The
“Gospel” During the Great
Tribulation
The Righteous Will Live by Faith
___________________________
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The
Great Tribulation and the first
Message of the Gospel
To describe
the power of the gospel during the
Great Tribulation, it might be best
to briefly “walk through”
the scenario. I have presented in
previous studies why I reject the
idea of a pre-tribulation rapture, so
this topic will not be addressed
again in this article. However, other
matters need to be discussed as they
relate to the gospel during the Great
Tribulation:
A.
My understanding is that the Great
Tribulation will be a time-period of
1,335 days (Daniel 12:11,12) that
will be divided into two phases:
God’s wrath mixed with mercy
(seven first plagues (trumpets)
– Revelation 8 &9),
God’s wrath without mercy
directed at the wicked (seven last
plagues (bowls)-Revelation 15 &
16). This represents a total of 14
coming judgments.
B.
The seven first plagues (seven
trumpets) are judgments from God that
will destroy much of the Earth and
its delicate infrastructures.
Communication, travel, commerce,
manufacturing and distribution are
types of infrastructures. According
to the Bible, about 50% of the
world’s population will perish
before the seventh trumpet sounds
(yes this includes many saints). The
rest of Earth’s population will
be destroyed at the Second Coming
(excluding those saints who live
during the 75 days of the seven last
plagues).
C.
Right after the great
earthquake and other phenomenon
mentioned in Revelation 8:3-5, but
right before the sounding of the
first trumpet, the 144,000 will be
empowered by the Holy Spirit to speak
for God, much like Elijah, Moses and
John the Baptist were empowered. The
first gospel message to be proclaimed
is recorded in Revelation 14:7. John
describes the gospel message as
carried on the wings of an angel.
Notice what he saw: “Then I
saw another angel flying in midair,
and he had the eternal
gospel to proclaim to those who live
on the earth-to every nation, tribe,
language and people.” (Italics
mine)
Revelation
14:7 reveals three important things:
1. An
angel flying in midair suggests a
rapid transmission of this message to
the whole world. (See Daniel 8:5 for
parallel language on the swiftness of
the Grecian empire.)
2.
This angel has possession of the eternal
gospel. The emphasis on eternal
is given because the gospel preached
during the Great Tribulation will
not be new and improved. On the
contrary, something eternal also
means unchangeable and ancient.
Indeed, the way to salvation has
never changed. Salvation comes by
faith - always has - always will.
(Ephesians 2:8,9; Genesis 15:6; John
22:16; 2 Chronicles 20:20; Revelation
14:12) From the death of Abel in
genesis 4 to the seventh trumpet in
Revelation 11, the gospel that leads
to salvation includes joyful
obedience to the King of kings.
Joyful obedience can only occur in a
born again heart. True, tests of
obedience are not often joyful
(Daniel 3 & 6; Hebrews 11), but a
great peace fills the hearts of those
individuals who stand firm in their
faith. (Psalms 119: 165; Exodus
14:13; Isaiah 7:9; Ephesians’
6:14; 2 Corinthians 11:10-12)
3.
Notice that the eternal gospel
identified in this verse is sent to
every nation, tribe, language and
people. No worldwide church or TV
ministry can accomplish this
objective in the given time-period.
(The entire Christian communities,
with divergent views on the gospel
have not accomplished this task
during the past 2,000 years, nor can
they accomplish it during the Great
Tribulation.) This flying angel is
not symbolic of a denomination or a
silver-tongued orator. Actually, this
angel (Greek word for angel means
“messenger”) represents the
proclamation and work of the 144,000.
They will be
“spokespersons” for God
during this hour.
The
First Message of the Gospel
“He [the
flying angel] said in a loud
voice, “Fear God and give him
glory, because the hour of his
judgment has come. Worship him who
made the heavens, the earth, the sea
and the springs of water.” (Revelation
14:7)
The contents of the
first message of the gospel during
the Great Tribulation will not be
hard to understand – especially
if are living then. So, picture the
setting this gospel message will be
proclaimed in: The first four
trumpets have just sounded. Meteoric
showers of burning hail have burned
up one-third of the Earth great
costal cities and their
mega-populations have entirely
disappeared because of an asteroid
impact in the ocean. Hundreds of
millions have died of contaminated
waters because of an asteroid impact
on a continent. (Resulting ground
waves from the asteroid impact cause
septic systems and other buried toxic
waste to filter into giant
underground aquifers from which
millions of people get their drinking
water.) Hundreds of volcanoes around
the “ring of fire” have
blasted billions of tons of ejecta
and debris into the atmosphere. There
is great darkness. Without sunlight,
there will be a famine, suffering and
misery beyond words. The survivors
are in shock and trembling with fear
and terror. Nearly 1.5 billion people
are dead from these judgments. Many
survivors will soon die. Plagues are
everywhere. It is in this setting
that the first message of the gospel
is delivered. This message says three
things:
- “Fear
God and give Him glory.”
