Jëan Ross: Hello, friends. Welcome again to Sabbath School Study Hour, coming here from the Amazing Facts offices in Sacramento, California. I'd like to welcome all of those joining us online and on the various television networks across the country and, literally, around the world with social media. And talking about social media, we're going to try and take some Bible questions. So if you're watching live and you'd like to post a question, we're going to try and answer as many of them as we can during our study this morning. You can do so at the Doug Batchelor Facebook page or, I believe, at the Amazing Facts Facebook page. So in the comments you can just ask a question. They're going to send it to me and we're going to try and take as many questions as possible.
Our lesson today is lesson number 12 in the series that we are doing, "Making Friends for God." Just a very exciting and important study coming from the very heart of the book of Revelation. But before we get to our study this morning, we've got some special music that we're going to be rolling in at this time.
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♪ Someone is praying for you ♪
♪ Someone is praying for you ♪
♪ So when it seems you're all alone ♪
♪ And your heart will break in two ♪
♪ Remember someone is praying for you ♪
♪ Have the clouds round you ♪
♪ Gathered in the midst of the storm ♪
♪ Is your ship tossed and battered ♪
♪ Are you weary and worn ♪
♪ Don't lose hope: someone's praying for you ♪
♪ This very day ♪
♪ And peace be still is already on the way ♪
♪ Someone is praying for you ♪
♪ Someone is praying for you ♪
♪ So when it seems you're all alone ♪
♪ And your heart will break in two ♪
♪ Remember someone is praying for you ♪
♪ When it seems that you've prayed ♪
♪ 'Til your strength is all gone ♪
♪ And your tears fall like raindrops ♪
♪ All the day long ♪
♪ He cares and He knows just how much you can bear ♪
♪ He'll speak your name to someone in prayer ♪
♪ Someone is praying for you ♪
♪ Someone is praying for you ♪
♪ So when it seems you're all alone ♪
♪ And your heart will break in two ♪
♪ Remember someone is praying for you ♪
♪ Remember someone is praying for you ♪
Jëan: Thank you, Sylvia and Marcellus, for bringing us that beautiful musical number. We also want to mention to our friends who are joining us, we do have a free offer. It's one of the classic books written by Joe Crews. It's entitled "Three Steps to Heaven," and we'll be happy to send this out to anyone in North America. The number to call is 866-788-3966 and just ask for free offer number 102. Again, that number is 866-788-3966, offer 102. You can get a digital copy of the book by texting the code "SH068" to the number 40544 and we'll send you a link where you'll be able to download and read that free offer.
Again, we want to thank all of those who are joining us here in--right here in California and also those joining us across the country. Well, Pastor Doug, before we get to our lesson, a very important lesson, let's start with a word of prayer.
Doug Batchelor: Amen.
Jëan: Dear Father in heaven, we thank You once again that we're able to take some time to open up Your Word and study a very important message, in particular to Your remnant church in these last days. And so, Father, we ask for the Holy Spirit to come and be with us here as we open up the Word and be with those who are joining us across the country, around the world, in Jesus' name, amen.
Doug: Amen. Well, Pastor Ross, we have a great lesson today. We're going through, almost done with, our lesson talking about "Making Friends for God." In fact, this is lesson 12. In two weeks, we're going to be introducing our new lesson on education. We'll probably hold one up for you next week so you can see that and start getting ramped up for the next quarter's lessons. But today, we're talking about "A Message Worth Sharing," and there's a memory verse. And the memory verse comes from the three angels' messages. This is Revelation 14, verse 6 and 7, which says: "And I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth--to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people--saying with a loud voice, 'Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.'"
Now, in this message, in this lesson, we're really focusing on what is the message that we're to be sharing with our friends? Is there something distinct or unique about the message now as opposed to other times in history? Now, there's a verse in the Bible under the first section here where it talks about Peter's present truth message. I want you to key in, especially on those words "present truth." Let me read this to you from 2 Peter 1, verse 12: "For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth."
Now, truth is absolute. Truth doesn't change. At different points in history, there are different truths that should be emphasized, that are more present or relevant for a particular time. An example: a prophetic message was given to Noah. The message of Noah was really, you know, to build the ark, get on the boat, and survive. But when Moses came along, the message was not "Get on the boat." Moses was given a message and it said, "Get out of Egypt. Follow me. We're going through the Red Sea. We're getting out of Egypt. We're heading towards the Promised Land." That was a special focus of that message.
And then again, the message of Joshua was, "We are going to subdue and conquer the Promised Land." And this was the message in how to establish in that land. That was the message for that time. And so, and the message when John the Baptist came was, "Behold the kingdom of heaven is at hand." What did Christ say? "The kingdom of heaven is at hand." That was the present truth.
So here we are now, living at the threshold of eternity. We're in the last days. What is the present truth for us? Is our message today "There's a flood coming"? No, God said He's never going to destroy the world with a flood. It's not we need to flee Egypt for the Promised Land, spiritually maybe. But the present truth really is contained in the three angels' messages and that'll end up being probably where we spend most of our time today, Pastor Ross.
