Please turn in your Bibles this morning to Revelation chapter 14 as we look at the proclamations of three angels during the tribulation period and how they relate to us today. Now before we get to our text this morning, let me share with you this story that will help set the stage for our study. We are told:
One day a brother was in a strange part of town and in somewhat of a rush. He needed to get some money from his bank, so he obtained directions to one of its branches – one he had never been to before.
The brother followed the advice, and sure enough there was a bank right across the street from the big store he was told to seek. He rushed in and handed over his book and other forms to the smiling teller.
“I’m sorry, sir. I can’t accept this,” she said. “Why not? I am sure it is all in order. I wrote it out very carefully,” he countered.
“I’m sure you did, but this is not your bank. The one you want is across the street.” Shamefaced, he retreated to the other bank, the right one, which was also across the street from the big store, only on the other side.
In a similar way, how many people rush to a god, any god, seeking comfort, solace or salvation, only to find that it is not the God, our heavenly Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit?
One may rectify going to the wrong bank, but one cannot recover from banking on the wrong god.
- A Treasury of Bible Illustrations
In our study this morning we will see that if you place your trust in anyone or anything else besides the true and living God, you will come up empty, you will, in a sense, be bankrupt! But I also want you to understand that our God is very patient, He is longsuffering, but why? Peter tells us, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” II Peter 3:9.
Think about God’s patience, His longsuffering. It took God five days to create the heavens and the earth, the sun and the moon, and every living thing. It took God one day to fashion man in His image. And then, after that man fell, he sinned and ever since that time God has been working on restoring sinful man back to Himself! It has been some 6,000 years, what patience God has towards us!
But there is coming a day of God’s judgment being poured out upon sinful man, those who have rejected the free gift of life that is found in Jesus. You see, after Peter speaks of the Lord’s patience and longsuffering towards us, he goes on to say, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” II Peter 3:10.
With that as our background, let’s begin reading in Revelation chapter 14, beginning in verse 6 and see what the Lord has for us this morning as we look at the proclamations of these three angels.
In this portion of Scripture John is filling in some of the details of what will take place during the Tribulation Period. And I believe these events occur towards the end of the Tribulation Period or that last 3½ years of that 7-year period of time, which is known as the Great Tribulation.
In verses 6-7 of Revelation chapter 14 we see an angel proclaim the Everlasting Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ to a world that is in darkness. And this angel proclaims this message to all those who live upon the earth or specifically the earth dwellers. In other words, this message is for the unsaved, those who have not yet received Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
This shows me the love, the grace, the mercy of God in the midst of His wrath being poured out upon a Christ rejecting world. You may have heard the story of the Atheist who said, “If there is a God, may he prove himself by striking me dead right now!” When nothing happened the Atheist said, “You see, there is no God!” Another person hearing what this man said replied back, “You’ve only proven that He is a gracious God!” May we never lose sight of that truth, our God is truly gracious and merciful, He is longsuffering and patient with us!
Then in verse 8 of Revelation chapter 14 we see another angel proclaim that Babylon is fallen and he repeats the fact that this has taken place twice! Why? I believe he is showing not only the certainty of this taking place but also the severity of its destruction, it will be complete! And I also see Babylon as a religious system and a commercial empire- they will be wiped out, nothing will be left of them! You can see this in more detail in Revelation chapters 17 and 18.
And as we move into verses 9-11 of Revelation chapter 14 we see the third angel proclaim the eternal doom, the everlasting punishment for all those who have rejected Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. They will be placed in Hell until the final judgment, the Great White Throne Judgment where John tells us in Revelation 20:11-15, “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”
You see, a person is sent to Hell for their rejecting Jesus Christ, and then, at the Great White Throne Judgment the degree of their punishment in the Lake of Fire or outer darkness will be given according to their works in this life. They have rejected the light of God and thus, God will give them what they want, eternal darkness apart from Him!
