THE THREE ANGELS' MESSAGES
Revelation 14
See Note Pages 1341_1, 1341_2, 1341_3;
Note pages 1342_1, 1342_2, 1342_3, 1343_1
Introduction:
Last chapter! What a horrifying description of some amazing characters! These Beasts rival anything imagined by our contemporary writers of SiFi, or any other channel or producers. Today we see a multitude of movies that picture creatures of all sizes and forms. It would almost seem that there is a insatiable desire for the ‘huge and ugly' amongst the TV watchers. Yet, all things considered there is simply nothing that rivals the ferocity and ugliness of the Beasts we've been considering.
Now we get a bit of a reprieve. We see the beginning of an appearance of the power of God coming into sway. Remember my friends, God is always on the scene. It may appear at times that He has given up on humanity but as we shall see in this chapter, God never gives up. Much detail is given now to a beginning of the end.
If ever we are reminded of a ‘see-saw' it is now. Back an forth, evil steps forward and poses its position, plants its feet in the dust of history and when you think it is all over Good steps forward with the words, "Now, just a minute!" It is not over until the fat lady sings. And I can say with confidence, "The fat lady hasn't even begun to warm up yet!" You know what I mean by "see-saw" – a long board on a fulcrum with kids sitting on opposite ends. When one child goes up in the air, the other comes down. Our last our lesson exposes that the Devil (the red Dragon of unusual size) and his two Beast buddies (the Sea Beast and the Earth Beast) seemed to be up, they were winning the conflict between good and evil. When does the tide change? Lets hop on board and find out more!
Review Matthew 3:2
As we read Revelation 14: 1,4 & 5 we are introduced to a number of people. Numbers in Scripture has been as source of discord, mis-calculations and general confusion amongst folks today. We have the numerologists, we have the various cults that "call themselves by Christ's name but deny the power . . ." and nearly every other kind of imaginations. For every number in the Bible there is someone that claims to see "some-new-thing" that has been hidden from the faithful until these days. There are those that would turn you from the truth with some revelation they see and turn it into a new unveiling of a truth from God. Nothing more has angered some of my contemporary students of Scripture than the labeling them as posing "some-new-thing." I have refrained from using the term because of some anger sent my way in E-mails. Even though I find this exciting, it is better to convince than to oppose. It is my desire here to convince rather than anger some and be in complete opposition to ideas of those that would be themselves easily confused and completely turned off by the truth. No number in Scripture has been more confusing and conflicted than the 144,000 spoken of in our text now under consideration.
So, the 144,000. Who, what, where, when and why are these people? Confusion would be the result of trying to identify them by the multitude of answers found using Goggle Search on the Internet. Just try it and you will see what we face in our day. Everyone, it would sem, has a unique opinion of who they are. An entire religious cult has been built using this mysterious number. I just rechecked, went to the "Search" on my web browser and simply typed the number, 144,000 and there are hundreds of differing expiations. You don't even need to include ‘religion', God or any other words! Just type 144,000 and see. But, above all, don't be deceived!
Who are these people? Is this your goal? To be with this group? Do you want to be standing on Mount Zion with Jesus? If so, how do we get from here to there? What are the specific qualities of the 144,000 found in verses 4 and 5? Some of the requirements would seem to be: 1) that you not defile yourselves with women; 2) that you follow the Lamb wherever He goes; 3) that you be purchased from among men (what does that mean?); 4), that you not be a liar; and finally, 5) that you be blameless.
If one studies this list a bit closer it would seem that the ten commandments of Moses is yet alive. Read closely and you will see that a close following of these ancient commandments would likely allow you to be part of this group! The very first entry here is quite in line with one of God's commandments, "not defile themselves with women." Now, the question . . . actually, several questions might be ask here. 1) Can a man be married and qualify? 2) If you happen to be a woman does this mean that you do not fit the requirements?
I am fearful that we've opened up too many doors of contention here, after all, in our time we have to be politically correct. I say this in jest because, although not many realize it, there is absolutely no way we can get a clear view of the meaning of Scriptures and remain so, "politically correct," but, after all, we MUST try. In an effort to do so let us jump ahead for a moment to Revelation 17:3-6. Is there a familiar character in this scene? One would have to admit that this seven headed scarlet beast would be next to impossible to hide in a crowd. Don't forget, this is our old enemy the red Dragon of unusual size.
Now is when we realize with full knowledge that this bit of Scripture we now study was not written by one with the influence of our generation. A man, even John the Revelator, would not have dared to drift into the following: Who is the Dragon giving a ride? This is a woman who is involved in the same activities as the two Beast buddies of Revelation 13. When Revelation 14:4 says the 144,000 have not defiled themselves with women, I am convinced that it is talking about this woman of Revelation 17. This woman is false religion which attacks God and God's people. In order to ease the strain of those that might at this point think that I have been too hard on woman, I would like to ease that tension by saying that the word woman as used here is more to give us an image of compromise, a prostitution of the church, the use of the church to achieve a false premise. I say this with an emphasis on the fact that with no man involved there is no prostitution. The image of the church being involved with the beast in such a compromising way is simply the best way John had of envisioning a situation that would best describe what he saw.
