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The Turning Point
(Revelation 14:6-13)
God has just
finished assuring the oppressed Christians that the
ultimate victory will be for those who resist
Domitian and remain faithful to God. But God isn't
finished yet. He is about to reinforce His
exhortation to remain faithful and now we start
seeing God's judgment on the Roman Empire. As
mentioned in the previous study, the danger to the
Christians as a result of this letter being
understood by the Roman authorities is very real.
The language is becoming increasingly figurative as
the judgments that God will hand out to the Roman
Empire is revealed in detail to those who can
understand it. Our understanding of the next
several sections depend on an understanding of who
the letter was written to and who the recipients of
God's judgment will be.
Revelation 14:6-20
6 And I saw another angel flying in mid heaven,
having eternal good tidings to proclaim unto them
that dwell on the earth, and unto every nation and
tribe and tongue and people;
7 and he saith with a great voice, Fear God, and
give him glory; for the hour of his judgment is
come: and worship him that made the heaven and the
earth and sea and fountains of waters.
This is a turning point in the book of Revelation.
The hour of God's judgment has come. Imperial Rome
will not be allowed to continue on in their present
state. The angel mentioned here is representative
of God's saints preaching the gospel to the whole
world, (Matthew 24:14; Colossians 1:23). The
oppressed Christians are receiving another message
of hope. There is good news to those who are
suffering. Fear God, worship Him, stay faithful for
His judgment is now imminent.
Revelation 14:8
And another, a second angel, followed, saying,
Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, that hath made
all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of
her fornication.
Here, Babylon represents the Imperial Roman Empire.
God speaks of the destruction of the empire as if it
has already happened. This will help shroud the
real meaning of the message from the authorities and
those familiar with scripture in the OT will
remember that God announced the fall of the real
Babylon at least fifty years before it happened:
Jeremiah 51:8, "Babylon is suddenly fallen and
destroyed: wail for her; take balm for her pain, if
so be she may be healed." When God makes a
decree, it is as if it is already accomplished:
Isaiah 46:10, "declaring the end from the
beginning, and from ancient times things that are
not (yet) done; saying, My counsel shall stand, and
I will do all my pleasure" and Isaiah 48:3, "I
have declared the former things from of old; yea,
they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them:
suddenly I did them, and they came to pass."
"Babylon the
great, that hath made all the nations to drink of
the wine of the wrath of her fornication."
Babylon is identified as the Roman Empire here for
the Christians. A discussed in the previous lesson
for verse 4, God considers idolatry to be spiritual
adultery. John qualified this figurative Babylon as
being the one that forced all nations under her to
bow to emperor worship thereby causing them to
suffer God's wrath.
Revelation 14:9
And another angel, a third, followed them, saying
with a great voice, If any man worshippeth the beast
and his image, and receiveth a mark on his forehead,
or upon his hand,
This is another warning to the Christians. Do not
worship the beast or the idols of the beast and do
not receive the stamp of the emperor Domitian. John
used the words "if any man", meaning if
anybody. No one is excluded from this warning.
Those who would give in and worship Domitian to save
their fleshly selves will suffer the wrath of God as
vividly portrayed in the following verses.
Revelation
14:10-11
10 he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath
of God, which is prepared unmixed in the cup of his
anger; 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 goeth up for
ever and ever; and they have no rest day and night,
they that worship the beast and his image, and whoso
receiveth the mark of his name.
One would think
this passage would be in no need of comment,
however, there are millions today who believe there
is no literal eternal fiery hell. There is a lot of
figurative language here but it is describing a
literal place of eternal fire and punishment. This
is supported by the words of Jesus in other
scripture such as Mark 9:43-48. Again, the
Christians are warned not to bow down and worship
Domitian. The language used by John is especially
strong here and should serve as a warning to these
Christians and others after them that God is to be
obeyed no matter what the immediate personal
consequences may be.
Revelation 14:12
12 Here is the patience of the saints, they that
keep the commandments of God, and the faith of
Jesus.
13 And I heard the voice from heaven saying,
Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from
henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may
rest from their labors; for their works follow with
them.
John gives the
words here that should ring loud and clear for
oppressed Christians of the time and for all who
come afterward. Those who keep the faith and die in
the Lord will be the ones numbered at the side of
the lamb. Don't give up. The wrath of Domitian is
temporary but the wrath of God is eternal. "And
fear not them which kill the body, but are not able
to kill the soul : but rather fear him which is able
to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew
10:28).
Let's pause here
for reflection. Imagine ourselves in a similar
situation as the first century Christians living
under the oppression of Domitian. It becomes law
that we must burn incense and sacrifice to the
leader of our country. If we refuse, we would not
be allowed to buy food, or work for a wage, or sell
property or possessions. It would be illegal for
our friends and acquaintances to help us. By so
doing, they would jeopardize their own lives. Our
religion would be illegal and if we were caught
worshipping we could expect to be arrested and
executed with our children sold into slavery. Our
possessions would be confiscated and sold. Those
who were unable to grow their own food would find
their families starving to death. There would be no
government assistance for anything whatsoever. We
would be unable to feed our families. Our children
would go hungry. The only relief in sight would be
to bow down and worship the leader of our country.
Only then would we be allowed food. Only then could
we be assured that we would not be rounded up and
imprisoned with our children sold into slavery.
It cannot be
overstated enough that obedience to the commands of
God is not situational and absolutely required if
salvation is to be had. The 1st century Christians
under the rule of Domitian were undergoing the worst
persecution in the history of Christianity and they
were expected to hold firm to the end. God did not
say, "ok, it's bad, so do what you have to do and
I'll forgive you when this over. The blood of my
son will get you all through this difficult spot."
Rather, God commanded over and over, "Do not bow
down to Domitian; do not receive the mark of the
beast; do not give in. Stay faithful even if it
costs you your life." The Christians under the
reign of Domitian were told they were expected to
remain faithful and obedient and failure to do so
would result in the unmixed wrath of God being
unleashed on them, being tormented with fire forever
and ever, never to rest again.
There are millions
and millions of people in the world today who
profess Christ, believe and teach that once a
Christian is saved, he or she cannot so sin as to be
forever lost. If this were true, then the entire
book of Revelation is a lie. The persecuted saints
of the time were expected to be faithful and failure
to do so resulted in their damnation. The saints of
today are expected to be no less faithful. If the
saints then could sin and be lost, so can we.
"So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed,
not as in my presence only, but now much more in my
absence, work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling;" (Philippians 2:12)
Revelation 3:5
"He that overcometh shall thus be arrayed in
white garments; and I will in no wise blot his name
out of the book of life, and I will confess his name
before my Father, and before his angels." (ASV)
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