We're going to have story time with Jongo and then get into some Scripture :)
So this afternoon, I was having quite an interesting talk with an old friend of mine. He seemed to come from the belief structures of pantheism which could be broken down as nature worship. God is everywhere in nature and that's our god, or something along those lines. I'm a big believer in a Creator God, but to me saying that the 'trees are god' isn't biblical.
There was a back and forth for quite some time and it was a very respectable conversation. It actually ended with me promising to send him some bible studies and material, which he was thankful for.
But it gave me some inspiration to continue my little bible study series here and discuss another one of my core beliefs. And that is the 3 angels messages of Revelation 14.
I'm going to break them down here:
The First Angels' Message
Revelation 14 verses 6 and 7 give us the first of three proclamations that will be heard at the end of time.
The everlasting gospel is...Christ! The grand overarching story of redemption. Eden lost to Eden redeemed and how God always had a plan for His people. This message is to go to everyone. Not a select group of people but every nation, kindred, tongue and people!
But here's where I was inspired today from the discussion I was having. In the next verse, we see that we are to fear God and give glory to Him. His judgement is here and we are worship Him THAT MADE.....Heaven, earth, sea and the fountains of water!
I'll go into more detail into another study about how this directly points to the 4th commandment, but that's for a later date!
The Second Angels' Message
Babylon is fallen, is fallen!
You have to do a bible study on what Babylon / Babel represents but to keep this brief, it clearly means false worship. Worship is LACED in the book of Revelation, and it's very clear that it plays a big role in how things go at the end of time.
Who do you worship?
Man made religions and concepts, or God....
At the end times, we all have a choice. And those that 'drank of the wine' or accepted the false doctrine of Babylon, have sealed their fate. But just as God showed throughout the entire story of redemption....We always have a choice. Nothing is ever forced.
The Third Angels' Message
This is arguably the saddest part of the entire bible. Your heart just breaks for those that deny the precious gift of salvation.
To understand my previous point about worship, let's go back a chapter in Revelation and discuss for a second....
The mark of the beast!
The big scary unknown that people throw around all the time. And yet, it's pretty clear if you understand who the beast is and how it has to do with worship. Again, that's a huge study and I encourage you to look at Scripture for yourself to discover it's truths, but you cannot deny a few things from Revelation 13...
The mark of the beast is placed on the right hand of forehead of someone who worships him. This isn't a physical mark, this is again all about...Worship. And it represents works (hands - 1 Thessalonians 4:11 ) and thoughts (forehead - Deuteronomy 6:8 ).
It's a mark of a man, seen in Revelation 13 verse 18. So that gives you a few more hints....I implore you to study Daniel 2, 7 and 8 to finalize who this end times 'beast' is.
But back to the third angels' message....While this is truly a scary thought, the promise of God is found in verse 12.
Here is the PATIENCE of the saints, those that endure! Here is how you do NOT get the mark....Clear as day:
Keep the commandments of God (all 10 of them)!
Have the faith of Jesus
And that's the VERY good news indeed!
That is the everlasting gospel. That is how you stay away from false doctrines and the traditions of man. And finally, that is how you are SEALED with God and receive the gift of everlasting life.
Glory be to God!
