Angels are the messengers of God. This devotional reading looks at the message of the first angel after what may be considered the Rapture.
Nuggets
- The first angel is a missionary angel.
- The first angel joins Heaven to earth.
- The gospel is eternal because it was designed before the foundations of the world and will last throughout eternity.
- God wants on earth to be saved.
- The goal of the message is to show our need for love and obedience to God.
We ended the last devotion, standing on Mount Zion with the Lamb and the 144,000. Right after that, angels start flying.
In this devotion, we are going to talk about the first angel.
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in The Harvest of the Earth series
The Message of the First Angel
“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. 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’” (Rev. 14: 6-7 ESV)
This is interesting. Our present dispensation has the marching orders that include witnessing. God has given us the task to expand His kingdom. “For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship” (I Cor. 9: 17 ESV).
Another Angel
The first angel is a missionary angel.
But in these verses, it will be the angels proclaiming the message. Seiss addressed that. He wrote,
“That an angel is the preacher here is proof positive that the present dispensation is then past and changed. It is no longer the meek and entreating voice, beseeching men to be reconciled to God, but a great thunder from the sky, demanding of the nations to fear the God, as over against the false god whom they were adoring — to give glory to Him, instead of the infamous Beast whom they were glorifying — to worship the Maker of all things, as against the worship of him who can do no more than play his hellish tricks with the things that are made; and all this on the instant, for the reason that ‘the hour of judgment is come.’”
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But are they the heavenly beings we think of when we hear the term angel? Watson said no.
Watson and Shutte argued that the term was referring to the office rather than the being. It was not referring to a single angel.
Instead, both contended that angel also refers to ministers, as they are messengers of the gospel. “And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation’” (Mk. 16: 15 ESV).
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I don’t know. We have to be really careful reading our interpretations into what is written. It says “… another angel …” (Rev. 14: 6 ESV) – singular.
Yes, it says another, but it isn’t talking about a group here. We’re going to go on and talk about the second and third angels, but they have their own messages.
I think it is talking about one angel with a specific task to perform.
Flying Angel
The first angel joins Heaven to earth.
Watson also addressed the thought of the angel flying. He felt this should be interpreted to mean the zeal and activity with which they share the message.
We have to show an enthusiasm to proclaim the gospel message. We have to be willing to go to the ends of the earth.
Ferguson took it a different track. He felt that the angel joins Heaven and earth, of which both are included in the gospel message. He wrote, “… shows in clear and bold figure the celestial origin of the gospel. … Heaven and earth are made one again in the gospel.”
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We think of the Holy Spirit revealing the gospel to us. We think less of angels bringing these messages to us.
I mean, we aren’t Mary. We aren’t Gideon.
We may believe we have guardian angels. But we see those as hands-off protectors. They don’t initiate contact with us.
Eternal Gospel
The gospel is eternal because it was designed before the foundations of the world and will last throughout eternity.
I had never thought of it this way, until I read what Bain wrote. We have simplified the word gospel into the term good news.
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Yes, the message that we proclaim contains very good news. God has provided a way for us to be purified of our sins. That is very good news!
But when we think of news, we think of the nightly news on TV or news articles in print or media. They are just a story about what has happened – with or without someone’s interpretation of it.
The thing with that is it is only news until it loses its importance because of lack of continued interest – or something more important has come along.
That is not what the gospel is about! That makes eternal and gospel oxymorons when we are limiting it to good news.
The gospel message isn’t going to change. It is an eternal gospel. It’s truths are absolute.
But take that a step further. It is also complete. Everything we need is there.
Everything we need for redemption is in the pages of God’s Word.
What is the eternal gospel? Christ died on the cross for our sins, He was buried, and He was resurrected on the third day.
That is difficult for some to understand. But Paul talked about that.
“But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (I Cor. 1 27-29 ESV).
Think about it. There aren’t very many fire and brimstone preachers anymore. Times have changed.
In the congregation are those looking for self-help tips. Others want sin sugar coated or redefined.
They don’t want someone talking to them about judgment and punishment.
Let’s look at it another way. The worldview people have lost their knowledge of Sovereign God.
Once Adam and Eve committed the original sin, mankind strayed further and further away from God. We know that they will go even further away in the end times.
“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people” (II Tim. 3: 1-5 ESV).
Who Dwell on Earth
God wants on earth to be saved.
The gospel message is available to all. It is a universal gospel. “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (II Pet. 3: 9 ESV).
Some may consider that a change. Originally, God called only the Israelites as His people. But that was only for a time.
I see that, but I don’t. Israel was the only nation that God called to be His chosen people.
It wasn’t just a national thing with them. God wrote in His laws that they must have a circumcised heart.
“But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me, so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies — if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land” (Lev. 26: 40-42 ESV).
Still, there are others listed in God’s Word — pre-Jesus — who obviously believed in God.
Noah lived before Israel was a nation. Some scholars say that Job lived in a foreign country – and before Adam was created. Plus, he performed priestly duties. Melchizedek, the king of Salem, was also a priest of God (Gen. 14: 17-20).
