In this article we shall present the message in an easy to follow format made user friendly by the Old Testament background revealed in the Book of Revelation. This reliance on the Old Testament is of course a result of the OT being the only Bible for Jesus, the disciples and very early Christians. Not until the apostles wrote their gospels and epistles, came a New Testament about.

It fell upon the youngest of the 12 apostles, the Apostle John whose name is more correctly `Johannes,' to write the last book of the New Testament, "... the Revelation of Jesus Christ ..." Rev. 1:1.

When we study the book we should take into account that Revelation was written on the basis of prophetic visions John saw, ie. it was not written like his gospel and epistles, based on notes and recollection of his walk with Jesus as a disciple to the Saviour. That is why we find Jesus described as "the lamb" only in his gospel of John (Jh. 1:29,36) and in Revelation (Rev. 5:6 + 28 more times). We hold with many other historicists that Revelation, as a `prophetic' book is Jesus Christ spanning centuries, not days, months or years, as he shows His beloved disciple what must take place before He comes again the Second Time as King to end the reign of sin. Therefore, fulfillment of the prophecies contained in the book, if they superficially relate to events before the writing of the book in the mid 90's of AD when Domitian was emperor in Rome, are applicable to church history, the experience of the saints in the world up to and until the Coming of Christ in the clouds and heaven itself.

When John wrote his prophetic book, the destruction of Jerusalem, its Temple, and the dispersion of the Jews, was a quarter century in the past. Those days were not current news anymore.

The reign of Domitian brought emperor worship starkly to the forefront and became for the first time a crucial issue for the Christians, in particular in Asia Minor, the area where the letters to the seven churches were directed. Emperor worship was known since at least the time of Alexander. When the Romans conquered the east, their generals and proconsuls were often idolized as deities. This is evident by the numerous temples to the goddess Roma, the personification of the spirit of the empire, built in many places. Such a temple was erected in 195 AD at Smyrna. In time the worship of Roma faded while that of the emperor rose. Rituals for the emperor were not easily distinguished from patriotic ceremonies, although the Senate did officially deify certain dead emperors, for example (Gaius Gallus (37-41 AD) and Domitian (81-96).

Christianity had no legal recognition by the Roman government, but even such a religion was not likely to be persecuted by the Romans unless they ran afoul of the law. Christianity did just that. Domitian zealously sought to establish his claim to deity in the minds of the people, and to force his subjects to worship him. Suetonius records that he issued a circular letter in the name of his procurators, beginning with the words,

"Our Master and our God bids this to be done ..." [100]

We should also note the Roman historian Dio [200] whose account throws some light on the times:

"And the same year [95 AD] Domitian slew, along with many others, Flavius Clements the consul, although he was a cousin and had to wife Flavia Domitilla, who was also a relative of the emperor's. The charge brought against them both was that of atheism, a charge on which many others who drifted into Jewish ways were condemned. Some of these were put to death, and the rest were at least deprived of their property. Domitilla was merely banished to Pandateria."

Although on first sight this passage seems to record a persecution of Jews [300], scholars have suggested that it is really Christianity for which Flavius Clements and his wife were punished. From the standpoint of a pagan historian not intimately acquainted with Christianity, "Jewish ways" would be a logical description for Sabbath keeping Christianity, and "atheism" might well represent the refusal of Christians to worship the emperor.

Such conditions of persecution for refusal to worship at the emperor's shrine doubtless constitute the immediate background of John's exile to Patmos, and thus of the writing of the Book of Revelation. Christianity had entered its second generation. Most of those who had known the Master were in their graves. The church was faced with the fiercest external threat it had yet known, and it needed a new revelation of Jesus Christ. We can see, therefore, how the visions given to John met a specific need in their own time. Through them heaven was opened to the suffering church, and Christians, who refused to bow to the pomp and circumstance of the emperor, were given reassurance that their Lord, now ascended and standing at the throne of God, infinitely transcended in majesty and power any earthly monarch who might demand their worship.

The Cosmic Sweep of the Apocalypse

Whereas most prophecy is concerned mostly with national and international problems having to do with the history of Israel and the glorious future that might have been hers, apocalyptic events play upon the grander stage of the universe, and takes at its central theme from the great controversy between God and Christ on one side, and Satan on the other.

The apocalyptic writer records the dreams and visions granted him while "... in the spirit" (Rev. 1:10). He is often snatched away in vision and carried to distant viewing locations, where he beholds scenes of majesty and grandeur that defy adequate description in human language, and where he converses with angels. Although such experiences are also found repeatedly in the other prophets, they are particularly characteristic of apocalyptic writings; so much so, in fact, that they form virtually the whole content of the apocalyptic sections of Daniel and the Book of Revelation.

The First Angel's Everlasting Gospel

"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 God, 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." Rev. 14:6-7.

The three concepts emphasized above, `the everlasting gospel being preached among all nations of the world,' is presented in Revelation as leading right up close to the Second Coming of Christ to `harvest' His people on the earth.[350] Actually, what John here describes is the same gospel Jesus Himself preached when on earth,

"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." Matthew 24:14.

Both, Matthew and Revelation contain the same elements,

a) the gospel
b) being preached
c) in all the world

Both of these scriptures also end with Jesus coming again. So we see, Jesus preached the same gospel, as presented by Matthew and Luke, that John `saw' being preached.

We may compare this gospel that goes out into all the world with its opposite.[400] For that purpose we read just a few verses before the above quote from Rev. 14,

"The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, 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." Rev. 14:10.

In this scripture we read, that those who worship the beast and its image shall also drink ... drink of what?

"... drink of the wine of the wrath of God"

To understand this apocalyptic message let us look at the components we just read about. We have here,

a) they will drink
b) out of a cup
c) the wrath of God

In other words, the cup contains the `wrath of God' which the wicked must drink.

Our question is, `What has this strange language to do with the "... everlasting gospel ..." ?

Well, let us examine the gospels to find out what this is all about.

Please turn your Bible to the Book of Matthew. Here we read about Jesus being in the Garden of Gethsemane. He is about to be arrested, put before Caiphas, Pilate and then crucified,

"Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me." Matthew 26:38.

We read here about the innermost feelings of Jesus.

Why, then, was Jesus `exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death?'

We find the reason in the next verse,

"And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." Mat. 26:39.

"He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. ... And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words." Mat. 26:42,44.

We should now notice the connection between Revelation chapter 14 and Matthew 26, with respect to the experience Jesus is going through as far as drinking out of that cup is concerned.

In Revelation we are told that the wicked will drink from the wine that is in a cup. In Matthew, Jesus has to drink from that cup.

We can also call on the Book of Hebrews to read how it describes so very vividly the sufferings of Jesus in Gethesemane.

"Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared." Hebrews 5:7.

We recall that Jesus asked His Father about them this way, `If it is thy will take this cup away from my hand so I do not have to drink it. But your will be done, not mine..'

Jesus feared what was before him. He could not see through to what was to come. Was the life he offered fulfilling what he had come for? Was it accepted by God? Or was it all a loss? Such were the trying fears of Jesus which weight so heavily upon his mind. He yearned for release if all that He did was of no avail. He feared now in his mind the death he would die, with no assurance of release. He had to drink the cup alone. His Father could send him no word, no reassurance, no comfort. His connection was cut off for these trying hours. He stood all alone.

But the situation is still getting worse for Jesus. We read,

"And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." Luke 22:44.

