens. But

But in chapter 10, I liken it to God hitting the pause button. You know, like when you pause a movie because someone next to you needs some information about the characters and who's involved and what happened previously so that they can better understand what's happening right there in front of them. In the same way God's hit the pause button here in chapter 10 through 14,

to give us some background information and some insight into what is happening during the tribulation period so that we can better understand the events as they unfold. And so these chapters bring us up to speed on some important information.

Now where we're at as far as the sequence of events is concerned, it seems that we are in the middle of the tribulation period at this time. And then in chapter 15 as we continue, we'll be looking at the last three and a half years of the tribulation period. If you remember, the tribulation is seven years long.

It begins with the Antichrist signing a covenant or an agreement with the nation of Israel. After three and a half years, he breaks that agreement and he commits what is called the abomination of desolation. And that is when he goes into the temple that will be rebuilt and he sets up an image of himself. He proclaims himself to be God and he calls all of the world to worship him.

And that marks the middle of the tribulation period. Three and a half years have been fulfilled. And then the last three and a half years will be worse than the first. And those end with the return of Jesus Christ.

And so here in chapter 14, we're kind of in the middle of that sequence around the abomination of desolation around that time frame. And God's hit the pause button. He's explaining some background information for us. And then He's going to continue the sequence as we go into chapter 15 next week.

Well, chapter 12 began another thing that we've been looking at for the past couple of weeks, and it's kind of like a heavenly drama or play that's been before John that he's been describing to us. And we've been seeing in this drama the major players of the tribulation period, and specifically those things that will be happening or those who will be involved during the last three and a half years of the tribulation period. And

And so chapter 12 began this drama where we were introduced to three characters. The first was the woman and she represents for us Israel. The second was the dragon and that is the beast. I'm sorry, not the beast, but Satan. And then the child also in chapter 12, which is Jesus Christ, the Messiah. So the woman, the dragon and the child there in chapter 12. Well, chapter 13 introduced to us two more characters. The

The first one is the beast from the sea, who is the Antichrist. He leads a revived Roman Empire. He is a world leader who proclaims himself to be God. And then we also see introduced the beast from the earth, who is the false prophet, who leads a one world religion, who causes all of the earth to worship the Antichrist and to receive the mark of his name or the mark of the beast.

Well, here in chapter 14, we see this continued now, and we're looking at the great tribulation players, those who were involved in those final three and a half years, and some major groups that are going on during that time. The seven-year tribulation period is often referred to as the tribulation.

But when we refer to the Great Tribulation, we're referring to that last three and a half years specifically. And it's during that last three and a half years that things are even more intense than they were at the beginning. And so it's often called the Great Tribulation.

And during that last three and a half years, there's going to be four groups on the scene. And that's what's described for us here in chapter 14. Four major groups, four major players in that last three and a half years. And so those are the four things that we'll be looking at this morning. Those four groups that are on the scene during the last three and a half years of the tribulation period. So we start out the first group,

Found in verses 1 through 5 is the great tribulation survivors. These are those who make it through the tribulation period. Look at verse 1. It says, Then I looked, and behold, a lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000, having his father's name written on their foreheads.

And the first thing that we see here in chapter 14, the first group that we see is the 144,000 standing with Jesus on Mount Zion. He says he sees a lamb standing on Mount Zion. The lamb, of course, is a reference to Jesus. John the Baptist called him the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

He is the Lamb who is the sacrifice, the one who paid the price on the cross for your sin and my sin. He was the sacrificial offering on our behalf.

Almost every chapter of the book of Revelation refers to Jesus as the Lamb. So it's one of the favorite titles of Jesus for the book of Revelation. So here's Jesus, the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, which is where the city of Jerusalem is built.

Jerusalem is actually built on top of several different mountains and hills that are grouped together. Mount Moriah is also right there next to Mount Zion and Jerusalem is on top of that as well. And so Jesus is there in Jerusalem on Mount Zion. He's standing there

And he's with the 144,000. Who are these 144,000? Well, that takes us back to Revelation chapter 7. You don't have to turn there, but you can check it out later on your own time. Verses 1 through 8 gives us the insight into who these 144,000 are. If you remember when we studied through that, there was the winds of judgment that were being held back. There

There's a proclamation that they needed to be held back until the servants of God were sealed. And those servants of God were from the nation of Israel. They're Israelites. 12,000 from each tribe.

