Revelation - Chapter 14
The Three Angels Messages
In this chapter we find there are three Angels with messages, these messages are for us today and this subject is vital that we should know and take heed of it.
Revelation 14:1 "And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads."
This Lamb is none other than Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God mentioned in John 1 and Revelation 5:
The 144,000 are shown here with the Lamb on Mount Zion to indicate their triumph over the beast and his image. Earlier John had seen the 144,000 passing through the severest trial as he had seen them condemned as worthy of death. But in their darkest hour they were delivered and are now with the Lamb secure from the conflicts of earth forever.
Chapter 13 closed with the people of God in a deadly conflict and being severely persecuted by the mightiest powers on earth that the dragon could muster. A death decree has been passed and backed up by the supreme power of the land, that the people of God must worship the image and receive the mark of the beast. Here in the first five verses of chapter 14, we see a victorious company standing on Mount Zion, the same company who were going through the severest of trials in chapter 13. God's faithful, who have gotten victory over the beast, his image and mark and over the number of his name, they will be delivered.
There are two pictures given of the sealing of the 144,000, each different from the other, and there is a good reason why the Lord gave these two different pictures.
In Revelation 6:14-7:4 we see a rather fearful, destructive and woeful time with the coming of the day of God's wrath. But it is made perfectly clear that only those who have the seal of God will be protected from His wrath.
Revelation 14:1-5 describes to us the character of those who are sealed and thus describes to us the character of those who are protected. Emphasis of character is of interest for herein we also find the message of Righteousness by Faith which will give the pre-requisite character. The message of Righteousness by Faith is also contained in the 3 Angels Message, which is the last message of love to a world on the precipice of destruction. Also that they have accepted fully the Laodicean message with its remedy, Revelation 3:14-22.
It's important to understand the character of those who are sealed, but it is also important to know why they are sealed, and that is for their protection during the day of wrath, just as the Israelites were protected in Egypt when God's wrath was poured out upon the Egyptians. The blood on the doorpost was to be for them a token/mark/sign, that when it was seen, the angel of death would pass over them. The token was the children of Israel's assurance of safety from the plague. Yet the mark of deliverance was quickly followed by the angel of death: "this night":
Therefore we shall also see this in the antitype:
Destruction will come promptly after the application of the sign of deliverance - the seal of God. One must grasp this understanding as it will help to take away much of the confusion.
This brings us to a natural conclusion that the sealing of God's servants is a special seal given for a special occasion, namely for the safety and security of the sealed ones, and, therefore it also distinguishes between those who are God's and those who are not, those assured of His protection and those who are not.
His Father's name written - The 144,000 are said to be sealed "in their foreheads":
The Father's name is said to be written in the forehead, showing that the seal and His name are synonymous. Ancient seals contained the name of the authenticating agent. For an example let’s define what a seal is.
The seal of a king/ruler contains three things:
1. His Name
2. His Title, or claim of authority
3. His Territory, or region of rulership
Let's look at the President of the United States as an example:
1. Name - Barack Obama
2. Title - Prseident
3. Territory - United States of America
As we have just seen, ancient seals contained three major elements: the name, title, and territory of the one placing the official, legal seal upon the document.
Of the Ten Commandments, the fourth commandment, the seventh-day Sabbath, is the only one which contains the required three elements of God's seal, i.e.:
1. His Name - "the LORD your God"
2. His Title - Creator - "for in six days the LORD made..."
3. His Territory - "the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them"
The 144,000 receive God's seal because they keep His Commandments. The seventh-day Sabbath is God's eternal sign of loyalty, especially in the last days. It is the outward symbol of an inner, living faith. At a time of enormous crises and persecution, the Holy Spirit will strengthen God's faithful children to live lives of godly obedience.
The First Angels Message
Let's compare this to the first Angels message that we will look at shortly.
The names applied to the 144,000 represent:
1. Ownership. The 144,000 belong to God. In scripture, name denotes character, as the Greek word here used for name also means character, thus indicating that the 144,000 have reached a stage in spiritual growth, by the grace of God, where they fully reflect the character of Christ their Saviour and are ready for translation. Yet this is not all, for notice the following in Isaiah: Here we find that God's law is to be sealed amongst His people. The law is also a transcript of God's character (Exodus 33:18-19; 34:5-8; 20:5-6). Every law must have a seal to be valid. As we have seen, the seal of God's law is found in the fourth Commandment, the Sabbath Commandment.
1. The Sabbath is also a seal/sign of creation, that God created all things (Exodus 31:17). It's also interesting to note that the seventh-day Sabbath message is found to be an integral part of the 3 Angels Messages, the last warning message given to a world on the brink of destruction: 1. A call to worship God as the Creator - "worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters". This is a direct reference to the fourth Commandment. 2. A call to expose the wine of Babylon (its false doctrines/teachings), with which the inhabitants of the earth have been made spiritually drunk, and of which Sunday sacredness is a part, as it is in direct opposition to the seventh-day Sabbath. 3. The mark of the beast (Sunday sacredness) is in opposition to the seal of God, the seventh-day Sabbath. Also, within the third Angels message, we have the keeping of the commandments of God, including the fourth. So within the Three Angels Messages there is a strong, repetitious call back to the true worship of God, which should be of no surprise considering that chapter 13 deals with forced worship at the end of time. This raises an interesting point, for in rejecting the seal of the law, the Sabbath (the sign of allegiance to God), you will not receive the seal of the living God, which only leaves one other option, that is, the mark of the beast. So while one group, by accepting the sign of submission to earthly powers, receive the mark of the beast, the other in choosing the token of allegiance to divine authority receive the seal of God. It is also seen that the mark of the beast is to be enforced by coercion and laws, and is vying for the same position as the seal of God, the forehead (Revelation 13:16-17; 7:3). Also, the seal of God and the mark of the beast will be a test question, as we see that there will be those who gain the victory over the beast, his image, and his MARK etc (Revelation 15:2). And all of this is mentioned in connection with the outpouring of God's wrath, the seven last plagues, thus showing then that the seal is for the protection of the 144,000 during this time. This is also seen in Revelation 14:9-12, two groups are contrasted, those who receive the mark and those who keep the law of God, particularly the seal of the law, the Sabbath. Those who keep the law, including the seal of the law which is the Sabbath (choosing the token of allegiance to divine authority), do not receive the mark of the beast but receive the seal of God for protection against the coming wrath of God. The people, who accept the sign of submission to earthly powers, will receive the mark of the beast and are without protection from the wrath of God and are marked for death. So the acceptance or rejection of the seal of the law will determine whether we receive the seal of God for protection or the mark of the beast and the wrath of God. By rejecting the seal you automatically, by default, receive the mark. Revelation 14:2 "And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:" Voice of many waters - this we see is Jesus: Voice of a great thunder - this we see to be the Father and is connected with His divine presence. Harpers with their harps - more than likely represent the 144,000 as they are clearly represented as having harps and singing, also in connection with verses 1 and 3 it is the 144,000 that we are focusing on. Revelation 14:3 "And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth." No other man could learn this song as it testified of the experience they had gone through, it is of such a personal nature that only those who pass through it can appreciate its significance. To them the song is a treasured and comprehensive summation of the experiences through which they have passed in the closing stages of the conflict between good and evil. Redeemed - "to buy," "to purchase." The word is translated "buy" in Revelation 3:18 and 18:11. Compare the phrases "redeemed us to God": And redeemed from among men: Revelation 14:4 "These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb." Defiled - Meaning "to defile", "to stain", "to soil", such things as the conscience (1 Corinthians 8:7) or clothing (Revelation 3:4). Here the reference is figuratively to the defilement of illicit relationships. The tense of the Greek verb refers the action to a specific period of time. Here to the time when the coalition of religious elements, symbolized by "women", will bring pressure upon the saints to renounce their loyalty to God and His commandments and to join their organization. Any yielding would be an act of defilement. Now standing victoriously on Mt. Zion the saints are commended for their fidelity. Symbolically as we have seen before a woman is used in Scripture to represent a church, a pure woman the true church (Revelation 12:1) and an immoral woman the apostate church (Revelation 17:1-5). The Church of Rome and various apostate churches that follow in her footsteps are symbolized by an impure woman and her daughters. It is to these churches that the prophet refers.
