Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the Book of Revelation.  Tonight is study #34 of Revelation chapter 18 and we are continuing to read Revelation 18:22-23:

And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.

Here, in various ways God is basically saying the same thing.  The voice of harpers, musicians, pipers and trumpeters not being heard any longer is pointing to a famine of hearing of the Word of God in the world; God will no longer open anyone’s ears to hear in salvation.

Then we looked at the craftsman last time, where it said, “and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee.”  We saw that God is the “craftsman.”  He is the builder of the heavenly city.  He is the carpenter that constructed the house of God and God will not be found in a saving sense anywhere in the world, ever again.  He will not be involved in the “craft” of constructing His house.  It is already built and it is complete, so it is time for the storm to come against that house to “try” the foundation and to give God glory for the fact that the house will endure the storm, showing that it is built on the firm foundation of the Rock that is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Then it said, “and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee,” and we saw that the millstone is where the grinding of meal takes place and this pointed to the sharing of the Gospel and, again, we are not going to hear the sound of the millstone, which also relates to a “famine of hearing” the Word of God.

Now we are in verse 23 and it is not speaking of “hearing,” but of “seeing,” as it says in Revelation 18:23:

And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee…

We know that God can use the illustration of “hearing” to typify salvation, but He can also use the idea of “seeing.”  When Christ would give sight to the blind, it was a picture of salvation.  The Lord Jesus is often typified in the Bible by the light or the “sun,” the brilliant shining light that portrays the Gospel.  Let us look at a few verses in which God speaks of the shining of light.  It says in Philippians 2:15:

That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

This has been the role of believers as they carried forth the Word of God.  We have been as a light as messengers of the Gospel of light.  The world is perverse and lieth in darkness and the Lord has often used the light shining forth from a child of God – in their conversation or in the way they bring the Gospel – and they draw people to the light, the Word of God.  God has worked in that way to save people in times past.  But, remember the statement we are looking at says, “And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee.”   This means it is a similar idea to the “hearing” where it was not that there is no Bible or there is no preaching so that people do not hear with their physical ears.  However, they are not hearing with their spiritual ears because the Holy Spirit is not working the work of salvation.  Likewise, they can “see” true believers in the world that shine forth their lights because their conversation is quite different than the behavior of the people of the world and the believers still share the Bible’s message.  They are “shining” but the people of the world are not “seeing” it in the same sense that they are not “hearing” the sound of the millstone or the sound of the musical instruments.  It takes the Holy Spirit to open their eyes to see that shining.

In John, chapter 1, we learn that Christ is the light of the world, as it says in John 1:4-5:

In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Christ is the Word made flesh, so the Bible is that which shines with brightness in a dark world, just as Christ shined.

It says in 2Peter 1:19:

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

The “sure word of prophecy” is the Bible.  It shines in the dark place of this world. 

Let us also go to Revelation 1:13:

And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

Then it says in Revelation 1:15-16:

And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

The Son of man is the Lord Jesus Christ and this is a picture God is giving of Christ.  He is the light of the world, as we read in John, chapter 1, so He is shining: “and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.”  We know God does tell us in the Bible that the “sun” is a type and figure of God in Psalm 84:11: “For JEHOVAH God is a sun and a shield.”  And Christ is God, so He shines as the “sun.”  But notice that it mentions “his countenance,” and this word is also translated as “face,” so it could be said, “And his face was as the sun shineth in his strength.”  We find this statement three different times in Psalm 80.  It says in Psalm 80:3:

Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

Jesus’ countenance (or His face) shines as the “sun.”  Here, the request to God is to “cause they face to shine,” which would relate to the countenance of Christ and the brilliance of His glorious nature – He shines as the “sun.”  Then after saying, “and cause thy face to shine,” it adds, “and we shall be saved.” 

Also, it says in Psalm 80:7:

Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

And a third time, it says in Psalm 80:19:

Turn us again, O JEHOVAH God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

Of course, this points to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour.  He shines forth into the hearts of those that were predestinated unto salvation and He enlightens their darkness and they become saved.  So the “shining of the light” of Christ (the light of the Word of God) is the light the true believers carried into the dark world and the shining of that light identifies with salvation: “Cause they face to shine; and we shall be saved.” 

