“Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people–saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.’ And another angel followed, saying, ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication’ (Revelation 14:6-8).
Here in Revelation 14:6-8, God mobilizes two members of His celestial air force to execute the next stage of his counter-offensive. The first angel referenced in this passage had a specific message to deliver: “…the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth” (NIV). We’ll consider the second angel’s pronouncement regarding “Babylon” in a later study.
As mentioned in our earlier look at Revelation chapter two, the word “angel” relates to the idea of a messenger in the original Biblical languages. Thus, we can say that angels serve as representatives or emissaries for God. We can find one such example in Luke 1:5-38. That portion of Scripture recounts the angel Gabriel’s announcement regarding the imminent births of John the Baptist and Jesus. Genesis 19:1-29, 1 Kings 19:1-8, and Luke 2:8–15 offer some additional examples.
The word “gospel” signifies “good news.” This speaks to the liberating truth that we can escape the eternal punishment of sin and establish a relationship with God through faith in Christ. Two passages from the New Testament books of Romans and 1 John show us the way…
“…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
In contrast to other spiritual beliefs that focus on human merit, Christianity is not based on the works we must perform to earn God’s favor. Instead, Christianity centers upon God’s redemption through Christ, offering salvation as an unearned gift of grace. Therefore, Acts 4:12 says the following in speaking of Jesus: “There is salvation in no one else. Under all heaven there is no other name for men to call upon to save them” (TLB).
Through his sacrificial death on the cross, Jesus overcomes the chasm between God’s holiness and human sinfulness, freeing humanity from the eternal consequences of sin (see 1 Peter 2:24).