Virgins - A term applied to both men and women. The saints are here called virgins because they have either kept themselves from Babylon or they no longer have dealings with her: They have refused any connection with Babylon and her daughters at the time when these have become the agents of Satan in his final effort to eradicate the saints (Revelation 13:15 15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed) They were not defiled by association with this union by Satan, though they may formerly have belonged to one of the various bodies before coming out. Follow the Lamb – The 144,000 will have followed Jesus completely as His character has transformed them into His image. Firstfruits – is related to the Greek verb "aparchomai", "to make a beginning [in sacrifice]", "to offer first fruits". The ancient Israelites offered first fruits to the Lord, both as personal (Deuteronomy 26:1-11) and as national (Leviticus 23:10, 17) offerings. The offering of the first fruits was an acknowledgement of the goodness of God in giving the harvest. The national offering also had typical significance: The term "first-fruits" applied to the 144,000 - As being the first installment or pledge of the great harvest. The 144,000 are those who are victors in the great conflict with the beast and his image (Revelation 14:1). They are delivered from this struggle and are now safe before the throne of God. Revelation 14:5 "And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God." Was found no guile - The form of the Greek verb suggests that a certain point of time is under consideration. At that point of time investigation proves the 144,000 to be faultless. This does not mean that they had never sinned but that by the grace of God they have overcome. Revelation 14:6-7 "6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." We can see from the wording of the verses that the messages are successive, the third "followed" the second and the second "followed" the first, one being proclaimed after the other. It is also seen that one cannot accept the second angels message and yet reject the first angels message and likewise with the third. For one cannot embrace the truth of Babylon is fallen and the wine of Babylon yet reject the message of the everlasting gospel, the judgment hour message and the true worship of the Creator etc., when the teachings/wine of Babylon is contrary to these truths. Likewise, one cannot embrace the truth of the mark of the beast and his image etc., yet reject the truth of Babylon is fallen and what constitutes the wine of Babylon when both the mark and image are intertwined with Babylon and its wine. The first angels' message prepares the way for the reception of the second and the second the third. Angel flying in the midst of heaven - This of course is symbolic of the saints who give this message, for it has not been given unto angels to go and preach the gospel, but unto men this commission has been given. Although the angels take a great interest in the affairs of salvation as ministering spirits, to them has not been given the responsibility of the gospel. The heavens encompass the entire earth - flying in the midst of heaven is obviously referring to the atmospheric heavens, for the entire message is for those dwelling upon this earth, and thus to say that the angel is flying in the starry heavens or in paradise heaven is a mockery. This shows the worldwide nature of the message, as Jesus stated: This is also evidenced by the statement that the message is to be given to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. And because it is a worldwide message there must likewise be a worldwide movement to proclaim it. It is clear that this message is the last message to be given to the world, for the pouring out of God's judgments, the seven last plagues/the wrath of God, follows it. Also we see that the harvest follows this message (verses 14-20). And we are told that the harvest is the end of the world. The everlasting gospel - It is referred to as "the" everlasting gospel, showing that there is only one gospel and that there has only ever been one gospel. Yet this does not push aside the understanding that there are different phases of the message that are emphasized at different times as appropriately needed or when relevance requires. In saying so, there is still one theme that runs like a thread through every phase of the message, from the beginning to the end, and that is salvation through Christ. The three angels' messages clearly constitute a part of the everlasting gospel. To give a thorough understanding of the everlasting gospel just on this single web page is virtually impossible, instead a brief statement will be given. The everlasting gospel (the glad tidings of salvation) was proclaimed to Adam and Eve before they were driven from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15). Noah was known as a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5) showing that he was a preacher of righteousness by faith, and it was only because he "found grace in the eyes of the Lord" (Genesis 6:8) that he could proclaim the message of salvation from sin. Faithful Abraham taught the same glorious gospel (Galatians 3:7-9) and Moses esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt (Hebrews 11:23-27). The children of Israel were given a good understanding of the gospel through the sanctuary and its services (Hebrews 4:2). And so the list continues on. Just as there has been but one true church in all ages, there has also been but one gospel, which is everlasting in both time and results. It is identical with the "everlasting covenant." There is but one gospel, one plan of salvation, one body or church, one Lord, one Spirit, one faith, one baptism, and one Name by which we can be saved (Ephesians 4:4-6; Acts 4:12). The positive phase of the gospel throughout all the ages has been justification and righteousness by faith in Christ (Romans 1:16-17). This is the good news phase of God's message to men. It is the very centre and core of the gospel around which all other truths cluster. The negative phase embraces the warnings against the prevailing apostasy of the age in which the message is being given. The negative phase therefore changes to meet the changing conditions. It warns against the agencies used by Satan to oppose the gospel. The dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, constitute the agencies of Satan against which the final warning is given. Such a warning had never been given before because the same combination of evil had never before existed. As we have already stated, Noah was a preacher of righteousness. While righteousness by faith was the centre and positive phase of his preaching which saved from sin, the negative phase was the warning of the sure results of disobedience, the coming deluge. His message was present truth for that generation, and regardless of their creeds and forms of religion, the eternal destiny of the antediluvians depended on their attitude toward the everlasting gospel as it applied to their time and conditions. The same was true of the