The First Angel

H.  The Seven Angels

   Earlier it was mentioned that before we were finished with the seven trumpets and the seven bowls of wrath, we would encounter seven other angels.  Here we meet the first of those seven.  It is mandatory that these seven angels of chapter 14, be moved to a position before 11:15, for if we do not do that, we run into a variety of incongruities, as will be pointed out.

   Perhaps it needs to be reiterated that many of these situations run concurrent with each other, but since it is not possible to portray two, or more, scenes at one time, they are written as though they follow one another.

 

The Angel with an Invitation

Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people
    saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”14:6-7  

The words, I saw another angel, 14:6, carry an interesting connotation.  If we followed the texts in the sequence in which they are in the Bible, the last angel mentioned would be the angel with the seventh trumpet in 11:15.  For the writer to say that he saw this angel is sure proof that chapter 14:8 must come before 11:15 because 11:15 heralds the rapture of the Church.  It would be redundant for an angel to be preaching the Gospel after all the people have been taken to the great white throne to be judged.

Another argument for the idea that the scenes are not portrayed in the order in which they will happen is seen in 18:2, where we read, Babylon the great is fallen, and later, 18:21, thus with violence shall the great city Babylon be thrown down.  The fact that the city has fallen is announced and later the prediction that it will fall is given; the incidents and prophecies need to be rearranged to make them logical.

   Horrible calamities during the end times will be for the purpose of driving people to their knees in humble worship of Jehovah.  After the message of these calamities has been ignored, Jehovah sends an angel to the world to provide another word of invitation.  Seen, flying in the atmosphere, a messenger, the angel, was preaching the everlasting gospel to everyone, everywhere.  God’s love is immense!   That message is, Fear God...for the hour of His judgment has come. 

The messenger was in the atmosphere; that is the same area in which radio, television, and computer messages travel.  Perhaps those ministers of the Gospel that preach the death, resurrection, and return of Christ, and the coming kingdom of Jehovah are that messenger.

In chapter three we studied about the church of Philadelphia; the church that was facing the open door.  If, as suggested, each of the seven churches, in The Apocalypse, represents a distinct church era, the church at Philadelphia was the church that preached the everlasting gospel to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people, by using radio and television. 

For more about this church see:      
http://ikefehr1939.blogspot.com/2013/02/to-church-in-philadelphia.html

 Do those of us who live in North America, somehow, inwardly, feel that it is only proper that God should have redeemed us.  I mean, after all, we have white skin and we speak English, so it is only logical that we should have been chosen and every other nation, tribe, tongue, and people, who are now Christians, are an added blessing to Jehovah, and this happened because, we, white-skinned North Americans, were kind enough to be missionaries.  Am I the only person who thinks that some North Americans actually believe that?

The first angel is the angel with an invitation; the invitation is, Repent of your sins, let Jesus Christ control your thoughts and habits, accept Him as your Lord.  If you do that you will not be condemned with the condemnation brought by the second angel; the angel with an announcement.