There's 12 tribes, 12,000 from each tribe. You do the math and that is 144,000. And they are sealed with the seal of God on their foreheads, which it tells us here in verse 1 that it's the name of the Father that is written on their foreheads.

And so they're sealed and this sealing is for them to be protected through the tribulation period. And so once they are sealed, then the winds of judgment are released and the earth continues on through that tribulation period.

And so here are these 144,000. They're standing with Jesus on Mount Zion. They're standing really victorious, having gone through the seven years of tribulation, and now it's cause for them to worship God. In verse 2 and 3, we see that it says, And I heard a voice from heaven saying,

Like the voice of many waters and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. They sang as it were a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn that song except the 144,000 who were redeemed from the earth.

And so as they're standing there on Mount Zion, John says he hears a voice from heaven like the voice of many waters. Now that's the voice of God. That's the voice of the Father. We've seen that several times here in Revelation. But along with the voice now comes the sound of harpists playing their harps. And so music begins to play. And as music is playing, these 144,000 begin to sing a new song.

A new song to the Lord. I think it's interesting here that it says that no one could learn the song except for the 144,000. The song that they sing is unique to this specific group.

And I think that's important to take note of because, you know, worship in heaven is not just going to be, you know, one big crowded room and it's just a bunch of meaningless singing. It's not going to be, you know, like how it happens here in the sanctuary sometimes. You know, it's a room and there's a lot of people and some sing, you know, more than others because they're more passionate about it and they're engaging in the worship and others just kind of, you know, participate when they feel like it and that kind of thing.

That's not what it's going to be like. The songs and the worship that's going on in heaven is going to be personal and unique in accordance with the relationship that we have with Jesus.

In fact, as we look at the different aspects of worship in heaven, going back to chapter 4 and then in chapter 5, and the things that are going on, and we see the 24 elders bowing down before God, and the different groups, the martyrs, and the different groups that are worshipping God, they each have their own unique and personal song. They each have their own unique and personal way of worshipping God.

And that's what worship is going to be like in heaven. We are going to be worshiping Him because He's awesome to us personally, individually. Not just because, you know, in general He's pretty good. But because we're so overcome by who He is and what He has done. We will be going back continually to worship God. And it will be personal. It will be unique according to the relationship that we have with Jesus personally.

Well, we see more about these 144,000 in verse 4 and 5. It says, These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they were virgins. These are the ones who followed the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they were without fault before the throne of God.

And so these 144,000 are a very special group. They're not defiled. They've kept themselves from the things of this world. They've not been involved in deceit. It says they're found without fault before the throne of God. And so, you know, they're a special group. They're a pure group.

Now we should understand, of course, they're not perfect in the sense like Jesus was perfect, that they're sinless and that they don't make mistakes. They're perfect in the way that you and I are perfect as believers in Jesus, in that we are redeemed and our sins are forgiven and that we're walking with God. In the same way, these 144,000, after the rapture of the church, are going to turn to Jesus.

And as they turn to Jesus, their sins are going to be forgiven and they're going to be walking with God in obedience to Him and being led by the Holy Spirit. And so as they're walking with God, they will be without deceit and without fault before the throne of God.

And so this 144,000 is going to be a unique and special group that God protects through the tribulation period. They come out on the other end. So here in verses 1 through 5, what we're looking at is at the end of the tribulation when Jesus returns, then these 144,000 will come forth from it and will stand with Jesus there on Mount Zion.

Now it's interesting, he calls them the first fruits to God. And I think that might be a reference to the fact that God is going to use this group, the 144,000, to be the primary population of the next era, which is the millennial kingdom, the thousand year reign of Christ.

These 144,000 go through the tribulation period and then into the millennial kingdom. We'll get into that later on in Revelation as well. And they will inhabit the earth and repopulate the earth as they continue to live here on the earth. And so the first group that we see during that great tribulation period is these 144,000 who survive all the way to the end and then extend on into the millennial kingdom.

