"6 And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; 7 and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.”
8 And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality. 9 Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” 12 Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them." Revelation 14:6-13
Good Morning my beloved,
We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is my privilege to have you here with us today. We are especially grateful for those of you who have been sharing the ministry website with all of your family and friends. Your faithfulness and commitment to share God's Word with others continues to bring about tremendous results. People are responding to God's Word! This is all so amazing. We ask you to p ray that God will continue to give us boldness to speak the truth in ministry in the face of adversity in the coming days!All for His glory!
Romans 8:31 says "What then shall we say to these things
? If God is for us, who is against us?" I believe it's safe to say, amidst all the chaos and uncertainty occurring in the world today, with the ongoing pandemic and the financial instability, that literally everyone is hoping for a better day. It seems almost daily, those who lead our nation and the world, are proposing a new plan that will eliminate poverty, disease and crime, creating a better future and environment. We hear it all the time. They are constantly building people up to believe things are going to be better, however, things do not really appear to be getting any better, in fact, they are getting worse.
It is not my intention to be a prophet of doom and gloom, but I am called by God to speak the truth. A better day is not coming for our society, but a far worse one. The reality for our society is they are going a time that is worse than anything the world has ever experienced. They are going to feel the judgment and fury of the wrath of God. As we return to the book of Revelation, the future doom of the world becomes crystal clear. However, amidst the message of judgement, there is a note of grace, hope and salvation and encouragement to believers to stay the course, to remain faithful to the Lamb.
Just as today, people will be faced with two choices, to either worship the One true Creator God who gave his life to save sinners or the deceiver, who seeks to destroy the souls of men, Satan. Tragically, the vast majority of the world today are in the category of the latter.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, we thank You for Your word, and these sobering truths. We understand they will be overwhelming, and even offensive to many who have little or no understanding of Your holiness. May these truths resonate in the hearts of the hearers, just how offensive sin is to You. Lord, we pray that You would be merciful toward sinners, as You have been to us and may they reach out while the time of grace and the message of salvation is still being offered.
Lord, we know there’s no joy that heaven ever knows greater than when a sinner repents. We ask that today, the resounding voices of heaven will rejoice for those who would come to You today. We ask that You would bring conviction to the hearts of those who do not yet know, they are in our communities, our families and our world. They are people that we know and love. Use us and this ministry as an instrument of righteous to reach the lost, that today they might be saved. We ask and pray this in Christ's name and for Your glory.
Today's Message: Godly Fear
Open with me your Bibles to Revelation chapter 14. Revelation 14. As we have noted before, angels are very involved in the economy of God. Throughout Scripture, they have been in speaking on behalf of God, they were involved in giving the law and they have been involved in ministering to and caring for the saints. Angels are involved in many aspects of God's economy. In fact, angels are involved in every chapter in the book of Revelation from chapter 4 to 14, with the exception of chapter 13. Now, as we come to this passage, we will meet three particular angels in verses 6 through 11. And, each of them, has a message to deliver.
Keep in mind that chaos is reigning on the earth because of the judgments that God has poured out upon the earth and the fury of the Antichrist. The world is over run with sin, indulging in every form of wickedness and evil. The Antichrist will now be demanding that the world worship him, and deny the One true God, through the assistance of the false prophet. They will be killing Christians who refuse to bow down and worship the Antichrist This is an amazing scene.
I invite you to
follow along with me as I read to you these thirteen verses, to set the text in our minds, though today, we will be looking only at verses six through eleven, if we get to all of them today. Revelation 14:6-13. Listen for the voice of our Lord.
"And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he said with a loud voice, "Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters." And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality."
Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, "Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’" "Yes," says the Spirit, "so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them."
Here we see a series of angelic messengers who bring astounding announcements about the consummation of the age, calling men to repentance. These are not sequential angels in any kind of chronological order. These are various angels who direct their attention to giving certain messages to the world, not necessarily in a proper sequence. Before theses angelic beings are the instruments of judgment, they are the instruments of warning.
Verse 6, "And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people." Notice this first angel that John see is "flying in midheaven," and is preaching the gospel. The midheaven is a reference to the Greek term to describe the place in the sky where the sun will reach its apex at high noon. In other words, he will be very visible, so that no one will be able to miss this. It's called the eternal gospel because it is the gospel that provides eternal life.
The angel is proclaiming God’s last message of warning, calling the world to faith, calling the world to salvation in Christ. The phrase " to every nation and tribe and tongue and people," is underscoring the global, worldwide scope of his message. Because there is nothing man can do to save himself, unless he responds in repentant faith, he will endure the torments of eternal hell forever. Throughout biblical history, God has made provision for sinners to be reconciled to Him through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice here he is preaching what is described as an "eternal gospel." This preaching angel is going to have absolute liberty and freedom, beyond the control of the Antichrist. By the way, the word preach, is the word "euaggelizō," from which we get "to evangelize."
Keep in mind, the world will have heard the preaching of the hundred and forty-four thousand Jews as well as the two witnesses, since the midpoint of the Tribulation. However, in spite of all of those who are preaching, whether men or angels, people will not believe.
In verse 7, we hear that this angel is not preaching anything different than anyone else who has ever preached the gospel. They’ve already heard the truth about grace, forgiveness and salvation offered through Christ. The angel then is calling the people of the world to change their allegiance from the beast to the Lamb and repent while grace is still being offered. "and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters."
In Matthew 24, Jesus said "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come." God is so merciful and so gracious, right up to the end.
People in our society fear most everything, they fear disease and losing their health, they fear losing their job and their shelter, they even fear the government and losing their freedom, yet the One they should fear, the One who holds the power of life and death, they do not fear. They do not fear God!