Unlike the way the movie `The Passion', which showed these events by concentrating on the physical sufferings of Jesus, in the gospels we read very little about the physical abuse, but more about his emotional sufferings. Jesus is agonizing before he is even arrested. While he suffered physically, being beaten and all, that is not the suffering stressed in the gospels.

To have sweat turn into blood, even before he was beaten or had the pain inducing crown of thorns placed upon his head, indicates another type of suffering.

We may think, `How can sweat turn into blood?' According to Luke, the physician, that is what happened.

Are the blood vessels somehow connected to the sweat glands?

In medical accounts it is known as `hematohidrosis' during which the many capillary blood vessels surrounding the sweat glands like a network, first contract and then dilate, pushing blood into the sweat glands, which then can come out of the skin as sweat mixed with drops of blood. [1000]

This event took place before anyone placed a finger on Jesus according to the biblical account.

Our question is, `Who gave Jesus this `cup' to drink?'

"Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" John 18:11.

So it was God the Father, who gave Jesus the cup to drink. But the Bible is not silent on the close knit relationship between Jesus and His Heavenly Father. We read,

"And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him." John 8:29.

But now, in Gethsemane, something terrible happened which He could not shake off even while hanging on the cross.[1100]

"And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? ... My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring (groaning)?" Matthew 27:46; Psalm 22:1,2.

Even though Christ knew from the Messianic prophecy of Psalm 22, what he would feel, he could not see through the veil.

The Apostle Paul uses similar phraseology,

"For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. ... He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" Romans 8:22,32.

Ellen White commented on this experience of Jesus using the following words,

"The sins of men weighed heavily upon Christ, and the sense of God's wrath against sin was crushing out His life." Desire of Ages, p. 687.

Here we are told that it was the wrath of God against `the sins' which crushed out the life of Jesus, ie. `our sins', the sins of all of us. That is why the Roman soldier was so surprised when he saw that Jesus was dead already, and he did not break his bones.

She continues,

"The awful moment had come--that moment which was to decide the destiny of the world. The fate of humanity trembled in the balance. Christ might even now refuse to drink the cup apportioned to guilty man. It was not yet too late. He might wipe the bloody sweat from His brow, and leave man to perish in his iniquity. He might say, Let the transgressor receive the penalty of his sin, and I will go back to My Father. Will the Son of God drink the bitter cup of humiliation and agony? Will the innocent suffer the consequences of the curse of sin, to save the guilty? The words fall tremblingly from the pale lips of Jesus, "O My Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done." DA 687, 690.

Can you imagine that the fate of humanity hung in the balance in the Garden of Gethsemane?

"It was the sense of sin, bringing the Father's wrath upon Him as man's substitute, that made the cup He drank so bitter, and broke the heart of the Son of God." DA p. 753.

Jesus bore every sin that has ever been committed or will ever be committed upon the cross and because His Father cannot countenance sin, Jesus felt the wrath of God for all these sins during those agonizing hours.

No human being will ever comprehend what that really means. We are never called upon to bear the sin burden of all of humanity upon a cross. The wicked will have enough to carry their own burden on judgment day since they made light of the forgiving grace of God.

Paul writes about it this way,

"Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." Galatians 3:13.

Is that a bad law Paul writes about?

Doesn't the Bible say here, that the law curses us?

If the law curses us, does that not say that the law must be bad?

Why does the law curse us?

Well, because we have broken it. - Because we are sinners.

Do you suppose, that, if we had obeyed, the law would still curse us?

Doesn't the Bible also say, that "the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." Romans 7:12?

So we can tell, it is not the law that is bad, we are the one's who are bad. Bad, bad, bad, as we sometimes heard it being said, while growing up.

The law says, `You are cursed. You deserve to drink the cup of suffering the death. That is what the law says.'

Because,

"... all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God ... There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:23, 10;

That is man's situation without Christ. But the good news is, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. And how did He do it?

Because He "... became a curse for us ...".

He, who never sinned, who never broke the law, who didn't deserve what He got. - He bore our guilt! He suffered because He took your sins and mine upon His innocent shoulders and died for you and me on the Roman cross of calvary.

For humanity that is the Greatest News of all the Ages. Jesus took them all so we can be innocent and free.

Amen, Hallelujah, Amen.

The Bible puts it this way,

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2.Corinthians 5:21.

Listen! -- God Father made Jesus to be sin for us. -- By giving Him our sin --- that we might be looked upon as being righteous in him.

That is why we do not need to have any concern what God the Father thinks about us. We need to be concerned about what He thinks about Jesus, our Substitute. While the Jews had the law, they did not recognize the spirit which lies deeper than the law. They discerned the God of the law, but not God as His heavenly Father. That is why a Jew never discovered the real answer and meaning to his religion.

What does that mean?

When we sin, we make Jesus bear the burden for it. Satan can point his finger at us and accuse us before Jesus.

When we kid around and say all these things which make no one proud, which are not clean things, just and good. When we say such things, we sadden Jesus and the holy angels and they turn from us - until we come to our senses and pray, `Oh God, forgive me of my sins and my trespasses, for I have sinned against Thee. ... And He is just and good and forgives us our sins for He loves the sinner who comes before Him to ask for forgiveness (Ezekiel 18:9; Acts 26:18).

When we have Jesus, we have life -- everything.

Let us read that from the Bible,

"Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:4-6. Written 700 years before Jesus was born.

Here we read, `He was stricken by Caiphas, smitten by Pilate' -- is that what we read?

No! Jesus was stricken by me, by all of us. He was smitten by me, and all of us.

These are not the physical sufferings, these are the sufferings of the soul of the Son of God.

Romans says,

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23.

His billboards and advertisements are gaudily colorful and show the good and careless life.

He works from an office which is for some hard to find. He likes to remain unrecognized. He wears disguises and runs more than one shady affair at a time.[See here for other, non SdA comments: here, here and here.]

When he pays his wages he tells you, he will write you a check. If we would look and read it, it will say `death.'

Most, like sheep, don't look. They just put it in their pocket thinking everything is fine.

The other equal opportunity is Mr. Righteousness. What are his wages?

He pays you with `everlasting life.'

That is what our text is saying. Mr. Satan pays you with the currency of death, but ... Mr. Righteousness `gives you the gift of eternal life through Jesus our Lord.'

When Jesus came, Satan told him, `I pay you the wages of death, but when Jesus lived a righteous life' -- what payment did He receive?

He was paid with death!

How can that be? If he worked so perfectly for Mr. Righteousness, how could He receive death? He never sinned -- Mr. Righteousness should not have paid Him any wages. He should have received the wages of life. Why?

Because He did not reveive His own wages but ours, which we worked for in the office of Satan.

He took all the blame on Himself because He loved us. Jesus was made to be sin for us so we could be recognized as righteous.

We read,

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. ... And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." John 3:16; 1.John 2:2.

Jesus died and paid for the sins of the whole world. He even bore the sins of the future. There is not one sin which Jesus did not pay for.

Now here comes the big question.

`If Jesus paid for all the sins then everybody will be saved, right?'

Isn't that the good news of the everlasting gospel?

Unfortunatly, No!

Let us read it again in John 3,

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Did Jesus pay?

Must we receive what Jesus paid?

Yes, But there is a condition. The condition is that we must believe in Him.

The gift of Jesus, eternal life, is that a free gift?

How much do gifts cost?

You say, `They are free.'

Is that right?

Well, Yes and No.

They are free for the one who receives them, but they cost something for the one who gives them.

So, how much did the human race have to pay for Jesus to come?

Nothing.

Jesus was given for the world.