Jëan: And you know, Pastor Doug, when it's talking about a present truth message, it's often connected with the Coming of Christ. You have the present truth that John the Baptist preached. It was a preparation for the First Coming of Jesus, the Messiah, who came to redeem the world of sin and now we have a present truth also connected with the Coming of Christ. This is the Second Coming of Christ, the establishment of a kingdom that is to last forever. So it is a message that is connected with judgment. It's a message that calls for reformation. It's a message that calls people back to the teachings of Christ, the teachings of the Bible.
So a present truth message is not a passive message. It's an active message. It calls you to do something, just like Noah, he called people into the ark, so the present truth message is a calling to come out of religious Babylon into the truths of the remnant. It's an active, powerful revival message.
Doug: Absolutely, now there's a passage here in the book of Amos chapter 3, verse 7, where it says: "Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets." And so whenever you see God doing anything significant in history, when they came out of Egypt he had a prophet, Moses. Before the Babylonian captivity, he had a couple of primary prophets. He had Jeremiah, Ezekiel. Well, Jeremiah and then you had Isaiah, after the fall of Babylon, then you ended up having Ezekiel. Before Jesus' First Coming, John the Baptist. In the days before the flood, before coming judgment, you had Noah.
So whenever God is about to do something that is very significant, there's a message and usually he sends a prophetic message. Of the 12 apostles, probably only one of the apostles would be called an apocalyptic prophet.
Now when you think of the prophecies in the Old Testament, you've got the major and the minor prophets. The prophecies of Isaiah, they're often messianic but they're not so apocalyptic as Ezekiel was or Daniel or Zechariah. And in the New Testament, the apostle John would be in that category where he's really giving messages in--from heaven in symbolic language that were preparing people for a great work of God.
Jëan: Now, we do have some Bible questions that are coming in, Pastor Doug. We have quite a few. I want to thank you again. If you have a Bible question, you can just post it on the Doug Batchelor Facebook page. Here's a question connected with the Second Coming. It says: "Why does the Bible say that only God the Father knows the time when Jesus will return and not Jesus Himself?
Doug: Yeah, in Matthew 24 when Jesus said, "No man knows the day or the hour but the Father only, not even the Son," Christ is not saying that He does not now know that time. Jesus, in His humanity, he laid aside many aspects of divinity so that He could live as a human among people and you think about it, how would Jesus have even understood that date? I mean, if the Lord's Coming was the year 2050, I'm just making that up. Don't write that down. How would He communicate that? They didn't even keep dates that time. They dated everything by the reign of different priests and kings back then.
And so when Jesus said, "The Son doesn't know either," He didn't need to know and it wouldn't have made any sense for anyone for Him to share it at that point. But now He's at the right hand of the Father, Christ is all-knowing, He's omniscient. The Father is not holding a little piece of paper in heaven where He's got the day and hour of Jesus' Coming and saying, "Sorry, but I can't share this with You," you know. Jesus knows now. But on earth He did not know.
Jëan: We have another question, Pastor Doug, that's come from Victoria and is somewhat connected to the Second Coming. Practical question says: "My husband has passed away last week." We want to encourage her and pray for Victoria, but she asks, "Can he see what I'm doing now? Is he watching over me?"
Doug: Well, you know, the Bible's very clear: "The living know they'll die," and this is Ecclesiastes chapter 9. "The living know they'll die, but the dead don't know anything." And the Bible tells us that they're sleeping a dreamless sleep until the Resurrection. And so there are about 12 resurrections in the Bible, all the New Testament, and in no case do those resurrected ever comment on any consciousness or witnessing anything here on earth during their death.
So the idea of spiritualism is that, you know, the dead are--they go right to their rewards before the Resurrection or the Judgment and they're watching what's happening on earth or they're guiding and--or they're, you know, meddling somehow. Bible doesn't teach that. Bible says that they're asleep. The dead do not praise the Lord. When Christ comes, 1 Thessalonians 4, that's when the dead in Christ rise. Paul said, "We don't sorrow as others which have no hope but we know that those who sleep in Jesus will come back to life when the Lord returns."
Jëan: And those are encouraging words for anyone that has lost a loved one. We're looking forward to that reunion morning when Jesus comes again. Now, Pastor Doug, in our lesson, it's talking about 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 16, and Peter says, "We didn't follow cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." So we have the certainty of the Second Coming. It was a great theme that we find the apostles speaking of. It's throughout the New Testament.
But we also see prophecies in the Old Testament talking about the assurance of the Second Coming of Christ, coming with power and glory to establish a kingdom here on this earth. So when we talk about the Second Coming and that's closely connected with the three angels' messages, Revelation 14, central is that--to that is the truth, the fact, of the glorious Second Coming of Christ. It's not a cunningly devised fable. People might say, "Well, you know, we've been talking about the Second Coming for all of these years, can we still trust that the Bible says Jesus will come?"
Well, I think one of the ways that our faith can grow is when we see the signs that Jesus foretold being fulfilled all around us in the world. Here we're sitting in our studio at Amazing Facts, doing "Sabbath School Study Hour." We're not in front of our regular congregation because I think, in one way, we see one of the signs of an increase of pestilence and diseases before Jesus' Coming and we're right in the midst of this pandemic which is a disease. So just around us in the world today, we can see signs of the Coming of Christ being fulfilled.
