Sermon Tone Analysis

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

What is the mark of the beast?

No one knows what the exact mark will entail other than it will be a mark on the forehead or hand.

What is the consequence of accepting the mark of the beast?

Eternal judgment.

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”.

If this does not point to the reality of hell and the constant torture those who inhabit it will have, I don’t know what will!

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 relief.

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 speak of 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.

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

What blessing does the believer during the tribulation have in death?

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

What is pictured here in verses 14-16?

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 triumphant.

In the last days of human history, He is coming back, and He is going to harvest the earth.

He is going to harvest 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.