The Three Angel's Messages - Part 1

In Revelation chapter 14 we find God's last warnings to mankind. In the past, God spoke by the prophets whenever He wished to send a message to those living on the Earth, and then finally, He spoke to us by His Son. Jesus said:

“Behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes...” - Matt. 23:24.

And so we see that His method of communicating was to remain the same after His return to Heaven. John the Apostle, and author of Revelation, was one of those prophets who would carry Christ's messages of instruction, encouragement and warning to the Church.

John saw events all the way down through time until the return of Jesus, and even beyond. He wrote about the things that would happen just before Jesus comes. The evidence strongly points to the conclusion that we are living in that very time. The important thing to notice is that what John saw in vision, and wrote down, is especially written for us – those living at the time the things would happen. This being the case, we should be very interested to know and understand at least those parts of the book of Revelation that pertain to the present time!

While some parts of the prophecy of Revelation are confusing, there are vitally important truths in the book that we need not be confused about. With this in mind, let's look at the “Three Angel's Messages” found in chapter 14, along with some other related parts. No one needs to tell us that we are living in the last days of this world. Many people seem to know it, or at least sense that something enormous is just around the corner. What could be more important to know than the last message that God will send to this world? Our eternal destiny depends on how we respond to it.

These three angels' messages come to the world, then the final outpouring of God's wrath comes, and then the Harvest of the earth takes place. The messages of these three angels come before the coming of Christ. This is important to remember because many prophecy teachers tend to put almost all of the prophecy of Revelation after the Saints are in heaven. But the sequence of chapter 14 is clear. The events described there precede the coming of Christ, or the harvest of the earth.

The “First Angel's Message” is found in Rev. 14:6-7.

“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, saying with a loud voice, 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. 14:6-7.

It should be no surprise that this angel would have the gospel to preach to the world, because Jesus said

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” - Matt. 24:14.

But who did He give the responsibility of preaching this gospel to? Not to angels, at least in the usual sense of the term. The word “angel” simply means messenger. Jesus commissioned His disciples to go preach the gospel to every creature. Basically, we are that angel. We are charged with preaching the gospel to the world for a witness, so that the end can come. The angel John saw proclaiming the gospel in his vision is symbolic of those people who are preaching the message.

What did the angel say? “Fear God, and give glory to Him...” To fear God is to give Him the respect and reverence He deserves. After all, He is God! In a time when people seem to take God so lightly, the call comes to fear Him. To fear God means to obey Him, to keep His commandments. King David understood this, and said

“The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.” - Psalms 36:1.

What does it mean to give glory to God? God is glorified when His power is seen and recognized. When Jesus demonstrated His power in raising Lazarus from the dead He was glorified.

“When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.” - John 11:4.

Also when Jesus healed a paralyzed man, the people who saw it glorified God:

“And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.” - Mark 2:12.

Another way God is glorified is when His character - or His goodness – is seen. When Jesus willingly died in our place, so that we could live forever, His glory was seen.

“And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.” - John 12:23.

Moses asked to see God's glory.

“And [Moses] said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. And [God] said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.” - Exodus 33:18,19.

So this brings us to an important and amazing point. We can give glory to God by reflecting His character and goodness in our own lives. This demonstrates both the power and the character of God. Jesus said

“Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.” - John 15:8.

The fruit Jesus was speaking of is the “fruit of the Spirit”.

“For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth” - Eph. 5:9.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” - Eph. 5:22, 23.

This is in stark contrast to the works of the flesh, which seem to be the norm in the world today.

“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” - Eph. 5:19-21.

The Apostle Paul said

“...Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world” - Ph. 2:12-15.

When we choose to live this way, we shine as lights in this dark world. We show the power of God working in us, and we reveal His righteous character in our lives. And, as you would expect, all the glory is God's! As Jesus said in His most famous sermon:

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” - Matthew 5:16.