He will always bear His scars. Jesus has become a member of the human family.

He alone can feel for us to the utmost.

God is closer to us now than He has ever been. And true, if He would not have been born as a babe, He would be only God. But He is not only God now, He is also one of us.

The Bible says that "... he is not ashamed to call us brethren ..." Hebr. 2:11, where `brethren' is a collective term and means `man and woman.' He became part of our family, so that we can become part of His family.

Jesus paid a very high price to purchase our salvation. He drank the cup that we should drink ourselves. He sweated the drops of blood that we should sweat. He cried out, `Why have you forsaken me?' That should be our cry because of our sins. All that Jesus gave us as a free gift.

But this is the question, `If someone gives you a gift, do you have the right to accept or reject it?'

Of course, we do not need to accept it.

We could be like that little ungrateful child who rejects the present his parents bought him.

So, is everyone going to be saved?

No, not everyone will accept the free gift offered. Even so Jesus paid already for the gift, it is already purchased, not everyone will think to enjoy it as their own.

Therefore, only those who receive the gift will enjoy its values.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.

So, how do we show that we believe in Jesus?

When we are adopted, there must be a legal ceremony of course. What is this ceremony?

"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." Mark 16:15,16; Matth. 28:19,20.

When we join God's family we must be baptized. Baptism is the official incorporation ceremony, the official marriage ceremony which makes us part of His Family.

When Jesus drank the cup of the wrath of God, He exhausted the wrath of God, so we don't have to drink that cup.

But the Bible tells us also about a group of people in the world who will drink the cup of the wrath of God. Why must they drink that cup of the wrath of God?

Because they did not receive Jesus who drank the cup of the wrath of God in their place. They decided against Him. They did not care about what heaven has to offer. They rather believed the lies of Satan. They could not trust the Biblical assertions that any of this was really true.

So they decided against Jesus free offer - His gift for all.

And the truth is, that if someone does not receive Jesus who drank the cup for him, he must drink it himself, Rom. 20:7-9.

Jesus opened the door of salvation, He invites us to become His children.

"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls." 1.Peter 2:24,25.

That is the free gospel in verity.

Such a list can be continued, but may it suffice for now.[1500]

Such worshipful attitude is intended to underscore that we are very close to God.

Let us read about it,

"Ye shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him" Deuteronomy 13:4.

In this text we have several synonymous expressions which explain what it means to `fear God.' Please notice the parallel expressions. The word `cleave' here, we find used the first time, after God made Eve out of the bone of Adam in Genesis 2:24. Eve would `cleave' to Adam, be very close to him. That, the Bible teaches, is how close God's people can be to God. God is our loving father, our helper in distress, our saviour, our substitute, our teacher.

God's Name

But there is something else having to do with `the fear of the Lord,' and that is that His name is intensely holy,

"He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name." Psalm 111:9.

In other words God is one whom we reverence because He is awesome. This is the reason why, in the Seventh day Adventist church, our pastors are not called , `yare,' `reverend' for there is only one in the universe who is worthy to be called `reverend.' This Hebrew word occurs only once in all the Bible right here in the verse we just cited. You might want to think about the ramifications of this scripture!

Only God is to be revered, holy, held in awe, reverenced, worshipped and brought homage to. We must be very careful how we use His name.

Notice how important the name of the Lord is in the next scripture,

"You shall not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain." Exodus 20:7.

One would think this should cause a whole crowd of clergy to have to change the way they like to be called. Of course it should cause such a reaction. Why doesn't it? Because the church members of these clergy do not study the Bible, neither does their clergy, and they do not have the `fear of the Lord' in them. They use the name of the Lord God unnecessarily, flattering themselves as if they deserve such an appellation. In other words, they are far removed from the Lord God, Creator of heaven and earth. There is no closeness, only a vast distance no matter how pious they may sound.

The reverend God of heaven is called Jesus, which means, `he saves us.' His name will be called `Immanuel', which means, `God is with us.'

We learn here again the important message, that in the Bible, names have meaning and we should not presume to apply any name used in connection with God for someone among us. How man uses such names or personal addresses may very well indicate his lack of comprehension and appreciation of the holiness of God.

Therefore, we should never say words like `gee' or `gosh' which are derogatory slang expressions for Jesus and God. That is why in orthodox Judaism they never pronounced the name of God for it was far too reverend to be spoken in conversations or prayers. Actually, in time they forgot how to pronounce God's name and we do not really know if His Name should be pronounced Jahwe or Jehovah. We should learn a lesson from this, that we use the name of God sparingly and in a careful manner.

That is why Jesus said in the Lord's Prayer,

"Hallowed be Thy Name" Matth. 6:9.

Jesus is saying, `Sanctified be Thy Name.' `May Thy Name be Holy.'

Therefore, those who `fear God,' respect the name of God, because they `respect' the character of God. They uphold His Name in utmost `Reverence.'

There are examples in the Bible of how people responded when they met God face to face. Their experience gives us good examples on how to worship God.

Let us read such a scripture,

"Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. Fear before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved. " 1.Chronicles 16:29,30.

We recall that we found these very same expressions presented in Revelation 14:7. So we realize how dependend John the Revelator was on the OT when he wrote the Book of Revelation. By observing these correlations we can tell which pages of the OT John may have especially enjoyed to study and we find excellent confirmation on the veracity of the Bible and how the Holy Spirit watched over the Word of God all these centuries.

In the Presence of God

Another scripture shows the worshipful attitude so well,

"And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever." 2.Chronicles 7:3.

How did Israel respond, when they saw, how God manifested His presence? The Bible says, that they bowed before Him, and they put their forehead to the ground.

Do you know why they did that, bowing their forehead to the ground in biblical times?

Israel did that because they had `humility.' A word that is akin to the Latin word `humus.' `Humus' is dirt. It is what my mother wanted in her garden for it was regarded as fertile, black-brown dirt.

What is humility?

Humility is humbling ourselves to the dirt, to the dust. Because we recognize that we are dust. And that is what the Israelites were doing, they acknowledged their `dustiness' before the Lord God.

How many of us are inclined to do that when we attend church? One church I know, the people enter, and before they move into the rows of seats, while still in the isle, they bow down low to the floor and then take their seat. They were so taught from a young age on.

We may use the excuse, `Well, that may be so, but it is no help doing these ceremonial bows and things, and then not worship God in truth as revealed in scripture.'

That may be so, but may be we should take care and do both?

"And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God." Exodus 3:5,6.

In Muslim countries taking off shoes is an age old custom. In Protestant churches we hear babbling of voices and rarely do we find such reverence. Perhaps we may learn something imitable on how to worship God.

In our churches it is often hard to remain in quietness for so many get up at any time during worship, children make noises and parents lament, `Well,' they say, `my child gets restless in church, so I bring something to quiet him.'

Well, for a new member that may be ok. For a life long, or second, or third generation member, don't they teach that to their young children in family worship? That is where they ought to learn how to behave during worship hours, including those at church. The church is not the living room for a child.

Israelite parents were supposed to talk about God, the law, the sanctuary when walking, shopping, at school, everywhere. That way the young would grow up in a milieu of a knowledge of God and Godly ways and learn to love the Lord. Is it too late for us to be more like that? Seems we should be more like that before the Lord comes.

We have another example of how to come before the Lord,

"When Simon Peter saw it (all the fish in the net), he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord." Luke 5:8.

The fish were all on the right side of the boat, where Jesus was. No Jesus, no fish. Jesus attracts fish.