The second group that we see is found in verses 6 through 11. And here we have the great tribulation proclaimers. So we have the survivors, but now the proclaimers. Look at verse 6 and 7. It says, Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people.

saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come, and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.

Here we have the beginning of the proclaimers of the tribulation period. There's actually three of these that we'll see in this portion, verses 6 through 11. And so John says, I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven. And so there's this angel, actually three angels, who are flying in the midst of heaven and they're making proclamations. They're making announcements to the earth.

Now, some have read this and suggested that these angels are, you know, not supernatural beings that are created by God, but instead that they're satellites and that basically it's a TV broadcast that's going on in that, you know, the presentation of the gospel, you know, is something on TV that's, you know, fed by satellites and so forth.

I don't really buy into that. I don't think that's it at all actually because it doesn't say it's something like an angel or like a bird. Notice it says, I saw another angel.

That word another means another of the same kind. And we've seen lots of angels involved in the work of God during the tribulation period. And this is another angel like those other angels that we've seen that's now flying in the midst of heaven and making this loud proclamation. Something incredible to imagine, isn't it? You know, can you imagine something just flying through the atmosphere and crying out so that everyone can hear the message that is being delivered.

Well, this first angel, this first proclaimer is bringing forth the everlasting gospel. What is the everlasting gospel? Well, essentially, it's the fact that man is lost, that you and I as human beings, we are separated from God and we're hopeless and we're helpless to God.

We reunite ourselves with God. We're hopeless and we're helpless to be able to enter into eternity with God. That we cannot have salvation on our own. We can't work hard enough for it. We can't do enough good things. We can't sacrifice enough. But God loves us. He loves all of humanity. And so He has made a way of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. That's really the everlasting gospel.

Now the angel gives it this way. He presents it in verse 7 saying, Here's the message. Here's the everlasting gospel. Fear God, give Him glory, for the hour of His judgment has come, and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of waters. He tells the people, look, here's three things you need to do. He's flying around through the atmosphere, proclaiming, here's three things you must do. Number one, you must fear God.

Now to fear God is to be afraid of Him. I know sometimes we don't like that. It doesn't mean, it just means to have reverence. But no, it's also to be afraid of Him because He's God. He has all authority and we need to recognize that and to respond accordingly. That is, we need to obey Him. We need to practice what He says. Do what He tells us. We need to fear God. The second thing the angel says is we need to give glory to God.

He's telling all the inhabitants of the earth, give glory to God who created everything. Now, to give glory to God, understand God already has all glory. So how do we give glory to God? Well, we give Him our glory. That is, we submit to Him. We surrender to Him. We believe Him at His word. We surrender to what He says.

And so not only do we fear God and obey Him, but we surrender to Him. We hold His word and what He says above what we think. Now a lot of times we do it backwards. We say, okay, I think that's what God says, but I think my way is better and I'll do it my way. I think I'm going to handle it like this. I'm not going to follow that. But to give glory to God is to surrender to Him and to give fully everything that we have to Him.

And then the third thing the angel says is worship him. Worship him who is the creator of all. We need to worship him. Now that's more than just singing. It includes singing, but worship is devotion, devoting yourself to him. And so this angel essentially is going throughout the atmosphere and proclaiming the everlasting gospel, same gospel that we present today.

That we need to obey God, surrender to Him, and devote ourselves completely to Him. That's what Jesus said. Hey, if you want to follow me, take up your cross, deny yourself, and follow me. Come after me. We are lost. We have no hope. We need a Savior. And God has provided us a Savior in Jesus Christ. And Jesus says, no one comes to the Father except through me. That salvation is found by believing in Jesus.

And believing in Jesus is more than just an intellectual acknowledgement that He exists. It's fearing God, giving glory to Him, and worshiping Him. Or obeying Him, surrendering to Him, and devoting ourselves to Him. That's what it means to believe in Jesus. That is the everlasting gospel. So that message is going to be proclaimed throughout the whole earth. Notice it says, He's going to preach to those who dwell on the earth through every nation, tribe, tongue, and people.

He went to great lengths, right, to make sure it's very clear. Every single individual will hear this message. There won't be one group that's left out, one group that it didn't get translated for. Every place on the earth is going to hear this message. And that's going to be the fulfillment of what Jesus said in Matthew 24, 14.

