The Last Call and the Big Fall - Revelations 14:6-13

The Last Call and The Big Fall

Revelation 14:6-13

If you will remember last week I told you that chapter 14 had 6 scenes in it and we only looked at the first scene. I guess I felt the need to move on so today we will be looking at Revelations 14:6-13 taking in the next 4 scenes.

Last week in scene one (vs. 1-5) we saw all the redeemed of God from the tribulation standing on heavenly Mt. Zion with their Redeemer the Lamb. These are those designated as the 144,000 with that number representing all the redeemed of God sealed on their foreheads by God before Satan was allowed to begin his attack on the church. We heard a loud voice coming from heaven that was so loud it was described as the sound of many waters, so strong that it sounded like thunder and at the same time so tender that it sounded like harps being played. There was a song sung by those who were the redeemed from the tribulation that only they could learn and I just think that the song they sung was the voice that was heard. Then we heard a description of the redeemed of God that described them as spiritually pure, as those who followed the Lamb and was the firstfruit of God and the Lamb, and they were described as being morally pure. We talked about how possibly we should look into the mirror to see that we can be described the same way.

From verse 6 until the end of the chapter we see six angels make announcements. Today we will look at the first three angels and their proclamations. We will hear from them a final call to repentance to the people of the earth. We will hear a declaration of doom for a world system that is opposed to God. And we will hear a final warning and judgment pronounced on those who worship the Beast. And finally we will hear a voice from heaven proclaiming encouragement and a blessing for all those who follow Christ. Let’s pray then we will get into God’s word.

Revelation 14 1Then I looked, and behold, £a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, £having His Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. 3They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. 4These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were £redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. 5And in their mouth was found no £deceit, for they are without fault £before the throne of God. 6Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—7saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” 8And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon£ is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” 9Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” 12Here is the patience of the saints; here£ are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. 13Then I heard a voice from heaven saying £to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” 14Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. 15And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come £for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” 16So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. 17Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.” 19So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.

6Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—7saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” In verses 6 and 7 there are several things to look at. First we have to remember that much of Revelation is symbolic so sometimes an angel is not a spirit being but simply a messenger. We talked about that back in chapters two and three with the letters written to the angels of the churches. We talked about these angels being the pastors or elders of the seven churches. In this case I believe that the angel that is flying in the air may represent the redeemed of God who are making a last call for repentance to a world, to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— that is on the brink of God’s final judgment. This sounds much like what Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24:14 14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

The second thing we need to look at here is what is meant by the everlasting gospel? There is no mention of Christ’s death and resurrection and the subject of substitutionary atonement is not mentioned at all. There is only the call to fear God, to give Him glory, to worship Him who is the creator of everything because His judgment is on the doorstep. If you remember the first gospel message in the New Testament was “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”. You can fear God or you can fear the Beast. You can give God glory or you can glorify the Beast. You can worship God the Creator of everything or you can worship the Beast who is in the process of destroying everything. But the judgment is coming. This last call to repentance will be evident in the coming verses. If one fears God, glorifies God, and worships God above all else then he will surrender himself to the Lamb. But one day everyone is going to do that. You can do it now and avoid God’s judgment or later just before His proclamation of your everlasting judgment, either way you will bow and worship God.

