And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God. 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. 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. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 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: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. Revelation 14:1-12. Part II by Brother Emerson A. Wilson "Glory To God..." The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the source and guard of virtue. When you get the real fear of the Lord in your life, it will straighten a lot of the crooked places. It will put a different guard over your life. It will work a carefulness in you. People have many fears today, but they lack the fear of the Lord. They fear sickness, they fear depression, they fear impressions. Jesus warned that men's hearts would fail them for fear of the things which are coming on the earth (Luke 21:26). Some other things mankind fears is the loss of goods--the materialistic things in which so many have placed their years accumulating. Some fear wars and rumors of wars. Some have religious fear, but that is NOT the fear of God. The fear of God, my friends, is a mixture of awe, reverence, and love. Jesus said, "If a man love me, he will keep my words..." (John 14:23). So the need is to fear God and give glory to Him. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." As long as you are living in sin, you cannot give glory to God. Regardless of what modern-day evangelists profess, they are NOT giving glory to God. They are building up a system. Some of these systems are worth billions of dollars. We must get to the truth of the matter. God is NOT getting any glory out of that! There is no way you can start giving glory to God until you get free from sin. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. My friends, there is no way we can give glory to God if He does not send us some glory; we do not have any to give! The message of the Gospel is just that plain. You cannot give glory to God as long as you are living in sin. Luke, the second chapter, tells of the angels appearing to the shepherds who dwelled on Judaean hills, and of the glory of the Lord shining 'round about them. The everlasting Gospel was declared from the tongue of an angel: And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:10,14. That angel brought the simple message that the little Babe born that night was bringing glory to God. There IS a way to bring glory to God. How? Through One, and One alone: Jesus Christ. He is God's beloved, only begotten Son in Whom God is well pleased. God is never well pleased with just us. When Jesus is in us, having His way, God is pleased with us, and our lives give glory to God through Jesus Christ and through Him alone. The Fallen Creature There has to be a greater awakening among people. Some people are going to have to lose some of these ideas that God is working in everything, that this is a good work and that is a good work. Plenty of work is going on that is NOT good. There is NO USE in talking about giving glory to God while you are still living in and practicing sin. All the rest of God's creations are glorifying God. Psalm 19:1 says, The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. The cow in the pasture, the horse in the field, and the lion and tiger in the wilderness are glorifying God. How are they giving glory to God? They are carrying out the EXACT MISSION that God created them for. Think about it, think about it, think about it! What a STUNNING thought that can be if you seriously give it consideration. Those animals that we consider to be the "lesser" glorify God far more than we "higher" humans do! God didn't give them the choices, the freedoms, the options He gave us! Think about it, folks. Man, my friends, is the ONLY fallen creature. When he falls into sin, he falls into a state where his life cannot give a bit of glory to God. All the blood of bulls and goats, and the many sacrifices offered could not and can not free him from sin where he could get back into the realm of life. Someone might ask, "What does God want mankind to do?" God made the first man here on the earth a HOLY MAN, to live a holy life, in fellowship with God and to glorify God. Sin, however, marred the picture and it still mars the picture today! There is ONLY ONE Who can take away the sin of the world--The LAMB of God. When you come to Him in old-time (that's heartfelt) repentance, He not only takes away the sin, but He will move into your heart and life so that through Jesus Christ you can give glory to God. As long as we live in sin, we repeatedly come short of God's glory. We fail to find (have) peace, and good will is far removed. The Bible makes it so plain: men are called upon to give glory to God and to acknowledge His majesty. How can you acknowledge God's greatness today? How can you publicly confess your belief that there is a God and actually give Him majesty? By confessing that you have sinned. When you confess that you have sinned, you also confess there is a God who had a law which you broke. You are sorry that you have disrespected God in such a manner; you want Him to forgive you and cleanse you from it, and CHANGE your life. You are then ready to live a life in the fear of the Lord and reverence to God. This is what real, true, Bible salvation is all about. Salvation, my friends, is NOT joining a church or changing your mind. Salvation is getting you back into the right position before God and getting God back into the right position before you. And it is done through a living experience of Jesus Christ. So we are called on to give glory to God by acknowledging His majesty, by confessing our sins, and by receiving His pardon. Fire And Brimstone The angel not only tells us to fear Him, but also to give glory to Him and worship Him. Why? If He is truly God today, He must be worshipped. We must worship Him as the only true Creator. Why is there such a cry to worship God? The message is being sent to people who have been worshipping the beast, worshipping creatures. Let's just read Revelation 14:8-10. 