Revelation 14:6 – Revelation 15:6
The Second and Third Angel’s Messages

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Last month, we began studying the seventh prophecy in Revelation. This prophecy begins with Revelation 14:6 and ends with Revelation 15:6.

It is interesting to me that the seventh prophecy in Revelation is the salvation prophecy. I call this prophecy the salvation prophecy because the three angel’s messages have been carefully designed to test the faith of mankind and those passing the test will receive salvation.

At fist glance, you might not think these three messages say anything about salvation, but once you understand their context and application, you will see how Jesus separates His sheep from the goats.

The three angel’s messages will be three tests of faith.

The living have to be tested so that God can seal us according to our choices. This is unlike the judgment of the dead. When a person dies, he cannot make any more decisions every day! So, in order to judge the living, Jesus has to put the living through a series of tests to see who loves truth without regard for the consequences.

The three angel’s messages will be given during a time of persecution. Therefore, man’s response to these three messages will reveal his love for truth and his faith in Jesus Christ!

>>Our actions during the Great Tribulation will reveal everything that Jesus needs to know so that he can judge us according to our works.

Revelation 22:12   “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.”

Consider this:

A person is not saved by works.

A person’s faith and love is revealed by works. 

2 Corinthians 5:10   “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”

KJV/Ecclesiastes 12:14   “For the Lord shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”

The three angel’s messages bring the doctrine of “righteousness by faith” into perfect focus. Everyone who submits to the three angel’s messages will be persecuted, and the only way through this persecution is through faith in Jesus Christ.

In other words, every saint will relive the experience of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. 

Daniel 3”14   “….Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up?

Daniel 3:15   Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, it you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”

Daniel 3:16   Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this manner,

Daniel 3:17   If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king.

Daniel 3:18   But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

This is the biblical meaning of faith. Obeying God without concern for the consequences.

When a person lives a life of faith, he is given the most wonderful gift that God can give a human being – he is given the righteousness of Christ. Now hear this: Salvation requires the righteousness of Christ. There is no salvation without it.

Romans 1:17   “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’”

Everyone who passes these coming tests of faith will be awarded salvation. Everyone who passes these coming tests of faith will be given a perfect wedding garment, the righteousness of Christ, -- this righteousness will be sealed within them. The carnal nature will be removed!

I am often asked if a person has to pass all three tests before he can be sealed? As I understand the topic, the answer is “no.” Jesus doesn’t have to put a person through three texts to see if he lives by faith.

During the Great Tribulation, some people will be severely tested by the first message while others won’t find the first test as difficult. The same holds true for all three tests. But together, these three messages will test the faith of every human being because Jesus wants to see who loves Him and His truth without regard for the consequences.

This is how the living will be judged. The three angel’s messages will test the living.

The seventh apocalyptic prophecy contains three elements that occur in chronological order:

1.   Three messages

            v6 – 13

2.   The end of salvation

            v14-20

3.   The commencement of the seven bowls

            v15:1 - 6  

During our last study, I emphasized a few points that need to be refreshed in today’s study:

1.   Three profound messages from Jesus will be presented to the world during the Great Tribulation. These messages will eventually win over the honest in heart – those who love God and His truth – and they will eventually offend and anger those who refuse to submit to Jesus’ demands.

These messages will be presented as nonnegotiable demands from Jesus Christ and they will offend the world at first because they are contrary to what is commonly believed.

These three messages will pierce religious darkness like a brilliant searchlight that is suddenly “switched on.”

Finally, the truth about Jesus Christ, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, will be told all over the world and His gospel will be heard and intelligently considered by everyone living on Earth during a period of 1,260 days.

Think about this for a moment: The whole world will thoughtfully consider a gospel that stands in opposition to every religion. This is not a small matter when you consider (a) the short time period during which this occurs, (b) the religious diversity of Earth, and (c) the rebellious nature of religious paradigms.

