Section 14:6–13

John heard four messages

In this section, John heard three messages from three angels and one message from someone in heaven. The first angel told everyone to honor God. The second angel announced that God would destroy Babylon. The third angel announced that God would punish those who followed the beast. The fourth speaker encouraged believers who would die before Jesus returned.

Other examples for this section heading are:

Four announcements were spoken
-or-
Angels spoke four messages

Paragraph 14:6–7

14:6a

flying overhead: The word overhead probably refers to being neither high in the sky nor close to the ground. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

across the sky (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
overhead (God’s Word)

14:6b

with the eternal gospel: The Greek words are literally “having an eternal gospel.” There are two ways to interpret it:

(1) It refers to a message : some good news. The good news is told in 14:7. For example:

with an eternal gospel (Revised Standard Version)

(2) It refers to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The message of the angel in 14:7 supports the full gospel mentioned here. For example:

with an eternal message of Good News (Good News Translation)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because many commentators support it. This is the only place in the Greek New Testament where “gospel/good-news” occurs without “the” in front of it. The angel states the message in 14:7b–e. Other ways to translate this clause according to interpretation (1) are:

having an eternal message of good news
-or-
with the following good message for all time

with: This angel flew with this gospel because God had given it to him to tell. Now he was ready to tell it to others. Another way to translate this phrase is:

he bore/carried

eternal: The word eternal indicates that the message will not be changed. Believers should always fear God, glorify him, and worship him (14:7b–d). For example:

everlasting (God’s Word)

14:6c

proclaim: This word refers to speaking loudly so that everyone could hear. For example:

announce (Good News Translation)

those who dwell on the earth: The Greek phrase is literally “the (ones) sitting on the earth.” This phrase refers to people living on earth. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

those on earth (Revised English Bible)
-or-
the peoples of the earth (Good News Translation)

14:6d

to every nation and tribe and tongue and people: The Greek words are literally “even/and to every nation, tribe, language, and people.” This phrase explains “those who live on the earth” in 14:6c. The Berean Standard Bible indicates that it is an explanation by using a long dash at the end of 14:6c. The phrase does not refer to a different group than 14:6c. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

namely, to every nation, tribe, language, and people
-or-

that is, to every nation, tribe, language, and people

every nation and tribe and tongue and people: The word every applies to each of the four kinds of groups. For example:

every tribe, every language, every people, and every nation

See how you translated this phrase in 5:9 or 13:7. But note that the order of the groups is different here.

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