Jesus said, this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations and then the end will come. And some have said,

thought that because Jesus said that, you know, that the end can't happen right now, the rapture can't happen right now because, you know, the gospel hasn't reached all the world. There's, you know, those parts in Africa or those parts over there. There's a lot of people who don't know who Jesus is. And so, you know, the end can't come right now. But no, the reality is that Jesus, what he said will be fulfilled by this angel who flies through the midst of the earth and proclaims the everlasting gospel.

Well, then in verse 8, we see the next angel that comes through the atmosphere. Verse 8 says, Well, here in verse 8, we have another angel pronouncing that Babylon is fallen.

Now Babylon is a very interesting subject prophetically and we're not going to get into it this morning. We'll spend more time with the subject of Babylon in chapters 17 and 18 in the coming weeks and so you can look forward to that. Babylon prophetically sometimes refers to the literal city, the political capital of the one world government that the Antichrist will lead.

It also can refer to the commercial capital. We see that in Revelation 18. Remember, there'll be a one world monetary system and no one can buy or sell without the mark. And that will be centered in, established in the city of Babylon. And then we also have it, see Babylon as the religious capital. We'll see that in Revelation chapter 17. The one world religion that will be established and we'll dig into those things when we get there.

All of them though, whichever aspect you want to look at it, really demonstrate man's united rebellion against God. All of them will fail, Babylon will fall. So that announcement is made there in verse 8.

Then the third angel comes on the scene. The third proclaimer comes on the scene. We see in verse 9 and 10, it says, Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation.

He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. So here this third angel is making a proclamation, warning all of humanity against taking the mark of the beast. Now as you see this warning, I'd like you to pay special attention to verse 9, where he says, If anyone worships the beast in his image and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand.

Notice there that worship and receiving the mark go hand in hand.

This is very important because some Christians get a little bit freaked out about the technology and the things as they're progressing and people getting inserts into their hands and arms right now and the pet trackers and all of those things. And some Christians get really freaked out about that, thinking, well, that's the mark of the beast. I can't do that. But notice here, it's very clear that taking the mark will be an act of worship for

of the beast, of the Antichrist. They're connected. It's not just some technological thing. It's an act of worship to the Antichrist. And so it will not happen accidentally. It will not happen forcibly. You know, you can't just wake up one day and then go, oh man, someone stuck me. I'm doomed. It won't be like that. It will be a willful choice to worship God.

The Antichrist. And not only that, but you'll have this angel flying around saying, don't do it, don't take it. And so there will be great warning and it will be clear that what is happening is worship of the Antichrist. And so this great proclamation will go out by this third angel. And those who receive the mark will receive the judgment of God, both here on earth and then eternally.

Notice it says there that they will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. Thus far in the book of Revelation, we've seen God's judgment being poured out and as terrible as the things have been, the judgment has been precise. It's been limited. It's been reduced. One third here, one third there, one third there. It's been precise and exact. God allowing just enough.

But here, those who receive the mark, it says, will receive the full strength of God's wrath. They're going to experience the rest of the tribulation period is going to get worse. And then beyond that is eternal judgment. It will be the full strength of the judgment and the wrath of God. He tells us there in verse 10 that those who receive the mark will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

So those who receive the mark will, well, they're going to experience great torment, great judgment. Verse 11, And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever, and they have no rest day or night who worship the beast and his image and whoever receives the mark of his name. So those who receive the mark will experience judgment in the last half of the tribulation period, but their judgment will extend far beyond that.

He says their torment, the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever. One commentator named Walvoord, he describes this expression forever and ever as the strongest expression of eternity which the Greek is capable of. It's the strongest way to say this is for the rest of eternity. This is everlasting. This is never ending.

