It Is done
Notes
Transcript
If you have your Bibles we will begin today at Revelation 16:16-18
Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!” Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake.
Where we left last week, Satan, the antichrist and the kings of the world had come together for a battle of good versus evil. However victory always belongs to the Lord. Now the place called Armageddon is actually a real place and one of importance in the Bible. It is located in the valley of Esdraelon by the waters of Megiddo. In Judges Israel was given a great victory there.
“Kings came, they fought, the kings of Canaan fought. At Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo, they took no plunder of silver.
Israel was given victory in this same valley and following this battle the land had peace for forty years. So the enemies of God ae gathering in a place that has already seen great victory. The hubris and pride of the enemy is really unmatched. Again this shows the danger of pride. It blinds you to what the Lord is doing. In Ezekiel 38:14-16
“Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In that day, when my people Israel are living in safety, will you not take notice of it? You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army. You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In days to come, Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.
Ezekiel prophesied this very moment and through this moment there will be no doubt about the Lord after this , this is the last judgement on those who do not follow the Lord. The chances are dwindling down. Not only does Ezekiel prophesied what would happen but the very location. This has all been laid out in scripture
The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!” Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake.
From the throne room , The Lord Himself speaks announcing that It is Done. Just like our call to worship in which Jesus proclaims that it is finished. Jesus cries out it is finished when His prophecies and our salvation was accomplished. God speaks when the end of the age is over. Salvation and judgment will be accomplished. It is done. The Lord then sends a earthquake
The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, fell on people. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.
Nothing is kept in it’s proper place at all. Islands fall away, mountains crumble. Despite all of this the world still curses! God. That is how deep sin can run in our lives. That even in the face of the final judgements of God, we can still rage against the wrath. We have to look at ourselves in these moments. That same sin nature captures people to this day. We need to help people find the peace of Jesus, it replaces the rage. We need to help people find repentance because that is the first step to true healing.
We move into Chapter 17, and 18 which describes the fall of Babylon.
One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”
The woman symbolizes the religious system of Babylon and the waters are the people, nations and languages that followed her. The adultery that is commited is people turning their back on the worship of the Lord for the worship. Throughout the Old Testament this is one of the charges against Israel was the false worship or the adultery committed by Israel against the Lord.
A few OT concerning adultery
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me.
“You shall not commit adultery.
“ ‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.
Adultery had harsh ramifications in the Old Testament and really throughout history it has been frowned upon. It has such a harsh punishment and high standard because of what that sin does to people. Adultery is not a sin that stays in the dark. It first starts with two people and then after shocks flow out from there. It ends up tearing families apart , it can tear communities apart, it can tear churches apart. This is why it was taken so serious. In the same way, for believers in Jesus we have given our lives over to the Lord in the same way that a husband or wife gives their lives over to their husband or wife. When we give our lives to Jesus, when we proclaim His name or we step in those waters of Baptism. we are committed. This isn’t about simply asking questions or anything like that. Questions are good. What is not good is committing to the Lord and the pulling back on those commitments. That is what the Lord says is adultery against Him. Just like when that sin comes to light in a marriage, when that sin comes to light against the Lord the ramifications are big. It can lead to people losing their , it grieves the Lord, it takes you further away from the Lord.
Furthermore the church is called the bride of christ. As believers we have been promised to Jesus.
Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.
This false religion sits upon the one world government. Look what she is adorned with, gold, stones and pearls. She has a golden cup. Now contrast that with Jesus Christ. How did Jesus walk the earth? He did not have a place to lay His head down. He came to us born in a manger. Jesus was not concerned with wordly trappings, instead He is concerned about our eternity. This religion of Babylon is shallow and hinges on wordly trappings of wealth and success.
The name written on her forehead was a mystery: babylon the great the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth.
I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished.
She is drunk with the blood of the martyrs. Those who dared to go against her and proclaim the name of Jesus. Are killed
Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.
This portion of the scripture will make more sense once get through a couple of more chapters. Satan is defeated again but he will return one more time to do battle with Jesus. However the important part now is that Babylon is falling down. The first opening destruction of what Satan has built comes falling down.
“This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.
This part calls for Spiritual wisdom, and this why we study the Bible so that we can as best we can understand these parts. These seven heads are part of the one world government, who they are , we do not know yet. They are falling as Satan’s dominion is collapsing. The seven hills are where evil lives, mostly likely this is talking about Rome. They will be defeated but then they will regroup and try again however that will end in their ultimate destruction.
“The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”
Those that are still standing will then give everything over to the beast to wage war one more time. This time against Jesus. However notice the names now used for our Lord. The Lord of Lords, the King of Kings. Jesus does not come back quietly in a manger this time. That age is over. Jesus comes back from heaven, the second coming as a conqueror to defeat those that stand against him. This is the Jesus that gives you power now. This is the Jesus that breaks all bondage. This is the Jesus that is leading us in this age. His chosen and faithful followers are coming with Him. There is not doubt when you read these verses that Jesus truly is the Son of God and there is nothing that can stand up to the King of Kings.
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We are more than conquerors because we follow Jesus. There is no power on this earth , not demons, not evil that can stand up to a holy God. There is nothing that can separate us from the Love of God, when we have given our lives over to Him. He become sons and daughters of the Lord and He protects us. He goes before us and we follow Him to victory.
Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled. The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”
Let us finish chapter 18. The evil that satan had set up. The dominion that was once powerful is no longer powerful and evil turns on itself. Evil will always turn on itself. This is what is important to understand from these verses. God will never turn his back on you. Even when we were sinners, and deep in guilt Jesus was there waiting for us. Evil does not do that. Once you no longer serve a purpose, or you misstep in anyway you are the next to go. God uses this to his own end as Satan’s one world government turns on itself, turns on the people. This is why the truth of God is so important. You can look throughout history, evil always turns on itself, turns on the very followers that once gave it power. Do not fall for these ideologies in this world. Instead turn to the one that went to the cross for you. Turn to the Lord that loves you so much and wants a relationship with you. If you have given your life to the Lord yet, I would ask that you give it serious thought and prayer. There is a true way to move forward in this world. That is the way of Jesus.
Let us pray