Jesus will use “justifiable wrath” to open up the minds of people. You can be sure the first four trumpets will get the full attention of Earth’s survivors.

The first angel’s message will be heard as an outright demand.” Fear Jesus Christ the Creator….”

Then, as the crisis government, Babylon, forms, the second angel’s message will be heard. It will come as a defiant declaration. “Babylon is fallen, it is corrupt. Do not obey her laws, do not participate in her foolish schemes.”

Then, when the devil physically appears in the fifth trumpet, a third message will be heard. It will come as an ultimatum.  “If any man worship the lamblike beast from the abyss….”

These three messages are represented in Scripture as three angel’s flying in midair. The idea here is that these three messages come from God’s throne…they are not of human origin. These messages are represented as being announced from the sky – In other words, everyone on Earth will hear them.

Contrary to what some people say, these three messages will not be delivered to the world by a church group! No! God cannot use a single denomination because all of them are corrupt. These three messages will be proclaimed by a diverse group of ordinary people – hand-picked by Jesus Christ Himself.

You may recall that when we studied the 144,000, we learned that Jesus will chose men and women from every religion and culture to be His prophets. They will be empowered to speak on His behalf for 1,260 days.

At the present time, many of the 144,000 do not know who Jesus is, but they are honest in heart. They are people strong in faith. You can be sure that if they knew the truth about Jesus, they would joyfully embrace the truth about Jesus.

Jesus will select the 144,000 a few days before the censer is cast down. He may do this through visions and dreams. He may do this through a physical encounter. I don’t know for sure, but we do know that He will meet with His servants and give them the words that He wants spoken. (Remember the little book in Revelation10?)

I like to think of the 144,000 as samples of “Saul of Tarsus.”

Do you remember that Saul was honest in heart, but his head was all messed up with the foolish teachings of the Pharisees and the cultural paradigm’s created by centuries of Jewish traditions?

But after Jesus confronted Saul on the road to Damascus, Saul quickly saw the truth about Jesus and His salvation. He was ashamed of himself for persecuting Christians.

Saul quickly saw the errors of Judaism and he became a profoundly important champion of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, Paul wrote 14 of the 27 books of the New Testament.

The point here is that if Jesus can choose a zealous Pharisee who is persecuting Christians to be a spokesperson for His gospel, Jesus can work with anyone from any religion who is honest-hearted!

By choosing honest-hearted people from every religious and cultural background, Jesus will have brothers and sisters speaking to their own brothers and sisters during the Great Tribulation.

So, when the global earthquake breaks up the world into 144,000 cells, each cell will have its own prophet from God delivering these three angel’s messages and even better, every person will hear someone much like himself explain them.

The Two Witnesses, the Bible and the Holy Spirit, will affirm and confirm the testimony of Jesus which will be spoken through the 144,000.

Our last study, I made the point that these three messages have to be understood within the context of divine wrath and developing events. In other words, after Jesus kills 25% of the world’s population, many of the survivors will listen. Otherwise, these three messages would accomplish very little.

Think about this: The population of the world has grown from –1.5 billion to –7 billion since 1844…. And the number of the people who presently accept the importance of 1844 today is less than 13 million.

In other words, a mere .002 of one percent of the world’s population knows anything about 1844 or the three angel’s messages after 163 years! However, when the time comes, 100% of the world will hear and intelligently consider these three messages during a period of 1,260 days.

The last thing I want to repeat from last month’s study is this: Each of the three messages will stand in opposition to global developments. In other words, these three messages will progressively force people to make tougher and tougher decisions. Jesus said, “No man can serve two master.”

A time is coming when every person will have to make a decision. There is a coming “fork” in the road. Here’s the fork: If you obey the laws of Babylon, you will have to disobey the laws of God.   If you obey the laws of God, you will have to disobey the laws of Babylon.

There will be severe consequences for disobedience – either way.

