Sunday, March 25, 2012

Revelation 18 - The fall of Babylon (notes)

Revelation 18 - The fall of Babylon

Revelation 18

  • Talks about the economic system of the antichrist and its demise. No worldly system can stand along side the Kingdom of God. A time of shaking is coming upon the world and only those things that are based on the Kingdom of Jesus Christ will stand.
  • Jesus talked about the fact that money will fail. The world’s economy will fail because it is a flawed system based on greed, oppression, poverty and lack. The Kingdom of God is based on generosity, freedom.

A Time Of World Wide Shaking Is Coming Upon The Whole World

  • Every system of influence will be shaken.
  • The political, the religious, the economical systems will not only be shaken but will fall during the great tribulation.

Creation

  • Since the fall has been waiting to be set free from its bondage to decay and corruption and gain an entrance into the glorious freedom of God’s children.
  • Itself will be set free from its bondage and decay and corruption and gain an entrance into the glorious freedom of God’s children.
  • And not only creation, but we ourselves too, who have the first fruits of the Holy Spirit.

The Angel of the Lord destroys the political and economic systems of the anti-christ’s kingdom at this time.

  • We can not put our trust in the systems of this world for they will all fall one day.
  • God will show the world some day that the only kingdom that will not fail or fall will be His.

According To Luke

  • 16 when the world’s economy fails if our trust is in the Kingdom of God we will not be affected by it.
  • God will provide for those who know Him and who put their trust in His Kingdom.
  • When things fail in the world and our investments are in His Kingdom that Kingdom will be our source of provision in the midst of chaos, confusion and lack.

Revelation 18:4-8 Mentions a voice from heaven that says… “Come out of her my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Render to her as she rendered to you and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed double for her. In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow, for she says in her heart, I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow. Therefore her plagues will come in one day--death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord who judges her.”

This is the capitol of the kingdom of the anti-christ.

  • This is the political and economic hub that affects the revived Roman Empire and influences the world.
  • God is saying, because of your treatment of My people and your arrogance and pride of your riches I will humble you because you did not put your trust in God but in yourself.
  • God knows how to humble the arrogant and how to put an end to evil in the world, especially those who mistreat His children.

Revelation 18 - The fall of Babylon

Revelation 18 - The fall of Babylon this message was given on 3-25-12

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Revelation 17 - Babylon The Great (notes)

Revelation 17 - Babylon The Great

The Systems of the World:

Revelation 17:9 mentions the seven mountains. There are seven major systems that influence the world.

  1. Business
  2. Religion
  3. Government
  4. The Media
  5. Family
  6. Education / Science & Technology
  7. Arts & Entertainment

The Meaning of The Great Prostitute:

  • For generations protestant theologians said that it was the Roman Catholic Church. I believe it is the “one world” religious system at the time of the tribulation.
  • Could it be that a world wide religion will be a major force that will influence all other major systems in the world during the tribulation?

One of The Seven Angels

  • Who had the seven bowls of judgment came and speaks to John.
  • I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute.
  • The kings of the earth committed adultery with her. This is idolatry that will be rampant in this time.

John is carried away in the Spirit into a wilderness

  • He sees a woman (the one world religious system) on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. (Rev. 17:3-4)
  • This is talking about the influence this religious system will have over the ten kings of the revised Roman Empire.
  • The seven heads could be the seven systems of influence in the world.

The name of the world wide church is:

  • “Mystery Babylon” the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth.
  • This church persecuted and killed the tribulation saints.

The Explanation

  • The beast is the antichrist (which some believe is assassinated but comes back to life by the power of satan). The people living at that time will be amazed.
  • The seven hills are seven kings. This could be the major empires of the past. 1) Assyria 2) Egypt 3) Babylon 4) Medo-Persia 5) Greece 6) Rome.
  • All these empires were idolatrous in religion. This woman symbolizes idolatry.
  • Symbols: Mountains are kingdoms, horns are kings and prostitutes symbolizes idolatrous religions.

A Possible Explanation

  • The one who has fallen could be ancient Rome and the other not yet could be the revived Roman Empire, but when he comes he will only remain for only a little while, seven years.
  • The beast who was is the antichrist killed but rose from the dead but will only reign for seven years. Then he will be cast into hell.
  • The ten horns are ten kings (the revised Roman Empire of ten nations) They will give their authority to the antichrist.
  • They will wage war against Jesus but Jesus and His church will defeat them.

God Will Cause a division between the one world church (prostitute) and the political system of the antichrist. That church will be defeated by the antichrist and God is the one who caused this to happen. (Rev. 17:17)

In Revelation 18

  • We find the destruction of the economic system of the world at this time.
  • In Revelation 17 we see the rise and fall of the idolatrous religious system of the world in the tribulation.
  • This shows us that God is the one who rules not the devil, not man, not republicans or democrats, not the antichrist or the whore or the world’s economic system.

There Is

  • A period of judgment coming upon the planet that will be the result of the evil in the world. Evil will become viler and people will become more rebellious as we get closer to the second coming of Jesus Christ.
  • A period of refreshing is coming for the people of God as things become viler and people become more rebellious towards God.

Revelation 17 - Babylon The Great

Revelation 17 - Babylon The Great this message was given on 3-18-12

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Revelation 16 - The Seven Bowl Judgments (notes)

Revelation 16 - The Seven Bowl Judgments

Chapter 15

Deals with the preparation for the final bowl judgments in Revelation 16.