But as soon as Peter realized that great miracle he knew he was in the presence of divinity and his sinfulness stood out starkly and he felt so inadequate to be so close to Christ that he exclaimed this involuntary confession of his unworthiness. He had the same experience as Daniel, as that prophet fell, as if lifeless, when the angel of the Lord appeared, Dan. 10:8.

Isaiah had a similar experience in a vision. He is in the Temple of the Lord and everything is shaking and full of the smoke of the incence of prayers and the Seraphim angels are there and we read how Isaiah reacts,

"Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." Isaiah 6:5.

That is how we should feel when we come in the presence of God. We should not mill around outside. We should be found inside participating in the studies and be counted among God's people. We are admonished to attend the meetings of the congregation to train us to be unselfish and be ready for the Lord to come.

The Bible teaches also, that those who fear the Lord are filled with joy.

How many of you have ever been afraid and were filled with joy at the same time?

On first glance the above may sound like it would contradict itself. But it does not.

Here is why,

"Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling." Psalm 2:11.

We can fear the Lord and at the same time rejoice ... albeit with trembling.

But the vast majority of the verses talking about `fearing' God mean by that, we are to obey Him.

Jesus says, these people, with their lips they worship me,

"This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me." Matthew 15:8.

Indeed, these are words reflecting what Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 29:13 and which Jesus quoted from.

Let us read Deuteronomy,

" And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? " Deuteronomy 10:12,13.

Here is the list of what God expects of us. There is no dispensation in the history of the church where not all of these apply. They are eternal principles.

Question: What reason did Israel have to fear and obey God? How do the Ten Commandments begin?

Do they begin with, `Thou shalt not?'

Yes?

......

No!

In their dispair of slavery, all Israel needed to do to be delivered was, to cry out to God for deliverance.

It did not cost them anything. God released them from bondage.

That is why we read,

"And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." Exodus 20:1,2.

What is the motivation for Israel to keep the Ten Commandments?

It is to fear God, to cleave to God, to love God, to obey God, to serve God, to worship God.

Their motivation to keep the law was that God had delivered them from a grinding-down life of bondage. A life with no freedoms, no liberties, no justice and no end in sight.

And God heard their travailing and groaning, Exodus 2:24, and remembered His covenant with Abraham and released them from such a wretched, exacting life of slavery so that they could learn to love again, to breath the air freely, to have a home life and be able to worship.

What is the motivation for us to keep the Ten Commandments?

It should be love.

Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15.

On this note, let us see if we can find something a bit more controversial. We are searching for some Bible texts which deal with the fear of the Lord entailing obedience.

"And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?"
Job 1:8,9.

What does it mean for Job to fear the Lord?

Verse 8, `He is perfect and upright, and he shuns evil.'

That is it. That is the answer. God's answer on what it means to `fear the Lord.'

Job shrank back from evil and rejected evil. He was on the level. God trusted him as the rest of the Book of Job shows.

We can clearly see that to `fear the Lord' has to do with obedience to the will of God. Later on he said,

"Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding." Job 28:28.

So what is the `fear of the Lord?'

It means to depart from evil.

Does `fear of God' have anything to do with our ethical behavior?

Most certainly it does.

Is it true, that obedience is the highest form of worship?

There is no such thing as fearing God, worshipping God, serving God, if there is no obedience.

You see, `fearing God' is not only what we do in church when we come together to worship. It is much more than that. It has to do how we live all the rest of the time. It is our way of life which must be based on `obedient fear of God.'

We depart from evil, we shun evil, we walk away from it. We desire to be cleansed of evil. We believe we are the last generation before Jesus comes again.

Passing the Test

This is the same message that comes through in Genesis 22,

"And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me." Genesis 22:12.

Despite of such a strange request by God, Abraham, being sure of who it was who asked him, with implicit obedience carried the task out.

Would any of us do that?

Today he would be guilty of child abuse.

How about some different divine request, -- Lets's say, Please be a better witness of your faith?

Would we know how to carry that out?

Or how about this request,

I want you to keep my Sabbath holy.

Wow, .... silence. Shocking silence.

Then the suspicion, `No, God wouldn't ask me such a Jewish thing!

Why not? Is God a Jew? Are you still living in the days of Roman hatred of the Jews? Or are you just repeating the poisonous words of some misinformed preacher? For you see, they hate the Sabbath. Just like the Romans did.

We ought not to hate the Sabbath of the Lord! The Sabbath of the Lord is not the Sabbath of the Pharisees in the way the latter represented it.

We ought not to hate anything except sin, for nothing of hate will enter into heaven, Luke 16:13; Ex. 20:5.

God is asking Christians to do just that, all throughout the whole Bible.

No. I can't do that - keep the Sabbath. No. Please ask me something else.

What is God's reply?

If you do not ...

"... keep my commandments ... keep my sabbaths ..." Ex. 20:6; Lev. 19:3, and we notice that the quotes taken from the Ten Commandments, and the New Testament content wise read the same, "... keep my commandments ... keep my words ..." John 14:15,23.

Are we to ask Jesus, `Which words?'

Are you kidding?

Don't you know what words are part of the Ten Commandments which Jesus published in His eternal law?

Abraham and many other men of faith passed the test. We read,

"And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me." Genesis 22:12.

You see, there is not a Sunday keeper who is implicitly obeying God. No, not one.

When the Bible says, Abraham `feared' God, that means He obeyed all of His law, and Abraham was not a Jew.

That is why we read,

"He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the LORD: but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him." Proverbs 14:2.

Have you ever applied these words to the teachings of those who `fear not' the Lord on the Sabbath question? Do you rather obey your preacher than the Word of God?

You see, we cannot fool God. He knows even the secret wickedness of our heart. He knows many do not want to be bothered, so He stops and they are on their own - left to their own devices.

As long as you have a Bible in your house, there remains no excuse for you not to keep God's seventh day Sabbath holy. For, you see, that day will become the test of allegiance and true Bible faith as taught in Revelation 14.

If you `fear' God you `obey' God in everything that He requires. If you don't, you worship another god.

Such may fall into the trap that father Abraham fell into. Abraham went to Gerar and reasoned. Surely the king of Gerar has no fear of the true God. Abraham thought, the king was an unbeliever. So too some Sunday keepers seem to think. They assume they are the ones who know the Lord, just like Abraham thought so. Well, it turns out that Abraham's lie was found out by the king and turned against him. The message comes through that the king was more righteous than father Abraham. [Based on Genesis 20]

Paul also commented on our subject.

"There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
Their feet are swift to shed blood:
Destruction and misery are in their ways:
And the way of peace have they not known:
There is no fear of God before their eyes." Romasn 3:11-18.

Truly, we have before us here a very sad description of the human race.

Why is this catalogue of evils practiced by the human race?

It is because `there is no fear of God before their eyes.'

It is like they don't really believe God exists for they flaunt each week their disbelief and commit open sin.

Therefore it is really hard to find people in the world who truly love God, and serve him, and obey him, and keep all of his commandments, and stand in awe before him, and are true witnesses for His kingdom.

For you see, all of these ideas are contained in the words, "Fear God."

Many do not ask themselves the question, `Is it truly easy for people to obey God because of what He has done for us?'

Didn't we see above that Jesus paid the price for sin - for all - already?

That Jesus took our curse, he took our punishment, he drank the cup of the wrath of God so we wouldn't have to?

And yet, their is so little enthusiasm, thankfulness, awareness, comprehension, faith -- on this subject. Are the sports scores really more important? Scores which are good for nothing except the pocket books of those who get paid for running and doing these things?

