Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the Book of Revelation. Tonight is study #18 of Revelation, chapter 18, and we are continuing to look at Revelation 18:7-8:
How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
We saw in our last couple of studies how these verses relate to Isaiah, chapter 47. In our last study we were looking at Isaiah 47:9:
But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments.
God said to Babylon, “These two judgments will come upon you: you will know the loss of children and widowhood,” but Babylon responded, “I will not know the loss of children or widowhood.”
In the Bible we saw that to be a widow and to know the loss of children is to be “desolate,” so God is saying to Babylon, “You will be desolate in the time of judgment,” but Babylon is denying that this will happen. You know, Satan is a very arrogant fallen creature. He really thinks he is something. He thinks he is God. He wanted to be like God as he took his seat in the temple. All was going beautifully, as far as Satan was concerned. He had finally gotten what he had lusted after since the fall and that was to be like God. During the time of the Great Tribulation he had enormous rule over the nations of the world as they increased in wickedness and he was able to take his seat in the temple, showing himself that he was God in the churches.
So at that point in time Satan must have been exalting in his triumph and, yet, the triumph of the wicked is short, the Book of Job tells us, because “in a moment” the judgment comes. For the little season of the Great Tribulation, which continued for 23 years, Satan was triumphant. But then came that day, May 21, 2011, the Day of Judgment, and “in a moment” or “in one day” Babylon experienced the loss of children and widowhood – she became desolate. Satan was the great ruler, just as the king of Babylon, lifted up in his pride and arrogance, had viewed the great kingdom he had built, but then God humbled him. Likewise, God put down Satan, deposing him from reigning over that last and great kingdom and Christ took the kingdoms of the world. So, we find, once again, the language of Babylon’s fall and the judgment upon this world.
In our last study we were looking at the phrase “in a moment.” We went to several verses and we saw how God spoke of bringing judgment “in a moment.” For instance, in Psalm 37 the child of God was envious of the wicked until he understood their end. It says in Psalm 73:18-19:
Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors.
It is like Babylon was made desolate through widowhood and the loss of children. We find when we search the Bible for the phrase “in a moment,” it relates to God’s anger, as Psalm 30 told us, “His anger endureth but a moment.” It relates to His wrath and the time of His indignation. I think it was the last Scripture we looked at in our last study, in Isaiah 26:20:
Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
The word “indignation” is another word for “anger” or “wrath.” It is the wrath of God. Then it said in Isaiah 26:21:
For, behold, JEHOVAH cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
Clearly, God is joining this phrase “a little moment” with Judgment Day, the time when He punishes the inhabitants of the earth. As we were considering Isaiah 26, verses 20 and 21, in our last study, we wondered about how God stated this, as He said, “Come, my people, enter thou into they chambers, and shut thy doors about thee.” This really ties in with the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew, chapter 25, where the cry was made that the bridegroom was coming; and that cry related to the worldwide declaration that Judgment Day was coming on May 21, 2011. Then, after some discussion between the wise and the foolish virgins, Christ did come and it says in Matthew 25:10-12:
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
Here in this parable, we find the elect typified by the five wise virgins and they enter into the marriage (or wedding) and then the door is shut. We do not read that they were “lifted up” or “raptured,” but they go “in,” just as Noah and his family went into the ark and then God shut them in. Likewise, the five wise virgins went into the wedding and Christ, the bridegroom, shut the door. Then there was a dispute at the door because the five foolish virgins said, “Lord, Lord, open to us.” They were disputing about entering in – they wanted in, but the Lord did not let them in. We find that God’s indignation occurs after He shuts the door and His indignation is on those outside the door, the foolish virgins, while inside are the wise virgins.
