Revelation 14: Three Angels

Today’s reading is Revelation 14.

Angel, Angel, Angel to Those Who Dwell on the Earth

Okay, I admit it. That heading is a bit weird. But go with me on this. In Revelation 8:13, we read:

Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!” (ESV)

As the sealed 144,000 (Revelation 14:1-5) contrast with those sealed by the false prophet (Revelation 13:16-18), the three angels shouting their messages in Revelation 14:6-11 contrast with the three angels who blew their trumpets of woe in Revelation 9-13.

An Eternal Gospel

I don’t mean to suggest a one-to-one correspondence between the two sets of angels. Rather, the full picture of each set contrasts with the other.

The first three angels proclaimed woe; the latter three proclaimed an eternal gospel. The three trumpets declared woe, sorrow, judgment, warfare, struggle to those who dwell on the earth. The latter three angels, however, proclaim an eternal good news to those who dwell on the earth (Revelation 14:6). But what is that good news? Judgment is coming. By itself, that doesn’t sound like good news. The good news part is that fearing, worshiping, and giving glory to the true God of creation (see Revelation 4:11) makes a difference in how judgment will impact people.

Repent and Believe the Gospel

If we are not careful, we may miss the really important point the seven churches needed to grasp. On the surface, we see what seems like two completely different sets of people. Those sealed by the Spirit versus those sealed by the false prophet. Those who worship the beast and the dragon versus those who worship the Lamb and the Father.

However, let’s recall two different groups we saw in the second woe. In Revelation 9:20-21, following the warning partial judgment of the sixth trumpet, we read, “The rest of mankind…did not repent” (ESV). However, in Revelation 11:13, following the ministry, death, and resurrection of the two witnesses and a warning partial judgment in which a tenth of the city fell to an earthquake and 7000 people are killed, we read, “The rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.”

The two groups contrasted by experiencing woe versus experiencing gospel are not one viciously evil group who always served the beast and one righteously holy group who always served Jesus. The two groups contrasted are actually one impenitent group versus the other group who repented. This, of course, takes us right back to the seven messages given to the particular churches. What were they repeatedly called to do? Repent.

All of this also takes us right back to Jesus’s primary message when He came on the scene. “Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel'” (Mark 1:14-15, ESV). The gospel has always been and will always be, Repent! And you can experience the positive blessings of the kingdom, power, reign, rule, and even judgment of God. After all, as we noticed among the sealed 144,000, the issue was not how great the 144,000 were at preparing to meet God by their own strength, it was about being redeemed and ransomed by the blood of the Lamb. Only that redemption made their preparation worthwhile.

Day and Night

We must notice an incredible contrast in the middle of the three angel gospel:

And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name (Revelation 14:11, ESV).

Do you recall what the accuser does? In Revelation 12:10, he accuses the brethren of the Lamb day and night. His attack is relentless. He tests and tempts and seeks a way to accuse us day and night. But hang on, if we give in to his temptations, the eternal torment will be far worse than his temporary testing and accusation.

Further, in the kaleidoscope of visions, we will come back to this judgment in Revelation 20:10. There we will learn the unholy trinity of dragon, beast, and false prophet will suffer this same torment day and night eternally.

By contrast, the redeemed of the earth who hold fast and let no one take their victor’s wreath, who have been ransomed by the blood of the Lamb, washed in His blood, and prepared to meet God on Mt. Zion are:

…before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes (Revelation 7:15-17, ESV).

Why do we hear of an eternal gospel and eternal good news? Because the shelter and refuge of King Jesus is not for a moment, an hour, a day, a week, a year. It is not even for 1000 years. It is day and night forever. And the alternative is horrific.

Which will you choose?

Today’s reading is Revelation 14.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

How does Revelation 14 admonish you?

Revelation 11: The Glory in Our Midst

Today’s reading is Revelation 11.

Measuring the Temple

After John is recommissioned through the eating of the scroll in Revelation 10, he is told to measure the temple of God In Revelation 11:1-3. Let’s not get distracted arguing about whether this is God’s temple in heaven, the temple in Jerusalem, or the church as God’s temple in the New Covenant. The message of this measuring will be the same no matter which of those we choose. Notice, John measures the temple, the altar, and those who worship there. He is to leave out the court because it is given to the nations and the Gentiles will trample it underfoot for forty-two months.

Did you catch it? Why was the court not to be measured? Because it is unprotected and given over to trampling. Why then were the temple, altar, and worshipers within to be measured? Because they are not given over to be trampled. They are protected.