message of Lot to the cities of the plain; of Elijah to apostate Israel; of John the Baptist, Christ, and the apostles to the Jewish nation, and of the threefold message of chapter 14 to the modern world. The latter is God's message of present truth for the present generation, and regardless of the profession of godliness and forms of religion and the benefits derived from them in the past, the eternal welfare of all mankind depends on their attitude toward this heaven-sent message for our day. To accept it means eternal life; to reject it brings the vengeance of an offended and longsuffering God. Because of its preeminent importance and momentous consequences to all judgment-bound creatures, it is given with a "loud voice" so that all can hear and prepare. There is an incredible amount of information contained in each of the three messages e.g. in the first message we have the following topics - fear God - give glory to Him - judgment hour message - worship - and the message of the Creator and creation. It is impossible to give fine detail to these things with the limited space we have, so short explanations will be given. Fear God - The word "fear" means to revere or reverence, clearly stating that we are to reverence God. Reverence is to prostrate in homage, or to make obeisance and worship (which is to be obedient to the one you pay this homage to). From Proverbs 16:6; 8:13; 3:7 and Job 1:1, 8 we gain the understanding of what it means to fear God, it means to depart from evil/sin and walk in the path of righteousness; it is the promise of victory over sin. This is evidenced by the final verse in the third angels' message where we have the patience of the saints of God who actually keep the Commandments of God (Revelation 14:12) and also shown by the character of the 144,000. The word patience also translates to endurance and means those who endure tribulation, which are those who do not get the mark of the beast. Note the significance here in that those who do not get the mark keep the Commandments of God. Of course the fruit of righteousness can only be manifest in a person’s life as they, by faith, abide in Christ through whom they can do all things (John 15:4-5; Philippians 4:13; Romans 1:17). They do not manifest the lusts of the flesh, for they have crucified the flesh with the lusts thereof and have become a new creature in Christ walking in newness of life (Galatians 5:16, 24; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 6:4; Galatians 5:22-23). The message of "fear God" is a message and promise of victory over sin. Give glory to Him - The following information is for the truly converted Christian that is willing to entirely devote themselves to God in every area of their lives. We are told in 1 Corinthians 10 that: In the first part of this verse we see the health message, glorifying God by what we eat and drink. Our bodies are not our own they are a temple/dwelling place for God (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19, 20). For we have been bought with the precious blood of Christ and thus should keep holy His purchased possession by eating and drinking that which He advises. Man's original diet only consisted of nuts, grains, and fruit/berries (Genesis 1:29). After sin this was changed through the introduction of root vegetables (Genesis 3:17-18). After the flood God allowed them to eat clean meats as most of the vegetation had been destroyed by the flood (Genesis 9:3). It is interesting to see that they had an understanding of clean and unclean animals before the flood (Genesis 7:1-3). The introduction of flesh into the diet after the flood had a dramatic effect upon the longevity of the life of man. His lifespan dropped from 800-900 years to the 400's, 200's then 100's very rapidly. The laws of clean and unclean meats were expanded upon in Leviticus 11:2-31 after Israel's bondage in Egypt, for they had lost much of the understanding of truth being in slavery to and steeped in Egyptian paganism. The way in which God had instructed to eat flesh was without either the blood or fat (Leviticus 3:17). The blood of the animal carries the life of the animal (Leviticus 17:11, 14) and thus carries the nutrients, oxygen, diseases etc., to the body, and thus by partaking of the animals' blood you are partaking of its diseases etc., which ultimately brings about disease in the human body. Fat of animals plays a major part with heart disease etc. Whatever fat is solid at room temperature will have the same congealing/solidifying effect in the body. This is where we can see how our health relates to the spiritual life. An unhealthy diet creates unhealthy blood and thus poor circulation. This in turn clouds the mind and with the mind not being clear there is poor judgment. The Holy Spirit's impressions upon the mind are not discerned as easily, for the mind is sluggish and clouded. Thus spiritual things are not as easily discerned. There is so much more that could be said but space does not allow.
Solomon in Proverbs 20 instructs us that we are to use total abstinence in the event of alcohol: Solomon also describes the effects of alcohol upon the human mind and body in Proverbs 23:29-35. Woe, contentions, and babbling. Alcohol is a depressant, and it clouds the judgment and reason to the point that a person will fight to the death for no valid reason at all. The speech becomes very slurred and the conversation becomes gibberish. Wounds without cause, redness of eyes, balance progressively disappears as the alcohol takes effect on the mind, thus causing one to stumble and fall, injuring themselves but not remembering how it happened. The eyes become very bloodshot. Alcohol biteth like an adder, it is very unforgiving, it bits hard. Void of judgment, the passions are not under the control of reason and thus run riot. The mouth becomes perverse and vulgar. When all is said and done, they seek it again, for alcohol is addictive. It is easily seen that a true Christian will not partake of such a vulgar practice. With this type of effect upon the mind, it is not hard to see what effect it would have upon the spiritual well-being of a person. Alcohol is behind a great deal of domestic violence, vehicle accidents and many deaths and health problems. The Bible instructs us to drink the pure (if something is fermented it is not pure) blood of the grape (Deuteronomy 32:14) for there is a blessing in it (Isaiah 65:8).
The Bible also speaks against unnatural stimulants in Deuteronomy 29:18, (Gall = Poisonous herb/poppy, Opium = an unnatural stimulant, Wormwood = Poisonous). We are not to be using drugs that cause unnatural stimulation of the system as they are damaging to the body and mind. It has been proven back in the mid 1800's that caffeine was one of the worst things that could be put into the body because of its debilitating effect upon the nervous and digestive systems. Not much need be said about nicotine, marijuana, speed and the many other drugs, some with their addictive effects, others with their mind altering effects and all with health repercussions. They defile the temple/dwelling place of God.
