Christian
Churches of God
No. 270z
Summary:
The Messages of Revelation 14
(Edition 1.0 19981114-19981114)
The messages of the four angels
of Revelation 14 are important to the lead up to the coming of the Messiah.
They hold great significance for the message, direction and thrust of the
church in the last days.
Christian
Churches of God
E-mail: secretary@ccg.org
(Copyright © 1998 Wade Cox)
(Summary by Donovan Schricker
ed. Wade Cox)
This paper may be freely copied and distributed provided it
is copied in total with no alterations or deletions. The publisher’s name and
address and the copyright notice must be included. No charge may be levied on recipients of
distributed copies. Brief quotations may
be embodied in critical articles and reviews without breaching copyright.
This paper is available from the World Wide Web page:
http://www.logon.org and http://www.ccg.org
Summary: The Messages of Revelation 14
The messages of the four angels of Revelation 14 are important to the events leading up to the coming of Messiah. They hold great significance regarding the thrust and direction of the Church in the last days.
The first angel’s message is composed of the eternal gospel and involves the 144,000 who appear on Mount Zion (Rev.14:1-20). This message is twofold. It refers to the 144,000 taken out and given to Messiah and these stand with him on Mount Zion. At first glance it looks as though they are all with him at one time and that this point refers to the end time in Jerusalem. The time frame actually involves the sequence of time from the commencement of the prophecy in Isaiah 61:1-2 in 27 CE and the end at the second advent or coming of Messiah.
This prophecy was actually fulfilled in 27 CE after the wilderness temptation following on from Christ’s baptism. From this point, he also, in fulfilling prophecy, declared the jubilee. This text concerning the Acceptable Year of the Lord is a direct reference to the jubilee (Lk. 4:16-30). The two examples of the Sidonian Woman and Naaman the Syrian showed that Christ was declaring salvation to be of the Gentiles. Both examples refer to the Church as we will see.
Mount Zion is a spiritual edifice on which the elect stand, over the two thousand years of their calling out. The messages given to the 144,000, account for the period of the seven eras of the seven churches given in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. The two thousand years cover the forty jubilees from 27 CE to 2027 CE.
The Second Angel’s Message
The Second Angel’s message follows and is the result of the correct execution of the First Angel’s message (Rev. 14:8). The entire Babylonian system is to fall in the last days before the final end. Babylon is destroyed by the union of the ten kings that receive power for one hour with the beast (Rev. 17:12-18). This spirit of Elijah runs through the entire church system in its fight against the false religious system, over the two thousand years. Only in the last days does it succeed, and then not fully of its own doing. The system of Baal in the end days is overthrown along with its black cassocked priests. The priests of the One True God (Eloah) never wore a black cassock. They always wore white.
The Third Angel’s Message
The third angel’s message is that the beast will set up a system, that makes clear distinction between God and His system, and the Satanic system of the Beast (Rev. 14:9-13). The majority of the world appears to go along with this system. The endurance of the saints is called for, and the distinctive mark of the saints is the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
The Fourth and Fifth Angel’s Message
The Fourth Angel’s Message is to show the reaping by the Son of Man, which is the last harvest. There are two distinct actions under two distinct messages and beings. They are under the direction of God, which indicates here, two time related events, carried by two messengers at separate times. Thus the system in the last days is unfolded through the fourfold sequence, which completes the mysteries of God.