Last week, we saw how there would be three angels sent by God to earth with special messages. The first angel would shout the everlasting gospel message, preaching repentance to the unsaved; the second pronouncing the fall of Babylon and the third pronouncing judgment upon those that would not repent and take the mark of the beast.
The everlasting gospel is not a different gospel message than others mentioned in the canon of scripture, but simply a description of the everlasting or unending nature of salvation. In addition, we discussed how the gospel is a "done deal", and how our salvation individually is eternally fixed in Jesus Christ.
The second angel preached about Babylon, and we discussed how the angel spoke in terms of certainty of the fall of that "great city", as though it had already happened. Babylon, as we will discuss in Revelation 17 and 18, may well refer to two different cities; the first being Babylon in Iraq (political, governmental and economic) and the other being Rome (center of the false religion, Revelation 17).
The third angel pronounced condemnation to those that would take the mark of the beast upon their right hand or forehead, with the sentence being eternal damnation.
This week, we will answer the questions posed last week: What does it mean "full strength"? What does "the cup of His indignation" mean? Is Hell literal, or is it a figure of speech? Does Hell last forever, or are those that accept the mark of the beast "annihilated", or wiped out of existence as though they never existed? What does it mean "'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on'"? How is death a blessing? Stay tuned.
Why Would Anyone Take The Mark Of The Beast?
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, 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. Revelation 14:9-10
Let's pause for just a moment, and review all of what has happened upon earth up to this point in Revelation. At this point, physically the earth is a toxic disaster area. World War III will cause famine, which will result in death and disease across the planet. A worldwide earthquake will make all others look small in comparison, and meteor storms will decimate the planet. Hail mixed with fire and blood will destroy all green grass and 1/3 rd of the trees worldwide, a mountain-sized meteor will kill much aquatic life and destroy many of the ships on the seas. The waters will become bitter from what may be a comet, and the skies of the earth will be darkened because of the fallout from the meteor and the comet.
The people of the earth, already weary from the Rapture of the Church (the sudden removal of all Christians without warning), will clamor for a world leader but will still suffer greatly. One fourth of the population remaining will die in World War III. Demonic locust scorpions will sting the unsaved, and they will suffer horribly for five months. A demonic army will arise and kill by burning some alive and others by smoke inhalation, murdering a third of remaining mankind. Antichrist will make war with the saints.
One would think that the people of the world would scream "Uncle!", repent and turn to God. You would think that the people of the world would run to the church houses and look for men of God for answers, to make peace with God to escape the wrath of God. However, as we have studied in the past, most of the world's population will reject Jesus Christ:
But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. Revelation 9:20-21
Most of the people of the earth will gladly take the mark of the beast because of the perverse nature of the human heart. People know that Jesus is coming, and that He is bringing judgment yet they will NOT repent. In addition, unless they take the mark of the beast, already scarce food and materiel supplies will not only be unavailable to those without the mark, but trying to obtain such will result in sure death. This will, however, be no excuse as those that take the mark will know the eternal penalty but will take the short term gain instead or will do such out of rebellion. More tomorrow.
The Wine Of The Wrath Of God
Of course, we are not speaking of literal wine in this passage. This is a word picture that describes, as we spoke of last week, that "we are what we drink. If a person drinks of the water of life, the living waters (Jesus Christ), then they go to be with Him for eternity. However, people are used to the bad brew that Satan and the world serves up, and in fact expect more of the same. The world system lives for the moment, the pleasure of the flesh and does not look to what happens after death which, in truth, it fears. Those that take the mark of the beast will be living for the moment; they will gladly buy the lie to live and to eat.
The unsaved, rejecting masses will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. In Bible times, wine was usually not served unless it was mixed with water. In fact, because of the contamination of the water, wine was mixed with the water as an antibacteriologic, neutralizing bacteria in the water.
However, God will not mix his wine of wrath; there will be no mercy mixed with this judgment. The wrath of God will be served full strength. God's wrath has been mixed with His mercy; judgment, even in it's awful extreme by our standards will not compare to the wrath of the Great Tribulation. For instance, God's wrath landed upon the peoples of the earth during the Noahic flood, but God spared Noah and his family; Sodom and Gomorra was destroyed, yet Lot and his daughters were spared. The wrath of God was going to land upon Nineveh, yet they repented, God relented and they were spared.
The cup of indignation shows that God is a merciful, long suffering God. God is not touchy or quick to wrath, but slow to wrath and patient. "Those who drank the wine of the harlot Babylon also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger. To drink of the wine of the wrath of God is to experience His wrath (cf. Job 21:20; Ps. 75:8; Isa. 51:17, 22; Jer. 25:15). The full fury of God's wrath, so long restrained, will be unleashed. Such wrath is not an impulsive outburst of divine emotion aimed at people whimsically. It is the settled, deliberate, merciless, graceless response of the righteous God against all sinners" (John MacArthur).