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. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 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. Some noteworthy thoughts, here in followup: (1) "...followed another angel..." means although there were different angels, they were just different divisions of the same Gospel message. (2) "...wrath of God...poured out without mixture..." means the wrath of God with NO mercy. (3) "...his indignation..." means God is stirred. His creatures have been deceived into following nominal religion which is not giving them salvation here and going to let them end up in hell. (4) "...holy angels..." means "ministers". Where does a beast worshipper, or somebody who has this name in their forehead, suffer fire and brimstone? The Bible says in the presence of the holy angels (His holy ministers) and in the presence of The LAMB. What is the fire and brimstone? Just plain, old-fashioned fire-and-brimstone preaching that puts torment on people who are not right with God. The world has had more effect on us than we want to own up to. People want everything nice and lovely, and they want people to be blessed and feel good by being in our services, even if they are right on the road to hell. That is a deceptive thing. Where else are they going to be tormented? People in nominal religion have drunken the wine of the wrath of her fornication, spiritual fornication. The Church is the TRUE BRIDE of Christ, and Christ is the only Husband. Paul said, But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication... I Corinthians 6:17,18. When you were born again, you were joined to the Lord. He is your Husband, and you are to be subject to Him. He is the HEAD of The Church. If Babylon comes along and gets you to join her church, thereby going contrary to God's Word, you are drinking the wine of spiritual fornication! These people who are joining church are deceived. The preacher has told them that their husband, Christ, has gone away and that they need a "church home". So they line up with these different churches and even take that other fellow's name, when they KNOW their real name is "Child of God"! Now our Scripture text said that everyone who worshipped the beast or his image would get his mark in his forehead or in his hand. When they get around where God's holy ministers are, over at Mount Zion where the LAMB is, they are going to be tormented with fire-and-brimstone preaching. Zion Is Redeemed With Judgment Let's read II Thessalonians 1:7-9. ...the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord... Romans 1:18 says, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness. How is the wrath of God revealed from heaven? In the Gospel! When you get around where the TRUTH is preached, people are going to be tormented. This is why I know that The Church cannot hold her message and line up with Babylon. If we are going to line up with Babylon, welcome Babylon's ministers in and let them feel right at home, there is only one way we can do it: compromise our message! This is exactly what is being done over the land. Everybody gets to talking about the sweetness of Christ, the love of God, and it is so perfumed up that the most corrupt fellow in the world could say, "My, isn't this wonderful?" But if you start pouring out God's indignation against Babylon, they don't feel at home. Well, Babylon is NOT supposed to FEEL AT HOME in the Church of God. Why? They are NOT at home! They may be saved, but they need an experience; they need to be redeemed by the Word out of that sectarian organization they are in and be made free. Revelation 14:11 says, And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever... What does it mean forever and ever? As long as The Church remains the church, she is going to put fire on Babylon (false religion). Whenever you find a preacher who, somewhere along the line doesn't have any fire to put on Babylon, just mark him off. He is a falsity. Why? The Bible said the smoke would go up forever and ever. That means that as long as there is a church, there will be fire falling on that which is wrong. God is going to lay the judgments down. Zion is redeemed with judgment. There is no other way to bring God's people out of Babylon except by putting judgment on it. We read in Revelation 15:4, Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest. There is not a way in the world of getting people out of Babylon if you do not put judgment on it. Someone might say, "That means to put judgment on the corrupt sinner who is deep in sin." Yes, sir, there needs to be fire and brimstone on people who profess to be people of God, but are not living according to God's eternal Word. Our Attitude Judges Us Revelation 14:7 tells us, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come... I want you to notice something there. It does NOT say, "for the hour of His judgment will come"--it says for the hour of his judgment IS come. We know He is not saying that the hour has come for the FINAL judgment--it is the hour to put judgment on false religion. God kept still while His people hid in dens and caves, while the dragon and the beast