The First Angels' Message
Revelation 14:7,8
And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the EVERLASTING GOSPEL preached unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
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.
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THE GOSPEL is everlasting. The Gospel is the message of salvation in Christ — there is no salvation anywhere else.
Mark 1:15 "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel."
Romans 1:16,17 "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith."
To understand the true meaning of the gospel is paramount to all the rest of the message. Without Christ we can do nothing! Without His forgiveness we are doomed. Without His Holy Spirit we are helpless! Without a new heart which only God can give we cannot even love Him as we ought.
Yet how important that we must surrender to Christ and not shrug our shoulders saying "Christ paid it all, I don't have to choose to surrender my sins to Him, they are covered." No, no Paul does not teach that, he says "Romans 8.13 "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live."
James tells us 4.8"Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up."
Why does the Gospel Angel shout with a loud voice, "Fear God"?
"Fear" means to respect or reverence God! A recognition of His might and majesty and holiness. When we and others truly see that character, there will be born in us deep reverence for, and adoration of our Maker that will show itself in respect, obedience, service, and the desire to glorify His name by the way we live.
"Glory" --to bring Him honor. The word (kabod) essentially refers to the Lord's character, which reveals its purity — purity so great that evil cannot live in it's presence but is consumed.
Yet how can we give God glory?
Isaiah 62.2-3
And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
What an awesome thought! Those who are transformed by the gospel are as a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord!
Romans 3.23 tells us:
"But all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Any glory we may give to God is sorely polluted, for even Abraham could not glory before God on account of his own works of righteousness. (Romans 4:2)
So it is not our glory that glorifies God. So how can we be as a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord?
Romans 15:15-17 ...Because of the grace that is given to me of God, ...being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God.
Philippians 1.11
Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
Matthew 5.16
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
1 Peter2.12
Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.
Do you begin to see the picture. When God transforms the live of an individual, that individual brings glory to God by the fruits of righteousness flowing from his life, by the grace of God.
The immediate reason given for this call to glorify God is the arrival of THE HOUR (or Time) OF HIS JUDGMENT! In the days of the apostles, the time of judgment was yet future. When the 1st angel sounds his message, the hour of judgment is come! Yet it is not the end of the world as the other two messages must yet be sounded!
This is not the second coming yet — for the rejection by the major religious groups is still future and the call to come out must still be given.
Acts 17.31
For God has appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he has ordained; whereof he has given assurance unto all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.
Romans 2.15
Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness... In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
The call for us to glorify God, comes with the judgment message. The investigative judgment determines who is worshiping the beast and the dragon which thinks to change God's times and laws, and who is worshiping God the Creator and Ruler of all things.
Daniel 7.9-10
I beheld till the thrones set up, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. Daniel 7.25,26,22
And he (the beast/ horn power) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.(1260 years) But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.
And judgment was given in favor of the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
The Psalms give us a similar message depicting the call to worship, with focus on the sanctuary and the judgment:
Psalm96.6-13
Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Give unto the LORD, O ye people, give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth. Say among the heathen that the LORD reigns: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad ...before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.
We see this message "The hour of His judgment is come" proclaimed after the call is made in Revelation 11:18-19 by the 24 elders which sat before God saying, "Thy wrath is come and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should give reward to your servants the prophets and to the saints, and them that fear your name, small and great, and destroy them which destroy the earth." But note, this is not the second coming for the next verse tells us that "The temple of God was opened in heaven and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament."
The ark of the testament is the ark which contains the ten commandments and the mercy seat. These holy commandments must be once again brought fully to the attention of the people. The Sabbath must be proclaimed. The call for judgment fixes the gaze upon the temple in heaven and brings to view the Most Holy Place. This took place at the end of the 2300 days, when the sanctuary was to be cleansed. At that time the prophetic periods ended and the seventh angel began to sound. Since 1844, the people of God have seen by faith, the open door in heaven, and the ark of God's testament within. The ark was called the ark of the testament, because it was made for the express purpose of containing God's law.
The judgment message comes with an appeal to worship the Creator God!
The antidote to the evolutionist theories, the antidote to Sunday. The chief reason that God deserves worship — because HE CREATED US! We are His by virtue of His having made us. We turned traitor, in rebelling against His governement, but He bought us back, taking the punishment for our treason. Now the angel calls for us to come back!
The gospel opened the way. The judgment determines if we follow in that way. And our whole hearted response is shown by our worship of the CREATOR GOD!
So we see the apocalyptic emphasis on godly fear, giving God glory, and on worship. Yet why is it all in the context of Creation? Is it not enough just to worship?
Psalms 95.6-11 (quoted in Hebrews 3)
O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today if ye will hear his voice,
Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:.. they should not enter into my rest.
Exodus 20:8,11, Genesis 2:3
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy...for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and rested the seventh day, wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it...and God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it. Come let us worship our Lord and Maker!
In the context of Creation this must undeniably include the worship of the Creator on the day He set aside as a memorial of Creation! When He ended His work which he had made," when He rested and blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.
This is not a call to formal "putting in of time" a ritual list of do's and don'ts to be done on a specific day.
No this is a special day to put all secular business on hold and spend it with Christ.
This is a date with our Creator God.
A day to worship Him in spirit and in truth.
A day to find renewal in Him for the conflicts and responsibilities ahead.
This is a day to remember God our Creator!
To claim the freedom to worship how and when we please — as if we are the one's offering any gift of our choosing to the Lord is to flaunt our own importance in the face of God.
God says — Give me the seventh day — We say, pardon me Lord, we are now free to do it our own way, just count yourself lucky if we give you an hour or so on Sunday. —
That, dear people is what constitutes the mark of rebellion. Rebellion is when we know exactly that the Lord wants a date with us on the 7th day of each week, but we refuse.
As we move into the issues involving the the Sabbath and the three angel's messages it will be seen that in the end rebellion against God's Sabbath will be rebellion against the very authority and Lordship of our Creator and Savior.
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