The three angels’ messages for our time

What is the point of telling others about the three angels of Revelation? Read the author’s applications of these special messages for today.

Igor Lorencin, PhD, is associate professor of New Testament Studies at Friedensau Adventist University, Friedensau, Germany.

The book of Revelation has not always been appreciated and preached by Christians at large. Seventh-day Adventists, however, have from the beginning of their history focused on prophecy, particularly that of Daniel and Revelation. This focus led them to a preaching and witnessing emphasis in the parousia of Jesus—that is, His second coming. Adventists have found their inspiration for this emphasis in both the promise of Jesus (Matthew 24; John 14:1–3) and the witness of the book of Revelation. Further, Adventists have found their core understanding of the second coming of Jesus in the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14:6–12.

The introduction to the messages of the three angels references the “eternal gospel” that is about to be proclaimed to all the earth—“to every nation and tribe and language and people” (Rev. 14:6)1. The “gospel” means “good news.” What is the biblical good news in the messages of the three angels?

Before presenting these messages, John describes the activities of Satan, the beast, and the false prophet (Revelation 13). This imitation of God’s Trinity is deceiving the inhabitants of the earth, waging war against the saints, and killing them (Rev. 13:7–10, 13, 14). By presenting the good news in Revelation 14, John offers the solution to the activities of the evil powers described in Revelation 13.

The message of the first angel

The first angel announces the hour of God’s judgment, which is parallel to “the day of the Lord” in the Old Testament. Prophets announced it; Isaiah warned: “See, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the earth a desolation, and to destroy its sinners from it” (Isa. 13:9). Toward the end of his book, Isaiah presents the positive side of “the day of the Lord”: “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn” (Isa. 61:2). Jesus applied these words to His own ministry of healing and preaching (Luke 4:16–20). He always had time for the poor, oppressed, sick, and suffering. Jesus did it in the first century, and His followers do it today, as they apply His gospel in their own circumstances.

The first angel announces the coming of God to this earth. The coming of God is a constant theme in the Old Testament. God was coming to the rescue of His people out of Egypt (Exod. 13:21, 22). In the wilderness, He came to dwell among them in the tabernacle. He came to the temple Solomon had built in order to dwell with His people (1 Kings 9:3). He came to the rescue of His people during the Babylonian exile. Finally, the wise men from the east recognized in the baby Jesus, the coming of God to this earth (Matt. 2:1, 2). The Gospel of John purposely describes Jesus’ arrival to Israel as tenting among His people (John 1:14), alluding to the Old Testament wilderness tabernacle. The coming of God to dwell among His people continues to be the central topic of the New Testament all the way to the last pages of the book of Revelation.

As God came in history to rescue His people, He wants to actively work today and touch many through His followers. How are the inhabitants of the earth to meet Him? The fear of God, the foundational call of the first angel’s message, equates to respect for the coming God. Inhabitants of the earth are to give Him glory. They are to worship Him alone (Rev. 14:7). This worship is in opposition to the human worship of the evil powers (Rev. 13:4). Being the Creator of all, God alone deserves the worship of His creatures. The connection between worship and creation in the first angel’s message is rooted in the Old Testament. The fourth commandment has that connection and brings an identical rationale for worshiping God on the Sabbath (Exod. 20:11). Sabbath is a perpetual weekly reminder that God is our Creator and Redeemer, and that He wants us to celebrate His creatorship and redeeming certainty with Him every Sabbath.

The message of the second angel

The second angel follows in a continuation of the first angel. His message is fully related to earthly realities requiring a warning. While God comes with His eternal kingdom, earth’s inhabitants have been moved by the evil powers (Revelation 13) to create their own kingdom. That kingdom is called Babylon. In the Old Testament, Babylon symbolized a system of false worship (Jer. 50:38), which was in opposition to the worship of God. During that oppressive and exploitive system Jeremiah encountered, people were taught to worship human achievements. A similar system will be in existence in the end times when people will glorify human works and spread injustice. The whole earth will be drinking from the wine of Babylon’s unfaithfulness (Rev. 14:8). With its ideology, Babylon has created a system that advances deceit, reliance on human achievements, and unjust profit.