Doug: Absolutely, and this verse that you were sharing when Peter said, "We did not make known to you cunningly devised fables but we were eye witnesses," Peter's referring to an experience where Jesus said to the disciples, "There are some of you standing here who will not taste of death 'til you see the kingdom of God come." And you read in the book, "Desire of Ages," when they went up the book--went up the Mount of Transfiguration, and they saw Moses and Elijah and Christ glorified and heard the voice of the Father, this was a miniature picture of the Second Coming.
So Peter's saying, "We saw what the Second Coming's going to look like. We saw Him in His glory," and so that they could bear witness of that. And Christ said, "Don't talk about that until I rise from the dead and you can remind them." Then he goes on, He says in the same verse, said, "For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' We heard this voice which came from heaven. We were with Him on the holy Mount and we have a prophetic word confirmed, which you do well that you take heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawn and the morning star arises in your heart; knowing that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."
So he's pointing back to this experience. He says, "Even more vivid and more powerful and dependable than what we envisioned is the Word of God." So Word of God's more powerful than any vision or dream a person might have. He said, "We know He's coming."
Jëan: And central to this present truth that we're talking about is the message of Jesus. If somebody's preaching a present truth message but it leaves Jesus in the back, that's not present truth. Matter of fact, we find in Revelation chapter 1, verse 1, a book that is filled with symbols and imagery, the very first verse of Revelation 1:1 says it's the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave to Him to show unto His servants things that must shortly take place and He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John." Right at the very beginning, this is a revealing of Jesus.
Now, that phrase could probably be understood two ways. The one is that Jesus is the one revealing something but it could also be understood and correctly that that which is revealed is Jesus. The revelation of Jesus, it's the revelation of Jesus. So both ways, you can understand that as the prophecies contained in the book of Revelation reveal to us what Jesus does and what His work is in man's salvation, that culminates in this great Second Coming theme that you find throughout the book of Revelation.
Doug: So it's facts about Jesus and it's facts of who He is that's--it's--really, the book of Revelation is a--it's almost three-dimensional image of the gospel and Christ working through history Himself.
Jëan: So we have Jesus found throughout Revelation and then, of course, the plan of redemption is found throughout the book of Revelation and you find that in the next few verses in Revelation chapter 1. It's interesting in Revelation 1, Pastor Doug, you've got greetings that John who wrote the book from God the Father and then typically, if you're reading the Gospels, you have a greeting from the Father followed by the Son and then the Holy Spirit.
But here in Revelation chapter 1, John writes it a little different. He says, "Greetings from--grace and peace from God the Father," and then he says, "From the Spirit," and then he takes quite a bit longer to talk about the Son. And that's the passage here in verse 4. It says, "John, to the seven churches which are in Asia, Grace and peace from Him who is, who was and who is to come," that would be God the Father, "and from the seven Spirits before His throne," that would be the Holy Spirit.
Then it says: "And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness," and then he goes on to talk about Jesus, "the firstborn from the dead, the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us, washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests unto God and His Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever."
So I find it interesting that the apostle John, we believe the youngest of the 12, he wrote the book of Revelation somewhere around the early AD 90 and, of course, he was on the Island of Patmos, but it seems as though John really came to appreciate and understand the love of Christ in a very real way. John can't just pass over by briefly mentioning Jesus. He's going to have to talk about what Jesus has done. And so you have that beautiful introduction about Christ who's washed us and cleansed us, made us priests and kings and it's just a great, great verse there.
Doug: Yeah, I think the apostle John uses the word love 50 times in his gospel and the letters. So he's--that's why they call him the apostle of love. You know, we might need to move on to the second section here because I know when we get into the three angels' message we're going to have a lot and you may have another question coming soon.
Oh, by the way, you know, I see our next section is "Revelation's End-Time Focus." I just remembered, Amazing Facts is going to be doing a special Revelation presentation that will be coming live, probably just a few weeks after this broadcast, and it's called "Revelation Now." And every church for free can get involved in doing evangelism and sharing. Whole lesson has been about "Making Friends for God." We're going to give you a chance to do that at the conclusion of the lesson.
So from October 23, through November 14, we're going to be sending out live from these facilities, an evangelistic program that you can invite your friends to. You can meet in your home, you can meet in your churches for those where the churches are free to meet. You can even have online Zoom meetings or YouTube groups, and just go to revelationnow.com. It's a very easy title. "Revelation Now." Revelation is happening now. So it's called revelationnow.com and join us in this event. A free program and everybody can participate.
Oh, okay, so back to the first section. That was my commercial. First section here is talking about "Revelation's End-Time Focus." It seems as you go through the major prophecies in Revelation, you got the seven churches, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven plagues, each one of those concludes by talking about Jesus is going to be the ultimate King and Savior and His Coming. Talks about His Kingship and His Coming, right there in the very first section. Pastor Ross, do you want to read Revelation 1:7?
Jëan: It's a great verse of hope and encouragement. It says: "Behold He," Jesus, "is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth shall mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen." So in Revelation chapter 1, the very first chapter in the book, we're introduced to the Second Coming of Christ.
Doug: Yup, then you'll have after that, you've got Revelation chapter 2 and 3. You've got the seven messages to the seven churches. And then in Revelation 3:20 Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into him and dine with him and he with Me." And so He's standing at the door and declaring Himself to be the Amen. There's also an emphasis on the culmination of the plan of salvation in those passages. And then, Pastor, "following the seven seals."
