Revelation Sermon - 34

Lars Janssen

Revelation Series • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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Revelation:

Revelation 14:6-13

1. Introduction – We’re in the middle of a large section of visions. Some interpreters call this an extended interlude, connecting the blowing of the seven trumpets to the pouring out of the seven bowls.

a. From chapter 12 to the beginning of chapter 15, there’s this series of visions, guess how many…seven.

i. They are set apart by the phrase, “Then I saw…” 12:1, 13:1, 13:11, 14:1, 14:6, 14:14, 15:1.

1. In these visions, John is giving access to the underlying cosmic battle between good and evil.

ii. Why is the world the way it is? Because it worships and follows the beast?

1. Why is it so hard to follow Jesus in this world? Because there are forces at world in our world, evil forces, a counterfeit trinity, working against the ways of God and the people of God.

a. Evil forces that absolutely hate everything to do with Jesus.

b. So why bother following Jesus? If it is so hard to follow Jesus, and it will lead to pressure and persecution…why bother doing it?

i. Because of 14:1-5 – because of the eternal destiny of the redeemed. Gathered around God’s throne singing a new song.

1. Because, as the passage said today, we are blessed when we die in the Lord.

c. Our passage this morning is another compare and contrast passage.

i. We’ve been comparing and contrasting these diametrically opposed groups for a while now.

1. Revelation reveals to us over and over again that in this cosmic battle there is no neutral ground.

a. We’ve been comparing and contrasting those who receive the mark of the beast and worship the beast and the exhibit the beast’s characteristics…

i. With those who have received the seal of Jesus and worship Jesus and exhibit Jesus’ characteristics.

d. Last week if you were with us, or if you caught up on the podcast – we looked at the eternal destiny of believers. I hope you were uplifted, encouraged and inspired by the text last week. It is a glorious vision of our end.

i. Last week – it was the eternal destiny of believers – a great choir around God’s throne…

1. But this week, compare that with the eternal destiny of unbelievers – described for us in vv.6-13.

a. According to chapter 14 – it is perfect peace and rest for believers compared with eternal torment for those who worship the beast.

e. So, here’s what we’re going to do this morning. It’s a complicated section, it seems they all are! It’s a potentially confusing passage, controversial at times…so here’s what we’ll do…

i. We’re going to walk through these verses carefully and we’ll try to make sense of what they’re saying.

1. Then, we’ll go back over these same verses again, and learn what this section is teaching.

a. Finally, we’ll close by looking at how this passage applies to life today.

2. What it Says – This section is structed around voices shouting. 3 angels and a voice form heaven.

a. The angels are announcing judgments while the voice from heaven reminds the saints of their eternal rest.

b. In vv.6-7, we hear the shout of the first angel. John calls this message the eternal Good News.

i. And whenever we hear the words “Good News”, we should also be hearing the word ‘gospel.’

1. The gospel is most definitely good news – that Jesus Christ died to save sinners and that God is making all things news. Good News, great news, even!

c. But look at these verses. Jesus’ atoning death and resurrection is nowhere to be seen.

i. Nothing about sins forgiven, nothing about redemption or God’s love and mercy.

1. Fear God, for he will sit as judge. Give him glory & worship him for he created all things.

d. This is the Good News? Really? This is the eternal gospel? Yes! And here’s how. 2 ways this message is the eternal Good News of God.

i. First – what the angel announces, what he proclaims from mid-heaven, is the judicial side of the gospel.

1. It is not a different gospel, it’s the part of the gospel we tend to ignore.

a. It’s the part of the gospel that carries with it dire consequences if is rejected.

ii. Yes, the gospel involves God’s love for humanity, it involves the fact that Jesus Christ died to save sinners – that Jesus’ died on our behalf to pay the price before God for our sins.

1. Yes, the gospel includes redemption, salvation and God’s love, grace and mercy.

iii. But…what’s the reason for salvation…why did Jesus come??? Because human beings are sinners in need of a Saviour.

1. And if that Saviour is rejected, if the offer of salvation through the blood of Jesus is rejected – there are dire consequences.

a. Because those who rejected the offer of salvation, those who refuse to repent even after God plainly makes himself and his power known – Revelation 14 tells us that there are severe and eternal consequences.

iv. Without the consequences for rejecting God; without God as Judge and God pouring out his righteous wrath – then Jesus ‘death and resurrection would be meaningless.

