This sermon is an expository study of Revelation 14:9–12, focusing on the third angel’s message in the context of the whole Bible (especially Daniel, Revelation 13, and Old Testament types). The speaker repeatedly emphasizes a cohesive, Bible-centered method: letting Scripture explain Scripture, line upon line.
Below are the sermon’s main points organized for clarity.
1. Context: “Three Angels’ Messages” and “Angel = Messenger”
- “Angel” (Greek angelos) means “messenger.” The three angels’ messages are global proclamations God intends everyone to hear.
- The messages are not isolated: the three are interrelated and found throughout Scripture (Daniel, Revelation, and many Old Testament passages).
2. Read Revelation 14:9–12 (summary)
- The third angel warns: whoever worships the beast and its image or receives its mark will drink the undiluted wine of God’s wrath, be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb—without rest forever and ever. The passage ends with the call: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”
3. Key terms explained
- Worship / Serve / Obey: The speaker ties these terms together—worship implies service and obedience. Biblical passages (Deuteronomy, Luke 4, Joshua) are used to show that worship means loyalty, service, and keeping God’s commandments.
- Beast and image: These are identified through Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 as symbolic of successive earthly powers, with emphasis on the fourth power (Rome → papal power) and the “image of the beast” (a later power that causes people to worship the first beast). The “beast” speaks “great things” and issues commandments contrary to God’s law.
- Mark of the beast: A corporate, religious/political test that will control buying and selling and require worship/obedience to the beast and its image. It is the final test of loyalty.
4. The “Wine of God’s Wrath” and the “Winepress” imagery
- “Wrath of God” connects with Revelation 15–16 (the seven last plagues — the vials/cups of God’s wrath).
- “Poured without mixture” and “dregs” emphasize completeness and the full severity of God’s judgment (no dilution).
- Revelation 14:17–20 describes angels harvesting grapes and treading the winepress—an image of God’s judgment leading to massive destruction (symbolically described as enough blood to reach horses’ bridles for 200 miles).
- This harvest/winepress imagery links with Revelation 19’s description of Christ as warrior who “treads the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God.”
5. Fire, brimstone, and “forever and ever”
- The text speaks of torment in the presence of the Lamb and holy angels; this is linked to passages describing divine judgment (2 Thessalonians 1, Daniel 7, Revelation 19, Revelation 20).
- The sermon clarifies that the Bible’s language about “everlasting” or “forever” (Greek words examined) and “eternal fire” should be understood in the biblical context of final and irreversible destruction—not necessarily the idea of conscious, unending torment.
- Biblical examples: Sodom and Gomorrah (“eternal fire”), Malachi, Psalm 37, and 2 Peter. These are presented as patterns where God’s final judgment results in annihilation or complete destruction (ashes, smoke), not eternal conscious torment.
6. Sanctuary imagery and what is destroyed
- The priestly sacrificial system (fat burnt on the altar) is used as a type to explain what is removed in judgment: “fat” represents the sinful, inward character, and the altar fire represents God’s purifying, consuming judgment.
- The sanctuary typology points to Christ’s atoning work and the cleansing of the heart (the ultimate aim is the removal of sin).
- The “second death” is framed as the final destruction of those who persist in rebellion (their names are not in the Book of Life).
7. The Two Groups: Wicked and the Faithful
- Two “vines” or two groups ripen at the end of the age:
- The wicked: receive the mark, are crushed in the winepress, suffer the plagues and final destruction.
- The faithful: endure persecution, keep God’s commandments and the faith of Jesus, are sealed by God and protected until the final judgment.
- The persecution/martyrdom motif is highlighted—Revelation’s references to “patience of the saints” ties back to historical persecution (e.g., 1,260-year period of papal dominance) as well as to future trials.
8. The 144,000 and the Seal of God
- Revelation 14:1 and 7 describe the Lamb on Mount Zion and the 144,000 with the Father’s name on their foreheads.
- Revelation 7 explains the sealing of the 144,000. The sermon links the seal to ownership, title, and protection (biblical parallels: royal seals, Esther).
- The “seal” is connected to the law written by God: the Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy, Exodus—“written with the finger of God”). The sealing of God’s people is described as God writing His law on their hearts (Ezekiel 36:26–27; Jeremiah), and the Holy Spirit effecting true character change.
- The fourth commandment (Sabbath) is specifically discussed as a sign of God’s creative authority and a key issue in the final test between loyalty to God and to the beast.
9. Righteousness by faith and the restored character
- True obedience comes from a heart transformed by Christ. “Keeping the commandments” and “the faith of Jesus” are paired—obedience is not legalistic but the fruit of a faith that unites the believer to Christ.
- The New Covenant promise (Hebrews, Jeremiah) that God will write His law on hearts is emphasized: the sealed are those whose characters are restored and united to Christ (marriage imagery: Christ and the church).
- The 144,000 are portrayed as the faithful remnant prepared to stand during the final test; they sing the “song of Moses and the Lamb” (Revelation 15, Exodus 15) — acknowledging God’s deliverance and preparing a dwelling for God among His people.
10. Final emphasis and pastoral appeal
- The third angel’s message is a solemn, urgent call to decision: do not worship the beast or accept its mark. The consequences are final and irrevocable.
- The message calls for hearts to be surrendered to Christ so that the Holy Spirit may write God’s law into the heart, producing true obedience (faith working by love).
- The sermon is pastoral and prayerful: an appeal for listeners to accept God’s cleansing, to forsake the world’s false worship systems, and to be prepared for the final test.
Bottom line
- Revelation 14:9–12 warns of a final test centered on worship and obedience. It contrasts those who follow the beast (and face complete, decisive divine judgment) and those who remain faithful—kept and sealed by God through Christ and the Holy Spirit.
- Understanding the third angel’s message requires reading Revelation in light of Daniel, Old Testament types (sacrifice, Moses’ song), and the New Testament teaching about the New Covenant and God’s transforming work in the heart. The ultimate hope is Christ’s final deliverance for those whose characters are truly renewed.
