Announcements, Announcements, Announcements

Some of you may recall those days in Bible camp when it was meal time. The Director, or someone important would stand up, get your attention, and then state, “pay attention! I have some announcements.“ After two or three meals like that, everyone knew the routine. So when the Director would stand up at the end of the meal, someone would then begin to chant in a sing-song way, “announcements, announcements, announcements.“

Today’s Bible passage has all kinds of announcements. If I were to summarize by giving my own announcement, it might sound like this:

All who claim to be Christians must live in obedience to Christ, and tell others that Jesus is coming soon.

Announcement about those who shared the good news.

Revelation 14:1–5 (NASB95)

Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth. These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless.

John sees Christ standing again. We also read that with Christ, or the Lamb, are the 144,000. This group is the same group that we read about in chapter 7. The main difference is that now this group is no longer on earth, but in heaven.

The Bible states they are with the Lamb before the throne in Mount Zion. According to Hebrews 12.22–23, this is the place where God dwells. Yet, what are they doing here in heaven?

While they were on earth, they received special protection with God’s seal. Their responsibility was to be witnesses, testifying of God‘s plan and purposes. Now they are singing. The song is a song of redemption.

My friends, music is a testimony to those listening, as well as singing. Here, we understand that they are testifying to the truth that Christ has purchased them from the earth.

The Bible also tells us in this section, that their entire lives involved service to God, while on the earth. There are some who would suggest that this means that these individuals did not ever marry. Yet this would cause the Bible to contradict itself. The Scripture tells us that the marriage bed is to be kept pure and undefiled. The word for “defile“ refers to adultery or spiritual prostitution. It has nothing to do with the actual act of marriage. In other words, these verses are simply stating that the 144,000 would not defile themselves by involving themselves with the pagan practices of that time. In other words, they were spiritually pure.

If you recall from 1 Corinthians 15.20, Christ is said to be the first fruits of the resurrection, never again to die. This group are those who were first saved during the tribulation period. The Bible says that these individuals were blameless before God. Just as in any other portion of scripture, we must understand that this does not imply perfection. They are simply perfect in Christ and are living lives that exemplify belonging to Christ. Their whole focus was to lead people to salvation through Jesus Christ.

Just like the 144,000 witnesses, we have a particular responsibility. We must also be witnesses as commanded in the Bible. We must testify of God‘s plan and purposes. We must do whatever it takes to present Jesus Christ as judge, or as Savior. We cannot waste time or energy trying to do things the way the world might; or as carnal Christians, who would rather we be like them. We must be like the 144,000.

Remember, all who claim to be Christians must live in obedience to Christ and tell others that Jesus is coming soon.

Announcement about the good news.

Revelation 14:6–8 (NASB95)

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.”

It is important to understand what the word “gospel“ means. Gospel literally means good news. Most of us consider that to be the case when we share the plan of salvation with others. Most of us considered the good news the fact that Christ became a man, lived among men on this earth, suffered and died, paying the penalty for our sins, being buried, then rising from the dead and ascending to the Father.

In this context, the gospel is still the good news. However, it is good news only to believers. The Bible informs believers that judgment is soon coming to those upon the earth. We can never forget the reality that divine judgment is never separated from the announcement of God’s mercy. What exactly is that judgment? I believe that it is described in detail in the next two chapters in the bowl judgments.

Yes, there is still good news. It appears that this will be God’s final call to a world which is opposed to Him. The call is to repent and return to Him for salvation.

We see another angel, announcing a specific event in the judgment, which is the fall of Babylon. The reason for Babylon‘s fall is that she has saturated the entire world with immorality. John deals with this specifically, later in Revelation 17 and 18.

My friends when you and I present the gospel, or the good news, it is imperative that we present both sides. We cannot afford to be politically correct, at the expense of presenting a milquetoast gospel. If there is no danger of eternal suffering in hell, what is the motivation for people to want to become a Christian? If heaven, or a lesser version of it, is all that is presented, we present an incomplete gospel.

Announcement about godless people.

Revelation 14:9–13 (NASB95)

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.”

This section deals with those who have chosen to worship the beast and his image. It is anything but good news. It is a message of incredible wrath. This will be an undiluted picture of God’s wrath. In other words, those who have rejected Christ are going to receive the full force of His wrath. I like how one writer described God’s judgment. “God may delay his judgment, but he will not dilute it.

Take a moment and picture the intensity of this punishment. The beast worshipers are tormented with fire and brimstone. To most of us, this won’t mean much, unless we know what brimstone is. Brimstone is burning sulfur, which is a chemical which will cause constant pain. Because of this, there will be no rest, day or night. No one can reject the Lamb and expect the privileges of joy in His presence. If one rejects the Lamb of God, there will indeed be torment.

