How to study the book of Revelation, Part 11

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Chapters 14 through 19 in Brief

Chapter 14

Jesus appears on the scene in 14:14. Note why.

Verse 15 clearly states that the time for HARVEST is begun. As he promised in his Matthew 13 parable, there is a harvest of TWO groups:

(1) The harvest of the earth (THE WHEAT) in verses 15 and 16; and

(2) The harvest of the vine of the earth (THE TARES) in verses 18 and 19. This is the central feature of this chapter.

Chapters 15 and 16

The Plagues on Babylon

These two chapters deal with the WAY God intends to destroy the various component parts of Babylon.

In Chapter 18 Verse 4, God warns the WHEAT ("my people") that if they do not "come out" from Babylon during the harvest, they will be subject to experiencing the "plagues" that He will send on Babylon. It is the position of some excellent students of Scripture that these plagues are spread out over a number of decades and that many of them have already been in the process of fulfillment.

Because it takes a long time to undermine age-old institutions, it is said to show "the patience of the saints" (Rev 14:12) who have to wait for its accomplishment. The experiences and discomforts of the tares during this process and of the wheat that do not come out, are symbolically portrayed in Rev 14:11.

In short, God is undermining Babylon by sending a series of seven events against her which, step by step, force truths to her attention and destroy the false faith and lies upon which Babylon grew -- the tare seeds which Satan sowed. Just as God wore down Pharaoh by a series of plagues which ultimately delivered Israel, so here, God wears down apostate Christianity so that the entire world may be delivered from the influence of her religious falsehoods.

Chapter 17

In Scripture, the true Church is always represented by virgins. (Rev 14:4; Matt 25:1-13) In Revelation 17, by contrast, we find Babylon pictured as a harlot. The harlotry of the apostate church is due to her having a relationship with the world. The true saints, on the other hand, strive to keep themselves separate from all entanglements with the world and its ways and aims.

In highly symbolic language, Revelation 17 shows how the apostate church throughout history has virtually ruled the Western world -- that part of the earth usually called "Christendom." This chapter shows the steps by which both the harlot and the "world" she ruled (the "beast") will meet their ends in the harvest period. This prophecy is closely allied to Paul's prophecy in 2 Thess 2:8-10 which shows how the increase of truth, when Jesus' secret presence begins, destroys the tares planted by Satan.

Chapter 18

The Decline of Commerce

It would be good to note here what may not have been obvious. In both sections of Revelation which we have examined, the narrative is not one continuous flow. The Revelator keeps jumping back to a point in time and retelling the story from another point of view. Thus 14:5 begins at the harvest's beginning; 15:1 jumps back to the same beginning as does 17:1 and, now, 18:1. Thus, it will be noticed, that 14:8 and 18:2 have the same statement.

This jump-back in time is an imperative element in the understanding of Revelation.

Chapter 18 begins when Babylon is "fallen." The thought is FALLEN FROM FAVOR. Her actual total destruction is later and is detailed in 18:21.

This fall from favor (as we saw in 14:8) happened many years ago when the harvest began. As 14:12 shows, the gradual events leading to her total destruction are long enough to require "the patience of the saints." Chapter 18 gives much more detail regarding this gradual decline. It focuses on its effects on various parts of society. These are symbolically called by several names:

The kings of the earth (18:9)

The merchants of the earth (18:11)

Every shipmaster (18:17)

All the company in ships (18:17)

Sailors (18:17)

As many as trade by sea (18:17)

(Those who read our study of Ezekiel Chapters 26-28, “A Proclamation against Tyre and Sidon”, should already have some idea as to what each of these represent.)

The world, as we know it, functions on a political-commercial basis. The weakening of that international economic system, which is plain to see in current news reports, is the focus of Chapter 18. According to this chapter, the world as we know it (religious, political, and economic) will soon fall apart.

Continued with next post.

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