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We are in Revelation 19, so if you could turn to Revelation 19. Last week we were blessed to see this amazing vision of the rider on a white horse who is Jesus Christ. He comes in glory and power. He comes as a conquering king, a hero on the horizon who appears with his armies behind him, ready to swoop down and destroy his enemy. He is seated on a white horse. He is a righteous judge. He is the Word of God. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. And today we get to see this glorious king in his victory over his enemies. But before we do that, before we start to look at this passage, I need to help us prepare to understand what we're about to see. I want us to back up and remind ourselves of the many things that we've been learning as we walk through this book of Revelation, the revelation of Jesus Christ. And remember what we've learned, that this book With all its images, it's not a historical record. It's not recorded like a newspaper or a history book. It's not a puzzle for us to try and figure out, to look at each piece and say, well maybe this equals that, or maybe this equals that. Try and figure out where in history, in the past or in the future, each of these things is symbolized as John is describing. Rather, this book needs to be understood more as a picture book. A picture book in which Jesus gives us a series of these interrelated pictures. Pictures about the battle between God and his enemies and the place of the church in the midst of that conflict. Remember the purpose of this book. The purpose, it's written to the church of Jesus Christ. It's in order to strengthen our faith, to warn us of the enemy that we face. and to call us to endurance in the testimony of Jesus Christ, our Lord. So that means when we read this passage today, this passage that describes future, final, ultimate conflict between Christ and His enemies, these words that are written are written for us today. They're to benefit us today, here and now. So, with that being said, as we look at the end of chapter 19, what are the pictures that we find ourselves in the midst of? As Revelation has progressed, we've seen an increasingly vivid portrayal of the enemies of God. In chapter 12, we saw the introduction of a dragon, described as that ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. And joining the dragon, we saw two beasts, one rising from the sea and one from the earth. And both were given the dragon's power and authority. And these three, they formed what we called an unholy trinity. They put themselves in the place of God, the triune God, intending to imitate his power and to steal his worship. And then there was a fourth figure, remember? A fourth figure joined this triad. She derived her power from them. And that was the great prostitute of chapter 17, also called Babylon. And where this unholy trinity was this grotesque counterpart to the triune God, the prostitute was a grotesque and satanic counterpart to the Church of Jesus Christ. So these, the enemies of God, are described in terms of their power, their authority, their dominion over the peoples of the earth. By enticement, and by deception, and by force, they gather all those who have not been sealed to Christ. And they gather them up into this great multitude to oppose Christ, to oppose His authority. But the message of Revelation, the message is that Christ Jesus has already won. Judgment is coming. Victory is assured. And that brings us to our text today. The series of pictures in which we find ourselves in the midst of here is a declaration of the sure and coming judgment of God on His enemies. These enemies are reigning against Him and His church. The first picture that's part of this culmination of judgment was in chapter 18 when we saw the fall of Babylon. And a great angel cries out, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great. And the people, everyone who took pleasure in her, in her immorality, they stand off and they cry, Alas, alas, you great city, you mighty city Babylon, for in a single hour your judgment has come. So the prostitute is destroyed and the bride of Christ is vindicated. But that's just the beginning of these judgments that God is bringing on His enemies. See, we still have this unholy trinity made up of the dragon and these two beasts that He controls. So the battle scene we read today is directed at these latter two beasts. The defeat of the dragon is still to come. We'll see that in chapter 20. That final picture that will complete this collage of judgment on God's enemies. So let's turn and read from our text today in light of that. Revelation 19, and we're going to start in verse 17. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great. And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet, who in its presence had done the signs by which he had deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who had worshipped its image. These, too, were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. and the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh." It's an amazing account, a visceral account of judgment and victory as the rider on a white horse, as Jesus Christ meets his enemies in this climactic battle. As we look at our passage today, I want to examine three different aspects of the battle we see here. First, I want us to look at the identity of the enemies of Christ. Second, I want to look at the assurance of the victory of Christ. And then, I want to examine the finality of Christ's judgment. So let's turn first and look at the identities of the