We have not done justice to this incredibly large subject but we can sum it up in the following points. One should have adequate NUTRITION to have a healthy body and mind. EXERCISE should be a part of the daily life to keep the body and mind sharp and in good condition. WATER, pure and fresh should be drunk regularly to help the body stay clean. SUNSHINE is vital for the health of the body in correct doses. TEMPERANCE is the total abstinence of that which is bad and the balancing of that which is good. AIR, clean and fresh, aids for a good working body and mind. REST, adequately taken, helps the body to repair and regroup and helps to have a clear mind. TRUST IN GOD who is the Sustainer of all life and the great Physician. If these eight laws are abided by good health will result. The second half of 1 Corinthians 10:31, deals with every other facet of our lives, "whatsoever ye do". This means it has a direct relation to the way we dress and adorn ourselves, what we watch, read, listen to and the amusements we take part in, so we are to glorify God in every aspect of our lives. We must be "proving what is acceptable unto the Lord" (Ephesians 5:10) and not making any provision for the flesh to fulfil its lusts (Romans 13:14). Our reading material, music, television programs, etc. must be proved to see if they are acceptable to God. Satan will work through the senses to gain his objective, the surrender of you to him, and this we see in the temptation of Eve, her sight, taste, hearing and no doubt her sense of touch were being enticed to draw Eve into choosing to sin. Philippians 4 is a very worthy test to put these things through to see if they are what the true Christian will partake of: The emphasis is that the devil will try and take you down in any way he possibly can and therefore every avenue should be carefully guarded. This is why the Bible says... Once again so much could be said but space disallows it. The true Christian will follow the principles found in 1 Timothy 2:9-10 and 1 Peter 3:3-4 thus glorifying God by the way they adorn themselves. Clothing should be, modest, and not revealing.
Dress should be without the use of gold or pearls. See also Genesis 35:1-4; Isaiah 3:18-24; 4:4. The painting of the face and the putting on of jewellery was a sign of moving into apostasy (Ezekiel 23:40). Cross-dressing is also an abomination in the eyes of God for it brings in confusion of the sexes, plus it was practiced amongst the pagan religions (Deuteronomy 22:5). In chapter 12 the church of God is likened to a woman clothed in natural beauty whereas the apostate church in chapter 17 is decked with the things of this world. Tattoos are not in accordance with the Word of God (Leviticus 19:28) for they deface the temple of God as does body piercing. Tattooing and body piercing are a part of heathen customs and also a part of their spiritualistic/witchcraft practices. God is looking for a peculiar people who will be ambassadors for Him (2 Corinthians 5:20). An ambassador is a representative of his country and is dressed accordingly. If we are ambassadors for Christ we are representatives for Him and should show this by the way we present ourselves. The hour of his judgment is come - The reason for the message of "fear God and give glory to Him" is because "the hour of His judgment is come." So we see that God, in His mercy, has given the message of victory over sin, the health message and the message of Christian standards for the purpose of preparing a people to be able to stand during the time of judgment. This shows that one is not judged according to what they profess but according to what they do, according to the character they have formed. There is no need to fear the judgment, for if one is in a faith relationship with their Saviour it will naturally be shown by how they live (James 2:17-18, 26). Faith establishes the law (Romans 3:31) and faith works by love (Galatians 5:6), the two are inseparable. The judgment spoken of here began in 1844, at the end of the 2,300 day/year prophecy. This also brings to view the message of Christ our High Priest ministering on our behalf in the Heavenly Sanctuary. Worship Him that made - The first thing that is interesting to note is that the thrust of the previous chapter, chapter 13, is worship. The last part of the first angels' message is a direct quote from the fourth/Sabbath commandment of the Ten Commandments, which is a call to worship the Creator of all things. This message is a call to give your complete obedience and allegiance to the Creator of heaven and earth, of which the Sabbath commandment is the only one in which you show who you are giving this allegiance and obedience to. It is a call to restore the Seventh day Sabbath to its rightful place as part of the Law of God. And it is this Law that is to be written in the believer's heart and mind, as a part of the New Covenant experience (Hebrews 8:10-12; 10:16-17), and have their sins blotted out. One who does not accept and keep holy the Sabbath day, at the end of this world's history, will not and cannot have the New Covenant experience, thus their sins will not be blotted out and they will be eternally lost. For how can one claim to have the New Covenant experience of having the Law of God written in their heart and mind yet completely oppose and reject the fourth commandment, the Sabbath, contained in this very Law. So as the world is being called to worship the beast (the Papacy 13) and receive his mark (Sunday sacredness) there will be a faithful remnant who will stand up, in the face of great opposition, and give the Sabbath message, the message of the true worship of God. Even today there is a great movement against this message and against those who proclaim it. This opposition will increase until a death decree will be passed for the extermination of those who persistently desire to honour God by keeping holy His Seventh day Sabbath. Those who persistently desire to oppose the Sabbath command are actually working in direct opposition to God and His last day message, which is to make ready a people prepared for their Lord, as seen here by the first angels' message. They are promoting the beast powers (the Papacy's) false system of worship and will, if they do not heed the call to come out of her my people (Revelation 18:4), unite with her in opposition to God and His people. This call to worship the Creator of heaven and earth, etc., also comes at a time when the majority of the world including many in the Christian realm, are embracing some form of evolution. People today would prefer to worship the creature more than the Creator (Romans 1:22-25). There is a fundamental reason why Satan attacks the message of creation with its Creator God. Throughout the Old and New Testaments you find that the one who has created you is also the one who redeems you (Isaiah 43:1-3; 44:24; 45:11-12, 17-18; John 1:1-3, 12-14; Colossians 1:14-17; Hebrews 1:3). There is an incredibly powerful reason for this fact found in Romans 1... The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. The type of power that saves is found to be that power which created the world. So in setting aside creation and the Creator they are setting aside the very power of the Gospel which redeems them/man from sin. If God is not a God who has the power to instantly create things out of nothing, then He does not have the power to redeem/save. The first angels' message as being a part of the everlasting gospel message is a message of:
