Thru the Bible on Oneplace.com - Revelation 14:9-20

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,

is laid for your faith in His excellent Word.

What's the business of Christians and what's the role of the Church?

Well, that's what we're going to learn from our teacher, Dr. J. Vernon McGee,

here on through the Bible. I'm your host, Steve Swetz,

welcoming you aboard the Bible bus. As we continue our study of Revelation,

the last book of the Bible. So find your seat and open your Bible to Revelation 14 verse 9

and while you do that, here's a voicemail left recently by a fellow passenger here on the Bible bus.

Let's listen. This is Jim from Vancouver, Washington.

I listen to through the Bible programs both on 93.9 KPDQ and True Talk 800,

which is KPDQ AM. I'm calling just to say thank you because oftentimes I get behind

in my through the Bible daily studies. Sometimes several months behind.

And I've done this twice now. And fortunately, when I do the broadcast archive section

of the website is there to help me catch back up. And for that, I am eternally grateful.

The thing I notice about myself is when I am reading one or more through the Bible studies each day,

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I'm less focused. I mean, I do much at all. So I love the fact that you're still out there after

all these decades. And that when I get months behind, slowly but surely, through episodes for

day, hopefully seven days a week, I can catch back up. When I can, I do also listen to the question

and answer program, except it's on 3.30 in the morning, the local time, Saturday and Sunday.

But there are a lot of weeks I live. More recently, I've tried to listen somewhat regularly to

the Sunday sermon. Thank you very much for still being there.

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In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Now open to Revelation 14 as we travel through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.

Now friends, back today to the 14th chapter of Revelation. And I'm putting in the day at

verse 9 and I'm going to read from verses 9 through 12 because this is the section

that gives us the pronouncement of judgment on those who receive the mark of the beast.

Now it's true that by receiving the mark of the beast, they probably made it through the great

tribulation period, or at least most of it. But after all, part of the great tribulation is

not by Satan being released, but also it's the direct judgment of Christ upon this earth,

a Christ rejecting world in which he is getting ready to move personally and directly to put down

the rebellion against him that is here. So listen to this and another angel. Here we go for the

third one. Now this is the third angel and there are three more to come. And he says here,

another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a great voice. If any man worship the beast

and his image and receive with the mark on his forehead, or upon his hand, he also shall drink

of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mingled, unmixed in the cup of his anger.

I've just paused to say this. Do you think that the Lord Jesus is going to push the churchy redeem

in this, which he very definitely says is mingled, unmixed in the cup of his anger? I can't believe

that that could be possible. And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of

the holy angels and in the presence of the lamb and the smoke of their torment goeth up forever and

ever. And they have no rest day and night. They that worship the wild beast and his image and who

so receive with the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints who keep the commandments

of God and the faith of Jesus. Now he's speaking again to a group of people who keep the commandments

of God, the Old Testament law. They even bring sacrifices in that day. We're told during the great

tribulation and even into the millennium. Now this section, I think, makes it crystal clear

that no one can assume a neutral position during this intense period under the beast. Even today,

we see Christian businessmen who are capitulating to the ethics of the hour. In chapter 13, we saw that

the awful alternative for refusing to receive the mark of the beast was starvation.

On the other hand, the person who receives the mark brings down upon his head the wrath of God.

Now will you notice it says he shall drink of the one of the wrath of God. I don't believe the

Lord Jesus is going to push that cup up against his church. Now that's a figure though that's

adopted from the Old Testament. In Psalm 758, I read, far in the hand of the Lord there is a cup

and the wine is red. It is full of mixture and he poureth out of the same but the drags thereof,

all the wicked of the earth shall ring them out and drink them. Now the Old Testament prophets

picked that up and they saw the cup of wrath filling up to the brim and then when it was

failed to the brim, that is God would be patient and let man go on and on. The cup of wrath would be

failed and then God would press it to the lips of a godless aside. They just kept building this

thing up until judgment had to break. Now we're told here there to be tormented with fire and brimstone.