The torment, the judgment as a result of receiving the mark of the beast will be eternal. Until then, until this event in verses 8 through 11, until receiving the mark of the beast, there's hope for anybody. It's not too late, even in the tribulation, even in the midst of the severe rebellion and the terrible things that they have done. No matter what, there will be an opportunity, a chance, a chance.

to be redeemed, to be forgiven, to have salvation. But once a person receives the mark of the beast, there is no longer hope for them. They have sealed their eternal fate and condemned themselves to torment forever and ever. That's pretty heavy stuff. It's something we need to warn people about. Now for you and I as believers, we'll be out of here. The rapture of the church happens, boom. But for those left behind, this is going to be a choice that they have to make.

A little bit of a lighter note though. Look back again at verse 10 and you see how it says that God is going to pour the wrath of God full strength into the cup of His indignation. Well, that reminded me of something that took place in the life of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. You remember in Matthew chapter 26? Jesus, He's preparing for the cross. He takes His disciples, Peter, James, and John. He says, you guys pray here and I'm going to go over there and pray a little bit. And He goes and the prayer He prays is,

"Father, if it's possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." What does He pray? He says, "I'm submitted to You, God. Your will be done. But if it's possible, let this cup pass from me." What cup? Well, it's the same cup that's referred to here in verse 10. The cup of the wrath of God. You see, Jesus endured the cross because there was no other way.

He, as Hebrews tells us, despised the shame for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross. He received the cup of the fullness of the wrath of God on your behalf and on my behalf. He received this judgment, the penalty for our sins, there upon Himself on the cross so that you and I could be forgiven, so that we could be redeemed and so that we could have the offer of salvation.

And so the cup of indignation will be received by those who receive the mark, but it doesn't have to be that way. They will receive that cup because it's their final rejection of Jesus Christ. But for those who turn to Jesus, He's received that cup on our behalf. Receive the fullness of the wrath of God so that we do not have to.

And so we see here in chapter 14, the survivors, the proclaimers, and then thirdly, we see the great tribulation martyrs. The martyrs, those who will die for their faith in the tribulation period. Verse 12 and 13. Here is the patience of the saints. Here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

So now it says, Here is the patience of the saints.

Now these saints are people who get saved after the rapture of the church. They turn to Jesus after the church is gone. And here is their patience or their endurance through these difficult circumstances. Here's how they survive essentially is what is being said here. These are the ones who keep the commandments of God, who hold to the faith in Jesus. How do they survive?

Well, verse 13 says, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. You see, with the implementation of the mark of the beast will be a choice. You either receive the mark, worship the beast, or you will be put to death. So the martyrs, the saints, endure by dying for their faith during that time. These are the ones who keep the commandments of God. They turn to Jesus, but it will cost them their life.

Those who die in faith, those who die as believers, have some great rewards. Notice, I like how it says, yes, says the Spirit. The Spirit's kind of rejoicing there. Because remember, we studied in the Holy Spirit advantage that the Holy Spirit comes alongside of us and He walks with us, He helps us work through the issues and the things that we face and the Holy Spirit will be with those in that day and then He'll be working with them. And the Spirit says, yes, finally,

It's exciting. They're going to die, but it's not the worst thing that ever happened to them. Because what's going to happen is they're going to have rest from their labors. They're going to be finished with the difficulties of this life. And there's going to be rest.

And not only is there going to be rest, but there's going to be reward. Their works follow them, it says there in verse 13. And you and I as believers, we have the same promise. We go to be with Jesus, the troubles of this life are over. We will finally have rest as we're there in the presence of God. And then our works will follow after us. That is, there will be reward for the things that we have done in faithfulness to God.

And those who are alive during the tribulation period who turn to Jesus, they, well, they're going to have a lot of difficulties, severe things happening. But when they finally go to be with Him, there's going to be rest for them. And not only that, but there's going to be reward for the things that they did in faithfulness to God and the things that He called them to do. And so we see the tribulation martyrs here in verses 12 and 13.

Well, the fourth group we see found in verses 14 through 20 is the great tribulation reapers. Those who are reaping, those who are bringing judgment upon the earth. Verse 14, Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat one like the Son of Man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

So here we get to see the beginning of the reapers. Now we'll just kind of hit this pretty quickly because we're running out of time. But this is the coming of judgment and the bringing of judgment. And who is it that's bringing this judgment? Well, we see in verse 14 here, there's one who is sitting on a cloud like the son of man and on his head is a golden crown.