enemies of Christ. There's three characters we see here opposing Christ, and they are the beast, the false prophet, and the armies of the world. So we're going to examine each one of these in turn. In order to understand what each of these characters represent, I think we need to first, and again, reorient our thinking to what we are commonly used to when we approach the book of Revelation. Talked about it at the beginning, we're going to talk about it here. We've talked about this throughout, but we are so used to thinking of this book in certain ways that we need to understand how this book is to be read. You see, when most of us read Revelation, we read about different characters like the Beast or the False Prophet, and we try to figure out, who is that? What specific person? Is it this guy? Is it that organization? Is it this nation? You know, which one of these do I quote to you? So maybe we might think that the Pope is the false prophet. Maybe the Catholic Church is the false prophet. Maybe the beast is a one-world government. Maybe there's a specific leader who is the beast. You know, maybe President Obama. Or maybe some leader who hasn't come. Or maybe it's somebody from the past. Maybe it's Rome or Nero. We try and connect these things, but no matter what the specific interpretation We come to these characters with this belief that there's a specific group or a specific person that's represented here and we're trying to figure it out. Our job is to figure that out, make that puzzle fit. Now you've heard us talk about the problem with that approach. If Nero is what is described, what does that have to do with us? If it's some future ruler, what does that have to do with us now? How does that help the faith of the church now, Christians now, or the faith of the church then, Christians to whom this letter was written? So how am I to do what Jesus commands me to do to keep the words of this book? But this book is applicable to us. It was applicable to the churches to whom it was written. It's applicable to us now. It will be applicable to the church in every age until Christ returns. So how are we to understand these pictures? So we understand, first of all, these characters point to spiritual realities, not necessarily just physical, not primarily physical ones. That's how we get into trouble trying to identify a single person or a single character. Paul instructing Ephesians to think this way. In Ephesians 6.10, he says, Finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might, put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devils. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. The Ephesian Christians are not to see their enemies primarily in terms of the physical rulers or persecutors standing there in front of them. They're to look beyond those physical realities to the battle that is spiritual, a spiritual battle. Their enemies are primarily spiritual powers behind the physical enemies that they face. So these, just as in the spiritual image we see in Revelation, all of them have behind them a great dragon. So if the characters of Christ's enemies in our passage today are not intended to point us to specific people, what is their purpose? Why does Christ paint this picture for us? What is he teaching us? The characters of the beast and the false prophet, the great prostitute before them, they represent spiritual activities, kingdoms that Satan has built up against Christ and against his church. And I want you to notice that many times they're described in terms of what they counterfeit. So as an example, let's look at the great prostitute at Babylon, whose judgment we've already seen. Everything about her is a grotesque caricature or counterpart of the church of Jesus Christ. She's described as a prostitute where God's people are a beautiful bride. The prostitute, what is she clothed in? Purple robes, scarlet, gold, jewels, and pearls. Fine things that represent the enticements that she offers those who join her in her idolatry. But the bride of Christ, what is she clothed with? Clothed in fine linen, white and pure, which represents the righteous deeds of the saints, those who've remained faithful to their testimony to Jesus Christ. The prostitute is seated on many waters, peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. All those people who are deceived by her and join her. Where the bride of Christ is composed of a great multitude that no one can number. From every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages. All those who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. The prostitute is set up against the bride of Christ as this picture of the spirit of deception and enticement, which with the world is enraptured. And the people of God are called to flee from that enticement, to come out of her. And that spirit of Babylon was present in John's day, it's present in our day. The world will remain enthralled with her until her time of judgment. So the picture we have of the prostitute warns us to flee the enticements of the world while giving assurance to us that God's judgment is coming. So with that picture and that understanding of what we're looking at when we engage with these pictures of the enemies of God, let's turn and see these enemies that are listed for us today in this climactic battle against Christ. As we look at them, I want us to remember, first of all, what it is that they are counterparts to. What are they fighting against? We saw it last week. Then I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse. The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire. and