The Book Of RevelationSýnishorn

Vision Describing the Punishment: Revelation 18:1-24

The fifth message in the judgment on Babylon appears in Revelation 18:21-24, and pronounces the complete and permanent destruction of Babylon.

The sixth message in this series is recorded in Revelation in 19:1-8, and contains the exuberant praise of God’s people in heaven. In response to the judgment against Babylon, God’s faithful people praise him. And their praise continues as they recognize that the judgment against Babylon has cleared the way for the wedding between the lamb, who is Christ, as his bride, the church. 

Next, an interlude interrupts the messages in Revelation 19:9-10. In this interlude, John is commanded to write down a blessing for all those who participate in the wedding supper of the lamb.

Lastly, this vision series concludes with the final battle between God and his enemies, reported in Revelation 19:11-21. Christ appears as the divine warrior and wages war against all the enemies of God. These enemies are led by the beast and the false prophet, which are, respectively, the beast from the sea and the beast from the earth from Revelation chapter 13. And there is no contest; the beast and the false prophet are defeated forever.

Consider how Revelation 19:20 describes their downfall:

The beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf… The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 

The final battle concludes all the wars God has waged on behalf of his people, and completes the victory Christ won on the cross.

This series on the reign of the saints includes three parts, beginning with the thousand year reign of the saints, commonly called the millennium, in Revelation chapter 20:1-10.

In this section, John saw an angel descend from heaven and bind the great dragon, who is Satan. John saw that for the next thousand years, Satan would remain bound while the faithful Christian martyrs would come to life and reign with Christ. John also saw that after the thousand years, Satan would be released to gather the nations for the final battle against God, as described in Revelation chapter 19. At the end of this battle, all God’s enemies will have been permanently destroyed. Even Satan himself will be thrown into the lake of burning sulfur forever.