Heralds Digest

"And I heard the angel of the waters saying: “You are righteous, O Lord, The One who is and who was and who is to be, Because You have judged these things." (Revelation 16:5 NKJV) The scripture testifies that God was proud of the work of His hands after the creation of man. Being created in the image of God, there is no doubt about the high stake of the righteous expectation from man. Even after the fall of man, love moved God to sacrifice His only begotten Son for redemption of man from sin. Therefore, it would be painful to imagine the sorrow in the heart of God turned Judge to judge men turned 'these things'. Obviously, sin diminishes man from a valued image of God to a valueless thing.

"The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed." (Revelation 15:8 NKJV) The lively engagements of people within the temple represent a positive move or good occupation. Lively engagements can provide people with sufficient reasons for a flash of season. For example, Moses' activities with the children of Israel provided the sufficient water refreshments from the rock, with his engagement with the God of heaven. Yet, this engagement was not only unacceptable to God, it undermines his future engagements with the Lord. This is because his good occupation was void of the fear of God; and it could not qualify as a representation of God's glory. Whenever God's glory fills the temple, man's movement, if at all, matters just a little.

"“Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.” So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God." (Revelation 14:18-19 NKJV) A joy of any vine-dresser comes from the relevance of the fruit grapes from the harvest of the vine. Being the special creature (grape) of God, made in His image and for His glory, man is not actually designed to be thrown into the great winepress of the wrath of God. Unfortunately, sin sinks sinners into the endless pit of hell fire. But amazingly, God's grace breaks the power of sin and reverses the punishment of wasted grapes for those who believe.

"Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”" (Revelation 14:13 NKJV) Unlike bread and butter beliefs, reality teaches that the grace of God that bring salvation comes with a package of labour. Obviously in the word of Jesus Christ, this labour is a rest, compared with the burden of sin and unrighteousness. Being crucified with Christ, misconceptions, misrepresentations, convictions, and possibly, prosecutions are normal light afflictions for believers. But for the generation of those who will be born during the period of the Great Tribulation, there is a blessedness in the tenure of their faith-provoked light afflictions. The termination of the earth's light afflictions opens the translation into heaven's glorious rest.

"Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”" (Revelation 14:13 NKJV) Redemption starts with the spiritual translation from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. Although the redeemed of the Lord lives in the world thereafter, they are dead in Christ; and they are subject to inevitable persecution from the system of the world. To those who are troubled daily by the enemies of the Cross, the final redemption hour remains an enviable declaration of rest from pain.

"And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God." (Revelation 14:5 NKJV) Good impressions are the reserves of good people. Wicked people care little about goodness. However, the pressure to give good impression is often badly managed with deceit in the mouth or gesture of good people. Good impressions, wrapped in the regalia of deceitful expressions, can succeed in making good face before men. The scripture says they are not without fault before the throne of God. Even if it leaves a bad taste, honesty with gracious impressions is preferable to deceit-coloured good impressions.

"He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads" (Revelation 13:16 NKJV) National planning for food, health, employment and social securities in the world depends on the accurate presentation of the global identity. There is little doubt that the network system in all the nations of the world are fast being integrated, in order to regulate the morality of man. As long as social security is guaranteed, man is brought to a state where what matter most in term of worship cannot fall outside the services of food, social, and medical care, etc. Eventually, in an anti-christ economy that will be operating on secured morality, a club member is caused (not privileged to chose) to be duly identified with the mark of the beast.