Final Warning

REVELATION 14:1-5

In Revelation 14 we see the 144,000 again. Now they're on Mount Zion with Christ. "I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Zion, and with him an hundred and forty four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: and they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.

These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb (Rev. 14:1-4).

These, I believe, are Orthodox Jews who, sometime after the rapture of the church, come to the realization that Jesus Christ was indeed the Messiah. When the rest of their nation is deceived by the Antichrist, these people will start crying out against the alliance Israel makes with him. Of course, Elijah and the second prophet (perhaps Moses, Enoch, or Zerubbabel) will have returned as the two witnesses and will be bearing witness of Jesus Christ.

In the fifth trumpet judgment as the fifth angel sounded, John saw a star (Satan) falling from heaven unto the earth with the key to the abyss, the bottomless pit (Rev. 9). Satan opened the abyss and all these hellish creatures came out upon the earth. These creatures looked like locusts but had stingers like scorpions. They were commanded not to hurt the grass nor any green thing nor the trees but only those men which had not the seal of God in their foreheads. The 144,000 are marked and sealed by God so that they are not hurt by these remaining judgments coming upon the earth.

The 144,000 are found in typology in the Old Testament. At the time of Noah, God saw the earth and it was exceedingly wicked. He decided to destroy it. He saw only one man who was righteous, Noah, and commanded him to build an ark.

So, Noah built the ark and entered it with the animals. God shut the door and judgment came. Noah was spared because he was sealed by God in the ark (Genesis 6 & 7). Noah passed through the tribulation or judgment without being touched. He is a type of the 144,000.

Noah's great-grandfather, Enoch, walked with God; and he was not, for God took him (Genesis 5:24). Enoch is a type of the church walking with God who is raptured or taken out before the judgment ever comes.

There are many groups, as we mentioned before, seeking to identify themselves as the 144,000. Revelation 7 shows very plainly that these are actually Israelites - twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes. The Jehovah's Witnesses jump on the verse "having their Father's name written in their foreheads." They say, "What is the Father's name? It's Jehovah." Thus, they are "Jehovah's" witnesses, which is their claim as the 144,000. But the name Jehovah, actually, is not a true name. Look it up in the dictionary. It's a mistake that has crept in. The name is actually YHWH.

The 144,000 are singing a song which is exclusively theirs. They are virgins. They do follow the Lamb wherever He goes. The church is the bride of Christ and she is with the Lamb and shall ever be with the Lamb. The 144,000 don't have as great a place in heaven as the body of Christ. So, I have no desire to be one of them. God has chosen a better place for me as a part of the Bride of Christ.

"And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God" (Rev. 14:5).

That's exactly how I'm going to be before the throne of God. Jude said, "Now unto him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 24).

When Jesus Christ presents me to the Father, I'll be without fault. Why? Because He has washed away all my sin and guilt. Not that I'm faultless - far from it! But that's the way Jesus is presenting me because of His work of grace within my life.

It's a tragedy that people clamor to be identified as the 144,000. They must have a persecution complex or a masochistic desire to be on the earth when the judgment of God comes. Even if I were to be spared the Tribulation, just to see it around me would be horrible.

Rescued

There's an easy way to go and there's a tough way to go. If you want to play it tough, God will play it tough with you. God can get just as rough as you want. But know this - He's going to get you! Enough prayers have gone up for you. God isn't going to let you go. He'll get you sooner or later. Much better sooner than later.

That's what the Gospel is all about. That's why Jesus Christ suffered and died. Because God isn't willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

For the joy of being able to forgive, the joy of being able to make you a totally new person, the kind of person God wants you to be, and the joy of being able to wash you from all your sins and all your past and all the guilt, He endured the cross, despising the shame (Hebrews 12:2).

God has done all these things to save you. If you're not saved, it isn't God's fault. There's no one to blame but yourself. Many of you like to blame other people. You say, "There are so many hypocrites in church!" It's true that there are hypocrites in church. Let me tell you something: there aren't any hypocrites in heaven. If you hate hypocrites so much, then you better change your ways or you'll be surrounded by them.

You don't have anyone to blame but yourself. God loves you and wants to show you that love. God wants to wash away your sins, and He's ready to do it.

God is ready now to put His mark on you. The 144,000 will be given the seal of God on their foreheads. But God wants to seal you today. He wants to put His mark of ownership on you today. The seal He wants to put on you is His Holy Spirit. The church is sealed with the Holy Spirit, the down payment until the redemption of the purchased possession (Ephesians 1:13-14).

