Revelation 14 Pt 2
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9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,
10 he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur 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, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand.
15 And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.”
16 So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.
17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.
18 And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.”
19 So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.
After seeing the image of the 144,000 redeemed who will be in Christ, we again see three angels heralding the Good News - that all will have an opportunity to hear the Gospel Message, and that the wicked nation ruled by the antichrist and the false prophet will fall. God preserves this for His time, for His purpose, and for His plan to be complete. Now we are seeing the third angel give an admonition to those who may be tempted to choose the path of least resistance in the end times. Now, I don’t know of any of us that are extremely fond of conflict, but I don’t know of any of us who are willing to place our life on the line. For whatever reason, we enjoy the life God has given us! But here, the choice they make will literally have an eternal consequence.
Intentionally Choosing the Mark of the Beast
Intentionally Choosing the Mark of the Beast
9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,
10 he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur 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, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
Those who intentionally receive the mark of the beast, and worships him as a “god” will receive an eternal judgment. The word here for worship literally means to bow down to him as a deity, so they are rejecting the one true God and worshiping this false, worldly “god”. For those who intentionally choose to forsake God, they will receive the wrath of God, with His full strength anger. Now, I don’t know of many of us who are forced to drink anything we don’t want. There’s plenty of things we probably shouldn’t drink, but we aren’t forced to drink anything. Notice that this judgment of wrath and anger is given because they willfully and intentionally chose this path. No one forced them to forsake God. No one forced them to take the mark of the beast. No one forced them to elevate this human above God. They choose their punishment - and it is not without warning.
But this is not a temporary punishment. It doesn’t last for 70 years, and God delivers them - the next statement indicates the permanence of this judgment. “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night”. I have heard comedians and musicians flippantly disregard the reality of hell. I want you to know not only is hell real, but the constant torment will be also - the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. This is one of the most horrible pictures in all the Word of God. If we go back to the time of Noah, we know there were those who had wished they had listened after the rain started falling. Now, we see the unsaved tormented, but for them there will be no relieve. The fire and sulfur gives us the mental picture of flaming hot molten lava flowing from a volcano that has just erupted. It hurts me to know there are people that intentionally choose to spend eternity suffering as though they were caught in molten lava.
Now, please know this - these are not my words. These are the words of warning from Scripture - the word of God. We spoke today of the Christ - the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords who came into Jerusalem as the King of Peace. Here we see a picture of the King of Judgment. There is coming a day where Christ will give the command to cast unbelievers into hell and the holy angels will carry out the orders. Christ will be there and every eye of all unbelievers will see Him. Why? So that He will be vindicated as the Son of God. Everyone will then know EXACTLY who He is. But one question still sticks with me, and I would love to have an honest answer that my mind could comprehend - how long is eternity? It’s forever and ever…but how long is forever? Well, it’s as far in the future as God is in the past - well, how long is that? The point I am trying to get at is this - those who have accepted Christ as their personal Savior know we spend an eternity in heaven with Him - rejoicing, praising, and singing to our Lord. But, while we are in glory, others have intentionally chosen to go through the gut-wrenching pain and suffering of hell - for the same amount of time. Eternity. It Will Never End.
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
But there are some who will endure - and escape the judgment of God. They are the saints who endure. A saint is someone who is set apart by and in God. They have chosen God over man. They have committed their life to worshiping the one TRUE King, instead of a fake. They have committed their life, and all that they are and have, to God. It is no doubt, that in the last days, believers will face terrible times. They will have to make the choice to deny Christ and accept the mark, or die. If they choose to endure for Christ, then they will escape God’s judgment. If they continue to follow the Lord, and keep their faith in Him, then they will escape the coming judgment.