So there's a lot of discussion about is this Jesus or is this someone else? I believe that this is Jesus. He is the Son of Man. And I'll point that out in a verse in just a moment. Now we saw the beginning of chapter 14 that Jesus is the Lamb. And that is one aspect of who Jesus is. He's the Lamb of God who's taken away the sin of the world. But He is also the one who brings judgment.

In John chapter 5, Jesus explains this. Verse 22 through 27, read it on your own. There Jesus explains that the Father has committed all judgment to the Son. That everyone would honor the Son just as they honor the Father. That He would have the same place in a person's life. That you honor the Father and the Son in the same way.

And then he goes on in verse 27 to explain that the Father has given Jesus authority to execute judgment because, he says, he is the Son of Man. That same phrase, the Son of Man, he describes himself as there in John chapter 5 verse 27. And so the one who is like the Son of Man here on the cloud is probably Jesus. And he is the one who has been given authority by the Father to execute judgment.

And so here he's pictured as having a sickle.

Now, here's a picture of a sickle. It's something that you harvest with. Of course, you could also picture, you know, the typical grim reaper, the big one like that. That's as well. But he's there. He's on the cloud. He's got a sickle. And that's a tool that's used for harvesting. And this idea of harvesting is used prophetically throughout the Bible as a picture of judgment. He's going to be bringing judgment upon the earth. And that's what's being pictured here. Verse 15 says,

And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, Thrust your sickle and reap, for the time has come for you to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. So he who sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.

And so what we see being portrayed here is judgment that is being poured out upon the earth. And there is still more things to come as we go forward with the seven bowls of wrath that will be poured out upon the earth. There's much judgment that Jesus will be bringing upon the earth. But what it's talking about here as we go forward is really that final judgment of the tribulation period. Look at verse 17.

Then 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 who had power over fire and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle saying, Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth for her grapes are fully ripe.

So here we see two more angels come on the scene. Another one with a sharp sickle and then another one who calls out to the one with the sharp sickle and says, Hey, the earth is ripe. The time is now. Bring the judgment.

The idea of being ripe here is not like, you know, it's fresh, it's ready to eat, but it's actually a little bit beyond that. That it's so ripe that if it's not harvested right now, that it's going to be lost. You know, the very end of the ripeness when it's already starting to break down and not be good anymore.

And so that's when Jesus, that's when God waits to bring judgment. When it's just the fullness, when it's just the very limits of what can be done, then that's when judgment happens. And again, I liken it to cooking popcorn in the microwave. And please bear with me on this illustration. I know it's a little bit silly, but it really makes a lot of sense in my head. So I hope it does in yours too. You know, when you cook popcorn in the microwave, I never trust the popcorn button on the microwave because it,

it finishes and it doesn't pop all the kernels. And so I set the time myself and I set it for more than I know what is gonna be required. And then I wait and I listen. And then I time it based upon the time between pops to determine, okay, when's the ultimate point where I get the maximum number of corn with the limited amount of those that are unpopped, right? As much as gonna pop is gonna be popped and so that I don't burn the rest.

I try to find that perfect spot. In the same way, God's judgment is like that. You know, why doesn't God just end it all right now and just catch us up to be with Him and end the earth and bring in eternity? Why doesn't He do it all right now? Well, God, what He's doing is He's waiting for all to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3 tells us this. And so He's bringing the right amount of heat and bringing in more heat and more heat to pop as many kernels as He can, to bring as many to salvation as will come.

But there's going to be that point when as many who will believe have believed and He'll bring it to an end. And that's when the final judgment is going to take place. That's what's happening here in verse 18. It's that point. Everybody who's going to believe has already believed and so now it's the final judgment. Verse 19 says,

What we have here in verses 19 and 20 is a reference to, it's pictured for us here, the battle of Armageddon that we'll get to in Revelation chapter 19.

