ACT 4
Rev 11:19-15:4
Matt 27:50-51 And when Jesus had cried out again
in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the
temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
STAGE
SETTING 11:19
Then God's
temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his
covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an
earthquake and a great hailstorm. (A Christian perspective: Heb 10:19-25 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy
Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the
curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of
God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith,
having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having
our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we
profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur
one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together,
as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all
the more as you see the Day approaching.
Act 4, 5 & 7 = not 7 bowls, trumpet, etc, rather “I
saw”
Scene
1 The Woman and the Dragon 12:1-18
A great and
wondrous sign appeared
in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a
crown of twelve stars on her head. She
was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.
Then another
sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns
and seven crowns on his heads. His tail
swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The
dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he
might devour her child the moment it was born. She gave birth to a son, a male
child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was
snatched up to God and to his throne. (Birth and ascension of Christ)
The woman fled into the desert to a
place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days. (42 months 1
1/2 years)
And there was
war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon
and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their
place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down — that ancient serpent called
the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth,
and his angels with him.
Then I heard a
loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the
salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his
Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day
and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and
by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to
shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But
woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is
filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short."
When the
dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had
given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great
eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where
she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the
serpent's reach. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to
overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But the earth helped
the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had
spewed out of his mouth. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off
to make war against the rest of her offspring — those who obey God's
commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. (The woman who could have represented first Eve
then Mary now seems to represent the church. Sent to refuge in the desert. John
lived out in the desert - Jesus went into the desert. We all need to find
refuge in the desert - where we are alone with God. Rome tried to devour the
church and wash it away but was unsuccessful because of the testimony of the
faithful, even in the face of death.)
Scene
2 The Beast Arising from the Sea 13:1-10
And the dragon
stood on the shore of the sea. (Roman Empire on the Mediterranean) And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and
seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous
name. The beast I saw resembled a
leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The
dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have
had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was
astonished and followed the beast. Men
worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also
worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against
him?" (When we look at culture and society - we Christians might
ask, “Who can stand against this beast?”)
The beast was given a mouth to
utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two
months. He opened his mouth to blaspheme
God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in
heaven.
He was given
power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given
authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will
worship the beast = all whose
names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was
slain from the creation of the world.
He who has an
ear, let him hear. If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will
go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and
faithfulness on the part of the saints.
Recommended
Scene 3 The Beast Arising from the Land 13:11-18
Then I saw another beast,
coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a
dragon. He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and
made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound
had been healed. And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire
to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. Because of the signs he
was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants
of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was
wounded by the sword and yet lived. He was given power to give breath to the
image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to
worship the image to be killed. He also
forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a
mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell
unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his
name. This calls for wisdom. If anyone
has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number.
His number is 666.
(Dragon
- Satan - Beast 1 Rome/Nero-Caesar - Beast 2 Emperor worship sanctioned by Rome
and mirror’s the church. Rumor said Nero
had once been stabbed, left and returned.
The Hebrew letter value of Neron Caesar = 666)
Scene 4 The Lamb with the 144,000 Martyrs 14:1-5
(Watch the change in scenes following those with the mark
of the beast) Then I looked, and there
before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had
his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar
of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like
that of harpists playing their harps.
And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living
creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who
had been redeemed from the earth. These
are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves
pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased
from among men and offered as
first fruits to God and the Lamb. No lie
was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
Scene 5 The Angel with an Eternal Gospel 14:6-13
Announcement
of the Doom of Babylon
Then I saw another angel
flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live
on the earth — to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud
voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because
the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth,
the sea and the springs of water." A second angel followed and said, "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the
nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries."
A third angel
followed them and said in a loud voice: "If
anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead
or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been
poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with
burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the
smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night
for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the
mark of his name." This calls for patient endurance on the part of
the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now
on."
Worship only Jesus
2) Cult Societies have fallen 3)
Do not worship the Beast!
Scene 6 The Son of Man on a White Cloud 14:14-20
The Wine Press
of God’s Wrath
(Act 3, 4, 5, 6 Scene 6 all describe the same thing)
"Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will
follow them." I looked, and there
before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one "like a son
of man" with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.
Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who
was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle
and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is
ripe." So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the
earth, and the earth was harvested.
(God brings the saved to heaven - the unsaved are left and
this is what happens to them)
Another angel
came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. Still another
angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud
voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Take
your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine,
because its grapes are ripe." The angel
swung his sickle on the earth,
gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath.
They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of
the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 1,600
stadia.
I saw in heaven another
great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues — last,
because with them God's wrath is completed. And I saw what looked like a sea of
glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been
victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They
held harps given them by God and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and
the song of the Lamb: (words of Moses’ song altered to reflect the song of the
Lamb) "Great and marvelous are your
deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. Who
will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are
holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts
have been revealed."
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