If you obey God, you will receive the wrath of Babylon. If you obey Babylon, you will receive wrath of God. This explains why the book of Daniel calls this time period: A time of wrath.” (See Daniel 8 and 11)

The second angel’s message will bring the actions of the composite beast into sharp focus. Remember, the composite beat rises out of the sea (this is a crisis government that will form in response to the fist four trumpets.

The composite beast will be a union of church and state. The composite beast rises out of “a sea of humanity” for the singular purpose of appeasing God so that His judgments will cease.

The composite beast will recommend the creation and enforcement of laws dictating worship and repentance and this is how Lucifer will persecute the followers of Jesus. The laws of Babylon will oppose the laws of God. 

Ok, now that we done a little review, and now that we have already studied the first angel’s demand to Fear Jesus and worship Him, let’s take a look at the second angel’s defiant declaration.

Revelation 14:8   A second angel followed and said, “Fallen! Fallen! Is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”

What does this message mean? “Babylon is fallen,” means that Babylon is a corrupt and false entity.

In other words, Babylon does not speak for God. The leaders of Babylon do not know the will, the plans or purposes of God. The leaders of Babylon do not speak the truth about God. They speak blasphemy.

Babylon will be a demonic organization from the start. Its great power will be derived from Lucifer! Revelation 13:2 “… The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.” There’s an irony of the second angel’s message: When the time comes for Babylon to form, most everyone will think that the formation of Babylon is the right thing to do!

In other words, when the whole world experiences the wrath of God, mankind will quickly diminish their differences and humbly unite out of panic and fear of the Almighty.

Mankind will come together in one accord for the purpose of appeasing God so that His wrath will stop! Think about this: When the world beholds the overwhelming destruction caused by the first four trumpets, isn’t it logical that mankind would do something to appease God’s anger before He kills everyone? Yes, of course! So, the formation of Babylon is man’s response to the first four trumpets.

Babylon’s stated purpose will be the appeasement of God, but as sincere as it will be, the idea of appeasing God is based on the false premise that man can appease this outbreak of God’s wrath! The book of Revelation indicates that appeasement is not possible (but, the leaders of Babylon do not understand the contents of Revelation).

Furthermore, the Bible predicts the leaders of Babylon will erroneously think that Jesus can be appeased through forced worship and repentance. The religious leaders of Babylon will insist that legislators impose a wide range of “sin-less” laws upon their respective nations so that God’s wrath against decadence and degeneracy will stop.

But, these laws will be meaningless to Jesus. Jesus has had ten “sin-less” laws in place ever since Mt. Sinai and what effects has the Ten Commandments had on mankind? We’re as degenerate and decadent as they were in Noah’s day.

And to make Babylon’s claim even more dramatic, consider this: The Bible teaches what legalism and obedience will not save a person! This will be most interesting. Millions of Christians have been led to believe that we are not under any obligation to obey the Ten Commandments because we are under grace. But, what will happen to their theological marshmallow once the wrath of God is revealed?

In the context of overwhelming death and destruction, it will be most interesting to see Protestants go along with the idea of imposing “the laws of Babylon” when their theology has been based on just the opposite point of view for several hundred years!

Babylon will impose a series of “sin-less” laws and this approach to appeasing God’s wrath will have no merit whatsoever. (But the religious experts of Earth will not know this.)

Jesus is very clear in john 3. In order to receive eternal life, a person has to be born again. He has to be transformed from within by the Holy Spirit. When a person is born again, he becomes a new person. The things he once hated, he now loves and the things he once loved, he now hates.

2 Corinthians 5:17   Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Born again people become honest hearted people – they are people who are prepared to take their stand on the side of truth because they love truth! Do you remember last month our discussion on the important distinction between keeping the law and fulfilling the intent of the law? Do you remember how actions that spring from love fulfill the law?

The point here is that Babylon’s efforts to appease God’s wrath will seem logical to most people at the time, but its methods and doctrines will be totally false. If repentance doesn’t spring from love, it is nothing.