Now, as I have said, these things take place in the Tribulation Period as these three angels proclaim their messages. So how does this relate to us today, in the days we are living in? Well, let’s look at these verses a little closer because I do think we can apply them to our lives and learn from them.
1. THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL – REVELATION
14:6-7
How does this relate to us as Christians? The word “angel” in the Greek is AGGELOS, (ang’-el-os) and it can also be translated “messenger.” In other words, we, as messengers of Christ have the opportunity to proclaim the Gospel throughout this world. In fact, Jesus tells us in Matthew 28:19-20, “‘Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.”
Tragically, what we see being promoted today as the Gospel message is nothing more than a feel-good message of being a good person, whatever that means. Let me share with you what is happening in churches across America, a pandemic you might say, and why this is so dangerous. Lighthouse Trails Publishing tells us:
In 1922, liberal pastor and theologian Harry Emerson Fosdick stated the following words in his sermon titled “Will the Fundamentalists Win?”:
“It is interesting to note where the Fundamentalists are driving in their stakes to mark out the deadline of doctrine around the church, across which no one is to pass except on terms of agreement. They insist that we must all believe in the historicity of certain special miracles, preeminently the virgin birth of our Lord; that we must believe in a special theory of inspiration – that the original documents of the Scripture, which of course we no longer possess, were inerrantly dictated to men a good deal as a man might dictate to a stenographer; that we must believe in a special theory of Atonement – that the blood of our Lord, shed in a substitutionary death, placates an alienated Deity and makes possible welcome for the returning sinner.”
Fosdick considered the doctrine of a blood atonement a “slaughterhouse religion.”
What this line of thinking is saying is that while Jesus’ going to the Cross should be looked at as an example of perfect servanthood and sacrifice, the idea that God would send His Son to a violent death on the Cross is barbaric and would never happen. Thus, Fosdick (and those who adhere to this reasoning) rejects Christ as a substitute for our penalty of sin (“the wages of sin is death” – Romans 6:23).
In an earlier article titled “Slaughterhouse Religion”, [they write], we showed where contemplatives and emerging church leaders hold the same view. . . .
- Lighthouse Trails Publishing
What we see happening with the Seeker Friendly, Purpose Driven and now the Emergent Church is that they are movements that are taking people away from the Gospel message, the blood atonement. Here in Revelation 14:6 John tells us that this angel is proclaiming “the Everlasting Gospel.” Do you understand what that means? It is unchanging, it is perpetual, it is forever!
You see, we can’t change the Gospel message. We can’t alter the Gospel message. We can’t try and make the Gospel more appeasing to people. The Gospel message is what it is! For as Peter said, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12.
Now, what is the Gospel message? Some have a hard time with this, but it is very simple because the Bible tells us. In I Corinthians 15:3-4 Paul tells us, “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” There it is in black and white and it is very easy to understand. If you do not believe that the Christ, the Messiah, God became flesh and dwelt among us, died to pay in full the penalty for our sins and rose the third day according to the Scriptures, conquering death, then you are still dead in your trespasses and sins!
H. A. Ironside tells a true story that illustrates for us the devastating affects of changing the message. He said:
Some years ago a fearful railroad wreck took a dreadful toll of life and limb in an eastern state. A train, loaded with young people returning from school, was stalled on a suburban track because of what is known as a “hot-box.” The limited was soon due, but a flagman was sent back to warn the engineer in order to avert a rear-end collision. Thinking all was well, the crowd laughed and chatted while the train-hands worked on in fancied security. Suddenly the whistle of the limited was heard and on came the heavy train and crashed into the local, with horrible effect.
The engineer of the limited saved his own life by jumping, and some days afterwards was hauled into court to account for his part in the calamity. And now a curious discrepancy in testimony occurred. He was asked, “Did you not see the flagman warning you to stop?” He replied, “I saw him, but he waved a yellow flag, and I took it for granted all was well, and so went on, though slowing down.” The flagman was called, “What flag did you wave?” A red flag, but he went by me like a shot.” “Are you sure it was red?” “Absolutely.”