Is it worth to lose eternal life over such things of temporary interest?

But a few do ask, `Oh, Jesus, you have done so much for us, what can we do for you?'

And the reply comes back, `If you love me for what I have done, "keep my commandments."

"Fear God."

We cannot tell people to fear God, and give glory to him until they have accepted the everlasting gospel. The gospel is the driving force which will lead people to do just that, `fear God', give glory to God and worship Him. You can never fulfill the imperatives to fear, give glory and to worship until you have accepted the everlasting gospel. [1800]

The Bible tells us, that in the end time, God will have a people who `fear Him', `respect Him,' who `hold Him in awe.'

Let us open our Bibles to the Book of Hebrews,

"Wherefore we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire." Hebrews 12:28,29.

... We may serve God, - How? with acceptable reverence, and - What? with godly fear, and - Why? for God is a consuming fire.

The reason why we do all these things down to the last requirement, is, because God is a consuming fire.

Does that mean He will burn you? Throw you in hell fire?

No, not just yet.

What that means we shall talk about next!

God wants us to develop a fireproof cubicle of service to Him. So Paul develops his theme by pointing out and showing the way as we read it in the following scriptures,

"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? and what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? (a reference to sun worship) or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? for you are the temple of the living God; as God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Come out from among them, and be ye separate." 2.Cor. 6:14-17.

It says, `Come out from among them, and be ye separate.' What does the Second Angel's Message say?

"Come out of her (Babylon) my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins ..." Rev. 18:4.

Yes, John wrote the same message as all the scriptures in the Old Testament and he is on this subject on the same level as Paul is.

And the Lord says,

"... touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." 2.Cor. 6:18.; See also Isaiah 52:10-13.

Now notice what the Apostle Paul says, Because God promises to be our father, and He promises that we can be His children, Paul puts it all together and councils us, writing,

"Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." 2.Cor. 7:1.

We are to "cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, that is our body and the mind, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."

What is it that we have, when we have the `fear of God?'

We have perfect holiness.

On the air waves we hear a lot of talk about salvation and redemption and about grace, - but there is little talk about the holiness of God and how God is willing to impart His holiness to us.

We shall conlude this topic by comparing two verses which will set the stage for the phrase `the hour of His judgment has come.'

The Judgment has come

Is there a relationship between these two scriptures?

Yes.

In Solomon's time the judgment shall come for it was still in the future. In Revelation's First Angel's Message it says the judgment is or has come. It is in session right now.[2000]

Wow!

We learned that the judgment began after the fourth beast power and after the little horn power was wounded, the latter event which took place in 1798. We have no space here to detail the beginning of this judgment more closely, but it is presented here.

Jesus will come soon and bring His reward with Him, Mt. 16:27; Rev. 11:18. Because Jesus brings the rewards with Him at the time of His Second Coming, that means who gets the rewards has been determined prior to that - namely in the judgment which for convenience sake we call the `Investigative Judgment.'

By implication this means also that the dead are not in heaven because if the judgment has not taken place until the end of the long prophetic period of Daniel 8:14, then the imagined, immortal souls of human beings are not yet in heaven, before they were judged.

That is why it says, we are to fear God, and give glory to Him. We are to obey His law and thus glorify God's character as He dwells in us and uses us as His witnesses.

For while we are grateful of what He has done for us, we will be more than willing to do everything that He wants us to do for Him.

You see, if we love Jesus, we do everything for Him.

Oh, they say, that is legalism.

No, no, no. It is the response of true love for what God has done for us first.

If you love Jesus you will not perform evil, for you saw what sin did to Jesus.

Let us pray therefore for God to plant this `fear' of willing obedience in our hearts.

May He help us to hold Him in awe.

And may we serve Him, with every ounce of strength that is in us.

Amen.

Reviewing briefly the 1st Angel's Message (Rev. 13:6 in particular), what did we learn?

We learned that the 1st Angel's Message is a universal, world wide message because the angel flies `in the midst of heaven.' That also means that God must have a world wide people to preach these messages everywhere on earth. It tells us that the essence of the "gospel" is that Jesus paid the penalty for our sins and that he drank the cup of the wrath of God that we should drink. Out of gratefulness to Jesus, we are to obey the three commandments which we read about in verse 7,

"Fear God" - that means obeying God's commandments
"Give glory to Him And" - which means we are to reflect His character in all our activities
"Worship Him" - which is part of the message that we are now in the period of God's Investigative Judgment taking place in heaven, it calls us that we keep God's holy Sabbath in honor of the Creator and teaches that the dead are dead until the moment of the resurrection.[100]

[Click here for an easy to understand explanation of the Investigative Judgment.]

So, all these things are contained in the First Angel's Message: `Obedience to God's commandments,' `reflecting His character,' `caring for our body and our minds,' `believing we are now in the hour of God's Judgment,' `keeping God's holy sabbath in honor of the Creator' and `the dead are dead until the moment that Jesus comes to resurrect them from the grave where they have been from the moment of their death.'

The Second Angel's Message

We read,

"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." Rev. 14:8.

How did Babylon fall?

Because she has given to all nations "the wine of the wrath of her fornication."

What we shall notice in this message is that it is the exact opposite of the 1st Angel's Message.

The First Angel's Message is God's message to the world and the Second Angel's Message is Babylon's Message to the world. What we shall discover is that Babylon teaches the opposite of what God teaches in the 1st angel's message.

Some may wonder what it means that `Babylon is fallen.' We should realize that the Bible has a moral fall in mind and not the physical fall of Babylon. Babylon has fallen morally because she gives wine, her false teachings, to the world in contrast to the true teachings which God gives in the 1st angel's message.

Another reason the `fall of Babylon' of Revelation is not the physical fall of her, because the physical fall is not described until Revelation chapter 16, verses 17 to 21. That fall does not take place until the seventh plague occurs when Jesus comes.

At the time of the proclamation of the 2nd angel's message the `door of salvation' is still open. That means people can still escape from that moral fall of Babylon and turn around to accept the 1st angel's message and be saved.

The next question which begs for an answer is this, we need to know what Babylon is. What Babylon represents.

Let us read about Babylon's physical fall when that whole, world wide system is going to collapse,

"And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great." Rev. 16:19-21.

Of course we know that "the great city" (Rev. 14:8) is Babylon. This city will be divided into three parts meaning that before being divided it was united.

What are the three parts of Babylon?

We read,

"And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty." Rev. 16:13-14.

These verses are actually a reflection of what we read about earlier in Revelation 12. There we have a dragon, the dragon which tried to kill Jesus when he was born. In the first ten verses of chapter 13 we have the beast and in the remaining verses of chapter 13 we have the image to the beast, that is the false prophet. These parts will be discussed in the message of the Third Angel.

Notice what it says,

"For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty." Rev. 16:14.

What is the eventual goal of this three fold union and the three evil spirits coming out of their mouth?

It is to unite the whole world in a final battle against God.

We may also say, based on this, that it is no coincident that God is sending three angels to deliver messages to the world and that we have God Father, Son and the Holy Spirit; for the opposition, the three spirits or fallen angels, the dragon, beast and the false prophet - each give their false message to the world. The intention of God's Messages are to unite the world on God's side, and according to Revelation 16, the purpose of the three fallen spirits or angels is, to unite the world against God. And so we have these threefold messages on both sides, God's side to unite the world toward Him and the evil's goal is to unite the world under his banner.

The Prophet Elijah

The first of these stories is that of the prophet Elijah. Elijah had how many primary enemies?

