Chapter 1

Chapter 12

Three Angelic Messages and a Fourth!

And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory (Revelation 18:1).

Having Biblically established the fact that doctrine will play a vital role in the final outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we will now delve more specifically into the content of this final doctrinal message.

The three angels’ messages of Revelation constitute a vital portion of end-time doctrine. These three angels with their heavenly messages are recorded in Revelation chapter fourteen.

The First Angelic Message:
And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear Elohim, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters (Revelation 14:6-7).

Presented previously, the preaching of the everlasting gospel to the entire world is one of the important developments that must take place prior to our Saviour’s return. (See Matthew 24:13-14.) Thus, the reference in this text to the preaching of the everlasting gospel to every "nation, kindred, tongue and people" serves as a time-placement for this angelic message. Part of this final doctrine, the first angel’s message will shine so brightly upon the earth that every corner will be bathed in the piercing light of this truth.

What is this first angel proclaiming? It is a four-part message: (1) Mankind is called to fear Elohim (2) and give glory to Him. In addition, the angelic message contains a warning: (3) The hour of His judgment is come. Finally, (4) we are commanded to worship Elohim as our Creator. (See Revelation 14:6-7.)

What does this four-part message mean? To begin, let us examine the command to "fear Elohim." Initially, it may seem that mankind is being instructed to be afraid of YHWH. While tremendous awe and respect are entirely appropriate, abject terror toward Elohim is not what this first angelic message is intending to evoke.

A study of this "fear" will lead one to rather conclude, that the term "fear Elohim" is an instruction to espouse wisdom through obedience to His holy Law. In fact, the Scripture teaches that fearing Elohim IS keeping His Torah.

The fear of YHWH is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do His commandments… (Psalm 111:10).

Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which YHWH your Elohim commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it. That thou mightest fear YHWH thy Elohim, to keep all His statutes and His commandments...(Deuteronomy 6:1-2).

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear Elohim, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

The second part of the first angelic message is to "give glory" to Elohim. The meaning in this portion of the message is actually related to the first injunction to "fear Elohim." As we have seen that the Scripture teaches that we fear Elohim through obeying His holy Law, so in the same manner we also give Him glory. Biblically, the only "good works," are those that are in perfect harmony with the expressed will and ways of Elohim.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify (give glory to) your Father which is in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

Thus, the first angelic message is a command to obey every word of Elohim –all His commandments, statutes, and judgments (see Malachi 4:4). By the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, man may be empowered to walk in full obedience to His holy Word. Thus, the first angel proclaims the high Standard to which every man will be judged.

On the Judgment Day, the first angel warns, we will be measured against the Divine Standard. Our works are categorized as "good" if they are done in obedience to heaven’s commands. However, disobedient works are classified as "evil".

For Elohim shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil (Ecclesiastes 12:14).

Again, as this angel announces that the judgment is so imminent, we are given a reason to believe that this angelic message is one of the last doctrinal messages to be given just prior to the end of the world.

What is the heart of this first angelic message? It is a reminder -a proclamation- that all who would spend eternity in a Law-abiding and perfect universe will be keeping Elohim’s Law.

Nevertheless, the first angel does not simply enjoin general Law-keeping for his message specifically highlights a special portion of that Law. His final command is to "worship" Elohim as our Creator. How do we specifically worship our Creator? There is only one part of the Law that has to do with the worship of Elohim as our Creator. The Fourth Commandment presents the Seventh-day Sabbath as a sign of Elohim’s creative authority.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the Seventh day is the Sabbath of YHWH thy Elohim: in it thou shalt not do any work…(Exodus 20:8-10).

Clearly this text points to the seventh day of the week as being a day of rest. But, perhaps the connection between keeping this day holy and honoring Elohim as our Creator may not yet be obvious. The connection is made in the next verse. Here we are given the reason why we are to rest.

For in six days YHWH made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore YHWH blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it (Exodus 20:11).

Thus, we find that the first, end-time, angelic message is not only about wholly keeping the Torah (commandments and statutes), but also specifically remembering the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Considering that there are relatively few Christians who believe in keeping the Torah, and arguably just as few who keep the seventh-day Sabbath, this first angelic message will be nothing short of earth shattering to the majority of the world.

With this first message in mind, we may now return to Revelation chapter fourteen to view the second angelic message.

The Second Angelic Message:
And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication (Revelation 14:8).

In the ancient world, Babylon was a place renowned for sun worship and idolatry; but why would an ancient and out-dated city be referred to in an end-time angelic message? John Daniel, author of The Grand Design Exposed, refers to the Babylonian religion as the basis for all the false religious systems in the world today.

The city of Babel, later to become old Babylon, was the origin and fountainhead of all organized ‘higher’ learning. They studied the heavens and invented astrology, numerology, and the zodiac… It was here that the Babylonian elite developed their Illuminated Mystery Schools into a system of high priest god-kings (Pontifex Maximus) to rule over the masses… Old Babylon became the ‘prototype’ that affected and influenced every civilization, of every culture, in every nation, on every continent of this earth… The initiates, when fully ‘Illumined,’ always come away with a Plan… to dominate the world (p. 121).

The idea that the fallen Babylon, referenced by the second angel in Revelation chapter fourteen, is a symbol of a false religious system, rather than a physical place, is supported in Scripture in the seventeenth chapter of Revelation.

In this chapter, Babylon is the name of a Jezebel-like woman who sits upon a scarlet-colored, seven-headed Beast. She is clearly not on a godly woman, for she has become drunk by consuming the blood of the saints. This is a symbol of a persecutory power. This lavish woman is a killer of Elohim’s people.

…And I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Y’shua... (Revelation 17:3-6).

