In Revelation 14 we see the 144 000 again, a specially chosen people who are cleansed. We then are told that in this time, when the beasts are working their deception, God will send three wide-spread messages to the world before Christ return. These messages are to prepare people for His coming. We are already told that 144 000 have a pure doctrine undefiled by women, a symbol of corrupt churches. Them being mentioned here can indicate that they will help bring God’s truth out to the world. The first message starts with a cry for man to turn back to worship God as the creator. At this time the atheist beast has done its works and damage, atheism rejects God as creator, and children all over the world are forced to learn this lie as a truth. Even the pope has declared evolution theory to be the truth. But in this message, God says that He should rightfully be worshiped and recognized as the creator of the world. He claims to the end time, a world of progressed science, that He is, in fact, the creator and that the Creation story is true. He says the message is to “them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people». Everyone is deceived on this matter all over the world by false scientific conclusions made to rule out a God. If God isn’t the creator He doesn’t have ownership over the planet, He isn’t the creator of mankind and He has no right to judge. Therefore the message of honoring Him as the creator also tells that a judgment has begun. All man’s cases are in quick succession brought before the throne of God. He is judging and will carry out His judgment. The next angel proclaims that Babylon has fallen. The pagan Christianity is in Revelation compared to Jezebel, the doctrine of Bileam, a harlot, and Babylon. All these references talk about the same power in different ways – each way helps expose what happened along the way and the identity of the deceiving power. It tells us how this part of the church got corrupt, it tells us how they deceive, it tells us how God views it (as a harlot) and Babylon indicates the origin of its pagan doctrines and teachings. It was Babylon who inspired the Greek and Roman religion, and so when Christianity mixed its practices with the Roman religion it, in reality, became the ones to continue and spread the Babylonian customs and mentality to the world. They were the new advocates for Babylonian mysticism and got the world to take part by presenting it all in Christ’s name. In Babylon, the king repented and turned to God but his grandchild mocked God by taking God’s holy things while praising the gods of silver and gold. The same night a finger wrote on the wall saying Babylon had been weighed in the balances and found wanting. The judgment over Babylon had been spoken. God proclaimed Babylons spiritual fall right before it fell physically. Again in Revelation, we see the proclamation that Babylon has fallen but now it’s talking about the pagan unfaithful form of Christianity. Paganism, which had claimed a conversion but in reality had mixed holy and unholy. Babylon was to be judged because they had gotten all people to drink “the wine of her fornication”. “Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.» (Dan.5:3-4) And so when it says in Revelation: «For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication» it means they have placed their deception in holy vessels. (Rev 18:3) They have put the name of God’s holy doctrines and gospel with their paganism. Just like the old Babylon was judged for doing this crime, so will spiritual Babylon. They have seduced a whole world with their false Christianity. The last message of the three angels warns everyone to not take the mark of the beast, or the image of the beast. It explains that those who take it will be punished by God. Those who take part in using state power to advance and persecute God’s people and God’s times and laws will be punished in return. The end has come, the end of God’s tolerance. Those who will force God’s people to stop their faithfulness to God will be punished, and if they chose to obey false Christianity they will also be punished. It warns: “If any man worships the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand. The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God». (v.3-10) It says people can either take the mark on their forehead or their hand. The forehead symbolizes our decisions and the hand our actions. It’s a conscious choice or it’s forced action. Jesus now reveals who His true people are, they who are under great pressure but are resisting both the image and the mark: The saints, those who “have the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus”. (v.12) By this, we know that the mark of the beast is tied to rebellion against God’s commandments just as it has been since Eve was tempted in the garden and until this day. Satan’s agenda has this whole time been to encourage and get people to be disobedient towards God’s authority. He is still sitting in the tree telling people they don’t have to worry about consequences if they eat of the fruit. That their action will bring blessing and not judgment. The first deception will also be the last. After these three messages are given to the world we see Christ returning in the clouds as a king ready to gather His faithful to Himself. He is seen with a sickle in His hand. The harvest has come. Those who have replaced their allegiance to God with the false system of worship will be rejected and Christ will “harvest” his remnant and take them with Him. This is the last remnant, the last and final separation.