1. So, the call goes out – Fear God, give him glory, worship the Creator of all things instead of the created things.

a. This is the gospel – the judicial side of it.

e. But isn’t true that this cry is also the conclusion of the gospel? One commentator I read this week called this the “Therefore” of the gospel – the concluding statement.

i. Paul did this same thing in Lystra. What we have recorded for us in Acts 14 is not a full Gospel presentation of Jesus coming and dying and rising again – not about sinful humanity’s need for a Saviour…

1. Paul gives the people in Lystra a ‘therefore’ statement – a summary statement.

a. I have no doubt in my mind that Paul preached the full gospel in that city – but only the summary is recorded.

ii. Given the context of the letter of Revelation – the gospel has been preached, God’s power has been made clearly known – so now, the therefore.

1. Because of who God is, because of what God has done for humanity, for you, through Jesus – therefore…

a. Fear him, give glory to him, and worship him.

i. Indeed, this is good news. Gospel news – eternal in that it has eternal consequences for those who accept or reject its message…

1. Consequences that will be detailed in the following verses.

3. Angel 2 – The shout of the second angel is a natural progression from the first.

a. If the hour has come for God to sit as judge, then it is only natural for the kingdom of this world to fall.

i. This is one of those things when John drops a name without any explanation – only to come back to it later in the letter. This time the word is “Babylon.”

b. In John’s day “Babylon” referred not to the literal empire or city, but to any oppressive regime that persecuted God’s people.

i. Babylon was any nation that seduced other nations into following their ways.

1. In John’s day, Babylon manifested itself in Rome, the city and the empire.

a. Rome was oppressive, seductive, opulent, immoral – and it forces others to conform to their ways.

i. But Babylon and the spirit of Babylon has been made know through many other empires and kingdoms – and Babylon is still alive and well today.

c. Most English translations use the phrase “Babylon the Great” in this verse. A phrase taken from Daniel 4:30.

i. These words are found on the lips of King Nebuchadnezzar.

1. And do you know what happened to Nezzar as soon as these words were uttered??? He went insane and lived with the wild animals for seven years.

a. It was God’s way of showing that secular humanism – even in its infancy – was still no match for God’s power and glory.

d. What’s the significance of Babylon falling? Well, Babylon, Rome, earthly ideologies – have to fall.

i. Anything that is not consistent with God’s kingdom – God is against.

1. Like Babylon of old, like Rome in John’s day – modern day Babylons will also fall.

a. Empires, communism, the materialism of the western world – which seems to be the fabric of our society…

i. These kingdoms that are built around humans and glorify humanity – they will all fall.

ii. God would not be God if he were not against Babylon in all its various forms.

1. God does not prop up systems which are inconsistent with his kingdom.

a. So, when the hour of judgment has come, the value system held by those who belong to the world will crumble.

i. Just like Babylon, Rome – and empire after empire that sets itself up against God.

4. Angel 3 – And again, there is a natural progression from the second angel’s announcement to the 3rd.

a. What the 3rd angel announces is what that judgment will look like for all those who worship the beast.

i. And this is where more comparing and contrasting takes place. Remember back to chapter 13, those who don’t receive the mark of the beast had economic sanctions placed on them and they were threatened with death…

1. Well here in chapter 14…compare that with what will happen to those who DO receive that mark.

a. Drinking in God’s anger…eternal torment.

b. Oh sure, those who follow the beast and receive his mark will enjoy peace and prosperity on earth now – but in eternity, they will experience nothing but torment.

i. John uses a specific phrase – he says ‘forever and ever.’

1. No doubt it is meant to contrast the reign of the Lamb with his people – remember chapter 11?

a. Sing the Hallelujah Chorus – and he shall reign forever and ever.

i. The forever reign of the Lamb compared to the forever torment the worshippers of the beast with experience.

ii. John also says, “day and night” – we’ve seen this phrase before. A long time ago!

1. This phrase – the day and night torment of the unbelievers -contrasting with the day and night worship of the living beings around God’s throne – remember chapter 4?

c. There is a natural progression in the announcements of the 3 angels.

i. God is coming as Judge.

1. Babylon is fallen – maybe not yet, but soon.

a. And because of Babylon’s depravity – those who follow her ways are punished for eternity.