So the 144,000 are "pure" and "undefiled." And above everything they are those who are theologically correct. They are probably the same group we find in Revelation 12:17 - those who obey God's commands and believe in Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Now, again, let's go back to our list from Revelation 14:4&5. What is meant by "following the Lamb, wherever He goes?" Sometimes our Christian walk takes us places that we would rather not go. In the last chapter we learned that the unholy trio of the Dragon and his Beast buddies were really hurting God's people. Those who follow the Lamb may be people who, like Jesus, suffered persecution. Perhaps it means that their "walk" (the way they live) is completely in harmony with Jesus' example.
Liars? Why mention that they are not liars? The whole fight we have seen so far is between false religion and true religion, black and white in every respect. It is between God and Satan, who is the father of lies (John 8:44).
The question then has to be ask. How does it make you feel to know that the redeemed are blameless? I have read authors who say that we must reach a state of perfection if we are to be saved. What do you think? Can men and women today reach such as state? Perfection?
Now, the equalizer: "they were purchased" This adds to our understanding of perfection. The Greek word is a variation on "to go to market." The idea is that they were bought by Jesus. His payment, not theirs, redeemed them. As a result, their perfection comes from what Jesus has done for them. (See 1 Peter 1:18-19; Galatians 3:11-14.)
And again, the number: 144,000. This is not a lot of people. You hear that it is tough to get into special schools: a certain school of music, veterinary school, medical school, law school, some colleges. How students struggle to get into these schools. If this is a literal number, don't we have tremendous pressure to struggle to be counted among that number? If one limits this number to how many it takes to fill a foot-ball stadium, that is a lot of people. However, if you expand the number of Christians over the ages, what could it mean? Would one have to be one in a million? One in a billion? How is this number calculated? How could one qualify? This gets us back to the suggestion I posed at the beginning of this chapter. Type in your search engine, 144,000, nothing else, and search the WWW. You will be amazed at the different suggestions, indeed implications posed concerning the meaning of this number.
Is the 144,000 a literal number? (Read Revelation 7:4-8. Notice that these verses speak of the genesis of this number. It is 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes. Well, these tribes do not exist today in that form – or do they? If not, this would seem to be a symbolic number. If you review Revelation 21:12-17 you will find the New Jerusalem is a city of "12's." This reaffirms my thought this number is symbolic.
If indeed the number is only symbolic, why would God give us a symbolic number for His people? The suggestion here is that there is this big global battle going on. On the one hand is Satan and his two Beast buddies. On the other hand is the Holy Trinity and Jesus' followers here on earth. This is classic good guys versus bad guys stuff. Just as the beasts are symbols, so the 144,000 is a symbol of a special group of God's people.
What a challenge Revelation 14 presents to the student of Scripture! Here we find a split screen transition. I imagine it does so because the 144,000 have now been envisioned as being involved in spreading God's message while they were on earth.
The Message of the First Angel
Put yourself into this Scripture and bring it down to everyday experiences. Imagine, for instance, that you want a raise or want to change your work hours. Would you just walk into your boss's office without thinking about how you will approach the issue? Do you remember when you were dating? Did you ask for your initial date with a girl without planning what you were going to say first? If you were a girl who wanted to date a specific guy, did you plan how you could meet him and what you would say to show that you were interested? Lets again read Revelation 14:6-7. Do you think the angel's words were carefully planned? Or, did God just say to an angel, "Say a few words about my coming to the world" and the angel simply dribbled out a few lines? This sounds impossible, doesn't it? Verse 6 tells us that the angel had the "eternal" ( KJB) or "Everlasting" (KJB) gospel. What does that mean? In my opinion it simply states, "It does not change." It is not variable, it is not adaptable to the political expediency of the time or day. It is firm and set in concrete. One could go on and use a number of words to express the promises of God: firm, solid, rooted, and not the least, immovable. . . , the list is infinite!
What part of the angel's message in v. 7 really grabs our attention? One answer might well be: the angel ties it to the judgment. He tells us that the gospel is relevant now, because the time of judgment is now.
What is your relationship with God? If you were to sit at your desk and write out a plan or sentence that would best solidify your relationship with God, what would you say? If God, in these verses, especially planned to start out with a declaration about the judgment, why do you suppose He begins it in this way? What better way could God cause us to stop for a moment and cause us to think seriously about our relationship with Him.
A short review may help us here. Let's step back just a moment. The Dragon and his two Beast buddies, according to Revelation 13, are trying to get everyone to worship the Sea Beast (and, ultimately Satan) by deceit or terror. At the same time, the First angel's message is to worship God because God's judgment is at hand. What will it be like to live in that time? What a challenge! And, if you seriously think about it, what generation has ever been closer to the possibility than this one? Very seriously, are we now living in that time?
What does Revelation 14:7 suggest is the eternal gospel? What are the elements of the message? Let's list them:
1) Fear (respect) God
2) Glorify God
3) Hour of judgment has come
4) Worship the Creator. Verse 6 adds that this is a universal message.