on his head are many diadems. And he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is the Word God. And the armies of heaven arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On His robe and on His thigh, He has a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the righteous judge. He is the glorious King. He is the Word of God. And He appears as a victorious conqueror, riding to war. And then He meets these enemies. Who are they? Let's look first at the first enemy that we see there. The picture of the beast. The beast was introduced back in chapter 13 of Revelation. And I saw a beast rising out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads, and ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard. Its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed. And the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. And they worshipped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast. And they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it? Now we're not going to be able to cover the entire picture of what the beast is. But I want us to look at and see, just like the prostitute presented a false picture of the church, here we see a holy counterpart to the white rider himself. The beast is described as possessing ten horns and seven heads, denoting by the symbolism of those numbers, complete and all-encompassing power. These are an imitation of what is described in Revelation 5, the lamb having seven horns. You see, the beast, just as the dragon who spawned him, claims the authority and power and kingship that are Jesus Christ's alone. He has ten diadems, showing the universality of his claims to kingship, even as Jesus Christ has many diadems. He has true authority, true kingship. He has a divine right of kingship. So in addition to these symbols of authority and kingship, the beast also is described as having blasphemous names. What is blasphemy? Blasphemy is, at core, the breaking of the third commandment. You know, taking the Lord's name in vain, taking God's name in vain. But the ultimate blasphemy is to call the creature, the creator, to claim the name of God for yourself. That's why the Jews responded to the claims of Jesus by saying, it's not for a good work that we're going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God. The Jews thought Jesus was blaspheming, because He claimed the authority of God. But He was God. When He appears as the white rider, He has that name written in the Word of God. Jesus was not blaspheming. Not so this beast. He claims divine authority, yet He is no God. He is blasphemous. His names, which He calls Himself, are blasphemous names. And we see further, the beast attempts to impersonate the person of Jesus Christ in the appearance of a mortal wound that was healed, in an imitation of the Savior who died and came to life. The beast now claims his own resurrection and eternal life. Now, to understand this, Church, I want you to think, what is that wound from which the beast claims he was healed? Remember, he has a wound on one of his heads. Who wounds his enemy on his head? Christ Jesus does. Remember the promise in Genesis, when it says the seed of the woman will crush the serpent's head. He's already He has already landed that blow. He has already wounded the serpent and all who follow him. When he rose from the dead, when he laid down his life and rose from the dead, he dealt a mortal killing blow to Satan and all his offspring. So the beast is putting on a show. A show before the world, He declares that the death and resurrection of Christ could not match Him, could not kill Him. He stands still. No power can touch Him. That's why the whole world looks at Him and says, Who is like a beast? Who can fight against it? That is the deception of the beast. So this enemy of the white rider, The beast with his great boast, he claims power over the kings of the earth. He claims the worship and authority of Christ himself. He mocks Christ and all who trust in the gospel, claiming victory for himself. He is the beast who makes war on the church even today. We see him in any leader, every leader, every power, every nation, every authority that raises itself up and exalts itself against Jesus Christ. It claims the worship and devotion that only Christ can claim. Whether it be a nation like China, where the state demands allegiance and the church is forced underground by persecution, or whether it be a nation like America, where the attacks are more veiled and the demands, perhaps, are more veiled, but they are still there under the headings of tolerance or acceptance. We face the beast even now, church. The second enemy we see in our passage today is that of the false prophet. We read in verse 20 of our passage, And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet, who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped its image. So who is the false prophet? Though he's not named as such, we can tell by the description that he's the second beast described in chapter 13. Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence. It makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of the people. And by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast, it deceives those who dwell on earth. telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or on the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark that is the name of the beast or the number of its name. So this second beast is rightfully called a false prophet. Because that's the essence of what he does. Rather than tell true words about God, the true words that Jesus Christ declares, he tells false words. He spreads lies and deception. What's his purpose? He causes the world to turn and worship the beast. The same beast who exalts himself to take the place of Christ. This false prophet, just as the beast before him, tries to take on the characteristics of Christ. To deceive the world about who he really is. What does he appear as? A lamb. He appears as a lamb. But when he speaks, what's the voice that proceeds from him? That of a dragon. He spreads lies and deceptions. What are his lies and deceptions? What does he say? We see these in the form of signs, great signs by which the false property calls even fire down from heaven to earth, causes the earth to marvel and wonder at the power of the beast. Now these are deceptions, a false imitation. Think about the picture of the church that was given back in chapter 11 with the two witnesses. And when they spoke, fire came from their mouths. The picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ being proclaimed. The false prophet seeks to demonstrate a false example, a false gospel is proclaimed. False testimony. The testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed by the church, but the false prophet, he proclaims falsehoods. He, by his words and by this false gospel, seeks to deceive the world and even the church about the nature and power of the beast. You know, the false prophet is the reason that there's such deceptions out there like evolution or other philosophies. You know, statism, Marxism, all these different philosophies that hold sway over the many times the smartest and wisest people of the world. These false gospels, and there's false gospels in the church as well, or in congregations who claim the name of Christ. There's false gospels, health and wealth gospel, works righteousness, self-realization, all of these things that appeal to the flesh of men, that appeal to the world. And the false prophet in these false gospels speaks with great power, like fire coming down from heaven. He calls the people of the earth to worship and honor the beast and ultimately the dragon. He calls the true testimony of the church of Jesus Christ to be false. Where Christ marks each of his people with his name, the false prophet marks the people of the world with the mark of the beast. And the beast is a work around us, church. We see his activities in different lies and deceptions. We see Him in the things that control nations and the things that control leaders. We hear His lies in the media and in politicians, academics, entertainment. All of these lies are around us constantly, these lies of the false prophet. So are we on guard, church, for the teachings of this false prophet? Are we listening to this false gospels that surround us? Are we listening to the gospel of Jesus Christ? Are we listening to that true and faithful witness? So we've seen two enemies, there's one left. So we have the beast and we have the false prophet. There are many who fall prey to the deceptions of the false prophet and the beast. And they compose this final enemy. In verse 19 we see, And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. This third enemy we see in the battle scene before us today is described as the kings of the earth with their armies. What do these describe? What do these symbolize? What do these represent? Is this just certain kings? If we have this idea about this battle where it's predicting a certain person at a certain time, and then these are just certain kings that are in charge at that time? Is it just kings, or is it everyone? To understand this picture, we need to look at a couple of things. We need to look back at the beginning of the passage and understand who is the judgment about to fall on? In that call to the birds, we hear, Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings. the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and the riders, the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great. And that list gives us a little more insight, doesn't it? About who it is that follows the beast. These armies don't include just the great and powerful. They don't include just any specific group. It's inclusive. It says all men. It says slave and free, small and great. Just like that other final judgment scene we saw. Remember back in chapter 6 with the opening of the 6th seal. When the people of earth plead the impending wrath of God, it says then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks and the mountains. calling to the mountains and rocks, follow us and hide us from the face of Him who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of the wrath has come and who can stand?" So just as in our passage today, those who are under judgment are described in comprehensive terms. Great ones, generals, rich, powerful, slave and free. There is no class of man who does not fall under the wrath of God. Does it mean every single person though? Does every single individual arm themselves in this battle and join the armies of the beast against the rebellion? In rebellion against the Lamb? Actually it is, every single person. The whole world, the entire world is in rebellion against God. They've all been deceived by the false prophet. They all bear the mark of the beast. That's why it says, of the false prophet, he causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark that is the name of the beast or the number of its name. You see, church, the mark of the beast is not some special mark only given to those who are really wicked. It's not a mark just for those who are very foolish and walk into taking