He had three primary enemies:

1. King Ahab - a wicked king (1.Ki. 16:33)
2. a vile harlot woman full of whoredoms and witchcraft - 2.Kings 9:22 - whose name was Jezebel.
3. and the prophets of Baal who were under the auspices of Jezebel.

The Phoenicians, home of Jezebel, were on the mind of King Ahab. He married the daughter of Ethbaal of Sidon, better known as Zezebel. To the Phoenicians, Baal was their sun-god (2.Kings 23:5,11; Zeph. 1:4,5) and they worshiped him on their high places, including on the roofs of houses (Jer. 32:35,29). Baal was thought to have power over crops, flocks, and fertility. The `golden-calf' was linked with him. Baal rites were lascivious, 2.Ki 17:17;21:6. They included human sacrifices, self-torture (1.Ki 18:28), and kissing the image (1.Ki 19:18). God does not want us to remember even the names of these idols which represent abject sin, Deut. 12:3.

Among these three, Ahab the political ruler, the Baal prophets and the harlot Jezebel, the latter was the fearsome character and Jezebel's servants the prophets, worked to extend the worship of the sun-god among all the Israelites. Because Elijah defeated her purposes, Jezebel issued a death decree against the prophet of the Lord, 1.Ki. 19:2.

The second story is that of John the Baptist. We remember the words of Jesus that John the Baptist was a likeness to the prophet Elijah, Mt. 11:14. He had the same message as Elijah. The type of apostasy of the days of Elijah and John was the same. God had raised up John the Baptist, to try and bring people back to God.

How many enemies did John the Baptist have?

Let us analyze his situation.

Was there a king who opposed John the Baptist?

Yes. King Herod.

Was there a harlot woman who committed fornication with the king who hated John the Baptist?

Yes. It was Herodias, Mt. 14:3.

Did Herodias have a daughter who was an instrument of her mother to fulfill her purposes?

Yes. It was Salome (Josephus, Antiquities, Bk. XVII, ch. I, Sec. 3).

As with the story of Elijah, the dangerous figure in this story is Herodias, the harlot woman. In the story of Elijah, Ahab, nor the false prophets, left to their own devices, were a threat to Elijah. All these characters were controlled by Jezebel. A difference, however, is this, in the New Testament this three-fold union is actually successful in slaying John the Baptist.

At the end of time, we find the same scenario in place with Babylon. We have

1. the kings of the world join with the
2. harlot religious system (Rev. 17:1-2) who will have
3. daughters (Rev. 17:5 "mother") who will do her biddings to get God's people slain (Rev. 17:6).

We may ask, `How is that possible?'

To find the answer to who is Babylon and how can it happen like that, we must first study again the Old Testament. It is in its pages where we find the background for the fall of Babylon in Revelation 14 verse 8.

The Old Testament

Let us first read how God calls His church, Israel, a beautiful and a delicate woman.

"I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman." Jeremiah 6:2.

A text, where `Zion' stands for `Israel.'

God then does call Israel as claimed above. In fact, the Old Testament states that God "married" Israel. God married Israel at Mt. Sinai. Lets us read the opening words,

"And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do." Exodus 19:3-8.

This is actually a marriage covenant. God says, I want to marry you.

What does Israel say?

They said in effect,

"... I do."

This is brought out in the words of Ezekiel,

"Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine." Ezekiel 16:8.

God says, `In the time of love I married ....

And the marriage started out well. But then Israel fell into apostasy. God's very own, special people whom He married at Mt. Sinai, fell into apostasy.

"Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations." Eze. 16:2.

According to this word, God's `wife' was committing abominations. What was the problem?[300]

" And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD." Ez. 16:14.

Is there any problem with that?

It depends. Potentially there may be a problem. What could be that problem?

"... thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty for it was perfect through My comeliness which I had put upon thee ..."

Whose beauty, whose glory did Israel reflect?

She reflected God's glory, not her own ...

And yet the Bible writes that she began committing abominations.

It gets worse.

Notice the next verse,

"But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was." Ez. 16:15.

Notice three key words,

1. Israel committed abominations
2. she became a harlot
3. she committed fornications

Next let us notice the following scripture,

"And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments,
And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil." Ez. 23:40,41.

Notice also Ezekiel 16 on this same point.

"Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them." Ez. 16:17.

Israel is described as a beautiful woman and is all decked with gold and silver and with all precious stones not to attract glory to God but to attract glory to herself.

By doing and acting that way Israel is

1. committing abominations, she is
2. committing fornication,
3. she is called a harlot

We also notice,

"And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood." Ez. 16:22.

We remember, Israel was faithful and had a good relation when she was young. When she just got married she was ok. Yes! But she did not remember the days of her youth. And "... thou wast naked and bare and polluted in thy blood ..."

God says, you do not remember when I picked you up, when you were desolate, when you were a slave in Egypt.

Thou hast not remembered those good old days when I came to save you ...

Notice how Israel committed fornication. She did it by having illicit relationships with the kings of the earth.

Let us read it,

"Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied. Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith." Ez. 16:28,29.

In other words, Israel, instead of remaining as the committed bride with God is now committing fornication with the kings of the surrounding nations of that day and age, adopting their practices and their customs. Israel learned from them, not like Solomon where the kings learned from him, 1.Kings 10:23-25.

It gets so bad, that when God speaks about His own chosen people, that in the next verse God says,

"How weak is thine heart, sayeth the Lord GOD, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman." Ez. 16:30.

Strong language indeed. The word `imperious' means "great" like in imperial empire, it means "great" whore, "great" harlot. God is calling His professed people a "great" harlot. - Because of her abominations and fornications. She decks herself with all these jewels to attract the nations to herself but forgot to give the glory to God. She is proving herself to be an unfaithful wife to God.

In fact, let us notice that,

"But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband!" Verse 32.

What has Israel done here?

She has found other lovers. Others then the Lord.

Was she once married to the Lord?

Was she once faithful to the Lord?

She certainly was. - But then she forsook the way of the Lord and she became a harlot according to the Bible.

This scripture is not talking about the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Philistines or the Babylonians. It is talking about those who profess to be God's chosen people.

Notice the following scripture,

"Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord." Jer. 31:32.

The situation worsens even more. God gave Israel the sanctuary, and God gave Israel the Sabbath.

Do you know what God's own people where doing with the sanctuary and with the Sabbath?

Notice this Bible portion,

"Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths." Ez. 23:38.

Well, is that about as bad as it gets?

No! It gets still worse!

Do you know that this harlot woman was actually slaying those who were faithful to God in Israel?

Notice what we find in Ezekiel 16,

"And the righteous men, they shall judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands." Ez. 23:45.

What has Israel been doing? This harlot has shed the blood of God's faithful people among her.

But she does not do that alone. She has daughters who helped her.

"Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness." Ez. 23:48.

And it continues,

"As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters." Ez. 16:48.

Does God's church have daughters that were committing these abominations and these fornications? Where they spilling innocent blood?

According to these scriptures, Yes. They did just that.

Now, what did God's Word promise to do to Israel, His own professed people because they were doing this?

Here it is,

The punishment of Israel is spoken of as drinking what?

Drinking the cup.

And if you read Ezekiel 23, the totality of the chapter, you discover that God is saying that by drinking the cup, Israel is really drinking the cup of God's wrath.

But how was that wrath manifested?

This way,

A very important verse. With this we are setting the stage for what we are going to discuss in Revelation chapter 17. The people, palaces, temples and institutions of the wayward entity will suffer these destructions.

