ACT FOUR — THE VISION OF THE SEVEN PERSONS
I. OVERVIEW (Chapters 12-14):
. . A. In this vision John introduces seven persons, who have already appeared, or will appear, under other names.
. . . . 1. The Woman clothed with the sun (the true church, both of Israel and of the Christian Era).
. . . . 2. The Child, to be born of this woman (Christ, the Lamb).
. . . . 3. The Dragon (Satan, the devil).
. . . . 4. Michael (captain of the hosts of Heaven).
. . . . 5. The Beast out of the Sea (anti-Christian government).
. . . . 6. The Beast out of the Earth (anti-Christian religion).
. . . . 7. Babylon, later called the Woman on the Beast (anti-Christian society.
. . B. The first four of these persons are described in Chapter 12.
. . . . 1. This sub-vision of the Woman and the Dragon is really a thumbnail sketch of Satan's opposition to God's
. . . . . . plan . . . . . . of redemption for mankind, stretching from the Garden of Eden to the beginning of the
. . . . . . Christian Era.
. . . . 2. Gods protection of and provision for His Son and His Church is clearly set forth in this vision.
. . . . 3. This chapter also sets the scene for Satan's opposition to the Christian Church (verses 10-17).
. . C. The next two persons appear in Chapter 13, which paints with bold colors the role of evil in the world and
. . . . its true sources.
. . . . 1. The Beast out of the Sea combines all the ferocity and terror of all four of the beasts in Daniel's
. . . . . . vision (Daniel 7).
. . . . 2. This first beast is given power to make war against the saints, and to conquer them (verse 7; compare
. . . . . . 11:7).
. . . . 3. The Beast out of the earth masquerades as Christ (the Lamb), but in reality is the agent of the first
. . . . . . beast.
. . . . 4. The second beast uses all the paraphanalia of religion to seduce mankind into worshipping and obeying
. . . . . . the first beast.
. . D. Chapter 14 describes God's protection for His redeemed people and His judgment upon unrepentant mankind,
. . . . and introduces Babylon.
. . . . 1. The 144,000 who were protected by God's seal in Chapter 7 are now shown gathered on the heavenly
. . . . . . Mount Zion by the Lamb — not one has been lost!
. . . . 2. Three angels now appear to announce God's judgment upon mankind, and upon Babylon the Great (to be
. . . . . . described in full in Chapters 17 and 18).
. . . . 3. John concludes this chapter with another preview of the End Times (6:12-17; 11:11-19), when God will
. . . . . . destroy the wicked in preparation for the New Heavens and the New Earth.
II. THE WOMAN AND THE DRAGON (Chapter 12).
. . A. This vision epitomizes Satan's opposition to Christ and to God's plan for the redemption of mankind through
. . . . Christ's death on the cross (12:1-6).
. . . . 1. The vision is reminiscent of Genesis 3:15 — God foretells this opposition in a verse presenting these
. . . . . . same three persons.
. . . . 2. Satan tries again and again to thwart God's plan, as we can trace from Genesis to Matthew.
. . . . . . a. From Seth to Noah (Satan seduces all mankind — except Noah, with whose family God rebuilds humanity).
. . . . . . b. From Noah to Jacob (Sarah’s barrenness, Abraham tested in the sacrifice of Isaac, Rebecca's barrenness).
. . . . . . c. From Jacob to Moses (Esau's vow to kill Jacob, Pharaoh's order to kill all Hebrew male babies, the Red
. . . . . . . . Sea incident, God’s "decision" to destroy Israel for her apostasy in the event of the golden calf —
. . . . . . . . and Moses' intercession).
. . . . . . d. From Moses to David (Saul's many attempts to kill David, from whose royal line Christ was to be born).
. . . . . . e. From David to Queen Athaliah (her attempt to wipe out the royal family thwarted by Jehosheba's hiding
. . . . . . . . of the infant prince Joash).
. . . . . . f. From Queen Athaliah to Esther (Haman's attempt to have all Jews killed frustrated by Mordecai and Esther).
. . . . . . g. From Esther to Bethlehem (Herod's attempt to kill the baby Jesus frustrated by the holy family's flight
. . . . . . . . to Egypt).
. . . . . . h. Satan's unsuccessful attempts to seduce Jesus in the temptations in the desert and in Gethsemane.
. . B. The expulsion of the dragon from Heaven (12:7-12).
. . . . 1. Christ's death of atonement for man's sin removes any basis for Satan's accusations before God (12:10-11).
. . . . 2. The war between Michael and his angels and Satan and his angels has been interpreted as Satan’s attempt to
. . . . . . storm heaven after Christ's ascension so as to destroy Him.
. . . . 3. Satan’s angels are expelled from Heaven along with Satan (the dragon’s tail sweeps one-third of the stars
. . . . . . to earth).
. . . . 4. There is rejoicing in Heaven over Satan’s expulsion, but those on earth are warned of his fury “because his
. . . . . . time is short.”
. . C. Satan's persecution of the Woman and her "offspring" (12:13-17).
. . . . 1. Being cast out of heaven, Satan persecutes the Woman who gave birth to the Messiah.
. . . . 2. God prepares a haven for her ‘in the desert” where she will be safe from Satan for “a time, times, and half
. . . . . . a time” (the same time period as the 1260 days of verse 6 and of 11:3).
. . . . 3. Satan's attempt to kill her by the great flood of “water” from his mouth has been interpreted as the attempt
. . . . . . by Satan to “slay” the Church with the vast deluge of lies, perversions, heresies and false doctrines that
. . . . . . have flooded the world since the beginning of the Christian Era.
