Eternal Gospel: No Beginning and No End – Part I

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“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."

- Revelation 14:6, italics mine

The Bible says the eternal gospel will be proclaimed to everyone living on Earth during the Great Tribulation. The eternal gospel is a collection of changeless and eternal truths about the Godhead. The eternal gospel is like a molecule consisting of many atoms and each atom represents a specific truth. For example, one atom represents eternal truth: The godhead will rule over the universe forever. Another atom represents this eternal truth: By right of creation, the Godhead owns everything in the universe. Another atom represents this eternal truth: Because the Godhead knows everything, their laws are perfect. Another atom represents this eternal truth: Because the members of the Godhead are love, they granted the power of choice to their offspring. Many more “atoms” are in the molecule of the eternal gospel, but I hope you can see how many truths combine to make up the eternal gospel. 

 

During the Great Tribulation, every person on Earth will hear three critical truths of the eternal gospel. These three truths are represented in Revelation 14:6-10 as three announcements given by three angels. Currently, these three truths do not have the power and authority they will have during the tribulation, but this does not diminish the beauty or truthfulness of the eternal gospel. Eternal truths can be hidden for thousands of years and still be true! However, when the appointed time arrives, there is nothing more powerful than a truth revealed.

 

Soon, the Holy Spirit will empower 144,000 prophets and they will proclaim the eternal gospel with uncommon power. Everyone on Earth, regardless of culture, language or religion, will hear them. Right now, people’s minds are closed by religious arrogance. God loves us and to open our diverse minds and overcome our preconceived idea’s, He will traumatize the human race by a global earthquake and four trumpet - judgments. The nations of Earth will be ruined. The infrastructures of life as we know them will collapse. World order will collapse and a crisis government will take over. Personal beliefs about God and in God will crumble. In the disheveled and chaotic context of the Great Tribulation, the eternal gospel will radiate with unparalleled power and authority. Three “atomic” truths about Jesus will be proclaimed. The world will hear the truth about His divine authority, the terms and conditions of His salvation, and His wrath for defiance.

 

 The first four trumpets of Revelation 8 will (a) darken the heavens, (b) burn up a third of the Earth, (c) turn a third of the sea to blood, and (d) contaminate a third of Earth’s drinking water. The 144,000 will point to these judgments saying, “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment [of the living] has come. Worship Him [the Creator] who (a) made the Heavens, (b) the Earth, (c) the sea and (d) the springs of water.” (Revelation 14:7, insertions mine) The call to worship Jesus the Creator will be highly inflammatory to Moslems, Jews, Hindus and other non-Christians who reject the divinity of Jesus. Many Christians will also consider this first call of the eternal gospel to be high inflammatory because they think they can worship Jesus as they choose rather than according to His laws and commandments.

 

Jesus is a mystery character. Ask some of your Christian friends if the God of the Old Testament is Jesus or the Father. The fact is, most of the references about God in the Old Testament refer to Jesus. Jesus is Jehovah God, the Yahweh of the Old Testament. Most Christians do not know this. They think the God of the Old Testament is stern, legalistic and deadly, and the God of the New Testament is forgiving, full of grace and life. What a surprise it is to them when they realize that Jesus is the same in both cases! The Old Testament reveals that Jesus sent a flood that drowned an entire world in Noah’s day. He also sent fire that burned Sodom and Gomorrah because divine justice deemed it necessary. The New Testament also tells us that Jesus will destroy the wicked at the Second Coming. (Revelation 19:19-21) This behavior seems contradictory to the sweet and lowly character of Jesus as He is described in the four gospels. This contradiction occurs because Jesus functions on two different levels. As a member of the Godhead, Jesus oversees the sin problem on Earth. As a man, Jesus demonstrated how God wants us to live in a sinful world. The Creator of Earth came to Earth to show us how to please God, not how to be God. Studying the behavior of Jesus in the Old Testament and studying the life of Jesus in the New Testament is thrilling because the “atomic” elements of the eternal gospel are revealed through the actions of Jesus! This is why the book of Revelation exists. The book of Revelation brings all of the other books of the Bible together to expose Jesus for all that He is. Everything we know about the eternal gospel comes through Jesus. “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to [understand] the Father except through me. If you really know me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him [through me].’” (John 14:6,7, insertions mine)

 

