The Message of the Third Angel (Revelation 14)
The message of the third angel is presented in Revelation 14. The apostle John saw a vision and he wrote, “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, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God” (Revelation 14:9, 10).
The message of the third Angel warns people against worshiping the beast and his image and receiving the mark of the beast in their foreheads or hands. The first angel commands true worship. The third angel tells of the awesome consequences connected with false worship. In order to avoid worshiping the beast, we need to identify the beast, his image and his mark:
The Beast:
See: Who is the first beast of Revelation 13?
His Image:
See: What is the image of the beast of Revelation 13?
His Mark:
See: What is the mark of the Beast?
The saints will keep the commandments of God: “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12 also 12:17). The Catholic church set aside the seventh day Sabbath and substitute it with the observance of the first day of the week as the day of worship (Daniel 7:25). But there is not a single verse in the entire Bible that supports Sunday observance.
There is a general agreement among Christians that all the other nine commandments are of universal obligation but they disregard the Sabbath commandment. Therefore, the special point of controversy will be over the Sabbath Commandment (Exodus 20:8-11).
The Lord says, “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression.” And He adds, “If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, … Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord” (Isaiah 58:1, 13, 14).
Deceived by Satan’s lies, the world will bow to the beast and its image, and carry out its decrees (Revelation 13:8). But the saints, on the other hand, will refuse to obey its demands. Instead they will obey the commandments of God through His enabling grace by faith (Romans 8:3, 4).
The crisis will come when symbolic Babylon prevails upon the state to enforce Sunday observance by civil law and seeks to punish all dissenters. This is the issue described in Revelation 13:12–17.
See also:
The Message of the First Angel:
See: What’s the message of the first angel of Revelation 14?
The Message of the Second Angel:
See: What’s the message of the second angel of Revelation 14?
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