So, Babylon will be demanding worship and repentance and a defiant declaration will be heard around the world. The 144,000 will say: “Babylon is fallen.” Babylon has it all wrong. Babylon is evil; it opposes will and plans of Jesus Christ! (This will not make the 144,000 very popular.)

What does the phrase mean:

“Babylon is fallen…. Which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”

Consider this:

1.   We know that Babylon forms out of a global panic. When people behold that God destroyed notoriously wicked places, a religious revolution will occur overnight.

2.   We know that Babylon will form because religious and political leaders think they can appease God’s wrath by reducing the amount of sin that is taking place. 

Therefore, a host of “sin-less” laws regarding moral behavior will be implemented and enforced.

3.   We know that all nations will suffer great losses as a result of God’s wrath; we know that all nations will be humbled by the fear of God.

In this setting, religious leaders from all nations will agree on the premise that mankind must unite as “one-man” to appease God or His wrath and destruction will continue.

4.   The problem is that Babylon has only one tool through which it can possibly appease God. This tool is legislation. Therefore religious leaders will insist that political leaders unite with them because Babylon’s leaders will think they can reduce the amount of sin and decadence that made God angry through legislation.

And after looking at the global destruction that occurred during the first four trumpets, the political leaders of the world will not be able to argue.

Listen carefully: The church/state tool is Satan’s most painful and deadly tool. We already know how the devil used this tool during the 1,260 years of the Dark Ages in his efforts to destroy the woman in Revelation 12.

So, this is the meaning of the phrase:

“Babylon….will make all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”

In other words, the maddening wine of Babylon is the intoxicating idea that God’s wrath can be appeased through a reduction in sinful behavior. To achieve this reduction, “sin-less” laws will be necessary and such laws will only be possible through a mutually beneficial union of church and state.

How clever!

You may recall that when Israel was a theocracy, God kept church and state separate. A king could not function as high priest, and a high priest could not function as king. 

Only in the government of Jesus Christ is there a true and righteous church/state. But when Jesus serves as Lord of lords and King of kings, all will be well. But, until then, any union of church and state is a demonic institution.

The devil intends to become Lord of lords and King of kings. The composite beast will be the first phase of the church/state government and the image to the beast is the final phase. When religious and political leaders unite for the purpose of appeasing God’s wrath, religious leaders commit adultery.

This union is called “adultery” because the church belongs to Christ; the ways of the church are not to be the ways of the state. But, the religions of the world will commit adultery with the political leaders of the world because all nations will drink in the intoxicated idea that God can be appeased through legislation. Thus: “Babylon….will make all nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”

All nations will “drink” in the false premise that God’s wrath can be appeased through the enforcement of laws regarding worship and repentance.

While man is trying to appease God, mankind makes a big mistake. The devil seizes the moment and takes over. He now has the perfect tool to destroy the remnant of the woman.

How clever!

The first angel’s message will demand that everyone worship the Creator on the day that the Creator made holy at the time of Creation! This day is Saturday, the seventh day of the week.

Babylon will also require that all nations to worship God on his holy day.

There will be Friday laws in Moslem countries.

There will be Saturday laws in Israel.

There will be Sunday laws in Catholic and Protestant countries.

Countries like India and China that do not have a weekly holy day per se may select a day of the week that seems best to them. The net effect though is that suddenly, everyone will be required by law to worship God on “a holy day.”

In this context, the question and a controversy will arise. Which day is holy to God? The 144,000 will declare the fourth commandment. The leaders of Babylon will attempt to nullify the first angel’s demand by appealing to its traditions.

Persecution begins. Those refusing to worship on Friday in Moslem countries will be persecuted and the same holds true in each nation. There will be a great deal of persecution over the topic of worship.

Revelation 13:6   He [the composite beast] opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven.

Revelation 13:7   He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.

Revelation 13:8   All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.”

But, Jesus will use the persecution of the 144,000 and His saints to accomplish several wonderful objectives! Jesus can make lemonade out of lemons.