What does it mean to fear God? (Fear ("phobeo": to be in awe of) God. Oh, how often I've faced the challenge in the pastorate that, "My God is one of love!" Or, my God wouldn't do that . . ." Often I would re-challenge the objector of a "Just God" imagine with that of God's purpose of sending His Son for the redemption of sin. If SIN was not serious, God would never have sacrificed His Son to the Cross of Calvary. If God was willing to overlook sin, He did the most reprehensible thing possible – allowing His son to be crucified! If there was no penally for sin, why would he have allowed this horrid thing to have occurred?
So, why does verse 7 suggest is the reason for us to fear God? This is not some little story about a teacher, who we decided to follow, who it turns out died like a criminal and we are ashamed about it. This is the watershed event in the history of the world. And our God prevailed! We can choose Him or the Dragon and his buddies. The final decision time is here for all the inhabitants of earth. So fear God. Be in awe of Him and what He did to defeat the Dragon and give us free– choice.
What does it really mean to "give God glory?" The Greek word is "doxa." Vines says "always `good opinion, praise, honor, glory, an appearance commanding respect, magnificence, excellence, manifestation of glory." So, if we are to be practical: If I said to you, give God glory this week, what would you do?
What does it really mean when it tells us that we should worship God, what comes to mind? That is, what does it mean to worship? Consider that the Greek word for worship is "Proskeneo" which literally means to "pros" "towards" and "kuneo" "to kiss." Kisses to God! (Strong's suggests like a dog licks his master's hand.
We see here where the angel links fearing God to the judgment. To what does the angel link worshiping God? We are told in Revelation 14:7 that we are to worship God because He is the Creator. So, is believing in the Creation, and rejecting Evolution, a key element to worshiping God? It would seem to be quite obvious that if you do not believe in Creation, are you able to properly worship God. If, on the other hand you are a evolutionist, you do not believe in Creation. So, on what basis would you be worshiping God? A literal Creation is one of the most controverted aspects of the Bible. Many people say they believe in God, "believe" in the Bible, yet do not believe in a literal Creation. Can one be on both sides of this issue?
Before one can proceed this question has to have a solid answer: Is a literal Creation a fundamental truth? Or is this just one of those debated and debatable things that has little, if anything to do with your salvation? I am convinced that it is fundamental. Consider the first chapter of the Gospel of John. If you do not believe that God made us, then it is more difficult to believe that He "recreated us" when He arose. If you do not believe either of those (Creation or recreation), it is hard to understand the basis for your worship.
When you put these two concepts together: worship and Creation, what immediately comes to mind? (Exodus 20:8-11: the Fourth of the Ten Commandments. It tells us to keep the Sabbath because it is a memorial to God's act of Creation. This puts the issue of worshiping God on the seventh-day as "front and center" in the final conflict between the special messengers of God and the Dragon and his beast buddies. Compare Revelation 12:17)
The Message: A Second Angel
We face the question of our age in Revelation 14:8. What is Babylon? In Genesis 11 it began with building a city that could survive another flood. So this is the ideology of not believing God, but man trusting himself. The focus of the Christian of 2003 has to be one of considering Iraq and the land on which Babylon rested. One would have to notice how prevalent the photo of Saddam Hussain that was posted everywhere possible in this barren land.
So, whatt is the "good news" about Babylon? In these verses we see that it has fallen. This system of belief has been defeated. In our time the same would appear to be true. But, is it? Is there a relationship between the messages of the First and Second angels? The answer here would see to be, "Yes!" They both teach us that the controversy is over "God worship" versus "man worship." This reminds us that the efforts of the two Beast buddies is to promote "works oriented" religion. A "works oriented" religion includes all of the major non– Christian religions of the world from Islam to Buddhism to Judaism. In addition, it sweeps in classic Catholicism and any Protestant religion that blurs the line between works and salvation by faith alone. Regular readers of this lesson might very well believe that I blur the line by my strong emphasis on a changed life. I trust I am not helping the "Beast buddies!
The Message And The Third Angel
When we read Revelation 14:9-11 we see some awful stuff. One has to ask, "how are the people identified who have these terrible things happen to them?" We are now introduced to "The mark of the beast." How do we get the mark? Worshiping the Sea Beast (Revelation 13:1, 11-12) and his image. This is the only way. I pose the question, "Why would anyone aspire to such a mark?
We have two groups: one having the seal of the living God, and another having the mark of the beast. These two groups seem to have the mark or the seal in a common place. Where is that? The forehead. Compare Revelation 14:9 with Revelation 7:3. So, what is the significance of that? Notice that the seal of the righteous is only on the forehead. The seal for the wicked can be on either the forehead or the hand. This indicates that choosing God can only be a mental decision. On the other hand, choosing Satan can either be a mental decision or just going along with the crowd or going along with coercion.
Do you want to be part of the 144,000? God asks you to make a decision for Him today. Will you join Him and help spread the messages of the three angels?
CONTINUE> The Climax of Apocalyptic Expectation: The Blessed Hope.
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