A Daily Walk

Guest (Male): If you don't see the world being conditioned for something coming, if you're not aware of what's happening around you as the entire world is getting on board as you see the scaffolding being set, your eyes are closed. They need to be open. These things are happening now in the sense that we're seeing the world be dramatically impacted and affected all at once. It's a preview of things to come, I believe.

Calvary South OC welcomes you once again to A Daily Walk with Pastor John Randall. We'll meet you in Chapter 14 of Revelation today and encounter three angels with powerful messages. One will speak of salvation and another damnation for those who have rejected Christ. In the end times, a lot of people will be duped by the Antichrist and his cohort, the false prophet, and today we'll begin to see the consequences for doing so.

John Randall: Well, let's open up our Bibles now to the Book of Revelation, Chapter 14, with a message entitled "The Angelic Messengers." Revelation Chapter 14, and this morning, I'd like to draw your attention to verse 6. And here the Apostle John writes, "Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people.

Saying with a loud voice, 'Fear God, give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.' And another angel followed, saying, 'Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.'"

As a pastor, you usually begin the week by considering the different texts that you will be preaching from. And I must admit that there are certain weeks that you're excited to get to the pulpit because the passages before you are so encouraging and you just can't wait to share them. And then there are other moments when the message you've prepared is a difficult one to deliver.

However, I realize that to skip over those passages would be a great disservice to the congregation. The Lord warned the prophet Ezekiel in Chapter 33, and he said this, "Son of man, I've made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Therefore, you shall hear the word from my mouth and you shall warn them. And when I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you shall surely die,' and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand."

And then the Lord said, "Nevertheless, if you warn the wicked to turn from his way and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your soul." This is one of those weeks when there is a strong warning found in the Scriptures that must be delivered because your eternal destiny hangs in the balance.

It was at the beginning of Revelation Chapter 14 where we were given a description of a group of 144,000 Jewish believers who will be on the earth during the great time of tribulation, or the Great Tribulation. They will be uniquely marked with the seal of God upon their lives, but they will be preserved and they will be protected throughout the tribulation.

But at the end of the seven years of tribulation, when the Lord Jesus Christ returns in His second coming, they will join in His triumph on Mount Zion there in Jerusalem. Following the preview of this remnant of Israel, John now records a series of visions and climactic announcements. And it's important to keep in mind that these proclamations do not appear in chronological order.

Instead, they deal with themes and events that stretch across the tribulation period, finding their ultimate culmination in its final days. And there are at least six different angels that are declaring an announcement or carrying out an assignment. In verse 1 of Chapter 14, John says, "Then I looked." But now in verse 6, he says, "Then I saw." The Apostle now sees three angels with powerful messages to proclaim.

And the first angel arrives with a proclamation of salvation. It says, "I saw an angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach." As you read through the word of God, you will realize that the Lord has always had His messengers to proclaim His truth. Primarily, He uses human instruments. Even now, the church is called to be His ambassadors, proclaiming the life-saving message of the gospel to a lost and dying world.

Yet during the great tribulation period, when the ambassadors have been called home in the rapture, the Lord uses other means to get His message across. And He will give mankind one final opportunity to repent and be saved. And by sending these angelic messengers to men, all men are without excuse. No one will be able to say, "We did not know" or "We never heard," because the angel is flying to and fro throughout the earth, proclaiming the everlasting gospel.

And the everlasting gospel is the same gospel message that we're proclaiming today. The word gospel literally means good news. It occurs 93 times in the Bible, exclusively within the New Testament. And it's everlasting in the sense that it is ageless. And the gospel involves the death of Christ on the cross to redeem us from sin, and His resurrection from the dead, proving His victory over sin and death.

But more than just the gospel of grace, this angelic proclamation also seems to include the good news that God will finally establish His ultimate sovereignty over the world. He is about to rule and reign. His judgment is about to come. This is it. All the chaos is coming to a close. Listen, that's good news. There's one day all the chaos is going to come to a close when Christ establishes His kingdom on the earth.

