Hello everyone and welcome to Deeper Waters where we dive into the ocean of truth. I am in a pretty good mood today and I’m thankful for that as I learn to be a more Christlike man. That is, of course, the first prayer request of my evening. Next, I ask for prayers for my finances. I was just writing a check and while I have enough in savings, things are getting tight. I’m cashing a paycheck soon, but I do hope enough comes in for my plans this summer. Lastly, I ask for your prayers in a related area. For now, let’s get to the Trinitarian Commentary where we will be looking at Revelation 14:9-10.
9A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, 10he, too, will drink of the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.
We’ve been going through Revelation and noticing many odd things about the Lamb in this book. One such passage occurs tonight where we find the Lamb in a position that we wouldn’t expect and one that too often we have passed over probably without taking the time to consider what the text says.
I am a believer in the doctrine of Hell and I do believe it’s eternal conscious torment. I do not wish to make a defense of that at this point as I have done so in other blogs. For now, I will simply assume it for the sake of argument as I examine the text.
We are told in this text that if anyone takes the mark of the beast and worships him, then he will be tormented with burning sulphur. There is hardly a more terrifying picture of judgment, but what is interesting about this is that all of this takes place in the presence of the Lamb.
We must once again lose the idea of the Lamb as meek and mild. In this book, the Lamb goes against everything that we think a lamb would do. He is one who is feared and one who is a judge. In this passage, he is surrounded by the holy angels and apparently stands in judgment of all those who did not take his mark, indicating his forthcoming victory in the book over the beast.
As we go through the book then, we will see more about the Lamb in relation to his victory over the beast. While the beast is seen as a monstrosity, the Lamb, while having a different description, is the conqueror. The Lamb is not considered to be a beast but to be the Lord of all the creation. This will mean the Lord over the beast even in that the beast must submit to the Lamb ultimately. It won’t be willingly, but in the end, the Lamb will prevail.
What a message of hope that would be to the ancient church. So should it be to us today.
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