Revelation for Now & Future Part 28
Revelation for Now & Future • Sermon • Submitted
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6 Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.
7 And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
8 Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”
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!”
Hope is Available & Constant
Hope is Available & Constant
Even in a passage where God is delivering a message of Judgment, He opens with hope of the Gospel.
6 Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.
Notice it is not just proclaimed as available, but eternal or constant.
In the fifth visionary segment which began at 12:1
We are switching gears. We are going from the followers of Christ to those who have sworn allegiance to that which is false.
This takes place just before the first 5 verses of Rev. 14.
Where is the judgement in the hope of vs. 6?
The judgement is in the Gospel.
The Gospel is hope to those who believe, but condemnation to those who reject.
3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
For the Gospel calls them to repent, but they reject.
10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
The refusal of the Gospel is a rejection of the Truth and Salvation.
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
This Gospel is heard by them, but veiled. For they stand in rejection of the Truth. They have been blinded.
Notice that the gospel in vs. 6 is in:
“and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.”
We may find the allusion or connection to the words of Rev. 5:9 and referring to the saved, but we should be wise to consider the words of Jesus in Matt. 24:14.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Thus, in reference to the eschatological context of the verse… we should be mindful that the Gospel is proclaimed in full, but not all will accept the Good News.
So the first angel is a picture of Hope to the redeemed and a picture of judgment to those who are perishing.
Judgement Will Come
Judgement Will Come
7 And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
Vs. 6 is further explained in the idea that judgement will come.
The message the angel proclaimed could be a call to repentance.
But also stands as a proclamation.
The hour has come.
Worship Him
We must ponder whether the angel is truly calling to repent or is he announcing what those who have rejecting are about to have no choice in.
Much like Nebuchadnezzar responded to God. He was not converted, but he acknowledged the Glory and sovereignty of God.
We need to acknowledge God does not reject those who turn to Him in faith, but these have been blinded and remain in their sin. Thus, for them this is utterly a proclamation of their end.
How do we know this?
God Does Not Leave Judgment Without Reason
God Does Not Leave Judgment Without Reason
8 Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”
Second Angel Proclaims:
Fallen, Fallen is Babylon the great
The world system which led to the fall of so many
We can see the description that Nebuchadnezzar gave to his territory
30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”
Just as ole King Neb and the Babylon of old has fallen and we can understand this in the past tense, the Babylon of the end will fall.
“The title “Babylon the Great” is applied to the ungodly kingdom in the new covenant era shows clearly that it cannot refer to literal Babylon.”__G.K. Beale
Thus, the sway of the world to “drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”
Its a clear way to depict how the security of the world system requires a devotion to the betrayal of all that is true.
Who Receives this Judgment
Who Receives this Judgment
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.
So we see here who the judgment is meant to fall upon.
One who worships the beast or its image
Receives his mark
The Consequence:
Drink the wine of God’s wrath
Full strength of his anger
tormented with fire and sulfur
Look at the idea of the furthering of the torture as it is done in the presence of:
The holy angels
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.”
The torment is not ceasing. It is eternal.
Day or night — no rest
Just in case there is a question as to the length of such a torment, God gives us Rev. 20:10
10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
The Reason for The Disclosure of Judgement Upon Evil
The Reason for The Disclosure of Judgement Upon Evil
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!”
Perseverance through that which is momentary for that which is eternal.
The above verses tell the believer the outflow of turning to the beast.
These verse give the believer the security of the Savior for those who will persevere.
Faith involves the ability to accept suffering while remaining faithful.
It also involves the ability to avoid deception.
If Christians remain loyal, it does not remove the possibility of struggle, but gives the promise of God for His sufficiency.
Walking Away, but In...
Walking Away, but In...
God’s Word in the Gospel is Hope and Condemnation…thus people who do not believe despise.
Don’t be unaware of the enemy’s attempt to use materialism and the goods of the world to sway men.
As much as Heaven is eternal, Hell is eternal. This should drive our desire to share the Good News.