Messages from Angels

Revelation 14 tells about three angels who have messages for people before Christ’s return. Samuel Weber investigates.

One of the absolutes of Christianity is the acceptance of what the Bible refers to as the gospel, or good news. This, in a nutshell, is the accepting of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus on our behalf, we being sinners and sinful, and He being pure, sinless, and so not subject to death, which since the Fall of Adam and Eve in Eden, has bent and bound humankind.

To a large degree, that’s the message of the book of Romans. It tells how we are saved. Romans 5:8 says that “while we were sinners, Christ died for us.” It’s this that is the good news or gospel. Paul also tells us that many religious people will be lost (3:9-27) because they either don’t understand or don’t accept this is given.

So while you might’ve thought that the “gospel” was to be found in the books of Matthew, Mark Luke and John only, it pervades the whole of the New Testament. Revelation 14, for example, tells us more as it reveals the personality and work of Christ on our behalf. As the first verse of the book says, it is the “revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Revelation contains two primary sections: the three “sevens”—Seven Churches (chapters 1-3), Seven Seals (chapters 4-7); and Seven Trumpets (chapters 8-9)—then a picture of the final conflict between Christ and Satan, through to the final showdown (chapters 12-21). The first three chapters of the latter (12-14) are a single unit, then the remaining chapters expand on them.
Chapter 12 tells of the origins of the conflict in which the church and its people suffer collateral damage in Satan attempts to defeat God’s plan to save His people over the past 2000 years.

Chapter 13 depicts the oppressing power of antichrist, represented by “the dragon,” “the beast” and “the false prophet,” which are counterfeits of the Godhead—the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit—and also a counterfeit of God’s seal (the mark of beast), and a counterfeit law. Essentially, chapter 13 depicts Satan’s counterfeit gospel, or process of salvation. Obviously, any counterfeit is worthless.
Chapters 12-14 show the progress of Satan’s war on Christ, and is the main act of this age-long play. Its main actors are Christ and antichrist, with the supporting cast consisting of opposing pairs: the Pure Woman and the scarlet woman; the Lamb and the red dragon.

From a study of the book of Daniel, which Revelation parallels, it’s easy to see that oppressive powers are symbolised by beasts. But it goes beyond that. Revelation 13 is presented in parallel to Daniel chapters two and three, which depict Nebuchadnezzar’s construction of an image of gold—an act of arrogant self-glorification.

“Is not this the mighty Babylon I have built . . . by my power and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30) asks Nebuchadnezzar. Revelation 13 is a challenge to this human tendency to glorify ourselves, which, in the case of the gospel, means substituting our human constructions for those of God, of worshipping the created above the Creator!

The essence of the gospel is lost when we minimise the role of justification—what God has done for us—and amplify the place of sanctification. Nevertheless, you don’t have the former without the latter, for justification is the root and sanctification the fruit of our lives in Christ.

This is all—and always—God’s work: “It is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose,” says Paul (Philippians 2:13).

The “mark” of the beast of Revelation 12:9 is the same self-seeking, self-glorifying spirit that motivated Nebuchadnezzar that had its origins with Lucifer, who said, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. . . . I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:13, 14, emphasis added). Self-elevation, self-righteousness of self-sanctification—that’s Satan substitute false gospel.

The final scene of Revelation 13 pictures a vast throng consisting of those who fell for Satan’s counterfeit congregating about him. In Revelation 14, in contrast, we see a congregation gathering around the Lamb, or Christ, having accepted His truth, singing songs of praise and victory. Then, in Revelation14:6, we see the first of three angels bearing good news—the “eternal gospel"—for the saints. The message of the first (verse 7) is to “fear [honour] God,” to glorify and worship Christ, the Creator.

The next angel (verse 8) bears the sad news of the fate of “Babylon,” the symbol of all systems and philosophies of self-elevating false worship—Babylon is “fallen,” the angel reports.

Next (verses 9-12) comes an angel bearing a final warning of imminent judgment of the world, with the consequences of following the false gospel of Babylon and bearing the mark of the beast spelled out. Verses 14 and 15 give the command to “harvest” the earth, by which is meant the final salvation of God’s faithful.

God’s true gospel is central in all of these events. And its place in the spotlight suggests how important it is to those who would call themselves Christians. It is also their obligation to understand it clearly, then to enunciate it to the world. Christians are not to run about the world like the Old Testament army runner Ahimaaz (see 2 Samuel 18:29), who ran furiously but once he’d reached his audience suddenly realised he had no message to give! And they certainly should be aware of Satan’s counterfeit gospel.

There’s a logical and progressive relationship between the messages of the three angles. The first presents God’s true Gospel; the second gives a warning against Satan’s false gospel, and the third points out the necessity of choosing between the two, and the inevitability of reaping the consequences of our choice.

The essential elements of the true gospels are these: (1) It is centred on Christ; (2) it glories in a perfect and infinite righteousness; (3) it is based upon the Word of God, not human tradition; (3) it rejects the idols of humanity and worships Christ in spirit and truth. It also removes guilt, as it breaks the power of sin over your life.

The moment you turn yourself over to the Jesus of the cross, your sin burden is removed, for Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

As it brings pardon and acceptance by Christ, it brings with it His power: “I am not ashamed of the gospel,” Paul says, “because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). Finally, being accepted by God, you are now free to accept yourself as a sinner.

The great Reformer Martin Luther, when confronted by the necessity to repudiate all human tradition in respect to the gospel (which he found it in Ephesians 2:8), said, “Here I stand, I can do no other!” What he meant was, that having accepted the gospel, confronted as he was by the testimony of Scripture, he cared little for what might follow, which in his case was excommunication, oppression and persecution.

We, likewise, must respond positively to the warning of the three angels of Revelation 14, trusting God to allow what He will to strike us, be it persecution, sickness or even death at the hand of the devil before eternal life is given to us at the Second Coming.
Because of the Bible’s assurances, of which Revelation 14 is but one example, we can know that we have eternal life in Jesus Christ, accepting in the meantime whatever the devil and his agents may throw at us.

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