Yes, Israel was God’s chosen people. But God never turned away anyone who would circumcise their hearts and obey Him. In fact, those are the only ones He accepted.
Remember, we said that our present dispensation has the marching orders that include witnessing. “And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation’” (Mk. 16: 15 ESV).
Worldview people inhabit all the earth. That is our mission field.
The only way they will come back to God is by gaining knowledge of Him. Watson said that, without this knowledge, they do not know that they are sinners. If they aren’t aware of their sinful state, they do not know Who their Redeemer is.
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This is part of the foundation of our relationship with God. We must know Him.
We are mistaken if we think that worldview people will be saved on their own. Yes, God knew from before the foundation of the earth who would and would not choose to follow Him.
Are we thinking that salvation will only come through revelation? I’m not saying it can’t. I’m saying God has charged us to be His messengers. We never know when we may plant a seed that someone else will nurture and grow.
Fear God
The goal of the message is to show our need for love and obedience to God.
No, we’re not talking terror here. We are talking awe, reverence and love.
When we start to see Him as God, we begin to have wisdom. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Prov 9: 10 ESV).
This is important because those not putting their faith and trust in Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer will experience judgment.
Bain made an interesting observation. When we are completely enduring, we see the future as the present.
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That bone-certain belief that causes us to endure is the product of wisdom. It addresses whatever circumstances come our way by putting our faith in God.
That is what God wants.
Oh, yeah. That is going to take time. But that is what sanctification is all about. Taking the rest of this life to get there.
We are to fear God – awe and have terror – because judgment is coming. Cox explained what judgment entails. He wrote, “The hour of judgment is coming, in which the mystery will be explained and vindicated; in which God will redress every wrong, compensate every loss.”
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God’s grace and mercy for this world will only last so long before He sends Jesus in judgment.
That means we can’t operate on the premise that let’s do that with which we can get by. We don’t know when the Day of the Lord is.
We have to watch how we interpret that God will right every wrong and give back what we’ve lost. We don’t want to look at it through worldly eyes.
I don’t believe that every Tom, Sally, and Elaine who has wronged us will be called on the carpet because of the hurt they causes us. They will be called to punishment as to how that was a sin against God.
We believe, like Job, the Lord will restore our fortunes by giving us twice as much as He had before (Job 42: 10). We may not see it in this life. We may see it in the next as something totally different.
We need to keep our focus on God and worship Him for how He does provide for us.
Making the Connections #1
“Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads” (Rev. 14: 1 ESV)
Let’s back up a second. In the last devotion, we looked at the Lamb and the 144,000 on Mount Zion. We wondered if this was the Rapture.
The first angel is flying immediately after the meeting on the Mount. “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” (Rev. 14: 6 ESV).
I have believed that, once the Church is raptured, salvation is no longer an option. It would no longer be faith – those asking for salvation would do so because of sight.
This verse has me rethinking that. If the angels are proclaiming the gospel, it is just like the two witnesses or us showing others the need for repentance.
We share God’s message with unbelievers. It is their choice to accept or reject.
But then let’s look at it another way. The gospel will be proclaimed throughout eternity, even after the Day of the Lord. It is an everlasting gospel based on an everlasting covenant.
After the Day of the Lord, the gospel will not be proclaimed to gain names written in the book of life. It will be proclaimed to praise God and His Son.
When does that cut off come?
Making the Connections #2
Stalker had a great discussion about gospels that he termed the gospels of yesterday. He wrote,
“The reason why so many gospels have been doomed to become gospels of yesterday has been because they have addressed themselves to what is transient or partial in human nature, and not to what is permanent and universal. Men have been hailed as saviours of society because they have been able to give relief from a need pressing at some particular time, or because their doctrines have fallen in with some passing phase of popular sentiment.”
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Why are those “gospels” addressing transient things? They are addressing worldly things.
In other words, they are looking for a social savior not a spiritual Savior.
They are going to find out they are searching for the wrong thing. They need to seek God.
Making the Connections #3
Stalker also talked about how the gospel is a universal message. It speaks to each of us because we have the same needs.
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- Each of us have sinned.
- Each of us need Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer.
- Each of us need to obey God in every way He calls us.
- Each of us has a soul that we must have God purify.
Yes, we each have different experiences and beliefs. We each have our own pet sins – and major sins – that need addressed. We all have different gifts and levels of those gifts.
We have to listen to God as He and His Holy Spirit sanctify us.
How Do We Apply This?
- Perform our part of the covenant by studying and understanding God’s Word and what is expected of us.
- Accept the angel’s message instead of delaying it.
- Set our hearts on things above, not on earthly distractions.
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Father God. We are thankful that Your gospel will be proclaimed throughout eternity. We thank You that You have designed the Plan of Salvation so that, when we hear Your gospel message, we can be restored to You. Lord, we pray that none will put off accepting it. Amen.
What do you think?
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