But that angel in Revelation 14 said something else too. He said “Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come...”. The hour of His judgment is come? Evidently, before the return of Christ there will be judgment. This judgment has several different aspects, as can be seen from this verse:

“And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.” - Revelation 11:18.

It will require another article to decode the prophetic time periods and demonstrate when this “hour of judgment” actually began. But it is important to realize that it begins before the return of Jesus. The wrath of God is poured out on the angry nations prior to Jesus' return, in what is called the “seven last plagues” of Rev. 16. Further, if the servants of God are to be rewarded at His coming, it follows that Jesus will have to know who to reward.

“And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” - Rev. 22:12.

There must be a work of investigation, before Jesus returns, before the resurrection of the dead, so that He can take those who are saved back to heaven with Him. These two aspects of the Judgment must occur just before Jesus comes.

How important it must be then to “fear God, and give glory to Him”, because the “hour of His judgment is come”! Time is running out for this world. If we are going to be among those who serve God, now is the time to be doing it. Let us listen to the message of the first angel, and fear God, and give Him glory.

There is one more thing that the first angel said: “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.” This last part is very relevant at the present time. A significant fraction of society doesn't even believe that God created the Earth, or anything else. It is significant that, in a time when the theory of Evolution is being taught as the explanation for the existence of everything, that the message of the first angel should come to us. God is reminding the world that He made it. God's worthiness to be worshiped has always been connected to the fact that He is the Creator. Consider these verses:

“O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth. Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people. For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.” - Ps. 96:1-5.

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” - Rev. 4:11.

More alarming perhaps than the Atheist's belief in evolution, is the fact that many Christians have started to believe it as well! If the Lord didn't create the world the way He said He did, can we believe anything else He says? You can see where this could go, once we start denying the creation account in the Bible.

How could we have come to this situation? Why is the Christian world forgetting the fact that God created everything? Why does He need to remind us now that He is the Creator? God gave us an eternal reminder of His creative power, but almost everyone has ignored it. When He made the world, He set aside a day to serve as a reminder. No sooner than He had finished His work, He set apart the seventh day of the week as a holy day (or holiday) to commemorate it.

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” - Gen. 2:1-3.

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” - Ex. 20:8-11.

Why did God hallow, or set apart, the Seventh day? Because He created the world in six days, and then rested on the seventh. Why did He say “Remember the Sabbath”? So we would not forget that fact. Often times people think they know better than God, sometimes we try to “out-think” Him, but He really knows best. And so now in the last days, the call comes to worship God as the Creator. How better to do that than to observe the Seventh day, just as He told us to? By keeping the Sabbath we truly “give glory” to God by calling attention to His creative power. We also show that we “fear Him” by being obedient to His commandments, as we have seen.

There is another reason to remember God's creative power. This same power, by which He created the universe, is the power of the Gospel that saves sinners.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth...” - Ro. 1:16.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” - 2 Cor. 5:17.

If God cannot create, He cannot save. But the Sabbath stands as a perpetual reminder that He can do both.

“Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.” - Eze. 20:12.

The call of the “first angel” to “worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters” is is almost a direct quote from the fourth commandment. The commandment (Ex. 20:8-11) says that the Lord “made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is”, but does not specifically mention the “fountains of waters”. Why would the angel mention the fountains? This reminds us of the flood in the days of Noah. Consider this verse:

“In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.” - Genesis 7:11.

God used the “fountains of the great deep” to destroy the wicked world at that time. People have not only forgotten that God is the Creator, but also that He judged the world – and destroyed it by a flood. The Apostle Peter knew that we would forget, and said:

“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: but the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” - 2 Pet. 3:3-7.

It could be that God is reminding us through this message that, just as He sent the flood in time past, He will judge the world again. Remember that the angel says “the hour of His judgment is come”.

Take another look at the “first angel's message” now in it's entirety.

“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, saying with a loud voice, 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. 14:6-7.

This simple message contains a lot when examined closely!