And this message is both a blessing and a warning. You can give an amen to that. That's good news, friend. I don't know what news you're watching, but this is good news right here. The angel calls upon the world to fear God or have a reverence for God. You know, many today do not believe nor embrace the gospel because their hearts are hardened by sin. And part of the problem is there's no fear of God.

They're not in awe of who He is or what He has said in His word. If man today truly had a reverential awe and fear of God, the world would be a much different place. The Bible tells us in Psalm 111 that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. In Proverbs Chapter 1, it says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 14, the fear of the Lord is the fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death. The angel says, "Fear God and give glory to God." Glory is something that belongs to God alone. Glory is ascribed to God. He alone is worthy of all the praise and all the glory. And as a Christian, as a believer in Jesus, I want to live my life ultimately for the glory of God.

Fear God, give glory to God, and He says, "Worship God." In verse 7, "Worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea, and the springs of water." The angel points man back to his creator, to the one who made all things, and says, "Worship Him." Folks, we were created to worship. Mankind has a desire placed within him to worship something or someone, but our worship is meant for God alone, who is worthy.

And yet we live in a day and age where men and women worship gods made in their own likeness. So much of the world's spirituality today is to construct your own God philosophy, develop your own spiritual ideas, mixing everything together from karma to Krishna to Buddha to Christ, in order to come up with something that suits you.

But for the Christian, for the follower of Jesus, we understand who God is and we stand in reverential awe of Him, which moves us to give Him glory that He deserves, and it leads us to a life of worship that is to be lived for the Lord. Worship is a response to who God is, to what Jesus has done. And not only is it a response motivated by love, but it is a command that is given within His word. Worship the Lord God and Him only shall you serve, the Bible says.

But also notice that this angelic message was for every tribe, nation, and tongue. It's for every person. It's a message of salvation. Jesus, when He gave the Great Commission, said, "Go into all of the world and preach the gospel." So this first angelic message is one of salvation. And I pray that you've responded to that message. And if you haven't, before our service is over, I'm going to give you an opportunity to receive Christ as your Lord and Savior and to come and stand below this platform and repent of your sin and receive Christ and have the hope of heaven.

But following this angelic proclamation of salvation, the second angel arrives and he comes with a prediction of judgment. Look at verse 8, another angel followed, saying, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." The second angel follows behind the first, and he predicts the certainty of destruction of Babylon.

The word fallen is used twice for emphasis and finality. Babylon, we have to identify, what is this in reference to? Prophetically speaking, Babylon sometimes refers to the physical city. Other times it refers to a religious and political system, all connecting it to the character of historic Babylon in the past. When you go back into the Old Testament and you study the beginning of Babylon, what you will find is that the first place in scripture where organized rebellion and idolatry began was in Babylon.

It was the place where the Tower of Babel was constructed in Genesis Chapter 11. And it was there in historic Babylon that the seeds of rebellion began to spread. And here in Revelation, history comes full circle as rebellion and idolatry come together once again on a global level with the empire of the Antichrist. Thus the Lord refers to in Revelation the Antichrist kingdom as Babylon, both in its political and idolatrous nature.

And one of the main reasons for the fall of this rebellious regime in the future is that it made all nations of the world participate in its idolatrous system. The phrase drinking of the wine of her wrath and her fornication is a picture of the participation and the acceptance of this system, which the Lord will ultimately topple and destroy.

It was a system that was built to stand against God, but ultimately it will come to nothing. Folks, anytime a person seeks to build their life apart from God, from an eternal perspective, they will lose everything. Jesus said, "What will it profit a man if he gain the whole world and yet he lose his own soul?" Today you can choose to live your life apart from God, and when you die, you will continue to have what you desire for eternity. You'll be separated from God. That's what the Bible says.

