(1) The Message of the Eternal Gospel, Ch. 14:6‐7
“Another angel” and the first of the three which follow, flying in mid‐ heaven proclaims the (or _an_) eternal gospel to every nation and tribe and tongue and people before the time of judgment, the symbol of the fulfilment of the words of our Lord: “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come” (Mat. 24:14). The angel exhorts men to “fear God and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment is come”, i. e. is now at hand.
(2) The Message of Babylon’s Fall, Ch. 14:8
A second angel proclaims the fall of Babylon, the city of the world, the dwelling‐place and symbol of the world of sinful men, and the antithesis of Jerusalem, which is the city of God, the dwelling‐place and symbol of the holy. The destruction of Babylon is a necessary prelude to the End, for the sinful worldly life which finds its fitting type in this great city must be broken down before Christ can triumph.
(3) The Message of Doom for the Beast and his Followers, Ch. 14:9‐11
The third angel proclaims the doom of divine wrath upon the worshippers of the Beast and his image, i. e. upon those who glorify the blasphemous world‐power, or share in the deceit of the world‐religion; and the terms of the message are full of terror and foreboding. Thus in a concise and triple message is foreshadowed the universal proclamation of the gospel, the overthrow of the world’s social and communal life adverse to God, and the final destruction of those forces in national and religious thought that withstand the full and final triumph of the Christ.
3. The Blessedness of the Holy Dead, Ch. 14:12‐13
The author at this point expresses his sympathy with the church, setting forth the need of patience in the conflict (v. 12); and then he records a voice heard from heaven (v. 13), declaring that the dead who die in the Lord are blessed “henceforth”, i. e. after death, for they have both rest and reward,(487) and possibly including, also, the additional thought that they have thereby escaped from the great tribulation even though by martyrdom. Thus once more the redeemed are placed in opposition to the unredeemed, the saved are set over against the lost, as those who have secured the better part.