The First Angel – the everlasting gospel
v. 6 – this angel preaches the everlasting gospel world-wide and three things that he says in his preaching are recorded in v. 7 – the full message that he preaches is evidently not recorded because his preaching mentions nothing about Jesus Christ and we know that Tribulation saints will have to keep the faith of Jesus [v.12]. Furthermore, his preaching won’t contradict the preaching of Paul according to Galatians 1:8-9. Tribulation saints will be born again [1 John 2:29] but they won’t be baptized into the body of Christ because Christ’s body will have already been raptured. So, this gospel won’t match Paul’s gospel [Romans 2:16] completely, but it won’t contradict it. Let’s look at v. 7 to see the substance of this angel’s preaching.
v. 7 – The angel’s preaching emphasizes three main points:
- Fear God – that’s the problem with the lost who will not get saved Rom 3:18, their lack of fear keeps them from turning to God Revelation 9:20-21 – tribulation saints are to fear God 1 Peter 2:17 – notice that even true Church age saints fear God [Philippians 2:12]
- Give glory to him – failing to give glory to God [Romans 1:21] is how a lost man ends up in uncleanness [Romans 1:24] and vile affections [Romans 1:26], and with a reprobate mind [Romans 1:28] – all of these things are evident now and will be rampant in the Tribulation – today men glory in men – in the Tribulation they will glory in the beast
- Worship him [emphasis on the Creator] – science falsely so called 1 Timothy 6:20 has been used to deny creation – now men worship the creature more than the Creator [Romans 1:25] – soon they will be worshipping a dragon and a man (and his image [Revelation 14:9]) that is so much like an animal that the Bible calls him a beast [Revelation 13:4]
These three aspects of the angel’s preaching are exactly what are needed for a man to turn from the beast to Jesus Christ in the Tribulation: Fear God, Glorify God, and Worship God – that’s why the angel preaches them
The Second Angel – Babylon is fallen
v. 8 – We will study this fall when we study Revelation 17 & 18 – in the meantime see Revelation 18:2-3 – this is the fall of the antichrist’s city – we are getting ready to see the king in his glory [Jesus Christ] set up his own kingdom – but first he destroys the headquarters of the apostate kingdom
The Third Angel – the cup of his indignation
v. 9 – Any man who worships the beast and his image and receives his mark in his forehead or in his hand will wind up in hell
v. 10 – He’ll drink the cup of the Lord’s indignation – this cup contains the wine of the wrath of God – there are numerous references to the indignation of the Lord – see Jeremiah 10:10 and its context as an example – all nations will drink the cup of the Lord’s fury Jeremiah 25:15-29
v. 10 – He’ll be tormented with fire and brimstone – this is literal fire and brimstone (sulfur) [Revelation 19:20, 21:8] – some would have you think that hell is just separation from God – no, it is literal fire
Hell will be on earth – notice that this torment takes place in the presence of the Lamb and his angels who will be on the earth during the millennial reign [Isaiah 66:23-24; Isaiah 34:8-10]
v. 11 – His smoke will ascend forever – [Isaiah 34:10]
v. 11 – He’ll have no rest day or night – with God there will be eternal rest [Hebrews 4:9-10] and with the devil in hell there will never be rest
v. 12 – in order to be saved and to miss hell in the Tribulation, a man has to:
- Keep the commandments – particularly the 1st through the 3rd and the 9th – he cannot worship the beast or take his mark; if he does he will go to hell [Hebrews 6:4-6]
- Keep the faith of Jesus – because that is how he becomes a child of God [1John 3:10; 2:22-25]
- Have patience – like Job, because he has to endure to the end [James 5:11; Matthew 24:13]
The Voice from Heaven – Blessed are the dead
v. 13 – they are blessed as long as they die in the Lord because:
- They rest from their labors – they have to labor to enter into their rest [Hebrews 4:11; James 2:17-26]
- Their works follow them – their works will be the basis of their judgment [Revelation 20:12-13]