The first objective will be that if suddenly making the worship of our Creator important. When worship itself becomes a hotly controversial debate around the world, people will begin to ask, what does the Bible say about worship?

Then, the second angel’s message will be a defiant declaration that Babylon is corrupt. Babylon stands in opposition to everything that God wants. As time passes, sincere people will see the blasphemy of Babylon and many will join with the 144,000 and denounce Babylon.

The leaders of Babylon will foolishly think they are speaking for God.

Revelation 13:5   The [composite] beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months.

The duration of the first and second angel’s message is lengthy because Jesus wants everyone on Earth to have time enough to understand who He really is, what He is doing for man’s salvation and why He sent the first four trumpets.

The 144,000 will be teaching and preaching everyday. Millions of people will rejoice to receive the light of truth as they study Bibles that were translated and distributed during the second seal.

The second angel’s message will infuriate the leaders of Babylon because they will insist on the implementation of laws that oppose the law of God.

This is how the people of Earth will be caught between the wrath of God and the wrath of Lucifer. The first and second angel’s messages will be proclaimed concurrently. The first angel’s message will last 890 days and the second angel’s message will last 824 days. Then, the third angel’s message will begin when the devil arrives on the 891^st day.

Remember, the fifth trumpet occurs when the gospel stalls. At that time, most people on Earth will have made up their minds on the question of worship. Therefore, God releases a strong delusion! The delusion is the appearing of the devil masquerading as Almighty God.

Revelation 14:9   A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand,

Revelation 14:10   he, too, will drink of the wine of God’s fury, which ahs been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb.

Revelation 14:11   And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name.”

Revelation 14:12   This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful in this message.

There are several important elements in this message.

1.   Timing:   This message is presented to the world by the 144,000 when the devil physically appears. He is the lamblike beast from the abyss, he is the angel king released from the bottomless pit.

After the devil appears, he will torment the non-religious wicked who stand in opposition to His assertion that He is God. (The religious wicked will receive Him ad God and God does not permit the devil to touch those who have the seal of God.)

After five months of establishing his authority over the people of Earth, the devil will order the leaders of Babylon to set up an “image to the beast.” This occurs at the time of the sixth trumpet. 

The image will be a consolidation of the world’s composite/diverse religions into a one-world church/state. Lucifer will rule as Lord of lords (over religion) and King of kings (over state). The world will be his for a short period of time. A possession he has coveted for 6,000 years.

Everyone refusing to obey his commandments will become targets of death.

Revelation 13:15   He [the lamblike beast] was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.

Revelation 13:16   He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead,

Revelation 13:17   so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.”

The third message is an ultimatum. It will stand in direct conflict with the demands of the devil:

Revelation 14:9   A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “if anyone worships the beat and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand,

Revelation 14:10    he, too, will drink of the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured out full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.”

Painful outcome.

When the image to the beast is set up, survival will be humanly impossible unless you can buy or sell. Those worshiping Jesus will be starved out or captured and killed --- and the wicked who will do these horrible things to the saints of God will think that they are doing “God” a service!

(Of course, they are doing the devil a service. The problem here is that they will think the devil is Almighty God!)

Revelation 14:12   This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.”

Now, I’ll try to explain a few things:

First, look at this passage:

“If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand….

Revelation 14:10   “….He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.

Revelation 14:11   And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever….”

At the Second Coming, the devil and the composite beast (the administration of his global empire) will be thrown into a lake of fire.

Revelation 19:20   “…. the two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.”     

Revelation 19:21   The rest of them [the wicked] were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of Jesus. This fiery lake of burning sulfur is ignited at the Second Coming and it will continue to burn during the 1,000 years.

Notice what transpires at the end of the 1,000 years:

Revelation 20:10   And the devil, who deceived them, were thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

Consider this:

When the devil is released from the spirit world at the fifth trumpet, the devil and his angels will take on glorious physical bodies so that human beings can actually see them.

