The Bible letter, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, is God’s last message to a dying planet. In Revelation 14:6-12, three angels shout a warning to “those who dwell on the earth;” people who hate God and hate those who love God. It’s a message given in great love because God is willing to go to the uttermost to reach even his most aggressive enemies.

In Revelation 14:10 we read that those who have aligned mind and body with the Beast will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the Lamb. Why fire and brimstone?

What’s brimstone? It’s sulphur. When I was about 12 years old, I went though an explosives phase – rocket engines, gunpowder, etc. It was winter, I was bored, and I had some extra sulphur. Obviously, I had to see what happens when sulphur burns. A snowbank on my parents driveway was my laboratory. It made perfect sense at the time.

Have you ever put your finger in melted wax? Well, there in the snow I had a little puddle of melted sulphur. Kind of the same, right? The thing about sulphur is it burns hot and it sticks. (Cue video of boy running around screaming and then jamming hand into snowbank.)

In Genesis 19, concerning the destruction of Sodom through fire and sulphur, verse 15 says, “When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.””

Do you catch the word “consumed”? In the Bible, fire is never intended to preserve, prolong or maintain something; it’s always to cleanse and consume.

In Revelation 14, God’s last message to those who dwell on the earth, those who have given themselves completely to the Beast and by extension the Dragon, those who are intent on doing evil against others and are opposed to love and life: their path is leading to self-destruction; turn back lest they be consumed. This is a loving last call to repentance.

For those who will feel like the Beast is unstoppable, who will be the target of hatred and violence, this is a message of deliverance. No matter how bad it gets, no matter the circumstances, they will be rescued from this terrible evil.