1. Victory over sin, obedience to the Law of God through faith. Every one of the above points as contained in the first angels' message and is under heavy attack from Satan, and sad to say, the majority of the attack comes from other "Christians". So we have now looked at the First Angels message where we were called to: Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. We will now move on to the second Angels message, this is a call about Babylon and its fall, we will be looking back at history so that we can see just what was involved in the fall of literal Babylon and how it relates to spiritual Babylon’s fall in these last days. There is just one verse for the second Angels message but this one verse is extremely important... Revelation 14:8 "And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." This second angel is declaring across the whole world that Babylon is fallen is fallen, and the reason she has fallen is because she had made all nation drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. A man by the name of Charles Dickens wrote a book entitled The Tale of Two Cities, which deals with the cities of London and Paris during the late seventeen hundreds and talks about the upheaval that was taking place in those two cities. Now, as you start to study the Bible, particularly as you get into the prophecies you will find a tale of two cities, but these two cities are Jerusalem and Babylon, and you will find that these two cities are contrasted over and over again as you go through the Word of God. Babylon is not only a real kingdom that existed in ancient times, but it is symbolic of a power that opposes God and His people. It is mentioned in both the first and last books of the Bible. What is Babylon? It symbolizes a counterfeit religion and a doctrine of salvation by works. Many of the things that happened to literal Babylon the apostle John pulls on and makes the same application as we approach the end of time, this is what we will look at in this study, so it becomes important that we go back and look at the history of literal Babylon to see what took place as we make the application to what is happening today when it refers to spiritual Babylon. In the Old Testament we are given a prophetic warning regarding the fall of ancient Babylon: The first record we have of Babylon is found in the book of Genesis. Here it speaks of Nimrod becoming mighty on the earth and if you would like to do some study in this area, particularly with ancient history then The Two Babylon’s by Alexander Hislop will give you lots of the facts of what happened here. Going on in Genesis 10 it says... Here is the first reference we have to Babylon – Babel, you can read about this is Genesis 9 and 10. So, what happened here? Well, after the flood was over and once again the earth became populated, people began to move and live in different places, the animals were no longer tame and were sought after for food, anyone who was a hunter was revered by the people because many of the people feared for their lives because of the wild animals, and so Nimrod was revered among the people because he was a mighty hunter who protected their lives, and the people started to revere him for this. When he set up these cities, Babal/Babylon being one of them, he began to build walls around the city for protection, and this is one of the reasons that the people began to place him on a pedestal, and they started to consider him as more than human, in fact because of his greatness they began to worship him as a god. History tells us that he married a woman by the name of Semiramis, and the people now begin to worship Nimrod as the sun god, (you can see more of this in our video The gods of Babylon) to the people this sun god was a great god that always went forward, never backwards, he was the god of conquest. They believed that his wife was a goddess, and they worshiped her as a goddess of fertility. Now when Nimrod died she told the people that her husband had gone back to the sun, and so the people continued in their worship of him as the sun god, this is the beginning of the city of Babylon, and as you read through the scriptures, you will find that Babylon continually, over and over worshiped the sun, it was their god. Babylon as a city was built, destroyed and built again, but as you come to the time of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar's father Nabopolassar was really the one that made Babylon into the great city it became, however, it was Nebuchadnezzar who enriched it, lavished it and made it into the city of wonders and wealth that we read about today, but the people of Babylon continued to worship the god of the sun. The Bible tells us how Nebuchadnezzar captured Israel and carried off captives, among these was one young man by the name of Daniel. This was the beginning of God’s efforts to get the city of Babylon to recognise Him as God, effort after effort was made by God to get these people to understand that He was God and to accept Him. One of the first things you read in the book of Daniel is where Nebuchadnezzar has a dream, and in the dream God shows him all the nations and all that will happen; you can read about this in Daniel 2 or watch the video of Daniel and Revelation on our website which will give you all the history and information on this fascinating Bible prophecy. Now, at the end of the dream and when Daniel has interpreted the dream to King Nebuchadnezzar he says there is no God like Daniel’s God, now it does not say that he accepts Daniels God, he just says there is no God like Him. It is not to long after this that Nebuchadnezzar sets up and image on the plains of Dura and decides that the people should come and worship this image, he tells them at the sound of the music they were all to bow down and worship this image and they all did except three young men, three companions of Daniels, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and because they would not bow down or serve any God accept the true God of Heaven they were thrown into the fiery furnace, but instead of burning them up, it just burned the ropes that bound them. And as they walked around in the furnace one other person was seen with them who had the appearance of the Son of God, this is what Nebuchadnezzar said in Daniel chapter 3. After Nebuchadnezzar called them out of the furnace, he said there is no God like the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, but, Nebuchadnezzar continues to worship the sun. No change of heart here. As we come on down in time God now gets very personal with Nebuchadnezzar, and we can read about this in Daniel 4: So here is this dream of a huge tree, it gives shelter and has food for all, this is a description of Babylon a mighty flourishing kingdom and of Nebuchadnezzar its King. Now it says that this tree that is flourishing is to be given the heart of a beast and eat grass with the cattle. Nebuchadnezzar could not comprehend what this dream meant, so he called in Daniel who told him what it meant. Here are his words... Now this great King was told that he would eat grass like an oxen until he would wake up and realise that the God of Heaven is the one that rules in the affairs of men. Here Daniel says to the King change, repent; don’t keep on the way you are going. But sadly, as so often happens when we are shaken we feel we need to do something, we need to change but within a month or two the things that shook us are forgotten, things seem to be ok now everything’s normal again and we end up back in the same old rut, this was the case with Nebuchadnezzar. Words of pride and self-reliance came from the king, but while the words were still in the king’s mouth he is told from Heaven that the kingdom had departed from him. That very day his heart was changed into that of a beast and he began to eat grass like an oxen for seven years, until he woke up, and then you find the conversion of Nebuchadnezzar took place. But unfortunately it did not convert the City of Babylon, the City of Babylon continued to worship the sun, and was still opposed to worshiping God. The destruction of Babylon does not take place until the fifth chapter and it is here that you have its fall, under the reign of King Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson. At the time of the fall of the Babylonian Empire to the Medes and Persians, we are told how Belshazzar and his court defied the true God: That very night Babylon was destroyed and Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans (Babylonians) was slain and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom. So in the fourth chapter of Daniel you have the fall of Babylon and in the fifth chapter you have the destruction of Babylon. So when we get to the book of Revelation, in the 14th chapter you have the fall of Babylon, but the destruction of Babylon does not take place until the 18th chapter. Now in the fall of Babylon God gave the people an opportunity to repent and change their ways, over and over God had given them ample evidence of His power His might and greatness, they could see it but refused to accept it, and it was not until several years later that you have the destruction of Babylon. The gospel of the kingdom was preached in Babylon through Daniel, and Nebuchadnezzar was brought to acknowledge and to worship by his experience. But after Nebuchadnezzar's death his successors failed to profit by his experience. The climax was reached when Belshazzar used the sacred vessels from the house of God, dedicated to His worship, in which to drink the Babylonian wine of idolatrous worship. Then came the handwriting on the wall, the fall of ancient Babylon, and the death of Belshazzar. Please notice here that this angel is not saying Babylon is going to fall, it says it has fallen. It's not a case of maybe she