Death is not worse pain than an empty life. -- Lun Tha

Imagine how that would be.  Imagine.  Throughout the Bible, when someone sees an angel, the angel almost always has to say, "Do not be afraid!" Because, I think, the sight of an angel on a mission must be amazing. Awe-inspiring. Perhaps even terrifying.

John, though, in this Revelation he was commissioned to write, saw many things.  Miraculous.  Shocking. Frightening.  Mind-blowing.  So, to see "another angel" was no longer, in this vision, a drop-down-on-the-ground kind of moment.  I do not believe this means that John was now numbed to the wonder of the experience, but that he was viewing this from Heaven.  From the home of all angels. So, they had become, then, part of this experience for him.


Three angels with three messages. 

The first angel says something very simple, but profound.  He proclaims the gospel -- the good news -- to everyone who lives on the earth.  I wonder how that will happen?  Then, declares that God, who made all things, is deserving of worship and glory.  The hour of judgment "has come," he announces. 

Judgment is a scary thing for us.  We have the sense, in the world today, that it is almost always "biased" and "unfair" and "unneeded" or even "wrong."  When people judge the hearts and intentions of another, then it can indeed be any or all of those things. But when actions are judged in context of other  actions -- basically, what can happen in a court, for example -- it is indeed just and right.

The Lord God Almighty, though, can see clearly into the hearts of people, and so he can judge all of our motives, our thoughts, and our secrets.  He is the only true judge. And he will judge. And it will not be comfortable.

The second angel tells the world that Babylon the Great has fallen.  In past history, Babylon meant the Babylon of King Nebuchadnezzar, which had indeed fallen.  It is also said to have meant Rome, according to many scholars. Rome also fell, hundreds of years after John wrote this book.  Will there be a future Babylon?  A great city with much to offer, where world affairs are conducted and where the future leaders are ensconced?  That remains to be seen. 

The third angel "followed them."  Now, this could mean that the first two angels went out in tandem, or in quick succession, with this third one coming later. Much later? A little later?  Remember, the timing in this apocalyptic book is not always presented in a linear manner.  What he says, here, is very, very important:

"Don't worship the beast or take his mark. You WILL know God's wrath and you SHALL suffer."  (Sandi's paraphrase.)

Then, John again reminds the saints...the believers in Christ Jesus...to have patience. To endure.  To obey God's commandments.

This re-emphasis on the mark of the beast, on worshiping and identifying with the antichrist, only underscores how very serious this is.  I have heard that people started "seeing this mark" with the advent of Social Security Numbers, or when credit cards started being used. Or when supermarkets gave you "discount cards" so they could track your purchases and spending. 

All of these things have had their uses, yes. But none of them have required an oath of loyalty. The SSN is now given at birth for goodness' sake.  You don't have to promise anything.  But when the time comes to take this Mark or not, there will be a choice to make.  The technology exists; it isn't science fiction.

Heed the messages of the angels in this section.  Fear God.  Give him glory.  Worship him and no other, for he is worthy.  Do not give your allegiance to anyone else.  The penalty will be very great.  God has shown his anger in the past, and we sometimes have called these occasions "catastrophes on a Biblical scale." 

They will be nothing compared to what happens when God unleashes his wrath against all the wrong that people have done against him and against one another.


If you stand with him, and with the Lamb of God, you will be welcomed into Heaven.  And yes, you will see angels. In profusion, I'm guessing.  Just like John.