But that's why Jesus came, so you never have to be separated from God. John says there was a third angel now, another messenger. This time he comes with a message of punishment for those who are followers of the Antichrist, and he refers to him as the beast. Look at verse 9 in your Bible. "Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, 'If anyone worships the beast,' that's the Antichrist, 'and his image, and receives his mark on their forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out in full strength into the cup of his indignation.'"

"Furthermore, he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, in the presence of the Lamb, and the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever, and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name." For those who reject the message of the gospel of salvation, the everlasting gospel, for the ones who disregard the warnings of His coming and the collapse of the Antichrist kingdom called Babylon, and instead they choose to take a mark on their bodies and they worship the beast, it says here their judgment will be final.

There are no more chances after this. This is very sobering and concerning. This announcement, listen folks, listen carefully to me on this, this announcement is directed toward those who reject Christ's invitation to be saved. They are the ones who worship the beast and they take his mark. They've been brought into a system of lies and deception. They've been swept up into the demonic narrative of the devil and they gladly participate with the majority of the world.

I need to tell you this if you're not aware of it: some of these things are being put in place right now. If you don't see the world being conditioned for something coming, if you're not aware of what's happening around you as the entire world is getting on board as you see the scaffolding being set, your eyes are closed. They need to be open. These things are happening now in the sense that we're seeing the world be dramatically impacted and affected all at once. It's a preview of things to come, I believe.

The eternal repercussions of their decision is that Scripture says they will drink, notice this, of the wine of the wrath of God. In verse 8, it says they drank of the wine of Babylon's fornication, which means they took part of it, they embraced it, they accepted it. But now in verse 10, it says they drink again, but this time it's the wine of God's wrath in full strength.

The phrase drinking of the wine is a picture of the experience that they will have. It describes what they will receive, what they will partake of. And in this context and in the tense of the Greek language, the words are extremely serious because it says here, having drunk of the spiritual fornication, they will drink of the full strength of the wrath of God. In other words, they bought into the world system, they participated in it, they lived a life like they did not know God.

Their entire existence, they just went on the bandwagon with everybody else, what was culturally relevant, what was culturally popular. They turned away from Christ, and now the result is they're going to reap what they've sown. In full strength, when it says full strength, listen, it means untempered by mercy and the grace of God any longer.

It's the strongest language of damnation in all of scripture for the worshippers of the beast, which are ultimately worshippers of Satan, will experience eternal judgment. It says in verse 10, they will be, it says it right here, tormented with fire and brimstone, and the smoke of their torment, notice this, ascends forever and ever, and they have no rest day or night.

This right here is so serious. There are some that would perhaps like to take that scripture out of their Bible or to explain it away as some allegory, dismiss and deny the reality of hell and eternal punishment for those who reject God. But friends, listen, the word forever in verse 11 is the strongest expression of eternity in the Greek language.

Jesus referred to hell 11 out of its 12 occurrences in the New Testament. Jesus did. And Jesus made 12 out of the 19 references in the New Testament to hellfire. Jesus our savior, who died in our place, who took our sins upon Himself, who rose again from the dead on the third day to keep us from eternal judgment. Instead, we find He offered us eternal life. He used these expressions more than any other person in the New Testament so people would not go there.

Jesus Himself took of the cup of the wrath that we deserve upon Himself so that we'd never have to drink it. But the person that rejects what He has done will take that cup and drink it for themselves. These truths can't be overlooked. They can't be dismissed. They can't be explained away because, again, eternal destinies hang in the balance. People run from these truths. They dismiss these truths.

You know something? I've done memorials for people who lived their entire life in sin and never confessed Jesus as their savior. And when their friends get up and give an account of the deceased, many have attempted to say they're in a better place. They want to believe that. But they're not in a better place unless they have Jesus as their savior. And in reality, they're in the worst place imaginable, a place that Jesus died to keep them from.

