Revelation 14:6-7 (ESV)
Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. [7] And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
An angel flies over the Apostle John’s head and he has the eternal Gospel to proclaim. Let’s keep that in mind. The angel has the eternal Gospel to proclaim. The next phrase of the text is this “And he said with a loud voice…” Now then; you fill in the rest of that sentence. The angel has the eternal Gospel to proclaim and he says with a loud voice __________.
What does He say? In a boomingly loud voice he shouts “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life!!” Umm – no. “Accept Jesus into your heart!!!” “Raise your hand and repeat after me!!!” Wrong, wrong, wrong. “Fear God, Glorify God, Worship God”. The Gospel that this angel shouts in a very loud voice begins with God.
He first says to fear God. This is where the Gospel begins because what the fall has done has removed from us the fear of God (See Romans 3:18). When God is not feared then people will feel no compunction to do whatever enters their depraved little hearts to do. They do not fear because they do not believe that there is a God who is holy and just. If they believe in God at all they believe in one who will see that they are fundamentally good and will look on them with great kindness. The Gospel begins with the news that there is a holy and just God who should be feared. Jesus says plainly that we should fear the One who can throw body and soul into hell – right there in Luke 12:5 – in the red letter parts.
Then the angel calls on people to glorify God. Our sinfulness has removed from us the satisfying desire to glorify God and replaced it with the pathetic substitute of glorifying anything that promotes me or my goals or psyche or whatever happens to be at the top of my list today. We are a self glorifying bunch. There is not a one of us who does not, by nature, live to be glorified. This is the result of the fall. The first temptation was to be like God. God gets the glory and that is how we show our idolatry more than in any other way. Give-me-glory.
Then the angels calls for the worship of God. We are made in the image of God and as His image bearers we are made to worship. And we will worship – Something. But outside of embracing Jesus Christ it will never be God. It will be us or the things that benefit us or satisfy us. And outside of Jesus Christ what satisfies will always be something other than Him.
Fear God, glorify God, worship God. And the Gospel – the good news in this is that Jesus Christ has done everything to bring us to do just that – from our hearts, for His glory. An act of unfathomable grace.
Without the grace of God showered on us by God the Holy Spirit to bring us to faith in Jesus and obedience to Him we will never heed the call of this angel proclaiming this great Gospel. We were made to fear God, glorify God and worship God. Jesus came to make this possible. Jesus came to do this for a vast numberless multitude from every tribe and people and tongue and nation. And he succeeded in every possible way – through His life, death, burial, resurrection and intercession. He will bring His finished work to fruition when He returns and brings everything back to what it should be. This is the Gospel.
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