will change - Babylon has now fallen. When it says that Babylon has fallen, this means that she has fallen in the eyes of God, not in the eyes of man, because we see that she leads them contrary to God, in a different direction altogether. Who is Babylon? It’s vital that we establish who Babylon is because this will help us to see the whole picture. In Revelation 13 it says... This must be a world-wide power, because it says she has made all nations drink, so it has influence over the whole world. Now notice how Babylon had caused the whole earth to become... When studying the scriptures there are two cups, the cup of the Lord and the cup of Babylon. The Lord's cup contains the living truth "as the truth is in Jesus"; the cup of Babylon is her false doctrines - her human tradition substituted for the living word and law of God, and her unlawful union with the secular power, upon which she depends to enforce her teachings rather than upon the power of God. Thus, while maintaining a form of godliness, she denies the power thereof. The Roman Church says of the Bible and tradition: Now without question the Papal power has world-wide power and the world has and is following her. Notice how Babylon's daughters reveal their mother's characteristics: The authoritative Creed of Pope Pius IV says: Babylon of old was steeped in paganism, right from the tower of Babel built by Nimrod, on down to Nebuchadnezzar, through to Pagan Rome and on into Papal Rome. Even the Catholic Church acknowledges the association between Babylon and Rome: It talks about the false prophet which is the United States/Protestantism, which is a political secular power. The Dragon/Satan represented Pagan Rome, and the beast which represent Papal Rome, these all constitute the agencies of Satan and we will see the influence of Pagan Rome here, these things all fit together. So these go contrary to the word of God, they are opposed to His word and His people. These three are the political backbone of this union. Churches do not have political power, and anytime you find a church persecuting you will always find that she uses a political power to do that. So there needs to be a political power involved. So you have the beast, you have the false prophet and you have the dragon. So here Babylon is divided into three parts, and those three parts that we have just looked at is that of Papal Rome, the false prophet and the dragon, and we will see how this all comes together, because this is a confederacy of false beliefs that make up Babylon. She made – this means ENFORCEMENT, and to make someone do something you have to have the arm of the state to do that. And so here we see that she is going to make all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. Now the dragon, the false prophet and the beast, how does this become a confederacy of false belief? Simply this way. Out of the dragon you have Paganism, out of the false prophet you have Protestantism, and out of the beast/Papal Rome you have Catholicism, taking all three of these things and putting them all together. And this is what the scriptures refer to as Babylon. Babel just means confusion, taking these three, bringing them together and when they come together God refers to them as Babylon. You see it’s the enforcement of this that brings about what scripture refers to as The Mark of the Beast: False beliefs – made up from Paganism, Protestantism, and Catholicism, and in the last days this will figure in the overall scheme of things in a very prominent way. Now when we read about the collapse of Babylon, Babylon was doing very, but it's in the eyes of God that she falls, not in the eyes of men, so to the outward appearance she is financially stable and all things look to be good, until she collapses. When she collapses then it doesn’t go well at all. And as you watch things you will see this whole process take place. But it’s these false beliefs that we have to take note of. Have been made drunk - Can you reason with a drunk man? No, you can’t, and these people are drunk with the wine of the wrath of this woman, these false beliefs, so to get them to reason from the word of God is almost out of the question, they can’t understand because they're drunk. So we have Paganism, Protestantism and Catholicism. Now if you have these three, which are all religious beliefs, and we have seen that they will all come together, what do they have in common, what do they believe that could unite and form a system of false beliefs? Well, they all have Sunday worship, along with the trinity, which came from Babylon, Paganism, their worship of the sun god. This was handed to Catholicism, and Catholicism took Sunday as a belief and a day of worship and bequeathed it to Protestantism as a sacred legacy, and so today you have all three worshiping on Sunday, this is one point they can unite on. Also to belong to the World Council of Churches you must hold to the doctrine of the trinity. Another thing they believed was the immortality of the soul, and again this comes directly from Pagansim. Greek mythology taught that the body was the prison house of the soul and that when a person died the soul was set free. This is how the ancient Spartans chose their soldiers - when a baby boy was born they would take him on top of a mountain and lay him on a shield and leave him for 24 hours and if he survived he became a Spartan soldier. This was their belief and this was given to Catholicism, and Catholicism handed it to Protestantism, and they all hold to the immortality of the soul as a belief. So here is another point on which they can unite. This is talking about Babylon and those who follow her beliefs as her daughters. But God has given us warnings and tells us to come out of her... You see Babylon has fallen, but God says there are people in Babylon that are His people and that He is calling out, we are not to be part of that system, we are not to receive of her sins and what she has done. And so you and I must be faithful to God’s word and stand solidly upon His word and make sure that what we believe we stand by and not be willing to be swayed by the conditions and the things that are taking place.
2. Character. The 144,000 reflect fully the image of Jesus.
2. It is also a seal/sign that God is the One Who sanctifies us, that is, restores the image of God in man (Ezekiel 20:12).
3. The way in which a believer receives the seal of the Sabbath is by hallowing it (Ezekiel 20:20).
4. Hallow means to keep holy, consecrate, set apart for a holy use, etc.
5. In keeping holy the Sabbath day it shows one's allegiance to God (Exodus 16:4, 25-28).
6. This is shown by the 144,000.
7. They keep the law of God (Zephaniah 3:13, Revelation 14:5).
8. The image (character) of God has been restored in them, which is sanctification (Revelation 14:1).
9. Therefore the 144,000 honour the law and the seal of the law, the Sabbath.
10. Therefore they will be honoured with the seal of the Creator/living God, as the two go hand-in-hand at the end of time, they are inseparable.
11. Only those who honour the seal of the law will be honoured with the seal of the Creator.
2. Contains a message on health.
3. A message dealing with Christian standards.
4. A judgment hour message, living in the time of judgment since 1844.
5. This also involves the work of Christ as our High Priest in the Heavenly Sanctuary.
6. Seventh day Sabbath, the fourth Commandment.
7. God is the Creator of all things.
The Second Angels Message
The Third Angels Message
Now onto the third Angels message, and it is vital that we understand this because it carries in it tremendous consequences.
Revelation 14:9-13 "9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. 12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. 13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them."
These verses clearly tell us what the mark of the beast is and how not to receive it. These verses also have finality to them that this whole thing is coming to an end. Verse 13 tells us blessed are the dead in the Lord they shall escape all these things that will come upon the earth as the mark of the beast is enforced, because we read in the 13th chapter:
So these are the words of scripture showing what will happen right down at the close of time, and each one of us will be called upon to make a choice, we can only sit on the fence for so long, but the time is coming when each one of us can sit on the fence no longer, and a decision will have to be made, will you follow the Lamb, or, will you follow the beast? Now we will be between a rock and a hard place because all those who decided to follow the Lamb will receive the wrath of the beast...