Jesus warned "Fear not those who destroy the body, but fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." This should strike terror in the heart of every hearer. This the overriding theme of Scripture. Notice the phrase "because the hour of His judgment has come," The angel is warning that the seventh trumpet has blown and the seven bowls are to be poured out. The fixed moment for judgment has arrived, it is the last moment to believe. With all the devastation that has come upon the earth, what more does it take before the world finally wakes up? This angel then is calling the world to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and worship God. Satan didn’t create the universe. God did.However, this has always been the problem with the unbelieving pagan world.
Then, in verse 8, we meet the second angel. "And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality." Notice this angel is not preaching the gospel, he's pronouncing judgement. Tragically, this implies that the world did not respond to the first angel's message.
Had they have responded to the first message, the second one wouldn't be needed. In fact, it almost seems as though the second angel is interrupting the first angel because nobody is responding. This second angel states the consequences for rejecting the eternal gospel and the anticipation of the plagues of the bowl judgments that are about to come. By the time you get to the end of the Great Tribulation, Babylon is not just the
city, it is a whole complete, political, economic and religious world
empire, which is being operated by the Antichrist. "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great," this angel predicting its total collapse. It is certainly no surprise that the Roman Catholic Church is positioning itself to be at the center
of the current move toward globalization in our world today and the emerging world government. Scripture prophesies it. Bible prophecy always cast their the shadows of events forward.
You will remember, the first Babylon was a city founded by Nimrod, who was Noah’s great grandson. Nimrod founded Babel in the land of Shinar. It became the first place where idolatry was introduced. He was a God hater, you can read more about him in Genesis 10 and 11. Babel spawned all worldwide false religion. So the angel says that Babel literally intoxicates and deceives the whole world, and has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality. This is what could be considered as whoring, fornication on a spiritual level. The imagery here, is a orgy of rebellion and hatred against God.
The repetition of the word "fallen," serves to make the statement with great finality and great force. I believe this is a comfort to believers even today as we observe the growth of religious and commercial Babylonianism in our time. Today we are seeing the rise and formation of international governments and the political powers within those nations.
That brings us to the third angel with another incentive to fear God and give Him glory. Verses 9 and 10, "Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb."
This angel is "saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand." Notice each angel reinforces the previous one and advances the truth to the next level. The gospel being rejected results in the pronouncement of judgment, which comes to pass in eternal damnation. People who reject the truth, who reject God's offer of salvation through Christ, are without excuse. The warnings of second angel and third angel are being given in an effort to frighten men into faith, to cause them to pursue the truth.
In verse 10, "he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb." God is using this imagery to depict the full strength of divine wrath that
will be utterly bereft, which will be unmixed with mercy when His judgment
comes upon the earth. This angel is saying if you still choose to maintain your identification with the Antichrist through all of this, you will also drink from the cup of God's wrath. By the way, there’s only one human being in all the history of the world who ever drank that cup and survived, and that was Jesus Christ.
The world has voluntarily drank the cup of the passion of the immorality of Antichrist, and now God will force His cup of wrath down their throats! The world will endure their punishment with the added humiliation of being a
public spectacle before the holy angels and the Lamb, Whom they have
blasphemed. They will be tormented with fire and brimstone. The holy angels, in the presence of the Lamb are going to view this torture.
In Isaiah 51, the prophet Isaiah saw this same very vivid vision. "Rouse yourself! Rouse yourself! Arise, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the Lord’s hand the cup of His anger; The chalice of reeling you have drained to the dregs." You know, for thousands of years, the world has made a public spectacle of those who love God. Now what goes around comes around.
I have heard a number of people over the years, who argue that hell isn't forever, that the wicked of the earth will be completely annihilated and that God won't send anyone to hell, I believe anyone who reads this passage in Scripture would debate that. Allow me to be very clear here, Hell is forever, it will never, ever end. In fact, Mark 9:48 says hell is "where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched."
Verse 11 says, "And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."
This is the unimaginable fate of those who continue to reject Jesus Christ. There are many texts in Scripture that affirm the endless duration of divine punishment.
That brings us to verses 12-13, which says, "Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’" "Yes," says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them." This is very positive incentive to fear God and to give Him glory and the blessings that awaits those who worship the Lamb. Notice the perseverance of the genuine faith; the promise of future blessing and the perpetual reward of righteous deeds.
Notice the striking contrast for believers, "Yes," says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them." In Matthew 13, Jesus said the unbelievers "will be cast into the furnace of fire, in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, no relief." What a warning, hell is forever, unceasing, and without rest.
Jude warns in Jude 21-23, "Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh." We can rejoice as Jude tells us in verse 21. We are “waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life." This refers to the spiritual joy and contentment that one has in the Lord regardless of our circumstances.
In Closing..
I see so many many Christians today who are unhappy, who are lacking the joy of the Lord in their lives. They spend countless hours on social media, wasting hour after hours watching secular television and idiotic entertainment. They are literally doing everything but living obediently to the Word of God.
Psalm 32 says "How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!"
Psalm 40 tells us "How blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust. And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood."
Beloved, if you are an unhappy, may I encourage you to measure your life against the Word of God. There are so many commands, most of which many Christians disregard. We are commanded to be good stewards of what God has given us, to worship the Lord through financial giving. Yet, I know personally know many Christians spend everything on themselves, vacations, cars, houses and give God what's left or nothing at all. All the while, claiming look how the Lord is blessing me.
Allow me to remind you, there are severe consequences for disobedience. Perhaps, people will get by with it here on earth, but rest assured, God does not disregard them. Even though the world is very cruel, and life can be very painful, you can still experience the blessings of inner joy.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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