Jëan: Yes, we've got the seven seals again. It culminates in this promise of the Second Coming and earth made new. This is verse--chapter 7, verse 15 says: "Therefore they are before the throne of God, and will serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits upon the throne will dwell amongst them. And they shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb is in the midst of them--in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters." Here's this wonderful promise: "And God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes." So at the end of the seven seals, again, it culminates in the Second Coming of Christ and all things being made new.
Doug: Yeah, it talks about the throne of Christ and that He is with us and it just all these conflicts that come out, the different aspects, whether it's the seven trumpets or the seven seals or the seven churches or the seven plagues, it always comforts at the end saying that Jesus wins in the end. Then you've got the seven trumpets and you read in Revelation 15 then, "The seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever!'"
And then we've got those sections in Revelation chapter 13 and 14 talks about this war against the saints. Actually, Revelation 12, 13, and 14 talks about the dragon makes war against a woman and then you get the mark of the beast in chapter 13, and in chapter 14 you've got the judgments. We're going to spend more time there in just a moment. And there we've got another promise about the Second Coming.
Jëan: Right after the proclamation of the three angels' messages, you have Revelation 14:14: "Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and one who sat upon the cloud like unto the Son of Man, having upon His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle." So again, we have a picture of the Second Coming of Christ immediately following the proclamation of this present truth message for the last days.
Doug: That's right. "Coming in the clouds," there. And then you have several sections in Revelation 16, 17, 18, 19, talks about the work of Babylon in the fall and this culminates then, when you get to chapter 19: "I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse." And this is a conquering Christ who's coming. "He who sat upon him is Faithful and True, and in righteousness He makes war and He judges." And it gives you several visions there or pictures that give us allegories of Christ coming and conquering Babylon in that section. And then, of course, the Bible culminates, Pastor Ross, if you want to read Revelation 22 at the conclusion of the Millennium.
Jëan: A wonderful promise that says: "Behold I come quickly. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book." And if you have one of those Bibles that have the red letter edition, you'll notice that Revelation 22, verse 7, is written in red; these are the words of Jesus. The Bible sort of wraps up not only the book of Revelation but the whole Bible, wraps up with the promise, "I am coming quickly," the great hope of the Christian: the Second Coming of Christ.
Doug: The book of Revelation, you can see, is bookend. You've got chapter 1, He says, "I'm coming," chapter 22: "I'm coming." And so it is certainly a central theme and now we're going to go to the core of that in the very middle. The authors call it the epicenter of Revelation in chapter 14.
Jëan: Now, maybe, Pastor Doug, just before we dive into the three angels' messages, I know we're keeping an eye on the clock, we want to make sure we have time for that, we do have some questions that's come in and so let's try and put a few of them in here. One connected somewhat with the Second Coming is the theme of the 144,000 and this question is fairly simple. It says: "Who are the 144,000?" And you read about them in Revelation chapter 7.
Doug: Yeah, that's good, and it does tie in with our lesson because you read in chapter 7 and chapter 14, it talks about the 144,000. And it says they have their Father's name written in their forehead. Who are they? Are there only 144,000 saved in the last days? No, I don't think so. The 144,000 is 12 times 12,000, and when you look at the number 12 in the Gospels, remember you understand Revelation based on reading other passages in the Bible.
Twelve is the symbol for God's leadership. You have 12 judges in the Old Testament, 12 patriarchs. The sons of Jacob were the 12 tribes. You've got the 12 apostles in the New Testament.
And it's basically telling us that God is going to pour out His Spirit on this special group in the last days, not just 12 apostles that are going to the lost sheep of the tribe of Israel, but it's 12 times 12,000 that's going to the whole world. And through the influence of these 144,000, it says they follow the Lamb wherever He goes just like the apostles followed Jesus wherever He went. Says in their mouth there's no guile. Jesus said to one of the apostles, Nathanael, "Behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile."
You look at the definitions of the 144,000 and it meets the definitions of the apostles who then do this great work and in Revelation chapter 7 it says: "And there's a great multitude that no man can number converted through the influence of the 144,000."
Jëan: Okay, another question connected with that and the question the person asked--is asking is: "Do you think that God'll send another prophet in the last days or before the Second Coming of Christ?"
Doug: Yeah, I think so. I don't know who that'll be but the Bible tells us in the last days: "I'll pour out My Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and daughters will prophesy." And it's--you can read in the last prophecy in Malachi: "Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet." Now Jesus said, "Elijah has come," and "Elijah will come." Elijah has come in John the Baptist and He said Elijah will come, meaning future tense, you read in Malachi, and it says: "He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers," and it says, "before the great and terrible day of the Lord, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." So I believe we need to be open to all the gifts of the Spirit right up to the end.
Jëan: Another question we have connected with Revelation and maybe this will be the last one, Pastor Doug, before we dive into Revelation 14. It says: "Who are the two witnesses that you read about in Revelation 11?"
Doug: Yeah, good question. And, you know, the last prophecy in the Old Testament says: "Remember the law of Moses. Behold, I send you Elijah." And then when you get to the New Testament, Jesus goes up the mountain with Peter, James, and John, and Moses and Elijah appear. Moses represents the law, Elijah represents the prophets. They are two principal characters that represent the epitome of the Word of God. Moses, of course, was a great law-giver, a lot of the Bible comes from Moses, and Elijah was the greatest of the prophets in that he actually was translated along with--he and Enoch.