Blessings for the Dead
Blessings for the Dead
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
Everyone of us will die. The day is coming when we will no longer exist here on earth. We will be gone forever. Believers know this: this is the very reason they are willing to separate themselves from the world and to live for Christ. It is the reason they are willing to give all they are and have to Christ and His mission. It is the reason believers do not live in sin, but struggle and fight to conquer the sins and temptations of this life. This is the reason they refuse to deny Christ; the reason they suffer the persecutions of this world, the ridicule, abuse, mockery, strange looks, sneers, isolation, cursing, and sometimes imprisonment and death. Believers know they have a date with death just as all other persons do. Therefore, they give their lives to Jesus Christ. Why? Because Jesus Christ is the Savior and Lord of the world. Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone has died for our sins, and He alone can free us from sin. He alone can free us from sin and make us acceptable to God. Jesus Christ alone can give us the right to live forever. Therefore, believers commit their lives to follow Christ. Consequently, they have the most glorious hope; God gives them the greatest promise imaginable. God declares that they shall live forever.
God’s Harvest
God’s Harvest
14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand.
15 And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.”
16 So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.
Jesus Christ is going to be victorious over all the ungodly and evil of this world. This is the great announcement of the two angels in this passage. Jesus Christ is going to triumph. In the last days of human history, He is coming back, and He is going to harvest the earth. He is going to reap those who believe in Him and take them on to heaven with Him. But He is going to judge the ungodly and evil of this earth. Christ and His followers will be vindicated: the world will see and know that Christ is truly the Son of God who came to earth to save man. The world is going to know …
• that He was well worth forsaking the world and its pleasures and possessions for
• that He was well worth following and standing up for
• that He was well worth even dying for
• that He was well worth denying oneself for
• that He was well worth sacrificing everything for
• that He was well worth suffering persecution for
When Jesus Christ returns in judgment, the world will know that He is exactly who He claimed to be: the Son of God, the Lord and Majesty of the universe. But it will be too late. He is returning in judgment. He came the first time in mercy and grace to save people. But now, the next time, He returns in glory and majesty to judge the earth. This is the scene of this passage. This is the sixth great assurance to believers: the day of harvest is coming. The Lord God is going to reap the earth. The believers are going to be taken home to heaven to live with God and Christ forever. And all the ungodly and evil are to be judged and shut out from God’s presence. There is to be a perfect world in which nothing reigns but godliness and righteousness. God is going to create a new heavens and earth, and believers are to have the glorious privilege of living there with God forever and ever.
He will return on a white cloud - symbolizing the purity of heaven.
He will return wearing a gold crown - symbolizing royalty and dominion.
He will return with a sickle - the harvest will soon take place and judgment of the world will begin.
Never again will the believer suffer a single tear. The believers of the end time, those dear people who trust and stand for Christ against the antichrist and his godless society—all believers are going to be harvested and taken home to heaven to be with Christ forever and ever. Christ is going to join us together: us and all of our dear loved ones who have gone before and all of the tribulation saints.
The Ungodly will also be Harvested
The Ungodly will also be Harvested
17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.
18 And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.”
19 So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.
The great day of earth’s harvest is coming, the harvest of the ungodly and evil of this world. Jesus Christ is going to judge all the ungodly and evil of this world. Not a single person will escape. And He is going to judge them in wrath, not in love. The day is coming when the world will be ripe for judgment, a day when ungodliness and evil will be cut totally loose and run rampant upon earth. Horrors of lawlessness and evil and murder will run so wild that Christ cannot take it anymore. The people of the world will be engulfed in idolatry, murder, sorcery, immorality, and stealing. They will be materialistic and worldly, atheistic and God-rejecting: there will be no hope whatsoever that they will ever change and turn to God. There is coming a time when the situation upon earth is utterly hopeless and helpless. When that day comes, then comes the great tribulation of the earth. And in the end of that great tribulation, in the very last day of world history, Jesus Christ shall reap the earth. The last passage looked at the reaping of the godly. This passage looks at the reaping of the ungodly and evil of this world. This is the great day of earth’s harvest; the terrible harvest of the ungodly and evil of this world will take place.
Today, right now, is the day of God’s love and grace. Therefore, we must cast ourselves upon God’s love. We must heed the warning of fire and brimstone and repent and turn to God.