This is very clear regarding the beast and the power involved with him, we will need to be clear on where we stand because it clearly tells us...
So this is a serious thing, because if we decide that we are going to follow the Lord come what may then we must understand that we will receive the wrath of the beast.
Now if we say we are going to go along with the beast and the majority and follow what the majority of the world will do at that time thinking it is really not that important, then we will receive the wrath of God, because it tells us the time has come where we have to say we are on one side or the other and make a commitment, we have to be serious about what we are doing. If we walk with the Lord we will not receive the mark of the beast, if we follow the beast then we receive the wrath of God.
Or the wrath of God is complete.
So if you decide to go along with the majority at that time then you must prepare yourself because you will receive the wrath of God which is the seven last plagues and no eternal life, you will be between a rock and a hard place. But if we like David believe that the Lord is merciful and will care for us then we need to put our trust and faith in Him, because one thing is an absolute certainty, the beast won’t look after you.
So who is involved in the mark of the beast, who are the players in this?
Here it speaks of these spirits of demons like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon the beast and the false prophet and these have gone out to the world to lead them to the great battle of God Almighty.
Now we found out that when it speaks of the dragon this is Satan and Satan has given his power and authority to Papal Rome.
Papal Rome and Protestantism are going to be foremost in bringing about the mark of the beast; they will also be foremost along with Satan in being cast into the lake of fire.
These three make up what the scriptures refer to as Babylon, and it is this part that takes the false teachings and uses them to lead the people to accept certain things that the world goes along with.
There is one more part that is involved and that is what is found in Revelation 17 because it says...
We will be looking at these ten kings later, to see how these all fit into it, but it says...
So we see that there are four players that are involved, we had the dragon the beast and the false prophet and we also have the 10 kings and these 10 kings represent the nations of Western Europe which we will examine in more detail later. But these are the powers that will bring about and enforce the mark of the beast.
What is this mark? Well the scripture tells us:
So this makes it very clear that the mark is placed in the forehead or on the hand. This does not mean that somebody will come along and brand you, physically putting a mark on you, it does not mean inserting a chip into you, it does not mean that.
When it says that the mark of the beast will be received in the forehead, in the scriptures the forehead represents intelligence, the place where we give mental assent to something, where we accept and believe things, where we decide (or not) to go along with the teachings that these spiritual powers are putting out, that they made the world drunk with through the wine of her fornication.
That's her false teachings and this is where we have to decide if we go along with or turn aside from. And that is how you receive this mark in your forehead.
The frontal lobe is one of the four major divisions of the cerebral cortex. This part of the brain regulates decision making, problem solving, control of purposeful behaviours, consciousness and behaviours.
It says repeatedly through the five books of Moses, "in the hand" and "in the forehead". It talks about the Covenant being in the hand and in the forehead – and it was always symbolic 100% of the time – so if we’re going to be consistent in interpreting the Bible when we get to Revelation, which is a compilation of all the Books of the Bible, you can’t now change the rules and say it’s a literal stamp in the forehead or in the hand. Because keep in mind, it also says that God’s people have the Seal of God and their Father’s Name in their forehead. So, obviously "in the forehead" means in the mind, the thoughts "in the hand" means in the actions. That’s a very clear Bible principle.
Now if we say well I don’t believe in either one, and just think we can sit on the fence, we can’t do that because the hand represents co-operation, something we give our hand to, willing to co-operate and go along with - if we do this we will receive the mark of the beast.
Now in contrast to the mark of the beast we have the Seal of God, and when we read in scripture we will find that the Seal of God is never placed in the hand, it's always in the forehead. In other words we have to be willing to say; yes Lord I accept this, this is what I believe.
When looking at the mark of the beast the scriptures define this clearly, they also show how not to receive it. We are going to read Revelation 14:9-11 and when we have read that there will be a question we will need to answer.
Now these three verses, do they talk about the people that receive the mark of the beast? Yes, it clearly shows this. Now verse 12...
Do these people receive the mark of the beast? No. Why don’t they receive the mark of the beast? Because they keep the Commandments of God and keep the faith of Jesus. So, if we keep God’s Commandments and have faith in Jesus, we will not receive the mark of the beast, that is clear. Therefore the mark of the beast must affect the Commandments of God and the faith in Jesus Christ. This is a logical conclusion, and therefore the mark of the beast has to affect two things...
1. The Commandments of God
2. Faith in Jesus Christ
What does God say about keeping His Commandments?
The scripture if very clear on this, there is text after text after text where God makes it very clear that He wants us to keep His Commandments.
So if you want to love God and want Him to manifest Himself in you then we need to keep His Commandments. Now, has anything been done that affects the Commandments of God and our keeping them?
"The church, after changing the day of rest from the Jewish Sabbath of the seventh day of the week to the first, made the Third Commandment refer to Sunday as the day to be kept holy as the Lord’s Day." The Catholic Encyclopaedia, vol.4. p.153
A change was made. They took the Commandments of God, they took the second one out and moved them all up so that the forth Commandment became the third Commandment, and they changed the third Commandment from the Seventh Day Sabbath to the first day of the week, and they say they had the right to do this. This is a statement made by a priest from St Catherine’s Church:
"Perhaps the boldest thing, the most revolutionary change the Church ever did, happened in the first century. The holy day, the Sabbath, was changed from Saturday to Sunday not from any direction noted in the Scriptures, but from the Church’s sense of its own power...People who think the Scripture should be the sole authority, should logically become Seventh-Day Adventist, and keep Saturday holy." Saint Catherine, May 21, 1995. Catholic Church Sentinel.
He says if you are going to build your faith on the word of God then you should keep the Sabbath day holy and not the first day of the week, there is no foundation or basis to keep any other day than the one the Lord sanctified and hallowed, the seventh-day Sabbath.
"Sunday is our mark of authority...The church is above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact." Catholic Record, Sept 1, 1923
They say they have the right to make that change, but God says differently.
But...
When anyone confesses to be of Jesus Christ, but then adds or takes away from God's Holy, Inspired Word, this person, whether minister or member, perverts, corrupts and adulterates the understanding and wisdom of Christ's Word! This is a serious sin against God, His Word, His Commandments, and His purpose for man, and a sin that will have to be paid with one's life.
We need to stand on the word of God alone, we have seen that this apostate system has changed the Commandments of God along with many other things in God’s word. But it says...
You and I as followers of Jesus must walk by faith, and sometimes we find this hard, but we must day by day learn to walk by faith to trust completely in God’s word.