A Gospel with No Beginning and No End – Part II

Revelation 7:1-4 indicates that Jesus will select and seal 144,000 people just before the Great Tribulation begins. When the global earthquake in Revelation 8:5 occurs, these people will begin speaking for Jesus and they will testify for 1,260 days. Jesus will give them the words to speak and this is how the whole world will hear the eternal gospel during the Great Tribulation. The global earthquake will fracture the world into “small cells.” Travel will be very difficult and I believe each cell will have at least one of the 144,000 in it. The next events will occur in rapid succession. After the global earthquake, the first trumpet-judgment will occur. (Revelation 8:7) A fiery hailstorm of white-hot meteors will burn up a third of the trees of Earth and all of the grass. The second trumpet-judgment will be large asteroid impact on an ocean, causing huge tsunamis that will destroy thousands of coastal cities and sink ships by the hundreds. Then, the third trumpet – judgment will occur and a continent will be impacted by an asteroid which will kill millions of people at ground zero and it will shatter geological strata allowing sewage and other poisons to contaminate underground springs for thousands of miles. Poisonous water will kill ten of millions of people. Shortly thereafter, the fourth trumpet-judgment will fall and a great darkness will spread over one-third of the Earth. This darkness may be caused by hundreds of volcanoes erupting. As far as I can tell, the first four trumpets will occur within a period of thirty to sixty days. The death toll from the first four trumpets will be a staggering 25 % of Earth’s population. When these displays of divine wrath subside, the people of Earth will sit in darkness and silence. Every family will be grieving, stunned, overwhelmed and frightened because they have just witnessed the reality of God’s authority.

 

I believe the 144,000 will predict the date of each trumpet-judgment. This ability will prove they speak for Jesus. The 144,000 will say many things, but the essence of their testimony will be three simple messages that have their origin in the eternal gospel. The first message will be, “Jesus is Sovereign over the nations of Earth. Submit to His demands. Worship the Creator.” The Bible describes this message saying, …Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment [of the living] has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.” (Revelation 14:7)

 

Out of fear, almost everyone will agree “in principle” with the 144,000 at first, because the sudden presence of overwhelming destruction indicates that more destruction will be forthcoming if God’s wrath is not appeased. In an effort to maintain some semblance of order, the governments of Earth will impose martial law upon their respective nations. Rationing will be necessary. The leaders of Earth will meet for an emergency summit and the Bible predicts a “crisis government” will be formed quickly. In light of all that has happened, leaders will conclude that the crisis government must be authority over all nations for the purpose of appeasing God’s wrath or more destruction will follow. Because the pope’s worldwide appeal, the Roman Catholic Church will lead a coalition of religious leaders from all religions in this effort to appease God. The Bible predicts this coming event saying, “…And I saw a beast [the crisis government] coming out of the sea [of humanity]. He had ten horns [representing ten political leaders] and seven heads [representing seven religious leaders], with ten crowns [diadems of authority] on his horns [indicating political leaders will exercise authority], and on each [religious] head a blasphemous name [indicating the seven religions of the world are opposed to the authority of Jesus]. The beast I saw resembled a leopard [this parallels the swiftness of Grecia in Daniel 7], but had feet like those of a bear [this parallels the strength of the Medes and Persians in Daniel 7]. The dragon [the devil] gave the beast [the crisis government] his power and his throne and great authority. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have a fatal wound [the Roman Catholic Church was wounded in 1798], but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished [bewildered] and followed the beast [did not resist]. Men worshiped [submitted to] the dragon because he had given authority to the beast [the crisis government], and they also worshiped [submitted to] the beast and asked, ‘Who is like the beast? Who can make war [resist the laws of the crisis government] against him?’ The beast [crisis government] was given a mouth to utter proud words [claiming demeaning the authority of Jesus] and blasphemies and to exercise his authority [on Earth] for forty-two months.” (Revelation 13:1-5, insertions mine)

A Gospel with No Beginning and No End – Part III

United in an Unthinkable Union

The Bible indicates the first four trumpet-judgments of Revelation 8 will kill more than 1.5 billion people over a period of thirty to sixty days. Because the religious and political leaders of the world do not understand apocalyptic prophecy, they will fearfully anticipate that more judgments will fall if something is not done quickly to appease God’s wrath. In panic and “in fear of the living God,” the worlds’ religious and political leaders will be invited to a summit to discuss God’s horrific actions. I believe that since the Roman Catholic Church already has relationships with most countries, it will host the summit. The outcome of this meeting will forever change the governance of the world. The book of Revelation predicts the leaders of the world will unite in an otherwise unthinkable union. (Revelation 13:3,4)

When the first four trumpet-judgments destroy thousands of cities and millions of square miles, everyone present at this solemn meeting will be afraid of God. Like Nebuchadnezzar after he recovered from seven years living as an animal, the leaders of the world will humbly acknowledge the sovereign authority of the Most High God. They will notice that God’s anger was directed at geological locations known for degenerate behavior. This will prove in their minds that God observes the ways of men. Everyone will clearly understand God’s wrath against sexual immorality, violence and other forms of degenerate behavior. (2 Chronicles 16:9; Colossians 3:5,6) After a few days at the summit, the leaders of the world will unite on three civilization-changing matters. First, the leaders of the world will agree that all mankind, as one man, must appease God through repentance and worship; otherwise, the whole world will be destroyed by God’s anger. Second, to guide nations in how to repent and worship God, religious leaders will unite and form a “crisis authority.” Since the world is currently divided into large groups of religiously diverse people, the “crisis authority” will consist of representatives from the seven religious systems of the world. Third, political leaders will agree to follow the counsel of the “crisis authority’ in such matters of repentance and worship. In an effort to appease the Almighty, these world leaders will believe that if they enforce the mandates of the crisis authority in their respective nations, God’s anger will cease.

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