and accepting this mark. It's not just for those. All are marked. All have the sign of the Beast. All are branded with His name. All people of the earth join in the rebellion of the Beast against the Lamb. And all people face the judgment of Christ. That's all people except the one people. There is only one people who do not bear the mark of the beast. They've been marked by another master. They've been branded with another name, and they are those who ride with Him on white horses, the army of Christ Jesus, our Lord. And they have a name. Their name is His name. They have His name written on their foreheads. He's given them a new name. Church, that is your name. You are marked by Jesus Christ. You have been marked by His name. So just as the armies of the beast comprise those from every class of people, so too the armies of Christ comprise the breadth of mankind. In chapter 7 we saw it, a great multitude, that no one can number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, all those who have been washed by the blood of the Lamb and held fast to the testimony of Jesus Christ, despite the lies of the persecutor, despite the deceptions of the false prophet. So those Those comprise the characters we see today. We have the three enemies of Christ. We've seen the beast who claims Christ's authority, power, and kingship. We have the false imitation of Christ himself. We've seen this false prophet who deceives the nations, turning all to worship the beast by his lies, speaking a false gospel in opposition to the true and faithful witness. And we've seen the armies of the beast composed of all the people of the world, every one who has not been marked by the name of Jesus Christ and sealed by His Spirit. So now let's turn, church, now let's turn and see what our passages teach us today about the nature of that battle, the battle that is waged. We're going to look at two aspects of this battle. First, I want us to see that the assurance of Christ's victory. Then we'll turn and look at the finality of His judgment. So to see this assurance, let's go back to the beginning of the passage. It says, Then I saw an angel standing in the sun with a loud voice. He called to all the birds that flew directly overhead, Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and the riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great. Look at this disturbing picture of this carnage. I want you to note a few things. First of all, this is very common language in terms of battlefields. In ancient times, if a battle was large enough and the casualties were great enough, when the battle was over, in the aftermath, there was this grotesque scene where all the beasts would come out and the birds would come down because they just could not clear the field of all the bodies. So, and you see the same imagery used throughout the Bible. We have it, if you've ever read the dialogue between David and Goliath, as they're about to come against each other on the battlefield, and both of them are shouting out to one another these promises to feed the dead bodies of their enemy to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field. But specific to our passage today, I want to look at another passage in Scripture. It's actually the picture that John is pointing us back to. Remember that John points back to the prophetic imagery of the Old Testament. And Ezekiel 39, 17 speaks of the final battle in which the forces of the enemies of God's people, the enemies of God, they're called Gog and Magog, and they're called out and they're utterly destroyed in battle. And God says this to the prophet. As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God. Speak to the birds of every sort and to all beasts of the field. Assemble and come, gather from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you. A great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel and you shall eat flesh and drink blood. You shall eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs and of he goats, of bulls and all them fat beasts of Bashan. And you shall eat fat till you are filled, and drink blood till you are drunk, at the sacrificial feast I am preparing for you. And you shall be filled at my table with horses and charioteers, with mighty men and all kinds of warriors, declares the Lord God." That's the same imagery that we have here. And the reason it's the same imagery is because it's actually describing the same battle. That same end of time conflict. Give you a little bit of a flavor of what's to come. Just asking a question. Note that John uses the same imagery at the end of chapter 20 when he describes the battle with the dragon at the end of the thousand year reign. The enemies are described, called Gog and Magog. I'll let you think about that and chew on that. But back to our passage today. What is so striking about this call by the angel to the virgin of the air, it happens before the battle. before there has been an engagement on the field. Before there's any battle, this angel calls the virgin and says, come and eat. Is there any question in the angel's mind about what the result of this battle is going to be? Is there any concern or worry? Maybe evil will triumph? No, Christ's victory is assured from before the battle begins. We're promised that Christ will win before the first blow even falls. Christ's victory is assured because of who He is. He is God. He is the Creator. You know, it's laughable. It's laughable that the creature would oppose the Creator. Think of Psalm 2 we read in our call to worship today. Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed, saying, Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us. He who sits in the heavens laughs." God laughs. Not a laugh of amusement. It's one of derision. That those who He created, who owe their every breath to Him, would oppose Him who gives them life. It's the foolishness of man. The foolishness of listening to the false prophet and of following the beast. The psalmist continues, the Lord holds them in derision. Then He will speak to them in His wrath and terrify them in His fury, saying, As for me, I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill. I will tell of the decree. The Lord said to me, you are my son, today I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." Christ Jesus is God. He is the Word of God, that is His name. And He will descend on His enemies riding a white horse and rule them with a rod of iron. So the victory of Jesus Christ is assured because of who He is. But that's not the only reason. It's also assured because of what He has already won. The fatal blow has already fallen. And we saw how the beast, he appears to have a fatal wound that was healed. Church, that is a deception. It is a lie. The wound has been made. The beast has been wounded by the sword, but his miraculous recovery is nothing but a lie. He is dying even now. The death blow fell with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We can see this in the way the servant himself rages around. It says in Revelation 12, the earth is told, the devil has come down to you in great wrath because he knows his time is short. He is bleeding from a wound that he tries to hide. He knows his time is short. His defeat occurred long ago when the perfect lamb of God, when Jesus Christ died on the cross in the place of his people, when he took the punishment for our sins on himself. When He gave us freedom from the powers of sin and death and the power of Satan, Satan's kingdom even now crumbles before the risen Christ. The beast who claims the power and authority and worship of Christ will fall. The false prophet with his lies and deceptions will be shown to be the conjurer he is. And the people of the world will align themselves with the beast who has taken his mark. who worship His image, they will fall before the white rider, before the sword of judgment proceeding from His mouth. Christ's victory is assured. It's assured because of who He is. He is the Word of God. It's assured because of what He has done. And that's why the angel can call the birds of the air, gather for the great supper of God. So we've seen that Christ's victory is assured, let's turn now and see the completeness and finality of Christ's judgment. Our passage concludes in this way, And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet, who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who had worshipped its image. These too were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur, and the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh." It's fitting that in a battle in which the assurance of Christ's victory has already been given, that the battle is over before it's done. The beast and his armies appear great and powerful, but defeat is more than a note. We don't even get to see the battle. We don't even get to see the beast in his greatness, his power and prowess, trying to fight against the white rider. We don't have any detailed struggle. No, the beast was captured. That's all we read. It was over before it started. He had no hope of victory. The beast is captured and with him the false prophet. And not only these, but leaders of the rebellion know Christ's judgment is complete and final. It falls on all his enemies. And the rest were slain by the sword, that sword that proceeds from his mouth. Every one of Christ's enemies falls. His victory is complete and utter. No one escapes. And it's final. There's no returning from this battle. There's no regrouping to fight another day. And we can see the finality here in two different ways. First, if the judgment falls on the beast and the false prophet, what is the judgment? They're thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. That is a picture of the final judgment. Of the final resting place for all of God's enemies under the full weight of His wrath for all eternity. Hell is what is pictured here. It's a place of ultimate and final judgment. The beast and the false prophet find their doom here. But we can also see the finality of Christ's judgment and the end of the followers of the beast. It says, And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. Just as Jesus Christ in the passage earlier when we talked about the fall of Babylon, just as he described the fall of that city with an ending fire, Using that to describe that the judgment was final, there was no coming back for Babylon. Here he uses the picture of birds feasting on the flesh of people of this world to describe the finality of their destruction. Now we might wonder why are the beast and the false prophet thrown into the lake of fire but not their followers? Why weren't the armies of the beast thrown in as well? And the reason is that this is a picture book. And there's still more pictures to be seen. There's still an enemy waiting, a dragon. The dragon must be dealt with. The first resurrection must come. That promise when all those who are in their graves come out and sit before the judgment seat of God, then he will give us that last picture. That picture of the lake of fire and the judgment of all who do not turn to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith. That is their ultimate