Is Revelation 14:10 referring to judgment on a place or to the final judgment?

Answer:

"Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth -- to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people -- saying with a loud voice, "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water."

And another angel followed, saying, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication."

Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name"" (Revelation 14:9-11).

In this section, we have three angels delivering three messages to the people of the earth. The word "angel" means "messenger."

The first angel is rapidly covering the earth encouraging people to follow God. The Gospel is the good news for all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). The Gospel was formed in the mind of God, pointed to by the prophets and summed up in Christ (Romans 16:25-27). The preaching and following of the Gospel give glory to its author, God.

Meanwhile, a second angel is delivering a warning that Babylon will fall. The warning is stated in the past tense to emphasize the certainty of its fall. It is so fixed in the mind of God that you can say it has already happened. God alone can do this (Isaiah 46:10). This is not the final judgment, but judgment upon Rome, the Babylon of its day. Up until now, Rome has had the upper hand in persecuting Christians, but God is issuing a warning that things will be changing. The reason for her fall is because she has led nations astray into sensual sins; just as the original Babylon had done (Jeremiah 51:7-8). A frequent symbol is a cup or bowl filled not with a beverage but God's wrath (Job 21:20; Psalms 75:8; Isaiah 51:17; Jeremiah 25:15-18, 27-20). God is going to force the wicked to drink of His wrath.

The third angel delivers a message to those who have been worshiping the beast. There are two beasts mentioned in Revelation. The sea beast represented the political might of Rome. The land beast represented the religious deception of Rome. It is the land beast to whom God is referring and the leader of the false religion that Satan as set up. Back in Revelation 13:5, those who did not worship the beast were killed. Now is the time of God's vengeance. Those who do worship the false religion of Rome would be marked out for wrath, wrath which would not be watered down.

Fire and brimstone were used to destroy ancient Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24). Here it is alluded to as a representation of God's destructive power (Isaiah 30:33; 34:9-10; Ezekiel 38:22). Thus it is a reference to the destruction and punishment of the wicked (II Peter 2:6; Jude 7). Similar terminology was used regarding the destruction of Edom (Isaiah 34:9-10).

So, no, it is not referring to final judgment, but it is warning that God wasn't going to overlook the sins of Rome forever. Justice would be done.