Revelation 14:9-13

9             Then a third angel followed them, shouting, “Anyone who worships the beast and his statue or who accepts his mark on the forehead or on the hand

10          must drink the wine of God’s anger. It has been poured full strength into God’s cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb.

11          The smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have worshiped the beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name.”

12          This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus.

13          And I heard a voice from heaven saying: “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”

Those who worship Satan, accept his seal, and operates in life according to his worldly economic system will ultimately face God’s judgment. Our world values money, power, and pleasure over God’s leadership. Honestly, a lot of people view Christians as boring, stiff, and no fun. That’s not necessarily true. Christians often enjoy a lot of fun things that our world offers, but we know our limits. We have a boundary that knows when we go too far and start to slip into true sin. When we get to this temptation point, many people deny and ignore the Christian principles so that they can enjoy the pleasures of the world guilt-free. When this happens, people will start to feel the consequences of their actions.

Sin ultimately leads to the eternal separation from God. Sin and the intentional rebellion against God, his teachings, and his sacrifice (though Jesus) is what will separate us from our place in the Kingdom of Heaven. Because humans are created in God’s image with an inborn need for God, separation from him will be the ultimate sense of torment and misery. Some of us struggle with silence today. Imagine that, but for eternity. This is what that separation can look like.

Sin always brings misery, but while we’re alive we can still choose to repent. We can make the intentional choice to have a restored relationship with God. “God forgives us anyways, why do we need to do this?” Every time you mess up at work, do you seek forgiveness from your boss just one time or each time? Every time you screw up a relationship do you ask for forgiveness from your spouse once or each time? Often, you do it each time. The same thing applies here. We want to make sure this happens before it’s too late. If we make the choice to roll independently now, we will do it forever. No one is forced to not be in a relationship with God. No one is forced to be IN a relationship ith God either. Everything is a choice. Jesus invites all of us to open their hearts to God.

The news about God’s triumph should encourage Christians to remain faithful during all chaos. We do this though trusting in Jesus and following the commands found in the Bible, according to God. Trust God to give you the patience to endure even the small bits of chaos. It’s hard. It’s difficult to stay optimistic and faithful during our moments of anxiety and panic, but it is doable. A prayer that worked for me in this that: “God, allow your justice to do be done.” For me, this says that God can do whatever he was going to do, and I will be okay with it. I don’t have to like it, but I can be at peace with it.

While it’s true that money, fame, and belongings can’t be taken with us to eternity. God’s people can produce fruit that survive even death. God will remember our love, kindness, and faithfulness, and those who accept Christ through out witness will join us in the new earth. The idea of all this is to focus on what will produce longer-term success. It doesn’t need to be tangible items. It can be seeds of wisdom, knowledge, investment, and more. What we should focus on attaining is seeds to expand the Kingdom of God and create a bigger family.

Next series: The End is Poured Out – Part 1

Associated Scripture

Revelation 14:9          Revelation 13:12-17

Revelation 14:10       Psalm 75:8; Isaiah 51:17, 22-23; Jeremiah 25:15; Revelation 16:19, 19:20, 20:10, 21:8

Revelation 14:11       Isaiah 34:10; Revelation 13:12-17

Revelation 14:12       Revelation 2:13, 12:17, 13:10

Revelation 14:13       Hebrews 4:10