And so, they represent the law and the prophets, the New and the Old Testament, the Word of God is often in a dual nature. Ten Commandments on two tables of stone. The Word of God is called a sword with two edges, a double-edged sword. And so, those two witnesses are the Word of God that was at a certain point in history the devil makes a real effort to annihilate and eliminate and eradicate the Scriptures. But at the end of that time, they are exalted up to heaven. And so, I don't have time to go through the whole chapter but it's the Word of God.
Jëan: You know, we do have a book, Pastor Doug. It's entitled, "The Two Witnesses." It's one of our sermon books and it's available to anyone to read for free at the Amazing Facts website. Just go to amazingfacts.com and our free library. Look up "The Two Witnesses" and I think you'll be blessed by that book.
Well, Pastor Doug, diving in, in Revelation chapter 14, maybe before we get into the heart of the three angels' messages, just to get a little context to the chapter, there's really three parts to Revelation chapter 14. You've got from verse 1 through 5 which talks about the 144,000. The heading there is "The Lamb and the 144,000," so it describes those victorious who have gotten the victory over the beast's power and they're pictured in heaven but then it backs up a little bit and it describes a message that this group is taking to the world and that's the three angels' messages and you find that in verse 6 through to verse 13 and then starting in verse 14 you have what we call the Harvest of the Earth and it's really a symbolic picture of the Second Coming of Christ.
There are two harvests: the harvest of the wheat representing the righteous; the harvest of the grapes representing the wicked. So the message that goes to all the world to prepare for the harvest is the three angels' messages that we find in Revelation chapter 14.
Doug: Yeah, absolutely. And so, you know, there is a quote from the book "Evangelism," that's in the lesson I thought we should share. It says: "In a special sense, Seventh-day Adventists have been set in the world as watchmen and light bearers. To them has been entrusted the last warning for a perishing world. On them is shining wonderful light from the Word of God. They've been given the work of the most solemn import: the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels' messages. There is no other work of so great importance and they are to allow nothing else to absorb their attention."
So these are the messages that go to the world and then in chapter 14, verse 14, it says: "Then you see Jesus coming." And so, we need to take a look carefully at what is the present truth message for us to be giving to the world right now.
Jëan: It begins in verse 6 so if you have your Bibles and you're following along with us, we'll just read through these verses and talk about them. Revelation chapter 14, beginning verse 6, says: "Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those that dwell upon the earth--to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people." So just a few things we want to highlight in this verse.
First of all, we see an angel flying in the midst of heaven. The word "angel" in the Greek is angelos which literally means messenger and, for sure, they could represent angelic beings as we think of angels. But it can also represent someone who has a God-given message to take to the world. So in a very real sense, these three angels represent God's people in the last days who have this message that has to go to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. Why to all the world? Well, because the next part of the chapter talks about the Second Coming of Christ and that's going to affect every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
So a message of warning needs to go to all the world and, connected with that, you have the everlasting gospel. The centrality of the three angels' message is the fact that Jesus saves. He can save to the uttermost those who come to Him by faith.
So the--right at the very intro to the three angels' messages you have the everlasting gospel being preached to all the world and I think this verse, Pastor Doug, has really helped motivate the expansion of mission work that we see going on around the world. Not only people traveling to different places around, you know, the globe, preaching the gospel, but just printing the Bibles in different languages.
I know here at Amazing Facts, we have our statement of focus or our belief statement or our mission, I should say, mission statement, that's what it is. And our mission statement actually comes right from the three angels' messages that's taking the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
Doug: Yup, and so when we talk about these angels, first, second, and third angel, I believe they're all flying in the midst of heaven, and we're not talking about people looking up someday and seeing an apparition in the sky. Revelation is a symbolic book. But I do think it's interesting that in the last days the message is going with great light and it's going with great speed, with technology that is very new. Through radio waves, the message is going through the heavens. Through satellite transmissions, through fiber-optic cables, the message is going through pulses of light around the world. And so it is going at the speed of flight, you might say. Where before, it seemed like it had to crawl, the message is really flying now.
Jëan: And the first angel's message begins in verse 7 and for some of us I think we know this by heart. It says: "Saying with a loud voice, 'Fear God, give Him glory, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him that made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the springs of water.'" So a couple of things that we see in the first angel's message. First of all, Pastor Doug, it says he's speaking with a loud voice. The message needs to go everywhere. People need to hear this message and it's a call to fear God and give Him glory. Now, sometimes people wonder about that phrase, "Fear God." They think, "Well, doesn't the Bible say: 'Perfect love casts out fear'?" Should we be afraid of God?
Doug: No, you know, I just want to jump back. That word "loud voice" if you've ever heard the expression "megaphone," megaphone, the Greek word is very similar there, talking about megaphonos. It means it's an amplified voice.
Now, on your question about fearing God, yeah, there is a time for us to fear God. Let's look at it. Ecclesiastes 12, verse 13 says: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep His commandments for this is the whole duty of man." So part of fearing God would be keeping His commandments so that would be all ten. So part of this message is remembering to keep all ten commandments and, of course, one of those would be--that's often neglected, would be the Sabbath and notice in the last part of this first message it says: "Worship Him that made the heaven and the earth and the seas and the fountains of water." Right there in the Sabbath commandment: "Six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth and the seas and the fountains of waters." So you have an excerpt from the fourth commandment right there in the three angels' messages.
