Rev
14:6 - 12
The angel had the everlasting gospel, not just a gospel which
flares up and dies down.
He who endures in the Gospel and is faithful will have everlasting
life.
The angels have a great work. Here we read of the great things
this angle proclaim. So often in the Bible we read that when God was about to do something
great He told His angels about. The angels look forward to the wonderful things God will
do among the children of men. (1Pet 1:12). In Hebrews we read that they are God's
messengers. So we see how they are continually involved in the affairs of men.
When just one sinner repents we read that the angels in Heaven
rejoice. So when they see the gospel spreading to all the nations and tribes there is
rejoicing in Heaven.
When He was sweating sweat drops of Blood we find an angel
strengthening Him.
What if the angels have received the commission to preach the
Gospel to all nations? Even on the very first day great things would've happened. They are
not as lazy and lukewarm as we are. Are they perhaps disappointed when they look at you
and see what you do?
The things of this world is temporary but God's Gospel is
everlasting.
We don't believe in the good or bad fortune that comes from the
ancestors. You will never get good fortune by worshipping the ancestors. But amazingly the
moment you turn to the Lord, your fortunes also turn that very day.
The angel cried, "Babylon is fallen". What does Babylon
stand for? It stands for the world and the things of the world. It stands for the spirit
of immorality in the world, prostitution, divorce, children bearing children out of
wedlock, pornography, drugs, TV etc. You have an eternal soul, how can you sell it for
R50?
The TV injects the spirit of Babylon into your family. The
internet and cell phones also contain so much of Babylon and destroys souls.
Joel 2:28, "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will
pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your
old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions".
Do your children receive visions and revelations from Heaven, or
are they only concerned with the things of this world? If they only know the things of
this world (money, fame and education), then they are of the world.
You should be troubled if your children do not come to you to
share what the Lord has revealed to them. Then they are living like the world. If they are
truly born again they would be full of God's Word. God would speak to them and reveal
heavenly mysteries to them, otherwise they are dead spiritually and live like the world.
Babylon intoxicates the nations with its wine. Start at home, see
what videos your children watch, what books they read and what pictures are on their
walls. Clean out your house from the things of Babylon.
The beast we read of here is a monster like the devil himself. He
is filled with all manner of evil and revelry, drunkenness, immorality, pride etc.
The one who receives the mark of the beast will not be forgiven in
this world or the world to come. Although the mark of the beast is something which is
coming in the future, let us look at how it affects us even today. The mark on the
forehead is the things that is implanted in your mind. Paul even says I wish to see your
face to know where you stand spiritually. One can often see where a person stands
spiritually in his face. When you look at a person you don't see God's glory but the dark
face of the beast. Some even come like an angel of the light but if you look carefully at
them you see through their façade that they are the offspring of the devil.
That mark is also put on the hand - what the person does. One sees
the work of the beast in what such a person does.
You should turn to the Lord from your evil ways even now, before
you leave. If you do not obey, hear what the Lord says, " And the smoke of their
torment ascendeth up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship
the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name."
Go to the Christians and tell them this. Do not go after money.
People are heading for hell. Will you warn them? Warn even your own children that unless
they know God and God knows them and speaks to them, they are lost.
There is a story of a missionary in China who was called John.
After learning the Chinese language he one day gave a sermon and an old missionary
listened to him. Afterwards the old missionary called him and said, "I am terribly
disappointed today. Your Chinese has improved dramatically and that is good. However, when
I last listened to you, you were filled with the Spirit of God and with His fire. Today
you were eloquent but you have lost the fire of God".
The man took the rebuke to heart and he and his wife searched their life. As they prayed
God convicte them of their sins of slander, how they spoke critically about other children
of God behind their backs. They repented of that, confessed it and sorted the matters out.
Then God's fire returned and people were saved once again. He said that he realised that
criticism of another child of God behind his back is the worst sin which paralyses the
working of God's Spirit.
Unless you sharpen an axe regularly you will quickly struggle to
fell trees effectively.
So too we need to sharpen our hearing when God's Word is preached;
we must be sharp like a razonblade and repent.