In the last devotion, the first angel delivered the gospel message. In this devotion, the second and third angels will deliver their messages.
Nuggets
- The second angel proclaims doom to the earth.
- The angel is proclaiming doom at the hour of judgment.
- Always when a spiritual revival occurs, it is immediately succeeded with judgment of the world.
- Satan and the Antichrist try to pull all they can from all the earth.
- Satan’s world is mired in sexual immorality and corruption.
- The third angel’s message more sternly warns of God’s wrath for those who do not follow Him.
In the last devotion, the first angel delivered the gospel message. God always precedes judgment with a warning and an opportunity for repentance.
In this devotion, the second and third angels will deliver their messages. The second angel prophecies doom while the third angel outlines consequences.
Let's Put It into Context #1
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Devotions in The Harvest of the Earth series
Let’s Put It into Context #2
What is the reference to Babylon?
We remember that the Israelites were exiled to Babylon. Since they were sent far away from Jerusalem — and God — we can interpret this as they were sent to Satan and his people.
Also, what is referred to here is confusion. Satan is the father of chaos.
Basically, it is referring to earth as we know it. In other words, Babylon is Satan’s kingdom.
The Second Angel
“Another angel, a second, followed, saying, ‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.’’ (Rev. 14: 8 ESV)
The second angel proclaims doom to the earth.
Another Angel
The angel is proclaiming doom at the hour of judgment.
God is not going to blindside us. He has warned us all along that – if we don’t accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior – judgment will come.
Now, on the brink of judgment, God is warning us again.
What was the message of the first angel? Accept the gospel message.
What is the message of the second angel? If you don’t accept the gospel message, judgment will follow.
Fallen Is Babylon the Great
Always when a spiritual revival occurs, it is immediately succeeded with judgment of the world.
Carpenter had a great statement. He wrote, “The principles of Christ’s gospel must undermine the world-power: the fall of some Babylon principle has almost always succeeded the age of spiritual revival. Pagan Rome goes down before the gospel.”
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Remember, the pronouncement of the fall of Babylon – earth – is before it is going to happen. Well, yes. God knows everything that is going to happen before it happens.
But there is something more important. God will always defeat Satan. His principles challenge and weaken worldview principles.
Ooo, baby. I have always believed that God’s principles and Satan’s principles are opposites, so that they challenge each other. I know God’s principles are better than Satan’s principles.
How do God’s principles weaken Satan’s principles? After conversion, God’s principles grow in us as we are sanctified, weakening the pull of – and hopefully eliminating –Satan’s principles within us.
Programming note: This is a preview of what will happen in Revelation 17 and 18.
Made All Nations Drink
Satan and the Antichrist try to pull all they can from all the earth.
Remember, the Antichrist tried to make everyone from every nation get the mark of the beast. We know he didn’t succeed in everyone because there were those who could not buy and sell.
Jeremiah talked about this. “Babylon was a golden cup in the LORD’s hand, making all the earth drunken; the nations drank of her wine; therefore the nations went mad” (Jer. 51: 7 ESV).
Wine of the Passion of Her Sexual Immorality
Satan’s world is mired in sexual immorality and corruption.
God’s Word speaks much about sexual immorality.
- “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body” (I Cor. 6: 18 ESV).
- “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3: 5 ESV).
- “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God” (I Thess. 4: 3-5 ESV).
If sexual immorality is such a big bad, why does God allow it to go on? Well, we’ve talked about why God allows all sin to go on.
God is not a dictator. He allows us to choose whether we are going to follow Him or not.
Seiss added his opinion. He wrote, “A colossal system of harlotry and corruption holds dominion over the nations. God has allowed it for the punishment of those who would not have Christ for their Lord, but now He will not allow it longer.”
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It doesn’t take long to see that what Seiss said was true whenever he wrote it – and it still is.
The Message of the Third Angel
“And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name’” (Rev. 14: 9-11 ESV)
The third angel’s message more sternly warns of God’s wrath for those who do not follow Him.
