We continue with the message of the third angel in Revelation 14:9-11. “Then a third angel followed them saying in a loud voice, If anyone worships the beast or his image, or receives his mark on their forehead or hand, he will drink the wine of God’s anger, which has been poured full strength into the cup of His indignation. And he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast or his image, or for anyone who takes the mark of his name.”
There is a very definite intensity to this message. Let me explain. The word translated “indignation” above is orge. This is a word that implies an earnest or passionate desire. But in this context means, vengeance (punishment in retaliation for offenses committed, revenge). Is it surprising that God would be indignant at this point in time? Men have rejected His word (both written and spoken). They have refused to repent and submit, even in the face of severe judgments that even they have admitted are from Him. They have rebelled against the miraculous ministry of the two witnesses. And now they ignore the warnings of these angels.
Even though this message is couched in figurative language (the wine and cup), the meaning is clear. God’s judgment is sure and severe. The KJV says it will be “without mixture”, the NIV says “full strength” and the Amplified Bible has “undiluted”. In other words, God’s anger has reached its tipping point; He’s not holding anything back. Time is running out and those who cling desperately to their defiance of Him are going to pay the ultimate price – continuous, eternal punishment.
Those who ignore the warning of the third angel are going to be “tormented”. This is translated from verb basanizo, a word that implies physical pain and/or mental pain. When we get what I call the Eternal State, I’ll do a lesson on the lake of fire and show you why God’s eternal punishment includes both. And regarding this we see in verse 11 the statement, “the smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever”. This is something I may have mentioned before (I can’t remember), but bears mentioning again. Isaiah 66:22-24 makes it clear (I’ll explain this in detail when I talk about the lake of fire) that people in the eternal earth will do two things on a regular basis: they will have to go to designated places to worship the Lord and they will then have to look down through openings in the earth into the lake of fire and see the torment of those who transgressed against the Lord. This serves two purposes. Worship demonstrates ones submission and determined obedience to the Lord. Then, gazing down upon those who are experiencing eternal torment in the lake of fire serves as a perpetual reminder of what happens to those who rebel (much more on this later).
And then we see, “there will be no rest day or night”. God’s punishment for those who reject Him is both eternal and continual. There’s no respite here, no break. For all eternity the pain and anguish of hell is a constant reality.
I hope you’re sensing the terrible predicament of those who find themselves under the control of the Antichrist. Literal life and death decisions are an every day reality. There will be two very different, opposing messages people are faced with. On one hand you have the Antichrist in control of most all the area around the Mediterranean Sea as we’ve talked about before. His power and authority are unquestioned (Revelation 13:4). The false prophet has come on the scene and has amassed great influence over people in promoting the Antichrist (Revelation 13:11-17). And, perhaps worst of all, Satan and all the fallen angels have been cast down to the earth and have joined forces with the Antichrist and the false prophet in their rebellion (Revelation 12:9). And all of them are working together to force people to defy God or die.
But, at the same time these people know the judgment they have experienced up to this time has come from God (Revelation 6:15-17). They’ve seen firsthand the ministry of the two witnesses and know the Antichrist, the false prophet and Satan are powerless to stop them (Revelation 11:3-6). They’ve probably heard reports of the large numbers of people coming to God and how He’s revealing Himself in other countries around the world (Joel 2:28-32). Then they hear the warnings of these three angels telling them to turn to God, that Babylon has fallen (I’ll have to explain this later) and that they should not worship the beast or accept his mark.
So, added to the destruction, death and difficult circumstances that have to be overcome simply to survive (food and fresh water are in hard to find, electricity and gasoline are scarce, short supplies and high demand has caused out of control inflation, the economies of these countries are ruined and the result is no jobs and no money), they have to make a choice of which side they’re going to take in this conflict. In your wildest imagination, you could not come up with a greater dilemma.
This leads us to the next passage, Revelation 14:12-13. “This (time) will require the patient endurance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and hold on to their trust in Jesus. Then I clearly heard a voice from heaven, saying, Write this: Blessed are the dead in the Lord who die from this time forward! And the Spirit also said, Yes, they will rest from their trouble and their works will follow them.”
Do you see what is happening here? The spiritual focus of the world is coming sharply into view; the gray is disappearing, everything is either black or white. The lines of distinction between all the competing religions of the world (including “Christianity” with its many opinions, groups, denominations and institutions) are being erased. Islam is irrelevant. Buddhism makes no sense. Confucianism has no following. The atheists and agnostics are being confronted with truths and realities they cannot deny. This is a trend that will reach its climax when Jesus returns to the earth to establish His Millennial Kingdom and finally does away with all religious viewpoints. There are only two choices: serve God and Him alone or rebel and suffer the eternal consequences. Soon there will be only two groups of people on the earth: the saints who keep God’s commandments and hold their trust in Jesus and the rebels who won’t.
Armageddon is coming next.