(no audio or video for today’s sermon or service)
Sermon for Midweek of Trinity 8
Revelation 14:6-13
The troubles brought upon the Church by her three enemies—the dragon and the two beasts—are countered in this fifth vision by the proclamation of the three angels. Let’s just briefly walk through their three messages tonight.
Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”
In spite of all the opposition of the hostile governments of the world and the apostate church, the gospel will continue to be preached in all the world. That’s the simple message here. It’s the everlasting gospel. None of the devil’s lies can change it or stop it from being preached. It will be preached to all nations, as Jesus also promised when He talked about the end times.
We don’t need to narrow down this angel to one preacher in the history of the world. But many Lutherans have seen Martin Luther and his fellow preachers at the time of the Reformation as prime examples of this angelic preaching. Why? Because the beasts have been associated with the Roman Empire and the Roman Church that grew up out of that empire, and together, the not-so-Holy Roman Empire did immense damage to the Church. But the message of the Reformation was what the angel here proclaimed: Fear God and give glory to Him! Don’t fear the saints! Don’t fear the emperor! Don’t fear human beings who make themselves grand and glorious leaders of the Church! Fear God! Give glory to Him! Worship the Creator, not the creature! Let His Word dwell richly in your hearts! Let His Word determine what you believe! Do it now, because He won’t put up with this world for that much longer. The time of grace is still here, but it’s running out! Turn to Christ and escape the coming judgment!
That message continues to be preached in the world in these days of earth’s final gasps. Stop worshiping yourselves, you people of the earth! Stop living for yourselves! Fear God! Hear His Word! Repent and believe in Christ Jesus!
And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”
This is a message of hope for the Church as well as judgment for those who have allied themselves with “Babylon.” Now, why Babylon? This is clearly looking back to Old Testament history, when Babylon became the great enemy of the Jews, even as it harbored the Jews for a time while they were living there in captivity. At John’s time, the great city that had become the enemy of Christians, even as it harbored many Christians, was Rome, and, by extension, the whole Roman Empire. And, as we said, Rome eventually became the seat of the most prominent false teacher in the history of the Christian Church, namely, the pope or the papacy itself, which is actually the enemy of Christians, even as the Roman Church still harbors many Christians throughout the world. Together, the hostile governments of the world and the false church (both of which have moved well beyond the borders of Rome), make all nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of their fornication, that is, leading people to worship idols, whether in the form of saints, or in the form of the government, or just in the form of self. But Babylon, in both these forms, will fall. The governments of the world will be toppled. The important men of the world will be destroyed. And the false-teaching church will come to an end. That’s good news to Christ’s flock throughout the world that has been struggling to get by. Not glorious here, not successful by earthly standards, not big and impressive. But faithful! Babylon will fall, but the Church of Christ will prevail.
Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. 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 ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
The preaching of the gospel continues to go out, and with it, this warning, which is about as stern a warning as people can get. Do not be deceived by the antichristian government, and do not be deceived by the antichristian church. Don’t be deceived by their lies. Don’t give in to the idolatry they promote. Don’t go along with the false church with its false teachings, just because you grew up in it, or because it seems to get a lot of things right. All those who refuse to worship the true God and His Son Jesus Christ, as He has revealed Himself to us in Holy Scripture and as He is preached by faithful ministers of the Church, will end up in hell. Here is the fire and brimstone that maybe too many Christian preachers used to be known for, although today, it’s probably not enough. Fire and brimstone isn’t the only thing Christian preachers are to preach. It’s not even the main thing. But it is a thing. The same Lamb of God who gave His life for the sins of the world, who still wants all men to be saved, will also look on approvingly at the eternal punishment of those who squandered their day of grace, who remained in their sins instead of repenting of their sins and accepting His gracious offer of salvation while it was on the table, because it won’t be on the table forever.
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
There are two ways of understanding this verse. Either the ongoing preaching of the gospel and the coming judgment of the Church’s enemies gives the saints patience to make it through, or John means that the saints will still need to be patient for a while, because the Church’s enemies will still be allowed to torment Christians for a while. I think the latter understanding makes more sense. Because what’s also called for, as we wait for the Lord’s deliverance, in addition to patience, is that we continue to keep the commandments of God and stay believing in Jesus, in spite of what everyone else around us may be doing.
Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”
There’s the comfort! There’s what gives the patience and strength we need. The Lord from heaven pronounces a blessing on those who die “in the Lord,” who die believing in the Lord Jesus. Blessed “from now on,” that is, blessed from the moment they die and lasting forever, because death isn’t defeat for those who die in the Lord. It’s the passage into the eternal blessedness and rest we’ve all been waiting for, where none of the labors or troubles follow, but only the Father’s welcome, and His “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Amen.
