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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
September 21, 2025
End Times Declarations & Warnings
Revelation 14:9-20
◘Introduction & Review
This morning we continue in our study of Revelation 12-14 which is parenthetical in the sense that it does not advance the chronological narrative of the future but instead explains the background, characters and plot of what will come in the final stage of God’s judgments which will be expressed in the bowls of wrath which start in chapter 16. Chapter 12 begins with John recording the two great signs he saw in heaven. The woman with child is a symbol of the nation of Israel and the Messiah, and the great red dragon is a symbol of Satan, also known as the devil, the deceiver of the world and accuser of the brethren. He then describes the actions and interaction of these symbolic characters going back to the fall into sin of Satan and a third of the angels and then the dragon’s efforts to devour the child at birth. Despite his many efforts, Satan failed to prevent Messiah from being born or kill Him after His birth before He paid the price to redeem man with His own sacrificial death on the cross. Jesus’ resurrection proved all His claims and promises are true, and man can be forgiven his sin and adopted into God’s family through faith in Him. ◘Satan was utterly defeated in his efforts to stop God’s plan of redemption. After Jesus’ ascension, Satan has no longer been able to attack Him directly. All of that is past history for us as it was when John wrote it down. (See: Two Signs in Heaven)
In the future, Satan will lead his demons in a war in heaven in which he will be utterly defeated by Michael the archangel and the good angels. After that, Satan will no longer have access to heaven, and so will no longer be able to accuse the brethren before God as he does at the present time. (See: War in Heaven) Satan’s attention will then become even more focused on persecution of the Jews. ◘Satan has had special hated for Jews since the Abrahamic covenant was established, but it will get much worse in the future. The current rise in anti-Jewish rhetoric and persecution by people throughout the political spectrum is a harbinger of that. ◘As I have said before, there is a demonic element in hating Jews because they are Jewish. That would be expected of atheists, agnostics, secularists and those in false religions, cults and false forms of Christianity since they are in Satan’s kingdom and blinded by him. However, demonic deception can also affect true Christians if they remain Biblically ignorant. ◘It is contradictory to faith for a Christian to be anti-Jewish since our savior is Jewish and all the books of the Bible, which the true Christian believes and follows, were written by Jewish men except perhaps Luke. The Jewish people remain God’s chosen nation, and He will fulfill all of His promises to them including the future Messianic kingdom and “all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26). To reject those truths is to reject the Scriptures and make God out to be unfaithful and a liar.
◘During the tribulation period, the last part of Revelation 12 reveals that God will supernaturally protect and provide for a remnant of Jews that flee to the mountains in the wilderness from Satan’s efforts to destroy them. In frustration, Satan’s wrath turns to make war against “the rest of her seed,” which will be those Jews that did not flee and the Gentiles that “keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” (See: Satan’s Wrath)
◘The Two Beasts – Revelation 13. The beast from the sea is the future antichrist, and the beast from the earth is his false prophet. They will be Satan’s means by which he carries out his war against God and those that pursue godliness. Both beasts will be very dangerous. The antichrist directly so because he will rise to power and eventually become the military and political dictator over the world. He will be blasphemous to the point of even proclaiming himself to be a god. A counterfeit resurrection will be the cause of many people worshiping him and the dragon, Satan. (See: The Beast from the Sea)The false prophet will appear to be gentle, but his smooth speech and deceptions will be very dangerous. ◘The great signs, both real and fake, done by the false prophet will persuade many more to worship the beast. An edict that those that do not worship the image of the beast will be subject to execution and cutting off commerce from those that do not take the mark of the beast will force the issue. ◘That mark will be some sort of visible branding or tattoo that will consist of his name whose value calculated by gematria, (the numerical value of each letter is added together), will equal 666 which is the number of man. It will be a mocking irony that the very name of the future antichrist who wants to be worshiped as a god will be symbolic that he is yet just a man. (See: The Beast from the Earth)
Revelation 14 brings a forceful and contrasting change in focus with three new scenes. The first is the victorious stance of the Lamb and His followers. The second is of four declarations concerning those who live on the earth. The third is the reaping of the wicked to be cast into the wine press of God’s wrath. Satan’s victories are short lived.
