Wine usually represents Jesus’ blood which has saved us, but in Revelation 14:10 wine represents God’s fury which condemns ‘worshippers of the beast’. Is this parallel significant?
Good connection – yes this is significant. In the Bible, wine can refer to (1) the drink produced from grapes; (2) in the context of the Last Supper and Communion, it is a symbol of the blood of Jesus that redeems us from our sins; (3) to the cup of the wine of God’s wrath (Jeremiah 25:15-17, 49:12, 51:7, Psalm 75:8, Lamentations 4:21, Habakkuk 2:16, Revelation 14:10, 16:19, 18:6). Jesus often refers to “the cup” which the Father is placing into His hands to drink (John 18:11). The amazing thing is that the cup of wrath that God’s enemies should have to suffer to drink, is placed into the hands of His Son, who willingly drinks it in our place, bearing the judgement that rightly should fall on us. In the Bible, blood represents a life that has been violently taken – thus the focus on the blood of animals in the OT sacrifices. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and the animal’s life is taken instead of the offeror who is trusting in God’s promise to deal with their sins instead. Someone always has to pay the price for sin, someone always has to die – the question is will it be you or will it be Jesus for you? Will you drink of the cup at Communion that represents the death of Jesus in your place that brings eternal life; or will you drink the cup of final judgement which is the eternal punishment of God at your sin.
What about people who have never heard about Jesus? / How does God deal justly with those who haven’t heard the gospel?
This is an important question. God has a heart for all the nations. In 1 Timothy 2:4 we are told “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”. However, we know that not all people will be saved, because some reject the offer of salvation in the gospel. Nevertheless, the question is what will happen to those who have not received the opportunity to accept or reject the gospel because they have been birthed, lived and died unreached. At the end of the day, we have to trust God to do what is right: “Far be it from you to do such a thing--to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25). However, we are told a lot about the fact that while there are many unreached people in the world, there are no innocent people who are neutral with God.
It’s important that we hear what Paul the missionary says about the universal condition of humanity: Romans 1:18-23.
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
Everyone knows that God exists, indeed their consciences also reveal God’s will as to what is right and wrong (Romans 2:14-15).
Everyone will be judged according to the light that is available to them. All people are justly condemned by their sinful and rebellious response to God’s revelation in creation and conscience. Romans 3:10-23 makes clear that “There is no one righteous, not even one…there is no one who seeks God…there is no one who does good, not even one…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. The grim bad news is that everyone in this world is under the just judgement of God and facing eternal death and punishment.
However, the good news is that because of what Jesus has done for sinners like us, and through trusting in Him as your Saviour, anyone who believes can be saved. No one deserves this gift of salvation, no one even has a right to hear the gospel – it’s all a gracious and undeserved gift from God to hell-deserving sinners. However, it is God’s heart that as many people as possible would be offered this gift:
“16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:1-18).
Paul tells us that it’s essential that unreached people hear the gospel from missionaries if they are to be saved in Romans 10:11-15:
As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
If it’s necessary to repent, what happens if you want to repent, but haven’t repented for sins you’ve forgotten you’ve committed? Does “I repent of everything” cover this?
Literally, the word ‘repent’ means ‘to change your mind’. It is a fundamental change of attitude. We come into this world as sinners whose attitude towards God is one of hostility. We want to live for ourselves and rule our own lives, we want things our way, not God’s way (nor our parent’s way!). When we hear the gospel we are confronted with the fact that this way of life is under the judgement of God and will result in our eternal death and destruction. So we have to repent: to turn from ourselves and turn towards God. And we have to believe: to trust in what Jesus has done for us to save us, rather than to trust in ourselves to somehow save ourselves through our own actions.
This question is really about confession (rather than repentance – although the two are linked). We are promised: If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). We are all far more sinful than we often realise. So our salvation never depends on us confessing every single sin. Rather it depends on us turning towards Jesus and trusting Him as our sin-bearing and righteousness-giving Saviour! While it is good to confess before God individual sins, because it forces us to take seriously our wrong-doing in God’s sight and not take for granted the costly gift of salvation; it is not necessary that we confess each and every one, especially ones we are not conscious of or have forgotten about. Instead, we are able to pray in confession generally all these things, acknowledging that while we forget them, that as Jesus died it was consciously for each and every one of them. And we resolve ourselves in trusting that when He said “It is finished” that He has done everything necessary to save us from our sins. As Micah 7:19 promises: “You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea”.
Why 144,000?
The 144,000 is probably a symbolic number – made up of the number associated with God’s people (12) and the number for fullness (10). These numbers squared and cubed, respectively, leads to 144,000 – a symbol for all God’s people alive in those days. The assurance given to all of God’s people alive during the Tribulation is that whatever happens to them in this world that their eternal destiny is secure in Christ. For the final 3.5 years they may suffer the persecution of the Antichrist and the socio-economic implications of refusing the Mark of the Beast. However, they will be vindicated with eternal life in Christ, sealed with the Name of the Father.
