What does Revelation 14:11 mean?
Some modern religious teachers recoil at the thought of eternal punishment. However, the Bible clearly teaches that all who do not believe in Jesus as Savior will experience eternal punishment. This verse declares that the smoke of the unbelievers' torment ascends forever and ever. The implication is that these condemned souls never see relief from their punishment, whether during the day or at night.This is not something God does out of sadism. Ezekiel 18:23 assures us that God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He offers life and full forgiveness if a wicked person turns away from his sins and does what is right in God's sight (Ezekiel 18:21–22). However, as Proverbs 29:1 states, "He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing." If sinners insist on sinning against an eternal being, they will face serious eternal consequences. John 3:36 gives two very different choices and the results of those choices: "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him."
The followers of the beast make the wrong choice. This verse once again indicates that those who take the mark of the beast (Revelation 13:16–17) are consciously rejecting God, and are unquestionably non-believers.