But the Bible is not referring to some world-dominating, highly evil female. A woman, in Bible prophecy represents a church or religious system. In Revelation, there are two women. One is the pure Bride of Christ, as represented by His people. The other woman is a hellish religious system, which rides on the satanic (see Revelation 12:9) dragon, joining the devil in persecuting and destroying the saints.

And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of Elohim, and have the testimony of Y’shua Christ (Revelation 12:17).

As the remnant of a bolt of fabric is the very last of that fabric, so the remnant of Elohim’s church is His people who live in the end of time. They are the last of Elohim’s people in the stream of earth’s history, since they will live to see the end of the world.

With this brief background established, regarding the Babylonian system of false worship, we may now examine the second angel’s message with deeper understanding.

And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication (Revelation 14:8).

The heavenly announcement that Babylon is fallen is a joyous news flash for Elohim’s people. For this message pronounces the final downfall of that old system of satanic worship which persecuted the people of Elohim in every age. In the chapter titled, "The Battle of the Little Big Horn," the full identity of this false religious system will be Biblically revealed. For the purposes of this chapter, however, we are now ready to press on to the third angel’s message.

The Third Angelic Message:
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 Elohim, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of Elohim, and the faith of Y’shua (Revelation 14:9-12).

Blasting their final messages to the world, the three angels speak with tremendous unity. The first angel points mankind to the Law of Elohim and reminds that this is the Standard to which every person will be judged. The second angel heralds Elohim’s true Kingdom while the false god of this world is falling. Finally, the third angel pronounces judgment upon any and all people who have allied themselves against the government of heaven. These will be eternally destroyed. On the other hand, through the same faith that Y’shua displayed, those who keep the Law of Elohim and are victorious Christians are counted as saints.

Truly these three angels bear a vital message that is meant to specifically warn those who live at the end of time. Nonetheless, while their messages are brilliant and full of truth, these angels are not bearing the messages that lighten the whole earth in the final appeal to mankind.

There is another angel to follow the three. It is the fourth angel of Revelation chapter eighteen. And it is this angelic message which is so dazzling in its unveiled blaze of truth that all the earth, even the darkest and most sin-filled recesses, are bathed in its unmitigated glory.

And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory (Revelation 18:1).

This fourth angel’s message is the one which, when proclaimed upon the earth, is the doctrinal preparation for the final outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Latter Rain. Those who accept the message of the fourth angel, will be prepared to take Elohim’s gospel message to every corner of the globe with great power, "lightening" the earth with heavenly glory. On the other hand, those who reject this angelic message will receive the plagues.

What is this powerful last message that will be proclaimed upon the earth prior to the plagues? Let us take a closer look at the second verse of Revelation chapter eighteen.

The Fourth Angelic Message:
And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies… Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and Elohim hath remembered her iniquities (Revelation 18:2-5).

It is interesting to note that the message of the fourth angel embodies all the messages of the former three angels. The fourth angel again gives the pronouncement of Babylon’s fall. In addition, Elohim’s coming judgment is heavily suggested in the statement that He "hath remembered her iniquities." When Elohim forgives us for our iniquities and cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9), He willingly chooses to no longer remember our sins. This is a wonderful expression, which shows the depth of our heavenly Father’s forgiveness.

This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith Adonai, I will put My Laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more (Hebrews 10:16-17).

Thus, Babylon, and those associated with her are in dire straights in the fourth angel’s pronouncement. They do not receive heavenly pardon. They will indeed partake of the plagues as Elohim rains His judgments upon all who reject His holy Law.

But, the Law of Elohim is not just suggested, it is spotlighted in the fourth angel’s shout. All are called to "come out of her (Babylon), My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins…" If we would not be "partakers of her sins," we must know what the sins of Babylon are. By implication, the fourth angel directs mankind’s attention to the Law of Elohim, for sin is only known through the holy Law. "For by the Law is the knowledge of sin" (Romans 3:20).

Thus, the fourth angel seems to be reiterating the light of the past three angels. How then can his message be so special that it lightens the whole globe in dazzling truth? The implication in Scripture is that this angel is the brightest of all. This is implied in the fact that the other three angels are not Biblically recorded as lightening the whole earth. How then can this angel who is merely restating the messages of the other angels be so much brighter? Light is truth. Through the love of the light, or the truth, the heart is transformed and the darkness of sin is dispelled.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in Elohim (John 3:19-21).

Following the Scripturally supported teaching that truth is light, we conclude that the fourth angel is brighter because his message contains more light or is a fuller message of truth. Thus, the message of the fourth angel will herald the Sabbath, giving greater light to the meaning of the fourth commandment. In addition, the fourth angel’s message will proclaim Babylon’s fall with even greater clarity, as will later be explained in great detail. This message will shed even more light on what is the mark of the Beast and how to avoid receiving it. And finally, this angelic message will shed further light on Elohim’s holy Law and on our responsibility to keep it in His power.

Truly, now that we have examined what the message of the fourth angel will contain, we are ready to delve into each dazzling aspect of it, allowing its heavenly light to shine forth with Bible-based clarity. The dazzling added light of the fourth angel will be dealt with in the next chapter.

Chapter 12 Summary

There are three angelic messages, which will be proclaimed at the end of the world, as recorded in Revelation chapter 14.

These three angels point mankind to the holy Law of Elohim, requiring obedience to it. In addition, they warn of being part of the false religion of Babylon. Finally, they proclaim the end of all who partake of Babylon’s sins – the plagues.

The fourth angel comes after these three. His message embodies theirs, yet his has more light.

Light represents truth. Thus this fourth angel is brightest because he will proclaim aspects of the Law, the Sabbath, how to avoid the mark of the Beast, and what will bring about the fall of Babylon with added dimensions of truth, not previously seen.