Bible Reading:
Revelation Chapter 14
Introduction
Just prior to the return of the Messiah, the whole world is going to hear three specific messages. They contain the final warnings man is given before the seven last plagues are poured out on the human race. It is absolutely vital that you understand and accept these three messages; because failure to do so will result in trouble at the very least, and the loss of eternal life at the worst. The three messages are proclaimed as it were by "three angels flying in the midst of heaven." Angels are messengers of God; and since angels themselves do not normally preach to mankind, presumably these "three messages" will be delivered by human preachers filled with the Holy Spirit and protected by holy angels. They will thus be supernaturally empowered and authorized to present these messages to the world.1. The first angel's message
The First Angel's message is a call to worship the Creator, the One who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the fountains of waters. The first angel's message is referred to as the Everlasting Gospel. You may think that you already know the Everlasting Gospel, but compare your knowledge with these facts:| Revelation 14: | 6: “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7: Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” |
Let us briefly examine the first angel's message:
- “Fear God” This means to hold Him in reverential awe. To put your faith in His only begotten Son. To treat His Holy Word, the Bible, with respect.
- “And give glory to Him” This is self explanatory. It means to render to the Most High The praise, the honour and the obedience which is His due.
- “And worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the
fountains of waters” This command calls attention to a fact repeatedly
mentioned in the Scriptures: That the universe was created by God Almighty!
Psalm 102: 25 says: “Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.”
In Isaiah 45: 12 God says: “I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.”
By keeping the Sabbath commandment which is a memorial of the creation.
Let me quote the Sabbath commandment to you. It is the fourth of the Ten Commandments.
And as I quote it, note carefully the reason why the Almighty commands us to keep
His Sabbath day.
| Exodus 20: | 8: “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9: Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” |
Did you notice that reference to the creation? It is virtually the same as in the First Angel’s message:
And worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
In other words, this angel calls upon earth's inhabitants to worship the Creator:
to jettison their fatal attraction with the false theory of evolution and to keep
the seventh day Sabbath commandment which commemorates the creation of
our universe!
Are you willing to accept that first stunning fact?
2. The second angel's message
The second angel's message is a call to purity and sanctification. It is a call to all believers to forsake the sins of Babylon the Great. For not only will Babylon fall; (collaps into ruins) but she has already fallen in a drunken stupor of fornication and vice.
| Revelation 14: | 8: “And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” |
Fornication is illicit sexual intercourse. At its lower, physical level it involves sexual acts between unmarried couples. At its higher, spiritual level it involves the human race bowing down before evil spirits and demons who have absolutely no right to accept the worship of mankind. The second angel's message is a call to ‘Come out of Babylon,’ the spiritual capital of violence and sexual depravity. This angel's message is a call for purity of body and soul. At a time when moral standards are collapsing, when adultery, fornication, rape, homosexuality, incest and child-abuse are rampant - and even glamorized by the media - this angel's message calls believers to forsake these popular sins and to come apart to worship God Almighty.
Are you willing to accept that second stunning fact?
Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots, is a devilish metropolis on high from which Satan directs his rebellion against Yahweh the Almighty God of Israel. Every concept and act of depravity has its origin in Babylon the Great, or rather in the mind of its ruler - Satan! (Lucifer) Babylon's total collapse is forecast in Revelation chapter 18. When it occurs the stock-markets of the world will crash - never to recover! World trade will come to a shuddering standstill and gold will become worthless. Read about it in (Revelation chapter 18) and (James 5: 1-6).
3. The third angel's message
The third angel's message is without a doubt the most awesome warning the world will ever receive. It is a warning every soul must understand and heed. Failure to do so will result in fearsome punishment. Let me quote the passage in full:
| Revelation 14: | 9: “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10: The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall 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 ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. 12: Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” |
| Psalm 14: | 1: “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” |
- The First Angel’s message was a call to Worship and obey
the Creator, Whose Sign is the true Sabbath days in His Sacred Calendar.
Ezekiel 20: 11: “And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them.
12: “Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.” - The Third Angel’s message is a terrifying divine warning to all the earth NOT to accept the Mark of the Beast!
4. The option
And what will be the result of these three angel messages? Sad to say the vast majority of earth’s inhabitants will reject them. Comments such as: ‘pathetic,’ ‘farcical’ and ‘ridiculous’ will fill the air. It will be a testing time indeed! The options are plain to see:
- Have faith in the Creator and keep His Sabbath days.
- Or believe in the theory of Evolution and keep which ever pagan festival you please.
| Revelation 9: | 4: “And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have NOT the seal of God in their foreheads.” |
In other words, those who have the Almighty’s Seal will be spared. Obedience to God is not popular these days. Millions of Christians believe that the laws of God - even the Ten Commandments - are obsolete: they've been done away with: they were nailed to the cross: they've been replaced by Faith in the Lamb. The moment one mentions the importance of obedience, a cry goes up: ‘Oh, you’re preaching salvation by Works.
The truth is: Faith in God has always been the pre-requisite to obedience. Indeed obedience is not possible without faith: and most certainly forgiveness is not possible without the blood of the Lamb. The whole sacrificial system of ancient Israel, which pointed to Calvary, is testimony to this fact. But what of obedience now? With these telling words the third angel points out those who do accept his message. They keep the commandments of God and also have faith in Jesus Christ. Will you be amongst them?
| Revelation 14: | 12: “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” |
Are you willing to accept these stunning facts?
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