◘The First Vision: The Lamb & the 144,000 – Revelation 14:1-5. As we saw last week, the first vision John sees is the victory of the Lamb who is standing on Mount Zion with the 144,000 Jewish men who were sealed as His servants in chapter 7. They have the name of the Lamb and of God the Father written on their foreheads. That was the sign that protected them from the wrath of God that came in the trumpet judgments. They will be part of the “rest of her seed” that Satan make war upon because they do not flee to the wilderness. Their purpose is to be witnesses of Christ to the unregenerate. These men are pure and chaste having no lie in their mouths and blameless. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. ◘This scene will take place at the beginning of the Millennium after Jesus returns to earth as the conquering King of Kings and Lord of Lords detailed in Revelation 19. They will be taught a song that only they can learn by a unified voice of a multitude in heaven, most likely the martyrs from the tribulation already there. (See: The Lamb, The 144,000 & The Gospel Angel)
◘The Second Vision: Four Declarations – Revelation 14:6-13. The second scene John sees involves four declarations that occur before the end of the tribulation that will encourage faithfulness to the Lamb and warn against worship of the beast. The first three involve angels that announce in succession the everlasting gospel (6-7), the fall of Babylon (8), and doom for those that worship the beast (9-12). The final declaration (13) is from a voice out of heaven concerning the blessedness of those who remain faithful. Last week I only made it through the first declaration. We will examine the rest of these declarations today.
◘First Declaration: An Angel & An Eternal Gospel – Rev. 14:6-7
The first declaration demonstrates the amazing longsuffering patience of God. The rebellion of man is reaching its maximum level with the antichrist dominating the world and mankind quickly succumbing to the idolatry of worshiping the image of the beast. Jesus compares this future time to the days of Noah in Matthew 24:37. People will be living their lives out with normal activities such as eating and drinking and special celebrations such as marrying and giving in marriage, but their hearts will be evil. Genesis 6:5 describes their wickedness as “every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” ◘God would be perfectly righteous and just to give “them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices” as stated in Psalm 81:12, or as stated in Hosea 4:17, “Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone,” and then bear the consequences of death and eternal destruction (2 Thess. 1:8-9). As Paul points out in Romans 1:18-20, Creation itself leaves man without any excuse to seek out and worshiping Him. ◘Yet, God’s very nature extends longsuffering mercy in allowing them to continue live, and then the extra measure of grace to proclaim the gospel to the end.
◘Revelation 14:6–7, 6 And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; 7 and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.”
◘This angel preaches the gospel to everyone on earth. The good news is always set against the bad news that man is sinful and deserving of eternal punishment. Here the bad news is that the judgment of God the creator has come. Each aspect of creation mentioned points to specific judgments that have already been experienced in the tribulation period. The sixth seal and fourth trumpet affected heaven. The first trumpet affected the earth. The second trumpet affected the sea, and the third trumpet affected the springs of water. Those previous judgments serve to heighten the proper fear of the judgment that is about to come from the Creator.
The good news is that they could still give God glory, a phrase pointing to repentance (Joshua 7:19; 1 Samuel 6:5), and worship Him. ◘That would require them to believe God’s revelation of Himself and His will and then humbly submit in obedience to it. This would come at great risk because to worship God excludes worship of the beast which at that time will put a death sentence on their heads. Their fear of God will have to be greater than their fear of other people and the beast, for as Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” What about you today? Don’t give in to peer pressure or threats from others. Do right always.
◘Second Declaration: Babylon is Fallen – Revelation 14:8
The second angelic declaration in verse 8 is of certain judgment. 8 And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality.”
◘This is another angel of the same kind as the first, and he follows immediately after him with a second message that supports and emphasizes the first, for it details a particular judgment from God that backs up the reason to fear God and worship Him. The message is stressed by its repetition of the verb – “fallen, fallen.” As throughout the chapter, this is a proleptic aorist which declares the certainty of it by speaking of the event as if it had already happened. There is no question about it. Babylon is going to fall. This event will be described in detail in Revelation 18. This happens just prior to the return of Jesus Christ in chapter 19.
◘The verb used here, fallen (pivptw / Piptō), is to descend from one level to a lower level. It can refer to physical position such as the buildings of a city falling to the ground. It can also refer to a position of authority, economics or prestige such as when a city is captured or destroyed losing its authority, prestige and ability to carry out meaningful economic activity.