And there it describes for us in chapter 19, the beast and the false prophet are there at the battle of Armageddon when Jesus returns and he casts them into the lake of fire. But there's also, along with the beast and the false prophet, there's also all of the armies of the earth that are gathered together in one place. It's called the battle of Armageddon because it takes place in the valley of Megiddo. And there in the valley of Megiddo, these armies are gathered together

And that's when Jesus returns. The beast and the false prophet are cast into the lake of fire. But what happens to the rest of the armies that are there in the valley of Megiddo? Well, they're put to death. In verse 21 of Revelation chapter 19, it tells us that they're killed by the sword that goes out of Jesus' mouth. They die instantly on the spot as Jesus returns. And so what we have there is the winepress. If you would, the winepress is that valley of Megiddo.

And all the clusters have thrown into the winepress. And you know what the winepress is. I'm sure you've seen I Love Lucy, right? They throw all the things in the big vat and then you stomp on it and that's how you get the juice. In a similar way, all the armies will be gathered together in that one valley. And then Jesus will come, stomp on them. And the blood will gush forth there in the valley of Megiddo. It describes the blood coming out of this winepress up to the horse's bridles.

For 1,600 furlongs. 1,600 furlongs is approximately 185 miles, which is the approximate distance from the northern point of Israel to the southern point of Israel. And so it could be, you know, that there's just a great flow of blood from the full length of the nation of Israel.

I think more likely though, another interesting idea is 185 square miles is the approximate square footage of the valley of Megiddo. And so it could be just that that valley is full of blood. You know, it's 185 square miles that's full of blood as those armies are gathered together in that one spot, the winepress of the wrath of God. And Jesus returns and all those who have been in rebellion,

instantly they're put to death upon his return. And so we see here the reapers, those who bring the great judgment, Jesus and these angels as he brings the tribulation period to an end. So during this great tribulation we see the survivors, the proclaimers, the martyrs and the reapers. Now what I want to close with, how I want to end this, what I want us to be thinking about as we leave this place is

is Jesus. We see him at the beginning of the chapter as the Lamb. We see him at the end of the chapter as the one bringing great judgment. This is Jesus. And you and I have the option. We get to choose which relationship we have with him. We get to be with him as the Lamb or we get to receive from him this great judgment.

Again, the everlasting gospel is that we are lost, we're separated from God, we're hopeless, we're helpless. But God loves us and so He made a way of salvation. And He calls us to fear God and give glory to Him and worship Him. Those who respond to the everlasting gospel will experience Jesus as the Lamb, the one who has taken away the sin of the world, the one who has made the way, performed the sacrifice so that we can have right relationship with God.

and eternity with Him without judgment because He received the full cup of His indignation for us. But those who will not fear God or give glory to Him or worship Him, they will experience Jesus as the one who brings great judgment. That's for right now and it's for those who are alive during the tribulation period. Those who reject the everlasting gospel will experience the everlasting judgment of God. And so it's a reminder for you and I as believers

To get the gospel out. The time is now to spread the word, to share the good news, the salvation that's offered in Jesus Christ. For those of you who maybe you've walked away from the Lord or maybe you've never really had a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ, the time is now. Today is the day of salvation that you can experience Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away your sin.

who paid the price for us upon the cross that we could be forgiven and have new life in Christ and then have the hope of eternity with Him. So consider Jesus. Which relationship do you have with Him? The Lamb of God or the one who brings the wrath of God? Let's pray. Lord, as we consider these things, I pray, God, that You would help us, Lord, to draw near to You, Lord, to respond to the everlasting gospel, to fear You, Lord, to surrender to You,

by giving you glory and Lord to worship you by devoting our lives to you I pray Lord that you would help us to be fully submitted fully surrendered fully committed to walking with you Lord I pray that you would use these things to put a burden and a passion in our hearts for the people around us that do not know you God that we may give them the opportunity

And that day, Lord, you'll have that angel being the proclaimer of the everlasting gospel. But today, God, you've chosen to use us to bring forth your message, your offer of salvation. And so help us, God, to be diligent to go and make disciples. And Lord, for any who do not know you, for any who need to get right with you, God, I pray that you would pierce through to their hearts. Lord, that you would remove the blinders that the enemy has placed there. God, that they would see clearly

their need for you, and how much you love them, and that you provided a way of salvation. And God, I pray that they would turn to you, that you would draw them to you, God, that they would receive your forgiveness, that their guilt would be washed away, that they would find fresh new life in your name. And it's in your precious name that we pray. Amen.

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