Battles, 1,000 Years, & Judgements (Rev 19-20)

Reference

Rev 19:11-21:1

Sermon Notes

2026-10-25 Revelation 19 (Battles, Millenniums, and Judgments).pdf

From Rev 17 forward: Almost every image, symbol, catch phrase, and description have been already mentioned in Revelation.
Starting at Rev 17: it seems that we are getting glimpses into the results of the last bowl poured out from Rev 16. See Rev 17:1; 21:9.
19:11 → Christ is currently seated in heavens (see Eph 2:6); here He is riding throughout the heavens.
19:14 → The armies of heaven were sometimes revealed in the Old Testament (2 Kings 2:11; 6:17; Is 66:15; Hab 3:8; cf. Ps 68:17; Jer 4:13)
19:12 (Blood) → Explore Rev 1:5; 5:9; 6:10, 12; 7:14; 8:7, 8; 11:6; 12:11; 14:20; 16:3, 4, 6; 17:6; 18:24; 19:2, 13. Consider also how the blood of injustice cries out for vengance to the Lord, as in the case of Abel in Gen 4:10, referenced by Jesus in Matt 23:35, and revisited in Heb 12:22-24.
- The war is His alone. (See Deut 32:35, 1 Sam 24:12, Ps 94:1-2; 98:9, Rom 12:19, Heb 10:30, 2 Thess 1:6-8)
Rev 19:17, 21 (Birds) → If you want to explore birds further, see the context of Ezekiel 37:17-20. If you want to see connections of Gog and Magog – see Eze 38-39. Follow Ezekiel forward to see new creation in his book.
- In Rev 18:2 unclean birds are associated with Babylon, with demons, with evil.
  - If not symbolic representations of Babylon. Earlier in Rev 9, we saw how the locus fed upon something that is not their natural food source, that is, they are breaking the natural order we observe. There, the locus seem to be representative of demonic spirits, also noted by having over them the king of the Abyss. Here, we see unclean birds (of prey) behaving in an uncharacteristic way to the natural order. We also see them associated with demonic spirits. It seems reasonable that they represent the spiritual beings antagonistic to the Lord.
  - Birds as unclean in Lev 11:13–19 and Deut 14:12–18
- The only things getting pleasure in all of this are affiliated with what comes from the abyss.
  - We see in multiple places the prohibitions of consuming blood. See Gen 9:3-4, Lev 17:10-14, Deut 12:23; 15:23, Acts 15:20, 29. All of these here in Revelation did not seem have their blood spilled, but rather, seem to be simply killed (uncreated) by the Word of God. The idea: God gives life with His Word; God removes life with His Word.
Rev 20 & Dan 7 (11-12, 21-22, 26-27) → Themes include: Four winds, beasts rising from the sea, a beast looking like a human, a beast eating flesh, a beast with authority to rule (for a time), and a beast with ten horns, a horn that spoke boastfully Ancient of Days (God) sitting in judgment, white clothing, white hair, thousands of angels, books of records, beast stripped of authority, beast thrown into blazing fire, Son of Man receives the authority that was once the beasts. See also Dan 12:1-3 and its similarities with Rev 20:7-15.
- On 1,000 Years→ See Ecc 6:6; Ps 90:4; 2 Pet 3:8-10
- The Beheaded→ See Rev 12:11; Pick up your cross?
The dragon is now sentenced to the fate that it decreed, as it animated and influenced the beast to oppose God’s people.
Rev 19–an offensive launched by Christ in the heavens.
- See Mark 1:14-28; Luke 10:1-20
Rev 20–the final counter attack by Satan from the Abyss.
- See Mt 13:36–43
On Shared Suffering, see Romans 8 (esp v17) & 1 Pet 3:8-4:19
Remember: Revelation was written to churches and for churches.
- See Rev 2:12-16
Revelation calls for introspection, not paranoia; it calls for change, not excuses.

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SMALL GROUP REFLECTION QUESTIONS
Please take time to ponder and pencil in to prep for this week’s small group session.

Reflect on Last Week’s Practice: Naming Emotions

What did you notice about experiencing God through your emotions this week? Did you notice, name, and feel with them? How were you at practicing self-control (ie. being aware of your feelings but not run by your feelings)? Share.

Watch: Video Session #6: Healing from Sin