Judgment on the Beast Worshippers

Following the pronouncement of the fall of Babylon by the second angel, John next sees a third angel flying in heaven pronouncing judgment on the followers of the beast.

“If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God” (Revelation 14:9-10). Here is a warning as well as a pronouncement of doom on all who will be falling in line with and accepting the beast and his system. God in His grace will be warning them; do not do it, it means your doom. Just as anyone who believes in and receives the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior will be saved (John 1:12, 3:16), so anyone who rejects Christ and receives the beast, the false messiah, will be lost and shall suffer eternal doom.

“He also shall drink,” stresses the point that you cannot worship the beast and drink the cup of the wine of Babylon the great without also drinking of the cup of the wine of God’s wrath. The beast worshippers will drink of the wrath of God and “tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb” (Revelation 14:10).

Today, men and women scoff at the coming of the Lord and act as though there is no coming judgment. Their motto is, get all the gusto you can for you only go around once, however, verse 10 stresses the coming of eternal judgment.

“Of the wrath,” when used of God it refers to the divine justice of God. The rest of the verse reveals several things about God’s wrath, first, all of God’s mercy and grace will be withdrawn. Now the longsuffering of God in His mercy and grace holds back the divine justice and holiness of God, but a time is coming when the man who is without Jesus Christ as his Savior will face the unalterable and absolute wrath of God’s holiness.

Second, “he will be tormented with fire and brimstone” refers to the ingredients or content of the lake of fire already prepared for Satan and his angels (Matthew 25.41).

The modern view of the idea of hell or the lake of fire is not only distasteful, but also contrary to the nature of a God of love. Those who oppose the existence of hell claim that Jesus only referred to such a place because of the beliefs of the people during His earthly ministry, but He really did not believe such a place existed. These views are inconsistent with Scripture and above all else, inconsistent with the preaching of Jesus. He never hesitated to correct erroneous doctrine or practice in other issues, but taught the Scripture and reinterpreted the Law in opposition to the religious leaders. Why then should He not do so here? The truth is He clearly believed in and taught the fact of an eternal judgment of fire (Matthew 25:41, 46). “Will be tormented,” emphasizes the individual and personal experience every unbeliever must face.

The witnesses, the judge, and executors of this judgment are described in the words, “in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb” (Revelation 14:19). The angels will personally witness the judgment of the unbelievers at the great white throne judgment and will be used to cast unbelievers into the lake of fire. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Judge and the angels the executors of His judgment.

The basis of the judgment and the basis of the sentence to the torment of fire and brimstone is reception of Christ or rejection of Christ. That which reveals rejection of Jesus Christ is the worship of the beast. This rejection results in the blotting out of the person’s name from the Lamb’s book of life. When one worships the beast by receiving his mark, it indicates that he has reached a place that precludes repentance, the duration of the torment, forever, unceasing, and without rest. The torment never lets up.

This passage shows the error of the view or belief that God will annihilate the unsaved.

This is what the Bible teaches and the Bible has the seal and approval of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, whom God raised from the dead as proof not only of the truth of Scripture, but of the fact that every unbeliever must face Jesus Christ at the great white throne judgment (Acts 17:30-31).

In contrast to the preceding judgment, and the following judgment of the harvest of the earth, here is words of comfort to Tribulation saints.

The awesome warnings of doom in the preceding two announcements (Revelation 14:8-10) were meant to waken unbelievers and encourage the saints of the Tribulation who would be undergoing persecution by the beast. The ability to remain faithful under the horrible conditions of persecution will be aided by the knowledge of the doom of the beast as emphasized and promised by the announcing angels. Knowing the fate of those who take the mark is a motivation for believers to endure the persecutions and to persist in obeying God’s commands and in keeping the faith. As the Tribulation, saints reflect on the fearful future of the lost, they will be moved to contemplate their own futures as well. They will be reminded that if they endure they will reign with Christ (2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 2:26; 3:21) and will have other eternal rewards as well (Matthew 5:11-12; 6:19-21; Revelation 22:12).