roared, and while the false prophets did all their talking. Now, God speaks. The hour is come for God to speak, and God has put judgment on these things that are false. Notice the word "is"--that is the present tense. Not past tense, NOT future tense, present tense! What brings the hour of His judgment? When the Gospel comes. When God speaks and tells you what you are, you have to answer. When the preacher stands up to lay out the everlasting Gospel, the hour of God's judgment is come. Not the FINAL judgment, but a preliminary judgment. Every time the Gospel goes forth, it brings judgment. The way an individual receives the Gospel is a test, or proof, of what he really is. Whenever and wherever the Gospel is preached, only there is the actual trial going on. Only there is this judging process taking place. And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world... John 9:39. What does He mean by that? Just follow His life. He went by the sick to tell them He would heal them, and He healed them. He went by the lost to save them, and He saved them. Then when He came upon a group of hypocrites, He laid judgment on them. He told them, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Matthew 23:27,28. To all the lilly-livered, spineless, whiney hypocrites of today, who would call that "judging"--that's not condemning people--that's judging sin!! And just as Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees on that day, the same holds true for mankind TODAY: if you are sinning, you are headed for hell! Oh, all the folks on a "Grace Kick" are not going to like that! Let's get rid of this modern idea that people have today: don't judge. We are NOT judging; the Gospel is doing the judging. Oh, we sure like to condemn or kill the messenger, though, don't we? God's Gospel is what does the judging--not the rare, exceptional preacher or teacher who stands for the truth of the Bible! The Gospel brings judgment every time it is preached. e that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Mark 16:16. I don't know how much plainer it can be said. Our attitude towards the Gospel puts us on the right hand or on the left. If Jesus split the clouds today, my friends, and finds us on the left hand down here, when we wake in eternity, we will still be on the left hand there! How do we get on the left hand? By rejecting the everlasting Gospel. Man has so perverted the Gospel today that he has left mankind with the attitude: "This is the way I feel about it. You can have your own idea about it." It has developed to a point where nobody really knows what God wants them to do, and couldn't do it if they did know. Isn't that a pitiful state to be in, when the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation?? It not only tells you who you are, where you are, and what you need to do to get out of that shape, but it also furnishes the power to change you if you will obey it! The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation, just as sure as we are here. According to Revelation 14:5, there IS a people who can LIVE HOLY. God will never bring judgment on people until there is a people living better. God is putting judgment on the sinner because it IS possible to live holy! How do I know it is possible to live holy? God has a people doing just that! God would be most unfair to put judgment on you when nobody could do better, but He has a people living better. So the hour of His judgment is come through the Gospel. There is judgment on those who dwell on the earth because tehre is a better place to dwell. In Mount Zion you can find a heavenly atmosphere to live in. Soul Prostitution There is judgment on Babylon (false religion) because she made all nations drink the wine of the wrath of her fornication, instead of the new wine of the kingdom. Revelation 14, verses 8-12, lets us see what Babylon is doing to people. It is pointed out. First of all is soul prostitution; they drink the wine of the wrath of her fornication. What an ugly thing it would be among religious folks if some woman would start operating in prostitution, but there is a religion which is carrying on soul prostitution. They are prostituting the spirit of man, and hardly anybody cries out against it. God's indignation is stirred worse against soul prostitution than against fleshly prostitution. You may go out and commit fleshly adultery or prostitution, and through the blood of Jesus Christ you can be saved. However, if old Babylon gets you to prostituting your soul, there is a good possibility you will end up in a devil's hell to be tormented forever and ever. Why? I don't think there is a person living who has not had enough training at home to know that for a young lady to go out and prostitute her life is wrong, but this soul prostitution is exalted as the real thing to do! There is nothing more terrible or alarming to see than the human soul, made in the image of God, rendering practical devotion of all its spiritual powers to the morally unworthy, the world, the flesh, and the devil through the false systems of religion. Why does God hate this so? Why would He pour out a cup without mixture? The reason is, our mind is so constructed that the object of our soul's devotion or affection transfigures us into that very thing. In the Old Testament, they made false gods of wood and stone. They made a stone god, and their hearts became harder and harder. It took them farther and farther away from God. They became more and more like the stone. They were made in God's image to be like God, but sin had separated them from God and they turned to false gods. Those false gods made them like those