The Everlasting Gospel
How many Gospels are there? The word gospel can mean good news. Have you heard about the Gospel of Kroger? Have you heard about the Gospel of Albertson's (or whatever the grocery store chain is in your area)?
Beans are 15 cents per pound this week!
That is good news, especially if you are hungry or do not have much money. It is gospel good news. Someone will point out that that message does not save. Who said anything about salvation? It is simply good news.
How many salvation Gospels are there in the Bible? Is there one for the Jews? Another one for the Gentiles? Is there a certain Gospel for the primitive people and another one for the modern cultured person? Is there one Gospel for the ancient past and another message for the present day? There is only one Biblical Gospel unto salvation, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Any other message which claims to bring us to God is renounced in the strongest language possible (Gal 1:8,9).
6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. (Rev 14)
The NASB says that an angel announces “an eternal gospel” to them that dwell on the earth, in the future. In the rest of the Bible, angels never preach the Gospel of salvation. Either they cannot or will not but, in any case, they do not. They will always direct an unsaved person to seek out a Christian that can tell them the message of Christ.
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: (Rom 1:20)
Paul tells a little about this gospel but he gives it no name. He says that the creation of the world preaches a “message” about God's power and reality. Because of this, no man is without excuse in not knowing about the Creator. They may not know much about Him. They may not know much about His nature. They do not know anything about Jesus, God's salvation. They do, however, know that there is a powerful Creator and that they are somehow accountable to Him. Creation does not preach about Jesus. Angels do not preach about Jesus. To ancient people and to today's primitive people this message has been “pre-history”, pre-Jesus, and almost Neanderthal. As far as the Creation is concerned, it is timeless, almost perpetual.
Does the timeless message in Creation save? No one said anything about that. It is not a gospel unto salvation. It is almost a pre-salvation message. In the time that Revelation 14 refers to, repentance is nearly or totally impossible. Those who are going to respond to the Gospel of salvation in Jesus are very few at this point. The wrath of God is going to be poured out. Hell would be more pleasant than what is coming upon the earth.
Even in God's anger, He sends out an angel. Though he is not allowed to offer salvation by the name of Jesus, this angel does offer something. It is the timeless, primitive (everlasting) gospel about God as Creator. It does not bring real salvation but may bring a particle of relief by honoring God as the generic Creator. It is not total deliverance but it is something. At least, one knows he is honoring God in some small measure. If people will not respond positively to this, they will not respond to the message about Jesus.
There are 3 main hindrances to the Gospel of salvation in Jesus. Before great wrath is poured out on the unbelieving world God gives 3 warnings to the inhabitants of the earth. God is more than fair. The major hindrances are:
Unreached Peoples
Religious Teaching
Financial Threat or Pressure
God sends 3 angels described in Revelation 14:6-11. They fly through the upper sky announcing, in a loud voice, 3 warnings. The first angel preaches the Everlasting Gospel, as briefly described above. Because of the severity of the coming judgment, God makes sure that no one can say that they did not know about God's reality.
The second angel (Rev 14:8) says that the great end times global government and religious system (Babylon) has failed and fallen. Religious teaching is shown to be powerless to help man please God.
The third angel (v 9-11) says that in spite of the financial threats that the beast is forcing upon everyone, worshiping him and taking his mark will result in something far worse than starvation or death. Now, no living person has any excuse for refusing to turn to God.
What a day we are still living in! The cost of believing in Jesus and embracing the Jewish nation during a time of unprecedented pressure (Tribulation) would make coming to faith in Christ nearly impossible. Few, who are Christians today, would come to God at all during the coming days of wrath. The Door of the Day of Grace is still open right now for whosoever will (John 3:16).
Sept 1, 2024