Friend, listen, hell is as real as heaven is. It's real. And following this solemn warning of coming judgment of those who reject Christ, there is a glimmer of hope and reassurance for those who choose to accept Christ. Yes, there will be those who get saved during the tribulation period, but they will have to die for their faith. They will be martyred. Notice in verse 12, "Here is the patience," it says, "of the saints. Here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus."

"And I heard a voice from heaven saying, 'Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.' 'Yes,' says the spirit, 'that they may rest from their labors and their works follow them.'" Friends, there is a stark contrast between those who have no rest for eternity and those who will rest from their labors. Notice that John writes the word and is instructed to write the word "blessed." You know what that word means? It means "oh, how happy."

It's a word that is found many places throughout the scriptures. Yet here in verse 13 of Revelation, it may be one of the most unique references of blessing, as John says those who die the martyr's death at this point are blessed. The word saints is a reference to Jews and Gentiles who get saved during the tribulation period. They missed the rapture, but they got saved during the tribulation period. They have not taken the mark. They have chosen not to worship the beast nor his image.

They counted the cost, they persevered, they followed Christ, and they died for their faith. And John hears this voice from heaven pronouncing a blessing upon those who die in the Lord as martyrs for their faith. And the contrast, listen, the contrast is so evident when comparing those who reject Christ and perish eternally versus those who receive Christ and experience heaven eternally. It's true again, they will be martyred for their faith, but it is a far better option and even considered a blessing by way of comparison. And that is why he writes, "Blessed are those who now die," because of what they'll experience for eternity.

Listen, today you can choose to live the life that you want to live. You can choose to accept the love of God as revealed in the finished work of Christ, or you can choose to reject it.

Guest (Male): Which will it be for you? We pray you'll accept God's love for you. You're listening to A Daily Walk with Pastor John Randall. He'll be right back, don't rush away. What you heard today is one part of a series of studies based in Revelation. You can hear it again at adailywalk.org, oneplace.com, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A case could be made that we've never been more divided as a nation than right now. When a nation is divided, to whom can we turn? Well, that's answered for us in a book we'd like to get into your hands from Jack Countryman. It's titled, "If My People: A Prayer Guide for Our Nation." You'll receive 40 days of prayer and reflections in the spirit from Second Chronicles 7:14. And we're making it available to our A Daily Walk listeners for the cost of just eight dollars.

You can call us for the ordering details at 877-242-0828. That's 877-242-0828 or request it online at adailywalk.org. We are thankful for your support, especially during these summer months. If you've been encouraged and blessed by the teaching of the word and want to help us deliver the good news all across the nation and the world, stop by adailywalk.org or call 877-242-0828. Back now, as promised, here again is John in Revelation Chapter 14.

John Randall: Following the reassurance of the tribulation believer's ultimate reward, another revelation is given to John of a coming harvest. Notice what it says, follow along. Verse 14, "Then I looked." Here's something else. "And behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat one like the Son of Man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle."

"And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, saying, 'Thrust in your sickle and reap, for the time has come for you to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.' So he who sat on the cloud thrust in the sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped." In this vision, John sees several things. First of all, the Son of Man sitting on a white cloud.

The Son of Man is a reference to Jesus Christ. It is a phrase that is used throughout the Gospels. Jesus often referred to Himself as the Son of Man, speaking of His humanity. He's the Son of Man and He's the Son of God. Son of Man and Son of God come together in what's called the incarnation of Christ. Fully God and yet fully man.

But here, John sees Jesus sitting on a white cloud. And the cloud that He sits upon is a reference to His glory, and it's symbolic throughout the scriptures of His divine holy presence. And the fact that the cloud is described as a white cloud speaks to His purity, His righteousness. And there's a crown that's placed upon His head, and it reveals His power and sovereignty, that He's the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

You remember in Matthew's Gospel that Jesus predicted this event would occur. Matthew 24, Jesus said, "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." Well, we've got some more ground to cover here in Revelation 14. We'll have that for you next time on A Daily Walk with Pastor John Randall. See you then.