Today’s message summary of November 15, 2015 from Assistant Pastor Travis Jackson:
There are many ways to present the gospel. You can befriend someone, speak to people, or even be a street preacher. It can take place in many ways. You can even rap in presenting it.
In Revelation 14:6-13, there are three angels.
- Revelation 14:6-7 — The first angel proclaims the eternal gospel all over the earth to call people to repentance in faith of the God of heaven and earth:
Then I saw another angel flying high overhead, having the eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth–to every nation, tribe, language, and people. He spoke with a loud voice: “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”
God is proclaiming a warning to the people. The messenger is like a street preacher, who is proclaiming to all within the sound of his voice to repent.
The gospel is being proclaimed in the same way it was done in Acts 2 during the Pentecost. This proclamation is the second Pentecost. It is a global evangelism.
There was a need for a gospel from the very beginning:
Genesis 3:14-15
Then the Lord God said to the serpent:
Because you have done this,
you are cursed more than any livestock
and more than any wild animal.
You will move on your belly
and eat dust all the days of your life.
I will put hostility between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed.
He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.
The angel in Revelation is bring this message when the world is at the brink of judgment. Take this advice…do not wait until the end of your life to heed to the words of the gospel. Don’t take the chance thinking that you have many years to live before making a decision for Christ. Your actions, in disobedience to Christ, could be costly.
If the gospel were presented in the same way as a “How To” video, it would be as simple as following the instructions from the angel:
- Fear God.
- Give Him glory
- Worship Him throughout your life.
There is no need to be fearful of Satan. In the last days, he will present himself as powerful, but God is much more powerful than him. Satan will be defeated.
Revelation 14:8 – The second angel proclaims judgment upon Babylon (the system of the world):
A second angel followed, saying: “It has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen, who made all nations drink the wine of her sexual immorality, which brings wrath.”
Isaiah 13:9
Look, the day of the Lord is coming–cruel, with rage and burning anger–to make the earth a desolation and to destroy the sinners on it.
Isaiah 13:11
I will bring disaster on the world, and their own iniquity, on the wicked. I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant and humiliate the insolence of tyrants.
Have you ever had moments of weariness over the sinfulness of the world? Do you long for the perfection of being with the Lord when you depart from here?
2 Peter 3:10
But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed.
Revelation 14:9-11 – The third angel pronounces the eternal judgment upon all who worships the beast and receive the mark of the beast:
And a third angel followed them and spoke with a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, which is mixed full strength in the cup of His anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb, and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or anyone who receives the mark of his name.
Matthew 13:41-42
The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather from His kingdom everything that causes sin and those guilty of lawlessness. They will throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
For those who worship the beast with the image of the beast on their foreheads are able to buy and sell. For those who do not have the mark, they will not be able to. The rulers of the world will be able to identify who can and who cannot. When that time comes, people will have to make a choice who they will follow. Even today, people have already made such a choice.
Who are you going to serve?
The third angel is proclaiming judgment. The last warning will be declared at that time.
2 Thessalonians 1:5-10
It is a clear evidence of God’s righteous judgment that you will be counted worthy of God’s kingdom, for which you also are suffering, since it is righteous for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you and to reward with rest you who are afflicted, along with us. This will take place at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his powerful angels, taking vengeance with flaming fire on those who don’t know God and on those who don’t obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction from the Lord’s presence and from His glorious strength in that day when He comes to be glorified by His saints and to be admired by all those who have believed, because our testimony among you was believed.
Hebrews 10:31
It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!
Revelation 14:12-13 – A call for those who heeded to the warnings of God’s judgment and obeyed the eternal message of the gospel because they will find eternal rest in Jesus Christ:
This demands the perseverance of the saints, who keep God’s commands and their faith in Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write: The dead who die in the Lord from now on are blessed.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “let them rest from their labors, for their works follow them!”
When God pours out His wrath, even at that very moment, He still will desire for those who do not acknowledge Him to be saved.
- The gospel is eternal.
- God’s judgment is eternal.
- Rest in Jesus Christ is eternal.
Isaiah 25:8
He will destroy death forever. The Lord God will wipe away the tears from every face and remove His people’s disgrace from the whole earth, for the Lord has spoken.
Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb who is at the center of the throne will shepherd them; He will guide them to springs of living waters, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Revelation 21:4
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will no longer exist; grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer, because the previous things have passed away.
Application:
- Have you heeded to the eternal gospel that will save you from God’s eternal judgment?
- Scripture says, “Do not love this world or the things that is in the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” Do you love this world and what this world is offering? Or, is your love for the Father who is in heaven?
- Who do you pledge allegiance to? Is your allegiance to the Lord or to someone else?
- Jesus said, “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Have you found eternal rest in the Lord?
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