After we have looked at the 4 cups of Yeshua before Pesach in our blog The 4 Cups of the Crucifixion , it would be appropriate to look at 4 other cups mentioned in the book of Revelation.
These cups are meant for those who choose not to be part of the cups of Yeshua. Those who choose to turn their backs on His Redemption. Those who choose not to sanctify their lives and live according to His standards. Those who choose a life of death and destruction instead of deliverance. Those who favour neglect, refusing restoration to Him and His standards.
The Cup of desecration (vs Cup of Sanctification)
We find the first cup in Rev. 14:10 …”he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of Elohim, which is poured out undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he shall be tortured with fire and sulphur before the set-apart messengers and before the Lamb.”
To qualify for drinking from this cup, the previous verse, verse 9 explains : “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark upon his forehead or upon his hand….” Careful not to be staring at only a physical mark, this can mean living a life where your thoughts (forehead) and actions (hand) are more aligned with that of the beast than that of our Father. If you are not His image bearer, sanctifying your life to reflect Him more and more, you can be an image bearer of the beast. You are reflecting the character of the enemy, and you are prone to miss the cup of Sanctification offered to you.
There is no middle ground, but room for growth in both directions. Sanctification or Desecration are the two cups you can choose to drink from. The cup of desecration will however not lead to restoration with our Creator, but to His undiluted wrath – while the Lamb that offered His life to enable you to drink freely from the cup of sanctification will witness the torture you brought upon yourself by your choices.
He is looking on not in triumph, but with tears in His eyes.
The cup of Destruction / death (vs Cup of deliverance)
The second cup contrasts with the cup of deliverance. We find this cup in : Rev. 16:19 …”And the great city became divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babel was remembered before Elohim, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.”
Like Israel had to choose to align themselves with YHVH, the God that is revealing Himself to them, we have a choice to align ourselves either with Him, or with the nations/ Babylon. You can either have the blood of The Lamb on the doorposts of your heart and in obedience find shelter in His house, or you can choose to decline His protection and in disobedience reject His love and protection. You will miss his deliverance, by standing with those that choose against him. See, in Egypt the mere blood on the doorpost did not deliver you from death. You had to take a step in obedience and move into the house through The Door, Yeshua (John 10:7). If you painted the blood, but chose the freedom of the outdoors, the blood alone could not save you. Choice is followed by an actions of obedience.
You always have the choice: deliverance or death. You have the freedom to choose deliverance, but after deliverance there is always action required. For example, after painting the blood on the doorposts, they had to enter the house for protection. After Pharoah said they could leave, they had to pack up and walk out of Egypt. After deliverance, He will always equip us and lead us in the ways of sanctification.
The cup of Damnation (vs Cup of Redemption)
The third cup in the cups of the crucifixion, is the most prominent cup. We find the third cup in Rev. 17:4 …”And the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup filled with abominations and the filthiness of her whoring.”
The colors mentioned here are scarlet and purple, the same colors Yeshua was dressed in during His crucifixion: Purple (Mark 15:17) and scarlet (Matt 27:28). He was “adorned” with a crown of thorns. He offered all of mankind a sip of the cup of deliverance. By accepting this cup from Him, He is taking all your sins (abominations and the filthiness of your whoring) on Him and paying the full price for it.
Every person on earth (for He so loved the world…) are invited to be part of this deliverance. But – with free will – you can also choose to drink the cup offered by someone who looks like royalty, with all the external things that compliment the world: royal robes, gold, pearls, and precious stones. Sin is rarely presented as ugly and wrong (Satan as well as his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness, 2 Cor. 11). Sin is often presented as acceptable (light, not darkness).
This false light draws us away from the true light of redemption. Instead of laying down or sins, we pick up the sins, disguised as drinking from a royal cup. Sin is presented to us as something pleasing and beautiful and to be desired (Satan versus Eve in the garden). False teaching is always presented as enlightening and life changing. The masses follow these deceptions, simply because they do not know God’s truth. (Isaiah 8:20-22)
Drinking this cup in Revelation does not lead to Redemption, but to damnation.
The cup of neglect (vs Cup of Restoration)
This brings up to the fourth cup in Revelation, the cup of neglect – the direct opposite of the cup of restoration. We find it in Rev. 18:6 “Render to her as she indeed did render, and repay her double according to her works. In the cup which she has mixed, mix for her double.”
For restoration to Eden we need :
*Redemption by our Saviour,
*Deliverance from the slavery of sin, and
*Sanctification by walking in the ways of or Creator.
There can be no mixing, no double standards, no educated excuses. You cannot cling to Babylon and at the same time be restored to Him and return to Eden. Babylon is a place where the truth is twisted , very often just as subtle as the snake twisted the truth to tickle the ears of Eve.
Babylon versus Eden is our choice.
We are offered this choice in Deut 30:19 : I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,
Choosing life is always His desire for us.
All to the glory of our Creator, our Redeemer, our God
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