Jëan: And you also find that the message really divided up into three parts. It's fearing and giving glory to God, it's talking about the hour of His judgment, and then worshiping the Creator.
Now, when you talk about the hour of God's judgment, it's in the present tense. It says: "The hour of His judgment has come." In other places in the Old Testament or even in the New Testament, we read about a coming judgment yet in the future, but here in Revelation 14 we find that it's present tense and it's a special judgment message that goes to all the world just before we enter into these final moments or history of the world and we find that--we call that the investigative judgment or the pre-advent judgment. A special work of judgment that goes to all, that Christ does before the Second Coming.
And, Pastor Doug, according to this, we are living in that time of judgment, even now. Thus the urgency in worshiping God as the Creator, remembering the Ten Commandments, the Sabbath, which is a sign of His creative power, and give God glory. The Bible says when you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it to the glory of God.
Doug: Right, and so, yeah, this message is something that is to be taken to the whole world, giving glory to God, and the Bible tells us that judgment must begin at the house of God. Now, if we know that Christ is coming and rewards are being distributed--He says, "Behold, I come. My reward is with Me to give to every man." That means if He's coming and He's giving rewards when He comes, some aspect of judgment must take place before He comes. And that would be this time in which we're living now.
Jëan: Now, the next angel's message and we could say a lot more about this but time won't allow, but the next angel's message you find in verse 8 and it says: "And another angel followed, saying, 'Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink the wine of the wrath of her fornication.'" Now, the first thing I want to point out here is you notice the first angel's message in Revelation chapter 7--Revelation 14:7, it says: "The angel has a loud voice" and you find the third angel's message which is in verse 9 and he has a loud voice, but the second angel's message in verse 8, it simply says: "The angel says, 'Babylon is fallen, is fallen.'"
Now, what's interesting about that is you find a repeat of the second angel's message in Revelation chapter 18. Pretty much the same message, a few more details are added. But in Revelation 18, we call this the fourth angel, he is preaching with a "mighty strong voice, 'Babylon is fallen, is fallen.'"
Now, when we're talking about Babylon, it's interesting to note the Bible is sometimes described as a history--the Old Testament as a history of two cities: one would be the city of God, Jerusalem, and the other would be the city of falsehood and error, described as Babylon. And in the history of Israel you find Israel being taken captive by Babylon but then a call, a message, for the Jews after the seven years of Babylonian captivity, to come out of Babylon and come back to Jerusalem. And so that sign of Babylon represents religious confusion. In prophecy it represents the confusion of false doctrine and teaching in the last days.
God is calling His people to come out of religious confusion, make their stand upon the truths of His Word. Babylon was also connected with pagan practices and pagan traditions that were claiming to have truth. And so in the last days we find churches that have adopted pagan practices and they claim to have the truth but God is calling His people to come out of these institutions.
Doug: Yeah, and it goes back even before Abraham because, you know, way back in the tower of Babel it tells us that they were making a name for themself. It was a city that God had cursed. Nimrod went to build his first city which the beginning of it was Babylon or Babel. And when Abraham came out, he came out of the idolatry that had begun there. He brought his wife out of Babylon, into the Promised Land. Then later, Isaac brought his wife, Rebekah, out of Mesopotamia into the Promised Land. Then Jacob went back to Heron, Mesopotamia, across Euphrates, to bring his wife--wives out of Babylon into the Promised Land. And then you have, after the Babylonian captivity, God is calling His bride out of Babylon back to the Promised Land. That's all symbolic of what's happening in the last days.
The world is filled with idolatry and God has His sheep and He's calling them out of Babylon into the Promised Land because He says, "Babylon is fallen," and those that don't come out, they'll receive of the plagues. Now, in this case, it's the seven last plagues that end up falling on Babylon and, you know, so it's a life and death question about getting out of Babylon. He calls them His people.
So especially just before the Second Coming there's going to be, I think, a very powerful message for sincere Christians from many different denominations to come back to scriptural truth and be part of this remnant movement in the last days.
Jëan: Jesus said, "Other sheep I have that are not of this fold," He said, "they will hear My voice and they will come and then it will be one fold and one Shepherd." In Revelation chapter 18 after the message is given by the fourth angel, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen," and then it goes on: "And I heard another voice from heaven saying, 'Come out of her, My people.'" So who do you suppose that voice from heaven is? Well, it will be the voice of Jesus. Jesus said, "I have sheep that are not of this fold but they will hear My voice and they will come." And so there's this gathering together in the last days of those who are seeking truth. Those who are wanting to worship God according to the commandments, they come out of this religious confusion, and they make their stand with God's commandment-keeping people.
Doug: Now, why does it say, "Babylon fallen, fallen"?
Jëan: Why does it repeat it twice? Well, if you look at the word, at least what Babylon is in the Bible, you find that Revelation 17 says there is a woman, her name is Babylon, and she has daughters. Her daughters would share those same traditions as the mother and we have a fall of the mother church, being the Roman church, but we also have a fall of her daughter churches, being those protestant churches that are still holding to the truths and the traditions of the mother church. And so there is a falling of the mother, there is a falling of the daughters.