5. Heavenly Voice – And at the end of the chapter a voice from heaven is heard. Now there are only a few times when John tells us he hears an audible voice – so whenever we read about it, we need to pay attention to what it says.

a. A voice, reminding God’s people of their blessedness.

i. A voice, contrasting the experience of the righteous to the unrighteous.

1. The righteous will experience eternal rest while the unrighteous eternal torment.

6. What does it mean? – So what are the main teaching points of this section?

a. There’s a lot of doctrinal points we can draw out of this passage – a few of them we’ve already touched on, but they bear repeating.

i. We touched on God’s judgment. Yes, God is loving, gracious and merciful – but he also punishes sin.

1. We are to fear God, give God glory and worship him because of who he is what he’s done for us.

a. And if we don’t – we will experience the cup of his wrath.

b. We also looked at the comparison John is making between the righteous and the unrighteous.

i. John writes that the unrighteous will experience prosperity and peace now on this earth, while the righteous will be persecuted…

1. But eternity is vastly different – when the will experience perfect peace and rest while the unrighteous will experience torment.

c. But I want to focus quickly on the words of the 3rd angel – because in them we learn about the reality of hell.

i. Hell isn’t a topic we like to talk about or deal with as Christians. Some even try to take the sting of out hell by claiming it isn’t an eternal existence.

1. Some deny its existence altogether.

d. But the subject is in the Bible – Jesus spoke about hell more than anyone, so we must seek to understand it as best we can.

i. And here, when we read and study the words of the 3rd angel – he talks about the torment the righteous will receive…and 2 words come to mind. I’ve used two of them already.

1. In the words of the 3rd angel we see that the torment of the unrighteous will be conscious and it will be eternal.

e. First, hell will be a conscious place. Just like the righteous will know they are in the presence of God, the unrighteous will be aware of the fact that they are not.

i. In Jewish apocalyptic literature, there’s this belief that when the unrighteous are punished, not only will they be tormented psychologically and spiritually, but they will also be aware of the bliss of the righteous – which will in turn make their torment even worse.

ii. While the Bible doesn’t explicitly state this – we see here that the torment takes place in front of the Lamb and his holy angels.

1. But what is stated explicitly, and what we have to understand is that there will be no relief from the torment experience in hell.

a. The unrighteous will be aware of what is happening to them. It will be conscious.

f. It will also be eternal. Again, John uses 2 phrases to drive this home – forever and ever and the phrase day and night.

i. I don’t believe and I don’t see how this could be referring to the annihilation of the hell – I believer it refers to the eternal sate of hell and those in it.

1. If believers experience eternal bliss in the presence of God, then the flipside of that is that the unrighteous must also have an eternal experience – and in this case eternal torment.

a. Why would God do them the favour of wiping them out, no longer to exist?

i. The forever and ever statement, coupled with the day and night statement is meant to compare and contrast the eternal torment of the unrighteous to the eternal bliss of the righteous.

7. Application – So how does all this apply to life today?

a. We’ll there are a few application points. First, notice that even though judgment is imminent – the opportunity for repentance is still given.

i. The first angel gave the nations the opportunity for repentance by shouting his gospel message.

1. Pay attention to this, because this is an example we must follow.

a. Even though we know that God will come as judge; even though he is in some ways judging the earth already – it doesn’t relieve us from our evangelistic duties.

ii. We must still preach the gospel, we must still call people to repentance.

1. We must call people to worship the Creator instead of creation.

a. Even though the hour of judgment will come – God warns in advance and offers salvation to those who repent.

i. Even as the angel is warning of the hour of judgment – John 3:16 still calls sinners to be saved.

b. The last point of application is the call for endurance.

i. And this is how endurance is defined – obeying Jesus’ commands and maintain a faithful witness.

1. In order to endure, we must continue to walk in the ways of Jesus – even if it gets us persecuted…

a. And we must remain faithful to him, even when times get tough.

c. John tells us that reward for patient endurance is eternal rest in Jesus’ presence.

i. Those who are faithful to God now, God will be faithful to them for eternity.

1. What a great thought. That when we come to the end of our lives, whenever that may be, what a great thought that our hard work for God, our labours for God on earth will pay dividends in heaven.

a. We struggle now, but we labour not in vain – for we will rest from our work and join the heavenly choir to sing praises to God for eternity.

d. Next week, read 14:14-20