◘The description here is that this is “Babylon the great,” which is enough alone to suggest it is an important place of high prestige. This may be a carry over from the book of Daniel which always describes Babylon as “the great.” Since it is the only place mentioned and is immediately followed by a warning of doom upon those who worship the beast which points back to chapter 13, I conclude that at minimum this is a place of key importance to the beast, antichrist, and probably also a key center of if not the center of the beast worship cult.
The description in chapter 18 also lets us know that this is a very wealthy place and major center of commerce. ◘The description there also magnifies the statement at the end of verse 8 that she “made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality.” That will include sexual immorality since this is the word porneiva / porneia which is a common mark of any sinful society and something they did not repent of even after the judgment that came with the sixth trumpet. ◘However, since immorality is used quite frequently to refer to idolatry throughout the Scriptures and this in between passages that speak about the worship of the beast, I conclude that is also in view here. There is also a parallel description here in Babylon making all the nations drink of the wine of her immorality and the beast worshipers being made to drink the wine of God’s wrath in verse 10.
◘There are many ideas about what Babylon is specifically referring to include Jerusalem, Rome, the papacy, those who worship the beast, the world as a whole, the antichrist’s seat of power and a rebuilt city of Babylon on the Euphrates river or some mixture of these. Some of these are quite speculative with little support. The descriptions here and in Revelation 18 are of an actual place even if figurative. As already pointed out is a place prestige, commerce, immorality, and in my view, a center of beast worship due to the earlier references to that and it being followed by an angel announcing doom on worshipers of the beast. ◘That would make this most likely a reference to Rome due to other references in chapters 17 and 18, or to a city of Babylon rebuilt in the future.
◘Third Declaration: Doom on Beast Worshipers – Rev. 14:9-12
The next angelic declaration in given in verses 9-12. 9 Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his horrify, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” 12 Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.”
◘This is another angel of the same kind as the first two. The first angel gave the reasons to fear God and worship Him because He is the Creator and is coming to judge with the second angel backing that up his message that Babylon has fallen. This third angel gives an additional very horrifying reason to worship God and not the beast. The full strength of God’s wrath is coming upon those that worship the beast. ◘The description of that wrath should cause terror to the soul, and the purpose of this declaration is to warn those wavering and considering taking the mark of the beast and worshiping him. To emphasize how dangerous this is it is stated in verse 9 and repeated in verse 11. Don’t do it! Though refusing to worship the beast and take his mark will probably cost you your life on this earth, the wrath of God for eternity is far worse than anything the beast can do to you.
◘The analogy of drinking wine is used in both verse 8 in reference to the wine of the passions of Babylon’s immorality and in verse 10 in reference to the wine of God’s wrath. Verse 9 states that this specific wrath is upon those that worship the beast and his image which includes getting his mark on the forehead or hand, for that reason I think Babylon’s immorality includes this idolatry. ◘That does not discount in anyway the final judgment and eternal punishment on all forms of immorality. For example, 1 Corinthians 6:9–10 states, 9 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.” Revelation 21:8 states that “the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” That description agrees with verse 10 & 11. ◘The emphasis in this warning is that the wine of God’s wrath will come upon these idolaters “mixed in full strength.” The normal practice was to add water to wine to dilute it to reduce its intoxicating effects, but this wine will be unmixed. It will come full strength and have full effect. God’s longsuffering ends. Mercy ceases. And in this context, the full fury of the bowls of wrath and eternal condemnation comes upon them.
◘The Doctrine of Hell. Revelation 20 describes the judgment at the Great White Throne after the millennium in which all the dead appear before God’s throne, and if their name is not written in the book of life, they are judged according to their deeds and condemned to be cast into the lake of fire which is the second death. Jesus described geJenna / Gehenna, which is translated as Hell, as “fiery” (Matthew 5:22) and stated that the accursed would be sent to the place of “the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41,46). It is a “furnace of fire” where “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:42, 50). It is the place where “their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48) and of “outer darkness” (Matthew 22:13). Paul describes it in 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 as a place where “those who do not know God and those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus . . . will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” Here in Revelation 14:10-11 it is torment – physical torture, with fire and brimstone that allows no relief for it is uninterrupted and never ending. Several of these verses and others make it clear that what begins in the presence of the Lamb and the holy angels, which adds shame to their torment, will at some point shift so that they are shut out from the presence of the Lord.