That is the way in which God's wrath is going to be manifested against His unfaithful people.

This is not a very nice picture and all God's people today, just like way back then, should take note of it. - For what comes around, goes around.

We have here described a really terrible picture about God's people. None of us should take this lightly. It can repeat itself.

Let us review once more what we studied.

We have,

01. this woman, God's wife, whom He married at Mt. Sinai,
02. during her youth everything functioned ok, but then
03. she went astray, she began committing abominations,
04. she adopted their evil practices,
05. she fornicated with the surrounding kings,
06. she became a harlot and
07. she decked herself like it with expensive glitter,
08. she wanted to attract attention to herself,
09. she became a great harlot,
10. she became unfaithful to her husband,
11. she trampled upon God's sanctuary and God's Sabbath
12. she shed the blood of the innocent along with her daughters

And God said, because of this you are going to drink the cup of wrath and that will be manifested through the very kings you have been fornicating with who are going to arise and destroy you.

Why does God give us all these details from Old Testament times?

Because, as we said, according to Revelation this story is going to reoccur again.

In fact things are happening today which lead many to believe that it is in progress at this hour. In these end times.

What are we talking about?

We switch now to the Book of Revelation chapter 12.

The New Testament

There we read how God compares his Old Testament church to a woman,

"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." Rev. 12:1.

What does this woman represent?

She represents Israel.

How many stars are in her crown?

Twelve stars, why twelve?

Twelve tribes.

You may say, `How do we know it is not the twelve apostles?

Simple. Because in the next verse it says, that she is pregnant with a child and that child is Jesus. It hadn't been born yet.

Therefore, it cannot be the New Testament church because the apostles haven't even been called yet.

Therefore, God's Old Testament church is still being compared with a woman. - But you know something? In the New Testament we are dealing with the same woman.

Well, some people say, there is a difference between Israel and the church. - Israel is one people, the church is another. - Revelation chapter 12 does not sustain that view.

In this chapter the woman is with child, since it hasn't been born yet it must be the OT church represented by the twelve stars. And then it says, that the child is born and he has gone up to his throne, that is the ascension of Jesus, his resurrection is not mentioned, and then the same woman has to flee into the wilderness for 1260 years.

Is it the same woman?

Yes!

Is it the same church?

Yes it is the same church. The only difference is, at first we are dealing with the OT church, which then is followed by the NT church!

In the same line of thought that in the NT the relationship between Jesus and His people is also compared to a marriage. - Let us read it.

"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it." Eph. 5:25.

Evidently in the NT too, the relationship between husband and wife is the same as between Christ and the church.

Another scripture says the same,

"For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." 2. Cor. 11:2.

God speaks about His people, as His bride.

The relationship being the same, our questions may be the same.

How did the relationship between Christ and the new church begin?

Was it a pure church in the days of her youth?

Was it a living and thriving church?

Was it faithful to God's message?

Acts chapter 1 and 2 clearly underscore that it was. - At the beginning of this marriage, between Jesus and His church at Pentecost, the church was in a very close relationship with Jesus.

She went out as a conqueror to conquer. She was pure. Her message and her lifestyle was pure.

But what happened in the course of time?

What happened is what the Bible calls the great apostasy, where the church looses its original purity, its original teachings, and you enter into the Second Century and onward loomed, what is known as the Dark Ages. They are called `Dark Ages' because God's truth has been forgotten, for you see, the Bible is a light unto our path. But soon darkness came into the church. The Bible had been neglected and cast aside.

And the church that had been buried with Jesus and at first was pure, became involved in apostasy. An apostasy that culminates in Revelation 17.

Let us read in Revelation 17 now and notice the striking parallels between what we studied in the OT and what we study now.

We study the OT because the Book of Revelation contains a thousand references to the OT. No one can understand Revelation unless he is intimately familiar with the OT.

Therefore, the whole scenario with Israel committing all those sins we enumerated, and at the end drinking the cup of God's wrath and the kings of the earth turning against her, all this is being repeated at the end of time.

Question: If in the OT it was God's professed church that apostatized, who will it be at the end of time?

Today, many think, when we talk about Babylon, they think of Islam, in particular of the Iranian president.- It used to be Sadam Hussein, but he is no more.

They look for a place close to where old Babylon was.

But we ought to realize that the Book of Revelation is really talking about an apostate religious system. Not about a man, a city, or some influential cleric.

Revelation talks about a religious system that once was married to Jesus but since has become a harlot.

It is a harlot that teaches contrary to the First Angel's Message.

And we shall notice that clearly!!!

Let us start with this scripture,

"And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters." Rev. 17:1.

Other translations use "harlot" instead of "whore."

Do we have once again a harlot being spoken about in the Book of Revelation?

Absolutely yes!

But where is the harlot located or seated?

We read, it is seated or

"... sitteth upon many waters."

What does sitting indicate?

It indicates that this system is in control.

It is a system that rules.

Where does it rule?

Upon the waters.

What are the waters?

We read - and we notice the relationship to the First Angel's Message,

"And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." Rev. 17:15; Isaiah 17:12.

These are the same expressions we noticed already in the First Angel's Message.

Does this woman do the opposite of the First Angel's Message?

Does she seek to control the multitudes of the world, - in contrast to God trying to gather the multitudes in the world on His side of the First Angel's Message?

In other words, this harlot and God, both want to exercise control over the world.

You see, over every nation, tongue and people - God through the 1st angel's message and the devil through Babylon's wine.

Wine is the opposite of the First Angel's Message. Wine is the opposite of truth.

That must mean Babylon teaches that the dead are not really dead, that the Sabbath is really not on the seventh day of the week, that they do not teach that we are now in the hour of God's judgment, they must teach that perhaps the law of God was nailed to the cross, that they teach that it doesn't really matter what you put in your mouth and into your belly, that health principles don't really matter that much ...

So we see, that the wine of Babylon is the opposite of the First Angel's Message.

Are you still wondering, `What system is this?'

Question: Must it be a world wide church? And why?

Because it sits on every nation, tongue and people.

Is it a church or something else?

How can we tell?

It is a woman. In the Bible a woman represents a church.

What kind of a church is it?

It is a harlot church.

Was it once in a good relationship with Jesus?

Yes. But what happened is, it apostatized and became a harlot.

What does this harlot do? - Notice verse 2. - With who? ... the kings of the earth have committed fornication...."

Is she involved in the political systems of the world?

It is a church but it is involved into the political systems of every nation, tongue and people of the world.

Did we find in the OT that Israel had the same experience? That they fornicated with the kings of their world and assimilated their practices and ideologies?

Yes, and yes!

Let us read on,

"And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth." Rev. 17:5.

Babylon, a mysterious city. Paul wrote that in his days the "mystery of iniquity" or "the mystery of lawlessness" was already at work, 2.Thess. 2:7. Those who are involved with this mysterious system of lawlessness think they are keeping the law when they are not. That is what makes it so devastating to Christianity. This apostate system, Paul wrote, is going to come "with all power and with signs and lying wonders"(2.Thess. 2:7-14), that is with all Satanic superstition providing power available to it. People travel all over the world to see `the tears' or a supposed `appearance of Mary' somewhere. Paul is saying that the whole world will be deceived except those who hang on to the love of the truth. This power will come with "the lie". What is this lie? It is Satan coming and announcing that he is Christ. The lie is that we can be saved in our sins. They say, just keep on confessing your sins every day and everything is ok. No, friends. We must overcome the besetting sins in our lifes.

