Revelation Study Series 19 - God’s Mysterious Plan Fulfilled (Chapter 14)
03.27.22
Message…
If you have paid attention the last couple of weeks our text has focused on satan, the antichrist, the false prophet…even a blasphemous talking statue…
With everything we have read and talked about It would seem that satan was winning. In this world we live there seems to always be two sides to things… evil vs. good, wrong vs. right, lies vs. Truth, self righteousness vs. His righteousness!
satan was never winning…once sin was found in him he was doomed for all eternity along with anyone who follows him!
We will see the other side now…the right side…the only side…the Lord’s side!
Revelation 14
1 Then I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him were 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads.
2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of mighty ocean waves or the rolling of loud thunder. It was like the sound of many harpists playing together.
3 This great choir sang a wonderful new song in front of the throne of God and before the four living beings and the twenty-four elders. No one could learn this song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
4 They have kept themselves as pure as virgins, following the Lamb wherever He goes. They have been purchased from among the people on the earth as a special offering to God and to the Lamb.
5 They have told no lies; they are without blame.
The Lamb in verse 1 is Christ. Mount Zion is Jerusalem.
These 144,000 are those Jews who were saved during the Great Tribulation period and are witnesses throughout the world.
They are called “without blame”... They are not sinless, for
they were “...redeemed from the earth”. They were saved the same way that you and I are saved…by faith in Jesus Christ, and faith in Him alone!
We’ve already covered these 144,000 in our series…
You must be a Jew.
You must be from one of the tribes listed in Rev. ch. 7.
You must be living during the Tribulation.
You must be a virgin.
You must have God’s seal of salvation!
Revelation 14:6-7
6 And I saw another angel flying through the sky, carrying the eternal Good News to proclaim to the people who belong to this world—to every nation, tribe, language, and people.
7 “Fear God,” he shouted. “Give glory to Him. For the time has come when He will sit as judge. Worship Him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the springs of water.”
These two verses are very interesting.
John witnessed an angel flying in the midst of heaven proclaiming the Good News to the inhabitants of the earth.
During our age, the NT age of the Gospel, the proclamation of the Gospel has been committed to mankind to preach. It has not been the duty, or responsibility of angels.
We are the messengers of the Good News! It is our responsibility to tell others about Jesus Christ and how salvation is by faith in Him and through Him only!
Author Tim Lahaye suggests there must be a reason as to why an angel is used. And, that reason may be due to the extent of persecution believers will suffer during the Tribulation as has never been before…
The 144,000 will be martyred, the two witnesses killed, resurrected, and then taken up to heaven…and those who have not taken the mark of the beast…killed. Thus, there will be few to proclaim the message during this time.
He goes on to say, “One of God’s faithful practices in all generations has been to send adequate warning prior to judgment….Before God sent the flood, Noah was a preacher of righteousness for 120 years.”
It was God that sent a reluctant Jonah to Nineveh to warn of His destruction unless they turned from their evil ways and repented, and followed Him.
God has and will give every possible opportunity for unbelievers to believe, even during the Tribulation.
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Jesus, when asked by the disciples about the end times…
Mark 13:10 For the Good News must first be preached to all nations.
This angel and his message may be the fulfillment of this very verse of Jesus’ words!
There will come a point in time, during the Great Tribulation, (mid-Tribulation)…an angel will be given the specific purpose by God to warn the people who remain on the earth that they should…
“Fear God,” he shouted. “Give glory to Him. For the time has come when He will sit as judge. Worship Him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the springs of water.” (vs. 7)
With all the cataclysmic events and judgments that will be going on during the Great Tribulation period…there will be great fear…but, the One they should fear is the Lord.
Today, we too should fear the Lord!
Fear drives man in many directions. We do a lot of things out of fear.
We fear for our safety, livelihood, and future. We would live in a different world if man truly feared the Lord!
We will come back to this verse in a few moments.
Revelation 14:8-11
8 Then another angel followed him through the sky, shouting, “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen—because she made all the nations of the world drink the wine of her passionate immorality.”