And when this message goes out, which we believe is happening even now, many of the Protestant churches, they receive some of the truth but they still clung to some of the false doctrines and teachings. God is calling His people to come all the way out of error, make their stand with Bible truth.
Doug: Amen, you know, we probably ought to get people into the third angel's message now because I see we've got limited time and it's a big subject. So would you like to read that?
Jëan: Yes, you'll find that starting here in verse 9. It says: "A third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, 'If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark in the forehead or on the hand, he himself shall also drink the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, in the presence of the Lamb.'" And verse 11 says: "'And the smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, whoever receives the mark of his name.'" Verse 12: "Here is the patience," or endurance, "of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and they have the faith of Jesus."
So probably the most fearful warning, Pastor Doug, that you can find anywhere in the Bible is this, right here. It says: "Don't worship the beast, don't receive his mark. If you choose to worship the beast, you will experience the wrath of God." The wrath of God is the seven last plagues that we read about in Revelation.
Doug: Yeah, this is the most serious warning that you find in Scripture is "Do not worship the beast and his image," but, you know, it says that those that worship the beast have no rest and they're contrasted with the ones who do have rest and the Sabbath being a sign of that. And then it also contrasts them, in the end here it says that you've got, on one hand, those who worship the beast and the other hand, who worship Christ. These are the ones who keep the commandments of God and have the faith not just in Jesus, the faith of Jesus. And so it's contrasting those who come out of Babylon, that worship the Lord, receive the seal of God, with those who worship the beast and receive the mark of the beast. So people need to know what the mark of the beast and the seal of God is because if you get that wrong, it's the most serious consequences the Bible outlines anywhere in this passage.
Jëan: And the key to understanding what the mark of the beast is, is in verse 12 where it says: "The true worshipers will keep the commandments of God." So something related to the beast or worshiping the beast would violate at least one or more of God's commandments. So here you find the mark of the beast as being manmade commandments or manmade traditions and you have the true worshipers who keep God's commandments. So the key issue at the end of time, Pastor Doug, revolves around worship. Who do we worship? Do we worship God and keep His commandments? Or do we worship this religious power in the last days by choosing to obey its commandments which are contrary to God's commandments? That becomes the key issue in the last days.
Doug: And you see this same thing is highlighted in Revelation chapter 12 at the end where it says in verse 17: "The dragon was wroth with the woman and he goes to make war with the remnant of her seed that keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus." And then you go to the very last book in Revelation, chapter 22:14. It says: "Blessed are those that do His commandments that they might have a right to the tree of life and enter through the gates of the city." And so this is a special emphasis that you find that separates the two groups.
Jëan: So the key issue that we find in the three angels' message is who are we worshiping? Are we going to worship God and keep His commandments or are we going to worship this manmade power? I think the point that we want to take from here is not every church in the last days, not every building that has a cross on its roof, is necessarily God's true church. There is a remnant.
Now, God might have true people in all of these different churches but the institution or the organization, if it has left the commandments of God, if it's substituted manmade traditions for a "Thus saith the Lord," now God is calling His people to come out of this confusion, make their stand with the commandment-keepers. So it's a message that's calling for action. It's a message that calls for revival in the last days.
Doug: Yeah, and as you mentioned earlier, Jesus is saying, "I've got other sheep that are not of this fold. They will hear My voice," through His Word, this proclamation, "and they'll come out and there'll be one fold, one Shepherd." In order for them to be part of His fold, they've got to come out of the other folds. And so this is a special message and then the daughters of Babylon, so they're the second group that falls. You've got the mother falls, you have the daughter falls. And in the Old Testament, you've got the tower of Babylon fell, the kingdom of Babylon fell, and so Babylon's going to fall and not rise again, friends. You want to make sure you read in Isaiah 13 that prophecy. Babylon, ancient Babylon's, never going to be rebuilt. But the--Jerusalem has been rebuilt 27 times and, ultimately, Jesus is going to rebuild a new Jerusalem and He wants you in that city. Now, we've got a closing offer.
Jëan: Yes, we want to remind our friends about our free offer today, it's a book entitled, "Three Steps to Heaven." And we're excited to send this to anyone who calls and asks. The number is 866-788-3966 and you ask for offer number 102. Again, that number is 866-788-3966. Or you can get a digital download by just texting the code "SH068" to the number 40544. Until we get to study again next week, God bless.
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Announcer: Multi-millions have been infected and thousands have died. Race riots are rampant. Is this what the end of the world looks like?
Doug: Hi, friends, this is Pastor Doug Batchelor. You know, the Bible talks about a global crisis at the end of time, and the book of Revelation clearly describes what's ahead. I'd like to invite you to watch "Revelation Now" where I'll be explaining the relevance of Bible prophecy for today.
Announcer: Beginning October 23, visit revelationnow.com.
Announcer: Amazing Facts, Changed Lives.
Gary: Early in 1980 all the baby boomers were turning 21 and the nightclub scenes were exploding and I started an entertainment lighting company.
Female: I was the president and there were six divisions. Doing the raves in the '80s and '90s, you know, in some warehouse where you're setting up lighting and fog and, you know, who knows what's going on in there and nightclub--nightclub installations. I loved it and it was who I was.