Both insisted on the correctness of their testimony, and it was demonstrated that neither was color-blind. Finally the man was asked to produce the flag itself as evidence. After some delay he was able to do so, and then the mystery was explained. It had been red, but it had been exposed to the weather so long that all the red was bleached out, and it was but a dirty yellow!
Oh, the lives eternally wrecked by the yellow gospels of the day – the bloodless theories of unregenerate men that send their hearers to their doom instead of stopping them on their downward road!
- H. A. Ironside, Illustrations of Bible Truth, pp. 62-63
Paul tells us the importance of the Gospel message in peoples lives in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” You see, there is no salvation apart from the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I believe that is why the Devil has perpetrated these doctrines of demons that keep people out of the kingdom of God by negating the Gospel. And yet, these people feel very secure in their religion!
Jesus made it very clear in Matthew 7:21-23 that religion doesn’t get you into heaven, but a relationship with Him does. He said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” You see, it doesn’t matter how much good you do, how much you think you are serving the Lord, if you don’t know Him, if He is not your Lord and Savior, then you are not saved. And notice that Jesus said that He NEVER knew them!
So how are we doing as ambassadors for Christ? Paul makes this point regarding who we are, what we are to do in II Corinthians 5:20, “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.” You see, as ambassadors we represent the Lord to people. That means that it is not about us; what we want to do or say, but we speak the Words of God from His Scriptures. Yes, it is a heavy responsibility and we must adhere to the truths of God found in the Word of God or we are giving to people empty words, the wisdom of men, the vain philosophies of this world!
Once again, how are we doing as ambassadors for Christ, in spreading the Gospel message to a lost and dying world? Let me put this into perspective for you. Did you know that 91% of the world’s population has heard of Coke? Did you realize that 74% of the people in this world have seen Coke? Not only that, but did you know that 51% of the world’s population have tasted Coke? As good as Coke is, it can’t save you and yet, they are able to get their word out about Coke better than we can get the Gospel message out! You see, it has been estimated that around 10% of the world’s population has heard the Gospel message!
Now you may say, “I can’t be a missionary, I have a family or this or that!” That may be very true. But, is your family saved? What about the people in your neighborhood? What about the people at work? I bet every one of them has heard of Coke but have they really heard the Gospel message? They may know of Jesus, but do they truly understand what He has done for them? That is what we are to proclaim! Invite people to church. Maybe do a Bible study with people at work or in your neighborhood or with your family. Talk with them about the Lord because you don’t know the power of God that is seen in the Gospel message, it is strong enough to save!
A. B. Simpson said this regarding the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that it , “Tells rebellious men that God is reconciled, that justice is satisfied, that sin has been atoned for, that the judgment of the guilty may be revoked, the condemnation of the sinner canceled, the curse of the Law blotted out, the gates of hell closed, the portals of heaven opened wide, the power of sin subdued, the guilty conscience healed, the broken heart comforted, the sorrow and misery of the Fall undone.” I think that sums it up!
Now, as good as the Gospel message is, many will still reject it, maybe some of you have this morning rejected the Gospel message. For those that do, they will see all they have put their hope in, all they have trusted come crashing to the ground. And that is illustrated for us with the proclamation of the second angel here in Revelation 14:8.
2. BABYLON IS FALLEN – REVELATION
14:8
Babylon is represented by both a religious system and a commercial empire. You see, if you reject the true and living God you will worship something. For instance, if you look at the religions of the world, all except Christianity, they have a work your way to heaven theology. You see, it is man trying to be good enough, to walk that fine line so they can make it in! The problem with that is it won’t happen because you can’t be good enough. God only accepts perfection and that can only be obtained by receiving Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Paul put it this way in II Corinthians 5:21, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” In other words, God reached down to sinful man and pulled him out of the mire of sin that he was in and that is all accomplished through Jesus Christ!