What is the name of this system that exhibits such delusion providing powers? Well, some may say, this is a harlot but there is no relationship to the Second Angel's Message!

But there is a relationship. Notice Verse 5 again.

"And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great" and what? - "... the mother of harlots".

If she is a mother, she must have children, right?

She has daughters.

They are daughters because she is the mother of harlots (feminine).

So this mother must have had daughters that were born of her at a certain stage of her existence.

Are you, dear reader, following what we have been saying up to this point?

She is a mother, she has daughters, she is called Babylon, and now notice the last part of the verse, "... Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth." Rev. 17:5.

This mother has daughters and besides that, she commits abominations.

Is that the same picture we saw about Israel in the OT?

Is this talking about some apostate Muslim country that doesn't have the Christian religion?

Does it talk about the Hindus, or the Buddhists?

Of course not. They never claimed to be the bride (church) of God.

They would never have committed adultery for they were never married to the Lord in the first place.

But we are not finished. There is still more to be discovered.

Notice what we find here,

"And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls ..." Rev. 17:4.

Isn't that what we read here about Israel in the OT?

Sure, we find here the very same correlations that we found between Israel and Babylon.

It goes on,

"... having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication." Verse 4b.

What does she have in her cup? - Her abominations - Wine![500]

Whom does she give the wine to? She gives the wine to the kings and inhabitants of the earth.

Is this a blood thirsty system?

Is this system guilty of killing God's saints in her history?

Most certainly, yes.

We read,

"And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration (or astonishment)." Rev. 17:6.

What have we seen so far?

01. we saw a woman, a woman represents the church,

What kind of a woman?

02. an adulterous woman, a great harlot,

Where does she sit?

03. on multitudes, nations, tongues and people, on the whole world,

Must this be a world wide system? Absolutely!

Is it a system that is involved with the political systems of the world? Yes,

04. she fornicates with the kings of the earth,

Is she also the mother of daughters that were born from her? Yes.

Does she give wine or teachings in contrast to the First Angel's Message to the nations? Yes.

Is she all decked out with jewels and precious stones? Yes.

Is she drunk with the blood of the saints? Yes.

Is this talking about an apostate religious system? Yes.

It has to be in the light of what we find in the OT.

In the OT it was Israel. In the NT it is the church. Yes.

But how can we say such a thing?

Question: When Jesus came to this world the first time, was Israel in open apostasy to God?

Those who professed to be God's people, were their leaders in this open apostasy against God?

Have they taught against the teachings of the Word of God?

Have they gone against the practices of the Word of God, Yes and yes and yes they have - to such a point, that, when Jesus came, they not only were not expecting Him, they - What? They rejected Him!

Is it just possible, that before the Second Coming of Christ those who profess to be the children of God will also be in the same situation?

That they will not be teaching the truths of the Word of God?

They will not be teaching the people the divine truths and practices of the Word of God!

And when Jesus comes the Second Time, He will come to His own, and His own will not be ready ...

We ask you, `Is that possible?

It is not only possible but probable, because the devil is not sleeping. The same devil that deceived the leadership before the First Coming of Jesus, is the same devil who is alive and well and who knows his time is short.

And yet, today we hear so many Christians say, that our big enemies are the Muslims, perhaps also the Hindus and Buddhists and the secular humanists.

Dear readers. Let us not forget that throughout history the greatest enemies to God's people have been other people who claim to be God's people.

Who killed Abel?

His own brother killed Abel on the question of how to worship God.

Who killed the prophets in the OT?

Their own people Israel to whom they were sent.

Who killed Jesus?

Well, you will say, our sins did.

That is true, but who appealed to the arm of the state to carry out the execution?

They were the very people that claimed to serve God.

Who persecuted God's saints during the Middle Ages?

The established church that claimed to be the church of Jesus Christ - that is why Jesus said, "the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service." John 16:2.

The current movements to join church and state are an ominous sign and we should get ready.

Are you ready to become another Stephanus? Or another Apostle Peter or John or Paul?

The woman and her offspring fall because they reject the First Angel's Message. These are very serious issues. They will divide all of humanity into two camps. Those who are God's and those who are Satans.

God Sends One More Message

Let us read it,

"And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen ..."

Is this the same as the Second Angel's Message?

Yes, only intensified!

"... and is become the habitation of devils ..."

Because she teaches the doctrines of devils. - An expression the apostle Paul uses, 1.Tim. 4:1.

"... and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." Rev. 18:1-2.

Does that sound like a place you want to be in?

We learn here that the devil has doctrines, but God has life giving doctrines, 1. Tim. 6:1. The devil always tries to trump what God does.

What made Babylon fall into this condition?

It was her wine!

"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." Rev. 18:3.

God is saying, Babylon is really fallen. No doubt about it.

There is no hope of reforming her. Her mind is sealed.

"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people ..." Rev. 18:4a; Cmp. 2.Cor. 6:17,18; 1.Pet. 2:9.

Does God have people in Babylon?

Yes! Most of God's people are still in Babylon. They are not in the three angel's message preaching churches for many of those don't study, do not believe and will abandon ship.

Why does God say, "My people?"

Because God has people in all the churches of the world. They are sincere and are searching for the truth! They want to know what is right! They are hungry and thirsty for the Word of God!

Once the issues become clear to them, they will Come out!

God has brought you here so you can know His Word, and make a decision to receive it. And so the voice says, "Come out of her my People."

Why now? Why not wait a little longer?

"... that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." Rev. 18:4b.

Does it say, `Stay in', and just live the gospel there?

No! It says get out!

"For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities." Rev. 18:5.

There is nothing good to be found in Babylon!

I praise God that in the end time God will have a people who sigh and cry - because of the abominations being performed both within our church and outside of it.

Let us read two more texts,

Notice, in Jerusalem all sorts of abominations were being committed but God had a faithful remnant people. A few people who were sealed! Does God speak of a faithful remnant in the Book of Revelation who are going to be sealed?

He certainly does too and it comes from Ezekiel. Let us read in Ezekiel,

"And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof." Ez. 9:4.

Namely in the midst of Jerusalem. God has a people there, for they are saddened by what is happening in the church. Only those who belong to God bear His seal.

How many among you are really planning to be saved by God?

Let us read one more scripture,

"And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life." Rev. 21:27.

If you are planning to be in God's heavenly city this scripture is for you!

This scripture underscores that you will have to come out of Babylon because of what we just read. No one who commits abominations will be found in God's holy city. That is why Jesus calls you and all to come out.

God calls out also many Sabbath keeping Christians. Many of them have come out of Babylon but Babylon has not come out of them. That is how they end up in Babylon.

It is like Lot's wife. She came out of Sodom, but Sodom had not come out of her.

So its stands. We have to come out of Babylon and Babylonian thinking, practice and doctrines have to come out of us.

That is why we can't wait any longer to come out. We cannot get Babylon out of us in a couple hours. It takes time. It takes time to exchange the wine with God's pure doctrines. - In the city there will be no one who commits these abominations.

These are strong words, but it is the truth.

Babylon has fallen because she teaches contrary to the First Angel's Message. God calls upon His people to live this message and proclaim it to the world, so that many can be saved into the kingdom. Those, who perhaps now do not know these things.

Who is going to tell them?

You and I, all those who know - we better tell it.

For God holds us responsible for what we know to be true.

"Oh, God, thank you for revealing these truths to us. Help our unbelief. Help us to come out and take a stand for you and come out to obey all thy truths before it is too late.

What does the Bibl