The Meaning of the Measuring in Ezekiel

As we’ve already been taken back to Ezekiel by the eating of the scroll in Revelation 10:8-11, we can’t help but be transported back to the measuring of the visionary, cosmic temple in Ezekiel 40-43. In Ezekiel 43:6-12, God explained why He had the visionary temple measured and what it was supposed to mean for Ezekiel’s preaching to Israel. The temple was the place of His dwelling and the people were to stop profaning it and defiling His holy name with their idolatry. Then He specifically says:

As for you, son of man, describe to the house of Israel the temple, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and they shall measure the plan. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple, its arrangement, its exits and entrances, that is, its whole design; and make known to them as well all its statutes and its whole design and all its laws, and write it down in their sight, so that they may observe all its laws and all its statutes and carry them out (ESV).

Whatever we make of the temple Ezekiel saw measured in his vision, God explains the entire purpose of the vision was to tell Israel to quit profaning His name and to start observing His will and carry out His statutes. Isn’t this precisely what John has been telling the seven churches?

The Meaning of the Measuring in Zechariah

In addition to Ezekiel, we see a callback to a similar scene in Zechariah. Be aware, right after the measuring of the temple in Revelation the reference to two witnesses, two lampstands, and two olive trees is a hyperlink to the two lampstands and two olive trees of Zechariah 4. Thus, the Revelation measuring is sandwiched between allusions to Ezekiel and allusions to Zechariah.

Don’t be too surprised then to recall we find a similar measuring scene in Zechariah 2:1-12. In this one, we witness the whole city of Jerusalem measured. The man measuring the city is told by an angel:

Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it. And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory in her midst (ESV).

WOW! The meaning of the measuring was a declaration of God’s protection. Though the city of Zechariah’s vision would have no walls, God would be her wall, and a wall of fire at that. Further, the city’s glory would be God Himself dwelling in and among His people. Praise the Lord!

But keep reading Zechariah and see the instruction based on this declaration:

Up! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. For thus said the LORD of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye: “Behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they shall become plunder for those who served them” (ESV).

Israel was called to flee into the protection of the city which has been measured, because all who stayed outside with Babylon would become plunder.

The Meaning of the Measuring in Revelation

The measuring of the temple in Revelation 11, sandwiched between callbacks to Ezekiel and Zechariah bring together both of those visions. As the 144,000 were sealed and protected under the sixth seal (see Revelation 7:1-8), the temple and altar along with the worshipers therein are measured and protected under the sixth trumpet.

However, to be in the protection of the measured temple, the Christians must not profane the name of God. They must not carry on with idolatrous practices. They must not listen to the Balaamite Nicolaitans or Jezebel the prophetess. They must not compromise with the cities around them. They must worship God and God alone. They must align with the order of the true cosmos, centered around and bowing before the throne of God.

But perhaps the significant difference between Revelation 11:1-3 and Zechariah 2:1-2 gives us the biggest indication of the meaning of this measurement. In Zechariah the entire city is measured. In Revelation only the temple and the worshipers inside it are measured, the rest of the holy city is given over to the trampling by the nations/Gentiles.

This is hard for us. But recall the messages sent to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3. The church, the holy city, the new Jerusalem, the bride of Christ was tarnished. Many in the “holy city” were faltering. Though they were “in” the holy city, they were actually living in Babylon. They were compromising with Babylon around them. Rather than aligning with God and true worship of Him, they were aligning with the nations around them, with the Gentiles around them. They thought they found safety with one foot seemingly in the church and one foot in the city. But God explains these compromisers will be trampled. Interestingly, not trampled by God, but trampled by the very ones from whom they thought they were receiving protection.

Once again, God explains if we don’t give ourselves wholly to Him, He will give us up to our compromising, backsliding, idolatrous ways. Then we’ll find out how those false gods will deal with us. They will trample us.

Fire and Glory

But let us not end on the negative note. Yes, those who take comfort outside the temple in the holy city will be trampled. But the main point of this is not to fear trampling out there, but to see the protection in the temple. Up! Let us escape the treacherous Babylon and flee into God’s holy temple, gathered around His altar, worshiping Him. Inside the temple, we stand behind a wall of fire and God is the glory in our midst. No matter what is happening in the earthly realm, that is what is happening when we pull back the curtain and see faithfulness to God from His perspective.

Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Revelation 11.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

How does Revelation 11 prompt or improve your praise of God?

Revelation 10: Eating the Scroll

Today’s reading is Revelation 10.

Another Call Back

The angel giving John his vision clearly made a connection back to Daniel. We noticed that yesterday. Additionally, in the latter half of Revelation 10, he takes us back to another ancient prophet: Ezekiel.

“But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give to you.” And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. And he spread it out before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe. And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey (Ezekiel 2:8-3:3, ESV).