Now some may argue that all roads lead to God and if you are sincere enough you will get in. Think about that for a minute. The Islamic terrorists that blew up the World-Trade Center building in New York, were they sincere in their faith? Of course they were, they were willing to kill themselves for their faith. Thus, if you use that rational, they would be in heaven. Do you see how foolish that is?
Paul makes this point very clear in regards to salvation as he was speaking to the Jewish people who rejected Jesus. He said, “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” Romans 10:1-4.
You see, if you put your faith in a religious system instead of Jesus Christ, the religious system you put your faith in will come crashing down one day, it will not stand! It does not matter how sincere you are, how much faith you have in this false religion, it will never stand! Only the true and living God will stand strong in the end and everything else you put your hope in, your faith in will be consumed by His fire!
What about commercial Babylon, what does that mean to us? It speaks of materialism and like I said, people will worship something and many worship the god of materialism! We in America have more stuff, we even have boxes for our stuff that we don’t know what to do with!
Again, as John said, if you put your trust, your hope in material things, they will not stand, they will be taken away in the end! Think about it, how much stuff can you take with you when you die? NOTHING! I have never seen a U-Haul following a hearse because you can’t take it with you. But you can send on ahead spiritual blessings that are eternal! Paul, in Hebrews 12:25-29 tells us, “See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, ‘Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.’ Now this, ‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.”
You see, if your faith is in Christ then it cannot be shaken, it will not fade, it will not fail. But if you put your trust in material things, they will be consumed in God’s fire they will be shaken, they will fail! But many still go after things that in the end will be destroyed. It is as this little poem tells us:
Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray by Cuisinart to keep
I pray my stocks are on the rise
And that my analyst is wise.
That all the wine I sip is white
And that my hot tub’s watertight
That racquetball won’t get too tough
That all my sushi’s fresh enough.
I pray my cordless phone still works
That my career won’t lose its perks.
My microwave won’t radiate
My condo won’t depreciate.
I pray my health club doesn’t close
And that my money market grows
If I go broke before I wake
I pray my Volvo they won’t take.
- Steve Farrar, Family Survival in the American Jungle, p. 63
Humorous but true! Now, to put this into perspective even more, listen to what Jesus has to say about materialism in Luke 12:16-21, “Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: ‘The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, “What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?” So he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’” But God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?” So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.’”
Thus, if you have rejected the Gospel message, Jesus Christ, then all that you have put your trust in will come crashing to the ground. That leads us to the proclamation of the third angel found in Revelation 14:9-11, God’s righteous judgment upon sinful man!
3. THE WRATH OF GOD – REVELATION 14:9-11
People today ignore the judgment of God, they don’t believe in Hell or punishment. And yet, Jesus spoke more about Hell and judgment than any of the prophets, why? Because it is a real place and He has done everything possible to prevent people from going there but He will not force people into the kingdom of God. It is a gift that we receive by faith!
Paul put it this way in Ephesians 2:1-9, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
That is what God has done for you. You can accept it or reject it, but if you reject it you need to understand the consequences that will come, the judgment of God upon your life, for God will judge your sin as you stand before Him in your own righteousness, which are like filthy rags!
In a 2006 interview with the Emerging Church leader, Brian McLaren he said that the doctrine Hell is “false advertising for God” and berates the body of Christ and the doctrine of the Cross as he has often done before. This is what is creeping into the church, and it is really blowing into the church today. One that rejects Jesus Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice on the Cross!
Why do they feel this way? One of the reasons is they believe that all roads lead to God and thus, all are saved. And they just can’t understand how a loving God would pour out His wrath on anyone! You see, when they think of wrath they associate it with mans actions and thus, God can’t act that way. First of all, He doesn’t act like man. You see, God is light and there is no darkness in Him at all! Absolutely none! Thus, His judgment is righteous, it is fair.
The Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death, that is the reality. Thus, He will judge sin and we deserve death, but because God is rich in mercy and even though the wages of sin is death, He extends to us the free gift of God that is found in Jesus Christ – eternal life with Him as He paid in full the penalty for our sins, as He took the wrath of God that was due us upon Himself!
