08/30/2026
Sunday August 30, 2026
Pastor Tom Rowan
"THE REVELATION DRAMA"
REVELATION 14:6-20
INTRO: A look back at last week's text: Revelation 14:1-5
Charles Haddon Spurgeon: "The scene of this marvelous and magnificent vision is laid upon Mount Sion; by which we are to understand, not Mount Sion upon earth, but Mount Sion which is above, "Jerusalem, the mother of us all." To the Hebrew mind Mount Sion was a type of heaven, and very justly so. Among all the mountains of the earth none was to be found so famous as Sion. It was there that patriarch Abraham drew his knife to slay his son; it was there, too, in commemoration of that great triumph of faith, Solomon built a majestic temple, "beautiful for situation and the joy of the whole earth." That Mount Sion was the centre of all the devotions of the Jews."
"The divine John was privileged to look within the gates of pearl; and on turning round to tell us what he saw—observe how he begins—he saith not, "I saw streets of gold or walls of Jasper;" he saith not, "I saw crowns, marked their lustre, and saw the wearers." That he shall notice afterward. But he begins by saying, "I looked, and, lo, a Lamb!"
Preacher's Outline & Sermon Bible: "Note where He stands: on Mount Sion. Mount Sion was another name for Jerusalem.
Hebrews 12:22-24 "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel."
MacArthur New Testament Commentary: "Strangely, some equate this passage with Hebrews 12:22-24 and view it as a vision of heaven. But the former passage describes the heavenly Mount Zion, the abode of God. This passage describes the return of Christ to the earthly Mount Zion."
I. ANGEL #1 – THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL WILL OVERCOME THE LIES OF SATAN - V. 6-7
A.) The Witness Of The Gospel
~ The Scripture has given testimony to the Gospel.
~ Christians today give testimony to the Gospel.
~ The Rapture of the Church will give testimony to the Gospel.
~ The 144,000 will give testimony to the Gospel.
~ The Two Witnesses of Revelation chapter 11 will give testimony to the Gospel.
B.) The Witness Of The Apostle Paul
Galatians 1:8 "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed."
Romans 10:9-10 "That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
I Timothy 1:15 " This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief."
I Corinthians 15:3-4 "For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures."
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
C.) The Witness Of Christ
John 14:6 "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
II. ANGEL #2 – A TRUE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD WILL OVERCOME DEMONIC RELIGIONS - V. 8
A.) This Prophecy Is So Sure The Angel Announces It As If It Has Already Happened.
B.) Two Babylons
~ The literal city located in modern-day Iraq
~ The systems of worldwide false religions
21st Century Commentary: "The argument that modern Iraq will rebuild Babylon to its original greatness is ludicrous. Muslims have no interest in pagan sites. Babylon has no religious meaning to them. Besides, it would take decades for such a city to be rebuilt to prominence and become the political and economic capital of the world. It is totally contradictory to hold to both the rebuilding of Babylon, given its current status, and to the imminent return of Christ. If we have wait for Babylon to be rebuilt, there is no doctrine of imminency!"
The doctrine of "Imminency" from: Biblical Doctrine by John MacArthur & Richard Mayhue: "The condition of something that could happen at any time or is about to happen. When applied to the second coming, the term means that Christ could return at any time."
The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: “The second angel’s equally brief and direct message is “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great.’” The repetition underscores the finality, certainty, and comprehensive nature of Babylon’s judgment. Babylon’s yet future fall is so certain that it can be spoken of as though it has already taken place. The angel’s pronouncement will come as a shock to the unbelieving world. That Antichrist’s mighty empire, the most powerful in human history, could be destroyed will be inconceivable to his followers (cf. 13:4). It may be that a restored city of Babylon will be Antichrist’s capital city. But Babylon in this passage refers not just to the city, but to Antichrist’s worldwide political, economic, and religious empire.
Genesis 10:8-10 "Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord." And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar."
MacArthur Study Bible Notes: "Babylon is fallen. Lack of response to the first angel's message causes a second angel to pronounce this judgment. Babylon refers to the entire worldwide political, economic, and religious kingdom of Antichrist. The original city of Babylon was the birthplace of idolatry where the residents built the tower of Babel, a monument to rebelliousness and false religion. Such idolatry was subsequently spread when God confounded man's language and scattered them around the world (cf. Gen. 11:1-9).
III. ANGEL #3 – THE SEAL OF GOD WILL OVERCOME THE MARK OF THE BEAST - V. 9-13
A.) The Mark Of The Beast
Revelation 13:16-17 "He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name."
B.) The Seal Of God
Revelation 14:1 "Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads."
Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."
IV. & V. ANGEL #4 & #5 – THE TRUE GOD OF HEAVEN WILL OVERCOME THE WORLD & SATAN - V. 14-17
Matthew 13:24-42
Mathew 13:30 "Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn." ' "
Matthew 13:39-42 "The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
Matthew 13:47-50 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from the among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
VI. ANGEL #6 – THE VISION OF ARMAGEDDON - V. 18-20
Revelation 6:9-10 "When He opened the firth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And thy cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed."
Joel 3:12-15 "Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for 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 in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
Revelation 12:11 "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death."
Colossians 2:15 NIV "Having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross."
I John 4:4 "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."