◘It is not uncommon for people to balk at this description of the wrath of God that will come upon sinners. It goes against the desired narrative that God is only love and will not punish in this manner. People want a God who is like a doting grandfather always excusing the sins of his grand-kids. Even theologians who are supposedly Christians have made efforts to soften this with heretical doctrines. ◘ Two common ones are universalism and annihilation. In the first, everyone will eventually get to heaven. The most common version of this is the false ideas that the punishment will eventually purge you of your sins. You atone for your own sins by suffering. That is the idea behind the Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory. Another version of this is that God keeps giving you chances to repent and believe until you do. Another version simply denies the reality of Hell and claims God forgives everyone, so no one is punished. ◘ The heresy of annihilation teaches that sinners are punished only for a short period of time and then cease to exist, i.e., they are annihilated. Both of these clearly contradict the clear teachings of the Scriptures including the ones just pointed out. Denial of the Biblical doctrine of Hell will not make it go away or prevent sinners from going there. It’s reality should scare people to repent from sin and seek God’s forgiveness.
◘Tangential to efforts to get rid of or at least minimize the doctrine of the eternal punishment of the unrighteous are the false gospels taught in efforts to include as many people as possible in the “saved” category and going to heaven and out of the “unsaved” category and going to Hell. The effort to reduce the gospel to its “minimum” – they prayed the sinner’s prayer, they walked the aisle, they asked Jesus into their heart – ends up with a false gospel because the meaning of the essential elements of the gospel are assumed on behalf of the person supposedly saved. That is why so many professions of faith turn out to be false. When the “saved” but unconverted learn who the Jesus of the Bible actually is and what He is like, they don’t want Him. The Jesus in whom they believe is someone other than the Jesus revealed in the pages of the Scriptures. They don’t want a Jesus who is Lord to whom they are supposed to submit and obey. They want to be saved from the fires of hell, but they do not want to be saved from sin. They enjoy their sins and want to continue to enjoy living in unrighteousness.
◘Verse 12 is a warning and encouragement to the saints in that time period to remain steadfast to bear the strain and stress of the threats of the beast who is making war upon them. 12 “Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.” The mark of a true saint is obedience to God because of faith in Jesus Christ. Good works cannot earn you a place in heaven, but they do demonstrate what you actually believe. Good works follow faith, in fact, Ephesians 2:10 states that those saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ Jesus are “His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before hand that we would walk in them.” That is why James 2 points out that faith without works is dead. Such dead faith is an empty claim.
◘Third Declaration: Blessedness of Martyrdom – Rev. 14:13
The last declaration in this sequence addresses directly the reality that remaining faithful to God and refusing to worship the beast and take his mark will probably result in being killed. 13 And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.” ◘This is an encouragement that those who are in Christ need not fear death. This has always been a truth no matter the cause of death. Psalm 116:15 states, “Precious in the sight of Yahweh Is the death of His holy ones.” Job 19:25–27 expressed his confidence when facing death, 25 “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will rise up over the dust of this world. 26 “Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall behold God, 27 Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!” Paul’s confidence was the same saying in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” for it would mean he would be with Christ (1:23). He expresses that again in 2 Corinthians 5:8, “we are of good courage and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.” This is a truth that will be especially helpful to point out to those facing an imminent decision that could result in persecution unless they participate in an evil being demanded of them. Here, the idolatry of worship of the beast.
◘This voice from heaven points out that part of this blessedness is that those who were martyred would “rest from their labors.” Death brings to an end the troubles, trials and weariness of living in a sin cursed society on a sin cursed earth. Adam’s sin brought the curse in Genesis 3:19 “by the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust and to dust you shall return.” ◘Even work that is good is cursed with the negative sense of toil and difficulty. Paul was very grateful to be a slave of Christ, yet he also recognized it was labor mentioning it often in his writings. He wrote in 2 Corinthians 11:27–28, 27 “I have been in labor and hardship, in many sleepless nights, in starvation and thirst, often hungry, in cold and without enough clothing. 28 Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.” For the believer in Christ, death brings and end to the suffering under sin’s curse and transfers him into the presences of our Savior and all the joys that are present there.
