Rev 11:14-19
The Last Half Begins
This morning, we leave the sixth trumpet and step into the seventh.
1. There is no immediate, direct judgment which takes place on the
earth when the seventh trumpet sounds.
2. Instead, John sees things happening in heaven.
3. Like the sixth trumpet, this judgment will last a long time and
will eventually include other judgments.
4. It does not actually end until the tribulation is over.
a. We are told this several times in the Revelation.
Revelation 10:7 But in the days of the voice of
the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound,
the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath
declared to his servants the prophets.
Revelation 15:1 And I saw another sign in
heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having
the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up
the wrath of God.
b. I believe there are several other terms that describe this
time period.
1. It is called the third woe:
Revelation 8:13 And I beheld, and heard an angel
flying through the midst of heaven, saying with
a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters
of the earth by reason of the other voices of
the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet
to sound!
Revelation 11:14 The second woe is past; and,
behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
2. I belief it is called the time of Jacob’s trouble.
Jeremiah 30:7 Alas! for that day is great, so
that none is like it: it is even the time of
Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
3. It is called the Great Tribulation.
Matthew 24:21 For then shall be great
tribulation, such as was not since the beginning
of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
c. I also belief sixth and seventh trumpets mark the half-way
point of the tribulation. We looked at some of what will
happen on earth around that time. There are seven major
events occur:
1. Somewhere in that time period, the anti-Christ declares
himself to be god - \\#2Thess 2:3-4\\.
2. Then the Jews turn to Christ at that time.
3. This may be in part to the ministry of the two witnesses
\\#Rev 11:3\\.
4. Anti-Christ breaks his treaty with the Jews at that
time. \\#Daniel 9:24-27\\.
5. He commits the abomination of desolations (defilement of
the temple and Israel). \\#Matthew 24:25\\
6. The he begins to persecute the Jews and Christians
\\#Rev 11:3\\.
7. That is the time when Jesus warned the Jews to flee -
\\#Luke 21:21-24\\.
d. Those are all events which take place on the earth. Our
text describes what will happen in heaven at the half-way
mark of the tribulation.
I. \\#11:14-15\\ A Possession Reclaimed
A. \\#14\\ "the third woe cometh quickly" - Things are going to
happen FAST.
B. \\#15\\ "The kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our
Lord."
1. This verse is speaking of rulership not ownership.
2. God originally created the world and gave dominion (or
authority) of it to Adam.
Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said
unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and
replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the
fowl of the air, and over every living thing that
moveth upon the earth.
3. When Adam sinned, he lost two things in the fall.
a. Adam lost the souls of mankind.
(1) Adam did not loose man’s souls to the devil. The
devil is just as damned as a lost soul.
(2) Adam lost man’s souls to sin and damnation.
b. Adam lost rulership (to the victor go the spoils).
(1) God never gave up possession of creation; only
rule over it.
Exodus 19:5 …for all the earth is mine:
Psalms 89:11 The heavens are thine, the earth
also is thine: as for the world and the fulness
thereof, thou hast founded them.
(2) Jesus called Satan the prince (ruler) of this
world.
John 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world:
now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
John 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with
you: for the prince of this world cometh, and
hath nothing in me.
John 16:11 Of judgment, because the prince of
this world is judged.
(3) Paul called him the prince of the power of the
air.
Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked
according to the course of this world, according
to the prince of the power of the air, the
spirit that now worketh in the children of
disobedience:
(4) Have you ever felt the world was against you?
It is! The manager of this world actually has
it in for you!
4. When Jesus died on the cross, He paid the sin debt,
purchasing back that which Adam had lost.
a. Christ purchased His elect (those who would trust Him)
on the cross.
b. He also purchased the right to rule over all
creation).
c. But even after Jesus paid the price—even after we are
saved—the world can still seem to be against us?
(1) Why?
(2) Because even though Jesus has paid the price,
He has not yet taken full possession over that
which He has paid.
(3) It is in the will of God for Satan to continue to
"manage" it for the time.
5. But during the seventh trumpet, God takes possession of
what is His.
a. From the earth, things will not look any different.
b. From heaven, things will look very different (next
chapter).
(1) The old ruler will be dispossessed and must be
removed (Rev 12-20). That means Satan will be
evicted!
(2) The old property will be renovated \\#Rev 20:1\\.
(3) And new policies must be put into place
\\#Rev 20:2-22:21\\.
6. All of this will take place within the final 3 1/2 years
of the seventh trumpet but it starts NOW!
C. \\#15\\ "he shall reign for ever and ever." - Once Jesus takes
rulership, He will never surrender it again.
D. \\#11:15-17\\ Heaven rejoices over that!
1. \\#16\\ "four and twenty elders" worship.
2. The four and twenty elders in particular are mentioned.
a. \\#Rev 4:4\\ Twenty-four elders first mentioned.
b. We do not know for certain who they are but speculate
12 represent tribes of Judah (Jacob’s sons) and 12
apostles.
c. Together they represent the redeemed of all ages.
d. New management coming to this earth should be of
special interest to the saved of all ages.
Ultimately,
(1) Satan will be removed.
(2) The sin curse will be removed. (Laborious work,
natural disasters, man’s sinfulness, death)
(3) The physical, visible reign of Jesus will begin.