So by faith we must reach out and claim the righteousness of Jesus to cover our lives. This is what the reformers preached and believed, and this is what the word of God teaches that it’s the righteousness of Jesus Christ that counts not our own but His and we must accept that righteousness He gives to us by faith, salvation comes no other way, only His righteousness meets the demands of the law. As the song says...
Jesus take me as I am
I can come no other way
Take me deeper into You
Make my flesh life melt away
Make me like a precious stone
Crystal clear and finely honed
Life of Jesus shining through
Giving glory back to You
So here he says salvation is not by Jesus, not by what He did, but by belonging to the Catholic Church. That is not righteousness by faith, how do they feel about righteousness by faith?
This is basically saying that if you believe by faith that the sinner is justified through Jesus then let him go to hell. This is saying that salvation does not come through faith, and now you have them moving exactly as the scriptures said they would on the Commandments of God and faith in Jesus Christ.
Why is this so important in what we do, well it’s because it deals with the question of worship.
So do I worship God or do I accept the changes in God’s word and give the beast power, the false prophet and the dragon the right to do that?
These people, God’s people say; no, I stand on the word of God and what it has to say.
By faith Abraham followed God’s direction and took his family not knowing where he was going. God says to us, here is My word follow me, and sometimes it may lead us to where we do not know where we are going, but we have to walk by faith and believe and say yes Lord I will walk with you by faith.
Maybe we think we are to bad and there is no hope for us, our sins are to dark, but you see it’s not based on that, it’s not based on us but on the righteousness of Jesus, and if we reach out by faith to take hold of this it is accounted to us as righteousness, and the only thing God asks of us is that we follow Him, keep His Commandments and walk with Him, and therefore, His righteousness is given to us, this is righteousness by faith, and God over and over again in His word has totally rejected righteousness by works, starting way back with Cain in Genesis.
You see faith is accepting what God says, reading His word and accepting what it says, saying; yes Lord. It may be hard, we may not fully understand it all, but we must believe in His word and follow Him, keeping what it has to say.
Sunday-keeping is righteousness by works, not by faith, because there is not one place in the Bible that teaches Sunday as the day of worship. That is totally built on the word of the beast, and God will not accept that.
How do we keep from receiving the mark?
We get victory by following the Lord, by committing our life to the Lord, let Him handle our lives and give us guidance and direction. And if you and I will commit our lives to the Lord He will handle the circumstances, we just have to make the commitment and be willing.
These people keep the Commandments of God and so do not receive the mark of the beast.
But what about those who do not keep Gods Commandments, when will these receive the mark of the beast?
The he there refers to the false prophet, because it is the false prophet that causes the world to make an image to the beast, and if you do not want to go along with that then you will receive his wrath. You will always find that when referring to the beast or beast power it is always referred to as he, when it uses he it is always talking about a civil power. And when it talks about she it is talking about the religious aspect of it.
So here we find in Revelation 13:15 that it is talking about a civil power that will enforce this.
In other words when they enforce Sunday Legislation and people go along with it that is how a person will receive the mark of the beast, that’s when it takes place, people do not have it at present.
Here is another quote:
In other words they are saying, all people should keep our laws, laws that the church makes, these should be enforced and we want the state to enforce them. So how will it be implemented?
Here it tells us, if you don’t go along with them then they will boycott you. Well you cannot boycott people so long as they have money, because if you have money, what you can’t get at the front of the store you can get at the back. But we are living in an age where money is quickly disappearing, why, because of the internet, and because of the internet to day we have what is called cyber money, which means we can go on the internet and buy things worldwide simply by using cyber money. We are moving more and more towards that and this way we could then be boycotted, because all they have to do is say don’t accept that persons number and you have been boycotted.
Economic sanctions are being used right now to control buying and selling for countries that don’t cooperate. That’s one thing that we’re seeing that we’ve never seen before. All the nations getting together and forcing other nations that don’t comply through economic sanctions – they can’t buy or sell unless they cooperate.
Those sanctions are going to be used on nations that do not worship the beast. And individually, we may end up with some sort of a super card where if you’re not worshipping the way and the day they tell you, you can’t buy or sell.
This would be the way we imagine they will implement the whole thing. And this is where we are today.
This is where we stand at this point. The next thing in the 14th Chapter of Revelation is this...
Revelation 14:14 "And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle."
This is the coming of Jesus, we are almost there, almost home, we need to stay focused and build our trust and our relationship with the Lord so that we may receive the Seal of God and not the Mark of the Beast.
Revelation 14:15 "And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe."
Another angel - That is, in addition to the three who delivered the messages of warning in verses 6-9, before the second coming of Christ.
The temple has earlier been introduced into the prophetic picture (Revelation 11:1-2, 19). It will be noticed that John frequently alludes to items introduced in earlier visions. The setting remains largely the same. For example, the four "beasts" introduced in Revelation 4:6 appear repeatedly in subsequent visions (Revelation 7:11; 14:3; 15:7; 19:4).
The harvest in verses 15-20 describes the great harvest at the end of all things. The harvest comprehends two distinctive events. One is described in verse 16-17 and the other in verses 18-20. The first refers to the gathering of the righteous, represented here by ripened grain as shown in the Greek by the word translated "ripe." The second refers to the wicked, represented by the clusters of "fully ripe" grapes.
Revelation 14:16 "And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped."
The earth was reaped. This represents the gathering of the righteous (Matthew 13:30; Luke 3:17).
Revelation 14:17-18 "17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe."
This angel has power over fire and the final destruction.
Clusters of the vine - The figure of the two harvests is borrowed from the ancient Palestinian agricultural year, which consisted of two main harvests. The grain harvest and the vintage. Here the vintage represents the wicked gathered for destruction.
Revelation 14:19 "And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God."
Winepress - The figure is suitable with reference to the colour of the wine, which resembles blood. The figure is probably drawn from Isaiah 63:1-6.
Revelation 14:20 "And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs."
The wine press in days of old was trodden by the feet of men (Isaiah 63:2-3).
Without the city - The picture is probably drawn from Old Testament prophecies describing the destruction of God's enemies outside Jerusalem (Joel 3:12-13).
Horse bridles - A figure of speech indicating the great and complete slaughter of the wicked hosts.
Furlongs - Sixteen hundred furlongs would be about 321.8 kilometres or 200 miles. No satisfactory explanation can be found for the particular number 1,600. Jerome thought it to be an allusion to the length of Palestine. This is speculation however and adds little to the understanding of the passage.
The main thought is that the enemies of the church of God are to be completely and finally overthrown. Therefore the church can look forward to full and complete deliverance from all her enemies and joyful triumph in the kingdom of God.