Gary: Bought a new house out of town and we moved about two or three times. But we were always going into different churches. We were in a Lutheran church and then we were in a Methodist church, I think we were in three different Baptist churches. My wife was raised Catholic. I was raised Methodist. Currently, I've been out reading all the Hal Lindsey books and watching all the "Left Behind" movies and so I really wanted to understand what the book of Revelation was all about. But nothing really ever made sense to me.
Female: One day, Pastor Lloyd Logan came knocking and he had that '99 flyer.
Lloyd Logan: We were preparing for an evangelistic series and different people were going different directions with handbills to invite people to the meetings.
Female: I saw that coming at me, you know, all the colors and I thought, "Oh no, this is some kind of cult thing."
Lloyd: And she said, "Thank you very much and I'm not much interested myself but my husband likes that kind of thing."
Female: And Lloyd said, "Would you give it to him please?" And I said, "Okay, I will." So I took the pamphlet and I put it on the counter. Gary came home and he walked by it.
Gary: Ran through the kitchen to quickly eat and take a shower and go back out and work a show.
Female: Two or three days went by like this and I moved that brochure from the counter, put it on the dining room table, put it back on the counter. And I actually threw it in the garbage. As I threw it in that garbage can, I could hear him and see his face saying, "Would you give it to him please?" And I actually took the garbage out. Then--and that night, lying in bed, I kept seeing his face and hearing his voice and thinking, "Oh boy, I've got to get that brochure out of the garbage." And I took that and I put it right underneath the remote control. Bright colors, he'll see it.
Gary: I finally sat down in my living room and I picked up the remote and I saw that angel holding out that scroll.
Female: "Whoa, cool. What is this?" And I was in the kitchen, cooking, and I thought, "Oh no."
Gary: And I looked at it and I turned it over and then I saw a little building, a little church building, and it wasn't too far away. It was about six houses down and it said, "Friday night."
Female: And I certainly wasn't going. I mean, it wasn't my intention to go.
Gary: I didn't have any shows going on that night and so I thought it was a one-night deal. I went and as I heard about the Millennium, man, I was just blown away. I didn't want it to end. I knew what I was hearing was all from the Scripture and it wasn't based on Hollywood movies or other books that were written. They said, "Come again tomorrow night," and I thought, "Wow, great, two nights." So I tried to tell my wife about it and she still wasn't interested and then she decided to come. Female: I started to hear the truth, you know, and I started to get fed. Gary: Every night after the seminar, they would hand us an Amazing Facts study guide. I couldn't do those fast enough.
Female: The business kept us going seven days a week and it was night and day.
Gary: Crews working all around the clock and so when we finally heard the Sabbath message, you know, so far everything's been true, right from the Bible.
Female: Church on Saturday, no work. Anyway, it all clicked.
Gary: Both our heads turned at each other, our jaws dropped open.
Female: I said, "We can't do that."
Gary: And the first thing that came out of my mouth was, "We have to."
Female: I knew that it would be a sacrifice and I was in fear about it.
Gary: We didn't know how we were going to do it but we talked to the pastor about it and the pastor said, "Well, just pray about it and God will open doors."
Female: I didn't want to give up all the connections I had made, all the networking, all the money, all the investment.
Gary: We went to the board and asked them if they would consider closing on Saturday and they agreed to. So we closed the storefront on Saturday but we were still doing productions and that kind of bothered us. So a couple of months later, God opened a door for my wife. She exited the company. I prayed about it and God opened a door for me too.
Female: Gary, shortly after, was offered a job being paid more money than he made as an owner of the company.
Gary: He said, "I'll give you a $1000 raise and you will never work another weekend."
Female: And we were able to keep the Sabbath and enjoy the wonderful blessings that God had for us on the Sabbath day.
Gary: My kids never again had to say, "Quit talking about work." After the seminar was over, my wife and I and my children were all baptized in the Seventh-day Adventist church. Even if I gave up everything, I knew that God would have something better.
Female: I have much more understanding and there's much more depth in my Christian walk with the Lord.
Gary: We started an Amazing Facts Bible School at our church. It allows anybody to understand the Scriptures and to understand the end-times. Church changed my life dramatically, and I'm very happy and excited to be a part of it.
Doug: On several occasions, scientists have demonstrated that people, and even creatures, can struggle with depression when exposed to continual darkness. This can be seen every year in the winter months in the Arctic regions. The beautiful village of Rjukan, Norway, is situated in a deep valley where mountains block the sun's rays for about six months every year. This, of course, keeps the 3400 residents in a state of shade and sometimes depressive darkness throughout the winter.
Then the town leaders got a bright idea, to help illuminate their village during the murky months. In October 2013, Rjukan installed an array of three gigantic 550-square-foot mirrors on a nearby mountain 1000 feet above the town. The computer-controlled and solar-powered mirrors track the sun through the winter months and reflect a giant beam of sunshine down to the town square, brightening their lives.
If you visit Rjukan in the winter months today, you can often see the people gathered or sitting on benches around the town square bathing in the reflected sunshine. Like those mirrors on the mountain, the Bible says that Christians are to reflect the light of Jesus who is the light of the world into this dark planet.
Matthew 5:14 says: "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do we light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it illuminates everybody in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." So friends, use today to brighten the life of someone else by reflecting Jesus.