We recently talked about how the mark of the beast is going to identify who is following Satan and not God. Whether or not worldview people consider they are worshiping Satan when they do that, they are.
On the Day of the Lord, God’s wrath is going to fall on all who are not truly following Him.
We know the end times are going to sinful. We’ve looked at these verses recently, but let’s look at them again.
“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people” (II Tim. 3: 1-5 ESV).
These are going to be awful times.
But this is still a warning. The verse says “… ‘If anyone …’” (Rev. 14: 9 ESV).
The Day of the Lord hasn’t happened yet.
Seiss brought up a conundrum for me. He wrote, “… whosoever is found worshipping the Beast and his image, or has the Beast’s mark on his forehead or on his hand, even he shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is mingled without dilution in the cup of His anger, and shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the angels and in the presence of the Lamb, and the smoke of their torment ascends to the ages of ages, and they have no rest day and night! It is an awful commination …” (emphasis added).
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The verse says “… worships the beast and its image and receives a mark …” (Rev. 14: 9 ESV emphasis added).
How did Seiss get or out of and?
What really throws another wrench in the discussion is verse 11. It throws a comma in the mix. “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name” (Rev. 14: 11 ESV emphasis).
The comma breaks up the series. That means one is not tied to the other.
But let’s consider this a second. We know that everyone who thinks they are God’s disciple isn’t.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” (Mt. 7: 21-23 ESV).
We’ve been calling these goats dressed in sheep’s clothing. But if they identify as sheep, are they going to get the mark?
We would normally say no. Having the mark of the beast isn’t appearing to be godly.
But if they are sheep compromising with the worldview, they might compromise in this way and get the mark.
So, what if they are goats in sheep’s clothing without the mark? Paul warned us about having the appearance of godliness.
What doesn’t help us is that we have no clue as to when the mark of the beast will occur. I have always thought it would be before the Rapture.
There has to be a choice as to get the mark or not. If Satan was being a dictator, “So that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name” (Rev. 13: 17 ESV) wouldn’t be needed.
Satan would make everyone get it.
Let’s look at what the Complete Jewish Bible says. “Another angel, a third one, followed them and said in a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives the mark on his forehead or on his hand, he will indeed drink the wine of God’s fury poured undiluted into the cup of his rage. He will be tormented by fire and sulfur before the holy angels and before the Lamb, and the smoke from their tormenting goes up forever and ever. They have no rest, day or night, those who worship the beast and its image and those who receive the mark of its name” (Rev. 14: 9-11 CJB emphasis added).
And with no comma added.
Thomas said the wine of God’s fury, tormented by fire and sulfur, and they have no rest, day or night came from Hebrew sacred books.
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What does “… the smoke of their torment …: (Rev. 14: 11 ESV) mean?
The wicked will be resurrected and judged. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (II Cor. 5: 10 ESV).
Sometimes, we may think those being cast into the lake of fire will experience another “physical” death. While they will experience a spiritual death, they aren’t going to die and be nothing. They are going to feel pain – eternally. “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mk. 9: 44 KJV).
Remember, mankind is made in the image of God. That makes us eternal – the pure and the impure.
We’re going to dig into this more in the next devotion.
Making the Connections
If this is after the Rapture of the Church, it shows how caring God truly is. The disappearance of true believers should send a clear message to non-believers.
It also sends a message to the goats dressed in sheep’s clothing. Get right.
Pastor Steve and I just discussed timing. If disciples are to be present when the mark of the beast becomes required, then the Church has to be raptured after that.
Are the goats going to go with the Church? Do they not get a second chance?
Or do they go all the way through the Rapture and the Day of the Lord – then then hear, “I don’t know you” from the Savior?
No, I don’t think we have a definitive answer as to timing. And no one — especially me — is going to figure everything out.
How Do We Apply This?
What do you think?
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