◘Another blessing mentioned is that “their deeds follow with them.” The deeds of the unrighteous will be the basis of their judgment and condemnation because those deeds are sinful. The deeds of the righteous are the opposite and bring rewards. In 1 Corinthians 3:8-15 Paul explains that each follower of Christ “will receive his own reward according to his labor.” While some of those labors may be “wood, hay & stubble” that will not transfer to heaven, other labors will bring reward in heaven. Many Scriptures point out future reward for the righteous. ◘Jesus taught in Matthew 6 that religious practices such as alms, prayer and fasting done in righteousness to please God instead of trying to gain honor from men will bring reward. ◘Jesus taught in Mark 9 that acts of charity done in His name will bring reward, and in Luke 6:35 that there is great reward for loving your enemies, doing good, lending and expecting nothing in return. ◘Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 9:17 that there is reward for serving the Lord voluntarily instead of under compulsion. In Colossians 3:23-24 Paul encourages believers that “whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”
◘There are also some specific crowns and a wreath that will be given as reward. In James 1:12 the crown of life is promised to those that persevere under trial. In Revelation 2:10 that same crown of life is pointed out to the church in Smyrna to encourage them in the persecution they were enduring. ◘1 Corinthians 9:14-27 explains the nature of serving the Lord that gains the imperishable wreath. ◘In Paul’s farewell in 2 Timothy 4:7-8 he writes “in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” ◘In Peter’s instructions to elders in 1 Peter 5:4 he encourages them that those who carry out their God given responsibilities in ministry “will receive the unfading crown of glory.”
◘The voice from heaven encourages those facing martyrdom because they would not worship the beast. Those that die in the Lord will be blessed because their labors on this sin cursed earth will cease. They will also receive reward for their good deeds in serving the Lord and being faithful to Him.
◘Conclusions
The first scene was of the victory of the Lamb and the 144,000 standing with Him. The second scene was of four declarations given in sequence to encourage faithfulness to God and warn of the consequences of worshiping the beast. ◘The angel preaches the gospel to everyone instructing them to Fear God and worship the Creator. Babylon is fallen. ◘Those who worship the beast are doomed. Those who suffer and die in the Lord will be blessed. We will look at the final scene in a few weeks which will be of the reaping of the wicked at the end of the tribulation.
◘And while this passage is specific to those living in the tribulation period, these same truths apply to encourage and warn us in the present time. ◘The victory of the Lord Jesus Christ is certain. The gospel applies to all people. Fear God and turn from your sin against Him to believe in Christ and worship your Creator. ◘ The world system will surely fail. Worship of false gods will doom you. Unbeliever, heed the warnings. Today is the day to repent and be saved. ◘Even when persecuted, remain faithful to Christ even to the point of martyrdom. The death of a Christian is a victory, not a defeat, for we are then with Christ and He will reward the faithful.
Sermon Notes – 9/21/2025
End Times Declarations & Warnings – Revelation 14:9-20
Introduction & Review
Rev. 12-14: Introduces & ____________the background, characters & plot of the final part of the tribulation
Satan _________ to stop God’s plan of redemption & he will be defeated in the war in heaven
The ________________ rhetoric & actions fomented by Satan will get worse in the tribulation period
Hating Jews because they are Jewish has a _______element – such hatred is contrary to Biblical Christianity
God protects & provides for a Jewish remnant, so Satan makes ___on Jews & on Gentiles that follow Christ
The Two Beasts – Revelation 13
The beast from the sea is the antichrist. The beast from the earth is his false prophet. Both are ___________
They persuade & then coerce people to __________ _____ ______________as a god and to take his mark
The mark of the beast is his name whose numerical value is 666, an ironic declaration he is a ___, not a god
The First Vision: The Lamb & the 144,000 – Revelation 14:1-5
The Lamb, Jesus, stands victorious on Mount Zion with the 144,000 – this is at the start of the ___________
The Second Vision: Four Declarations – Revelation 14:6-13
These occur prior to ___of tribulation to encourage faithfulness to God & warn against the mark of the beast
First Declaration: An Angel & An Eternal Gospel – Rev. 14:6-7
Man is reaching an apex of his ________against God – similar to the days before the flood of Noah (Gen. 6)
Man is _________ ________(Rom. 1:18-20) & God would be righteous & just to leave him condemned
God, in longsuffering mercy & grace, has an angel proclaim an eternal ___________to everyone on earth
Fear God, and give Him glory – His judgment has come, so ___________ from your sin
Worship Him – He created all things – be ___________ before Him, believe and submit to Him
Second Declaration: Babylon is Fallen – Revelation 14:8
This declaration supports the first one with a specific reason to ____God – Babylon is fallen / certain to fall
A city that has ____its authority, prestige and ability to carry out meaningful economic activity – see Rev. 18
Babylon the great – a designation always used in Daniel – is a place of key importance to the __________
The passion of her immorality is sexual _________, but probably includes ________of worshiping the beast
Many ideas about the specific identity of Babylon, but most likely _________or a city rebuilt in the future
Third Declaration: Doom on Beast Worshipers – Rev. 14:9-12
An angel of the same kind as first two gives an additional reason to fear God – beast worshipers are _______
The description is meant to cause __________that would prevent people from taking the mark of the beast
The analogy of drinking wine in vs 8 (passion) & 10 (God’s wrath) points to immorality including ________
All forms of immorality (sin) will result in _____________ punishment – 1 Cor. 6:9-10; Rev. 21:8; etc.
