Gary Gleans

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to   all the birds that fly directly overhead,   “Come, gather for   the great supper of God,   to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.”    And I saw   the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies   gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army.    And the beast was captured, and with it   the false prophet   who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who   worshiped its image. These two were   thrown alive into the lake of   fire that burns with sulfur.    And the rest were slain by the sword   that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and   all...

Then I saw   heaven opened, and behold,   a white horse! The one sitting on it is called   Faithful and True, and   in righteousness he judges and makes war.  His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are   many diadems, and he has   a name written that no one knows but himself.  He is clothed in   a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is   The Word of God.  And the armies of heaven,   arrayed in fine linen, white and pure,   were following him on white horses.    From his mouth comes a sharp sword   with which to strike down the nations, and   he will rule them with a rod of iron.   He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.    On his robe and on his thigh   he has a name written,   King of kings and Lord of lords. The moment of history that we are all awaiting is described in this passage.  T...

Then I heard what seemed to be   the voice of a great multitude, like   the roar of many waters and   like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah!   For the Lord our God   the Almighty   reigns.    Let us rejoice and exult   and give him the glory,   for   the marriage of the Lamb has come,   and   his Bride has made herself ready;   it was granted her to clothe herself   with fine linen, bright and pure”—   for the fine linen is   the righteous deeds of the saints.  And the angel said to me, “Write this:   Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me,   “These are the true words of God.”     Then   I fell down at his feet to worship him,   but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to   the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the test...

After this I heard   what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “Hallelujah!    Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,   for   his judgments are true and just;   for he has judged   the great prostitute   who corrupted the earth with her immorality,   and   has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”  Once more they cried out, “Hallelujah!     The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”   And   the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!”    And from the throne came a voice saying,   “Praise our God, all you his servants,   you who fear him,   small and great.” The reaction to the overthrow of Babylon and the judgments of God in heave are very different than those described on earth.  This judgment was met with lament and r...

Then   a mighty angel   took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,  “So will Babylon   the great city be thrown down with violence,   and will be found no more;   and   the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters,   will be heard in you no more,   and a craftsman of any craft   will be found in you no more,   and   the sound of the mill   will be heard in you no more,   and the light of a lamp   will shine in you no more, and   the voice of bridegroom and bride   will be heard in you no more, for   your merchants were the great ones of the earth,   and all nations were deceived   by your sorcery.    And   in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,   and of   all who have been slain on earth.” The declaration of the judgment of Babylon is the culmination of the judgments that will fall upon the eart...

And   the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her,   will weep and wail over her   when they see the smoke of her burning.    They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,  “Alas! Alas!   You great city,   you mighty city, Babylon!    For   in a single hour your judgment has come.”    And   the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore,   cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble,   cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.  “The fruit for which your soul longed   has gone from you,   and all your delicacies and your splendors...

Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,  “Come out of her, my people,   lest you take part in her sins,   lest you share in her plagues;   for   her sins are heaped high as heaven,   and   God has remembered her iniquities.   Pay her back as she herself has paid back others,   and repay her   double for her deeds;   mix a double portion for her   in the cup she mixed.     As she glorified herself and lived in luxury,   so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says,   ‘I sit as a queen,   I am no widow,   and mourning I shall never see.’   For this reason her plagues will come   in a single day,   death and mourning and famine,   and   she will be burned up with fire;   for   mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.” Since judgment on the great city and system of Babylon has been pronounced, another angel steps forward to ...

After this I saw   another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and   the earth was made bright with his glory.    And he called out with a mighty voice,  “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!    She has become   a dwelling place for demons,   a haunt   for every unclean spirit,   a haunt   for every unclean bird,   a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.    For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality,   and   the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her,   and   the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.” In the previous chapter we saw the religious nature of the great city of Babylon.  In this chapter we see the political and economic aspects of the city.  When religious idolatry, political corruption, and economic greed combine; we have a recipe for disaster....

And the angel said to me,   “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.    And   the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast   will hate the prostitute. They will make her   desolate and   naked, and   devour her flesh and   burn her up with fire,   for   God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and   handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.    And the woman that you saw is   the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.” John continues to receive the interpretation of the vision he was given of the harlot riding on the beast.  This explanation makes it clear that while the beast and the harlot appear to be in an alliance, the reality is that there is animosity and resentment between the two that will ultimately result in the overthrow of ...

When I saw her, I marveled greatly.    But the angel said to me, “Why do you marvel? I will tell you   the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her.    The beast that you saw   was, and is not, and   is about to rise from   the bottomless pit and   go to destruction. And   the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in   the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because   it was and is not and is to come.    This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated;   they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while.    As for the beast   that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction.    And   the ten horns...

Then   one of the seven angels who had   the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of   the great prostitute   who is seated on many waters,   with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and   with the wine of whose sexual immorality   the dwellers on earth have become drunk.”    And   he carried me away in the Spirit   into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on   a scarlet beast that was full of   blasphemous names, and   it had seven heads and ten horns.    The woman   was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned   with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand   a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality.    And on her forehead was written a name of   mystery:   “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations.”    And I saw the woman, drun...

The seventh angel poured out his bowl into   the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying,   “It is done!”    And there were   flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and   a great earthquake   such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake.    The great city   was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God   remembered   Babylon the great,   to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath.    And   every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found.    And   great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and   they cursed God for   the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe. The end of an era is described in this section of Scripture.  The era of plagues, storms, and disasters that have fallen upon the ear...