2. THREE ANGELS Revelation 14:6-11 6 And I saw another angel flying in mid heaven, having eternal good tidings to proclaim unto them that dwell on the earth, and unto every nation and tribe and tongue and people--As already noted this chapter gives a brief general description of the success made by the saints during the time the church was to wage war with the two beasts, and of its final triumph at the end of the world. The events mentioned are few in number, general in character, and far apart in point of time. The first paragraph certainly includes the redeemed of the 1,260-year period, and may be all the redeemed up to the close of that dreadful time. "Another angel" means one in addition to all the others he had seen in previous visions ; or, expressed differently, the meaning is that an angel gave him another vision. This text does not mean that the eternal good tidings--everlasting gospel--first began to be preached at the time referred to here; for the gospel of Christ began to be preached first on Pentecost according to the command of Jesus. (Luke 24:46; Acts 1:8.) The gospel of Christ is the "eternal good tidings" which was to be preached till the end of the world. (Matthew 28:20.) This preaching which the angel flying in the heaven announced to John seems to mean that done after the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, when the Catholic Church lost her dictatorial power and preachers were allowed, under the flag of Protestant liberty, to preach the Bible to all nations. The great apostasy came gradually, and the Reformation spread gradually, but it gave the liberty and furnished the motive for world-wide evangelism. The angel flying through heaven probably indicates the rapidity with which the preaching of the Reformation would spread. After the long night of spiritual slavery--the 1,260 years of religious darkness--the reformatory work spread by leaps and bounds. Soon all nations were allowed the privilege of reading and obeying without hindrance--a blessed privilege that people still have. 7 and he saith with a great voice, Fear God, and give him glory for the hour of his judgment is come:--This is substantially what Peter said to Cornelius; namely, those that fear God and work righteousness are acceptable to him. (Acts 10:35.) Solomon taught the same lesson in these words: "Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. (Ecclesiastes 12:13.) The angel was not announcing a new truth, but only what had been true all the way along. The application of this truth was to be carried out by obeying the same gospel that had been preached since Pentecost. Judgment here does not mean the final judgment when all nations will appear before the Lord, but the special judgment upon the beast at the end of the 1,260-year period; the time when the Catholic domination was to be broken and men be allowed to obey the gospel; hence, the command for them to "fear God, and give him glory." and worship him that made the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of waters.--Paul declared that the "man of sin" would sit in the temple of God "setting himself forth as God." (2 Thessalonians 2:4.) That means, of course, that he would demand that reverence and devotion for himself which belong only to God. The Pope claiming to be the authoritative representative of Christ on earth is the only one that qualifies as deserving this description. This blind worship of a man is the thing which gave him complete sway over men for the long period of religious ignorance. But that anti-Christian power was broken by the Protestant Reformation, and men were taught that they were to worship the Creator of the universe, not man. In the symbol John heard the angel say that the everlasting gospel would be preached again; past history shows that it has been preached. This fact will be fully demonstrated by symbols yet to be studied. 8 And another, a second angel, followed, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great,--This does not mean another event that occurred after the things mentioned in verses 6 and 7. Rather this verse tells what transpired that made the proclamation of the everlasting gospel possible at that time. Though expressed in the past tense, all this was future when John saw the vision. This form of expression is called the "prophetic past," which means that a thing is so certain to transpire that it is spoken of as if it had already come to pass. Isaiah 9:2; Isaiah 9:6 contains examples of the same usage. This is the first occurrence of the word "Babylon" in this book. Literal Babylon had long since disappeared; hence, the word here must be understood figuratively. See Revelation 17:5 and Revelation 18:2. "Fallen" did not mean that spiritual Babylon would cease to exist when the everlasting gospel began to be repreached, for its destruction will be at the coming of the Lord. (2 Thessalonians 2:8.) It was to fall in the sense that it would no longer be able to make the world bow to the papacy. Just as Jerusalem, the capital of God's ancient people and the place where the gospel was first preached, was typical of the church (Galatians 4:24-31), so Babylon that once captured Jerusalem was made a type of the apostate church. Literal Babylon took the city, destroyed the temple, removed the holy vessels, and put the people of God in bondage for seventy years. The antitypical Babylon, the papal hierarchy, through a perversion of the church, took away the true worship of God, and put the people in spiritual bondage to papal authority for 1,260 years. The Reformation ended that bondage, but did not destroy the papal system any more than freeing Israel from Egyptian bondage destroyed Egypt. that hath made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.--This is also highly figurative lan guage. Fornication, as we have already learned, is typical of false and idolatrous doctrine and practice. It is here also represented as wine. Drinking wine intoxicates and leads to folly and madness; practicing false doctrines leads to confusion and rebellion against God. Jeremiah spake of the city of Babylon thus: "Babylon hath been a golden cup in Jehovah's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are mad." (Jeremiah 51:7.) Her antitype, papal Babylon, made the nations drunk with her false doctrines. In due time God allowed Babylon to he punished and finally destroyed; he has already broken spiritual Babylon's strangle hold on the world and will destroy her at the Lord's coming. The "wrath" here mentioned refers to the punishment that would fall upon her and those she deceives or intoxicates with her false teachings. 9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a great voice, If any man worshippeth the beast and his image, and receiveth a mark on his forehead, or upon his hand,--This angel refers to the corrupt anti-Christian power as the "beast" which is mentioned in Revelation 13:11. This was to encourage the struggling saints with the promise that their great enemy with his entire influence would finally be destroyed. He here specifically mentions all individuals who would accept and practice the false teaching of the apostate institution. For :comments on receiving the mark of the beast see notes on Revelation 13:16-17. 10 he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is prepared unmixed in the cup of his anger;--The figure here is that of drinking from a cup of poison that would make one stagger, reel, and fall. As drinking the wine of Babylon's false doctrines led to religious drunkenness and departure from truth, so drinking the "wine of the wrath of God" means to suffer eternal banishment from his presence. Wine unmixed here means that the punishment would be up to full measure. God's righteous indignation at sin would require that he allow wickedness to be properly rewarded. Paul so taught in 2 Thessalonians 2:12. This is a strong incentive to righteous living. and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb --The word "tormented" carries the idea of conscious pain, which in itself shows consciousness in the final state. Fire and brimstone are evidently used in a figurative sense to indicate the terrible punishment that the lost will have to endure. Anything requiring the use of such figures must be too dreadful not to escape. The language may be used with reference to the destruction of Sodom. (Genesis 19:24.) Whatever this punishment may be, it will be unending. Mark refers to it as "where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." (Mark 9:47-48.) Matthew refers to "eternal punishment" in direct contrast with "eternal life." Eternal in both expressions is from the same Greek word. The punishment, therefore, is of the same duration as the life. The angels and Christ being present need not be pressed to signify anything more than that they will he present when the wicked are sent away into their punishment. However, it may add to their torment for them to know that their punishment is according to the righteous judgment of Christ, and a justification of the rewards to the righteous. Blessings for the righteous demand punishments for the wicked, else righteousness would not be worth seeking. 11 and the smoke of their torment goeth up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, they that worship the beast and his image, and whoso receiveth the mark of his name.--Smoke ceases to arise when the fire goes out. This is a symbol to indicate that their punishment would not end; the two expressions "for ever and ever" and "day and night" both show that to be the meaning. When the final sentence is passed, the destiny of the wicked is fixed forever. The remainder of the verse is a repetition of the description of those who will be finally rejected. The number John is here talking about are those who identify themselves with the apostate church in doctrine and practice. For comment on the mark and name of the beast see notes on Revelation 13:16-17.