In the Old Testament there was a call to the people of God to leave the Babylonian system with its oppressive and deceitful mentality (Isa. 48:20). Likewise, the book of Revelation now includes a call to leave end-time Babylon, with its false worship and exploitative mindset (Rev. 18:4).
Indeed Revelation 18 describes vividly the destruction of that human end-time system that enables kings, sea captains, and merchants to deceive and make their own profits. The chapter describes the biggest economic breakdown seen in world history. Today’s economy will reach its end, and many will be caught by surprise. Thus, the second angel sends his warning message through God’s followers to the inhabitants of the earth. Revelation warns us in advance that human attempts to create their own kingdom will end in total failure.

The message of the third angel

The third angel has a message for people who worship the beast and follow the Babylonian system. Cooperation in the earthly system that relies on its own human powers is condemned. People joining in are described as worshiping the evil powers of Revelation 13, thus turning away from God as Creator and Redeemer. These powers mark their people on their foreheads and hands (Rev. 14:9), reflecting their loyalty to them. In their mentality and actions, they have become deceitful, oppressive, and rely exclusively on their human strength. Unjust profit and economic advantages have been attractive to many, worshiping thus their system and their own false ideas. They have drunk from Babylon’s wine, so judgment on them is described as “the wine of God’s wrath” (Rev. 14:10).

Those joining Babylon have “no rest day or night” (Rev. 14:11). Their restlessness sharply contrasts with the rest given to God’s people, who have Sabbath as a constant reminder of their Creator and Redeemer. Despite oppressions and persecutions, God’s people have peace in their Lord, while the worshipers of Babylon have no peace of mind. Finally, there is the smoke of their torment burning, which rises up forever (Rev. 14:11).This is a metaphorical description of the finality of the decision of the wicked. After God’s coming in judgment, their decision cannot be changed anymore, and the consequences are eternal. It is a real warning message for the inhabitants of the earth, calling them to worship God alone and to look forward to His coming as the solution.

Application to our time

The three angels’ message is a message of the great controversy between good and evil, and God’s solution to the problem. It is all about a conflict focusing on worship, with today’s politics and economy being heavily involved. Religious, political, and economic aspects of the end-time Babylon are described in Revelation 17 and 18. People and nations join (Rev. 18), becoming part of the false worship. People today, including Christians, are in danger of worshiping their own materialistic and consumeristic lifestyle, thus becoming part of the Babylonian mentality. Exiting Babylon is not about our geographical location, but primarily about changing our mindset.

Sabbath is a constant pointer to our need for God. By relying on our own strength, we may achieve temporary earthly success. But the three angels’ messages let us know that there is no life outside God. Worshiping Him means being in connection with the Life (John 1:4). There is no future in the human citadel of Babylon or in any human achievements. As opposed to the human system, Jesus is preparing a city for His faithful (Heb. 11:8–10) and He is coming to take us to His city (Rev. 22). We can rely on God, His promises, His words, and His commandments while keeping our faith in Jesus as our Creator and Redeemer (Rev. 14:12).

The great controversy between good and evil, between God and Satan, between those worshiping God and those worshiping achievements of the evil, is soon coming to its end. The three angels are testifying about it, and God’s followers are called to spread this message. With spreading the three angels’ message of Revelation 14:6–12, we help people understand the great controversy between Christ and Satan, the problem of the false worship, and point to our coming God and Savior, who will soon end all evil on the earth and finalize His eternal kingdom.

  1. Scripture is from the New Revised Standard Version.
Igor Lorencin, PhD, is associate professor of New Testament Studies at Friedensau Adventist University, Friedensau, Germany.

August 2023

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