You see, God bought me. Jesus Christ purchased me. I belong to Him. How do I know He'll carry out the deal? Because He's already made a down payment. He put His mark of ownership on me by giving me the gift of His Holy Spirit. God claims me as His. He has stamped me.

Knowing that I belong to God is so beautiful! Even though I may mess up at times, even though I may fail God at times, even though I don't live a perfect life all day long every day, still that seal is on me. I'm His property. I may stumble, fall, and get dirty, but He brings me in, cleans me up, and sets me on my feet again. It's so great to be God's child!

God wants to make you His child today. He wants to seal you. That's what the Gospel is all about. God can change your life. God will change your life if you'll just give Him the chance. God can make everything new. God can take away those old habits and those weaknesses. God can take away that sin from your life. God can change your very nature, your attitude, your heart. And He wants to.

REVELATION 14:6-13

The Angels' Messages

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people (Rev. 14:6).

Jesus said that the Gospel shall be preached for a witness to all nations, "and then shall the end come" (Matthew 24:14). For a long time many people have been saying, "The Lord can't come yet, because the Gospel hasn't been preached as a witness to all nations."

There were great missionary drives whose theme was "Bring Back the King." In other words, get the Gospel out into all the world to hasten the day and bring back the King, Jesus Christ. "He can't come as long as you're sitting back and not supporting missionary work!" I am all for missionary work and supporting missions, it is a part of the great commission of Jesus to the church to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. I do not believe the motive for missions is to make it possible for Jesus to return for His church. This has been used as a great challenge and motivation for missions. However, here we are told that God will use supernatural beings to proclaim the Gospel.

These supernatural messengers proclaim God's Gospel "with a loud voice, [saying,] Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters" (Rev. 14:7).

They are calling upon people to worship God, to reverence God, to give glory to Him for the hour of His judgment has come.

And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication (Rev. 14:8).

This will be further explained in Revelation 17.

The third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, lf any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and 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 up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receives the mark of his name (Rev. 14:9-11)

Every person will be warned. If a person worships the Antichrist or worships his image or takes his mark, he will be in deliberate rebellion against God, even as man is in deliberate rebellion against God today. Here, God will be supernaturally warning men not to bow to the Antichrist. Yet, they will ignore God's warning and act in open defiance and rebellion against God. The Antichrist will be a man of blasphemy and make fun of all the declarations of these divine beings - even though they are declaring the punishment of God.

Many people would have me modify the punishment declared against the wicked. I can't. God has called me to declare His Word, not my opinion. The end of Revelation says,

If any man shall add unto these things [the words of this book], God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life (Rev. 22:18-19).

Please don't ask me to take away from or add to the Revelation, because I have no intention of doing it. The plight of the ungodly, those who worship the Antichrist, is a horrible thing to contemplate. Yet, God has said it and I cannot modify it.

Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them (Rev. 14:12-13).

At this time, death will be preferable to life. Those put to death by the Antichrist for not worshipping him or taking his mark will actually have a better place than those who live. Happy are the dead who die in the Lord, because they've ceased from this horrible Tribulation, and their works do follow them.

REVELATION 14:14-20

A Vision of Armageddon

Prior to the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the kingdom of God upon the earth, the world is going to experience a blood bath. God will unleash fully and completely these powers of darkness and the forces of Satan that will wreak havoc throughout the earth.

John received a vision of this terrible Battle of Armageddon about which we have heard so much. The valley of Megiddo is where this great battle will be fought.

I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs (Rev. 14:14-20).

This describes the valley of Megiddo as filled with blood from the great Battle of Armageddon.

In Revelation 16 we will see three unclean spirits who gather together the kings of the earth (v. 13-14). The Antichrist will establish his power and his authority through a united European national front and will develop tremendous military power. The people of the world will be saying, "Who is able to make war with the beast?"

The nations of the East, probably a combination of Japan, China, and India, will launch an attack on the Antichrist by coming down across from the east through the dried up River Euphrates. They will meet the forces of Europe, with which the United States will probably be allied, in that great battle in the valley of Megiddo. God's wrath and indignation, the day of His vengeance, shall come.

The world has one great war yet to endure - the war to end all wars. The rebellious nations of man will be as ripe grapes trodden and bursting. The slaughter that will take place is too frightening to imagine. Just be thankful that you're not going to be around!