Now I want to say this that if this is not literal fire and brimstone then whatever it is

is worse than fire and brimstone because if it is a symbol, a symbol is used to give a faint

representation. It's sort of like the essence of something. I know there's the essence of peppermint,

the essence of certain perfume and I heard this definition of what essence is. Essence is the

faint odor that's left in the bottle after the substance is gone. Now what is it a symbol? Well

it's the essence. It is just a faint copy of the reality and the reality is I think ten times

worse but remember that the brimstone of Sodom was quite literal so that's something for you to

moral over if you want to reject a literal hell. Now will you notice here that hell is visible to

Christ and the holy angels but it does not say that it's visible to the 24 elders and are we to

assume from that that the church does not know what's taking place on the earth. Now I'm inclined to

believe that the church will not see what's taking place on the earth during the great tribulation

period but certainly Christ and the holy angels. Now all that God's own can do in this period therefore

is to be patient and wait for the coming of Christ. Yet he says here is the patience of the

saints and they are the ones that wait. Our Lord said but he that shall do earth to the end

the same shall be saved but why will he endure because he's been sealed by the spirit of God

and he's clothed in the righteousness of Christ and he's able to overcome by the blood of the land

and our Lord said in Luke 2119 in your patience possess ye your soul that's all you can do

just wait out the storm and that's what they will do in the great tribulation. Now we have

here praise for those who die in the Lord in verse 13. Now here again is a verse that

is taken to a funeral today and certainly the minute that you take it to a funeral why it has

no application whatsoever. This is going to refer to the period we're talking about the great

tribulation period. Now regardless whatever view that you take and you believe this is the great

tribulation period then this can only refer to that period. Now will you listen and I heard a voice

from heaven saying right blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from hence forth. Yeh said the

spirit and that they may rest from their labors are sorrows for their works follow with them.

Now this is not a statement for saints in the present age apparently many of God saints,

these tribulation saints both of the 144,000 and also of the uncounted number of Gentiles they'll

be saved they're going to lay down their life for Christ they'll be martyrs and now he has this

word of praise for them blessed are those that die in the Lord because now they're going to rest

from their sorrows finally but their works are going to follow them and he's going to reward them

for this in a very particular way. May I say that first of all I feel that it's unnatural to want

to die most of us want to live Paul could say this in Philippians 123 I'm a

mistake but twix two having a desire to depart to be with Christ which is far better not far

better to die and go and be with Christ nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you

personally I'd like to stay down here by the few more years and teach the word of God I'm

in no hurry to get to heaven I'm going there someday but I'm in no hurry to go there now this

whole story I've told you before illustrates my viewpoint they boy in my south land years ago

went to church some Sunday night preacher asked that said how many of you want to go to heaven and

everybody put up a hand but this boy and he looked down at him and he said son don't you want

to go to heaven and the boy said yes but said I thought you were getting up a load for the night

well friends I just don't want to be on that load either for the night I want to live down here

because I'm going there ultimately and I'd like to live and serve just as long as possible I think

it's unnatural to want to die but in the great tribulation friends I think that's another story

all you're doing is just waiting in patience and in sorrow now if you're martyred it'll be a

wonderful thing blessed are those that die in the Lord and they're going to be rewarded and

he's going to reward them now may I say this that I don't think this is a good verse for a funeral

today especially some man that's been living in the clover all of his life some wealthy man and I

heard it used in Texas had a rich man's funeral why the man had been brought up in a home of wealth

he had never known what it was to lift his little finger to ever work and he just sort of toyed

around with the range and lost money on it because he had so much he had to get rid of it some way

and that's the way he got rid of it and yet the preacher replied this that applies to

tribulation saints and to me it's a terrible abuse of the word of God that's going to be precious

for these people in the great tribulation today but not for the saints living in a

floor in a society today that's geared to comfort everything is geared to comfort today now let me

drop down to verses 14 through 20 and we're given here a preview of Armageddon and I call it the

battle here but I now call it the war of Armageddon now let me read and I saw and behold white cloud

and on the cloud one sitting like unto a son of man having on his head a golden crown in his

hand a sharp sickle now I saw and behold John says he sees and hears here now a white cloud and

on the cloud one sitting like unto a son of man and I think that's evidently the Lord Jesus

cries that we have here and the cloud is I think a mark of identification we are told in Matthew 2430

then shall appear a sign of the son of man in heaven and then shall all the tribes of the earth

mourn and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory and

I think it's that chicana cloud that is the son in heaven on his head a golden crown and that I

think further confirms this one is the Lord Jesus Christ he's the hero of this book frame and you

need revelation to get a true picture of him now he's seen as king here not as profitor priest

his office as king is always connected with his return to the earth a sharp sickle establishes this

and speaks of the judgment of the wicked and you have here something I think quite interesting