In chapter 16 seven angels appear to John with seven bowls of the final judgments.

God’s wrath has been building for centuries, in the tribulation, He unleashes His wrath.

In the bowl judgments, He concludes His judgments on those in the world who have taken the mark of the beast.

The Seven Bowl Judgments begin:

The 1st judgment: ugly festering sores broke out on the people who took the mark of the beast and who worshipped the beast.

The 2nd Judgment is similar to the plague on Egypt in the time of Moses as the Nile is turned to blood. This was God’s wrath on the Egyptians for all the blood shed of the Jewish slaves.

This is God’s judgment on those who attacked and killed the tribulation saints.

The 3rd bowl is God judging those who shed the blood of believers in history.

The 4th bowl judgment is intense heat as the result of the bowl being poured out on the sun. (Is. 24:4-6) The people on the planet at this time respond, not by repentance but by cursing the name of God. They refused to repent and glorify God.

The 5th bowl judgment the angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. (Ex. 10:21-23) Will this be something in the environment or spiritual? It could be confusion or mental darkness.

Again people curse God because of their pains and their sores and would not repent.

The 6th bowl judgment the angel pours out his bowl on the Euphrates River and the river dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. Three impure spirits like frogs came out of the dragon’s mouth, the beast and the false prophet. This is all a set up for the war of Armageddon.

The 7th angel pours out his bowl into the air and out of the temple in Heaven came a loud voice from the throne of God saying, “It is done.” The last judgment is pronounced by God. Flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. The greatest earthquake in history.

The Message

The great city, Jerusalem is split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. Things in the world are going to become increasingly bad. Things in the church are going to become increasingly good up until this time. Babylon is the economic system of the world and it will fall.

Every Island

  • Will fall and the mountains will all fall. Huge hailstones weighing about 100 lbs. each will fall from the sky on people.
  • The people left will curse God because of the hail.

There Is

  • A period of judgment coming upon the planet that will be the result of the evil in the world. Evil will become viler and people will become more rebellious as we get closer to the second coming of Jesus Christ.
  • A period of refreshing coming for the people of God as things become viler and people become more rebellious towards God.

Revelation 16 - The Seven Bowl Judgments

Revelation 16 - The Seven Bowl Judgments this message was given on 3-11-12

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Revelation 15 - The Beginning of the End (notes)

Revelation 15 - The Beginning of the End

Chapter 15

  1. Deals with the preparation for the final bowl judgments in chapter 16.
  2. Seven angels appear to John, whom many believe are different angels in the previous chapters of Revelation.
  3. God’s wrath has been building for centuries.
  4. In the tribulation, He unleashes His wrath.
  5. In the bowl judgments, He concludes His judgments on the world.

The Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb

  • I saw another Sign in Heaven, huge and breathtaking.
  • Seven angels with seven disasters, the wrap up of God’s wrath.
  • The martyrs who conquered the beast stand by a “Sea of Glass” with harps of God. In preparation for the outpouring of the seven bowl judgments, the people of God enter into worship.

The beast

  • And his tribe do not surface until the middle of the Tribulation. This means that those who gained victory over the beast must have done that sometime after the middle of the Tribulation.
  • These believers have already been martyred and sing a song in Heaven.

I Saw Something like a sea made of glass, the glass shot through with fire. Carrying harps of God, triumphant over the beast, its image, and the number of its name, the saved ones stood on the sea of glass. They sang the song of Moses, servant of God; they sang the Song of the Lamb.

The Song:

Mighty your acts and marvelous, O God, the Sovereign-Strong! Righteous Your ways and true, King of the nations! Who can fail to fear You, God, give glory to Your Name? Because You and You only are holy, all nations will come and worship You, because they see Your judgments are right.

Exodus 15:1-18

What we see:

God is highly exalted.

God is my strength & defense.

The Lord is a warrior.

God defeats His enemies.

Who is like God?

You will lead the redeemed to your place.

The nations will hear & tremble.

Revelation 15:5-8

Then I saw the doors of the Temple, the Tent of Witness in Heaven, open wide. The Seven Angels carrying the seven disasters came out of the Temple. They were dressed in clean, bright linen and wore gold vests. One of the Four Animals handed the Seven Angels seven gold bowls, brimming with the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. Smoke from God's glory and power poured out of the Temple. No one was permitted to enter the Temple until the seven disasters of the Seven Angels were finished.

(MSG)

The Message

  • There is a song that is sung when God triumphs over evil. There is a time to sing when God pours out His wrath upon those who hate Him and who hate His people.
  • Anyone who is saved becomes a partner with God in the fulfillment His purpose on earth.
  • We are made in the image of God so when we receive His grace we come under His umbrella of protection & blessing.
  • The nation of Israel is delivered from bondage in Egypt.
  • God raised up Moses from the house of Pharaoh which prepared Him to go before Pharaoh make the demands God gave Him.
  • Through a series of mighty signs and wonders God sets Israel free from oppression and bondage in Egypt.
  • Pharaoh is overcome with anger and chases them to the Red Sea. God shows His power over evil by defeating Egypt’s army in the Red Sea.
  • This all points to the time when God will once again show His mighty power to the world for what they did to His people.
  • The judgments in Revelation are the result of God’s response to evil and lack of repented sin in the world.

Revelation 15 - The Beginning of the End

Revelation 15 - The Beginning of the End this message was given on 3-4-12