Yes, God’s judgment is real and it is complete and it is eternal. You can’t hide from it, you can’t run away from it, but you can escape it through Christ! I think Walvoord tells it like it is regarding the torment of this place for those who reject Jesus as their Lord and Savior. He tells us, “In describing the worshippers of the beast, the word worship as well as the word receive in verse 11 is in the present tense emphasizing continued worship of the beast over a long period of time . . . the same present tense is used in describing their torment. As the worship of the beast is not interrupted by repentance, so their torment is not interrupted when repentance is too late.”
Folks, if you reject the Everlasting Gospel then everything you put your trust in will crumble, it will not stand and in the end you will face everlasting punishment as God pours out His righteous judgment, His wrath. Paul makes this very clear in Romans 2:1-11, as he tells us, “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? . . .
. . . But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who ‘will render to each one according to his deeds’: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness — indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.”
In other words, God, being perfectly holy and righteous, judges people because they reject what they know to be true, that is why everyone is sentenced to Hell apart from Christ and they will be without excuse!
Now to put this all into perspective for us, listen to this story that H. A. Ironside told. He said:
One of the first gospel illustrations that ever made a real impression upon my young heart was a simple story which I heard a preacher tell when I was less than nine years old.
It was of pioneers who were making their way across one of the central states to a distant place that had been opened up for homesteading. They traveled in covered wagons drawn by oxen, and progress was necessarily slow. One day they were horrified to note a long line of smoke in the west, stretching for miles across the prairie, and soon it was evident that the dried grass was burning fiercely and coming toward them rapidly. They had crossed a river the day before but it would be impossible to go back to that before the flames would be upon them. One man only seemed to have understanding as to what could be done. He gave the command to set fire to the grass behind them. Then when a space was burned over, the whole company moved back upon it.
As the flames roared on toward them from the west, a little girl cried out in terror, “Are you sure we shall not all be burned up?” The leader replied, “My child, the flames cannot reach us here, for we are standing where the fire has been!”
What a picture of the believer, who is safe in Christ! On Him Almighty vengeance fell, which would have sunk a world to hell. He bore it for a chosen race, and thus becomes our hiding place. The fires of God’s judgment burned themselves out on Him, and all who are in Christ are safe forever, for they are now standing where the fire has been.
- H. A. Ironside, Illustrations of Bible Truth, pp. 34-35
You see, the choice is yours on what you want to do. To stand where the fires have already been burned, in Jesus or to stand and see that the Lord is a consuming fire and you will not escape!
Now, for us as Christians living in this world, we are to push on, to forge ahead, because there is coming a day of rest for us, when we go to be with the Lord. But while there is work to be done we must be out there doing it. We should not be sitting back, for the day of the Lord’s return is fast approaching. As I begin to rap things up this morning, listen to these words from William Barclay. He said, “When you leave this earth, all that you can take with you is yourself. If you come to the end of this life still one with Christ, you will take with you a character tried and tested like gold, which has something of His reflection in it; and, if you take with you to the world beyond a character like that, blessed are you.” In other words, let you light so shine that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven!
Folks, let me close with this. God extends His arms of love to the world that is in darkness, even during the Tribulation Period. But again, it is up to each individual to receive that gift of life that is only found in Jesus Christ! God’s grace and His mercy are awesome, which is an understatement to say the least! But the age of grace is coming to an end for those who refuse it, they will miss the opportunity to come to Him, for today is the day of salvation, as Paul said. In Ezekiel 18:32 the Lord tells us, “‘For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,’ says the Lord GOD. ‘Therefore turn and live!’” Won’t you do that this morning, come to Him and receive Him into your life as Lord and Savior for He died for you. As we said when we opened up our study this morning, “One may rectify going to the wrong bank, but one cannot recover from banking on the wrong god.” Thus, TURN AND LIVE!