Remember the Beast/Antichrist under the direction of Satan and with the help of the False Prophet has set up a system of governance by which everyone will worship and obey the Beast or die. 8 And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” The second angel is declaring the doom of a world system that is opposed to God. A world system that is a concerted effort of man teamed with Satan, the Beast and the False Prophet to over throw the rule and reign of God. For the first century church hearing this declaration of doom upon Babylon this would have been cause for celebration, if not at least relief. Babylon for the first century church would have most likely been Rome because Rome was their oppressor. But before that Babylon had been the symbol of oppression and persecution for all of the people of God since the time of the Kings. The term Babylon or Chaldeans was often used to describe the enemies of God’s people. Here we have the collapse of a world system that has for some time now been causing great despair and persecution for the redeemed of God who were on the earth but not of the earth. Back in chapter 12 we read about the dragon/Satan hunting down and trying to destroy but couldn’t so he turned his attention to the individuals of the redeemed of God. When he was kicked out of heaven, no longer able to accuse the saints he began pouring out his wrath on the redeemed and continued that work of attempted annihilation with the Beast and his false Prophet. Those who are the sealed of God who would not take the mark of the Beast are not able to do any business so they are being starved to death. Many are imprisoned and some are martyred. This world system that is opposed to God the things of God and the people of God is fallen. I know this is future but look at the certainty of that declaration; Babylon IS fallen, IS fallen! In Jeremiah 51:6-8 we read this about a world system which at that time was the literal Babylon: 6Flee from the midst of Babylon, And every one save his life! Do not be cut off in her iniquity, For this is the time of the Lord’S vengeance; He shall recompense her. 7Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord’S hand, That made all the earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; Therefore the nations are deranged. 8Babylon has suddenly fallen and been destroyed. Wail for her! Take balm for her pain; And we read this in Isaiah 21:9 9And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!” Then he answered and said, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen! And all the carved images of her gods He has broken to the ground.” Very clearly, every country, every kingdom, and every world system that stands against God and His Kingdom will fall. What we have to understand is that even though the Beast and the false Prophet under the direction of Satan is persecuting and opposing God and His people they are doing God’s work of separating the wheat from the chaff, the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the tares. The nations, the people of the earth follow this world system and are drunk in her wine and they will fall with her. We will see this in detail in chapter 18.

(Angel 1; last call to repentance, Angel 2: Babylon is fallen) Now we come to the third angel and his final warning and judgment pronounced on those who worship the Beast. 9 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. 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 ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” Remember the people of the earth have received their last call to repentance, and they have been warned that the world system that they have devoted themselves to, the world system that opposes God and His people led by Satan, his Beast and his false prophet is fallen. Now they receive a last warning. But I don’t know if this is as much a warning in that it was a call to change as it is a warning that this is surely what will take place. Kind of like the warning I used to get from my mother when she said “you are going to get a whippin’ when we get home”. That was not an opportunity to get out of the judgment it was just a statement of what was going to happen. I think that this is what we are seeing here in verses 9-11. I know that judgment is not a popular subject matter in these days. We only want to hear about God’s love and His mercy and His grace. We want a kum-baya Christianity, let’s all circle up and enjoy God’s goodness. But God’s goodness would not be so good if it were not for His wrath. If there were nothing to save us from then what is so great about salvation? Why would there be salvation? Why would the Lamb have been slain? When the angel says “If anyone worships the Beast” it is the same as saying “Whosoever worships the Beast”. Then he goes on and describes the judgment that will fall on those who do worship the Beast. 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. There are two words in that verse we need to look at. First is “wrath”. The Greek word used here is “thoo-mos” and it is best described as angry passion that flows from, in this case God, like a pot of water that has boiled over. It is like a volcanic eruption on those who have been warned, to whom mercy has been shown yet without repentance. It is an overflow of anger aimed at those who have persecuted Him. In case you wonder how one could persecute God all you need to do is remember what Jesus said to Saul on the Road to Damascus when Jesus asked Saul/Paul who was imprisoning Christians; “why are you persecuting Me”. When the people of God are persecuted then God himself has received the persecution. The second word we need to look at is interpreted “indignation”. The Greek word used is “orgay” and it represents a planned passionate impulse for the purpose of punishment. God has a plan of punishment for those who had seen from His creation that He is (exists) and that He is patient and compassionate towards His creatures yet refused Him and bowed to the Beast and therefore Satan. So His anger is going to overflow on those who make themselves His enemies and His planned punishment will be meted out on all who worship the Beast. There is no plan B for those who worship any god other than the God of creation and redemption they will drink full strength of the cup of God’s indignation. This description of a cup is important. Can you think of another place in Scripture where a cup fits prominently in the discourse? In Matthew 26:39, 42 “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”… 42Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, £if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” John 18:11 11So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?” You find that same cup in Luke and Mark as well. That cup that Jesus chose to drink from is the cup of God’s indignation. It is His planned passionate impulse for the purpose of punishment. Jesus took it on behalf of all whose name is written in the Book of life of the Lamb, for all who believe. But all those who refuse salvation will receive that cup filled to the brim and overflowing at full strength. That should give believers pause because a harrowing description of that wrath follows. 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 ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” Brimstone is in fact burning sulfur. When sulfur burns it creates sulfur dioxide which causes extreme discomfort to the eyes, and burns the nasal passages and the lungs. I do not know if it will be literal burning sulfur or not but the description of constant torment is literal for those who drink of the cup of God’s indignation. There will be a forever burning and constant pain and discomfort. There will not be a reprieve of any kind. When Scripture uses terms like “forever and ever” and “day or night” it is speaking in eternal terms. We saw that in the throne room where the angels and the elders and the creatures worship God day and night. If the eternality of worship and praise of God is true then so is the torment of the damned that refuse God. Along with the physical torment is the fact that there is no rest for them. Constant and eternal fatigue is what is in store for those who follow a false messiah; a false savior. And we cannot afford to miss this; this eternal torment is in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb. Those who refuse to worship God will eternally see those who proclaimed the gospel to them, messengers from God, and they will be in the presence the One who took the cup of God indignation for all those who did worship God. There will be the eternal reminder that their torment is entirely their own fault.