E. \\#18\\ "the nations were angry" - The world’s attitude
changes.
1. At the beginning the tribulation, they were fearful:
Revelation 6:16 And said to the mountains and
rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of
him that sitteth on the throne, and from the
wrath of the Lamb:
2. Throughout the tribulation, mankind has been largely
unrepentant:
Revelation 9:20 And the rest of the men which
were not killed by these plagues yet repented not
of the works of their hands, that they should not
worship devils, idols of gold, and silver, and
brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither
can see, nor hear, nor walk:
21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of
their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of
their thefts.
3. Now, they become defiantly angry.
Psalm 2:1 Why do the heathen rage, and the
people imagine a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and
the rulers take counsel together, against the
LORD, and against his anointed….
a. This is not a fleeting emotion.
b. It will be their predominant attitude unto their
destruction.
c. It helps explain their reaction to the death of the
two witnesses.
d. Faced with all the misery, these souls will become
more and more angry with the God whom the Christians
will be proclaiming has brought these judgments.
e. A person who can not be moved to accept Christ in
grace, will not be moved to accept God in judgment.
II. \\#Rev 12:1-3\\ A Person Revealed
Rev 12:3 …a great red dragon, having seven
heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon
his heads.
A. The Beast is a man as the Bible reveals in several locations.
2Thess 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means:
for that day shall not come, except there come
a falling away first, and that man of sin be
revealed, the son of perdition;
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all
that is called God, or that is worshipped; so
that he as God sitteth in the temple of God,
shewing himself that he is God.
1. \\#2Thess 2:3\\ Called the "man of sin."
a. He is a man, born of earthly parents, a human.
b. However, he is also the very embodiment of sin itself.
That is, he is evil and wickedness incarnated.
2. \\#2Thess 2:4\\ As a man, this beast will oppose and exalt
himself against anything that is of God.
a. This does not mean you will always know he is against
God. He will use subterfuge to hide his goals and
motives.
b. But in everything important, he will be opposite God.
c. In opposing God, the anti-Christ will try to change
every natural course which God has set.
Daniel 7:25 And he shall… think to change times
and laws….
d. This nature of opposing God is already in the world
and growing.
1John 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not
of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist,
whereof ye have heard that it should come; and
even now already is it in the world.
B. Understand from where this beast gets his nature:
1. \\#Rev 13:2\\ The dragon gave the Beast his seat and
authority.
Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that
old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which
deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into
the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
2. This spirit of opposition to God, both that which is to be
embodied within the anti-Christ and is already at work
today, comes from Satan himself.
C. The anti-Christ will be a man who is filled with the devil.
Whether he is possessed with a demon or Satan himself, is
hard to say. If it is a demon, it is Lucifer’s most trusted
demon.
1. We have a similar illustration in Judas.
Luke 22:3 Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed
Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.
4 And he went his way, and communed with the
chief priests and captains, how he might betray
him unto them.
2. Have you ever considered how short the time was that Judas
was filled with the devil, yet how great was the damage
he caused.
a. \\#John 13:27\\ tells us that Satan entered Judas as
the Last Supper.
b. Before the day was done, Jesus was betrayed,
crucified, buried, and Judas had hanged himself.
c. Imagine what destruction Satan can cause by inhabiting
a human body for 3 1/2 years.
III. A Principality Reborn
A. This man will be the leader, no the KING of the world.
B. This man will become the leader of the major world powers.
1. \\#Rev 13:1\\ The beast will have ten horns.
2. Daniel 7 explains the meaning of the horns.
Daniel 7:24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom
are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall
rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the
first, and he shall subdue three kings.
3. If you read what others have written about Bible prophecy,
you won’t read long until you come across the phrase
"the revived Roman Empire."
a. The reason why people speak of that term is because it
is believed by many that the anti-Christ will
basically put back together the kind of kingdom that
existed in the days pf Christ.
b. The Roman Empire covered most of the known world at
that time.
c. With our NAFTA, GAFTA, and global warming treaties,
the US has made itself one of the several world
powers who has surrendered much of its autonomy to
NATO troops.
4. One of the interesting things about this man and his
political power is how the Bible describes this man
leading.
Daniel 11:21 And in his estate shall stand up a
vile person, to whom they shall not give the
honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in
peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
Daniel 11:32 And such as do wickedly against the
covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the
people that do know their God shall be strong,
and do exploits.
a. This wicked man shall gain his political seat by
flatteries.
b. That means, he won’t be placed in power because of
what he has done but because he can talk.
c. Does that remind you of anyone?
d. I continue to warn you not to put people in power
because of what they SAY. Look at what they have
DONE.
(1) Everyone has a foot print, especially
politicians.
(2) If they don’t, it is because it has been erased.
C. This man will also have control over religion and the economy
as we shall see in verses to come.
Understand, this chapter is not detailing the coming of the anti-
Christ but the revealing of the anti-Christ. When these things
happen, you will be able to recognize him; however, it is possible
that he is already here. Indeed, it is probable that the anti-Christ
is already working in a political position.
I am not asking you today if you are ready for the coming of the
anti-Christ but if you are ready for the coming or Christ! Are you
ready?
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