This part of the message is
self-explanatory. The implication is
clear, God has not been feared nor
has He received the glory, honor and
respect that He is due throughout the
ages.
- “The
hour of his judgment has
come.”
The last moments of God’s
mercy have come, and the kingdom of
Christ is about to be established.
Everyone on earth during the Great
Tribulation will have a chance to be
a part of His coming kingdom. God has
come to test the human race –
who will remain loyal to Him above
everything else. (Revelation 3:10)
The phrase, “the hour of
God’s judgment” can apply
two ways. First, this is the time
when man will consider the authority
of a Sovereign God. On the other
hand, this will also be a time when
God tests the behavior, loyalty and
faith of every person. Remember, the
everlasting gospel explains the
relationship that exists between the
government of God, Jesus Christ,
Lucifer and fallen man.
- “Worship
Him who made the heavens, the
earth, the sea and the
springs of water.”
This phrase identifies the
elements destroyed by the first four
trumpets. The heavens are dark. The
earth and its crops have been burned
beyond recovery. The sea has suffered
an asteroid impact and the springs of
water are contaminated. This message
commands everyone to Worship the
Creator. Who is the Creator of the
heavens, the Earth, the sea and the
springs of water? The Bible says it
is Jesus Christ. (Colossians 1:16;
Hebrews 1:2; John 1: 1-14) How does
Jesus want to be worshiped? In His
own words, here are the instructions
(this is the fourth commandment): “Remember
the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
Six days you shall labor and do all
your work, but the seventh day is a
Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it
you shall not do any work, neither
you, nor your son or daughter, nor
your manservant or maidservant, nor
your animals, nor the alien within
your gates. For in six days the Lord
made the heavens and the earth, the
sea, and all that is in them, but he
rested on the seventh day. Therefore
the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and
made it holy.” (Exodus
20:8-11)
Understand that this
first message does not go forward
without enormous controversy. This
message will not be widely received
at first because it stands contrary
to the claims of nearly all religions
of the world! You might ask how is it
contrary?
Catholics and most
Protestants teach that Sunday, the
first day of the week is the
Lord’s day. Moslems teach that
Friday is the day of rest. Although
Jews regard Saturday as the holy day,
they reject Jesus as the Son of God
and Creator of the universe, so they
will not worship Him. Hindus also
deny that Jesus Christ is the Son of
God and Savior of the world. The few
religious bodies that exist today
that regard Saturday as God’s
holy day deny either that the
trumpets of Revelation are in the
future or they have no explanation of
the seven trumpets. Incredible as it
may seem, there is no religious body
on Earth prepared to deal with this
emergency and explain it! This being
the case, no religious group is
qualified to present the everlasting
gospel. Therefore, just before the
trumpets begin to sound, God chooses
144,000 common people from all
religions and nations to do the work
of proclaiming His everlasting
gospel. They will accomplish the
impossible. Jesus said, “And
this gospel of the kingdom will be
preached in the whole world as a
testimony to all nations, and then
the end will come.” (Matthew
24:14)
How does this message
relate to “Righteousness by
Faith?” Simple. People, who have
open hearts toward God and His truth,
will understand that god’s
revealed wrath (the Judgments) is
justified. Our planet is in open,
flagrant rebellion against the
Creator and now the Creator commands
all to render obedience and worship.
The observance of the seventh day
Sabbath will again prove to be a sign
between god and His people. (Exodus
31:17) The observance of the seventh
day Sabbath will defy the laws that
demand respect for another day. To
willingly observe God’s Sabbath
during the tribulation and suffer the
resulting consequences will be a
powerful test of faith. God has
everyone’s attention during the
Tribulation and millions of people
will be awakened for the first time
to knowledge of God’s
commandments. On the other hand, God
will reveal how religious systems of
the world are bankrupt of truth. If,
as they claim, they had the truth
about God, why didn’t the
religious leaders warn and prepare
the people about God’s plans
written in Revelation?
We must note that the
fourth commandment is the only
commandment in the Ten Commandments
that require man to do nothing –
at the right time each week. If God
required man to do something to be
saved, then it would not be
righteousness by faith – it
would be salvation by works! However,
the Sabbath commandment is a command
to rest on God’s holy day, the
seventh day of the week. This is why
I call this first message the
announcement of the “Sabbath
rest test.” This test will
quickly separate those who put their
faith in God from those who do not.
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