false gods. I want you to see why God is so against these fleshly, human gods. When the human spirit get buried and absorbed in the flesh and the world, instead of the minds that should expand into higher and higher things and be more like God, they end up worshipping beasts and images. Revelation 14:11 says, And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night... Someone might contend, "They are not disturbed." Don't lose the point. They have NO rest, day or night, when they are around the holy angels and around where The LAMB is. There can be no rest for a guilty conscience under the sway of true holiness. To those ill at ease with God, there must be torment. Why? God has arranged it that way; there is no rest for a guilty conscience. Where the Gospel is preached, if ther is a guilty conscience, it will bring torment. God is against Babylon because she is more interested in giving out her dogmas and creeds, getting man to adhere to a teaching and joining her organizations, than really making disciples for Christ. Babylon is more interested in holding her members than to see men walking in the light. Any preacher who is really interested in your soul will never lay a straw in your way of walking in the light. Personal Decision Revelation 14:8,9 declares very plainly what Babylon is. I just want you to look at it again: 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. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man... This proclamation makes it individual. It is a personal judgment. God will take care of world powers that are wrong. God will take care of religious systems that are wrong. The question is, what are YOU going to do about it? The Gospel brings the judgment down individually just as sure as we are here. God deals with you as an individual. What are you going to do about it? All through the Revelation, Jesus said, "He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear." John was told to take the Revelation and send it to The Church. What is the revelation for? My friends, it shows us the true condition of what is going on, then warns that if you have an ear to hear with, you had better hear what the Spirit is saying. Brothers and Sisters, the word "hear" means "HEED". So there will be a day of final judgment. What is God going to do? Revelation 20:12-15 tells us, And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Verse 10 of that same chapter says, And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. God is going to take care of those systems when He comes again, but now He wants to know waht you are going to do about it as an individual. Someone may say, "Brother Wilson, you cannot bring judgment up that close." In John 12:48, Jesus said, He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. What is judging us now? The One that God has sent, the Words taht God sent Him to speak. That is judging you now, and if you will not take that judgment now, the same Word will judge you in the last day, at the end. So, my friends, God sends the Word, the everlasting Gospel. He points out, little by little, the sad conditions of these systems, and then He says, "Come out of her, my people." Then He goes on to tell you that if you fail to come out, and hang on and worship the beast, his image, keep his number and his name, and drink of the wine of the wrath of that fornication, you cannot come around where the saints are without getting tormented. Your torment will not stop when the world comes to an end. You will be tormented, forever and ever, throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. Church of God, it sums up to the fact taht we have a bigger job than we feel we have. Can God Count On You? Someone might say, "It does not sound like you, or God either, loves people." God loves every one of those people, and I do, too. God hates those systems, and I hate them, but not the first person--the systems. I despise the false doctrines that mislead people into a sense of security that is founded on lies and perversions of the Bible. Within a matter of minutes, several hundred souls, through death by accident or otherwise, step right into eternity. In a second, they are awakened to the fact that the thing they were in was not of God. Their next cry is, "Why didn't somebody tell me?" There is no way in the world we can put forth special effort without starting in the right way. The starting place is right here: "Lord, am I living as this 14th chapter of Revelation says that they who are on Mount Zion should live? Am I free from guile and without fault before the throne of God? Am I living with the fear of God on my life? Do I have a reverential fear for God so that I am fearful I will grieve Him? Or, can I just carelessly and indifferently overstep what I know is wrong, with the thought that I will just come around and ask forgiveness?" If more people had done some real repentance, they would not be overstepping so often. Why? Real repentance makes you sad, and nobody wants to be sad every other day. The trouble is, too many don't really repent. REAL GODLY SORROW that works repentance makes you sad--sadder than if you had lost your companion or children in death. Real repentance brings a remorse. If people truly repented, instead of this "lite" asking for forgiveness, they would be more careful of how they live. They would live a more God-fearing life, with more reverence for God. How are our lives? Can God count on us to harvest the rest of the harvest? Are we truly the firstfruits? If we are, the earmark of our being the firstfruits will be a burden for the rest of the harvest around us that so needs to be saved.