The wine of God’s wrath comes undiluted – full strength with full effect. Wrath in _________with no mercy
Gehenna is a place of eternal _______- Rev. 14:10-11; 20:14-15; Matt. 5:22; 13:42,50; 25:41,46; Mark 9:48
People reject the Bible’s teaching on Hell because they want a God who is to their ______________/ desires
Universalism – everyone is eventually in ________. Annihilation – the wicked will eventually ___________
False gospels include those that do not ______________its essential elements – Sin, repentance, Jesus, faith
Verse 12 encourages & warns the saints of that time period to remain __________though facing martyrdom
Third Declaration: Blessedness of Martyrdom – Rev. 14:13
Saints need not _________ death – Psalm 116:15; Job 19:25-27; Phil. 1:21-23; 2 Cor. 5:8
Blessed ___from labors. No more fighting the curse (Gen. 3:19) even in doing good things (2 Cor 11:27-28)
Their deeds follow with them – Saints receive ______in heaven according to service on earth – 2 Cor. 3:8-15
Religious practices done _________(Matt. 6); __________in Jesus’ name (Mk. 9); being loving (Luke 6:35)
____________ service to the Lord (1 Cor. 9:17); doing all work heartily as to the _________(Col. 3:23-24)
Crown of ___(Jm. 1:12; Rev. 2:10); Imperishable wreath (1 Cor. 9:14f) Crown of righteousness (2 Tim. 4:7)
An ________________to saints facing martyrdom because they will not take the mark of the beast
Conclusions
*The Lamb will be _________. *An angel will preach to the gospel to everyone on earth. *Babylon will fall
*Worshipers of the beast will be doomed. *There will be _____________ for martyred saints.
The specifics of this passage belong to the future, but the principles apply in the present.
*________is victorious. *______God – repent, believe & worship your Creator. *The world system will fail
*Worship of false gods will doom you. *Be _________to Christ even when persecuted & He will bless you
KIDS KORNER
Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children: Draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – Do one or more of the following:1) Write down all the verses mentioned in the sermon and look them up later. 2) Count how many times “God” is mentioned. Talk with your parents about why God should be worshiped and what that means in daily life.
THINK ABOUT IT! – Questions to consider / discuss with others. Summarize Satan’s failure in Revelation 12. Identify the beast of the sea & the beast of the earth and explain the danger of each. What is the mark of the beast? When will the Lamb & the 144,000 stand on Mount Zion? How does God demonstrate that He is longsuffering, merciful and gracious? What is the gospel? What are its essential elements? How will the fall of Babylon cause fear of God? What is the wine of the passion of her immorality? What does that include? What is the unmixed wine of the wrath of God? What specific group does this wrath come upon? Why do people reject the doctrine of Hell? Two of the ways people try to get around eternal punishment of the wicked is universalism and annihilation. Explain each and how the various forms of them contradict Scripture? How does verse 12 both an encouragement and a warning? What demonstrates someone is a true saint and not a false believer? What should the Christian’s attitude be toward death? From what labors does death give rest? What deeds follow unbelievers & what are their consequences? What deeds follow believers and what consequences do they bring? What do you expect to receive after death? What principles in this passage can you apply to your life?
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