Dr. Newell calls attention to this word sickle he notices that it occurs only 12 times in the

scriptures of which seven are in the verses of this section also the word sharp occurs seven times

in revelation and four times here now will you notice what he says verses 15 and 16 and another angel

came out of the temple crying in a great voice to the one seated on the cloud send forth

sickle and reap for the hours come to reap for the harvest of the earth was dried and he that sat

on the cloud cast his sickle upon the earth and the earth was reap and I think that is the second

coming of Christ now send forth five sickle and reap that refers to the judgment of man on the earth

in Matthew the harvest has so long been identified with Christian witnessing and believers have

been urged to pray for laborers for the harvest that is difficult for the average Christian to fit

this scene into the true context of scripture actually believers are not urged to harvest today

they are urged to sow and to sow the word of God a sower went forth to sow that's a picture

chrysanthemum today the Lord Jesus is the son of man he's the sower and the seeds the word of God

and the field is the world and he's flinging it out in the world now there's going to be a harvest

someday but that is at the end of the age you and I are not harvesting that's not our business

our business is sowing seed and that's the reason that I don't worry today about the results

I worry a great deal about the sower I want to do my best here in giving out the word of God

why because that's my business so in seed I'm not really concerned about the number who put up

their hand and anyway I couldn't see if you put up your hand but the letters tell us the story

and as I said I have a shameful letters here of those that have turned the Christ we just so

seed that's our business he's the one that's going to have the harvest and the harvest is the

judgment at the end of the age and that's the picture that is given to us here and we are

told that the Lord Jesus says this and let me read it in Psalm 2 I will declare the decree the

Lord has said unto me thou art my son this day if I begotten thee ask of me and I shall give thee

the heathen for thine inheritance the Adamist parts of the earth for the I possession

thou shall break them with the rod of iron thou shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel

when I take place did it take place at his first coming know this is no missionary text this

takes place at his second coming when he comes in judgment for the hour is come to read and that's

in conform it to the words of Christ the harvest is the end of the age and that's Matthew 1339

the time has come to read so let's sow the seed today friend and not be so everlastingly busy

of trying to get somebody's hand up or to have them come forward let's make sure we give out the

word of God and the spirit of God's going to take care of that and this again is set before us in

the Old Testament in Joel 3 13 and 14 put in the sickle for the harvest is right come get you down

bar the press is full the fats overflow for their wickedness is great multitudes multitudes in the

valley of decision for the day of the Lord is near it hand now let me read verses 17 and 18

and another angel and here we have another angel came out of the sanctuary which is in heaven

he also having a sharp sickle and another angel came out from the altar he that half power over

the fire and he called with a great voice to him that had the sharp sickle saying send forth

eye sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth for her grapes are fully right

here the sanctuary the temple is in heaven that identifies us with the Old Testament you see

not with the church a sharp sickle points to judgment and the grapes are fully right the

thought here they're dry like raisins and this is a change of metaphor for the War of Armageddon

and that's the picture that Isaiah gives us in Isaiah 63 1 through 6 who is this that coming from

Edom with died garments from Basra this is a very vivid picture and that's not the coming of

Christ the first time that's the coming of Christ the second time and as he trots the wine press

it's like blood on him he's triding down the wicked when he came the first time he shed his

blood for them and they won't have it they must be judged now and he gathers them we are told

when we get to Revelation 16 16 into a place called in the Hebrew tongue harmageddon or

Armageddon and we're going to talk about that when we get to it it's not a battle of Armageddon

but it's the war of Armageddon now verses 18 through 20 and the angel cast a sickle into the

earth and gathered the vine of the earth cast it into the wine press the great wine press of the

wrath of God and the wine press was trotting without the city and that came out blood from the wine

even until the brides of the horses as far as 1,600 furlongs and that would go that link

all the way from Dan to bear sheba and it's the judgment that's coming upon the world at that time

because all the armies of the nations of the world come in at that time and he comes to the earth

and he puts down that rebellion against God but we'll have to leave off right there today

so until next time a god richly bless you my beloved

the book of Revelation is clear judgment is coming to the earth but we praise God for his son

Jesus who took this judgment upon himself on the cross so that anyone who believes in him will

not have to bear it are you ready to trust Jesus is your savior so you can receive forgiveness of

your sins and then be spared from the dark days ahead we'll click on how can I know God in our

app or at ttb.org and you'll find an assortment of Dr. McGee's audio and print resources available

for download or if you'd prefer to have us send you a copy by mail just call us 1 865 Bible again

click on how can I know God in our app or at ttb.org or call us the number again 1 800 652 4253

and to deepen your study of prophecy in the bible why don't you visit ttb.org or you'll find several

terrific resources including our bible companion for revelation download your free copy and bring

it with you on the bible bus or another idea is to start your own home group here in the us

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spot to meet even a park listen to Dr. McGee's teaching on your own or together and then read the

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gather around God's word by downloading a free copy from our app or at ttb.org or purchase

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physical copy just visit ttb.org or call 1 865 bible for details or to place your order our

study of the great and terrible days of the tribulation continues tomorrow here on through the bible

so please join us i'm Steve sweats and i'll be here saving a seat on the bible bus just for you

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