Revelation 17:8   “….The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was [visible], now is not [visible], and yet will come [up out of the abyss and be visible].

However, at the Second Coming, the devil and his angels will lose their physical bodies. These bodies will be thrown into the lake of fire and be destroyed, but the devil and his angels are not destroyed. Rather, they will be separated from their glorious bodies and put back into the spirit realm (the abyss) for 1,000 years.

On the surface, the Bible appears to indicate that the lake of fire is an eternal burning fire.

Revelation 14:11   “…And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever.”

Revelation 20:10   “…They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

It should be easy to see how sincere people can read these verses – and without understanding the whole story of Revelation, they get the idea there is an eternally burning hell where people writhe in eternal torment.

However, the whole Bible does not teach nor endorse the idea that there is or will be an eternally burning hell. The problem is with the use of language.

The Bible is not in conflict with itself. Yes, there are a number of apparent conflicts, but these conflicts only make the truth brighter and more wonderful when they are resolved. Let’s look at another passage for a moment as though the book of Revelation was the only book in the Bible:

Revelation 14:9   “…If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand,

Revelation 14:10   “…He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.

Revelation 14:11   And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There s no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name.”

Look at the same sentence:

This verse is not talking about endless writhing in the flames of hell. Rather, it is talking about Holy Spirit torment during the closing days of the Two Witnesses.

The Holy Spirit will torment everyone with deep and troublesome stirrings – even after they have decided to take the mark of the beast. The door of salvation is still open, and anyone who has nor yet committed the unparabonable sin can still be saved!

This is why the Bible says:

“….There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name.”

The experience of the wicked can be compared to that of Pilate’s wife:

Matthew 27:19   While Pilate was sitting on the Judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”

Since the Two Witnesses are the Holy Spirit and the Bible, notice what the wicked people of Earth do when the power of the Holy Spirit and the Bible ends:

Revelation 11:9   For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on the bodies and refuse them burial.

Revelation 11; 10   The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.  

Now, look at these two phrases:

Revelation 14:11   “And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever….”

Revelation 20:10   “…They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever….”

The Greek word ‘aion is used 129 times in the New Testament. It is translated in several different ways.

For example:

KJV/Revelation 15:7   And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of wrath of God, who liveth for ever [‘aion] and ever [‘aion].

Matthew 12:32   Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age [‘aion] or in the age [‘aion] to come.

Matthew 13:22   The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life [‘aion] and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.”

KJV/Matthew 24:3   “And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world [‘aion]?”

So how does aion apply to Revelation 14:11 and 20:10? First, we have to understand God’s requirement for restitution.

God’s justice requires a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth and a bruise for a bruise. (Golden Rule)

Golden Rule: As we do unto others, the same shall be done unto us.

Jesus said:

Matthew 7:2   “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” 

Matthew 7:12   “So in everything, do unto others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

In other words, at both the Second Coming and at the end of the 1,000 years, the wicked are going to suffer until justice is fully served.

At the Second Coming, a full measure of suffering will be imposed on those who deliberately and willfully imposed grief and suffering on God’s people.

At the end of the 1,000 years, God will settle accounts with every wicked person in the same way. This is the meaning of these two texts.

Revelation 14:11   “…He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb [until God’s wrath is satisfied].

Revelation 20:10   And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night [until God’s demand for restitution has been satisfied] for ever and ever [until the end of the age].”

In closing, we can be sure that justice will be served. The wicked will receive everything they are due.

Romans 12:19   “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.”

The third angel’s message ends with two profound statements:

Revelation 14:12   This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.

Yes, the saints will be easy to spot….

Revelation 14:13   Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”

Martyrs for Christ will be twice blessed: 

1.   They sleep (rest) through the remaining months of the Great Tribulation.

2.   They will be resurrected just before Jesus appears to see Him appear in the clouds of glory!

So, we close the third angel’s message with a blessing on all who forfeit their lives because of the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus!