BY GEORGE BROWN
Former President,
Inter-American Division
Today's devotional message focuses on the good news of the everlasting gospel recorded in Revelation 14:6, 7. It's the very heart of Adventism, part of the Adventist identity. It defines the nature of our message, the urgency of our mandate, the universality of our mission. The message of the "everlasting gospel" in Revelation 14 is the same gospel described by Paul as the "glorious gospel" (2 Cor. 4:4)* and as the gospel that is the "power of God unto salvation" (Rom. 1:16). This threefold message is packed with good news for a troubled world bombarded with bad news.
The message of Revelation 14:6, 7 is vividly portrayed as the "everlasting gospel" because it is the only authentic message of salvation and hope available to lost humanity. It's the "everlasting gospel" because it emerges from the very heart of God. It stretches across the centuries from the fall of humanity (Gen. 3:15) until the end of the age, when Christ will return as King of kings to restore all things to their original Edenic perfection and harmony. The everlasting gospel will continue as long as there are men and women to be saved. It is God's unfailing redemptive strategy for the transformation of sinners into saints.
The word "gospel" (euaggelion) appears like a recurring decimal throughout the Old Testament. It means "good news." That which generates joy and gladness, hope and assurance. Here the "everlasting gospel" is God's eternal good news, dramatizing God's free gift of salvation by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. It is God's redemptive master plan for replacing the bad news of sin and death with the good news of eternal life (Gen. 3:15).
In my reflections on the familiar Adventist passage of Revelation 14:6, 7, it occurred to me that it embodies three significant theological truths that are pertinent to "The Transformed Life" (the theme of this session): redemption, exoneration, and adoration.
1. The Good News of Redemption
The everlasting gospel is God's universal announcement that through Jesus Christ there is emancipation from the bondage of sin and death. It's the good news that, "in the fullness of time" God dramatically broke into history, "sent forth His Son, born of a woman . . . to redeem . . . us, that we might receive the adoption of sons" (Gal. 4:4, 5). The good news is that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16, NKJV). "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8, NKJV).
What good news! Christ, by His amazing sacri?ce, has transformed our enmity into friendship, our distance into nearness, our estrangement into intimacy, our hostility into cordiality. Through Him we are no more aliens to the commonwealth of God, but sons and daughters of God, members of the royal family of heaven! That's good news!
With touching pathos Ellen G. White reminds us that "Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justi?ed by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His. 'With his stripes we are healed' " (The Desire of Ages, p. 25).
The ultimate good news is that at the end of the age our wonderful Savior and faithful High Priest is coming back as the Mighty Conqueror to usher in His reign of eternal peace. "To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation" (Heb. 9:28, NKJV).
That's the ultimate good news of the everlasting gospel!
2. The Good News of Exoneration.
The second joyous reality of the everlasting gospel is the good news of exoneration from the condemnation of judgment. The angelic appeal is "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come" (Rev. 14:7, NKJV).
Judgment is an inescapable component of the everlasting gospel. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ" (2 Cor. 5:10, NKJV). The purpose of the everlasting gospel is to put the judgment into correct perspective before the universe. For the unsaved, it conjures up images of fear, guilt, condemnation, and punishment. But for those who are "in Christ," embracing His grace, abiding in the circle of His enabling power, judgment evokes confidence, assurance, and security. Through the sacrifice and intercession of Christ we have free and unimpeded access to our heavenly Father.
Through the atonement of Jesus Christ, the redeemed will be fully exonerated in the judgment. The prophet Daniel sees the outcome of the judgment and confidently affirms that judgment was pronounced "in favor of the saints of the Most High" (Dan. 7:22, NIV). The apostle Paul offers the reason for exoneration: "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1, NKJV). Moreover, a careful study of Romans 8 goes further. Here Paul adds that there is no accusation (verses 33, 34), no separation (verse 35), and no defeat (verse 37) to those who are in Christ Jesus. Hallelujah! That's mighty good news.
The judgment is good news for two fundamental reasons: It exonerates the penitent believer and it vindicates the character of God forever before the universe. It is then that every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will "confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father" (Phil. 2:11, NKJV). Then all the universe will exclaim, "Just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints" (Rev. 15:3, KJV). That's good news!
3. The Good News of Adoration
The third truth of the first angel's message is a solemn call to worship the God of the universe because of who He is and what He has done for His creation. The everlasting gospel is the good news that the God of creation and redemption is to be worshipped and adored forever. "Fear God . . . give glory to Him . . . and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water" (Rev. 14:7, NKJV).
The three imperatives of the ?rst angel's message are signi?cant: Reverence God, give Him glory, worship Him. The worship of Jehovah is central to the everlasting gospel, as it is central in the Sabbath command in Exodus 20:8. God's unchallengeable credential for receiving worship, glory, and adoration is His universal sovereignty. He is worthy of universal worship and adoration.
Why? First, because He's the omnipotent Creator of the vast universe, and the God who upholds all things.
Second, because He is the Resurrection and the Life; the wonderful Redeemer, the compassionate High Priest, and the unerring Judge whose verdict is always just, right, and irrevocable. We worship Him because He's the supreme sovereign who is in control of history and human destiny. He controls all potentates and presidents, kings and kingdoms, lords and legislators. He's the God of might and miracles.
In addition to the false worship system of spiritual Babylon, our post-Darwin culture has also created its own Parthenon of impotent gods. The gods of materialism and individualism, consumerism and sensual pleasures; the gods of sports and entertainment; the gods of New Ageism and occultism, the gods of intellectualism and secularism, ad infinitum.
In such a world bombarded by false gods, how may God's people worship the supreme God of creation and redemption? We worship Him in the corporate assemblies of fellow believers (Heb. 10:25), and in the quietude of our personal devotion. We worship Him through thanksgiving and praise for all His redemptive acts. We worship Him by our reverent appreciation for the blessedness of the holy Sabbath. We worship Him at the family altar and through our Christian witness in the workplace and the marketplace. We worship Him by our faithfulness in the stewardship of time, talent, and substance. We worship Him by our loving obedience to His sovereign will and commands.
In Revelation 7:9 John paints a stunning pen portrait of God's redeemed, transformed, and exonerated people-trophies of the everlasting gospel. In vision he sees them assembled for that celestial convocation of adoration to our wonderful Savior and Lord. God's transformed people of every race, nationality, and status join the angelic host in an exuberant sevenfold doxology: "Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen" (verse 12, NKJV).
In this moving portrait God's transformed people redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, we see them "clothed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands" (verse 9), a beautiful symbol of victory, purity, and felicity. What a powerful portrait of God's transformed people, dressed up in the righteousness of their wonderful Savior and Lord, redeemed, exonerated, and transformed by divine grace. Worshipping their blessed Redeemer, they stand before the universe justified, sancti?ed, glorified, and satisfied in Jesus.
That's the ultimate good news of the everlasting gospel. Hallelujah, amen!
* Some scriptural quotations are the author's own translation. Others (as indicated) are from the NIV and the NKJV.