We will go into more detail about “Babylon” later in our study. “Babylon refers to the entire worldwide political, economic, and religious kingdom of Antichrist…” -JMSB
9 Then a third angel followed them, shouting, “Anyone who worships the beast and his statue or who accepts his mark on the forehead or on the hand
10 must drink the wine of God’s anger. It has been poured full strength into God’s cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb.
11 The smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have worshiped the beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name.”
For anyone who doubts a literal place called hell…they base that belief on nothing…for scripture says otherwise.
Tormented by fire, burning sulfur…
Their torment will be forever and ever…
No relief, day or night…
That is what hell will be. If you have ever said, or felt like you are going through hell…no you’re not!
Why are people from the Great Tribulation in hell?
Because they worshiped the beast, his statue, and took his mark!
And, Hell is not for only those in the Great Tribulation who have turned against God, but for all that have rejected the Son!
Matthew 25:31-34; 41; 46
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
…
41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
…
46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Hell is a horrible, everlasting place of righteous punishment! It was meant for satan and his demonic followers. But, anyone who chooses anything other than Christ…will join them in hell!
For anyone who believes that hell is only temporary, that after a certain amount of time a person can be delivered or bought out of hell…that belief is false…for scripture says otherwise.
Revelation 14:12-13
12 This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying His commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”
The believer who does as instructed is promised rest!
The unbeliever from what we have read, is guaranteed Hell!
Revelation 14:14-20
14 Then I saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was someone like the Son of Man. He had a gold crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.
15 Then another angel came from the Temple and shouted to the One sitting on the cloud, “Swing the sickle, for the time of harvest has come; the crop on earth is ripe.”
16 So the One sitting on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the whole earth was harvested.
17 After that, another angel came from the Temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.
18 Then another angel, who had power to destroy with fire, came from the altar. He shouted to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sickle now to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, for they are ripe for judgment.”
19 So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God’s wrath.
20 The grapes were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress in a stream about 180 miles long and as high as a horse’s bridle.
We will spend more time on this passage as we move into other chapters in Revelation. This is referencing the future battle of Armageddon…
Vs. 20 - (“horse’s bridle” depth of blood = 4’ deep; 180 miles long) That’s a lot of blood!
Jesus is the One who stands as the executioner of this judgment.
This blood from this winepress is the blood of unbelievers who are unwilling to turn from their wicked rejection of Jesus.
Those unwilling to heed the warning of coming judgment.
Those unwilling to accept God’s Word, God’s message… God’s Son!
Mine eyes have seen the glory
Of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage
Where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning
Of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on
He has sounded forth the trumpet
That shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men
Before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him;
Be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on
Battle Hymn of the Republic, 1861 - Julia Ward Howe
Life Application:
The Good News message the angel will declare to the people who belong to this world during the Great Tribulation, is the same message we should hold to today!
“Fear God,” he shouted. “Give glory to Him. For the time has come when He will sit as judge. Worship Him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the springs of water.” (vs. 7)
Fear God…
We talked earlier about how mankind is driven by many fears.
Jesus said…
Luke 12:5 But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, He’s the one to fear.
How do I fear God? ?Funny…we know how to fear everything else!
Proverbs 2:1-5
2 My child, listen to what I say,
and treasure my commands.
2 Tune your ears to wisdom,
and concentrate on understanding.
3 Cry out for insight,
and ask for understanding.
4 Search for them as you would for silver;
seek them like hidden treasures.
5 Then you will understand what it means to fear the
Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God.
Let the fear of the Lord drive you to Him!
Hear Him - “...Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Rom. 10:17
Seek Him - Search for Him as you would a hidden treasure. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13
Cry out to Him - Ask for understanding! When one asks in faith, God promises to give us wisdom/understanding generously! (James 1:5-6)
So, fear God…
Give glory to Him…
How do you give God glory?
“Glory” - “Kavod ???? is the Hebrew word for honor and respect.” -https://kavodcharter.org/the-meaning-of-kavod/
1 Corinthians 6:20
For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
John 15:8
By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples.
Psalm 50:23
Whoever offers praise glorifies Me;
And to him who orders his conduct aright
I will show the salvation of God.”
1 Corinthians 10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Worship Him…
Deuteronomy 10:21a
“He alone is your God, the only One who is worthy of your praise…”
Fear the Lord, Give glory to Him…and you will worship Him!