end. They will follow the beast to his destruction and they will be judged with finality. So we've seen today the enemies arrayed against Jesus Christ, the rider on the white horse. He's faced with a great beast, a beast that makes great boasts, drawing away the loyalty of the people of this world. Claiming worship that is Christ and Christ alone, he demands allegiance of all, and he persecutes those who do not follow him. He persecutes the church of Jesus Christ. We've seen today the character of the false prophet, the deceiver, teller of lies. Many times he seeks to appear to bear the word of Christ, but his words are actually the words of a dragon. His philosophies and teachings call us away from the worship of Christ to instead worship the beast. And for the people of the world, even to us church, when we are thinking thoughts of the flesh, they can seem to have power. Those lies can seem to be convincing. It can start to look like wisdom to join the world in the worship of the beast, to go along with the ways of the world. The false prophet seeks to mark all those with the mark of the beast, assigning that he is their ruler. But only we who hold to the testimony of Jesus Christ can escape that mark. We are marked by the name of our Savior. We've seen today the armies of the world who have taken the mark of the beast. All that follow the beast... All that follow the beast will be judged. And only those who have been redeemed by the Lamb can escape that conscription. And we've seen today that in the face of these enemies, Christ's victory is assured. He announces the results of the battle as a great supper about to be laid. He is God, the Creator and Sustainer, even of His enemies. How can they face Him? How can any of us hope to face Him? To rebel against Him? He is also the one who has already won the battle because the death blow is struck, not in a great battle. The death blow is struck in humility. When Christ gave himself up on the cross as a ransom, the enemy's fate was sealed in that day. Our deliverance was sealed in that day. And we've seen the finality of Christ's judgment. There will be no further chance to raise a fist in rebellion. The beast and the false prophet are thrown into eternal judgment. The armies of the earth are destroyed by the sword proceeding from Jesus Christ's mouth. None escape that doom. Now you know, as I've looked at this passage today, I couldn't help but be struck by another contrast. There is a great contrast between what we read here and what we just read a couple of weeks ago. In the passage above, Christ reveals a beautiful picture. The Son comes to take to himself his bride. His beautiful bride. And there was that great promise and call that we read. Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Here today, we've seen another supper. Where that supper was glorious and blessed, this supper is horrific. With a loud voice, he called all the birds that fly directly overhead, come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of forces and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great. We have here the story of two suppers. And the question that faces each one of us is which of these suppers will we partake in? Will we be blessed sitting down with the Son of God sharing in His banquet, clothed in His righteousness? Or will we be cursed? Will we join in this feast, not as partakers, but to be torn to pieces? The answer seems clear. Who would ever choose to be a part of that second feast? But that is the level of the deception of the beast and the false prophet. They have convinced the world, they have at some point convinced each and every one of us that this first feast isn't what God promises it to be. That the doom of the second is never coming. It is a lie, church. It is a lie to all who are sitting here today. The first feast, the feast of the marriage of the Lamb, will be glorious. And the feast for those who do not turn to Jesus Christ will be more horrible than anything we can possibly imagine. Which feast will you join in? Turn to Jesus Christ in faith. Repent of your sins and trust in Him. And the glories of the friendship of the Son of God will be yours. Let's pray. Heavenly Father God, our creator, our sustainer, giver of life, giver of every breath, author of our salvation, we thank you that you have not left us alone, that you have not left us Help us to be deceived by the false prophet and the beast, for before them we have no hope. We would fall to their deceptions, but for your grace and mercy. Thank you for sending your Spirit to open the eyes of your people to see the blessing of the supper of the Lamb. to flee from the coming wrath. I pray, Father God, that if there is anyone here who has not seen the truth of the judgment to come, who has not seen the truth of the blessings that are in Christ Jesus, that you would open their eyes. And Father God, that you would make us all wary, wary of the deceptions of this world, wary of the lies of the false prophet, Attune our ears to the truth of Your Word and the truth of Your Gospel. It is in the name of Jesus Christ, the Word of God, we pray. Amen.
The Spiritual Enemies of God
Series Revelation 17-22
Mr. Loyd teaches us about the false prophet and the beast, the spiritual enemies of God that are damned to the lake of fire as the birds and the beasts feast on the casualties of the triumphant battle between Christ and his enemies.
Sermon ID | 122113131252 |
Duration | 50:05 |
Date | |
Category | Sunday Service |
Bible Text | Revelation 19:17-21 |
Language | English |
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