6-7 And I saw another angel flying through the sky, carrying the eternal Good News to proclaim to the people who belong to this world - to every nation, tribe, language, and people. “Fear God,” he shouted. “Give glory to him. For the time has come when he will sit as judge. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the springs of water.” 8 Then another angel followed him through the sky, shouting, “Babylon is fallen - that great city is fallen - because she made all the nations of the world drink the wine of her passionate immorality.” 9-11 Then a third angel followed them, shouting, “Anyone who worships the beast and his statue or who accepts his mark on the forehead or on the hand must drink the wine of God’s anger. It has been poured full strength into God’s cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb. The smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have worshiped the beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name.” 12 This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus. 13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”

14-16 Then I saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was someone like the Son of Man. He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came from the Temple and shouted to the one sitting on the cloud, “Swing the sickle, for the time of harvest has come; the crop on earth is ripe.” So the one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the whole earth was harvested. 17-20 After that, another angel came from the Temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel, who had power to destroy with fire, came from the altar. He shouted to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sickle now to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, for they are ripe for judgment.” So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God’s wrath. The grapes were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress in a stream about 180 miles long and as high as a horse’s bridle. Revelation 14:6-20 New Living Translation (English Standard Version link)

The apostle Paul once said “For me, to live is Christ - and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21) That may sound strange, but what John heard a voice from heaven saying in vs 13 shows why death can be a blessing. The background to this is that John saw an angel flying above him with an urgent message for everyone on earth. What was that message? (vs 6-7)

It was a call to the people of every nation and language group to give to God the honour He is worthy of as our Creator. And the reason this was urgent was because the time had arrived when He will sit as judge. The rest of the chapter gives a startling description of this judgement that will take place using pictures of a harvest – both of field and vine. Jesus once told a parable of judgement which he then explained to His disciples saying: “The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom.” Luke 13:39-43

So the issue is whether men and women belong to the system of the world (described as Babylon) and are marked as such – or whether they have obeyed God's commands and kept their faith in Jesus, even to the point of patiently enduring in times of persecution. For those who have followed Christ, death in this world brings rest from their trials, and is the doorway into His presence. But for those who belong to 'Babylon' – a fearful fate awaits them. Oh may we be among those who've responded to the message of vs 6-7!