Yet, we must wonder about those who have chosen not to worship the beast, and who have instead chosen to worship God. God offers words of encouragement, for those who still obey Him. Simply, they will endure, knowing that God will enact justice.

We also find an announcement of a blessing for those who die in Christ. If you recall, many pagans sought death, rather than turn to Christ. However, this blessing is limited only for those who “die in the Lord.“ Obviously, all they did in their service for Christ and obedience to him will be rewarded.

Again, we are reminded that life without God will not be one big party. You cannot do as you please without any rules. Life without God is not an empty vacuum. This earth is not all that there is. There will indeed be absolute horror and torture. If this is going to happen during the tribulation, it will be even worse when the godless actually experience hell, which was intended for Satan and his angels.

The last few verses are to be an encouragement to us, as well. No matter what may come our way, we must be obedient to Christ.

All who claim to be Christians must live in obedience to Christ, and tell others that Jesus is coming soon.

Announcement about the gleaning

Revelation 14:14–20 (NASB95)

Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.” Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.” So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.

The Bible describes the harvest as a ripe harvest. In other words, there will be no more waiting. The One Who will actually reap the harvest is Christ himself. Here we find that Christ is no longer standing by the throne in Mount Zion in heaven. We see Him sitting on a white cloud, which implies that He is coming from heaven. He is also wearing a victors crown. This implies that all who oppose Him will be conquered. His tool will be that of a sickle, which we can understand as an instrument of judgment. In other words, he will not simply beat down evil. He will quickly and surely cut it off.

When will the harvest be? There is a precise point when judgment will be delayed no more. At that point, the harvest will be ripe. Only God knows when that will be. But, what is the harvest?

According to verses 17-20, it is a harvest of God’s wrath. Today, when we think of the harvest in spiritual terms, we think of it as a harvest of souls, as we should. Yet this time which John is describing, is pictured as the world being a wine press, with judgment being pressed out by God. How does this happen?

God uses several angels to be His instruments of judgment. Not only does the Lord Himself have a sharp circle, but an angel has one, as well. Another angel uses fire to accomplish God‘s purpose. One angel puts the sickle out and gathers the clusters off the vine, and throws them into God’s great wine press. We have commonly understood this to be an incredible world war, which will indeed be the mother of all wars. Part of this war will take place in Armageddon. The war will be stopped, but not by anybody upon this earth. For Christ will return and stop it.

How horrible will this be? From this judgment, blood will flow about 4 1/2 to 5 feet deep for approximately 200 miles. This will be an entire river of blood. What is significant about this? Since this is the length of Palestine today, it could make sense that all the worlds armies will descend upon that tiny hotspot, and create one of the worst battlefields ever.

In actuality, whatever interpretation one has, we must ultimately understand that God will be victorious, and he will enact his divine judgment.

Conclusion

You and I do not know when the last opportunity to present Christ will be. We do not know when the last opportunity to hear of Christ will be. The reality is that none of us knows when our last breath will take place.

One tragic week, an entire community was dealt a blow that will be felt for a long time. Elli Glanzer and Liza Tschetter did not plan on seeing Christ face-to-face that Wednesday night. One of them fixed supper for her grandpa that night. Nobody knew it would be one of the last acts of service she did for her family. When the girls practiced hard on the basketball court, nobody knew this would be the last practice. When they stopped at Dairy Queen, who would’ve thought it was their last cool treat on this earth? When they picked up a part at the John Deere dealership, nobody would have imagined this would be the last act of service for the immediate family.

Yet, my friends, the glory is that both girls and their immediate families know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior over the years. I praise God that they made their decisions earlier in their lives, that they would follow Jesus Christ and would serve him always. Because of this, they and all who know Jesus can echo the words of Job, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand up on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh, I will see God; I am myself will see him with my own eyes…“ Again, we can rejoice in what Paul said to the Thessalonians as he spoke to them of the rapture of the church. “… We who are still alive at our laptop we caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

However, this is only possible, if our lives have been lived in obedience to Christ. We must take seriously our responsibility as Christians. We must go and proclaim the fact that Christ may come today.

For those who do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you must decide. I realize that you can put it off and take a chance. However, this may be the last moment on earth for you. Make your decision today.

Christian, are you willing to be obedient and be about the business to which God has called you? Or would you rather know that someone died a Christ-less eternity, because you were not obedient?

Unbeliever, do you want to keep playing Russian roulette with your spiritual well-being? Do you want to keep taking a chance that there will be another opportunity that could come at a more convenient time in your life? Or will you make sure today that you belong to Jesus Christ? I would encourage you to make that decision today.