Sadly, God went on to tell Ezekiel his audience would not listen. They were hard-headed, hard-hearted, stubborn, and resistant to repentance. However, Ezekiel was sent as a watchman. He was sent to warn. Perhaps we can see why this call back is set in the middle of the sixth trumpet in which God declared, despite all the warnings, the people would not repent.

John’s INtended Audience

Reading on in Ezekiel, we learn his audience. He wasn’t “sent to a people of foreign speech and hard language, but to the house of Israel” (Ezekiel 3:5, ESV). If I were a member of one of those seven churches receiving this letter of apocalypse, this connection back to Ezekiel would draw me up short and scare the daylights out of me. The point would be utterly clear.

John wasn’t writing to the city of Jerusalem. He wasn’t writing to the city of Rome. He wasn’t writing to the seven cities of Asia. He was writing to the seven churches of Asia. He was writing to my church. Certainly, John “must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings” (Revelation 10:11, ESV), but keep in mind Christ reigns over those whom “by your blood you ransomed…for God from every tribe language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 4:9-10, ESV). That prophesying is about us.

In this one picture, Jesus reminds His church the high calling and expectation He has for them, but also the dark fear. He has ransomed them to be a kingdom and priests to reign on the earth. However, if they do not take care, they will become the recipients of the coming judgment.

Eating the Scroll

In Ezekiel, the difference between Ezekiel and the rebellious house was illustrated by the eating of the scroll. He fed himself on God’s Word. John is called to the same measure of faith and allegiance. After all, as Jesus Himself told Satan, we don’t live by bread, but by every Word that comes from God’s mouth (Matthew 4:4). Jesus explained His food was to do the will of God who sent Him (John 4:34).

The churches had a choice. John was sending them an apocalyptic scroll (Revelation 1:11). They could either eat it or throw it away. That is, they could either read it, imbibe it, internalize it, live by it. Or they could ignore it, change it, distort it, pervert it. They could add to it or take from it (Revelation 22:18-19). However, if they did. They would experience the plagues.

Don’t miss this. The angel didn’t just say read the scroll. He said eat it. No, we don’t cook up and serve a Bible for lunch. But we need to do so much more than simply read these books of God’s Word. We must live in them. We must let them live in us. We must imbibe them. We must internalize them. The message may even be bitter in our stomachs. Sometimes the message is one of lamentation, mourning, and woe. It may cause us pain. But only by letting God’s Word get down into the very center of our being will we be victorious with Him. Better a bitter stomach than a bowl of wrath, don’t you think?

Tomorrow’s reading is Revelation 10.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

How does Revelation 10 prompt or improve your hope in God?

The Blessing and the Curse

Today’s reading is Matthew 23.

In Deuteronomy 27:9-13, Moses charged Israel to perform a unique ceremony once they entered the Promised Land. Once they had crossed over the Jordan, the people were two divide into two groups standing on opposing mountain sides. On Gerizim, half the people were to pronounce potential blessings. On Ebal, half the people were to pronounce potential curses. God let Israel know He was setting before them life and death, the blessing and the curse. The choice was up to them. The nation performed this ritual under Joshua in Joshua 8:33.

In Matthew 5, Jesus went up on the mountain and proclaimed potential blessings for those who would submit to His kingdom authority. Now, in Matthew 23, He teaches on the temple mount. This time He proclaims potential curses or woes. As we read Matthew, it is like Jesus standing on two opposing mountainsides while we stand in the intervening valley hearing Him teach.

The blessings and curses are not an exact correspondence. However, it doesn’t take much to see their contrast. The poor in spirit and the persecuted are blessed because theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3, 10). The scribes and Pharisees are cursed because they don’t enter the kingdom and don’t allow others in either (Matthew 23:13). Peacemakers are blessed because they are sons of God (Matthew 5:9). Those who follow the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees become children of hell (Matthew 23:15). Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed with it (Matthew 5:6). The scribes and Pharisees only look righteous (Matthew 23:27-28).

In reading Matthew, God has set before us the blessing and the curse, life and death. Which will we choose? Let us remember the door into the blessing is poverty of spirit, another way of saying “humility.” The door into cursing is pride. But beware, the door to blessing is narrow and the way is difficult; few enter by it. Will you?

Tomorrow’s reading is Matthew 23.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

Discuss the Following Questions with Your Family

1. What are your initial reactions to the chapter and the written devo above?
2. What is, to you, the greatest blessing in Christ?
3. What is, to you, the most frightening or painful curse outside of Christ?
4. What advice would you give to help us choose life and the blessing?
5. What do you think we should pray for and about in light of this chapter and today’s post?