Again, the idea comes back to the same thing as God keeps teaching us in verse, after verse, in Revelation 18 and He taught it in Revelation 9, Revelation 11, Revelation 14, Revelation 15 and Revelation 16.  Now it is teaching the same thing in Revelation 18.  It is the time of the Day of Judgment and of Babylon’s fall, which is at the end of the Great Tribulation, and what does the Bible say about the days immediately after the Tribulation?  The “sun” is darkened.  Christ’s face or countenance shined as the “sun” for brilliance during the day of salvation.  We read in Psalm 80:7: “Cause they face to shine; and we shall be saved.”  The “sun” identifies with the light of the Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, which brings salvation and the shining of that light caused the elect to become saved, but now we are in the days immediately after the Tribulation and the “sun” is darkened and the “moon” does not give her light and the “stars” fall from heaven.  There we have three similar things.  Christ is the light and the sure Word of prophecy is the light and believers shine as the light in a crooked and perverse nation.  The “sun” is God and the Lord Jesus Christ.  The “moon” is the law or the Word of God and the “stars” are the believers.  And immediately after the Tribulation the lights of the Gospel go out.  That is what God has been repeatedly teaching. 

Anyone who is not recognizing this is not checking it out to see if it be so; they are not investigating Joel 2 or Joel 3 or Daniel or Ezekiel or Matthew 24 or Mark 13 or Luke 21 or the whole Book of Revelation.  They are not checking out what happens “in those days, after that tribulation,” according to Mark 13.  It says the sun is darkened and it is for a period of days.  That part is not difficult at all.  Yes, it is a spiritual interpretation, but all anyone needs to do is look up the word “sun.”  God is a “sun” and Christ’s face shines as the sun: “Cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.”  As we look at those Scriptures and many more, what is the Bible teaching?  It is not me or any individual believer, but what is the Bible teaching?  What does the Bible say will happen immediately after the Tribulation, based on the Scriptures that say the sun, moon and stars are darkened?  It is teaching the end of salvation and the end of the light of the Gospel.  It is teaching that the light of Christ as He causes His face to shine to save is no longer shining; there is no more “light of the sun,” spiritually.  Therefore, no one is being saved.  That is what the Bible is teaching here in statement, after statement, in Revelation, chapter 18, especially in these latter verses.  It is over and done with and the salvation of God is completed. 

People can say, “The believers are still in the world and so God is still saving.”  But God is saying, “You can have the musical instruments.  You can have the millstone.  You can light the candle.  However, they are not going to “hear” it or “see” it and they will not find the craftsman.  There is no more salvation.  The door is shut.”  In an absolute way, God shut the door.  We have seen Scripture, after Scripture that has confirmed this as we have dug into the Bible concerning the language of Judgment Day and the language of “in those days, after that tribulation.”

So there is spiritual darkness, as it says, “And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee.”  And we know that immediately after the Tribulation, God is no longer saving and we understand that, but there is a bit of good news.  If we go to Proverbs, chapter 31, the last chapter of that Book, we find that God discusses a “virtuous woman.”  The “virtuous woman” is a type and figure of God’s elect.  Of her, it says in Proverbs 31:18:

She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.

Here, the light of the candle is still shining within the “virtuous woman,” and this means the true believers still have “light” in the time of night.  Keep in mind that parable of the twelve-hour work day.  The eleventh to twelfth hour typifies the Great Tribulation, so the end of the work day was the end of the Great Tribulation and the beginning of Judgment Day, or the beginning of the “night when no man can work.”  Christ is no longer performing the work of saving sinners because the day of salvation is over, but it is said of the virtuous woman that “her candle goeth not out by night.”  And God’s people still have light; they have the Holy Spirit and God is still enlightening His Word to their eyes and understanding.  They are receiving the “revelation of the righteous judgment of God” in the day of His wrath.

It also says of this virtuous woman, in Proverbs 31:15:

She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.

Here, we have a reference to “feeding sheep.”  She rises to give “meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.”  She is concerned about her own house and her own servants or those that relate to her and that would represent God’s sheep.  We know that Christ commanded after the great catch of fish, in John 21, “Feed my sheep.”  He said it three times to indicate that it was God’s purpose for His people in the time when salvation had concluded.  The evangelization of the world had ended, but there was still a task for the people of God to perform.  They are to feed sheep and the virtuous woman rises while it is yet night.  Christ came as a thief in the night on May 21, 2011 and the virtuous woman goes about her duty and responsibility to feed her household, as Christ had commanded, and that is what the people of God are involved in doing at this time.

Let us just look at one more verse that concerns the believers having “light” in the time of darkness.  It says in Micah 7:8-9:

Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, JEHOVAH shall be a light unto me. I will bear the indignation of JEHOVAH, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.

Again, the believers may “sit in darkness” at this time in the sense that the entire world is spiritually dark, but JEHOVAH is still a light unto His people.