"The wine of the wrath of God" is a figure adopted from the Old Testament. In Psalm 75:8 we read: "For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them." The Old Testament prophets picked up that theme. They saw the cup of wrath filling up to the brim. God was patient and let man go on and on in his sin, but when the cup of wrath was filled, then God would press it to the lips of a godless society (McGee).
Forever and Ever...The Bad Side
Personally, I rejoice in the fact--yes FACT--that I am going to be with Jesus, and that I will be with Him forever and ever. In the song "Come Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy", we sing in the final stanza of the "ten thousand charms" of being with Jesus. The most outstanding benefit of eternal life is being with God forever and ever, with all of the other benefits being icing on the cake: "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." (Revelation 21:4, NKJV). And this just scratches the surface.
However, as unpleasant and as unpalatable as speaking of Hell may be, it is a topic that must be addressed; it is in stark contrast to just how wonderful heaven will be. If Hell did not exist, and those in direct rebellion to God were not dealt with then God would be unjust; He would no longer be God and all that we know would end. God must punish sin as sin is direct rebellion to God, regardless the magnitude of the sin. While God does indeed judge each sin differently (we covered this in Saturday/Sunday's devotional last week) and Hell's suffering will be different for each person. Hitler, Caligula, Nero, and Stalin will suffer much worse fates than the moral Hindu, Jehovah's Witness or Agnostic.
As hard as this may be to believe, those in Hell will know full well that they deserve their fate. It is a fate that they have, in fact, chosen, in that they want nothing to do with God: And there is no one who calls on Your name, Who stirs himself up to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us, And have consumed us because of our iniquities. (Isaiah 64:7, NKJV; cf Ps 10:4, John 3:20, Isa 65:1. Rom 3:10-12). Also, in Revelation 6:15 people would rather die being crushed by collapsing caves than make their peace with Jesus Christ.
I have heard this statement quite a few times: "if God is so unloving as to send someone to Hell forever, then I want nothing to do with Him". Let's understand a few things. First, although each person has a desire to worship prior to the touch of the Holy Spirit upon their heart and soul, each person's free will naturally says "no" to God. It's a kind of odd thing, but one that is a constant that we see in Revelation in a magnified form as the wrath of God and the flip side, the evil of Satan will be up close and personal. Second, even as Christians we have no idea just how repulsive and offended God is at sin. Sin is rebellion against Him. Third, God's perfect justice demands punishment of sin and people know that a judgment day is coming.
We must, first and foremost, understand that the cup of indignation will take seven years to fill; this shows us that God is patient, but that His mercy does not extend forever. God warns people--all people--of coming judgment. How? The fury of God's creation in storms, earthquakes and tsunamis. The ramping up of evil in the world and more. The question is not why Hell the question is "why mercy to anyone?
Patience of the Saints
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. 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." Rev14:12-13 (NKJV)
There is a doctrine--or teaching--that draws the ire of many quite sadly. It is proven here and in many other places in the canon of Scripture. That doctrine? Perseverance of the Saints. The Greek word for patience is hupomone, which is defined as "to persevere, remain under. A bearing up under, patience, endurance as to things or circumstances. This is in contrast to makrothumía
Further, the saints of God--both now and then--"are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." Jesus said "If you love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15); I have met many people that claim Jesus as their Savior yet still live like they are going to Hell, and quite likely they are. This does not mean that Christians are perfect, we still sin and some backslide grievously. The "hound of Heaven", the Holy Spirit, will pursue the saint to bring them back to faith as we learned a few weeks ago in the story of the Prodigal Son.
Blessed Are The Dead...?
We are born with a natural fear of death, and many Christians fear death. Why? Because it is, to most people, "the unknown". Those that are not saved, and even those that are new to the faith or weak in the faith are concerned they are not going to Heaven. There are yet others that worry that they will just be wiped out of existence, or that they will just forever sleep in the grave. The unsaved should be afraid of death! For the unsaved, this earth is as close to Heaven as they will experience. For the saved person, this is as close to Hell as we will experience.
To the Christian, death is a release. Yes, we will leave people behind when we die. But for the Tribulation Saint, they will be removed from a wrecked world and the persecution of Antichrist and be welcomed into the arms of Jesus and, as Todd Agnew sings in the song Martyrs Song "a world saturated with (Jesus') love". Heaven will be filled with beauty and song but most importantly love and rest. The Tribulation Saints will rest from their labors. Heaven will be a no stress, restful place.
Lastly, their works will follow them. This means that there will be reward in heaven, a special reward for these martyrs of the Tribulation. Those that drink of the water of life will attain everlasting life, and will be known for their works. Those that drink of the wine of the world (idol worship, rampant sex, persecution of the saints), will drink of the wine of God's wrath. You are what you drink.