. . . . 4. Unsuccessful in his attempt to destroy the Church, Satan then tries to destroy its individual members, “those
. . . . . . who obey God’s commands and hold to the testimony of Jesus,” by persecution of all kinds, by temptation,
. . . . . . and by false teaching.
. . D. The role of the martyr in Satan’s defeat is stressed in nearly every chapter of the Revelation. Here it is brought
. . . . out in verse 11.
III. SATAN'S HELPERS: THE TWO BEASTS AND BABYLON THE GREAT (Chapter 13):
. . A. This chapter describes some of the means Satan employs to conduct his warfare against the Church (see 12:17).
. . . . 1. The power of the State — where heads of state can be made to serve Satan by persecuting the Church.
. . . . 2. The influence of false religion — where religious leaders preach Satan's doctrines and support the State.
. . . . 3. The lure of licientious living — where men and women, for their own monetary profit, appeal to the physical
. . . . . . appetites of man.
. . B. The Beast out of the Sea (13:1-10).
. . . . 1. Like the dragon (Satan), this beast had seven heads and ten horns; but the beast’s horns — not his heads —
. . . . . . were crowned, showing that his authority was derived from the dragon.
. . . . 2. This beast combined the characteristics of all four of Daniel's beasts (Daniel, chapter 7), and thus cannot
. . . . . . represent a single world empire, but is symbolic of all such empires
. . . . 3. The beast is to exercise his authority for 42 months (13:5). This is the same time period as the two witnesses
. . . . . . are to prophesy (11:3), the gentiles to tramp1e the holy city (11:2), the woman is to be protected by God in
. . . . . . the desert (12:6, 12:14), to pass before the coming of the end times (Dan.12:7), and the time between the
. . . . . . abolishing of the daily sacrifice and the revealing of the “abomination that causes desolation” (Daniel 12:11).
. . . . . . Clearly, this must be the time during which the Gospel is to be proclaimed to all mankind.
. . . . 4. The saints are protected from Satan’s wiles (13:8), but must have patient endurance and faithfulness (13:10).
. . C. The Beast out of the Earth (13:11-18).
. . . . 1. This beast had only two horns, like those of a lamb, but spoke like a dragon. He was given the authority of
. . . . . . the first beast (which came from the dragon) (13:11-12).
. . . . 2. He used all the tricks and paraphanalia of magic and religion to convince the inhabitants of the earth to
. . . . . . worship the first beast.
. . . . 3. So thoroughly had he usurped God’s authority on earth that he could order the death of anyone who refused
. . . . . . to worship the image of the first beast, and he controlled all commerce, so as to exclude those who did not
. . . . . . have “the mark of the beast" on the hand or forehead (13:15-17).
. . . . 4. The number of this beast is the "number of man": 666. Many scholars have tried to determine who is meant:
. . . . . . from Nero to Hitler, including Euthanthas (Iranaeus), Lateinos, Teitan, arnoume (“I deny”), and several
. . . . . . popes.
. . D. Babylon the Great (14:8). Only the fall of Babylon is introduced here. John uses two whole chapters (17 and 18)
. . . . to describe this helper of Satan and her destruction.
IV. GOD'S REACTION TO SATAN'S WARFARE AGAINST THE CHURCH (Chapter 14):
. . A. God deals with Satan's activities in two ways:
. . . . 1. He “keeps” every one of his saints. The same 144,000 who were sealed with God's seal (7:1-8) are to be seen
. . . . . . (in Johns vision) standing on the Heavenly Mount Zion with the Lamb (Christs designation in Heaven throughout
. . . . . . Revelation).
. . . . 2. He destroys those who reject His gracious offer of pardon, after giving them every possible opportunity to
. . . . . . repent and return to Him.
. . B. The 144,000 of Chapter 7 are now in Heaven (14:1-5), singing their song of redemption (which only they could
. . . . learn) before the Throne and the creatures and elders surrounding it. They have been purified from all of earth's
. . . . sin and contamination, because they have been true to the Christ who saved them.
. . C. Seven angels are used, first to warn rebellious mankind (14:6-13), and then to reap the harvests at the end time --
. . . . first the grain harvest (14:14-16) and then the grape harvest (14:17-20).
. . . . 1. The first three angels bring a three-fold warning:
. . . . . . a. Fear God, and worship Him as Creator of ‘the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the springs of water” (14:6-7).
. . . . . . b. ‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great, who made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries”
. . . . . . . . ((14:8).
. . . . . . c. Pronouncement of everlasting torment for all those who worship the beast and receive his mark (14:9-11).
. . . . 2. The admonition from 13:10 for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints is here repeated
. . . . . . (14:12).
. . . . 3. John emphasizes the blessings to come to those who “die in the Lord (martyrs?) from now on” (14:13).
. . . . 4. The next two angels cause the reaping of the harvest of the earth (14:14-16). Some see Christ Himself executing
. . . . . . this reaping (he is seated on a cloud, is “like a son of man” with a crown of gold on his head), but would
. . . . . . Christ be ordered by an angel from the Temple? Is this not the harvest of the “wheat” from Jesus' parable
. . . . . . (Mt.13:24-30,36-43)?
. . . . 5. The final two angels cause the gathering of the grapes of the earths harvest into the winepress of Gods wrath
. . . . . . (with a sickle?) (14:17-20). The use (mis-use?) of symbols here does not make good sense in a literal
. . . . . . interpretation. Are these grapes the “tares” of Jesus' parable?
Act 5 (Chapters 15-16)
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