MP3: The Mighty Angels of Revelation 8
Hosts: Nathan Jones & Vic Batista
The Three Woes Angel
Nathan Jones: In Revelation 8:13 we are introduced to yet another angel. The passage reads:
“And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, ‘Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!'”
As horrific as the first four Trumpet Judgments have been — a burning a third of the trees and all the green grass, poisoning a third of the salt and fresh water bodies, and a reduction in daylight — now we’ve got another angel flying around the earth proclaiming, “Woe, woe, woe, the next three judgments are going to be even worse!” We’ve only gone through four of the seven Trumpet Judgments, and they’ve been terrible, but now the next three judgments are supposed to be far worse than the previous judgments? Wow!
Vic Batista: Amazing! One of the points that we are noticing that’s a theme throughout the Bible is that angels play a great role in our lives and in everything that God has planned. People should get out of their minds the Hollywood picture of angels, because we’ve been influenced by Hollywood’s view of what angels look like, and it’s not a biblical view. As a matter fact, someone left me a cartoon of angels on my pulpit this past Sunday. It portrays an angel as some older guy with a halo and wings. Most people when they think about angels often times think of this small, chubby baby with wings. But, that’s not how the Bible portrays them, right?
Nathan Jones: Not really. This imagery of a little baby cherub with cute little wings and a bow and arrow with little hearts at the tips, or that they have curly gold hair, isn’t portrayed that way in the Bible. No, mankind attempts to bring angels down to our human level when trying to understand them. But, as we read in a previous segment, there are even angels who maintain the weather across the world. We read earlier in Revelation 4-5 about the four seraphim who stand before the throne of God and are covered in eyes and have the faces of different animals. We read about angels that are active in nature. There are angels who look like animals. Some angels are giants.
No, we don’t read in the Bible about cute little angels. We’re talking about God’s messengers, and these are mighty, powerful, incredible creatures! They are God’s servants. They are not heirs of Jesus Christ like humans are. While more powerful than humans, Adam and all of mankind were made higher above the angels. We are just waiting for our full redemption when we are given our glorified bodies and come into the inheritance that Jesus promised us to receive that ranking.
Vic Batista: Excellent point! We need to recognize that one day believers in Christ are going to have our glorified bodies, and we believe that is coming very soon. Our bodies are going to be much like Jesus’ resurrected body, and mankind will then supersede the angels.
Nathan Jones: How interesting that Christ died for mankind, but He did not die for the angels. The third of the angels that followed Satan have no redemption available for them. The demons are going to Hell, and they all know it. Only for mankind did Jesus die. It makes me wonder how angels fit into God’s long-term plan of redemption, but with Hell as their final destination, it’s clear they don’t.
Certainly, angels are more powerful than mankind. They get to see God continuously. They are definitely blessed by God, but they are not redeemed by God, and they don’t have the position that mankind will have once we get to Heaven one day.
I think man’s future position is one of the reasons, if not the main reason, why Satan hates humanity so much. He hates mankind with the power of a thousand burning suns. He despising humanity, and he wants us all to be punished and sent to Hell just like he will be one day. I don’t know why there’s such jealousy with Satan against us. We know that he is power hungry. Maybe he’s upset that the Lord loves humanity so much, and not so much him, although I can’t imagine God who exemplifies love not loving Lucifer before the Fall. So, it’s a very complicated situation that maybe we’ll finally understand in Heaven one day.
To summarize, mankind does hold a position higher than the angels, but we need to come into that position once God’s plan of redemption is fully fulfilled and those saved are all living in their glorified, sinless bodies.
Vic Batista: I agree, this hatred by Satan could also be caused by a lack of worship, because Satan yearns to be worshiped. That is why we are told to not worship angels, but to worship God alone. In Matthew 4, when Satan temped Jesus while he was fasting for 40 days, Satan came and offered Jesus the world. One of the stipulations was that Jesus was to bow down to Satan, and then he would give Jesus all of these things. Matthew 4:9 says, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus replies to Satan in verse 10, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'”
Nathan Jones: Wonderful reference, exactly! Worship should be only for our God, the Creator and Heavenly Father and our Redeemer. It should not be any of His creation. But, haven’t we as humans given our lives over, not just to the worship of angels as some do, but to the worship of materialism, the worship of idols, and the worship of stuff? Such false worship is not what we were created to do. Mankind was created to fellowship with the Lord, and we worship Him due to His loving kindness for us. We are broken people when we live outside of that relationship.
Vic Batista: It is not just the worship of angels, but through materialism we worship the idol of self. Ultimately we need to give our lives to Christ and serve Him only. How does someone refocus and trust in Jesus today?
Vic Batista: Through materialism we worship the idol of self. Click To TweetNathan Jones: Jesus died for you. He died for you, just think about that. He didn’t die for the angels. The God of the universe gave His one and only Son as a sacrifice, but we have to accept that sacrifice in order to receive salvation. Pray from your heart genuinely to the affect, “Dear, Jesus, please forgive me of my sins and be my Savior.”
Once saved, the punishment by God that was meant for you for your rebellion is now cast upon Jesus Christ. You become healed. You are now a child of God. You can be brought before the Lord holy and pure and as heirs with Jesus Christ. That is the relationship that our hearts have longed for and are looking for in God our Father, the only one deserving worship. So, give your heart to Jesus today!
In the thirteenth segment of our series “The Mighty Angels of Revelation,” we’ll begin looking at Revelation 9 and the three woes which will befall the world.
So, the Tribulation church is the great harlot?
The Apostate Church during the Tribulation is the likely candidate for the Harlot, bearing in mind they’re a church in name only and not part of the Body of Christ, which has already been raptured.