Revelation 14-
VERSE 6. 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, 7. 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. 8. And there followed another angel,
saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all
nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
9. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If
any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead,
or in his hand, 10. The same shall drink of the wine of
the wrath of God, 'which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his
indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence
of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11. 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. 12. Here is
the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God,
and the faith of Jesus.
(Excerpt from Daniel
and Revelation by Uriah Smith 1897-1911)
p 675 -- The
Punishment of Beast-worshippers. - These shall be tormented with fire and
brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. When is this
torment inflicted? Chapter 19:20 shows that at the second coming of Christ
there is a manifestation of fiery judgments which may be called a lake of fire
and brimstone, into which the beast and false prophet are cast alive. This can
refer only to the destruction visited upon them at the commencement, not at the
end, of the thousand years. Again, there is a remarkable passage in Isaiah to
which we are obliged to refer in explanation of the phraseology of the
threatening of the third angel, and which unquestionably describes scenes to
take place here at the second advent, and in the desolate state of the earth
during the thousand years following. That the language in the Revelation was
borrowed from this prophecy can hardly fail to be seen. After describing the
Lord's anger upon the nations, the great slaughter of their armies, the
departing of the heavens as a scroll, etc., the prophet says:
"For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses
for the controversy of Zion. And the streams thereof shall be turned into
pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become
burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall
go up forever; from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall
pass through it forever and ever." Isa. 34:8-10. And since it is expressly
revealed that there is to be a lake of fire in which all sinners perish at the
end of the thousand years, we can only conclude that the destruction of the
living wicked at the commencement of this period, and the final doom of all the
ungodly at its close, are very similar.
Duration of the
Punishment. - The expression "forever and ever" cannot here denote
eternity. This is evident from the fact that this punishment is inflicted on
this earth, where time is measured by day and night. This is further shown from
the passage in Isaiah already referred to, if that is, as above suggested, the
language from which this is borrowed, and applies to the same time. That
language is spoken of the land of Idumea; but whether it be taken to mean
literally the land of Edom, south and east of Judea, or to represent, as it
p 676 -- doubtless
does, this whole earth at the time when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from
heaven in flaming fire, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion
comes, in either case the scene must eventually terminate; for this earth is finally
to be made new, cleansed of every stain of sin, every vestige of suffering and
decay, and to become the habitation of righteousness and joy throughout eternal
ages. The word aiwn here translated forever, Schrevelius, in his Greek Lexicon,
defines thus: "An age; a long period
of time; indefinite duration; time, whether longer or shorter."
The period of the
third message is a time of patience with the people of God. Paul and James both
give us instruction on this point. Heb. 10:36; James 5:7, 8. Meanwhile this
waiting company are keeping the commandments of God - the ten commandments, and
the faith of Jesus - all the teachings of Christ and his apostles as contained
in the New Testament. The true Sabbath, as given in the decalogue, is thus
brought out in vivid contrast with the counterfeit sabbath, the mark of the
beast, which finally distinguishes those who reject the third message, as
already set forth.
*******
A Time of Patience.
Heb 10:36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye
have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
Heb 10:37 For yet a little while, and he that shall
come will come, and will not tarry.
Jas 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the
coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of
the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter
rain.
Jas 5:8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for
the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
We are in a time of
patience.
Patience, when all
we want is for our Lord to come and end the sin sickness destroying so many in
our world.
The sickness of sin
is evident everywhere, but some would rather say it's all just life and the way
it is, as if we are meant to suffer. How
can we be meant to suffer if we as humanity's whole are constantly looking for
ways to alleviate suffering. We do NOT embrace suffering as something to be
accepted, we fight against it. We go to great lengths to do away with all pain
in all its forms. Doctors, dentists,
therapy, medication- how much of our life is spent involved with these things
if not for ourselves but for all those around us. Pain medication, pain relief this is
something we long for especially those embroiled in a life of chronic
pain. Sickness is something we abhor, so
how can we just belief our lives are supposed to be this way, that this is all
there is for us and all those we love. Why do we fight so much for something
better. Why do we spend our lives wanting better? We fight for things to be
better and more often than not, we fail. There are so many wars right now, so
many committees, panels, many, many people who are trying to improve life as we
know it. People have been doing this for as long as we can remember, yet people
somehow believe it is just life and will forever be this way. I can't believe this. I have HOPE there is more and it's not the
more of immediate heavenly life after death, but a hope of eternal life after
our Savior returns for us, and then forever after.
This can't be all
there is, this can't be life ever after.
Call me a fool if
you wish, but I lose NOTHING by believing, nothing! But if I don't believe I
lose everything.
Right now we need
patience, so much patience and our God is trying desperately to teach us
patience because we NEED patience if we are to keep our hope to the very end.
Please, Father,
please teach us patience, teach us all we need to be Yours now and forever.
As we continue to
learn of Your prophecies in the book of Revelation, open our hearts and mind
through the Holy Spirit so we may be YOURS, WHOLLY YOURS.
All through our
SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST, OUR LORD!!!!!!!
Amen!
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