So we can see how Isaiah 26, verse 20, fits that parable as it says, “Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee.” The door is shut once they entered in and then it says, “hide thyself as it were for a little moment,” and the idea of hiding oneself has to do with salvation, as it says in Colossians 3:3:
For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
God is talking to living people as He declares that you are “dead” and “your life is hid with Christ in God.” You are saved and your life is hidden and preserved in Christ and that is what it means when the Bible says, “hide thyself.” Everyone that was saved before May 21, 2011 prior to the shutting of the door had their lives hidden with Christ in God. They had the safety and security of the “ark” and the safety and security of having entered into the wedding chamber with the bridegroom; all was well and their eternal security was sure. There could no longer be any danger to them, spiritually, even though the actual situation was that they remained on this earth, as 1Thessaonians tells us, “alive and remaining,” on the earth unto the coming of the Lord in the rapture on the day of resurrection, which will, in all likelihood, be October 7, 2015. It is still Judgment Day at that point because it is a prolonged period of judgment; May 21, 2011 began Judgment Day and all the days since then have also been Judgment Day. Then October 7, 2015 will very likely be the conclusion of Judgment day, but the entire period of time covers 4 years, 4 months and 16 days (4 x 4) and is likened by God to “one day.” It can be likened to a day of 24 hours in that you have the beginning of a day and the end of a day. Our day begins at midnight and then we go through the course of the day and back to midnight, to complete the 24-hour period. That is how God designed things. He designed a day to be 24 hours in length, so we have the beginning of a day and the end of the day, but a lot of things can happen throughout the day. That is how we live our lives from day to day and we can understand this.
But, looking at a prolonged Day of Judgment, a lot can happen in an actual 1,600-day time span, but the way God looks at it is as if the beginning of the Day of Judgment was May 21, 2011 and you could map it out and you could see it coming closer and closer to 1,600 days. I do not know how many days we have left, but it is as if we are approaching the last few hours of that “day” of judgment. Yet, it is all looked at by God as “one day,” or as “a moment” of time. It is harder for us to view it that way because we are used to a moment passing so quickly, but God views the entire judgment period as “a moment” or as “one day.” So, He says, “Hide thyself for a little moment. You are hid in Christ. You are living on the earth and you will go through the spiritual fire that has been kindled in my anger, but this will not harm or destroy you.” The fire makes the “gold, silver, precious stones” purified and it does not weaken or destroy those elements, but makes them better. So, too, the elect go through the fire and come out the other side and they have endured. God is greatly glorified in this because He is the one that has brought His people through the fire. It is just further testimony and a display to the “principalities and powers” regarding the wonderful attributes of God and His faithfulness to His people, as He brings them to the end of all things and the culmination of the promises of God.
I think we can safely say this because the Bible does speak of God putting His glorious attributes on display to the “principalities and power.” He has worked out His salvation program over the course of history to show forth His justice and righteousness, as the Bible refers to it as “the revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” There are also attributes such as steadfastness, patience and endurance, as God brings these things to completion. That has been the charge of unsaved man against the people of God throughout time: “Where is your God? Where is the One that has made such incredible promises” He has said He will destroy this world and create a new heaven and new earth and He will give you eternal life and you will no longer remember the tears and sorrow and you will not know death. Where is the God that has said these things?” So we understand, especially at the time of the end, that the world is on display to other “principalities and powers,” as God is demonstrating that He is faithful and true. His Words are also faithful, true and altogether trustworthy and all the promises of God will now find completion. They will be fulfilled because He is God and He has not promised these things as men promise things; men speak lies and they give empty promises. The God of the Bible does not do this. The “principalities and powers” will watch as they see the completion of all things.
If we are correct, we have a great hope and expectation that October 7, 2015 will the 10,000th Day of Judgment and it will be the completion of all things for this world. This is another reason why “10,000” does not just point to the completion of judgment, but at the end of the world, the saints will receive the completion of all the promises God has made to His people concerning life in this world and things to come. So we can see God will bring judgment to completion and He will bring His promises to complete fulfillment on that particular day. It would be a good day to do so because it is the 10,000th day of overall judgment, since judgment began at the house of God. It would certainly be a glorious day. We know that God will do this, will He not? He will complete everything He has said and He will fulfill every promise He has given. His people have looked to Him for this and they have waited upon Him. The Bible tells us we have “need of patience,” in Hebrews 10:35:
Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
We understood that having “done the will of God” points to having evangelized the world during the day of salvation. We performed that task God gave us to send forth the Gospel into the world. After having done that, there is a need of patience. The Bible says, “In your patience possess ye your souls.” We wait on the Lord in order to receive the promises, as it says in Hebrews 10:36-39:
For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the savings of the soul.