Folks I will be as plain as I can. If that does not break your heart for those you know who are lost and if that does not renew in you a desire to reach out to them and tell them about the coming judgment then you really do need to look in the mirror as I said last week.

That is a pretty heavy and harsh scene and I don’t want to leave you there so let’s look at verses 12-13. 12 Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ”“Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”[1] Last week we read a description of the redeemed of God who were standing on Mt. Zion in heaven with the Lamb, their Savior. And here in verse 12 we see that they are described again in the form of an encouragement to continue on in fact he gives us three assurances by which one could be assured that he or she is a part of the redeemed of God. First is that they have patient endurance as they face the trials and tribulations of this world. That they don’t lose heart in the face of tribulations, they will remember Jesus words in John 16:33 that He has overcome the world. The second encouragement is that they are the ones who keep the commandments of God. Those who are the redeemed of God knows that it is easier to go with the flow than it is to oppose evil and maintain a righteous lifestyle but they have continued to keep God’s commands in the face of tribulation. And third they have kept their faith in Jesus. In a world that is making every attempt to draw the believer away for faith in Christ and just trust some other messiah these believers have kept their faith in Jesus, the One who redeemed them with His blood.

Then a voice from heaven pronounces a blessing. This is the second of seven blessings or beatitudes we find in the Revelation of Jesus Christ. This blessing is for all those who die in the Lord from the time of John to the day of the Lord (which we will see next week). Notice if you will the contrast between those who die in the Lord and those who experience the eternal torment of hell. Verse 11 they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name. and verse 13 they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them. This is promised by the Spirit, the only such promise declared by the Spirit in all of Revelation. The dead in Christ who had great labor await the resurrection and the return of Christ in peace and rest. “Their deeds follow them” means that God in heaven will acknowledge at their final judgment the evidence that they were true Christians represented by: patient endurance, obeying God’s commands, and keeping the faithfulness of Jesus.[2]

We have seen the last call for repentance before God’s judgment is released. You have heard the gospel message today. Christ shed His blood to take God’s wrath on your behalf. This may be your last call to repentance. We have also seen that very government, nation and world system that stands against God will fall. When the angel said Babylon is fall he is declaring a sure thing. Any nation that exalts itself above God will fall. But not only will nations fall but people will also fall. Everyone that exalts himself above God and above His Christ will suffer all eternity in the presence of the Lamb, the only one who could have saved them. That is a message that should break the heart of every true believer. We know it is true but so often we act as if it is not. We cannot continue to excuse the lost because they are “good people”. Hell will be populated with “good people”. There will be a few Hitlers and Stalins and wicked politicians but for the most part it will be people like your neighbor that helped you paint your house or work your cattle. There will be a last call for them to repent and after that they will be judged. Finally be encouraged to be patient in these tribulations, keep the commands of God and faith in Jesus Christ and know for sure that you will have the rest God has promised His redeemed. Your struggle in times of tribulation will be remembered. Let’s pray.

[1] The New King James Version. (1982). (Re 14:6–13). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[2] Easley, K. H. (1998). Revelation (Vol. 12, p. 252). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.