The Christ in Prophecy Journal

The Mighty Angels of Revelation 14 Continued

MP3: The Mighty Angels of Revelation 13-14
Hosts: Nathan Jones & Vic Batista

The Don’t You Take the Mark Angel

Vic Batista: We are continuing our study of the Three Angelic Evangelists found in Revelation 14. In an earlier segment we opened up Revelation 14:1-5 concerning the 144,000 young Jewish evangelists God seals to share the Gospel with the world during the coming seven-year Tribulation. Then we got into verses 6-7 concerning the Gospel Angel.

Nathan Jones: Yes, the Gospel Angel is the first of the Three Evangelistic Angels who God sends out to proclaim certain messages from the Lord. The Lord provides all throughout the Tribulation quite a number of means in getting the Gospel out to the world. The Church isn’t here anymore due to being raptured out before the seven years began, of course, but God isn’t finished saving people. He provides the Two Witnesses during the first half of the Tribulation. He then sends out the 144,000 Jewish Evangelists who are sealed by God and protected angelically.

God then sends out three angels to continue His evangelistic efforts. The first is the Gospel Angel who actually goes to every single person left alive on the planet and shares this message: “Fear God, and give glory to Him.”

The second Doom Angel proclaims the end of the Antichrist’s empire, which he calls Babylon. This angel’s message is supposed to give the reader today and Tribulation Saints tomorrow the hope that even though there are wars, trials, and even more judgments coming ahead for the inhabitants of the Tribulation, the end is coming and there will be victory.

Vic Batista: What an excellent word of encouragement! There is such simplicity in the Gospel message. In verse 6 the Gospel Angels proclaims that same simple message that’s also so relevant for us today — fear God and give Him glory.

Nathan Jones: Can you imagine an angel showing up at your doorstep with a direct message from the Lord? So, what a tragedy that during the second half of the Tribulation the Antichrist initiates a loyalty test called the Mark of the Beast. The third of the Evangelistic Angels, the Don’t You Take the Mark Angel we’ll call him, reveals that many of the people will reject the Gospel Angel’s message because they love their sin more than they love God. They will give themselves over to the Antichrist and join his rebellion wholeheartedly. No one will have access to goods and services unless they take the Mark. But, everyone who takes the Mark will no longer have the chance of accepting Christ’s salvation, for as Revelation 14 and other chapters tell us, they have been given the Gospel, but they turned it down cold.

Vic Batista: What a sad state for those people to be in, because we know that the only hope for this world for eternal life is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ by accepting Him in repentance as Savior. John 3:16 encapsulates the Gospel message: “That God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.” That message is very relevant for today and certainly will for those enduring the Tribulation. Eternal life is a very serious matter.

Nathan Jones: It’s not just those who take the Mark during the Tribulation that run out of time. In this life if we die, that’s it, we have no opportunity to accept Jesus Christ. We can die at any moment for any reason. The reality is once you’re dead, that is, you don’t have another opportunity to choose Jesus. Those who will take the Mark have forfeited their chance to accept Jesus’ salvation. For us today, in death we too will lose that opportunity.

Vic Batista: Let’s continue in Revelation 14:9-12 with the third angelic proclamation:

“Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and 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.’ Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”

So, again, this Don’t You Take the Mark Angel is warning the residents of the Tribulation that if they take the Antichrist’s loyalty mark there will be no chance ever for them to be saved. They will without a doubt go to Hell where the smoke of their torment will rise up forever and ever. There can be no eternal rest for those who follow the Beast and worship him.

Vic Batista: How sad! This warning is less about taking the Mark and more about the heart condition. The heart of a man is the most wicked of all things, the Bible says. The human condition is so true, because even in the utopian time of the Millennium when the Beast, the Antichrist, and Satan are all bound and Jesus is reigning the world in peace, many people born during that thousand years are still going to rebel against God. Rebellion is a matter of the heart, right?

Nathan Jones: Traveling beyond the Tribulation, those who survive the Tribulation and are saved will live on in their earthly bodies into Jesus’ thousand year kingdom. They will have children during the Millennial Kingdom, and those children will just like us have to choose Christ or not. This is getting far ahead in Revelation, but we’ll read that many of them will reject Christ. They will turn on Him when Satan is released and they will join Satan for one final rebellion against God. So true then, the heart of humanity is terribly wicked. We are constantly living in rebellion against God. How crazy to think that we can overthrow God! It can never be done.

Vic Batista: I am sorry that I flashed so far ahead in Revelation.

Nathan Jones: But that’s exactly what Revelation 14 is doing, the chapter is a flash-forward to the end of the Tribulation. The purpose is to give the reader and those people barely surviving during the Tribulation hope, because life for everybody across the world is going to be just terrible. So far we have read through 14 of God’s judgments, and they were just awful, but the Seven Bowl Judgments that are coming are even more horrific. And so, the Lord needs to give the people who are saved hope that there is victory at the end of those 3.5 years.

Vic Batista: Revelation doesn’t always focus on talking about Hell and damnation; that is not what this book is all about. Revelation is all about God’s grace, His love, and His mercy. But, the Bible does talk about Hell being a literal place with fire and brimstone and real torment, so we have to take the subject seriously.

Nathan Jones: Exactly, we cannot talk about Heaven without talking about Hell, because there are two destinations facing every person on this planet. We will either end up in Heaven or in Hell. Sure, we want to talk about the love of the Lord and His graciousness, and how He created a way so that we can be saved by the death of His own Son, for that is the loving and gracious nature of God. But, God is also a God of justice. He cannot let crimes go unpunished. Without salvation, the judgment for people’s sins continue to fall on them, for as John 3:36 says, “the wrath of God remains upon them.” There most certainly will be people sentenced to Hell, and that will become their eternal destination.

Vic Batista: Absolutely! God is a champion of justice, and Heaven and Hell are real places. All of us who have trusted in Jesus Christ will end up in Heaven. Likewise, those who die in their rejection of God will end up in Hell. Hell is a literal place of torment, and that’s why our pulpits need to cover it.

Those who die in their rejection of #God will end up in #Hell. Click To Tweet

I am glad when we study the Bible verse-by-verse and chapter-by-chapter, because people then get a grip on understanding why it is so urgent for them to come to Christ now before they die.

In the thirty-second segment of our series “The Mighty Angels of Revelation,” we’ll continue in Revelation 14 with the great reaping of the world.

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Dr. Nathan E. Jones

As the Internet Evangelist at Lamb & Lion Ministries, Nathan reaches out to the over 4.5 billion people accessible over the Internet with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He also co-hosts the ministry's television program Christ in Prophecy and podcast The Truth Will Set You Free.

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