Revelation 14:9

 

In Revelation Chapter 14 we are given some of the details about the judgment of God that will surely come against the earth. God is wonderful, full of grace and mercy and He is loving and kind. He proved this when He sent His Son to die for us, but there comes a time if humans refuse to repent that God must send His judgment because He is holy and just. We read in Genesis chapter 3, verse 6:

 

"God’s Spirit will not always strive with man."

 

Revelation 14:9-11 says,

 

"And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If 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 forever 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."

 

The greatest responsibility of man is to worship the one, true God. Therefore, the greatest sin is to worship someone or something else rather than God. The first of the Ten Commandments says,

 

"Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

 

Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to

 

"love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and all thy mind, and all thy soul, and all thy strength."

 

During the time of the Great Tribulation the sin of idolatry will be the focal point, as the antichrist will make it mandatory to worship him and not God.e earth. Instead of worshipping God, people will turn in great numbers to worship the antichrist instead. The antichrist will not have any mercy or grace and will cause many to lose their heads because they will refuse to worship him. Mankind is right now being offered the opportunity to taste the grace of God through Christ and to know the forgiveness of their sin and to escape the wrath of God. But when man has thrown away the mercy of God and turned to all possible wickedness, what will be left for man is the wrath and the judgment of almighty God.

 

Notice that Revelation 14:11 is speaking of eternal damnation. It says that,

 

"the smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever."

 

You will live on the earth for a few short years, but you will be somewhere else forever. I have repeated the words of John Hagee, pastor of the gret Cornerstone Church in San Antonio many times. There was a time when you were not, but now that you have been born and have lived there will never be a time when you are not! You will either spend eternity with the saints with the Lord, or you will burn in the fires of hell for ever and ever. The choice is yours. No one can make it for you. God will not send you to hell. He has provided heaven for you, it is your choice if you had rather go to hell than heaven. Jesus said,

 

"What shall it profit a man should he gain the whole world but lose his own soul?"

 

Some people put too much importance on what happens in this life. They would be a whole lot wiser to concern themselves with their eternal destiny. In contrast to the damned, Revelation 14:12-13 says a few things about those who are saved. It says,

 

"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, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them."

 

The word "blessed" can also be translated "happy." Happy are those who die in the Lord. Death is not a sad thing for those who know Christ as Savior. For them, death is the beginning of eternal happiness. I recall the words of the apostle Paul in his second letter to the church at Corinth, the 5^th chapter and verse 8 we read:

 

"We are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord."

 

In this description of believers we find both faith and works. If someone has faith without any works, there is a question as to if they have genuine faith, and there is the certainty that they will have no rewards. It’s the desire of God that you have both faith and works. If someone has works without faith; then all that they have is self-righteous and they will not have attained unto the righteousness of God, which comes by grace through faith. James did a marvelous work in detailing this point of theology in his new testament epistle.

 

We are told about these believers that they have patience. They are able to wait for things. Sometimes you must be willing to wait until the return of Jesus Christ to see the fulfillment of your heart and spirit’s longings. If you are not willing to wait upon God, then you will not be able to serve Him in this world: you will just be another person going about lustily to fulfill your own desires. Remembering the words of the prophet Isaiah chapter 40, verse 31 where he addresses "waiting" upon the Lord, the Hebrew term used for waiting is "kava". The definition is to be "braided or woven together like the strands of a rope or cable. A wonderful illustration of how we should weave ourselves together with the Holy Spirit.

 

We are told that these believers "keep the commandments" of God. Do you want to know what God’s will is for you today? As you go through each day’s activities, one of the things that God wants you to do is to keep His commandments. Do not lie, do not steal, do not commit adultery, etc.

 

Several things in Revelation 14:12-13 tell us that what we do is important. We are told that the believers "keep the commandments," and their "labors" are mentioned as well as their "works." This refers to the effort and the actions and the behavior of the believers, which are important. But in spite of this, the reason that they are called blessed is because they "die in the Lord."

 

The difference between heaven and hell is not our effort or our good works that we have accomplished, but rather it is our relationship with Jesus Christ. If we have the right spiritual relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, then we also will be "blessed" because we will die in the Lord, and we will live forever with Him.

 

Revelation 14:14-16 says,

 

"And 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."

 

These verses show us some of the details concerning the return of Jesus Christ to the earth. The first time that Jesus came, He came as a Lamb to the slaughter, and men did to Him whatsoever they would; but the second time He will come as King of all Kings and as a Judge. Jesus is seen as a king here because He has "on his head a golden crown." Jesus is the King of Kings, and He will fulfill the promises that were made about a great king who would one day sit on the throne of David. Believers have a lot of wonderful things to look forward to because we will be a part of the greatest Kingdom the world has ever known; and the One who will be sitting on the throne of that Kingdom will be Jesus Christ our Savior.

 

When Jesus returns to the earth, he will be the King that we all have waited for and have needed so badly. But when Jesus returns, He is also returning as a judge. Before He sets up His kingdom on earth, He will judge the world and everyone in the world. This judgment will not be pleasant for those who are on the receiving end. That’s why this passage of scripture is also a warning to those who stand in danger of the judgment of God! They are still in their sin and are without a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible frequently compares the judgment to the reaping of a field of grain. King David used it in Psalm Chapter 1 comparing the righteous to the good grain and the ungodly to "the chaff which the wind drives away." Jesus taught the parable of the wheat and the tares. The wheat and the tares grow up together in the field. The field is the world. The grains of wheat are those who turn from their sins and believe in Jesus for the salvation of their souls. The tares are those who oppose God and refuse His salvation, and therefore doom themselves to eternal destruction. That’s the message of this part of Revelation Chapter 14.

 

The earth is the Lord’s and all that are therein, and when the harvest is ripe, Jesus will be the reaper who will cut down all the field and will separate the righteous from the ungodly.

 

Perhaps in order to emphasize the judgment which is to come and to make people aware its reality and to think hard about the grave consequences of it, another view of the judgment is given in Revelation 14:18-20. It says,

 

"And another angel came out of heaven 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."

 

The judgment that Christ will bring was compared to the harvesting of grain, and now it’s compared to harvesting of grapes in order to give us another word picture of what will take place when a rebellious and ungodly world falls into the hands of an angry God. God is angry because He has been patient, He has shown grace and mercy, He has made a way of escape and mankind has rejected His love.

 

When grapes are harvested, often they are harvested in order to make wine. The method that is used to obtain the wine is the same today as it has been for hundreds of years. The technology may have changed, but there are still large winepresses into which the grapes are placed and then pressed so that red grape juice runs abundantly out of the winepresses. The flowing grape juice is symbolic of the blood that will flow when Jesus Christ comes as the head of a mighty army to destroy the enemies of God who will be arrayed in battle in Palestine. We know this battle will take place near Jerusalem because Revelation 14:20 says the

 

"winepress was trodden without the city."

 

Today we live in the age of grace, the church age, when the mercy of God is showered upon the whole earth. But the age of grace, the church age will close with the "rapture of the church". The end will come one day, and all that will be left for the inhabitants of the earth will the great and terrible wrath of God!

 

Who can hide from the wrath of the lamb?

 

Escape His wrath while there is time. Turn to Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Romans 10: 13 tells us that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. That name is Jesus, no Mohammed, not Buddah, no there is no other name given to us whereby we may be saved except for the name of Jesus. Won’t you come to Him today?